Harry Potter (character)

Template:HP character Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series of books. In 2002, Harry Potter was voted No. 85 among the "100 Best Fictional Characters" by Book magazine and also voted the 35th "Worst Briton" in Channel 4's "100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate" program.

In the Harry Potter film adaptations, Harry has been portrayed by British actor Daniel Radcliffe.

Background

The novels concern events at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry's best friends are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. His most intriguing physical characteristic is his lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, the result of the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort attempt to murder Harry as a baby with The Killing Curse. Voldemort also killed Harry's parents and destroyed their home in the village of Godric's Hollow on October 31st. Harry is famous throughout the wizarding world for being the only known person to have survived the Killing Curse and, in doing so, bringing about Lord Voldemort's downfall.

In the novels, Harry, the only child of James and Lily Potter, is often told that he resembles his father, with similar perpetually untidy jet-black hair. However, he is more like his mother in personality and character and inherited her green eyes. Harry is described as being small and skinny for his age in the first few novels, but by the fifth he is described as tall. He also has a thin face and a rather quiet voice, except when he is angry. His appearance is characterised by round glasses.

Harry shares his birthday, July 31, with author J. K. Rowling. The books generally avoid giving exact dates for events, but it has been gathered that Harry was born in the same year as Draco Malfoy who's date of birth was given on a family tree, written by JK Rowling for a charitable auction.

Heritage and other family

See also: Relatives of Harry Potter

Harry is categorised as a "half-blood" wizard in the series, because although both his parents were magical, his mother, Lily Evans, was "Muggle-born". According to Rowling, to characters for whom wizarding blood purity matters, Lily would therefore be considered "as 'bad' as a Muggle", and derogatively referred to as a "Mudblood." In this context, to be considered a "pure-blood" wizard, both parents and all grandparents would have to also be wizards.

Harry's father, James Potter, was born into a "pure-blood" wizarding family as the only child of somewhat elderly parents. It is likely Harry is distantly related to other pure-blood families through his father, since according to Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, all the old pure-blood families are related. Harry inherited a vault of wizarding money from his parents, which is stored at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley, London. He later inherits Sirius' family property, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, after Sirius dies.

Harry may also be related to his godfather. According to the Black family tree, Charlus Potter married Dorea Black, granddaughter of Phineas Nigellus Black, with the result that James and Sirius may have been first cousins, once removed. This seems to contradict Rowling's statements that James's parents were "old in wizarding terms" when they died, because she has also said that wizards have "a much longer life expectancy than Muggles" — Dorea died at only 57. However, Charlus and Dorea were born into the same generation as Sirius' grandparents, so it is possible they might be James' parents. Regardless, since no living Potter relatives or any unrelated wizards named Potter have yet appeared in the series, it is possible that Charlus Potter, and thus Sirius, were somehow related to Harry.

In the books

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, eleven-year-old Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard when Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and aide to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, hand-delivers his invitation to attend the school. Hagrid tells Harry about his magical background and his fame in the wizarding community. He also learns that his parents, James and Lily, have left him a small fortune. Harry's first introduction to the wizarding world is Diagon Alley, a hidden wizarding district in London. There he buys a magic wand at Ollivander's. On the Hogwarts Express, the train that takes students from London's King's Cross station to the school, he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who later become his closest friends. All three are "sorted" into Hogwarts' Gryffindor, one of four school Houses. Harry joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team, becoming the youngest Seeker in over a century. Harry also becomes rivals with Draco Malfoy. Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort (long presumed dead) has secretly returned. Using the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell as a host body, he searches Hogwarts for the Philosopher's Stone that he believes will restore his body and make him immortal. Voldemort is thwarted by Harry, with help from Ron and Hermione.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

More challenges face Harry when he is revealed to be a parselmouth, having the ability to talk with snakes. Now there is a growing suspicion that he may be the Heir of Slytherin. The Heir is believed responsible for a series of attacks on Muggle-born pupils throughout the school. Harry’s toughest challenge, however, is posed by Tom Riddle, the "memory" of a younger Lord Voldemort hidden within his old diary that has mysteriously fallen into Ginny Weasley's possession. Controlling Ginny through the diary, Riddle uses her to release a deadly basilisk from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry proves his mettle in the book's climax by rescuing Ginny from the Chamber and killing the Basilisk with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Harry also tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house elf, Dobby, who has helped Harry.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry becomes the supposed target of Sirius Black, a murderous wizard who escaped from Azkaban, Britain's wizarding prison. Hunting Black are terrifying, hooded creatures called Dementors, the guards of Azkaban. Despite the danger, Harry returns to school, but lacking his guardians' written permission, he is barred from joining student outings to Hogsmeade, the nearby wizarding village. Fred and George Weasley give him their Marauder's Map, a magical document showing secret passageways in and out of Hogwarts, as well as every person's location within the castle. Harry uses a tunnel to slip into Hogsmeade wearing his Invisibility Cloak. At Christmas, Harry receives a Firebolt racing broom from an anonymous benefactor after his Nimbus 2000 is destroyed by the Whomping Willow during a Quidditch match. Harry learns Black is believed to have divulged his parents secret whereabouts to Lord Voldemort and murdered their friend, Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggle bystanders. Harry vows to find and kill Black only to discover that he never betrayed his parents—it was Peter Pettigrew, who faked his own death and framed Black for the crimes. Harry is ecstatic that his godfather will be exonerated and can become his legal guardian. However, Pettigrew—and the truth—escape, forcing Black back into hiding.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament, a recently revived inter-school competition. The Beauxbaton Academy and the Durmstrang Institute also participate. After one champion from each school is selected, Harry is mysteriously chosen as a fourth competitor, even though he is underage and never entered his name into the Goblet of Fire. The champions face three dangerous challenges on their way to the Triwizard Cup. During the final event, Cedric and Harry help each other and agree to grab the Cup simultaneously, unaware it is actually a Portkey. They are transported to a graveyard where Lord Voldemort awaits. On Voldemort's order, his servant Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) murders Cedric with the Killing curse. Harry is bound to a tombstone and forced to witness a ritual (which uses his blood) that restores Lord Voldemort's body. When Voldemort engages Harry in a duel, their wands' magical streams interlock, creating an effect called Priori Incantatem that momentarily shields Harry, allowing him time to grab the Portkey and escape back to Hogwarts. Voldemort's servant, Barty Crouch Jr is unmasked; he has been posing as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher "Mad-Eye" Moody by using polyjuice potion. Crouch's soul is sucked out by Dementors before he repeats his confession to officials, causing the Ministry of Magic to dispute Harry and Dumbledore's claims that Voldemort has returned.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry is attacked by Dementors while staying with the Dursleys for the summer. He performs a Patronus Charm to defend himself and his Muggle cousin, Dudley. Harry is charged with performing underage magic and must appear at a hearing at the Ministry of Magic and may be expelled from Hogwarts. Dumbledore has him taken to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, a dilapidated house in London owned by his godfather Sirius Black, that now serves as headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Harry is cleared thanks to testimony from Dumbledore and Harry's neighbor, Arabella Figg, a Squib who has secretly gurarded Harry since he was a baby. In retaliation against Dumbledore, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge appoints Dolores Umbridge as the new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher so she can spy on the school. She is also appointed High Inquisitor, empowered to arbitrarily change and impose school rules. Urged by Hermione, Harry secretly trains students in real defensive magic. The group calls themselves, "Dumbledore's Army" (D.A.). When Voldemort implants a false vision in Harry's mind that Sirius is being tortured at the Ministry office in London, Harry and D.A. members Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, rush to his rescue. Lured into the Department of Mysteries, the students are ambushed by Voldemort's Death Eaters. Order of the Phoenix reinforcements arrive in time, although Sirius is killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Voldemort appears and attempts to fatally curse Harry, but Dumbledore arrives, and the two fiercely duel. Voldemort grabs Bellatrix and disapparates, but not before being seen by the Minister and Ministry employees, vindicating both Harry and Dumbledore.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the wizarding population now calls Harry "The Chosen One". Harry learns he has inherited Sirius Black's entire estate, including the house at Grimmauld Place that is currently being used as the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. Back at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned when Professor Snape is announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. His vacant position has been filled by former Potions Master, Horace Slughorn. Slughorn lends Harry an old potions textbook once belonging to a student identified only as "The Half-Blood Prince." The book's copious handwritten notes help Harry excel in Potions class. Dumbledore begins giving Harry private lessons which are actually trips into various individuals' memories concerning Voldemort. In these memories Harry and Dumbledore find evidence that Voldemort has made Horcruxes, splitting his soul into multiple parts. Harry and Dumbledore retrieve one Horcrux, a locket, hidden inside a secret cave, although Dumbledore is seriously weakened in the effort. They return to find the school invaded by Death Eaters. Dumbledore is killed by Snape as Harry, helplessly petrified under his Invisibility Cloak, looks on. Released from the spell, Harry pursues Snape, who identifies himself as the Half-Blood Prince, and escapes with Draco Malfoy. Harry recovers the locket from Dumbledore's body, but a note inside reveals it is a fake; the real Horcrux has been stolen by someone whose initials are R.A.B..

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows it is unknown what will happen, however Harry already stated he would not return to Hogwarts, even if it reopens.

Character and relationships

Being mostly raised in the sterile environment of the Dursleys household with no love for him or for magic, Harry’s primary desire is to be among those who care for him and for loved ones to be safe. He realises this is impossible while Voldemort is alive. Curious about the world, he often takes on adventures that put himself at risk; although he usually tries to convince his friends not to endanger themselves by accompanying him. Nevertheless, his most loyal friends refuse to let him face challenges alone.

Harry, a highly sensitive boy, is easily angered when those he cares for are insulted or threatened. He has little tolerance for anyone he perceives to be on "the other side" — whether these be Death Eaters, people disbelieving his testimony to Dumbledore at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, or most Slytherins. Like his friend Ron, Harry is a bright, but not always diligent student, often relying on Hermione for help. Harry has also developed a sardonic sense of humor, with a tendency to turn other's insults against them.

Some of Harry's faults can be attributed to the many calamities in his life. He was forced into living with the Dursleys for ten years and catering to their whims, personally witnessed five murders, and has been forced to relive his earliest and arguably most terrifying memory - the murder of his parents as they faced Voldemort. He was present when fellow student Cedric Diggory was killed by Peter Pettigrew, saw his godfather Sirius Black sent to his death by a Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, at the Ministry of Magic, and witnessed his greatest protector and mentor, Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore die at the hands of Severus Snape. Thus far, Harry has confronted Voldemort five times, and has been tortured by him with the Cruciatus Curse.

For most of his early life, Harry has contended with his cruel and insensitive guardians, the Dursleys, who took every opportunity to denigrate Harry, his parents, and the magical world. In his second year his fellow students suspect him of harming several of their number. In his fourth year he was accused of cheating to enter the Triwizard tournament. In his fifth year, he endures many in of the wizarding world turning against him and mocking him, believing him to be an attention-seeking liar and fraud.

Harry also copes with the usual teenage difficulties in relationships. Even though he easily forms close friendships with Hermione and Ron, he has great difficulty asking out Cho Chang, a pretty Ravenclaw. Sometimes Harry gets impatient and even angry with Ron and Hermione, especially when they argue with each other, though he usually looks on quietly as they engage in their frequent and sometimes hurtful bickering. However, their friendship strengthens over the years, with Rowling saying that Harry has effectively adopted Ron and Hermione as a surrogate family. During their sixth year, when Ron and Hermione have a serious argument, Harry is determined to remain friends with both, which indicates that Ron and Hermione are now more equal in his life; in a similar situation in their third year, Harry chose to remain friends with Ron at the expense of his friendship with Hermione, while the situation was reversed in their fourth year.

Harry develops many close relationships with adults, particularly Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore. The Weasley family become a surrogate family with whom Harry periodically stays. Mrs Weasley in particular becomes something of a mother figure; she thinks of him as a son, and to some extent treats him even more kindly than she does her own children. It is in Molly Weasley's arms that Harry weeps when Cedric Diggory is killed. Similarly, the Weasley boys generally treat Harry as another brother, and Mr Weasley shows a paternal fondness for Harry. When Harry learns of the close relationship between Sirius Black and his parents, Harry looks to him as yet another father figure. Harry also befriends former Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin, one of the Marauders, and another of his father's close friends.

Harry is loyal to his friends and expects loyalty in return, although this trait often prevents Harry from being objective. He is highly intuitive and tends to follow his instincts, feeling strongly about whom he can and cannot (or will not) trust. For example, from their first meeting, Harry is reluctant to show any trust for Severus Snape, the Potions Master, despite Dumbledore's unwavering confidence in him.

Romantic relationships

Harry's platonic relationship with his closest female friend, Hermione Granger, is occasionally misinterpreted. Viktor Krum, who is romantically interested in Hermione, grows jealous in Goblet of Fire because she often talks about Harry; Rita Skeeter, an unethical tabloid journalist, uses the nonexistent "love triangle" between Harry, Hermione, and Viktor as juicy story material for the Witch Weekly. When Cho Chang becomes Harry's girlfriend in Order of the Phoenix, she also misunderstands their friendship.

Harry's relationship with Cho has roots as early as Prisoner of Azkaban, where he notices how pretty she is and blushes and becomes nervous in her presence. A year later, his interest becomes a crush, and he eventually gathers courage to ask her to the Yule Ball, only to learn she is attending with Cedric Diggory. Cho and Cedric are tragically torn apart by his death at the end of Goblet of Fire. The following year, Harry becomes Cho's new focus when she, still struggling with Cedric's death, turns to him for support. He manages an on-and-off relationship with her throughout the year, even experiencing his first kiss with her, but ultimately, the relationship does not endure. The teens are not looking for the same things: a still grieving Cho sees Harry as a substitute for Cedric, unable to accept that he is gone, while Harry expects a simpler relationship that would relieve his stress rather than amplify it.

Cho's jealousy of Hermione also adds to this dissonance and reaches a breaking point when Cho defends Marietta Edgecombe who betrayed Dumbledore's Army, an action Harry finds unforgivable. After a heated argument over Marietta, Cho's eyes sparkle with tears. When a frazzled Harry warns he cannot tolerate her crying anymore, an insulted Cho stomps off angrily, after which they drift apart. By the end of Order of the Phoenix, Harry and Cho have no more feelings for each other. Comments Rowling, "They were never going to be happy, it was better that it ended early!"

Harry's failed relationship with Cho is a contrast to his eventual one with Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister. Ginny's crush on Harry, introduced in Chamber of Secrets and continuing into Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, is unrequited and apparently fades in Order of the Phoenix with Hermione off-handedly informing Harry that Ginny "gave up" on him. She indeed appears to have done just that; her shyness around Harry disappears, and he finally interacts with the girl who, according to Ron, "never shuts up normally." Harry was generally kind with Ginny, but he simply did not reciprocate her feelings. During his fifth year, Ginny often put the moody, depressed, and temperamental Harry in his place and was perhaps the most successful in dealing with his dark moods. When a disillusioned Harry realises his father was indeed as arrogant as Snape had always said, he turns to Ginny to find a way of resolving his feelings about the subject. The fact that both have been "tainted" by close encounters with Voldemort which they struggle to overcome is a binding force between them, as is their similar sense of humour.

In Half-Blood Prince, it is Harry who develops unrequited feelings for an apparently uninterested Ginny, which he struggles with throughout the year, as he becomes increasingly jealous of her boyfriend, Dean Thomas. Ron vocally disapproves of Ginny's relationship with Dean, which Harry interprets as him objecting to her having any boyfriend. He worries he will have to choose between a relationship with Ginny and his friendship with Ron, but his pessimism is unfounded: Ginny and Dean break up (aided by Harry’s use of Felix Felicis, a good luck potion). Swept up in the high of Gryffindor's Quidditch Cup victory, Harry spontaneously kisses Ginny in front of the entire Common Room. Ron ultimately expresses his approval with a simple jerk of the head, which Harry takes to mean "Well-if you must." At the end of Half-Blood Prince, however, Harry ends their relationship so Voldemort will not target her as a means to get to Harry.

Strengths

Generally, in spite of ten-year absence from the wizarding world, he has become a somewhat powerful wizard for his age, with skills unrivaled by any in his age group, due largely to his high determination, and his ability to love, as mentioned below.

Interpersonal

One of Harry's greatest strengths is his ability to love others despite continuous grief and hardship in his life. His substantial leadership skills and ability to teach his classmates (Dumbledore's Army) Defence Against the Dark Arts enables them to defend themselves against Death Eaters during the Battle of the Ministry. His ability to inspire loyalty ensures that he is surrounded by friends whose skills complement his own and who would willingly risk their own lives to defend him. This is in contrast to Voldemort's Death Eaters, who serve him out of fear.

Character traits

Harry is a boy who dislikes being the centre of attention, and obtains the plurality of his opinions through social osmosis. At various times through the series, Harry has shown the ability to remain level-headed, retain his composure, and perform advanced feats of wizardry during moments of extreme crisis. He is clever-minded and quick-witted, has very strong intuition, can make great 'mental' leaps while under enormous stress, and generally has a sense of humour and a positive outlook on life despite the burdens placed on him. He has been shown to be fiercely determined and self-reliant, almost to a fault, although beginning with the fourth book this has been viewed by some characters as a tendency to "play the hero."Template:HP4Template:HP6

Academic and athletic

Generally, Harry receives average-to-admirable marks in most classes (especially Defence Against the Dark Arts) from fair and/or competent teachers (Professor Lupin in particular, as stated in book five). In the OWL's, without the pressure of dealing with classroom teachers, Harry performs well, as evidenced by his results. He can also use certain spells successfully after watching others perform them just once. For example, in Book two he successfully performs the Expelliarmus spell without any practice, having watched Snape perform it several months earlier. He also masters several of the Half-Blood Prince's spells without any lessons. Harry attempts to perform the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange, but it doesn't hurt Bellatrix, as an enjoyment of the propective suffering was needed for the curse to effectively create intense pain.

Athletically, despite having never ridden a broomstick before attending Hogwarts, Harry quickly becomes a talented Quidditch player. Harry is Gryffindor's Seeker up to his sixth year when he is made the Quidditch captain in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Superlative reflexes, born of his Quidditch training, allow him to dodge curses.

Although Harry is commended for his Quidditch abilities, he has participated in only one Quidditich Cup final. In his first year, he is injured, and Gryffindor loses the Cup in their last game. In his second year, the Cup is cancelled because of the Basilisk attacks on the school. Harry finally plays and wins the first Quidditch House Cup for Gryffindor in his third year (Prisoner of Azkaban). Quidditch is suspended during his fourth year due to the Triwizard Tournament. The following year, Harry is banned from Quidditch by Dolores Umbridge early in the season, though Gryffindor wins without him. In his sixth year, Harry becomes the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, but is held in detention by Snape on the day of the last match, and the Gryffindor team repeats its performance from the previous year. It has been confirmed by J.K. Rowling that there will be no Quidditch in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Magical

Harry has a number of unusual traits and talents as a wizard.

• The lightning-bolt scar on his forehead is a remnant of Voldemort's murder attempt when he was an infant. The scar serves him later at Hogwarts, burning painfully as an indicator of Voldemort's presence, or whenever the Dark Lord is feeling particularly murderous or exultant. According to Rowling, by attacking Harry, Voldemort gave him "tools (that) no other wizard possessed – the scar and the ability it conferred, a magical window into Voldemort's mind."
• Harry's green eyes, inherited from his mother, which J.K. Rowling said in an interview would be "extremely important."
• Harry is a Parselmouth: Harry is able to communicate with snakes, an art both associated with Dark wizards and inherited by descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Albus Dumbledore noted that the gift is merely a useful tool rather than an "evil" power. Again, he gained this ability from Voldemort himself who, according to Dumbledore, unwittingly transferred some of his powers to Harry when he tried to kill him.
• Learned, at just 13 years old, to successfully (and repeatedly) cast a corporeal Patronus Charm to repel Dementors from his presence. Harry's corporeal Patronus takes the form of a stag (his father's Animagus form). Many see this as impressive, and it earns him a bonus point in his OWL test for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
• Ability to fully resist the Imperius Curse, rebuffing even Lord Voldemort. (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - no one else in Harry's class could resist it, and the imposter Mad-Eye Moody called it "strength of character").
• Due to great practice in duelling, Harry has developed above-average wizard duelling skills and has overpowered numerous Death Eaters, even with their knowledge of the Dark Arts and years of experience (but see below). This may also be due in part to Voldemort transferring some of his skills and abilities to Harry in his first attack on Harry.
• Harry is an excellent broom flyer. This is one parallel that is drawn between Harry and his father James, who was also an exceptional Quidditch player. Harry even impresses professional Quidditch player Viktor Krum.

Weaknesses

Character flaws

Harry generally has trouble dealing with emotions and experiences near-extreme mood swings. When undergoing an extreme mood swing, Harry loses his sense of time and also some of his intelligence. He has trouble opening up to others, attempts to solve everything by himself, and veers between self-doubt and a gritty pride; he has low self-esteem, most likely due to poor treatment by the Dursleys.

He can misvalue his friends - preferring to "do it alone" in dangerous situations; his heroic nature often causes him to rush into situations without first assessing the dangers, making him dangerously predictable to his enemies (This could be seen as a savior complex, or, as Hermione Granger calls it: a "saving-people thing"). He can overreact in tense situations and make uninformed leaps of judgment; in the sixth book, he suspected from the very beginning that Draco Malfoy was up to no good, and that he'd become a Death Eater, and was eventually proven right, but not before being dismissed due to his long-running feud with Malfoy.

At the other end of the spectrum, Harry can be easily angered when derogatory comments are directed to his parents or friends. In particularly emotional moments, he can sometimes do impressive damage to an enemy without consciously meaning to (Sectumsempra is an example). He often refuses to accept advice or criticism from someone he doesn't like, such as Severus Snape. As he gets older (and experiences more terrible events), his anger becomes more apparent and he also becomes more anxious and troubled, and he increasingly is overwhelmed by these tumultuous feelings. More than once he has attempted and failed to torture a Death Eater with the Cruciatus Curse. Dumbledore reassures Harry that this is due to his innately good heart. Harry has clearly been scarred by the horrific events in his life which manifests itself in his anger. This may partially be due to typical teenage angst, in addition to Voldemort's projecting thoughts into Harry's mind. In Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort had stopped doing this, making Harry less anxious and vision-prone.

Other weaknesses

While Harry (initially) lacks intellectual curiosity, rarely taking the initiative to learn new spells and powers that he is capable of performing unless he needs to, he shows curiosity in almost everything else. More than once Harry has been reprimanded for wandering the school corridors after hours.

He is a mediocre student (for his potential); until his Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) exams he barely gets higher than average test scores. He lacks the academic success of his mentor, Dumbledore, and his nemesis Voldemort. The high marks he receives (Outstanding) in Defence Against the Dark Arts are the exception.

Magical

There are a number of magical skills that Harry has yet to master:

• Harry has difficulty consciously performing non-verbal magic. However, this may have been due to a mental block and a hatred for his unfair and cruel teacher (Snape). Yet he is able to perform a small amount of non-verbal magic when he practices on his own, especially Levicorpus and Aguamenti.
• Similarly, he has difficulty with wandless magic. However, in Book 1 he performs wandless magic before discovering he is a wizard (such as making glass disappear, allowing a serpent to escape from its terrarium), although it is commonly seen in young wizards to accidentally use magic (often unbeknown to the wizard in question that they have the capability to perform magic at all; or even that there is such a thing, in reality, as magic) when feeling strong emotions such as anger or fear.
• Harry sometimes has serious self-control issues; this is first seen in Book 1 in his various unintentional works of magic, though this is hardly his fault as he wasn't even aware of his magic at the time. However, he continues this behavior later, such as when he blew up his Aunt Marge after her comments about his parents. This is also just his inability to control his emotions, a trait he shows time and again in the series.
• Snape attempted to teach Harry Occlumency through the use of Legilimency. Although Harry learned some of the basics in each, overall he had a poor success rate. Rowling says this is because Harry has been "too damaged" in some ways, and his emotions are always too close to the surface to be suppressed, not to mention being taught Occlumency by the teacher he hates the most, and also because of his instinct that Snape might be hindering him by opening his mind up to Voldemort, or simply making it difficult for him to accomplish, as he seems to enjoy taunting Harry's failure or incompetence.
• Harry cannot non-verbally block or parry strong spells (although he is masterful in using the Shield Charm, Protego, aloud). Several of Harry's enemies, including Snape and Voldemort, are able to do this. Snape suggests that blocking is connected to Occlumency and non-verbal magic (see above); this might, however, be construed as Snape using Legilimency to anticipate what spells Harry intends to use.
• While Dumbledore uses his sensitivity to magic to explore a magical cave, Harry appears to be insensitive to its presence, although he may have perceived a small amount within the cave. It is also possible that this sensitivity is a mark of a great wizard of Dumbledore's caliber, and that Harry's relative insensitivity is to be expected of an underage, unqualified wizard.
• Harry shows weakness in some classes, including Potions, History of Magic, and Divination, which results in poor knowledge and ability in these magical branches. However, the corresponding instructors are partly responsible for this. In Potions class (and elsewhere), Professor Snape constantly antagonises, upsets, and insults Harry, putting him under pressure and undermining his already low self-confidence. When Professor Slughorn takes over, however, he gets top marks, partly due to the Half Blood Prince's old textbook, but also because he does not hate Slughorn and also because he is actually very good in potions. In History of Magic, Professor Binns is so boring that only Hermione can withstand his droning teaching manner, and even she lapses occasionally. In Divination class, Professor Trelawney constantly predicts his doom, which only adds to Harry's discomfort, anxiety, and disgust for the class.
• He has shown some significant aptitude for magical combat. For example, when he is holding the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries he blocked Lestrange head on because of his quick reflexes, which will help. However, most of his successful attacks against Death Eaters were not face-on. For example, he has petrified at least two (Dolohov and Greyback) from behind and by surprise, so that they had no opportunity to defend themselves; he temporarily paralysed Lucius Malfoy with the Impedimenta spell while the latter was attempting to strangle him and thus had both hands busy and could not resort to his wand; and he used the same spell on the "big blond Death Eater" that was causing random destruction during the Battle in Hogwarts, but he had privileged aim and also benefited from the surprise factor. Most of other stand-offs against dark wizards were either passive - Harry used the Shield Charm or ran for cover - or aided by his fellows (e.g., when Neville kicked McNair or Hermione silenced Dolohov). Apart from Voldemort - against whom the Priori Incantatem effect played an important role - Harry has had proper, face-on, unaided and magical skill-dependent duels with only two wizards. Against Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry performed so poorly that he had to hide behind the Fountain of Magical Brethren to avoid being tortured or killed. Against Severus Snape, his performance was marginally better in that he did not need to seek shelter - perhaps because Snape's intent to injure appeared ambiguous - but he was not even able to complete a single spell, was disarmed and put at the mercy of his opponent, only to be rescued by Buckbeak the Hippogriff. Therefore it may be concluded that his prowess in dueling remains an open subject.

Snape has perhaps the most realistic assessment of Harry's feats, which he dubs a mixture of luck, external help and average witchcraft. This may be intentional on part of the author, who has hinted throughout the books that Harry's greatest strength is not so much his magical prowess as his deeply humane nature.

Other media

Harry Potter appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Password: Swordfish" voiced by Quinton Flynn. When the threat of the puberty creature Pubertis is known, Harry sees Dumbledore about this and receives a stone that might help him fight Pubertis. Upon confrontation with Pubertis, he rubs the stone three times which summon ghosts to punch it. When it comes to the fourth time, Dumbledore appears and tells Harry that the stone can only be warmed up three times (he forgot to tell Harry that) and that Pubertis cannot be destroyed since it lives in everyone.

See also

• Relatives of Harry Potter
• Enemies of Harry Potter

External links

• Harry Potter: Quick facts from the HP lexicon
• Harry Potter quotes from Mugglenet
• Harry Potter Bibliography: Research and Criticism
• Harry Potter on Harry Potter Wiki, an external wiki