The Harry Potter Books

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own any of it. I just take them out to play with. I promise I'll return them when I'm done.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damage Control - Chapter II

The Harry Potter Books

Hermione stared at Alana open mouthed.

"How... How do you know of them?" she stuttered.

"Ah, been out of the Muggle world for such a long time that you don't even follow the bestseller book lists anymore?" Alana mocked her, basking in the knowledge that she had truly shocked Hermione.

"What do you mean bestseller book lists? What does that have to do with what you know about my friends and a teacher?" Hermione demanded to know.

Alana carefully looked around to make sure her mother was otherwise occupied and then quietly said to Hermione, "Let's go out in the garden and enjoy the afternoon sun. We can talk there."

Hermione gratefully followed her through the back door and they made themselves comfortable on the very recently cut lawn, facing each other. The idea of having Aunt Amelia involved in this whole issue was really not to her liking.

"Right," Hermione started in her bossiest voice, "Tell me what you know."

"Ah, cousin, not so fast," cautioned Alana. "I'll promise you absolute honesty if you are willing to answer all my questions about the Magical World with complete honesty."

Hermione thought for a moment but quickly realized she had little choice other than to indulge her cousin if she wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery. "Okay," she sighed, "you have a deal."

Alana started, "A few years ago, an unknown author published the first of what was to eventually become a series comprised of seven books in total. The first book was titled 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' and even though the author had never published as much as an article, let alone a book, this Harry Potter book went straight to Number 1 on the bestseller lists, and not just here in Britain, but all around the world. It was translated into I don't know how many different languages, and the entire world was hit by Harry Potter fever. And it's not just children; adults love the book just as much." Hermione looked at her intently. As unlikely as Alana's story sounded, she had no reason to doubt it was true. The sheer thought at the possible implications made her shudder.

Alana continued excitedly, "You know I've never been much into books unless they are related in one way or another to Martial Arts, but I got curious enough because everyone - and I mean everyone- talked about Harry Potter. So I read the first book and was totally captivated by the story. I don't think I've ever managed to finish reading a book so fast from cover to cover. I went to bed with a torch because I had to know what was happening next and I kept reading until I finished the entire book. Of course, I was behind compared to the rest of the Harry Potter fans. By the time I had started 'The Philosopher's Stone', another two Harry Potter books had already been published and were bestsellers as well, just like the first book. They're called 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' and 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'." Alana paused and looked at Hermione, who was very still and very pale.

After a few moments, Hermione dreaded the answer but hesitantly asked, "And... what was the first book about?"

Alana smiled at the question. "I think you already know. There was this boy, Harry Potter, who was about to turn 11 years old and he received a letter. Not through the Royal Mail, no, he received a letter that was delivered by an owl. The family Harry lived with wasn't his parents, but his mum's sister. She and her husband used to tell Harry that his parents had died in a car accident, but it was revealed later that his parents had died at the hands of a bad person, a dark wizard." Alana caught a glimpse of the fear that flashed behind her cousin's brown eyes and continued, "Anyway, his aunt and uncle denied Harry the letter, but more owls delivered the same version of the letter. Eventually, Harry's uncle sealed the post box to make sure he wouldn't receive any more letters by owl, but the owls simply used the chimney and windows to deliver the letters. In the end, Harry got to see the letter with the help of a half-giant by the name of Hagrid, who turned up when Harry's Uncle decided to take a holiday to escape all the owl post. It turned out that Harry was a wizard-" Alana was interrupted by Hermione's gasp.

"Oh Merlin, Alana," Hermione whispered angrily, "Who is the author? What is their name? This is about my friend Harry!

Alana looked amused, "I figured that much from your reaction to my first question. The author is a woman who goes by the name of J.K. Rowling. Not much is known about her, really. She rarely agrees to interviews and even when she does, she's fairly evasive and does not answer just any question."

Alana continued, somewhat thoughtfully, "You know, I didn't actually make the connection until about the third book. Yeah...," she sighed, "Sometimes I can be pretty thick. It took me until I read the exclamation about how clever you are, although I can't remember who said it exactly, Remus or Sirius." She looked at Hermione and insisted, "You know, when you were all in the Shrieking Shack. That's when it suddenly hit me. 'Gosh,' I thought, 'How many girls by the name of 'Hermione Granger' are there?'. I mean, come on, 'Hermione' is not exactly a common name. In fact, I've never come across anyone else with that name, it's much rarer even than my name!" Alana giggled at the thought and continued, "Then I put two and two together. I knew you were at some boarding school in Scotland, but whenever my mum came home from visits to your mum, she always used to mutter about how her sister was so not forthcoming with anything about your schooling. She even said once that she was sure Aunt Rachel was hiding something with regard to your schooling. Then I started to wonder if that author wasn't just making up things, but instead was following the adventures of very real people."

Hermione looked at her solemnly. "Do you have those books, Alana? Would you let me read them?"

Alana nodded, "Of course, I have all five of them now. The fourth is called 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and the fifth is 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'." Hermione gasped at the last title, but Alana ignored her, unaware of the significance of the title and continued, "And yes, you can read them all. Let's go to my room, I have them there."

The girls left the garden and as soon as they entered Alana's room, she headed to her bookshelves and took the first book out, handing it to Hermione. Hermione eyed the sleeve curiously and was astounded by the resemblance between the boy on the cover and Harry! Whoever it was surely knew what the Hogwarts Express looked like!

Hermione randomly opened a page and started reading...

'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,' he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. 'As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'

Hermione looked at Alana with wide eyes and whispered, "I... I can't believe this. This is the exact speech that Professor Snape gave to us in our first Potions Class!"

Alana looked at her curiously. "Really? That man must be quite a character! So tell me, did you really resolve his puzzle to help Harry get to the Philosopher's Stone?"

"Yes, I did," Hermione sighed, and offered further explanation, "I enjoy doing that kind of thing and find it quite easy." There was a short silence before Hermione hesitantly spoke again, "I... I'd really like to read all the books, if only to see if everything written is true. Reading Professor Snape's first year speech in a Muggle book is a bit unnerving. And..." her facial expression changed to one full of determination, "I really need to get to the bottom of this."

Then her face suddenly lit up. "Oh! I wonder how Harry and Ron will react to the news. I need to send them an owl as soon as possible."

"Let me guess..." Alana said dryly, "Harry and Ron promised to owl you every day, because you weren't very happy about your parents' hasty decision to go on a holiday."

Hermione looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I've read all five books, Hermione," Alana answered smugly before continuing, "And if the books tell it how it really is, then that is exactly what Harry and Ron would do!"

"You're right," Hermione said thoughtfully. "That also means that the books must be pretty correct in describing us, if you can predict us so well!"

Alana agreed with an unsure nod, "I guess... Hermione, I don't know how all of this must make you feel. I don't know how I would feel if I found out that someone has not only been following me around in great detail for years, and is making a killing by writing it all down for the whole world to read... If you want to take some time and read through the books, feel free."

Hermione looked at her cousin with an odd expression. "You know, I really wasn't looking forward to staying here, because... Well, we never did get on particularly well. But now I'm grateful. Thank you for your kindness."

Alana smiled. "You're welcome. Why don't you start on the books and I'll convince Mum to order us pizza for dinner. We'll eat in you room, kind of 'getting to know each other again' thing. What do you say?"

She looked at her cousin hopefully and now it was Hermione's turn to smile. "That sounds like an excellent idea. I'll start reading right away."

With that, Hermione grabbed all five books and exited Alana's room. She had some reading to do.

------------------------------

A/N

Big thanks to Tatiana for beta reading and correcting. You rock!!!

Reviews greatly appreciated.