HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

By JK Rowling

Harry Potter (11): An orphan. A scrawny, black-haired, green-eyed and bespectacled boy who didn’t know he was a wizard. The events of this book take place just before and in the year following Harry’s eleventh birthday. Voldemort’s attack left a lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead, which produces stabbing pains whenever Voldemort is present. Harry has a natural talent for Quidditch and becomes the first person in decades to get on the team in their first year.

Ronald Weasley (11): Harry’s age and described 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. His loyalty and bravery in the face of a game of Wizard’s Chess plays a vital part in finding the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Hermione Granger (11): The daughter of an all-Muggle family, and a bossy girl who apparently memorized most of the textbooks before the start of term. She is described as a “very logical, upright, and good” character with “a lot of insecurity and great fear of failure beneath her swottiness.” Despite her nagging efforts to keep Harry and Ron out of trouble, she becomes a close friend of the two boys after they save her from a troll, and her magical and analytical skills play an important role in finding the the Sorcerer’s Stone. She has bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.

Neville Longbottom (11): A plump, diffident boy, so forgetful that his grandmother gives him a Remembrall, although he cannot remember why. Neville’s magical abilities are weak and appeared just in time to save his life when he was eight. Despite his timidity, Neville will fight anyone after some encouragement or if he thinks it is right and important.

Rubeus Hagrid (50s): A half-giant nearly 12 feet (3.7 meters) tall, with tangle black hair and a beard. He was expelled from Hogwarts and his wand was snapped in half (resulting in him never being allowed to use a wand again… although that doesn’t stop him from using a mysterious pink umbrella to cast spells); however Professor Dumbledore let him stay on as the school’s gamekeeper, a job which enables him to lavish affection, care, and even pet names on the most dangerous magical creatures. Hagrid is fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and quickly becomes a close friend of Harry, Ron, and, later, Hermione, but his carelessness makes him unreliable.

Professor Albus Dumbledore (90-110): A tall. thin old man who wears half-moon spectacles and has silver hair and beard that he tucks into his belt. He is the headmaster of Hogwarts and thought to be the only wizard Voldemort fears. Dumbledore, while renowned for his achievements in magic, shrugs off praise, though he is aware of his own brilliance. Rowling described him as the “epitome of goodness.”

Professor Minerva McGonagall (60s): A tall, sever-looking woman with black hair tied in a tight bun. She teaches Transfiguration, and is able to transform herself into a cat. She is Deputy Headmistress, and Head of Gryffindor House and, according to the author, “under that gruff exterior” is “a bit of an old softy.”

Petunia Dursley (30s): The sister of Harry’s mother Lily. A thin woman with a long neck that she uses for spying on the neighbors. As a muggle, she regards her magical sister as a freak and tries to pretend that she never existed.

Vernon Dursley (30s): The heavy-built husband of Petunia Dursley whose irascible bluster covers a narrow mind and a fear of anything unusual.

Dudley Dursley (11): An overweight, spoiled bully and Harry’s cousin.

Draco Malfoy (11): Antagonist. A slim, pale boy who speaks in a bored drawl. he is arrogant about his skill in Quidditch and despises anyone who is not a pure-blood wizard, or any wizard who does not share his views. His parents had supported Voldemort, but changed sides after the dark wizard’s disappearance, claiming they had been bewitched. Draco avoids direct confrontations and tries to get Harry and his friends into trouble.

Oliver Wood (15): Harry’s Quidditch captain and keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Professor Quirrell (30s-40s): A twitching, stammering, and nervous man who teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts. Reputedly he was a brilliant scholar, but his nerve was shattered by an encounter with vampires. Quirrell wears a turban to conceal the fact that he is voluntarily possessed by Voldemort, whose face appears on the back of Quirrell’s head.

Professor Severus Snape (30s): A man with a hooked nose, sallow complexion, and greasy black hair. He teaches Potions, but would prefer to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Snape praises pupils in Slytherin, his own house, but seizes every opportunity to humiliate others, especially Harry. Several incidents, beginning with the shooting pain in Harry’s scar during the start-of-term feats, lead Harry and his friends to think Snape is a follower of Voldemort.

Argus Filch: The school caretaker who knows the school’s secret passages better than anyone else except, possibly, the Weasley twins. His cat, Mrs. Norris, aids his constant hunt for misbehaving pupils.

Other Characters

Professor Sprout: Herbology teacher and Head of Hufflepuff House.

Professor Flitwick: The tiny and excitable Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw House.

Professor Binns: The soporific History of Magic teacher; a ghost who does not seem to have noticed his own death.

Madam Hooch: The Quidditch coach who is strict, but a considerate and methodical teacher.

Peeves: A poltergeist that wanders around the castle causing trouble wherever he can.