Harry Potter (character)

:This article is about the fictional character Harry Potter. For information about the Harry Potter book series, see Harry Potter.

Biography

Prior to the Harry Potter novels

Harry is famous in the wizarding world for his encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, one of the most powerful sorcerers of all time and the primary villain in the series, when he was just a year old. Voldemort mysteriously lost his powers in the encounter and was severely crippled, although he survived.

Related Topics:
Wizarding world - Lord Voldemort - Sorcerer - Villain

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James and Lily Potter were killed in this incident in 1981 while protecting baby Harry from Voldemort's attack. James died first, and Lily's dying act - sacrificing herself to save her infant son - placed Harry under a spell of love and protection. Subsequently, Harry survived the Avada Kedavra or 'killing curse' aimed at him by Voldemort, and for as yet unknown reasons linked to Lily's act of love, the curse rebounded on Voldemort. Apart from sustaining serious injury, Voldemort's powers were sapped by the encounter and he was defeated. In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Harry tells Voldemort, I don't know why you lost your powers that night, but I know why you couldn't kill me.. Beaten and powerless, Voldemort went into hiding, and Harry became a celebrity in the wizarding world as "The Boy Who Lived", especially famous for the lightning-shaped scar Voldemort's curse left on his forehead.

Related Topics:
James - Lily Potter - Avada Kedavra - Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

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Harry was raised by Petunia and Vernon Dursley, who neglected him in favour of their own son Dudley and in their attempt to remove all traces of his magical self to make him "normal", kept him fully isolated from the wizarding world.

Related Topics:
Petunia and Vernon Dursley - Dudley

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Life and adventures while at Hogwarts

Harry did not even know that he was a wizard until his eleventh birthday, when Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper and aide to Professor Albus Dumbledore, explained to Harry his situation, and also told him of his fame in the wizarding community.

Related Topics:
Rubeus Hagrid - Hogwarts - Albus Dumbledore

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Shortly after this revelation, Harry began his studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he was placed in Gryffindor House, and makes friends with Ron Weasley and later Hermione Granger. He shares his dormitory with Ron, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

Related Topics:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Gryffindor - Ron Weasley - Hermione Granger - Dormitory - Neville Longbottom - Seamus Finnigan - Dean Thomas

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Harry did not let his fame go to his head, even though Gilderoy Lockhart and Colin Creevey in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets offered persistent reminders to him of his renown. In fact, Harry was annoyed by his fame, and its effect on his relationships, causing various people to fawn over him artifically or hate him for it.

Related Topics:
Gilderoy Lockhart - Colin Creevey - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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The protection granted to Harry by Lily's self-sacrifice helped him again ten years later in the first book in the Harry Potter series, when Lord Voldemort returned secretly to the wizarding world to search for the philosopher's stone. Using Hogwarts teacher Professor Quirrell as a host body, Voldemort came to Hogwarts in his quest for the stone. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry again, but Lily Potter's protection lingered in his veins, and he was unable to touch Harry. He was forced to flee again, leaving Quirrell to die.

Related Topics:
The first book - Philosopher's stone - Hogwarts - Professor Quirrell

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In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry started to change. He's angry because he believed Sirius Black to be responsible for the betrayal of his parents to Voldemort. Harry maintained this belief until he discovered that Black was his father's best friend, as well as his godfather. Later on he finds out that it was not he who betrayed his parents, but a servant of Lord Voldemort's, Peter Pettigrew. By the end of the story, Sirius offers Harry something he has wanted all his life: a home away from the Dursleys'. Harry was quick to accept, only to have the chance taken away from him.

Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Sirius Black

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In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the entire wizarding population believes Harry to be the 'Chosen One' as a result of prophecies concerning Harry and Voldemort. Dumbledore places a great deal of trust in Harry, sharing with him memories viewed in the Pensieve regarding Lord Voldemort's past. He takes Harry on an expedition to retrieve a supposed Horcrux, an object that contains a piece of Voldemort's soul and which would have to be destroyed in order to render Voldemort mortal. This horcrux is hidden in the centre of an Inferi-infested lake within a secluded cave. This sets in motion events that lead to Severus Snape killing the headmaster when Death Eaters invade Hogwarts. After Dumbledore's death there is debate as to whether Hogwarts should be reopened or not by new headmistress Minerva McGonagall. Harry decides that, should he be required to attend the school in the coming year, he will not; instead, he will destroy Voldemort's four remaining Horcruxes.

Related Topics:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Lord Voldemort - Horcrux - Inferi - Severus Snape - Death Eaters invade Hogwarts - Minerva McGonagall

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This will be followed by Harry's attempt to finally confront Voldemort himself. He does not shoulder this burden alone ? Ron and Hermione will be there with him as well, at his side wherever he goes. The events of this final encounter are expected to be revealed in the seventh and final Harry Potter book, as yet untitled.

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