Harry Potter Character Sketch - Part 1 of 3

[joym999 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17108

"To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!"

Harry Potter is, when we first meet him, an 11 year old boy who has 
not, so far, had a pleasant life.  He is a member of a mythical class 
of beings – the mistreated, orphaned boy who finds out that he, 
contrary to all his expectations, is a magical person.

Harry Potter was born on July 31, 1980, and lived happily with his 
parents, James and Lily Potter, in Godric's Hollow until he was a 
little over a year old.  Then, as we all know, the evil wizard 
Voldemort kills Harry's parents on Halloween night in 1981.  
Voldemort tries to kill Harry, but somehow baby Harry instead not 
only survives but destroys Voldemort's power.  He is not only the Boy 
Who Lived, but also in some ways another type of mythical being, the 
Boy Savior.

The child Harry is unaware of his history.  Now an orphan, he lives 
with the Dursleys, an aunt and uncle who, IMHO, JKR has invented with 
a nod in Roald Dahl's direction.  They are stupid, nasty, unloving, 
bigoted people.  They are as un-magical as can be – Minerva 
McGonagall remarks to Dumbledore that "You couldn't find two people 
who are less like us."  

The Dursleys are somewhat successful at beating Harry down; he is 
lonely, scared, has somewhat low self-esteem and is very insecure, 
but he still retains a core of strength, sanity and dignity.  He 
talks back to his aunt and uncle at times, but not in the snotty way 
that children sometimes talk back to their parents – rather, he talks 
back to the Dursleys to defend his dignity.  Unlike many victimized 
people, he doesn't blame himself for the supposed shortcomings he is 
constantly reminded of.  Harry realizes that it is the Dursleys who 
are jerks, not him. This would be fairly unbelievable outside the 
world of fiction – in real life, abused children do not often emerge 
from 10 years of neglect, verbal abuse and loneliness as well-
adjusted as Harry is.  However, his parent's love for his first 1 ½ 
years, as well as the unseen magical forces which watch over him, 
seem to have served to preserve not only Harry's physical but also 
his mental and spiritual well-being.

Physically, Harry Potter is small and skinny, with a thin face and 
knobbly knees.  He has a scar on his forehead in the shape of a bolt 
of lightning, a relic of his encounter with Voldemort.  His other 
most prominent physical characteristics are distinctly inherited from 
his parents: He has untidy black hair like his father and bright 
green eyes like his mother.  He wears broken glasses, taped together, 
and baggy old clothes inherited from his fat cousin, Dudley.

Although Harry Potter is, in the muggle world, nothing and nobody, he 
is a celebrity in the wizarding world – but for something he did as a 
baby which he doesn't remember.  (It is interesting to note that he 
has achieved a similar sort of infamy in the "real" world, where he 
is a publishing phenomenon.) Yet Harry himself does not relate to his 
fame:

"What's that?"said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's 
lightning scar.
"Blimey," said the other twin.  "Are you —?"
"He *is*," said the first twin.  "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.
"What?" said Harry.
"*Harry Potter*," chorused the twins.
"Oh, him," said Harry.  "I mean, yes, I am."