Year Five/Harry and Percy Start to Become Brothers
During his time working at the Ministry under Crouch, Percy can find out a clue about a discrepancy of his birth, which will lead Percy to start investigating after the TriWizard Tournaent and eventually find out that he was adopted; his adoption will be the actual reason for him falling out with his family, although they won’t know it until later. Meanwhile, Harry finds out that his mother had some secret, maybe that she went away one summer for reasons unknown, and starts to investigate this on his end to kind of take his mind off of things, since he’s pretty isolated at this time. They end up meeting at some point in their investigations. They don’t share what they are looking into, but eventually, Harry and Percy will find that their investigations and mysteries are intersecting. They may also even have clues that match up or help with each other's mysteries.
Things at the Dursley’s are terse, and they come to a head after the dementor incident (changed to happen earlier in the Summer). Percy comes by when Vernon starts choking Harry, and he intervenes. Percy could get the police involved, and Harry could stay with Percy in his apartment for the rest of the Summer (inspired by You Needed Me by PepperJackCandy). Percy can live in a flat in the Muggle world, like in London or a different city. While staying with each other, they start to become friends. Percy starts to share his sense of humor, going under the hypothesis that Percy needs to be more comfortable and not busy with work to make jokes. Harry will do some of the housework and cooking, with more gratitude from Percy than all of the Dursleys combined. Percy tells Harry about some of the things happening, like what the Ministry is doing toward Voldemort. Harry finishes his homework, and maybe Prcy gets him into Arithmancy. Because of this, he may try to switch from Divination into Arithmancy instead. Percy can also help Harry with his nightmares and trauma. I imagine that there could be a bit of a learning curve and some awkwardness at times, but ultimately, they are good roommates. Eventually, they open up a bit more about their investigations, and start to realize that some details and even some clues intersect in a way that’s more than coincidence. They compare what they find and look into a couple of leads together. Eventually, they consider that Lily may have been Percy’s mother. They get a DNA test to confirm this through non-magical means.
Percy is upset that this was kept from him his entire life. This comes to a head at work, when Percy and Arthur Weasley end up having an argument at work, where Percy stops talking to his family. Unfortunately, this argument is filled with miscommunication. He writes a letter to his parents before the argument, getting into the issue and wanting to discuss things; however, the note is found by one of the younger siblings, who think that Percy’s being a prat when reading the note and not showing it to their parents. They assume that his letter is an insult to the family and him putting his ambitions above them, not realizing that he’s really adopted. They may even replace it with a different letter, thinking that they are sparing their parents feelings. Since Arthur and Molly never got the letter, Arthur is unprepared for the conversation, and Percy thinks that they are just ignoring the issue and his feelings. Percy was arguing about being adopted and his parents, nor Bill or Charlie, not telling him, even now that he’s an adult. Arthur, however, thought that the argument was about Voldemort coming back and believing the Ministry over Harry and Dumbledore. Ron decides not to tell Harry because he thinks that he has enough problems to deal with his family drama, convincing Hermione not to tell him either. Because of this, Harry won’t know what they’re thinking until later.
On Harry’s end, he’s feeling overwhelmed by the news, but he’s ecstatic to finally have a family. Harry and Percy can have a bonding moment about being happy to be brothers. Harry can also share that he’s always dreamed that someone would come and save him from the Dursleys’, and Percy made that happen. Percy invites Harry to stay with him permanently. On one of Percy’s days off, they’ll hang out in Muggle London, buying new clothes, visiting a couple of places, and getting a cell phone for Percy (Harry already has one).
On the side of the Dursley’s, Vernon faces charges and jail time for abusing Harry, which comes out because of Percy reporting him and the authorities investigating the house; they find evidence of things like how Harry used to live in the closet, and that he doesn’t go to the reform school like they told people. Dudley may also tell the authorities the truth when questioned, feeling guilty since Harry saved his life despite the way he always treated him. Mrs. Figgs could miss Vernon getting arrested for some reason, like her being sick or needing to leave for some emergency. Because of this, The Order of the Phoenix don’t know what’s been going on with Harry at home. The trial will be a bit different and shorter because Harry brings up that it was the first time he used underaged magic, which they verify.
Harry meets everyone on the train, being a bit distant from his friends because they haven’t contacted him all Summer. Ron and Hermione are also both starting to work through their crushes on each other, adding a new dynamic to the friendship. He ends up sitting in Luna’s compartment after asking if it was okay. He’s quietly staring out the window while she reads her magazine. He does eventually say something to her, apologizing for being rude. She responds, and their conversation is comfortable and nice. They introduce themselves, and she mentions that she believes him about Voldemort’s return. Neville and Ginny join them in the compartment. At Hogwarts, Harry and Luna continue to bond over Thestrals.
Harry is still angry, but he’s less explosive like in the books since he wasn’t as isolated in the summer, as well as for plot purposes. Harry’s anger will be more targeted and at times more productive. Basically, Harry is telling the truth, but he also doesn’t care if people believe him or not. Some of his actions could get into BAMF Harry territory and slightly scare some of the other students.
With Seamus, for example, when he confronts him about what happened and whether he was lying, Harry’s response is still mad, but more muted and telling him to think what he wants. After about a month or so, Seamus decides to move out, with his mother’s backing. He stays in a hotel in Hogsmeade in the meantime while they try to work out where he will stay at Hogwarts.
Harry is allowed to drop Divination for Arithmancy, but he’ll need to take a class below his year. Harry accepts this option. He ends up in a class with Luna, who is also his class partner. This can be how they get to know each other.
After the rift with his family, Percy is offered a higher position working in the Ministry. Due to a desire to help and protect Harry, his goals for his career, and his anger at his family, Percy accepts. Percy relays information to Harry over the phone. They regularly communicate and keep each other updated.
When Umbridge gives Harry detention and uses the blood quill, he uses that to get rid of Umbridge, by leaking the story to the media, maybe the Quibbler can be one and the international newspapers as well, with help from Luna and Percy. The backlash gets her removed immediately. Harry could also leak information about Umbridge to the papers, finding out more about her past, like her being a half-blood and a hypocrite. The defense position is offered to a different teacher that Dumbledore gets to hire this time. There could still be a study group, but not in the same illegal underground way. This could also be a way for Harry to get to know others outside of his regular interactions, leading to him gaining more support. Harry can also get closer to Neville as a friend and build a good foundation with Luna.
Once Harry finds out that Luna is bullied, he gets her to stay in the dorm where Seamus used to sleep. The others accept it, partly from shock and partly because they’re a little scared of Harry.
During the beginning of the year, Harry also looks into who Percy’s father might be after finding out that it was likely another Hogwarts student. He starts looking into his mother’s past in his free time, finding out who she was, what she did, and who she hung out with. There’s a moment where he wonders if Snape may be Percy’s father. Harry will go to Sirius’s house at Christmas break. Around Christmas, Harry can get suspicious of Remus, who gets weird when he brings up Lily and who she was close to. Harry also finds out about the Weasleys thinking that Percy doesn’t believe that Voldemort came back, and Harry helps to clear that up. He could tell them that he’s talked to Percy before, and that he believed him about Voldemort. He won’t tell them about Percy right away because of the secrets they’ve kept from him.
They can also find out that Harry is no longer with the Dursleys’ after Christmas break and when he’s going back to Hogwarts. They try to figure out where he is staying and end up getting no information (inspired by Realizations on Fanfiction.net).
Harry still sees Arthur getting attacked by the snake, but Harry calls Percy, who finds Arthur and gets him to the healers. Percy stays with his father, who almost died. Percy, Arthur, and Molly begin to reconcile and finally talk about Percy’s adoption, which they didn’t know that Percy knew about. After this event, the younger Weasley’s finally find out that Percy was adopted. Their reactions can vary.
The connection between Voldemort and Harry could maybe be interrupted somewhat by a charm that Percy gives to Harry, which was given to him to help with the nightmares, but also helps to hide some of his thoughts, which could keep Voldemort from finding out that Percy is Harry’s brother.
There can be a point where Harry, Ron, and Hermione reaffirm their friendship. Optionally, they can hold an intervention due to how scary Harry could be at times. Once they acknowledge their mistakes and Harry’s pain, Harry shares some of what he’s been going through. He tells them that he discovered that he has a brother, who he was staying with in the summer. They do not find out who it is yet, partly for privacy reasons and partly because of some new trust issues.
Optionally, Sirius can still live if Harry calls Percy, who looks into it and finds out that Sirius is not there. Option 1, Harry can still go to the Ministry if he finds out that Death Eaters are holding some hostages in the building. Option 2, it could have just been between the Order and the Death Eaters, with a Voldemort sighting. At Hogwarts, Harry could be battling Umbridge, who could have broken in, or some other students who have been radicalized for blood purity. Option 3, Percy can get kidnapped with Harry and co. going to save him, and the Order can still show up. This scenario can also have the order showing up, and Percy can fight too, seriously injuring Greyback. Again, Sirius can either live or die depending on what works better, especially considering Remus’s part in the story and exploring their friendship.
Somewhat humorously, Seamus and Harry can make amends, with Harry accepting his apology, but he’s still letting Luna have his space in the room, which is ironically not against the rules. They figure out something with housing, maybe with Luna getting her own room with protections so her stuff isn’t stolen.
Harry and Percy may keep the fact that they’re brothers a secret for safety reasons.