Harry Potter

"To Harry Potter — The Boy Who Lived."

- Wizarding world toasting Harry Potter after Lord Voldemort's first downfall

Harry James Potter (b. July 31, 1980) was a half-blood wizard, the only child and son of James Potter and Lily Potter née Evans, and one of the most famous wizards in modern times. He was also one of the most famous students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry of his time. He was the only known survivor of the Killing Curse, having had Lord Voldemort attempt to murder him when he was an infant, which led to Voldemort's first defeat and the end of the First Wizarding War, as well as to the orphaned Harry being taken in by his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys.

At the age of eleven, Harry learned from Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, that he was a wizard. He began attending Hogwarts and was sorted into Gryffindor house. While at school, Harry became best friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Furthermore, he became the youngest Seeker in over a century and eventually captain of his house's Quidditch team, winning two Quidditch Cups as part of the team. Harry made many great accomplishments during his early years, such as protecting the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and saving Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets. In his fourth year, Harry won the Triwizard Tournament, though the competition ended in tragedy with the death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Lord Voldemort. The following school year, Harry started Dumbledore's Army and fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, during which he lost his godfather, who was like a father to him.

Harry played a significant role in many other battles of the Second Wizarding War and hunted down and destroyed Voldemort's various Horcruxes with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he witnessed many deaths, including those of Severus Snape and Fred Weasley. He encountered Voldemort and sacrificed himself, knowing the only way to destroy the piece of Voldemort's Soul that was inside him was to sacrifice himself. However, he did not die; he dueled Voldemort one last time, and defeated the Dark Lord. After the war, Harry became an Auror and married his best friend Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley, with whom he had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. He had felt the effects of the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse several times. He was also hit by the Killing Curse twice, but managed to survive both times. Harry is also notable for being the only known Master of Death having united the three Deathly Hallows.

Family lineage
"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Head Girl at Hogwarts in their day!"

- Rubeus Hagrid talking about Harry's parents

The Potters were an old, very wealthy pure-blood family, and Harry inherited much of his money from his parents. The Potters descended from the Peverell family, an ancient wizarding line, through Ignotus Peverell, who passed an Invisibility cloak on to his descendants. The Gaunts, descendants of Salazar Slytherin, also descend from the Peverells, through Ignotus' brother Cadmus, who passed on the Resurrection Stone as a family heirloom in a signet ring, making Harry and Tom Marvolo Riddle very distant relatives.

It is also possible that Harry was distantly related, on his father's side, to the Blacks, Malfoys, Weasleys, and the Longbottoms, and almost all other pure-blood families, making him distantly related to various other wizards and witches, including Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius Black, Nymphadora Tonks, and even his own wife Ginny Weasley, though the degree of consanguinity is not known.

Harry's maternal relatives are the Muggle Evans and Dursley families.

Childhood
"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe'en ten years ago. You was just a year old."

- Rubeus Hagrid on Harry's parent's deaths

Harry James Potter was born on July 31, 1980, to James and Lily Potter, members of the 1st Order of the Phoenix during the height of the First Wizarding War. From birth, he lived in hiding with his parents after Lord Voldemort marked them for death. 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, faked his own death, and framed Sirius Black for everything.



On the evening of October 31st, 1981, Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow and ended the lives of Harry's parents; he started with James, who tried to stand up to him, unfortunately he did not have his wand with him and was killed immediately. He then advanced on Lily Potter, who died protecting Harry. It was her sacrifice that prevented the Killing 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 his powers and physical form (he would've died completely had it not been for the Horcruxes). Harry is the only person known to have survived the Killing Curse. The failed curse left a lightning bolt-shape scar on his forehead. 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 Rubeus Hagrid rescued Harry. Hagrid was given specific orders to take him to his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, but Hagrid was intercepted by Sirius Black, who pleaded for Hagrid to give the baby to him. Hagrid refused, saying that he was told by Dumbledore to get Harry to Privet Drive as quickly as possible. Sirius, though reluctant, gave up and gave Hagrid his flying motorcycle to take Harry to Privet Drive. 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 drunkard. They resented Harry for his magical talents, which were sporadic, but evident. They wouldn't even let Harry say the word "magic". 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 that he was a wizard). For instance, after his aunt 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 his Aunt 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 Dursleys' home. First, Harry's neighbour, Arabella Figg, was a Squib working undercover for the Order of the Phoenix to keep tabs on Harry's well-being (however, to maintain favour with the Dursleys, she was forced to mistreat him whenever they sent him to her). And second, by returning to live with his mother's only living blood relative, the protection that Lily gave Harry would live on. While Harry could call that place home, there he could not be harmed. However, this charm would be broken when Harry turned seventeen years old, or when he no longer called 4 Privet Drive his home.

Muggle primary school
Harry attended normal Muggle school along with Dudley. He did not have any friends, since all the students were afraid of Dudley's gang. It is told that he was good at sports, even though he was the last picked for a team (however, this was more because no one wanted to admit to Dudley that they liked him than because he wasn't any good). Harry once accidentally turned his teacher's wig blue, and somehow found himself on top the school kitchen roof, via Apparation.

If Harry had not gone to Hogwarts, he would have attended Stonewall High, a Muggle school.

Harry's discovery of being a wizard
"Yer a wizard, Harry, and a thumpin' good one."

- Rubeus Hagrid upon meeting Harry for the first time

Harry had no birthday celebrations until the day he turned eleven, 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 Dudley's second bedroom, which soon appeared on letters as the "smallest bedroom." When Harry's Uncle Vernon first read the letter, he turned a pale, porridge grey out of fear that wizards were trying to contact Harry. Because of this, Vernon Dursley 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 Midnight on Harry's birthday, 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 Harry's first birthday celebration. Hagrid gave him a small, homemade birthday cake and an owl, which Harry named Hedwig. Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley where he first learned about his fame in the Wizarding world. He learned his parents had left him a small fortune in a vault at Gringotts.

Phoenix-feather wand
Harry bought his first wand from the wandmaker Ollivander that day. His wand is eleven inches long and made of holly. Its core is made of Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes' tail feather. It was crafted by Ollivander, who had also crafted a twin wand from yew and the only other feather that particular 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 prevents them from successfully dueling against each other.

First year


Harry Potter was further guided by destiny when he met his lifelong best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger while riding the Hogwarts Express. Initially, the Sorting Hat considered putting Harry into Slytherin, but changed its mind at Harry's insistence, as he had heard about the Dark Wizards who had been in the house. All three were Sorted into Gryffindor House on their first evening at school. While Harry immediately took to Ron, he did not immediately befriend Hermione, though he was nicer to her than Ron was. On Halloween, a Mountain Troll was let into the school. The students were sent back to their Common Rooms, but Harry realised that Hermione did not know about the Troll, since she was in the bathroom crying as Ron had made fun of her earlier in the day. Harry and Ron proceeded to the girls bathroom and found the Troll bearing down on Hermione. After Harry stuck his wand up its nose, Ron was able to knock the Troll out with its own club. Hermione lied to the professors when they came to investigate to keep Harry and Ron out of trouble. From that point on, the three were best friends.

Harry discovered at his first broom-flying lesson that he was a natural flyer. Draco Malfoy had taken Neville Longbottom's Rememberall, and Harry had taken it back by using his broom to fly up and catch it. He was so good that he was able to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team, becoming the youngest Seeker in a century, since First year students normally were not allowed to have their own broomstick. Before Harry's first Quidditch match, he received the new Nimbus 2000, top of the line racing broom. During that Quidditch match, Harry's broom was being jinxed, and he had no control over the broom. Ron and Hermione saw Professor Severus Snape staring at Harry and mumbling an incantation. Hermione went to his row and under his seat she cast Lacarnum Inflamarae causing the end of his robes to catch on fire. As soon as Snape stopped making eye contact with Harry, Harry regained control of his broom and zoomed toward the ground. However, it is later revealed that Professor Quirrell was the one jinxing Harry's broom and Snape was trying to perform a counterjinx. On his way, he caught the snitch in his mouth, ending the match and leaving Gryffindor victorious.

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 to his body and grant him everlasting life. 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


Harry's second year started out bad, and gradually got worse. Harry hadn't been in contact with any of his friends, had heard no news from the wizarding world, and had been mistreated by his family, as usual. Harry learned that the reason his friends had not been in contact was because a house-elf called Dobby had been stopping the arrival of letters to Harry. When Harry questioned Dobby as to why, Dobby told him that Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts. Harry refused, saying the wizarding world was where he belonged, and Dobby set out to cause him trouble. During a business meeting between Vernon and a potential client, Dobby used his powers to ruin the party, and then shortly afterward disappeared, framing Harry for the chaos. Despite Dobby's efforts, Harry was rescued by Ron and his brothers, Fred and George. Harry had packed his bags and loaded the Weasleys' flying car. Harry and the brothers arrived at the Burrow in the early hours of the morning, hoping not to be noticed. However, they were, and Mrs. Weasley was furious.



Dobby's first attempt at stopping Harry from returning had failed, so he continued trying. When Harry and the Weasleys arrived at King's Cross Station, Dobby sealed the entrance early and stopped Harry and Ron from passing through to get on the Hogwarts Express. However, this didn't stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts, he and Ron used the Weasleys' Flying Ford Anglia to follow the train to Hogwarts. They arrived later than they had hoped, but all in one piece; until Ron accidentally drove the flying car into the Whomping Willow and broke his wand.

However, Harry's year at Hogwarts was not going to get any better. Throughout the year, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, humiliated Harry repeatedly by dragging Harry into the spotlight against Harry's will. During a dueling class led by Lockhart, Harry revealed himself to his fellow students and members of staff to be a Parselmouth, an uncommon skill that is normally associated with dark wizards. This bought on a great deal of trouble for Harry, since the Chamber of Secrets had been re-opened, and it was the "Heir of Slytherin" who was deemed responsible. Once the chamber had been unveiled, there were various attacks on Muggle-born pupils, including Harry's best friend Hermione Granger. These attacks were believed to have been carried out by the heir, who many believed to be Harry. Harry believed that Draco Malfoy was responsible. Hermione cooked up a Polyjuice Potion that Harry and Ron used to interrogate Malfoy. While writing in a diary he had found, Harry learned that the Chamber had been opened fifty years ago and believed that the monster attacking the students was a large spider owned by Hagrid.

However, Hermione had a different theory. She believed that the monster responsible for these attacks was a Basilisk, and conducted research into her theory. The morning Hermione was attacked, she and Penelope Clearwater had been using a mirror to look around corners for any attacking predator. Hermione had done enough research to figure that the Basilisk had been moving around the school using the pipe system and scribbled her theory down on a scrap piece of paper torn out of a book. She was attacked the same day and her body was taken to the Hospital wing.

Still believing that Hagrid if Hagrid was not responsible, he could at least point them in the right direction, Harry and Ron visited him after the attack on Hermione. They witnessed his arrest by Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and the suspension of Dumbledore. As Hagrid was being led away, he gave the pair a new clue. He told them to follow the spiders. Harry and Ron heeded this advice, even though Ron was deathly afraid of spiders. They met Aragog who informed them that Hagrid was not responsible for opening the Chamber the first time and that the girl who died was killed in a bathroom. A few days later, Harry and Ron discovered the scrap of paper in her hand. Harry and Ron wondered how a great big Basilisk would go around the school undetected, and then they saw the word "pipes."

Harry (and later Ron) would soon learn that the person responsible for opening the Chamber was in fact Ginny Weasley, under the control of a memory of Lord Voldemort by writing into his diary, forcing her to torment and vandalise the school. They also learned that she was being kept down in the Chamber and were told that her "skeleton would lie in the Chamber forever". Determined to rescue Ginny and hopefully catch the Heir and destroy the Basilisk, Harry, accompanied by Ron and Lockhart, was able to locate and open the Chamber using his Parseltongue abilities. Once they got down into the Chamber, it wasn't long before the coward of a man Lockhart attempted to erase Harry and Ron's memories using Ron's broken wand; however, his spell backfired and he erased his own memory. The Chamber roof caved in, separating Harry from Ron and Lockhart.



Separated from Ron and a now deluded Lockhart, Harry ventured on alone. Harry soon found Ginny's unconscious body lying in the Chamber. As he hoped she wasn't dead, he was met by Tom Riddle, a memory stored in the diary. Revealing his history and true nature, Riddle set his beast upon him. Harry managed to defeat the Basilisk with the help of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, and Godric Gryffindor's Sword. However, Harry was bitten by the Basilisk. Harry then pierced the diary with the Basilisk fang, not knowing that he had just destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Fawkes flew over to Harry and cried on his wound. As Phoenix tears have healing powers, Harry survived. Once the chaos was over, Fawkes flew Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Lockhart to safety. Harry spoke with Dumbledore on the events that took place, and explained to him that Ginny was not to blame and that Lockhart was a fraud. Harry and Ron both received Awards for Special Services to the School and two-hundred points apiece for Gryffindor House.

After interpreting Dobby's strange actions in Dumbledore's office, Harry realised that it was ultimately Lucius Malfoy's fault for the Chamber opening. Before term started, he had planted Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny's cauldron in the hope of indirectly opening the Chamber of Secrets. At this time, he did not know the diary was one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. Afterward, Harry was able to trick Lucius into freeing his mistreated house-elf, Dobby, who had been attempting to protect Harry all year, by giving him one of his socks. Malfoy was subsequently sacked as a school governor.

Third year
"I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose!"

- Hermione Granger's concern for Harry after Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban

In 1993, Sirius Black – who had been imprisoned twelve years earlier for allegedly betraying James and Lily Potter to Voldemort and killing twelve Muggles – escaped from Azkaban. Everybody was convinced that Harry 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.

On the train to his third year at Hogwarts, Harry met Remus Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and his father's old friend, when Lupin defended Harry and his friends from Dementors searching for the fugitive Black. Professor Lupin later took to teaching Harry the Patronus Charm to repel the Dementors. Other changes in Harry's third year included the class of Divination, in which Professor Trelawney repeatedly predicted Harry's demise, and students going on outings to Hogsmeade. Harry was not permitted to go, but was able to sneak into the village 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 that Black sent it, Hermione reported it to Professor McGonagall, who confiscated it for testing. This created strain between Harry and Hermione, with whom Ron was already annoyed, since his pet rat Scabbers had gone missing and he blamed Hermione's new pet cat, Crookshanks. The three friends made up after Hagrid scolded Harry and Ron for their treatment of Hermione, and the boys offered to help Hermione in her defence of Buckbeak, a hippogriff threatened with execution for injuring Draco Malfoy. Due to the machinations of Lucius Malfoy, the trio failed, and witnessed what they believed to be Buckbeak's execution.

Shortly afterwards, Scabbers resurfaced, only to bite Ron and run away — pursued by a black dog that dragged the rat and Ron into a passage under the Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione followed, only to discover that the dog was the Animagus form of Sirius Black. It soon came out that Scabbers was in fact Peter Pettigrew — the true betrayer of Harry's parents who framed Sirius for his crimes and faked his death by hiding in his Animagus form of a rat for years. Sirius and Professor Lupin planned to kill Pettigrew for his treachery, but Harry stopped them, believing that his father would not have wanted his friends to become murderers.

The possibility of clearing Sirius' name and bringing Pettigrew to justice vanished when the full moon rose, and Professor Lupin, whom Hermione had revealed to be a werewolf, transformed. Sirius took on his dog form to protect Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but Pettigrew escaped in the chaos. While Ron was debilitated with a broken leg, Hermione used her Time-Turner — a time travel device she had been granted to enable her to take extra classes — to allow her and Harry to rescue Sirius from the Dementor's Kiss, as well as Buckbeak from execution. Harry repelled a hoard of Dementors using the Patronus, which took the same form as his father's Animagus — a stag. Sirius was forced back into hiding, but he was saved, and Harry was delighted to have a godfather.

Fourth year
"You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you."

- Dumbledore to Harry at the end of his fourth year

In 1994, Harry, the Weasley family (except Mrs. Weasley), and Hermione attended the Quidditch World Cup. At Stoatshead Hill, Cedric Diggory and his father, Amos, joined them. Once at the campgrounds, they met Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch Sr.'s house-elf Winky, and many other Hogwarts students and their families, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Oliver Wood, and Draco Malfoy. Because Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione had seats in the top box, they were able to see the match between the Irish and Bulgarian national teams up close.

The night after the match, while the Irish team's supporters were still celebrating, a group of black-cloaked, hooded figures held terrifying celebrations of their own by suspending the Muggle campsite managers and their families in air like twisted marionettes. On Mr. Weasley's orders, Harry fled into the woods near the campsite, along with Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny. The group was separated in the woods, and in the chaos, Harry believed he had lost his wand. The trio ran into Draco Malfoy, and he all but told them that his father was among the cloaked wizards. Later, Harry learned that Barty Crouch Jr., had stolen his wand from his pocket. While in a clearing in the woods, Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard someone cast the spell Morsmordre, casting the Dark Mark - a green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue - into the sky. Although Harry did not immediately recognise its significance, he soon learned that the Dark Mark had evil implications. Then, Barty Crouch Sr., Amos Diggory, and other Ministry of Magic employees apparated into the clearing and began to question Harry, Ron, and Hermione about the Dark Mark. After Harry mentioned he had heard another voice conjure the Dark Mark, the Ministry employees searched the area and found the house-elf Winky unconscious in the bushes. Since Harry's wand was found in Winky's hand, Mr. Crouch fired her for shaming his family, and disobeying his orders.



At the Hogwarts start of term feast, Professor Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament, a recently-revived inter-school competition in which the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute would also participate. New rules stated that only students seventeen and older could compete. Also, during the start of term feast, Dumbledore introduced Alastor Moody, an ex-Auror, as the newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. This news was greeted with a mixture of responses, as Moody was known to be a great Auror, a little crazy, and to have a magical eye, earning him the nickname, Mad-Eye Moody. Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and Cedric Diggory were all chosen to represent their respective schools in this tournament. However, 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. Many people did not believe Harry's story, including Ron believing this to be nothing but another attempt to gain fame. This caused extreme tension between the two friends. 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 the Summoning Charm, which Harry used in the first task of the Tournament. The champions faced three dangerous challenges on their way to the Triwizard Cup. A few days after his name came out of the Goblet, Harry attended the Wand Weighing ceremony. There he was cornered by the notorious Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter who asked him many leading questions and wrote an inflammatory article about him.



In the first task, each champion needed to get past a dragon to collect a golden egg. Harry received help from Hagrid who showed the dragons to Harry. Realising that every champion but Cedric had found out about the dragons, told Cedric about the first task, trying to level the playing field. The newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor Moody, witnessed Harry telling Cedric, but did not report him. Instead he told him to play to his strengths, hinting that Harry should use his flying ability to get the golden egg. Four different dragons were chosen for each of the champions to face. Fleur ended up with the Common Welsh Green, Cedric with the Swedish Short-Snout, Viktor Krum with the Chinese Fireball, and Harry faced the Hungarian Horntail. Harry used a Summoning Charm to bring him his Firebolt, and dodged the Hungarian Horntail to get the golden egg. Harry and Viktor Krum tied for first at the end of the task. After seeing how dangerous the task was, Ron, as well as the other students, made amends with Harry, with Ron telling him "I reckon someone is trying to do you in."

Between the first and second tasks, the Yule Ball, a Triwizard Tournament tradition took place at Christmas. Ron was dismayed to discover that Viktor Krum had asked Hermione, Ron called her out for "consorting with the enemy" though he and Hermione acted as if they had not fought the following day. Harry asked his long-time crush Cho Chang to attend the Yule Ball with him, but was disappointed to learn that she had already accepted the invitation of Cedric Diggory. Harry and Ron ended up attending with Parvati and Padma Patil, respectively. They both ended up neglecting their dates, as Harry watched Cho with Cedric and Ron was overcome with jealousy for Viktor Krum, who danced with Hermione. After the Yule Ball, Rita Skeeter struck again. She had overheard Hagrid telling Madam Maxime about his family. She then wrote an article exposing Hagrid as a Half-giant, and he was so ashamed that he stopped teaching. Only after Harry, Ron, and Hermione proved that they still liked him, did he return to work.

For the second task, Harry had to open the egg he won from the dragon, but every time he did, it screeched. His rescue from that particular problem came when Cedric payed him back with the information that he would figure it out if he "takes a bath" with the egg. Harry followed this advice; while in the bathroom, he had an uncomfortable exchange with Moaning Myrtle, and on the way back to the Common Room, he ran into Professors Snape and Moody. The latter informed Harry of Barty Crouch Sr's obsession with catching Dark Wizards. Harry did learn that the second task was going into the Black Lake to rescue "the thing they would miss most" from the Merpeople. Harry's new problem was that he had no idea of how to survive under water for an hour. He got his answer in the form of gillyweed from Dobby. For this task, Harry had to save his best friend Ron. When Harry reaches Ron, he was shocked to find Hermione, Cho, and Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's sister there as well. After Cedric and Viktor rescued Cho and Hermione, respectively, he hung around, and, concerned for Gabrielle ("An hour long you'll have to look..."), he saved her as well as Ron, landing him outside the hour allotted, but earning him points for "moral fibre". After the second task was finished, Harry and Cedric were tied for first.

A month before the final task, the Champions were shown the beginnings of the challenge. They were told the third and final task was going into a maze filled with obstacles to find the Triwizard Cup. On the way back to the castle Krum took Harry aside to ask him something. Thinking that this was something important, Harry went with him. Krum then asked Harry about his relationship with Hermione, in whom Krum was deeply interested. Harry told him that there was nothing between him and Hermione and that she was just a friend. He also told Krum not to believe anything Rita Skeeter, who had recently written in Witch Weekly that there was a Harry-Hermione-Krum love triangle, wrote about him. That moment, Barty Crouch Sr. appeared in the forest disoriented and wanting Dumbledore. He disappeared again, when Harry went to fetch Dumbledore.

To prepare for the final task, Harry, Ron, and Hermione used vacant classrooms to practise spells and jinxes. In class between two of these study periods, Harry had a dream involving Voldemort and left the classromm. Rita Skeeter had witnessed this event, and she wrote on the day of the final task, that Harry was disturbed and dangerous. This did nothing to boost Harry's morale, but when he spent the day with Bill and Molly Weasley, they cheered him up. During this final event, Hogwarts champions Cedric Diggory and Harry both showed supreme sportsmanship and cooperation despite the tension brought on by the maze, 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 in which Pettigrew used Harry's blood to restore Voldemort's body. At which time, the Death Eaters were summoned to the cemetery. After Voldemort regained his frail and spindly human form, he 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 Cedric's body and the Portkey and escape back to Hogwarts.

It was uncovered that Barty Crouch Jr, who had willingly joined forces with Voldemort as a young man, 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 by the Dementor's Kiss from the Dementor that accompanied Cornelius Fudge. As a result, the Ministry of Magic began to dispute Harry and Dumbledore's insistence that Voldemort had returned insisting that Dumbledore was trying to stir up trouble and that Harry was insane.

Fifth year


Witnessing Cedric Diggory's murder was very difficult for Harry. It was not helpful that he was forced back to 4 Privet Drive on school holidays. To make things worse than they were already, Dolores Umbridge, Senior Under-Secretary to the Minister for Magic, ordered Dementors to attack Harry in the Muggle town of Little Whinging. Harry was forced to perform a Patronus to save Dudley and himself. Subsequently, Harry was formally accused of performing under-age magic in the presence of a muggle and was expelled, but thanks to Albus Dumbledore's intervention, it was changed to a Wizengamot hearing at the Ministry of Magic. He was threatened with expulsion from Hogwarts, but was exonerated with help from Dumbledore, who had eyewitnesses and legal loopholes to help him. 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 Hogwarts High Inquisitor, empowered to arbitrarily change and impose school rules. More over, every time Harry spoke out of turn, or even mentioned Voldemort, Umbridge threw him into detention, forcing him to write with her quill, that scribed a message "I must not tell lies" onto the back of his hand. However, she presumed the message failed to sink in, as Harry spread the word through The Quibbler about last years events, thus banning him from any more Hogsmeade visits.

He was surprised when Ron and Hermione were chosen to be Prefects, as Fred always expected Harry to be one. 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. This suggests that Harry's desire in becoming Prefect was to emulate his father who was Head Boy in his day with his mother as Head Girl respectively, not to inflate a sense of his own importance.

Because Fudge stubbornly believed that Dumbledore was training an army to overthrow him, Umbridge had the Defense Against the Dark Arts class reduced to reading textbooks. Urged by Hermione, Harry secretly trained students in practical defensive magic. The group call themselves Dumbledore's Army (in an attempt to make light of the ministry's fears), 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 concerning Harry and him. Because of this, he used Legilimency to show Harry the door to the Hall of Prophecy, hoping that Harry would be the least bit curious and retrieve the prophecy record for him. However, Dumbledore had Snape train Harry in Occlumency to prevent this from continuing. Unfortunately, Harry did not enjoy having his mind peered into every time and did not focus on using Occlumency, having indeed been extremely curious about the door. He soon enough decided to look into Snape's Pensieve to find the answer to his questions. He instead found memories of his father bullying Snape. Snape himself found Harry and refused to give him any more Occlumency lessons.

During the final Quidditch match of the year, in which Harry did not play as Umbridge had banned him for life, Hagrid, who had returned to the school months into the term and very badly beaten, decided to show Harry and Hermione why he was so badly injured. Hagrid had dragged a Giant back with him from his mission over the summer. It transpired that Grawp was Hagrid's brother. Hagrid had been attempting to civilise the giant, but with few results. He made Harry and Hermione promise that they would look after Grawp should Hagrid be forced to leave the school. Hagrid was attacked and left the school during OWL examinations and Harry never had to go down to Grawp in the forest.

Eventually, during the OWL examinations, Harry dozed off and received a vision about Voldemort torturing Sirius and ordering him to get the prophecy. Harry was full of mind to go to the Ministry immediately but Hermione advised him to check Grimmauld Place first to see if Sirius was still there. Harry used the Floo Network in Umbridge's office to peer into Grimmauld Place, where Kreacher stated that Sirius was gone. Unfortunately, Umbridge caught him and his friends in the act. She attempted to extract information via Veritaserum, which Snape claimed to have used up, before resorting to the Cruciatus curse, revealing that it was she who set the Dementors loose on him. Hermione managed to save him by luring Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest, where she was dragged off by Centaurs for insulting them. Harry and Hermione escaped when Grawp stumbled into the Centaur camp looking for Hagrid. The trio, along with D.A. members Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, who had assisted in Harry's attempt to contact Grimmauld Place, used Thestrals to fly to London.



After reaching the Department of Mysteries, Harry took them through various rooms in search of Sirius, with no result of finding him. The group became doubtful until they came across a room filled with crystal balls, later to be known as prophecies. One of the prophecies had Harry's name on it and he picked it up, much to the displeasure of Hermione Granger. Upon picking up the prophecy Death Eaters appeared, revealing that it was all a ruse to bring him there. Chaos ensued, and all but Harry and Neville were incapacitated in the fighting. Then reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix, alerted by Snape, arrived to help aid in the battle. In the ensuing fighting, Sirius Black was pushed by a curse from his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, through a mysterious stone archway to his death. An enraged Harry attempted to kill Bellatrix for this but was unable to.

Voldemort himself appeared, enraged by the failures of his Death Eaters. For the second time, he attempted to fatally curse Harry, who was too transfixed to even defend himself, but Dumbledore's sudden arrival saved him. Voldemort then possessed Harry, hoping that Dumbledore would sacrifice Harry in order to kill Voldemort. However, the dark wizard was forced to leave his body when Harry grieved for Sirius, which Voldemort failed to understand. The Dark Lord then grabbed Bellatrix and Disapparated, but not before being seen by the Minister and Ministry employees.

Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore explained to Harry the real reason why Voldemort tried to kill him as an infant. A prophecy stated that he was destined to defeat the Dark Lord, for he had powers Voldemort did not: the ability to love, something that the Department of Mysteries was trying to research in a locked room.

As a result of the battle, the Ministry of Magic realised that Lord Voldemort had returned and Harry and Dumbledore were vindicated. Serious steps were taken following this change in policy such as the sacking of Dolores Umbridge. However, this wasn't a sea change as the Ministry still had a slight mistrust of Dumbledore.

Sixth year


In 1996, following Voldemort's reappearance at the Ministry of Magic, many in the wizarding world now called Harry "The Chosen One." This did nothing for Harry's difficulty in socialising with his peers, and attracted the affections of many female students, including Romilda Vane. Much to his chagrin, Harry inherited his godfather Sirius Black's estate, including Grimmauld Place and the Black's melancholic and half-crazed house elf, Kreacher. Harry was also made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, which cheered him up slightly for not being made a prefect. Also during that summer, Harry was enlisted by Albus Dumbledore to help convince an old professor to return to Hogwarts. In a brief trip to Budleigh Babberton, Harry was introduced to Horace Slughorn. Harry and Slughorn discussed some of the professor's old students and the newly strengthened protection at Hogwarts. When Harry and Dumbledore made leave, Slughorn agreed to return to the school if he got a raise and a larger office.

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, whose 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 found that it once belonged to a student identified only as "The Half-Blood Prince." The book contained copious handwritten notes that helped Harry 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 came to have feelings for Ginny Weasley, although at first he considered this just to be elder brotherly-love. After seeing Dean Thomas kissing her in a deserted corridor, Harry fought down the urge to curse him immediately, but Harry could no longer deny his feelings. He began having dreams of an intimate nature involving Ginny which left Harry thankful Ron could not perform Legilimency. After Ginny and Dean broke up, Harry began hanging around her more often and could not help himself laughing at her jokes. After the final Quidditch match of the year, Harry and Ginny spontaneously kissed, beginning their relationship.

Dumbledore began giving Harry private lessons with the Pensieve teaching him about Voldemort's past in order to find the secret to defeating Voldemort. 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 objects of significance to Voldemort and two into living objects. Two Horcruxes had been previously destroyed: (Tom Riddle's Diary and Marvolo Gaunt's Ring). Dumbledore located a horcrux, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, hidden inside a seaside cave, defended by Inferi.

The cave was difficult to enter and to get to the island containing the goblet with the locket inside there was a small boat, only made to fit one. Harry and Dumbledore traveled together in this boat to the small island. Once they arrived Dumbledore found that he could not remove the locket from the goblet without drinking its contents. Dumbledore ordered Harry to force him drink from it, no matter how much he tried to persuade him not to. Once the contents had been drunk, Harry took the locket. He went to the edge of the island and tried to get some water from the lake to give to Dumbledore, in doing so he set off the Inferi. Dumbledore had been weakened by drinking from the goblet, however he managed to hold back the inferi and protect Harry from certain fate.

They returned to Hogwarts to discover that it had been invaded by Death Eaters. There was another battle, this time inside of Hogwarts castle. Harry's friends, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ginny battled alongside members of the Order of the Phoenix on the floor below Harry and Dumbledore, with some help from the remainder of Harry's vial of Felix Felicis. Dumbledore had stopped Harry from fighting and froze him against a wall, hidden underneath his invisibility cloak, so all he could do was watch. Harry witnessed the death of Albus Dumbledore at the hands of Severus Snape. Dumbledore's body then plummeted from the tallest tower at Hogwarts. With Dumbledore dead, Harry was free of the spell that petrified him. He immediately set off after Snape, seeking revenge. As the Death Eaters made their way out of Hogwarts Castle and on to the grounds, trying to reach the border where they'd be able to Apparate again, Harry pursued and faced off against Snape. Harry tried many times to defeat Snape, even attempting weakly the Cruciatus Curse and Snape's own handcrafted spells, all with no effect. In the process, Snape identified himself to Harry as the Half-Blood Prince and escaped Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy and the other Death Eaters. Harry returned to the castle to find Dumbledore's crippled and lifeless body where he was comforted by Ginny.



Harry took the locket from Dumbledore's robes and was beside himself when he learned it was just a plain bit of jewellery, a decoy; there was a note inside the locket that revealed the real Horcrux was taken by someone called R.A.B.. It appeared to him that Dumbledore had died in vain and that they had achieved nothing that night. Following the death of Albus Dumbledore, his funeral was carried out. Harry was disgusted to see that Dolores Umbridge and Rita Skeeter had the nerve to attend his funeral but he didn't want to make a scene at Dumbledore's funeral and bit his tongue.

Knowing that he would have to hunt down Voldemort's Horcruxes and fearing for her safety, Harry took Ginny aside, and broke off their romance. Ginny told him that she did not care about the danger of being his girlfriend, but Harry still thought it was best if the two stop seeing each other. He then spoke to Ron and Hermione, who committed to forgoing their final year at Hogwarts in order to accompany him, despite his protests.

Hunting the Horcruxes


Harry, Hermione, and Ron all remained committed to their goal to locate and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. To protect their families, Hermione altered her parents' memories so they forgot they had a daughter, and with some help from Fred, George, and their father, Ron transfigured the family ghoul to resemble himself with spattergroit.

Battle over Little Whinging


Harry stayed at 4 Privet Drive for a time, but the Order of the Phoenix needed to evacuate him to the Burrow before he turned seventeen. They sent the Dursleys into hiding first; Harry was surprised by Dudley's gratitude and goodbye. Six out of 13 of Harry's escorts took Polyjuice Potion to take on Harry's appearance in order to be diversions if they were attacked, despite Harry's protests. Harry also secretly thought that he wished they would respect his body more. Upon leaving, the group was attacked by over thirty Death Eaters. Harry rode with Hagrid on his godfather Sirius' old motorbike, and they were attacked by multiple Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort himself. Harry's owl Hedwig was hit by a stray Killing Curse an unnamed Death eater sent his way. When Voldemort caught up with Harry, Harry thought this was the end, but his wand acted on its own to strike out at the man who was both kin and mortal enemy, destroying Voldemort's borrowed wand. The chaos ended when Harry and Hagrid passed the protective enchantments placed over the house of Nymphadora Tonks' parents; Harry had broken several bones and was bleeding heavily.

Taken inside by the Tonkses, Harry's bones were mended and his wounds were healed, although he was still completely grief-stricken over the death of his beloved owl. After finding Hagrid safe and sound, the pair took a Portkey to the Burrow, where he found a worried Molly and Ginny Weasley. Harry was relieved to see that Hermione and Ron were fine, but was shocked when Remus Lupin arrived with George Weasley, who had lost an ear. Everyone else arrived safely but Alastor Moody, who had been killed, and Mundungus Fletcher, who had Disapparated as soon as the fight started. Many amongst those gathered at the Burrow believed that they had been betrayed, but Harry refused to believe any of those he loved would sell him to Voldemort, much to the chagrin of Remus Lupin.

Time at the Burrow
Once settled in at the Burrow, Harry, Ron and Hermione helped prepare the wedding ceremony of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The day before the wedding, the group celebrated Harry's seventeenth birthday. Harry received a watch from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, a traditional coming-of-age gift, and Ginny gave him a kiss to remember her by in case he "meet[s] some veela" during the Horcrux hunt.

At the party that night, Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrived to release the contents of Albus Dumbledore's will. Harry was left the first Snitch he had ever caught in a Quidditch match and Godric Gryffindor's Sword; Scrimgeour withheld this second gift, claiming that it was a historical magical item and was not exclusively Harry's property. Noting that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only students mentioned by name in the will, he asked the trio why this was; the three were unable to give him an answer.

On August 1st, Harry attended Bill and Fleur's wedding disguised as a distant Weasley cousin, Barny Weasley. They used polyjuice potion and the hairs of a Red-haired Muggle boy from the village to disguise him. The reception was interrupted when the Patronus of Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived and announced the Fall of the Ministry of Magic and the death of Scrimgeour. Chaos erupted and guests started to flee, while Harry and Hermione drew their wands and grabbed Ron before Disapparating to Tottenham Court Road.

There, Hermione revealed that she had planned ahead, packing supplies in her bag, which had an Undetectable Extension Charm on it. Ron changed, and Harry put on his Invisibility cloak, and the three then entered a nearby café to hang low for a while. Whilst at the café, Ron and Hermione discussed the events of the wedding and Voldemort's coup. They unwittingly broke the Taboo curse that had been placed on Voldemort's name, alerting Death Eaters Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle to their location. After a brief skirmish, the trio defeated the Death Eaters, whose memories Hermione wiped at Harry's suggestion. Harry, Ron, and Hermione then found refuge at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Infiltrating the Ministry and obtaining the locket
"You're going to leave here with us. Go home, grab your children, and get out, get out of the country if you've got to. Disguise yourselves and run. You've seen how it is, you won't get anything like a fair hearing here."

- Harry while freeing Muggle-borns from the Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Having found no leads regarding the Horcruxes over the summer, Harry discovered R.A.B. during the trio's first morning at 12 Grimmauld Place. Once Hermione remembered that Salazar Slytherin's Locket had been in the house during its occupation by the Order of the Phoenix, Harry summoned Kreacher, and they learned that it had been stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. When the trio questioned him about it, he revealed that it was now in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. On the same day, Remus Lupin had been to visit. He asked Harry if he could join them, but once Harry found out that Tonks was pregnant, he refused. This caused a temporary rift between the two of them.

For the following month, the trio would take turns under the Invisibility Cloak to watch the Ministry entrance. Formulating their plans, they managed to infiltrate the Ministry. Using Polyjuice Potion Harry transformed into Albert Runcorn. He searched Umbridge's office but did not find the locket. He did, however, take Moody's eye from her door. Finding Umbridge trying Muggle-borns for "stealing" magic, Hermione managed to trick Umbridge into revealing the locket, and she lied about how she obtained it. Furious, Harry stunned both her and Yaxley. He and Hermione freed the Muggle-borns who were being held by the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, and Hermione conjured a copy of the locket while they took the real thing. They met up with Ron again and escaped, though Yaxley grabbed Hermione’s arm while they were Disapparating. She evaded him with a Revulsion Jinx, but the location of 12 Grimmauld Place was revealed to him, and the trio was forced to abandon it as a hide-out.



Ron's departure and Godric's Hollow
After securing the locket, the three friends took turns wearing it, to ensure it wasn't lost. The locket had a negative influence on all of them, straining relations and causing them to all act moodily and inclined to get into petty arguments. After learning that the Sword of Gryffindor in Snape's office was a copy of the real sword, and that they would have to trace the location of the real sword, the locket's negative energy pushed Ron over the edge. He and Harry got into a horrible row, in which Ron accused Harry of not knowing what he was doing and not being very concerned when they learned that Ginny had been punished for attempting to steal Gryffindor’s Sword for them, along with Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. Ron then abandoned his friends accusing Hermione of preferring Harry to himself.

"Hermione, I don’t know what we’d do without you."

- Harry to Hermione

Ron’s departure left both Harry and Hermione upset. After some listless time in which they accomplished nothing, they decided to head to Godric's Hollow, as Harry wanted to visit his parents’ graves, and Hermione believed that Dumbledore might have entrusted the Sword of Gryffindor to Bathilda Bagshot, a magical historian who lived there and who had been friendly with the Potters and the Dumbledores.

They arrived on Christmas Eve. After seeing the memorial dedicated to his parents, Harry and Hermione searched the graveyard for the Potters' grave and came across the grave of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. Harry was filled with regret that Dumbledore had not shared this connection with him. Upon discovering Harry's parents' grave Hermione called out to Harry and comforted him when he reached the grave. After placing flowers on his parents’ graves, the two then met Bathilda, who motioned for them to follow her into her home. Believing Bathilda wanted to give him the Sword, Harry accompanied her upstairs alone when she indicates that Hermione should stay downstairs. Once there, she questioned him in what he didn’t realise was Parseltongue, revealing herself to in fact be Nagini, Voldemort’s snake familiar. Voldemort had killed Bathilda and animated her corpse to hide Nagini, who bit and coiled herself around Harry. Hermione raced upstairs and repelled the snake, while Harry’s scar burned, alerting him to Voldemort’s approach. The pair managed to escape; in the scuffle, Harry's wand was broken by Hermione's Blasting Curse.

Ron's return and the Deathly Hallows
After escaping Voldemort, Harry and Hermione camped out in the Forest of Dean, where Hermione healed Nagini’s bite with Dittany. When they were camped out there, Harry and Hermione read parts of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Harry felt betrayed, because Dumbledore had not shared this information with Harry. Hermione tried to convince Harry that Dumbledore had his best interests at heart, but Harry was quite disillusioned.

A couple nights later, while standing guard outside the tent, Harry was lead by a silver doe Patronus to a frozen lake in which someone had placed the Sword of Gryffindor. While trying to acquire the sword, the locket tried to strangle him, and he was rescued by Ron, who had returned through the use of his Deluminator. After a brief skirmish with the locket's energy, Ron destroyed the Horcrux with the sword. As Ron had saved his life, Harry forgave him for leaving and after seeing the horcrux torture Ron explained that he had no feelings for Hermione because he loved her as a sister, who had been inside the tent during the destruction of the Horcrux, was angry with Ron for a longer period.

At Hermione's request, the three friends traveled to Luna Lovegood’s home to question Xenophilius Lovegood. They asked about a triangular symbol Dumbledore had left them to decipher in the book he bequeathed to Hermione. After learning of the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron and Hermione learned that Xenophilius summoned Death Eaters in an attempt to persuade them to return his abducted daughter. The trio escaped the Death Eaters when Hermione blasted the floor open to show them Harry, but managed to keep Ron's alibi intact by using the Cloak of Invisibility.

Harry soon became obsessed by the Deathly Hallows. He spent hours of each day brooding over the possibilities forgetting about his responsibilities. He came to believe that the Resurrection Stone was enclosed within the Golden Snitch bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. He also surmised that Lord Voldemort was abroad in a search for the Elder Wand. This obsession troubled his friends, and with the drop in Harry's attentiveness, Ron's leadership qualities flourished.

Capture and the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor
"Help us! We’re in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!"

- Harry screaming for help in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor

After listening to a broadcast of Potterwatch in the spring of 1998, Harry determined that Voldemort was seeking the Elder Wand, and accidentally broke the Taboo on Voldemort's name. Captured by a gang of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback, the trio was questioned as to their identities. Hermione had hit Harry's face with a Stinging Hex, attempting to conceal their true identities. After Greyback and Scabior realised that they had caught Harry Potter, the trio was taken to Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, England.

When Bellatrix Lestrange learned that Harry had been caught, she sought to summon Voldemort, until she noticed one of the Snatchers had the Sword of Gryffindor, since the sword was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank; from her drastic change in tone of voice and her worries that they would all perish, Harry determined that another Horcrux was hidden there, as well. Bellatrix isolated Hermione for interrogation and torture with the Cruciatus Curse, but Hermione lied, claiming that the Sword was just a copy. Harry convinced Griphook, a goblin prisoner, to support this story.

In panic as one friend screamed in pain upstairs, and the other sobbed at hearing her, Harry called out for help – a cry heard by Aberforth Dumbledore through a fragment of a two-way mirror in the cellar. He sent Dobby the house-elf to rescue the prisoners. Harry had him take Luna Lovegood, Ollivander, and Dean Thomas to Shell Cottage, while he and Ron went to rescue Hermione. On the way, they had to fight Peter Pettigrew, whose silver hand strangled him to death when he hesitated to hurt Harry, who reminded him that he had once saved his life. A skirmish ensued upstairs, during which Harry took Draco Malfoy’s wand from him, and he and Ron saved Hermione and Griphook with Dobby’s assistance.

Escape and Dobby's death


As they escaped Malfoy Manor by Apparition, Bellatrix Lestrange threw a silver knife to where they were disapparating. Harry was initially relieved upon realising he had managed to apparate to Shell Cottage with Ron, Hermione and Dobby in tow, but was horrified to see the knife protruding from the elf's chest before the latter collapsed and died in his arms. Harry decided that he would not build the grave of Dobby with magic, opting instead to manually do so using a shovel; a way of both repaying Dobby's bravery and ebbing Harry's grief. Harry himself, his scar now burning temptingly, seemed to acknowledge his now learnt control of denying Voldemort entry into his mind, something he attributed to his grief and love for Dobby. While digging the grave, more understanding came to Harry. He realised that though the Deathly Hallows were tempting objects, Dumbledore had tasked him with destroying Horcruxes. He decided to trust Dumbledore, reaffirming his faith in his mentor. During the funeral, Luna Lovegood gave a short eulogy to Dobby, and Harry managed to say his final goodbye to one of his most loyal friends.

Breaking into Gringotts


Following the death of Dobby, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed at Shell Cottage for some time. During their stay, the trio formed a plan to break into the Lestrange Vault to obtain the Horcrux within, with the help of Griphook. Due to the fact that Griphook would only help in exchange for Godric Gryffindor's Sword, Harry decided to word his request so that the handover would not take place until after Harry had used it to dispose of the remaining Horcruxes. Although feeling guilty for the deception, Harry knew that the sword was their only known weapon against the Horcruxes. The other residents of Shell Cottage could not fail to notice the trio's behaviour. Bill Weasley took Harry aside and advised Harry to be cautious when making deals with Griphook who Harry was increasingly disliking. Around the same time, Remus Lupin came to Shell Cottage bearing tidings of new birth. He asked Harry to be the godfather of his newborn child, Ted Lupin. It seemed as if the incident between them at 12 Grimmauld Place had never occurred.

The trio along with Griphook, entered Gringotts with Hermione disguised as Bellatrix by way of Polyjuice Potion, Ron transfigured to look like a foreign wizard, and Harry and Griphook under the Invisibility Cloak. Harry had to use the Confundus Charm and Imperius Curse to facilitate their entrance into the vault, but not before their cover was blown. Upon reaching the vault, they found the Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sustained many injuries in the vault as the contents had Flagrante and Geminio charms on them. As they were securing the Cup, Griphook, believing that they would betray him, grabbed the Sword and ran away, screaming that there were thieves in Gringotts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione fought off the guards and managed to escape on the back of a dragon.

Returning to Hogwarts
A vision from Voldemort helped Harry realise that the third Horcrux, whilst unbeknown to him at the time, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, remained at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their final mission to return to the school and obtain the diadem, inadverdently tripping the Caterwauling Charm upon apparating to Hogsmeade and thereby alerting the waiting Death Eaters to their presence. Due to the trio being under the Invisibility cloak, however, the Death Eaters resorted to unleashing Dementors into the streets in an attempt to force the intruders out of hiding. Having no choice, Harry conjured his Patronus to protect himself and his friends, automatically giving away their position and confirming their identities (the Death Eaters having been pre-warned that Harry Potter's patronus took the form of a stag). As Death Eaters began to close in on the still invisible trio, Aberforth Dumbledore emerged from the Hog's Head, hurriedly telling the three to enter his pub. While Harry, Ron and Hermione did so, Aberforth remained outside, proclaiming to the Death Eaters that it was he who tripped the alarm (by letting his cat out) and conjured the Patronus to ward off the Dementor threat; mockingly contradicting a Death Eater, saying that what he had seen was a goat Patronus rather than a stag. The incensed Death Eaters were confined to believe this and retreated. After Aberforth re-entered his pub and home, he scolded them for coming to Hogsmeade advising them to leave the country. After Harry engaged in a fierce argument with him, he led the grateful trio directly into Hogwarts through a secret entrance behind the portrait of his deceased sister, Ariana Dumbledore. Neville Longbottom, acting as their escort, then guided them into the Room of Requirement, where they were greeted by the reconstituted Dumbledore's Army; most of which were beaten and bruised yet ready to fight the Death Eaters controlling the school. Harry tried to tell them that he, Ron, and Hermione only returned to find something, but Neville contacted other allies with a call to arms. Harry was initially reluctant to allow the others to help, but in an attempt to be a better man than Dumbledore who he feared he was turning into and some discussion with Ron and Hermione, he allowed it.

Harry hesitantly asked the room at large if they had ever heard of any sort of legendary artifact belonging to one of the Founders of Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood then ellaborated on the fabled Diadem of Ravenclaw, pronouncing that a statue in Ravenclaw Tower depicted Rowena Ravenclaw herself wearing a diadem. Harry, having no idea of what the diadem looked like, was led by Luna to the Ravenclaw Common Room to observe the statue. Here the pair were ambushed by Alecto Carrow who pressed her Dark Mark immediately upon noticing Harry (summoning Voldemort), before Luna stunned her from under the Invisibility Cloak. Amycus Carrow, attempting to force his way through the common room door (designed only to open after the door-knocker's question is correctly answered) sought the help of Minerva McGonagall who easily allowed him entry by solving the door's riddle herself; by which time, Harry managed to rejoin Luna under the Invisibility Cloak. Amycus, in fear of his master's wrath suggested framing Alecto's apparently mistaken summoning of the former on the Ravenclaw students; spontaneously devising a lie that made it seem as though the students forced Alecto to touch her Dark Mark at wand-point. In her outrage, McGonagall strongly insinuated that Amycus was a coward for proposing such an idea. Carrow spat in McGonagall's face in retaliation, utterly enraging Harry who suddenly revealed himself while momentarily casting the Cruciatus Curse on the suprised Death Eater; sending him flying backwards into the wall where he crumpled and fell unconscious. Harry then told McGonagall about the mission Dumbledore had left him, and she offered to hold Voldemort and his invading forces off, buying him the time he needed to search for the Horcrux. All students of age, the D.A., and the members of the Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fight prepared themselves for the impending siege. The Battle of Hogwarts began as Voldemort and his army approached the outer boundaries of the school.

Room of Requirement and Shrieking Shack
Lord Voldemort, upon arrival at Hogwarts, demanded that the school turn over Harry, and the Battle of Hogwarts began. Harry realised that the positioning of Alecto Carrow in Ravenclaw Tower confirmed the horcrux's identity. It was the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. After thinking on it for some seconds, he went to ask the Grey Lady about the diadem. From her information, Harry surmised that the horcrux had been hidden in the Room of Requirement. Harry, in the meantime, was worried about Hermione and Ron who seemed to have disappeared. They had gone into the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione destroyed Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup with basilisk fangs which were one of the few weapons able to destroy horcruxes. The trio quickly headed for the Room of Requirement. However, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle ambushed them. After a skirmish, the entire room was destroyed by the cursed fire Crabbe unleashed but could not control. Harry managed to fly himself and Malfoy out, while Ron and Hermione grabbed Goyle, but Crabbe perished in the flames that also destroyed the diadem.

With one Horcrux remaining, Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued their pursuit of Nagini, but before they could go search for it, they witnessed the death of Fred Weasley. They fought their way to the Shrieking Shack. Along the way, Harry witnessed many scenes of horror. On the grounds, Voldemort's Dementors were waiting. After having seen so much pain and death, Harry could not summon the happiness required to conjure a Patronus. Neither could Hermione or Ron. In fact, Harry welcomed the oblivion that would come with the Dementor's Kiss. After seeing the patronuses conjured by Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, and Seamus Finnigan, Harry summoned the will to conjure his and managed to drive the dementors away. Once the trio arrived at the Shrieking Shack, they witnessed Voldemort order Nagini to kill Severus Snape, as he believed that 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 and asked him to look into his eyes.

Upon returning to the castle, Harry saw the corpses of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks near Fred's, and he felt devastated.

Sacrifice
"Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into the red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear... He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone."

- Harry sacrifices himself

During a one-hour ceasefire, Harry viewed the memories, which showed him that he had inadvertently been turned into a Horcrux himself and that Voldemort had to kill him in order to be rendered mortal himself. Harry also learned that Snape was Dumbledore's man, because he loved Lily Evans. Heavy of heart, Harry courageously slipped off on his own to carry out this dreadful task. During his way to Voldemort, he saw the corpse of Colin Creevey and told Neville to kill Nagini, if he could.

He ventured to the Death Eater camp in the Forbidden Forest, where he managed to get the Golden Snitch Dumbledore had left him to open, revealing the Resurrection Stone within. Harry used it to speak to the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, who offered him comfort before he met Voldemort and shielded him from the Dementors. As Harry approached the Death Eater camp, he dropped the Resurrection Stone. Harry offered no resistance as Voldemort struck him with the Killing Curse, thinking of Ginny before he died.

However, the "death" he met was not permanent: the blood Voldemort had taken from Harry to restore his physical form in 1995 created a deep bond between them, and Harry's willingness to die triggered protections on the people of Hogwarts similar to the protections he received from his mother's sacrifice. Also, since he had part of Voldemort's soul in him, Voldemort's killing curse unknowingly killed the part of Voldemort's soul, leaving one Horcrux left. Harry entered a state of limbo, where he met the spirit of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore explained everything to Harry saying that he has "no more secrets from [Harry]." After reconciling with his mentor, Harry made the choice to return to the physical world rather than go on to the afterlife with Dumbledore.

Harry woke up, but feigned death. He was assisted in this by Narcissa Malfoy, who had secretly turned against Voldemort in order to protect her son. Voldemort triumphantly advanced on Hogwarts, proclaiming Harry dead and demanding surrender, but the fighters were defiant. Neville Longbottom courageously stood up to Voldemort and slew Nagini, the final Horcrux, with Godric Gryffindor's Sword, and the battle resumed. Harry slipped away in the ensuing melee under the invisibility cloak. Using his invisibility Harry protected the defenders of Hogwarts from attack. Harry also witnessed the death of Bellatrix Lestrange at the hands of Molly Weasley and cast a shield charm to protect her from Voldemort's wrath, revealing himself.

Final duel
Unbeknownst to Voldemort, mastery of the Elder Wand, which he stole from Dumbledore's grave, had not been taken from Dumbledore by Snape, but by Draco Malfoy. Thus, when Harry disarmed Malfoy in Malfoy Manor weeks earlier, he became the true master of the Elder Wand. When Harry and Voldemort faced off for the last time, Harry tried to tell him this and about the other mistakes he had made. Harry also asked him to feel some remorse, which Voldemort rejected. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse, and Harry cast Expelliarmus. The Elder Wand refused to attack its master, and the Killing Curse rebounded, killing Voldemort once and for all.

Immediately, Harry was surrounded by overjoyed fellow fighters; Hermione and Ron reached him first, and then Ginny and his other friends. Victory celebrations began, but Harry soon grew weary, and Luna created a distraction so that he could slip away to find Ron and Hermione. They visited Albus Dumbledore’s portrait, along the way he explained everything to his two best friends. Harry decided to prevent the Deathly Hallows from ever being reunited again by keeping the Cloak of Invisibility, dropping the Resurrection Stone, and returning the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave.

When Voldemort destroyed the horcrux that was Harry, Harry Potter lost the ability to speak Parseltongue, much to his relief. In addition, the scar on Harry's forehead no longer held magical powers, nor did it ever cause Harry pain again.



Later life
"The scar hadn't pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well."

- Harry's later life

After the end of the Second Wizarding War, Harry became an Auror at the Ministry of Magic; new Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt permitted those who had fought in the final battle to become Aurors without getting their N.E.W.T.s. In 2007, Harry became head of the Auror Office. He helped to reform and revolutionise the Ministry along with Ron Weasley, who also became an Auror, and Hermione Granger, who worked high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. At some point, all three of them were featured on Chocolate Frog Cards for their accomplishments.

By 2017, Harry had married Ginny Weasley and had three children: sons James Sirius, Albus Severus, and daughter Lily Luna. In September of that year, Harry and Ginny took their three children to King's Cross Station to see James and Albus off to Hogwarts. There, they met Ron and Hermione, and their two children, Harry's niece Rose and nephew Hugo. When Albus expressed a fear that he might be sorted into Slytherin house, Harry told his son that one of the headmasters Albus was named for was in Slytherin, and he was the "bravest man he ever knew." Harry assured him that his parents would be proud of him regardless of where he was sorted, and told him that the Sorting Hat would take his preferences into consideration, which happened to himself.

Harry ensured that Severus Snape's portrait was hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. He also made occasional visits to the school to give lectures to the students on Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Harry was also on "Christmas Card" terms with his cousin Dudley and his family, and occasionally visited him, which were occasions dreaded by his own children.

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 is a near-spitting image of his father, having untidy jet black hair, but his brilliant green, almond-shaped eyes 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. When he was almost eighteen, he was "within an inch" of his father's height, and James was often described as tall. It is likely that as he aged further he would eventually grow as tall or taller than his father. Harry wears round-rimmed glasses, peculiarly similar to his father's glasses.

Upon Harry's forehead, covered by his unruly black hair, is a scar shaped like a lightning bolt. The scar is a result of the failed (and famed) Killing Curse cast on him by Lord Voldemort when he was an infant. It burned painfully whenever Voldemort was near Harry or feeling particularly strong emotions, but this stopped after Voldemort's death.

Harry has also a faint scar on the back of his right hand which says "I must not tell lies." This scar was caused while Harry spent detentions with Dolores Umbridge, who forced him to use a quill that carved the words into the back of his hand.

When possessed by Lord Voldemort at the end of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry's eyes become somewhat glassy green in appearance.

Personality and traits
"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

Throughout the books, Harry displays tremendous bravery and strength of character. He willingly went to what he truly believed to be his death at the hands of Lord Voldemort because he believed that this was the only way to defeat the Dark Lord. Harry is also marked by what Hermione Granger once deemed a "saving-people thing" — he will go to great lengths and take great risks in order to help others, particularly his loved ones. Notably, this was taken advantage of by Voldemort in 1996, when he lured Harry to the Department of Mysteries by making him believe that his godfather was in danger. Harry is also very strong-willed, unafraid to stand up for himself and able to resist the Imperius Curse at a young age. Dumbledore once made parallels between Harry's traits and qualities that Salazar Slytherin looked for in his own hand-picked students.

"Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue; resourcefulness; determination; a certain disregard for the rules [...]"

- Dumbledore to Harry Potter after defeating the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets



However, Harry has also been accused of being arrogant, in particular by Severus Snape, and can be hot-tempered and impulsive. This can sometimes make him rude to authority figures such as Professor Snape and Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, and irritable even with his friends. Harry was prone to moodiness at least during his adolescence, though this is likely the result of the great emotional stress and trials he endured during this period. J. K. Rowling has noted that Harry's lack of emotional control is what undermined his ability to learn Occlumency. Despite being clever, Harry also lacked intellectual curiosity, rarely putting forth effort into school work; for example, he relied on the notes of the "Half-Blood Prince" to get ahead in his sixth-year Potions class rather than devoting time to studying. Harry also seems to have a bit of an obsessive personality. During his sixth year, Harry became obsessed with finding out what Malfoy was doing. He pursued Malfoy to the detriment of his other goals such as getting the memory from Slughorn. Also, while searching for the Horcruxes, Harry becomes obsessed with the Deathly Hallows and does not fulfill his duty as the leader of the hunt.

Harry's greatest strength, though, is his great capacity to love, despite having a miserable childhood of neglect. Harry is fiercely loyal to and protective of his loved ones, and that love was what allowed him to overcome Voldemort.

Harry has been known to have very good and nearly always right instincts, as he was right that Draco was up to somethings and that their was a Horcrux in Hogwarts.

Magical abilities and skills
"False hope? He has achieved high marks in all of his Defence Against the Dark Arts tests!"

- Professor McGonagall arguing with Dolores Umbridge about Harry's career

"Look at that, you lot...Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention - watch his eyes, that's where you see it - very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"
 * Defence Against the Dark Arts: Harry is extremely talented in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He mastered all manners of jinxes and spells, such as the Stunning Spell, Impediment Jinx and Reductor Curse. He was especially skilled with the Disarming Charm, and used it so much that it was seen as his "signature spell" by many Death Eaters. He was able to hold his own against all manners of Dark Wizards and creatures, achieving an Outstanding Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L., something that not even Hermione achieved.
 * Corporeal Patronus: Another instance of Harry's skill in Defence magic is that he was able to produce a fully formed, corporeal Patronus in his third year, despite many adults not being able to cast the difficult charm successfully. Harry was taught the charm by Remus Lupin. His patronus takes the form of a stag, his father's Animagus and Patronus form.
 * Skilled Duellist: Harry was able to hold his own against Death Eaters even at a young age. In many battles of the Second Wizarding War, he was able to incapacitate much more experienced wizards, and during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he was alone among the six D.A. members to be neither injured nor incapacitated and, along with Dumbledore and Remus Lupin, was the only fighter on their side to emerge from the battle unscathed. He was known to be very quick off the draw and had a very aggressive duelling style even incorporating Unforgivable curses. Harry also survived multiple confrontations with Lord Voldemort himself, eventually defeating him.
 * Unforgivable Curses: Harry was one of the few non-Dark Arts practitioners who resorted to using the Unforgivable Curses during the Second Wizarding War. Despite Severus Snape once saying he had neither the talent nor the nerve, Harry successfully used the Imperius Curse on Travers and a Goblin called Bogrod during the 1998 Break-In of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He attempted the use the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange in 1996, but failed, and was prevented from completing the incantation against Snape in 1997. Harry tried once more against Amycus Carrow in 1998, and although the curse was more successful than Harry's past attempts, it did not result in the prolonged, excruciating pain the curse is famous for. Instead, Carrow screamed and was incapacitated. However, he has never used the Killing Curse for obvious reasons, even in his final battle with Voldemort.
 * Expert Flying Skill: Harry seems to have inherited some of his father's talent. He showed immediate command of a broomstick, which made him a naturally good Seeker in Quidditch. In 1991, at age 11, he became the youngest Seeker in a century. Harry's flying skills aided him when he had to capture Winged Keys to get pass Professor Flitwick's challenge in the Philosopher's Stone Chambers. His flying ability also helped him in the Triwizard Tournament, when he had to steal a golden egg from a Hungarian Horntail, and during the Battle of Hogwarts, during which he managed to escape a Fiendfyre inferno in the Room of Requirement.
 * Resistance to the Imperius Curse: Harry was able to partially resist the Imperius Curse when it was first cast upon him by Barty Crouch Jr. (disguised as Alastor Moody) during a Defence Against the Dark Arts class in his fourth year. Crouch cursed Harry with it four times in a row, until he could throw it off entirely. At the end of the school year, Voldemort himself cast the Imperius Curse on Harry, which he was able to resist, much to the astonishment of the Death Eaters who were present. Harry's natural aptitude for resisting the Imperius Curse, and ability to resist it when cast by the most powerful Dark Wizard in history, demonstrates incredible strength of will and character.

- Barty Crouch Jr. on Harry's ability to resist the Imperius Curse


 * Parselmouth (formerly): Because he carried a piece of Voldemort's soul within himself, Harry was able to speak and understand Parseltongue from 1981 to 1998. After that soul fragment was destroyed, Harry lost this ability, which he was glad for.
 * Insight into Voldemort's mind: Also due to the piece of Voldemort's soul, Harry was able to see into Voldemort's mind and through his senses from time to time. He sometimes used this ability to monitor what Voldemort was doing. However, it was a dangerous ability to have as well; Voldemort once used it, along with Legilimency, to plant a false vision in Harry's mind of Sirius Black being tortured, which he used to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries. Although Harry failed to learn Occlumency, he did eventually have some success at blocking his connection to Voldemort by focusing on feelings of grief, even though Albus Dumbledore told Harry it was love.
 * Master of the Deathly Hallows: Harry was master of all three of the Deathly Hallows for a time. Harry overpowered and disarmed Draco Malfoy during a skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Because Draco was unknowingly the master of the Elder Wand, which he had taken from previous owner Albus Dumbledore, the wand's allegiance turned to Harry when he disarmed him, despite the wand being in Voldemort's possession at the time. Dumbledore left the Resurrection Stone to Harry in his will, contained in the Golden Snitch that Harry had 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 of the Potter family from its original owner, Ignotus Peverell, who was Harry's ancestor. The Resurrection Stone was lost in the Forbidden Forest in 1998, while Harry returned the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb that same year. Harry kept the Invisibility Cloak, as it was an heirloom of his family.
 * Auror Skills: After the end of the Second Wizarding War, new Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt allowed anyone who had participated in the Battle of Hogwarts to become an Auror, if he or she chose. Harry thus became an Auror at the young age of seventeen, presumably one of the youngest and one of the few to have been accepted without taking and passing N.E.W.T.s. Harry became head of the Auror Office in 2007, indicating that he must have been a very talented and successful Auror.


 * Skilled Potioneer: His Potions ability is apparently better than it appears, as he is able to achieve an Exceeds Expectations grade on his O.W.L. exam; and improves greatly during his sixth year when he came into possession of an old potions textbook in which a talented former student (Severus Snape) had revised many potion-making techniques. However, the usage of this textbook was noted by both Hermione and Snape to be cheating, and when forced to hide it, Harry's potion skills suffered. Despite this, it is noted that Harry has no problems with potions at all, albeit for as long as Snape isn't around: Harry found that he had no problems brewing a potion when Snape's not bothering him.
 * Wandless Magic: In 1995, when the Dementors attacked in Little Whinging, Dudley had knocked Harry's wand when he punched Harry moments before. In desperation, Harry calls out "Lumos!" Despite the fact that his wand is not in his hand, the wand tip lights up. Few other wizards have exhibited his power, although Dumbledore and Voldemort were among them. This further contributes to Harry's skill, as only some of the most powerful magicians of his time were able to do so.

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 and witches, Harry's 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 during a skirmish with Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot's house, and Harry later used the Elder Wand to repair it.

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. From this Harry realises he is a direct descendent of Ignotus Peverell, one of the three brothers. He either gave the cloak to his oldest son, James, or his youngest son, Albus.

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. Hedwig loved Harry dearly, showing signs by nibbling his ear or fingers, and loyally obeyed his every command (even pecking Ron and Hermione until they answer back). Harry loved her as much as she loved him. Hedwig was killed during the Battle over Little Whinging by a stray Killing Curse that was most likely meant for Hagrid. Harry was overcome with grief over Hedwig's death.

Marauder's Map: One of Harry's most treasured possessions. In his third year, Fred and George Weasley gave it to Harry while he was trying to sneak into Hogsmeade. It was confiscated by Remus Lupin, but later returned. Harry kept it with him for a long period of time, keeping it in the Mokeskin wallet from Hagrid. Harry kept it in his possession until it was stolen from his desk by his son, James.

Deathly Hallows: For a brief time, Harry was master of all three Deathly Hallows: the Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand (though he was not in physical possession of the Elder Wand until after losing the Resurrection Stone). These three artifacts are 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.

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 when he, Ron and Hermione Granger stole 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, but it is likely that it was returned to Hogwarts as a relic of the Founders, along with the remains of the other Founders' relics.

Enchanted Knife: This magical knife, with the power to open most mechanical locks and magical seals and which Harry received for Christmas from Sirius, was melted 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.

Firebolt broom: During Harry's third year at Hogwarts, the Nimbus 2000 broom he'd been riding since his first year was destroyed by the Whomping Willow, and Sirius Black replaced it by giving Harry the finest broom available as an anonymous gift. The broom was one of Harry's most prized possessions for years. It was lost during the Battle over Little Whinging. It is not known if Harry ever replaced it.

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 Harry broke it out of anger over Sirius' death. Harry did not realise 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 and the other prisoners.

Fabian Prewett's watch: Molly Weasley gave Harry the watch of her late brother Fabian Prewett for his seventeenth birthday. It has a dent in it, but Harry kept the watch, even into his thirties. The watch does not have arms; rather, it has stars.

Mokeskin pouch: A birthday present from Hagrid. Harry kept it with him throughout the Deathly Hallows, and kept in it his treasures that were of no use to his search; the Snitch, the broken mirror, his broken wand, his mother's letter and the fake Horcrux.Harry also received a photo album, from Hagrid, which had photos of his parents and other family members. After Sirius Black died, all of his remaining possessions were passed along to Harry. This included:

Buckbeak/Witherwings: The hippogriff Sirius acquired from Rubeus Hagrid.

The Black Family Residence:

"As you can see, Harry, Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

- Albus Dumbledore

Located at 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. Since Sirius was disowned at the age of sixteen, it is likely that this wealth was limited to the gold left to him by his uncle Alphard Black. However, that is open to debate because despite the fact that Sirius Black was disinherited by his family, he ended up inheriting the Black Home after their death, which might lead us to believe in the existence of other forms of inheritance from his family other than what his uncle left him.

Parents


James and Lily Potter died when their son was only a year old. Harry 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, by performing the Levicorpus spell on him, in one of his memories during Harry's Occlumency lessons, via Dumbledore's Pensieve. However, Harry was relieved to know that his mother was a fair and kind person, who neither participated in nor tolerated bullying, and would stand up for those in need. Also, Remus and Sirius later assured him that his father was no longer the bully he once was, having matured and changed his ways, or he never would have become Head Boy, and his mother would never have agreed to go out with him, let alone fall in love with and marry him.

Harry's love for his parents was, according to Albus Dumbledore, "his greatest power",  the power that the Dark Lord knows not.

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 Voldemort's wand during Priori Incantatem, stored memories within the Pensieve, and again as spectral forms when he "recalled" them during the Battle of Hogwarts, by using the Resurrection Stone. Both James' and Lily's spirits told their son that they were tremendously proud of him, for being so brave and strong despite all the suffering and pain that he had been forced to endure, and gave him the support he needed to sacrifice himself to Voldemort. Harry described their presence as his courage, the very reason why he was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other, with his mother smiling at him, and his father nodding encouragement.

Harry eventually named two of his children after his parents.

Petunia Dursley


After Lily and James Potter were murdered by Lord Voldemort, Harry was taken in by his maternal aunt, Petunia Dursley. Petunia had not been fond of her late sister, jealously and bitterly regarding her as a "freak" for her magical abilities. She hated this about Harry too, fearing that he would turn out to be magical as well, and treating him poorly and without any affection while she spoiled her son, Harry's cousin Dudley. Harry thought that his aunt considered him a "waste of space," and he did not care for her either, though he was concerned enough for the Dursleys to push them to go into hiding during the height of the Second Wizarding War. Just before departing, Petunia gave her nephew an odd, tremulous look, and seemed to want to say something more to him than goodbye, but ultimately just shook her head and left. She had wanted to wish him luck, and admit that her loathing of him and his world was born out of jealousy, but years of pretending that "normal" was best had hardened her too much.

Dudley Dursley


Harry and his cousin Dudley did not get along very well for most of their early lives. While Vernon and Petunia treated Harry poorly, they spoiled Dudley to the extreme. Dudley constantly bullied his smaller cousin throughout their childhood, but did his best not to provoke him after he found out that Harry was a wizard, though the two still got into an occasional argument and trading of insults. This changed after Harry saved Dudley from a pair of Dementors that attacked them during the summer of 1995. When the Order of the Phoenix placed the Dursleys into hiding to keep them safe during the height of the Second Wizarding War, Dudley was the only member of the family to express concern for Harry's safety, asking his parents why Harry was not accompanying them and where he would go, if not with them. He also expressed remorse for his prior treatment of Harry, and the two shook hands before the Dursleys left.

The cousins eventually reconciled as adults, remaining on "Christmas card terms" and visiting each other occasionally. At these times, Harry's three children and Dudley's children would all play together while their fathers would sit together quietly.

Vernon Dursley
"Well, I've got news for you, boy ... I'm locking you up ... you're never going back to that school ... never ... and if you try and magic yourself out - they'll expel you"

- Vernon Dursley

Vernon Dursley was Harry's uncle. Harry lived with the Dursleys, and, while Vernon and his wife spoiled Dudley, they treated Harry poorly. Vernon always shouted at Harry, and called him: "Hey! You!," instead of by name. In 1995, when Harry and Dudley were attacked by Dementors, Vernon demanded that Harry leave, thinking it the only way to protect his family from Lord Voldemort, but his wife, Petunia, disagreed after she heard a Howler from Albus Dumbledore. In 1997, both Harry and the Dursleys left the house. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley were hidden by the Order of the Phoenix, to be protected from the Death Eaters, while Harry went searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Vernon almost shook Harry's hand, but changed his mind and left the house quickly.



Marjorie Dursley
"I won't have this namby-pamby, wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A good thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have you been beaten often?"

- Aunt Marge to Harry

Marge Dursley is Vernon's sister, Harry was forced to call her Aunt Marge even though she was not a blood relative of his. Marge hated Harry, because of his parents, and she always insulted them, because they died, "and left Harry to be a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives." She spoiled Dudley, buying him robots and other games, and giving him money, while she gave Harry dog biscuits. She liked to insult him, and make suggestions about how he could improve himself.

In 1993, when Marge insulted Harry's parents, he lost control of his magic, and inflated her like a balloon. She was found floating near a chimney in Sheffield. Her memory was modified by the Ministry of Magic.

Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley became Harry's best friend during their first year at Hogwarts. Ron, along with his mother, brothers, and sister first met Harry at King's Cross Station, when Harry did not know how to reach the Hogwarts Express. Ron sat across from Harry during the train ride and the two almost immediately bonded. Upon being sorted into Gryffindor together and sharing the same dormitory, they grew to be even closer, and gained another best friend in Hermione Granger when they saved her from a troll together on Halloween. Due to Ron's background, he was often called upon to explain customs and items that were commonplace to wizards to Harry, who was raised by Muggles.

In the summer of 1992, after Dobby had been stopping Harry's letters, Ron and his twin brothers (Fred and George) drove their father's enchanted car to rescue Harry from Privet Drive. After spending a few days at Ron's home, The Burrow, Harry and Ron were supposed to return to school on the Hogwarts Express with Ron's other siblings. However, Dobby had blocked the barrier so that Harry and Ron were unable to board the train. Panicking, the pair drove the Flying Car to Hogwarts; however, they landed on the Whomping Willow and lost the car as well as broke Ron's wand. Later on in the year, when Hermione had been petrified, Harry and Ron ventured into the Forbidden Forest together, where they met a clan of Acromantulas. Ron also accompanied Harry down to the Chamber of Secrets the same year to rescue his sister Ginny. They had a major fallout in 1994 when Harry was made a Triwizard Champion; Ron initially believed that Harry had cheated in order to enter the tournament so that he could achieve more attention and glory. However, Ron soon realised his misjudgment and apologised, and Ron was taken as what Harry would "sorely miss" in the Second Task of the competition. Harry and Ron had an even more major falling out in 1997, when they and Hermione were hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes and the negative energy within Salazar Slytherin's Locket made them all moody and prone to fighting.

After a major row with Harry, Ron temporarily abandoned his friends, though he immediately regretted leaving, and eventually 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 that were like brothers would eventually become brothers-in-law when Harry married Ginny. Ron is the uncle of Harry's three children, and also godfather to Harry and Ginny's eldest child and son, James Sirius Potter.

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

- Harry talking to Ron Weasley about his relationship with Hermione Granger in 1997

Hermione Granger became best friends with Harry and Ron after they saved her from a troll in 1991. Her quick mind was at times the only thing that saved the three friends from failure in many endeavours, both life-threatening and every-day. Hermione often chastised Harry when he did not obey rules or she believed he was wrong, such as when Harry briefly considered pursuing the Deathly Hallows instead of the Horcruxes.

However, she always stuck by Harry and was fiercely protective of him, from snapping at Lavender Brown when she doubted Harry's claim that Lord Voldemort returned to 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. Harry also felt the need to defend Hermione against Cho's accusation of a "trick," referring to the jinx placed on the D.A.s sign up list, which was activated by Cho's friend. This argument led to the end of Cho and Harry's romantic relationship. Although their friendship was platonic, when the two were briefly alone together during the search for the Horcruxes, Harry and Hermione experienced some "charged moments," and the two "shared something very intense." However, they remained devoted to Ginny and Ron, respectively. At times their closeness engendered jealously in others, especially those who had feelings for one or the other, such as Ron, Cho Chang, Viktor Krum, and even Albus Dumbledore.

Like Harry himself described, Hermione is his closest female friend and akin to a sister. It could be further said she is like an older sister, protective and always trying to keep him in line. The two were also close enough to share their feelings with one another, Hermione regarding Ron and Harry regarding Ginny. Most appropriately, through her marriage to Ron Weasley, and through Harry's marriage to Ginny, she became his sister-in-law, as well as the godmother of Harry and Ginny’s oldest child with Ron as godfather.

Ginny Weasley
"Ginny, you don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy, she never shuts up normally—"

- Ron on Ginny's change of behaviour in the presence of Harry.

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. Though the feeling moderated over time, until 1995 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. She became even further embarrassed after Harry saved her from the Chamber of Secrets after she was possessed in his second year but was nonetheless touched by it. Harry on the other hand, was friendly towards Ginny but did not return her romantic feelings. He still however, showed the protectiveness and concern for her that would extend to their romance; as shown in his encounter in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione helped Ginny 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. The two became friends in Harry's fifth year.

After his relationship with Cho Chang "fell apart" and Harry spent the summer of 1996 spending time with Ginny as well as Ron and Hermione at The Burrow, Harry's feelings for Ginny began to deepen and change. In his first potions class with Slughorn, he smelled "Something flowery he had smelled at the Burrow" in the love potion Amortentia, which later turned out to be Ginny's hair. After witnessing her kissing Dean Thomas, Harry started to feel jealous and to fantasise about kissing her, although he determinedly tried to convince himself that his feelings for her were "elder-brotherly." He had dreams about her of a seemingly intimate nature, reflecting once that he was very glad that Ron could not perform Legilimency. Shortly after Ginny and Dean broke up, she and Harry 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. However, after the murder of Albus Dumbledore, Harry decided to end things with Ginny, fearing that Voldemort would target her if he learned of their romance and knowing that he would be leaving with Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ginny was upset, but accepted Harry's decision, knowing that it was for "some stupid, noble reason."



The two soon saw each other again during the summer while Harry stayed at the Burrow. For Harry's seventeenth birthday, Ginny passionately kissed Harry as something for him to remember her by, but they were interrupted by Ron with Hermione in tow. The former told Harry not to "mess her around," as his sister had been "pretty cut up" when Harry ended their relationship. The two were soon separated for months as Harry tracked down Horcruxes with Hermione and Ron, while Ginny returned to Hogwarts, but they still haboured feelings for one another. After Ron abandoned his friends, Harry took to staring at Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map, and was worried when he heard that she, Neville, and Luna had gotten in trouble for attempting to steal Godric Gryffindor's Sword for him.

When the Battle of Hogwarts began, Harry wanted Ginny to stay out of the fighting but was forced to ask her to leave the safety of the Room of Requirement when he, Hermione, and Ron searched it for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. When preparing to sacrifice himself to Voldemort, Ginny was the last person about whom Harry thought. When Voldemort came back to the castle with Harry's body, her heart was broken. Later in 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 resumed their romance. Between 1998 and 2017, they married and had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna.

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. She was always keen to make sure Harry was taken care of; at one point Harry noted that she "fussed over the state of his socks and tried to get him to eat fourth helpings at every meal." Her care for him sometimes caused her to grow overprotective of him, such as when she strongly objected to the Order members informing Harry about Voldemort during the summer of 1995.

Arthur liked to discuss Muggle things with Harry, and had entrusted Harry with certain information that many felt him too young to understand, such as in 1993 when the Ministry wouldn't tell Harry that they thought Sirius Black was going to seek him out. Harry had also saved Arthur's life once by seeing him being attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries before Christmas of 1995.

Twins Fred and George Weasley helped Harry out numerous times, including saving him from the Dursleys during the summer of 1992 with an enchanted car, giving him the Marauder's Map in 1993, and volunteering to be D.A. members in 1995. The twins, whom Harry regards as close friends, were also on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry for four years. Harry gave his Triwizard winnings to the Weasley twins to start up Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The twins gave Harry their joke shop's products for free in gratitude for giving them their "startup loan." Fred's death during the Battle of Hogwarts was one of the deaths that hit Harry the hardest.

Harry spent many of his holidays at the Weasley home, the Burrow. Harry liked Percy Weasley the least of Ron's brothers, finding him pompous, although he was genuinely shocked when Percy sided with the Ministry against him in 1995. While Harry saw his sons go to Hogwarts, he thought he overheard Percy talking and "was glad to have the excuse not to stop and say hello". He was also friends with Bill, describing him as "cool" upon first meeting him, participating at his wedding with Fleur Delacour, and living for a month at their house, Shell Cottage. He also liked Charlie, who helped him out somewhat during the Triwizard Tournament. Also, in his first year, Harry heard many times that Charlie was a great Quidditch player, and was very happy when he and his team lived up to Charlie's reputation.

He eventually officially became part of the Weasley family when he married Ginny and had children with her.

Albus Dumbledore


Albus Dumbledore was a mentor to Harry (akin to a grandfather figure). Dumbledore 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 had not told him of the prophecy concerning himself and Voldemort, because he wanted to spare him the pain and responsibility of it for as long as possible. The delay and protection that Dumbledore used that year greatly frustrated Harry as he felt like he was being treated like a child. 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. Afterward, Harry persevered in the task Dumbledore had given him — that of destroying the Horcruxes — even after learning that there was much Dumbledore had not told him about his history with the Deathly Hallows and Gellert Grindelwald, though he resented that Dumbledore kept things from him. During the peak of which, Harry's disillusionment lead Harry to lose track of the Horcruxes. When Harry was struck by the Killing Curse during the Battle of Hogwarts, his soul a Limbo state 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. Harry later named his second son Albus, after the Hogwarts Headmaster.

Harry also had a good relationship with Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, as the phoenix helped him kill Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk. Harry was saddened when Fawkes left the school.

Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort was Harry's mortal enemy. Harry's parents James and Lily Potter defied Voldemort three times, and on their fourth encounter, were killed. 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 Salazar Slytherin, 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.

"There is no good and evil... There's only power, and those who are too weak to seek it..."

- Voldemort, speaking through Quirrell, in 1992.

Harry met again Voldemort in 1992, when the latter shared Quirrell's body. Voldemort told Harry to give him the Philosopher's Stone, but the boy refused, because Voldemort had killed Harry's parents. Voldemort then ordered Quirrell to kill Harry, but, because of Lily Evans' love, Quirinus Quirrell was burned when he touched Harry. Harry realised that, so he grabbed Quirrell's face and killed him, but Voldemort escaped.

"You! You're the Heir of Slytherin! You're Voldemort!"

- Harry Potter

A year later, Harry learned that the Chamber of Secrets was opened, and wanted to learn who opened it. When he got into the Chamber, he saw an unconscious Ginny Weasley, and a young man, Tom Riddle, near her. Riddle told Harry that he was a memory, remained in a diary for fifty years. When Harry advised Riddle to escape, before the Basilisk came, he answered that he was in fact Lord Voldemort. Riddle spoke in Parseltongue, and ordered the Basilisk to kill the boy. Harry stabbed the snake with Godric Gryffindor's Sword, and took its fang to destroy Tom Riddle's Diary, a horcrux, and defeat Tom Riddle's memory.

"'Lord Voldemort had returned'..."

- description of Voldemort's rebirth

In 1995, Harry witnessed the Return of the Dark Lord of the Dark Lord, with the help of Peter Pettigrew, who gave Voldemort the bones of Tom Riddle Sr., the flesh of himself, and the blood of Harry. Voldemort cast Harry the Cruciatus and the Imperius Curse, and atemped to kill him with the Killing Curse, but Harry cast the Disarming Charm to protect himself, and, because of the relationship of the two wands, the Priori Incantatem was cast, and the ghosts of Cedric Diggory, Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins, and James and Lily Potter appeared, protecting Harry from Voldemort. Harry then dissapeared by a Portkey. Harry told Dumbledore what had happened, and everyone learned about the return of the Dark Lord. Harry and Voldemort fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996. Voldemort cast Harry the Killing Curse, but the boy was saved by Albus Dumbledore. Harry witnessed the Duel in the Ministry Atrium between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and, when the duel stopped, Voldemort possessed Harry, telling Dumbledore to kill both of them. Voldemort told Harry that he was very weak, because of love. Harry answered him that he was the weak one, and he would never know love, or friendship, and that he felt sorry for him (film). Voldemort was defeated by the love in Harry's heart, and he never attempted again to get into Harry's mind.

"Did you know how I survived, sir? The night I've got this... Because of her... because she sacrifised herself... because she refused to step aside... because her love was more powerful than Voldemort..."

- Harry Potter to Horace Slughorn

Harry and Dumbledore learned that Voldemort had created many horcruxes, and that they should destroy him, to kill Voldemort and save the world forever. After Dumbledore's death, that mission was given to Harry, who abandoned Hogwarts to find the hocruxes.

"There are no more Horcruxes...there's only you and me..."

- Harry Potter

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, in vain, to make Voldemort feel some remorse for his evil deeds, then defeated him. In the end, Harry and Voldemort fought, and the latter was killed by his own curse.

Voldemort and Harry are also related by blood, however distantly, due to both of them being descended from the Peverells (Voldemort through the Gaunts and Harry through the Potters.)

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 helped Hagrid get rid of his vicious baby dragon, Norbert (later renamed Norberta) and also attended the burial of Hagrid's friend Aragog, an Acromantula.

Harry constantly defended the half-giant against name-calling and mockery, and for that, Harry was dear to Hagrid. When Hagrid's half-giant heritage was discovered and published by Rita Skeeter, Harry was not at all afraid of Hagrid, and continued to think of Hagrid as a friend. However, to Harry's indignity, other people were prejudiced against this revelation. Harry also refused to believe Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets, when Tom Riddle's Diary showed him the memory.

Hagrid was the one who Voldemort forced to carry Harry out of the Forbidden Forest, when Harry was pretending to be dead during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. Both Harry and Hagrid were orphans; Hagrid had a sort of fatherly caring for Harry that could be compared to an uncle's (though not Harry's uncle). In fact, Hagrid is considered to be one of Harry's best friends (comparable to Ron Weasley).

Harry also liked some of Hagrid's pets, such as Buckbeak, Fang and his brother, Grawp, while he feared some of them, such as Aragog and Norberta. Harry also attended Aragog's funeral in 1997.

Sirius Black
"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person who bad things have happened to, you understand? Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

- Sirius Black to Harry Potter while in 12 Grimmauld Place

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

"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

Harry, on his part, 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.

When Sirius was killed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry at first refused to believe he was dead; only after realising that Sirius would never leave him alone while Harry was screaming for him as if his life depended on it, he was forced to accept that Sirius was indeed gone. His death pained Harry greatly, to the extent that Harry actually threw a violent tantrum at Dumbledore, and even snapped at Snape, much to the latter's shock. For the following months, Harry avoided talking about Sirius if he could; whenever the subject came up, he would distract himself in some way to avoid joining the discussion. Very fortunately, Harry was able to move on with his life after a short period of grieving, knowing that Sirius would not want him to shut himself away or crack up. When Harry prepared to sacrifice himself to Voldemort in 1998, Sirius was one of the spirits he summoned using the Resurrection Stone. Sirius assured Harry that dying was "quicker and easier" than falling asleep.

Remus Lupin
"You're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had."

- Harry trying to convince Remus not to resign.

In the beginning, Harry had a simple student-teacher relationship with Remus Lupin, but it later developed into a strong friendship, akin to the one that a kind, loving uncle and his favourite nephew would share.

Harry first met Remus when he was an infant, and again in 1993 when Remus saved him from the Dementors on the Hogwarts Express. Remus had been apppointed the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts that year, and soon became his favourite professor as well as a mentor of sorts. It was suggested that Remus' classes were how Harry discovered his talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. When Harry continued to be badly affected by Dementors, Remus agreed to give Harry private lessons to teach him the Patronus Charm. It was during these lessons that Harry discovered that Remus was one of his parents' oldest, dearest friends. Although Remus attempted to maintain a teacher-student relationship with Harry, he did act more as an intimate friend or a beloved uncle at times, answering his questions patiently, sharing Butterbeer after a private lesson, assisting him in avoiding trouble with Professor Snape, and even returning the Marauder's Map to him once he was no longer a professor. Harry, in turn, became deeply fond of Remus, and was extremely upset to hear of his resignation after Severus Snape exposed him as a werewolf. He even attempted to try and talk him into staying on at Hogwarts, but it was futile, though Remus told him that it had been a real pleasure teaching him, and assured him that they would meet again.

The two met again in the summer of 1995 when members of the Advance guard of the Order of the Phoenix arrived to pick up Harry from Privet Drive. Although initially wary of intruders, Harry relaxed on learning of Remus' presence in the group, indicating that he still trusted his father's old dear friend despite a year without contact. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Remus protected Harry and Neville Longbottom from an attack by Lucius Malfoy and saved Harry's life by preventing him from running into the Veil in the Death Chamber in an attempt to save his godfather, Sirius Black.

"But you are normal. You've just got a - a problem-."

- Harry Potter to Remus Lupin regarding the latter's lycanthropy

Remus' undercover assignment with the werewolves prevented him from maintaining contact with Harry in the wake of his godfather's death, something about which he expressed regret. On the few occasions that they saw each other during Harry's sixth year, Harry was worried about Remus' increasingly haggard and gaunt appearance. He displayed a protective streak towards Remus, expressing anger over his forced resignation from Hogwarts and the general perception of werewolves.

In 1997, Harry was thrilled to hear of Remus' marriage to Nymphadora Tonks and was puzzled by Lupin's increasingly worried appearance. He was outraged when Remus temporarily left his wife for fear of their future child becoming a werewolf. While Harry maintained his stance on their argument, he deeply regretted the harsh words he said to Remus in his anger. When Remus' son Teddy Lupin was born, Harry was relieved that Remus had clearly forgiven his harsh words and was overwhelmed but delighted to be made Teddy's godfather.

Of all the people who died during the Battle of Hogwarts, Remus' death, along with those of his wife, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley, were the ones that hit Harry the hardest. Remus was one of the spirits that was summoned by the Resurrection Stone to speak to Harry and give him the support he needed as he walked to what he believed was his death, indicating the almost familial bond between Remus and Harry.

In Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Harry wrote in the werewolf section that they "aren't all bad," showing that Remus being a werewolf did not bother him at all.

Harry and Remus' son, Teddy were very close after the war. Harry and his family had dinner with Teddy four times a week and Harry's children hoped that Teddy would either be married into the Weasley-Potter family, or Harry would ask Teddy to move in with the Potters.

Minerva McGonagall
"Potter, I will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly, I will make sure you achieve the required results"

- Minerva McGonagall

Harry also had a good relationship with Professor Minerva McGonagall. Although during his first three years it was simply 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. Harry felt a powerful surge of anger when Umbridge gloated that Minerva was too ill to talk to anyone after being hit by four Stunners. McGonagall also stood up for him to Umbridge, promising to help him become an Auror if it was the last thing she did.

The depth of her care was revealed in 1998 when she proudly stated that Harry was in her house to Amycus Carrow, and Harry reciprocated by using the Cruciatus Curse on him after he spat in her face. She also showed her devotion to Harry by arming Hogwarts on Harry's request, and then fighting Voldemort head on in the final battle. When Voldemort had Harry's seemingly dead body brought out from the Forest, Minerva gave a terrible cry nearly equal to that of Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Professor McGonagall was like the grandmother that Harry never had.

Severus Snape
"...he was probably the bravest man I ever knew..."

- Harry Potter on 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 realise 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."

Harry's hatred of Snape reached its height in 1997 when he discovered that Snape had told Voldemort about the prophecy involving him. This made Harry believe that Snape had betrayed his parents. Harry raged at Dumbledore for trusting Snape only for Dumbledore to silence him. Later that night, Snape killed Dumbledore. Harry believed that Snape betrayed Dumbledore and hated Snape as much as Voldemort.

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 be one of the bravest men he had ever known, and gave his second son, who was the only one of his children to inherit Lily's eyes, the middle name "Severus." In time, Harry ensured that a portrait of Snape was hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

Luna Lovegood


Harry met Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw student one year below him at Hogwarts, in 1995 on the Hogwarts Express. Although Harry found the younger witch rather strange, he was grateful when she told him that she believed his claim that Lord Voldemort had returned, unlike many other students. Harry and Luna became friendlier through Dumbledore's Army, and at the end of the year, Luna comforted Harry over the loss of his godfather, telling him about her late mother. The following year, Harry defended Luna and Neville Longbottom when Romilda Vane implied they were not worth spending time with, reflecting on how he now considered them close friends. He and Luna went to Slughorn's Christmas party together. After the Battle of Hogwarts, Luna noticed that Harry wanted to get away from the victory party, and created a distraction so that he could go speak to Ron and Hermione. The two remained friends into adulthood, and Harry gave his daughter the middle name “Luna” in honor of his friend.

Nymphadora Tonks
"Wotcher, Harry!"

- Tonks greets Harry

Harry and Nymphadora Tonks first met in 1995 when the advance guard came to transport Harry to Grimmauld Place. He befriended her immediately. Their friendship grew for several years, and Tonks was disappointed later that Harry couldn't attend her wedding. Nine months later Tonks thought Harry should be godfather to her son Teddy Lupin. When she arrived to fight at the Battle of Hogwarts, he asked why she was there. Tonks fought her aunt Bellatrix and was killed. When Harry found out that she was dead he felt like he had lost his parents again. After Harry defeated Voldemort, he was sad that Nymphadora had died with Fred, Colin Creevey, Remus, and 50 others, and felt like he had a physical wound. In honor of Tonks and her husband's memory, Harry helped Nymphadora's mother to raise Teddy Lupin for the next 19 years. When Harry saw his two sons off to the Hogwarts Express, James came running back to his parents and said that he had found Teddy snogging Victoire Weasley.

Dobby
"You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

- Dobby protects Harry from Lucius Malfoy

Dobby and Harry had a very strong relationship. When Harry first meets Dobby he is a bit confused. Near the end of the 1992–1993 school year, Harry freed Dobby from the slavery of the Malfoy family. Lucius became angry and intended to attack Harry but Dobby protected him by using a defensive spell. In the next school years, Dobby was appointed to work at the kitchen of Hogwarts Castle in order of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. In 1995, Dobby told Harry about the Room of Requirement and how to get inside. It is a secret room inside Hogwarts castle and cannot be seen even on the Marauder's Map. Harry and his friends used the room in Dumbledore's Army's meetings and practices.

In 1996, Dobby had a fight with, another house-elf, Kreacher after Kreacher insulted Harry. In 1998, when Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Dean Thomas, Mr. Ollivander and the goblin Griphook were captured and taken hostage at the Malfoy Manor, Dobby Apparated there to rescue them. As they attempted to Disapparate to Shell Cottage, Bellatrix Lestrange threw her silver dagger, mortally wounding Dobby in the chest. Arriving at Shell Cottage, the house of the newly-wed Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, Harry discovered Dobby's wound and cried out for help as Dobby died in Harry's arms. Harry was devastated by the death of Dobby. He dug a grave without using magic and held a small funeral for him in the garden of Shell Cottage. Dobby's epitaph reads "Here lies Dobby, A Free Elf".

Neville Longbottom


Neville Longbottom became Harry's roommate in 1991, in their first year at Hogwarts. They weren't very close until 1995, when Neville took part in Dumbledore's Army, an organisation Harry led. In the end of the year, Neville and Harry fought together in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, when Neville saved Harry's life, when the Death Eater Walden Macnair tried to strangle him. Harry felt sorry for Neville for his parents' case, who were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr, as well as spending part of the 1996 journey to Hogwarts pondering on how things could have been different if Neville, who was only a day older than him, had been chosen by Voldemort instead of Harry to be the "one who could vanquish the Dark Lord".

In 1998, Harry fought along with Neville in the Battle of Hogwarts, and Harry told Neville to kill Nagini, Voldemort's snake and last remaining Horcrux. Neville did so, and nineteen years after the battle, Neville was the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts, and taught Harry and Ginny's children, James and Albus.



Fleur Delacour
Harry's first opinion of Fleur Delacour in 1994 was that she was a very beautiful girl that looked like a Veela. When both Harry and Fleur became champions of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry saw she disliked him. But, after the second task, Harry saved Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle Delacour, Fleur's opinion of Harry changed. Fleur met Harry again at the Burrow, in 1996, when Fleur was about to marry Bill Weasley, the elder brother of Harry's best friend, Ron. Harry also participated at Bill and Fleur's wedding, in 1997. After the Battle of Malfoy Manor, Harry and his friends lived for roughly one month at Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's house. Fleur then cared about him, like his mother, or an older sister. In the end, Fleur became Harry's sister-in-law, after he married Bill Weasley's younger sister, Ginny, and Fleur is the aunt of his and Ginny's three children James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. Harry is also the uncle of her and Bill's three children: Victoire, Dominique, and Louis Weasley.

Draco Malfoy


Draco Malfoy became Harry's rival almost from the moment they met at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in 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. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione saved his life twice: against Crabbe's Fiendfyre and from a masked Death Eater. 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.

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, 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, Harry and Cho grew closer, eventually sharing a kiss under the mistletoe. However, Cho was still mourning Cedric and was unreasonably jealous of Harry's friendship with Hermione, mistaking their camaraderie for romantic attraction. Combined with Harry’s inexperience with girls, their relationship became strained. 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 soon began 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. Just before the battle, she offered to show Harry the Ravenclaw common room, looking disappointed when this offer was fiercely denied by Ginny Weasley.

Bellatrix Lestrange
"SHE KILLED SIRIUS! SHE KILLED HIM - I'LL KILL HER!"

- Harry on Bellatrix Lestrange, after she killed Sirius Black

Harry felt contempt towards Bellatrix Lestrange from the moment he learned of her torturing of Alice and Frank Longbottom, his eyes immediately drawn to her picture wherever he saw it. Throughout their encounter in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Bellatrix goaded Harry with a sarcastic baby-talk voice, mocking Harry for falling for Lord Voldemort's ploy and traveling to the Ministry of Magic to save his non-present godfather. She abandoned the baby-talk, however, becoming incensed when Harry used Voldemort's name; a mark of deep disrespect in Bellatrix's eyes.

After she killed Sirius Black, Harry was described as hating Bellatrix more than he did Voldemort, chasing her into the Atrium of the Ministry in a fit of rage. Bellatrix would later murder both Nymphadora Tonks and Dobby the house-elf in 1998, also nearly killing Ginny Weasley during the second round of the Battle of Hogwarts. In the latter incident, Harry who had been hurrying towards Voldemort in the Great Hall, noticed the danger to Ginny's life and made a beeline for Bellatrix instead. He was subsequently beaten to her, however, by Molly Weasley's abrupt intervention.

Bellatrix had despised Harry Potter mostly out of loyalty to her master, the man with whom she had developed an obsessive infatuation for. Therefore, Bellatrix hated whoever challenged or threatened Lord Voldemort, explaining her equal distaste for both Harry and Albus Dumbledore. Consequently, Bellatrix was the Death Eater Harry both feared and hated most of all, acknowledging that while she was his godfather's killer, she was also a witch of "prodigious" skill and absolutely no conscience.

Peter Pettigrew
"You're going to kill me? After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail..."

- Harry to Pettigrew, reminding him that he had saved his life

When Harry first heard about Peter Pettigrew, he thought he was a hero, for trying to find Sirius Black, the best friend who betrayed his parents. But in 1994, Harry realised that Pettigrew was the true traitor, and had faked his own death and blamed Sirius for the death of twelve Muggles Pettigrew killed to escape from Sirius. In the end of Harry's third year, James' friends, Sirius and Remus Lupin, found out that Pettigrew was in fact Ron Weasley's rat, Scabbers, and tried to kill him. Although disgusted with Pettigrew's cowardly nature, Harry told them not to do it, because he thought his father would do the same, and instead turn him to the Dementors. Even though Pettigrew escaped, this formed a life debt between the two, despite Harry not wanting it at all.

A year later, in 1994, Pettigrew helped Voldemort catch Harry to take his blood, so Voldemort could return to life. When instructed by Voldemort to give Harry back his wand, Pettigrew did so without looking at Harry.

"No..."

- Harry, when Pettigrew's silver hand strangles him

In 1998, in the battle of Malfoy Manor, Pettigrew attempted to kill Harry, but he then remembered that he had saved his life, and stopped trying to kill him. Then the silver hand in which Voldemort crafted for Pettigrew saw this sign of weakness and strangled him for it. Both Harry and Ron tried to save him, but failed. Harry felt a small amount of pity for Pettigrew's death.

Dolores Umbridge
"As I told you once before Mr. Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished."

- Umbridge speaking to Harry.

Harry had an antagonistic relationship with Umbridge. He hated Umbridge from the moment he laid eyes on her; this hatred was most likely initiated because she voted for his expulsion. In the summer of 1995, Umbridge sent two Dementors after Harry and his cousin Dudley Dursley. This was an attempt to silence him from contradicting the Ministry of Magic's official opinion that Lord Voldemort had not returned from the dead. Harry was forced to use a Patronus to defend himself and Dudley from the Dementors. This resulted in Harry being summoned by the Ministry on the charge of using underage magic and if convicted, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts. Umbridge took part in Harry’s prosecution and spoke in favour of his conviction, but Harry was cleared due to Dumbledore’s defence. However, Harry was soon confronted with Umbridge as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry was outraged at Umbridge acting as if the children were safe from dark wizards and angrily spoke out in class about Voldemort’s return. This meant that Umbridge would punish Harry sadistically by forcing him to write lines with his own blood. This magically scarred Harry. Umbrige also punished Harry by banning him from playing Quidditch after he attacked Malfoy. In addition, Umbridge prevented Harry from contacting his godfather Sirius Black, with the Ministry’s belief that Sirius is an escaped convict. Umbridge even monitored all incoming and outgoing mail and Harry’s owl Hedwig was injured on Umbridge’s orders. She made it difficult for Harry, Ron and Hermione to visit Hagrid. When Harry went public about his experiences with Voldemort during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, in an interview with Rita Skeeter for The Quibbler, Umbridge banned him from Hogsmeade trips.

In an attempt to stand up against Umbridge’s regime, Harry formed Dumbledore's Army. However, they were betrayed and Harry was nearly expelled from Hogwarts. He was saved by Dumbledore saying that Harry only formed the orgainisation on his orders. This resulted in Dumbledore going on the run from the Ministry. Umbridge became Headmistress of Hogwarts and was intent on taking over the entire school. After Professor McGonagall was injured trying to protect Hagrid from being arrested on Umbridge’s orders, Harry was caught trying to use Umbridge’s fire to check on Sirius. Umbridge nearly used the Cruciatus Curse in order to get Harry to talk. Hermione intervened and together with Harry, they tricked Umbridge into going into the Forest to show her Dumbledore’s weapon. This resulted in Umbridge being attacked by the Centaurs because she had attacked them first due to her hatred of half-breeds. Umbridge begged Harry to help her by telling the Centaurs she “meant no harm” but Harry said “I’m sorry Professor, but I must not tell lies”.

After the Ministry had finally acknowledged Voldemort’s return to power, Umbridge was removed from Hogwarts. However, Harry was furious to learn later that year that Umbridge was still working for the Ministry. The following year, Voldemort took over the Ministry. Umbridge, whether knowingly or not, showed her sympathy for the goals of Voldemort and the Death Eaters by taking part in the hunt for Harry Potter, branding him as ‘Undesirable Number 1’. In addition, Umbridge was Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. This involved sadistically sentencing innocent Muggle borns to Azkaban on the false charge of stealing magic. Harry learned that Umbridge had one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes in her possession. Along with Ron and Hermione, Harry broke into the Ministry, where he saw Umbridge ruthlessly interrogating a poor Muggle born. Enraged, Harry Stunned Umbridge and retrieved the locket Horcrux. After the the Second Wizarding War, Umbridge was sent to Azkaban for crimes against Muggle-born people.

Hedwig
"No...NO! Hedwig...Hedwig..."

- Harry to Hedwig, after her death



Hagrid bought Harry a pet snowy owl for his birthday, in 1991. Harry named it Hedwig. Hedwig was a very beautiful and smart owl, and she brought Harry's letters. Hedwig loved Harry dearly, showing signs by nibbling his ear or fingers, and loyally obeyed his every command (even obeying Harry's orders to peck Ron and Hermione until they answer back) and he loved her as much as she loved him. In 1997, when Harry, Hagrid and Hedwig flew in the Battle over Little Whinging, Hedwig was killed by a Death Eater, with a Killing Curse. Harry was stricken with grief when she died, because she was his only companion at the Dursley's house.

Alastor Moody
"Don't put your wand into your back pocket! Better wizards then you have lost buttocks from it!"

- Alastor Moody to Harry Potter

Harry first met Alastor Moody in 1994, during his fourth year at Hogwarts. In fact, it wasn't the real Alastor Moody, but a very dangerous Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr.. Harry realised that in the end of the year, and also realised that the real Moody was imprisoned in his own magical trunk.

Harry originally met Moody a few weeks later, when he came at his house along with other Order of the Phoenix members, in 1995, to bring him at 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's house and the Headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry thought that Moody was overprotective and a little mad, as he suspected everybody, and didn't even let Harry carry his wand in his back pocket, saying that "better wizards than him have lost buttocks".

When Moody was killed by Lord Voldemort during the Battle over Little Whinging, Harry was devastated by his death, as were the other Order of the Phoenix members, too.

Later, when Harry, Ron and Hermione went at the Ministry of Magic, to steal Salazar Slytherin's Locket from Dolores Umbridge, Harry found Alastor's magical eye in Umbridge's office, and buried it under a tree, in a forest, and marked the spot by gouging a small cross in the bark with his wand. While it wasn't much, Mad-Eye Moody was given a proper burial.

Cedric Diggory


Harry and Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff student, were first met in 1993, when they played a Quidditch match in rival teams. Cedric caught the Golden Snitch after Harry fell of his broomstick. Cedric was fair, and said to the referee that there should be a rematch. Harry and Cedric were both champions of the Triwizard Tournament, too.

Cedric was also the boyfriend of Cho Chang, a girl Harry liked. When Harry decided to ask Cho to go with him to the Yule Ball, she told him that she had already accepted Cedric's invitation.

During the third task, Harry saved Cedric's life, and Cedric Harry's. So, they both decided to touch the Triwizard Cup that in fact was a Portkey and they were both transported to the Graveyard of Little Hangleton. Then, Pettigrew appeared and killed Cedric with the Killing Curse, on Voldemort's orders. Then, after the rebirth of Lord Voldemort, Harry and Voldemort engaged in a duel. Because of their wands, containing two feathers from the same phoenix, Fawkes, Cedric appeared as a ghost, along with Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins, and James and Lily Potter. Cedric told Harry to bring his body back to his father. Harry did so.

A year later, everyone at Hogwarts asked Harry about Cedric's death, making him feel uncomfortable. Everybody learned what had happened in the end of Harry's fifth year. Cedric was also the first person Harry saw die (not counting his mother, who was technically the first, but Harry was one year old when it happened).

Kreacher
"Kreacher...er... I would like to give you this..."

- Harry, giving Regulus Black's locket to Kreacher

In the beginning of their relationship, Kreacher, the house-elf of the Black family was rude to Harry for his association with his hated master, Sirius. In 1995, Harry lived for a few days at 12 Grimmauld Place, the house Kreacher served. Harry's first opinion of Kreacher was that he was a very old elf, and mad, whispering at himself and insulting Ron Weasley, for being a blood traitor, Hermione Granger, for being a mudblood, Remus Lupin, for being a werewolf, and all the Order of the Phoenix members, generally.

After Sirius Black's death, Harry learned that Kreacher had helped Bellatrix Lestrange to make Harry to go to the Ministry of Magic, by tricking him into believing that Voldemort was holding Sirius there. Harry went to the Ministry, and when Sirius came to save him from the Death Eaters, he was killed during the battle. Harry became very angry, and hated Kreacher even more than before.

In 1996, in Sirius Black's will, he left everything he owned to Harry, including Kreacher. Harry ordered Kreacher to go and work in the Hogwarts' kitchens, and later ordered him to spy on Draco Malfoy along with Dobby..

In 1997, Harry, Ron, and Hermione again stayed at 12 Grimmauld Place, and Kreacher served them. Harry found out that Regulus Black, Kreacher's old master, had taken Salazar Slytherin's Locket and asked Kreacher if he had kept the locket from when they were cleaning out the house, to prevent them from throwing it away. Kreacher said that he had, but the thief Mundungus Fletcher stole it from him.

Kreacher also told Harry, Ron, and Hermione his story; Voldemort had ordered Regulus Black, a Death Eater and Kreacher's master, to lend him an elf. Regulus gave him Kreacher, and Kreacher went with Voldemort to a seaside cave, to hide the locket. He ordered Kreacher to drink an emerald green potion, and the elf did as he was told. Kreacher was tortured by the potion, and then left to die in the hands of the Inferi, but Kreacher Disapparated, because his master has ordered him to return home after helping Voldemort. After turning against Voldemort, Regulus had Kreacher bring him to the cave. Regulus drank the potion, ordering Kreacher to leave him behind, and take the locket and destroy it.

Harry gave Kreacher Regulus' fake locket to thank him and ordered him to catch Mundungus Fletcher. This kindness helped Kreacher's relationship with Harry, as Kreacher was very polite to Harry, Ron and even to Hermione from then on, and fought for Harry and Regulus in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's Army
"Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than what we are now: students. If they can do it, why not us?"

- Harry Potter

In 1995, with Hermione's idea and help, Harry found and led an organisation, called Dumbledore's Army (also known as the D.A.). Harry taught to the members Defence Against the Dark Arts. Many of the members were Harry's friends.

Harry's most close friends of the Dumbledore's Army were Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Fred and George Weasley, and his ex-girlfriend Cho Chang.

Harry was also friends with his roommates, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. The latter wasn't an original member, because he didn't believe Harry about Voldemort's return and had a fight over the matter. However, in 1996, they became friends again after the article in The Quibbler was published. Dean was Harry's friend, until he became Ginny's boyfriend, Harry showed dislike towards him. When the two broke up, Harry was on good terms with Dean again.

Harry's Quidditch team became Dumbledore's Army's members, too. Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Lee Jordan (he wasn't on Gryffindor's Quidditch team, but was a close friend of the three girls and the Weasley twins). Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, two girls in Harry's House, in the same year, were also members. There were also Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Anthony Goldstein, Ernie Macmillan, Padma Patil (Parvati's twin sister), Zacharias Smith and Marietta Edgecombe. Colin Creevey and Harry were good friends, and, despite they were not as good as Hermione, Neville, Luna and the Weasleys, Harry was very sad seeing the corpse of Colin during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Only two members of Dumbledore's Army were mentioned to have died during the Battle of Hogwarts: Fred Weasley and Colin Creevey.

All of them were friends of Harry (except Zacharias Smith and Marietta Edgecombe), and it's possible that all of them fought in the Battle of Hogwarts (except Zacharias Smith, who was seen running out of Hogwarts shoving younger students away).

Order of the Phoenix
"I want to join! If Voldemort's raising an army, then I want to fight!"

- Harry Potter

Harry first heard about the Order of the Phoenix in 1995, a year after Lord Voldemort's return. The Order of the Phoenix was an organisation against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Albus Dumbledore was the founder and leader of the organisation. Harry had a good relationship with the most members of the order.

"Thank you! You saved our lives!"

- Harry to Aberforth after he saved his, Ron and Hermione's lives

Aberforth is Albus Dumbledore's younger brother. They first met in 1998, when Harry, Ron and Hermione apparated out of Aberforth's pub, Hog's Head, in Hogsmeade. He had heard about Aberforth in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, a book Rita Skeeter had written. Aberforth was described as unlettered, rude, but living in the shadow of his brother, and losing his father, mother and sister. When Harry apparated out of the Hog's Head, Dementors attacked Harry and his friends. Harry casted the Patronus Charm to defeat the Dementors, and then the Death Eaters saw Harry's Patronus, a stag. Aberforth ordered Harry, Ron and Hermione to get into the pub. Aberforth then persuaded the Death Eaters that he had done the charm, and that his Patronus was a goat.

He advised Harry to take Ron and Hermione and leave Hogsmeade, and save himself. He told them about his family life, that his sister, Ariana was scared by three Muggles, and then couldn't control her magical abilities. Aberforth also told Harry about his father imprisonment in Azkaban, and his mother and sister's deaths. Harry felt sorry for Aberforth, but told him that "we sometimes have to think the greatest good". Aberforth also told Harry that he had sent Dobby to save them from the Malfoy Manor. Harry and Aberforth also fought along during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Harry also liked fellow members Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones. Harry first met Kingsley when he was a member of the Advance Guard. Kingsley was an auror, who believed in equality and fairness for all wizards and witches and muggles. After the Second Wizarding War, Kingsley became Minister for Magic.

Harry hadn't spoken with Elphias Doge until the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour, when they had a discussion about Albus Dumbledore and his family life. Elphias told Harry that Dumbledore was a great person, making Harry trust him.

Dedalus Diggle always admired and liked Harry, bowing to him, and shaking his hand with him. In 1997, Diggle and Hestia Jones took the Dursleys away fron their home, protecting them from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hestia got very angry when she realised that Harry's uncle, aunt and cousin didn't love him and didn't care about him at all, making Harry like her.

Harry didn't seem to like Arabella Figg, his odd neighbour, until 1995, when he learned she was a Squib, member of the Order and that she knew Dumbledore. She got very angry when she learned that Mundungus Fletcher, a fellow member of the Order, didn't guard Harry as he was supposed to, when the boy and his cousin were attacked by Dementors. Figg also participated in Harry Potter's trial, defending Harry. It is unknown if Figg fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, but it is likely that she didn't fight (being a Squib, she couldn't do magic). However, she could have helped in another way.

Harry had learned from Moody that some members of the order had been killed during the First Wizarding War. They included Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Edgar Bones and his family, Marlene McKinnon and her family, Caradoc Dearborn, Benjy Fenwick and Dorcas Meadowes. He had also learned about Alice and Frank Longbottom's torture to insanity by four Death Eaters. Harry thought that all of them were heroes.

Other members of the Order were Sturgis Podmore, Emmeline Vance, and Mundungus Fletcher. When Harry learned about the arrest of Podmore, while he was trying to get into the Department of Mysteries, he was surprised, and later got angry, because he discovered Podmore was under the Imperius Curse. Harry also learned about the death of Emmeline Vance in the Daily Prophet, mentioning her at a discussion with Albus Dumbledore, talking about life and death.

Mundungus was the member of the Order Harry liked least, as he was a criminal, and stole all of Sirius' possessions after his death. Harry attempted to strangle him when he met him at the Hog's Head in 1996., but Mundungus dissapeareated. During the Battle over Little Whinging, Mundungus abandoned Alastor Moody, and let Voldemort kill him. Harry got more angry when he learned that Mundungus had stolen Salazar Slytherin's Locket, and ordered Kreacher, the house-elf, to catch him. Kreacher did so, and brought Mundungus to Harry, Ron and Hermione. Mundungus told Harry that he had given the locket to Dolores Umbridge.

Augusta Longbottom, the mother of Frank Longbottom, mother-in-law of Alice Longbottom, and grandmother of Neville Longbottom, wasn't an original member of the Order, but she fought in both Wizarding Wars, and in the Battle of Hogwarts. She had a highly opinion of Harry Potter, and her son and daughter-in-law, because they were all brave. She became very proud of her grandson, when she learned he was fighting, in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks' parents, also weren't original members. Harry liked Ted Tonks by the first minute he met him, and thought he was a man with a round belly and a cheerful face. Harry's opinion about Andromeda was that she looked like her sister, Bellatrix, but she had softer features, and wider, kinder eyes. Harry liked Andromeda because she had married a Muggle-born, showing that she didn't believe in the importance of blood-purity. In 1997, after the Battle over Little Whinging, Andromeda and Ted healed Harry's and Hagrid's injuries. Harry was very sad when he heard on Potterwatch about Ted Tonks' death, and helped Andromeda raise her grandson, Teddy Lupin, after Nymphadora's death.

Muriel wasn't a member of the Order, but allowed to the Order to use her home as a safe home, and later hid the Weasley family after Ron Weasley's accompaniment of Harry and Hermione was discovered by Death Eaters. She insulted all the people, including Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys, and thought Ariana Dumbledore was a Squib. It is unknown if Muriel fought in any battles.

It is possible that all the members of the Order that were not killed or imprisoned, (probably except Mundungus, and possibly, except Arabella Figg, who was a Squib) fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Hogwarts staff
Harry had a good relationship with the most teachers at Hogwarts. Except the already mentioned Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Dolores Umbridge, Rubeus Hagrid and Alastor Moody (despite that he didn't teach at all, because of his capture and imprisonment), Harry also had relationships with other professors, liking them, or disliking them.



Harry first met Horace Slughorn in 1996, when Harry and Dumbledore went at his house, to persuade him to teach at Hogwarts. Slughorn became Harry's potions' master, and invited him to join the Slug Club, a club for Slughorn's students who were famous, had famous relatives, or were very intelligent or great wizards. Dumbledore showed Harry a memory of Slughorn in the Pensieve. There was Tom Riddle, asking Slughorn about Horcruxes. Slughorn tells him that he knows nothing about Horcruxes, and that, if he knew, he wouldn't tell him. Dumbledore told Harry that was a fake memory, and ordered him to take the real one from Slughorn. After many attempts, Harry eventually took the memory, with the help of Felix Felicis, and learned that Voldemort had split his soul into seven Horcruxes. A year later, Harry and his friends destroyed all the Horcruxes, resulting in Voldemort's death.

Harry liked professor Filius Flitwick, the Charms professor and Head of Ravenclaw House, and Pomona Sprout, the Herbology professor and Head of Hufflepuff House. They liked him too, and took his part during the Second Wizarding War, and eventually fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.

They were also professors Harry didn't like very much, like Sybill Trelawney, the Divination professor. Trelawney always foretold Harry's death, and told him that he wasn't able to be a seer, but in 1995, Harry learned it was Trelawney who had made the prophecy about him and Voldemort, and, in 1996, that Severus Snape had heard half of the prophecy and told it to Voldemort, resulting in Harry's parents' death.

Harry also disliked Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Harry's second year. Lockhart was a very handsome and famous author, who claimed he had done great deeds but was, in fact, was a fraud, having erased the memories of the people who actually had done the deeds: his only skill. Lockhart was extremely vain, highly self-obsessed and very insensitive, and the other professors hated him by the first minute they met him. Lockhart tried to erase Harry and Ron's memories, and let Ginny Weasley die, but Ron's wand, which he cast the charm with was broken, and he was hit by the Memory Charm instead, losing all his memories. Now he is a permanent resident of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Harry disliked Argus Filch the caretaker, and his cat, Mrs. Norris. Filch was a Squib, and hated all the students, but eventually helped them leave Hogwarts in the Battle of Hogwarts. He also thought Irma Pince, the librarian, was very strict, and overprotective of her books. Harry also found the History of Magic professor, Cuthbert Binns very boring, and his voice caused drowsiness in everyone, including Harry. Harry thought Poppy Pomfrey, the nurse, was a good woman, but very strict. Harry liked the co-professor of Divination Firenze, a centaur, who had saved Harry's life in 1991.

Other professors in Hogwarts Harry knew were: Aurora Sinistra, the Astronomy professor, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank (substitute for Hagrid) and Rolanda Hooch, the flying insructor.

The most professors fought at the Battle of Hogwarts against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.



Hogwarts ghosts
"...only few wizards choose to return as ghosts..."

- Nearly-Headless Nick, to Harry Potter

Harry also knew the Hogwarts ghosts. He liked the Fat Friar, the ghost of Hufflepuff, and Nearly-Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor. He was also scared by the ghost of Slytherin, the Bloody Baron. Harry became friends with Nick in his first year. He also participated in his deathday party. They had a discussion in 1995, about death, and Nick told him that only few wizards choose to come back as ghosts. Nick also told Harry about the Grey Lady, helping him find and destroy Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem.

Harry also met Moaning Myrtle at Nick's deathday party. Myrtle was an unpleasant ghost of a girl that lived in the girls' toilet. Harry learned in 1993 that Myrtle had been killed by Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk, and she helped Harry find Tom Riddle's Diary, and Ginny Weasley. She was disappointed when Harry survived from the Chamber of Secrets, saying that she would share her toilet with him. Myrtle also helped him a little, about the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. The last time Harry saw Myrtle was when Harry accidentally cast Sectumsempra and hit Draco Malfoy.

Harry met the Grey Lady in 1997. He learned that, when she lived, she was Helena Ravenclaw, and that she was killed by the Bloody Baron. She also told him that she hid Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem in a forest of Albania. She helped Harry realize where the diadem was, and Harry found it.

Harry didn't like Peeves, the poltergeist. Peeves always teased him and possibly everyone in the school, except the Bloody Baron. However, Peeves fought in the Battle of Hogwarts against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Ministry of Magic
Harry had a mixed relationship with the Ministry of Magic. In 1992, Harry had his first run-in with the Ministry after Dobby had smashed a pudding in his Aunt and Uncle’s house. Although the incident was not Harry’s fault, the Ministry believed that Harry had used magic illegally while underage and was given an official warning.

A year later, Harry lost his temper and blew up his "Aunt" Marge. Harry believed he would be expelled from Hogwarts because of his previous warning on underage magic. Harry went on the run and boarded the Knight Bus, but ran into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Fudge understood that young wizards cannot control their tempers and decided to let Harry off, assuring Harry that it was an accident and that "we don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts". Furthermore, Fudge treated Harry like a friend, although he did not sign Harry’s letter permitting to allow him to visit Hogsmeade. In addition, Fudge treated Harry like a child by not telling him the truth about Sirius Black.

However, in 1995, the relationship between Fudge and Harry was not so rosy. Harry had witnessed Voldemort’s return to power and he told Dumbledore and Fudge. Dumbledore believed Harry, but Fudge did not. Fudge branded Dumbledore and Harry as liars/nutters. In the summer of 1995, Harry performed a Patronus Charm in front of Dudley to save them from Dementors. This resulted in Harry being charged with using underage magic in front of a Muggle. Fudge took part in Harry’s prosecution but Harry was cleared because of Dumbledore’s defense. Fudge took his revenge by employing his secretary Dolores Umbridge as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. Umbridge sadistically tortured Harry when he repeatedly contradicted the Ministry’s opinion that Voldemort had not returned. In 1996, after Dumbledore’s Army was discovered, Fudge came to Hogwarts to expel Harry but Dumbledore said that he was responsible for the society. This saved Harry from expulsion but Dumbledore was forced to go on the run. Later that year, the Battle of the Department of Mysteries was fought, revealing the return of Voldemort. Fudge was forced to acknowledge that Dumbledore and Harry had been telling the truth all along, and resigned as Minister for Magic.

Harry did not get on with Fudge’s replacement Rufus Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour had wanted Harry to be a mascot for the Ministry in order to restore confidence. Harry refused due to the way the Ministry had treated him the previous year. Harry was furious to hear that Umbridge was still working for the Ministry and that Scrimgeour was arresting innocent people like Stan Shunpike. Harry showed Scrimgeour the scars that Umbridge gave him to prove that he did not like his methods. In 1997, Voldemort and his Death Eaters took over the Ministry. They tortured Scrimgeour for Harry’s whereabouts, but Scrimgeour refused to tell them. As a result they killed him. Although Harry did not like Scrimgeour, he was grateful that his last actions were to protect Harry.

After Lord Voldemort’s takeover of the Ministry, Harry’s relationship with the Ministry was worse than ever before. They named Harry Potter as Undesirable Number One and wanted to arrest him for questioning on the death of Albus Dumbledore. Harry’s main aim was to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes in order to defeat him. This finally resulted in the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort’s death and the downfall of his regime.

In 1998, after the Ministry was decorrupted, the new Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt employed Harry as an Auror. Harry had always got on well with Shacklebolt, an Auror himself. Harry is now working for the Ministry despite his previous relationships with it.

Gryffindor students
Harry had a good relationship with the most Gryffindor students. Many of them are already mentioned: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, the Weasley family, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Lee Jordan, and Colin and Dennis Creevey.

Harry had also a good relationship with the most members of his Quidditch team, as Oliver Wood (first captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team when Harry was in his first year), Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes (two beaters of the team Harry thought were very good), Demelza Robins (chaser of the team), Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke (two very bad beaters who succeeded Fred and George Weasley).

Harry liked almost all of his Quidditch team members, except Cormac McLaggen, a temporary Keeper for the team, who was very aggressive and self-assured. He only played in one match, against Hufflepuff, shouting at his teammates, grabbing the Beater's bat, and hitting Harry with a Bludger, cracking his skull.

Other Gryffindor students were Romilda Vane, Natalie McDonald and Euan Abercrombie. Romilda Vane had a crush on Harry, and gave him a box of Chocolate Cauldrons, with love potion them that were accidentally eaten by Ron Weasley.

There were also two unidentified Gryffindor girls in Harry's year.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, all the Gryffindor students defended Harry against Pansy Parkinson, when she wanted to betray Harry to Voldemort. So did many Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students. Many of the Gryffindor students fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Slytherin students
Rubeus Hagrid told Harry, before he started his first year at Hogwarts, that all the Dark Wizards graduated at Slytherin, as Voldemort did. Harry told the Sorting Hat to put him anywhere except Slytherin, and, when he was sorted into Gryffindor house, he disliked all the students who were sorted into Slytherin, specifically Draco Malfoy.

Harry had an antagonistic relationship with the Slytherin students, as they teased him, and the other students of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The slytherins Harry disliked most were: Draco Malfoy, his friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, Marcus Flint, the captain of Slytherin Quidditch team, and Pansy Parkinson, a girl that insulted every student who wasn't in Slytherin.

In 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Pansy Parkinson wanted to betray Harry to Lord Voldemort. McGonagall got angry with her, and told her to leave first, and that the rest of her House should follow. Later, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle tried to capture Harry Potter in the Room of Requirement. Crabbe attempted to kill Harry, Ron and Hermione, using the Killing Curse, but was stopped by Malfoy. Crabbe conjured Fiendfyre to kill Harry, Ron and Hermione, but he was killed accidentally. Harry saved Malfoy while Ron and Hermione saved a stunned Goyle, and left the Room of Requirement, with Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem destroyed.

Other Slytherin students were Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. Harry seemed to dislike Zabini.

All the Slytherin students left Hogwarts before the Battle of Hogwarts, except a few of them who fought for Lord Voldemort. However, a few Slytherins later returned with Horace Slughorn and the reinforcements from Hogsmeade to help in the final battle.

Death Eaters and enemies
Harry had many enemies during his life, except Lord Voldemort. Death Eater were Dark Wizards under the orders of Voldemort, during both Wizarding Wars. Some known Death Eaters are Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Peter Pettigrew and Severus Snape. "I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was...Since then, I serve him faithfully, although I have let him down many times."

- Quirell

The first servant of Voldemort who tried to murder Harry was Quirinus Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. In the end of Harry's first year, Harry realised that he was loyal to Voldemort, and that Voldemort's head had grown into Quirell's. Quirrell grabbed Harry, but his skin was burned, because of Lily Evans' love. Harry grabbed Quirell's face, and killed him. Although he was loyal to Voldemort, Quirell wasn't a Death Eater.

Harry learned first about Death Eaters in 1994, when Barty Crouch Jr. raised the Dark mark in the sky. In the end of Harry's fourth year, he realized that Alastor Moody was in fact Barty Crouch Jr., who attempted to kill him, but Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape rushed into Moody's office and stunned Crouch. Harry then realized why everyone said that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of all time. After that, Dumbledore forced Crouch to drink Veritaserum, and he told Dumbledore that he had put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. Then, Cornelius Fudge arrived at Hogwarts along with a Dementor. The Dementor destroyed Crouch's soul, once and for all. Harry thought Barty Crouch was mad, and he was probably the Death Eater he hated most, aside from Bellatrix Lestrange.

One of the Death Eaters Harry disliked most, was Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy. Harry thought he was arrogant, a snob, and a very bad person, and the first time they officially met was in 1992, in Flourish and Blotts while Harry was with the Weasley's buying his schoolbooks. They met again in the British Ministry of Magic in 1995 and later during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, though Harry had seen him before, in 1992, in Borgin and Burkes. Harry also met Lucius again in the Battle of Malfoy Manor, when Fenrir Greyback and five Snatchers brought him to Lucius' house. Lucius was very happy to see Harry Potter and imprisoned him in the cellar. But, when Harry escaped, he stunned Lucius and Disapparated with Dobby, the house-elf. In 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius changed sides, thinking that his family was more important for him than serving Voldemort, and he and his son were the only Death Eaters who weren't killed or imprisoned in Azkaban.

Harry also disliked many other Death Eaters. Some of these included Antonin Dolohov, because he murdered the Prewetts and Remus Lupin, and almost killed Hermione Granger during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Travers, because he killed the McKinnons, Augustus Rookwood, who murdered Fred Weasley, Yaxley, for imprisoning innocent muggle-borns, Walden Macnair, who was violent and bloodthirsty and almost killed Buckbeak, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, for torturing students at Hogwarts, Thorfinn Rowle, who casted Killing Curses in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, without caring about who he would kill, and Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, who participated in the torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom. He disliked Fenrir Greyback too, despite the fact he wasn't a Death Eater. Greyback was very violent, bloodthirsty, and liked torturing and scaring children, especially young girls, like Hermione Granger and Lavender Brown.

In 1994, during the Triwizard Tournament, Harry met the Durmstrang Institute headmaster, Igor Karkaroff.Karkaroff disliked him immediately when he met him. Harry's opinion of Karkaroff was that he had an unctuously cheerful demeanour, but his smile didn't reach his eyes, which remained cold and unmoving. Harry saw Karkaroff in Dumbledore's Pensieve, being imprisoned in Azkaban, and betraying other Death Eaters, including Severus Snape. Two years later, Harry learned by Remus Lupin that Karkaroff's corpse was found in the north of Britain, when he was killed by Death Eaters. Harry was surprised Karkaroff had survived for so long.

Harry disliked Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, who became a Death Eater in his youth, and thought he was a fool for what he did. However, Harry was surprised when he learned by Kreacher that Regulus had learned about Voldemort's Horcruxes, and that he stole Salazar Slytherin's Locket to destroy it, and thought Regulus was very brave.

Children
Harry had three children with Ginny Weasley: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. Harry had a good relationship with all of his children. The eldest, James has an outgoing personality and was a troublemaker, much like his grandfather and namesake, and liked to tease his brother Albus. Albus, on the other hand, was quieter and more thoughtful. When he admitted to Harry that he was afraid of being sorted into Slytherin, Harry told him that the Sorting Hat judged by the other's choices, not by his skills, and stated that he had the name of two headmasters of Hogwarts. One was a Slytherin, and "the bravest man he ever knew," he also informed his son, that the sorting hat would also listen to the wearers choice, something Harry had not shared with any of his other children. Albus also deeply resembled Harry, having the same eyes, untidy hair, and glasses. Lily, as the youngest and only girl was very like her mother. Harry and Lily were seen holding hands while walking into Kings Cross, much like Lily's mother and maternal grandfather. She was jealous of her brothers as they boarded the train for Hogwarts and Harry comforted her reminding her she would be joining them in two years.

Harry said farewell to his sons, as Ron and Hermione had also said goodbye to their daughter Rose.

Teddy Lupin
Teddy Lupin is Harry's godson and son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, two of Harry's close friends. In 1998, Remus asked Harry to be Teddy's godfather. Harry accepted, with great happiness. When Remus and Tonks were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry helped Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda, to raise him. Harry and Teddy had a good relationship, and Harry had stated to their children, that Teddy has been coming for lunch four times a week, and might as well invite him to live with the Potter's already. Harry's children had a good relationship with Teddy too, as James saw Teddy kissing Victoire Weasley, the daughter of Bill and Fleur. He reported his sight to Harry, Ginny, Albus, and his sister Lily. Lily and Albus were happy to hear Teddy might become part of their maternal family and their cousin-in-law.

Nieces and nephews
Harry had many nieces and nephews through the Weasley family. The children of Bill and Fleur are Victoire, Dominique and Louis. James said that he had seen Teddy Lupin kissing Victoire at King's Cross Station in 2017. The children of Percy and his wife, Audrey, are Molly, who was named after her grandmother, and Lucy. Either Molly or both of the girls were attending Hogwarts in the 2017-2018 school year, because Percy was in Kings Cross in September 1st, 2017,The children of George and Angelina Johnson are Fred, who was named after his late uncle, and Roxanne. Harry probably had a good relationship with all of them.

Harry is most likely closest to Ron and Hermione's children, Rose and Hugo. Harry's family and Ron's family were very close, Rose was eleven years old, like Harry's son Albus. Hugo was about nine, the same age as Harry's daughter Lily. Ron and Hermione are probably close to all of Harry's children, James Sirius Potter was also their godson. Albus was "relieved" to see Rose also.

Harry said farewell to Rose and to his sons, along with Hugo, Lily, Ginny, Ron and Hermione.

Etymology
Harry is the Middle English form of the name Henry, derived from the Germanic name Heinrich, from the words heim, meaning "home," and ric, meaning "power, ruler." It has been a very popular name in the English-speaking world for centuries. Harry can also be a diminutive form of the name Harold, from the Old English name Hereweald, meaning "leader of the army." It has been the name of five kings of Norway, three kings of Denmark, and two kings of England.

James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning “holds the heel” (in the Genesis narrative, Jacob was born grasping Esau′s heel and later bought his birthright). The name came into English language from the French variation of the Late Latin name Iacomus, a dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iakōbos), from Hebrew word יעקב (Yaʻaqov). James is Harry's middle name, James was the name of his father and is also the name of his first son.

Potter is a very common surname of English origin. It traditionally refers to the occupation of making pottery. Beatrix Potter was a well-known English children's author. Potter's Field is the name for a burial ground for the unknown or unclaimed dead, particularly soldiers and orphans; the Potter family had many members that fit that description. The Potter Box is a model for making ethical decisions developed at Harvard University. J. K. Rowling has also commented that she has liked the name since childhood.

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.
 * Daniel Radcliffe and Harry were both born in July — Harry on the 31st and Daniel on the 23rd.
 * 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. Radcliffe also has brown hair, as opposed to Harry's black hair, and also has a strong physical body, rather than the slim frame Harry is described as having. However Harry is only described as having an uncommonly 'slim' frame in the earlier instalments, so it is possible that he bulked out a little into a lean frame as he matured.
 * In the first book, Harry mentions that his eleventh 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's birthday of July 31 is also the birthday of Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, and actor Richard Griffiths who plays Harry's Uncle Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films.
 * 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.
 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is seen practicing Lumos Maxima under the covers in his bedroom, but Harry does not get a letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office even though he is underage. In the book he is simply using a flashlight while writing his homework for History of Magic.
 * 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. It is probably more accurate to say that Hermione is the best student in every subject but DADA, in which Harry is strongest, hence in Harry's mind she is the best student overall.
 * Harry's niece and nephew, Rose and Hugo, have some of the same heritage of Harry. A muggle-born mother, Lily and Hermione, and a pure-blood father, James and Ron. This makes Rose, Hugo and Harry all half-bloods.
 * 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. He could also have kept one as a memento from the Tournament.
 * 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-centre 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 centre of his head. But it is never explicitly mentioned where the scar is located. On all the U.S. book covers (illustrations), the scar on Harry's forehead is located in the centre. The same is definitely true of the last two U.K. instalments; however, on early U.K. book covers, Harry's scar tends to appear slightly off-centre. It is somewhat hard to tell on most of these covers, as Harry's face is only visible in profile. However, on the U.K. cover of Chamber of Secrets, Harry's scar is decidedly off-centre. It is perhaps of this book that Rowling was thinking.
 * The Marauders were said to have discovered more secret places than anyone else in the history of Hogwarts. However, this isn't true, as unlike Harry and Tom Riddle, they didn't discover the Chamber of Secrets or the Room of Requirement.
 * Harry, A History, Rowling discussed how Steve Kloves suspected that something might happen between Harry and Hermione in Deathly Hallows. She replied: "I had always planned that Harry's true soul mate, which I stand by, is Ginny, and that Ron and Hermione have this combative but mutual attraction. They will always bicker, there will always be rough edges there, but they are pulled together, each has something the other needs. [Kloves] felt a certain pull between them at that point. And I think he's right. There are moments when [Harry and Hermione] touch, which are charged moments. One when she touches his hair as he sits on the hilltop reading about Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and [two] the moment when they walk out of the graveyard with their arms around each other. Now the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry. So I think it could have gone that way."
 * The only person Harry ever considered killing by use of curse was Sirius Black and possibly Bellatrix Lestrange, ironically to avenge Sirius. It is, however unclear if Harry knew how to cast the Avada Kedavra curse since Harry was not taught the Unforgivable Curses until his fourth year. Furthermore, when Harry found out that Peter Pettigrew was the one who had betrayed his parents to Voldemort, he did not want Sirius and Remus Lupin to kill Pettigrew in revenge. Even during the Battle of Hogwarts, during which Harry defeated Lord Voldemort, Harry did not do so by use of any curse intended to do harm to his opponent, but rather he used his "trademark," Expelliarmus. Harry finished Voldemort by reflecting a curse Harry would never use on another, even his mortal enemy. This suggests the love, which is "the power the Dark Lord knows not..." makes it difficult for Harry to kill. Even during the Battle over Little Whinging, Harry illustrated his unwillingness to kill Death Eaters. During that battle the Death Eaters were masked at the time, he couldn't know who was a willing follower and who was a controlled drone. However in the example with Voldemort, Harry knew Voldemort's death curse would backfire, so rather than fire a death shot which would make him look somewhat bad, he instead decided to fire a disarming shot to gain possession of the wand.
 * Harry usually has the last line in every Harry Potter movie. Though it could be debatable on whether he has the last line of the second movie since the closed captions say that Dean said, "Yes!", so he may have had the last line.
 * "I'm not going home...not really..." (PS/SS)
 * "There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid." (CS)
 * "Lumos. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"/"Nox"." (POA)
 * "Yeah. Every week." (GOF)
 * "Something worth fighting for." (OOTP)
 * "I never realised how beautiful this place was." (HBP)
 * Harry was Wizard of the Month on J. K. Rowling's website for the month of October 2007.
 * Harry is the inspiration for the Wizard rock band, Harry and the Potters.
 * Film makers who will shoot the upcoming movie "X-MEN: First Class" used Harry Potter as their Role Model.
 * Harry Potter's former romantic relationship with Cho Chang is well known for being his first crush, first kiss and first ex-girlfriend in the Harry Potter series.
 * Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's romantic relationship is told in a different way in the film from the novel of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
 * In the novel version, Harry shares his first kiss with Ginny in front of Gryffindor students in the Gryffindor Common Room after the Gryffindor Quidditch team won the Quidditch Cup. He also breaks it off with her at Dumbledore's funeral.
 * In the film version, Harry and Ginny go to the Room of Requirement together to hide Harry's copy of the Advanced Potion-Making book, which previously belong to the Half-Blood Prince, after he hurts Draco Malfoy. While there Ginny asked Harry to close his eyes while she goes and hides the Half-Blood Prince book so that he and other students can't find it, when she returned back to him, Ginny kisses Harry. Harry was very much delighted and surprised that he received a kiss from her. It is implied that they are still dating at the end of the movie.
 * A running gag in the books is the messiness of Harry's hair. In the films, this is not mentioned except for a reference in the fourth movie. Harry notices that Hagrid has combed his hair so he will look good for Olympe Maxime. When Harry says to him, "Hagrid, have you combed your hair?!" Hagrid states, "As a matter of fact, I have. You might wanna try the same thing now and again."

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 Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film)
 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard
 * Quidditch Through the Ages
 * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 * Wizard of the Month
 * Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
 * The Queen's Handbag
 * Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Notes and references
Harry James Potter Χάρι Πότερ Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter Хари Потер Harry James Potter Harry James Potter Гарри Поттер Harry Potter הארי פוטר ハリー・ポッター