Harry's mother, Lily Potter, was killed while attempting to protect Harry from Voldemort, and her dying act placed Harry under a spell of protection. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry with the Avada Kedavra curse, which he had used to kill Harry's parents, but the spell rebounded due to his mother's protection, striking Voldemort instead. Voldemort, who had spent several years using powerful dark magic in an ongoing attempt to achieve immortality, was able to survive the spell, but only as a pale shadow of his former self. Beaten and powerless, Voldemort went into hiding, and Harry became a celebrity in the wizarding world as "The Boy Who Lived", especially famous for the lightning-shaped scar Voldemort's curse left on his forehead.

Adrian Rawlins as James Potter, Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter, and one of the Saunders triplets as the young Harry Potter in ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (movie)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone''.

This protection helped Harry again, ten years later in ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', when Lord Voldemort returned searching for the philosopher's stone. Using Hogwarts instructor Professor Quirrell as a vessel, Voldemort returned to Hogwarts to find the stone. Voldemort attempted to kill Harry again, but Lily Potter's protection lingered in his veins, and Voldemort was unable to touch Harry. He was forced to flee again, leaving Quirrell to die.

Harry was raised by Relatives of Harry Potter Vernon Dursley Petunia and Vernon Dursley, who neglected him in favour of their own son. Relatives of Harry Potter Dudley Dursley Dudley and in their attempt to remove all traces of his magical self to make him "normal", kept him fully isolated from the wizarding world. Harry did not even know that he was a wizard until his eleventh birthday, when Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts gamekeeper and friend of Dumbledore, explained it to him and also told him about the fame he had in the magical world.

Surprisingly perhaps, Harry has not let his fame go to his head, and he has remained humble, despite the fact that people like in ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''. Gilderoy Lockhart and Colin Creevey keep reminding him how famous he is. In fact, Harry is annoyed by his fame, as it has caused many people to either fawn all over him or hate him for it.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry is starting to change. He is angry because he believes Sirius Black got his parents killed until Remus Lupin corrects him.

Harry's greatest desire is to be normal, and for all whom he cares about to be safe and happy. Harry often puts himself at risk for other people, and often tries to convince others not to put themselves in danger. For example, in the first book, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', he does not want Ron Weasley Ron and Hermione Granger Hermione to attempt to locate the philosopher's stone with him. This occurs in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' when Ginny Weasley Ginny, Neville Longbottom Neville and Luna Lovegood Luna wish to join Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a rescue mission.

However, Harry is depicted with many flaws. He can be angered easily when his parents or others whom he cares about are offended, or when people do not believe him. Like Ron, he is not very diligent with his studies. In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Harry appears more disturbed and troubled, and is extremely temperamental, as he has to endure the entire wizarding world believing him to be an attention-seeking liar, along with the normal difficulties in being a teenager. Sometimes, Harry even gets angry at Ron and Hermione, especially when they argue with each other.

Harry has a very strong loyalty streak and expects loyalty in return. This streak has often prevented Harry from looking at things objectively and will occasionally prevent him from heeding constructive criticism from friends such as Hermione.

Harry greatly resembles his father, but he is frequently told that he has his mother's eyes. Some have speculated that Harry having eyes similar to his mother's will play a significant role in future books.

Harry shares his dormitory at Hogwarts with Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas.

Harry tends to feel very passionately about who is trustworthy and who is not. For example, Harry is reluctant to trust Severus Snape, the Potions Master, despite Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore Albus Dumbledore's faith in Snape. Since Harry has been raised by the Dursleys, and has experienced nightmarish events, including the death of Cedric Diggory in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Goblet of Fire'', Sirius Black in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Order of the Phoenix'', and Albus Dumbledore in ''Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Half Blood Prince'', Harry seems to feel rather misunderstood. Harry's feelings of isolation increase, when, at the end of ''Order of the Phoenix'', he learns that he alone must battle Voldemort to the death.

Ginny Weasley was the first person to take a romantic interest in Harry, having an unrequited crush on him in ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', though she was too tongue-tied to even speak to him. In ''Goblet of Fire'', Harry develops a crush on Cho Chang, and in his fifth year, he kisses her under the mistletoe. She and Harry split up at the end of the year, due to Harry's naïveté, Cho's jealousy, and Cho's friend Marietta Edgecombe's betrayal of Dumbledore's Army. In his sixth year Harry starts taking romantic interest in Ginny, who he believes has got over him. It turns out she never gave up on him after all - she returns his feelings and becomes his girlfriend; he reluctantly breaks the relationship up, however, because he knows Voldemort would easily find out about it and target Ginny and he doesn't want to put her at risk.

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In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''...
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