Harry Potter

"*You are protected, in short, by your ability to love! The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort's! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your heart's desire, and it showed you only the way to thwart Lord Voldemort, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in that mirror?*"
— Albus Dumbledore describing Harry's rare nature[src]

**Harry James** **Potter** (b. 31 July 1980) was an English half-blood wizard, and one of the most famous wizards of modern times. The only child and son of James and Lily Potter (née Evans), Harry's birth was overshadowed by a prophecy, naming either himself or Neville Longbottom as the one with the power to vanquish Lord Voldemort, the most powerful and feared Dark wizard in the world. After half of the prophecy was reported to Voldemort, courtesy of Severus Snape, Harry was chosen as the target due to his many similarities with the Dark Lord. In turn, this caused the Potter family to go into hiding.

Voldemort made his first attempt to circumvent the prophecy when Harry was a year and three months old. During this attempt, he murdered Harry's parents as they tried to protect him, but this unsuccessful attempt to kill Harry led to Voldemort's first downfall. This downfall marked the end of the First Wizarding War, and to Harry henceforth being known as "The Boy Who Lived", as he was the only known survivor of the Killing Curse due to being magically protected by his mother's loving sacrifice. In accordance with the terms of the prophecy, this attempt on his life also established him, not Neville, as Voldemort's nemesis.

One consequence of Lily's sacrifice was that her orphaned son had to be raised by her only remaining blood relative, his Muggle aunt Petunia Dursley, and her husband, uncle Vernon Dursley. While in their care, he would be protected from Lord Voldemort due to the Bond of Blood charm that Albus Dumbledore placed upon him. This powerful charm would protect him until he either came of age, or no longer called his aunt's house home. Due to Petunia's resentment of her sister and her magical abilities, Harry grew up abused and neglected.

Shortly before Harry's eleventh birthday, there were several attempts from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to send him a letter inviting him to not only come to Hogwarts, but also to explain his magical heritage. Though Vernon Dursley ultimately made the decision to leave their residence at 4 Privet Drive temporarily to evade the letters, his attempts were ultimately for naught. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learned from Rubeus Hagrid that he was a wizard. Rubeus Hagrid took Harry from the Dursley family the next day to Diagon Alley. This is where Harry withdrew some of his money from Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where Hagrid bought Harry's snow-white owl, Hedwig. While he was in Diagon Alley, Harry also got his school supplies (i.e., books from Flourish and Blotts, his robes from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and his potion equipment from Slug & Jiggers Apothecary). Harry began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991. The Sorting Hat told Harry that he would do well in Slytherin House, but Harry pleaded "*not Slytherin*". The Hat heeded this plea and sorted the young wizard into Gryffindor House. At school, Harry became best friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He was also the youngest Seeker in a century, making the house team in his first year when Minerva McGonagall introduced him to Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's Quidditch captain at the time. He later became the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team in his sixth year, winning two Quidditch Cups. While in school, Harry also demonstrated an extraordinary talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

He became even better-known in his early years for protecting the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, saving Ron's sister Ginny Weasley, solving the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, slaying Salazar Slytherin's basilisk, and learning how to conjure a corporeal Patronus at the age of thirteen, which took the form of a stag. In his fourth year, Harry won the Triwizard Tournament, although the person had to be seventeen to enter, and Harry was only fourteen. The competition ended with the tragic death of Cedric Diggory and the return of Lord Voldemort. During the next school year, in defiance of Dolores Umbridge's and the Ministry of Magic's strict regime against the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and the continued introduction of the new Educational Decree, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger first had the idea of creating an illegal Defence Against the Dark Arts group called Dumbledore's Army. Harry was initially reluctant to the idea, but he gradually came to like it and eventually agreed to start the group. He also fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, during which he lost his godfather, Sirius Black, and the prophecy was destroyed.

Harry played a significant role in many other battles of the Second Wizarding War. During what would have been his seventh year, he, Ron, and Hermione hunted down and destroyed Voldemort's Horcruxes. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry personally saw the deaths of Severus Snape and Fred Weasley while learning that Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, and many others had fallen in the battle as well. He encountered Voldemort and nearly sacrificed himself, knowing that his doing so was the only way to destroy the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside of him. While in limbo, after Voldemort cursed him in the forest clearing, Dumbledore gave Harry advice and background information on the Dark Lord. When told that he could choose to live or to "move on," Harry ultimately chose to live. After he awoke, Harry confronted Voldemort and defeated him once and for all.

Harry was also noted for being the only known Master of Death, having united the three Deathly Hallows at the mere age of seventeen.

After the war, Harry became an Auror and helped reform and revolutionise the Ministry of Magic. At some point, he married Ginny, with whom he had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. He was also named the godfather of Edward "Teddy" Remus Lupin. In 2007, Harry was promoted to Head of the Auror Office at the age of 26, and would occasionally deliver Defence Against the Dark Arts lectures at Hogwarts. He was later promoted to Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement by the summer of 2020.

## History

### Early life (1980–1991)

**Harry**: "*But what happened to Vol - Sorry, I mean, You-Know-Who?*"
**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried to kill you. Makes yeh more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see ... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go?*"
— Hagrid and Harry discussing Voldemort[src]
Harry James Potter was born on 31 July 1980, at Godric's Hollow in the West Country, England, only hours after his future classmatee Neville Longbottom. Around this time, a prophecy regarding a boy born at the end of July with the power to defeat Voldemort was stated to wizards. Harry's christening was quiet and quick, with only mother, father, and Sirius Black in attendance. Harry spent his infancy in hiding with his parents in the Potter cottage.

For Harry's first birthday, Sirius bought him a toy broomstick. Lily's letter to Sirius mentioned that this broomstick had been Harry's favourite present and that he had smashed a horrible vase that had been a gift from Petunia and nearly killed their cat. In the letter, Lily also included a picture of Harry flying around on the broom and James chasing after him. Lily also stated in the letter that Harry looked pleased with himself while flying around on the toy broom. Lily and James also hosted a very quiet birthday tea. The only ones in attendance were them, Harry, and Bathilda Bagshot also used to dote on infant Harry. The Potters owned a cat, but what happened to it after Voldemort's attack it remains unknown.

When it became clear that Voldemort marked the Potters for death in regards to the prophecy, Albus Dumbledore suggested that they use the Fidelius Charm to keep them safe. He even offered to be the Potter's Secret Keeper, but the Potters had already planned to make Sirius their Secret Keeper instead. On Sirius's advice, they changed this designation to Peter Pettigrew, who they thought would be less suspicious. In a terrible turn of fate, Pettigrew was a Death Eater spy, and betrayed the Potters' whereabouts barely a week later.

#### Attack at Godric's Hollow (1981)

*Main article: Attack at Godric's Hollow (1981)*
"*This boy will be famous, a legend. I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in future. There will be books written about Harry, every child in our world will know his name!*"
— Minerva McGonagall regarding Harry's future in the wizarding world[src]

On the evening of Hallowe'en in 1981, Lord Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow and murdered James and Lily. He murdered James first, who tried to distract the Dark Lord; unfortunately, he did not have his wand with him and was killed immediately. Voldemort then advanced on Lily, who died trying to protect Harry. Her sacrifice prevented the Killing Curse from working on Harry, resulting in her love for Harry becoming a barrier to protecting him. When Voldemort attempted the curse on Harry, it backfired on the caster and instead of murdering Harry, Voldemort lost all his powers and his physical form was obliterated.

Voldemort was saved from death by the five Horcruxes he had made up to that point, including his diary, Gaunt's ring, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's cup, and Ravenclaw's diadem. This later included Harry himself also, because a piece of Voldemort's unstable soul latched onto the only living being present. This gave him some of Voldemort's abilities such as the ability to speak Parseltongue. This event made Harry the only person to have survived the Killing Curse, thus giving him the title the "Boy Who Lived". The failed curse left a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, marking him as Voldemort's equal. The scar would be both a bane and a blessing to Harry in the years to come, as it opened a telepathic link between Lord Voldemort and himself, giving each some awareness of each other's thoughts.

Rubeus Hagrid rescued Harry from the house, partially destroyed by Voldemort's faulty killing curse, and was given specific orders from Albus Dumbledore to take him to his aunt and uncle. As Hagrid left, he was intercepted by Sirius Black, a close friend of the Potters, who pleaded for Hagrid to give the baby to him, as he was the chosen guardian in the event of James and Lily's death. Hagrid refused, saying that he was under orders from Dumbledore to take Harry to his relatives. Sirius reluctantly relented and gave Hagrid his flying motorcycle to take Harry to Privet Drive, and left to find Pettigrew, who subsequently faked his death and framed Sirius for his death and that of twelve Muggles.

Hagrid delivered Harry to Dumbledore late on the evening of 1 November 1981. Dumbledore left a letter of explanation to the family living in the house, the Dursleys, who did not want to take care of Harry.

On 1 September 1984, Albus Dumbledore mentioned Harry Potter's name at the Start-of-Term Feast to the residents of Hogwarts, telling them that he was safe, and that when old enough, he too would attend Hogwarts.

#### Life at Privet Drive

"*I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?*"
— Vernon Dursley refusing that Harry was a wizard[src]

As the Dursleys were Muggles, they could not use magic. They knew about its existence, but refused to associate with witches and wizards. They proudly considered themselves a "normal" family and despised anything out of the ordinary, even if it had nothing to do with witches, wizards, and magic. They lied to Harry about his parents' death, claiming they had died in a car crash. They also claimed that the lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead was from the same crash. Whenever Harry tried to remember it, all that he could vaguely recall (as if he 'strained his memory') was a green flash of light and a high, cold laugh. He tried to understand what it was, or if it was from the car crash, but he simply could not. Petunia and Vernon Dursley, Harry's new guardians, forbade him from asking questions, particularly those regarding his parents. In addition, the Dursleys refused to have pictures of Lily and James, and did their best to avoid the subject of Harry's parents altogether.

They resented Harry for his magic, which was sporadic but evident, and strongly discouraged any sort of imagination. They neglected Harry, verbally and emotionally abused him, and inflicted cruel punishments, like depriving him of meals and locking him into the cupboard under the stairs on him whenever something "unusual" occurred. Their behaviour was left unreported to authorities. In his youth, Harry could make strange things happen without understanding why he could, as no one had told him that he was a wizard.

For instance, after Petunia had sheared off all of his messy hair using a pair of kitchen scissors in her fury that it would not lay flat, leaving him almost completely bald with only the fringe at the front, it had grown all the way back, and to its previous messy state at that, by the next morning. Harry was punished, even though he had not done anything on purpose. Another time, Dedalus Diggle bowed to him in a shop, and Petunia furiously interrogated Harry as to know how he knew the man before leaving the shop hastily.

The Dursleys spoiled and pampered their son, Dudley, and paid almost no attention to Harry with what little attention they did pay to him being negative in its entirety. All his clothes were hand-me-downs from Dudley and were far too large for Harry. He was forced to sleep in the Cupboard Under the Stairs, while his cousin got two bedrooms to himself (one for sleeping in and one for storing all his toys). They also made Harry do household chores for them, such as making food and getting the post. In time, Dudley started bullying Harry. The Dursleys took Dudley and his friend Piers Polkiss to someplace spectacular every year for his birthday, but the only thing Harry ever got for his birthday was one of Vernon's old socks or a coat-hanger.

The Dursleys always hid evidence of Harry's existence by not having pictures of him in the house. Among the few people who did know about Harry were Petunia's friend Yvonne and Vernon's sister Marge, the latter of whom the boy was forced to consider an aunt to him, despite not being a relative of his. Aunt Marge showed the most dislike for the frail boy while visiting Privet Drive during Dudley Dursley's fifth birthday, when she whacked Harry around the shins to stop him from beating Dudley at musical statues, and on holidays like Christmas, when she brought a computerised robot for Dudley and a box of dog biscuits for Harry to apparently eat. She eventually made a fool out of the young Potter during Dudley's tenth birthday, when Harry accidentally stepped on the paw of her favourite pet bulldog Ripper, causing the enraged dog to chase him out into the garden and up a tree. Dudley laughed himself silly at the sight of his cousin then, and to the Dursleys' delight, Marge refused to call Ripper off until past midnight.

Harry's hardship, however, was highly necessary as by returning to live with his mother's only living blood relative, the protection that Lily gave Harry would continue. While Harry could call that place home he could not be harmed. However, the Bond of blood charm would be broken when Harry turned seventeen years old, or when he no longer called 4 Privet Drive his home.

Unknown to Harry, one of his neighbours, Arabella Figg, was a Squib who had been ordered by Albus Dumbledore to keep an eye on Harry but to not reveal anything of the wizarding world to him. Unfortunately for Harry, to maintain favour with the Dursleys, she was forced to give him a lousy time whenever she had to look after him, as the Dursleys would never have let him go if they knew Harry was enjoying himself, a possibility that infuriated them. Harry discovered her connection to the wizarding world when it was revealed during the summer before his fifth year that she worked undercover for the Order of the Phoenix to keep tabs on Harry for his safety.

On 23 June 1991, Dudley's eleventh birthday, the Dursleys went to the zoo with Dudley and Piers. Unfortunately for the Dursleys, they had to take Harry with them, as Mrs Figg had broken her leg and there was no one to take Harry, and they refused to leave him alone in their house. At the zoo, Harry spoke with a boa constrictor and unintentionally made the glass of its enclosure disappear. This allowed the snake to slither out of his cage which scared Dudley into thinking it was after him. Harry was able to communicate in Parseltongue with the freed boa, which thanked Harry briefly, then slithered out of the reptile house calmly. After this incident, the enraged Dursleys sentenced Harry to his cupboard until the beginning of the summer holidays.

#### St. Grogory's Primary School

"*At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.*"
— The reason Harry had no friends at school[src]

Harry attended St. Grogory's Primary School, a Muggle primary school, with Dudley. He had no friends there, since all the students were afraid of Dudley's tough friends, who hated Harry simply because Dudley did. Dudley and his friends liked to play a unique game — 'Harry Hunting' — which involved chasing Harry for hours on end. Although Harry was good at sports, he was always the last picked for a team because no one wanted to admit to Dudley that they liked him, rather than because he was no good.

Harry got decent, if not good grades at school. On one occasion, Harry accidentally turned his teacher's wig blue; on another, he accidentally apparated onto the school kitchen roof when escaping from Dudley's gang; and on a third, he made Dudley's old jumper shrink as Aunt Petunia tried to shove it over his head. These incidents always enraged the Dursleys, and after each, they would punish Harry by throwing him into the cupboard — except for after the jumper incident because Aunt Petunia thought that the jumper had shrunk in the wash.

If Harry had not gone to Hogwarts, then he would have attended Stonewall High, a Muggle secondary school that Harry dreaded attending.

#### Discovery of being a wizard

**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*Harry - yer a wizard.*"
**Harry**: "*I'm a what?*"
**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*A wizard, o' course, an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's about time yeh read yer letter.*"
— Hagrid informing Harry of his heritage[src]
Harry had no birthday celebrations until the day he turned 11, which was the same day that he discovered the exceptional reality about his identity. On the week of Harry's birthday, hundreds of letters began arriving at the Dursleys' home, addressed to him from a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When the Dursleys saw the first letter was addressed as "*cupboard under the stairs*", they panicked at the thought of Harry's ill treatment being observed and transferred him to Dudley's second bedroom out of fear of being arrested for child abuse, which soon appeared on letters as the *smallest bedroom.*

When Uncle Vernon first read the letter, he turned a pale porridge grey out of fear that witches and wizards were trying to contact Harry. Because of this, Vernon tried to destroy the letters in a futile attempt to keep Harry from his destiny. But the letters kept coming in increasingly larger quantities, to the point where they started flying out of the fireplace by the dozens, and as they did, the Dursleys saw no alternative, but to flee from them. This was not enough to let the Dursleys avoid the letters, however, as the owls carrying these letters followed them wherever they went. On 30 July 1991, In a final desperate move on, the Dursleys moved to a shack on a rocky island at the edge of the sea.

At midnight on Harry's birthday, Rubeus Hagrid appeared in person to find out why Harry had not received his letter. He was infuriated by the Dursleys and explained to Harry, in spite of Vernon's obstinate protests, that he was a wizard, how his parents died, that Dumbledore demanded him to take Harry from the ruined house to his hated relatives, and that he was to be sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

This would be Harry's first birthday celebration and Hagrid gave him a small homemade birthday cake and later, a snowy owl. Harry named her Hedwig, a name he had found from his textbook (*A History of Magic* by Bathilda Bagshot). This was the first birthday present Harry ever received. Hagrid took Harry to the Leaky Cauldron, where he learned that he was famous. He met Quirinus Quirrell, his soon-to-be Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, the Inn-keeper Tom, a witch named Doris Crockford, and Dedalus Diggle — the man who had bowed to Harry several years earlier. Hagrid then took Harry to Diagon Alley, where he learned more about his fame in the wizarding world and that his parents had left him a small fortune in a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Harry bought his first wand from Ollivander's that very day. The wand that chose Harry was made of holly wood and had a phoenix feather core; it was 11", nice and supple. The phoenix feather at its core came from Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes. It was crafted by Garrick Ollivander, who had also created a twin wand. This wand had been made from yew, and contained the only other feather supplied by Fawkes. This twin wand had chosen Tom Riddle as its master long ago. But after turning to evil and assumed the alias of Lord Voldemort, Riddle ended up using this wand to attack Harry and his parents. Sharing the same phoenix origin, the two wands had a unique connection that would prevent them from successfully duelling against each other in the years to come.

## Involvement

#### Third year

**Hermione Granger**: "*Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. don't go looking for trouble, Harry...*"
**Harry**: "*I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?*"
— Harry, Ron and Hermione discussing Sirius Black's escape[src]
##### Inflation accident

Harry's third year in 1993 started out almost as bad as the year prior, and gradually got depressing. Throughout the preceding summer, the Dursleys became fearful of his magical abilities getting exposed that they banned him from talking to the neighbours immediately after his return home to them. They even went as far as punishing him for giving their phone number to his friends, as evident to Harry getting reprimanded by Uncle Vernon when the latter received a call from Ron.

This, however, did not stop Harry from studying magic every night by sneaking his school supplies and hiding them in his room one night while Aunt Petunia and Dudley were out admiring Vernon's new company car. Furthermore, he had little contact with his friends nor any news from the wizarding world since the phone incident, but Hedwig was allowed out of her padlocked cage because the Dursleys could no longer take the noise she made in boredom.

On 31 July (Harry's thirteenth birthday), which might have made the Dursleys forget about his birthday, for they were too busy preparing for a visit from Aunt Marge. The sight of a copy of the *Daily Prophet* among the mail from Errol interested Harry, as it said that Ron had returned from a trip to Egypt to visit his oldest brother Bill Weasley (a Curse-Breaker of Gringotts) for which Arthur Weasley paid using seven hundred galleons he won in the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw. The article also showcased a picture of the Weasleys standing in front of a pyramid. It was there that Ron bought Harry the most fascinating present: a Sneakoscope, which was sold for tourists. He also received birthday presents from Hermione and Hagrid as well.

When his Hogsmeade permission form was delivered, Harry was worried of the trouble he'll probably go through in order to persuade his aunt or uncle to sign it. They agreed to do so the next morning, but only if he behaved during Marge's visit. However, Marge began insulting the memory of Harry's mother at the dinner table three days later, describing her as a "*bad egg*" who ran off with a "*scoundrel*" and left the Dursleys with Harry as the "*result in front of them*". Harry lost his temper to this, inadvertently making Marge's wine glass explode.

The insults transitioned to his father on the final day of her visit, making him very upset to such extent that he ended up losing all control of his magic powers and accidentally inflated her with the Inflating Charm. Vernon ordered his nephew to put Marge back the way she was, but Harry said no and instead packed up his school things and left the house. He fled out of fear of being expelled from Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic, for using underage magic outside school, something he had already been warned about.

Later that night, Harry was picked up off the curb of Magnolia Crescent by the triple-decker wizard transport the Knight Bus, which was sent to drive him as two members of the Ministry's Accidental Magic Reversal Squad were dispatched to deflate and Obliviate Marge. During the ride to the Leaky Cauldron, the bus' conductor Stan Shunpike gave him a copy of the *Daily Prophet* with its front page story being about the Ministry's continuing struggle to recapture Sirius Black, a convicted Voldemort supporter who recently escaped from the wizard prison Azkaban (the first person ever to have done so) after spending twelve years there for the mass-murder of thirteen people with a single Blasting Curse.

They arrived at their destination to find a relieved-looking Cornelius Fudge waiting at the restaurant door to welcome Harry in for a meeting. To Harry's relief though, the Minister for Magic took no action against him since accidental uses of magic did not count as a violation to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, but described the choice of running away as very irresponsible despite it putting the Ministry in a right flap. As a generous measure, Fudge booked the young wizard a room in the Leaky Cauldron Inn for the rest of the summer, though this made something about Fudge's tone spike Harry's suspicion.

##### Stay at the Leaky Cauldron

**Molly Weasley**: "*But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry.*"
**Arthur Weasley**: "*The guards told Fudge that Blacks been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'He's at Hogwarts... he's at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead.*"
— Harry finding out that Sirius Black supposedly wanted him dead[src]
When finished with his exploration of Diagon Alley for school supplies three weeks later, Harry found Ron and Hermione looking all over for him at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour four days afterwards while the Weasleys were booking a room at the inn. They already heard of his inflation of Marge, and while Ron thought it funny, Hermione was amazed to learn that Harry was not expelled and wondered why Fudge really let him off the hook. Ron, however, was more concerned for his pet rat Scabbers, who was looking very ill since he was brought back from Egypt (possibly due to the stress of the trip), so he and Harry went over to the Magical Menagerie to buy a bottle of rat tonic for him.

While in Diagon Alley, Harry found it very interesting to learn from the saleswoman behind the counter that most rats have an expected life span of three years. He found this odd, since Scabbers originally belonged to Ron's older brother Percy Weasley. Thus Scabbers lived much longer than Ron could remember, at least 12 years. As Ron declined the Saleswoman's offer to buy a sleek black rat as a replacement, a half-Kneazle cat named Crookshanks tried to attack Scabbers, who scurried away to hide in a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies with his owner and Harry following. Hermione spent the early birthday money from her parents to buy the tonic and Crookshanks, much to Ron's displeasure.

When the rat tonic was misplaced somewhere around the Leaky Cauldron salon later that night, Harry volunteered to search for it there while Ron was busy helping Percy search for his new Head Boy badge in their room at the inn. But the conversation which a worried Molly Weasley was having with her husband soon caught his attention, so Harry listened to what they were saying about Sirius Black's escape, and what connection it had to Harry himself. According to Mr Weasley, when Voldemort met his downfall, Black lost everything he hoped to gain, but to that day he remained a faithful servant to the Dark Lord's cause.

The Ministry feared that the killer's motive was to use Harry to return his master to full strength, as evident to the report from Fudge's inspection of Azkaban saying that Black was repeatedly muttering "*He's at Hogwarts*" in his sleep. This shook Harry a little to the realisation that Fudge let him go because he was relieved to see Harry all right after running away. Though he was convinced that Hogwarts was a a safe haven because of the presence of Albus Dumbledore, the senior Weasleys agreed that Black could break into the school if he could break out of his Azkaban.

##### Delay on the Hogwarts Express

"*Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract... And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. An intense cold swept over them all.*"
— Harry's first encounter with a guard of Azkaban[src]

When they got onto Platform 9¾, Mr Weasley moved Harry aside to tell him not to go looking for Black, but Harry claimed that he would never look for someone who wanted him killed. He, Ron, and Hermione found only one empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express, but had to share with a friend of Harry's parents, Remus Lupin, who was recently appointed Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

As Harry told his friends of what he heard about Black coming after him until, the train stopped almost halfway to Hogwarts, letting one of the Dementors (a gliding wraith capable of feeding on human happiness to cause depression and madness to anyone near it via mental energy draining) used as the Azkaban guards aboard to determine if Black himself was hiding on it. At some point Ginny and Neville entered the trio's compartment, as the presence of the Dementors frightened them. Lupin managed to drive the Dementor off with a disguised Patronus.

Only Harry and Ginny Weasley were the most affected by the creature (since he had the worst past involving the night Voldemort killed his parents, and she had the worst experience of being under the control of the sentient memory within Voldemort's old school diary the year before), and were about to fall victim to its fatal kiss when Lupin cast a Patronus Charm which drove it away. Harry fainted to the sound of his mother screaming, but recovered when Lupin gave him a piece of chocolate to feel better and sent a letter ahead to Professor Minerva McGonagall saying he was ill.

##### Elective classes

"*There were, however, things that Harry needed to buy. He went to the Apothecary to replenish his store of potions ingredients, and as his school robes were now several inches too short in the arm and leg, he visited Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and bought new ones. Most important of all, he had to buy his new schoolbooks, which would include those for his two new subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.*"
— Harry buying his third-year school supplies[src]

Lessons started the next day. Harry, Ron and Hermione headed to the North Tower for their first Divination lesson. They met Sybill Trelawney, who predicted future events using tea leaves. Harry saw a black dog in his tea cup, which Trelawney identified as the Grim, the omen of death. This worried Harry, as he remembered the black dog he saw when he ran away. While in Transfiguration, Professor Minerva McGonagall assured Harry that Trelawney had predicted the deaths of a number of students, none of whom have died.

For one, Hermione was taking nearly twice as many classes, including some taught at the same time. While Lupin's lessons were enjoyable, Hagrid's soon became dreary. In their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Hagrid taught them about Hippogriffs. Although initially nervous, Harry successfully approached and rode a grey hippogriff named Buckbeak. During the first lesson, Draco Malfoy deliberately provoked the Buckbeak into attacking him.

This in turn cased Draco to tell his father of the provoked attack. Lucius Malfoy, then filed a complaint against Hagrid. Lucius filed this complaint with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, more specifically the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Meanwhile, tensions grew between Hermione and Ron over Crookshanks's continuing habit of trying to harm Scabbers.

##### Sirius Black's first break-in

"*Oh yes, Professorhead, he got very angry when she wouldn't let him, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black.*"
— Peeves to Professor Dumbledore regarding the Fat Lady[src]

Harry learnt that Black had been sighted near Hogwarts. During a Potions lesson, Malfoy hinted that Black may be connected to Harry's past. In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Lupin taught the third-years about Boggarts, shape-shifters that took the shape of a person's worst fear. The class then took on the Boggart, forcing it to assume a shape they find amusing. When it came to Harry's turn he was sure the Boggart would turn into a Dementor but Lupin jumped in and repeled the Boggart for him. Faced by Lupin, the Boggart took the shape of a bright glowing orb. Harry was disappointed that Lupin did not let him fight the Boggart, thinking that Lupin felt he was not up to the task.

In October, the Gryffindor Quidditch team practised hard for the upcoming Quidditch season, especially since this was their team captain Oliver Wood's final year at Hogwarts. Oliver believed that despite the misfortune which occurred during the previous two years their team should be able to win the Quidditch Cup before he graduates. Third-years were also visiting Hogsmeade on Hallowe'en, and only Harry was not allowed, because his uncle did not sign his permission form. Harry spent the day in Lupin's office, drinking tea with him. Lupin told him that he did not let Harry face the Boggart because he did not want the Boggart to become Lord Voldemort. Shortly afterwards, Snape appeared with a mysterious potion for Lupin. Lupin claimed to simply have an illness, and that he was aided by the potion.

A few hours later, Ron and Hermione returned from Hogsmeade. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and saw that it was slashed and that the Fat Lady was gone. Using his Animagus form, Sirius was able to enter the castle undetected. He made his way unseen all the way up to the entrance of Gryffindor Tower and changed back to his true form. However, The Fat Lady would not let him in without the password. Frustrated, Black slashed her portrait and fled. Peeves revealed Black to be the attacker, and that he had seen the Fat Lady fleeing through other portraits. Albus Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, and Argus Filch then went to locate her.

##### Maurader's Map

**George Weasley**: "*This, Harry, is the secret of our success.*"
**Fred Weasley**: "*It's a wrench, giving it to you, but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours.*"
**George Weasley**: "*Anyway, we know it off by heart. We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore.*"
**Harry**: "*And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?*"
**Fred Weasley**: "*A bit of old parchment! Explain, George.*"
— Harry being given the Marauder's Map[src]
During the last weekend before the holidays, while the eligible students visited Hogsmeade, Harry was yet again not able to go. To bring some Christmas cheer to Harry, Fred and George revealed that they knew secret passages in and out of Hogwarts. They gave Harry the Marauder's Map as a Christmas present and instructed him on how to use it. It showed Hogwarts' secret passages, corridors, classrooms, offices, common rooms, etc., as well as every person's location within the castle and the grounds.

Harry used the Marauder's Map to sneak into Hogsmeade. He then met Ron and Hermione in Honeydukes, where they were discussing what kind of sweets to get Harry. They visited the Three Broomsticks, a pub run by Madam Rosmerta. When Cornelius Fudge, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, and Rubeus Hagrid arrived, Harry hide underneath their table to avoid being seen. Harry used a tunnel to sneak into Hogsmeade village.

While sneaking back into the school, he overheard a disturbing conversation that had a severe impact on his mental state. Sirius Black was his parents' best friend, and was his godfather and legal guardian. Black was the Potters' Secret Keeper and he allegedly divulged the Potters' secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend Peter Pettigrew, as well as twelve Muggle bystanders. Peter left a finger to prove that he had been killed with the twelve Muggles.

##### The Firebolt

"*It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley. Its handle glitteredas he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.*"
— Harry receiving a Firebolt for Christmas from Sirius Black[src]

After several Dementors approached Harry during a Quidditch match, causing him to faint and fall off his broomstick. Albus Dumbledore stopped Harry's fall, but his Nimbus 2000 flew into the Whomping Willow and was destroyed, much to Harry's dismay. At Christmas, Harry received a new, superb Firebolt broomstick, although Hermione suspected Black was the anonymous donor. She reported it to Professor Minerva McGonagall, who confiscated the broom for testing.

Harry and Ron were furious with Hermione and they stopped speaking to her. When the broom was returned some months later, the two boys tried to make up with her, but it went wrong when Ron discovered Scabbers was missing. Ron blamed Crookshanks because he found cat hairs and blood on his dormitory floor. The perceived loss of Scabbers upset Ron greatly, the twins and Harry were unable to cheer Ron up.

##### The Patronus

**Remus Lupin**: "*So... The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry — well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.*"
**Harry Potter**: "*How does it work?*"
**Remus Lupin**: "*Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-Dementor — a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive — but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it.*"
— Remus Lupin explaining the Patronus Charm[src]
Harry started his lessons with Lupin. Lupin told Harry that the spell to drive off Dementors is called the Patronus Charm. Lupin then instructed him in how to cast one, and lets him practise on a Boggart. Harry failed to produce a Patronus at first. This, however, was to be expected; the Patronus Charm was well beyond O.W.L. standard. During his first lesson, Harry learned that Lupin was a friend of his father James during their days at Hogwarts, and that he knew Sirius Black as well.

By February, Harry had became quite good at producing a Patronus after a few lessons, but did not master it entirely. At the end of a lesson, Lupin explained the concept of a Dementor's Kiss and revealed that it would be Black's punishment, as an article in the *Daily Prophet* confirmed that the Ministry gave the Dementors permission to use the Kiss on Black when they find him. While thinking about the horror of the punishment, Harry ran into McGonagall on his way back to Gryffindor Tower. McGonagall gave Harry back the Firebolt, which had been proven not to be jinxed, and suggested that he practise with it before the match.

Harry met up with Ron and they decided to go make up with Hermione. Outside Gryffindor Tower, they bumped into Neville who was in trouble because he lost a list. After the pair let him in, Neville told Harry and Ron that he made a list of the passwords for Gryffindor Tower because Sir Cadogan was still changing them twice a day but somehow they got lost. Harry attempted to patch things up with Hermione but Scabbers disappeared after they arrived at Gryffindor Tower, ruining any chance for Ron and Hermione's reconciliation.

As March arrived, a new Quidditch match approached: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Harry spent the last practice session before the match getting used to his Firebolt. During the game, just as Harry was about to catch the Snitch, fourth-year Seeker Cho Chang screamed. Harry looked around and saw three Dementors in the stands. He reacted instantly, sending a full-fledged Patronus at the Dementors. Harry caught the Snitch before Cho Chang, which led to Gryffindor winning the match. Gryffindor would later play Slytherin and win the Quidditch Cup.

##### Cat, rat, and dog

**Sirius Black**: "*Going to kill me, Harry?*"
**Harry Potter**: "*You killed my parents.*"
**Sirius Black**: "*I don't deny it... But if you knew the whole story.*"
— The trio confronting Sirius Black inside the Shrieking Shack[src]
After Harry completed his Divination exam, Professor Trelawney entered a trance and predicted that the Dark Lord's servant would return to him that night. Harry and Ron finally made peace with Hermione, but the trio soon learned that Buckbeak would be executed. When they visited Hagrid to console him, Scabbers appeared, and Ron picked him up. Cornelius Fudge, Albus Dumbledore and the executioner were making their way to Hagrid's hut, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way out the back door.

As they were walking up the path, they thought they heard Buckbeak executed, when all of a sudden, Scabbers bit Ron, and Ron chased him to the Whomping Willow. A large dog attacked Ron and dragged him and Scabbers into a hole at the tree's base. Harry and Hermione followed, finding a tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack. Inside, Harry confronted Sirius Black, who, as an unregistered, and therefore illegal, Animagus, could transform into an animal at will.

##### The Prisoner of Azkaban

*Main article: Encounter at the Shrieking Shack*
"*The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master.*"
— Professor Trelawney's second prediction[src]

Lupin, who spotted the group on the Marauder's Map, suddenly burst in and embraced his old friend Black. Harry, Ron and Hermione refused to believe that Pettigrew was alive, pointing out that he was murdered by Black. Black denied this, and Lupin convinced him to tell Harry the truth of what happened. Lupin told the story about his time at Hogwarts; he had been bitten as a child, and Dumbledore took precautions for his stay at Hogwarts, having the Shrieking Shack and the passage leading to it built to provide Lupin with a safe place to transform.The Whomping Willow was planted on the entrance to the tunnel to prevent anyone from running into the transformed Lupin. The rumours that the Hogsmeade residents started about the Shack being haunted by violent ghosts were allowed to spread to keep people from guessing that it was actually a werewolf making those sounds.

Eventually, Lupin's friends, Sirius, Pettigrew and James Potter, discovered Lupin's secret, and became Animagi to support him. Sirius became a dog to keep Lupin under control with James, and Pettigrew became a rat so he could disable the Willow by scurrying under its branches and touching a certain spot on its trunk. Lupin admitted that he has not told Dumbledore about Sirius being an Animagus, as it would have meant admitting that he had betrayed his trust and led three students into illegally becoming Animagi. He also revealed the reason for Snape's animosity towards him during the year: during their days at school, Sirius had played a near-fatal trick on Snape involving Lupin in his transformed form but James saved him. Snape thought both of them were involved with Sirius' trick. Just then, Snape arrived using Harry's Invisibility Cloak, which he had left at the foot of the Whomping Willow.

Snape was knocked out by Harry, Ron and, Hermione who all tried to disarm Snape at the same time. Harry was sceptical, until Black and Lupin forced Pettigrew back into his human form. This came as a huge shock to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It was especially shocking to Ron, as Scabbers had been his pet for the last three years and had slept in their dormitory. Black then explained he discovered that Pettigrew was still alive and escaped Azkaban to seek revenge, as well as to make sure that Pettigrew could not harm Harry. Harry stopped Black and Lupin from murdering Pettigrew, believing that his father would not have wanted his two best friends to become killers.

##### Saving the innocent

"*f you succeed tonight, more than one innocent life may be spared.*"
— Dumbledore's parting words to Harry and Hermione[src]

As the group headed back to the castle, the full moon rose, causing Lupin to turn into a werewolf. During the ensuing commotion, Pettigrew escaped, while Sirius turned into his dog form to protect the others from Lupin. Lupin fled, leaving Black badly injured. As Dementors moved in to attack Black, Harry saw a mysterious figure in the distance cast a powerful stag-shaped Patronus, scattering the vicious creatures. Harry became convinced it was his father, or at least his father's spirit, who produced the Patronus. Black was then captured and taken to the castle where the Dementors intended to suck out his soul.

Hermione revealed to Harry that she was entrusted with a time-travelling device, called a Time-Turner, which was how she was able to attend so many classes. Prompted by Dumbledore, she and Harry travelled three hours into the past, watching themselves go through the night's previous events. They freed Buckbeak and returned to the Whomping Willow. As the Dementors were about to attack the "other" Harry and Sirius, Harry realised that the mysterious figure he saw earlier was actually himself. He cast the powerful Patronus that repelled the dementors. Harry and Hermione freed Black, who escaped on Buckbeak, as they rushed back to where they were before. As they saw Dumbledore exiting the hospital wing, they completed their journey.

After Sirius was revealed to have once again escaped, Severus Snape burst into the hospital wing and blamed Harry, but left when he was unable to convince anyone without any proof. Fudge said he would remove the Dementors because they tried to perform their kiss on Harry. Draco Malfoy was furious that Buckbeak escaped, while Hagrid was ecstatic. Professor Lupin resigned after Snape "*accidentally*" revealed that he was a werewolf. Harry the previous nights events Harry visited Lupin in his office, during which the map was returned to him.

When Harry told Dumbledore about Professor Trelawney's prophecy, Dumbledore encouraged him to not feel guilty about letting Pettigrew live. On the train back, Harry received a letter from Sirius, telling him that he sent him the Firebolt, and included a letter giving Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade. The letter was delivered by a small minute owl, which Sirius gives to Ron as a replacement for Scabbers. The owl was later named Pigwidgeon by Ginny.

#### Fourth year

"*You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you.*"
— Dumbledore regarding Harry's ecape from Voldemort[src]

##### Journey to the Quidditch World Cup

Harry woke up from a nightmare at the Dursleys' house on Privet Drive. He experienced a vivid dream, regarding Muggle Frank Bryce. Bryce had learned of Voldemort's plans to reward Pettigrew for his help in capturing Bertha Jorkins. Jorkins was a Ministry employee, who Voldemort extracted information from before murdering. Frank was eventually discovered by Voldemort's snake Nagini. The Dark Lord, unhappy that the elderly gardener was spying on him, cast the Killing Curse, ending the elderly gardener's life. After which Harry woke up with his scar hurting and considered writing to his friends and even Dumbledore, but eventually decided to write a letter to Sirius. He did not mention the dream, just that his scar was hurting and planned to send the letter once Hedwig returned.

The next day, a letter from Mrs Weasley addressed to the Dursleys arrived and she asked if Harry could join Hermione and the Weasley family to go to the Quidditch World Cup final between Ireland and Bulgaria. The letter upset Vernon and he intentionally said no, but one mention of Sirius Black was enough to convince him to let Harry go. Harry immediately wrote back to Ron and on Sunday afternoon, the Weasleys attempted to use Floo powder to access the Dursley household. They did this unaware that the Dursleys had an electric fireplace, which resulted in Mr Weasley destroying half the sitting room. One of the twins purposely dropped a Ton-Tongue Toffee as a means of product testing, which Dudley ate. Things only got worse form that point forward and resulted in Vernon throwing figurines at Mr Weasley.

On 25 August, 1994 Harry, the Weasley family (besides Mrs Weasley), and Hermione Granger attended the Quidditch World Cup. At Stoatshead Hill, Cedric Diggory and his father, Amos joined them. Once at the camp grounds, they met Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch Snr with his house-elf Winky, and many other Hogwarts students and their families, including: Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Oliver Wood, and Draco Malfoy. They were able to see the match between the Irish and Bulgarian national teams up close, because Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione had seats in the Top Box, thanks to a favour Mr Weasley had done for Ludo Bagman. It was during this World Cup that Harry learned of the existence of foreign wizarding schools, something he had not given any thought to before the cup.

##### Reappearance of the Dark Mark

**Harry**: "*Death Eaters? What are Death Eaters?*"
**Bill Weasley**: "*It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. I think we saw what's left of them tonight...*"
— Discussion of the mysterious crowd[src]
The night after the match, while the Irish team's supporters were still celebrating, a group of black-cloaked, hooded figures held terrifying celebrations of their own by suspending the Muggle camp site manager and his family in air like twisted marionettes done via *Levicorpus*. They also proceeded to pillage and destroy everything in sight. On Mr Weasley's orders, Harry fled into the woods near the camp site, along with Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny. The group was separated in the woods and the trio were on their own. In the chaos Harry had lost his wand, he speculated that it most have fallen out of his pocket at some point. The trio ran into Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he all but told them that his father was among the cloaked wizards. Malfoy also gave a nasty bit of advice to the trio regarding Hermione's blood status, saying that she would be safer out of the hooded figures' sight.

Later, Harry learned that Barty Crouch Jnr had stolen his wand from his pocket. While in a clearing in the woods, Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard someone shout the incantation *Morsmordre*, casting the Dark Mark — a green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue — into the sky. Although Harry did not immediately recognise its significance, he soon learned that the Dark Mark had evil implications. Then, Barty Crouch Snr, Amos Diggory, and other Ministry of Magic employees Apparated into the clearing and began to question Harry, Ron, and Hermione about the Dark Mark. After Harry mentioned he had heard another voice conjure the Dark Mark, the Ministry employees searched the area and found the house-elf Winky unconscious in the bushes. Since Harry's wand was found in Winky's hand, Mr Crouch fired her for bringing shame to his family.

##### "Mad-Eye" Moody

"*Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me*"
— Harry was the only known survivor of the Killing Curse[src]

At the Hogwarts start-of-term feast, Professor Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament, a recently revived inter-school competition in which the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute would also participate. New rules stated that only students seventeen and older could compete, for safety reasons. Also, during the start of term feast, Dumbledore introduced "Mad-Eye" Moody, an ex-Auror, as the newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. This news was greeted with a mixture of responses, as Moody was known to be a great Auror, a little crazy, and to have a magical eye, earning him the nickname "Mad-Eye" Moody.

During the first lesson with Moody on a Thursday, he reveals tht he will only be staying for the year and decides to show the fourth-year Gryffindors the Unforgivable Curses. Despite some fear amongst the students (especially Neville, who needs comfort from both the trio and Moody after the lesson; Moody later lends Neville a Herbology book to cheer him up), Moody shows the entire class the three curses using spiders as his test subjects: the Imperius Curse, Cruciatus Curse, and Killing Curse . He also reveals the the use of these spells gain the user a one way ticket to Azkaban.

##### The Goblet of Fire

**Harry**: "*I didn't put my name in that Goblet!*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*Yeah, okay.*"
— Ron and the student body were sceptical of Harry[src]
Around Hallowe'en, the students from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute arrived at the school. The arrival of famous international Quidditch Star Viktor Krum caused a lot of excitement, particularly among girls. Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, and Cedric Diggory were all chosen to represent their respective schools in this tournament. However, Harry was mysteriously chosen as a fourth competitor. This came as a shock for all those present, due to the fact that he was under-age and that he never entered his name into the Goblet of Fire during the selection process. Many people (even Ron and fellow Gryffindors) did not believe Harry's story. They thought this to be nothing but another attempt to gain even more fame and eternal glory. This caused extreme tension between the two friends and they did not speak again for a long time. Ron started spending more time with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan.

Hermione on the other hand "*accepted his story without question*" and explains the reason behind Ron's recent actions toward Harry, stating that it steams from jealousy. She later assisted Harry in preparing for the Tournament by teaching him useful spells, such as the Summoning Charm. Harry used this charm in the first task of the Tournament. The champions were to face three dangerous challenges on their way to the Triwizard Cup. These challenges were in correspondence to the four elements.

A few days after his name unexpectedly came out of the Goblet, Harry attended the wand weighing ceremony, where his wand was inspected. After examining the other champion's wands, Ollivander examines Harry's and deems it in perfect condition. After the champions and judges go through a long photoshoot, Harry goes to dinner and then returns to Gryffindor Tower. Once in the tower Ron tells him that he has an owl and that their detention starts later. The letter is from Sirius telling Harry he will contact him on 22 November at 1:00 a.m. Harry must be alone at the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room at that time. There the notorious *Daily Prophet* reporter Rita Skeeter asked him many leading questions, took everything he said out of context, and wrote a ludicrous article about him and Hermione.

This article was titled "*HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE*". The piece claimed that Hermione was Harry's girlfriend and that she was toying him around by seeking the affections of Viktor Krum, who himself was very much smitten with her. Harry faced even more turmoil during this time, as the majority of the student body was making everyday life difficult for him. Hufflepuff believed that Harry was stealing spotlight from their house and Draco Malfoy was doing everything in his power to make Harry even more miserable. He accomplished this by making and mass producing "POTTER STINKS" badges, which many students proceeded to wear around. Malfoy had also taking to commenting and reading aloud Rita Skeeter's articles every chance he got, making Harry very uncomfortable.

##### The First Task

**Ludo Bagman**: "*Look at that! Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr Potter!*"
**Minerva McGonagall**: "*That was excellent, Potter!*"
— Harry taking the lead in the Tournament after the First Task[src]
In the first task, each champion needed to get past a dragon in order to collect a golden egg. Harry received help from Hagrid, who showed the dragons to him and Madam Maxime. Realising that every champion but Cedric had found out about the dragons, Harry told Cedric about the first task. He did this as a way of levelling the playing field. The newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody, witnessed Harry telling Cedric but did not report him. Instead he advised Harry to play to his strengths, hinting that he should use his flying ability to get the golden egg.

Four different dragons were chosen for each of the champions to face. On 24 November, Fleur ended up with the Common Welsh Green, Cedric with the Swedish Short-Snout, Viktor Krum with the Chinese Fireball, and Harry faced the Hungarian Horntail (the most dangerous of the four). Harry used a Summoning Charm to bring him his Firebolt and dodged the Hungarian Horntail to get the golden egg. Harry escaped the dangerous task with a mild cut to the arm, due to being grazed by one of the Horntail's spikes.

Harry proved to be the fastest when it came to capturing his egg, which earned him a compliment from Professor McGonagall. He and Viktor Krum tied for first at the end of the task. After seeing how dangerous the task was, Ron decided that Harry did not put his own name in the Goblet. He also came to the conclusion that someone was trying to kill Harry and made amends with him after months of not speaking. Harry was so relieved that Ron had come to his scenes that he instantly forgave him.

##### Yule Ball

**Harry**: "*Dance partners? I don't dance.*"
**Minerva McGonagall**: "*Oh yes, you do. That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball.*"
— The unexpected task of finding a date[src]
Between the first and second tasks, the Yule Ball, a Triwizard Tournament tradition took place on Christmas. Ron, dismayed to discover that Viktor Krum had asked Hermione to go with him, called her out for "*consorting with the enemy*", though he and Hermione acted as if they had not fought the following day. Harry asked his long-time crush Cho Chang to attend the Yule Ball with him, but was disappointed to learn that she had already accepted an invitation from Cedric Diggory, a fellow champion. Harry and Ron ended up attending with Parvati and Padma Patil, respectively.

While at the ball both Harry and Ron ended up neglecting their dates. Harry watched Cho with Cedric and Ron was overcome with jealousy for Viktor Krum, who danced with Hermione. After the Yule Ball, Rita Skeeter struck again. She had overheard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his family and his heritage. She then wrote an article exposing Hagrid as a half-giant, and he was so ashamed that he stopped teaching and stopped coming to meals in the Great Hall. Dumbledore tried to bring him around by visiting his hut, but to no avail. Only after Harry, Ron, and Hermione proved that they still liked and that it did not matter to them that he was half-giant did he finally return to his post.

To prepare for the second task, Harry was told that he had to open the egg he had won from the dragon, but every time he did, it let out a horrifying screech. His rescue from that particular problem came when Cedric Diggory paid him back with the information that he would figure it out if he were to "*mull things over in the hot water*" with the egg. Harry reluctantly followed this advice and decided to take a bath in the prefects' bathroom. He had an uncomfortable exchange with Moaning Myrtle, and on the way back to the common room, he ran into Professors Snape and Moody. The latter informed Harry of Barty Crouch Snr's obsession with catching Dark wizards.

##### The Second Task

"*Harry Potter used Gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks.*"
— Harry's performance in the Second Task[src]

Harry learned that the second task was going into the Black Lake to rescue "*the thing they would miss most*" from the merpeople. Harry's new problem was how he was going to survive underwater for an hour. He got his answer in the form of gillyweed from Dobby, who had come to work at Hogwarts. The second task took place on 24 February. Harry was able to save Ron, but when he reached him he was shocked to find Hermione, Cho, and Gabrielle Delacour (Fleur's sister), there as well. After the other hostages were rescued, Harry hung around and saved Gabrielle, as well as Ron. The judges were then informed that Harry reached to hostages first. He was outside the hour that had been allotted, although doing so earned him extra points for "moral fibre". After the second task had finished, Harry and Cedric were tied for first, Viktor was in second, and Fleur was in last place.

After Harry was mysteriously entered in the Triwizard Tournament, Sirius hid in a cave near Hogsmeade, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione occasionally visited him, and provided mostly moral support to Harry during this time. Sirius warned him about Igor Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster, telling Harry that Karkaroff used to be a Death Eater and that he gave up a considerable number of names in exchange for his freedom. Harry told Sirius about seeing the name "Bartemius Crouch" appear on the Marauder's Map when he was working on the second clue. Sirius admitted that it was fishy, but told Harry to focus on the task at hand and leave the mystery surrounding Crouch to others.

A month before the final task, the Champions were shown the beginnings of the challenge. Harry and Cedric both expressed horror at the sight of the Quidditch pitch being turned into the hedge maze, put were quickly reassured by Bagman that it would be put right after the Tournament. They were told the third and final task was going into a maze filled with obstacles to find the Triwizard Cup. On the way back to the castle, Krum took Harry aside to ask him something. Thinking that this was something important, Harry went with him.

Krum then asked Harry about his relationship with Hermione, in whom Krum was deeply interested. Harry told him that there was nothing between him and Hermione and that she was just a friend. He also told Krum not to believe anything Rita Skeeter, who had recently written in *Witch Weekly* that there was a Harry-Hermione-Krum love triangle, wrote about him. This supposed love triangle also led to Hermione receiving numerous amounts of hate mail. At that moment, Barty Crouch Snr appeared in the forest disoriented and asking for Dumbledore. He disappeared when Harry went to fetch Dumbledore.

##### The Dream and the Pensieve

**Albus Dumbledore**: "*I have a theory, no more than that... It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularity strong surge of hatred.*"
**Harry**: "*But... why?*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed. That is no ordinary scar.*"
— The reason behind Harry's vivid dreams[src]
During a Divination lesson, Harry passed out and had a vision of Voldemort being informed of someone's death and him torturing Wormtail for failing to prevent someone from escaping. Harry awoke with his scar badly hurting and pretended he needed to go to the hospital wing, he actually went to see Dumbledore. Once in the headmaster's office, Harry overheard an argument between Dumbledore, Moody, and Cornelius Fudge, regarding the Barty Crouch situation: Fudge refused to believe the words that Crouch said about Bertha Jorkins being dead and, while debating what had happened to Crouch, Fudge suggested that Madame Maxime was the likely culprit given her half-giant physiology. Dumbledore then accused the Minister of acting on personal prejudice, which he ignored due to Dumbledore's friendship with Hagrid. Moody interrupted the debate to explain that Harry had arrived.

Harry was left alone in the office after Dumbledore, Fudge, and Moody left to examine the school grounds. While looking around, Harry noticed Dumbledore's Pensieve. Through curiosity, Harry peered in and ended up looking into three of Dumbledore's memories, from the days immediately after the end of the First Wizarding War. The first was the trial of Igor Karkaroff, in which he renounced his support of the Death Eaters and gave the names of existing Death Eaters, including Snape. Dumbledore (in the memory) stated that Snape had defected the Death Eaters and was a spy against Voldemort and no longer a threat.

The second memory showed the trial of Ludo Bagman, who was accused of passing information to Voldemort, but his popularity quickly cleared him. The third was the trial of the Lestranges (Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan) and Crouch's son, for the use of the Cruciatus Curse on Alice and Frank Longbottom. Crouch sentenced them all to a lifetime in Azkaban.

##### The Third Task

"*Harry was practising hexes at every available moment. He felt more confident about this task than either of the others. Difficult and dangerous though it would undoubtedly be, Moody was right: Harry had managed to find his way past monstrous creatures and enchanted barriers before now, and this time he had some notice, some chance to prepare himself for what lay ahead.*"
— Preparation for the Third Task[src]

To prepare for the final task, Harry, Ron, and Hermione used vacant classrooms to practise spells and jinxes. In Divination class between two of these study periods, Harry dozed off dreaming about Voldemort and left the classroom in a disturbing fashion. Rita Skeeter had witnessed this event and she wrote, on 24 June, 1995, the day of the final task, that Harry was "*disturbed and dangerous*". This did nothing to boost Harry's morale, but when he spent the day with Bill and Molly Weasley, they cheered him up. They also came to watch the final task as his substitute family.

Harry successfully navigated the maze with the aid of the Four-Point Spell. He got past both a Blast-Ended-Skrewt and a Boggart disguised as a Dementor. Along the way, he heard Fleur scream. Harry rescued Cedric, who had been attacked by an bewitched Krum; Harry managed to stun Krum and send out a signal for Krum to be rescued before he and Cedric moved on. Harry managed to pass a sphinx.

During this final event, Harry saved Cedric from a Acromantula and Cedric being grateful offered Harry the cup. Both Hogwarts champions then showed supreme sportsmanship and cooperation despite the tension brought on by the maze. They agreed to touch the Triwizard Cup simultaneously, as it would be a Hogwarts victory either way, which would result in tie for first place. Harry and Cedric were unaware that the cup was actually a portkey and were transported to the graveyard in Little Hangleton.

##### Rebirth of Lord Voldemort

*Main article: Return of Lord Voldemort*
"*He knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason: He was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet... he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defence was possible....*"
— Harry standing his ground against Voldemort[src]

This graveyard was the Riddle family's final resting place, where Lord Voldemort was waiting. Just as Harry and Cedric are trying to figure out what happened, someone appears and Harry's scar begins hurting again. Acting on Voldemort's orders, his servant Wormtail murdered Cedric with the Killing Curse. Harry saw a flash of green light and heard Cedric's body hit the graveyard's ground with a thud. Harry is then dragged to a large marble tombstone, with the name Tom Riddle engraved upon were he is bound. From there he was forced to witness a ritual in which Pettigrew used some of Harry's blood to restore Voldemort's body. The Death Eaters were summoned to the cemetery.

After his Death Eaters arrived, Voldemort spends time criticising them for failing to seek him out during these last thirteen years, even though they knew that he had found a way to escape mortal death. He then rewards Wormtail for aiding with his rebirth by creating a new silver hand for him. The Dark Lord identifies more Death Eaters and reveals that this servant who is at Hogwarts has ensured that Harry would win the tournament and be brought to the graveyard. Voldemort then frees the injured and weakened Harry and orders him to face him in a duel, wishing to prove who among the two is stronger in front of his minions now that there is no one around to protect Harry.

When Harry refused to observe the formalities of a wizard's duel, Voldemort used the Imperius Curse to force Harry to bow to him. Voldemort then tortured him by subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse and attempted to use the Imperius Curse again, but Harry was able to resist it the second time. When it didn't work he tried to murder Harry using the Killing Curse. Harry fired back with the Disarming Charm. The nature of their wands' mystical connection caused their magical streams to interlock, which created an effect called *Priori Incantatem* (Reverse Spell effect). Harry and Voldemort then engaged in a battle of will. After Harry was momentarily shielded by the echoes of Lord Voldemort's previous victims, including Harry's parents and Cedric. Cedric's echo asked Harry to return his body to his parents. This bought Harry some time to grab Cedric's body and the Portkey.

##### Exposure of Barty Crouch Jnr

**Harry**: "*You're mad!*"
**Barty Crouch Jnr**: "*Mad, am I? We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him — and now — I conquer you!*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr before trying to murder Harry[src]
Chaos erupted when Harry returned to Hogwarts with Cedric's dead body in tow. It was uncovered that Barty Crouch Jnr, who had willingly taken the Dark Mark as a young man, was throughout the school year disguised as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Alastor Moody. Crouch (disguised as Moody) managed to usher Harry away from the panicking crowd to interrogate him about Voldemort's return. He wanted to murder Harry, but Albus Dumbledore and several other members of the Hogwarts staff arrived to stop him. Under the influence of Veritaserum, Crouch confessed everything.

In a terrible turn of fate Crouch's soul was extracted by the Dementor's Kiss, from the Dementor that accompanied Cornelius Fudge. Fudge felt that his personal safety was in jeopardy, hence why he brought the Dementor. As a result, Crouch Jnr could not give testimony and the Ministry of Magic began to dispute Harry's and Dumbledore's insistence that Voldemort had returned. The Minister refused to believe Harry's account of Voldemort's return, even when he was supported by Albus Dumbledore. This was due to Fudge not wanting the peace and tranquillity they worked so hard for to be destabilised by this announcement. The Ministry publicly denied the Dark Lord's return and branded Harry and Dumbledore either liars or nutters in the press. Voldemort and his Death Eaters took advantage of this to operate in secret, while Dumbledore called for a reconstitution of the Order of the Phoenix.

#### Fifth year

**Molly Weasley**: "*Watch me. You've given Harry plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straightaway.*"
**Harry**: "*Why not? I'll join, I want to join, I want to fight —*"
— Harry's willingness to fight Voldemort and his followers[src]
##### Dementor attack

Witnessing Cedric Diggory's murder was very difficult for Harry, and it was not helpful that he was forced back to number 4 Privet Drive in the school holidays. He suffered constant nightmares and flashbacks. Also his friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger seemed to block him from information and he was blocked entirely from the wizarding world except for the *Daily Prophet* that said that Harry was wrong. To make things worse than they were already, on 2 August someone sent Dementors to attack Harry in the Muggle town of Little Whinging, in an attempt to neutralise him. He was forced to perform a Patronus Charm in order to save Dudley and himself.

After Harry explained to the Dursleys about the Dementor's abilities, Vernon blamed Harry and was ready to throw Harry out. He had always yearned to do so since the family received Harry, when Petunia received a Howler. Before she had an opportunity to open the letter, it burst into flames and a menacing voice said, "*Remember my last, Petunia*". Petunia then immediately convinced her husband to let Harry remain at Privet Drive and told him that he needed to stay in his room. Harry, having no idea of what was going on, retreated to his room and proceeded to stay there.

##### Hearing

*Main article: Disciplinary hearing of Harry Potter*
"*As you have already received an official warning for a previous offence under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on August 12th. Hoping you are well, Yours sincerely, Mafalda Hopkirk*"
— Mafalda Hopkirk's first Ministry letter to Harry, informing him of his impending trial[src]

Subsequently, Harry was formally accused of performing underage magic in the presence of a Muggle and was expelled, but thanks to Albus Dumbledore's intervention, this was changed to a disciplinary hearing in front of the entire Wizengamot at the Ministry of Magic on 12 August. In a further attempt to discredit Harry, the Ministry changed the time and location of the hearing at the last minute, but Harry was able to make it there just minutes late. He was threatened with expulsion from Hogwarts, but was exonerated with help from Dumbledore, who had a witness and legal loopholes to help him.

##### Dolores Umbridge

"*He let out a gasp of pain. The words had appeared on the parchment in what appeared to be shining red ink. At the same time, the words had appeared on the back of Harry's right hand, cut into his skin as though traced there by a scalpel — yet even as he stared at the shining cut, the skin healed over again, leaving the place where it had been slightly redder than before but quite smooth...*"
— Harry experiencing the Black Quill for the first time[src]

In retaliation against Dumbledore, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge appointed Dolores Umbridge, his Senior Under-Secretary, as the new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher so that she could spy on the school. She was later appointed Hogwarts High Inquisitor, empowered to arbitrarily change and impose school rules whenever she chose. She made numerous rules that the students were expected to follow and if they did not harsh punishments would be enacted. Umbridge proved to be sadistic and cruel, with a personality that resembled poisoned honey.

Harry hated her on sight and she had a deep dislike for him as well. This dislike bordered on hatred and came about because of her inability to control him. Every time Harry spoke out of turn or even mentioned Voldemort, Umbridge threw him into detention. The detentions he had with her were torturous, forcing him to write with a Black Quill. The Black Quill was of her own invention and it made him write with his own blood, scribed the message "*I must not tell lies*" onto the back of his hand. Harry had to endure numerous sessions with the quill, so many that the words are now permanently carved into his hand. These detentions however did not sway him from his opinions or make him subservient to Umbridge. They had the opposite effect and strengthen his resolve to stand by his statements of Voldemort's return.

However, Umbridge presumed the message had failed to sink in, as Harry spread the word through *The Quibbler* about the previous year's events, and thus he was banned from any more Hogsmeade visits. Also once Umbridge found out that he gave *The Quibbler* an exclusive interview she banned the magazine, which caused the whole student body to take an interest in it. Later in the year Ron was chosen to be a prefect, not him. This surprised everyone, as they all believed that Harry would have gotten the badge instead of Ron.

It was later revealed that Ron was chosen instead of Harry because Dumbledore thought that Harry had "*enough responsibility to be going on with*". Harry's jealousy threatened to affect his friendship with Ron, but he felt better when he discovered that his father was also not chosen as a prefect at school. This suggests that Harry's desire in becoming prefect was to emulate his father, who was Head Boy in his day, not to inflate a sense of his own importance.

##### Dumbledore's Army

**Hermione Granger**: "*No, I agree, we've gone past the stage where we can just learn things out of books. We need a teacher, a proper one, who can show us how to use the spells and correct us if we're going wrong.*"
**Harry**: "*...Who, then?*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about* you*, Harry.*"
— Hermione convincing Harry to teach the legal study group[src]
Because Fudge was raked with paranoia and stubbornly believed that Dumbledore was training an army to overthrow him, Umbridge had the Defence Against the Dark Arts class reduced to reading textbooks. This proved an ineffective teaching method and did nothing to prepare students for what was to come. Hermione proposed the idea that Harry teach the students, as he has previous experience defending himself against the Dark Arts and various monsters.

The trio held a meeting at the Hog's Head to discuss with other students the possibility of Harry giving them Defence lessons. Harry is stunned at how many there are various Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs show up. Although he harboured the suspicion that a few, such as Zacharias Smith, only wanted to hear about the night Cedric Diggory was murdered. After some initial scepticism, the students started to list Harry's achievements: the rescue of the Philosopher's Stone from a disembodied Voldemort, slaying of Slytherin's basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets with the Sword of Gryffindor, ability to produce a corporeal Patronus, and winning of the Triwizard Tournament.

Giving into Hermione's persistent urgings Harry secretly trained a group of students in practical defensive magic. In an attempt to make light of the Ministry's fears the group called themselves Dumbledore's Army (or the D.A.). Aware that arranging meetings and passing the word about them verbally was not a secure method of communication, Hermione bewitched several coins with a Protean Charm one for each member of the D.A. When activated by Harry, the numbers on each coin would change to inform the bearer of the time and date of the next meeting. Feeling highly anxious and frustrated most of the time Harry found that the D.A. was now his chief source of happiness, and the thing to which he looked forward throughout his school day. This happiness was felt by most members, as all of them (particularly Neville and the Creevey brothers) gained a lot of skills under Harry's tutelage.

Harry taught the group many different spells, ranking from the simplistic Disarming Charm to the highly advanced Patronus Charm. The class progressed at a fair rate, practising the Impediment Jinx, Reductor Curse, Stunning Spell, and various other hexes and jinxes before temporarily breaking up for Christmas break. Lessons continued during the early months of 1996, The class mastered the Shield Charm, and began to work on the Patronus Charm. Some members were even able to produce corporeal Patronuses, Harry thought this might have been due to the lack of Dementors present, as there was nothing to make the students scared.

##### Christmas on the Closed Ward

**Harry**: "*I didn't want anyone to talk to me.*"
**Ginny Weasley**: "*Well, that was a bit stupid of you, seeing as how you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels.*"
— Harry worrying that he might have been possessed by Voldemort[src]
Cho Chang also became a member. During the meetings whenever Harry was near, she would become so flustered that she had difficulty casting spells correctly. Before the Christmas holidays, she and Harry were discussing how she had never been able to pull of the Stunning Spell before, when the room generated mistletoe. The room did this due to sensing the tension that was present. Under the mistletoe, the two kissed for the first time. This moment was confusing to Harry, as Cho, clearly still suffering from her ex-boyfriend's death, had been crying during their kiss. Cho's crying during the kiss also caused concern in Harry.

Harry later informed Hermione and Ron of his disastrous first kiss and Hermione comforted him saying that it was not his kissing that made Cho cry. However, Harry took on some much more pressing worries later that night. Lord Voldemort, wanting a "secret weapon" against him, had heard of a prophecy hidden in the Ministry's Department of Mysteries concerning both of them. Voldemort had been obsessing over the door to the Hall of Prophecy for the past few months, and had been inadvertently allowing Harry to read his thoughts through Legilimency. The link between Harry and Voldemort's minds had been growing stronger for quite a while.

A result of this growing connection come to pass after Harry fell asleep in the boys dormitory (on the night of his kiss with Cho). Harry witnessed Nagini attack Arthur Weasley in his dream, and felt almost as if he had been the snake. Harry woke the other boys and proceeded to vomit, Professor McGonagall was immediately alerted to the problem. Realising what could happen if the link grew more powerful, Dumbledore commissioned Snape to train Harry in Occlumency in an effort to prevent further problems.

Critically injured, Arthur was taken to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George took a portkey to Grimmauld Place. When they arrive at headquarters, they were greeted by Sirius, who ordered them to stay put and wait for news. Mrs Weasley stated that Arthur survived the attack and was grateful towards Harry. Even though Arthur survived, he was required to take a Blood-Replenishing Potion at regular intervals. Mr Weasley also shared the ward with a man who had been bitten by a werewolf and a woman with a massive chunk out of her leg who refused to tell the Healers what had bitten her, arousing suspicions she had been handling something illegal.

Hermione joined Harry and the Weasleys at Grimmauld Place for Christmas, and Percy sent back his Weasley jumper, which made his mother cry. Hermione, Ron and Ginny discovered that Neville's parents were insane and living at St Mungo's. They were informed of this by Neville's grandmother, who made it known that Frank and Alice were tortured by Death Eaters for information regarding Voldemort. They also saw their former Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Also Harry finally admitted that he knew what happened to Neville's parents.

##### Occlumency

**Severus Snape**: "*The headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term.*"
**Harry**: "*Study what?*"
**Severus Snape**: "*Occlumency, Potter. The magical defence of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one.*"
— Harry's mandatory extra lessons with Snape[src]
Lessons were given once a week, under the guise of Remedial Potions, much to Harry's discomfort. Unfortunately, Harry was extremely curious about the door he keep seeing within his dreams. Under Snape's tutelage, Harry repeatedly had his mind broken into in order to train him. Snape also ordered Harry to close his mind every night as practice. Unfortunately, due to the mutual animosity between the teacher and student, Snape was unkind and discouraging in his methods despite his own mastery of the skill, while Harry did not take Snape's lessons too seriously, and neglected to practise.

Coupled with Harry being emotionally open at all times, the lessons did not progress much, with only rare instances where Harry was able to resist, if only briefly. If anything, having his mind repeatedly assaulted forced Harry to leave himself more vulnerable, as he barely tried to close it willingly. During a lesson in Occlumency, Snape stepped out of the room, and Harry's curiosity got the best of him. He looked into the pensieve, which contained Snape's memories, and, to his dismay, Harry found images of his father bullying Snape and of his mother rushing to his defence. Harry found himself siding with his mother, agreeing that James' treatment of Snape was wrong and it bordered on being almost cruel.

The conflict escalated to the point where Snape called Lily a "Mudblood". Snape attempted to apologise for his actions, but this incident cost him her friendship. Snape himself discovered Harry's spying. Snape refused to give him any more Occlumency lessons, something that Harry was not particularly concerned about and something he did not inform anyone of. Uncovering the source behind Snape's hatred for James left Harry seeing his father in a slightly different light. He also found comfort in the fact that at least his mother appeared to be person of strong morals while wondering why she ever agreed to marry James in the first place.

##### Dumbledore's escape

"*Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius. Not Potter's Army.* Dumbledore's Army*.*"
— Dumbledore taking the fall for Harry[src]

As the second term progressed, Harry's relationship with Cho became more strained. While the two did like each other, Cho was mistakenly jealous of Hermione due to the latter's closeness with Harry, and Harry still felt awkward about Cho's feelings over Cedric. When Cho's friend, Marietta Edgecombe, betrayed the D.A. to Umbridge, the members were all punished and forced to end their meetings.

Harry was furious with Marietta but Cho insisted on defending her friend. Cho even claimed that it was not Marietta's fault because she was being pressured by her mother. At this point, Cho's and Harry's relationship "fell apart", and the two no longer saw each other romantically. Umbridge is appointed Headmistress and imposes even tighter control. Fred and George Weasley rebelled against the new authority at the school. On one occasion, the twins released enchanted fireworks through the castle.

Fred and George took it easy during the Easter holidays, but then took their rebellion to a new level. They turned a corridor of the school into a swamp to create a diversion for Harry to access the fireplace in Umbridge's office in an attempt to contact Sirius, and were cornered by Umbridge and members of the Inquisitorial Squad. In a final act of defiance, the twins summoned their brooms, openly mocked Umbridge's authority, struck the Squad members with a variety of jinxes, and escaped the school behind to pursue a career in their joke shop with the money Harry lent them.

##### Careers Advice and Grawp

**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*They were bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Small? Small?*"
**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*Hermione, I couldn't leave him. See — he's my brother!*"
**Harry**: "*Hagrid, when you say 'brother', do you mean — ?*"
**Rubeus Hagrid**: "*Well — half-brother. Turns out me mother took up with another giant when she left me dad, an' she went an' had Grawp here —*"
— Hagrid introducing Grawp to Harry and Hermione[src]
The fifth years began the sessions on the advice of what they would need to do to prepare for the careers they would pursue after graduation. During Harry's career advice session with Professor McGonagall, he told her that he wanted to be an Auror. During this admission they were rudely interrupted several times by Umbridge; she remarked against Harry's ambition of becoming an Auror. She stated that applicants could not have a criminal record, and these constant interruptions angered McGonagall. The meeting ended with McGonagall supporting him, and having a screaming argument with Umbridge.

During the final Quidditch match of the year — in which Harry did not play as Umbridge had banned him for life — Hagrid, who had returned to the school months into the term and very badly beaten, decided to show Harry and Hermione why he was so badly injured. This caused them to miss much of Gryffindor's Quidditch match. Hagrid also relayed to the trio were he had been during those months that he was away. He along with Madam Maxime were given a mission to the Giant Colony, in order to persuade them to join Dumbledore and his cause. This mission proved to be a failure to the Order, as the giants chose to align with the Death Eaters, due to their shared love of violence and killing.

Hagrid had dragged a giant back with him from his mission over the summer. It transpired that the giant (named Grawp) was Hagrid's half-brother on his mother's side, and that Hagrid had been attempting to civilise the giant, but with few results. He made Harry and Hermione promise that they would look after Grawp, should Hagrid be forced to leave the school for any reason. Hagrid was attacked and left the school during O.W.L. examinations, and thus Harry never had to go down to Grawp in the forest.

##### Skirmish in the Forbidden Forest

**Neville Longbottom**: "*We were all in the D.A. together. It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real — or was that all just a game or something?*"
**Harry**: "*No — of course it wasn't —*"
— The six D.A. members preparing to depart to the Ministry[src]
Eventually, late in the O.W.L. examinations on 18 June, while taking his History of Magic exam Harry dozed off. He received a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius and ordering him to get the prophecy. Harry was prepared to go to the Ministry immediately, but Hermione advised him to check Grimmauld Place first to see if Sirius was still there. Harry used the Floo Network in Umbridge's office to peer into Grimmauld Place, where Kreacher stated that Sirius was gone. Unfortunately, Umbridge caught Harry and his friends in the act.

Umbridge asked Snape to extract information from Harry through the use of Veritaserum, but Snape claimed to have none left in his stocks. Umbridge then resorted to the Cruciatus Curse, revealing that it was she who set the Dementors loose on Harry. Hermione managed to save him by luring Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest. Once in the forest Umbridge attempted to harm Harry and Hermione, but was dragged off by centaurs for calling them "*filthy half-breeds! Beasts!*" and *"creatures of near-human intelligence"*. Harry and Hermione escaped when Grawp stumbled into the centaur camp looking for Hagrid. The trio, along with D.A. members Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood — who had assisted in Harry's attempt to contact Grimmauld Place — used Thestrals to fly to London.

##### Battle of the Department of Mysteries

*Main article: Battle of the Department of Mysteries*
**Harry**: "*Don't do anything. Not yet —*"
**Bellatrix Lestrange**: "*You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!*"
**Lucius Malfoy**: "*Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix. He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter.*"
**Harry**: "*I know Sirius is here. I know you've got him!*"
**Lucius Malfoy**: "*It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands.*"
— The start of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries[src]
After reaching the Department of Mysteries, Harry led them all through various rooms in search of Sirius, without finding him. The group became doubtful until they came across a room filled with crystal balls, later to be known as prophecies. One of the prophecies had Harry's name on it, and he picked it up, much to the displeasure of Hermione. Upon picking up the prophecy Death Eaters appeared, revealing that it was all a ruse to bring him there. Harry then attempts to buy time by fully mocking Voldemort in front of his Death Eaters, which infuriates Bellatrix, yet Lucius stops her from hurting Potter, not through defence, but so that they can protect the prophecy. Harry still refuses to hand over the prophecy, so Lucius then begins to tease him that the prophecy holds the answer to his scar, why Voldemort wishes to kill him, and the cause of the Second Wizarding War.

Just then, on Harry's signal, the six D.A. members all use the Reductor Curse to smash the shelves of prophecies, distracting the Death Eaters so that they could flee. Ron, Ginny, and Luna had taken another path and Harry, Hermione, and Neville did not know where they were. Chaos ensued, Harry's group was chased through various rooms. When in he Death Chamber, all but Harry and Neville were incapacitated in the fighting. Then reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix, alerted by Snape, arrived to help aid in the battle. In the ensuing fighting, Sirius Black was murdered by a killing curse from his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, and fell through a mysterious stone arch. Harry pursued Bellatrix, using the Cruciatus Curse, but he was unable to kill her.

Voldemort appeared, angered by the failures of his Death Eaters. For the second time, he attempted to fatally curse Harry, who was too transfixed to even defend himself, but Dumbledore's sudden arrival saved him. Voldemort then fully possessed Harry, hoping that Dumbledore would sacrifice Harry in order to kill Voldemort. However, Voldemort was forced to leave Harry's body when Harry's grief for Sirius became too overwhelming to bear, as Voldemort did not understand the concept of love. Voldemort then grabbed Bellatrix and Disapparated, but not before the Minister and Ministry employees saw him and finally accepted that he was back.

##### The prophecy

"*The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...*"
— Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy[src]

Back at Hogwarts, Harry appeared in Dumbledore's office and tried to get out after Phineas Nigellus Black mentioned Sirius, only to find the door locked. Harry was none too pleased about Dumbledore's name being mentioned by the portraits. When the Headmaster returned, Harry lost his temper and started destroying Dumbledore's possessions, trying to get Dumbledore to let him out; Dumbledore refused, asking Harry to sit down and listen to what Dumbledore needed to say.

Dumbledore explained to Harry the real reason why Voldemort tried to kill him as an infant. A prophecy stated that he was destined to defeat the Dark Lord, for he had powers Voldemort did not: the ability to love, something that the Department of Mysteries was trying to research in a locked room. As a result of the battle, the Ministry of Magic realised that Lord Voldemort had indeed returned, and Harry and Dumbledore were vindicated along with Sirius (though he didn't live long enough to enjoy his freedom, but was honoured as hero by the Ministry). Serious steps were taken following this change in policy, such as the dismissal of Umbridge. However, this was not a sea of change, as the Ministry still had a mistrust of Dumbledore.

#### Sixth year

**Albus Dumbledore**: "*So, Harry. You have been wondering, I am sure, what I have planned for you during these — for want of a better word — lessons?*"
**Harry**: "*Yes, sir.*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Well, I have decided that it is time, now that you know what prompted Lord Voldemort to try and kill you fifteen years ago, for you to be given certain information.*"
**Harry**: "*You said, at the end of last term, you were going to tell me everything. Sir.*"
— Dumbledore and Harry speak of their upcoming lessons together [src]
##### Helping recruit Horace Slughorn

In the wake of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries Harry was sent home to 4 Privet Drive for the summer holidays. There, he obsessed and brooded over his godfather's death where he hardly left his room and refused meals. As the battle had taken place at one point in the famed Hall of Prophecy, many in the wizarding community including the *Daily Prophet* began to speculate about the relationship between Harry and that place, leading to, accidentally correct reports calling Harry "the Chosen One", the one destined to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.

Early in his summer, Dumbledore requested that Harry join him in some unknown adventure. He arrived to pick Harry up at 4 Privet Drive on a Friday, late in the evening. Harry had not informed his aunt and uncle of this development and it came as a great surprise to them. However, they could not depart immediately, because there was a piece of business to attend to: Sirius's will. Much to his rage, Harry inherited his godfather Sirius Black's estate. This included: 12 Grimmauld Place, the Black family vault, and the Blacks' irritating and half-crazed house elf, Kreacher. Harry still retained animosity towards Kreacher after his involvement in Sirius' death a few months previous. He also gave Dumbledore permission to continue to use Grimmauld Place as Order headquarters. Afterwards they were off, and Dumbledore Apparated Harry to the small village of Budleigh Babberton, where Harry was introduced to Horace Slughorn.

In their time together, Harry and Slughorn discussed some of the professor's old students and the improved security at Hogwarts. When Harry and Dumbledore made to leave, Slughorn agreed to return to the school if he got a raise and a larger office. Following their visit, Dumbledore dropped Harry off at The Burrow, where Harry spent the rest of the summer playing two-sided Quidditch, but not before informing Harry that he was to be given special lessons by Dumbledore himself. Later in the summer Harry learned that he had achieved seven O.W.L.s: one 'Outstanding', five 'Exceeds Expectations', and one 'Acceptable'. He also received a surprise when he was made Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which put him on equal standing with prefects.

##### N.E.W.T. classes

"*This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince.*"
— Harry finding the signature inside the book[src]

Having learned of Professor Slughorn's propensity for hand-picking favourites. Harry experienced this first-hand. He and many others were invited to join Horace Slughorn's Slug Club, during the ride to Hogwarts aboard the Hogwarts Express. Harry did not enjoy the experience, and made to leave as soon as he possibly could. Instead of returning to his previous compartment, Harry made to eavesdrop upon Draco Malfoy. Malfoy's precipitation in meeting weeks earlier had led Harry to believe he had taken the Dark Mark. What he heard did nothing to dispel his suspicions.

Harry arrived late to the Welcoming Feast, due to an encounter with Malfoy, in which Malfoy realised he was eavesdropping in his Hogwarts Express compartment under his invisbility cloak. Malfoy froze him with the Full Body-Bind Curse and stomped on his nose, breaking it and leaving him there unconscious, where he soon found by Nymphadora Tonks who healed his nose and escorted him to the castle. At the feast, Harry was shocked to learn that Severus Snape had been promoted to Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. While this disappointed Harry greatly, his career as an Auror reopened, as Professor Slughorn would accept his 'Exceeds Expectations' score in Potions.

Harry proceeded to take five classes this year: Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration. As Harry had not bothered to buy a text book, Slughorn allowed Harry to borrow an old one from the supply cabinet. When Harry examined it, he found that it once had belonged to a student identified only as the "Half-Blood Prince". The book contained copious handwritten notes that helped Harry excel in Potions for once. In fact, his skills won him a prize from Slughorn — a small vial of Felix Felicis, also known as "liquid luck".

##### Private lessons

*Main article: Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore's private lessons*
"*I told you everything I know. From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm founda-tion of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork. From here on in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who be-lieved the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.*"
— Assumptions regarding Riddle's plans[src]

As promised, Dumbledore began the private series of lessons with Harry concerning Lord Voldemort. In the first lesson, Dumbledore showed Harry the first of a number of memories he had collected concerning Voldemort's past using his Pensieve. These lessons regarding Riddle's past were in order to learn his secrets and weaknesses. Dumbledore promised Harry that this information would help him survive and would prove crucial to the eventual defeat of Lord Voldemort.

In their first lesson, the pair delved into the origin of the boy Tom Riddle, by viewing the Gaunt family that once lived around Little Hangleton. It showed a former Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, Bob Ogden visiting a man named Marvolo Gaunt in order to summon his son Morfin to a Ministry hearing in connection with an attack on a Muggle named Tom Riddle Snr. A huge commotion occurred: Morfin attacked Ogden, with Marvolo stoutly defending his son's actions. Marvolo also tried to attack his daughter Merope after finding out that she had an intense infatuation with Riddle.

After viewing this memory, Dumbledore told Harry that both Marvolo and Morfin were sentenced to six months and three years imprisonment respectively in Azkaban due to their behaviour. During this lesson, Harry also learned who Tom Riddle's parents were and how they came to be married. He also learned what kind of mindset of the Gaunt family possessed, and how Marvolo and Morfin believed strongly in blood supremacy, something the Voldemort's mother (Merope) did not share.

##### Quidditch Captain

**Harry**: "*I dunno why the team's this popular all of a sudden.*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Oh, come on, Harry. It's not Quidditch that's popular, it's you! You've never been more interesting, and frankly, you've never been more fanciable.*"
— Harry as the new captain and his increased popularity[src]
The Saturday following Harry's first lessons, while in the Great Hall the trio find out (courtesy of the *Daily Prophet*) that Stan Shunpike has been arrested for supposed Death Eater activity. Apparently he was over heard talking about the Death Eaters secret plans while in a pub. Harry believed that Stan most likely knew nothing regarding secret plans, as Stan had a habit of greatly exaggerating. Afterwards Harry, as the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain held trials to select the team for the annual Quidditch Cup. Due to Harry's popularity, it proves to be extremely taxing and difficult, with even first-years, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turning up for the trials.

The first test he administered was a basic flying test, something that proved to be a good idea as it became clear to Harry that most of the students present where not adapt flyers. After an arduous morning of tantrums, foolishness, and many complaints Harry picked the members of his team. The three Chasers, one of which was Ginny Weasley (who out flew all her competition and scored seventeen goals), two Beaters, and Ron Weasley as Keeper. Ron had only survived the tryouts with Hermione's help, who confunded his competition, Cormac McLaggen.

In studying the Half-Blood Prince's book, Harry discovered numerous hand-written spells that the Prince supposedly invented himself, such as *Levicorpus* and *Muffliato*. He tried these spells and became increasingly fascinated with the book, going as far as having it on him at all times. This was something that his friends were quick to comment on, stating that "*all he does is read that bloody book"* and that he "*practically sleeps with it*". Harry even considered the book to be almost a friend, a teacher and sort of guide.

Hermione disapproved of the book, partly because some of its spells have a dark nature, but mainly because it allows Harry to outperform her in potions. Three times, Slughorn attempts to invite Harry to one of his Slug Club parties, but Harry avoids them. Throughout the autumn, Harry used Quidditch to dodge Professor Slughorn's Slug Club events, doing this because he disliked the idea and because it was kinder than leaving Ron alone as Hermione had been invited as well.

##### The Opal Necklace

**Harry**: "*I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor.*"
**Minerva McGonagall**: "*That is a very serious accusation, Potter. Do you have any proof?*"
— Harry's suspensions regarding Malfoy[src]
In October, during a Hogsmeade visit, Katie Bell was nearly killed after being bewitched to carry a cursed necklace to Dumbledore. Remembering seeing the same necklace in Borgin's shop, Harry voices his suspicions of Malfoy to Professor McGonagall. But she (like Ron and Hermione) rubbishes his theory, stating that Malfoy did not go to Hogsmeade as he had a detention with her, and that there is no proof that he bought the necklace. Harry felt annoyance towards Ron and Hermione, as they did not back him up, but he did not give up on his theory.

Harry's lessons were quite sporadic that autumn, and he did not have another one until after tragedy befell someone at Hogwarts. In this lesson, Harry first sees Caractacus Burke talking about Slytherin's Locket which a pregnant and desperate Merope had sold him, her husband having abandoned her when she stopped giving him love potion. Dumbledore then focused on Tom Riddle just as he was on the cusp of his Hogwarts years, and Harry discovered a troubled orphan who consciously used his magic to bully and intimidate the other children. Also Harry shared his suspicions of Malfoy with Dumbledore during their lesson, only to be rebuffed.

Not long after that meeting, Quidditch season was upon them. In preparation for their first game, Harry replaced the injured Katie Bell with Dean Thomas. The change produced some results, both expected, as the team excelled on the pitch, and unexpected, as Harry found himself in a jealous rage after seeing Dean kissing Ginny after practice. The team's only problem was Ron, who was suffering from a lack of confidence. In an attempt to boost Ron's confidence, Harry blatantly acted as if he had spiked Ron's pumpkin juice with Felix Felicis. Ron took the bait and played a flawless match; however, Hermione took the bait as well and acted unkindly toward Ron and Harry. While she made up with Harry when he told her of the ruse, Ron's sudden relationship with Lavender Brown led to continued strife, as it spiked jealousy in Hermione.

##### A Frosty Christmas

**Rufus Scrimgeour**: "*Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you, Potter?*"
**Harry**: "*Yeah, I am. Glad we straightened that out.*"
— Harry's refusal to be used by the Ministry[src]
While Harry attempted to reconcile his best friends, the Christmas holidays were fast approaching and with them the Slug Club Christmas party out of which Harry could not wrangle. Since "the Chosen One" rumours had been printed, Harry had received an unnatural amount of attention from the young ladies at Hogwarts. Specifically a fourth year named Romilda Vane, who's attention bordered on obsession. As Harry could not ask Ginny to the party, he was left to ask Luna Lovegood to attend with him as a friend. This made Luna extremely happy and hugely disappointed the gaggles of giggling girls who awaited Harry below every doorway with mistletoe, they gave him resentful looks.

At the party, Harry was surprised to learn that Hermione attended with Cormac McLaggen, a large Gryffindor seventh year whom Ron despised. Hermione confessed that she did this solely on the fact that fact that it would annoy Ron the most. He told her that it served her right when McLaggen was less than gentlemanly, only talking about himself and Quidditch. Harry was then forced to endure a conversation with both Snape and Slughorn in regards to his potion making skills and his future career choice. Later, after Malfoy was apprehended "gate-crashing" the party by Filch, Harry learned that Malfoy was indeed up to something. He also learned that Professor Snape had made the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa in order to protect him.

Harry's Christmas was less than enjoyable, as he was cornered by the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour had been hoping to speak with Harry for months and used Percy Weasley as his way in. The Minister interrupted the Weasley family Christmas. He tried to persuade Harry to become the Ministry's mascot, an idea that Harry was not prepared to accept. During the meeting Harry proceeded to tell Scrimgeour why he would not offer the Ministry his support, the main reasons being the Ministry's ineffectiveness in dealing with the Death Eater threat, the knowledge that Dolores Umbridge still held a position within the Ministry, the Ministry's refusal to come to his aid when he tried to inform the wizarding community of Voldemort's return the previous year, the fact that the Ministry had proven throughout the previous year that it was incredibly corrupt and dangerously complacent to the point of being rotten, and the mere fact that Harry had no desire to be used. This discussion left Harry and Scrimgeour on increasingly bad terms.

##### Poisoned mead

"*Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it... well, all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry.*"
— Arthur Weasley expressing his gratitude[src]

Upon returning to Hogwarts, Harry's sporadic lessons with Dumbledore continued. Early in January, Harry delved into a memory that all but proved that Riddle had murdered his own paternal family after his fifth year at Hogwarts. Then Dumbledore showed Harry a most curious memory, a memory that Professor Slughorn had apparently tampered with, and he gave Harry his first homework assignment: to get the real memory from Slughorn. After impressing Slughorn using a bezoar in class, Harry tried the direct approach only to be instantly shot down.

By 1 March, Harry had still not acquired Slughorn's true memory and had begun to grow more obsessed with Draco Malfoy. That morning he awoke to find Ron under the influence of a very powerful Love Potion, and he took him to Slughorn, only for Ron to end up poisoned. Harry managed to act quickly and save him with a Bezoar. This was enough for Hermione to overcome her animosity toward Ron, and the three became friends again. Ron survived, but was not fit for the upcoming Quidditch match, so he was replaced by McLaggen. This turned out to be a bad choice, as McLaggen accidentally knocked Harry unconscious mid-match. Upon his recovery, Harry had yet another lesson with the Headmaster.

##### One funeral, two memories

**Harry**: "*But you won't help her son. She gave me her life, but you won't give me a memory.*"
**Horace Slughorn**: "*Don't say that. It isn't a question... If it were to help you, of course... but no purpose can be served...*"
**Harry**: "*It can. Dumbledore needs information. I need information. I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him. I need that memory.*"
— Retrieving the true memory from Slughorn[src]
In his lesson with the Headmaster Harry was upbraided by Dumbledore for not completing his assignment, witnessed the young Tom Riddle murder Hepzibah Smith for the famous artefacts (Slytherin's Locket and Hufflepuff's Cup) she owned, and jinx the Defence Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts. However, Harry still could not figure out how to obtain the memory and focused on Malfoy. His interest was bordering on obsession. It was Ron who came up with the solution to Harry's dilemma with Slughorn. He suggested Felix Felicis, liquid luck. In the evening, Harry took the potion and not only managed to obtain the memory, but also solved many of his and his friends's problems, including breaking up not only Ginny Weasley and Dean Thomas, but also Ron and his overly clingy girlfriend Lavender Brown.

Even though it was after midnight, Harry immediately went to Dumbledore with the new memory. It confirmed Dumbledore's theory that Lord Voldemort had created not one but multiple Dark magical objects called Horcruxes to ensure his immortality. Together, they theorised that the Dark Lord had created Horcruxes out of special objects such as Riddle's diary and Slytherin's locket. Before Harry left, Dumbledore promised to let Harry join him if he found another Horcrux. With the memory found, Harry had only Quidditch and Malfoy on his mind.

##### Sectumsempra

"*Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. After several long moments — or it might have been half an hour — or possibly several sunlit days — they broke apart.*"
— Harry and Ginny kissing for the first time[src]

Meanwhile, a recovered Katie had returned to the school, causing Harry to ask her who gave her the necklace. She states that someone Imperiused her in the girl's bathroom at The Three Broomstick. In the week before the final Quidditch match, Harry discovered Malfoy crying in the toilet and a duel ensued. With Malfoy on the verge of using an Unforgivable Curse, Harry cast *Sectumsempra*, a curse with unknown effects that he found in the Half-Blood Prince's book. The curse nearly killed Malfoy and earning Harry indefinite Saturday detentions with Snape and a telling off from McGonagall.

Unable to play in the final match, Harry waited with anticipation as he sat through his first detention. When the dentition was finally over he arrived back at Gryffindor Tower and was happy to discover that the team had won the Quidditch Cup without him. Harry having learned previously that Ginny and Dean had split up and having come to terms with his feelings, was still unwilling to ask her out, fearing Ron's reaction. So in the heat of the moment he spontaneously kissed Ginny while over fifty people watched, about whom he had been thinking quite often. He kissed her after she embraced him in the post-match elation; this marked the beginning of their relationship.

##### Skirmish in the Horcrux Cave

*Main article: Skirmish at the Cave (1997)*
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*If I tell to to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you*"
**Harry**: "*Yes, Sir.*"
— Dumbledore making a request of Harry[src]
On 30 June, Dumbledore led Harry out of the castle in search of a Horcrux. Before they left, Dumbledore made Harry swear to obey any order given him, regardless of his feelings about said order. From Hogsmeade, they Apparated to a sea-side cave, where Tom Riddle had traumatised two young children from his orphanage in his youth. Once inside, Dumbledore attempted to locate the Horcrux's second line of defence. He spoke in a whispered tongue and found a hidden doorway which only opened when it received an offering of blood. The cave was difficult to enter with a toll paid in blood, and to get to the island in the centre of the cave there was only a small boat.

They next found themselves in a vast chamber containing an underground lake, with a solitary island at its centre from which a faint green light was visible. After a failed attempt by Harry at Summoning the Horcrux, Dumbledore located a carefully concealed boat that would allow them safe passage across the lake. During the crossing, Harry learned another of the Horcrux's lines of defence. The lake was filled with Inferi (animated corpses of Voldemort's previous victims) which would attack anyone who touched the lake's water. Dumbledore instructed Harry on the use of fire as the weapon of choice against the Inferi, should it become necessary. Inferi fear both light and warmth. The thought of the Inferi hidden below caused Harry unease, but was quickly reassured by Dumbledore.

Once on the island, Dumbledore found a stone basin from which he could not remove the Horcrux, without drinking the Emerald Potion that the Horcrux resided in. Harry was reluctant that either one of them drink it, as they did not know its effects, but there was no way to avoid it. Dumbledore extracted a promise from Harry that he would force him to drink, no matter how much he tried to persuade him not to. With this promise, Dumbledore drank and Harry watched as Dumbledore was driven out of his mind, but upheld his promise.

Dumbledore drank and experienced intense stomach pains, dehydration and saw visions that mentally tortured him. Harry later thought that Dumbledore saw the duel between him, Aberforth, and Grindelwald. Harry managed to get the potion down Dumbledore's throat. When they finally finished the potion, Dumbledore fell unconscious. When he was revived by Harry he asked for water. Harry attempted to conjure water for Dumbledore with a Water-Making Charm, but this proved ineffective as the water disappeared before Dumbledore could drink it. This being another defence designed by Voldemort. In desperation Harry filled a cup with water from the lake, triggering the army of Inferi that were waiting below.

As he splashed the water on Dumbledore's face, Harry felt something ice cold on his arm and saw a disgusting hand and the Inferi climbing up from the lake. Harry panicked and attempted to fight back with a multitude of spells and curses, including *Impedimenta* and *Sectumsempra*. None of the spells worked, since the Inferi were too numerous and could not feel pain. He was overwhelmed and dragged under.

Dumbledore, having regained consciousness, created a ring of fire around them that repelled the Inferi. He pocketed the Locket and drove the Inferi back into the lake while he and Harry escaped in the boat. Harry then proceeded to Apparate them back to Hogsmeade.

##### Battle of the Astronomy Tower

*Main article: Battle of the Astronomy Tower*
"*The lightning-struck tower. Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time.*"
— Prediction of the battle[src]

After a short broomstick ride through the village they landed atop the Astronomy Tower. Once on the tower they discovered that Hogwarts had been invaded by Death Eaters, but Harry's friends Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Ginny, who had been ordered by Harry to watch the school lest Malfoy accomplish his nefarious goal. The D.A. members battled alongside the Order of the Phoenix, on the floor below Harry and Dumbledore, with some help from the remainder of Harry's vial of Felix Felicis. Dumbledore had stopped Harry from fighting and frozen him against a wall with a Full Body-Bind Curse, hidden underneath his Invisibility Cloak, so all he could do was helplessly watch and wait. While waiting Harry witnessed the death of Albus Dumbledore at the hands of Severus Snape.

Dumbledore's body plummeted from the tallest tower at Hogwarts. With Dumbledore dead, Harry was free of the spell that petrified him. He immediately set off after Snape, petrifying a Death Eater and seeking revenge. As the Death Eaters made their way out of Hogwarts Castle and on to the grounds, trying to reach the border where they would be able to Apparate again, Harry pursued and faced off against Snape. Harry tried many times to defeat Snape, even weakly attempting the Cruciatus Curse and Snape's own hand crafted spells, all with no effect. In the process, Snape identified himself as the Half-Blood Prince, and escaped Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy and the other Death Eaters.

Hagrid found Harry and together they managed to extinguish the fire that burnt Hagrid's hut (caused by Thorfinn Rowle) with the Water-Making Charm. Harry then told Hagrid that "*Snape killed Dumbledore*", but Hagrid refused to believe him. Harry and Hagrid returned to the castle to find people staring at Dumbledore's crippled and lifeless body. Harry moved forward the base of the Astronomy Tower and found his mentor's body lying still upon the ground and Hagrid finally believed him. Harry proceeded to stay next to Dumbledore's body thinking that everything that previously happened that night had been all for naught. Harry started crying over Dumbledore's corpse as well as straightening his half-moon spectacles upon his crooked nose and Harry wiping a trickle of blood from the dead Headmaster's mouth with his (Harry's) own sleeve. Hagrid tried many times to get Harry to move, but did not succeed. It was only when he was comforted by Ginny that Harry finally consented to move.

Harry remembering the locket, took it from Dumbledore's robes. He was absolutely beside himself when he learned it was just a plain bit of jewellery. It was in fact a decoy; there was a note inside the locket that revealed the real Horcrux was taken by someone called 'R.A.B.'. It appeared to Harry that Dumbledore had died in vain and that they had achieved nothing that night. Harry was still processing this information while Ginny escorted him to the Hospital Wing on McGonagall's orders, all the while holding his hand as means of comfort. Later at the end of the year, Harry would inform Hermione and Ron of the decoy locket.

Once in the Hospital Wing he found a injured Neville apparently asleep in bed, as well as: Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, Lupin, Madam Pomfrey, and Ron's brother Bill Weasley. At some point during the battle Bill had been horribly scarred by Fenrir Greyback. When Ginny announced that Dumbledore was dead, everyone appeared horrified. Lupin actually lost control for a moment, while Madam Pomfrey burst into tears and McGonagall was weak-kneed. Harry explained to everyone what had happened on the Astronomy Tower and when he was finished, they were all shocked by what he had said. Harry also revealed Dumbledore's apparent reasons for trusting Snape and allowing him a second chance.

##### Funeral of Albus Dumbledore

"*And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, had left the world... had left Harry.*"
— Fawkes leaving represented Dumbledore's departure[src]

After leaving the hospital wing McGonagall questions Harry about what he and Dumbledore were doing, but Harry under orders from Dumbledore not to tell anyone except Ron and Hermione, refuses. The teachers then discuss the future of Hogwarts, and plans for Dumbledore's funeral. Harry turns his back on the Half-Blood Prince's book, and regrets ever possessing it. Hermione and Ron comfort him, stating that nothing in the book ever indicated that he was capable of murder.

*Main article: Funeral of Albus Dumbledore*
Following the death of Albus Dumbledore, his funeral was carried out. Harry was disgusted to see that Dolores Umbridge and Rita Skeeter had the nerve to attend his funeral, but he did not want to make a scene at Dumbledore's funeral and bit his tongue. Knowing that he would have to hunt down Voldemort's Horcruxes and, fearing for her safety, Harry took Ginny aside, and broke off their romance. Ginny told him that she did not care about the danger of being his girlfriend, but Harry still thought it was best if the two stopped seeing each other. He then spoke to Ron and Hermione, who committed to forgoing their final year at Hogwarts in order to accompany him, despite his protests.

### Horcrux hunt (1997–1998)

**Hermione Granger**: "*You said to us once before that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*We're with you, whatever happens mate.*"
— A vow to help Harry with his hunt for Horcruxes[src]
After Albus Dumbledore's death (Dumbledore was the one who began the hunt in July 1996) at the hands of Severus Snape during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, the mission fell to Harry Potter to complete. He had to complete it if he was to finally defeat Voldemort. He was joined by Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. With four Horcruxes remaining (plus the unknown soul fragment residing inside Harry) the trio made plans.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all remained committed to their goal to locate and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes. To protect their families Hermione altered her parents' memories so that they forgot they had a daughter, then instructed them to move to Australia, and with some help from Fred, George, and their father, Ron transfigured the family ghoul to resemble himself with Spattergroit. Harry's aunt and uncle were taken into hiding by several members of the Order of the Phoenix, such as Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, despite many misgivings on the part of the Dursleys.

#### Battle of the Seven Potters

*Main article: Battle of the Seven Potters*
**Hermione Granger**: "*I told them you'd take it like this.*"
**Harry**: "*If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives — !*"
**Ron Weasley** : "*— because it's the first time for all of us.*"
— The trio arguing over the seven Potters plan[src]
Harry stayed at 4 Privet Drive for a time, but the Order of the Phoenix needed to evacuate him to the Burrow before he turned seventeen. On 27 July the Order sent the Dursleys into hiding first. Harry was surprised by Dudley's gratitude towards him for saving his soul and his sincere goodbye. Six out of thirteen of Harry's escorts took Polyjuice Potion to take on Harry's appearance in order to be diversions if they were attacked, despite Harry's protests. Harry also secretly thought that he wished they would respect his body more. Upon leaving, the group was attacked by over thirty cloaked Death Eaters. Harry rode with Hagrid on his godfather Sirius' old motorbike, that had been modified. They were attacked by multiple Death Eaters, including an Imperiused Stan Shunpike and eventually Lord Voldemort himself, who had invented and mastered unsupported flight.

Harry's owl Hedwig was hit by a stray Killing Curse a Death Eater sent Harry's way. When Voldemort caught up with them, Harry thought this was the end, but his wand acted on its own to strike out at the man who was both "*kin and mortal enemy*", destroying Voldemort's borrowed wand. The chaos ended when Harry and Hagrid passed the protective enchantments placed over the house of Nymphadora Tonks' parents, although Harry was still completely grief-stricken over the death of his beloved owl. After finding Hagrid safe and sound, the pair took a Portkey to the Burrow, where he found a worried Molly and Ginny Weasley standing watch outside in the darkness.

Harry was relieved to see that Hermione and Ron were fine, but was shocked when Remus Lupin arrived with George Weasley, who had lost an ear. Everyone else arrived safely, but Alastor Moody who had been murdered by Voldemort and Mundungus Fletcher, who had Disapparated as soon as the fight started. Many amongst those gathered at the Burrow believed that they had been betrayed, but Harry refused to believe any of those he loved would sell him to Voldemort, much to the chagrin of Remus Lupin. Harry then stormed outside, where he was struck by a vision of Voldemort torturing Ollivander.

#### Time at the Burrow

**Rufus Scrimgeour**: "*Remembered you're not at school, have you? Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!*"
**Harry**: "*It's time you earned it.*"
— A row during the reading of Albus Dumbledore's will[src]
Once settled in at the Burrow, Harry, Ron, and Hermione helped prepare the wedding ceremony of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The day before the wedding, the group celebrated Harry's seventeenth birthday. Harry received a watch from Mr and Mrs Weasley, a traditional coming-of-age gift. Ginny also gave him the most passionate kiss they have ever shared. It was something to remember her by in case he "*meets some veela*" during the Horcrux hunt. Harry responded by saying that "*dating opportunities will be thin*". The pair was then interrupted by Ron and Hermione.

At the party that night, Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrived to release the contents of Albus Dumbledore's will. Harry was left the first Snitch he had ever caught in a Quidditch match and Godric Gryffindor's Sword; Scrimgeour withheld this second gift, claiming that it was a historical magical item and was not exclusively Harry's property. Noting that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only students mentioned by name in the will, he asked the trio why this was; the three were unable to give him an answer.

On 1 August, Harry attended Bill and Fleur's wedding disguised as a distant Weasley cousin, Barny Weasley. They used polyjuice potion and the hairs of a red-haired Muggle boy from the village to disguise him. During the party, Harry met Luna Lovegood's father, Xenophilius, (who wore a necklace bearing an Triangle-Eyed symbol) and Viktor Krum, (who dislikes the symbol for it is synonymous with the dark wizard Grindelwald, who attended Krum's school, Durmstrang). The reception was interrupted when the Patronus of Kingsley Shacklebolt arrived and announced the fall of the Ministry of Magic and the death of Rufus Scrimgeour. Chaos erupted and guests started to flee, while Harry and Hermione drew their wands and grabbed Ron before Disapparating to Tottenham Court Road.

There, Hermione revealed that she had planned ahead, packing supplies in her bag, which had an Undetectable Extension Charm on it. Ron changed, and Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak, and the three then entered a nearby café to hang low for a while. Whilst at the café, Ron and Hermione discussed the events of the wedding and Voldemort's coup. They unwittingly broke the Taboo that had been placed on Voldemort's name when the Death Eaters overthrew the Ministry of Magic, alerting Death Eaters Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle to their location. After a brief skirmish, the trio defeated the Death Eaters, whose memories Hermione wiped at Harry's suggestion. Harry, Ron, and Hermione then found refuge at 12 Grimmauld Place.

#### Infiltrating the Ministry of Magic

*Main article: Infiltration of the British Ministry of Magic*
"*You're going to leave here with us. Go home, grab your children, and get out, get out of the country if you've got to. Disguise yourselves and run. You've seen how it is, you won't get anything like a fair hearing here.*"
— Harry freeing prisoners from the Muggle-Born Registration Commission[src]

Having found no leads regarding the Horcruxes over the summer, Harry discovered R.A.B. during the trio's first morning at 12 Grimmauld Place. Once Hermione remembered that the locket had been in the house during its occupation by the Order of the Phoenix, Harry summoned Kreacher, and they learned that it had been stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. When the trio questioned him about it, he revealed that it was now in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. On the same day, Remus Lupin had been to visit. He asked Harry if he could join them, but once Harry found out that Tonks was pregnant, he refused. This caused a temporary rift between the two of them.

For the following month, the trio would take turns under the Invisibility Cloak to watch the Ministry entrance. On 2 September after formulating their plans, they managed to infiltrate the Ministry. Using Polyjuice Potion Harry transformed into Albert Runcorn. Once inside the Ministry it became apparent that the trio did not plan well enough, as they focused all their attention on how to get in and not what they were going to do once inside. Harry searched Umbridge's office but did not find the locket. He did, however, take Moody's eye from her door. Finding Umbridge trying Muggle-borns for "stealing" magic, Hermione managed to trick Umbridge into revealing the locket, and she lied about how she obtained it.

Furious, Harry stunned both her and Yaxley. He and Hermione freed the Muggle-borns who were being held by the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, and Hermione conjured a copy of the locket while they took the real thing. They met up with Ron again and escaped, though Yaxley grabbed Hermione's arm while they were Disapparating. She evaded him with a Revulsion Jinx, but the location of 12 Grimmauld Place was revealed to him, and they were forced to abandon it as a hide-out. But instead Hermione took them to the woods that were once the location of the Quidditch World Cup.

#### Ron's departure

**Harry**: "*I thought you knew what you'd signed up for.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*Yeah, I thought I did too.*"
**Harry**: "*So what part of it isn't living up to your expectations? Did you think we'd be staying in five-star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you'd be back to Mummy by Christmas?*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*We thought you knew what you were doing! We thought Dumbledore had told you what to do, we thought you had a real plan!*"
— Harry and Ron having a nasty row before the latter's departure[src]
After securing Slytherin's locket, the three friends took turns wearing it, to ensure it was not lost. The locket had a negative influence on all of them, straining relations and causing them to all act moody and inclined to get into petty arguments. They overheard a goblin saying that the sword protected by Snape was a fake. They learned that the Sword of Gryffindor in Snape's office was a copy of the real sword, and that they would have to trace the location of the real sword.

Harry and Hermione were excited at knowing what object they could use to destroy Horcruxes, but the locket's negative energy pushed Ron over the edge. Knowing that they now had something they were not close to destroying, Ron and Harry got into a horrible row. Ron accused Harry of not knowing what he was doing and not being very concerned when they learned that Ginny Weasley had been punished for attempting to steal Gryffindor's sword for them, along with Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. Ron then abandoned his friends accusing Hermione of preferring Harry to himself.

Ron's departure left both Harry and Hermione depressed. Once he left, Harry and Hermione left the camping site they were last in. Hermione tied her scarf on a tree for a reason. With the locket in hand they Apparated away to Malham Cove.

They set up the tent and Harry stared into the sunset before dark. Hermione was listening to music in which Harry noticed and came in. Hermione was even more depressed as her boyfriend left them. Harry offered Hermione a dance in which she took and they danced until the song ended, they were happy for that moment.

That morning, Harry sat in his tent bed and watched his Golden Snitch and kissed it, revealing it was made from Flesh Memory. He went to Hermione and told her this, to which she replied that she noticed the Sign of the Deathly Hallows in her copy. They decided to head to Godric's Hollow, as Harry wanted to visit his parents' graves, and Hermione had convinced herself that Dumbledore might have entrusted the Sword of Gryffindor to Bathilda Bagshot, a magical historian who lived there and who had been friendly with the Potters and the Dumbledores.

#### Attack at Godric's Hollow

*Main article: Attack at Godric's Hollow (1997)*
**Hermione Granger**: "*Meanwhile, we went to Godric's Hollow and, let's think, what happened there, Harry? Oh yes, You-Know-Who's snake turned up, it nearly killed both of us and then You-Know-Who himself arrived and missed us by about a second.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*What?*"
— Hermione recounting the attack at Godric's Hollow[src]
They arrived on Christmas Eve. After seeing the memorial dedicated to his parents and himself, Harry and Hermione searched the graveyard for the Potters's grave and came across the grave of Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore and that of Ignotus Peverell. Harry was filled with regret that Dumbledore had not shared this connection with him. Upon discovering Harry's parents' grave Hermione called out to him and comforted Harry when he reached the grave. After placing a conjured wreath of flowers on his parents' graves, the two then met Bathilda Bagshot, who motioned for them to follow her into her home. Believing Bathilda wanted to give him Gryffindor's Sword, Harry accompanied her upstairs alone when she indicated that Hermione should stay downstairs.

Once there, she questioned Harry in what he did not realise was Parseltongue, revealing herself to in fact be Nagini, Voldemort's snake. Voldemort had murdered Bathilda and animated her corpse to hide Nagini, who attacked Harry, biting and coiling herself around Harry. Hermione raced upstairs and repelled the snake, while Harry's scar burned, alerting him to Voldemort's approach. The pair managed to escape, but Harry was knocked unconscious and such a close call with Voldemort caused the connection to re-open and Harry had a vision of his parents' demise. And in the scuffle, Harry's wand was accidentally broken by Hermione's Blasting Curse.

#### Ron's return and obtaining the Sword of Gryffindor

"*Ron, stab it,* STAB IT! "
— Harry and Ron confronting Voldemort's locket Horcrux[src]

After escaping Voldemort, Harry and Hermione camped out in the Forest of Dean, where Hermione healed Nagini's bite with Dittany. When they were camped out there, Harry and Hermione read parts of Rita Skeeter's biography of Dumbledore, *The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore* which Hermione had stolen from the home of Bathilda Bagshot. Upon reading, Harry felt betrayed, because Dumbledore had not shared this information with him. Hermione tried to convince Harry that Dumbledore had his best interests at heart, but Harry became quite disillusioned.

A couple nights later, while standing guard outside the tent, Harry was lead by a silver doe Patronus to a frozen pool into which someone had placed the Sword of Gryffindor, which leads Harry to strip to his underwear and jump in the pool. While trying to acquire the sword, the locket attempted to strangle him, but he was rescued by Ron, who had returned through the use of his Deluminator.

During the brief intense skirmish, the Horcrux created disturbing imagery, as a last line of defence. Ron was showed his deepest fears, such as spiders and telling him that he was the least loved by his mother who craved a daughter. The final taunt was creating apparitions of Harry and Hermione. The naked Harry and Hermione began to kiss passionately angering Ron, who then destroyed the Horcrux with the sword, casting the two away. As Ron had saved his life, Harry forgave him for leaving and after seeing the Horcrux torture Ron, explained that he had no feelings for Hermione beyond that of a sibling. Hermione, who had been inside the tent during the destruction of the Horcrux, was angry with Ron for a longer period.

#### Visit to the Lovegood House

**Hermione Granger**: "*‘There were once three brothers who were travelling along a long, winding road at twilight —* "
**Ron Weasley** : "*Midnight, our mum always told us. Sorry, I just think it's a bit spookier if it's midnight!*"
**Harry**: "*Yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives.*"
— The reading of *The Tales of Beedle the Bard* at the Lovegood House[src]
On 30 December at Hermione's request, the three friends travelled to Luna Lovegood's home to question Xenophilius Lovegood. They asked about a triangular symbol Dumbledore had left them to decipher in the book he bequeathed to Hermione. After learning of the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discovered that Xenophilius summoned Death Eaters in an attempt to persuade them to return his abducted daughter. The trio escaped the Death Eaters when Hermione blasted the floor open to show them Harry, but managed to keep Ron's alibi of being sick at home with spattergroit intact by covering him with the Invisibility Cloak.

Harry soon became obsessed by the Deathly Hallows. He spent everyday brooding over the possibilities, forgetting about his responsibilities. With Harry's new found obsession with the Hallows, he became more and more withdrawn and listless. He came to believe that the Resurrection Stone was enclosed within the Golden Snitch bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. He also surmised that Lord Voldemort was abroad in a search for the Elder Wand. This obsession troubled his friends, and with the drop in Harry's attentiveness Ron's leadership qualities flourished.

#### Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

*Main article: Skirmish at Malfoy Manor*
"*You're a lying, you filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth,* tell the truth! *What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife! What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME!* CRUCIO*!*"
— Overheard parts of Bellatrix's interrogation of Hermione Granger[src]

After listening to a broadcast of *Potterwatch* around Easter 1998, Harry determined that Voldemort was seeking the Elder Wand, and accidentally broke the Taboo on Voldemort's name. Captured by a gang of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback, the trio were questioned about who they were. Hermione had previously hit Harry in the face with a Stinging Hex in an attempt to conceal their true identities, but it all amounted to nothing as the Snatchers then found the Sword of Gryffindor. After Greyback and Scabior realised that they had caught Harry Potter, the trio were taken to Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. The Snatchers decided to forgo taking Harry to the Ministry, but instead to Voldemort directly.

When Bellatrix Lestrange learned that Harry had been caught, she immediately sought to summon Voldemort. She planned to do this, until she noticed one of the Snatchers had the Sword of Gryffindor, which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts. From her drastic change in tone of voice and her worries that they would all perish, Harry determined that another Horcrux was hidden there, as well. Bellatrix isolated Hermione for interrogation based on the knowledge that she was Muggle-born, stating that she wished to talk "*girl to girl with her*" and proceeded to brutally torture her with the Cruciatus Curse. While being tortured Hermione lied, claiming that the Sword was just a copy. Harry convinced Griphook (a goblin prisoner) to support this story, knowing that Bellatrix would interrogate Griphook next, as she would want a goblin's opinion on the Sword.

In panic as Hermione screamed in pain upstairs, and Ron sobbed at hearing her, Harry called out for help — a cry heard by Aberforth Dumbledore through a fragment of a two-way mirror in the cellar. Aberforth sent Dobby the house-elf to rescue the prisoners. Harry had him take Luna Lovegood, Garrick Ollivander, and Dean Thomas to Shell Cottage, while he and Ron went to rescue Hermione. On the way, they had to fight Peter Pettigrew, whose silver hand strangled him to death when he hesitated to kill Harry, who reminded him that he had once saved his life. A skirmish ensued upstairs, during which Harry took Draco Malfoy's wand from him, and he and Ron saved Hermione and Griphook with Dobby's assistance.

#### Dobby's death

**Harry**: "*Dobby, no, don't die, don't die —*"
**Dobby**: "*Harry... Potter....*"
— Dobby's final moments in Harry's arms[src]
As they escaped Malfoy Manor by Apparition, Bellatrix Lestrange threw a silver dagger to where they were Disapparating. Harry was initially relieved to realise he had managed to apparate to Shell Cottage with Ron, Hermione, and Dobby in tow, but was horrified to see the knife protruding from the elf's chest. Harry managed to lie him on the grass, where Dobby collapsed and died in Harry's arms his last words being Harry's name. Luna (whom he saved) told him it was better to close his eyes so he'd be sleeping.

Harry decided that he would not dig Dobby's grave with magic, opting instead to do so manually, using a shovel. This was his way of both repaying Dobby's bravery and ebbing his own grief, as his time, effort, and sweat went into the grave. As he dug, he got glimpses of Lord Voldemort furiously punishing Bellatrix Lestrange, the Malfoys, and the others that were present in the manor for their failure to keep him in their custody and allowing him and the other prisoners to escape.

Harry, his scar now burning temptingly threatening to have Voldemort's thoughts engulf him, was finally able to learn control of denying Voldemort's entry into his mind. He attributed this to his grief and love for Dobby. While digging the grave, more understanding came to Harry. He realised that though the Deathly Hallows were tempting objects, Dumbledore had tasked him with destroying Horcruxes. He decided to trust Dumbledore, reaffirming his faith in his mentor. During the funeral, Luna Lovegood gave a short eulogy to Dobby, and Harry managed to say his final goodbye to one of his most loyal friends.

#### Stay at Shell Cottage

**Harry**: "*He can have it after we've used it on all of the Horcruxes. I'll make sure he gets it then. I'll keep my word... I won't be lying... really.*"
**Hermione Granger** : "*I don't like it.*"
**Harry**: "*Nor do I, much.*"
— The solution to Griphook's demand for the Sword of Gryffindor[src]
Following the death of Dobby, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed at Shell Cottage for some time. During their stay, the trio formed a plan to break into the Lestrange Vault to obtain the Horcrux within, with the help of Griphook. Due to the fact that Griphook would only help in exchange for Godric Gryffindor's Sword, Harry decided to word his request so that the handover would not take place until after Harry had used it to dispose of the remaining Horcruxes.

Harry also found out information regarding the Elder Wand from Ollivander. He learned that his hunch that Elder Wand was real and that Voldemort was going abroad to search for it was correct. Harry also learned some complex wandlore, such as what happens when a wand's allegiance changes to that of another individual and that a wand's allegiance doesn't necessarily have to change hands through murder, as most (including Lord Voldemort) believed with regards to the Elder Wand.

Although feeling guilty for the deception, Harry knew that the sword was their only known weapon against the Horcruxes. The other residents of Shell Cottage could not fail to notice the trio's behaviour. Bill Weasley took Harry aside and advised Harry to be cautious when making deals with Griphook who Harry was increasingly disliking; Bill elaborated some wisdom that only one who lived in the company of goblins, such as himself, could impart. Namely how a goblin saw the maker of an object as the latter's true owner and master, not whoever purchased it from the former. Harry started to defend that if the object in question was bought proper, then the new ownership over it must mean that the manufacturer acknowledged the transfer, rendering the buyer as the new owner.

Bill cut him off, correcting the younger wizard's naive way of thinking, insisting that goblins would merely consider the item "rented" and must therefore be returned to the original maker at the death of the person it was sold to, and wizards and witches habitually passing such down as familial heirlooms, through their generations without intermittent pay per subsequent ownership, basically equated to thievery in a goblin's judgement. Around the same time, Remus Lupin came to Shell Cottage bearing tidings of new birth. He asked Harry to be the godfather of his newborn child, Edward Lupin. It seemed as if the incident between them at 12 Grimmauld Place had never occurred.

#### Gringotts break-in

*Main article: Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank (1998)*
**Harry**: "*The vault we need to get into isn't empty, and I'm guessing its protection will be pretty powerful. It belongs to the Lestranges.*"
**Griphook**: "*You have no chance. No chance at all.*"
— Discussion of breaking into Gringotts[src]
The trio and Griphook left Shell Cottage early on the morning of 1 May to break into Gringotts. Hermione disguised herself as notorious Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, using Polyjuice Potion. The goal was to try and fool the goblins at Gringotts into believing that it was really Bellatrix who was entering the vault. The trio had Bellatrix's wand that Harry had captured at Malfoy Manor as further proof for the disguise. Ron was Transfigured to look like a foreign wizard named Dragomir Despard, and Harry had Griphook on his shoulders; both were under the Invisibility Cloak.

Their plan proceeded reasonably well; Hermione made a convincing Bellatrix, despite a close encounter with a Death Eater named Travers, whose suspicions seemed to be eased and accompanied the group to Gringotts. Two human guards there had Probity Probes that detected concealment charms, and Harry used a Confundus Charm on them to get Hermione passed unchecked. Inside, the Goblins requested Bellatrix's identification. When Hermione hesitated, one nervously said that her wand was sufficient proof, though Hermione claimed it was new. Harry suspected the goblins knew that Bellatrix's wand was stolen and were looking for an impostor.

Griphook told Harry to use the Imperius Curse, he complied and Bogrod then accepted the wand as being correct. Bogrod requested the Clankers, and then led the trio, Griphook, and Travers into a passageway. The door slammed shut, and Harry sent Travers away to hide. Bogrod, still under the Imperius curse, summoned a cart that descended deep within Gringotts. After many twists and turns, the cart passed through Thief's Downfall, a security waterfall that washed away all illusion charms. When the cart overturned and dumped them out, Hermione and Ron had been reverted to themselves. Griphook believed the other Goblins knew they were impostors, but Harry wanted to continue and cursed Bogrod again.

The trio and Griphook found the vault guarded by an aged, half-blind dragon. Griphook subdued it using the Clankers. Hearing pursuit approaching, Harry forced Bogrod to open the vault, which was filled with precious objects. Hermione screamed in pain, and they discovered that the vault's protective charms included the *Flagrante* and *Gemino* curses: the contents would multiply and become searing hot every time something was touched. Harry spotted Hufflepuff's Cup, the Horcrux, but it was out of reach. Hermione levitated Harry by the ankle and he snagged the cup by using Gryffindor's sword, as to not be burned by the metal. Meanwhile, Hermione, Ron, Griphook and Bogrod all struggled to stay above the searing-hot rapidly multiplying objects below.

As Harry was setting himself down, he dropped both the sword and the cup. Griphook grabbed the sword, and flipped Hufflepuff's cup up into the air. Harry caught it, ignoring the searing heat. Borne by a treasure avalanche spilling from the now-opened vault, Griphook ran off with Gryffindor's sword, yelling that thieves were in the vault. Harry, Hermione, and Ron hurled curses at the goblin throng. Harry released the half-blind dragon and the three jumped on its back. The freed dragon took flight, and the three blasting holes into the ceiling for it to fly through as they made their escape.

#### Battle of Hogwarts

**Harry**: "*Dumbledore left the three of us a job, and we weren't supposed to tell — I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the three of us.*"
**Neville Longbottom**: "*We're his army. Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own... Everyone in this room's been fighting and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore — loyal to* you*.*"
— The trio's return to Hogwarts and the D.A.'s loyalty to Harry[src]
A vision from Voldemort helped Harry realise that the third Horcrux, whilst unbeknownst to him at the time, Ravenclaw's Diadem, remained at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out on their final mission to return to the school and obtain the diadem, inadvertently tripping the Caterwauling Charm upon Apparating to Hogsmeade and thereby alerting the waiting Death Eaters to their presence. Due to the trio being under the Invisibility Cloak, however, the Death Eaters resorted to unleashing Dementors into the streets to try to force the intruders out of hiding.

Having no choice, Harry conjured his Patronus to protect himself and his friends, automatically giving away their position and confirming their identities (the Death Eaters having been pre-warned that Harry Potter's Patronus took the form of a stag). As Death Eaters began to close in on the still invisible trio, Aberforth Dumbledore emerged from the Hog's Head, hurriedly telling the three to enter his pub. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione did so, Aberforth remained outside, proclaiming to the Death Eaters that it was he who tripped the alarm (by letting his cat out) and conjured the Patronus to ward off the Dementor threat; mockingly contradicting a Death Eater, saying that what he had seen was a goat Patronus rather than a stag. The incensed Death Eaters believed this and retreated.

After Aberforth re-entered his pub and home, he scolded them for coming to Hogsmeade advising them to leave the country. After Harry engaged in a brief and fierce argument with him, he led the grateful trio directly into Hogwarts through a secret entrance behind the portrait of his deceased sister, Ariana Dumbledore. Neville Longbottom (acting as their escort) then guided them into the Room of Requirement, where they were enthusiastically greeted by the reconstituted Dumbledore's Army; most of which were beaten and bruised, yet ready to fight the Death Eaters controlling the school. Harry tried to tell them that he, Ron, and Hermione only returned to find something, but Neville contacted other allies with a call to arms. Harry was initially reluctant to allow the others to help, as he had developed trust issues. But in an attempt to be a better man than Dumbledore (whom he feared he was turning into) and after some discussion with Ron and Hermione, he allowed it.

Harry hesitantly asked the room at large if they had ever heard of any sort of legendary artefact belonging to one of the Founders of Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood then elaborated on the fabled Diadem of Ravenclaw, pronouncing that a statue in Ravenclaw Tower depicted Rowena Ravenclaw wearing a diadem. Harry, having no idea of what the diadem looked like, was led by Luna to the Ravenclaw Common Room to observe the statue. Here the pair were ambushed by Alecto Carrow who pressed her Dark Mark immediately upon noticing Harry, summoning Voldemort, before Luna stunned her from under the Invisibility Cloak. Amycus Carrow attempted to force his way through the common room door, designed only to open after the door-knocker's question was correctly answered, by seeking the help of Minerva McGonagall, who easily allowed him entry by solving the door's riddle herself; by that time, Harry had managed to rejoin Luna under the Invisibility Cloak.

Amycus (in fear of his master's wrath) suggested framing Alecto's apparently mistaken summoning of the former on the Ravenclaw students; as he did, he spontaneously devised a lie that made it seem as though the students had forced Alecto to touch her Dark Mark at wand-point. In her outrage, McGonagall strongly insinuated that Amycus was a coward for proposing such an idea and that she would not allow it. Carrow spat in McGonagall's face in retaliation, utterly enraging Harry who suddenly revealed himself while momentarily casting the Cruciatus Curse on the surprised Carrow. The curse sent Amycus flying backwards into the wall where he crumpled and fell unconscious. Harry then told McGonagall about the mission Dumbledore had left him, and she offered to hold Voldemort and his invading forces off, buying him the time he needed to search for the Horcrux. All students of age, the D.A., and the members of the Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fight prepared themselves for the impending siege. The Battle of Hogwarts began as Voldemort and his army approached the outer boundaries of the school.

On 2 May, Lord Voldemort upon arrival at Hogwarts, demanded that the school turn over Harry, and the Battle of Hogwarts began. Harry realised that the positioning of Alecto Carrow in Ravenclaw Tower confirmed the Horcrux's identity. It was the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. After thinking on it for some seconds, he went to ask the Grey Lady about the diadem. From her information, Harry surmised that the Horcrux had been hidden in the Room of Requirement. Harry, in the meantime, was worried about Hermione and Ron, who seemed to have disappeared. They had gone into the Chamber of Secrets, where Hermione destroyed Helga Hufflepuff's Cup with basilisk fangs, which were one of the few weapons able to destroy Horcruxes.

*Main article: Skirmish at the Room of Requirement*
The trio quickly headed for the Room of Requirement where Harry remembered seeing the Diadem the previous year. However, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle ambushed them. After a skirmish, the entire room was destroyed by the cursed fire Crabbe unleashed but could not control. Harry managed to fly himself and Malfoy out, while Ron and Hermione grabbed Goyle, but Crabbe perished in the flames that also destroyed the diadem. With one Horcrux remaining, Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued their pursuit of Nagini, but before they could go search for it, they witnessed the death of Fred Weasley. This incensed Ron and Harry, but Hermione reminded them that only they could finish Voldemort and that to obtain the final Horcrux they would have to do their share of fighting.

#### Snape's death

"*Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms.*"
— Harry coming to the realisation that he must die by Voldemort's hand[src]

They fought their way to the Shrieking Shack. Along the way, Harry witnessed many scenes of horror. On the grounds, Voldemort's Dementors were waiting. After having seen so much pain and death, Harry could not summon the happiness required to conjure a Patronus. In fact, Harry welcomed the oblivion that would come with the Dementor's Kiss. But, after seeing the patronuses conjured by Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, and Seamus Finnigan, Harry summoned the will to conjure his and managed to drive the Dementors away.

Once the trio arrived at the Shrieking Shack, they witnessed Voldemort order Nagini to kill Snape, as he believed that Snape was preventing him from being the true owner of the Elder Wand. Dumbledore was the previous owner of the wand, and as Snape killed him, Voldemort believes with Snape's demise, he will finally gain true mastery of the wand. Before he died, Snape gave Harry memories to view in the Pensieve and asked him to look into his eyes. Upon returning to the castle, Harry saw the corpses of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks near Fred's, and he felt devastated. He left his friends behind to use Albus Dumbledore's Pensieve, welcoming the time in another's head to distract him from what was happening in his own.

During a one-hour ceasefire, Harry viewed the memories given by a dying Snape, which revealed to him that he had inadvertently been turned into a Horcrux himself. This occurred when Voldemort attempted to murder him as a baby. Because Lily Potter's loving sacrifice made Voldemort's Killing Curse rebound and a fragment of his soul latched itself onto the only living thing it could find: Harry himself. This led to the awful truth being revelled, that Voldemort had to kill him in order to be rendered mortal. Harry was unwillingly tethering Voldemort to life.

Harry also learned that Snape was, all along, with Dumbledore because he loved Lily Evans, since before they started school. It was clear that Harry's life span had always been determined by how long it took to get rid of the Horcruxes, and that it was an elegant plan not to waste any more lives but to give the tasks to the boy who had already been marked for death, and whose death would not be tragic but simply another blow against Voldemort. Heavy of heart, Harry courageously slipped off on his own to carry out this dreadful task. He felt ghostly as he strode through the castle's empty halls, feeling as if he was already dead.

#### Harry's sacrifice

"*He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.*"
— Voldemort hitting Harry with the Killing Curse[src]

As Harry passed the Great Hall, he could not see Hermione, Ron, or the other Weasleys, nor Luna. He felt he would have given anything for one last look at them, but then he thought he would never be able to stop looking. He also came to realise that Luna had become one of his closest and dearest friends. During his way to Voldemort, he saw the corpse of Colin Creevey, who snuck back into the castle to fight despite being underage and remarked that Colin looked "tiny in death". Harry in a moments decision told Neville to slay Nagini, if he could, as Ron and Hermione might be too busy to do so. He passed Ginny, who was comforting a small girl, and almost wished she could have seen him, but under the Invisibility Cloak, this was impossible. As he passed Hagrid's hut on the grounds, he emotionally remembered his trips there, particularly rock cakes, Ron vomiting slugs, and baby dragon Norbert.

Harry then entered the Forbidden Forest, where he managed to open the Golden Snitch, which said on it, "*I open at the close*"; and the words to open it were, "I'm about to die"; this revealed the Resurrection Stone contained within. Harry used it to speak to the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, who gave him comfort and courage before he met Voldemort and offered to shield him from the Dementors. They set off, and the Dementor's chill did not overcome him; his companions acted like Patronuses, and Harry continued deeper in the forest to find Voldemort. As Harry approached the Death Eater camp, he dropped the Resurrection Stone. Harry offered no resistance as Voldemort struck him with the Killing Curse. His last thoughts were of Ginny: her red hair, blazing looks, and the feel of her lips upon his before everything went black.

#### Limbo

**Harry**: "*But you're dead.*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Oh yes.*"
**Harry**: "*Then... I'm dead too?*"
**Albus Dumbledore**: "*Ah. That is the question, isn't it? Oh the whole, dear boy, I think not.*"
— Harry meeting Dumbledore in limbo[src]
However, the "death" he met was not permanent: the blood Voldemort had taken from Harry to restore his physical form in 1995 still contained the Bond of Blood, anchoring him to life and protecting Harry from Voldemort's curse, and his willingness to die triggered protections on the people of Hogwarts similar to the protections he received from his mother's sacrifice. Also, since he had part of Voldemort's soul in him, Voldemort's Killing Curse unknowingly destroyed the part of Voldemort's soul, leaving one Horcrux left.

Harry entered a state of limbo, where he met the spirit of Albus Dumbledore and the piece of Voldemort's soul that had just been destroyed. Dumbledore explained everything to Harry saying that he had "*no more secrets from Harry*", with Harry seeing a side of Dumbledore that no one else ever had. After reconciling with his mentor, Harry made the choice to return to the physical world. He had the option of boarding a train and continuing to the afterlife with Dumbledore.

#### Endgame

**Harry**: "*There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good.*"
**Lord Voldemort**: "*One of us? You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?*"
**Harry**: "*You won't be killing anyone else tonight. You won't be able to kill any of them ever again.*"
— The final confrontation between two mortal enemies[src]
Harry woke up, but feigned death. He was assisted in this by Narcissa Malfoy, who had secretly turned against Voldemort by telling him Harry was dead in order to protect her son, because she knew the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts was with the rest of the Death Eaters in their victory march. Voldemort then triumphantly disgraced Harry's "dead" body with the Cruciatus Curse then forced Hagrid to carry Harry's body back to Hogwarts, proclaiming Harry dead and demanding surrender. At first, the surviving fighters were heartbroken, especially Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Professor McGonagall. They screamed abuse at the Death Eaters in anger, remaining defiant. Harry's apparent death had spurred the defenders of Hogwarts on.

Neville Longbottom courageously stood up to Voldemort, and when the latter offered Neville a rank in his Death Eater society, Neville proudly refused and screamed to the high heavens, "*Dumbledore's Army!*" Voldemort cast the Full Body-Bind Curse, then Summoned the Sorting Hat and placed it upon Neville's head. After he announced that there would be no houses and that the school colours would be those loyal to Salazar Slytherin, he caused the hat to burst into flames. As Neville cried in pain, a distant uproar came from the direction of the school boundaries. Centaurs, thestrals, Buckbeak the hippogriff, Hagrid's half brother Grawp, and the families of the Hogwarts students who remained to fight, plus the shop and home keepers of Hogsmeade joined the fight with a flourish.

This distracted Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and Neville was able to pull off the Sorting Hat, and from its depths he received the Sword of Gryffindor and sliced off Nagini's head in one swift, fluid motion. Harry slipped away in the ensuing mêlée under the Invisibility Cloak. Death Eaters started to fold under sheer weight of numbers as the house-elves in the kitchens joined the battle, with Kreacher at its front, declaring war against the Dark Lord in the name of brave Regulus Black. Using his Invisibility Cloak, Harry protected the defenders of Hogwarts from attack, deflecting Voldemort's curses. Soon, only Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange were the only two remaining and fighting, with Voldemort duelling McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kingsley at once, and Bellatrix duelling Hermione, Luna, and Ginny. Harry was torn between the two until he saw a Killing Curse aimed at Ginny, the latter missing death by a mere inch.

Harry redirected his path to Bellatrix, until being roughly knocked aside by Molly Weasley, who duelled and ultimately killed Bellatrix. Voldemort's fury at the fall of his last, best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb and Harry turned in to see McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kingsley blasted backwards in pain and Voldemort directing his wand at Molly. Harry then cast a Shield Charm to protect her from Voldemort's wrath, revealing himself for the final duel.

*Main article: Voldemort's Last Stand*
Unbeknownst to Voldemort, mastery of the Elder Wand, which he had stolen from Dumbledore's grave, had not been taken from Dumbledore by Snape, but by Draco Malfoy, because Draco had disarmed Dumbledore on the night of his murder, before Snape killed him. Thus, when Harry had disarmed Malfoy in Malfoy Manor weeks earlier, he had become the true master of the Elder Wand.

When Harry and Voldemort faced off for the last time, Harry tried to tell him this and about the other mistakes he had made. Harry also asked him to feel some remorse for his actions, which Voldemort instantly rejected. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse, and Harry countered with the Disarming Charm. The Elder Wand refused to attack its master, and the Killing Curse rebounded, destroying Voldemort once and for all.

Immediately, Harry was surrounded by overjoyed fellow fighters; Hermione and Ron reached him first, and then Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Victory celebrations began and Harry was an indispensable part of the grief and celebration.

The trio visited Albus Dumbledore's portrait, and along the way he explained everything to his two best friends. Harry decided to prevent the Deathly Hallows from ever being reunited again by keeping the Cloak of Invisibility, leaving the Resurrection Stone where it lay in the Forbidden Forest, and returning the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave, but not before using it to fix his wand.

When Voldemort destroyed the piece of his soul residing in Harry, Harry lost the ability to speak Parseltongue. It is possible, however, that he regained the ability later.

### After Hogwarts (1998–2006)

"*Harry and his friends have their own history depicted on Chocolate Frogs cards.*"
— The trio were honoured with their own Chocolate Frog Cards[src]

Harry ensured that Severus Snape's portrait was hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. He also made occasional visits to the school to give lectures to the students on Defence Against the Dark Arts. At some point, the trio were featured on Chocolate Frog Cards for their accomplishments.

Harry was also on "Christmas card" terms with his cousin Dudley Dursley and his family, and occasionally visited him, which were occasions dreaded by his own children. Harry also made peace with his former rival Draco Malfoy, something that his father and his friends were never able to do with Severus Snape. They were civil towards each other; however, their schoolboy enmity meant that they were still not friends at this stage.

Also following the war, he aided in the care of his godson, Teddy Lupin, thus fulfilling the role that his own godfather, Sirius Black, never got to play. Harry and Teddy eventually became very close. Harry's children commented that they wanted Teddy to move in with the family, Harry mentioned that Teddy had already been coming to their home for dinner four times a week, and that he was practically living with them as it was. The Potters were also thrilled at the idea that Teddy, who was seen snogging Victoire Weasley (the eldest daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley) might officially become a part of their family.

### Career as an Auror (2007–2019)

"*Harry and Ron utterly revolutionised the Auror Department in — at the Ministry of Magic. So they — I mean, they are now the consummate — they are experts... And by the time — 19 years later — I would imagine that Harry is heading up that department, which is not corrupt in any way.*"
— J. K. Rowling regarding Harry's career after the war[src]

At the end of the Second Wizarding War, Harry was recruited by the new Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and became an Auror at the British Ministry of Magic. Kingsley permitted those who had fought in the final battle to become Aurors without getting their N.E.W.T.s, as surviving such a battle satisfied the skill and character requirements.

Along with his friend Ron Weasley, Harry was considered an expert and helped reform and revolutionise the Auror department and the rest of the Ministry, along with Hermione Granger, who became a high ranking official in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In 2007, Harry became the Head of the Auror Office at the age of 26 or 27.

On 1 September 2008, Harry arrived at the King's Cross Station and guided a student to the barrier that connected to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Later in the school year, he visited Neville Longbottom at Hogwarts and met the same student, who, despite hearing the name "Harry", did not realise who he really was until he left.

In 2010, when third-year students went to Hogsmeade for the first time, Harry was also there with Rubeus Hagrid, drinking Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks Inn. When Harry choked on it, Hagrid patted him on the back.

At some point later, Harry returned to Hogwarts to give a DADA lecture and met the same student again in the Great Hall. They went to the Quidditch pitch and the Viaduct Courtyard and talked about their memories.

When Hogwarts was under attack by Dementors and other Dark creatures, Harry returned to the school and cast the final Patronus Charm that ended the battle. He also saw individuals by the forests wearing white masks, who he suspected may have been the culprits of the attacks. He then talked to the students and staff and, as an Auror, promised to look into the case properly.

#### 2014 Quidditch World Cup

"*The Potter family — minus Mother, Ginny Potter, who of course is here in the journalists' enclosure with me — have been given prime places in the front row.*"
— The 2014 Quidditch World Cup[src]

Harry had married Ginny likely sometime before 2005, but certainly by 2014. By 2017, the couple had three children of their own: two sons James Sirius and Albus Severus, and one daughter Lily Luna. Harry attended the final of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup in early July in the Patagonian Desert. Harry, James, and Albus joined Ginny Potter, who had been in Patagonia since the start of the Cup, in her capacity of special Quidditch correspondent to the *Daily Prophet*.

Harry along with his family (including Teddy Lupin) and Dumbledore's Army were granted access to the VIP section of the campsite. Harry embraced Viktor Krum, who was competing again after being retired for a few years, upon meeting him and introduced him to his sons, James and Albus. He supported Bulgaria in the match together with the rest of his family (save for Albus) and looked "emotional" when Viktor Krum and his team had won the match. While at the game Harry also sported a nasty cut over his right cheekbone, which was a result of his top-secret work for the British Auror Office.

On 31 July 2014, Rita Skeeter launched a book at Flourish and Blotts titled *Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob*, regarding the lives of the members of Dumbledore's Army. The book according to Rita's description, seemed to focus on the D.A. members "imperfections". Harry and Ginny were featured on the front cover, Harry trying to hide their faces behind his hand. Rita also wrote a mostly fictionalised biography about Harry, with an unnamed title.

#### Rising tensions

"*Love blinds. We have both tried to give our sons, not what they needed, but what we needed. We've been so busy trying to rewrite our own pasts, we've blighted their present.*"
— Harry realising his mistakes in regards to his second son[src]

On 1 September 2017, Harry and Ginny took their three children to King's Cross Station to see James and Albus off to Hogwarts. There, they met Ron and Hermione and their two children, Harry's niece Rose and nephew Hugo. When Albus expressed a fear that he might be Sorted into Slytherin House, Harry told his son that Albus was named after two Hogwarts Headmasters of whom one was a Slytherin and "*probably the bravest man* [he] *ever knew*". Harry assured him that his parents would be proud of him regardless of where he was Sorted. He also told him that the Sorting Hat would take his preferences into consideration, which happened to him when he was being Sorted. This was a secret he had never shared with his other children.

When Harry picked Albus up from King's Cross, who had returned from a year at Hogwarts, he was surprised to find Albus distant and colder. This distance was in direct response to the pressure Albus felt regarding Harry's legacy and the expectations that others put on him because of it. Albus and Scorpius Malfoy became fast friends during the year, as they were kindred spirits — they both carry a burden stemming from their family identity and feel that they are misfits and "losers" in comparison with the other students at Hogwarts. Harry did not like this and he questioned why Albus was content to have only the one friend. Their relationship would stay strained for the next couple of years to come.

In September 2018, Harry took Albus to King's Cross again. He was hurt when Albus told him he wanted to be alone. This stemmed from all the pedestrians watching the two, Albus felt as though they were watching the famous Harry Potter and "his disappointing son". Harry told him not to be bothered by people looking and thought his friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, the child of his rival, was the reason why Albus wanted nothing to do with him. Harry then demanded Albus sever their friendship, but his son refused.

In September 2019, Harry took Albus to King's Cross yet again where he gave Albus the permission slip he needed to visit Hogsmeade. Albus destroyed the slip by burning it, stating that he had no wish to go to Hogsmeade and left his father behind. This in turn caused Harry to become angry with him. Their father-son relationship continued to deteriorate, going from bad to worse.

### Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (2020–)

#### Experimental Time-Turner

**Hermione Granger**: "*These are people and beasts that fought alongside Voldemort in the great wizarding wars. These are allies of darkness. This — combined with what we have just unearthed at Theodore Nott's — could mean something. But if the Head of Magical Law Enforcement isn't reading his files —*"
**Harry**: "*But I don't need to read it — I'm out there, hearing about it. Theodore Nott — it was me who heard the rumours about the Time-Turner and me who acted upon it.*"
— Harry and Hermione discussing the state of wizarding Britian[src]
By late summer of 2020, Harry had been made Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. After hearing a rumour about an illegal and very powerful Time-Turner, Harry and his team of Aurors raided the Nott residence and confiscated it. Harry defeated Nott in a duel and then arrested him. He was arrested for the illegal possession of an unregistered and advanced Time-Turner.

Nott had created at least two Time-Turners for Lucius Malfoy, who was paying him for his services. The prototype, which was restricted by a boundary of five minutes, was seized by Potter and later used by his son to travel to the past. The improved Time-Turner, which gleamed gold and allowed the traveller to stay in the past for an unlimited time, was kept by Lucius who never used it.

Harry turned the prototype Time-Turner over to Hermione (the Minister for Magic) for safekeeping. While in his paper laden workoffice, he and Hermione spoke about recent activity among Voldemort's former allies and how action must be taken. They discuess the "*mountain trolls riding Graphorns through Hungary, giants with winged tattoos on their backs walking through the Greek Seas, and the werewolves that have gone entirely underground*".

##### Amos Diggory's request

**Amos Diggory'*: "*Two months pass, I receive an owl,** Mr Diggory, I'm awfully sorry, but Mr Potter has been called away on urgent business, we're going to have to shift things around a little, are you available for an appointment in, let's see, in two months' time*.' And then it repeats again, and again ... You're shutting me out.*"
**Harry**: "*Of course I'm not. It's just, I'm afraid, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement I'm responsible —*"
**Amos Diggory**: "*There's plenty you're responsible for.*"
**Harry**: "*Sorry?*"
**Amos Diggory**: "*My son, Cedric, you do remember Cedric, don't you?*"
— Amos expressing his frustration towards Harry regarding Cedric's death[src]
Harry was later visited at home by Amos Diggory, who had heard he might have the Time-Turner. Whom he supposedly learned this information from is unknown. While Albus and Delphi Diggory (who claimed to be Amos' carer and niece) listened in, Amos demanded Harry go back in time and save Cedric. Amos proceeded to tell Harry that Cedric was more then a spare and that he deserved a chance to life a full life. However, Harry refused due to the implications of intervening greatly with the past, as changing the past can have severe consequences on the future. This caused Amos to react negatively, calling Harry cold. Later that night Harry attempted to reconcile with Albus.

Harry's relationship with Albus had strained increasingly since he had left for Hogwarts. In an effort to mend things, Harry spoke to Albus and tried to give him the old baby blanket he received from his mother Lily. He did this in the hope a reminder of what happened would make him change his behaviour. This was a significant and sentimental gift on Harry's part, as it was the only physical piece of his mother that he had. When Albus rejected the gift, it led to an argument in which they both expressed the wish that they were not related. Harry regretted what he said, but it was too late to take it back.

Harry began to experience nightmares and pains in his scar, something that he had not experienced since his final defeat of Voldemort. Ginny tried to comfort him and proceeded to ask what was wrong. When Harry explained, they decided to let Hermione know. Harry took his scar hurting to be an ominous sign and it left him with many worries concerning his son and the outcome of the future.

He and Hermione held a public meeting, but the community was not convinced there is a threat, as they were not willing to accept that danger was once again imminent. Draco accused Harry of only wanting his name in the papers and proceeded to storm out of the public meeting. Later on Harry, Ginny, and Draco then learnt that Albus and Scorpius were missing. This prompted Draco to start a duel with Harry, Ginny was quick to interrupt it, before it got out of hand. They had decided to retrieve the Time-Turner and help Amos save Cedric. Ginny concluded Albus ran away after his argument with Harry, and Draco was upset that Scorpius had been pulled into their family issues.

##### Searching for Albus Potter

**Harry**: "*But there is one truth we can't escape: That somewhere in our past a witch is trying to rewrite everything we ever knew — and all we can do is wait — wait for the moment she either succeeds or fails.*"
**Minerva McGonagall**: "*And if she suceeds?*"
**Harry**: "*Then — just like that — most of the people in this room will be gone. We'll no longer exist and Voldemort will rule again.*"
— Harry Potter noting the severity of the situation[src]
Albus and Scorpius's time-travelling antics created two separate alternate timelines. This was something that could have disastrous effects for everyone. In one, Harry received a dream revealing Albus's location in the Forbidden Forest. As he and the others searched, Harry came across the centaur Bane. Bane warned him that a "dark cloud" haunted Albus. He took this "dark cloud" to mean Scorpius and his doubts regarding his son's friendship with him strengthened even more. He, Ron, and Ginny found the boys just after they return from the past. Scorpius was uninjured, but Albus sustained a broken arm.

Albus was brought to the school's hospital wing, where Harry conversed with a portrait of Albus Dumbledore. After Harry aired decades of pent-up emotion left over from the horrors of his childhood and Dumbledore reassuring him he did what he though was best for Harry's well being at the time, the portrait advised him to see Albus as he is. Harry demanded that Albus break off his association with Scorpius. He even went so far as to bully Headmistress Minerva McGonagall into using the Marauder's Map to keep them apart. This was something that he would not normally do. Harry's worry for his son had intensified so much that it blinded him to the bigger picture.

When Albus and Scorpius went time travelling again, Harry and Ginny received a visit from Draco. He and Harry argued about their children, which resulted in a premature wizards' duel. When Ginny intervened and reminded them their children were missing, Draco surprised them by explaining how lonely he was at Hogwarts and how lucky Harry was to have such great friendships.

Harry and Draco finally gained a mutual respect for one another, and looked upon each other as friends. When Draco speaks of the great bond and sacrifices he has made for Scorpius and his late wife, Harry finally realised he was dangerously isolating Albus. They returned to Hogwarts, where Harry apologised to Professor McGonagall and they attempted to locate the boys, ultimately discovering that they had the Time-Turner.

However, in the other timeline, Albus and Scorpius had created a world where Harry had died at the Battle of Hogwarts. Fortunately, with the help of the alternate Hermione, Ron and Severus Snape, Scorpius managed to salvage the original timeline and returned both Harry, and Albus to life. Harry visited Albus in his dormitory where despite his anger, he manages to plant the seed for a reconciliation with Albus.

Later, Harry and his friends learn that Albus and Scorpius were missing again and were last seen with Delphi. They went to see Amos to find out what he knows, and found out he had been Confunded by Delphi into believing she was his niece and carer.

Searching the room for clues to find out Delphi's true identity, they stumbled upon a prophecy that, if fulfilled, would enable the return of Voldemort, and realised Delphi's true identity as Voldemort's secret daughter with Bellatrix Lestrange. However, since they did not know where in time Delphi, Albus, and Scorpius were, they could only bide their time and wait.

##### Skirmish at St Jerome's Church

*Main article: Skirmish at St Jerome's Church*
"*I don't fight alone, and I never will.*"
— Harry to Delphini after he and his friends defeated her[src]

At home, Harry looked at the blanket he had tried to give Albus. He noticed writing on it, and found out it was a message sent by Albus from the past. He and Ginny noticed the date, being 30 October, 1981 — one day before the night that Voldemort murdered Harry's parents. They alerted Ron and Hermione. Draco, who joined in, secretly revealed to them that his family had a Time-Turner that would be more potent and valuable than the one seized by the Ministry, which was merely a prototype and thus not as desirable to a true Death Eater.

They travelled back in time to join Albus and Scorpius. However, under Ginny's prodding, they realised that Delphi did not to want to kill baby Harry, but rather to stop Voldemort from doing so in the hope he would live and his reign would continue. Delphi thought she could make her father stronger as he would know love when he met her, which its lacking was what had originally led to his downfall.

Everyone agreed they had to transfigure Harry to look like Voldemort in the hope that they could fool Delphi and hinder her in saving the real Voldemort. They picked Harry because he not only knew Voldemort well through the connection they shared when he was a Horcrux, but he now also understood Parseltongue again.

Delphi pleaded with her "father" to recognise her, which Harry managed before the transfiguration spell came undone. However, when Delphi sees she had been set up, she engaged in a fierce duel with Harry, who is later joined by his friends and Albus. They managed to subdue her and she pleaded that she only wants to know her father. A surprised Harry explained that this would not be possible; they cannot change the past.

Upon hearing the real Voldemort arrive to kill Harry's parents, Delphi tried calling out to him, but Hermione and Malfoy silenced her and sent her back to present day. Harry decided to watch the scene of his parents' murder once more, with Albus by his side, to provide a sense of closure for them. They later returned to the present when a devastated Hagrid arrived at the scene to bring Harry to the Dursleys.

##### Visiting the dead

Back at Hogwarts, Albus was asked by Harry to join him one afternoon for a hike up a steep hill. Harry revealed that he had brought Albus to Cedric Diggory's grave, which he regularly visited so he could apologise for his role in his death.

#### The Calamity

**Harry**: "*The Ministry isn't perfect, but think of all the good we've done since the Second Wizarding War ended. Werewolves used to be ostracised and discriminated against. But thanks to our outreach programme, attitudes are changing. The wizarding community is becoming more inclusive.*"
**Constance Pickering**: "*I'm not discounting the progress you've made, but didn't your original proposal include providing free Wolfsbane Potions to any werewolf who wanted them? Politics and protocols prevented you from making the kind of change that would have done the most good. I know you're trying your hardest, Harry. But at its best, the Ministry is ineffective. At its worst, it's dangerous. You can try to change it, but there will always be things the Ministry simply can't do.*"
— Discussion of the Ministry's new progressiveness and of its limitations[src]
At some point during Kingsley's tenure as Minister Harry helped advance werewolf rights. He did this by setting up an outreach programme. He also proposed providing free Wolfsbane Potions to any werewolf who wanted the potion. However, his Wolfsbane proposal never came to fruition, as politics and protocols prevented it from happening.

Shortly after, Harry was made the leader of the members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force. This task force was an emergency response team established by the International Confederation of Wizards with the help of the British Ministry of Magic to deal with a series of large-scale breaches of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy known as the Calamity. He congratulated those who choose the career of an Auror, but warned them that it could either be the best or worst job depending on their abilities.

Harry would introduce to the Aurors the common Weakening Hex, which lowers the damage their enemies cause. He would also teach and supervise practising duelling sessions, during which he outmatch them. However, their valiance allowed them to come out with increased power in their spells. For those pursuing a profession as Magizoologists, Harry gave them a lesson on maintaining confidence that eventually resulted in him teaching them the Bravery Charm.

After an article about his work with the Task Force was published in the *Daily Prophet*, several of Harry's belongings became foundables. Hermione suspected that this had to do with the article.

##### The Unforgivable

**Hermione Granger**: "*I understand that you're trying to send The Unforgivable a message, but are you sure taking action without discussing the possible consequences first was smart? Their "suggestion" to stop meddling with the Calamity didn't contain any specific threats, but I doubt they'll let this slide...*"
**Harry**: "*I'm not afraid of The Unforgivable, but I am afraid of what could happen if they're allowed unfettered access to the Calamity. By the time we made a decision on what to do, who knows what they might've unleashed? There's a good chance their threat was just a bluff anyway.*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*I don't know, Harry, The Unforgivable doesn't seem like the kind of group to make empty threats. I just hope we don't find that out firsthand...*"
— Harry and Hermione discussing the Unforgivable and the threat it posed[src]
In the spring of 2021, The Unforgivable threatened Harry and Hermione after the two began wrenching control of Calamity surges away from the cabal. The two feared that their children would be targeted, but Harry insisted on continuing to fight against the Unforgivable. Harry redirected a Calamity surge and controlled it using memories of the Marauders. When Minerva McGonagall was uncharacteristically late in reporting to the SOS Task Force, Constance Pickering, Harry, and Hermione feared she had been attacked. By April, it became apparent that while Minerva was unharmed, Ginny had been attacked and Ron had been abducted.

Following their attack on Ginny and Ron, the Unforgivable unleashed a surge of Dragon Adversaries. While this was disastrous, it allowed Harry to tap into somebody's memory of being forced to abduct Ron. Shortly after, the Unforgivable unleashed a surge of Foundables related to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes where Ron worked. While the Unforgivable succeeded in intimidating Harry and Hermione, Harry even enlisted the help of MACUSA in the hopes of finding his best friend, this attack only made Hermione even more determined to bring the cabal to justice. The Unforgivable began a campaign of harassment and manipulation to secure their position preceding negotiations for Ron's returns, including implanting false memories in Molly of Ron crying and begging her to tell Harry and Hermione to listen to the Unforgivable so that he could return home. Molly instead instructed Hermione to "give them Hell".

By the end of April, the Unforgivable had delivered their list of demands via notes dispatched within Foundables. In exchange for Ron's safe return, they not only wanted full command of the Calamity but for London Five victim Kit Gerrard and the defector informant Flavius Flint to be delivered to them. Hermione decided that she and Constance should use Polyjuice Potion to take the places of Gerrard and Flint as a means to infiltrate the Unforgivable, with Harry delivering them in exchange for Ron. It seemed the Unforgivable were aware of this deception, as well as where the Ministry's defences were weakest, however.

Whilst duelling against members of the cabal, Constance was hit with a Blasting Curse but luckily came away with only mild burns. While Ron was recovering, albeit unconscious, the real Flavius and Kit were taken. When Constance returned from having her injuries healed at St Mungo's, she reported that Ron had woken up and his memories had been completely Obliviated, to the point where he could not even recognise his wife. Hermione wondered if everything, including rescuing Ron, had been part of the cabal's plans all along. She and Harry considered the possibility of a mole in the Ministry or a Legilimens among the Unforgivable's ranks.

In May 2021, Calamity surges surrounding baby magical creatures created the impression that the Unforgivable were involved in illegal poaching and trading of rare beasts. Fragments of a note apparently from Grim Fawley contained co-ordinates to a location in Cape Town, where Harry led a team of Aurors in order to stop a potential auction, and to find members of the cabal. Unfortunately, no auction took place, adding weight to the theory of a mole in the Ministry. Hermione used Truth Serum then erasing their memories of being interrogated by her. This method outed Gareth Greengrass as not only the mole but a high ranking member of the Unforgivable.

Following his detention, Gareth Greengrass repeatedly proclaimed innocence and his colleagues in the Department of Mysteries called for his release, even going so far as to accuse Harry and Hermione of using the Imperius Curse to obtain a false confession. During this time, an Auror discovered that Gareth's strange habit of delivering Interdepartmental Memos via owl was part of a ruse. Gareth's owl was a Transfigured potions cabinet containing Polyjuice Potion. When tested, those who imbibed the potions turned into Hermione and the editor-in-chief of the *Daily Prophet*, linking Gareth Greengrass to the abduction of Ron and the attempted abduction of Ginny. A complication arose, however, when it became apparent one of the Polyjuice Potions had been tampered with during the month that Gareth was detained. Hermione concluded that this was part of an escape attempt and alerted Harry.

Gareth Greengrass was eventually caught out and taken into custody in an official capacity, but remained tight-lipped until Harry rose the issue of Gareth's daughter. It was discovered that Cereus Greengrass suffered a blood malediction. Gareth and Harry formed an Unbreakable Vow, sealed by Constance Pickering, whereby Harry would find a cure for Gareth's daughter and in turn Gareth would help Harry uncover the identities of the Unforgivable. Harry visited St Mungo's and placed a large donation, securing special care for Cereus. By the time he returned, however, Gareth Greengrass was dead.

## Physical Description

"*Harry has his father's and mother's good looks.*"
— J. K. Rowling's comments on Harry's appearance[src]

Harry was a near-spitting image of his father, having inherited his untidy jet-black hair. However, his almond-shaped startlingly green eyes were identical to those of his mother. This strong resemblance was often remarked on by those who had known his parents.

Harry's physique as a boy was described as "small and skinny", with a thin face and knobbly knees. This skinniness was due to his poor quality of life in his childhood. Despite the neglect he suffered, Harry seems to have grown at the same rate as James. When he was fifteen he was within an inch of James at the same age, and when he was seventeen he was exactly the same height his father was, and James was often described as tall. Harry was so much like his father that Harry mistook his future self for him while saving Sirius's life from the Dementors, although his father was then dead.

Harry wore round-rimmed glasses, peculiarly similar to his father's glasses. During his time hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry's black hair grew shoulder length as was described when he saw his reflection in Malfoy Manor. This was due to his preoccupation with the hunt for the Horcruxes and his lack of interest in his physical appearance, and it was the longest his hair had ever been.

Upon Harry's forehead, covered by his unruly black hair, was a scar shaped like a lightning bolt. The scar was a result of the failed (and famed) 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 stopped after Voldemort's death and was reduced into an ordinary scar.

Harry also had a faint scar on the back of his right hand which said "*I must not tell lies*". This scar was caused while Harry spent detentions with Dolores Umbridge, who forced him to use the Black Quill that carved the words into the back of his hand. In addition, Harry has an oval-shaped scar over his heart where the locket-Horcrux seared his skin during the confrontation with Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot's house, Godric's Hollow.

After Harry was possessed by Lord Voldemort after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry's eyes became somewhat glassy green in appearance, and his voice became a mixture of his own and Voldemort's.

Harry had "great skin" and never suffered from zits.

In the summer of 2014, Harry made an appearance in the Patagonian Desert, where he would attend the final of the 427th Quidditch World Cup with his family, sporting a nasty cut over his right cheekbone, which was a result of his top-secret work for the Auror Office. At age 33, Harry already had "*a couple of threads of silver*" in his hair, according to *Daily Prophet* gossip columnist Rita Skeeter. When he was 40, Moaning Myrtle stated that Harry seemed to have gotten more handsome in his older age.

## Personality

"*I see Harry as someone who is struggling to do the right thing, who is not without faults, who acts impetuously as you would expect someone of his age to act, but who is ultimately a very loyal person, and a very very courageous person. So, in as much as he has qualities that I admire most I would say he is a good role model. That doesn't mean that he is saintly, but then frankly, who is? But I think you do see enough of Harry’s inner life, the workings of his mind in the books to know that he is ultimately human, struggling to do the right thing, which I think is admirable.*"
— J. K. Rowling on why Harry's an excellent role model[src]

Harry was an extremely brave, loyal, and selfless person who possessed tremendous strength of character. He willingly went to what he truly believed to be his death, because he believed that this was the only way to defeat the Dark Lord. Harry was also marked by what Lord Voldemort once deemed a "*weakness for heroics*" — he would 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 was also very strong-willed and unafraid to stand up for himself. The fact that he was capable of repelling the Imperius Curse suggests that he had an unusually strong sense of himself and his morals. Dumbledore once made parallels between Harry's traits and qualities that Salazar Slytherin looked for in his own hand-picked students. He also noted that Harry's choice not to draw on those qualities really defined who he was, rather than the simple fact that he had them.

"*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?*"
— The Sorting Hat looking into Harry's mind[src]

Harry was perfectly prepared to put his friends' needs and best interests first, shown by how he ended his relationship with Ginny Weasley, due to his concern for her well being (even though being with her was one of the best things that ever happened to him). The amount of trust that Harry put into his friends was so strong that he absolutely refused to consider that any of them would betray him to Voldemort. Considering that Harry knew a person (Peter Pettigrew) who had betrayed all of his closest friends to Voldemort, this proves Harry's ability to love so unequivocally.

The closeness that Harry felt for many was great enough for him to behave violently if any of them were harmed. When his godfather was murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry attacked her in a grief-stricken rage of righteous anger and attempted to use the Cruciatus Curse on her. He also attacked Severus Snape after the latter murdered Dumbledore. Ironically, the only people with whom Harry ever initiated a duel were Snape and Bellatrix and he only desired to do so right after they killed someone he loved. This highlights Harry's bravery even further because Harry was fully aware that Snape and Bellatrix were two very skilled and experienced duellists, but did not hesitate to harm them as soon as he was pushed into it. This can also happen if a loved one of his is, even if it isn't true, insulted in front of him, as he so enraged he was seriously considering attacking Albus Dumbledore himself when he stated he believed Sirius was wrong to have treated Kreacher the way he did and that he was trying to keep Sirius alive by keeping him in 12 Grimmauld Place, as Harry believed that Dumbledore had no right, despite knowing fully well he was completely outmatched by Dumbledore, whom he acknowledged to be the greatest wizard in history, but fortunately for Harry Dumbledore did not resort to such means and calmly levelled with him.

"*Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue; resourcefulness; determination; a certain disregard for the rules...*"
— Dumbledore discussing some of Harry's personality traits[src]

However, Harry was also accused of being arrogant, in particular by Severus Snape (although Snape's perspective was skewed due to his poor relationship with James Potter, and Harry often found being famous and admired very difficult), and could be hot-tempered and impulsive. This could sometimes make him rude to authority figures such as Professor Snape and Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour. In contrast, Dumbledore stated that "*many teachers report that* [Harry's] *modest, likeable, and reasonably talented*".

Harry was prone to moodiness and unkind remarks towards even his friends during his adolescence, though this is likely the result of the great emotional stress and trials he endured during this period. Harry displayed many signs of clinical depression throughout his mid-to-late teens, however this extended to his older life. In his mid-to-late teens, Harry showed signs of these symptoms: general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, mood swings, insomnia (nightmares), agitation, irritability, social isolation and even lack of concentration. These symptoms were continued to be well into his mid ages. It was clear that Harry received limited assistance in his depression during his adolescence, although this was possibly improved in his later life.

Harry was also not one to let bygones be bygones. He had a vindictive streak that made him vengeful at best and spiteful at worse towards those who did him wrong. This varied from wanting to murder/torture those who had performed unforgivable acts like: Bellatrix, Voldemort, and Dolores Umbridge to a desire for pettiness towards: Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Snape, and the Dursley's. Harry even wanted Sirius (before learning of his innocence) and Pettigrew to suffer the Dementor's kiss for their crimes and spent the entirety of the Horcrux hunt angry at Dumbledore for the latter's lack of trust.

"*You're a sharp boy, Potter.*"
— Barty Crouch Jnr's opinion of Harry's intelligence[src]

Harry possessed an instinctual, intuitive intelligence. This intelligence allowed him to make intellectual leaps, as opposed to the logical intelligence of Hermione. For example, Harry divined the truth about the Deathly Hallows well before Hermione would accept it. And although he was clever, Harry lacked intellectual curiosity. He rarely put forth effort into school work; for instance, 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. Although he did study reasonably hard for his Ordinary Wizarding Levels, the only set of wizarding qualifications he sat at Hogwarts. Harry generally did his best magical work when tackling practical exams rather than theoretical ones. This could be a result of the lack of confidence that Harry developed from growing up with the Dursleys.

Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) remarked that Harry possessed a streak of pride and independence that almost cost him the Triwizard Tournament. His pride didn't allow him to ask for help regarding the problem of breathing underwater for an hour, which was required for the Second task that took place in the Black Lake, was what almost cost him the competition. Harry was also known for wanting to tackle challenges and obstacles on his own, without the aid or interference of others. His friends had to frequently remind him that he needed their assistance and that he "*did not always have to go it alone*".

Harry also seemed to have a bit of an obsessive personality, a trait he shared with his arch enemy Lord Voldemort. He could be somewhat nosy and was known for sleuthing around and getting involved in things that did not concern him. For instance, during his sixth year Harry became intensely preoccupied with finding out what Malfoy was doing in his free time. He also developed on unhealthy obsession with the Deathly Hallows, to the point where he was listless with longing for the three artefacts. This period of listlessness lasted for many weeks during the hunt for Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Harry's greatest strength was his ability to feel love, despite having a miserable childhood of neglect. Harry was extremely loyal to and protective of his loved ones and that love was what allowed him to overcome Voldemort. Dumbledore noted that Harry's strength of will at resisting the temptation of the Dark Arts, even when granted a direct insight into Voldemort's mind and methods was due to Harry's ability to love. Harry even claimed that he felt sorry for Voldemort because of his inability to feel or understand love. Ginny, his wife, commented that he was the kindest and most loving man anyone would ever meet.

Albus Dumbledore noted that Harry was unfailingly kind and compassionate. This is shown by how he freed Dobby from the Malfoys and by standing up for Muggle-borns, half-bloods, and half-breeds (like Hagrid). This is likely attributable to his childhood, during which the Dursleys deprived him of compassion and discriminated against him due to his magical abilities. His compassionate led him to spare the life of Delphi, the daughter of Lord Voldemort, despite the history between himself and the Dark Lord. Also, Harry was not a cruel person and he never wished anyone harm. He rarely initiated duels, instead fighting in self-defence. Even after Bellatrix Lestrange had murdered his godfather, Harry failed to cast the Cruciatus Curse on her. Bellatrix noted the he had failed to cast the curse properly because he had cast it out of righteous anger and not malicious intent. However, he did use the Cruciatus Curse more effectively on Amycus Carrow after he spat at and insulted Minerva McGonagall. In addition, he saved Peter Pettigrew from being killed by his (Pettigrew's) former friends Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, though this was not done for humanitarian reasons but for the memory of his father.

Remus Lupin once noted that Harry had very good and nearly always right instincts. Harry had a strong awareness of the incalculable power of certain acts, which is never more apparent than when he refused to allow Lupin to accompany him and leave his wife and child at home and realised that Ron Weasley was meant to destroy Slytherin's locket.

In some ways, Harry could become extremely intimidating toward people, such as Gilderoy Lockhart, Mundungus Fletcher, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Harry was seen becoming extremely frightening when pushed to the point of anger or extreme annoyance. When in a bad mood and argumentative, even Harry's closest friends had been wary of him, usually replying to his angry tone in a calm and appeasing voice. The only person who did not appear to be afraid of him when he was angry (other than his teachers and other authority figures in his life) was Ginny Weasley. Dumbledore was a special case, as he acted fatherly towards Harry and had managed to successfully calm him down whenever he got angry with him.

Harry seemed to have good and long memory, as he remembered the motorbike ride to Privet Drive with Hagrid when he was eleven and could remember the deaths of his mother and Voldemort's laughter when the events occurred ten years earlier. Despite needing glasses, Harry possessed a tremendous eyesight as well; he was able to locate the Golden Snitch (which was approximately the size of a golf ball) in a massive Quidditch field. Harry also cared very much for his children. He comforted his daughter, Lily Potter, when she was upset about not going to Hogwarts. He also made sure his younger son Albus Potter would not be teased a lot by Harry's older son, James Potter.

**Severus Snape**: "*Do you remember me telling you we are practising nonverbal spells, Potter?*"
**Harry**: "*Yes.*"
**Severus Snape**: "*Yes* sir*.*"
**Harry**: "*There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor.*"
— Harry being cheeky to Snape during a DADA lesson[src]
Although never as given to sarcasm or humour as his best friend Ron, Harry often displayed a dry wit. For instance, on finding out that Hermione Granger intended to take twelve O.W.Ls, he asked her if she planned to eat or sleep at all that year. This humour often became more cutting when applied to people Harry disliked. When threatened by Draco Malfoy and his cronies after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry remarked that he supposed that "*Lord Voldemort's just a warm-up act compared to you three?*", responding to Malfoy's threat that he was dead by casually commenting "*funny, you'd think I'd have stopped walking around*". Harry also displayed wittiness when he first encountered Crookshanks, remarking that he was either "*a very large cat or quite a small tiger*".

He was also known to apply his cutting wit to Severus Snape and Dudley Dursley as well. During his first Potions lesson, Snape antagonised Harry with question after question. This was until Harry responded with "*I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?*" He also commented that he was surprised that Dudley was intelligent enough to know the days of the week, after Dudley stated he knew what day it was. When Harry was eleven, Dudley suggested that he and Harry should go upstairs and practise shoving heads down toilets. Harry then stated that the toilet had never had something as disgusting as Dudley's head down it.

Although he never sought power himself and would be content with a normal life, when a situation required him to step up he would do so. Such as when he, Ron, and Hermione discovered Voldemort and Quirrell's attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone and his time as teacher/leader of Dumbledore's Army. Harry had shown not-inconsiderable leadership abilities, to the point that Dumbledore reflected that Harry was a better leader than him as he never sought power for himself but simply had to assume the mantle of leadership due to circumstances beyond his control and found in the process that he did it well.

Like many non-pure-blood wizards raised by Muggles and seeing his life spent in the Muggle world, he had a certain lack of culture towards the wizarding world, and many of the characteristic of this he had heard recently and they turned out to be new to him.

During his youth, Harry tended to see things in a rather stark, absolute manner, particularly when it came to the Hogwarts Houses. Harry generally regarded members of Slytherin House as evil and therefore his enemies, while Gryffindors, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuffs were allies. The former part could be due to his own status as a Gryffindor and that many of the Slytherins he encountered, such as Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, and Severus Snape, were significant enemies of his during this period. In addition, many of his friends and allies, such as: Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Hagrid, were fellow Gryffindors. However, this mentality eroded as he aged, since he encountered both allies among Slytherin, such as Horace Slughorn (and later, Snape) and enemies among the other three Houses, such as Peter Pettigrew (a fellow Gryffindor) and Quirinus Quirrell (a Ravenclaw). By 2017, Harry had adopted a more moderate attitude on the Houses, telling his younger son Albus Potter that "*it doesn't matter to us*" if Albus was Sorted in Slytherin or Gryffindor. In addition, Harry named that same son after Severus Snape, whom he recounted as "*the bravest man* [he] *ever knew*".

In the aftermath of the Secondary Wizarding War, Harry was shown to suffer from survivor's guilt and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These two symptoms extended into his childhood and throughout his life at Hogwarts. Because of his depression, he also claimed that he was supposed to die and everyone knew it, but he survived it all. He also claimed that too many people died for the "Boy Who Lived" and that he wasn't worth dying for at all. Harry's depression and trauma were caused by not having removed Voldemort completely from his life, and he feared that he would always allow Voldemort to have some mental and emotional control over him.

Harry also had shown signs of suffering from recurring clinical depression, such as his sullen and withdrawn demeanour during his mid-to-late teens as a result of the tragedies in his life. A particular symptom of this was his outrageous temper during his bouts of depression, which frightened all but Ginny by their sheer force and magnitude alone. Overall, Harry was much the same as any other soldier, struggling to carry on despite the horrors of his past and the brutality he had been a part of for so long.

Harry did have some fears, although he hid them extremely well from his family. In fact, he hid them so well that his younger son considered his father to be utterly fearless. These fears included the dark, pigeons, small spaces, and seeing his family in danger.

It is commented by his son that Harry's personality was complicated, something that was furthered by Ron, who called him intense in terms of his traits and past experiences.

## Relationships

#### Ron Weasley

**Ron Weasley**: "*If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!*"
**Sirius Black**: "*Lie down. You will damage that leg even more.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*Did you hear me? You'll have to kill all three of us!*"
— Ron's steadfast loyalty and friendship with Harry[src]
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 was unable to find platform 9¾. Ron sat across from Harry during the train ride and the two almost immediately bonded over the ample sweets Harry purchased from the Hogwarts Express food trolley, which Harry happily shared with Ron, who was unable to afford any sweets himself. Harry cemented his friendship with Ron by turning down Draco Malfoy's offer to help Harry avoid making friends "*with the wrong sort*" after Draco insulted Ron's family.

After being Sorted into Gryffindor House together and sharing the same dormitory, the two grew even closer, and eventually gained another best friend in Hermione Granger when they saved her from a troll on Hallowe'en. As Ron was raised in a wizarding family, he was often called upon to explain customs and items that were commonplace to wizards, but completely new to Harry and Hermione, who had both been raised in Muggle society.

In the summer of 1992, after Dobby had prevented Harry from receiving any letters, Ron and his twin brothers (Fred Weasley and George Weasley) flew their father's Flying Ford Anglia to rescue Harry from Privet Drive. After spending a few days less than a month at Ron's home, Harry and Ron were supposed to return to school on the Hogwarts Express with Ron's other siblings. However, Dobby had blocked the entrance to the platform, and Harry and Ron were unable to board the train. Panicking, the pair flew the enchanted 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 by Slytherin's basilisk, Harry and Ron ventured into the Forbidden Forest together, where they were rescued from a clan of Acromantula by the missing Ford Anglia. Ron also accompanied Harry down to the Chamber of Secrets the same year to rescue his sister Ginny.

Harry and Ron had a major falling out in 1994 when Harry was made a Triwizard Champion; despite knowing it to be completely contrary to Harry's character, Ron's insecurities initially led him to believe Harry had cheated in order to enter the tournament, but left Ron out of scheme to keep the resulting glory and attention for himself. However, Ron soon realised how badly he had misjudged the situation and apologised. Ron was later taken as the object Harry would "*sorely miss*" in the Second Task of the competition.

**Ron Weasley**: "*I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left. I know I was a — a —*"
**Harry**: "*You've sort of made up for it tonight. Getting the sword. Finishing off the Horcrux. Saving my life.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was.*"
— The two friends reconcile after the Ron's return to the Horcrux hunt[src]
Harry and Ron had an even more serious falling out in 1997, when they, along with Hermione, were hunting Voldemort's Horcruxes; the negative energy within Slytherin's Locket affected Ron more severely than the other two, causing him to temporarily abandon his friends before regretting his decision, and returning to them as soon as he was able. During this outbreak, Ron thought that Harry and Hermione were in love, which momentarily disrupted Ron and Hermione's relationship.

Upon his return, Ron watched Harry follow the silver doe to the Sword of Gryffindor, and saved Harry's life after he jumped into a lake to retrieve it. When Harry finally opened the locket, Ron saw the part of Voldemort's soul transform into a supposed Harry and Hermione kissing, and it almost led him to believe that the imagined relationship between Harry and Hermione was real. However, Lord Voldemort underestimated how strong Ron really was, and so the locket was destroyed when Ron plunged the sword of Griffyndor into it and overcame his fears and worries. The hardships Ron and Harry faced together served to reinforce their bond, and they remained friends for life. Ron's fierce loyalty and sense of humour often helped Harry relax and have fun even in the darkest times of his life.

The two were like brothers, and would ironically eventually become brothers-in-law when Harry married Ginny. Ron was an uncle of Harry's three children and became the godfather to Harry and Ginny's eldest son, James Sirius Potter. Harry also had a niece, Rose Weasley and a nephew, Hugo Weasley, through Ron's marriage to Hermione. It can be assumed that out of all his nieces and nephews that Harry's closest to Ron and Hermione's children, it's also very likely that he might be the godfather to one or both of them.

#### Hermione Granger

"*She's like my sister. I love her like a sister, and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that.*"
— Harry regarding his and Hermione's relationship[src]

Harry and Ron initially found Hermione Granger to be stuck-up and arrogant. Eventually, the three became best friends after Harry and Ron saved her from a troll in 1991. Hermione, in turn, lied to keep them from getting in trouble. Her quick mind was at times the only thing that saved the three friends from potential failure in both life-threatening and everyday situations. Out of concern for her friend, Hermione often chided Harry for his recklessness; though this occasionally put some strain on their relationship, it often served to keep Harry on track, such as when he briefly considered pursuing the Deathly Hallows instead of the Horcruxes.

Hermione was always with Harry 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*". She also stood by him when Ron temporarily left them in 1997, despite her own romantic feelings for Ron. Harry, for his part, was quick to defend Hermione against Cho Chang, Draco Malfoy, and others who insulted her. Besides the time that she was called a mudblood, because Ron stood up for her then. He was also known to protect her physically on instinct when in dangerous situations. Hermione even saved Harry's life twice in 1997, first during the attack at Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve and again during the ambush at the Lovegood House.

**Ron Weasley**: "*What are you doing? Are you staying, or what?*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*I... Yes — yes, I'm staying. Ron, we said we'd go with Harry, we said we'd help —*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*I get it. You choose him.*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Ron, no — please — come back, come back!*"
— Hermione staying with Harry out of loyalty and friendship[src]
Though their friendship remained entirely platonic, at times their closeness engendered jealously or curiosity in others, especially those who had feelings for one or the other, including Cho Chang, Viktor Krum, and even Ron. When the two were briefly alone together during the search for the Horcruxes, Harry and Hermione experienced some "charged moments," in which the two "shared something very intense". However, the two choose not to act on those moments and each remained devoted to Ginny and Ron, respectively.

As Harry himself described, Hermione was one of two of his best friends, akin to a sister. It could be further said she was like his older sister, protective and always trying to keep him in line. The two were also close enough to share their feelings with one another before sharing those feelings with their significant other. They provided the other with comfort and support when in emotionally stressing situations, as shown when Harry brought Hermione her possessions when she left them behind in Transfiguration class after a nasty row with Ron. After Sirius Black's death, Hermione proceeded to keep a close eye on Harry, looking for signs of distress that usually come with the loss of a loved one.

Through Hermione's marriage to Ron, and through Harry's marriage to Ginny, Hermione became his sister-in-law. She was also an aunt to his children and the godmother of his oldest son, James Sirius Potter. Harry also had a niece, Rose Weasley and a nephew, Hugo Weasley, through Hermione's marriage to Ron. It can be assumed that out of all his nieces and nephews that Harry's closest to Hermione and Ron's children. It is also very likely that he might be godfather to one or both of them. Harry's son Albus is shown to have a close relationship with Ron and Hermione's oldest Rose and Lily a close relationship with Hugo. Harry and Hermione also saw their children off to Hogwarts together in 2017 standing side-by-side waving and watching the train disappear.

#### Ginny Weasley

"*The plan was, which I really hope I fulfilled, is that the reader, like Harry, would gradually discover Ginny as pretty much the ideal girl for Harry. She's tough, not in an unpleasant way, but she's gutsy. He needs to be with someone who can stand the demands of being with Harry Potter, because he's a scary boyfriend in a lot of ways. He's a marked man. I think she's funny, and I think that she's very warm and compassionate. These are all things that Harry requires in his ideal woman.*"
— J. K. Rowling expands on Harry and Ginny's romance[src]

At age eleven Harry saw Ginny for the first time at King's Cross Station in 1991. However, 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. Though the feeling moderated over time, until 1995 she was too shy and nervous around him to speak to him comfortably. She became even further embarrassed after Harry saved her from the Chamber of Secrets in his second year, when she had been possessed by a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul. 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, funny, stubborn, and compassionate.

The two became good friends in Harry's fifth year. The same year Harry started to enjoy her company as much as Ron or Hermione's, and she was also able to tell him to shut up and cheer him up during his depression. Ginny would also defend Harry whenever she felt it was needed, such as; in 1992 when she stood up to Draco Malfoy and told him "*to leave [Harry] alone*". She also told off Blaise Zabini in 1996 when he insulted Harry and even stood up to Hermione, her close personal friend in defence of his use of the *Sectumsempra* curse on Draco Malfoy. In 1997 she told off her then boyfriend Dean Thomas for laughing at the fact that Harry was injured by Cormac McLaggen during a Quidditch match. On 11 July, 2014 Rita Skeeter remarked that Harry was "*publicity-hungry*" — just as Ginny was approaching and Rita was taken "unaccountably ill" with what some called "*a jinx to the solar plexus*".

Ginny was also possessive of Harry seen when she was visibly displeased with the attention Gabrielle Delacour paid him at Bill and Fleur's wedding, and spoke up when his ex-girlfriend, Cho Chang, volunteered to take Harry to see Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, insisting that Luna take him instead. Harry in turn was possessive of her as well. He disliked her relationship with Dean Thomas and warned Viktor Krum off of her during Bill and Fleur's wedding in 1997.

After his relationship with Cho "fell apart" and Harry spent a good deal of time with Ginny at The Burrow in the summer of 1996, Harry's feelings for Ginny began to deepen and change. In his first potions class with Slughorn, the love potion Amortentia revealed he was attracted to "*something flowery he had smelled at the Burrow*", which later turned out to be Ginny's hair. After witnessing her kissing Dean Thomas, Harry started to feel jealous and fantasise about kissing her himself, although he determinedly tried to convince himself that his feelings for her were "elder-brotherly". He began having dreams about her of a seemingly intimate nature, even 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. The two 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 Voldemort would target her if he learned of their blossoming/growing strong romance and knowing that he would be leaving with Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. Ginny was upset, but respected Harry's decision, knowing that it was for "*some stupid, noble reason*" and maintained hope that he would return to her.

"*Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. After several long moments — or it might have been half an hour — or possibly several sunlit days — they broke apart.*"
— Harry finally expressing his feelings in 1997[src]

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 Ginny around*", as his sister had been "*pretty cut up*" when Harry ended their romantic relationship, though Hermione was more sympathetic towards the two of them.

The two were soon separated for months as Harry tracked down Horcruxes with Hermione and Ron, while Ginny returned to Hogwarts, but still harboured pretty strong romantic feelings for one another. After Ron abandoned his friends, Harry took to staring at Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map, and was worried when he heard that she, Neville, and Luna had got in trouble for attempting to steal Gryffindor's Sword for him.

When the Battle of Hogwarts broke out, Ginny was fierce in her determination to fight and give Harry time to find the lost diadem. Harry, in turn, 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 needed to search it for Ravenclaw's Diadem. When preparing to sacrifice himself to Voldemort, Ginny was the last person about whom Harry thought. Harry's supposed death, the death of her one love was enough to drive Ginny to attack the incredibly powerful Bellatrix Lestrange alongside Luna and Hermione. Near the end of the battle, after Ginny was nearly murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry ran at Bellatrix rather than Voldemort, though Mrs Weasley got there first. When the battle was over Ginny was one of the first ones that rushed to hug him.

After the Second Wizarding War Harry and Ginny resumed their strong romance. Sometime between 1999 to 2002, they married and later had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. All three of the couple's children were named in honour of family members, friends, and allies (most of whom they are named after are deceased). Their marriage is shown to be mature and understanding, Harry also affectionately calls Ginny "Gin", rather her full name.

It is also revealed that after the events in the Chamber of Secrets that people shut Ginny out of their lives, but Harry came to her and played a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny claims that she also felt specific love from Harry since that day and that his love for her always made her feel stronger.

The couple was seen escorting their children to the Hogwarts Express in 2017. The two made Ginny's brother Ron and Hermione Granger the godparents to their eldest son and Neville Longbottom the godfather to their second son. It's unknown who Lily's godparent is, but it can be assumed that it's one of their closest friends. They also have several nieces and nephews, Harry's most likely closest to Ron and Hermione's children, Rose and Hugo Weasley.

Though she could be a passionate and loving wife, Ginny was not without her temper. During the events of The Cursed Child and Albus's disappearance, she forbade Harry from entering Albus's room due to the magnitude of her distress over her child's whereabouts and her anger towards her husband for his comments during his and Albus's last fight. This showed that despite their stable and affectionate marriage, that Ginny was still more than capable of putting Harry in his place over his missteps in his behaviours and actions.

#### Arthur and Molly Weasley

**Sirius Black**: "*He's not your son.*"
**Molly Weasley**: "*He's as good as. Who else has he got?*"
— An intense argument over Harry's well-being[src]
Beginning in the summer of 1992, Harry came to spend many of his holidays with the Weasley family, at the Burrow. Through his friendship with Ron and his later romance with Ginny, the Weasleys became far more of a family to him than the Dursleys ever were.

Molly Weasley announced to Harry's godfather that Harry was "*as good as*" one of her actual sons. Her boggart was of dead family members, one after another — including Harry. Molly 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 get him to eat fourth helpings at every meal*". Her caring sometimes led her to become overprotective of Harry, something that he considered to be smothering. She strongly objected to the Order members giving Harry information regarding Voldemort during the summer of 1995. Molly even went as far as to give him her brother's watch, for his coming of age. The watch was clearly a treasured family heirloom and a reminder of how much she had already lost in the struggle against Voldemort.

"*Half our family does seem to owe you their lives, now I stop and think about it... well, all I can say is that it was a lucky day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit in your compartment on the Hogwarts Express, Harry.*"
— Arthur Weasley expressing his gratitude[src]

Arthur Weasley was a surrogate father to Harry who (like his wife) treated him like one of his own children. He opened his home to Harry for months at a time and invited him to family functions. Unlike most, Arthur entrusted Harry with sensitive information others had felt him too young to understand. Arthur also like to sit next to Harry during meals and frequently talked to him about Muggle devices. Harry once saved Mr Weasley's life, after seeing him being attacked by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries before Christmas of 1995.

When Ron was poisoned in Harry's sixth year, and Harry saved him with a bezoar, Arthur pointed out how he had saved several members of the Weasley family. He also said that it was a good day for the Weasleys when Ron decided to sit with him on the train in 1991.

Harry would eventually marry into the Weasley family through their only daughter, Ginny, becoming an official member of the family which had taken him in so many times. Through Harry and Ginny, Arthur and Molly would have three grandchildren. It can be assumed that Arthur and Molly remained very close with Harry throughout the years, and some time after the war, Arthur repaired and passed on Sirius's motorcycle to Harry.

#### Weasley twins

"*The Marauder's Map was, however, of immense use to the young Weasley twins... It was a mark of their high esteem for Harry Potter, and their belief that he stood in need of assistance with a destiny none of them yet fully understood, that they later gifted the map to him, unwittingly passing it on to the child of one of the creators.*"
— Fred and George giving Harry the Marauder's Map[src]

Twins Fred and George Weasley held Harry in high-regard and helped him out numerous times. They saved him from the Dursleys during the summer of 1992 with an enchanted car, gave him the Marauder's Map in 1993, volunteered to be D.A. members in 1995, and later distracted Dolores Umbridge so that Harry could use her office to communicate with Sirius Black.

Fred and George would also defend Harry whenever possible, such as when Zacharias Smith kept making hostile comments toward Harry in the Hog's Head and they promised retribution with a lethal looking instrument if he did not stop. The twins, whom Harry regarded as close friends, were also on the Gryffindor Quidditch team with Harry for four years. Harry gave his Triwizard winnings to the Weasley twins to start Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. In their gratitude for the "start-up loan", they gave Harry products from their joke shop free of charge. Fred's death during the Battle of Hogwarts was one of the deaths that hit Harry the hardest.

#### Percy, Bill, and Charlie Weasley

Harry liked Percy Weasley the least of Ron's brothers, finding him pompous. However, he was genuinely shocked when Percy sided with the Ministry against him in 1995 and came to resent him for it. Percy later came to his senses and fought alongside Harry in the Battle of Hogwarts. Despite all that happened between them, Harry still went to some lengths to try to make Percy move from Fred's body to save him from the oncoming curses, apparently meaning he had considered Percy an ally once again and his changed had resulted in Harry forgiving him. He also seemed unbothered when Percy hugged him. However, Harry and Percy nevertheless remained estranged even after they became brother-in-laws through Harry's marriage to Ginny. When Harry saw his sons off to Hogwarts, he thought he overheard Percy talking and "*was glad to have the excuse not to stop and say hello*", but not out of spite.

He was also friends with Bill, describing him as "cool" upon first meeting him. Harry also participated in Bill's wedding with Fleur Delacour and lived for a month at their house, Shell Cottage. Bill was also among those who came to support Harry during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Bill also stuck by Harry's side in the Hospital Wing after the Third Task and "*Harry saw Mrs Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what had happened to him*", showing that he cared for Harry's well being*.* Harry in return cared about Bill as well, and was disheartened when he learned that Bill had been savaged by Fenrir Greyback.

He liked Charlie, who helped him out somewhat during the Triwizard Tournament. In his first year, Harry heard many times that Charlie was a great Quidditch player, and was very happy when he and his team lived up to Charlie's reputation. Charlie also congratulated Harry on his performance in the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, impressed with Harry's flying ability.

After the end of the Second Wizarding War, Harry officially became part of the Weasley family through his marriage to Ginny. Rowling stated that Harry "*is never happier than when holidaying with the seven Weasleys*".

#### Fleur Delacour

**Harry**: "*I'm sorry. I never meant you to have to deal with all of this.*"
**Fleur Delacour**: "'*Arry, you saved my sister's life. I do not forget.*"
— Fleur's loyalty and respect for Harry[src]
Harry met Fleur Delacour in October 1994; his first opinion of her was that she was a very beautiful girl who looked like a Veela. Fleur initially paid him as little attention, as she did most of the younger Hogwarts students. She was even condescending towards him, calling him a "little boy" and believed (like everyone else) that he cheated his way into the tournament for a chance at personal glory. She also gave him looks, such as when he was wiping his wand down and accidentally made sparks shoot out the end.

After the second task, Fleur's attitude towards him changed, when Harry saved her younger sister Gabrielle Delacour. Fleur, in turn, became much kinder to Harry in her gratitude. She kissed him on both cheeks as a way of saying thank you and they became good friends. After the Triwizard Tournament was completed and the students were returning home she gave Harry a goodbye. The two also mourned Cedric Diggory, a friend to them both, who was murdered by Lord Voldemort during the Third Task.

"*Fleur beamed at Harry as he came nearer. Her attitude toward him had changed completely since he had saved her sister from the lake.*"
— Fleur's and Harry's budding friendship[src]

In the summer of 1996, Fleur met Harry again at The Burrow, when Fleur was about to marry Bill Weasley, the eldest brother of Harry's best friend. While Fleur stayed at the Burrow, Harry seemed to be the only male who was unaffected by Fleur's beauty. This was possibly due to the platonic relationship that developed between them over the course of the tournament. She would often display affection for him, such as bringing him a breakfast tray while he was in still in bed and kissing him on both cheeks in a form of greeting and farewell. Like Ron and Arthur Weasley, Harry appeared to like Fleur and would defend her, much to the dismay of Molly, Hermione, and Ginny.

Eventually, Fleur joined the Order of the Phoenix and in 1997 she put herself in great danger during the Battle of the Seven Potters, acting as one of Harry's decoys. She was also very loyal to Harry. When her wedding was gate-crashed by Death Eaters, she did not tell them that Harry had been there. After the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, Harry and his friends lived with Bill and Fleur for roughly one month at Shell Cottage. While at the cottage, Fleur cared for them all, much like a mother or an older sister. Also during that time she became protective of him and, by extension, his friends.

Eventually, Harry married Ginny Weasley and, through marriage, Fleur became Harry's sister-in-law. Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin, was seen kissing Fleur's daughter, Victoire Weasley, at King's Cross Station in 2017. Harry had two nieces and a nephew through Fleur's marriage to Bill. Given the bond and experience that Fleur and Harry share as surviving champions of the 1994-1995 Triwizard Tournament, they likely shared a unique sense of camaraderie. Harry would also lecture Fleur's children during his frequent guest appearances in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes at Hogwarts, giving them a chance to learn first-hand from their esteemed uncle in a non-familial perspective.

## Good friends

### Luna Lovegood

**Luna Lovegood**: "*People expect you to have cooler friends than us.*"
**Harry**: "*You are cool. None of them were at the Ministry. They didn't fight with me.*"
**Luna Lovegood**: "*That's a very nice thing to say.*"
— Harry considers Luna and Neville Longbottom to be his friends[src]
Harry met fellow Hogwarts student Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw, on 1 September, 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. She seemed to be one of the few students who did. Harry and Luna became friendlier through Dumbledore's Army. After they fought together in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries 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, whereas the previous year he found the two as embarrassment to his standing in front of Cho Chang. Later on in the year, he invited Luna to attend Slughorn's Christmas Party with him, as a friend. Luna was excited, as she had never been invited to a party before and told Ginny about the invitation. During the party, Harry reflected that inviting Luna had been a good idea and absolutely worth it merely to see the looks of the faces of Horace Slughorn, Severus Snape and Sibyl Trelawney when she mentioned the Rotfang Conspiracy.

During the year in which Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to hunt down Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry visited the Lovegood household and found that Luna had decorated her bedroom with pictures of her five friends: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. Harry found this site to be very touching and felt great affection for Luna. Upon learning that Luna was being held hostage by the Death Eaters, Harry felt greatly worried, to the point of feeling some pity for her father for attempting to turn the trio in for ransom, but had confidence in Luna surviving nevertheless.

In the prelude to the final battle, Luna aided Harry in his search for Ravenclaw's Diadem, having been the one to inform Harry of its existence in the first place, and she stunned Alecto Carrow when Harry was too shocked to move, which probably saved him from being held captive until Voldemort's arrival. Later when Harry was going to sacrifice himself, he realised that Luna was one of his closest friends and one of the persons he would like to see before his death.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, Luna was the only one who noticed that Harry wanted to get away from the victory party, and created a distraction so that he could go speak with Ron and Hermione in private. The two remained friends into adulthood and Harry gave his daughter the middle name "Luna" in honour of his friend. It's also quite possible that Harry became friends with her husband (Rolf Scamander) and close to her twins, Lorcan and Lysander.

### Dobby

"*You shall not harm Harry Potter!*"
— Dobby protecting Harry from Lucius Malfoy[src]

Harry and Dobby had a very strong relationship. Dobby loved and respected him very much, to the point where he considered Harry to be his best friend. Dobby became a vitally important figure in Harry's life, and their relationship played a crucial role in Harry's ultimate defeat of Lord Voldemort. When Harry first met Dobby he was a bit confused. Throughout the year, when Dobby made attempts to drive Harry away from Hogwarts, causing some rather unpleasant results on the way, Harry made some threats that were never followed through. Near the end of the 1992-1993 school year, Harry freed Dobby from the slavery of the Malfoy family. Lucius became enraged and intended to attack Harry, but Dobby protected him by using a defensive spell. Dobby may have realised that he underestimated Harry, as Harry managed to stop Lucius' plot and survive the Chamber of Secrets.

Dobby was appointed to work at the kitchen of Hogwarts Castle in the paid service of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, though even as a free elf, his loyalty always laid foremost with Harry. When Harry visited the kitchens and therefore Dobby, Dobby hugged him so tightly that Harry felt as though his ribs might crack. Dobby also asked if it would be alright if he visited Harry from time-to-time, with Harry responding with an of course. Dobby visited Harry on Christmas day and presented him with a present, socks and when Harry tried them on Dobby's eyes misted with tears. In 1994, Dobby provided Harry with Gillyweed for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

In 1995, Dobby told Harry about the Room of Requirement and how to get inside. It is a secret room inside Hogwarts castle and cannot be seen even on the Marauder's Map. Harry and his friends used the room in Dumbledore's Army's meetings and practises. When Marietta Edgecombe betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Professor Umbridge, Dobby immediately warned Harry that the Inquisitorial Squad was going to attack, even though the house-elves had been forbidden to tell anyone, proving that he was far more loyal to Harry Potter than to Umbridge or Hogwarts in general. When he heard, Harry ordered Dobby not to punish himself for disobeying a direct order from Umbridge.

In 1996, Dobby had a fight with another house-elf, Kreacher after Kreacher insulted Harry. In 1998, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Garrick Ollivander, and the goblin Griphook were captured and taken hostage at the Malfoy Manor. Alerted to their whereabouts by Aberforth Dumbledore, Dobby rescued the hostages in two groups, first Apparating Dean, Luna, and Ollivander to Shell Cottage, then returning to do the same for Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Griphook. Dobby dropped a chandelier on Bellatrix Lestrange to release Hermione from being held at knife-point, giving Ron the opportunity to take a wand and Disapparate with Hermione.

Enraged by what he had done, Bellatrix threw the same silver knife at Dobby, mortally wounding him, just as he Disapparated with Harry and Griphook. Upon arriving at Shell Cottage, Harry discovered Dobby's wound and cried out for help as Dobby died in Harry's arms. Harry dug a grave without using magic and held a small funeral for the elf in the garden of Shell Cottage. Dobby's epitaph read "*HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF*". After the funeral, Harry remembered the one Albus Dumbledore had and thought that Dobby deserved one just as grand.

It was the grief Harry felt for Dobby's death that ultimately grounded him, ridding Harry of the "*weird, obsessive longing*" to find the Elder Wand and the resentment for how little he felt Albus Dumbledore had actually disclosed during their time together. While digging Dobby's grave, Harry reflected on all Dumbledore had said about love, all that he had foreseen, and replaced his trust in the late Headmaster. Harry then made the conscious decision to continue his pursuit of Horcruxes, and not Hallows.

### Neville Longbottom

**Neville Longbottom** : "*All right, Harry. You're okay, are you?*"
**Harry**: "*I'm fine. Thanks, Neville.*"
**Neville Longbottom** : "*We're all going to keep fighting, Harry. You know that?*"
— Neville's loyalty and willingness to fight beside Harry[src]
Neville Longbottom became Harry's dormmate in 1991, in their first year at Hogwarts. In 1996, Harry learned that the Prophecy that prompted Lord Voldemort to target his parents could have been referring to Neville. Though Harry sympathised with the fact that Neville's parents had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jnr, he spent part of the journey to Hogwarts prior to his sixth year pondering how things could have been different if Voldemort had chosen to attack Neville, and he had become the "*one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord*" instead of Harry.

In the initial years, Harry was quite friendly with Neville, though he was not as close to him as he was with Ron and Hermione. Harry helped out Neville in many occasions, such as in 1992, when he advised him to stand up to Draco Malfoy, who constantly bullied him. Harry and Neville became close friends only in their fifth year at school, when Neville took part in Dumbledore's Army, an organisation that Harry led and taught in opposition to Dolores Umbridge. Neville became highly devoted to the D.A.

Harry's encouragement and training helped Neville not only improve his magical abilities, but also gain badly needed confidence and incredible courage. He fought alongside Harry in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where Neville saved Harry's life from the Death Eater Walden Macnair. When Harry grieved at the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, Neville did not question Harry's relationship with an alleged criminal, instead consoling him of his loss. In 1997, Neville was one of only three D.A. members who still checked their enchanted coin enough to receive Hermione's call for help prior to the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.

"*The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry.*"
— Neville on how Harry inspires him[src]

In 1998, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were on the run, Neville re-formed Dumbledore's Army with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, in resistance against Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow. Neville spoke out against their anti-Muggle rhetoric and habit of using the Cruciatus Curse on students. He did this regardless of the consequences, saying he noticed it always helped give people hope when Harry did that. When Harry returned, Neville deferred to his leadership and summoned the rest of Dumbledore's Army (who, in turn, contacted the Order of the Phoenix) believing Harry was there to lead a revolt.

Harry and Neville fought together throughout the Battle of Hogwarts, and just before Harry sacrificed himself, he left Neville with the instruction to kill Nagini, Voldemort's snake and last remaining Horcrux. When everyone believed Harry to be dead, Neville openly defied Voldemort, who tried to burn him alive with the Sorting Hat, but failed due to Harry's sacrificial protection. Using the opportunity given to him by the sudden arrival of reinforcements, Neville completed the task Harry gave to him; he drew Gryffindor's Sword from the Sorting Hat and slew Nagini. In the process destroying the last Horcrux and rendering Voldemort mortal, thus allowing Harry to finally kill him.

Nineteen years after the battle, Neville had become the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts and taught Harry and Ginny's children, James and Albus. They both remained close friends in adulthood. Harry made Neville the godfather to his second son Albus.

### Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas

"*I just wanted to say, I believe you. And I've sent a copy of that magazine to me mam.*"
— Seamus expressing his support for Harry, after having previously doubted him[src]

In addition to Ron and Neville, Harry's room mates at Hogwarts were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Although he was not as close to them as he was to Ron, Harry was nevertheless friendly with both of them.

Dean made a banner for Harry during his first Quidditch match, and believed him about the return of Lord Voldemort in 1995, unlike Seamus, eagerly joining Dumbledore's Army. However, Seamus eventually realised that Harry was telling the truth about Voldemort's return, he joined the D.A. and became friends with Harry again.

Harry resented Dean slightly during their sixth year out of jealousy over Dean's romance with Ginny Weasley, on whom he had developed a crush. When Dean and Ginny split up, Harry's enmity lifted, though Dean then became upset when Harry kissed his ex-girlfriend soon after their break-up, in spite of this, he never seemed to carry any ill will towards Harry.

Dean, like the Trio, left Hogwarts in 1997 because he was unsure whether he was a Muggle-born or not. He was caught by a group of Snatchers, led by Fenrir Greyback, along with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. During his rescue from Malfoy Manor, he was very reluctant to escape with Dobby and leave Harry behind and lived for a few days at Shell Cottage. Seamus and Dean eventually fought along with Ron in the Battle of Hogwarts.

### 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...*"
— Cho's feelings for and toward Harry[src]

In his earlier years at Hogwarts, Harry was attracted to Cho Chang, a popular girl in Ravenclaw House and Seeker of their Quidditch team who was one year older than him. It was said that his stomach did "*somersaults*" whenever he saw her. During the Triwizard Tournament in 1994, Harry plucked up the courage to ask her to the Yule Ball, but was disappointed to find that she had already agreed to go with Cedric Diggory, though she seemed to genuinely feel bad about having to turn him down.

In their next year, following Cedric's tragic death, Harry and Cho grew closer, eventually sharing a kiss under the mistletoe. However, Cho was still mourning Cedric, and became unreasonably jealous of Harry's friendship with Hermione, which, compounded with Harry's inexperience with girls, put a strain on their relationship; Harry was confused with Cho's attitude, and the misunderstanding soured their first date's experience.

Although Harry was still attracted to Cho it said that his stomach reacted less violently when she was around, merely doing a "feeble lurch" rather than a somersault. The last straw was Cho's friend Marietta Edgecombe's betrayal of Dumbledore's Army to Dolores 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 seemed 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 and seemed disappointed when this offer was fiercely denied by Ginny Weasley. Harry, neither disappointed nor enthusiastic went with Luna without further argument.

One of the many points that Harry fell in love with Ginny is because she was rarely weepy. This contrasts with Cho, as she cried openly for many periods of time after Cedric's death, to which left Harry at a complete loss as to what to do at such moments. Along with Cho's desire to talk about Cedric's death with Harry (to which Harry refused), Harry felt it was hard to talk to her and he began to lose interest in her more and more for spoiling the mood, until he was eventually too confused at her tears when she cried at how Harry insulted Marietta, and told her off rudely. However, the two do not hate or dislike each other and remain on neutral terms.

### Albus Dumbledore

**Hermione Granger**: "*Harry, I'm sorry, but I think the real reason you're so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself.*"
**Harry**: "*Maybe I am! Look what he asked from me, Hermione! Risk your life, Harry!... And don't expect me to explain everything, just trust me blindly... even though I don't trust you! Never the whole truth! Never!*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*He loved you. I know he loved you.*"
— Discussion of the secrets Dumbledore kept[src]
Albus Dumbledore was a mentor to Harry, akin to a grandfather figure. Dumbledore 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 had not told him of the prophecy concerning himself and Voldemort, because he wanted to spare Harry the pain and responsibility it would burden him with for as long as possible. Though Harry was initially furious with him for the frustration he felt for being kept in the dark, the two continued to be close.

Harry continued to have utmost faith in him, proclaiming to Rufus Scrimgeour that he was Dumbledore's man through and through, something Dumbledore was very touched by. 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 greatly devastating to Harry, though he persevered in the impossibly difficult task Dumbledore had left him of finding and destroying each of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry had difficulty coping with the fact that there was much Dumbledore had not told him about his history with the Deathly Hallows and Gellert Grindelwald: even doubting that Dumbledore actually cared about him, and beginning to believe the old Headmaster simply thought of Harry as nothing more than a tool to be used. However, when he learned during the Battle of Hogwarts that Dumbledore had supposedly planned all along for Harry to sacrifice himself, Harry innately showed incredible faith in his mentor by serenely accepting the task. When Harry allowed himself to be struck by Voldemort's Killing Curse, his soul entered a state of Limbo, resembling King's Cross Station, where Dumbledore was waiting to speak with him.

"*I cared about you too much. I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act.*"
— Dumbledore explaining his feelings for Harry[src]

The fact that Dumbledore himself was there to meet Harry in a place between life and death attested to the bond of fellowship between them. They discussed all that had happened to Harry since Dumbledore's death, as well as things that had remained unsaid prior to it. At one point, Dumbledore seemed to beg for Harry's reassurance, uncharacteristically doubting some of the decisions he had made in the course of his life, which Harry easily gave him. Though Harry had felt some resentment for how little he felt Dumbledore had actually revealed of himself in their time together, Harry probably learned secrets and saw a side of Dumbledore that no one else knew during the events at "King's Cross". Fully reconciling with his mentor, Harry and Dumbledore parted ways, with Harry returning to life to defeat Voldemort while Dumbledore moved "on" to the afterlife.

Harry also had a unique relationship with the Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes; not only was Harry's wand one of the only two ever made with feathers from Fawkes's tail, but the phoenix found Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, helped him slay Slytherin's Basilisk, and provided Harry with the only known antidote to Basilisk venom: phoenix tears. Fawkes's song was a source of comfort for Harry on a number occasions before the phoenix left Hogwarts following Dumbledore's death.

Harry later named his second son Albus, after the Hogwarts Headmaster. He maintained his respect and faith in Dumbledore well-through his later years, continuing to ask him for council regarding how to treat his son and trying to honour it by allowing Albus to be friends with Scorpius. Although his respect was for a brief moment shaken by the fact that Delphini, the daughter of Lord Voldemort, had kidnapped his and Draco's son, in which Harry bitterly blamed Dumbledore for not knowing and being able to tell him about Delphini having existed, he eventually snapped out of it after Dumbledore revealed that he wanted to personally confront and defeat Voldemort in Harry's behalf but although he was confident he could win, he did not have the power to fully destroy Voldemort as only Harry had the power to kill him for good and had realised he should have trusted Harry more. Henceforth, Harry referred to Dumbledore as a great man whose flaws made him better rather than making him worse.

### Minerva McGonagall

"*Why would Harry Potter try and get inside Ravenclaw Tower? Potter belongs in* my *house!*"
— McGonagall proud that Harry is in Gryffindor[src]

Harry had a strong relationship with his Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House, Professor Minerva McGonagall. Minerva showed her care for Harry ever since she, Dumbledore, and Hagrid left him in the care of the Dursleys, in part because she had been quite fond of Harry's late parents. She was sort of a stern but loving grandmother-figure to him and expressed concern with both Dumbledore's choice trusting Hagrid to safely transport Harry to Little Whinging, and of the choice of family with whom Harry would stay. She spent hours on end spying on the Dursleys to get an insight to what life for Harry growing up would be like.

When Harry arrived at Hogwarts, Minerva was pleased that he was Sorted into Gryffindor house, her house. When she saw Harry on a broomstick and the natural flying abilities he displayed, rather than punishing or expelling him, she brought him to see Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, announcing that she had found their new Seeker. In her gratitude for Harry accepting the position, McGonagall bought him a Nimbus 2000 for his first Quidditch game. However, Minerva's concern for Harry did not blind her to his misdemeanours around the school. Though she often let Harry off for breaking school rules, she only did so only under life-threatening circumstances, but did not hesitate to give him detention for being out of bounds taking points away from Gryffindor as a result.

Though theirs was a typical student-teacher relationship for Harry's first three years at Hogwarts, after Harry was selected to become a Triwizard Champion, the sheer level of danger he faced seemed to warm her to him. In Harry's fifth year, McGonagall urged Harry not to give Dolores Umbridge or the Ministry any more ammunition to use against him, and she later stood up for him to Umbridge, promising to help Harry become an Auror if it was the last thing she did. Harry felt a powerful surge of anger when Umbridge later gloated that Minerva was too ill to talk to anyone after being hit in the chest with four simultaneous Stunners. McGonagall considered him a talented and likeable wizard and expressed pride at having Harry in her house. Harry, in turn, felt great affection for her.

When Harry secretly infiltrated Hogwarts shortly prior to the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry defended Minerva's honour against Alecto and Amycus Carrow who had been posted at the school by Voldemort. Amycus demanded to know where Harry was in the Tower and McGonagall asked why he would be there as he belonged in her house with clear pride in her voice. When Amycus Carrow spat at McGonagall, Harry was outraged to the point of attacking him with the Cruciatus Curse, and agreeing with Bellatrix Lestrange's assertion that one had to "really mean it" to perform it correctly. Although shocked by Harry's sudden appearance and his use of an Unforgivable Curse, Minerva was clearly touched. Though Minerva tried to convince Harry to flee out of concern for his safety, Minerva immediately joined Harry in retaking the castle and preparing for battle when he informed her that he was acting on Dumbledore's orders.

Nearing the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, Minerva's devastation was clearly equal to that of Ron and Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger, when she saw Rubeus Hagrid carrying Harry's seemingly dead body. She later duelled Voldemort head on in the final battle. When the battle ended with Voldemort's death at Harry's hands, Minerva was among the first to embrace him.

### Severus Snape

"*You have your mother's eyes.*"
— Snape acknowledging that Harry is Lily's son[src]

During his years in school, Harry's relationship with Potions Master Severus Snape was nothing short of deepest mutual 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 realise 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 was "*so arrogant that criticism simply bounced off him.*" Snape took utmost pleasure in giving Harry detention whenever possible, docking house points, and insulting him frequently.

In 1994, Harry's relationship with Snape was further strained when Harry helped Sirius Black escape as Snape during that time believed that Sirius betrayed Harry's mother Lily Potter, whom he loved since childhood, to Voldemort. Harry, on the other hand, had learned that Sirius was innocent, having been framed by Peter Pettigrew, who was the actual culprit.

In 1995, after having "looked inside" Voldemort 's mind, and discovering that Arthur Weasley, who was on guard duty at the Department of Mysteries, was to be killed by Nagini (Voldemort's snake) Dumbledore ordered Snape to teach Harry the skill of Occlumency. Occlumency would allow Harry to block his mind from Voldemort's Legilimency probing. A very tedious and trying set of lessons, at one point Snape provoked Harry into casting a Shield Charm, which allowed Harry to catch a glimpse of Snape's own memories.

Later, when Snape left the room to attend to Montague, Harry entered the pensieve in order to see what memories Snape was hiding from him — which turned out to be of Snape being taunted by his father and the other Marauders, and of Snape calling Lily a Mudblood out of humiliation. This caused Harry great distress because he had never before believed a word of Snape's criticisms of James. Although humbling Harry somewhat towards Snape, they still retained a very strained and bitter relationship during Harry's remaining time at Hogwarts.

"*Harry felt as though his body was generating waves of hatred so powerful that it seemed incredible that Snape could not feel them burning him.*"
— Harry's former intense hatred of Snape[src]

After Sirius was murdered during 1996 in the Department of Mysteries by Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry took savage pleasure in blaming Snape for his death. He believed that Snape's taunt to Sirius about his uselessness to the Order of the Phoenix was one of the main factors which caused Sirius to leave his house and fight. Harry's hatred of Snape reached its height in 1997 when he discovered that Snape had told Voldemort about the Prophecy involving him, which led Harry to believe that Snape had betrayed his parents. Harry raged at Albus Dumbledore for trusting Snape, only to have Dumbledore silence him. Later the same night Snape killed Dumbledore, which only seemed to confirm what Harry had come to believe about his former Potions master, resenting Snape almost as much as he resented Voldemort himself.

In 1998, Harry witnessed Voldemort order the death of Severus Snape, in an attempt to gain the allegiance of the Elder Wand. Despite his hatred of his former teacher, he still felt sorry for the way Voldemort had killed Snape. As Voldemort left Snape mortally wounded by Nagini in the Shrieking Shack, Harry was able to obtain several memories that contained not only the truth about Snape's motives and unwavering allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix, but relayed a crucial message from Dumbledore. What Harry discovered about Snape's persistent love for Lily Evans also explained Snape's final act: he had instructed Harry to look at him, so he could die looking into the eyes Harry inherited from his mother. This caused Harry to lose all his previous enmity towards Snape, replaced with feelings of respect for his bravery and undying love for his mother, as before destroying Voldemort for good, he made sure the latter, alongside the rest of the Hogwarts resistance, first knew Snape's loyalty was to Dumbledore in order to clear away any resentment of Snape's actions.

In addition, Harry also ensured that Snape's portrait was rightfully placed among Hogwarts's previous headmasters. He considered Snape to be one of the bravest men he had ever known, and gave his second son, who was the only one of his children to inherit Lily's eyes, the middle name "Severus". Snape's display of goodness made Harry lose his bigotry towards Slytherin, using Snape's status as a former Slytherin yet still being so brave to ease Albus's fears.[HP7] Harry even compared Snape to Dumbledore himself, stating that despite their sorting into different houses and flaws, they were both ultimately great men and their flaws almost made them better, when visiting Diggory's grave.

In the alternate future where Harry died, Snape was extremely disappointed and felt deep guilt and remorse for failing to protect him and quickly agreed to help Scorpius Malfoy, who was the cause of this change, restore the timeline back so Harry would still be alive. The fact that Harry named his second son after himself deeply moved Severus and he told Scorpius he was proud of Albus carrying his name. Content with the fact that his legacy would be remembered in a time he will never experience and his sacrifice would save the legacy of his love, Snape did not hesitate to give his life to allow Scorpius to fix his mistake, dying once again without regret as he saved Harry and therefore Lily's legacy.

Ironically, the two shared many similarities that neither of them were aware of. Both were half-blood wizards who grew up among Muggles. Both of their Muggle caretakers were cruel to them (Snape's father was implied to be abusive to Snape and his mother, while the Dursleys were neglectful towards Harry). Both Snape and Harry's childhoods involved Petunia (Snape was friends with Petunia's sister Lily, while Harry was Petunia's nephew). Both grew up wearing secondhand clothes (however, Snape was likely forced to wear them due to his family's poverty, Harry's relatives were simply reluctant to afford any major expenses on him).

In addition, the two grew up virtually friendless until attending Hogwarts (Snape due to his unstable family life and secondhand clothes, Harry due to his relatives isolating him). Upon entering Hogwarts, Snape and Harry were bullied, in Snape's case, by the Marauders (who were led by James Potter), and Harry by (ironically) Snape himself and Draco Malfoy, among others.

Furthermore, both had at least one near-death experience during their Hogwarts: Snape was nearly killed in an abortive prank by the Marauders, while Harry repeatedly had Voldemort attempting to kill him. However, both Harry and Snape had at least one silver gleaming: their attraction to a redhead (Lily Potter and Ginny Weasley, respectively). Of course, Snape did not marry Lily (who married James and mothered Harry), while Harry himself did marry Ginny (with whom he had sired a child named Albus *Severus* Potter).

### Remus Lupin

"*You're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had.*"
— Harry's regard towards Lupin's skill[src]

Harry's simple student-teacher relationship with Remus Lupin quickly developed into a strong friendship. A friendship that was akin to one that a kind, loving uncle and his favourite nephew would share.

Harry first met Remus when he was an infant. They met again in 1993 when Remus saved him from the Dementors on the Hogwarts Express. Remus had been appointed the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts for the 1993-1994 school year. He soon became Harry's favourite professor as well as a mentor of sorts. Remus was the very first Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that was competent and actually taught Harry anything useful, which Harry described him as the best they ever had.

It was suggested that Remus' classes were how Harry discovered his extraordinary talent for Defence Against the Dark Arts. When Harry continued to be badly affected by Dementors, Remus agreed to give him private lessons to teach him the very advanced Patronus Charm. It was during these lessons that Harry discovered that Remus was one of his parents' oldest, dearest friends.

Although Remus attempted to maintain a teacher-student relationship with Harry, he did act more as a close friend or a beloved uncle at times; with him answering his questions patiently, sharing Butterbeer after a private lesson, assisting him in avoiding trouble with Professor Snape, and even returning the Marauder's Map to Harry once he was no longer a professor. Harry in turn, became deeply fond of Remus and was upset to hear of his resignation after Severus Snape exposed him as a werewolf. He even attempted to try and talk him into staying on at Hogwarts but, it was futile, though Remus told him that it had been a real pleasure teaching him, and assured him that they would meet again.

The two indeed met again in the summer of 1995 when members of the Advance Guard of the Order of the Phoenix arrived to pick up Harry from Privet Drive. Although initially wary of intruders, Harry relaxed on learning of Remus's presence in the group, indicating that he still trusted his father's old dear friend despite a year without contact. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Remus protected Harry and Neville Longbottom from an attack by Lucius Malfoy and saved Harry's life by preventing him from running into the Veil in the Death Chamber in an attempt to save his godfather, Sirius Black.

"*But you are normal. You've just got a — a problem.*"
— Harry's stance on the latter's lycanthropy[src]

Remus's undercover assignment with the werewolves prevented him from maintaining contact with Harry in the wake of his godfather's death, something about which he expressed regret. On the few occasions that they saw each other during Harry's sixth year, Harry was worried about Remus's increasingly haggard and gaunt appearance. He displayed a protective streak towards Remus, expressing anger over his forced resignation from Hogwarts and the general perception of werewolves.

In 1997, Harry was thrilled to hear of Remus's marriage to Nymphadora Tonks and was puzzled by Lupin's increasingly worried appearance. He was outraged when Remus temporarily left his wife for fear of their then unborn child becoming a werewolf and called him a coward for abandoning them, and Remus got so angry that he flung Harry away with his wand, causing him to bang his head on the wall, and then, he left. While Harry maintained his stance on their argument, he deeply regretted the harsh words he said to Remus in his anger.

When Remus' son Teddy Lupin was born, Harry was relieved that Remus had clearly forgiven him, and was overwhelmed but delighted to be made Teddy's godfather. Remus also spoke about Harry on Potterwatch, saying that if Harry could hear him he would tell him to trust his instincts which were "*nearly always right*". This deeply affected Harry who was then informed by Ron that Lupin was back with Tonks, having apparently listened to what Harry had said despite the way he said it.

Of all the people who died during the Battle of Hogwarts, Remus's death along with those of his wife (Nymphadora Tonks) and Fred Weasley, were the ones that hit Harry the hardest. Remus was one of the spirits that was summoned by the Resurrection Stone to speak to Harry and give him the support he needed as he walked to what he believed was his death, indicating the almost familial bond between Remus and Harry.

In his copy of *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, Harry wrote in the werewolf entry that they "*aren't all bad*". He and Teddy became very close after the war. Harry and his family had dinner with Teddy four times a week and Harry's children hoped that Teddy would either be married into the Weasley-Potter family, or Harry would ask Teddy to move in with the Potters.

Despite Remus's dislike of all things wolfish due to his condition, his bond with and tendency to look after Harry is somewhat wolf-like, as wolves are communal animals that share the raising of their young. This very much describes how Remus would look after and mentor Harry, as Harry's father was Remus's close friend, and the Marauders were analogous to Remus's "pack."

### Lord Voldemort

"*You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father, a Muggle and a fool . . . very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child . . . and I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself, in death. . .* "
— Voldemort taunting Harry in the Little Hangleton[src]

Lord Voldemort, who sought to destroy Harry ever since the boy was an infant, was Harry's most dangerous arch-enemy. Dumbledore described the relationship between Lord Voldemort and Harry as follows: "*You and Lord Voldemort have journeyed together into realms of magic hitherto unknown and untested... Voldemort wrapped your destinies together more securely than ever two wizards were joined in history... both kin and mortal enemy*". The two wizards had their destines locked together ever since a prophecy foretelling of a child "*with the power to Vanquish the Dark Lord*" was made and relayed in part to Voldemort, who decided to act, to prevent it from coming to fruition. Though two infants fit the description of "The Chosen One", Voldemort believed the son of James and Lily Potter posed the greater threat, as he, like Voldemort himself, was a half-blood.

To circumvent the prophecy, Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to murder baby Harry. When Lily refused to move aside and allow Voldemort access to his true target, her loving sacrifice afforded Harry a protection so powerful it caused the Killing Curse Voldemort aimed at Harry to rebound. Voldemort's body was destroyed and the fragment of soul residing within it was forced to flee and exist in a weak, spectral form. In attempting to murder Harry, Voldemort unintentionally embedded a piece of his soul and some of his own abilities into Harry, as well as effectively marking Harry "as his equal".

It was only after Voldemort attacked Harry that the latter became a Parselmouth, a trait Voldemort inherited from Salazar Slytherin, as well as the ability to see into Voldemort's mind on occasion — both tools that aided Harry in bringing about Lord Voldemort's end. As it happened, when Voldemort tried to murder Harry in the Forbidden Forest during the Battle of Hogwarts he was unable to because when Voldemort had used Harry's blood to restore his body, he had unwittingly bound Harry's life to his own. As such, the curse only destroyed the Horcrux piece of Voldemort's soul within Harry, while Harry survived.

There are many features that both Harry and Voldemort share: both were only children who were "abandoned" at a very young age, too young to properly remember their parents. Both had grown up believing untruths about their parents (Harry was told that his parents were unemployed drunks who had died in a car accident, while Voldemort was allegedly told that his mother was from a circus). Lord Voldemort, like Harry, never knew his mother. Although he did meet his father, he only sought him out for revenge and murdered him.

Harry only vaguely remembered both his parents, being too young when they were murdered to remember anything more than vague images and fleeting feelings. However, he had been able to connect with them through objects that once belonged to them such as, his father's Invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map, his mother's letter, old photographs, and also his parents' friends. He also met their spirits via the Resurrection Stone. In addition, both boys wore second-hand clothes: Harry was given his repulsive cousin Dudley's enormous cast offs and Tom wore tatty hand-me-downs supplied by the orphanage. Both Riddle and Harry were friendless as children: Harry was kept isolated and denied a normal social life by his aunt and uncle, while Tom expressed his bitterness and loneliness by tormenting the other orphans, frightening them away.

"*There is no good and evil... There's only power, and those who are too weak to seek it....*"
— Voldemort words to Harry in 1992[src]

Both Harry and Voldemort were Parselmouths: wizards who have the ability to speak to snakes. This is less coincidental than it might seem, for Voldemort actually transferred this ability to Harry when attacking him. Voldemort was in Slytherin house and the Sorting Hat almost placed Harry into Slytherin, though Harry asked to be placed in some other House, thus, making it so his choices define who he is. Both boys had followers: Tom gathered a small group of "*friends*" through fear, intimidation, as well as tenuous promises and then later a whole group calling themselves the Death Eaters. Similarly, many students gravitated to Harry out of loyalty and a shared cause, but also curiosity and an attraction to his fame.

The two wizards also had "twin" wands: each wand contained the same phoenix feather wand core, that is later revealed to be from Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix. As well, both boys were unaware they were wizards until about the age of eleven, even though each could make unusual things happen. Both Harry and Tom were of great interest to Dumbledore and both felt their first home was Hogwarts.

In addition, both achieved greatness in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, however, each for different reasons. Both Harry and Voldemort were half-bloods, though that only matters to Tom Riddle. Both are also rule breakers: Harry, of course, feels justified when he does things like leaving his dorm after hours, entering the Forbidden Forest, as well as eavesdropping on teachers because he believes it serves a greater purpose. Tom might have engaged in similar activities, but if so, then he did this for darker and self-serving reasons, as well as without benefit of an Invisibility Cloak like Harry: while at school, Tom framed Hagrid for a girl's death, then went on to worse crimes.

**Lord Voldemort**: "*Potter doesn't mean that. Who else are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?*"
**Harry**: "*No one. There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. One of us is going to leave for good.*"
— The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort[src]
However, there are also many features that set Harry and Voldemort apart: during his Sorting, Harry requested not to be placed in Slytherin. It is unlikely Tom Riddle would have made a similar request, even if he was unaware what his ancestry was. Furthermore, Voldemort never had friends, only followers who feared him or hoped to gain some reward or advantage. Harry made many friends: his dorm-mates, the Weasley family, as well as many teachers: especially Dumbledore, Hagrid, Remus Lupin, as well as (the real) "Mad-Eye" Moody. They supported Harry because they share a common belief. While both were half-blood, Harry's mother was Muggle-born, whereas Lord Voldemort's *father* was a Muggle, as well as incidentally, so was Snape's, which is why he called himself the "Half-Blood Prince".

Most importantly, Harry cared about the people around him, even pitying Draco Malfoy when the boy was ordered by Voldemort to assassinate Dumbledore. Harry had the ability to love and be compassionate, making him more vulnerable to suffering pain, but also capable of experiencing deep friendship and loyalty that helped guide him to greatness. For Voldemort, love, fidelity, or compassion are unknown and unwelcome concepts. Voldemort would demand loyalty and respect from his Death Eaters, but had little in return. Voldemort had a tendency to dispose of Death Eaters who either failed him, angered him, or were no longer of use to him. Despite literally sharing the same blood, Voldemort and Harry were also related by blood, however distantly, through their shared descent from the Peverells (Voldemort through the Gaunts and Harry through the Potters). This made them distant cousins.

It is possible that Harry won the allegiance of Voldemort's wand after the latter's death during their Duel in the Great Hall. If so, it is highly unlikely Harry will ever use the wand due to his personal history with both the wand itself and its original owner.

Voldemort and Harry share some things: The same wand cores and the same family because Harry Potter is related to Tom Riddle, they are related through the Peverell brothers.

Despite his long and twisted history with Voldemort, Harry did not allow his grudge against the man to interfere with making sound judgement when thwarting the Dark Lord's daughter Delphini's attempts to upset the timeline to be with her father. Harry even offered the wayward girl compassion and advice on learning to live as an orphan as he has long since learned to do. This shows that despite all that Voldemort did to Harry, his loved ones, and the world, Harry was, even after so many years, still the better man and mature and compassionate enough to spare his greatest enemy's daughter, as Harry was ruled by love and wisdom, not hatred or power. Harry was also able to empathise with her due to their shared status as war orphans and outsiders in their youth. Harry likely saw Delphini as the version of her father that he might have been had he been shown love and compassion. He also might have spared her in one last attempt to prove whether or not Voldemort still controlled his life.

### Draco Malfoy

"*Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.*"
— Harry expressing his deep distaste for Draco Malfoy[src]

Draco Malfoy became Harry's rival almost from the moment they met at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley. Draco came from a family that believed strongly in the importance of blood purity, thus he considered himself superior to most people. He bullied and insulted Muggle-borns and Gryffindors in particular. He was bitterly jealous of Harry's seemingly effortless heroism. Despite his strong hatred towards Draco, Harry had restraint towards Draco's taunts. He occasionally had to restrain Ron Weasley (and on one occasion, George Weasley) from attacking Draco and only resorted to violence if Draco insulted someone he cared about.

Their rivalry became dangerous in the 1996–1997 school year, as shown when Draco broke Harry's nose on the Hogwarts Express, and Harry slashing and seriousing injuring Draco with the curse *Sectumsempra* in the Sixth-floor boys' bathroom. However, he did genuinely feel remorse for having done the deed, having never intended to wound Draco so mortally.

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. To punish his father, Voldemort ordered Draco to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, threatening his parents' lives if he failed. Although he let several Death Eaters into Hogwarts in 1997, Draco found himself unwilling to actually go through with murdering Dumbledore, even when given the opportunity to do so. Harry himself recognised Draco's burdens and actually felt sorry for him.

In 1998, when Harry was brought to the Malfoy Manor to be handed over to the Dark Lord, Draco was very reluctant to identify him. During the confrontation that ensued, Harry disarmed him winning both his hawthorn wand and, unknowingly, the Elder Wand. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione saved his life twice: The first was against Crabbe's Fiendfyre and the second 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. Draco saw Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron at King's Cross Station when sending their children to Hogwarts, where he gave them a curt nod. While Draco and Harry eventually made peace, they were still not friends at this stage. One possible reason for this was to avoid having a similar relationship that Harry's father and his friends had with Snape during *their* adulthood. It is also unknown if Harry ever gave Draco his original wand back, as Harry won its allegiance and it is never stated how a wand that has been won behaves towards its original master afterwards.

During the ensuing years, Draco managed a cordial relationship with Harry and his family due to Albus Potter being Draco's son, Scorpius's best friend. When Draco's wife died, he valued the positive effect that Albus had in preventing Scorpius from being completely isolated, reaching his son in a way he couldn't. During the crisis with Delphini, Draco confessed much to Harry during these events, including how much he envied Harry's friendship with Ron and Hermione. And when revealing the details of his wife's death and the effect it had on him and his son, Draco and Harry finally came to see eye-to-eye, and looked upon each other as friends for the first time, having gained a powerful and mutual respect for one another.

### Bellatrix Lestrange

"*SHE KILLED SIRIUS! SHE KILLED HIM —* I'LL KILL HER*!*"
— Harry hatred for Bellatrix after she murdered Sirius Black[src]

Harry felt contemptuous of Bellatrix Lestrange from the moment he learned of her torturing of Alice and Frank Longbottom, his eyes immediately drawn to her picture wherever he saw it. Bellatrix in turn hated Harry as much as he hated her. She even volunteered for the task of killing him in 1997. Throughout their encounter in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Bellatrix goaded Harry with sarcastic baby-talk, mocking him for falling for Lord Voldemort's ploy and travelling to the Ministry of Magic to save his non-present godfather. She abandoned the baby-talk, however, becoming incensed when Harry used Voldemort's name — a mark of deep disrespect in Bellatrix's eyes.

After Bellatrix murdered Sirius Black, Harry seemed to hate her as much as, if not more than, he did Voldemort. He chased her into the Atrium of the Ministry in a fit of rage, where he tried (unsuccessfully) to torture her by use of the Cruciatus Curse. He even had to restrain himself from destroying her wand, which he managed to procure during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix would later murder both Nymphadora Tonks and Dobby the house-elf in 1998, also nearly killing Ginny Weasley during the second round of the Battle of Hogwarts.

In the latter incident, Harry, who had been hurrying towards Voldemort in the Great Hall, noticed the danger to Ginny's life and made a beeline for Bellatrix instead. He was beaten to her, however, by Molly Weasley's abrupt intervention. It is also possible that Harry learned that Bellatrix was the one who killed Tonks after the Battle of Hogwarts, which more than likely increased his hatred of Bellatrix.

Though she spoke disparagingly of the fact that Harry was a half-blood, and vehemently denied Harry's claims that Voldemort was the same, Bellatrix despised Harry mostly out of loyalty to her master, the man with whom she had developed an obsessive infatuation. As such, Bellatrix more or less hated anyone who challenged or threatened Lord Voldemort. Regardless of his feelings, Harry recognised that Bellatrix made a fearsome opponent; while he hated her as his godfather's murderer, he acknowledged that she was also a "*witch of prodigious skill and absolutely no conscience*".

As Harry's hate towards Bellatrix was prominent amongst the many other Death Eaters, he tended to focus on her whenever her picture was shown in the *Daily Prophet*, or when her name came up. It was due to this relationship that he saw the resemblance between Bellatrix and her younger sisters, Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks, to the point of even nearly mistaking the latter for Bellatrix herself.

Despite Harry's hatred for Bellatrix, he did not let this be a factor for his decision for her daughter, Delphini. Despite Delphini had shown similar ruthlessness and fanatical devotion to Voldemort that her mother did, Harry did not react in the same hateful manner as he did to Bellatrix when he arrested her.

### Lucius Malfoy

"*You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter. They were meddlesome fools, too.*"
— Lucius cooly threatening Harry Potter[src]

Harry first saw Lucius Malfoy in 1992 at Borgin and Burkes, though they didn't officially meet until Lucius got into a fist fight with Arthur Weasley at Flourish and Blotts, over Malfoy's many insults aimed at the Weasley family. Though Harry didn't know it till much later, after a good deal of damage had been done, Malfoy had used the scuffle as a pretext for handing Ginny Weasley a book that turned out to be Riddle's Diary.

Harry and Malfoy met again at the end of the same year, when Harry tricked Malfoy into freeing his house-elf, Dobby; when Lucius threatened Harry in his anger at having lost his servant, Dobby demonstrating the might of his house-elf magic to protect Harry. They would eventually meet again in the Ministry of Magic, in 1995, after which Lucius was outed as an active Death Eater and arrested. Following his failure at the Ministry, and Voldemort's discovery of the fact that Lucius had allowed one of his Horcruxes to be destroyed, Voldemort punished him by giving his son the seemingly impossible task of assassinating Albus Dumbledore.

When Harry and his friends escaped from Malfoy Manor on Lucius' watch, the Malfoys fell further out of Voldemort's favour. During the final battle, Lucius and his wife both deserted the Death Eaters, placing greater importance in the safety of their son, and Narcissa's crucial act of lying to Voldemort about Harry's supposed death insured that the Malfoy family was not sent to Azkaban.

### Sirius Black

"*Like the fact that the person Sirius cared most about in the world was you. Like the fact that you were coming to regard Sirius as a mixture of father and brother. Voldemort knew already, of course, that Sirius was in the Order, that you knew where he was, but Kreacher's information made him realise that the one person whom you would go to any lengths to rescue, Was Sirius Black.*"
— Albus Dumbledore, regarding Harry and Sirius's relationship[src]

Filling in as a paternal figure or an uncle (unlike Uncle Vernon), Sirius Black was Harry's godfather, as well as his most trusted confidant. When Harry's scar hurt in 1994, he acknowledged that he could tell and ask Sirius anything without feeling foolish, hesitant, or uncomfortable. During Dolores Umbridge's dictatorial rule over Hogwarts during the 1995–1996 school year, Sirius supported Harry's rebellion against her, telling Harry that he and James would have done the same thing. He also supported Harry's plan to teach students practical defensive magic.

When Harry first met Sirius, he wanted to kill Sirius for the betrayal of his parents. When the truth was revealed that Peter Pettigrew had been the one who sold the Potters to Lord Voldemort, Sirius still showed immense guilt, because it had been his idea for Pettigrew to become the Potters' Secret Keeper.

Harry, for his part, became 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 did not 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.

"*I realised I can't shut myself away, or — or crack up. Sirius wouldn't have wanted that, would he? And anyway, life's too short... look at Madam Bones, look at Emmeline Vance... it could be me next, couldn't it? But if it is, I'll make sure I take as many Death Eaters with me as I can and Voldemort too, if I can manage it.*"
— Harry honours his godfather's memory[src]

When Sirius was killed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry at first refused to believe he was dead. Harry was completely devastated by Sirius's death; for the following months, Harry avoided talking about Sirius if he could; whenever the subject came up, he would distract himself in some way to avoid joining the discussion. Very fortunately, Harry was able to move on with his life after a short period of grieving, knowing that Sirius would not want him to shut himself away or crack up. When Harry prepared to sacrifice himself to Voldemort in 1998, Sirius was one of the spirits he summoned using the Resurrection Stone. Sirius assured Harry that dying was "*quicker and easier*" than falling asleep.

Sirius also was the one who gave Harry his first toy broomstick, as a year old baby. In a letter to Sirius, Harry's mother thanked him and described James's impression that Harry would be a "*good Quidditch player.*" Sirius later gave Harry another broomstick, the Firebolt, as thirteen years's worth of presents from his godfather.

Harry would name his eldest son after James and Sirius.

### Alastor Moody

"*Harry could not quite comprehend it. Mad-Eye dead; it could not be... Mad-Eye, so tough, so brave, the consummate survivor...*"
— Harry thinking about Mad Eye's death[src]

Harry first saw the real Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody shortly after Barty Crouch Jnr was revealed to have been keeping Moody imprisoned in his own trunk, using his hair for Polyjuice Potion, and taking Moody's place as temporary Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts for most of the 1994–1995 school year.

The real Moody brought the Advance Guard of the Order of the Phoenix to Privet Drive in 1995, to safely transport Harry to the Order's headquarters, and Sirius Black's ancestral home, at 12 Grimmauld Place. As Harry got to know Moody through his time spent around the Order, Moody proved every bit the great, albeit incredibly paranoid, wizard he was reputed to be. When Moody was murdered by Voldemort during the Battle of the Seven Potters, Harry was shocked and horrified by the abrupt end of such a skilled Auror, and shared a drink in his honour with the rest of the Order.

In 1997, Harry infiltrated Umbridge's office looking for Salazar Slytherin's locket, where he found Moody's steal magical eye lodged in the door of Umbridge's office. Harry reclaimed the eye, although in doing so he ended up alerting the Ministry to the breach in security, and later Harry buried it under a tree he found and marked with a small cross while thinking that Moody would prefer it to having his eye put to use spying for Dolores Umbridge.

### Nymphadora Tonks

"*Lupin, Tonks... He yearned not to feel... He wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside him....*"
— Harry's devastation regarding Tonks and Lupin's murders[src]

Harry and Nymphadora Tonks first met in August 1995 when the Advance Guard came to Privet Drive in order to transport Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place. From there, she became one of Harry's most valuable allies and friend. The pair immediately took a liking to each other and Harry was particularly impressed by Tonks's position as an Auror, as well as her extraordinary Metamorphmagus abilities. At the time of their first meeting Harry was intimidated by the rest of the Advance Guard, but not Tonks who was clumsy and funny. Later, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Tonks was among the Order members that came to the rescue of Harry and his friends. Harry was later relieved to hear that she would recover from the injuries she suffered at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Their friendship grew during the next few years. In 1996, Harry hoped Tonks would be among the Aurors set to escort him to the Hogwarts Express, though she was not. Shortly after, Tonks rescued Harry on the Hogwarts Express; she performed the counter-curse to remove the Full Body-Bind Curse placed on him by Draco Malfoy, healed his broken nose, and ensured he reached safety within Hogwarts. Tonks felt sorry that Harry wasn't able to attend her and Remus' wedding in 1997.

When Lupin briefly left Tonks, due to fears that the child she carried would be infected with lycanthropy like himself, Harry was furious with him for leaving his family. It was largely because of Harry's words that Lupin returned to Tonks. Nine months later in March, Tonks and Remus asked Harry to be godfather to their son, Teddy Remus Lupin. During the Battle of Hogwarts Tonks was murdered by her aunt Bellatrix, who finally succeeded in killing her "blood traitor" niece. Tonks's death, along with that of her husband, Fred Weasley, and Colin Creevey were those that hit Harry the hardest.

In honour of Tonks and her husband's memory, Harry helped Nymphadora's mother raise Teddy. Harry acted as a father figure to their orphaned son and Teddy would spend three or four nights a week dining with the Potter and Weasley families. When Harry saw his two sons off to the Hogwarts Express in 2017, James came running back to his parents to announce that he had seen Teddy snogging Victoire Weasley, which may have meant Teddy eventually became an official member of the extended Potter-Weasley family.

### Narcissa Malfoy

Narcissa Malfoy: "I see that being Dumbledore's favourite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."
Harry Potter: "Wow... look at that... he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"
Draco Malfoy: "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!"
Narcissa Malfoy: "It's all right, Draco. I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius"
— Harry Potter, Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy arguing in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions[src]
Harry held Narcissa in contempt due to his rivalry with her son and hatred of her husband. In the same respect, Narcissa held Harry and his friends in disdain and contempt: especially Hermione Granger, as she was Muggle-born, and Ron Weasley, as he was a blood traitor. Narcissa also held Harry in contempt for being Dumbledore's favourite student and associating with those whom she considered to be inferior.

### Cedric Diggory

**Cedric Diggory**: "*You saved my life, Harry. Take the cup.*"
**Harry**: "*We'll take it together.*"
— Cedric and Harry about who should win the Triwizard Tournament[src]
Harry and Cedric Diggory, were, for better or worse, rivals throughout Harry's third and fourth years at Hogwarts. As Cedric was Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, one of their first encounters involved Cedric catching the Snitch and securing the win for his team, while Harry fell off his broomstick after one of the Dementors guarding the school found its way onto the Quidditch pitch.

The next year, when both Harry and Cedric were declared Champions in the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric was the school's obvious favourite, as most of the students believed Harry had entered the competition illegally. Harry thought Cedric also believed Harry had entered illegally, but it's possible this wasn't true, as Cedric did not dislike Harry for this, as most of the school did. Though the negative attention abated slightly after Harry's stellar performance in the first task, Cedric also beat Harry to the punch in asking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball. And although Cedric remained good-natured and gracious throughout, Harry could not help feeling jealous, and even slightly insecure about the fact that Cedric "looked the part" of a Champion.

Regardless, when Hagrid showed Harry that the Tournament's first task would involve facing dragons, Harry felt compelled to help Cedric, realising he alone would be unprepared, as both Heads of other the two competing schools had seen the dragons as well. Cedric reciprocated by helping Harry with the second task, and during the third, each had occasion to save the other's life. As, such, when they reached the Triwizard Cup at the same time, they agreed to take it together; both boys were transported to the Little Hangleton graveyard, and Harry watched in horror as Peter Pettigrew murdered Cedric on Voldemort's command to "*kill the spare.*" When Cedric's ghostly image emerged from Voldemort's wand, which was locked in Priori Incantatem with Harry's, he asked Harry to take his body back to his parents, which Harry honoured, risking his life in the process.

Cedric's death haunted Harry's dreams well into the summer, as Dudley mockingly asked him if "Cedric" was his boyfriend, and enabled Harry to see Thestrals for the first time at the beginning of his fifth year.

Having witnessed Cedric's death first hand made Harry feel very distraught throughout the following year, and aside from Ron and Hermione, he refused to talk about it with anyone else, as he rebuked Zacharias Smith's demands for more details, and even when a tearful Cho asked of it.

After the Second Wizarding War and capturing Lord Voldemort's secret daughter, Harry and his son Albus paid a visit to Cedric's gravesite. There Harry revealed to Albus that he went there annually as a constant apology for robbing Cedric's future and not being able to save him from Wormtail.

### Kreacher

"*Kreacher... er... I would like to give you this. This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you —* "
— Harry giving Regulus Black's locket to Kreacher[src]

Kreacher was the last in a line of house-elves who served the Black family, inherited by Sirius Black, and eventually by Harry. In his fanatical loyalty to the House of Black, Kreacher mimicked the family's pure-blood supremacist views, and as such, despised Sirius for being a "blood traitor" and for supposedly breaking his mother's heart. By extension, he hated, and muttered profanities about, anyone associated with Sirius, particularly Harry and the motley crew of blood statuses that made up the rest of the Order of the Phoenix.

For his part, Sirius saw too much of the family he hated in Kreacher, and had no problem treating Kreacher with utter disdain. After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Harry learned that Kreacher had helped trick Harry into going to the Ministry of Magic by pretending Sirius was not at Grimmauld Place when Harry tried to find him, and thus helped bring about Sirius's end. In his will, Sirius left everything he owned to Harry, including Kreacher. As Harry wanted nothing to do with the house-elf, but could not risk setting him free and letting any information Kreacher had about the Order fall into the hands of the Lestranges or the Malfoys, he sent Kreacher to work in the Hogwarts' kitchens.

In 1997, when Harry, Ron and Hermione hid in 12 Grimmauld Place at the start of their hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes, they discovered that "R.A.B" stood for Regulus Arcturus Black, and Harry remembered actually having seen and tried to open Slytherin's Locket in the summer of 1995. They asked Kreacher if he knew from where the locket came and what had become of it, and the house-elf was forced to reveal all that had happened between him, Voldemort, and Regulus Black; when Regulus was still a Death Eater, Voldemort told him he required the service of a house-elf, and Regulus volunteered Kreacher for the job. Voldemort took Kreacher to a seaside cave, where he ordered Kreacher to drink an emerald green potion. Kreacher was tortured by the potion, and then left to die in the hands of the Inferi; he was only able to survive and Disapparate out of the cave because his master called him home.

Regulus became disillusioned by Voldemort's ill-treatment of Kreacher, and soon after, deduced both the existence of Voldemort's Horcruxes and the fact that the magic that binds a house-elf to obey their master would supersede the cave's magical protections. Regulus then had Kreacher return with him to the cave, but instead of forcing Kreacher to suffer the effects of the potion again, ordered Kreacher to leave the cave with the locket, and destroy it as soon as he could. To protect Kreacher and his family, Regulus forbade Kreacher to tell any member of the House of Black what had happened. Kreacher took the locket and attempted to destroy it, but not before watching in horror as Regulus drank the potion himself, and was killed by the Inferi.

Though he initially did not want to admit it, Harry realised that Kreacher playing a crucial role in leading Sirius to his death was something that could have, and should have, been avoided. When Kreacher finished his story, Harry, with Hermione's guidance, made an effort to show the distraught house-elf kindness, comforting him about Regulus' death and even giving him Regulus' fake locket; the miserable, wretched house-elf they had known became almost unrecognisable. Kreacher told the trio that Mundungus Fletcher had taken the locket, and gladly obeyed Harry's order — which Harry made a point of phrasing as a request — to find Fletcher and bring him to Grimmauld Place.

From that point on, Kreacher happily tidied up the house and fed the trio, until they accidentally broke the Fidelius Charm on 12 Grimmauld Place, and were forced to flee. Kreacher later led the Hogwarts house-elves, in the name of Harry, "*defender of house-elves*", and brave Regulus Black, in a fervent attack on the invading Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts.

## Skills & Abilities

"*Harry.... is becoming exceptionally good at Defence Against the Dark Arts. So that's the one area in which, almost instinctively, he is particularly talented. Apart from Quidditch.*"
— J. K. Rowling regarding Harry's magical talents[src]

Harry was seen and had proven himself to be an extremely powerful and talented wizard. His power was evident from the start: he demonstrated immediate command of a broomstick, was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus at an exceptionally young age (a mark of superior magical ability), and even survived numerous encounters with Lord Voldemort. He was top of his class at Defence Against the Dark Arts, even instructing older students in defensive and offensive magic. He mastered a wand made of hawthorn, which one should only ever consider placing in the hands of a witch or wizard of proven talent. Harry was also a very gifted flyer and Quidditch player, the youngest Seeker in a century.

* **Love**: Harry's greatest power of all was his ability to love. In spite of being raised by a family that treated him with anything but affection, Harry remarkably turned out capable of very strong love; for example, Harry's love for his friends caused him to sacrifice himself to Voldemort. This loving sacrifice conferred a certain amount of protection onto his allies, making it so that spells Voldemort tried to place on them quickly wore off. Harry's ability to love has also protected and helped him on several occasions. Those occasions are; when he produced a Patronus that could drive hundreds of Dementors away, repelled Voldemort when he possessed him, and the times he was able to close the connection between himself and Voldemort. His love was strongest when directed at Ginny Weasley, who was the driving force that kept him going until Voldemort was defeated. Harry also felt strong love toward his three children, such as when he deliberately placed himself between his son Albus and a Killing Curse. Harry even felt compassion and pity for his enemies, offering Voldemort a chance to feel remorse for his actions.

"*Harry, you're the best in the year at Defence Against the Dark Arts.*"
— Hermione Granger emphasising Harry's talent in defensive magic[src]

* **Defence Against the Dark Arts**: Harry was extremely adept at Defence Against the Dark Arts, having mastered all manners of spells. Some of the spells include the: Stunning Spell, Disarming Charm, Impediment Jinx, Full Body-Bind Curse, Reductor Curse, and many others. In fact, his Stunning Spell was so strong that opponents would get knocked out if they were hit directly. He was also skilled at defending himself against Dark creatures such as: Grindylows, Red Caps, Hinkypunks, Boggarts, Erklings, and Dementors. In his third year, he was the only student who flawlessly made it through the end-of-the-year exam (an obstacle course containing some of the said creatures). In his fifth year, Professor McGonagall stated that Professor Lupin said he showed a "*pronounced aptitude*" for the subject. He had also "*achieved high marks on all his Defence Against the Dark Arts tests*". In fact, Harry had beaten Hermione in two of the three Defence Against the Dark Arts exams they had taken together. The only exam she beat him in was their first year exam. Hermione later reflected that it did not count, as Quirrell "*wasn't a particularly good teacher*". Harry also knew things that Viktor Krum (who was several years older then Harry) did not. Harry improved his skills in this subject significantly during his fourth year, by learning a lot of new spells in order to face the Triwizard Tournament. During his O.W.L. examination, Professor Tofty (Wizarding Examinations Authority) expressed pleasure at Harry's performance of Defence Against the Dark Arts, calling it "*excellent*". During his exams "*he had no problem with any of the written questions*" and "*took particular pleasure, during the practical examination, in performing all the counter-jinxes and defensive spells right in front of Umbridge*". Professor Tofty's statement was later proven true when he achieved an 'Outstanding' Defence Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. (something that not even Hermione achieved), a testament of his extraordinary talent in defensive magic. In 1996, Ron stated that it came as no surprise that Harry was top of the class at Defence Against the Dark Arts. Indeed, Harry was so good at DADA that when the Ministry of Magic prevented the subject from being taught effectively in 1995, he set up his own Defence Against the Dark Arts club. He successfully taught club members how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, some of these club members were even older then him. He immediately became an Auror after the Second Wizarding War, which also required considerable skill in both defensive and offensive magic. Harry also developed a high level of resistance towards the Imperius Curse. It was cast upon him by Barty Crouch Jnr (disguised as Alastor Moody) in 1994 and by Lord Voldemort himself in 1995.

"*...there's no point pretending that you're not good at Defence Against the Dark Arts, because you are. You were the only person last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff that full-grown wizards can't, Viktor always said... Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn't, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang.*"
— Hermione Granger regarding Harry's abilities in 1995[src]

* **Duelling**: Despite Harry's young age, he was an accomplished and very skilful duellist. He was able to single-handedly defeat some of the most formidable Death Eaters, and even survive numerous encounters with Lord Voldemort. He eventually defeated Voldemort by becoming the master of the Elder Wand. In many battles of the Second Wizarding War, he was able to incapacitate much more experienced Death Eaters. During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries; he, Albus Dumbledore, and Remus Lupin were the only fighters on the Order's side to emerge from the battle physically unscathed. In that time, he had held off Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov twice and was able to hold his own against the extremely powerful Bellatrix Lestrange. In 1997, Harry defeated Yaxley, Fenrir Greyback, and one of the two Carrows. He fought off several Death Eaters in the Battle of the Seven Potters. During the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor he overpowered Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and Fenrir Greyback and avoided direct conflict damage all throughout the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry was known to be very quick off the draw and had an aggressive duelling style, even incorporating Unforgivable Curses. He was also known to taunt his opponents and would get them to talk at length, angering them and throwing them mentally off-balance. He did this in order to buy himself time to strategise or to lull them into lowering their guard. Harry was especially skilled in the Disarming Charm and used it so much that it was seen as his "*signature spell*" by many Death Eaters. His most notable uses of the Disarming Charm were when he formed Priori Incantatem with Voldemort and when he finally killed the Dark Lord. At the remarkably young age of seventeen, Harry became an Auror and was promoted to Head of the Auror Office at the age of 26. During a raid, he was able to quite easily defeat (without any injuries to himself) the skilled Theodore Nott. Also, while holding back, he duelled Draco Malfoy to a standstill. This was no easy feat, as Draco similarly improved his duelling skills over the years. Harry was even able to hold his own against Delphini. After his friends came to his aid, they swiftly defeated her. He and Delphini "*fired bolts mercilessly at each other*" during their church duel.

" Imperio*" Harry said again; his voice echoed through the stone passage as he felt the familiar sense of heady control that flowed from brain to wand.*"
— Harry casting an Unforgivable Curse on Bogrod[src]

* **Dark Arts**: Harry was one of the few non-Dark wizards who was highly proficient in the Dark Arts at all levels. On top of being able to cast simple dark charms like the: Leg-Locker Curse, Full Body-Bind Curse, Reductor Curse, Pimple Jinx, Knockback Jinx, Revulsion Jinx, Ebublio Jinx, Curse of the Bogies, and Melofors Jinx, he could cast more powerful dark spells such as the Blasting Curse. He was also able to flawlessly cast the jinxes, hexes and curses in the Half-Blood Prince's copy of *Advanced Potion-Making*. This included the Toenail-growing hex, *Langlock*, and the extremely dangerous curse *Sectumsempra*, which he cast at Draco Malfoy in 1997. This severely slashed and wounded Malfoy. Harry even used two of the three Unforgivable Curses. He used the Imperius Curse on Travers and a Goblin called Bogrod during the 1998 Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as well as the Cruciatus Curse on several occasions. However, his first successful attempt was in 1998 against Amycus Carrow, but it did not result in the prolonged, excruciating pain that the curse was famous for. Instead, Carrow screamed and was incapacitated. He never used the Killing Curse for obviously moral reasons, even in his final battle with Voldemort.

"*The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter? He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive. Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it.*"
— Professor McGonagall telling Oliver Wood about Harry's flying abilities[src]

* **Flying**: Harry had inherited his father's talent for flying and for Quidditch. Harry showed immediate command of a broomstick in his first year, which made him a naturally good Seeker. This was the first magical skill for which he discovered an aptitude. In fact, at the mere age of eleven, Harry became the youngest Seeker in a century. As a Seeker, Harry was capable of surpassing even far more experienced Seekers, near-always winning the Quidditch matches for Gryffindor. He was considered to be even better than Charlie Weasley. He only ever lost to Cedric Diggory, due to the presence of Dementors. Sirius Black noted that Harry's Quidditch skills were equal to his father's own. His extraordinary flying skills, also aided him when pursuing the Winged Keys enchanted by Professor Flitwick in the Philosopher's Stone Chambers. He was the primary leader of the trio's chase of the Keys, and the one who noticed and captured the Key needed to unlock the door. It also helped him in the Triwizard Tournament (where he had to steal a golden egg from a Hungarian Horntail), managing to successfully irritate the dragon into chasing him by dodging all her flame attacks and then outrace her into the egg. This display highly impressed all of the witnesses and earned him the first place among the Triwizard Champions. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he also managed to escape a Fiendfyre inferno in the Room of Requirement, via broomstick.

**Ron Weasley**: "*A Parselmouth! You can talk to snakes!*"
**Harry** : "*I know. I mean, that's only the second time I've ever done it. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once — long story — but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to that was before I knew I was a wizard —*"
— Harry talking about his Parseltongue to Ron[src]
* **Parseltongue**: Because Harry carried a piece of Voldemort's soul within himself, he was able to speak and understand Parseltongue from 1981 to 1998. After that soul fragment was destroyed, Harry had (seemingly) lost this ability. However, in 2020, Harry had somehow regained the ability to speak Parseltongue again, although it was possible that he never lost it to begin with or that the ability had just simply became (temporarily) suppressed after the Horcrux was destroyed.
* **Insight into Voldemort's mind**: Due to the piece of Voldemort's soul; Harry was able to look into Voldemort's mind and see 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. Voldemort used this false vision to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries. Additionally, because of their connection, Harry felt a burning pain in his scar whenever he and Voldemort were in close proximity or whenever Voldemort felt strong negative emotions. Harry lost this ability when the soul fragment within him was destroyed. Harry also possessed a non-magical insight into Voldemort's mind from the information Dumbledore shared with him during their lessons. This insight allowed Harry to figure out that a Horcrux was stored at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Ron and Hermoine noted Harry's understanding of Voldemort, considering it impressive that Harry understood Voldemort so well.

"*Impressive. A true Patronus at that age... very impressive indeed.*"
— Amelia Bones impressed by Harry's ability to conjure a corporeal Patronus[src]

* **Charms**: Harry achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam and advanced to N.E.W.T.-level. He proved to be particularly talented in this subject. Before receivinghis O.W.L. results Harry thought his Charms practical "*went rather well".* Additionally, Harry mastered the Summoning Charm in only one day and often used it successfully. He would also occasionally cast the protective enchantments that Hermione used during the Horcrux hunt. These enchantments included: *Salvio Hexia*, *Protego Totalum*, *Repello Muggletum*, *Muffliato*, *Cave Inimicum*, Disillusionment Charms, and possibly others. Harry was also able to cast the Confundus Charm and the Gouging Spell on the first try. He displayed an impressive mastery of the Shield Charm, surpassing that of many Ministry employees; his Shield Charms were so powerful that they were able to deflect curses from Lord Voldemort himself. During the Battle of the Seven Potters, he was able to levitate a side-car with himself in it for a long stretch of time. He could also cast simpler charms such as the: Wand-Lighting Charm, Levitation Charm, Colour Change Charm, Banishing Charm, Refilling Charm, Freezing Spell, Locking Spell, Unlocking Charm, Engorgement Charm, Shrinking Charm, and various others. Under the teaching of Remus Lupin, Harry was able to conjure an extremely powerful corporeal stag Patronus in his third year. This was a remarkable feat and yet another proof of his talent, as the vast majority of witches and wizards were unable to cast this extremely difficult charm successfully. As an Auror, Harry displayed the ability to use charms in combat. He used incapacitating ones such as, the Tickling Charm, *Obscuro*, and *Brachiabindo* when duelling Draco Malfoy.

"*He had even exceeded expectations at Potions!*"
— Harry reviewing his O.W.L. result[src]

* **Potions**: Harry's strong dislike for Snape made Potions an adverse subject for him. However, it was later shown that Harry had no problem with potions when Slughorn was his teacher. Harry had even inherited Lily's talent to some extent. When Snape was not pestering him, he was able to brew a reasonably adequate Strengthening Solution. Harry even concocted an Invigoration Draught that would have earned him an 'Exceeds Expectations' had Hermione not vanished it. His practical O.W.L. exam "*was not as dreadful as he had expected it to be. With Snape absent from the proceedings he found that he was much more relaxed than he usually was while making potions*". He achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam — proof of his proficiency in the subject. He was one of only twelve students able to reach the required level to take N.E.W.T. potions, although he would not have if Snape was still teaching the subject. His great success during his sixth year, was only after he came into possession of the Half-Blood Prince's copy of *Advanced Potion-Making*. This textbook contained revised instructions from the Half-Blood Prince (Severus Snape), which allowed Harry to gain the position of best in class. He was able to follow the Prince's instructions so exactly that he even surpassed Hermione. After hiding the book, Harry was still able to do a decent enough job at potion-making that Slughorn's suspicions were not raised. Harry also had first hand knowledge on the effects of Polyjuice Potion, love potions, Felix Felicis, and Veritaserum. It was probable that he improved his Potions ability during his time as a Auror. He most likely became proficient in poisons and antidotes, as this was required.

"*I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased.*"
— Professor McGonagall complimenting Harry's O.W.L. result[src]

* **Transfiguration**: Harry achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam. He showed proficiency in the subject and advanced to N.E.W.T.-level. He was able to perform Conjuration, an advanced type of Transfiguration that was taught only to N.E.W.T students. Harry demonstrated this at various points by conjuring ropes, water, blindfolds, and fire. He could also vanish objects, which is one of the most complicated spells taught at Ordinary Wizarding Level. In 1996, Harry vanished a whole iguana with the Vanishing Spell. In 1997, he vanished a snake that crossed his path with the Snake-Vanishing Spell. He was also skilled in Transforming Spells. For example, he could cast the Avifors Spell and the Lapifors Spell. Harry was also skilled enough to perform Human Transfiguration, which is noted to be "*immensely difficult*". He accomplished this during a 1996 Transfiguration lesson, where he succeeded in turning his eyebrow bright yellow. Minerva McGonagall herself complimented him on his talents in transfiguration.

"*They had their Herbology exam on Wednesday (other than a small bite from a Fanged Geranium, Harry felt he had done reasonably well).*"
— Harry's confidence after his Herbology practical on his O.W.L. exam[src]

* **Herbology**: Harry achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam. He showed proficiency in the subject and advanced to N.E.W.T.-level. In 1998, Harry was able to recognise a Snargaluff plant at the Lovegood House and knew to give it a wide berth. He also had knowledge of plants such as: Devil's Snare, Gillyweed, Venomous Tentacula, Mandrakes, Dittany, and Fanged Geranium from hands-on experience. He could cast plant-related spells such as the Fire-Making Spell, Severing Charm, and the Herbivicus Charm.
* **Master of Death**: Harry mastered all three Deathly Hallows and accepted his own death. First, he inherited the Cloak of Invisibility from his father, James. Then, he inherited the Resurrection Stone from Dumbledore, which was inside a Snitch. Finally, he won the Elder Wand from Draco Malfoy during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. All three were directly or indirectly employed by Harry in the Forbidden Forest: he was wearing the Cloak, using the Stone, and was preparing to be killed by the Wand, which he had already won. The only Hallow he choose to keep was the cloak as it was a priceless family heirloom; the Stone was lost in the forest and the wand returned to Dumbledore's tomb.

"*Harry strode off through the heather, walking in a large circle with the distraught Hermione at its centre, casting the spells she usually performed to ensure their protection.*"
— Harry casting various protective enchantments during the Horcrux hunt[src]

* **Healing magic**: Harry was able to effectively cast healing spells; for example, he could perform the *Reparifors* spell in his third year. After Nymphadora Tonks cast *Episkey* on his broken nose, he fixed Demelza Robins' broken lip in 1996 with the same spell. This was a spell used to treat mild to moderate injuries. He could also perform a healing spell for clearing up dried blood from a bleeding wound. He was also able to use the Reviving Spell to waken those who have been rendered unconscious.

"*Harry waves his wand and the papers and books transform into neat piles.* "
— Harry using nonverbal magic to straighten his work space[src]

* **Nonverbal magic**: During 1997 and 1998, Harry began using spells nonverbally and became quite proficient at it when Snape was not harassing him. On July 31, 1997 Harry was able to light a lamp in the Weasley's sitting room with no words and a flick of his wand. As an adult, Harry displays the ability to consciously use nonverbal magic; shown when he straightened his work-space with the simple wave of his wand. He also demonstrated the use of nonverbal magic during his church duel with Delphini. During the duel the two were mercilessly firing spells at each other. One of the spells he used nonverbally was the Fire-Making Spell.
* **Wandless magic**: In 1995 when Dementors attacked in Little Whinging, Dudley had knocked Harry's wand out of his hand when he punched him. In desperation, Harry was able to light the tip his wand, even though it was not in his hand. When enraged he was able to inflate Aunt Marge without a wand, possibly with *Inflatus*. Few other wizards have exhibited this power, although Dumbledore and Voldemort were among them. This further testifies to Harry's skill, as only some of the most powerful wizards of his time were able to do so.

"*Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away, Harry moved slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it.*"
— Harry successfully petting Buckbeak in his first Care of Magical Creatures class[src]

* **Care of Magical Creatures**: Harry achieved an 'Exceeds Expectations' on his O.W.L. exam. He has shown on more than one occasion to have good skill in handling numerous sorts of magical creatures. For example, he was the first in his class to tame a hippogriff, which he did excellently. He befriended the hippogriff to a great extent, which resulted in Buckbeak defending him while he was in danger. Harry has also shown on three occasions that he is quite competent at dealing with dragons. This is shown when he was able to help Hagrid take care of baby Norbert the dragon, outsmart the Hungarian Horntail in the Triwizard Tournament, and tamed a half-blind dragon into helping the trio escape Gringotts by flying out on its back. He was also one of very few in his class who was able to see Thestrals, and had no trouble mounting his in June 1996. Harry was also good with House-elves, befriending the house-elf Dobby and eventually freeing him. This act of kindness made the little elf so loyal to him that he gave his life to save him. He also earned the respect and loyalty of Kreacher, a very difficult task. During his O.W.L. practical he correctly identified the knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs, as he knew the trick was to offer them all milk in turn. He was aware that knarls were highly suspicious creatures, who would consider the milk an attempt to poison them. Harry also demonstrated the correct handling of a bowtruckle, was able to feed and clean a fire-crab without sustaining serious burns, and knew the diet to give a sick unicorn. When his practical was over he gave Hagrid a thumbs-up, indicating that it went well.

* **Astronomy**: Harry was able to pass his O.W.L. exam with an 'Acceptable'. He thought the written portion of the O.W.L. exam "*went well enough*". He did not finish his practical exam because he was distracted by Dolores Umbridge's attempt to arrest Hagrid. However, he was able to complete the constellation Orion on his star chart. It is unknown if he was able to advance to the N.E.W.T class or not since he did not apply for advancement.

"*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!*"
— Fourth-year Harry resisting the Imperius Curse[src]

* **Indomitable willpower**: Harry appeared to possess an unbreakable spirit and though not above depression, he never truly gave up on any mission. He had been shown to rise from defeat and loss, such as the deaths of many loved ones, even stronger than before. Harry's indomitable will was exemplified by his ability to resist the Imperius Curse. His indomitable will could also be exemplified by his ability to cast powerful Imperius Curses as well. Furthermore, he had never begged for mercy (even in life-and-death situations) and would fight back in defiance of himself, as well as perform nonverbal spells flawlessly. His inability to perform Occlumency (despite possessing the required willpower) was due to his inability to keep his emotions under control.
* **Detective skills**: Harry was a formidably talented investigator. While in school, he and his friends had a knack for solving difficult mysteries and discovering the truth despite all attempts by others to conceal it. Hermione generally finding the background information, while Harry put the pieces together to make a coherent picture. In his first year, Harry uncovered the truth about the Philosopher's Stone and saved it from Voldemort. In his second year, he solved the centuries old mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. During the same year, he understood how the Basilisk's victims were attacked and why they did not die, but more importantly, he located the entrance of the Chamber. Furthermore, he rightly deduced that the victim of the first opening of the Chamber was Moaning Myrtle. In his third year, he understood (with almost no clues) what Dumbledore wanted he and Hermione to do after spinning the Time Turner. In his fifth year, he uncovered the truth about the prophecy. Two years later, he hunted down and destroyed all of Voldemort's Horcruxes using his amazing deductive skills. During his sixth year, he also observed Dumbledore's memories regarding Voldemort and noticed things which would help him later. Harry's deductive skills also allowed him to uncover the mystery of the Deathly Hallows. He discovered that he mastered the three of them, when even Ron and Hermione were initially sceptical of their existence. Harry also had a knack for spotting things that others did not, and had a sharp eye for details. He was able to tell that Luna Lovegood had not been home in weeks by the state of her room. In 1992, he became suspicious when Dobby revealed that he had known that Harry was not getting any letters. His intelligence also allowed him to intuitively know that Draco Malfoy had been branded with the Dark Mark despite no solid proof, that Malfoy was using the Room of Requirement as a work shop, and that he was having Crabbe and Goyle use Polyjuice Potion in order to disguise themselves as girls while keeping watch outside the room. He also had an eye for details and a very good memory. For instance, even in an highly stressful situation, such as the Battle of Hogwarts, he was able to remember objects he saw over a year prior in the Room of Hidden Things.

"*And you feel that you have exerted your very best efforts in this matter, do you? That you have exercised all of your considerable ingenuity?* "
— Albus Dumbledore commenting on Harry's resourcefulness[src]

* **Resourcefulness**: Harry showed resourcefulness in many different situations. In 1992. Harry impersonated the Bloody Baron in order to keep Peeves away from the third floor that night. He did not want Peeves to inconvenience the trio on their quest to save the Philosopher's Stone. In his second year, when encountering Professor McGonagall after hours, he lied and said that he and Ron were on their way to see Hermione in the hospital wing. Also in his second year, he used a basilisk fang to destroy Riddle's Diary. In his fourth year, he managed to escape from Voldemort and all the Death Eaters using a Summoning Charm, taking Cedric Diggory's dead body with him. In his fifth year, while under interrogation from Umbridge, he relayed a coded message to Snape. He relayed this coded message in an attempt to warn Snape and by extension, the Order, that Voldemort had Sirius. In the same year, while surrounded by Death Eaters, Harry came up with the plan to smash the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy. The smashed selves were meant to be a distraction, so that he and the D.A. could try and escape. During the hunt for Horcruxes, he used the Godric Gryffindor's Sword as a way of retrieving Helga Hufflepuff's cup from the mounds of burning treasure and used a half-blind dragon as a means to escape from Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Harry was also cunning enough that the Sorting Hat heavily considered Sorting him into Slytherin house.

"*It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.*"
— Albus Dumbledore complementing Harry's outstanding leadership skills[src]

* **Leadership skills**: While Harry never deliberately set out to be a leader to others, he had often taken charge when the situation required it. This began with his impulsive decision to find and warn Hermione about the presence of a troll in the school during the 1991 Hallowe'en feast. It progressed to the point where over thirty students, some of them in their sixth and seventh years — respect him as a teacher in Dumbledore's Army, despite him being younger than they were. Dumbledore later noted that Harry was a superior leader to him. Dumbledore had deliberately sought power in his youth, and subsequently avoided anything more demanding than his role as Hogwarts headmaster, while Harry had leadership thrust upon him. Harry accepted the burden of command, acknowledging his responsibilities towards those who "followed" him. He did this regardless of how uncomfortable he might feel about the prospect. He coordinated his efforts against his enemies well, when left with no option but to take control. Harry's natural talents later served the rest of the wizarding community of Great Britain. In 2007, he was promoted to the Head of the Auror Office at age 26 and was later made the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. His promotion to these positions of power at relatively young ages demonstrated Harry's natural talent as a commander.

"*You're a r-really good teacher, you know. I've never been able to Stun anything before.*"
— Cho Chang regarding Harry's phenomenal teaching ability[src]

* **Teaching skills**: Harry demonstrated tremendous skill in teaching others. Having mastered many spells at a young age, Harry successfully taught them to others, even when he was still a student himself. He would give proper instructions and corrections on how to perform many fields of magic, ranging from the relatively simplistic Disarming Charm to the highly advanced Patronus Charm. Harry's effectiveness as a teacher led many, some even older than him, to choose him over the Ministry-installed (but highly incompetent) teacher Dolores Umbridge. He even returned to Hogwarts to give occasional Defence Against the Dark Arts lectures as an adult and professional Auror. He kept his teaching aptitude in his later years and successfully instructed the members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force in the use of several formidable spells.

"*Sodden and shivering, Dumbledore's weight still upon him, Harry concentrated harder than he had ever done upon his destination: Hogsmeade. Closing his eyes, gripping Dumbledore's arm as tightly as he could, he stepped forward into that feeling of horrible compression. He knew it had worked before he opened his eyes... He and Dumbledore were shivering and dripping in the middle of the dark High Street in Hogsmeade.*"
— Harry Apparated himself and Dumbledore over an incredibly vast distance[src]

* **Apparition**: Harry had not earned a licence to Apparate, but he used the ability frequently during 1997 and 1998 to great success. He was able to Apparate with only a few seconds' notice or while guiding others. He was also very precise in his Apparition, as he was able to Apparate directly onto Grimmauld Place's front step under the Cloak of Invisibility. He also used Apparition in his sixth year to a very impressive degree. He used it to get himself and a weakened Albus Dumbledore over an incredibly vast distance even though he was inexperienced.
* **Wand versatility**: Harry was able to use Hermione's wand after his was broken during the Attack at Godric's Hollow in 1997. He was able to use spells such as: the Wand-Lighting Charm, the Shield Charm, and the Severing Charm at full strength, despite not having won the wand's allegiance. He also gained the allegiance of Draco Malfoy's wand, the Elder Wand, and quite possibly Voldemort's wand by defeating the previous masters.

"*Harry — he has an extraordinary instinct for the right thing to do. He's just got the right instinct, and that's what would make him, in due course, a phenomenal Auror.*"
— J. K. Rowling regarding Harry's time as an Auror[src]

* **Auror skills**: Harry was extremely young for an Auror, which spoke highly of his magical abilities. He became Head of the Auror Office at the age of 26, presumably the youngest Head appointed. Being a fully qualified Auror meant three additional years of study. During his time in the department, he gained skills in various areas of magic such as: Concealment and Disguise, Stealth and Tracking, and poisons and antidotes. He also had high skill in Transfiguration, as Aurors had to frequently transfigure and untransfigure things in their line of work. Harry also possessed a great instinct for the right thing to do, especially when faced with stressful and difficult situations. This instinct contributed to him becoming a fantastic Auror. Harry has also been stated as being a consummate expert in his line of work.

## Possessions

"*He's been left a house?*"
— Vernon Dursley's shock regarding Harry's inheritance[src]

Harry was a wealthy wizard, having inherited the Potter family fortune after his parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort. Harry relied on this gold for his school supplies, clothing, and other expenses. Following the death of his godfather Sirius Black, Harry became the sole heir of the Black family fortune as well.

* **Wand**: Made of holly, a wood with the powers to repel evil, Harry's wand was "brothers" with Voldemort's wand as both had cores with feathers from the same phoenix, Fawkes. Harry's wand broke in 1997 during a skirmish with Nagini in Bathilda Bagshot's house due to a stray spell cast by Hermione Granger. Later he used the Elder Wand to repair it.
* **Hedwig**: Harry's animal companion, Hedwig was vitally helpful in delivering messages and packages for Harry, especially while Sirius was in hiding from the Ministry. Hedwig showed affection by nibbling Harry's ear or fingers, and loyally obeyed his every command (even pecking Ron and Hermione until they answered back). Hedwig was killed during the Battle of the Seven Potters, and Harry was overcome with grief.
* **Schoolbag**: A schoolbag was used by Harry Potter to carry around textbooks, quills, and other items throughout his six years attending Hogwarts. It is possible that this bag was used even in his Muggle education before attending Hogwarts.
* **Alarm clock**: In the summer of 1991, Harry found and repaired the alarm clock and in the summer of 1996, this alarm clock ticked on Harry's windowsill as he slept on the night that Albus Dumbledore came to collect him.
* **Nimbus 2000**: This broomstick was gifted to him from Professor McGonagall after agreeing to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team in 1991. He used it during his first and second years at Hogwarts. In his third year it blew into the Whomping Willow and was smashed to bits, breaking it beyond repair.
* **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 Harry realises he is a direct descendant of Ignotus Peverell, one of the three brothers who created the Deathly Hallows. Harry later gave the Cloak to his eldest son, James Sirius.
* **Photo album**: In June of 1992 Hagrid gave Harry this photo album containing pictures of his parents, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and himself.
* ***Flying with the Cannons***: Harry received a copy of this from Ron Weasley in 1992 as a Christmas present.
* **Firebolt**: During Harry's third year at Hogwarts, the Nimbus 2000 broomstick he'd been riding since his first year was destroyed by the Whomping Willow, and Sirius Black replaced it by giving Harry the finest broom available as an anonymous gift. The broom was one of Harry's most prized possessions for years. It was lost during the Battle of the Seven Potters. It is not known if Harry ever recovered or replaced it.

"*We've decided that your need is greater than ours.*"
— Fred and George giving Harry the Marauder's Map[src]

* **Marauder's Map**: One of Harry's most treasured possessions. In his third year, Fred Weasley and George Weasley gave it to Harry while he was trying to sneak into Hogsmeade. It was confiscated by Remus Lupin, but later returned when Lupin quit his job. Harry kept it with him for a long period of time, keeping it in the mokeskin wallet he had gotten from Hagrid, until it was finally stolen from his desk by his son, James.

* **Weasley jumpers**: Harry received a homemade jumper every Christmas from Mrs Weasley. His were said to be much more extravagant, as Mrs Weasley "made much more effort" when her presents were not made for actual family members. The known jumpers he has include an emerald green one, a scarlet one, a green one with a Hungarian Horntail on the front, and one with a Golden Snitch on the front.
* **Enchanted knife**: This magical knife, with the power to open most mechanical locks and magical seals and which Harry received for Christmas from Sirius Black, was melted 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 enchanted knife.
* **Toy broomstick**: this was a gift to him from Sirius Black, it was the first broomstick he had ridden. It's unknown what happened to it after the 1981 attack at Godric's Hollow.

"*Harry took off his watch, which he was only wearing out of habit, as it didn't work anymore, and stuffed it into his pocket.*"
— Harry takes off his watch before a lesson about nifflers[src]

* **Watch**: This watch was used by Harry until it was destroyed in the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, since it was not waterproof and by May of 1995, he had discarded the watch entirely.

* **Dress robes**: Harry wore dress robes to the Yule Ball for the 1994 Triwizard Tournament, they were bottle green that matched his eyes. He also wore dress robes to Bill and Fleur's wedding in 1997. He also wore a set of dress robes to Slughorn's Christmas Party in 1996.
* ***Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them***: Harry owned a copy of this book, as was mandatory for any student of Hogwarts studying Care of Magical Creatures. He shared it with Ron Weasley after the latter lost his. The trio doodled and wrote messages to each other throughout the book.
* ***Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland***: Hermione Granger gave this book to Harry in 1994, as a Christmas gift.
* ***Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts***: This book had moving colour illustrations of all the counter-jinxes and hexes it described. Harry received a set of these books in 1995 as a Christmas present from Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Harry planned to put them to good use in his lessons for Dumbledore's Army.

* ***Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches***: This book is a sophomoric manual on dating and flirting with girls. A copy was given to Harry on his seventeenth birthday from Ron Weasley. Harry speculated that there might be an entire chapter devoted to compliments.
* **Sneakoscope**: Hermione Granger gave Harry a Sneakoscope as a gift for his seventeenth birthday at breakfast, the trio would later take it on their hunt for Horcruxes.
* **Fabian Prewett's watch**: Molly Weasley gave Harry the watch of her late brother Fabian Prewett for his seventeenth birthday. It has a dent in it, but Harry kept the watch, even into his thirties. The watch does not have arms; rather, it has stars.
* **Enchanted razor**: In 1997, Harry received an enchanted razor on his seventeenth birthday from Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. It is not known whether he used it at any point or if he still owns it.
* **Rucksack**: This rucksack was owned by Harry during the 1997-1998 school year. He packed it with everything he felt he would need during the hunt for Horcruxes. He almost lost it during the Battle of the Seven Potters, but managed to keep hold of it.
* **Notebook**: This notebook was owned by Harry from at least 1997. It was used to keep his notes and other writings, such as things he wanted to remember.
* **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 Harry broke it out of anger over Sirius' death. Harry did not realise 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.
* **Mokeskin pouch**: A birthday present from Hagrid. Harry kept it with him throughout the Deathly Hallows, and kept in it his treasures that were of no use to his search; the Snitch, the broken mirror, his broken wand, his mother's letter and the fake Horcrux. Harry also received a photo album, from Hagrid, which had photos of his parents and other family members.

* **Deathly Hallows**: For a brief time, Harry was master of all three Deathly Hallows: the Cloak of Invisibility, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand (though he was not in physical possession of the Elder Wand until after losing the Resurrection Stone). These three artefacts are 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.

"*It belongs to Harry! It chose him, he was the one who found it, it came to him out of the Sorting Hat —*"
— Hermione arguing with Rufus Scrimgeour, regarding the ownership of the Sword of Gryffindor[src]

* **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 Slytherin's Locket, one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry lost the sword to Griphook when he, Ron and Hermione Granger stole 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.
* **Draco Malfoy's wand**: In 1998, Harry won the hawthorn wand's allegiance after overpowering Draco Malfoy during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. This wand was carried by him for the remainder of the Second Wizarding War; seeing action in the break-in at Gringotts, as well as during the final climactic Battle of Hogwarts. It is unknown what happened to the wand after Harry repaired his wand.

"*As you can see, Harry, Kreacher is showing a certain reluctance to pass into your ownership.*"
— Albus Dumbledore confirming that Harry now owns the Black estate[src]

* **12 Grimmauld Place**: Following Sirius's death, Harry inherited his family's London townhouse with all its contents and furnishings, including Kreacher (the family house-elf). Mundungus Fletcher would continue stealing many of Harry's inherited possessions, including Slytherin's Locket, as he had stolen from Sirius. Harry, Ron, and Hermione hid out there in August and September 1997.
* **Motorbike**: As one of Sirius's possessions, it was left to Harry in his will. Despite the severe damage done to it in the Battle of the Seven Potters, Arthur Weasley managed to repair the bike and returned it to Harry. Harry presumably learned to ride it sometime after the war. Given the ease with which he learned to fly a broomstick, ride animals such as hippogriffs and thestrals, and even a dragon, Harry likely learned how to ride with very little trouble at all.
* **Golden Snitch**: This Snitch was caught by Harry during the 1991–1992 school year. It was later left to him in Albus Dumbledore's will, to posthumously ensure that Marvolo Gaunt's Ring would be safely delivered to him.
* **Car**: This car was used by Harry to drive his family to King's Cross Station on 1 September, 2017. On Platform 9¾, Ron Weasley asked Harry if he had parked the vehicle alright, then told him he had managed to park his own car.
* **Family home:** Sometime following the war, Harry acquired his own house and raised his three children there alongside his wife, Ginny. This can be assumed due to Harry denying James' request to have Teddy move in with them in exchange for sharing a room with his younger brother. Harry replied that he would only allow the two Potter brothers to share a room when "[he wanted] the house demolished."