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			SNaPe KiLLS DuMBLeDoRe ROFL!!!!!11!11111!!!!
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	:''This article is about the Harry Potter series. For information about the character, see ].''
	'''Harry Potter''' is the name of a popular series of ] ]s by ] writer ]<!-- her name is NOT Kathleen, see the article on Rowling-->. Six of the seven planned books have been published to date (the seventh is expected to be published sometime in 2007), not including '']'' and '']'', two spin-offs made for ], depicted as Hogwarts school books used in the seven main novels. The books depict a world of ]es and ]s, the main character being a young wizard named ]. The first novel, '']'' (retitled '']'' in the ]), was released in ]. The first four books have been made into films, and the ] has begun filming (February ]), with an expected release in ].

	The books are published by ] (original; distributed in the UK, other Commonwealth countries except Canada, and the Republic of Ireland), ] (US edition; distributed in the United States) and ] (original; distributed in Canada).

	''Please note, most links lead to spoilers. Those that are noted will carry the following tag:''
	{{spoiler}}

	==Overview==
	[[Image:Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.jpg\|thumb\|200px\|Cover of the original novel in the series,
	'']''.]]
	] edition, ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''.]]

	===Publishing history ===
	The first Potter book was published in the ] by ], a fairly small independent publisher, in July 1997. Even before the book was released, Rowling received a six-figure sum for the American publishing rights, an unprecedented sum for a children's book. The books have ] of all ages, however. In the United Kingdom, two editions of Harry Potter books have been released, identical in text, but with cover artwork aimed at children in one edition and adults in the other.

	The first three books, '']'', '']'' and '']'', all won the ] for the 9 to 11 age group . By the time the fourth book, '']'', was published in 2000 the series had become very high-profile, making headlines of newspapers and covers of major magazines. Around the same time, ] began work on a series of films based on the books.

	Each book chronicles approximately one year in Harry's life at the ], where he learns to use ] and brew ]. Harry also learns to overcome many obstacles — magical, social and emotional — as he struggles through his adolescence.

	There are seven books in the series, each a little darker than its predecessor, as Harry ages and his nemesis, ], gains power. As of July 16 2005, six books have been published. The latest, ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', was published in its English-language version on ] ]. Since the publication of book five, Rowling has revealed hints about the plot of future books on .

	According to J.K. Rowling, the author of the novels, the main character Harry Potter appeared in her head while she was on a train from ] to ] in 1991. Her favourite place to write the first book was at an ] café table while drinking endless cups of coffee . Sales from the books, as well as royalties from the films and merchandise, have made Rowling a billionaire and the 620th wealthiest person in the world. .
	Rowling is assumed to be richer than ] (see ] for an explanation). As of ] ], more than 300 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide .

	==The series==
	===The books===
	#'']'' (''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the United States)
	#*Story timeline: ], ] to ]
	#*Release date: ] ] (UK); ], ] (US)
	#*US sales: 17 Million. Hardcover 6.1 million, Paperback 10.9 million
	#'']''
	#*Story timeline: ], ] to ]
	#*Release date: ], ] (UK); ], ] (US)
	#*US sales: 14.7 million. Hardcover 7.3 million, Paperback 7.5 million
	#'']''
	#*Story timeline: ] to ]
	#*Release date: ], ] (UK); ], ] (US)
	#*US sales: 12.8 million. Hardcover 7.6 million, Paperback 5.2 million
	#'']''
	#*Story timeline: ], ] to ]
	#*Release date: ], ] (UK/US)
	#*US sales: 12.3 million. Hardcover 8.9 million, Paperback 3.4 million
	#'']''
	#*Story timeline: ], ] to ]
	#*Release date: ], ] (UK/US)
	#*US sales: 13.7 million. Hardcover 12.2 million, Paperback 1.5 million. 5 million in first 24 hours, initial printing 8.5 million copies.
	#'']''
	#*Story timeline:], ] to ]
	#*Release date: ], ] (UK/US)
	#*US Sales: 20 million. 7 million in 24 hours, initial printing 10.8 million copies.
	#]
	#*Story timeline: ] to ]
	#*Release date: ] (US/UK)

	:''Further information: ] and ]''

	In 2001, two slim spin-off volumes called '']'' by ] and '']'' by ] were published. All proceeds went to the British charity organization "]" (not to be confused with the American organization of the same name).

	Rowling wrote the last chapter of the seventh book some time ago, before writing the third book. Rowling has also mentioned that the last word of the book would be "scar," which remains to be seen. However, she is unsure whether that will be in the final draft in the book, as she was asked about it in an interview conducted by fan sites ] and ].

	Regarding the existence of ''Harry Potter'' novels beyond the seventh, Rowling has said that she might write an eighth book some day. If she does, she intends it to be a sort of encyclopædia of the ], containing concepts and snippets of information that were not relevant enough to the novels' plots to be included in them. She has also said that she will not write any sort of "]" to the novels, since by the time the series ends all the necessary back story will have been revealed. It is currently unknown, despite rumours, if Rowling will allow other authors to write novels set in the Harry Potter Universe not concerning Harry.

	<gallery>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher's_Stone.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Chamber_of_Secrets.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaban.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Order_of_the_Phoenix.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince.jpg\|<div class="center">''''']'''''</div>
	Image:\|<div class="class">'''''Harry Potter'' (Book Seven)'''</div>
	</gallery>

	===The films===
	]
	Further Information: ]

	#'']'' (''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the United States)
	#*Release: ] ]
	#*Director: ]
	#'']''
	#*Release: ] ]
	#*Director: ]
	#'']''
	#*Release: UK: ] ], USA: ]
	#*Director: ]
	#'']''
	#*Release: ]; ] and ]: ]; ], ], ]: ]; UK, USA, and other countries: ]; ]: ]; ]: ]; ]: ]
	#*Director: ]
	#'']''
	#*Release: ]
	#*Director: ]
	#'']''
	#*Release: ]
	#*Director: Unknown
	#''] (title unknown)''
	#*Release: Unknown
	#*Director: Unknown

	The first movie (''The Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone'') is the highest grossing, at #3 for all-time worldwide box office, then ''Goblet of Fire'' at #8 (may change), ''Chamber of Secrets'' at #9, and ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' at #16.

	==Controversy==
	The books have provoked various kinds of controversy.

	===Accusations of promoting the occult===
	Some religious groups have attacked the books for allegedly promoting witchcraft or undermining Christianity or Islam. Most of this controversy has occurred in the parts of the ] where religion plays a prominent role in public life. Some claim that children who read the books may begin to view the miracles of God as simply another form of magic. In the ], Harry Potter's country of origin, the controversy has been minor.

	Some highly conservative ] groups in the ] have denounced the series for promoting ] and ]. "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for ], a national Christian group based in ]. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in Scripture." .

	] produced a comic book tract called "]" about two teenage girls who get seriously involved in occult witchcraft and become demonically possessed as a direct result of reading Harry Potter books.

	It has been argued that when ] was ] of the ] he also condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." (It can be noted here ] was reputed to like Harry Potter and also promoted it) Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, wrote that these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely to have been written by an assistant of the then-cardinal. . Indeed, the letter appears to have been written by an underling, but was issued under the Cardinal's signature.

	Harry Potter was parodied in '']'', when an article titled "Harry Potter Books Spark Rise in Satanism Among Children" satirically reported the thousands of children attracted to the dark arts and denying religion due to the books. As reported on ], some who were unaware that the article was a pastiche employed it as evidence in the demonisation of the books. The entire action and reaction is recorded on .

	===Injunction against purchasers of early copies===
	A grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an ] <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] --> from the ] prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injunction's restriction on fundamental rights . Canadian law professor ] has posted commentary on his weblog . ] has posted commentary on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology . Some versions of this ] have been circulated by email including a ] for one of the major plot points in the novel; whether this was actually the original posted version and was modified by Stallman is as yet unclear, though the tone of the sentence is substantially the same as that of the rest of the message.

	==Other analogous works==
	]

	Critics of the Harry Potter ] are quick to point out that they lack originality. Certainly the influence of such writers as ], ], ], ], ] and others can be detected in J.K. Rowling's work. Conversely, it is arguable that the archetypical familiarity of the stories contributed to their rapid elevation to ] status.

	The ] draw upon a long tradition of ]-set ] in English. This ] genre originated in the ] with '']'', by ]. ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'' laid down a basic structure which has been widely imitated. Similarities to Harry Potter are easy to identify. Both stories involve an average eleven-year old, better at sport than academic study, who is sent to boarding school. Upon arrival, the boy gains a best friend (East or ]) who helps him adjust to the new environment. They are set upon by an arrogant bully — ] or ].

	The impact in English of the Victorian era children's authors has been lasting; J.K. Rowling frequently mentions ] in interview. There are further echoes of ] in Rowling's work. Like the Harry Potter story, Kipling's classic '']'' opens with an attack by the principal villain (]) upon a year-old infant (]) and his parents. Shere Khan is unable to kill Mowgli because Mother Wolf (a figure analogous to ]) is willing to die to protect him. Mowgli grows up a virtual orphan until he is eleven, when he learns that either he must kill Shere Khan, or Shere Khan will kill him (as with Harry and ]). Other tenuous similarities include ], a black panther, who, like ], is an escaped prisoner, and acts as an uncle figure to Mowgli.

	Within the later-arising fantasy genre, schools of magic that may be forerunners to ] are identifiable. The basic premise of ]'s '']'', in which a boy with unusual aptitude for magic is recognised, and sent to a special school for wizards, resembles that of Harry Potter. The hero encounters a typically unpleasant Draco-like rival, in the Flashman tradition.

	The Earthsea books, while hugely successful, were not the first to propose the idea of a school for wizards. Magical education appears in ]' 1960 book , and in ]' ''Dorrie'' series (]+).

	]' ''Lewis Barnavelt'' books also have points in common with the Harry Potter stories. They concern a ], orphaned when his parents die in a car crash, who goes to live with peculiar Uncle Jonathan and housekeeper Mrs. Zimmermann. Both are wizards, and their house is a Hogwarts-like construction of moving pictures and secret passageways. Big, bearded uncle Jonathan is only somewhat magical (like Rowling's ]), while the shrewder, stricter Mrs Zimmermann is actually a powerful sorceress.

	]'s '']'' series (first published in 1974), is set in a witchcraft school for girls, hosted in an ancient castle on a remote hill surrounded by a forest. Classes include potions, chant and broomstick flying. In ]' '']'' (1977), two orphaned children receive magical education while living in a castle. The setting is a world resembling early 1900 Britain, where magic is commonplace. In the early ], ] also preceded J.K. Rowling (with ), as did ] (with ).

	In other media, fans of the comic book series '']'', by ] (first published in ] by ]) cite similarities to the Harry Potter story. These include a dark-haired boy with glasses, named Tim Hunter, who discovers his potential as the most powerful wizard of the age upon being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom makes him a gift of a pet owl. Rowling officially denies being aware of this series, and Gaiman has gone on record stating that he believes similarities to be either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes. ]' ] (first appearing in the 1960s, later resurrected in the 1990s in response to the success of the live-action television series) also features a young magical protagonist.

	In film and television, Hogwarts-like witches - one of whom is played by theatre actress ] - appear in the 1958 movie '']''. Similar characters appear in the 1960s television series '']'': Samantha Stephens' aunts are described as running a school for witches.

	The 1985 film '']'', scripted by ], also displays similarities to the Harry Potter series. The three leads bear a strong physical resemblance to the Harry, Ron and Hermione of Rowling's description (as does a character named Dudley to Draco Malfoy). They investigate a supernatural mystery in a Gothic boarding school, where staff include the ]-like Waxflatter, and sinister Rathe. Trophy-room duels, scars, a hooded Dementor-like apparition, Death Eater-style cultists, a flying bike, and ultimate ] for love are other elements in common. The similarities contributed to ] decision to employ Columbus as producer/director of the Potter movies, in preference to ], Rowling's original choice. Scenes from Young Sherlock Holmes were subsequently used to cast the first Harry Potter film ().

	==Harry Potter as a brand==
	].]]
	The Harry Potter brand is very strong due to its devoted fan base. In addition to the aforementioned adjunct books, Harry Potter merchandise related to the books and movies is abundant.

	On ] ], ] announced that it would release a ] ] with the ] logo engraved on the back. This ] ] would be dubbed the Harry Potter Collector's iPod . The purchase of this iPod included a code to download all of the Harry Potter ] to date as well as ]'s ] from the iTunes Music Store. On ] ] ] reintroduced the Harry Potter Collector's iPod which comes with all the books and the engraving on the back like the original Harry Potter Collector's iPod but just updated, with the iPod line to match the look of the 5G ]. The Harry Potter Fifth-Generation Collector's iPod comes with all the features as the other 5G ]s including the feature to watch videos.
	<br style="clear: both">

	==See also==
	{{portal}}
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	''Harry Potter in Foreign Languages''
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	===Filming locations===
	*] in the city of ] in the North East of ]
	*] in ], ], ].
	*], ]
	*], part of the ] in the city of ]
	*], ], on the ] in ], ]
	*], ]
	*], ]
	*] in ], ]
	*] in the village of ], ], ]
	*] on the ] in ], ], ], ].
	*], ]

	==References==
	*. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2005.
	*"Pottermania in London". (Nov. 8, 2005). '']'', p. 30.

	==Further reading==
	*Beahm, George W. ''Fact, Fiction, and Folklore in Harry Potter's World: An Unofficial Guide''.
	*Beahm, George W. ''Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon''.
	*Chippendale, Lisa A. ''Triumph of the Imagination: The Story of J.K. Rowling''. 2002, 2003.
	*Fraser, Lindsey. ''Conversations with J.K. Rowling''. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2001.
	*''J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide''. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001.
	*Lawrence, Daniel. ''The Ultimate Unofficial Harry Potter Trivia Book: Secrets, Mysteries and Fun Facts Including Half-Blood Prince Book 6''.
	*Rowling, J.K. ''Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them''. Sagebrush, 2001.
	*--. ''Quidditch Through the Ages''. Sagebrush, 2001.
	*Shapiro, Marc. ''J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter''. St. Martin's Press, 2000.
	*Smith, Sean. ''J.K. Rowling: A Biography''. Michael O'Mara Books, 1999.
	*''Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter'' (Analysis of Books 1-4). No location: Wizarding Press, 2003.
	*David Colbert ''The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter''. Penguin Books, 2001.

	==External links==
	<!-- Please add fan websites to the list on the ] article and not here -->
	{{wikiquote}}
	{{commons\|Harry Potter}}

	'''Official sites:'''
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*

	'''Other resources:'''
	* {{wikicities\|HarryPotter\|Harry Potter}}

	For further fandom links, including "unofficial" websites, see ].

	{{Harrypotter}}

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Revision as of 10:15, 7 April 2006

SNaPe KiLLS DuMBLeDoRe ROFL!!!!!11!11111!!!!