When I tell people about the new novel I just finished, the first thing they ask is whether it’s sexy. The question is understandable: The book, SenLinYu’s Alchemised , is a romance novel adapted from the author’s own Harry Potter fan fiction, and both genres are known for featuring sex—leading to the common assumption that their readers are seeking explicit scenes. But Alchemised is not particularly erotic. Its source material, a story called “Manacled,” imagined Harry’s friend Hermione and