About Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels by English author J. K. Rowling about a young boy named Harry Potter. The story is mostly set at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards, and focuses on Harry Potter's fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents as part of his plan to take over the wizarding world.
Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, the books have become immensely popular worldwide, with films, video games and differnt kinds of merchandise. The seven books have collectively sold more than 325 million copies and have been translated into more than 63 languages. The seventh and last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on 21st July 2007

The success of the novels has made Rowling the richest writer in history.

The first six books have been made into highly successful motion pictures by Warner Bros. The sixth, The Half-Blood Prince, was released on 15th July 2009. The final book, The Deathly Hallows, will be split into 2 films. They are scheduled for November 2010 and July 2011.

Hogwarts
Like most boarding schools, Hogwarts is divided into four separate houses, named after the four Hogwarts founders, and students are sorted into their respective houses at the start of their first year. They are Gryffindor, named after Godric Gryffindor, which favours courage; Ravenclaw, named after Rowena Ravenclaw, which favours cleverness; Hufflepuff, named after Helga Hufflepuff, which favours fairness and loyalty; and Slytherin, named after Salazar Slytherin, which favours ambition and Blood Purity. Upon arrival, Harry, along with his friend Ron, and Hermione, who would later be their friend, are sorted into Gryffindor.

Quidditch

A spectator sport in the Wizard world, played up in the air on brooms, Quidditch is similar in style to polo and association football. Harry is a great player at Hogwarts and has helped Gryffindor win a number of games. Harry is the Seeker for his team whose role is to try to find and catch the Golden Snitch. The quidditch matches at Hogwarts were usually commentated by Lee Jordan, until he graduated from school.

In 1750, the Department of Magical Games and Sports set down official rules for the game of Quidditch.

1. Players must not stray over the boundary lines of the pitch, although they may fly as high as desired. The Quaffle must be surrendered to the opposition if any player leaves the boundary.
2. 'Time out' may be called at any time by the Captain of a team. Time out may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch after this time will lead to the team being disqualified.
3. Penalties can be rewarded to teams by the referee. A single Chaser may take the penalty by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. the opposing team's Keeper may attempt to stop the shot being scored, but all other players must not interfere, unless said chaser has entered the scoring zone.
4. Contact is allowed, but a player may not seize hold of another player's broomstick or any part of their anatomy.
5. No substitution of players is allowed throughout the game, even if a player is too injured to continue to play.
6. Players may take their wands onto the pitch, but they must not be used on or against any players, any players' broomsticks, the referee, any of the four balls, or the spectators.
7. A game of Quidditch will only end once the Golden Snitch has been caught, or at the mutual consent of both team Captains.

The Books

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows