GCC Journey Class
Blood and Spells: a Look at Harry Potter and Twilight
Book Summary: Harry Potter
Harry Potter: Introduction
Location: While the universe of the Harry Potter books most assuredly assumes the existence of a magical world across the
entire current globe, virtually all of the action is relegated to the magical community that centers in the present-day United
Kingdom (UK). We know that other schools and other magical communities exist because Triwizard Tournament (referenced in
book #4, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) delegations are sent from schools which exist elsewhere in France (Beauxbatons)
and Scandinavia (Durmstrang). In addition, Quiddich (i.e. a wizard athletic event) teams exist from around the world and from a
variety of ethnic groups, including Japan (the Toyohashi Tengu), Peru (the Tarapoto Tree-skimmers) and even the United States
(the Sweetwater All-stars). While some locations are obviously and remarkably real (i.e. King’s Cross Station in London), most
locations in Harry Potter related to the wizarding world are entirely fictitious and have no real-world counterpart.
Timeframe: It is generally understood that the Harry Potter books occur from 1991 – 1998, each book following a single year of
Harry’s life and activity. The following example timeline roughly outlines the series of key events as they flow through the
narrative across all books.
The Harry Potter Timeline
Harry Potter defeats
Professor Quirell/Voldemort
Hogwarts hosts the
Triwizard Tournament
Mass breakout of
Deatheaters from Azkaban
Prison
Dumbledore murdered by
Severus Snape
Harry Potter and friends
open the Chamber of
Secrets
The Battle of Hogwarts /
Voldemort killed
Harry defeats Tom
Riddle/Voldemort
Voldemort seizes power in
the Ministry of Magic
1991
1992
Book 1:
Harry Potter begins
attending Hogwarts
1993
Book 2:
1994
Book 3:
1995
Book 4:
1996
Book 5:
1997
Book 6:
Professor Trelawney makes
2nd Prophecy about Harry
Delores Umbridge interferes
at Hogwarts
Sirius Black escapes from
Azkaban Prison
The Order of the Phoenix is
re-established by
Dumbledore
Voldemort takes physical
form/murders Cedric
Diggory
1
1998
Book 7 :
GCC Journey Class
Blood and Spells: a Look at Harry Potter and Twilight
Book Summary: Harry Potter
Harry Potter: Overall Plot Summary
Harry Potter is an unassuming 11 year old boy growing up in the modern United Kingdom (UK). He is raised by the Dursleys,
who are comprised of his Aunt Petunia (who is his mother’s sister), his Uncle Vernon and their son, Dudley, under the auspices
that his parents were killed in a car accident when Harry was just one year old. The Dursleys are horrible guardians who, at
best, neglect Harry entirely, and at worst, are guilty of the sorts of crimes that one would expect to result in Harry’s removal and
placement within the foster care system. Shortly before his 11 th Birthday, Harry receives a strange letter addressed to him that
marks his acceptance to a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he is supposed to attend as a
student at the beginning of the next school year. Against the Dursley’s wishes, Harry does, in fact, attend this school, where he
quickly learns that there is a whole other Reality operating alongside the “normal” reality in which he has grown up to date. In
fact, he learns that the new world into which he is introduced is comprised of what magical folk call Muggles (or “non magical
folk”), and those who, because of innate abilities they possess to supernaturally manipulate their environments through the use
of magic, call themselves “witches” (women) and “wizards” (men), or just “magical folk”. While Muggles are wholly ignorant of
the existence of the magical world all around them, magical folk have lived comfortably and quietly alongside them for years. At
Hogwarts, Harry begins to learn more about his own inherent abilities to use magic, and is also introduced to two other students
who quickly become his best friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ron is the caricature of the ideal faithful friend, and
what he lacks in brains and grace, he more than makes up for in loyalty and courage. Hermione is brilliant, a star pupil, and
possesses courage of her own, making the three of them a virtually unstoppable trio in whatever they seek to undertake.
While at school, Harry is exposed to some of his own history, as well as to that of the magical world. Perhaps the most
significant details includes the existence of a dark wizard named Voldemort who terrorized the wizard community for several
years before he was defeated a decade ago. Harry learns that his own story is interconnected with Voldemort’s, that Voldemort
lost his powers when, after murdering Harry’s parents (they were not, in fact, killed in a car accident), he tried to take Harry’s life
as a baby. But what was supposed to work as a killing curse backfired and nearly killed the dark wizard himself, leaving Harry
with only a pronounced, lightning shaped scar on his forehead as the only physical marker for the conflict. Each book in the
series, then, revolves around one year of Harry’s life at Hogwarts, and revolves around the idea of Harry and his friends finding
themselves confronting, in progressively more overt and complex fashions, Voldemort and his minions as he seeks to regain his
power and return to his former reign of terror.
As the series nears an end, Harry becomes progressively more and more aware of the fact that in cursing Harry, a piece of
Voldemort’s own soul was lodged within Harry, thus preventing Voldemort from truly ever dying or being ultimately conquered
unless Harry himself is willing to die. At a final last battle on the Hogwarts school grounds, Harry, in fact, does just that and is
willing to be killed by Voldemort in order to destroy that piece of the dark wizard that resides within him. After a brief period of
death, where Harry interacts with his already dead friend and mentor (the late professor Albus Dumbledore), Harry learns what
must be done to ultimately defeat Voldemort and prevent his return to power. Harry returns from the dead, defeats Voldemort
once and for all along with his minions through the aid of his friends and the allies they have assembled, and, though the books
are marked with consistent grief and loss, essentially lives happily ever after.
Harry Potter: The Basics
The following key terms are repeatedly used within the Harry Potter books, and are essential in order to understand the basic
flow of action around the central plot.
 Muggles – Non-magical folk, typically ignorant of the existence of the wizarding world. In most instances, muggles are
simply “everyone like us” who does not use charms to make their coffee in the morning or apparate (i.e. instantly
disappear from one location to appear in another) to work rather than drive.
 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – An ancient school presumably located somewhere in Scotland
where wizard children attend to learn how to function in magical society. School takes seven years to complete, and
begins when a child turns 11. Upon first entrance into the school, children are sorted into one of four main groups
called “houses”, each of which was founded by a key founder of the school and which prizes certain traits. These
houses and their relative traits are: Gryffindor (courage), Hufflepuff (industriousness), Ravenclaw (intellect) and
Slytherin (ambition).
 Privet Drive – The location where Harry Potter spends his childhood under the care of his aunt (Petunia), uncle
(Vernon) and cousin (Dudley). Unlike Hogwarts, Privet Drive is the most absolutely bland, vanilla and outrageously
“normal” environment imaginable. Because of Harry’s inherent association with magic, he is despised by his aunt and
her family, and so only spends summers and the minimum amount of time possible there. Most books begin with
Harry residing at Privet Drive before the start of each new school term.
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
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Azkaban Prison – The notorious wizard prison, Azkaban is a horrific place safeguarded by creatures called
Dementors, who literally drain residents of their happiness and hope, thus preventing them from having the strength to
attempt to escape. Azkaban plays host to legions of dark wizards who followed Voldemort during his first reign of
terror, and also to Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, who is framed for the murder of Harry’s mother and father when
Harry is still a baby.
The Ministry of Magic – The ruling body of the magical world, The Ministry is comprised of a host of predominately
powerless, cowardly and corrupt bureaucrats, the worst of which is the Minister of Magic himself. In most instances,
the Ministry spends its time placing and evading blame, without actually “doing” anything substantial to safeguard its
people, particularly when it becomes evident that the forces of Darkness are again on the rise.
The Order of the Phoenix – A secret organization founded to repel and combat the Dark Lord Voldemort and his
minions wherever they may be found. It is the Order that assumes most of the responsibility to organize resistance to
Voldemort and the Death Eaters, as well as protect Harry from either Ministry of Magic or Death Eater schemes.
Dumbledore’s Army – Wanting a part in defending both themselves and Hogwarts from both Death Eater and Ministry
of Magic interference, a group of students under Harry’s reluctant tutelage form a covert wizard combat unit called
Dumbledore’s Army (or, as it is referred to in the books, “the DA”). The DA is responsible for retrieving the second
prophecy about Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and fights alongside the Order in many
critical battles, including the final Battle of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Death Eaters – Followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort who are themselves formidable witches and wizards in their own
right. Each serves Voldemort in ever deepening layers of evil, backbiting and competing with other Death Eaters for
the preeminent position of highest servant in his ranks.
Quiddich – A wizard sport involving aerial acrobatics on flying broomsticks, Quiddich involves a cross between flying
rugby and soccer as team members seek to throw a quaffle (a “ball” of sorts) through their opposing teams goal posts
while avoiding other team members and bludgers (bewitched balls trained to knock riders from their brooms). The
game is over when a team’s Seeker (a special team member who is agile and well-trained) finds and catches the
elusive Golden Snitch (a winged ball that flies at top speed away from Seekers and must be caught to end the game),
thus usually also winning the game (note: the Snitch is worth 150 points for the team whose Seeker catches it).
Horcrux – A magical artifact whose purpose is to house a fragment of a dark wizard’s soul. A dark wizard may
prolong his life indefinitely if part of his soul is hidden away inside a horcrux (which may be any ordinary object, or
another living thing as well), but in order to fragment his soul in order to hide such a piece, the dark wizard must
commit a horrific act that literally rends, mars and tears that which “was never meant to be torn”. Typically, in the Harry
Potter universe, this horrific act is most often accomplished by an act of murder.
Deathly Hallow – One of three historical, powerful magical items which, when a wizard or witch possesses all three,
should render them virtually unbeatable or unchallengeable by other wizards.
Harry Potter: Characters
The Good
 Harry Potter – The primary character across all the works, Harry is often referred to as “the boy who lived” due to his
survival of a killing curse from the dark wizard, Voldemort, when he was just a baby. As Voldemort seeks to regain
power in the wizarding world, Harry is continually pitted against either Voldemort directly or his immediate followers,
eventually culminating in Harry’s own death in order to destroy a part of Voldemort that resides within him and thus
prevents Voldemort’s “true death” until it can be destroyed. After rising from the dead, Harry, along with his friends and
allies, destroys Voldemort and frees the wizarding world (and indeed all of the world as Voldemort’s plan was not
limited to domination of the wizarding world, but included Muggle subjugation as well). As an adult, Harry marries
Ginny Weasley and joins the ranks of the Ministry of Magic’s “Aurors” (i.e. a sort of wizard police guild that hunts down,
tries and convicts dark wizards).
 Ron Weasley – One of Harry’s closest friends and confidents along with Hermione Granger, Ron is a member of a
large and influential (though poor) wizarding family. He is most often distinguished by his red hair and often rather
clumsy or slapstick antics, and eventually marries Hermione Granger.
 Hermione Granger – (pronounced “Her-my-oh-knee”) Harry’s other closest friend alongside Ron Weasley, Hermione
is the daughter of Muggles who previously had no knowledge of the magical world. She is sharp-minded, a voracious
learner, and an expert practitioner of magic. She is most often distinguished by her “mousy brown hair”, sharp wit and
tendency to know at least something about something that saves Harry and Ron from difficult situations. Later, as an
adult, she marries Ron Weasley.
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
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Albus Dumbledore – Harry’s mentor and the principal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Dumbledore is
powerful, compassionate and wise. He is, by the book’s own admission, “perhaps the only person that [Voldemort]
ever feared”. Readers are led to believe that although Albus is presumably centuries old, he is nevertheless perhaps
the most powerful wizard alive. He is murdered by Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to prevent
Voldemort from discovering Snape’s work as a mole and spy within the Death Eater ranks.
Severus Snape – A professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Snape is a complex and difficult
character, functioning both as Harry’s greatest nemesis and also perhaps, by the end of the books, his greatest
protector and guardian. Snape deeply loved Harry’s mother (Lilly), while at the same time was tormented by Harry’s
father (James), thus giving him both a deep love and a deep hatred of Harry. Snape is also a converted Death Eater
who serves within the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix (amidst much distrust from the other members) but is able to
function as a critically needed spy for the Order amidst the Death Eater ranks as Voldemort regains power.
Hagrid – The Keeper of Grounds and Keys at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hagrid is a half-giant and a
mountain of a man who is also one of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s best friends. Although Hagrid is an employee of the
school (and, for a while, a professor himself in the area of “Care of Magical Creatures”), he shares a much closer
relationship with Harry in particular and is a fierce defender and advocate amidst trouble. In addition to his immense
size and easy, gruff demeanor, Hagrid’s defining trait is that he has a deep (and often dangerous) love for creatures
that are lethal, dangerous or destructive without often realizing their innate danger to others (students included).
Ginny Weasley – The youngest sister/sibling of Ron Weasley, Ginny is courageous, strong and a bit mischievous.
She is a passionate defender and eventual love-interest for Harry, and is perhaps best known throughout the books
because of her unwitting possession by Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to do his bidding
in releasing the Basilisk from the Chamber to terrorize the students. Later, as part of Dumbledore’s Army, Ginny also
aids Harry in a number of critical battles, and eventually marries Harry as an adult.
Sirius Black – Convicted mass-murderer (though he is innocent) and godfather of Harry Potter, Sirius Black is framed
for the murder of several Muggles and condemned to Azkaban Prison, where he eventually successfully breaks out to
aid Harry and become part of the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius loses his life in a fight with Death Eaters in Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix.
The Bad
 Lord Voldemort/Tom Riddle/He-who-must-not-be-named/The Dark Lord – Originally a student at Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the boy Tom Riddle, the son of a magical mother and a Muggle father, adopts the name
Lord Voldemort as he delves deeper and deeper into dark magic with the goal of becoming the most powerful evil
sorcerer of all time. He is foiled in this goal when a killing curse upon the infant Harry Potter backfires and banishes
him to a mere essence that must be restored in order to resume his hellish goal. Voldemort is ruthless, brutal and
completely devoid of mercy and compassion. His followers, the Death Eaters, are loyal only insofar as they equal his
lust for power, and Voldemort knows no morality in accomplishing his end goals of absolute world domination.
Resembling a snake in appearance (he is portrayed as lacking a nose and having deep, red, nearly reptilian eyes),
Voldemort desires eternal life and eternal power more than anything else, and is willing to murder, steal and destroy in
order to achieve those ends.
 Draco & Lucius Malfoy – Among Voldemort’s most loyal followers are the Malfoy’s, Lucius (the father) and his son,
Draco. Even at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Draco continually functions as a nemesis and foil for
Harry, seeking to harass and harangue him in whatever fashion possible until the later books, where Draco begins to
delve much deeper into genuinely dark missions set for him by Voldemort, including the creation of a magical pathway
into the school for Death Eaters and the failed task of assassinating Albus Dumbledore. Interestingly, the Malfoys
nearly renege on their loyalty to Voldemort in the final book as his demands upon them begin to prove too great, and
Draco and Harry achieve a mild truce of sorts when Draco refuses to identify Ron, Hermione and himself when they
are imprisoned by Voldemort in the Malfoy’s home.
 Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley – Harry’s Muggle guardians, the Dursleys despise anything out of the ordinary
and have a particular aversion to Harry. When Harry was presented to them after surviving Voldemort’s attack, the
Dursleys reluctantly agree to raise the boy, though they do so in only the most neglectful and uncaring manner
possible. Harry returns each year to reside with the Dursleys during summer vacation, and so each book both begins
and ends with his time there (with the exception of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Harry does not return
to the Dursleys at the end).
 Bellatrix Lestrange – If it is possible that Voldemort has a “love interest” (though the books make clear the fact that
Voldemort cannot and does not have any understanding of that concept), Bellatrix most assuredly fits that role. A
horrific and twisted witch, Bellatrix delights in the use of one of the “unforgivable curses” (i.e. The Cruciatus Curse),
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
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which causes insanity and/or death by the infliction of severe and excruciating pain upon her victims. Bellatrix is the
cousin of Sirius Black, the sister of Draco Malfoy’s mother, and an unremorseful prisoner of Azkaban Prison until she is
illegally released along with other former Death Eaters by Voldemort.
Dementors – Horrific non-human creatures that serve as the guardians of Azkaban Prison, Dementors are themselves
actually evil, existing by draining the happiness and hope from their victims. The equivalent to the death penalty in the
wizarding world consists of what is called the “Dementor’s Kiss”, where Dementors are given free reign to actually
drain the soul out of a condemned victim, thus relegating them to a remaining existence of zombie-like entrancement
without a living soul until physical death.
Harry Potter: Plot at a Glance by Book
Please note that a basic outline of the plot for each book within the Harry Potter series is supplied, along with a description of the
“3 Key Scenes” in each book. Through perusal of both, you should be able to have a decent understanding of both the overall
structure of the book, as well as the central scenes which drive the action or serve as turning points within the plot for each.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Harry Potter is “the boy who lived”. When his parents are murdered at the hands of
the dark wizard, Voldemort attempts to kill Harry as well. However, in the process, a strange backfire to the dark wizard’s intent
effectively reduces him to a mere spirit awaiting return. As Harry is only a baby, he is taken to live and grow up with his nearest
maternal relative, his Aunt Petunia (his mother’s sister) Dursley. Petunia and her husband (Vernon) and son (Dudley) despise
and neglect Harry, thus ensuring that he grown up in an environment where only the most meager and menial care is given to
ensure his survival. When Harry turns 11, however, he is visited by a gigantic wizard named Hagrid, who tells him that he is to
be a student at a special school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the start of the next term. Despite the
Dursley’s protestations, Harry attends the school, and becomes fast friends with two other students, Ron Weasley and Hermione
Granger. As classes begin, the trio learn that a special item called the Sorcerer’s Stone is being hunted by servants of
Voldemort, who is seeking to return to power. The Stone is reputed to give eternal life to whoever possesses it through
production of a special elixir, and so the three spend considerable time sniffing out who might be attempting to serve the Dark
Lord by acquiring it. After navigating a series of tests and trials designed to protect the Stone, which resides somewhere on the
grounds of the school, Harry confronts one of his professors, who has secretly been serving as the host-body for Voldemort, who
is still not yet strong enough to take physical form on his own. In the ensuing duel, Harry watches as the professor’s body
crumbles away after attempting to touch him. Later, school principal and mentor Albus Dumbledore explains to Harry that it was
because of his mother’s love and sacrifice for him when he was a baby, Voldemort’s minion was unable to touch him. Harry
rejoins his friends as the school year ends, and prepares for a summer back with the Dursleys.
 Receiving an Owl – Just before Harry’s 11th birthday, he receives a letter stating his acceptance to Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry’s uncle destroys the letter because he does not believe in “such foolishness”, but
more letters to Harry begin to arrive, and in increasing frequency, despite Uncle Vernon’s attempts to continue to
capture and destroy the letters in whatever form they find themselves into Harry’s path. Eventually, after a particularly
energetic flood of letters attack the family from every conceivable venue (chimney, mail slot, EVERYWHERE), Uncle
Vernon takes the family to a remote location in the hopes of quite literally hiding from the letters. It is here, on the eve
of Harry’s 11th birthday, that Hagrid finds Harry and delivers his letter personally, much to the complaint and chagrin of
the Dursleys.
 Of Trolls and Fast Friends – After meeting and befriending Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Professor Quirrell
attempts to distract the Hogwarts professors by releasing a full grown Mountain Troll into the hallways. The troll finds
its way into the girls’ bathroom, where Hermione is sulking after Ron hurts her feelings, and Harry and Ron rescue her
before she is seriously injured. In response, Hermione takes the blame for the incident, thus sealing the friendship of
the thence-forward-forever-friends throughout the remainder of the book and rest of the series.
 Questions, Quirrell and Quandries – After engaging a series of wizard “security systems” set to safeguard the
Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry finds himself in a duel with Hogwarts Professor Quirrell, who is serving as physical host for the
spirit of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Using a special mirror designed to hide the stone, Harry manages to retrieve the
item, as well as successfully defend himself until Dumbledore arrives against Quirrell through the use of magic he does
not fully at first understand.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – When a House-Elf named Dobby appears in Harry’s bedroom late one night to
warn Harry against returning to Hogwarts, Harry finds himself in trouble with the Dursleys who were attempting to entertain a
new business client who was disturbed by the Elf’s hijinks. Later, Ron Weasley and his brothers aid Harry in escaping the
Dursleys through the use of a bewitched car that their father confiscated through his work within the Ministry of Magic. In the
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Blood and Spells: a Look at Harry Potter and Twilight
Book Summary: Harry Potter
process of acquiring his school-supplies, Harry is introduced to Gilderoy Lockhart, a self-absorbed, glamor-hogging author and
legend within the wizarding community who also assumes the role of one of Harry’s teachers at Hogwarts. After arriving at
school, rumors begin to circulate about a strange, underground chamber called the Chamber of Secrets that supposedly houses
a creature of great destructive capacity and only obeys a direct descendant of one of the school’s founding members (Salazar
Slytherin), thus making the descendant the so-called Heir of Slytherin. As students and others begin appear around campus in
nearly stone-like petrification, suspicion mounts that Harry may actually be the one summoning the attacks. Harry, Ron and
Hermione step up their amateur sleuthing to discover that the creature creating the havoc is actually a Basilisk (a giant, mythical
serpent that can turn onlookers to stone through the power of its gaze) when Hermione herself is actually petrified as one of the
Basilisk’s victims. Finding that he can actually open the Chamber through the use of what is called parseltongue (the ability to
talk to snakes), Harry, Ron and Professor Lockhart descend into the chamber to face the evil that awaits them there. Before
entering, however, an avalanche caused by Lockhart’s traitorous self-inflicted accidental amnesia charm separates Harry from
Ron and the Professor, thus requiring Harry to go on alone. Once in the Chamber, Harry finds Ron’s sister, Ginny, on the brink
of death. There, he meets a young man named Tom Riddle who explains that he is the living memory of Voldemort, and that
through the use of a magical journal, has been manipulating Ginny to command the Basilisk to do its work around the campus.
In an attempt to finish Harry, Riddle summons the Basilisk, which Harry fights and ultimately destroys, though he is bitten in the
process. Near death, Harry destroys the journal as his final act, which effectively destroys the memory of Riddle as well, and is
aided by Professor Dumbledore’s pet Phoenix (a mythical bird that can heal all injuries through the application of its tears).
Revived, Harry removes Ginny, Ron and Professor Lockhart from the Chamber and back to safety.
 Dangerous House Elves – Dobby the House-Elf, servant of the Malfoys, appears in Harry Potter’s room on an
evening where Uncle Vernon is hosting a business client. In an attempt to both warn and prevent Harry from returning
to Hogwarts from fear for his life, Dobby makes Harry’s life difficult by playing poltergeist to one of Uncle Vernon’s
business-clients who is over for dinner.
 Petrification and Pernicious Rumors – Hermione is temporarily petrified by the creature which is roaming the
Hogwarts hallways, leaving Harry and Ron on their own to discover the mystery of what is attacking the Hogwarts
students. Before the attack, Hermione discovers a clue about the creature, and manages to crumple a written version
of it into her hand before the beast strikes and leaves her catatonic.
 Of Chambers, Basilisks, Phoenixes, Diaries and Dying – Using parseltongue, Harry opens the renowned Chamber
of Secrets and confronts Tom Riddle, the school-aged memory of Lord Voldemort that assumes shape and power as
Ginny Weasley does his bidding. Commanding a giant Basilisk, Tom seeks to kill Harry, who manages not only to
destroy the Basilisk, but the journal that was projecting Voldemort’s spirit and causing all the problems. In the process,
however, Harry is bitten by the Basilisk and nearly dies, but is healed at the last moment by Professor Dumbledore’s
pet Phoenix, Fawkes.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – When Harry’s Aunt Marge (his Uncle Vernon’s sister) begins to insult Harry’s
parents, Harry accidentally inflates the woman into a human zeppelin, thus causing her to literally float out of the house and into
the awaiting sky, despite the Dursley’s protestations and attempts at keeping her on the ground. In rage, Harry packs his things
and heads out the door, where he is stalked by an enormous black dog until a form of wizard transport called The Knight Bus
picks him up and takes him to The Leaky Cauldron (a familiar wizard inn and saloon), where his friends (the Weasleys and
Hermione) are waiting for him. While there, Harry learns that a fugitive named Sirius Black is on the loose, having recently
escaped from the wizard prison called Azkaban. Black is reported to have betrayed Harry’s parents to Voldemort, and murdered
a group of Muggles shortly thereafter, landing him fugitive status in both the wizard and Muggle worlds alike. On the way to
Hogwarts, Harry and friends are attacked by Dementors, who are supposedly released from Azkaban in order to hunt for Black.
The Dementors are repelled by the skill of Professor R. J. Lupin, a benevolent wizard and teacher who assumes the role of one
of Harry’s professors for the coming year. Taking Harry under his wing, Prof. Lupin teaches Harry how to conjure a Patronus
Charm, which is the only known repellant of use against Dementors should they return. Harry also learns why Professor Snape
seems to hate him so much in understanding that even though Harry’s father saved the professor’s life when they were students,
his father also seemingly mercilessly tormented the younger Snape as well, along with his three best friends: R. J. Lupin, Peter
Pettigrew and Sirius Black. Later, after the Divination teacher utters a dark and bizarre prophecy about the return of Voldemort,
Harry, Ron and Hermione venture to a supposedly haunted villa near Hogwarts to discover that Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers, has
really been a human being, Peter Pettigrew, for the past ten years. It was Pettigrew, not Black, who betrayed Harry’s parents,
served Voldemort and killed the Muggles, then taking refuge with the Weasleys as he possessed the power to assume the shape
of a rat, who became Ron’s “pet”. Keeping Black from seeking vengeance upon Pettigrew, Harry and friends watch as Pettigrew
escapes when Lupin begins to succumb to the overpowering force of the full moon, becoming a werewolf and threatening their
lives. In the process of defense and escape, Harry uses the Patronus to fend off a horde of Dementors who are delighted to
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
have found Black, their prey and quarry. Through use of time manipulation (a skill gained by Hermione through use of a magical
“time-turner”) and an escaped Hipogriff (a half-horse, half-eagle creature that resides in the Forbidden Forest), Harry and friends
help Sirius escape to safety and to a relatively happy end, though they know that Pettigrew escaped and will seek to aid the Dark
Lord again in his rise to power.
 Dementors and Dangerous Fugitives! – While searching for rogue fugitive, Sirius Black, Azkaban Prison guardians
called Dementors attack Harry when he is aboard the Hogwarts Express (the train that takes students to the school),
and are repelled by the skill of Professor R. J. Lupin, who conjures a Patronus Charm to combat them.
 Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs – Harry learns of the existence and betrayal of Peter Pettigrew who has been
posing for ten years as Ron Weasley’s pet rat, Scabbers, who is the real murdering traitor that betrayed Harry’s
parents and framed Sirius Black for mass-murder. Black, Pettigrew, Professor Lupin (a professor who is also a
werewolf) and Harry’s father were all friends when students at Hogwarts, as well as shape-shifters who assumed the
quadruple pseudonyms of Moony (Lupin – a werewolf), Wormtail (Pettigrew – a rat), Padfoot (Black – a large, black
dog) and Prongs (Potter – a stag). At the Shrieking Shack, Pettigrew’s betrayal is made known, and would result in his
death at the hands of Black and Lupin but for Harry’s intervention.
 Patronus Charms and Dementors’ Kisses – After learning how to cast a Patronus charm to defend against
Dementors, Harry defends himself and Sirius Black from Dementor Attack and an attempted Dementor’s Kiss in the
dark Forbidden Forest.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Harry isn’t sure if a dream was a vision of reality or merely fiction, but witnesses while
asleep what appears to be the murder of an elderly Muggle at the hands of Voldemort, who discussed with his servant, Peter
Pettigrew, details surrounding Voldemort’s future plans for Harry. Shortly after, Harry receives an invitation to join the Weasleys
and other friends at the Quiddich World Cup, where Death Eaters openly reveal themselves, attack a family of oblivious Muggles
who reside near where the Cup is being held, and cause general panic. Harry and his friends escape unscathed, but the wizard
world is shaken with portents of returning evil as a result of the Death Eater’s open display of threat and power. Back at
Hogwarts, Harry learns of the Triwizard Tournament, a competition held every five years between Hogwarts and two other
magical schools: Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (a school resides near Cannes, France) and the Durmstrang Institute (located
somewhere in Scandinavia), with delegations from each of those two other schools meeting at Hogwarts to host the event.
Although traditionally, only one student from each school is to serve as “champion” for the Tournament, two students from
Hogwarts are selected: Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory. Although highly irregular, Harry is permitted to participate in the
tournament, and actually performs quite well for himself, surviving all tasks until both he and Diggory arrive at the final prize,
which appears to be a trophy. Upon deciding to mutually take the cup and thus celebrate a victory together for Hogwarts, both
boys are teleported to a graveyard instead where a weakened and not-yet-fully-restored Voldemort and Death Eaters await
them. Voldemort order Cedric’s death, and, after using blood from Harry and a few other articles, the Death Eaters are able to
fully restore Voldemort to physical form. Harry and Voldemort duel, which causes a spiritual and temporary resurrection of
Harry’s parents and other of Voldemort’s victims through a bizarre reflexive spell, during which Harry is able to escape with
Cedric’s body while the spirits distract the dark wizard. The story concludes with clearer lines beginning to be drawn between
the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters and Hogwarts Faculty, who all see very differently in terms of how to best respond now
that the Dark Lord is back and bent upon his previous path of world domination.
 The Quiddich World Cup and Return of the Death Eaters – Death Eaters attack a Muggle family and cause havoc
during the wizard-world equivalent to the Super-Bowl for the sport of Quiddich. After the attack, they leave the symbol
of the “Dark Mark” (Voldemort’s symbol, which is a snake winding its way through a skull) in the sky, thus alerting
everyone to the fact that they are again active.
 The Tri-Wizard Tournament – Hogwarts plays host to an ancient, inter-school competition called the Tri-Wizard
Tournament, where one champion from each of three schools is selected to participate in harrowing tests of wizarding
skill. Contrary to tradition, both Harry and another student named Cedric Diggory are selected to participate from
Hogwarts. Amidst suspicions that Harry somehow rigged the entry, he is still allowed to participate.
 Death, Rebirth and The Beginning of the End – During the final test of the Triwizard Tournament, both Harry and
Cedric are transported to a graveyard where Death Eaters have assembled to resurrect Voldemort in bodily form. In
the process, Cedric is killed, and Harry manages to narrowly escape, thus bringing back the knowledge that Voldemort
has returned.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – While living with the Dursleys, Harry defends himself and his cousin Dudley
against a rogue Dementor attack in open daylight, and finds himself being criminally charged with “Underage Use of Magic” by
the Ministry of Magic. During the ensuing hearing, Professor Dumbledore defends Harry and secures an acquittal of all charges,
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
but the professor assumes a level of aloofness from Harry that he does not understand. During this time, Harry is also
introduced to a group called the Order of the Phoenix, who opposed Voldemort during his first attempt to gain power, and have
now reassembled to oppose him again. The Order is largely comprised of “usual suspects” (i.e. Ron Weasley’s parents, Sirius
Black, Professor Snape, Professor Lupin, and others), and while Harry is eager to join, is essentially prevented from doing so, at
least formally. At Hogwarts, the Professor Dumbledore stays continually distant from Harry, and the Ministry of Magic sends
Dolores Umbridge as a professor at the school in order to spy on the institution and enforce Ministry compliance of all rules.
Umbridge, a power-hungry and unethical woman, begins to exert more control over the students as she assumes the role of not
only professor, but High Inquisitor, questioning the students mercilessly about supposedly-illicit activities and setting herself up
as absolute authority within the school. During this time, Harry and a small cadre of other students form a covert, wizard-combat
unit called Dumbledore’s Army (or “the DA”), and begin learning how to defend themselves against the imminent return of
Voldemort and the attack of his Death Eaters. As the school year unfolds, Harry begins to sense a deeper and deeper
connection to Voldemort’s thoughts and plans, and despite attempts to guard himself, Harry is unsuccessful and ultimately
succumbs to a deceptive ruse to get him to retrieve a special record of a prophecy made about him and the Dark Lord at the
Ministry of Magic. Harry and the DA retrieve the prophecy, during which time Harry learns that he and Voldemort are connected
at a level so deep that one of them must inevitably die in order for the other to triumph in their goals. Shortly thereafter, Harry
and the DA are attacked by Death Eaters seeking to retrieve the prophecy from Harry, who keeps it suitably guarded until the
Order of the Phoenix arrives to reinforce. In the ensuing battle between the DA/Order and the Death Eaters, Sirius Black is
killed. As Harry pursues Sirius’ murderer through the Ministry of Magic, he is confronted by Voldemort himself until Professor
Dumbledore arrives. During the ensuing duel, Harry is nearly possessed by the Dark Lord, but because Harry possesses a deep
and abiding love for his friends and his cause, Voldemort is unable to reside within him for long. As the battle finishes in a sort of
stalemate, Ministry of Magic officials arrive just in time to see a fully resurrected Voldemort, thus dispelling their long formal
denial of his return. Later, Dumbledore explains that his aloofness was a mistake, but was motivated by his desire to keep the
Dark Lord from using Harry to find out too much about Dumbledore and the Order’s plans. All seems aright as the book ends,
though the table is now set for a greater conflict as distinct battle lines are drawn for a second overt war between Voldemort and
his Death Eaters and those who would oppose him.
 Narrow Escapes and Hot Water – Harry defends himself and his cousin Dudley against a seemingly rogue pair of
Dementors before the start of school, and is held on criminal charges for violations against laws for the Use of
Underage Magic by the Ministry of Magic.
 The DA – With Dumbledore gone, Harry, Ron and Hermione assemble a volunteer group of students bent on both
defending themselves against Death Eaters and subverting the reign of now-Principal Dolores Umbridge. The DA
trains in a special room called the Room of Requirement, where members are instructed by Harry on the use of wizard
combat tactics. Harry has his first taste of romance with a fellow-student, though it seems to be doomed to failure
when his intended cannot move past her grief over the loss of Cedric Diggory.
 Sirius Gone and “He’s Back!” – After retrieving a prophecy made about Harry from the Ministry of Magic, Harry and
members of the DA square off against Death Eaters until members of the Order of the Phoenix arrive to reinforce. In
the ensuing battle, Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, is killed at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. Shortly thereafter,
Dumbledore and Voldemort duke it out in the Ministry basement until a delegation from the Ministry of Magic arrives
and is finally willing to admit that Voldemort has returned.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Professor Dumbledore retrieves Harry from the Dursleys and takes him to retrieve a
new Hogwarts professor, Horace Slughorn, who will teach Potions and used to teach at the school during the days when
Voldemort was a student. During this time, Draco Malfoy is tasked by Voldemort himself with a dark mission that requires the
apparent use of a strange cabinet sold at a Dark Arts shop. After returning to school, Professor Slughorn begins to invite popular
or perceived elite students to after-class parties he calls the “Slug-Club”, which gives Harry an opportunity to begin to ask the
professor about details related to when Tom Riddle (aka Voldemort) was a student, though the professor apparently blocks many
of the memories associated with that period in his career. Meanwhile, Harry inherits a potions textbook that once belonged to a
mysterious student who called himself the Half-Blood Prince, and who has expert advice on the brewing of potions, thus making
Harry a sudden prodigy in the subject and a favored student of professor Slughorn. Eventually, Harry is able to gain from the
professor that he was the first to teach Riddle about dark magic involving horcruxes, and by which Riddle set about preserving
his life by splitting his soul through acts of murder and hiding the fragments into objects which, so long as they remain, prevent
him from permanently dying. Harry then accompanies Professor Dumbledore on a secret mission to locate and destroy one of
these horcruxes, and barely manages to escape with a weakened Dumbledore before the two return to school. After arriving,
Harry and Dumbledore discover that Draco’s special cabinet was actually creating a magical passageway from the outside, thus
allowing Death Eaters into the school, and after forcing Harry to hide out of site, Draco draws near for the culmination of his
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
mission: to assassinate Professor Dumbledore. When Draco is unable to execute his task, Professor Snape steps in to
accomplish the task, and Harry watches in horror as Snape uses the killing curse to take Dumbledore’s life. As Harry pursues
Snape, he learns that Snape was the Half-Blood Prince from whose knowledge he has been benefitting all year, and though he
tries, he is unable to attack the professor, who flees the grounds with the other Death Eaters, leaving the rest of the school to
discover and mourn the dead Professor Dumbledore.
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A Study Guide to Potions and the Half-Blood Prince – Harry receives a copy of an old potion textbook that
belonged to someone called “The Half-Blood Prince” that gives Harry unusual alacrity in the making of potions.
However, it becomes evident that the Prince was not always a kind or good individual, and Ron and Hermione begin
urging Harry to dispose of the book.
Destroying Horcruxes – Harry accompanies Professor Dumbledore on a mission to track down one of Voldemort’s
horcruxes, and, in the process, must both help the professor, as well as fend off a booby-trap rigged to release armies
of undead Infiri (cadaverous zombies who attack in hordes) on intruders.
Draco’s Task and Avada-Kadavra! – Unbeknownst to the reader and to the characters in the book, Albus
Dumbledore has pre-arranged with Spy/Mole Severus Snape to kill him so that Draco Malfoy would not have to mar his
soul in the act of murder. When Draco falters at his task, therefore, it is Severus who steps forward to take
Dumbledore’s life, thus simultaneously confirming his supposed allegiance to the Death Eaters while still staying on
task to Dumbledore’s larger plan to have Snape stay in operation as a mole for the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – INITIAL NOTE: Please be advised that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fastpaced and complicated book that brings together a number of core plots, themes and ideas into a central resolution for the entire
series. As a result, what follows is only my best rendering of the primary themes, and will most certainly lack a full presentation
of ideas. As Voldemort effectively takes control of the Ministry of Magic and undertakes a dark reign deliberately equivalent to
the beginnings of Hitler’s rise to power in Germany, Harry sends the reluctant Dursleys into hiding so that they cannot be
captured by Death Eaters and tortured for information about him. In addition, Professor Snape returns to Hogwarts, this time as
Headmaster under the power and prompting of Voldemort, and so Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their own to find the
remaining horcruxes and destroy them. Discovering that one of the horcruxes is a locket currently worn and possessed by
displaced Hogwarts professor and returned Ministry employee, Dolores Umbridge, the trio covertly sneaks into the Ministry and
successfully steal the locket from her. However, the locket, as a container of a portion of Voldemort’s own dark soul, begins to
weigh heavily on the individual personalities of the three friends, eventually causing Ron so much distress that he abandons
Harry and Hermione on their quest. Heartbroken, Harry and Hermione continue on to search for the remaining horcruxes, and in
the process, visit Godric’s Hollow, where both Harry’s parents and Dumbledore’s relatives are buried. While there, they are
attacked by Voldemort’s pet snake, Nagini, and in the process of their escape, Harry’s wand is broken. Harry later tries to
destroy the locket horcrux with a magical sword, but is unsuccessful, nearly drowning in the process before Ron returns, rescues
Harry, and helps him destroy the locket. Seeking additional information, the trio seeks out the father of a fellow student named
Xenophillius Lovegood, who explains that the Dark Lord is searching for three magical items called The Deathly Hallows. These
three items are supposed to render the possessor with immense power, and include a wand called the Elder Wand, a stone that
possesses the ability to bring people back from the dead (i.e. the Resurrection Stone), and a cloak that causes the wearer to
become invisible (the Invisibility Cloak, which Harry has already possessed since the first book). After learning of the Hallows,
Lovegood confesses that Death Eaters have his daughter, Luna, who is one of the trio’s closest friends and a fellow DA member,
and that he has alerted the Death Eaters to their presence with him. Though the trio escapes the Lovegood home, they are
nevertheless quickly captured by Death Eaters at another location and taken to Malfoy Manner, where the Death Eaters await
the Dark Lord’s torture and death of the three friends. Before they can suffer their fate, however, the house elf known as Dobby
appears and helps the friends escape the Malfoy residence, though he is stabbed in the process and dies in the attempt. The
friends return to Hogwarts, where they find one of the final remaining horcruxes to be destroyed. Death Eaters rally outside the
school grounds and a first battle ensues, during which time, Harry, Ron and Hermione learn that Voldemort is with Professor
Snape outside the school grounds. Under cover of invisibility, the three of them make their way to Voldemort and watch as
Voldemort orders Nagini to kill Professor Snape, believing that by doing so, he will gain control of the Elder Wand, one of the
Deathly Hallows. As Voldemort leaves, Harry has a final moment with Professor Snape, who offers Harry his memories with his
dying breath, and, in viewing them, learns that Professor Snape deeply loved Harry’s mother, and had, despite all outward
appearances, been a faithful and intelligent servant of the Order of the Phoenix, and a careful guardian of Harry from the first,
despite his outward appearances. In the process, Harry also learns that Nagini is one of the final remaining horcruxes, and
returns to Hogwarts where he knows that he must die at Voldemort’s hand in order to destroy the horcrux that resides within
himself. Moving into the Forbidden Forest on Hogwarts grounds, where the Death Eaters and Voldemort rally assembled, Harry
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Book Summary: Harry Potter
allows Voldemort to kill him, and is transported in spirit to what looks like a heavenly version of King’s Cross station, where he
meets the heavenly apparition of Professor Dumbledore. While there, Dumbledore describes and explains a great number of
things to Harry, and Harry finally understands what must be done to defeat Voldemort once and for all if he chooses to return to
the Living and do battle with the Dark Lord. During this time, while Harry is apparently dead, fellow student Neville Longbottom
beheads Nagini, the last remaining horcrux, thus leaving Voldemort vulnerable to mortal attack. As Harry revives from the dead,
he and Voldemort square off in a final confrontation in which Harry strikes the Dark Lord down, thus destroying him forever. The
book ends with a touching epilogue set some 19 years after the defeat of Voldemort. Readers learn that Ron and Hermione
married, that Harry and Ron’s younger sister, Ginny, married, and that all ends as well as one could hope.
 Godric’s Hollow - Harry and Hermione travel to Godric’s Hollow to visit the grave of Harry’s parents. While there, they
are attacked by Voldemort’s pet snake, Nagini, and learn in the process (among other things) that the giant snake is, in
fact, another of Voldemort’s horcruxes.
 Lovegood Deception – Luna’s dad turns over Harry, Hermione and Ron to Death Eaters in order to protect Luna, but
in the process, the three learn about the Deathly Hallows and why Voldemort would want them.
 The Second Battle of Hogwarts, Death and the Conclusion of the Matter – In the process of directly combating
Voldemort, Harry is stricken with the Killing-Curse, thus ending his life. However, in a sort of after-life version of King’s
Cross station, Harry meets Professor Dumbledore, who explains how Harry’s death actually destroyed the final
remaining horcrux residing within himself, and would thus free Harry to destroy the dark wizard once and for all should
he return to finish the task. Harry chooses to return to life and destroys Voldemort once and for all.
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