Harry Potter Series (Summary)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

It's been so long that I'd read this first book of Harry Potter series but it keeps coming back to me and to my senses that this is a story of a great young boy who is so newbie when it comes to spell and magic.  I was shocked and stunned when I read the book for it has a lot of pages maybe a hundreds or a thousand but it's already on my hand, why not try reading it? 

It was the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling and featuring Harry Potter  a young wizard. It describes how Harry discovers he is a wizard, makes close friends and a few enemies at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and with the help of his friends thwarts an attempted comeback by the evil wizard Voldemort who killed Harry's parents when Harry was one year old.

The book was published on 30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in London, while in 1998 Scholastic Corporation published an edition for the United States market under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The novel won most of the UK book awards that were judged by children, and other awards in the USA. The book reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in August 1999, and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and 2000. It has been translated into several other languages and has been made into a feature-length film of the same name.

Most reviews were very favourable, commenting on Rowling's imagination, humour, simple, direct style and clever plot construction, although a few complained that the final chapters looked rushed. The writing has been compared to that of Jane Austen one of Rowling's favourite authors, of Roald Dahl, whose works dominated children's stories before the appearance of Harry Potter, and of the Ancient Greek story-teller Homer. While some commentators thought the book looked backwards to Victorian and Edwardian boarding school stories, others thought it placed the genre firmly in the modern world by featuring contemporary ethical and social issues.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, along with the rest of the Harry Potter series, has been attacked by several religious groups and banned in some countries because of accusations that the novels promote witchcraft. However, some Christian commentators have written that the book exemplifies important Christian viewpoints, including the power of self-sacrifice and the ways in which people's decisions shape their personalities. Educators regard Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels as an important aid in improving literacy because of the books' popularity. The series has also been used as a source of object lessons in educational techniques, sociological analysis and marketing.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of Secrets" has been opened and that the "heir of  Slytherin" will kill all pupils who do not come from all-magical families. These threats are followed by attacks which leave residents of the school "petrified" (that is, frozen). Throughout the year, Harry and his friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger investigate the attacks, and Harry is confronted by Lord Voldemort who is attempting to regain full power.

The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc. Although Rowling found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children. Some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical themes, while others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and on the way in which a person's character is the result of the person's choices.

Several commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the book, and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of non-magical, non-human and non-living characters. Some commentators regard the diary as a warning against uncritical acceptance of information from sources whose motives and reliability cannot be checked. Institutional authority is portrayed as self-serving and incompetent.

The film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, released in 2002, became the third film to exceed $600 million in international box office sales and received generally favourable reviews. However, The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers won the Saturn Award for the Best Fantasy Film. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry and his friends Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and find security has been tightened because ofSirius Black's escape. The grounds are now guarded by Dementors, dark, sinister beings that drain the happiness of anyone nearby and guard Azkaban prison. They also cause Harry to hear his parents. Professor Remus Lupin, the school's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, tells Harry he is more vulnerable to the Dementors because he has seen genuine horrors in his past. He agrees to teach Harry the Patronus Charm, a shield against the Dementors.

Harry is depressed to learn he will not be allowed to visit Hogsmead, the local village, because Uncle Vernon refused to sign Harry's form. He is also angry with Draco Malfoy for ruining Hagrid's first lesson as Care of Magical Creatures, teacher. Malfoy causes himself to be attacked by Buckbeak, Hagrid's beloved Hippogriff and his father ensures that Buckbeak is sentenced to be executed in the course of the year, Hermione uses a Time-Turner to travel in time and attend classes held at the same time. Black manages to break into the castle twice, but is unable to reach Harry. Fred and George Wearsley show Harry a secret passageway to Hogsmeade and give him the Marauder's Map

Ron discovers that Scabbers, his rat, has disappeared and believes he has been eaten by Crookshanks. Hermione's cat, causing a falling-out between him and Hermione. Hermione later finds Scabbers in Hagrid's hut when the three of them visit him before Buckbeak's execution. On their way back from the hut, Ron is suddenly attacked by a large black dog and dragged into a passage beneath the Whooping Willow, a magical tree. Harry and Hermione receive a brutal beating from the Whomping Willow before entering the passageway.

Harry and Hermione follow the sounds of Ron's screams and find themselves in an old, boarded-up shack known as the Shrieking Shack. They also discover that the dog is Sirius Black, who is an Animagus. Harry attempts to attack Black when Lupin arrives. Hermione confronts Lupin about habits she has observed during her classes with him. She says she figured out that Professor Lupin was a werewolf after completing one of Professor Snape's essays, and the characteristics are similar to Lupin's. Lupin then admits to being a werewolf. Lupin explains that he, Black, Pettigrew, and James Potter, Harry's father, were great friends and wrote the Marauder's Map. To make Lupin's transformations more enjoyable, his friends all became Animagi, humans who can turn into animals at will. The Marauders remained friends after growing up, and when they learned Voldemort was after the Potters, Black became their Secret-Keeper. However, Black then reveals that he had secretly switched this duty with Pettigrew in order to serve as a decoy. Black states Pettigrew is the betrayer and, rather than being murdered by Black, is actually Scabbers. Professor Snape suddenly barges in on the scene and threatens Lupin and Black with his wand, and taunts Black with threats of turning him over to the Dementors. However, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all attack Professor Snape with the same spell, thus knocking Snape out.This allowed Lupin and Black to take Scabbers from Ron and revert him back into Pettigrew.

Pettigrew admits to the story, but Harry stops Black and Lupin from killing him and becoming murderers themselves. Instead, Harry persuades them to take Pettigrew back to Hogwarts in order to clear Sirius's name. However, as they return to the castle, the full moon emerges and Lupin transforms into a werewolf. Pettigrew transforms back into a rat and escapes while Lupin loses control in his wolf form. Black is knocked out by Lupin, who is about to kill Harry when a strange howl alerts Lupin and lures him away from Harry. Harry finds an unconscious Sirius lying by a pond, where Dementors suddenly descend on the pair and nearly kill them. They are saved at the last minute by a strange figure using the Patronus Charm, which Harry believes to have been cast by his father. Harry then passes out.

Harry awakes in the castle to learn that Black has been captured. To save him, Harry and Hermione use the Time-Turner to travel back in time and prevent his capture. Harry and Hermione rescue Buckbeak and re-watch the scenes of the night, until they see the Dementors cornering Harry and Sirius. Harry is determined to see who sent the Patronus, only to realize that it was himself. Sirius is rescued and flees on Buckbeak; Lupin, outed as a werewolf, resigns. Harry stated that Professor Lupin was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher he ever had. Harry is worried that Pettigrew may help Voldemort to return, but Dumbledore says Harry may be grateful that he helped save Pettigrew's life.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy-adventure film, directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J.K. Rowling . It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, and is written by Steves Kloves and produced by David Heyman. The story follows Harry Potter, a teen wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as he is chosen by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, a highly dangerous competition. The film stars Danielle Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The supporting cast also features Michael Gambon,Brendan Gleeson, Robert Pattinson, Miranda Richardson, David Tennant, and Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, the main antagonist of the series.

Filming began in early 2004 and the scenes of Hogwarts took place at the Leavesden Film Studios. Five days after its release, the film had grossed over US$102 million at the North American box office, the second highest first-weekend tally for a Harry Potter film behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 1, and enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, earning over $895 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 and the 8th-highest grossing film of all time. It was the third highest grossing film in the U.S. for 2005 making $290 million. As of January 2011 it is the unadjusted 17-highest grossing film of all time. As of January 2011 it is currently the fifth-highest grossing Harry Potter film, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, but lost to Memoirs of Geisha. However, the film won BAFTA Award for the Best Production Design making it the only Potter film to win a BAFTA award. This was also the first Harry Potter film to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA and a 12A by the BBFC, for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images. This was the second Harry Potter film to be released in IMAX theatres.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter  and his cousin Dudley Dursley are attacked by Dementors, but Harry drives them off with a Patronus Charm. The Ministry of Magic detects the underage wizardry and expels Harry from Hogwarts, but this is modified to a trial later in the summer. Harry is later awoken by the arrival of a number of wizards who escort him to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organisation founded by Dumbledore. Members include former teachers Remus Lupin and Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, new recruit Nymphadora Tonks, Ministry colleagues Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. Harry learns that, under the Ministry's influence The Daily Prophet has launched a campaign against anyone who claims that Lord Voldemort has returned. Sirius also mentions Voldemort is after a weapon; a sort of "something he didn't have last time."

Harry and Mr. Weasley head to the court for Harry's trial. With the help of Dumbledore and Harry's neighbour, Mrs. Figg, Harry is cleared of all charges and returns to school. Upon arrival, Harry sees creatures pulling the carriages to Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville share a carriage with Luna lovegood, an odd but kind girl who claims she can also see the creatures. The Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, a senior Ministry official who refuses to teach practical magic, as the Ministry fears Dumbledore will organise his own wizard army. For claiming Voldemort has returned, Harry is forced to write, "I must not tell lies," repeatedly in his own blood, creating a scar on his hand.

Harry sees Luna in the forest with the creatures that pulled the Hogwarts carriages. She tells him that they are called Thestrals and can only be seen by those who have seen death. Luna mentions that the Thestrals are very gentle, but people avoid them because of their evil looks.

As Umbridge's control over the school increases, Ron and Hermione aid Harry in forming a secret group to train students in defensive spells, calling themselves "Dumbledore's Army". The Slytherin students are recruited by Umbridge to uncover the group. Meanwhile, Harry and Cho develop romantic feelings for each other. At the same time Dumbledore gradually distances himself from Harry.

Harry has a nightmare involving an attack upon Arthur Weasley in the Department of Mysteries that echoes an actual attack. Fearing Voldemort will exploit his connection to Harry, Dumbledore instructs Professor Snape to give Harry Occllumency lessons to block his mind from Voldemort's influence.

Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' deranged cousin, escapes from Azkaban along with nine other Death Eaters. At Hogwarts, Umbridge, Filch, and Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad uncover Dumbledore's Army after illegally interrogating Cho with Veretaserum. Dumbledore takes the fall for Harry (mentioning that the group is called "Dumbledore's Army, not Potter's") and escapes as Fudge orders his arrest. With Dumbledore gone, Umbridge becomes the new Headmistress. After that Harry slowly starts to ignore Cho.

With Hagrid likely to be fired due to Umbridge's prejudice against "half-breeds", he shows Harry, Ron and Hermione his Giant half-brother, Grawp. Hagrid asks them to take care of Grawp if anything happens to him.

During an exam the Weasley twins revolt and set off fireworks in the Great Hall, causing chaos for Umbridge. Harry has a vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort within the Department of Mysteries. Harry, Ron, and Hermione rush to search for Sirius, but Umbridge catches them and begins interrogating Harry, where she slaps him across the face when he claims that he was not trying to reach Dumbledore. When she threatens to use the Cruciatus Curse to get information out of him, Hermione deceives Umbridge into entering the Forbidden Forest along with Harry and her in search of a weapon, leading her to the hiding place of Grawp only to find him missing. Centaurs, who have their own issues with the Ministry, emerge and carry the Headmistress into the darkness after she attacks them. She then screams for Harry to tell the Centaurs that she means them no harm, but Harry numbly intones that, by her instruction, he "must not tell lies." Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny fly to the Ministry of Magic on the Thestrals' backs to save Sirius.

The six enter the Department of Mysteries, where they uncover a prophecy involving Harry and Voldemort, the weapon Voldemort was after. However they are ambushed by Death Eaters including Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Lucius reveals that Sirius isn't in any danger and that Harry only saw what Voldemort wanted him to see. Lucius attempts to persuade Harry to give him the prophecy, telling him it will reveal why Voldemort tried to kill him when he was an infant. Harry refuses and a fight between Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters ensues. The Death Eaters take everyone except Harry as hostages, threatening to kill them if he does not surrender the prophecy. Harry refuses to hand over the prophecy just as Sirius, Kingsley, Moody, Tonks, and Lupin arrive. They attack the Death Eaters and Lucius drops the prophecy, destroying it. A battle erupts in which Lucius and the other Death Eaters are defeated, however Bellatrix kills Sirius. Harry corners Bellatrix in the Atrium and attempts to torture her with the Cruciatus Curse, but to little avail. Voldemort appears, tempting Harry to give in to his hatred for Bellatrix. Harry turns his wand on Voldemort who disarms him. Before Voldemort can kill Harry, Dumbledore emerges.

A duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore ensues while Bellatrix escapes. After Dumbledore overpowers him for the majority of the duel, Voldemort attempts to possess Harry but is repelled by the love Harry has for his friends and Sirius. Ministry officials arrive via the Floo Network moments before Voldemort disapparates. Fudge is forced to admit that Voldemort has returned. Harry is vindicated, Fudge resigns as Minister, Umbridge is suspended, and Dumbledore returns as headmaster.

Dumbledore explains that he distanced himself from Harry all year hoping it would lessen the risk of Voldemort using their connection. Harry comes to terms with the prophecy; he or Voldemort will kill the other. Going home for the summer, Harry tells his friends that they have one thing Voldemort does not 

 have: love - something worth fighting for.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Lord Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, sending out Death Eaters to terrorise London, and has chosen Draco Malfoy for a secret mission. Severus Snape accepts Bellatrix Lestrange's challenge to make an Unbreakable Vow with Draco's mother, Narcissa, to protect Draco and carry out the assignment if he fails.

Harry accompanies Dumbledore to visit former potions professor Horace Slughorn, who has gone into hiding. With Harry shamelessly dangled as the lure by Dumbledore, Slughorn agrees to return to teach at Hogwarts as Dumbledore tells Harry that Slughorn's return to Hogwarts is crucial.

Leaving Fred and George's new shop, Harry, Ron and Hermione notice Draco and Narcissa associating with Death Eaters in Borgin and Burkes. Harry believes Voldemort has made Draco a Death Eater, but Ron and Hermione are sceptical. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry spies on Draco, who hints to his friends that he does not plan to return to Hogwarts next year. Draco discoveres Harry's presence and petrifies him and breaks his nose, but Harry is later rescued by Luna.

At Hogwarts, Harry and Ron are admitted to Slughorn's potions class at the last minute and borrow the needed textbooks. The previous owner of Harry's copy, the "Half-Blood Prince", has annotated the book with additional instructions that allow Harry to excel in class. After making many spectacular saves as Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Ron becomes a Gryffindor hero and forms a relationship with Lavender Brown, leaving Hermione heartbroken. Harry discovers Hermione sobbing in the Astronomy Tower and reveals he has feelings for Ron's sister, Ginny Weasley.

Harry spends Christmas with the Weasleys and becomes closer to Ginny. They almost share a kiss on Christmas Eve but Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback, intent on capturing Harry, attack and burn the Burrow. Being outnumbered, they abandon their attack as Harry, Tonks, Lupin and the Weasleys watch their home burn.

Suspecting that Draco is responsible for two attempts on Dumbledore's life, one of which nearly kills Ron (who, in his recovering state, admits that he loves Hermione), Harry confronts him and severely wounds Draco with a curse (Sectumsempra) from the Half-Blood Prince's book. Harry, shocked that the curse causes Draco's chest to be sliced open, retreats as Snape heals Draco. Fearing the book may be filled with more Dark Magic,  Ginny and Harry hide the book in the Room of Requirement and share their first kiss.

Dumbledore shows Harry memories of a young Tom Riddle and reveals Slughorn retains a memory critical to Voldemort's defeat. Harry retrieves the memory, learning that Voldemort wanted information for creating Horcruxes. The Horcrux safeguards a portion of the creator's soul, granting him immortality unless the Horcruxes are destroyed. Two of Voldemort's Horcruxes have already been destroyed: Tom Riddle's Diary and his mother's ring. Touching the ring, Harry has a vision of Voldemort, which is noticed by Dumbledore. After discovering the possible location of another Horcrux, Dumbledore requests Harry's help to retrieve it. They travel to a far-away cave where Harry is forced to make Dumbledore drink a mind-altering potion that hides the Horcrux, a locket. A weakened Dumbledore defends them from a horde of Inferi and apparates himself and Harry back to the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts. In the meantime, Bellatrix and several other Death Eaters enter the castle with Draco's help.

Dumbledore first tells Harry to fetch Snape for help, but instead orders him to hide when footsteps approach. Draco reveals that he has been chosen by Voldemort to kill Dumbledore, but he is unable to follow through. Snape enters and casts the Avada Kedavracurse, killing Dumbledore and then escaping from the castle with Draco and the Death Eaters. In their wake Bellatrix casts the Dark Mark, destroys the Great Hall and sets fire to Hagrid's hut. Harry tries to stop them, but Snape deflects Harry's spells and Bellatrix stuns him. Snape reveals to Harry that he is the Half-Blood Prince and escapes. Harry returns to the school to find the staff and students mourning Dumbledore. Together they destroy the Dark Mark to honour Dumbledore.

Harry later reveals to Ron and Hermione that the locket Horcrux was a fake. The locket contains a message from an "R. A. B." to Voldemort stating that he has stolen the real Horcrux with the intent of destroying it. His dying wish is that when Voldemort meets his match he will be mortal once more. Rather than return for their final year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione vow to seek out who R.A.B. was and to find the remaining Horcruxes as they discover their journey is almost over.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Following Dumbledore's death, Voldemort has completed his ascension to power and gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts to hunt and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. They isolate themselves to ensure their friends and families' safety. They have little knowledge about the remaining Horcruxes except the possibility that two are objects once belonging to Hogwarts founders Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Huffepuff, and the third may be Nagini, Voldemort's snake familiar. The whereabouts of the two founders' objects is unknown, and Nagini is presumed to be with Voldemort. As they search for the Horcruxes, the trio learn details about Dumbledore's past, as well as Snape's true motives.

The trio recover the first Horcrux, Salazar Slytherin's locket, by infiltrating the Ministry of Magic. They begin wearing it, and Ron temporarily leaves under the influence of Voldemort's soul inside the horcrux. Harry eventually finds (with the help of a mysterious silver doe) the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, among the few objects able to destroy Horcruxes (having absorbed Basilisk venom), and when Harry attempts to recover he sword and is almost killed by the horcrux in the attempt, Ron makes a triumphant return and uses the sword to destroy the locket. The trio continually encounter a strange symbol, which an eccentric wizard named Xenophilius Lovegood(father of Luna) tells them represents the mythical Deathly Hallows. The Hallows are revealed to be three sacred objects: the Resurrection Stone, a stone with the power to summon the dead to the living world; the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; and an infallible Invisibility Cloak. Harry learns that Voldemort is seeking the Elder Wand, but is unaware of the Hallows and their significance. The trio determine that finding Voldemort's Horcruxes is more important than procuring the Hallows. They break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at the Wizarding Bank Gringotts to recover another Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's cup. Harry learns that another Horcrux is hidden in Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the school and find the Horcrux, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and also successfully destroy the cup and the diadem.

The book culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, their many allies, and various magical creatures, defend Hogwarts from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Several major characters are killed in the first wave of the battle, including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Fred Weasley, and Severus Snape. Harry discovers whilst viewing the memories of Severus Snape that Voldemort inadvertently made Harry a Horcrux when he attacked him as a baby and that Harry must die to destroy Voldemort. These memories also confirmed Snape's unwavering loyalty to Dumbledore and his role as spy in Voldemort's camp. Harry surrenders himself to Voldemort, who casts the Killing Curse at him, sending Harry to Limbo-like state between life and death. There, Harry sees Voldemort's destroyed soul shard, then meets Dumbledore who explains that when Voldemort used Harry's blood to regain his full strength, it protected Harry from Voldemort harming him; the Horcrux inside Harry has been destroyed, and Harry can return to his body despite being hit by the Killing Curse. Harry returns, the battle resumes, and after the last remaining Horcrux (Nagini) is destroyed by Neville Longbottom, Voldemort is killed, and the wizarding world lives in peace once more.