The seven Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling follow Harry Potter from age 11 through age 17 as he discovers his identity, his powers as a wizard, and his destiny.

Harry was orphaned as an infant when his mother and father, James and Lily Potter, were murdered by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. However, Lily protected Harry and he survived with only a lightning scar on his forehead. Voldemort, on the other hand, lost his powers and was presumed dead.

Harry has been grudgingly raised by his Muggle (non-magical) aunt Petunia Dursley and lives with her, her husband Vernon, and their son Dudley.

Each novel begins just before Harry's birthday at the end of July and continues through the school year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry's best friends at Hogwarts are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger; all belong to Gryffindor, one of the four houses at the school. Important adults in Harry's life at Hogwarts include the gamekeeper Hagrid, the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and Professor Minerva McGonagall. Harry's enemies at the school include student Draco Malfoy and the entire house of Slytherin. The leader of that house, Professor Severus Snape, who was once aligned with Voldemort, declares his intense dislike of Harry.

Commentary on the Novels: Though this series may have started out as young adult fiction, by the third volume (Prisoner of Azkaban) the treatment of ideas and characters begins to move clearly in the direction of adult fantasy. Harry's growth as a character parallels Rowling's increasing confidence as a writer unafraid to let her story and her characters evolve and grow into darker and more complex beings with increasingly adult concerns.

Other aspects of this series to consider are the sheer inventiveness of the fantasy world created here and the development of a plot so intricate that a passing mention of a character in the first volume hints at that character's importance in the last volume. Only a close rereading of the entire series will yield the pleasure of recognizing these details. The reader is in awe of the control Rowling maintains over her world throughout the series.

In the material below the Of Note sections mention plot and character details that are not spoilers but become significant and clearer in later volumes. Key Concepts singles out the introduction and development of the overall themes of the series.

Film versions of all of the novels have been released. The last novel was broken up into two films.

All the films have the following cast:

• Daniel Radcliffe as Harry
• Emma Watson as Hermione
• Rupert Grint as Ron
• Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid
• Alan Rickman as Professor Snape
• Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall

Richard Harris starred as Dumbledore in the first two films; after his death Michael Gambon took over the role.

Of Note:

• Hagrid borrows Sirius Black's motorcycle to bring the infant Harry to the Dursleys (Chap. 1).
• The Dumbledore card Harry finds in his chocolate frog on the Hogwarts Express mentions Dumbledore's duel with the dark wizard Grindelwald (Chap. 6).
• At the opening feast Nearly Headless Nick confesses that he has never asked how the Bloody Baron got so bloody (Chap. 7).

Film 2001
Directed by Chris Columbus
Also starring: Ian Hart as Prof. Quirrell, John Hurt as Mr. Ollivander

Film Notes: This film is a fairly faithful adaptation of the novel; its sets really bring the world to life. Of special note are the set of Hogwarts and the Quidditch match scenes. The characters are wonderfully cast.

The only two characters to get short shrift are Percy and Ginny Weasley.

One major omission is the scene in which Hermione uses logic to determine which potion to drink to get past a threshold en route to the Sorcerer's Stone.

Of Note:

• Ron mentions the ghoul in the attic at the Burrow (Chap. 3).
• In Borgin and Burkes, Draco Malfoy asks his father to buy him a Hand of Glory (Chap. 4).
• To distract Filch from pursuing Harry for tracking mud on the floor, Peeves smashes a vanishing cabinet (Chap. 8).

Key Concepts:

• Dumbledore: "'. . . You will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it'" (Chap. 14).
• Harry realizes: "'Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?'" (Chap. 18)
• Dumbledore: "'It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities'"( Chap. 18).

Film 2002
Directed by Chris Columbus
Also starring: Kenneth Branaugh as Prof. Lockhart

Film Notes: This is a mostly faithful adaptation of the novel. Dobby the house elf is well-realized as are the Whomping Willow and the giant spider Aragog.

Preview: In Harry's third year at Hogwarts, Sirius Black has escaped from the wizard prison and is coming after Harry.

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for a Work for Younger Readers

Of Note:

• Cedric Diggory (Chap. 9) and Cho Chang (Chap. 13) are introduced.

Key Concepts:

• Dumbledore to Harry in talking about Peter Pettigrew: "'When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creats a certain bond between them. . . . The time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life'" (Chap. 22).

Film 2004
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Also starring Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, David Thewlis as Prof. Lupin, and Emma Thompson as Prof. Trelawney

Film Notes: There are a lot of omissions from this film that a reader of the novel has to fill in:

• No mention of how Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban.
• No mention of how Black knows that Pettigrew is still alive.
• No indication of why Professor Lupin knows how to use the Marauder's Map.

In addition, Harry gets the gift of the Firebolt racing broom at the end of the story, not mysteriously halfway through the story.

One notable addition is the shrunken head navigator of the Knight Bus.

Preview: In his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry finds himself in a competition against three other student wizards, but he doesn't know that the competition is being influenced by Voldemort.

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel

Of Note:

• The Lovegoods who live near the Weasleys are first mentioned (Chap. 6).
• Gregorovitch is mentioned as the wandmaker who made Krum's wand (Chap. 18).
• Harry overhears Dumbledore referring to the Room of Requirement in a conversation with Karkaroff at the Yule Ball (Chap. 23).
• Dumbledore first mentions his brother Aberforth (Chap. 24).

Film 2005
Directed by Mike Newell
Also starring Brendan Gleeson as "Mad-Eye" Moody, Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort

Film Notes:

Many subplots from this very long novel were cut or vastly reduced:

• There is no mention that Ron and Hermione have become prefects.
• The Quidditch World Cup gets only a brief scene in which the teams enter the stadium.
• The Weasley twins' foray into the joke business is barely noted.
• Winky, the Crouch house elf, is completely eliminated from the story
• Dobby also does not make an appearance; the subplot in which Hermione tries to campaign for the rights of house elves is completely eliminated.

Some new characters and scenes were especially well-done:

• Mad-Eye Moody is fully realized by Brendon Gleeson
• The three Tri-Wizard Tournament trials are all well-portrayed.
• The Yule Ball gets a nice scene.
• The confrontation between Harry and Voldemort is well-done.

One notable addition is Professor McGonagall's tutorial on dancing.

Preview: In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry must deal with enemies in the Ministry of Magic, including Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and with widespread disbelief that Voldemort has returned.

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for a Work for Younger Readers

Of Note:

• Aunt Petunia admits she knows what dementors are:"'I heard--that awful boy--telling her about them--years ago'" (Chap. 2)
• First mention of Regulus Black (Chap. 6)
• First mention of the locket (Chap. 6)
• Harry notes that the barman at the Hog's Head looks "vaguely familiar" (Chap. 16)
• Dumbledore conjures the image of Voldemort's snake Nagini and murmurs: "'Naturally, naturally. . . . But in essence divided?" (Chap. 22).
• The Weasley twins force Montague (a Slytherin) into the vanishing cabinet that had been broken by Peeves; but they don't know where Montague has gone (Chap. 28).

Film Notes : This is a mostly faithful adaptation of the novel. Staunton's depiction of Umbridge is wonderful as is the scene in which the Weasley twins leave Hogwarts.

There are some minor plot changes and omissions:

• The entire section of the novel dealing with the visit to Arthur Weasley in Saint Mungo's and the meetings with Professor Lockhart and Neville's parents has been omitted from the film. What happened to Neville's parents is not clear.
• Harry teaches Dumbledore's Army the Levicorpus spell, but in the novels he actually learns it from the Half-Blood Prince the following year.
• In the novel it is Cho's friend, not Cho herself, who reveals the location where Dumbledore's Army trains.
• Percy Weasley appears in the background in the scene in which Fudge tries to arrest Dumbledore, but he is never named; also there is no hint in the film of his estrangement from his family.
• There is no mention in the film of who actually sent the Dementors after Harry that summer.

Of Note:

• Marvolo Gaunt points out his ring with the Peverell coat of arms and the locket his daughter is wearing (Chap. 10).
• Dumbledore tells Voldemort he is "friendly with the local barman (Chap. 20).
• Harry finds the broken vanishing cabinet and a tarnished tiara in the Room of Requirement when he goes there to hide his potions textbook (Chap. 24).
• The barman at the Hog's Head apprehended Snape eavesdropping on Trelawney's job interview with Dumbledore (Chap. 25).
• Dumbledore yells "'Make it stop--it's my fault'" as he drinks the potion in the cave (Chap. 26).

Key Concepts:

• "[Harry] understood. . . . the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. . . . There was all the difference in the world" (Chap. 23).
• Dumbledore to Harry: "'Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . ." (Chap. 26)
• Dumbledore to Harry" "'It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness'" (Chap. 26)

Film Notes: This film is easy to follow with excellent acting and direction, but it plays around in some significant ways with the plot of the novel:

• Harry and Dumbledore visit only two of Voldemort's memories: Tom Riddle's first meeting with Dumbledore and Riddle's discussion with Horace Slughorn.
• Harry's appointment as captain of his Quidditch team is not announced.
• Only Ron's first Quidditch match as goalkeeper is shown.
• The Weasley Christmas is marred by a Death Eater attack on their house; Lupin and Tonks are already together here.
• The subplot with the romance between Bill Weasley and Fleur has been omitted.
• Harry is not punished in the aftermath of his almost-fatal curse of Draco Malfoy; instead Gnny takes Harry into the Room of Requirement; she hides the potions book and Harry does not know where it is; Harry and Ginny kiss here.
• There is no climactic battle at Hogwarts; the Death Eaters seemingly show up only to back up Draco Malfoy when he attacks Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore's funeral is not shown.

Highllights of the film include:

• the Quidditch match
• the relationships between Hermione and Ron and between Harry and Hermione
• Jim Broadbent's portrayal of Horace Slughorn
• the burning of the Weasley home

Film Notes: This film carries the story approximately to the end of Chapter 24 of the novel. Harry, Ron and Hermione have just escaped from Malfoy Manor along with a goblin, Luna Lovegood, and Mr. Ollivander. In the last scene of the film Voldemort takes the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb. However, Harry has not yet gotten from Ollivander the explanation of the ways the allegiance of wands passes from an owner to the wizard who has won the wand away from its owner.

The only major addition to the film is a scene in which Harry tries to comfort Hermione by dancing with her in the tent.

Film Notes: This film picks up where the previous film left off, with Voldemort taking the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb and Harry at Dobby's grave.

The film is mostly faithful to the book. Most of the major characters make appearances. Both Professor McGonagall and Neville Longbottom play pivotal roles in the battle at Hogwarts. Severus Snape's backstory is well-done, as is the epilogue. But a few characters and episodes got short shrift; Molly Weasley's attack on Bellatrix Lestrange happens without the context of Bellatrix's attack on Ginny; deaths of key characters happen off-camera.

The one major departure from the novel is what Harry does with the Elder Wand. The one major addition to the novel is Neville's declaration of love for Luna Lovegood.

• J. K. Rowling Official Site
• The Leaky Cauldron: a major fan site covering all things Potter
• Official Harry Potter Films website