A Brief Overview of the Harry Potter Series
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The Harry Potter books have become a phenomenon that has gripped an entire generation of children and adults alike. When J.K. Rowling started writing the children's book series, it did not occur in her wildest imagination that her books would have such a global effect. The book series has inspired a lot of children to read, which is a huge accomplishment considering that the Harry Potter books had to contend with video games, television, and the internet. If you want to know just what Potter fans are so enamored of, here is a brief overview of the seven book series.
The Boy Who Lived...
The first book introduces readers to Harry Potter, an 11 year old boy that lives in the world of non-magical beings, or Muggles as they are called. On his 11th birthday he is visited by the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and is introduced to the wizarding world and enrolled him in the Hogwarts School for Witches and Wizards. Hogwarts is where Harry meets his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the great wizard and headmaster of the school, Albus Dumbledore. The story revolves around Harry during his studies at Hogwarts, Harry learns of the reasons why he has magical powers, who his parents are and how they died, and his connection with the man who killed them, the evil wizard Lord Voldemort.
In his early years at Hogwarts, Harry learns of how Lord Voldemort killed Harry's parents and even tried to kill Harry as well. But mysteriously Voldemort was defeated and believed to have died while Harry survived having only the scar on his forehead as proof of their encounter. In the first four books Voldemort, who is not dead but merely in hiding and trying to regain his lost powers, have tried to kill Harry using different methods from the shadows, but thanks to the help of his friends Ron and Hermione, Harry and the forces of good always triumphs in the end.
Voldemort Returns...
In the end of the fourth book, Lord Voldemort has regained his old body and his full powers as well. At this time he openly declares war on Hogwarts and the entire wizarding world. At this time the story revolving around Harry has become less of a mystery and changed onto something that is more of a conflict between two warring factions. At this point Albus Dumbledore decides that he can no longer protect Harry from Voldemort, so he decides to train Harry personally on the ways of magic.
While under Dumbledore's tutelage, Harry becomes a more powerful wizard that is able to protect himself and others. He gets to show what he has learned from Dumbledore when Voldemort's army, mostly composed of escaped convicts from Azkaban (the high-security prison for evil wizards), attacked Harry and his friends.
Dumbledore Dies...
In the sixth book of the series "The Half-blood Prince," Dumbledore tells Harry of the only way that Voldemort can be defeated. Voldemort has divided his soul and placed them in various objects called Horcruxes and hid them all over the wizarding world, to defeat Voldemort they need to destroy all of the Horcruxes.
Dumbledore and Harry thus set out on a mission to destroy the containers of Lord Voldemort's soul, but an unexpected traitorous act tragically ends the life of Albus Dumbledore, leaving Harry wondering just how they can expect to defeat the evil of Voldemort now. In the last book "The Deathly Hollows," Harry finds out that he himself is a Horcrux. This forces him to make a decision that could either destroy or save the wizarding world.
This is just a brief summary on how the events in the world of Harry Potter unfolded. If you want to have a deeper understanding of the world of Harry Potter, try and read the books and prepare to dive into a fantastical and magical world.