The magical world of Harry Potter is something that fascinates millions of people. Many of us grew up at the same time as this young wizard and continue to marvel at every new thing we discover about him. In this article we will guide you through the Harry Potter universe through its origin, novels, movies and parallel stories.
History/origin of Harry Potter
This is the story developed by the famous writer JK Rowling. A saga of fantastic novels that tell the adventures of a young magician's apprentice named Harry Potter. This, after living his first years until reaching adolescence as a muggle (non-magical being) discovers magic and prepares to study it at Hogwarts school. Shortly after he will discover that the evil wizard who murdered his parents, Lord Voldemort, has returned to conquer the world. But this will not be able to do without finishing with Harry first, although this is something that he will discover throughout the years. 7 books that make up the story of this young magician.
This is a brief summary of how Potter's adventures will begin, but whatHow originated this character in the mind of its writer? After many years in which fans of this saga wondered about this fact, JK Rowling clarified it on her Twitter account in response to one of her followers:
https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1263375120879554560?s=20
This is the first post of a very interesting thread for true Harry Potter fans. Within this, the writer tells the following:
«She had been writing almost continuously since she was six years old, but she had never been so excited about an idea like this before. […] I just sat and thought, for four hours (the train was late), and all the details popped into my head, and this unkempt, black-haired boy who didn't know he was a magician started to become more and more and more real to me.»
Therefore, and although it seems magical and clearly a reference to this event, the idea that years later would become a worldwide success both in books and in the cinema came to her mind sitting in a train station.
Available books
Going a little deeper into the life of this wizard, it began with the publication of the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". This ended up being accompanied by many more both from the main story itself, and from others parallel to it.
The Harry Potter saga
First of all, although if you are even a fan you will already know them, the following list includes all the official books in which they are presented the adventures of harry potter, along with the year in which they were published. In addition, we leave you a link to Amazon in case you are interested in buying any of them.
- Harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016). In this case, it should be noted that the eighth installment of the Harry Potter series is not a novel like the previous ones, but rather refers to the script used in the play about what happened years after the saga concluded between the children of some of the protagonists.
illustrated editions
In addition to the classic novels, there are some versions that could almost be classified as collector's items. We are talking about the illustrated editions, some versions of the Harry Potter books that are a true work of art and that the most fans will be delighted to show off on their shelves. So far there are 5 volumes available, since the latest version available is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but the remaining three books are expected to hit stores in the coming years.
See offer on Amazon See offer on Amazon See offer on AmazonDistributed by Salamandra publishers, this beautiful edition comes in full color thanks to the work of Jim Kay, a British illustrator known for the illustrations he did for the book "A Monster Came to See Me" and who was specially selected by JK Rowling to bring to life to the illustrated editions of Harry Potter.
See offer on Amazon See offer on Amazon See offer on AmazonUnfortunately, a long mental illness has forced the artist to put his work aside, since in October 2022 he said goodbye to the fans announcing that he would not illustrate any more Potter books in order to rest. Now the editor is working on a selection process for new illustrators, so future installments will reach the hands of other great artists.
Parallel stories
As we already mentioned a few lines ago, there are additions to the main plot that have been published over the years.
We could start with 3 of her own books school of witchcraft and wizardry library:
- Fantastic beasts and where to find them: a textbook, written by Newt Scamander (fiction), used by Hogwarts students to discover the various magical creatures that inhabit the world. This book is seen in the movie "Harry Potter in The Prisoner of Azkaban."
- Quidditch through the ages: manual that describes the rules and history of quidditch, the most popular sport among wizards. This specimen appears in the movies as a Christmas present from Hermione to Harry.
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard: recounts some popularly known tales among magician children, written in ancient runes. This book will be seen as the inheritance that Albus Dumbledore gave to Hermione Granger. This book contains a fundamental role in the development of the argument.
On the other hand, we have the book of "Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide". This content is a collection of short stories written by JK Rowling that will allow us to know details beyond the Harry Potter stories.
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Lastly, by taking the Fantastic Beasts book and turning it into the prologue to the story of this young magician, JK Rowling converted the original scripts of the films released so far as "new novels". Remember that it is supposedly "new saga" will be composed of 5 parts, so we hope that 3 more books like these will be published.
See offer on Amazon See offer on AmazonHow to watch the Harry Potter movies
Now it is the turn of the written novel to weigh its representation on the big screen. In this case they were 8 Movies published referring to the main Harry Potter saga, since "The Deathly Hallows" was divided into 2 installments. After this, they have been released 2 more films from the prologue of "Fantastic Beasts". Therefore, we currently have a total of 10 movies.
In the case of Harry Potter, unlike what could happen in the Marvel or DC universes, there is not much room for doubt in the order to view them. But, if it helps you, we could order them chronologically, according to the events that occurred, or according to their release year.
Chronological order
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
release order
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001).
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010).
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011).
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
Synopsis of the Harry Potter saga in theaters
If you are one of those who likes to know more details about this magical universe and you have not yet seen the complete saga, then we will show you the trailer and synopsis of each of the films.
See offer on Amazon See offer on Amazon See offer on AmazonHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, Harry Potter is an orphan who, when he reaches his eleventh birthday, discovers that he is a wizard and that he will have to attend the school of magic and wizardry. At Hogwarts, he will meet Lord Volvemort for the first time, an evil wizard he will have to fight against in this and his next adventures. this movie is available on Netflix, Prime Video and HBO.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
In his second year, Harry returns to wizarding school where he discovers that something evil has escaped from the Chamber of Secrets. The true heir of Slytherin has returned and Muggle-borns, the unclean, are in mortal danger. If you want to see this movie of the saga you can do it in Netflix, Prime Video and HBO.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry's third year begins ahead of schedule due to a magical incident at his uncle's house. The young wizard will discover that the "despicable" murderer Sirius Black is his own godfather and has escaped from prison with the "intention" to murder him. Like the previous titles, we can see this film in Netflix, Prime Video and HBO.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
In this new film Harry will be immersed in the tournament of "The Three Wizards" which, this time, will be four. In this he will have to compete against magicians from other schools to get the goblet of fire, the tournament cup. But this is not what it seems to be and hides a dark secret. This film will be available on Netflix and Prime Video.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for the fifth consecutive year after the terrible events of the previous year. Harry becomes the center of attention in the wizarding community for saying that the dark wizard is back, but hardly anyone believes him. To fight against him, he will create a group of magicians in order to join «The Order of the Phoenix». Available in Netflix and Prime Video.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Harry must return to school in his sixth year to, along with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, explore Lord Voldemort's past through memorabilia the Headmaster has collected over decades. You can see this movie in Netflix and Prime Video.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
In this film a magical task has fallen on the main protagonists of this story: to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes to end the reign of Lord Voldemort. In this first part of the last installment of the saga, Harry, Ron and Hermione will begin a dangerous journey to try to destroy the dark lord. As in the previous films, we will be able to see this title in Netflix and Prime Video.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011)
This time, it is the second part of the final battle in the history of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. We can tell you little more about this installment without giving you any spoilers, but what we can tell you is that the young magician will have to risk everything to destroy his enemy so that he does not dominate the world. Available in Netflix and Prime Video.
Main characters
Finally, we want to give you a summary of each of the main characters for this magical saga to take shape.
Harry Potter
Harry James Potter is the main protagonist and who, as you may be thinking, gives the saga its title. He is born on July 31, 1980 in Godric's Hollow, residence of Lily Evans and her husband James Potter. He is considered the only known survivor of the deadly Avada Kedavra curse. Orphaned since his earliest childhood, he discovers his magical powers at the age of eleven and, with these, his entire life changes completely. He will have to face many problems and enemies throughout his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most characteristic feature of him is the lightning-shaped scar that he has on his forehead. A mark left on him by his terrible enemy Lord Voldemort.
Ron Weasley
Ron Weasley is Harry Potter's best friend and, along with Hermione Granger, another of the protagonists of the saga. Full name Ronald Bilius Weasley, he is the sixth child of Arthur and Molly Weasley: a family of redheads of entirely magical descent who, despite not having a lot of money, have big hearts.
He is terrified of spiders (as those who read *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets* will remember), played keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and is a master of wizarding chess.
Hermione Granger
Hermione Jean Granger composes along with Harry and Ron the trio of protagonists. She is the daughter of Muggle dentists, she is a very intelligent and studious girl, and she always uses logic for everything.
During his time at Hogwarts he systematically got his friends out of many messes with his notions of documentation and library use. In a school where there was no internet or Wi-Fi signal, Hermione was the closest thing to a Google search engine they could have. Who is Nicolas Flamel? She finds it. How do we sneak into the Slytherin common room? She manages. What creature is petrifying people in the halls? Hermione finds out!
Draco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is one of Harry Potter's main rivals. His unfortunate name makes us think that it would not have been so bad if they adapted the names of the characters to Spanish (as happened with the translation of the saga into Italian, for example). He is the only child of the marriage of supremacist wizards Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black. His aunt is the legendary and terrifying Bellatrix Lestrange. He also has Severus Snape as his godfather. The poor boy couldn't get away very well with that family.
He will fight against Harry Potter during all his years at Hogwarts School to end up becoming a Death Eater, that is, a servant of the Dark Lord. When the time comes, he will entrust you with the task of ending another of the protagonists of this story.
Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort, the antagonist of the saga, also known as Tom Marbolo Riddle or "Who should not be named«. He is considered the most powerful dark wizard of all time, surpassing even Grindelwald. He intends to dominate the magical world and, to do so, breaks his soul into several pieces to become an almost immortal being.
The most widespread theory that explains his sociopathy and megalomania since childhood is that, due to having been conceived under the effects of a love potion with which the sorceress Merope Gaunt had hypnotized the Muggle Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort is not capable of loving. nor feel empathy for other human beings. This would explain his total detachment from other people as he used his abilities to amass an army of dark followers.
Albus Dumbledore
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (trembles, Duchess of Alba) is the headmaster of Hogwarts. He is considered one of the most powerful wizards of all time and possesses the most powerful wand of all. This old man has been running the school of witchcraft and wizardry for decades, as he was already director of Hogwarts when Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts in the 40s.
Although his character is not emphasized in the films, it was in the later pentalogy of Fantastic Animals and Where to Find Them, where his relationship with Gellert Grindelwald develops during his youth. The powerful wizard had had a very platonic relationship with the dark wizard, although several changes were made when Depp was replaced by Mikkelsen.
Newt Scamander
Newton Artemis Fido Scamander, also called "Newt", was a famous magizoologist and author of *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them*, a well-known book in the Harry Potter universe. He is considered the Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente of unicorns and hippogriffs. A lover of magical creatures, he is the main protagonist of this parallel saga.
Gellert Grindelwald
Gellert Grindelwald was a pureblood dark wizard second only to Lord Voldemort. He intends to unite the deathly hallows to become the most powerful magician of his time. It is to 'Fantastic Beasts' what Voldemort is to the 'Harry Potter' saga.
However, despite the fact that in the first two installments of Fantastic Animals the person in charge of interpreting him was Johnny Depp, from the next he will be replaced by Mads Mikkelsen. How will they handle the change? Will it be well accepted by the public? Only time will be able to answer these questions after the third installment of this saga hits the big screen.
These are the fundamental details that you should know about the entire Harry Potter saga, including some "extra" and parallel sagas. We hope that you have enjoyed the magic that these novels give off and that, like us, you are anxiously awaiting new information that we will bring you first-hand to our website as soon as it comes to light.
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