Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels and one play written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series chronicles the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who aims to become immortal, overthrow the Ministry of Magic, subjugate non-magic people and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. They attracted a wide adult audience, and have remained one of the preeminent cornerstones of young adult literature. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed, as well as the often gruesome and graphic violence depicted in the series. As of July 2013, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 11 million copies in the United States within the first 24 hours of its release.

Magical objects in Harry Potter

The following is a list of magical objects used in the Harry Potter series.

Communication

Enchanted coins

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Hermione Granger creates fake, enchanted Galleons that are used for communication between members of Dumbledore's Army. Like real Galleons, the coins have numerals around the edge; on normal Galleons these serial numbers indicate which goblin cast the coin, but on the enchanted coins, the numbers represent the time and date of the next meeting, and automatically change to match whatever numbers Harry Potter sets on his coin.^[HP5] Due to the coins being infused with a Protean Charm, once Harry Potter alters his, every coin changes to suit. The coins grow hot when the numbers change to alert the members to look at their coins.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Draco Malfoy uses a pair of enchanted coins to bypass the communication limits imposed on Hogwarts, thus managing to keep in contact with Madam Rosmerta, whom he had placed under the Imperius Curse. Draco reveals he got the idea from Hermione's DA coins, which were themselves inspired by Lord Voldemort's use of the Dark Mark to communicate with his Death Eaters.

Harry

Harry may refer to:

See also

Potter

A potter is someone who makes pottery.

Potter may also refer to:

People

Places

Other uses

Philosopher's stone

The philosopher's stone, or stone of the philosophers (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (chrysopoeia, from the Greek χρυσός khrusos, "gold," and ποιεῖν poiēin, "to make") or silver. It is also able to extend one's life and called the elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and for achieving immortality; for many centuries, it was the most sought-after goal in alchemy. The philosopher's stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the philosopher's stone were known as the Magnum Opus ("Great Work").

History

Mention of the philosopher's stone in writing can be found as far back as Cheirokmeta by Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 AD). Alchemical writers assign a longer history. Elias Ashmole and the anonymous author of Gloria Mundi (1620) claim that its history goes back to Adam who acquired the knowledge of the stone directly from God. This knowledge was said to be passed down through biblical patriarchs, giving them their longevity. The legend of the stone was also compared to the biblical history of the Temple of Solomon and the rejected cornerstone described in Psalm 118.