Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels and eight movies by J. K. Rowling, a British author. It is named for its protagonist and hero, Harry Potter. Seven books in the series have sold over 500 million copies across the world in over 70 languages including Latin, Welsh and Ancient Greek, and is the best-selling book series of all time. They were adapted into movies by the Warner Bros. The first one was released in 2001. The second, third, fourth, and fifth were released respectively in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007. The sixth movie, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, was released in 2009. The final movie was divided into two parts. The first part, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, was released in 2010. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released in 2011. Later, several spin-off movies were released in 2016, 2018, and 2022 respectively, as well as a reunion special for HBO Max in January 2022.

Plot 
Harry Potter was born in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. His parents, Lily and James Potter, were killed by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort, while Voldemort was trying to kill Harry. Yet Harry escaped with no harm except a scar in the shape of lightning bolt, and Voldemort ends up mostly dead. Harry is raised by his non-magical Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin (Dudley), and is mistreated by them. As a child, he did not know that he was a wizard. He eventually discovers that there are many magical people, living secretly and hiding from non-wizards (known as "Muggles"). When Harry turned eleven on July 31, he received a letter inviting him to go to a school called Hogwarts for young witches and wizards. Each book tells the story of one year of his life at the school and tells how he struggles. On Hogwarts Express, the train they use to get to Hogwarts, he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who become his best friends. Voldemort tries several times to return to life and kill Harry. In the fourth book, Voldemort comes to life with help from his follower, Peter Pettigrew. The series ends with an epic battle between Harry and Lord Voldemort and a final epilogue that shows Harry and his friends safe and happy with their partners and children.

Books 
 1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States)
 1998 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 
 1999 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 2000 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 
 2003 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 
 2005 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
 2007 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Secondary books 
 2001 - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 2001 - Quidditch Through the Ages
 2007 - The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Adaptations 
The seven books were all adapted into different forms of media, including toys, movies, spin-off movies, a TV special, video games and a stage play as well.

Movies 
 2001 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 
 2002 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 
 2004 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 2005 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 2007 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 2009 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 2010 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
 2011 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

Spin-off movies 
 2016 - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
 2018 - Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
2022 - Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

TV specials 

 2022 - Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts

Video games 
 2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Released for PC, Mac, PS1, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBC, and GBA)
 2002 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Released for PC, Mac, PS1, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBC, and GBA)
2003 - Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (Released for GameCube, Microsoft Windows, PS2, Xbox, and GBA)
 2004 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Released for PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and GBA)
 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Released for PC, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PSP, Nintendo DS, and GBA)
 2007 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Released for PC, Mac, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS, and GBA)
 2009 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Released for PC, Mac, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Mobile)
 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (Released for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and Mobile)
 2011 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (Released for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS)

Other games 

 2001 - Lego Creator: Harry Potter (Released for Microsoft Windows)
 2002 - Lego Creator: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Released for Microsoft Windows)
 2004 - Harry Potter: Find Scabbers (Released for Mobile)
 2007 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Mobile Game (Released for Mobile)
 2008 - Harry Potter: Mastering Magic (Released for Mobile)
 2009 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The Mobile Game (Released for Mobile)
 2009 - Harry Potter: Spells (Released for iOS)
 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape (Web browser)
 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: The Mobile Game (Released for Mobile)
 2010 - Scene it? Harry Potter HD (Released for iOS)
 2010 - Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Released for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch)
 2011 - Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Released for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, iOS, Android, Nintendo DS3, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch)
 2011 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: The Mobile Game (Released for Mobile)
 2011 - Harry Potter for Kinect (Released for Xbox 360)
 2011 - Harry Potter: The Quest (Web browser)
 2011 - Pottermore (Web browser)
 2012 - Book of Spells (Released for PS3)
 2013 - Book of Potions (Released for PS3)
 2016 - Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World (Released for iOS and Android)
 2016 - Lego Dimensions (Released for PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One, and Xbox 360)
 Pack 1: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Story Pack"
 Pack 2: "Harry Potter Team Pack"
 Pack 3: "Tina Fun Pack"
 Pack 4: "Fantastic Beast VR"
 Pack 5: "Hermione Granger Fun Pack"
 2018 - Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Released for iOS and Android)
 2019 - Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Released for iOS and Android)
 2020 - Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells (Released for iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle, and Facebook)
 2021 - Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Released for iOS and Android)
 2022 - Hogwarts Legacy (Released for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows)

Stage 
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play based on a new story by J.K Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany.  It is billed as being the "eighth story, nineteen years later." It stars Jamie Parker as Harry, Noma Dumezweni as Hermione, and Paul Thornley as Ron.

"While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

The play officially opened July 30, 2016 at the Palace Theatre in London.

Characters and actors of the movies

Main characters 
 Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe): The hero of the stories. Harry is a special young wizard. Harry's parents, James and Lily Potter, were killed by Lord Voldemort  when he was a baby.  He lives with and is raised by his Aunt Petunia, his mother's sister, and Uncle Vernon, along with their son Dudley for the duration of the series.
 Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint): Harry's best friend. Ron was born to Arthur and Molly Weasley, a large magical family, with five older brothers and one younger sister. He often helps Harry out on his many adventures, including the fight to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. 
 Hermione Granger (Emma Watson): Harry's other best friend. Hermione's parents are not wizards, but "Muggles" (non-magical people). She is the brightest student in a class. She also faces much prejudice for her muggle family from both students at school and Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters.
 Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright): Ron's younger sister and the last of 7 children. She is seen having a crush on Harry as a little girl in the first book, and would eventually go on to date him and marry him.
 Albus Dumbledore: Headmaster at Hogwarts. His full name is "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore". He is a very powerful wizard. Voldemort fears only him. Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris in the first two movies. After Richard Harris's death, Michael Gambon took over the role. Albus Dumbledore is said to be gay by author J.K Rowling.
 Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane): Hagrid is originally just the Groundskeeper at Hogwarts, but in the third book gets the position of teacher. He teaches "Care of Magical Creatures" from the third book until the seventh, when he leaves the school to escape the Death Eaters. He is a friend of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and a "half-giant."
 Lord Voldemort: The main villain of the series. He is feared throughout the wizarding world, and is often referred to as "The Dark Lord", "He Who Must Not Be Named", or as "You Know Who", as wizards believe naming him will somehow call him. Prior to his infamy he was known as Tom Marvolo Riddle. The part was played in different movies by actors Richard Bremmer, Christian Coulson, Ralph Fiennes, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, and Frank Dillane.
 Sirius Black: (Gary Oldman) Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend in school and before James' death. He was charged for the murder of another of James' friends, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius was innocent, but convicted anyway. In the third novel, the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius breaks out of prison (the wizarding prison is called Azkaban). He is Harry Potter's godfather. He is a major character in the third, fourth and fifth books, before his death at the end of the fifth book, the Order of the Phoenix.
 Severus Snape (Alan Rickman): Severus Snape was the Potions master at Hogwarts for the first five books. In the sixth book, he gets the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. After the death of Dumbledore, Snape becomes headmaster. Throughout the books, Snape shows much bias for his own school house, Slytherin. He treats students from the other houses very badly. 
Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton): Draco Malfoy is a Slytherin student. In the first five books, he exists primarily as a foil (opposite) to Harry. In the sixth book, the Half-Blood Prince, he is ordered to kill Dumbledore but cannot bring himself to do it.
Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis): He is a Gryffindor student and he is one of the members of Dumbledore's Army. His parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange when he was sixteen months old. At the end of the series, during the battle of Hogwarts, he kills Nagini with Godric Gryffindor's sword, making it easy for Harry to defeat Voldemort.

The Weasleys

Teachers at Hogwarts

Other students

Death Eaters

Other characters 
 Vernon Dursley (played by Richard Griffiths) is the uncle of Harry Potter. He usually treats Harry badly.
 Petunia Dursley (played by Fiona Shaw) is Vernon's wife and Harry's aunt. Like Vernon, she usually treats Harry badly.
 Dobby (voiced by Toby Jones) is a house-elf who used to belong to the Malfoy family. Unlike other house-elves, Dobby wishes to be free.
 Merope is the descendant of Salazar Slytherin and is also the mother of Lord Voldemort.
 Michael Corner (played by Ryan Nelson) is Ginny's boyfriend who makes Harry jealous in the later books.
 Madame Rosmerta (played by Julie Christie) is the owner of 'The Three Broomsticks', the pub where butterbeer is often served.
 Madame Malkins is the owner of the wizard robes shop.
 Mr Ollivander (played by John Hurt) Wandmaker, owner of Ollivanders, was taken away by the Death Eaters, but is broken out of his cell by Dobby and Harry Potter.
 Rita Skeeter (played by Miranda Richardson) Reporter for the Daily Prophet, author of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, Animagus.
 Stanley Shunpike (played by Lee Ingleby) is the conductor of the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard.

Magical creatures

The book has many non-human magical characters.  Some of them are from mythology and others Rowling wrote herself.  Some of these magical creatures have their own culture and some are like animals.  According to the real-world book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Ministry of Magic makes three groups of creatures: Being, Beast and Spirit.  Beings are creatures like humans and house elves, who are smart enough to manage their own business and Beasts are not.

Centaurs live in the Forbidden Forest near the school.  They are smart and study the stars.  They are proud and do not like it when humans bother them.  Even though centaurs are smart enough to be called "Being" by the Ministry of Magic, they asked to be called "Beast" instead because that meant more humans would leave them alone.  There is a Centaur Liaison Office at the Ministry of Magic, but no one ever uses it.
Mermaids live in the lake near the school.  They speak a language called Mermish and have scary faces.
House Elves work in the school and for wizarding families.  They cook and clean.  A house elf can only be freed if its owner gives it clothes.  Otherwise, they wear pillowcases, tea towels or other cloth that is not clothing.  House Elves have their own kind of magic, which is very strong.
Veela can look like beautiful women or like winged creatures with scary faces.  They can throw fireballs and magically appear attractive to human men.
Giants are large and brutal.  Human beings hunted them so that now they have to live close together in mountains.  Some giants can have children with humans.
Werewolves are humans who have been bitten by another werewolf.  Other humans act as if they have a dangerous disease.  There are laws saying they can only work in certain places.  Wizards and non-wizards can be werewolves.
Ghosts are dead people who are gray and transparent.  There are ghosts at Hogwarts who talk to the students.  The history teacher is a ghost.
Phoenixes are fire birds.  They catch fire once every five hundred days and come out of the ashes a young baby bird again. Their tears can heal even an almost dead person. In the second book, a phoenix saved harry from the Basilisk, another venomous creature. In the books, Dumbledore has a pet phoenix named Fawkes.
Vampires
Leprechauns

References

Other websites

Official sites 
 J.K. Rowling's personal website
 All you need to know about Harry Potter
 Official Harry Potter movies website (Warner Bros.)
 Harry Potter on Bloomsbury.com (International publisher)
 Harry Potter on Scholastic.com (US publisher)
 Amazon.com Official Harry Potter Store 
 Harry Potter on Raincoast.com (Canadian publisher)

Other resources 
 Harry Potter Wikia
 Harry Potter Bibliography
 Hermione Granger's Biography