The Harry Potter Encyclopedia

The Boy Who Lived

Setting: Privet Drive, Little Whinging

Date: November 1, 1981

Key Events:

• Strange events occur throughout Britain as wizards celebrate Voldemort's defeat
• Vernon Dursley notices odd people in cloaks and talking about "the Potters" and "their son, Harry"
• Albus Dumbledore arrives at Privet Drive using a Deluminator to extinguish street lamps
• Professor McGonagall (in cat form) joins Dumbledore; they discuss the Potters' deaths
• Hagrid arrives on Sirius Black's flying motorcycle with baby Harry
• Harry has a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead from Voldemort's curse
• Dumbledore leaves Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep with a letter explaining everything

Characters Introduced: Harry Potter, Vernon Dursley, Petunia Dursley, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Rubeus Hagrid

Significant Details: The wizarding world celebrates Voldemort's downfall as "You-Know-Who" has been defeated by a one-year-old child. Dumbledore mentions that Harry is safer with his Muggle relatives despite their nature.

The Vanishing Glass

Setting: Privet Drive and London Zoo

Date: Nearly ten years later (Summer 1991)

Key Events:

• Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs; the Dursleys treat him terribly
• Harry has recurring dreams about a flying motorcycle
• On Dudley's birthday, the family visits the zoo
• Harry accidentally makes the glass vanish from a python's cage, freeing the snake
• Harry discovers he can talk to the snake (Parseltongue)
• The Dursleys punish Harry by locking him in his cupboard with no meals

Characters Introduced: Dudley Dursley, Piers Polkiss

Significant Details: First instance of Harry's magical abilities manifesting. The snake thanks Harry in Parseltongue (though Harry doesn't realize it's unusual). Harry's scar is described as "the only thing Harry liked about his own appearance."

The Letters from No One

Setting: Privet Drive, then the Hut-on-the-Rock

Date: Late July 1991

Key Events:

• Harry is moved from the cupboard to Dudley's second bedroom
• A mysterious letter arrives addressed to Harry in green ink: "Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs"
• Uncle Vernon destroys the letter before Harry can read it
• More letters arrive in increasing numbers, through every opening in the house
• Vernon takes the family on the run to escape the letters
• They end up in a hut on a rock in the middle of the sea
• At midnight on Harry's eleventh birthday, someone knocks on the door

Significant Details: The letters are from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Vernon's increasing desperation shows he knows about magic and is trying to keep Harry from his world. Harry has never had a birthday party.

The Keeper of the Keys

Setting: The Hut-on-the-Rock

Date: July 31, 1991 (Harry's 11th birthday)

Key Events:

• Hagrid breaks down the door at midnight and gives Harry a birthday cake
• Hagrid is shocked that Harry knows nothing about being a wizard
• Hagrid reveals the truth: Harry's parents were murdered by Voldemort, not killed in a car crash
• Harry learns he survived Voldemort's killing curse, making him "The Boy Who Lived"
• Hagrid explains Harry is famous in the wizarding world
• Vernon tries to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts; Hagrid gives Dudley a pig's tail
• Hagrid takes Harry away to begin his wizarding education

Significant Details: First mention of Lord Voldemort by name (most wizards call him "You-Know-Who"). Petunia knew about the wizarding world because her sister Lily was a witch. Harry's scar resulted from the curse that killed Voldemort (or so everyone believes).

Diagon Alley

Setting: London - The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley

Date: July 31, 1991

Key Events:

• Hagrid takes Harry through London; Muggles can't see the Leaky Cauldron
• Everyone in the Leaky Cauldron knows Harry and wants to shake his hand
• Harry meets Professor Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher
• Hagrid opens the passage to Diagon Alley by tapping bricks
• Visit to Gringotts: Harry learns his parents left him a fortune (vault 687)
• Hagrid retrieves a small package from vault 713 (top security) for Dumbledore
• Harry buys school supplies: robes, books, potion ingredients, cauldron
• At Ollivanders: Harry's wand chooses him - 11 inches, holly, phoenix feather
• The wand is the brother of Voldemort's wand (same phoenix, Fawkes)
• Hagrid buys Harry a snowy owl (Hedwig) as a birthday present

Characters Introduced: Tom (innkeeper), Quirinus Quirrell, Dedalus Diggle, Griphook (goblin), Mr. Ollivander

Significant Details: The package from vault 713 is introduced as a mystery. Harry's wand connection to Voldemort is established. Daily Prophet reports an attempted break-in at Gringotts on Harry's birthday.

The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Setting: Privet Drive, King's Cross Station, Hogwarts Express

Date: September 1, 1991

Key Events:

• Harry spends a month with the Dursleys, who ignore his existence
• The Dursleys drop Harry at King's Cross but won't help him find Platform 9¾
• Harry meets the Weasley family and learns to access the platform
• On the train, Harry meets Ron Weasley and they become friends
• They share sweets from the trolley; Harry buys loads with his gold
• Harry gets his first Chocolate Frog card featuring Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel
• Hermione Granger enters their compartment looking for Neville's toad
• Draco Malfoy appears and insults Ron, offering to be Harry's friend; Harry refuses
• Hermione performs a spell on Harry's broken glasses
• Students change into robes as they approach Hogwarts

Characters Introduced: Molly Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Percy Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Scabbers (Ron's rat)

Significant Details: Ron's rat Scabbers is introduced. The Chocolate Frog card mentions Nicolas Flamel's work with Dumbledore on alchemy. Class divisions in wizarding society are established (Malfoy's pure-blood prejudice).

The Sorting Hat

Setting: Hogwarts Castle, Great Hall

Date: September 1, 1991 (evening)

Key Events:

• First-years cross the lake in boats, getting their first view of Hogwarts
• Professor McGonagall explains the four houses and House Points system
• Students enter the Great Hall with its enchanted ceiling
• The Sorting Hat sings a song describing each house's qualities
• Students are sorted alphabetically: Hannah Abbott goes to Hufflepuff first
• Hermione is sorted into Gryffindor, Draco into Slytherin (before the hat touches his head)
• Neville takes nearly a minute before being sorted into Gryffindor
• The Sorting Hat considers Slytherin for Harry but he repeatedly thinks "Not Slytherin"
• Harry is sorted into Gryffindor, joining Ron
• Dumbledore gives a short welcome with odd words: "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
• The feast appears magically; Nearly Headless Nick is Gryffindor's ghost
• Harry notices Professor Snape looking at him with instant dislike
• Dumbledore warns students about the third-floor corridor (forbidden)
• Everyone sings the school song to their own tune

Characters Introduced: Nearly Headless Nick (Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington), the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, various first-years

Significant Details: The Sorting Hat can read thoughts and take personal choice into account. Snape's hatred of Harry is immediate. The third-floor corridor will be important to the plot.

The Potions Master

Setting: Hogwarts Castle - various classrooms

Date: First week of September 1991

Key Events:

• Harry finds Hogwarts difficult to navigate with its moving staircases and trick doors
• Filch the caretaker and his cat Mrs. Norris catch students breaking rules
• Peeves the poltergeist terrorizes everyone
• Classes begin: McGonagall teaches Transfiguration (turning match to needle)
• Professor Flitwick teaches Charms; Professor Sprout, Herbology in the greenhouses
• Defense Against the Dark Arts with Quirrell smells of garlic (he claims to ward off vampires)
• First Potions class in the dungeons with Professor Snape
• Snape immediately targets Harry, asking impossible questions about bezoars and monkshood
• Hermione knows all the answers; Snape ignores her and focuses on humiliating Harry
• Harry partners with Ron; Neville melts Seamus's cauldron, getting covered in boils
• Snape blames Harry for not helping Neville and takes points from Gryffindor
• Hagrid comforts Harry, saying Snape dislikes nearly all students
• Harry mentions seeing Snape in the Leaky Cauldron; they realize Snape tried to steal from Gringotts

Characters Introduced: Argus Filch, Mrs. Norris, Peeves

Significant Details: A bezoar saves from most poisons; monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant (aconite). Harry notices Snape's leg is injured. The trio begins to suspect Snape tried to break into vault 713.

The Midnight Duel

Setting: Hogwarts grounds and castle

Date: Mid-September 1991

Key Events:

• First flying lesson with Madam Hooch on the lawn
• Neville loses control of his broom and breaks his wrist
• Hooch takes Neville to the hospital wing, ordering students not to fly
• Malfoy steals Neville's Remembrall; Harry flies after him to get it back
• McGonagall sees Harry flying and takes him to meet Oliver Wood
• Harry becomes Gryffindor Seeker - youngest in a century
• Malfoy challenges Harry to a wizard's duel at midnight in the trophy room
• Hermione tries to stop Harry and Ron from going but gets locked out with them
• Neville is also locked out and joins them
• It's a trap - Malfoy tipped off Filch instead of coming himself
• Running from Filch, they end up on the forbidden third-floor corridor
• They find a giant three-headed dog (Fluffy) standing on a trapdoor
• Hermione notices it's standing on something - clearly guarding it

Characters Introduced: Madam Hooch, Oliver Wood, Fluffy (three-headed dog)

Significant Details: Harry is a natural flyer. The trio realizes the package from Gringotts is at Hogwarts, hidden under the trapdoor. Hermione begins bonding with Harry and Ron through shared adventure.

Halloween

Setting: Hogwarts Castle

Date: October 31, 1991

Key Events:

• Harry excels at flying but struggles with Potions (Snape's continued hostility)
• Oliver Wood trains Harry in Quidditch; Harry receives a Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick
• In Charms class, Hermione corrects Ron on the Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa)
• Ron insults Hermione, saying she has no friends; she overhears and cries in the bathroom
• Halloween feast in the Great Hall with live bats and floating pumpkins
• Professor Quirrell runs in screaming about a troll in the dungeons, then faints
• Dumbledore sends students to dormitories; prefects lead houses away
• Harry realizes Hermione doesn't know about the troll (she's in the bathroom)
• Harry and Ron go to warn her and find the troll in the girls' bathroom
• They fight the troll: Ron levitates its club using Hermione's words, Harry jumps on it
• They knock out the troll by dropping its own club on its head
• Professors arrive; Hermione lies, claiming she went looking for the troll and the boys saved her
• McGonagall awards points to Harry and Ron; the three become true friends
• Harry notices Snape's leg is badly injured and suspects he let the troll in as a diversion

Significant Details: This chapter marks the true formation of the trio's friendship. Harry sees Snape going toward the third floor during the troll incident. Hermione begins valuing bravery and friendship over just books and cleverness.

Quidditch

Setting: Hogwarts grounds and Quidditch pitch

Date: Early November 1991

Key Events:

• Weather turns cold; Hogwarts is freezing
• Harry notices Snape limping and overhears him threatening Quirrell
• Snape mentions something about "foolish wandering about" and asks if Quirrell has found a way past "the beast"
• The trio concludes Snape is trying to steal whatever Fluffy is guarding
• Hagrid refuses to tell them what's being guarded
• Harry's first Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin
• Hermione sets fire to Snape's robes thinking he's jinxing Harry's broom
• Harry's broom stops jerking; he catches the Snitch in his mouth
• Gryffindor wins 170-60
• Hagrid reveals Fluffy is his dog; only Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel know what's hidden
• The trio now has a name: Nicolas Flamel (from the Chocolate Frog card)

Significant Details: Snape was actually counter-cursing Harry's broom; Quirrell was the one trying to jinx it. Harry learns Seeker rules (catching Snitch ends game, worth 150 points). Hermione's quick thinking saves Harry.

The Mirror of Erised

Setting: Hogwarts Castle

Date: December 1991 (Christmas holiday)

Key Events:

• Christmas approaches; most students leave but Harry stays
• Ron stays too so Harry won't be alone
• The trio researches Nicolas Flamel in the library during break
• Harry receives his first Christmas presents: a wooden flute from Hagrid, a Weasley sweater from Mrs. Weasley, 50p from the Dursleys
• An anonymous gift arrives: his father's Invisibility Cloak with a note "Your father left this in my possession"
• Harry explores the castle at night under the cloak
• He discovers the Mirror of Erised in an abandoned classroom
• In the mirror, Harry sees his family - parents, grandparents, extended family
• Harry returns the next night and brings Ron, who sees himself as Head Boy and Quidditch Captain
• Harry returns a third night and Dumbledore is waiting
• Dumbledore explains: "Erised" is "desire" backwards - the mirror shows your heart's deepest desire
• Dumbledore warns it doesn't show truth or knowledge, and men have wasted away before it
• The mirror will be moved; Dumbledore says he sees himself holding socks in the mirror (a lie)

Significant Details: The Invisibility Cloak is identified as having belonged to James Potter. Dumbledore finds Harry without a map. The mirror's inscription: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" (I show not your face but your heart's desire).

Nicolas Flamel

Setting: Hogwarts Castle

Date: January-February 1992

Key Events:

• Spring term begins; students return from Christmas holiday
• Harry tries to forget the Mirror of Erised but still thinks about his parents
• Quidditch training resumes in freezing rain
• Harry sees Snape receiving a package from Filch (something related to Quidditch rules)
• Hermione finally finds Nicolas Flamel in an old book
• Flamel is 665 years old, the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone
• The Stone produces the Elixir of Life (immortality) and turns metal into gold
• The trio realizes this is what's hidden at Hogwarts - why someone would steal it
• They deduce Snape wants it to make Voldemort immortal and wealthy
• Hagrid scoffs at their theory, assuring them no one could steal it with Dumbledore protecting it
• Hagrid accidentally reveals others are protecting it: "Fluffy's a piece of cake if yeh know how to calm him down"

Significant Details: The Philosopher's Stone and its powers are revealed. Multiple protections guard the Stone. Music calms Fluffy. Nicolas Flamel is Dumbledore's partner and 665 years old.

Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

Setting: Hogwarts Castle and Hagrid's Hut

Date: Spring 1992

Key Events:

• Harry, Ron, and Hermione visit Hagrid and find him reading books about dragons
• Hagrid reveals he won a dragon egg in a card game at the pub
• Draco Malfoy spies through the window and sees the egg
• The egg hatches into a Norwegian Ridgeback; Hagrid names him Norbert
• Norbert grows rapidly, setting fire to things and biting Ron's hand
• Ron's hand swells up and turns green; he has to go to the hospital wing
• Madam Pomfrey recognizes it as a dragon bite and questions Ron
• Ron writes to Charlie Weasley (who studies dragons in Romania) for help
• Charlie arranges for friends to collect Norbert and take him to a dragon sanctuary
• Harry and Hermione successfully deliver Norbert to the tower using the Invisibility Cloak
• They forget the cloak on the tower and meet Filch on the way back
• Filch caught them because Malfoy tipped him off (Malfoy also gets detention)
• McGonagall catches all four; 50 points each from Gryffindor (150 total), detention for all
• Gryffindor falls to last place in the House Cup standings
• Everyone in Gryffindor hates Harry and Hermione for losing so many points

Characters Introduced: Norbert the dragon, Charlie Weasley (mentioned)

Significant Details: Dragon breeding is illegal in Britain. Ron's injury from the dragon bite will become significant. Harry and Hermione face consequences for breaking rules to help a friend.

The Forbidden Forest

Setting: Hogwarts grounds and the Forbidden Forest

Date: Late May 1992

Key Events:

• Exams approach; Harry, Ron, and Hermione are shunned by Gryffindor
• Hermione tries to comfort them but even Quidditch success won't restore their reputation
• Detention night arrives: Filch leads them to Hagrid for forest work
• Something has been killing unicorns in the forest; they must find the injured creature
• They split into two parties: Hagrid with Harry and Hermione; Fang with Draco and Neville
• After Malfoy scares Neville, groups reorganize: Hagrid with Hermione and Neville; Harry with Draco and Fang
• Harry and Draco find a dead unicorn with silver blood
• A hooded figure crawls toward it and drinks the unicorn's blood
• Harry's scar explodes with pain as the figure approaches
• A centaur (Firenze) rescues Harry; Draco runs away
• Firenze explains drinking unicorn blood grants life but curses you to a half-life
• He reveals the cloaked figure is Voldemort, drinking blood to stay alive until he gets the Stone
• Other centaurs (Ronan and Bane) are angry Firenze interfered with fate
• Harry realizes Voldemort will try to steal the Stone soon

Characters Introduced: Firenze, Ronan, Bane (centaurs)

Significant Details: Killing a unicorn is a terrible crime; the blood keeps you alive but curses you. Centaurs can read signs in stars and planets. Voldemort is weak but recovering, searching for immortality through the Stone.

Through the Trapdoor

Setting: Hogwarts Castle - Third Floor Corridor

Date: June 1992 (evening of final exams)

Key Events:

• Exams finish; Harry realizes how Hagrid got the dragon egg
• The stranger who gave Hagrid Norbert questioned him about getting past Fluffy
• Hagrid revealed you just need to play music to get past the dog
• Harry realizes Snape (or someone) now knows how to get the Stone
• The trio goes to warn Dumbledore but McGonagall says he's gone to London (Ministry summons)
• They try to tell McGonagall about the Stone but she won't listen
• That night, they decide to get the Stone first using the Invisibility Cloak
• Neville tries to stop them; Hermione petrifies him (apologizing)
• They reach the third floor and find Fluffy already asleep (music playing)
• They jump through the trapdoor and land in Devil's Snare (Professor Sprout's protection)
• Hermione remembers it hates light; she creates fire to escape
• Next room: hundreds of flying keys; they must catch the right one to unlock the door
• Harry flies on a broomstick to catch the old-fashioned key (Flitwick's protection)
• Giant chess set (McGonagall's protection): Ron directs the game brilliantly
• Ron sacrifices himself to the Queen so Harry can checkmate the King
• Hermione stays to help Ron; Harry continues alone
• The next room contains a troll, already knocked out (Quirrell's protection)
• Final room: the Mirror of Erised and someone waiting - but it's not Snape

Significant Details: Multiple teachers contributed protections. Ron shows strategic genius at chess. The Ministry was tricked into calling Dumbledore away. Quirrell has already passed through, not Snape.

The Man with Two Faces

Setting: Beneath Hogwarts, then the Hospital Wing

Date: June 1992

Key Events:

• Professor Quirrell is waiting in the final chamber, not Snape
• Quirrell reveals he tried to kill Harry at the Quidditch match; Snape was protecting him
• Quirrell tried to steal the Stone from Gringotts but was too late (Hagrid had it)
• He let in the troll on Halloween as a distraction
• Snape suspected Quirrell and was trying to protect the Stone
• Quirrell cannot get the Stone from the Mirror - it shows him presenting it to Voldemort
• Voldemort's voice calls from behind Quirrell's turban
• Quirrell unwraps his turban revealing Voldemort's face on the back of his head
• Voldemort has been sharing Quirrell's body, surviving on unicorn blood
• Harry looks in the Mirror and feels the Stone drop into his pocket (he wants to find it, not use it)
• Quirrell tries to grab Harry but burns at his touch (Lily's protection)
• Harry grabs Quirrell's face; Quirrell cannot bear the pain
• Quirrell turns to dust; Voldemort's spirit flees through Harry, knocking him unconscious
• Harry wakes three days later in the hospital wing
• Dumbledore explains: his mother's love protects him; Quirrell couldn't touch him
• The Stone has been destroyed; Nicolas Flamel agrees it's for the best (he has enough Elixir)
• Dumbledore reveals he sent Harry the Invisibility Cloak
• Dumbledore admits he saw Harry's family in the Mirror but claims he saw socks (another lie)
• End-of-year feast: Gryffindor is in last place
• Dumbledore awards last-minute points: 50 to Ron (chess), 50 to Hermione (logic), 60 to Harry (courage)
• 10 points to Neville for standing up to his friends
• Gryffindor wins the House Cup by 10 points (beating Slytherin)
• Students return home on the Hogwarts Express
• Harry tells the Dursleys his godfather is a convicted murderer who likes to check on him
• Harry is confident he'll have a better summer, knowing he has friends and will return to Hogwarts

Significant Details: Voldemort can possess people. Love is the greatest magic - Lily's sacrifice created protection in Harry's blood. The Mirror of Erised was enchanted to only give the Stone to someone who wanted to find but not use it. Snape hated James Potter but protected Harry for Lily's sake. Nicolas Flamel is 665 and will die peacefully.