Throughout my childhood, I joined the millions of other children as we entered the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter", although my timeline didn't match up to Harry's; what his life thought him, allowed me to grow an imagination that took me places-He gave me my freedom. Harry Potter accomplished much in his life, He came from a world filled of hate and depression and joined another filled with magic and amazement. From the lanky, awkward prepubescent preteen boy into the grown hero to a world that no one would have known existed if it weren't for J.K. Rowling, millions of people, as well as myself, wouldn't know what we were missing. He changed dramatically from his first year at Hogwarts to his fourth, then becoming the man he was destined to be at the age of seventeen. This is his life.
Before his birthday on July 31st, 1991, Harry Potter is a small child who is an orphan living with his only remaining family, the Dursleys - his mother's sister, her husband and their pungent son – he always had a feeling that there was something different about him. On his birthday, Harry is visited by Rubeus Hagrid, the grounds keeper at Hogwarts, a school for those who are magically challenged. As Hagrid delivers the famous line, "You're a Wizard, Harry." Harry learns about the wizarding world, his parents, and his connection to the Dark Lord – Lord Voldemort, the man who killed his parents in attempts to kill him. Choosing to go to Hogwarts, he is sorted into the Gryffindor House – one of the four houses at Hogwarts, he becomes fast friends with classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – Fellow Gryffindors, discovers his talent for Quidditch – a wizarding sporting game on brooms, and foils Voldemort's attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He also forms a rivalry with characters Draco Malfoy, a classmate from an elitist wizarding family, and the cold, condescending Potions master, Severus Snape, Draco's mentor and the head of Slytherin House – archenemy of Gryffindor . Year one held much of self discovery for Harry, helping him learn who he is and what he is meant to be.
As Harry entered his fourth year, he has gained more self-confidence and has learned he has some family in Sirius Black, his godfather – who was in Azkaban, after being framed for the murders of several muggles (non-magical people). Harry is also growing into the more teenaged ways of mind as his hormones become more adamant in his infatuation of Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw classmate. Tension rises, however, when Harry is mysteriously chosen by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the dangerous Triwizard Tournament, even though another Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, has already been selected. It is discovered that it is actually Voldemort's elaborate scheme to lure Harry into a deadly trap. During the Tournament's final challenge, Harry and Cedric are transported to a graveyard, using a portkey- a transporting item, where Cedric is killed by Peter Pettigrew – the man who betrayed his parents - and Voldemort, aided by Pettigrew, uses Harry's blood in a gruesome ritual to resurrect his body. When Harry duels Voldemort, their wands' magical streams connect, forcing the spirit echoes of Voldemort's victims, including Cedric and James and Lily Potter, to be expelled from his wand. The spirits briefly protect Harry as he escapes to Hogwarts with Cedric's body. This in the end causes Harry to realize that the battle is strictly between himself and Voldemort, and that if anyone came between them, they would get hurt. The image of Cedric dying continues to haunt Harry throughout the remainder of the series. He's no longer protected, He's been protected until now but he's very young to have that experience. Most of us don't get that until a bit later in life. He's only just coming up to 15.
In "Deathly Hallows", Harry's life is about to come to the crossroad of finally having to accomplish what the world laid out for him. Harry, Ron, and Hermione – all age 17 - leave Hogwarts to complete Albus Dumbledore's task: to search for and destroy Voldemort's remaining four Horcruxes- items that hold pieces of his soul-, then find and kill the Dark Lord. The three pit themselves against Voldemort's newly formed totalitarianpolice state, an action that tests Harry's courage and moral character. Voldemort's seizure of the Ministry of Magic leads to discriminatory and genocidal policies against Muggle-borns, fueled by propaganda and fear, making it near impossible for them to go around the Wizarding community. Harry experiences occasional disturbing visions of Draco being forced to perform the Death Eaters' bidding and feels sickened by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort, showing his compassion for an enemy. Each Horcrux Harry must defeat cannot be destroyed easily. They must be destroyed with basilisk venom, Godric Gryffindor's sword, or some other destructive substance - He destroyed his first one when he was 12. Harry comes to recognize that his own single-mindedness makes him predictable to his enemies and often clouds his perceptions. When Voldemort kills Snape later in the story, Harry realizes that Snape was not the traitorous murderer he believed him to be, but a tragic antihero who was loyal to Dumbledore – late headmaster of Hogwarts. Snape's memories reveal that he loved Harry's mother, Lily Evans, but their friendship ended over his association with future Death Eaters and his "blood purity" beliefs. When Voldemort murdered the Potters, a grieving Snape vowed to protect Lily's child, although he loathed young Harry for being James Potter's son. So all in all he was trying to protect him, coming off cold and cruel to Harry. To defeat Harry, Voldemort steals the most powerful wand ever created, the Elder Wand – the most powerful wand in the world, from Dumbledore's tomb and twice casts the Killing Curse on Harry with it. The first attempt merely stuns Harry into a death-like state; the murder attempt fails because Voldemort used Harry's blood in his resurrection during book four. The protection that his mother gave Harry with her sacrifice tethers Harry to life, as long as his blood and her sacrifice run in the veins of Voldemort. Voldemort's second Killing Curse hurled at Harry also fails and rebounds upon Voldemort, finally killing him. The spell fails because Harry, not Voldemort, had become the Elder Wand's true master and the wand could not harm its own master. Harry fulfills his destiny as that was his life goal- defeat the most powerful wizard of all time.
According to Rowling, after Voldemort's defeat, Harry joins the reshuffled Auror Department –Like a police officer in the muggle world. Under Kingsley Shacklebolt's mentoring, and ends up eventually rising to become Head of said department in 2007. Rowling said that his old rival Draco has a grudging gratitude towards Harry for saving his life in the final battle, but the two are not friends. , In the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, which is set 19 years after Voldemort's death, Harry and Ginny – Ron's younger sister- are married and have three children: James, Albus and Lilly. Harry Potter has captivated many minds of children and young adults, his story will forever be an influence due to its mass population in media. As well as always being the primary influence on my life.