A/N - I have struggled with myself over posting this or not, but the truth of the matter is, while I am writing it as self-indulgence, I crave feedback and encouragement from others.

Full disclosure, I only have the first four chapters of this written, and they don't touch the book until chapter five. I'm in the middle of writing that, but I could use ideas and constructive criticism.

Portions of my fic are inspired by Under a Watchful Eye by mysecretthoughts. It is hands down my favorite version of a "characters reading the books" fic, and I'm heartbroken that they have never finished it.

Chapter 1

Harry Potter had just outflown a dragon. His heart was still racing and he felt as though he couldn't catch his breath.

Madam Pomfrey had cast a quick diagnostic spell on him, then started his shoulder healing. Once she was satisfied that he wasn't dying, she bustled away to check on Cedric's burns.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the twinge as his shoulder started knitting together. In just a moment, he would have to go back out there and face the crowd again.

His stomach clenched as he thought about it. About the people who would say they had never doubted him, would say they had always been on his side. The ones who would cheer and clap because he was Harry Potter, and he could fly, not because they cared about him or were proud of him. For that, he had Hermione.

He smiled as he thought about his best friend. The only one who had stood by him, even when he hadn't been smart enough to return the favor.

Resolving to lock his eyes on Hermione and completely ignore everyone else, Harry swung his legs off the bed, standing in place for a moment to further brace himself.

With one last mental pep talk and a deep breath, Harry opened his eyes…and promptly fell backwards.

The bed he had just stood up from was gone, and he was pretty sure he had gained a painful bruise on his tailbone as his arse met the ground.

Groaning, he looked around from his spot on the floor. The medical tent where he had been healing was gone, replaced by a small, cozy room. There was a fire crackling merrily in the hearth. A squishy looking armchair sat before the fire, in a shade of purple that wouldn't have been unwelcome on Dumbledore's robes. A small table sat next to it holding a goblet and what looked to be a piece of paper.

Harry stood slowly, his wand out and held defensively. His senses, finely honed from years with the Dursleys, were telling him he was alone in the room, but he didn't understand where he was or why, and until he did he refused to drop his guard.

He slowly backed up until his back was against the wall, still holding his wand out, ready to cast a spell at a moment's notice.

He worked his way slowly around the room, running his free hand along the wall behind him, hoping to find a crack in what appeared to be solid stone.

The closer he moved towards the small table, the more he started to believe it was an envelope, rather than a piece of paper, as he had originally thought.

Harry continued slowly around the wall, never moving his free hand away in fear that he would miss an exit.

Once he had completed a full circuit with no attacks but also no escape routes, he slowly stepped towards the envelope on the table. His attention was caught by his name written in a familiar script that he couldn't quite place.

He crept forward, and gathering every tiny bit of Gryffindor courage he could find, he snatched up the envelope. He hesitated when he saw it was his name written on the front, still trying to place the handwriting.

He ripped it open, pulling out several sheets of parchment. As he started to read, he dropped heavily into the chair, suddenly grateful that it had been included in the room.

He glanced quickly at the signature, now completely sure of why he recognized the handwriting. Taking a deep breath, he consciously relaxed his muscles into the chair and started at the beginning.

Harry,

We're sorry for scaring you, we truly are, but this was the only way. We needed to tell you some things, I needed to tell you some things, and we thought this was the best way. There will be things nobody else knows, then there will be a decision for you to make. Think hard, Harry. This room exists in a bubble of time, and when you return to your own world, not even the blink of an eye will have passed.

First, I'm sure you're wondering how you can know this is real, not some elaborate joke. In answer to that, all I can say is…you know Gred and Forge would never, ever do anything to purposely hurt you, no matter how much they enjoy teasing and joking around. That takes care of you thinking it's an elaborate prank, but as for proving that it's all real. We can't be absolutely sure when this letter will appear for you, but we're aiming for around the time of the first task. If we get you before the task, just know, it's dragons. If you have already finished the first task, congratulations on surviving! Your score will tie with Viktor Krum for first place, because of course none of the judges are as unbiased as they claim, but a large portion of Hogwarts thinks you did way better than Viktor did.

If I remember correctly, I think it's right around this time that I figured out I am bisexual. Sure, Cho is pretty, and she seems nice enough, but hanging around with Cedric Diggory and Viktor showed me that a fit male can catch my attention just as fast. Once I figured that out, the World Cup and how my stomach felt around Bill and Charlie Weasley suddenly made a lot more sense.

I know that I didn't share any of this with Hermione until almost the third task, which is why I'm using it to prove to you that I am who I say I am. Hermione will be awesome when she finds out, by the way. I know you're scared to tell her, but you have found a pretty awesome family at Hogwarts, and even though they aren't perfect, they are far from the Dursleys. Mrs. Weasley will have a bit of trouble accepting it, but she never rejects you. I promise you that. In my time, you date Ginny for a while, and I think Mrs. Weasley has trouble with the break up, which is why she has trouble accepting the bisexuality. I have a partner now, and I love him dearly, and we still go to the Weasleys' for Sunday lunch at least twice a month.

With that out of the way, I'm going to assume that if you're still reading, you have chosen to believe me. I'm sure by now you have figured out that I'm writing from the future. I'm currently 26 years old. I killed Voldemort in May of 1998, and we all thought that life would be sunshine and roses from then on.

We were so wrong.

Even without Voldemort around, the Muggleborn Registration is here to stay. It isn't quite what it will be next year with Umbitch in charge of it, but it's still pretty bad. You remember what Remus has told you about the legislation that makes it so hard for werewolves to get jobs? It's worse now for Muggleborns. Hermione and…well, Hermione fell in love and got married to a Pureblood, so things could have been worse for her, but we can't say the same for Justin Finch-Fletchley, Dean Thomas and so many others. Most of them have abandoned magic and gone back to live in the Muggle world. They were forced to give up their wands when they made that decision.

Even if we wanted to live with the Registration, the cost of defeating Voldemort was high. Too high. We lost so many. At the end of your fourth year, Cedric will die and Voldemort will be resurrected. At the end of fifth year, you will lose Sirius, and you will never really recover from that. I have never recovered from that. The nightmares still haunt me.

Before Voldemort is finally defeated in 1998, we will lose Remus Lupin…Nymphadora Tonks…Dumbledore…Mad-Eye Moody…Hedwig…

Harry - Fred will die.

So many losses, and you will feel each one keenly, take the responsibility on your own shoulders, even for those that are nowhere near you, that you have no hope of stopping. It will destroy you.

Things are bad here, Harry, and we know we're asking a lot of you, but please hear us out.

We found a squib, and myself, Hermione, George, Draco, Theo, and others…we all sat down with her and told her our story, then shared a lot of memories. Did you know squibs have enough latent magic to be able to use a Pensieve?

Anyway, once we had shared everything, right up to and including the battle, the squib, J.K. Rowling, chose how to write it. She decided that one book per school year was the best bet, and that your story…my story…our story, was the most compelling to share. I can't say that I agree, but the others insisted that I let it move forward. She published seven books in the Muggle world, and I hate to admit it, but they're wildly popular. Fantasy genre, of course, and the Purebloods in charge wouldn't be caught dead touching a Muggle book, so we haven't gotten in trouble for the Statute of Secrecy.

You'll have a choice to make at the end of this letter, but no matter what Hermione and Theo say, I refuse to push you towards it without giving you the relevant details. If you choose to move forward…Harry, this won't be easy on you. These books hold back very little detail. You won't be reading them alone. If you choose to commit to this, and it is a commitment, others will join you where you are and the books will be read aloud, together, one chapter at a time. You won't be able to read ahead, and there will be no censoring what is in them. They'll hear everything, and you need to make sure you're prepared for that.

Think about it, Harry. Take all the time you need. Like I said, you're in a time bubble, and no matter how long you stay there, nobody will know you're missing. The first three books will reveal a lot of things you have chosen to keep hidden, both about your life with the Dursleys and things that have happened at school. Don't rush into a decision. Weigh your options. You don't have to do this.

One last thing you should know - if you do decide to move forward, there is no backing out. You - and the others - will stay there until all seven books have been read. We are fairly sure that you will be able to stay even after you have finished, because plans will need to be made, but even if you can't stay, we promise that you can trust every single person that enters the room. Remember, we know things that you don't, though you will eventually hear them as the books are read. You will not be in any physical danger from anyone. Every single person we include can be trusted with your life, no matter their previous actions or what you may read in the books.

Once you have made your decision, you just touch your wand to the letter. If you decide you can't do this, that's okay. Nobody here will be mad at you. Just say "Merlin's saggy ball sack, are you insane?!" and you will find yourself immediately back in whatever spot we pulled you from, without losing even a heartbeat of time.

If you want to do this, if you want to move forward and try to change the future, say "How the bloody hell do I get myself into this shit?" and more people will arrive, and the readings can begin.

We all have faith in you, Harry. Even Draco.

Sincerely,

Hadrian "Harry" James Potter

Lord of the House of Potter

Lord of the House of Black

2nd May 2007

Harry sat back in the chair with a huff of laughter at his chosen phrases, then fell deep into thought. He hadn't even realized that Harry wasn't his full name, though it did make him think back over the previous months, when Luna had suddenly taken to calling him Hadrian when they were studying with Neville.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he sat up, took a deep breath, and touched his wand to the letter…