With the release of J.K. Rowling’s insanely anticipated “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” on Saturday, as well as last week’s opening of the fifth Harry Potter film, it seems the young wizard is all anyone can talk about these days. But if you have never read the books, it seems you are up in the air without a broomstick.
So for those of you who want to join in on the midnight book party fun but don’t want to be embarrassed when you can’t identify Dobby, we’ve compiled brief summaries of the six published novels as well as expectations for the upcoming seventh to make following fanatical conversations a little easier. Proceed at your own risk ““ after all, this is one long spoiler for any Muggle (anyone uninitiated into the wizarding world).
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Meet Harry Potter, resident of 4 Privet Drive, the closet under the stairs, and an orphan since his parents were killed by the evil Lord Voldemort. On his 11th birthday, he hears Rubeus Hagrid’s immortal line, “You’re a wizard Harry.”
Harry meets his long-term friends, Ron and Hermione, on the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He also learns his talent for Quidditch during a heated argument with his school nemesis, Draco Malfoy.
For Ian Martyn, a fourth-year linguistics and anthropology student, the first book is the best of the entire series.
“In the beginning, it seemed a bit more raw and (more) who (J.K. Rowling) was instead of what she was trying to make this whole thing into,” he said.
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Despite warnings from Dobby the house elf, Harry returns to school, and while at Hogwarts, the mythical Chamber of Secrets is opened for the first time in years, and someone starts attacking students who are not pureblood wizards. The chamber can only be opened by a descendant of the evil Salazar Slytherin, and Harry fears that he might be the heir. But it turns out Voldemort is behind it.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Jailbreak! Prisoner Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, and everyone thinks he’s out to kill Harry. Dementors surround Hogwarts for the purpose of protecting the students, but their presence only makes Harry pass out.
Harry soon learns that Sirius was once a close friend of his parents and supposedly their betrayer. But they become friends, and Harry discovers Sirius’s innocence.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Triwizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts, and Harry is unexpectedly chosen to compete. Professor Moody helps Harry with each task, though Moody turns out to be working for Voldemort.
While danger abounds, hormones also begin to flare. Harry faces a new challenge when he falls for his first crush, Cho Chang, and Ron gets jealous when Hermione goes to the ball with Quidditch-star Victor Krum instead of with him.
The tournament lures Harry and Cedric Diggory, the most popular boy in school, to an awaiting Voldemort. Harry escapes but Cedric does not.
Kyle Bown, recently-graduated political science student, found the ending of this book the most surprising.
“I wasn’t expecting the Triwizard Cup to be a portkey and lead to the graveyard with Voldemort coming back,” Bown said.
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Voldemort is back, but the government is in denial. Harry becomes acutely aware of Voldemort’s strengthening presence through haunting dreams in which he enters the mind of his enemy.
Dumbledore reinstates the Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to defeating Voldemort. Harry, too, creates a defense group, “Dumbledore’s Army,” though instead of highly trained Aurors, Harry’s group consists of students who hate their meddling new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, government employee Dolores Umbridge.
Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix meet to fight Voldemort, and Sirius dies.
“(That) surprised me the most, because he was one of my favorite characters, and I thought he’d be a crucial part to the rest of the series,” said Courtney Alev, a fourth-year political science student.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Harry learns from Dumbledore that he is the only one with the power to kill Voldemort.
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The wizarding world is at war, and Harry is carrying the weight of prophecy on his shoulders. But he is still just a 16-year-old.
“Even though there’s this giant war going on, and people are dying all around them, they still have to figure out how to live a normal life,” Alev said.
Harry falls in love with Ron’s sister Ginny. Voldemort gives Draco Malfoy the assignment to kill Dumbledore, but when Draco hesitates, Severus Snape finishes the task.
Harry vows to leave Hogwarts to destroy Voldemort once and for all.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The seventh book will finally answer the question of whether Snape killed Dumbledore out of loyalty to Dumbledore or to Voldemort. Author J.K. Rowling has said that two main characters will die.
“I definitely think Ron or Hermione is going to die,” Martyn said. “Or maybe Harry sacrifices himself to save them.”
While readers have been waiting 10 years to know what finally happens to this young wizard, it is also a bittersweet goodbye.
However, most students agree that it is time.
“If you kept it going, you’d have to create an artificial extension to it. It feels like it’s reaching its natural ending,” Bown said.