The problem with piracy

... is that you cannot be totally sure you are getting the right stuff.

A friend passed the soft copy of Harry Potter book 5 to me some time back, which I have started reading only recently. Towards the end of the book, it occurred to me that I should verify its authenticity by googling for it. I found a number of reviews and analysis on the plot and characters that you can find in book 5, which I did not find in my version. Hmmm.... looks like I have been reading a fan-fiction version of it, and a very well-written one too. Other than the explicit content, I have no reason to think that this is not the real stuff. Filled with adventures, rivalry between houses, heroism, desperation, history of magic, a trip to the ministry of magic, magical incantations, even a dueling club, a non-hardcore fan like me (or a twit like me) cannot tell the difference.

Looks like piracy doesn't pay does it? But who cares, this fan-fic is as good a read as the real thing, as thick and with as many twists. And I don't mind having spent the time reading the wrong book because it is as good. And I got it free. I also have the authentic version, verified against the hard copy in San bookstore. I will be reading that soon.

And it introduced me to the fantastic world of HP fan fic, which I doubtless will not have the time to explore. Just check out the romance category, which is filled with endless permutations of who will end up with who. Is it Harry and Hermione, or Ron and Hermione, or Harry and Ginny, or....