The Editors of Smart Pop - Smart Pop Explains Harry Potter Books and Movies

Contents

SMART POP EXPLAINS

HARRY
POTTER

BOOKS AND MOVIES

SMART ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT POP UP

THE EDITORS OF SMART POP

Smart Pop Books

An Imprint of BenBella Books, Inc.

Dallas, TX

THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN PREPARED, APPROVED, OR LICENSED BY WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT, J.K. ROWLING, OR ANY ENTITY THAT CREATED OR PRODUCED THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS, MOVIES, DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT, OR MERCHANDISE

Smart Pop Explains Harry Potter Books and Movies copyright 2022 by Smart Pop Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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First E-Book Edition: July 2022

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021058211

ISBN 9781637740576 (trade paper)

ISBN 9781637740583 (ebook)

Editing by Robb Pearlman

Copyediting by Michael Fedison

Proofreading by Sarah Vostok and Jenny Bridges

Indexing by WordCo

Text design and composition by Aaron Edmiston

Cover design by Brigid Pearson

Cover image Shutterstock / robin.ph

Special discounts for bulk sales are available. Please contact .

Contents

SMART ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THAT POP UP

Theres not a witch or wizard alive who doesnt know the name Harry Potter. In fact, theres hardly a Muggle alive who doesnt know his name. Since the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, was published in September 1998, over 500 million copies of all the books in the series have been sold, and the Harry Potter movies have made $7.73 billion altogether at the box office.

Thats a lot of Galleons!

But do you really know who Harry Potter is? Or Hermione? Or Dobby? Or even what Dobby is? And do you really know why you should know? Because even if you know you should know, theres so much to know. You know? Like the memories in a Pensieve, the sheer amount of detail in the Potterverse can be more than astounding and entertaining. It can also be as daunting as the Triwizard Tournament Challenges.

You see, there are people who have only seen the movies and not read the books... or read the books and not seen the movies. And then there are those who are so devoted and, probably, have so much free time, who have seen all 18 hours of the movies, read all 4,224 pages of the books, and bought all the T-shirts. And then theres you, and a lot of people like you, who are just coming on board the Hogwarts Express and dont know what you dont know.

Smart Pop Explains Harry Potter Books and Movies: Smart Answers to Questions That Pop Up is here to help! Because unlike any other encyclopedia, trivia book, or know-it-all Potterhead, this book will explain it all to you in a way that nothing or anybodys ever done before. Like a friend sitting next to you in the movie theater (or on your couch), itll not only fill you in on whos who and whats what, itll add lots of serious, fun, and seriously fun insights and asides to make it all go down sweeter and smoother than a glass of butterbeer. So not only will you learn the basics and discover a few forgotten things, youll be able to watch the movies and read the books with a totally new perspective.

So sit tight and hold on for a wild ride on the Knight Bus as we explain all about Harry Potter.

And if that didnt make sense to you... you definitely need this book.

Alohomora!

Who Is Harry Potter?

Harry Potter, the son of James and Lily Potter, started life as an ordinary wizarding baby (if wizarding babies can be considered ordinary). James and Lily were members of the Order of the Phoenix, a group of wizards who opposed the evil Dark Lord, Voldemort. Most wizards and witches dont like saying his name out loud so hes sometimes referred to as He Who Must Not Be Named. As Dark Lords are wont to do, when Harry was a little over a year old, He Who Must Not Be Named came to the Potters home and attacked the family. Lily sacrificed herself, activating her special protection for Harry. When the Dark Lord attempted to use a Killing Curse on Harry, it rebounded, destroying the Dark Lords body and leaving a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on Harrys forehead. We keep calling him the Dark Lord because we dont like saying his name either.

Harry was raised by his Muggle (wizard speak for normal boring human) aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursleyif you can call how they treated him that. It was more like they barely tolerated himhe was little more than a servant for them and his spoiled cousin Dudley. The Dursleys were not what you could call model citizens. However, things changed on Harrys eleventh birthday. He discovered he was a wizard and was enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (where he would learn... you guessed it!).

Though he grew up outside the magical community, when Harry enrolled at Hogwarts, thanks to his scar, people already knew who he wasthe legendary Boy Who Lived (because the Boy Who Has a Lightning-Shaped Scar on His Forehead takes too long to say).

He later was also known as the Chosen One, and he liked that name about as much as the Boy Who Livedwhich was not at all.

Who was He Who Must Not Be Named and how do we talk about him?

Very carefully! Lord Voldemort (SHHHH! Youre not supposed to say the namehe may be listening!) is the dark wizard who terrorized the wizarding world twice. Decades before Harry was born, Hogwarts student Tom Marvolo Riddle was obsessed with becoming immortal.

Riddles father, Tom Sr., was a rich Muggle whom Toms mother fell in love with and won his affection by using magic. At least temporarily. Tom Sr. left his family after his wife, Merope, stopped using magic on him. Merope died soon after Tom Jr. was born, leaving him to be raised, unaware of his wizardy powers, in a Muggle orphanage.

Dumbledore brought him to Hogwarts, where he discovered he was descended from one of the schools founders, Salazar Slytherin. A gifted student, Tom soon found he could perform unusual feats, as many young witches and wizards do. But unlike many young witches and wizards, Riddle discovered possible methods of immortality, and soon set into motion his plans to defeat death.

Creating a new identity for himself, Tom became the Dark Lord. He wasnt fond of the fact that he himself was only a half-blood wizard. To renounce his fathers Muggle heritage, he chose a new namean anagram formed from his real name, Tom Marvolo Riddle: I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.