Harry Potter and the philosophers stone

Title of the story: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Author: Rowling, J. K.

Name and grade: Ibrahim Mzareeb 10th(5)

Main characters:

1) Harry Potter is an orphan whom Rowling imagined as a “scrawny, black-haired, green-eyed and bespectacled boy who didn’t know he was a wizard.” She developed the series’ story and characters to explain how Harry came to be in this situation and how his life unfolded from there.

2) Ron Weasley is Harry’s age, and Rowling describes him as the ultimate best friend “always there when you need him”.He is freckled, red-haired, and quite tall. He grew up in a fairly large pure-blood family as the sixth born of seven children. Although his family is quite poor, they still live comfortably and happily.

3) Hermione Granger, the daughter of an all-Muggle family, is a bossy girl who has apparently memorized most of the textbooks before the start of term. Rowling described Hermione as a “very logical, upright and good” character with “a lot of insecurity and a great fear of failure beneath her swottiness”.

setting: fictional London suburb of Little Whinging, Surrey, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

The Four Houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. late 1990s

Plot (Sequence of events): Harry Potter lives with his abusive uncle and aunt, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, and their bullying son, Dudley. On Harry’s eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid, a half-giant, delivers an acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, revealing that Harry’s parents, James and Lily Potter, were wizards. When Harry was just a year old, a powerful but malevolent dark wizard named Lord Voldemort murdered his parents; Harry survived Voldemort’s killing curse that rebounded and seemingly destroyed the Dark Lord, leaving a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Unknown to Harry, this act made him famous in the wizarding world.

Hagrid escorts Harry to Diagon Alley, the hidden wizard commerce and retail section in London. Harry’s parents have left him a fortune kept in Gringotts Wizarding Bank, which he uses to buy school supplies and a wand from Ollivander’s. The cores of Harry and Lord Voldemort’s wands have feathers from the same phoenix bird, making them “brothers”. Hagrid gifts Harry an owl, whom he names as Hedwig, as a birthday present. A month later, Harry boards the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross railway station’s secret Platform 9+3⁄4. En route to Hogwarts, Harry befriends fellow first year Ron Weasley and meets Hermione Granger, whom the two boys initially dislike.

Harry runs afoul of Draco Malfoy, the spoiled son of a prominent wizard. At Hogwarts, a magical Sorting Hat sorts the first years among four school Houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) that best suit their personalities and talents. Draco joins Slytherin, known for producing dark wizards, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sorted into Gryffindor.

During Harry’s first Quidditch match, his broomstick attempts to buck him off. Snape’s strange behaviour during the match convinces Hermione he jinxed Harry’s broom. Harry receives an anonymous Christmas gift – his father’s invisibility cloak. Using it to explore the school, he discovers the Mirror of Erised, which shows what the viewer most desires. Harry sees his parents.

Various obstacles force Ron and Hermione to remain behind while Harry proceeds. Harry encounters Professor Quirrell, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He jinxed Harry’s broom and let the troll into the school; Snape was protecting Harry. Voldemort, whose face has regrown on the back of Quirrell’s head, is revealed to be the professor’s secret master. Harry is forced to stand before the Mirror of Erised. It recognizes Harry’s lack of greed for the stone and deposits it into his pocket. Quirrell attempts to seize the stone, but his flesh burns upon contact with Harry. Harry’s scar begins hurting, and he passes out.

Harry awakens in the school’s infirmary. He survived Voldemort because his mother sacrificed her life for him and left a magical protective charm. Quirrell’s hatred and greed caused him to burn upon contact with Harry; Voldemort abandoned him to die. Dumbledore reveals he sent Harry the invisibility cloak, while the philosopher’s stone, that had been keeping the long-lived Nicolas Flamel alive, has been destroyed with Flamel’s consent to prevent its being stolen. During the school’s year-end feast, Gryffindor is awarded the House Cup. Harry returns to the Dursleys at Privet Drive until the next school year.

Main idea: the most important message in Harry Potter is that love and friendship triumph over anything, no matter how fear-inducing the obstacles may be.

My opinion: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the perfect introduction to the Potter franchise. Here, a young boy named Harry learns that he is a wizard and heads to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he learns that he is ‘The Boy Who Lived’, and that he saved the Wizarding World by defeating Lord Voldemort when he was a baby. He goes on to befriend Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and later, they get wind of the Philosopher’s Stone, and how they think someone is trying to steal it. The story continues from there.

Overall, this book was very happy and lighthearted. When I was reading it for the first time, I felt that I was learning about this new world and all of these new types of magic. I already knew stuff about Charms and Potions, but I was thrilled to learn about other subjects like Herbology, which is basically the wizard version of muggle botany, except with devil’s snare instead of daisies.

I really loved that the golden trio weren’t exactly friends the first time they met (Harry and Ron were of course, just not really Hermione) and then they ultimately became friends after defeating a troll. I also liked that there were subplots about the midnight duel with Malfoy, quidditch, and Norbert.

even with its flaws, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a great book, and I would absolutely recommend it to a friend. In conclusion, I give this book four and a quarter stars, for being a great introduction to the series and being an awesome book overall.

-Ibrahim mzareeb

11) his mother sacrificing her life for him left a magical protective charm.

12) his broomstick attempts to buck him off. Snape’s strange behavior during the match convinces Hermione he jinxed Harry’s broom.

13) Harry’s broomstick flying ability earns him a place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as the Seeker.

14)  Malfoy tricks Harry and Ron into risking expulsion by leaving their common room after curfew. Hermione, unable to stop them, tags along.

15) . Draco joins Slytherin, known for producing dark wizards.

16) A newspaper report later describes an attempted robbery at the same vault in Gringotts.

17) Hagrid gifts Harry an owl, whom he names  Hedwig, as a birthday present.

18) Harry boards the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross railway station’s secret Platform 9+3⁄4.

19) Harry Potter lives with his abusive uncle and aunt, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, and their bullying son, Dudley.

20) a powerful but malevolent dark wizard named Lord Voldemort murdered his parents.