Harry Potter

Harry James Potter
Born	31 July 1980
Also called	The Boy Who Lived
Character information
Species	Human (Wizardkind)
Blood status	Half-blood
Family	James Potter (father) Lily Potter (mother) Petunia Dursley (aunt) (guardian) Vernon Dursley (uncle-in-law) (guardian) Dudley Dursley (cousin) Ginevra Weasley (wife) James Sirius Potter (son) Albus Potter (son) Lily Potter (daughter)
School	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
House	Gryffindor
Wand	11" holly, phoenix feather
Patronus	Stag
Boggart	Dementor
Occupation	Auror Head of Auror Department Defence Against the Dark Arts Lecturer
Loyalty	Dumbledore's Army Order of the Phoenix
Book information
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Last appearance	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

"I like a quiet life, you know me."

— Harry Potter

Harry James Potter is a fictional character in the eponymous Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling.

Harry discovers he is a wizard at the age of eleven. He starts attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he befriends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. He learns that he had been orphaned by a Dark wizard, Voldemort who he survived. Discovering he is famous, Harry adapts to the wizarding world until he eventually defeats Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Biography

Early life

Source: Wizarding World

Harry was born to James and Lily Potter (née Evans) on 31 July 1980. He had a tiny Christening attended only by James, Lily and the Godfather, Sirius Black.

When he was a baby, Sybill Trelawney created a prophecy that the Dark wizard, Voldemort could be defeated at the hands of a boy born at the end of July. Voldemort heard pieces of it via Severus Snape, learning that the boy would be considered his equal. He targeted the Potters at the height of the First Wizarding War so that he could kill Harry, who he considered his equal due to their shared half-blood statuses. Albus Dumbledore helped the Potters live in hiding at Godric's Hollow under the protection of the Fidelius Charm. They chose Peter Pettigrew to be their Secret Keeper.

Peter was a spy for the Death Eaters and he betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. On 31 October 1981, Voldemort found the Potter cottage and killed James and Lily. Lily was given the choice to step aside but she declined. She sacrificed her life to protect her son, which caused an ancient force to shield Harry when he was hit by the Killing Curse. The curse bounced off Harry and struck Voldemort. A piece of Voldemort's fragile broke off in the process and latched onto Harry, unknowingly causing him to be turned into a seventh Horcrux. Voldemort survived in a weakened, bodiless form due to those Horcruxes he had created. He fled into hiding to the forests of Albania. Harry was unharmed but received a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his head where the Killing Curse had struck.

Philosopher's Stone

Harry in the Cupboard under the Stairs

In the first chapter, baby Harry is taken to Privet Drive by Rubeus Hagrid to live with aunt Petunia. Albus Dumbledore wants him to be brought up outside of the wizarding world until he is old enough to understand what happened and who he is. Petunia and her husband, Vernon Dursley begrudgingly bring Harry up. They and their son, Dudley Dursley bully him, forcing him to live in a Cupboard under the Stairs. They decide not to tell Harry that he is a wizard. He attends St. Grogory's Primary School but he has no friends because he is bullied by Dudley's gang.

He notices when he is growing up that he can cause strange things to happen which upsets the Dursleys. On Dudley's eleventh birthday, he is dreaming about a flying motorbike when he is woken up. They spend the day at the zoo, where he starts speaking to a snake which understands him when he speaks. Dudley knocks him out the way, and Harry accidentally causes the glass pane to fade away. The snake escapes, and he is locked in the cupboard by Vernon and Petunia.

Hagrid speaking to Harry

Harry starts getting letters which Vernon and Petunia will not let him have. The sender keeps trying to get letters to Harry, so Vernon taked the family to the Hut-on-the-Rock. Hagrid knocks the door down on Harry's birthday, and tells him the truth about the wizarding world and that he is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They spend the day in Diagon Alley buying school supplies and Hedwig gifts him wity Hedwig.

Harry befriends Ronald Weasley on the Hogwarts Express. He is sorted into Gryffindor house by the Sorting Hat. He and Ron save Hermione Granger at Hallowe'en when a troll is let loose in the school, signifying the start of their friendship. He grows to believe that Professor Snape hates him, and he starts a rivalry with Draco whose friendship offer he rejects. In a Flying lesson, Harry proves to be very adept on a broomstick when he saves a Remembrall that Draco purposely throws. McGonagall witnesses it and gives him the role of Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the youngest in over a century.

Draco challenges Harry to a wizard's duel at midnight but instead sends Filch to intercept him for being out of bed at night. He, Ron, Hermione and Neville run away and disvover Fluffy guarding a trapdoor in a third-floor corridor. Harry thinks Fluffy is guarding an object he saw Hagrid collect at Gringotts during the summer. Harry starts to believe Snape is trying to steal the object. When he plays Quidditch against Slytherin, the Nimbus 2000 he has been gifted began bucking and trying to knock him off. Hermione intervenes by incorrectly holding Snape responsible for trying to kill him and unknowingly cuts off the true perpetrator, Professor Quirrell. Harry eventually catches the Snitch and wins the match for Gryffindor.

Harry finding the Mirror of Erised

Hagrid accidentally tells them Fluffy is guarding a secret known only to Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel. Harry and Ron stay behind for Christmas to research Flamel. On Christmas day, he receives the Cloak of Invisibility. Harry uses the cloak to sneak out at night and finds the Mirror of Erised which shows him his late family. He and Ron work out that the mirror only shows them what their heart truly wants. Harry keeps sitting in front of it every night, so Dumbledore relocates the mirror and tells him "it does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live".

Harry finds out that Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's Stone when he remembers reading about Flamel on a Chocolate Frog Card. He overhears Snape talking about the Philosopher's Stone to Professor Quirrell, and it sounds like Snape is the one trying to steal it. Hagrid then tells them a secret; he has a dragon egg that is hatching any day now. He calls the dragon Norbert, which grows very dangerously. Harry persuaded Hagrid to give Norbert to Charlie Weasley before he is caught with her and gets into trouble.

Draco finds out about their plans and he tells Professor McGonagall. The night that he and Hermione hide under the Invisibility Cloak and gives Norbert to Charlie, Filch discovers them. They have detention in the Forbidden Forest where they help Hagrid search for a missing unicorn. Harry and Draco find the unicorn already dead and having it's blood drunk by a cloaked figure. Harry has to be saved by Firenze. When Harry works out that the figure wants the Philosopher's Stone, Firenze implies that the figure might be Voldemort.

Harry works out that the person who gave Hagrid the egg learned during the exchange that Fluffy will sleep if they play a song. He decides to stop the thief stealing the Philosopher's Stone. They sneak out at night after subduing Neville who was trying to stop them. Fluffy is sleeping due to an enchanted harp when they arrive, so he, Ron and Hermione jump through the trapdoor into the first of the underground chambers. They face a Devil's Snare, he catches a winged key, and they win at wizard's chess on a giant chessboard. Ron sacrifices himself on the Knight to ensure it, and is knocked out and dragged to the side.

Harry and Hermione find a troll in the next chamber that has been knocked out, and then face a potion challenge. Hermione solves the riddle but the potion only has enough for one person to go through the next door. Harry goes ahead but he is confronted by the true thief in front of the Mirror of Erised, which he is shocked to learn is Professor Quirrell. Quirrell admits that he is the one who tried to kill him and that Snape had tried to save him. Harry notifes that mirror contains the stone, and his reflection puts it into his pocket.

Harry celebrating the House Cup win

Harry then hears a voice telling Quirrell that Harry is the key to the stone. He lies that he doesn't have it, and the voice says that is Harry was lying. The voice is revealed to be Voldemort, whose face is on the back of Quirrell's head. Quirrell tries to kill him by strangling him, but touching Harry is very painful for him. Voldemort abandons Quirrell to die and Harry is knocked out. Dumbledore arrives in time to save him, and he wakes up three days later in the Hospital Wing. At the End-of-Year Feast, he is awarded fifty House points for his efforts with Ron and Hermione, and Neville is given ten points, winning Gryffindor the House Cup.

Chamber of Secrets

Harry during summer 1992

During the school holidays, Vernon tells Harry that he will kick him out of the house if he uses magic. He locks his wand, robes, spellbooks, cauldron and broomstick in the Cupboard under the Stairs. Harry begs him to let Hedwig out of her cage but Vernon padlocks her inside. Harry doesn't receive letters from his friends for over a month and receives nothing for his twelfth birthday. One day, Harry is in the garden when he notices a pair of green eyes watching him. After being interrupted by Dudley, the eyes disappear.

During a business dinner at the house, Harry has hide in his bedroom and pretend that he doesn't exist. After eating his own dinner, he goes upstairs where he discovers Dobby on his bed. The house-elf tells him it is an honour to meet him. He asks Dobby to take a seat which makes him start wailing because he doesn't often receive such courtesy. He asks Dobby to keep it down in case the Dursleys hear him. Dobby agrees with Harry that he didn't know any decent wizards if politeness shocks him so much. Dobby begins banging his head with a lamp after realising he has spoken ill of the family he serves. He does not want Harry to go back to Hogwarts, warning him there is a plot that year that will put him in great danger.

Clarifying it is not Voldemort but another Dark wizard, Dobby begins hitting himself on the head. Vernon hears and runs upstairs to shout at Harry while Dobby hides in the wardrobe. Harry tells Dobby that he has to go back to school for his friends. Dobby points out that they haven't even sent Harry letters but he is curious how Dobby knows that. Dobby admits to intercepting Harry's correspondence. Upon hearing Harry is still going back to Hogwarts, he runs down the stairs, levitates a pudding and drops it on the dinner table.

Vernon is very angry and tells the guests that Harry is crazy. A barn owl then swoops into the house to deliver Harry a letter, causing the dinner guests to run away in fear. The Ministry of Magic think it is Harry that used magic, and because he is under-age, they warn him he could be expelled if he carries on. Harry is frustrated because the Dursleys now know that he can't use magic at home. He is locked in his bedroom with bars inserted onto the windows. He is trapped for days until he is woken up one night to find Fred, George and Ron at the window in a flying car. They help Harry get everything he needs into the car but Hedwig screeches when they nearly leave her behind.

Vernon wakes up and catches Harry escaping. Harry puts Hedwig in the car and they drive away to The Burrow. He tells them about Dobby and they suggest his owner could be Lucius Malfoy. Harry is introduced to Arthur and Molly Weasley, helps to de-gnome the garden and stays in Ron's room for the summer. He feels like the Burrow is the best house he has ever known. He lets Fred, Ron and George take turns flying his Nimbus 2000 during mini Quidditch tournaments.

One day, Harry and the Weasleys go shopping to Diagon Alley. He uses the Floo Network for the first time but ends up in Borgin and Burkes by accident. He hears Lucius selling Dark artefacts in the shop out worry that Arthur will raid his house. He is found by Hagrid and taken to safety. In Flourish and Blotts, Gilderoy Lockhart is having a book signing. He uses Harry for publicity and forces him to take photographs together for the Daily Prophet. He is given the complete collection of Lockhart's books which he gives away to Ginny. Harry watches a fight between Lucius and Arthur in the bookshop. Before going back to school, Harry teaches Arthur how to use a telephone.

In September, Harry and Ron are blocked by Dobby when they attempt to go through the wall to get the Hogwarts Express. When the train leaves without them, they take the flying car. The Invisibility Booster malfunctions upon take-off which is witnessed by thirteen Muggles. This is a violation of the International Statute of Secrecy and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.

Harry and Ron drive the car on a long, boring journey to Hogwarts. Upon their arrival, the car engine fails and they crash into the Whomping Willow. The car springs back to life during the ensuing beating but when they escape, they are thrown out of the car which drives into the Forbidden Forest. They are taken to Professor Snape's office where they are reprimanded for their behaviour. Snape wants to expel them but Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall give them detention instead.

Harry feels guilty when Ron receives a Howler informing him how Arthur is facing an investigation at work. Later that day, he meets Colin Creevey who takes a shine to him and he has his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson taught by Professor Lockhart. Lockhart is very incompetent and leaves Harry, Ron and Hermione to solve the complications caused by the Cornish pixies he has let loose.

During the first Quidditch training session of the year, the Slytherin team takes over the pitch to train their new Seeker, Draco on their new broomsticks, the Nimbus 2001. They bragg about it until Hermione calls it a bribe from Lucius, and in response, Draco calls her a Mudblood. Ron is hit with backfiring Slug-vomiting Charm that he intended for Draco, so Harry and Hermione take him to Hagrid for help. Later that evening, Harry serves detention by helping Professor Lockhart answer fan-mail. Lockhart is arrogantly giving him advice about fame when he hears a strange voice whispering about killing. However, Lockhart is unable to hear it.

Harry, Ron and Hermione finding a warning

One day, Harry agrees to attend a Deathday Party after Nearly Headless Nick prevents Filch from giving him a detention. However, the party is dreary and they leave early. En route to the Great Hall, Harry hears the strange voice again and follows it even though Ron and Hermione are unable to hear it. It leads them to Mrs Norris who has been Petrified and is hanging near a warning on a wall that the "Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware". The whole school catches Harry standing by the wall and believe he is responsible. Dumbledore tries to correct everyone. Upon learning about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, he is suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin. Harry, Ron and Hermione believe it is probably Draco. To prove it, Hermione starts brewing a Polyjuice Potion. Harry and Ron helps her find the ingredients she needs.

During the first Quidditch game of the year against Slytherin, Dobby enchants a Bludger to hunt Harry around the pitch in the hope he will get hurt and have to be sent home. He still catches the Snitch but falls, gets knocked out and breaks his arm. He wakes up to find Professor Lockhart trying to perform spells to heal it. Harry begs the incompetent wizard not to , but he uses a spell that removes the bones in his arm.

Harry has to spend the evening in the Hospital Wing growing his bones back. He is woken up by Dobby who admits to blocking the wall to the train and using a rogue Bludger to hunt Harry. He tells Harry he is a beacon of hope for house-elves and wants to save him from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry tells Dobby he is still going to stay at the school. They are interrupted by Dumbledore and McGonagall after they find a Petrified Colin outside the Hospital Wing. Harry heas Dumbledore tell the others that the Chamber has been opened once before.

Harry helps Ron and Hermione get the final ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. They also attend a Duelling Club held by Professor Lockhart. He is chosen to against Draco in front of everyone, during which they use unfriendly spells to try and hurt each other. Draco uses Serpensortia, which unleashes a snake. The snake targets Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Harry unwittingly speaks Parseltongue to stop it. He is surprised to learn he was speaking another language, and that the descendants of Salazar Slytherin have the ability to speak it. This is thought to be proof Harry is the Heir of Slytherin.

When he is heading back to the common room, he finds the bodies of both Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, who have also been Petrified. Professor McGonagall takes Harry to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore tells him he does not believe he is the Heir of Slytherin. Harry, Ron and Hermione stay at Hogwarts for Christmas after they overheard that Draco was staying. When the Polyjuice Potion is ready, Harry takes the appearance of Gregory Goyle, and Ron takes Vincent Crabbe's. He and Ron question Draco who reveals he is not the Heir of Slytherin, but that the Chamber was first opened fifty years ago and a student was killed. Later, Harry discovers Tom Riddle's Diary and decides to keep it. When he is knocked over by a flying dwarf, a Valentine's Day gift from Ginny, she notices the diary is in Harry's possession and freaks out. Draco also tries to take it and is stunned by Harry. Later that evening, Harry writes in diary and is surprised when it writes back.

The diary tells Harry what happened fifty years earlier. Tom Riddle, a student at that time, shows a recording of Hagrid getting caught responsible for opening the Chamber the first time, with the monster being a pet Acromantula called Aragog. He tells Ron and Hermione but they decide to not say anything to Hagrid unless the petrifications continue. The diary ends up getting stolen and Hermione is Petrified while she is researching in the Hogwarts library.

Harry and Ron decide to speak to Hagrid who says that he is innocent. Cornelius Fudge and Lucius show up, forcing Harry and Ron to hide under the Cloak of Invisibility. Hagrid is taken to Azkaban and they suspend Dumbledore. Hagrid shouts out to Harry and Ron while he is taken away that if they want answers, then they have to "follow the spiders". They track them into the Forbidden Forest with Fang, where the spiders lead them to Aragog. He tells Harry and Ron that he and Hagrid are not responsible and that the monster is a creature that spiders fear and do not speak of. Harry realises the student that died fifty years ago is Myrtle Warren. Aragog then tells the other Acromantulas that they have his permission to eat Harry and Ron for dinner. They are saved by a feral Ford Anglia that takes them back to the school.

They are spending time with Hermione in the Hospital Wing when Harry finds a piece of paper in her hand. She had discovered that the creature is probably a large snake called a Basilisk, which is why Harr with the ability to speak Parseltongue, is the only person who can hear it. They want to tell the teachers but they overhear them talking about how the Basilisk has taken Ginny into the Chamber of Secrets itself, and Hogwarts is going to be closed.

Lockhart receives the task of finding the Chamber after boasting that he can. Harry and Ron decide to join him, but they catch Lockhart trying to run away instead and he admits to being a fraud. They force Lockhart to join them and they take him to the ghost of Moaning Myrtle who points them to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry uses Parseltongue to open it and they enter the tunnels underneath the school. A terrified Lockhart steals Ron's broken wand and tries to use it to erase their memories, but it bounces back and hits Lockhart. The impact causes rocks to fall which cuts Harry and Ron off. Harry continues on his own.

Upon entering the Chamber of Secrets, he discovers Ginny's lifeless body and realises she is dying. He is surprised when Tom Riddle arrives, who reveals he is a recording preserved in the diary but is growing a physical form by siphoning Ginny's lifeforce. Tom takes Harry's wand and then reveals fo him that he is Voldemort, who manipulated Ginny into opening the Chamber through the diary. He then summons the Basilisk to kill Harry. Harry fights back alone until Fawkes, sent by Dumbledore, brings him the Sorting Hat and rips out the Basilisk's eyes. Harry received the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and uses it to slay the Basilisk.

After the fight, Harry learns that a fang of the Basilisk is embedded in his arm, which is slowly poisoning him. Tom starts to celebrate that has finally killed Harry Potter, who figures out the fang can destroy Tom and the diary and starts stabbing it. After the diary is destroyed, Tom disappears and Ginny wakes up. Fawkes heals Harry wound before flying him, Ginny, Ron and Professor Lockhart back to Hogwarts Castle.

They visit McGonagall's office where Professor Dumbledore is consoling to Ginny's parents. He congratulates them for saving the school. Harry wonders if he really does belong in Slytherin. He tells Harry that it is their choices that define them and show who they truly are. Dumbledore reveals that the night Voldemort tried to kill Harry, he inherited his powers including the ability to speak Parseltongue.

When they are interrupted by Lucius who is angry to hear Dumbledore has been reinstated, Harry figures out that Lucius is the person who gave Ginny the diary. Harry also realises that Dobby is Lucius's house-elf which is how he knew about the danger being unleashed that year. Harry sneakily gave Dobby a sock to set him free. A grateful Dobby protects Harry when Lucius tries to attack him, after which Harry makes him promise to stop saving his life. At the End-of-Year Feast, Hagrid is let out of Azkaban and those who were Petrified are restored to life with the Mandrake Restorative Draught. Harry is awarded 150 points for saving the school and Gryffindor wins the House Cup for the second year in a row.

Prisoner of Azkaban

At the start of the summer holidays, the Dursleys lock Harry's magical possessions in the Cupboard under the Stairs. He has to sneak down at night to get what he needs for his homework. One day, Ron phones the house which upsets Vernon. He shouts at Harry for giving their phone number to wizards. He doesn't receive any letters from his friends until his thirteenth birthday. One night, he is doing his History of Magic homework when owls arrive with letters carrying presents. He also receives a permission slip for his guardian to sign so he can start visiting Hogsmeade, a village near Hogwarts.

The next morning, he is disappointed to find out his horrible aunt Marge is staying at Privet Drive for a week. Vernon warns Harry to be civil, to not use magic and to lie to that he goes to St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. Harry agrees to lienif Vernon signs his permission slip for Hogsmeade. Vernon agrees to sign it if Harry makes it through the week without breaking the rules. He sends Hedwig to stay at the Burrow with Ron to keep her out of the way. After she flies away, Petunia shrieks at Harry to get downstairs and open the door for Marge. Harry finds it very difficult to be civil toward Marge because she keeps being rude to him every day. At one point, she claims Harry has turned out badly because of his "bad blood". She asks what school he is attending and Harry lies for Vernon. He says he is beaten with the cane often but she is disturbed by his calm demeanor. She says that St Brutus's needs to beat him harder.

On the final evening, she is especially rude about his parents. Harry tries to keep it together but her glass breaks when she insults his mother. Vernon and Petunia are suspicious about the cause, but they can't prove that Harry's magic caused it. However, Harry later snaps when Marge carries on and calls his parents "deadbeats". Over the course of their ensuing argument, she starts to inflate like a balloon. Harry realises he is unintentionally using magic on her. Harry can't reverse it so Marge flies up into the sky. Afraid of the consequences from the Ministry, he decides to run away.

Harry collects his possessions and storms out of Privet Drive. He wanders around the neighbourhood for a while, worrying he is going to be kicked out of Hogwarts. He then notices the eyes of a spectral dog staring at him in the dark. He tries to get a better look at it, but he is interrupted by the arrival of the Knight Bus. He lies to the conductor Stan Shunpike and tells him his name is "Neville Longbottom". He asks to be dropped off at the Leaky Cauldron. En route, Stan informs him about Sirius Black who has escaped Azkaban. When they arrive at the pub, he is greeted by Cornelius Fudge. Harry finds it strange that Fudge is very concerned about his safety and he is asked not wander. He spends the next few weeks staying there and shopping in Diagon Alley.

He is reunited with the Weasleys and Hermione the day before they are due to return to Hogwarts. They have dinner together after spending the day in Diagon Alley. Toward the end of the evening, he overhears Arthur and Molly talking about Sirius Black during which he learns Black purportedly wans to kill him. Arthur warns Harry not to try and find Black regardless of anything else he might hear about him. Harry questions why he would go looking for someone who wants to kill him, but doesn't promise anything.

Harry, Ron and Hermione has to share a train compartment with a new Professor, Remus Lupin who is sleeping. Harry tells them about Sirius Black which is interrupted by the sound of a Sneakoscope whistling because it has detected someone untrustworthy nearby. They believe it is broken. When they are getting close to Hogwarts, the train suddenly stops and goes dark. During the commotion, Lupin wakes up. When he opens the door, a Dementor sweeps in and attacks Harry, who faints to the noise of a woman screaming in his head. Lupin gives him chocolate when he wakes up. Upon his arrival at Hogwarts, he is checked out by Poppy Pomfrey. At the Start-of-Term Feast, he learns that Hagrid is now teaching Care of Magical Creatures.

In the morning, Harry is ridiculed by Slytherins for fainting on the train. During his first Divination lesson, Sybill Trelawney claims his tea-leaves show the Grim and then predicts his death. Later, Professor McGonagall calls her a fraud and tells him not to worry. During his first lesson with Hagrid, he volunteers to be the first to approach Buckbeak, a Hippogriff. After they interact positively, Hagrid responds by putting him on Buckbeak and getting him to fly around the paddock. A jealous Draco is attacked when he approaches Buckbeak rudely and starts feigning injuries to get Hagrid into trouble, much to Harry's frustration. He visits Hagrid with Ron and Hermione to comfort him but he has already lost his confidence in his teaching ability.

Several days later, he is ordered to help an incapacitated Draco in Potions, who confuses Harry when he suggests he should want revenge on Sirius Black. During his first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Lupin, he learns about Boggarts. After watching friends have a turn, Harry faces it and it turns into a Dementor. Lupin has to intervene and reveals his own Boggart is a full moon.

The first visit to Hogsmeade occurs on Halloween but Harry is unable to go without permission. Instead, he spends the day with Professor Lupin who expresses his surprise that the Boggart did not turn into Voldemort. Harry replies he is more concerned about Dementors which Lupin says is wise because it shows the thing that Harry fears is fear itself. They are interrupted by Snape who brings Lupin a goblet of potion to drink. Harry is worried that Snape has poisoned it and cautions Lupin, but he proceeds to drink it anyway.

That evening, his friends bring him sweets back from Honeydukes. When they return to Gryffindor Tower, they are horrified to discover the portrait of the Fat Lady has been slashed and she has disappeared. They learn from Peeves that Sirius Black is responsible for the attack. The students have to sleep in the Great Hall for the night while the castle is unsuccessfully searched for Black. Quidditch training is taken up a notch by Wood who is desperate to win the Quidditch Cup and puts pressure on Harry, who trains in the pouring rain. Harry is also less than thrilled when Professor Snape substitutes Lupin for a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.

The first Quidditch game of the year for Gryffindor takes place against Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin. Harry struggles with his vision in the rain while he and Cedric Diggory look for the Golden Snitch. Suddenly, he catches sight of the silhouette of a spectral, black dog but is distracted by the Golden Snitch. He pursues the Snitch but is then attacked by Dementors who have invaded the pitch. He faints and falls out the sky hearing the sound of a woman screaming. When he wakes, he is in the Hospital Wing and learns that Cedric caught the Snitch, winning the game for Hufflepuff, and his Nimbus 2000 was destroyed by the Whomping Willow.

Harry is very miserable after the incident at Quidditch and worries about the return of "the Grim". Lupin says the Dementors have more of an effect of him due to his more horrible past, and offers to teach him how to combat Dementors after the Christmas holidays. When the second Hogsmeade visit arrives, Fred and George give Harry the Marauder's Map so that he can sneak around and use a secret passageway to get there. Ron is thrilled when Harry gets there but Hermione is worried that Black can use it to get to Harry.

They go to the Three Broomsticks Inn for Butterbeer where they overhear a conversation between McGonagall, Flitwick, Fudge and Rosmerta. Harry learns that Black was his parents' best friend and his Godfather who supposedly betrayed them to Voldemort after being chosen as their Secret Keeper. He also killed their other friend, Peter Pettigrew when he confronted Black. Harry is devastated to learn the truth and grows very eager for revenge on Black. The trio decide to visit Hagrid only to find he is also wallowing, after receiving a letter that Buckbeak is going on trial and could potentially be executed after Lucius Malfoy put in a complaint to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They struggle to put together a defence for Hagrid by researching in the library.

Harry stays at Hogwarts for Christmas and wakes up on Christmas Day to discover he has received a Firebolt. He and Ron are thrilled with the gift but Hermione is cautious out of fear that Black has sent and cursed it. After attending a feast, the boys are upset when McGonagall takes the Firebolt away for inspection after Hermione told her about it. Harry and Ron are very upset and fall out with Hermione.

When school resumes, Oliver Wood is very excited to hear that Harry has a Firebolt and puts pressure on him to get it back. Harry also starts anti-Dementor lessons with Lupin and learns about the Patronus Charm. Lupin instructs Harry to cast the spell while focusing on a happy thought. Harry tries varying happy memories like the first time he rode a broom, but fails to conjure a full Patronus and is weak after his encounter with a Dementor. He is given chocolate to recover but secretly believes he fails on purpose because he hears his parents' voices under the effects of the Dementor.

Harry and Ron are still unhappy with Hermione. Wood gets fed up of Harry's failures to get the Firebolt back and unsuccessfully tries himself. During his second Dementor lesson, Harry asks what is under their hoods. Lupin says nobody knows because they only find out when a Dementor lowers its hood to deliver its fatal "Kiss". Harry is shaken to learn this is the fate that awaits Sirius Black when he is caught. That evening, McGonagall returns the Firebolt which receives considerable attention in the common room. Harry and Hermione appear to make-up until Ron returns to furiously report that Scabbers has disappeared after getting attacked by Crookshanks and appears to be dead.

Harry and Ron continue not to talk to Hermione now that Crookshanks has killed Scabbers. Harry cheers Ron up by letting him fly on the Firebolt. Harry grows confident on his new broomstick during Quidditch training sessions which lifts the team's confidence too. Everyone is very interested in their next match against Ravenclaw in which Harry's opposition is Cho Chang. He starts to develop a crush on her during the game and is shouted at by Wood to stop being a gentleman and get in her way. Harry spies the Snitch but is distracted by three Dementors in the crowd which he dispels with his first successful Patronus Charm. He easily catches the Snitch and realises during his victory celebration that the Dementors were actually Draco, Crabbe and Goyle dressed up.

That evening, everyone celebrates in the Gryffindor common room way into the night. While he is sleeping, he is woken up to Ron's screams who says Sirius Black was slashing the curtains around his bed. During the ensuing panic, the Fat Lady's replacement, Sir Cadogan admits to unwittingly letting Black in because he had the password. Harry and Ron visit Hagrid for tea where they are lectured on ignoring Hermione when friendship is more important than "broomsticks or rats".

During a trip to Hogsmeade, Harry and Ron visit the Shrieking Shack. He has to hide under the Cloak of Invisibility which gives Draco and his cronies the impression that Ron is alone. They proceed to taunt and insult him but are freaked out when Harry starts throwing mud at them. While they run away, Harry's cloak slips to reveal his head. Draco notices and tells Professor Snape. Harry manages to sneak back into the castle, but leaves his Cloak of Invisibility in the tunnel and runs into Snape who takes him to his office. Snape calls Harry arrogant like his father which upsets Harry and he tells Snape to shut up. He is forced to empty his pockets and pull out the Marauder's Map. Snape tries to reveals its secrets but gets insulted by it and requests Lupin's help.

Lupin arrived and tells him it appears to be a Zonko's product and Ron arrives to claim he had bought it for Harry ages ago so Snape gives up and leaves. Lupin then berates him for having such a map in his possession with Black on the loose, warns Harry he is being careless with his life and reminds him of his parents' sacrifice to save him.

They leave Lupin, who confiscates the map, and run into Hermione. They learn that Buckbeak's appeal has taken place and Hagrid lost. Hagrid is devastated that Buckbeak is to be put to death. Hermione takes the opportunity to apologise to Harry and Ron for Scabbers and they resume their friendship. Harry notices Hermione is more tried and stressed than normal. She slaps Draco when he teases Hagrid for crying in Care of Magical Creatures, misses Charms and arrives late to Divination. Harry is surprised when Hermione shouts at Trelawney and storms out.

Harry feels the pressure when the final Quidditch game of the year approaches, and Gryffindor have to beat Slytherin by two hundred points to win the Quidditch Cup. He struggles to fall asleep the night before, and when he does, has a series of nightmares. When he wakes, he sees a large black dog from his window. During the game, Slytherin play dirty but Harry is no match for them on the Firebolt. He and Draco eventually both find the Snitch near the ground and rush to catch it. Harry gets to it first and wins the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor to an elated Oliver Wood. While his teammates jubilantly celebrate, he thinks to himself he is so happy, he could conjure a very impressive Patronus.

Harry prepares for the final exams. The first exams go well with Hagrid setting an easy essay for Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry sails through Lupin's obstacle course to get top marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts. However, during his Divination exam, Trelawney's voice suddenly changes and she predicts the Dark Lord's servant will rejoin him before midnight tonight. She snaps out of her trance with no recollection of it, and Harry rushes to tell Ron and Hermione.

Instead of telling them about Trelawney, he instead learns from them that Hagrid has lost Buckbeak's appeal and will certainly be executed at sunset. They go to comfort Hagrid in his hut after Hermione retrieves Harry's invisibility cloak where a devastated Hagrid reveals that Lucius probably threatened the Committee into denying the appeal. Hermione then discovers Scabbers alive and well in one of Hagrid's jugs, but they are shooed out of the hut by Hagrid upon the arrival of the executioner. Once they walk away, Harry hears the thud of an axe.

Harry starts guiding Ron and Hermione back to the castle under the invisibility cloak, which is difficult because Scabbers keeps trying to run away. He then realises that Crookshanks is walking out of the Forbidden Forest with a large black dog. The dog suddenly tackles Harry and Ron, and drags Ron by the ankle into the Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione pursue them but are unable to get past the violent Willow. To his surprise, Harry watches Crookshanks push a knot in the trunk to calm the tree so they can enter, and they walk on the path underneath to the Shrieking Shack.

Upstairs, they discover the large black dog has transformed into Sirius Black who is holding Ron captive. Sirius disarms Harry and Hermione, but Harry flies into a rage at the sight of the person who caused his parents' deaths and leaps onto him. Harry gets his wand back and forces a cowering Sirius into a corner. He tries to gather the courage to kill Sirius but they are interrupted by Lupin. To their surprise, Lupin does not try and attack Sirius and instead asks him where "he" is. Sirius points at Ron. Hermione calls Lupin a traitor and reveals that he is a werewolf. Harry, Ron and Hermione continue to accuse Lupin and Black, until Lupin returns their wands and reveals that he had been looking at the Marauder's Map earlier and saw Peter Pettigrew's name on it.

Ron refuses to believe that his rat, Scabbers, is really the Animagus form of Pettigrew. Sirius is desperate to kill Pettigrew but Lupin makes him tell Harry everything first. Harry learns his father, Black and Pettigrew secretly learned how to turn into Animagi after they discovered Lupin was a werewolf and wanted to safely accompany him during his transformations. During their subsequent explorations of the grounds, they created the Marauder's Map. Lupin also reveals the reason why Snape has a grudge against them and by extension, Harry. Black had played a trick on a curious Snape when they were students by leading him into a confrontation with the werewolf Lupin. His father saved Snape's life.

Snape then reveals he is also in the room by taking off Harry's invisibility cloak which he had left outside. Snape refuses to hear the rest of the story to prove Black's and because he is set on vengeance. Harry, Ron and Hermione disarm Snape at once which knocks him out. Black continues with the story and explains how he escaped after recognising Pettigrew in rat form in the Weasleys' article for the Daily Prophet. Harry is still skeptical that Black is innocent even after Black points out Scabbers is missing a finger like Pettigrew would have because he cut off his finger when he staged his death. Realising that he needs proof, Lupin reverses Pettigrew back into his human form.

Harry is finally faced with the person who truly betrayed his parents. Pettigrew pleads with them and tries to lie that he is innocent, but Harry asks a few more questions and these clarifications lead him to believe Sirius is actually innocent. Peter finally admits that he was a supporter of Voldemort and claims he only betrayed James and Lily out of fear. Sirius calls him a coward but when he and Lupin prepare to kill Pettigrew, Harry intervenes and says his dad probably wouldn't want his two best friends to turn into killers. They decide to tie Pettigrew up and take him to the Ministry to face real justice.

On the walk back toward the castle, Sirius confirms he is Harry's godfather and invited him to live with him after his name is cleared. Harry happily accepts and thrilled at the prospect of leaving the Dursleys for good. However, when they emerge out of the Whomping Willow, they are faced with a full moon. Lupin has not yet taken the Wolfsbane Potion and transforms into a dangerous werewolf. Black transforms into a dog to fight Lupin into the woods. Pettigrew grabs Lupin's wand, stuns Ron and escapes in his rat form. Harry and Hermione tend to Ron while Sirius turns back to pursue Pettigrew. They then hear Sirius yowling and realise he is cowering in human form with a hundred Dementors approaching him.

Harry tries to produce the Patronus Charm but it is not strong enough to protect Sirius. He is then attacked by a Dementor which lowers its hood to give him its fatal Kiss. Harry feels weaker and like he is fading away when suddenly, a bright white light in the form of his father's Animagus, the stag, drives the Dementors away while he collapses. Harry wakes later in the Hospital Wing and overhears Snape telling Fudge that he saved Harry, Ron and Hermione and captured Sirius. Harry leaps up to tell Fudge the truth about Sirius but this is ignored because they believe the trio have been Confunded.

Dumbledore enters and requests to speak to Harry and Hermione alone. Dumbledore also believes Black is innocent but without evidence, they need time they do not yet have to save two lives that night. Hermione then reveals to Harry that she has been using a Time-Turner to take more classes at the same time that year and turns it thrice to transport them both back in time. Harry is warned not to let their past selves see them or there will be terrible consequences.

Harry and Hermione recognise that Dumbledore to two lives and resolve to save Buckbeak along with Sirius. They wait outside Hagrid's hut until the executioners enter it and then untie Buckbeak. They hide in the Forbidden Forest and watch the Whomping Willow for hours until it is time to rescue Sirius. Hermione and Buckbeak later return to the hut to hide while Harry sneaks out to try and find out who conjured the Patronus to save him and Sirius from the Dementors. However, when no Patronus is conjured, he realises that he was the one who cast it and rescues himself from the Dementor's Kiss.

Harry then rejoins Hermione and they fly on Buckbeak to the top of the tower where Sirius is being held and break him out. After exchanging heartfelt words, Sirius leaves Hogwarts Castle on Buckbeak. Harry and Hermione return to the Hospital Wing at the point that they turned back in time. Dumbledore is thrilled that they have succeeded, but when words reaches others that Sirius has escaped, Snape flies into a rage and accuses Harry of setting him free. However, the apparent absurdity of this means nobody takes Snape seriously and he is made to leave the hospital.

The next day, Hagrid joyfully tells them about Buckbeak's escape but then also reveals that Lupin has resigned. Harry races to talk to him before he leaves and tries to plead with him that he should stay. Lupin feels that he is too dangerous to be transforming near the school and says his farewell. Dumbledore catches Harry leaving Lupin's office and tells him it is no coincidence his Patronus takes his father's Animagus shape and that he has done the wise thing by letting Pettigrew go free. Harry is confused and also sad when he boards the train home because he had hoped to be going to live with Sirius instead of returning to the Dursleys.

On the way home, Ron begins planning for Harry to stay with his family during the summer and informs him the Quidditch World Cup is starting soon. A small owl then appears in the window carrying a letter to Harry from Sirius. He lets Harry know that he is safe, reveals that he did send Harry the Firebolt and encloses a signed permission slip so that he can visit Hogsmeade in the future. Harry feels happier and returns to the Dursleys looking forward to a better summer than the previous one.

Goblet of Fire

During the summer holidays, Harry is awoken by a nightmare in which he witnesses Frank Bryce's murder at the hands of Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew. His scar feels incredibly painful as he tries to remember what he saw and heard, eventually realising that they were plotting to kill him. After realising his scar has only ever hurt before when Voldemort is nearby, he is briefly worried that he is in immediate danger. To get advice, he sends a letter to Sirius.

Harry has unnecessarily been put on Dudley's diet to placate him, so he sends letters to his friends for help and has been storing the food and sweets they send under a floorboard. At the start of August, he receives a letter from Molly inviting him to the 422nd Quidditch World Cup final if the Dursleys agree. After scaring Vernon by threatening to send Sirius a letter if he does not let him go, Harry sends a reply that he is allowed to attend.

Harry awaits the late arrival of the Weasleys on the day he is getting picked up. This is complicated when the Weasleys try to arrive via the Floo Network and Dudley is tricked into eating a Ton-Tongue Toffee to Harry's amusement. During his time at the Burrow, he meets Bill and Charlie for the first time and learns that something special but top-secret is happening at Hogwarts during his fourth year.

Harry, Hermione and the youngest Weasleys travel to the Quidditch World Cup via Portkey with Amos Diggory and his son, Cedric. Harry is amazed by the campsite and realises how big the wizarding world really is. He purchases merchandise and attends the final in the Top Box. Among the other attendees are Ludo Bagman and Bartemius Crouch Snr. who he also meets for the first time. After the game, they return to their tent where they are woken up in the night by a Death Eater riot outside. He runs to safety in the nearby forest with Ron and Hermione, where he drops his wand and witnesses Bartemius Crouch Jnr. cast the Dark Mark.

Shortly after, they are apprehended by Ministry officials. Crouch Snr. suspects that they cast the Dark Mark until the others point out the absurdity of it. He is shocked when his own house-elf, Winky, is caught with Harry's wand which they verify was used to cast the Dark Mark. Harry's wand is returned to him and they leave the campsite for the Burrow early next morning. A few weeks later, he returns to Hogwarts.

Appearance

Harry aged eleven, by Jim Kay

Harry has a thin face, round glasses and a thin scar on his forehead. He inherited the shape and colour of his mother, Lily's, bright, green eyes, but in every other way he takes after his father, James. He has jet-black hair which grows unruly when it is getting long. Vernon had to tell Harry he needed a haircut every few days. At the age of eleven, Harry is small and skinny and has glasses held together by scotch tape because they broke when his cousin, Dudley had punched him.

Trivia

• Harry is frequently associated with the colour gold; his Hogwarts house Gryffindor is red and gold; his Quidditch position, Seeker, is the only one to touch the Golden Snitch; his Polyjuice Potion turns the colour gold, and his wand fired off Golden flames at Voldemort.
• Harry often receives second-hand clothes from Dudley when he is staying with the Dursleys. These clothes are far too big for Harry and often hang off him to the point that he has to roll up the sleeves.