Chapter Text
Author's Note
I don't have a beta, so please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!
Hello, readers! I hope people will be excited for this story. I sat down to make edits on my other stories so that I could finish them up, and realised I needed to reread the Harry Potter books before I could. As I was reading, I kept feeling the urge to try my hand at a "reading the books/fix-it" story, and well, here it is! I haven't found any, that haven't been removed, that start like this and are completed, so hopefully this will be interesting.
This story starts in the middle of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, right after Mr. Weasley was attacked, and when Hermione shows up at Grimmauld Place. There won't be any of the actual book here apart from the occasional line, so please have your copy with you to help follow along.
Any dialogue that you recognise is from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own anything.
~
Prologue: Books and Letter
"One day you'll read Hogwarts, A History, and perhaps that will remind you that you can't Apparate or —"
A loud crash broke into Hermione's rant as a heavy package landed with a thud on the floor before the teens.
"Er —" Harry started, but wasn't quite sure what to say as he studied the package, realising it was a rather large book wrapped in twine, a tightly rolled scroll of parchment secured in the haphazard bow on top.
"Did you really mean to summon the book for him to read now, Hermione? I think you made your point without needing to rub his nose in it," Ron muttered, annoyance woven around the question until it more resembled an insult aimed directly at their best mate.
Hermione launched herself immediately to her feet, and Harry covered his face, knowing they were about to have another row.
It was the last thing he needed right then when he was stressed enough by the fact he might have had something to do with the snake hurting Mr. Weasley. And that was on top of his friends all avoiding him after learning the others had just been waiting for something to happen with him that showed how Voldemort was using him.
"I didn't! This wasn't me, Ronald," she yelled haughtily, hands on her hips. "And I don't rub anyone's nose in things. Just because I pay attention and read, doesn't —"
"Ah, Hermione!" George called, arriving in a simultaneous pop with his twin.
"We thought we heard you arrive." Fred hid his smirk as he conjured a chair in the middle of the room facing the bunk bed Ron and Harry shared.
He inadvertently kicked the books as he did, and Hermione hastened to snatch them up before resuming her slumped position beside Ginny on Harry's cot.
"What's Ron done now?" George asked, mock innocence as he conjured a matching chair and took a seat next to his twin.
"Hey! I didn't start this," Ron cried, throwing his hands up.
Harry ducked his head when Fred looked to him for an explanation. He still felt uncomfortable given he'd not been around any of them since what they overheard at St. Mungo's. Hermione and Ginny had both made valid points about the unlikelihood of possession, and he wanted to believe them, but he was not convinced. It was hard when no other alternative was available.
"Oh! It's not one book. It's three," Hermione announced, jaw falling open as she studied the covers.
"Harry…they're about you," Ginny said cautiously, frowning as she looked from the books on Hermione's lap to him.
"What?" he demanded, stalking over for a closer look.
Sure enough, the title scrolled across the top one read, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Underneath were two more, the first read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the final one was called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
"Well, go on then," Fred encouraged.
"Yeah, we can find out what really happened with dad," George urged.
"Not to mention the weapon he got hurt guarding," Fred added, trying to open the book to the ending, only to discover it was stuck.
"Wait! I don't think most of this has happened yet. It's dangerous to meddle with time – you know that, Harry," Hermione insisted, fear making her eyes abnormally wide. All of her warnings when they'd saved Buckbeak and Sirius played out in his mind, a steady stream that faintly resembled Professor McGonagall.
Then there was Sirius's voice, coaxing him to go on, challenging that James wouldn't have been afraid to find out the truth. The truth everyone, most especially Dumbledore, was keeping from him.
He could learn how he saw Mr. Weasley's attack. He could discover if he honestly was too dangerous for the others to be around. Was it worth the risk? What if it turned out he was a monster? Would his friends turn on him?
He had to know.
He deserved to know. It was his life, and the lives of his friends.
"How do we know if this is even real? You can't always trust a book. We have no idea where these came from," Ginny said darkly.
Both of the twins grimaced at that, and George reached over to lay a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder.
Guilt stabbed Harry again, and he winced at the frosty look Ginny sent him for forgetting she'd once been possessed by Voldemort. He still couldn't believe she hadn't been the first person he thought of to talk to after they got to Grimmauld Place. Then again, they'd barely exchanged five words before this year, so maybe it wasn't that strange.
Still, given his own experiences, he knew the lasting impact something like that had, and he knew how much he resented it when others didn't recognise the gravity.
How many times that year had he lost his temper with classmates over such disregard?
"So read the note. There was one on top, yeah?" Ron argued, interrupting Harry's musings and bringing the books back into focus. Harry watched as Ron picked up one of the other books from Hermione's lap and tried to open it without luck while they waited for Hermione to unroll the scroll.
"Harry?" Hermione paused, frowning at him.
"Might as well. We've got nothing else to do this evening," he sighed, attempting to sound casual rather than overly eager as he waved her on.
Hello,
I grew up knowing my entire family was part of the war without ever learning any of the details. At least not until I started Hogwarts. Then, I learned the full extent of the suffering people endured once Voldemort regained his body when I read these books that my godbrother and older brother, in turn, read after starting Hogwarts.
So many people that I care about are still hurt by the events that took place in the past. These books tell the tale of the next three years under his reign. Once I learned everything, I couldn't sit back and do nothing, even if it means the present as I know it changes. Even if it means I don't exist.
It's up to you what you do with what you learn. Maybe you leave it as is since you know we'll win, even if the cost is high. At least this way I can feel like I helped the people I love.
Love,
ASP
"ASP?" Ron asked, appearing stumped.
"Think we've got to read if we want to know who cares enough to try and save us," Fred replied, shrugging carelessly.
"Assuming it isn't a trick," Ginny said tightly, reminding them that they should be careful of what they learn, just in case.
"Harry, are you sure about this?" Hermione insisted, uncertainty and worry warring in her voice.
"No, but I want answers, and Dumbledore won't even look at me, so how else are we going to figure anything out?"
"All right. Here, Fred, it's probably spelled so you can't look ahead. You have to start at the beginning," Hermione tried, but Fred refused to relinquish his hold on the book, yanking it back and grinning at Hermione's aggrieved huff.
Fred tried opening the cover, and this time was able to without issue. He'd barely glanced at the page before groaning, "Well that's annoying. We've already lived through probably half the book."
"Guess we can see how accurate it is then," George challenged.
"Wonderful. Best get on with it," Harry said grumpily, not able to think of anything happening recently that was worth reliving, even briefly.