The Lord of the Rings: An Unseen Question, by Rhymer.

[thady]

FANDOM: The Lord of the Rings
FIC LINK: An Unseen Question.
AUTHOR LINK: rhymer23 | rhymer23
RATING/WARNING(S): G | none
WIP?/WORD COUNT: one-shot | ~ 3,850 words
MAIN CHARACTERS: Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took

FIC SUMMARY:

"The caterpillar started it." Merry and Pippin are infected with a sudden bout of investigative fervour. Can Rivendell cope with two lively hobbits whose hunger for answers threatens to surpass even their hunger for food?

RECCER'S NOTES:

This takes a humorous though and spins it further. It's humor with serious underlining and it's quite touching. I love Merry and Pippin here, and how the other characters react to them.

harry potter: the abyss gazes also, by tangleofthorns

[ozqueen]

FANDOM: Harry Potter
FIC LINK: The Abyss Gazes Also
AUTHOR LINK: tangleofthorns
RATING/WARNING(S): R
WIP?/WORD COUNT: Complete | 8141
MAIN CHARACTERS: Sirius Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Iris Crouch, Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Rubeus Hagrid, the Dementors

FIC SUMMARY: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." - William Shakespeare

RECCER'S NOTES:

First things first: I bookmarked this fic years ago and it seems to have disappeared everywhere but this archived page. If the above link doesn't work, try here, and click the little drop down menu to go from "notes" to "first chapter". Because it's worth it. IT'S SO HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY WORTH IT.
This fic builds Azkaban from a vague nightmare (part of what makes it so terrifying is that we know so little) into something fully-realised and utterly terrible. It focuses on several prisoners of Azkaban, including Sirius, and what haunts them and taunts them as they sit trapped within its walls. I've never forgotten it since first reading it. Truly a haunting fic.