Harry Potter
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
The Harry Potter books are a popular series of fantasy books by J. K. Rowling. The character Harry Potter is the hero in the stories. The books tell the story of Harry Potter and his friends growing up in a world filled with magic, fun, mystery and danger.
There will be seven books when the series is done. So far these books have been published:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
A series of movies about the first four books has been made by Warner Bros. They started making the movies in 2001. The fifth one will be released in July, 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Fictional characters and places in the series
Spoiler warning: The text below is about a plot or ending.
[edit] Heroes
- Harry Potter (Student)
- The main hero of all the stories. He is brave and saves many people. In the movies, Harry is played by Daniel Radcliffe.
[edit] Harry's friends and allies
- Hermione Granger (Student)
- She is smart and does very well in school. She is one of Harry's best friends. In the movies, she is played by Emma Watson.
- Ron Weasley (Student)
- Ron is from a big family and is Harry's best friend. He is very funny and likes to joke. In the movies, he is played by Rupert Grint
- Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster)
- Dumbledore is a powerful wizard, and is very wise about good and evil. In the movies, he was first played by Richard Harris. After Harris's death, Michael Gambon took over the role.
- Rubeus Hagrid (Teacher/Groundskeeper)
- Hagrid is a friend of Harry Potter and his friends. He lives at Hogwarts in a hut. He likes strange and often dangerous creatures. Hagrid mother was a giant so he is half giant. In the 3rd Harry Potter book, Hagrid becomes the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. He teaches the students how to handle magical creatures like griffons. Before that he was the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. He used to be a student at Hogwarts but was kicked out in his 3rd year. Hagrid has appeared in all the Harry Potter books so far. He has protected Harry in several different occasions. In the movies, he is played by Robbie Coltrane
[edit] Villians
- Lord Voldemort (Wizard):
- He was known as Tom Marvolo Riddle when he was young. He changed his name to Voldemort when he was older. He wanted to have a name that was different from everyone else. He wants to take over the magical world. He kills anyone who tries to stop him. When Harry Potter was a baby, Voldemort killed Harry's parents and tried to kill Harry. Instead, Voldemort lost his body. He got a new body and tried to take over the magical world again. In the movies, he has been played by Richard Bremmer, Christian Coulson, and Ralph Fiennes.
- Draco Malfoy (Student)
- Harry's arch enemy in Slytherin House. He has a group of friends and likes to brag. In the 6th book, he is given a misson to kill Dumbledore but fails.
[edit] Minor characters
- Severus Snape (Teacher)
- Snape is Harry Potter's least favorite teacher. He has appeared in all books so far. He went to Hogwarts with Harry's parents. He hated Harry because of how Harry's father treated him in school.
- Minerva McGonagall (Teacher)
- McGonagall is the Deputy (or assistant) Headmistress of Hogwarts. She is a very strict lady. She teaches Transfiguration - magic that lets someone change the shape of something or themself. She is also in charge of Gryffindor House.
- Neville Longbottom (Student)
- He is in Gryffindor house, just like Harry. He lives with his grandmother, because his parents are always in the hospital. Except for Herbology - the study of plants and their uses - he fails a lot in his classes.
- Seamus Finnigan (Student)
- Dean Thomas (Student)
[edit] Places
- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
- Hogwarts is the setting for most parts of the stories. It is a boarding school for children with magical power.
- Ministry of Magic
- The Ministy makes the rules on how magic can be used in both the magical and non-magical world.
- Number 4 Privet Drive
- The home of Harry Potter's aunt and uncle. Harry lived here before he went to Hogwarts. He usually spends summers away from school here.
[edit] External Links
[edit] Official sites
- J.K. Rowling's personal website
- Official Harry Potter movies website (Warner Bros.)
- Harry Potter on Bloomsbury.com (International publisher)
- Harry Potter on Scholastic.com (US publisher)
- Harry Potter on Raincoast.com (Canadian publisher)
