Harry Potter
Harry
Potter is a series of fantasy novels
written by British author J.
K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of
a young wizard,
Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione
Granger and Ron
Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main
story
arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord
Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to
become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry
of Magic and subjugate all wizards and Muggles (non-magical people).
Since
the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, on 26
June 1997, the books have found immense popularity, critical acclaim and
commercial success worldwide. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well
as younger readers and are often considered cornerstones of modern young adult
literature.[2] As of February 2018, the books have sold more than 500
million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into eighty languages.[3] The last four books consecutively set records as the
fastest-selling books in history, with the final installment selling roughly
eleven million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its
release.
The
series was originally published in English by two major publishers, Bloomsbury
in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press
in the United States. A play, Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child, based on a story co-written by
Rowling, premiered in London on 30 July 2016 at the Palace Theatre,
and its script was published by Little, Brown. The original seven books were adapted into an eight-part namesake film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is the third highest-grossing
film series of all time as of
February 2020. In 2016, the total value of the Harry Potter
franchise was estimated at $25 billion,[4]
making Harry Potter one of the
highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
A
series of many genres,
including fantasy, drama,
coming of age,
and the British school story
(which includes elements of mystery,
thriller,
adventure,
horror,
and romance),
the world of Harry Potter explores numerous themes and includes many
cultural meanings and references.[5] According to Rowling, the main theme
is death.[6] Other major themes in the series include prejudice,
corruption, and madness.[7]
The
success of the books and films has allowed the Harry Potter franchise to
expand with numerous derivative works, a travelling exhibition that premiered
in Chicago in 2009, a studio tour in London that opened in 2012, a
digital platform on which J.K. Rowling updates the
series with new information and insight, and a pentalogy of spin-off films
premiering in November 2016 with Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them,
among many other developments. Most recently, themed attractions, collectively
known as The Wizarding World
of Harry Potter, have been built at several Universal Parks & Resorts amusement parks around the world.
Plot
Further information: Fictional universe
of Harry Potter
The
central character in the series is Harry Potter, a boy who lives in the fictional town of Little Whinging, Surrey with his aunt, uncle, and cousin – the Dursleys – and discovers at the age of eleven that he is a wizard,
though he lives in the ordinary world of non-magical people known as Muggles.[8] The wizarding world exists parallel to the Muggle world,
albeit hidden and in secrecy. His magical ability is inborn, and children with
such abilities are invited to attend exclusive magic schools that teach the
necessary skills to succeed in the wizarding
world.[9]
Harry
becomes a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a wizarding academy in Scotland, and it is here where most
of the events in the series take place. As Harry develops through his
adolescence, he learns to overcome the problems that face him: magical, social,
and emotional, including ordinary teenage challenges such as friendships,
infatuation, romantic relationships, schoolwork and exams, anxiety, depression,
stress, and the greater test of preparing himself for the confrontation that
lies ahead in wizarding Britain's increasingly-violent second wizarding war.[10]
Each
novel chronicles one year in Harry's life[11]
during the period from 1991 to 1998.[12] The books also contain many flashbacks,
which are frequently experienced by Harry viewing the memories of other
characters in a device called a Pensieve.
The
environment Rowling created is intimately connected to reality. The British
magical community of the Harry Potter books is inspired by 1990s British
culture, European folklore, classical mythology and alchemy, incorporating objects and wildlife such as magic wands, magic plants, potions, spells, flying broomsticks, centaurs
and other magical creatures, and the Philosopher's Stone,
beside others invented by Rowling. While the fantasy
land of Narnia is an alternate universe and the Lord
of the Rings' Middle-earth a mythic past, the wizarding world of Harry Potter
exists parallel to the real world and contains magical versions of the ordinary
elements of everyday life, with the action mostly set in Scotland (Hogwarts),
the West Country, Devon, London, and Surrey in southeast England.[13] The world only accessible to wizards and magical beings
comprises a fragmented collection of overlooked hidden streets, ancient pubs,
lonely country manors, and secluded castles invisible to the Muggle population.[9]
Early years
When
the first novel of the series, Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, opens,
it is apparent that some significant event has taken place in the wizarding
world – an event so very remarkable that even Muggles (non-magical people)
notice signs of it. The full background to this event and Harry Potter's past
is revealed gradually throughout the series. After the introductory chapter,
the book leaps forward to a time shortly before Harry Potter's eleventh
birthday, and it is at this point that his magical background begins to be
revealed.
Despite
Harry's aunt and uncle's desperate prevention of Harry learning about his
abilities,[14]
their efforts are in vain. Harry meets a half-giant, Rubeus
Hagrid, who is also his first contact with
the wizarding world. Hagrid reveals himself to be the Keeper of Keys and
Grounds at Hogwarts as well as some of Harry's history.[14] Harry learns that, as a baby, he witnessed his parents'
murder by the power-obsessed dark wizard Lord
Voldemort, who subsequently attempted to kill
him as well.[14] Instead, the unexpected happened: Harry survived with only
a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead as a memento of the attack, and
Voldemort disappeared soon afterwards, gravely weakened by his own rebounding
curse.
As
its inadvertent saviour from Voldemort's reign of terror, Harry has become a living legend
in the wizarding world. However, at the orders of the venerable and well-known
wizard Albus Dumbledore,
the orphaned Harry had been placed in the home of his unpleasant Muggle relatives, the Dursleys, who have kept him safe but treated
him poorly, including confining him to a cupboard without meals and treating
him as their servant. Hagrid then officially invites Harry to attend Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a famous magic school in Scotland that
educates young teenagers on their magical development for seven years, from age
eleven to seventeen.
With
Hagrid's help, Harry prepares for and undertakes his first year of study at
Hogwarts. As Harry begins to explore the magical world, the reader is
introduced to many of the primary locations used throughout the series. Harry
meets most of the main characters and gains his two closest friends: Ron
Weasley, a fun-loving member of an ancient,
large, happy, but poor wizarding family, and Hermione
Granger, a gifted, bright, and hardworking
witch of non-magical parentage.[14][15] Harry also encounters the school's potions master, Severus
Snape, who displays a conspicuously deep
and abiding dislike for him, the rich brat Draco
Malfoy whom he quickly makes enemies with,
and the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Quirinus
Quirrell, who later turns out to be allied
with Lord Voldemort. He also discovers a talent of flying on broomsticks and is
recruited for his house's Quidditch team, a sport in the wizarding world where
players fly on broomsticks. The first book concludes with Harry's second
confrontation with Lord Voldemort, who, in his quest to regain a body, yearns
to gain the power of the Philosopher's
Stone, a substance that bestows
everlasting life and turns any metal into pure gold.[14]
The
series continues with Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets,
describing Harry's second year at Hogwarts. He and his friends investigate a
50-year-old mystery that appears uncannily related to recent sinister events at
the school. Ron's younger sister, Ginny
Weasley, enrolls in her first year at
Hogwarts, and finds an old notebook in her belongings which turns out to be the
diary of a previous student, Tom Marvolo Riddle, later revealed to be
Voldemort's younger self, who is bent on ridding the school of
"mudbloods", a derogatory term describing wizards and witches of
non-magical parentage. The memory of Tom Riddle resides inside of the diary and
when Ginny begins to confide in the diary, Voldemort is able to possess her.
Through
the diary, Ginny acts on Voldemort's orders and unconsciously opens the
"Chamber of Secrets", unleashing an ancient monster, later revealed
to be a basilisk,
which begins attacking students at Hogwarts. It kills those who make direct eye
contact with it and petrifies those who look at it indirectly. The book also
introduces a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy
Lockhart, a highly cheerful, self-conceited
wizard with a pretentious facade, later turning out to be a fraud. Harry
discovers that prejudice exists in the Wizarding World through delving into the
school's history, and learns that Voldemort's reign of terror was often
directed at wizards and witches who were descended from Muggles.
Harry
also learns that his ability to speak the snake language Parseltongue is rare and often associated with the Dark
Arts. When Hermione is attacked and
petrified, Harry and Ron finally piece together the puzzles and unlock the
Chamber of Secrets, with Harry destroying the diary for good and saving Ginny,
and, as they learn later, also destroying a part of Voldemort's soul. The end
of the book reveals Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and rival of Ron and Ginny's
father, to be the culprit who slipped the book into Ginny's belongings.
The
third novel, Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban, follows
Harry in his third year of magical education. It is the only book in the series
which does not feature Lord Voldemort in any form. Instead, Harry must deal
with the knowledge that he has been targeted by Sirius
Black, his father's best friend, and,
according to the Wizarding World, an escaped mass murderer who assisted in the
murder of Harry's parents. As Harry struggles with his reaction to the dementors – dark creatures with the power to devour a human soul and
feed on despair – which are ostensibly protecting the school, he reaches out to
Remus
Lupin, a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who is eventually revealed to be a werewolf. Lupin teaches Harry defensive measures which are well
above the level of magic generally executed by people his age. Harry comes to
know that both Lupin and Black were best friends of his father and that Black
was framed by their fourth friend, Peter
Pettigrew, who had been hiding as Ron's pet
rat, Scabbers.[16] In this book, a recurring theme throughout the series is emphasised
– in every book there is a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, none of
whom lasts more than one school year.
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