Harry Potter

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

- Sorting Hat to Harry Potter

Harry James Potter, born July 31, 1980, one of the most famous students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in modern times, is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse, which Lord Voldemort attempted to murder him with when he was an infant. This event 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.

At the age of eleven, Harry 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. . 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 Voldemort. The following school year, Harry led Dumbledore's Army and fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, during which he lost his godfather. 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 and Ron before the Battle of Hogwarts. During this battle, he dueled Voldemort a final time and defeated him, once and for all. After the war, Harry became an Auror and married Ginny Weasley, with whom he had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Harry is also notable for being the only known person to have united all three Deathly Hallows.

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 jet black, untidy 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. In time, he would grow to be "within an inch" of his father's height, and James was often described as tall. Harry wears round-rimmed glasses; his father also wore 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 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 ceased 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.

Personality and Traits
"I've been thinking about something Dumbledore said to me... That even though we've got a fight ahead of us, we've got one thing that Voldemort doesn't have - something worth fighting for."

- Harry to Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in 1996

Harry is, as his sorting into Gryffindor suggests, brave, loyal, and selfless. 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. The Sorting Hat remarked that Harry was resourceful, determined, and lacked a regard for rules — Slytherin qualities. 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'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.

Magical Abilities & 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

 Defence Against the Dark Arts Mastery: Harry is "particularly talented" in Defence Against the Dark Arts. For example, he was able to produce a fully formed 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 and it is in the form of a stag, his father's Animagus form.

Expert Duellist: Harry was able to hold his own against Death Eaters even at a young age; during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he was the only one of the six D.A. members to be neither injured nor incapacitated. 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 during the Gringotts Break-In. 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 it 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.

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

"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!"

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

Resistance to the Imperius Curse: Harry was able to partially resist the Imperius Curse when it was first cast upon him by Bartemius 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, Lord 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.

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 in him, 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 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 OWL exam; and improves greatly during his sixth year when he comes into possession of an old potions textbook in which a talented former student (presumably Severus Snape) has revised many potion-making techniques.

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, 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 we also learn that Harry is a direct descendent from Ignotus Peverell, one of the three brothers.

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

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

Godric Gryffindor's Sword: A relic of the founder of Harry's house, the goblin-made sword of Godric Gryffindor was left to Harry by his former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in his will. However, the Ministry of Magic claimed that it was not Dumbledore's to give, and that it truly belonged to Hogwarts. Although the Ministry confiscated a replica of the sword, the true sword found its way into Harry's possession still through the machinations of Severus Snape. Soon after, Ron Weasley used it to destroy Salazar Slytherin's Locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry lost the sword to Griphook 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, was destroyed when Harry tried it on a locked door at the Department of Mysteries. The protective enchantments on the door were far stronger than the magic of the knife.

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

Buckbeak/Witherwings: The hippogriff Sirius acquired from Hagrid.

The Black Family Residence: "As you can see, Harry," said Dumbledore loudly, over Kreacher's continued croaks of "won't, won't, won't," "Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership."

- Albus Dumbledore

Located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, it and all the contents and furnishings of the house, including Kreacher (the family house-elf) became Harry's. Mundungus Fletcher would later try to steal many of Harry's inherited possessions, including Salazar Slytherin's Locket.

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

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

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

Parents


James and Lily Potter died when their son was one year old, thus he barely knew them, but nevertheless regarded them with great reverence and grew angry if anyone spoke ill of them. In 1995, he punched Draco Malfoy for insulting his mother, and he frequently became furious with Professor Snape, who taunted Harry that James was not the great man others made him out to be. Snape was, to Harry's horror, proven right in the spring of 1996, when Harry accidentally witnessed James bullying Snape in one of his memories during Harry's occulemency lessons.

The few times he ever saw his parents were through pictures given to him by Rubeus Hagrid; a vision within the Mirror of Erised; spectral forms which came out of his wand during Priori Incantatem; stored memories within the Pensieve; and more spectral forms as he succumbed to his "death" during the Battle of Hogwarts. He then, eventually, "called" his parents through the Resurrection Stone. He eventually named two of his children after James and Lily.

Lord Voldemort


Lord Voldemort is Harry's mortal enemy. He lost his parents to him as an infant and battled him several times. Harry's destiny was locked with Voldemort's because of a prophecy concerning them; Voldemort also unintentionally embedded a piece of his soul in Harry when he attempted to kill him, as indicated by his famous lightning-bolt scar, giving the two a lifelong connection. This link made Harry a Parselmouth, a trait Voldemort inherited from the Gaunts, and allowed him to see into Voldemort's mind on occasion. Voldemort used this link to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries in 1996 by giving him a vision of his godfather being tortured.

Throughout his hunt for the Horcruxes, Harry would see glimpses of Voldemort's perspective, and his scar would burn when the Dark Lord was angry. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry tried to make Voldemort feel some remorse for his evil deeds, in vain, and defeated him.

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

Petunia Dursley


After his parents' murders, 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 extended this dislike to Harry, fearing that he would turn out to be magical as well, and treating him poorly and without any affection while she spoiled his cousin Dudley. Harry thought that his aunt considered him a "waste of space" and 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 have 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.

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 childhoods, 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. 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 wasn't 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 would play with Dudley's children while their fathers would sit together quietly.

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 didn't 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, the two 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 on 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 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 venture 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 cheated in order to become one so that he could achieve more attention and glory. However, Ron soon realized his misjudgement and apologized. 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 unofficial brothers would eventually become brothers-in-law when Harry married Ginny.

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

- Harry explains his friendship with Hermione to Ron

Hermione Granger became best friends with Harry and Ron after the boys saved her from a troll in 1991. Harry admitted in 1997 that he loved Hermione like a sister. Her quick mind was at times the only thing that saved the three friends from failure in many endeavours, both life-threatening and in the every-day. Hermione often chastised Harry when he wouldn't obey rules and when she believed he was wrong, such as when Harry briefly considered pursuing the Deathly Hallows instead of the Horcruxes.

However, she always stuck by him and was fiercely protective of him, 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. 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 committed to Ginny and Ron, respectively.

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. Most appropriately, through her marriage to Ron Weasley, she became his sister-in-law through his marriage to Ron's sister as well as the godmother of Harry and Ginny’s oldest child.

Albus Dumbledore


Albus Dumbledore was a mentor to Harry. He arranged for Harry to be rescued from Godric's Hollow after his parents' murder and left him in the care of his aunt Petunia Dursley in order to give him the benefit of the magical protection of his mother's blood. In Harry's fifth year, he admitted to Harry that he hadn't told him of the prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort because he wanted to spare him the pain and responsibility of it. Harry was furious with him for this, but the two continued to be close. By Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore took on the role of providing Harry with additional insights into the origins of Lord Voldemort, largely through the use of the Pensieve. He entrusted Harry with the task of getting a final, crucial memory from Horace Slughorn regarding Voldemort's knowledge of Horcruxes.

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

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

When Snape was killed in 1998, Harry felt remorse for why and how Snape had died. His hatred of Snape also began to ebb away after learning of Snape's loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix, as well the inspiration for his decision — the lifelong unrequited love for Harry's mother. By 2017, Harry's dislike of Snape was almost nonexistent: he considered Snape to be one of the bravest men he had ever known, and gave his younger son the middle name "Severus." In time, Harry ensured that a portrait of Snape was hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

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

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

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

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

- Harry, after Hagrid's return from Azkaban

Rubeus Hagrid was Harry's first friend in the wizarding world. In effect, he rescued Harry twice: once from the wreckage of his destroyed home, as a baby; second, from the Dursleys' to take him back into the wizarding world. Harry constantly defended the half-giant Hagrid against name-calling and mockery, and for that, Harry was dear to Hagrid.

Hagrid was the one who Voldemort forced to carry Harry out of the Forbidden Forest, when he was pretending to be dead during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. Both Harry Potter and Rubeus Hagrid were orphans; Hagrid had a sort of fatherly caring for Harry that could be compared of an uncle's.

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.

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 Potter.

Ginny Weasley and Harry first met at King's Cross Station in 1991, though they did not formally meet until the summer of 1992, at which point it became blatantly clear that Ginny had a huge crush on Harry. Until 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. 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. After witnessing her kiss Dean Thomas, Harry started to feel jealous and to fantasize 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 Lord Voldemort would target her if he learned of their romance and knowing that he would be leaving with Ron and Hermione to hunt down the Dark Lord'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 and Hermione. 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 held feelings for one another. Harry occasionally stared 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 one of the people Harry thought of. 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.

Luna Lovegood
"I've been able to see them ever since my first year here. They've always pulled the carriages. Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am."

- Luna taking to Harry about the Thestrals

Harry met Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw student a 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. 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 honour of his friend.

Nymphadora Tonks
Harry and 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, Tonks was disappointed that Harry couldn't be attend at her wedding. Eight months later Tonks thought that 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, Lupin, and 50 others, and felt like he had a physical wound. For the next 19 years, Harry helped Nymphadora's mother to raise Teddy Lupin. 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.

Draco Malfoy


Draco Malfoy became Harry's rival almost from the moment they met at Madam Malkin's on Diagon Alley. Draco came from a family that believed strongly in the importance of blood purity, thus he considered himself superior to most people, bullying and insulting Muggle-borns and Gryffindors in particular. He was bitterly jealous of Harry's seemingly effortless heroism. Draco bit off more than he could chew in his ambition to be like his father, Lucius Malfoy, when he became a Death Eater at a young age. Although he let Death Eaters into Hogwarts in 1997, he was unable to kill Albus Dumbledore, as he had been ordered to do by Voldemort, who threatened his parents to ensure his compliance. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron & Hermione inadvertently saved his life twice: against Crabbe's Fiendfyre & 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.

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 force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal." Her care for him sometimes caused her to grow overprotective of him, like when she strongly objected the Order members to inform 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 when the Ministry would not 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 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, and volunteering to be D.A. members. The twins, whom Harry regards as close friends, were also on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry for four years. Harry spent many of his holidays at the Weasley home, the Burrow. It is also mentioned that Harry liked Percy Weasley least of Ron's brothers. He was also friends with Bill, describing him as "cool" upon first meeting him, as well as Charlie, who helped him out somewhat during the Triwizard Tournament. He eventually officially became part of the Weasley family when he married Ginny and had children with her.

Minerva McGonagall
Harry also had a good relationship with Professor McGonagall. Although during his first three years it was just a student-teacher relationship, after Harry was selected to become a Triwizard Champion, she became warmer towards him, and began to look out for him. An occurrence of his closeness to her was shown when Umbridge gloated that she was too ill to talk to anyone after being hit by four Stunners, Harry felt a powerful surge of anger. McGonagall also stood up for him to Umbridge, promising to help him become an Auror if it was the last thing she did.

Her depth of her care is revealed in Harry's final year when she says proudly that Harry is in her house, and he reciprocates by using Crucio on Amycus Carrow after he spat in her face. Her care is also shown when Voldemort has Harry's seemingly dead body brought out from the Forest, and she gives a terrible cry nearly equal to that of Ron, Hermione and Ginny. She also shows her devotion to Harry by arming Hogwarts on Harry's request, and then fighting Voldemort head on in the final battle. They share a grandmother-grandson relationship.

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.

Behind the scenes

 * Harry is played in the films by Daniel Radcliffe. By the time Deathly Hallows is released, he will have been playing the role for ten years consecutively.
 * Harry the character has green eyes, but Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes. This is due to the fact that Daniel Radcliffe cannot stand contact lenses. 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.
 * Harry was Wizard of the Month on J. K. Rowling's website for the month of October 2007.
 * In the first book, Harry mentions that his 11th birthday was July 31st, on a Tuesday. That date was on a Wednesday in 1991, the year when he's supposed to be 11.
 * Harry is the inspiration for the Wizard Rock band, Harry and the Potters.
 * When Harry is cleaning out his school trunk in 1997, he finds a "Support Cedric Diggory!" badge in there. Considering the badges were only created by Draco Malfoy to get a rise out of Harry in 1994, it seems out of place that Harry has it, although he may have it by accident, or out of respect for Cedric.
 * When Harry and his friends lose 150 House points in 1991, Harry loses favour with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. While understandable, it seems rather odd that Fred and George Weasley both turned on him.
 * While Harry repeatedly states Hermione is the best student in his year in all classes, he has beaten her in two of the three Defence Against the Dark Arts exams they had together, with Hermione only beating him in their first year exam. Part of this can be put down to Professor Lupin's way of teaching, as it seemed to help bring out Harry's own talent at the subject. 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.
 * In The Mirror of Erised, Harry saw his family, a lot of people with untidy black hair, his own noses, mouths and knees. However, he also saw some people with almond-shaped green eyes, which could indicate that he saw his Muggle family as well, even though he did not see the Dursley family. All people were smiling at him, so there is a thought that all of his family, Wizards and Muggles, are proud of him.
 * Throughout the films, Harry's hair grows longer and longer (the longest point was in the Goblet of Fire) until it was cut for the Order of the Phoenix. It has since grown to about the same length as it was for the Prisoner of Azkaban.
 * In the films, Harry's scar is off-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.
 * Daniel Radcliffe and Harry were both born in July- Harry on the 31st and Daniel on the 23rd.
 * Harry's birthday of July 31 is also the birthday of Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling.
 * In 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."

Appearances
thumb|300px|right|Harry Potter - Sneak Peak from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)


 * 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)
 * ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (video game)
 * Wizard of the Month