Harry Potter (character): Difference between revisions
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*A handsome amount of wizarding gold in a vault in [[Gringott's]] inherited from his parents and Sirius Black. |
*A handsome amount of wizarding gold in a vault in [[Gringott's]] inherited from his parents and Sirius Black. |
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*A [[Firebolt]] (a very good flying broom given to him as a Christmas present by Sirius Black; formerly he had a [[Nimbus Two Thousand]] which was destroyed when it got too close to the [[Whomping Willow]]) |
*A [[Firebolt]] (a very good flying broom given to him as a Christmas present by Sirius Black; formerly he had a [[Nimbus Two Thousand]] which was destroyed when it got too close to the [[Whomping Willow]]) |
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*An Invisibility Cloak (Inherited from his father, |
*An Invisibility Cloak (Inherited from his father, received from Professor Dumbledore as a christmas present in his first year) |
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*the [[Marauder's Map]] (given to him by George and Fred Weasley, which was drawn by his father and his three friends) |
*the [[Marauder's Map]] (given to him by George and Fred Weasley, which was drawn by his father and his three friends) |
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*A pocket [[sneakoscope]] (a present from Ron) |
*A pocket [[sneakoscope]] (a present from Ron) |
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Revision as of 22:05, 27 July 2005
- This article is about the fictional character Harry Potter. For information about the Harry Potter book series, see Harry Potter.
Template:HP character Harry James Potter (born July 31, 1980)[1], the only son of James Potter and Lily Potter, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in all Harry Potter films to date. Template:Spoiler
Biography
Harry Potter 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. The encounter lost Voldemort his powers and severely crippled him, although he survived.
Harry's mother, Lily, was killed while attempting to protect Harry from Voldemort, and her dying act placed Harry under a spell of protection. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry with the Avada Kedavra curse, which he had used to kill Harry's parents, but the spell rebounded due to his mother's protection, striking Voldemort instead. Voldemort, who had spent several years using powerful dark magic in an ongoing attempt to achieve immortality, was able to survive the spell, but only as a pale shadow of his former self. 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.
This protection helped Harry again, ten years later in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, when Lord Voldemort returned searching for the philosopher's stone. Using Hogwarts instructor Professor Quirrell as a vessel, Voldemort returned to Hogwarts to find the stone. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry again, but Lily Potter's protection lingered in his veins, and Voldemort was unable to touch Harry. He was forced to flee again, leaving Quirrell to die.
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. Harry did not even know that he was a wizard until his eleventh birthday, when Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry gamekeeper and friend of Dumbledore, explained it to him and also told him about the fame he had in the magical world.
At the start of the next year, he begins his term at Hogwarts. There he is placed in Gryffindor house. He makes friends with Ron Weasley, and later Hermione Granger.
Surprisingly perhaps, Harry has not let his fame go to his head, and he has remained humble, despite the fact that people like in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Gilderoy Lockhart and Colin Creevey keep reminding him how famous he is. In fact, Harry is annoyed by his fame, as it has caused many people to either fawn all over him or hate him for it.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is starting to change. He is angry because he believes Sirius Black got his parents killed until Remus Lupin corrects him.
Harry's greatest desire is to be normal, and for all whom he cares about to be safe and happy. Harry often puts himself at risk for other people, and often tries to convince others not to put themselves in danger. For example, in the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, he does not want Ron and Hermione to attempt to locate the philosopher's stone with him. This occurs in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Ginny, Neville and Luna wish to join Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a rescue mission.
However, Harry is depicted with many flaws. He can be angered easily when his parents or others whom he cares about are offended, or when people do not believe him. Like Ron, he is not very diligent with his studies. In Order of the Phoenix, Harry appears more disturbed and troubled, and is extremely temperamental, as he has to endure the entire wizarding world believing him to be an attention-seeking liar, along with the normal difficulties in being a teenager. Sometimes, Harry even gets angry at Ron and Hermione, especially when they argue with each other.
Harry has a very strong loyalty streak and expects loyalty in return. This streak has often prevented Harry from looking at things objectively and will occasionally prevent him from heeding constructive criticism from friends such as Hermione.
Harry tends to feel very passionately about who is trustworthy and who is not. For example, Harry is reluctant to trust Severus Snape, the Potions Master, despite Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's faith in Snape. Since Harry has been raised by the Dursleys, and has experienced nightmarish events, including the death of Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire and Sirius Black in Order of the Phoenix, Harry seems to feel rather misunderstood. Harry's feelings of isolation increase, when, at the end of Order of the Phoenix, he learns that he alone must battle Voldemort to the death.
Ginny Weasley was the first person to take a romantic interest in Harry, having an unrequited crush on him in Chamber of Secrets, though she was too tongue-tied to even speak to him. In Goblet of Fire, Harry develops a crush on Cho Chang, and in his fifth year, he kisses her under the mistletoe. She and Harry split up at the end of the year, due to Harry's naïveté, Cho's jealousy, and Cho's friend Marietta Edgecombe's betrayal of Dumbledore's Army.
Harry greatly resembles his father, but he is frequently told that he has his mother's eyes. Some have speculated that Harry having eyes similar to his mother's will play a significant role in future books.
Harry shares his dormitory at Hogwarts with Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the entire wizarding population believes Harry to be the 'Chosen One', which is in fact true, because of the prophecy. During the book after they won the Quidditch Cup, Harry and Ginny also spontaneously kiss, and begin their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. However by the end of the book, Harry break off his relationship with Ginny, in an attempt to ensure her safety. Ginny accepts his decision without much argument.
Harry, with the help of Ron and Hermione, has a mission: to destroy the four remaining Horcruxes of Lord Voldemort, objects that contain pieces of Voldemort's soul and will have to be destroyed so that Voldemort becomes mortal. This will be followed by Harry's attempt to finally confront Voldemort himself.
Family tree of Harry Potter
Notable Possessions
- A house at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place (inherited from Sirius Black)
- A house-elf named Kreacher (inherited from Sirius Black)
- A handsome amount of wizarding gold in a vault in Gringott's inherited from his parents and Sirius Black.
- A Firebolt (a very good flying broom given to him as a Christmas present by Sirius Black; formerly he had a Nimbus Two Thousand which was destroyed when it got too close to the Whomping Willow)
- An Invisibility Cloak (Inherited from his father, received from Professor Dumbledore as a christmas present in his first year)
- the Marauder's Map (given to him by George and Fred Weasley, which was drawn by his father and his three friends)
- A pocket sneakoscope (a present from Ron)
- Hedwig, a snowy owl (a birthday present from Hagrid)
- A photo album with pictures of his parents and their friends (another present from Hagrid)
- A wand made using a phoenix feather. The owner of this feather, Fawkes, also happens to be the owner of the feather in Lord Voldemort's wand.
- A two-way mirror (given to him by Sirius Black)
