덤블도어 교수는 4편의 끝에서 호그와트의 모든 사람들을 모아 놓고 이렇게 경고한 바 있다. "우리는 모두 어둠과 어려운 시기에 직면하고 있습니다." 5편은 덤블도어가 경고한 바로 그 세계로 곧장 뛰어든다. 5편의 가장 두드러진 특징은 어린이가 아닌 15세에 접어든 해리포터를 만난다는 것이다. 자기 존재에 대한 고민과 자각에 따른 분노, 볼드모트 등 반대 세력들과의 갈등, 그리고 무엇보다 해리의 첫번째 로맨스가 이야기의 재미를 더한다.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling, the fifth in the bestselling series has been scheduled for release on Saturday, June 21, 2003. This brilliant and utterly compelling new adventure begins with the words:
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.....The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.

Later in the novel, J. K. Rowling writes:

Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. "It is time," he said, "for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is over 255,000 words compared to over 191,000 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The new book is 38 chapters long, one more than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

--- From the Publisher