Harry Potter (character)
Harry Potter is a male literary character who features in Harry Potter.
Contents |
Biography
Harry Potter was an English male human who was a half-blood son of the wizard named James Potter and a Muggle named Lily Potter born on 31 July 1980. He was only 1 years old when his parents were murdered by the powerful Dark Wizard Voldemort who attempted to kill he young boy as well but was unsuccessful when his mother sacrificed her life for her child. Her love was something that Voldemort could not destroy where instead Harry was left with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead whilst the dark wizard's body destroyed with his soul being left bodiless.
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 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. 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 either Vernon's old socks or a coat-hanger.
Potter was carried via a flying motorcycle by Rubeus Hagrid and handed to Albus Dumbledore, who then placed him on the doorstep of number four, Privet Drive, alongside a letter. As he grew older, he lived within a small cupboard under the stairs and was responsible for cooking breakfast and performing household chores for the Dursley family. During a visit to a zoo, he stood before a reptile house exhibit and engaged in a one-sided conversation with a boa constrictor, observing the snake's movements and reactions. When his cousin pushed him aside, Harry experienced a surge of involuntary power that caused the glass front of the enclosure to vanish, allowing the snake to escape and causing his cousin to fall into the water. Upon receiving a mysterious letter addressed specifically to his cupboard, he attempted to open and read it, but it was confiscated by his uncle. He subsequently spent several days attempting to intercept the hundreds of identical letters that began to arrive through the mail slot, the chimney, and even inside eggs. He eventually travelled with the Dursleys to a secluded shack on a rock in the middle of the sea to escape the delivery of the mail. While inside the shack, he monitored a digital watch and counted down the seconds until midnight to mark the beginning of his eleventh birthday, shortly before the door was forcibly struck from the outside.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Harry Potter was a male of Caucasian descent with a thin face, knobbly knees, and bright green eyes, having a small, skinny, and short stature for his age. His jet-black hair was famously untidy, sticking up at the back, and a thin, lightning-bolt-shaped scar rested on his forehead. He wore round spectacles, often held together with Sellotape, and was constantly dressed in baggy, oversized hand-me-down clothes from his cousin, which created a disheveled look. It was said that he had his father's perpetually untidy black hair whilst he had his mother's bright green eyes and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. He was described as being small and skinny for his age with him having a thin face, wobbly knees and wore Windsor glasses. As a survivor of Voldemort's attack, he came to be known to the wizarding community as the Boy Who Lived. A prophecy also spoke about the boy and his role in the future where he was known as the Chosen One.
Originally, Harry came to see the scar as being the only thing he liked about his own appearance.
The sorting hat came to note that he had plenty of courage.
It was said that Harry had traits that Salazar Slytherin prized among his students with these being resourcefulness; determination and a certain disregard for the rules.
Harry Potter was the son of James Potter and his wife Lily Potter.
It was noted that the Potter family were an old and wealthy pure-blood family whose origins dated back to many years.
Powers and abilities
Potter was a half-blood where his father was a wizard whilst his mother as a Muggle.
Harry Potter demonstrated the ability to communicate with a boa constrictor, understanding the snake's physical gestures and responding to them verbally. He exhibited a capacity for involuntary magical manifestation, which resulted in the complete disappearance of a glass pane in a zoo enclosure without any physical contact or intentional use of a tool. He showed a high degree of manual dexterity and domestic skill by preparing fried eggs and bacon for his guardians and performing various cleaning tasks within the household. He manifested a physical resilience to poor living conditions, surviving for years while confined to a small, dark cupboard under a staircase. Harry also displayed a rapid reflexive speed, which he used to avoid physical strikes from his cousin and to catch falling objects. He showed an ability to track time with precision, monitoring a watch to identify the exact second of a date change. Additionally, he demonstrated basic literacy and the ability to navigate a suburban environment, and he displayed a natural proficiency for finding hiding spots and evading detection by others within his residence.
It was said that ultimately Harry's greatest power of all was his ability to love.
In fact, he was noted as being the best in his year at Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Among the spells known to him included:
- Wingardium Leviosa : the Levitation Charm was a spell that could make a target fly or levitate.
- Alohomora : the Unlocking Charm was also known as Thief's Friend was a charm that unlocked objects such as doors or windows.
- Cruciatus Curse : the Crucio Torture Curse that was a tool of the Dark Arts and one of the three Unforgivable Curses where it was held as being one of the most powerful and sinister spells known to Wizardkind.
- Sectumsempra : a curse originally created was originally created by Severus Snape and was a curse which lacerated a target and caused severe haemorrhaging.
- Expecto Patronum : the Patronus Charm was held as one of the most famous most powerful defensive charms known to wizardkind.
It was remarked that he was a natural at flying on a broomstick with professors amazed at his capabilities during his first flight.
Notes
- Harry Potter was created by J. K. Rowling where he featured in the setting of the Harry Potter universe.
- In an interview at Barnes and Noble, Rowling commented on the character being a role model for children where she said, "The advantage of a fictional hero or heroine is that you can know them better than you can know a living hero, many of whom you would never meet [...] if people like Harry and identify with him, I am pleased, because I think he is very likeable."
In other media
Films
- In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter featured in the setting of the 2001 live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Daniel Radcliffe.
Video games
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:
External Links
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