Harry Potter

"Hmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

- Sorting Hat to Harry Potter

Harry James Potter, born July 31, 1980, one of the most famous students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in modern times, is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse, "Avada Kedavra". While at Hogwarts, Harry was the youngest Seeker in over a century and captained the Gryffindor Quidditch team, winning two Quidditch Cups (Harry was banned from Quidditch by Professor Umbridge in his fifth year. Therefore, he wasn't on the Griffyndor team when they won the cup that year.). He won the Triwizard Tournament, destroyed a Horcrux, trained Dumbledore's Army, and is credited with great heroism for the destruction of Lord Voldemort and his network of Death Eaters in both the First Wizarding War and the Second Wizarding War. Harry Potter is the only known person to have united all three Deathly Hallows.

Family Lineage
Harry Potter is descended from the Peverell family, an ancient wizarding line, of which Tom Marvolo Riddle is also a descendant. Harry is known to be descended from Ignotus Peverell because of the family heirloom of an Invisibility Cloak. It is assumed that Riddle, a.k.a. Voldemort, is descended from Cadmus Peverell due to his own family heirloom of the Resurrection Stone. It is unknown what line, if any, descended from the oldest brother Antioch as his possession, the Elder Wand, has passed many unrelated hands through the generations. A great many generations separate the lines of Harry and Voldemort.

Harry is also distantly related, on his father's side, to the Blacks, Malfoys, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms and almost all other pure blooded wizarding families, though the degree of consanguinity is not known.

Early Life
Harry James Potter was born on July 31, 1980, to James and Lily Potter. From birth, he lived in hiding with his parents after they were marked for death by Lord Voldemort. They lived in the town of Godric's Hollow in a home put under the Fidelius Charm to keep them hidden. As part of the charm, they had planned to make their Secret-Keeper Sirius Black, but using the advice of Sirius, they changed this designation to Peter Pettigrew, as they thought he would be less suspicious. In a terrible turn of fate, it happened that Pettigrew was a spy for Voldemort. He betrayed James and Lily Potter, staged his own death, and framed Sirius Black for everything.

On the evening of October 31st, 1981, Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow and murdered Harry's parents; he started with James, who tried to duel him (though he did not have his wand). Then he advanced on to Lily, who died protecting Harry. It was her sacrifice that prevented the Avada Kedavra curse from working. Her love for Harry became a barrier protecting her son; when Voldemort attempted the curse on the child, it backfired, and instead of killing Harry, Voldemort lost all of his power and his physical form. Harry Potter is the only person known to have survived the Killing Curse. The failed curse left a scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt. The scar would be a bane and a blessing to Harry in the years to come, as it opened a telepathic link between Lord Voldemort and himself.

He became famous even at the age of one for defeating Lord Voldemort. The house at Godric's Hollow was destroyed in the fight, and Harry was rescued by Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid was given specific orders by Albus Dumbledore to take him to his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Dumbledore left a letter explaining everything to the Dursleys, but they never relayed it to Harry. Instead, Harry would spend the next decade of his life in their strict and miserable home.



Life on Privet Drive
Living with the Dursleys Harry thought was the worst thing in the world. As they were a Muggle family, they had no understanding of magic and even though his Aunt and Uncle knew about his lineage, they wanted nothing to do with it. The Dursleys considered themselves a "proper" family and hated anything out of the ordinary. They lied to Harry about his parents, claiming they had perished in a car wreck and that James was an unemployed drunk. They resented Harry for his magical talents, which were sporadic, but evident. They discouraged any sort of imagination. In fact, they insisted upon "stamping that rubbish out," and screamed at or punished Harry whenever something "unusual" occurred. In his youth, Harry could make strange things happen without understanding why (as no one had bothered to inform him). For instance, after Petunia had sheared off all his messy hair in fury that it would not lay flat, it had grown back to its untouched state by the next morning. Harry was punished, even though he hadn't done anything on purpose. Another time, Dedalus Diggle bowed to him in a shop, and Petunia ferociously interrogated Harry as to how the man knew him.

The Dursleys spoiled and pampered their son Dudley and paid little to no attention to Harry. Everything he owned were ill-fitting hand-me-downs from Dudley, which were far too large for Harry. He was forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs while his cousin got two bedrooms to himself. They ordered Harry around like a slave. In time, Dudley became a terrible bully of Harry.

There were two benefits to Harry's virtual imprisonment at the Dursley's home. First, Harry's neighbor, Arabella Figg, was a Squib working undercover for the Order of the Phoenix to keep tabs on Harry's wellbeing (however, to maintain favor with the Dursleys, she was forced to mistreat him whenever they sent him to her). And second, Dumbledore put a spell on the Dursley home to keep the inhabitants concealed from Voldemort and the forces of Darkness. However, this spell would be broken when Harry turned 17 years old, or whenever he no longer called Privet Drive his home.

You're a Wizard, Harry
Harry had no birthday celebrations until the day he turned 11, which is the same day that he discovered the exceptional reality about his identity. The week of Harry's birthday, hundreds of letters began arriving at the Dursley's home, addressed to him from a place called Hogwarts. When the Dursleys saw the first letter was addressed as "cupboard under the stairs," they panicked at the thought of Harry's ill treatment being observed and transferred him to the "smallest bedroom."

Vernon tried to destroy the letters in a futile attempt to keep Harry from his destiny. As the letters kept coming in increasingly larger quantities, the Dursleys saw no alternative but to flee from them. The owls carrying the letters followed them wherever they went. In a final desperate move, the Dursleys relocated themselves to a shack on a rocky island in the middle of a body of water.

At this time, Rubeus Hagrid appeared in person to find out the reason Harry had not received his letter. He was infuriated by the Dursleys and explained to Harry, in spite of Vernon's obstinate protests, that he was a wizard, how his parents died, and how he was to be sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This would be the first birthday celebration for Harry. Rubeus Hagrid gave him a small, homemade birthday cake and an owl, which Harry would name Hedwig. Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley where he first learned about his fame in the Wizarding Community. He learned his parents had left him a small fortune in a vault at Gringotts.

Phoenix-feather Wand
Harry Potter's magic wand is eleven inches long and made of holly. Its core is made of Dumbledore's phoenix's, Fawkes's tail feather. It was crafted by Ollivander, who also crafted a twin wand from yew and the only other feather the phoenix ever gave. This twin wand chose Tom Marvolo Riddle as its wielder. Riddle, under the alias of Lord Voldemort, would later use this wand to attack Harry and his parents. The two wands, sharing the same phoenix origin, have a unique connection which prevented them from successfully dueling.

First Year at Hogwarts
Harry Potter was further guided by destiny when he met his lifelong friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger while riding the Hogwarts Express. At first the Sorting Hat thought about putting Harry into Slytherin, but changed its mind. All three were Sorted into Gryffindor House on their first evening at school.

Harry discovered at his first broom-flying lesson that he was a natural flyer. This enabled him to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team, becoming the youngest Seeker in more than a century, as First Year students normally were not allowed to have their own brooms.

Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort, long presumed dead, was secretly mounting a return. Using the new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Quirinus Quirrell, as a host body, he was able to search for the Philosopher's Stone, which he believed would restore him his body and grant him immortality. Voldemort was thwarted by Harry, with great help from Ron and Hermione. Overall, the events of Harry's first year at Hogwarts set the three students in a bond of everlasting friendship which would carry them through every obstacle that came to them from the forces of Darkness.



Second Year at Hogwarts
Harry faced adversity at the school when he and his fellow students learned he could speak Parseltongue. Because of this and the events surrounding the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry was suspected to be the "Heir of Slytherin," who was believed responsible for attacks on Muggle-born pupils at the school. Ron's sister Ginny Weasley was put in danger as Voldemort again used an innocent person as a means to carry out his ambitions. He hypnotized her using an enchanted diary, forcing her to vandalise the school, as well as terrify the wizarding community by releasing a deadly Basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets.

After much research, Harry was able to get into the Chamber of Secrets using Parseltongue, accompanied for a short time by Ron and Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. With the help of Godric Gryffindor's sword and Fawkes, Harry was able to rescue Ginny from the Chamber, slay the Basilisk, and destroy the bewitched diary. In addition, Harry was able to trick Lucius Malfoy into freeing his mistreated house-elf, Dobby.

Third Year at Hogwarts
In 1993, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. Everyone was convinced that Harry Potter was his target. Even the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, granted him a reprieve from punishment for inadvertently engorging his Aunt Marge because of the tense climate in the community.

Harry experienced difficulty with his social sphere when he was barred from joining student outings to Hogsmeade, the nearby wizarding village. He was able to sneak to Hogsmeade with the help of Fred and George Weasley, who gave him the Marauder's Map, a magical document showing secret passageways in and out of Hogwarts, as well as every person's location within the castle. Harry used a secret passage and his Invisibility Cloak to sneak to Hogsmeade numerous times over the course of the year.

At Christmas, Harry received a Firebolt racing broom from an anonymous benefactor after his Nimbus 2000 was destroyed by the Whomping Willow during a Quidditch match. Suspecting Black sent it, Hermione Granger reported it to Professor McGonagall, who confiscated it for testing. In the fullness of time, Harry learned that Sirius Black was not only his godfather and his father's best friend, but that he was a prisoner at Azkaban for allegedly divulging the Potters' secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdering their friend, Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve Muggle bystanders. At this, Harry vowed to take revenge. Through his efforts to avenge his parents and Pettigrew, Harry discovered the truth: Black was innocent, and Pettigrew, an unregistered Animagus hiding as Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers, had faked his own death and framed Black for the crimes. Through disastrous events, Pettigrew escaped, but Harry managed to prevent Sirius from being recaptured by fighting off a hoard of Dementors with a Patronus Charm. Sirius was forced back into hiding, but he was saved.

Fourth Year at Hogwarts
In 1994, Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament, a recently-revived inter-school competition. The Beauxbatons Academy and the Durmstrang Institute also participated. Harry was mysteriously chosen as a fourth competitor, even though he was underage and never entered his name into the Goblet of Fire during the selection process. Almost everybody did not believe Harry's story, however; Ron, jealous of the attention Harry was getting, stopped speaking to him for a time. Hermione, on the other hand, "accepted his story without question", and assisted Harry in preparing for the Tournament by teaching him useful spells such as Accio.

The champions faced three dangerous challenges on their way to the Triwizard Cup. Harry's life was threatened many times during this competition and the quality of his social life suffered terribly, due to jealousy and resentment from his peers. Numerous times, he declined help from Ludo Bagman; he felt that accepting help from Bagman would feel like cheating more than asking for help from Ron, Hermione, or Sirius. After witnessing how dangerous the First Task was, Ron realized Harry had not cheated to get into the tournament, and the two friends made up.

Harry asked his long-time crush Cho Chang to attend the Yule Ball with him, and was disappointed to learn that she had already accepted the invitation of Cedric Diggory, whom she would subsequently date. Harry and Ron ended up attending with Parvati and Padma Patil, respectively. They both ended up neglecting their dates, as Harry watched Cho and Ron was overcome with jealousy for Viktor Krum, who escorted Hermione.

During the final event, Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory and Harry both showed supreme sportsmanship and cooperation, and agreed to touch the Triwizard Cup simultaneously, planning to tie for first place. They were unaware it was actually a Portkey. They were transported to the graveyard at Little Hangleton, the Riddle family's final resting place, where Lord Voldemort was waiting. On Voldemort's order, his servant Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail) murdered Cedric with the Killing Curse.

Harry was bound to Tom Riddle Sr.'s tombstone and forced to witness a ritual, which used his own blood, to restore Lord Voldemort's body. At the same time, Death Eaters from all over the world arrived at the cemetery, further compounding the seriousness of Harry's situation. When Voldemort regained his frail and spindly human form, he immediately engaged Harry in a duel. The nature of their wands' mystical connection caused their magical streams to interlock, which created an effect called Priori Incantatem. Harry was momentarily shielded, which allowed him time to grab the Portkey and escape back to Hogwarts.

Once more, Voldemort had been using a foolish victim to carry out his deceits. It was uncovered that Barty Crouch Jr, who had unwittingly joined forces with Voldemort as a young boy, was during all that school year disguised as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Alastor Moody. In a terrible turn of fate, Crouch's soul was destroyed with a Dementor's Kiss before he could repeat his confession to officials. As a result, the Ministry of Magic began to dispute Harry and Albus Dumbledore's insistence that Voldemort had returned.

Fifth Year at Hogwarts
Witnessing Cedric Diggory's murder was very difficult for Harry. It was not helpful that he was forced back to Privet Drive for the summer holidays. To make things worse than they were already, Dolores Umbridge, under-secretary for the Minister for Magic, ordered Dementors to attack Harry in the Muggle town of Little Whinging. Harry was forced to perform a Patronus Charm to save him and Dudley. Subsequently, Harry was formally accused of performing underage magic and was made to appear at a Wizengamot hearing at the Ministry of Magic. He was threatened with expulsion from Hogwarts, but was exonerated with help from Albus Dumbledore. In retaliation against Dumbledore, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge appointed Umbridge as the new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher so she can spy on the school. She was later appointed High Inquisitor, empowered to arbitrarily change and impose school rules.

Having always been expected to be picked as a Prefect by Albus Dumbledore, he was dissapointed when Ron and  Hermione were chosen and not him. It was later revealed that Ron was chosen instead of Harry because Dumbledore thought that Harry had "enough responsibility to be going on with." Harry's jealousy threatened to affect his friendship with Ron, but he felt better when he discovered that his dad was also not chosen as a prefect at school.

Urged by Hermione, Harry secretly trained students in real defensive magic. The group call themselves Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A.. Cho Chang became a member, and she and Harry kissed under the mistletoe in the Room of Requirement, though their romance suffered because of Cho's grief and confusion over Cedric Diggory's death. Cho also had misplaced jealousy towards Hermione and defended her friend Marietta Edgecombe when the girl betrayed the D.A. to Umbridge, which caused things between her and Harry to just "fall apart".

Lord Voldemort wanted a "secret weapon" against Harry Potter, as he felt threatened by his existence. He had heard of a prophecy hidden in the Ministry's Department of Mysteries having to do with him and Harry. Thus, Voldemort once again manipulated an innocent mind to his desires by implanting a false vision in Harry's mind that Sirius was being tortured at the Ministry. This forced Harry into action as he and D.A. members Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood felt compelled to rush to his rescue.

Lured into the Department of Mysteries, the students met with an ambush of Death Eaters. Order of the Phoenix reinforcements arrived in time, but Sirius Black was pushed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, through a stone archway, to his death.

Lord Voldemort himself appeared, enraged by the failures of his cronies. For the second time, he attempted to fatally curse Harry, but Dumbledore's sudden arrival saved him. Voldemort grabbed Bellatrix and Disapparates, but not before being seen by the Minister and Ministry employees, which vindicated both Harry and Dumbledore.

Sixth Year at Hogwarts
In 1996, following Voldemort's reappearance at the Ministry of Magic, many in the wizarding world now called Harry "The Chosen One." This does nothing for Harry's difficulty in socializing with his peers. Much to his chagrin, in addition Harry inherited his godfather Sirius Black's estate, including Grimmauld Place and the Black's melancholic and half-crazed house elf, Kreacher. And Harry learned that he had been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

In that same year, Severus Snape was promoted to professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. His vacant position as Potions instructor was filled by Horace Slughorn, who Harry unwittingly helped Dumbledore to recruit. However, Slughorn's appointment reopened Harry's career options to becoming an Auror (otherwise, Harry's O.W.L. score in Potions under Professor Snape would have been inadequate for N.E.W.T.-level courses). As Harry had not bothered to purchase a Potions textbook, Professor Slughorn lent Harry an old textbook in the supply cabinet. Harry sees it is signed as once belonging to a student identified only as "The Half-Blood Prince". The book contained copious handwritten notes that helped Harry to excel in Potions for once. In fact, his skills won him a prize from Slughorn--a small vial of Felix Felicis. During this year, Harry also became romantically involved with Ginny Weasley.

Dumbledore began giving Harry private lessons with the Pensieve. They took journeys together into various individuals' memories concerning Voldemort. Dumbledore surmised that to ensure immortality, Voldemort splintered his soul into seven fragments called Horcruxes. Five pieces were placed into common objects and two into living objects. Two Horcruxes were previously destroyed (Tom Riddle's diary and Marvolo Gaunt's ring). Harry and Dumbledore retrieved a third Horcrux, a locket, hidden inside a seaside cave, although Dumbledore is weakened to the brink of death by the effort.

They returned to find Hogwarts invaded by Death Eaters. On that night, Albus Dumbledore was killed by Severus Snape, who identified himself to Harry as the Half-Blood Prince as he escaped Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy. Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body, but is beside himself to learn it is just a plain bit of jewelery; a note inside revealed the real Horcrux was taken by someone called R.A.B.. It appeared to him that Dumbledore had died in vain.

Hunting the Horcruxes
In 1997, Harry vowed to leave Hogwarts in order to search for and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. He was joined by Ron and Hermione, who left their families to accompany him. They were forced to break numerous wizarding laws to accomplish their goal of destroying Lord Voldemort.

Harry spent time studying his quest, which involved the past deeds and Last Will and Testament of Albus Dumbledore, the identity of Gellert Grindelwald, and the legend of the Deathly Hallows.

The first Horcrux they found was Salazar Slytherin's Locket, which Harry took from around Dolores Umbridge's neck in a feat of great bravery and nerve. The trio was then forced to travel all over Britain to evade capture, as they had assaulted Ministry employees. This locket, full of evil energy, caused strife among the friends and Ron Weasley temporarily left their team.

While in the Forest of Dean, Harry was led to the Sword of Godric Gryffindor by the light of a spectral doe which turned out to be the Patronus of Severus Snape. The sword had the capability to destroy the Horcrux which no other object was able to accomplish. It was during the struggle with the sword and locket that he and Ron were reunited.

The location of the second Horcrux was revealed to Harry through shrewd observation of Bellatrix Lestrange. He deduced the object was hidden in her family's Gringotts vault, although in acquiring Helga Hufflepuff's Cup Harry lost Gryffindor's sword and was unable to destroy it. Ron and Hermione would later eliminate the cup with a Basilisk fang.

A vision of Voldemort helped Harry realise Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, the third Horcrux, remained at Hogwarts. The trio returned to Hogwarts to obtain the diadem, which is secured in the Room of Requirement when the room takes on the form of a vast storage facility. The entire room is destroyed by Fiendfyre, created by Vincent Crabbe in an attempt to kill Harry.

Events culminated in a final battle, as Voldemort demanded Harry and the Hogwarts community fight him. Harry uses the passage between the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack to sneak up on Voldemort. Thus he witnessed the murder of Severus Snape at the hands of Voldemort, as Voldemort believed Snape was preventing him from being the true owner of the Elder Wand. Before he died, Snape gave Harry memories to view in the Pensieve which informed Harry that he must sacrifice himself to be killed by Voldemort. Harry learned he himself constituted a Horcrux that Voldemort wasn't even aware of. Because Voldemort's soul was so unstable, when he tried to kill Harry a part of Voldemort's soul was placed within Harry.

Heavy of heart, he courageously slipped off on his own to carry out this dreadful task. However, the "death" he met was not permanent: The blood Voldemort took from Harry to restore his physical form created a deep bond between them, and Harry's willingness to die triggered strong protections on the people of Hogwarts similar to the protections he received from his mother's sacrifice.

Voldemort, cocky and foolhardy as ever, advanced to Hogwarts grounds to fight students and faculty. In his folly, he underestimated the exceptional wizard Neville Longbottom, who, in a rare act of blind courage, destroyed the giant snake (and the final Horcrux) Nagini with Godric Gryffindor's Sword, which he pulled out of the Sorting Hat in the same way Harry had done it during his second year to defeat the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry prepared himself to finally kill Voldemort. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, the Elder Wand, which he stole from Dumbledore's grave, will not obey the wizard who wields it, but the wizard who owns it; Harry became its rightful owner when he disarmed Draco Malfoy. It thus refuses to execute the Killing Curse on Harry, rebounding onto Voldemort, who finally is silenced forever.

Harry Potter, in an act of great humility and compassion, prevented the Deathly Hallows from ever being reunited by keeping the Invisibility Cloak, dropping the Resurrection Stone, and returning the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave.

In the destruction of Lord Voldemort and the subsequent diminishing of all his powers, Harry Potter lost the ability to speak Parseltongue In addition, the scar on Harry's forehead no longer held magical powers, nor did it cause him pain from then on.

1998-2017
After Lord Voldemort's defeat, Harry went to work for the Auror's Office at the Ministry of Magic. In 2007, he became head of the Auror Department. By 2017, Harry and Ginny were married and had three children, whom they named James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna.

Harry also ensured that Severus Snape's portrait was hung in the Headmasters office at Hogwarts, although he never went to speak to it. He was also on "Christmas Card" terms with Dudley and his family, and occassionally visited him, which were occasions dreaded by his own children.

Magical Abilities & Skills
Skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts: Harry Potter is "particularly talented" in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Flying Skill: Harry shows immediate command of a broomstick, which made him a naturally good Seeker in Quidditch. His flying ability also aided him in the Triwizard Tournament, when he had to steal a golden egg from a Hungarian Horntail, and during the Battle of Hogwarts, where he managed to escape a Fiendfyre inferno in the Room of Requirement.

Skilled Duelist: He is able to hold his own against Death Eaters and even Lord Voldemort and survive on several confrontations.

Patronus Charm: He is able to produce a full Patronus at an early age. Harry's Patronus is a Stag, like his father's Animagus form.

Parselmouth (Formerly): Harry is able to speak and understand Parseltongue, a language associated with Dark Magic, because he harbours a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul. After Voldemort destroys that soul fragment, Harry loses the ability to speak Parseltongue. Harry "is very glad" to have lost this "gift."

Insight into Voldemort's mind: Also due to the piece of Voldemort's soul in him, Harry is able to see things from Voldemort's point of view, and see into his mind. He uses this ability to find out where Voldemort is, and what he's up to.

Master of the Deathly Hallows: Harry was master of all three of the Deathly Hallows for a time. Harry overpowered Draco Malfoy, and stole his wand at the Malfoy Manor; As Draco was the Elder Wand's true master at the time, the wand's allegiance ultimately turned to Harry, to spite the wand's being in the possession of Lord Voldemort. The Resurrection Stone was left to Harry by Albus Dumbledore in his will; Dumbledore had hidden the stone inside of the snitch that Harry caught during his very first Quidditch match. The Cloak of Invisibility was rightfully Harry's as it was passed down to him through the generations from it's original owner, Ignotus Peverell, who was Harry's ancestor. The Resurrection Stone was lost in the forbidden forest in 1998, while the Elder Wand was returned to the tomb of Albus Dumbledore in the same year. The only one of the three hallows that has not been lost or hidden is the Cloak of Invisibility, which is presumably still in Harry Potter's possession.

Physical description
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby. Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."

- Rubeus Hagrid to the eleven-year-old Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is a near-spitting image of his father, having jet black, untidy hair, although with brilliant green eyes that are identical to those of his mother. Harry's physique as a boy was described as "small and skinny", with a thin face and knobbly knees, due to his poor quality of life in his childhood. In time he would grow to be "within an inch" of his father's height, and James was often described as tall. He wears round-rimmed glasses. Upon his forehead, covered by his unruly black hair, is a scar shaped like a lightning bolt. The scar is a result of the failed Avada Kedavra curse cast on him by Lord Voldemort. It burns when Voldemort is nearby or feeling particularly strong emotions, though this ceases after his death.

Possessions
"He's been left a house?"

- Vernon Dursley

Potter Inheritance: When Harry's parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort, they left behind a somewhat large savings account in vault 687 of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. This inheritance became Harry's source of funding for all his Hogwarts textbooks, wizarding clothes, and spending money.

Wand: As is the case with most wizards, his wand is among his most valued magical possessions. Harry's is made of holly, a wood with the powers to repel evil. The wand is in deliberate contrast to the wand of Lord Voldemort, which is Yew. It broke in 1997 and was repaired in 1998.

Cloak of Invisibility: Another valued and useful possession is Harry's Cloak of Invisibility. In his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he received it as an anonymous Christmas gift. He later learned the gift came from Albus Dumbledore, who obtained it in turn from Harry's father, James Potter. It was later revealed to be a family heirloom as well as one of the three Deathly Hallows.

Deathly Hallows: For a brief moment, Harry possessed all three Deathly Hallows: the Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand. These three artifacts were the most powerful magical items in all of the wizarding-world and were so ancient that they were only the subject of fairy tales. When Harry lost the Resurrection Stone inside the Forbidden Forest, he decided to leave it there. Harry also interred the Elder Wand in Albus Dumbledore's grave, so the power of the wand would be extinguished after Harry's eventual death. However, the portrait of Dumbledore that hangs in the Headmaster's Office advised Harry to keep the Invisibility Cloak, since it was his father's.

Hedwig: Harry's magical familiar and animal companion, Hedwig, was vitally helpful in delivering messages and packages for Harry, especially while Sirius was in hiding from the Ministry of Magic. Hedwig is killed during the Battle over Little Whinging by a stray Killing Curse.

Godric Gryffindor's Sword: A relic of the Founder of Harry's house, the goblin-made sword of Godric Gryffindor was left to Harry by his former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in his will. However, the Ministry of Magic claimed that it was not Dumbledore's to give, and that it truly belonged to Hogwarts. Although the Ministry confiscated a replica of the sword, the true sword found its way into Harry's possession still through the machinations of Severus Snape. Soon after, Ron Weasley used it to destroy Salazar Slytherin's Locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry lost the sword to Griphook while stealing Helga Hufflepuff's Cup from the Lestrange vault at Gringotts. However, the sword reappeared in the hands of Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts; he used it to kill Nagini and thus destroyed the last of the horcruxes. Neville was seen sitting beside the sword after the Battle of Hogwarts, but it is likely that either Harry kept the sword in his family, or that it was returned to Hogwarts as a relic of the Founders along with the remains of the other Founders' relics.

After Sirius died, all of his remaining possessions were passed along to Harry. This included:

Buckbeak/Witherwings:

The Black Family Residence:""As you can see, Harry," said Dumbledore loudly, over Kreacher's continued croaks of "won't, won't, won't," "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."" Located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, it and all the contents and furnishings of the house, including Kreacher (the family house-elf) became Harry's. Mundungus Fletcher would later try to steal many of Harry's inherited possessions, including Salazar Slytherin's Locket.

Black Family Inheritance: Harry also inherited the remainder of Sirius' wealth in wizard's gold at Gringotts.

Enchanted Knife: This magical knife, with the power to open most mechanical locks and magical seals, was destroyed when Harry tried it on a locked door at the Department of Mysteries. The protective enchantments on the door were far stronger than the magic of the knife. (Harry received for Christmas).

Communication Mirror: Harry also owns one in a pair of two-way mirrors, given to him by his godfather Sirius Black. The mirror was intended to be a means covert communication, but it was broken. Harry did not realize the mirror could still work, although he kept a shard out of sentimentality. When Harry and several friends are captured at Malfoy Manor, at the time being used as a headquarters for Voldemort, Harry used the shard of mirror to communicate with Aberforth Dumbledore, who had the other mirror. Aberforth sent Dobby to rescue Harry.

Parents


James and Lily Potter died when their son was one year old, thus he barely knew them, but nevertheless regarded them with great reverence and grew angry if anyone spoke ill of them. In 1995, he punched Draco Malfoy for insulting his mother, and he frequently became furious with Professor Snape, who taunted Harry that James was not the great man others made him out to be. Snape was, to Harry's horror, proven right in the spring of 1996, when Harry accidentally witnessed James bullying Snape in one of his memories during Harry's occulemency lessons. The few times he ever saw his parents were through pictures given to him by Rubeus Hagrid; a vision within the Mirror of Erised; spectral forms which came out of his wand during Priori Incantatem; stored memories within the Pensieve; and more spectral forms as he succumbed to his "death" during the Battle of Hogwarts. He then, eventually, "called" his parents through the Resurrection Stone. He eventually named two of his children after James and Lily.

Lord Voldemort


Lord Voldemort is Harry's mortal enemy. He lost his parents to him as an infant and battled him several times. Harry's destiny was locked with Voldemort's because of a prophecy concerning them; Voldemort also unintentionally embedded a piece of his soul in Harry when he attempted to kill him, as indicated by his famous lightning-bolt scar, giving the two a lifelong connection. This link made Harry a Parselmouth, a trait Voldemort inherited from the Gaunts, and allowed him to see into Voldemort's mind on occasion. Voldemort used this link to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries in 1996 by giving him a vision of his godfather being tortured. Throughout his hunt for the Horcruxes, Harry would see glimpses of Voldemort's perspective, and his scar would burn when the Dark Lord was angry. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry tried to make Voldemort feel some remorse for his evil deeds, in vain, and defeated him.

Albus Dumbledore


Albus Dumbledore was a mentor to Harry. He arranged for Harry to be rescued from Godric's Hollow after his parents' murder and left him in the care of his aunt Petunia Dursley in order to give him the benefit of the magical protection of his mother's blood.

In Harry's fifth year, he admitted to Harry that he hadn't told him of the prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort because he wanted to spare him the pain and responsibility of it. Harry was furious with him for this, but the two continued to be close. By Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore took on the role of providing Harry with additional insights into the origins of Lord Voldemort, largely through the use of the Pensieve. He entrusted Harry with the task of getting a final, crucial memory from Horace Slughorn regarding Voldemort's knowledge of Horcruxes.

Dumbledore's death was devastating to Harry, and he perservered on the task Dumbledore had given him — that of destroying the Horcruxes — despite learning that there was much Dumbledore had not told him about his history with the Deathly Hallows and Gellert Grindelwald, though Harry resented that Dumbledore kept things from him. When Harry was struck by the Killing Curse during the Battle of Hogwarts, his soul went to a place resembling King's Cross Station, where Dumbledore was waiting to speak with him. The fact that Dumbledore himself was there to meet Harry in a place between life and death attests to the bond of fellowship between them.

Dudley Dursley


Harry and his cousin Dudley didn't get along very well for most of their early lives. Dudley would constantly bully Harry during his childhood, but did his best not to provoke him after he found out Harry was a wizard. When the Dursleys were sent into hiding during the last year of the Second Wizarding War, Dudley was the only one who expressed concern over Harry's safety, as well as remorse for his prior treatment of him. They eventually made peace when they grew up, and visited each other on occasion.

Ron Weasley


Ron Weasley became Harry's best friend during their first year at Hogwarts. Due to his background, he was often called on to explain customs and items that were commonplace to wizards to Harry, who was raised by Muggles. They became like brothers, and were close friends who sometimes fought. They had a major fallout in 1994 when Harry was made a Triwizard Champion; Ron initially believed that Harry cheated in order to become one so that he could achieve more attention and glory. They also briefly fell out in 1997 due to the negative energy within Salazar Slytherin's Locket, which led to Ron temporarily abandoning Harry and Hermione on the search for the Horcruxes. However, he immediately regretted leaving, and returned to save Harry's life. These events only served to reinforce their bond and they remained friends for life. Ron's sense of humour and enjoyment of Quidditch often helped Harry relax and have fun even in the darkest times of his life. The two would eventually become brothers-in-law.

Hermione Granger
"I love her like a sister and I reckon that she feels the same way about me. It’s always been like that."

- Harry explains his friendship with Hermione to Ron

Hermione Granger became Harry's friend after they faced a Mountain Troll together in 1991. Harry admitted in 1997 that he loved Hermione like a sister. Her quick mind was at times the only thing that saved the three friends from failure in many endeavours, both life-threatening and in the every-day. Hermione often chastised Harry when he wouldn't obey rules and when she believed he was wrong, such as when Harry briefly considered pursuing the Deathly Hallows instead of the Horcruxes. However, she always stuck by him and was fiercely protective of him, snapping at Lavender Brown when she doubted Harry's claim that Lord Voldemort returned and interceding when Dolores Umbridge was about to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry. Hermione stood by Harry even when Ron doubted him during the Triwizard Tournament, accepting his story "without question", and when Ron temporarily left them in 1997, despite her own romantic feelings for Ron. Hermione also gave Harry advice rather often, such as when he was romantically interested in Cho Chang. Like Harry himself described, Hermione is his closest female friend and akin to a sister, and it could be futher said she is like an older sister, protective and always trying to keep him in line. Most appropriately, through her marriage to Ron Weasley, she becomes his sister-in-law through his marriage to Ron's sister, Ginny.

Severus Snape


During his years in school, Harry's relationship with Potions master Severus Snape was nothing short of deepest loathing. When Harry first saw Snape in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, he got the initial feeling that Snape disliked him; only after his first Potions lesson did Harry realize the resentment dug much deeper. Harry soon learned that Snape saw Harry as a younger version of his father — a self-centered boy who enjoyed the attention paid to him, and "so arrogant that criticism simply bounce[d] off him."

When Snape was killed in 1998, Harry felt remorse for why and how Snape had died. His hatred of Snape also began to ebb away after learning of Snape's loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix, as well the inspiration for his decision — the lifelong unrequited love for Harry's mother. By 2017, Harry's dislike of Snape was almost nonexistent: he considered Snape to the one of the bravest men he had ever known, and gave his younger son the middle name "Severus." In time, Harry ensured that a portrait of Snape was hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, although he never went to speak to it.

Sirius Black
"It was cruel that you and Sirius had such a short time together. A brutal ending to what should have been a long and happy relationship."

- Albus Dumbledore

Filling in as a father figure/big brother, Sirius Black was Harry's most frequent and trusted confidant as well as his godfather. When Harry's scar hurt in 1994, he acknowledged that he could ask Sirius anything without feeling foolish. During Dolores Umbridge's dictatorial rule over Hogwarts in 1995-1996, Sirius supported Harry's plan to teach other students practical defensive magic, telling Harry that he and James would have done the same thing.

When Sirius was killed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry refused to believe he was dead; only after realizing that Sirius would never leave him alone, while screaming for him as if his life depended on it, Harry was forced to accept that Sirius was indeed gone. For the following months, Harry avoided talking about Sirius if he could; whenever the subject came up, he would busy himself in some way to avoid joining the discussion. When Harry prepared to sacrifice himself to Voldemort in 1998, Sirius was one of the spirits called to him by use of the Resurrection Stone. Sirius assured Harry that dying was "quicker and easier" than falling asleep.

Harry was also very protective of Sirius. Knowing that the Ministry believed him guilty of mass murder, Harry refused to put Sirius in danger if it could be avoided. When Harry was mysteriously entered into the Triwizard Tournament, he tried everything to convince Sirius to remain in hiding instead of returning to England. During Umbridge's year at the school, Harry asked Sirius not to come to Hogsmeade as Padfoot, since he didn't want to risk Sirius getting thrown back into Azkaban; while Sirius obeyed Harry's wishes, he observed that James would have been willing to take the risk.

Rubeus Hagrid
"There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid."

- Harry, after Hagrid's return from Azkaban

Rubeus Hagrid was Harry's first friend in the wizarding world. In effect, he rescued Harry twice: once from the wreckage of his destroyed home, as a baby; second, from the Dursleys' to take him back into the wizarding world. Harry constantly defended the half-giant Hagrid against name-calling and mockery, and for that, Harry was dear to Hagrid. Hagrid was the one who carried Harry out of the Forbidden Forest, when he was pretending to be dead at the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. Both orphans, Hagrid had a sort of fatherly caring for Harry that could be compared of an uncle.

Cho Chang
"Well, obviously, she’s feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she’s feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can’t work out who she likes best. Then she’ll be feeling guilty, thinking it’s an insult to Cedric’s memory to be kissing Harry at all…"

- Hermione on Cho Chang after the latter’s kiss with Harry

As a young boy (1993-1996), Harry found Cho Chang very pretty and was attracted to her as a peer in Quidditch. In his fourth year, he wanted to ask her to the Yule Ball, but when he finally plucked up the courage, she told him she had already agreed to go with Cedric Diggory. In his fifth year at Hogwarts, they shared a kiss, but adolescent hormones raged and Cho found herself unable to maintain a relationship while mourning Cedric. She was also unreasonably jealous of Harry's friendship with Hermione, mistaking their camaraderie for romantic attraction. The last straw was Cho's friend Marietta Edgecombe betraying the D.A. to Umbridge; Cho defended Marietta and called the jinx Hermione had placed on the D.A. parchment a "horrible trick", both of which angered Harry. The two stopped speaking to one another, and Cho was soon dating Michael Corner. However, any animosity seems to have vanished by 1998, as Cho was among the former D.A. members who returned to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. In fact, there are signs that Cho wants to restart a romantic relationship with Harry. Just before the Battle of Hogwarts she offers to show Harry the Ravenclaw common room and looks disappointed when Ginny "fiercely" suggests Luna do so instead.

Ginny Weasley
Ginny Weasley and Harry first met at King's Cross Station in 1991, though they did not formally meet until the summer of 1992, at which point it became blatantly clear that Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. Until 1994 she was too shy and nervous around him to even speak to him comfortably; he was a celebrity in her eyes, and to him she was his best friend's little sister.

Hermione helped her in a sisterly way by advising her to be more like herself around Harry and perhaps even see other people. Ginny took this advice, and Harry came to see her as she truly was, strong-willed and compassionate. He started fantasizing about kissing her, and had dreams about her of a seemingly intimate nature, as he said to himself that the ways she appeared in his dreams made him very glad that Ron couldn't perform Legilimency. In 1996 Harry realized his feelings for her and they spontaneously kissed at a Gryffindor Quidditch Cup victory party. They began dating, and Harry regarded this time as one of the happiest in his life. Following the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Harry reluctantly ended their relationship to protect her from the wrath of Lord Voldemort.

The two of them saw each other again, when Harry came over to the Burrow a few months later. While he was there, he and Ginny remembered the time they had spent together, demonstrating the strength of their feelings for each other. On Harry's 17th birthday, the two of them passionately kissed in Ginny's bedroom as something for him to remember her by. The two were separated for several months while Harry tracked down Horcruxes with Ron and Hermione while Ginny returned to Hogwarts, but they still held feelings for one another.

Both of them took part in the Battle of Hogwarts, although Harry was reluctant to let Ginny participate. During his "sacrifice" to Voldemort, Harry thought of Ginny, and later in the battle, after Ginny was nearly killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry ran at Bellatrix, rather than Voldemort, but was beaten to it by Mrs. Weasley. After Voldemort's defeat, Harry and Ginny were free to continue their relationship. Between 1998 and 2017, they married and had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Albus was Harry's only child who inherited his grandmother's eyes (and, in turn, Harry's eyes), while Lily was the only one who inherited Lily and Ginny's red hair.

Draco Malfoy


Draco Malfoy became Harry's rival almost from the moment they met at Madam Malkin's on Diagon Alley. Draco came from a family that believed strongly in the importance of blood purity, thus he considered himself superior to most people, bullying and insulting Muggle-borns and Gryffindors in particular. He was bitterly jealous of Harry's seemingly effortless heroism. Draco bit off more than he could chew in his ambition to be like his father, Lucius Malfoy, when he became a Death Eater at a young age. Although he let Death Eaters into Hogwarts in 1997, he was unable to kill Albus Dumbledore, as he had been ordered to do by Voldemort, who threatened his parents to ensure his compliance. Because of his family's switching of sides during the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco was not sent to Azkaban for his crimes. By 2017, he was married and had a son. He saw Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron at King's Cross Station when sending their children to Hogwarts, and gave them a curt nod. J.K. Rowling has confirmed that Draco and Harry have made peace, but are still not friends.



Weasley Family
Besides the already mentioned Ron and Ginny Weasley, Harry had a close relationship with the Weasleys, who were more of a family to him than the Dursleys ever were. Molly even mentioned that Harry was like a son to her, and her Boggart - of dead family members, one after another - included Harry. Arthur liked to discuss Muggle things with Harry, and twins Fred and George helped Harry out by passing him the Marauder's Map and as D.A. members. Harry spent many of his holidays at the Weasley home, the Burrow. Fred and George are Harry's close friends. And it is also mentioned that Harry liked Percy Weasley least of Ron's brothers. Harry officially became part of the weasley family when he married Ginny and had children with her.



Minerva McGonagall
Harry also had a good relationship with Professor McGonagall. While during his first three years it was just a student teacher relationship, after Harry was selected to become a Triwizard Champion, she became warmer towards him, and began to look out for him. Several occurences of his closeness to her was when Umbridge gloated that she was too ill to talk to anyone after being hit by four Stunners, Harry felt a powerful surge of anger. McGonagall also stood up for him to Umbridge, promising to help him become an Auror if it was the last thing she did. And in Deathly Hallows, her depth of her care is revealed, when she says proudly that Harry is in her house, and he reciprocates by using Crucio on Amycus Carrow after he spat in her face. Her care is also shown when Voldemort has Harry's seemingly dead body brought out from the Forest, and she gives a terrible cry nearly equal to that of Ron, Hermione and Ginny. She also shows her devotion to Harry by arming Hogwarts on Harry's request, and then fighting Voldemort head on in the final battle.

Behind the scenes

 * Harry is played in the films by Daniel Radcliffe. By the time Deathly Hallows is released, he will have been playing the role for ten years consecutively.
 * Harry the character has green eyes, but Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes. This is due to the fact that Daniel Radcliffe cannot stand contact lenses.
 * Harry has black hair, while Daniel has brown.
 * Harry is portrayed as a very slim boy in all of the books, though Daniel has a strong physical body.
 * Harry was Wizard of the Month on J. K. Rowling's website for the month of October 2007.
 * In the first book, Harry mentions that his 11th birthday was July 31st, on a Tuesday. That date was on a Wednesday in 1991, the year when he's supposed to be 11.
 * Harry is the inspiration for the Wizard Rock band, Harry and the Potters.
 * When Harry is cleaning out his school trunk in 1997, he finds a "Support Cedric Diggory!" badge in there. Considering the badges were only created by Draco Malfoy to get a rise out of Harry in 1994, it seems out of place that Harry has it, although he may have it by accident, or out of respect for Cedric.
 * When Harry and his friends lose 150 House points in 1991, Harry loses favor with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. While understandable, it seems odd that Fred and George Weasley both turned on him.
 * While Harry repeatedly states Hermione is the best student in his year in all classes, he has beaten her in two of the three Defence Against the Dark Arts exams they had together, with Hermione only beating him in their first year exam. Part of this can be put down to Professor Lupin's way of teaching, as it seemed to help bring out Harry's own talent at the subject.
 * In The Mirror of Erised, Harry saw his family, a lot of people with untidy black hair, his own noses, mouths and knees. However, he also saw some people with almond-shaped green eyes, which could indicate that he saw his Muggle family as well, even though he did not see the Dursley family. All people were smiling at him, so there is a thought that all of his family, Wizards and Muggles, are proud of him.
 * Throughout the films, Harry's hair grows longer and longer (the longest point was in the Goblet of Fire) until it was cut for the Order of the Phoenix. It has since grown to about the same length as it was for the Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * In the films, Harry's scar is off-center on his forehead; this was apparently done at J.K. Rowling's request: because of the books' artwork, many fans believe the scar is in the center of his head. But it is never explicitly mentioned where the scar is located.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Wizard of the Month

Notes and references
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