Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy stories written by Scottish author Joanne Rowling. She writes under the pen name of J. K. Rowling. She got the idea for Harry Potter during her journey from Manchester to London in England. Harry Potter books tell a twofold tale: a boy coming of age into young manhood and the power of good versus that of evil.

The book tells the story of a boy named Harry Potter whose parents James and Lily Potter were killed by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort. He was born on July 31. He was raised by his aunt Petunia Dursley and uncle Vernon Dursley till the age of 11 years. On his 11th birthday, he learns that he is a “half-blood” wizard because although both his parents were magical, his mother was “Muggle-born”. So he will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The seven books tell about Harry,s seven years in Hogwarts School. The story is mostly set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry a school for young wizards. It focuses on Harry Potter’s fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort.

Harry’s full name is Harry James Potter. He got his middle name ‘James’ after his father. He had bright green eyes like his mother and jet black hair like his father. He is thin and skinny with knobbling knees. His appearance is characterized by round glasses. He is quiet except when he is angry. He has a lightning bolt scar on the forehead the result of the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort’s attempt to murder Harry as a baby. Harry is famous throughout the wizarding world for being the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse, and in doing so brought about Lord Voldemort’s first downfall.

Character traits

• Harry is easily angered when those he cares for are insulted or threatened.
• He has little tolerance.
• Harry’s greatest strengths is his ability to love others despite continuous grief and hardship in his life.
• He has leadership skills and ability to teach his classmates Defence Against the Dark Arts enables them to defend themselves against Death Eaters during the Battle of the Ministry.
• He is loyal to his friends and so he is surrounded by friends whose skills complement his own and who would willingly risk their own lives to defend him.
• He dislikes being the center of attention.
• Harry has the ability to remain level-headed.
• He is clever-minded and quick-witted.
• He has very strong intuition.
• He has a positive outlook on life despite the burdens placed on him.
• He is determined and self-reliant.

Magical Skill that Harry possesses

Harry has a number of unusual traits and talents as a wizard.

• The lightning-bolt scar on his forehead serves him later at Hogwarts, burning painfully as an indicator of Voldemort’s presence. The scar was the magical window into Voldemort’s mind.
• Harry is a Parselmouth. Harry can communicate with snakes. He gained this ability from Voldemort who, unwittingly transferred some of his powers to Harry when he tried to kill him.
• He can fully resist the Imperius Curse.
• Due to great practice in dueling, Harry has developed above-average wizard dueling skills and has overpowered numerous Death Eaters.
• Harry is an excellent broom flyer.

Magical Devices used by Harry Potter

• Broom Stick
• Wand
• Invisibility Cloak
• Marander’s Map
• Pocket Sneakoscope
• Two Way Mirror
• Socks with Spiders

There are a number of magical skills that Harry has yet to master:

* Harry has difficulty performing non-verbal magic.
* He has difficulty with wandless magic.
* Harry has serious self-control issues. He is then unable to control his emotions.
* Harry cannot non-verbally block strong spells.
* Harry has weakness in some classes which includes Potions, History of Magic, and Divination. Due to these weaknesses he has inability in these magical branches.

Characters in the Novel

• Harry’s Professors: Albus Dumbledore • Severus Snape • Horace Slughorn • Hagrid
• Order of the Phoenix Members: Alastor Moody • Sirius Black • Minerva McGonagall • Remus Lupin
• Death Eaters: Voldemort • Regulus Black • Fenrir Greyback • Lucius Malfoy

The Novels written by J. K. Rowling are:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (26 June 1997)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003)
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ( 21 July 2007)

Harry Potter Films

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (16 November, 2001)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (15 November, 2002)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(4 June, 2004)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (18 November, 2005)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (11 July, 2007)
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (21 November, 2008)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part-I (Release Date: November 19, 2010 USA)
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part-II (Release Date: End of 2011)

Awards and honours

J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series have been the recipients of many awards:

· Four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001)
· Three Nestle Smarties Book Prizes (1997-1999)
· Two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001)
· The inaugural Whitbread children’s book of the year award (1999)
· The WHSmith book of the year (2006)
· In 2000 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were nominated for Best Novel in the Hugo.

Awards · In 2001 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won the award.

Honors include:

· A commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997)
· A shortlisting for the Guardian Children’s Award (1998)
· Best book lists of the American Library Association, New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly.

In the Harry Potter film adaptations, Harry has been portrayed by British actor Daniel Radcliffe.