Joanne Rowling was born at Yate General Hospital on 31st July 1965 near Bristol, England. She grew up in Gloucestershire in England and southeast Wales- Chepstow, Gwent. Joanne is the author of the popular series and novel Harry Potter, a story about a young sorcerer under guidance. She also wrote short stories, stories for adults, and non- fiction category too. Here, we will give you a brief of her book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Main Characters In The Novel
Table of Contents
- Harry Potter: Harry Potter was an orphan, portrayed by Rowling as a ‘black-haired, bespectacled, scrawny and green-eyed boy who was unknown to the fact that he was a wizard.’ Joanne Rowling developed these series to make her audience feel how Harry came into this situation and the way his life evolved from thereon. The following incident takes place on the 11th birthday of Harry. Harry had a lightening dart mark on his forehead after Voldemort attacked his parents, who were the reason behind Harry’s parent’s death. This mark produced stabbing pain indicating Voldemort’s presence. Harry had a natural and fantastic talent of Quidditch and was the first person who got an opportunity to participate in his first year in decades.
- Ronald Weasley: Ronald Weasley is of Harry’s age and is Harry’s greatest best friend, as per the description of Rowling. He always helped Harry whenever he was in need and vice versa. He is quite tall and has freckled, red hair. Ron was born and brought up from a relatively big pure- blood ménage and is the sixth child amongst the seven of them. They lived comfortably and happily, although being poor. Ron played the chess game very bravely and with great loyalty, which plays a crucial role in finding out the Philosopher’s stone.
- Hermione Granger: Hermione Granger, described as a bossy girl, was the daughter of all- Muggle family. She has big front teeth and shaggy brown hair. Hermione has finished memorizing all the books before even starting the term. JK Rowling has portrayed Hermione as an upright, enjoyable and very logical character, who faces a lot of insecurities regarding failure below her swottiness. She always kept Ron and Harry out of trouble and thus became a very close friend to them. Her analytical and magical skills play an essential role in finding out the Philosopher’s stone.
- Neville Longbottom: Neville is a humble, plump boy and is so absent-minded that his granny gives him Remembrall so that he can recall things. Naville’s magical abilities are feeble and came into sight just in the time of need to save his life when he was only eight years old. Despite being timid, he fought with anyone after getting encouragement, or whom he thought was wrong or essential to compete.
- Rubeus Hagrid: Hagrid is nearly 12 feet tall and is half-giant. He has a bushy beard and entwined black- hair. He was expelled from Hogwarts, and his magic wand was splintered in half. Yet, Professor Dumbledore allowed him to stay in Hogwarts as a games-keeper, a job which will enable him to shower car, affection, and give pet names to the most menacing of supernatural beasts. Hagrid is very loyal to Professor Dumbledore and later becomes a very close friend of Harry, Ron, and then Hermione. His carelessness and negligence made him unreliable.
- Professor Albus Dumbledore: Dumbledore is a tall and thin man whose ears half-moon shaped spectacles. His silver beard and hair gets stuck on to the belt. Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts and is known to be the only wizard of whom Voldemort is scared. He has many achievements in the magic field, shrugs compliments, and is well aware of his brilliance. Rowling has outlined him as an ‘epitome of virtue.’
- Professor Minerva McGonagall: she is a severe-looking, tall woman with black hair tied in a compact bun. She teaches Transfiguration and can transform herself into a cat. She is the lead of Gryffindor House and is the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts.
- Petunia Dursley: Petunia is the sister of Lily- Harry’s mother. She is thin and has a long neck, which she utilizes to spy on her neighbors.
- Vernon Dursley: He is married to Petunia Dursley and is a steadily built man whose irritable bluster hides his narrow mind and a terror of anything atypical.
- Dudley Dursley: He is a spoilt bully, overweighted boy, and is Harry’s cousin. He is the son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley.
- Draco Malfoy: Malfoy is a pale, slim boy who speaks sluggishly and slowly. He is proud of his expertise is Quidditch and abominates those wizards who don’t share their perspective and are not a pure-blood wizard. His parents were on the side of Voldemort but changed their decision after the disappearance of the dark wizard, asserting that they were bewitched. Draco always tried getting Harry, Ron and Hermione face trouble, avoiding confrontations.
- Oliver Wood: he is the guardian of Gryffindor Quidditch squad and is the captain of Harry’s Quidditch.
- Professor Quirrell: He is a nervous, twitching, and the stammering man who taught Defense counter The Dark Arts. He was a bright scholar, but he always shatters his nerves on an encounter with the vampires. Quirrell always wore a turban to confiscate the information which he is willingly dominated by Voldemort, whose face is visible behind Quirrell’s head.
- Severus Snape: He has shallow complexion, greasy black hair, and a hooked nose. Snape teaches Potions, but he prefers to teach Defense against dark arts. He always prefers the members of Slytherin house and never misses an opportunity to humiliate others, mainly Harry.
Other members include Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Binns, Madam Hooch, and Argus Fitch.
The Plot Of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone
Harry Potter is the leading character in the plot, and accordingly, the story characters were made around him. Harry was an orphan and lives with his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon. He is eleven years old and leads a miserable life out there at his aunt’s place. He is be-spectacled, raven-haired, and a thin boy who is unknown to the fact that he belongs from a wizard family and is a wizard himself.
The Dursleys hardly tolerate Harry and Dudley bullies Harry very often. One day Harry found out a letter under a cupboard below the staircase where he slept and was astonished to find that his name was addressed in the message. Before he was even about to open the message, uncle snatched it away from him. The letter started arriving subsequently in front of their door each day, more in number. But Vernon tears them up all, and they all escape to an island to outsmart the sender of these mysterious letters.
On the 11th birthday of Harry Potter, a big giant named Hagrid comes to Harry’s residence and make him aware that he is a wizard and has got an offer to learn witchcraft and wizardry at Hogwarts. He also tells Harry about his past, his parents, a witch and a wizard were killed by a powerful wizard named Voldemort and that Harry got the Lightening-arrow shaped mark during this deadly confrontation.
The next day Harry and Hagrid go on for shopping some supplies to a place hidden behind the magical brick named ‘Diagon Alley.’ On arrival at the school premises of Hogwarts, the students are spat into four houses- Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Harry ends up in Gryffindor and continues his first year, became close to two of his friends- Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He also finds out that he has a foe from house Slytherin- Draco Malfoy. Harry becomes the star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team due to his prowess and excellence in flying on a broomstick. While the game was on, Harry finds out something is wrong with his broomstick, which eventually makes Harry crash into the ground. Harry got a bit injured but was safe. His friends blamed Snape for this incident as they witnessed him using some sort of magic during the game.
In the Christmas event, Harry got a gift from Dumbledore, an invisibility cloak that belonged to his dad. He used the cape to seek all-around Hogwarts castle, and to his surprise, he finds out a mirror, ‘the Mirror of Erised’ in one of the secret rooms in the castle. Harry could see his mother and father in the mirror, but when he shares the mirror with Ron, Ron sees himself as the winner of House cup. One night again, Harry sneaked into the room, and he found out Dumbledore gazing at him. Dumbledore then explained to him that the mirror showed a person’s deepest aspiration.
Harry used the cloak also to sneak into the restricted area of the library to gain more information about Nicolas Flamel. After the winter break ends, while the three friends attended classes, they discovered Nicolas Flamel was the renowned alchemist who made the Philosopher’s stone- which has the power to change any metal into gold and provides iniquity to its owner. This characteristic describes the reason why Nicolas Flamel is still alive since 1327. They discover that the Philosopher’s stone is inside a trap door, guarded by a three-headed dog. Harry wanted to gain more knowledge, but he had to manage his homework, classes, and Quidditch at the same time.
Meanwhile, Hagrid had won a dragon egg from the game of cards, which he decided to hybrid. This act was illegal and was dangerous. Harry, Hermione, and Ron wanted to set off the dragon so that it could get a better life. Malfoy sneaks on Harry and his friends, while the three friends could successfully send the dragon off. They were caught by Professor McGonagall, who became disappointed and gave them detention and also detracts points from Gryffindor.
The situation became even worst, and the detention included going to the Forbidden Forest to check out what was the reason behind trapping unicorns and drinking their blood. During the quest, Malfoy and Harry found out some weak looking beasts, drinking blood from the corpse of a unicorn. They understood that Voldemort tries to get a new life until he possesses the Philosopher’s stone.
The trio understood that someone is trying to steal the stone for Voldemort. Thus, they soon set off to find the stone. However, it was difficult to reach the stone since the trap- door was guarded by a three-headed dog. However, Hermione manages to doze the dogs by playing the flute, and they finally jump through the door and fall into flesh-eating plats named ‘”Devil’s snare,” which they defeated by lighting fire. They then pass on to a room full of flying keys, and Harry manages to catch the right one. They needed to hurry as the wings on the key were a bit destroyed.
In the next room, Ron had to play the Chess game, but he was beaten, and he went unconscious, which left Hermione and Harry to complete the challenge. The next challenge consisted of a puzzle, which was to be solved logically. They could then drink the potion, which could lead them to go through the blazing fire. But then it was meant for one; so Hermione went back to Ron and Harry went on to complete the challenge. Harry was surprised to see Quirrell in the room, as he expected Snape. Quirrell tells him that Harry had Voldemort behind his head, similar to a parasite. He admitted that he had attempted to kill Harry during the Quidditch while Snape tried to rescue him.
Quirrell was unable to retrieve the stone from the mirror of Erised, and so he forced Harry to do so. Harry stood in front of the mirror. He had no wish to use the stone. Harry could feel the weight of the stone in his pocket, but Harry Potter didn’t reveal he had it. Voldemort explained to him that he had been using Quirrell’s body until he became fully alive. Harry and Quirrell/ Voldemort fight on the possession of the Philosopher’s stone, and Harry blacks out. He wakes up in an infirmary and gets to know that Professor Albus Dumbledore saves him from Voldemort.
The stone was destroyed, and Voldemort had escaped.
