This enchanted boarding school was a haven, both for Harry, who had never had a true home before Hogwarts, and for all the students, who were protected by the powerful magic surrounding the castle and by its headmaster, the great wizard Albus Dumbledore. Even as the books became progressively darker, there was always unifying factor of their reassuring main setting: The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There are dozens of other characters (many of them played by England's finest actors with the exceptions of Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, there are few great English thespians who haven't made at least a cameo appearance in the films) but the bulk of Deathly Hallows Part 1 will be about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.Ģ. Fortunately, Harry is aided by his trusty friends: brainy Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and stalwart Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). To say that there are bumps along the road is an understatement. Because of a confusing but accurate prophecy, Harry Potter is the one wizard who can truly destroy Lord Voldemort. He is now on the brink of conquering the wizarding world (and destroying the muggle-aka: non-wizarding-world). Lord Voldemort (played with eminent creepiness by the eminently creepy Ralph Fiennes) is the darkest of dark wizards, and he has been gaining power steadily throughout the series. Harry Potter might have started out at an elementary school level, but it concludes with a clash between light and dark no less potent than anything you might encounter in Tolkien. Even if you haven't devoured (and re-devoured) the series, here are the most important things you need to know before you watch the movie:ġ.

As muggles around the world gear up for the final chapter of the epic children's series that's hardly a children's series anymore, even the most ardent fans might need a bit of a refresher course. The first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows finally hits theaters today. Rowling may or may not write one day-and she has pledged that there will not be any more movies-it certainly feels like the beginning of the end. For all the media phenomena we have to obsess over today, nothing from the same time period has yet proved to be as enduring as Harry Potter. A lot has changed since the first Harry Potter book was published in 1997-let alone since the first movie came out in 2001. I have been a fan almost since the beginning, taking the books with me as I moved from my awkward teenage years to my slightly-less-awkward mid-20s. Many of us have spent more than a decade with the series, truly growing up with Harry Potter. MORE ON Harry Potter: Alyssa Rosenberg: What Would New 'Harry Potter' Books Be About? Melissa Giamo: Harry Potter Joins the Canon Alyssa Rosenberg: Sex and Harry Potter

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