Harry Potter

Who is Harry Potter?

Harry Potter is the central character of the series. He’s the son of James and Lily Potter, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, who were murdered by Lord Voldemort on Halloween 1981. Voldemort also tried to kill one-year-old Harry, but the Killing Curse rebounded, leaving Harry with a lightning-bolt scar and making him famous throughout the wizarding world as “the Boy Who Lived”.

Harry grew up with his Muggle aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, who kept him in a cupboard under the stairs and never told him the truth about his parents. On his eleventh birthday, Hagrid arrived with a letter from Hogwarts and the news that Harry was a wizard.

Why Harry was sorted into Gryffindor

Harry’s sorting is one of the most important scenes in the series. The Sorting Hat told him he had plenty of talent and a strong desire to prove himself, and that Slytherin could help him become great. Harry, who had already met Draco Malfoy and heard that Voldemort was a Slytherin, silently begged not to be put there. The Hat listened and sent him to Gryffindor.

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry worries the Hat got it wrong. Dumbledore tells him that the fact he asked not to be in Slytherin is exactly what makes him a Gryffindor. It is our choices, far more than our abilities, that show who we really are.

The Hat had a point, though. Harry shares a surprising number of qualities with Slytherins: resourcefulness, determination and a disregard for rules. But his courage and loyalty were always the stronger values. Read more in how the Sorting Hat decides.

Personality and traits

Harry is brave, loyal and fiercely protective of the people he cares about. He has a strong sense of justice and hates bullies, which makes sense given his childhood. He’s also stubborn, quick-tempered and inclined to act alone, convinced that he has to shoulder every burden himself.

He’s not a natural scholar. He’s an average student in most subjects and relies on Hermione for research. But he has excellent instincts, and he’s at his best when he has to act under pressure.

Magical abilities and skills

Skill	Details
Defence Against the Dark Arts	His best subject. He taught Dumbledore’s Army in his fifth year.
Patronus Charm	Produced a full corporeal Patronus at 13, an advanced feat for a student.
Flying	A natural. Became the youngest Seeker in a century in his first year.
Parseltongue	Could speak to snakes because of a fragment of Voldemort’s soul in him; he lost the ability after Voldemort died.
Resisting the Imperius Curse	Learned to throw it off at 14.
Expelliarmus	His signature spell, used against Voldemort in the graveyard and the final duel.

Harry’s story, book by book

Book	Key moments
Philosopher’s Stone	Learns he’s a wizard; joins Gryffindor and the Quidditch team; stops Quirrell taking the Stone.
Chamber of Secrets	Hears the basilisk; is suspected of being the Heir of Slytherin; kills the basilisk and destroys the diary.
Prisoner of Azkaban	Learns Sirius Black is his godfather; casts a Patronus that drives off over a hundred Dementors.
Goblet of Fire	Forced into the Triwizard Tournament; witnesses Cedric’s death and Voldemort’s return.
Order of the Phoenix	Disbelieved by the Ministry; founds Dumbledore’s Army; loses Sirius at the Department of Mysteries.
Half-Blood Prince	Learns about Voldemort’s past and Horcruxes; witnesses Dumbledore’s death.
Deathly Hallows	Hunts the Horcruxes; walks to his death in the Forbidden Forest; returns and defeats Voldemort.

Key relationships

Character	Relationship
Ron Weasley	Best friend from the Hogwarts Express onwards.
Hermione Granger	Best friend and the brains behind most of their plans.
Ginny Weasley	Girlfriend, then wife. They have three children: James, Albus and Lily.
Albus Dumbledore	Mentor and protector, who kept crucial secrets from him.
Sirius Black	Godfather and the closest thing he had to a parent.
Severus Snape	Apparent enemy, secretly his protector out of love for Lily.
Draco Malfoy	School rival from their first meeting.
Lord Voldemort	The wizard who killed his parents and the enemy he was destined to face.

Strengths and flaws

Strengths: courage, loyalty, a strong moral compass, natural leadership and a willingness to sacrifice himself for others.

Flaws: a quick temper, recklessness, a tendency to keep problems to himself and occasional arrogance about his own judgement, especially in Order of the Phoenix.

Fun facts

• Harry shares his birthday, 31 July, with J.K. Rowling.
• The prophecy about the one who could defeat Voldemort could also have meant Neville Longbottom, born a day earlier. Voldemort chose Harry, which made him the “Chosen One”.
• His first-ever magic was accidental: he made the glass vanish from a snake’s tank at the zoo.
• He was the youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a century.
• He named his younger son Albus Severus, after two Hogwarts headmasters.
• He gave his Triwizard winnings to Fred and George to start their joke shop.

Harry in the books vs the films

Daniel Radcliffe played Harry in all eight films. A few differences stand out:

• His eyes. The books stress that Harry has his mother’s bright green eyes, a detail with real plot weight. Radcliffe’s eyes are blue; contact lenses were tried and dropped.
• His temper. In the books, especially Order of the Phoenix, Harry is often angry, moody and shouting in capital letters. The films soften this considerably.
• The Elder Wand. In the book Harry repairs his own holly wand with the Elder Wand and returns it to Dumbledore’s tomb. In the film he snaps it in half and throws it off a bridge.
• The final duel. The books end with a quiet, public confrontation in the Great Hall. The film turns it into a long chase across the castle.

Why Harry matters to the story

Harry is less a chosen hero than an ordinary boy who keeps choosing to do the hard thing. He isn’t the most talented wizard in his year, and he wins mostly because of the people around him and the choices he makes. That’s the series’ central idea: what you choose matters more than what you’re born with.

Are you like Harry?

If you’d choose the right thing over the easy one, stand up to bullies and refuse to let your friends face danger alone, you might share his house. Read the Gryffindor guide, or take our house quiz to find out.