Everything You Need to Know About the Harry Potter Series

by Charles River Editors

  Things become even worse when Harry returns to Hogwarts—once a place of refuge—and realizes one of the judges from his trial has been appointed as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Dolores Umbridge, obviously there to keep an eye on Dumbledore for Fudge, brings the defense class to new lows. She refuses to allow hands-on training, saying there is no need for children to practice defensive spells. When Harry stands up to her, she gives him detention. Harry is forced to write the sentence “I must not tell lies” with a quill that etches the words into his skin. The insidious lengths to which Umbridge is willing to go to retain order illustrate the theme of government becoming just as evil as what they should be protecting citizens against.

  Umbridge slowly takes over Hogwarts, being named High Inquisitor by Fudge and using the propaganda machine of the Daily Prophet to sully Dumbledore’s character. She reads all letters, bans Harry from quidditch, and recruits students like Draco Malfoy to stalk the halls and report anyone disobeying her ridiculous decrees. Finally, Ron and Hermione convince Harry to begin a secret club to teach practical defense. They call it the D.A., for Dumbledore’s Army, and meet in a hidden spot in the castle as often as they can. And through it all, Harry continues to have nightmarish visions.

  The only bright spot is meeting with the D.A., which has been learning defensive spells and hexes—even bumbling Neville is improving. Harry becomes closer friends with Luna Lovegood and Ron’s little sister, Ginny, but it’s Cho Chang who draws his attention. Harry gets his first kiss—something that Ron grills him about—but his dreams about Cho quickly turn to another vision. Except this time, he’s in the body of Voldemort’s monstrous snake, Nagini, and he sees himself as the snake attack Mr. Weasley. Harry wakes with his scar on fire and is dragged to Dumbledore. Acting quick, Dumbledore gets word out to rescue Mr. Weasley, who was on patrol for the Order deep inside the Ministry of Magic.

  To everyone else, Harry saved Mr. Weasley, but he believes otherwise—he feels he was the one who attacked the man. Like in “Chamber of Secrets,” Harry starts to believe he is a tool of evil and is terrified of what he is capable. Still, he is invited to visit Mr. Weasley at a wizard hospital. There, he and Ron run into Neville, who is visiting his parents, famous aurors who were tortured into insanity by Death Eaters, led by Sirius’ cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. On Dumbledore’s orders, Harry starts private lessons with Snape to try and steel his mind against the visions. If Harry can see into Voldemort’s mind, Dumbledore fears that the link goes both ways. But Harry can’t stop the visions from coming and starts experiencing peculiar surges in emotions that aren’t his. Through the visions, however, he learns that Voldemort is after a weapon that is locked away in the Ministry.

  Back at school, the D.A. is betrayed to Umbridge, who believes Dumbledore truly is behind the secret group. She attempts to take Dumbledore into custody, but he isn’t known as the most powerful wizard alive for nothing, and he escapes. Umbridge becomes headmaster, something Fred and George Weasley decide is their cue to stop holding back. The twins have always been known for their pranks, but now they kick into high gear, upending order at Hogwarts. The school is in chaos, yet the many professors loyal to Dumbledore—especially fierce Professor McGonagall—can’t seem to do anything to help Umbridge regain control. In triumph, Fred and George finally quit Hogwarts for good.

  Harry has a final vision: Sirius is held captive within the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry, and he is being tortured for information. Hermione is nervous: What if the vision isn’t true, what if Voldemort is manipulating Harry? But Harry isn’t about to let his godfather suffer. Since the fires are all watched, Harry breaks into Umbridge’s office to attempt to speak with Sirius, but the man isn’t at No. 12 Grimmauld Place—the home he’s confined to since he’s still a fugitive in the eyes of the Ministry. Harry is caught, along with Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Neville. When Harry won’t talk, Umbridge decides to use the Cruciatus Curse on him, reasoning it is for the good of the government. Hermione causes a diversion and they barely escape. The series is very firm in opposing the idea that “the ends justify the means.” How you defeat evil is equally important to the victory.

  The group flees Hogwarts and pushes deep into the Ministry until finally finding the massive hall lined with shelves of glowing orbs Harry saw in his vision. But the Department of Mysteries is deserted, and it becomes apparent Hermione was right. They are about to leave when Ron calls Harry’s attention to an orb with a tag: “Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter.” Harry wraps his hand around the orb—a prophecy—and dark shapes surround them. Mr. Malfoy and other Death Eaters demand Harry hand them the prophecy, which can only be taken from its shelf by the person to whom it pertains. Harry finally understands the prophecy was the weapon Voldemort was after, and he has manipulated Harry into getting it for him. Harry and his friends do their best to fight off the Death Eaters—in the process Neville accidentally smashes the prophecy and it goes unheard—but they are on the cusp of defeat when the members of the Order burst in and fight back the Death Eaters.

  With Dumbledore in their midst, the Death Eaters are quickly outmatched, but one pair continues fighting viciously: Sirius and his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. It all happens in a moment, but Harry watches in horror as Bellatrix hits Sirius with the killing curse that sends his godfather falling through a tattered veil. Lupin has to hold Harry back as he struggles to run after Sirius, but he’s disappeared beyond the veil. His godfather is dead, and Harry can see who killed him.

  Rage courses through him, and he takes off after Bellatrix. For the first time, Harry attempts to use an Unforgivable Curse, but he can barely harm the dark witch. Bellatrix taunts Harry, but she suddenly grows terrified, and Harry hears the cold voice of Voldemort behind him. But Dumbledore is there too, and the two great wizards fight. Voldemort is terribly powerful, but Dumbledore, though elderly and past his prime, calmly and expertly gains the upper hand. Then Voldemort does the one thing Dumbledore can’t defend against: He possesses Harry. Harry’s entire body explodes with white-hot pain, and he prays Dumbledore will kill him. But then he thinks of Sirius. If he dies, he’ll get to see his beloved godfather again, and that pure, good emotion drives Voldemort from his body.

  Dumbledore sends Harry back to his office with a portkey, where he is alone with the gnawing guilt of what has happened because of him. That guilt turns to anger toward Dumbledore, a man who Harry has felt cut him off all year. After Dumbledore returns, Harry rages against the headmaster until he finally speaks. He starts by apologizing. It is his fault all this has happened. For years, Dumbledore has known the extent of Voldemort’s connection with Harry and what it will ultimately mean, but he kept the truth a secret because he didn’t want to crush the spirit of a boy he has grown to love.

  “I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth … more for your life than the lives that might be lost. … But you came out of the maze last year, having watched Cedric Diggory die, having escaped death so narrowly yourself. … I know you have long been ready for the knowledge I have kept from you for so long, because you have proved that I should have placed the burden upon you before this. My only defense is this: I have watched you struggling under more burdens than any student who has ever passed through this school, and I could not bring myself to add another—the greatest one of all.” (“Order of the Phoenix,” page 838-839)

  And the burden is this: A prophecy was made that a boy born on the last day of July to parents who had fought Voldemort three times would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord would mark the baby as his equal, but the baby would have a power Voldemort did not, and one of the two would have to die at the hands of the other. The funny thing is, there were two babies who could have fit that profile—Harry, or Neville Longbottom. But it was Voldemort who unwittingly marked Harry as his equal on the night he tried to murder him, and the lives of the two similar babies diverged.

  Harry finally knows the truth, and it gives him a
sense of calm. Now he knows the ending, the goal he—and only he—can work toward. Now that Fudge and the Ministry can no longer deny the return of Voldemort, the war is truly starting. But it is Harry who will finish it.

  Character Spotlight: Neville Longbottom

  Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived, and now the Chosen One, but those titles could have just as easily belonged to Neville Longbottom. Like Harry, he was born on July 31, and like Harry, his parents had thrice defied Voldemort. Yet for whatever reason, it was Harry Potter the Dark Lord chose to mark as his equal. Harry may have ended up with the lightning-shaped scar that made him famous, but the prophecy marked Neville in its own way. After Voldemort’s downfall, his loyal Death Eaters tracked down and tortured Neville’s parents into insanity, and Neville’s life was changed forever.

  Readers meet Neville in “Sorcerer’s Stone” aboard the Hogwarts Express when the pudgy, timid boy asks Ron and Harry if they’ve seen his pet toad. Neville, like Harry, has led a difficult life. He was raised by a formidable grandmother and great aunts and uncles. For many years his family feared young Neville was a squib, a person born to a wizarding family yet with no magical talent. In truth, Neville isn’t very good at spells, charms or potions, but that’s mainly due to his shyness and lack of confidence. But also like Harry, Neville is a true Gryffindor. He bravely stands up to Harry when he thinks the boy is dragging others into too much trouble, and as he grows, he starts standing up for himself.

  Neville may not be marked like Harry. He may not have natural talent like Harry. But by the end of the series, he has transformed into a brave, confident young man who, like Harry, chooses to stand up to evil even if it could cost his life.

  Myth and Magic

  The Ministry of Magic plays an important role in “Order of the Phoenix.” It is a vast, complex labyrinth that is the seat of wizarding government. The Ministry begins the series as a just government led by affable Minister Cornelius Fudge and is a place where many of the characters’ parents work. (Mr. Weasley, for example, works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.) Yet Fudge is more interested in keeping his cushy position than facing the hard truth of Voldemort’s return, and it warps his personality. With Fudge at the helm, the Ministry transforms into a secretive, totalitarian government where any dissent is quashed. The small, sly ways government can slowly become corrupt is a theme explored from “Order of the Phoenix” on.

  Prophesy is also a concept explored in the series. Prophesy is, as Professor McGonagall says, quite a “woolly” magic, and the imprecise, unreliable nature of it is touched on often. Is a prophecy unavoidable, or does belief in it become self-fulfilling? Harry struggles with this as he faces a prophecy that claims he must kill Voldemort or Voldemort will kill him. Yet Dumbledore truly believes that humans have free will—we make a choice whether or not to follow a prophecy. Dumbledore tells Harry when the two are discussing Harry’s fate to face Voldemort: “Of course you’ve got to! But not because of the prophecy! Because you, yourself, will never rest until you’ve tried!” (“Half-Blood Prince,” page 511)

  Chapter 7: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  Introduction

  After the melancholy tone of “Order of the Phoenix,” the sixth installment of the series, “Half-Blood Prince,” returns to some of the lightness of the previous books. Harry has come to a type of peace with what lays ahead, and he has matured past the moodiness that plagued him in the fifth book. Although the themes and plot of “Half-Blood Prince” are just as serious and life-threatening, much of this book functions as the deep breath before the plunge. Darkness is coming, but for 16-year-old Harry and his friends, there is still a sliver of sunshine to enjoy.

  Like in the last installment, fate versus free will is an important theme in “Half-Blood Prince,” along with the power of sacrifice. The book also explores the ideas of nature versus nurture and if characters can escape their upbringing.

  Plot

  The war against Voldemort has spilled into the muggle world, as rampaging giants, dementors and Death Eaters attack both wizards and muggles alike. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has quit in disgrace, and the Ministry is desperately trying to shore up its defenses.

  But none of that matters to Severus Snape as Narcissa Malfoy and her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, pay a visit. Bellatrix does not trust the turncoat Death Eater, but Snape insists he is true to Voldemort and is manipulating Dumbledore’s blind trust. Narcissa has other worries. Draco, her only child, has been given an impossible task by the Dark Lord, and she turns to Snape to protect him. Snape makes the Unbreakable Vow: He will protect Draco, and he will do “the deed” if Draco cannot, or he will die.

  Far away on manicured Privet Drive, Harry has an odd visitor: Dumbledore. Harry notices Dumbledore’s hand—it looks blackened and shriveled—but the headmaster is evasive. Instead he makes an odd request: Will Harry accompany him to visit Horace Slughorn? The reason is immediately apparent: Dumbledore is trying to convince the former professor to come back to Hogwarts, and he entices Slughorn with the thought of being able to add Harry to his collection of famous acquaintances.

  Slughorn does return to Hogwarts, but not as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts position as Harry thought. That has finally gone to Snape, and Slughorn is the new potions master. Harry didn’t think he’d be allowed in Potions anymore because of Snape, so he has to borrow an old book for the class, one that proves to be incredibly helpful. The used book once belonged to a student styling themself as the “Half-Blood Prince” and is full of annotations and additions that turn Harry into a star student, much to the chagrin of rule-following Hermione.

  Hermione may be annoyed with Harry, but she’s the only one. Since the truth of Voldemort’s return has come out, the Daily Prophet has changed its tune, releasing gushing stories about Harry as the Chosen One. It’s gained him a whole new following of the female variety, but Harry is more than a bit unnerved to realize the only girl he wants to spend more time with is Ron’s sister, Ginny. Although Ron and Hermione have been making tentative steps toward admitting their feelings to each other, all that flies out the window after Ron gets upset about the fact that Hermione had once kissed Viktor Krum. After Ron plays marvelously at a quidditch match, he falls into the arms—and lips—of Lavender Brown, and he and Hermione seem to be done for good. Even in the face of a war, Rowling reminds us we’re dealing with teenagers. They may be fighting evil, but they’re still teens.

  Harry doesn’t like that his two best friends are no longer speaking, but he has other matters to worry about: Namely that Draco is acting odd. His school enemy has slowly transformed from the swaggering, sneering bully to a withdrawn, on-edge loner. Harry is convinced Draco has officially become a Death Eater. He starts following him and consulting his old Marauder’s Map, but Draco is often missing from the map. Although the character of Draco has been one-note for much of the series, here readers see a different side to the young man. He’s been raised by Death Eaters and has been horribly bullied by his own father, and now he’s been given an impossible task. Draco truly struggles with where his allegiances lie—with the only family and life he knows, or on the side of good. It’s an interesting peek into the ability of people to rise above their beginnings.

  Through all of this, Harry is also taking private lessons with Dumbledore. Since the headmaster finally told Harry the truth about the prophecy, the old wizard has been open with Harry and has worked to prepare him for the inevitable fight against Voldemort. In Dumbledore’s often mind-boggling approach, however, that means trips into his pensieve to learn more about the Dark Lord.

  Harry learns that Voldemort’s mother was a timid, bullied girl raised by a muggle-hating tyrant of a father. Theirs was an ancient, pureblood family descended from Salazar Slytherin, but the wealth had long since disappeared, and the destitute family had only delusions of grandeur on which to cling. Young Merope Gaunt fell in love with a muggle—Tom Riddle—and placed him under a love spell. But by the time s
he was to give birth, Tom had left her, and she sold her only remaining heirloom, Slytherin’s locket, to survive. She named her newborn Tom Marvolo Riddle and died. Tom, with no family to claim him, was sent to an orphanage. It was Dumbledore who brought young Tom to Hogwarts, where the orphaned boy excelled and found his true home.

  Harry is unnerved by the similarities he shares with Tom. Both are half-blood wizards, both orphans who found their place at Hogwarts. Yet Dumbledore is insistent in their differences. Even at a young age, Dumbledore recognized a dark cruelty in Tom Riddle and an inability to love. But with Harry, “despite your privileged insight into Voldemort’s world … you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort’s followers. … You are protected, in short, by your ability to love! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart.” (“Half-Blood Prince,” page 511)

  While Harry is learning more about the beginnings of Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord continues to assemble his army. And Harry is convinced part of his plan is tied up with Draco and Snape, who he overheard trying to help Draco with his mysterious task. Yet the adults don’t—or won’t—believe Snape is untrustworthy. Harry learns it was Snape who overheard part of the prophecy about Harry as a baby, and it was Snape who gave that information to Voldemort. He is livid that Dumbledore could trust a man who was responsible for his parents’ death, but Dumbledore insists he trusts Snape with his life.