text:
Talk:Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Half-Blood Prince/Chapter 28

Analysis
Perhaps the thoughts on what certain plot points and clues might mean would be better placed under the heading of 'analysis'. Or even a new heading entirely. I'm not proficient with Wikipedia, though... --anon 81.151.241.20 2005-08-03 18:20:29 UTC Wait...the reason old regulus was killed was because he "got in too deep, and wanted out". I think that whoever was killed was going to be killed by Voldemort, but not because of the horcrux. Remember I know that I will be dead long before you read this. But I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. If it was regulus black, then this is how it happened. 1. Regulus finds out 2. Regulus doesn't dare tell Voldemort, because he would be killed, if he let slip the secret of Voldemort's success. 3. So he tries to slip ot quietly and... 4. Voldemort gets angry, and sends out a few death eater pals to do him in. 5. Regulus runs for it, taking Kreacher with him to destroy the Horcrux, not knowing there are many more. 6. Regulus uses the house elf, who must obey him, to disapperate them both home, knowing that while Kreacher is suffering, he must obey. 7. He cures Kreacher,who is nonetheless damaged. 8. Here come the death eaters... 9. ...he hides the horcrux, placing the note inside, and... 10. They kill him, leaving the horcrux undiscovered for many years, until the Order clean up the house. --anon
 * Exactly! Yes.  That's the idea.  Be bold! (This is Wikibooks, not Wikipedia, by the way.) I'll start you off. (But only start you off.) Uncle G 19:47:41, 2005-08-03 (UTC)

I guess the date of the book being 50 years old and the half-blood prince being Snape is not connected cause Snape is not 50 being in the same year as James and Lilly Potter

 * Are there not used book stores? Ginny had old, used textbooks, Snape was equally poor, likely he had a used Potions book. So the book would have had to be at least 18 years old at this point, but could easily be older. Chazz (talk) 18:11, 26 December 2009 (UTC)


text:
Cellular Automata/References

Cellular automata

 * 1) Wolfram, Stephen, A New Kind of Science. Wolfram Media, Inc., May 14, 2002. ISBN 1579550088
 * 2) Andrew Wuensche and Mike Lesser, The Global Dynamics of Cellular Automata An Atlas of Basin of Attraction Fields of One-Dimensional Cellular Automata
 * 3) Berlekamp, Conway, Guy. Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays. Academic Press. 1982

Mathematics

 * 1) Henryk Minc, Nonnegative Matrices, 1988
 * 2) James Norris, Markov Chains

Automata and language theory

 * John E. Hopcroft, Rajeev Motwani, Jeffrey D. Ullman - Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (2nd Edition)
 * Lewis and Papadimitriou. Elements of the Theory of Computation. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 1998.

Articles

 * 1) Lyman Hurd, What are Cellular Automata (CA)?, CA FAQ
 * 2) Erica Jen, Enumeration of Preimages in Cellular Automata, Complex Systems 3 (1989) 421-456
 * 3) Harold V. McIntosh, Linear Cellular Automata Via de Bruijn Diagrams
 * 4) Hidenosuke Nishio, Information Dynamics of Cellular Automata II: Completness, Degeneracy and Entropy
 * 5) Klaus Sutner. On the computational complexity of finite cellular automata. J. Comput. System Sci., 50(1):87-97, 1995.
 * 6) Klaus Sutner. Linear cellular automata and Fischer automata. Parallel Comput., 23(11):1613-1634, 1997
 * 7) Stephan Wolfram Compatation theory of cellular automata. Communications in Mathematical Physics 96:15-57, 1984.
 * 8) Stephen Wolfram (Ed.), Theory and Applications of Cellular Automata, World Scientific Press, Singapore, 1986 ISBN 9971-50-124-4 pbk).

Software

 * 1) DDLab Tools for researching Cellular Automata, Random Boolean Networks, multi-value Discrete Dynamical Networks, and beyond; by Andy Wuensche.
 * 2) Grail+ A symbolic computation environment for finite-state machines, regular expressions, and finite languages.
 * 3) CAPOW (Cellular Automata & Electric Power) a Windows application that can simulate and analyze various one-dimensional and two-dimensional cellular automata.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Cellular Automata/References


text:
Rhetoric and Composition/The Stages of the Writing Process

Overview
The writing process is complicated, and often seems loosely defined. According to Webster’s, writing is “ the way you use written words to express your ideas or opinions." Although we may think of it as little more than arranging letters and words on a page, a few moments' reflection reveals that it is much more than that. On the one hand, writing is an art--we don't say Shakespeare's language is "correct" but rather that it is beautiful. On the other hand, writing is a science--we want the instructions that came with our Blu-Ray player to be accurate, precise, and easy to understand.

Then there is the matter of what makes writing "good writing." Although we might say that both an instruction manual and a play are "well written," we appreciate them for different reasons. A play written in the clear, unambiguous language of an instruction manual would not be a hit on Broadway. In other words, writing must be judged according to its context--what is its purpose and audience? Finally, even readers with a great deal in common may not agree about the quality of any particular text, just as people's opinions differ about which bands are really great. We really don't know why people have such preferences and can't make accurate predictions about what they will like or dislike. Simply put, writing isn't simple.

If writing is so complicated and mysterious, can it be taught? Since Aristotle, great teachers have taught complex processes to their students by breaking them into smaller, more understandable processes. Aristotle thought that effective communication skills, like good math skills, can be learned and taught. Math teachers don't teach trigonometry to their elementary students; instead, they begin with addition and subtraction. Everything else builds on those simple processes. No one is born a mathematician. Similarly, while luck certainly plays a role in any successful writer's career, successful writers (or speakers) are not just born into the role--and everyone else is not just fated to flunk English. You can learn to write with substance and style. It takes work, but it is within your power. You have already taken the first step.

Most of what we know about writing is also true of speaking. Aristotle wrote a famous treatise on the subject of effective communication called "The Rhetoric." This book is meant for speakers; however, teachers and students also have long used it to polish their writing. "The Rhetoric" is still widely read and applied today by people desiring to learn how to speak and write more convincingly to an audience. Your first-year composition course may even have the word "rhetoric" or "rhetorical" as part of its title. Aristotle taught us that rhetoric isn't just about winning arguments. Instead, rhetoric is the ability to determine all the available means of persuasion at our disposal. Ultimately, it's up to you to guess the best course of action, but rhetoric helps you make this a more educated guess.

Compared to speaking, writing is a much more recent phenomenon, and for many centuries it was assumed that the best way to learn to write well was either to pray, entreat the muses, or carefully imitate writings that were already considered great. Eventually, as more people wanted to write, teachers created rules to help them write "correctly." Unfortunately, this heavy emphasis on correctness and writing with a narrow set of rules did little to improve student writing. Simply knowing how to write grammatically correct prose is important, but it is not enough, by itself, to make writing effective or persuasive. Indeed, too much attention to correctness can result in unintentionally rigid or even comical writing. Legend has it that Winston Churchill grew so irritated at pedants telling him not to end his sentences with prepositions that he said to one of them, "Madame, that is a rule up with which I shall not put."

Since the 1970s, writing instructors have been teaching writing not as the following of fixed rules but rather as a dynamic process: a series of steps that writers follow to produce texts. At first in the '70s, these steps were taught as a somewhat rigid sequence. Now, however, writing teachers emphasize "recursivity"--moving forward through some steps and then circling back to redo previous steps--as the more natural way that many successful writers work. In other words, while we still think of writing as a process taking place in a series of steps, we now understand that good writers tend to switch frequently among the different steps as they work. An insight gained while editing one chapter might convince the writer that an additional chapter is needed; as a result, she might start another drafting phase--or even decide to divide one chapter into two or three, and begin reorganizing and developing new drafts. Likewise, failure to satisfy a publisher--whether it is your boss looking at a pamphlet you've written or a book publisher deciding whether to print and sell your book--might lead the author all the way back to the idea-development or organizing stages. In short, while it is very useful to think of writing as a process, the process is not a clear, always-the-same series of steps. Instead, it is a sometimes messy, forward-and-backward process in which you strive for simplicity but try to appeal to your audience, create but also organize, enjoy yourself if possible but also follow some rules, and eventually create a product that works.

If this sounds difficult, it's not--at least, not if you learn a few lessons this book can teach you--and you practice, practice, practice. The more real writing you do, the more of a real writer you will become. If you are reading this book, then your first goal likely is to do well in a college (or upper-level high school) "composition" or "rhetoric" class. In short, you want to learn how to write a good academic paper. There are a large number of tips and methods this book can show you. They will work best if, like the writing process itself, you go back and forth between reading this book and doing some actual writing: try some of these lessons out by writing; then return to new lessons or review some of the lessons you've already read to discover what you next can do with what you've written--or with a new writing. Your next goal after learning to write a good general academic paper (or several types, perhaps--some of the most common being a summary, an analysis, an argument or "thesis," an evaluation, and a research paper) is to write in your specific discipline or major. Each discipline or major has its own writing style, organizational method, and purpose or goal. Your major or discipline teachers can help you quite a bit as you learn to apply your academic writing skills to their discipline. And eventually, your goal is to write for your work--for your future profession.

With each of these types of writing--general academic, specific discipline/major, and future profession--you'll eventually become increasingly successful. As you learn the types better, you will find--like the experienced journalist on a quick deadline for a story--that often your writing will come more quickly and easily. However, whenever you have a major challenge in your future as a writer, you will know how to return to the circular or "recursive" steps of the process to develop difficult ideas, explain difficult concepts to your audience, and create pleasure and knowledge in both yourself and your audience because of your writing skills.

Five Evaluation Criteria
There are five criteria we can use to evaluate any piece of writing. These criteria are Focus, Development, Organization, Style, and Conventions.

Focus. What are you writing about? What claim or thesis are you defending? This criterion is the broadest, concerned with the context, purpose, and coherence of a piece of writing. Is your topic appropriate for an assignment? Do you stay on that topic or drift off on unhelpful tangents? Have you focused too minutely or too widely? For instance, an essay about the American Civil War in general is probably too broad for most college essays. You might be better off writing about a particular battle, general, or incident.

Development. Development is concerned with details and evidence. Do you provide enough supporting material to satisfy the expectations of your readers? A proper research paper, for instance, usually includes many references and quotations to many other relevant works of scholarship. A description of a painting would probably include details about its appearance, composition, and maybe even biographical information about the artist who painted it. Deciding what details to include depends on the intended audience of a piece. An article about cancer intended for young children would look quite different than one written for senior citizens.

Organization. Organization, often called "arrangement," concerns the order and layout of a paper. Traditionally, a paper is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion. Paragraphs are focused on a single main idea or topic (unity), and transitions between sentences and paragraphs are smooth and logical. A poorly organized paper rambles, drifting among unrelated topics in a haphazard and confusing fashion.

Style. Style is traditionally concerned with clarity, elegance, and precision. An effective stylist is not only able to write clearly for an audience, but can also please them with evocative language, metaphors, rhythm, or figures of speech. Effective stylists take pains not just to make a point, but to make it well.

Conventions. This criterion covers grammar, mechanics, punctuation, formatting, citing sources, and other issues that are dictated by convention or rules. Although many students struggle with conventions, the knowledge of where to place a comma in a sentence is usually not as important as whether that sentence was worth writing in the first place. Nevertheless, excessive errors can make even a brilliant writer seem careless or ignorant, qualities that will seldom impress one's readers.

Stages of the Writing Process
Although we've mentioned that writers often work recursively--that is, frequently switching between drafting, editing, proofreading, and so on--it is useful to break the writing process into different functions or activities. To that end, we have divided it into eight smaller processes: Planning and Prewriting, Collaborating, Researching, Drafting, Reviewing, Revising, Editing, and Publishing. Not all of these steps will be necessary for every piece of writing.

Planning and Prewriting (brainstorming) Writers generally plan their documents in advance. This stage, often called "prewriting," includes everything from brainstorming, making a tentative outline, or chatting with friends or colleagues about the topic. For some writers, the prewriting stage is mostly mental--they think about their projects, but do not write until they are ready to start the actual document. Others plan extensively and map out exactly how they want their document to look when it's finished.

This chapter describes common planning and prewriting strategies and should help you "hit the ground running" when starting out your writing projects.

Collaborating
While there is a long history of thinking of writing as a wholly individual act, most workplace compositions (and composing in many disciplines) involve collaboration. If you're working on a collaborative text, this chapter will help you develop a collaboration plan, establish strengths and weaknesses in the group, assign roles, and do what ever else will help in producing a co-authored text.

This chapter offers some helpful tips and strategies for collaborating on documents. Collaboration can be very helpful to the writing process. It is vital for students to have their work read by others. In writing, the more the better. We profit from the views and suggestions of our readers.

Researching
Writers frequently require reliable information to support their documents. A writer's personal opinions and experience are sufficient evidence for many types of documents, but audiences will often demand more. Seeking out the information required to support your writing is called "research," and it comes in many forms.

One form of research is the interview, in which you call up or meet with someone who has information on the topic you are pursuing. Another type, "field research," involves travel to places where the topic can be studied first-hand. You might also circulate a survey. These three examples are all part of what is called "primary research" -- research you conduct yourself.

While many writing teachers assign primary research to their students in the process of writing a "research paper," much of the research that writing at the college level asks you to do is "secondary research" -- exploring other people's writing in the form of books, scholarly journals, newspapers, magazines, websites, and government documents. This chapter describes different research strategies and provides you with the tools you'll need to properly back up the claims you make in your writing.

Drafting
Drafting means writing or adding to a piece of writing--composing it. It may seem like a straightforward process, but can often be made difficult by writer's block or other anxieties.

This chapter describes drafting strategies and how to avoid common pitfalls like perfectionism and writer's block.

Reviewing
Having other people review your writing is essential to producing the best piece you possibly can. We often don't make the best readers of our own work because we are so close to it. Reviewers, on the other hand, bring valuable perspective we can't get any other way. A reviewer is anyone who is willing to look at your work and provide feedback. You're a reviewer, too -- for others' texts.

This chapter explains how to successfully review a document as well as how to make the most of the feedback you receive from other reviewers.

Revising
Revising and editing are two separate processes that are often used interchangeably by novice writers. Revising requires a significant alteration in a piece of writing, such as enriching the content, or giving the piece clarity; editing, however, is not as involved and would include fixing typos and grammatical errors. Revising is hard work, but it's probably some of the most valuable work you can do to become a better writer. Dive into the task with the willingness to wrestle with your writing and bring out the best in it, and you will learn why revising is often considered the "meat" of the writing process.

This chapter examines the revision process and identifies some strategies that will help you improve your documents and reduce the likelihood of creating even bigger problems.

Editing
Editing means going through a piece of writing and making grammatical corrections or sentence-level changes. Unlike publishers, who hire professional editors to work with their writers, student writers do most of their own editing, with occasional help from peer reviewers. This chapter describes micro editing (editing at the sentence level), and provides strategies for improving your text. This chapter will also cover proofreading, or carefully scanning a document for typos and other simple errors.

Publishing
What's the point of writing if no one will ever read it? Though some of us are content to write diaries or notes to ourselves, most writers desire for others to read and hopefully enjoy or benefit from their documents. This is where publishers come in: They help connect writers to readers. The Internet has introduced countless new ways for writers to publish their own documents electronically, but print publishing is still the preferred avenue for most professional writers. Of course, getting your documents accepted for publication can be a long and frustrating ordeal. We've all heard the stories of now-famous novelists who were rejected time and time again by unimaginative or overly-cautious publishers. This chapter describes the print and electronic publishing industry, then identifies strategies that will help you distribute your documents to their intended audience. We will also discuss why so many authors fail to ever secure a publisher for their work.


text:
Rhetoric and Composition/Rhetoric and Composition Authors

The Authors and Editors of this Wiki Book
Please consider adding to the prestige of this text by adding your name to the list below.

Barrett, John. Professor of English at Richland College in Dallas, Texas.

Barton, Matthew D. An assistant professor of English at Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

Boumarate, Aby. Professor of English & Holocaust Literature at Valencia College.

Cadle, Lanette An assistant professor of English at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

Christenson, Jeremy W. Junior Undergraduate student at Saint Cloud State University.

Denman, Traci. Junior Undergraduate student at Saint Cloud State University. Double majoring in Rhetorical and Applied Writing and Psychology, doubling minoring in English and Intercultural Communications.

Doberstein, Ben. Graduate Student at St. Cloud State University studying Modernist American Literature.

Grayson, Martin The University of Sheffield, (retired).

Grimes, Aaron. Instructor of English, Angelina College.

Groth, Kelly M., Junior. Undergraduate student at Saint Cloud State University. Majoring in Information Media.

Heimermann, Mark. Graduate student at St. Cloud State University.

Hennes, Jack Graduate student at Michigan State University, M.A. Rhetoric & Writing, St. Cloud State University.

Kath, Sarah. Graduate student at St. Cloud State University studying English and Philosophy.

Kaye, Deborah. Instructor of English, Director of Professional Development, Los Angeles Valley College.

Kirchoff, Jeffrey. Graduate student studying English and researching Graphic Novels at St. Cloud State University.

Klint, Karl Russell. Graduate Student at St. Cloud State University in the English Rhet/Comp program. Focus towards hyper-text writing and the effect on rhetorical theory. BFA in Creative and Professional Writing from Bemidji State University (MN).

Koval, Jamie M. Senior at St. Cloud State University majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Rhetorical and Applied Writing.

Murphy, Emily E. BFA, Printmaking, Minor English, St. Cloud State University, 1998. Currently pursuing a BA in English, Applied and Rhetorical Writing Emphasis, and a BFA in Graphic Design at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN.

Nicholson, Adam McHenry M.A. English, University of Illinois at Springfield. Adjunct instructor, English and Capital Scholars Honors Program, University of Illinois Springfield. Adjunct instructor of English, Lincoln Land Community College.

Pickens, Alex - PhD student studying Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University.

Rasmussen, Stacy. Graduate Student at St. Cloud State University studying to gain a M.A. in English with an emphasis in College Teaching.

Reimer, Cody J.. Graduate Student at St. Cloud State University

Rosalez, Mary. Graduate student at Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, studying Digital Rhetorics.

Schaaf, Luke. Graduate Student at St. Cloud State University.

Schauble, Bruce. English Department Chair at Punahou School, Honolulu, HI

Speich, Brittany Junior at Saint Cloud State University, Double Majoring in Mass Communications and Political Science, Double Minoring in Rhetorical and Applied Writing, and Public Administration

Springer, Jodi. Fifth year student at St. Cloud State University double majoring in Rhetorical and Applied Writing and Theatre with a minor in Music.

Tham, Jason. Graduate student at St. Cloud State University studying MA Rhetoric & Composition, and MS Mass Communication.

Timp-Pilon, Michele L.  - Graduate student studying Rhetoric and Composition at Saint Cloud State University in Saint Cloud, Minnesota.

Wolf, Stephanie M. Senior Undergraduate at St. Cloud State University, majoring in Rhetorical and Applied Writing

Worth, Benjamin. Professor, English, Bluegrass Community and Technical College. Assistant Dean, Distance Learning.


text:
Cellular Automata/Global Dynamics

Attractor Basin
When discussing global dynamics of cellular automata the word state is used to describe configurations.

Graphic conventions
The following diagrams/captions are based on the original figure State-space and basins of attraction on the DDLab website. Sub-trees, basins of attraction, and the entire basin of attraction field (for cellular automata, random Boolean networks, and discrete dynamic networks in general) can be computed and drawn with the DDLab software.

The state space is made of all available states of a cellular automaton. It's size is $$ S = v^{n} $$ where $$n$$ is the size of the (finite) lattice, and $$v$$ is the value-range or alphabet, $$v=2$$ for binary systems. $$B$$ is one of the states.

The trajectory $$A \rightarrow B \rightarrow C$$ is defined by the global transition function. State $$A$$ is a predecessor and state $$C$$ is the successor of state $$B$$.

If the global transition function is not injective, than states may have more than one predecessor (preimage). The in-degree of the state $$B$$ is the number of its predecessors. A state may have no predecessors, than it is called garden of Eden.

A trajectory may encounter a state occurred previously (it must if the lattice is finite), thus it has entered an attraction cycle. A point attraction cycle has the length of a single cell.

By recursively searching predecessors from a root state on the attraction cycle (the predecessor on the cycle is excluded) till all garden of Eden states are reached a ''transient tree is constructed. A subtree can be constructed from an arbitrary state on the tree, the root of the subtree.

By adding transient trees to each state on the attraction cycle, a basin of attraction is constructed. Some attraction cycles may have no transient trees, this is especially true for reversible cellular automata.

By grouping all the states in the state space into respective basins of attraction, a basin of attraction field is constructed.

Injectivity, surjectivity and bijectivity
The CA rule is reversible, if the global transition function $$F$$ is bijective (both injective and surjective).

Injectivity of the global transition function
$$F$$ is injective, there is at most one preimage for any CA configuration.

$$F: X \mapsto Y \qquad \forall x_1,x_2 \in \Omega \; [x_1 \neq x_2 \Rightarrow F(x_1) \neq F(x_2)] $$

So there are no configurations with more than one predecessor.

Surjectivity of the global transition function
$$F$$ is injective, there is at least one preimage for any CA configuration.

$$F: X \mapsto Y \qquad \forall y \in \Omega \; \exists x [ y = F(x)] $$

So there are no configurations without a predecessor (so called Garden of Eden).

It is easy to determine the existence of garden of Eden states for one dimensional CA using De Bruijn Diagrams.

Bijectivity of the global transition function
$$F$$ is bijective if it is both injective and surjective. For any configuration there is exactly one predecessor.

title: Cellular Automata/Global Dynamics


text:
Cookbook:Raw Diet

The raw diet is a diet in which adherents eat nothing that has been heated over a particular temperature, usually 117 or 118 degrees Fahrenheit. The diet therefore consists mainly of uncooked fruits, nuts, and vegetables in their natural state. Raw foodists have however created a wide range of raw products and recipes including ones for cookies, "pasta" and pies. Most raw foodists are vegan, but some also eat raw meat and raw dairy products.

The diet has been credited with many health improvements by its adherents, but has also been criticized as being unrealistic and unmaintainable in its purest form. Most people who eat raw do so for relatively short periods (weeks to months) before returning to their "normal" diet. They will periodically return to being raw as a sort of cleanse.

See our listing of raw recipes.

title: Cookbook:Raw Diet


text:
Conhistory/Agricultural Revolution

The agricultural revolution

The conversion of our predecessors from hunter-gatherers to herder-farmers circa 8000 BC is the great dichotomy of the human experience. From that point on, the dominance of our species, at least for the present, was assured. The growing of food crops and the domestication of food producing animals changed human activity overnight, in geologic terms. It is important to note, however, that this revolution took many thousands of years to unfold and never reached large parts of the world.

The importance of agriculture

Agriculture removed much of the uncertainty in obtaining food. People no longer had to search it out over large areas—they found places where it could be produced in abundant quantities year after year and fixed themselves there. Instead of relying on the environment’s natural bounty, they could direct and manipulate the provision of that bounty. Abundant and dependable food supplies allowed population to grow and set the stage for the rise of civilization.

The human population on Earth two million years ago has been estimated at 100,000. At the beginning of the agricultural revolution this number had risen to perhaps five million, thanks to better adaptation, technology, and abundant resources that became available as the ice sheets receded. By 3000 BC, the time of the first Egyptian dynasty, world population had increased to approximately 100 million. By the birth of Christ, world population was well over 200 million.

The beginnings of agriculture

Agriculture was a gradual discovery. It is believed that early gatherers first learned the relationship between plants, the foods they produced, and their growing cycle. At some point the gatherers learned how to encourage the plants they depended on and inhibit those of no use. Then came the steps of gathering seeds, planting seeds, and nurturing the plants. By selecting seeds from the strongest and most productive plants for replanting, the early planters interrupted and redirected the process of natural selection to improve the yield of the useful plants. For example, researchers in Mexico have found evidence of the ancient corn plant with only a few kernels that became the much more productive corn plant of ancient America through selection over many thousands of years.

The first domesticated grain is believed to have been a wild wheat that grew in southern Turkey. To domesticate this plant, the early gatherers had to learn how to harvest the grain seeds, extract the wheat kernel, grind it, and bake it, all before they learned how to grow the plant and select it so that it increased in kernel size. Until fertilization or crop rotation were developed, fields had to be moved regularly or placed near a river whose annual floodings brought new soil. All this was a complicated learning process that took time. Less is known about how and when the rice plant was domesticated, but it was clearly as important in Asia as wheat was in the Middle East and corn in America.

The agricultural revolution accelerated as innovations increased arable land, crop yields, and farmer productivity. Land was cleared by grazing or fire. Soil was prepared by digging first, and then plowing. Irrigation insured adequate water. Fertilization and crop rotation increased yields. Specific tools like the sickle, scythe, plow, and hoe increased farmer efficiency.

Domestication of animals

Dogs were domesticated from wolves perhaps 15,000 years ago in both America and the Near East, but dogs were useful mainly as companions, guards, and hunting aids. The first domesticated food producing animal was probably the goat, a source of meat, milk, and waterproof hides. This breakthrough occurred in the hills of modern Iraq. Domestication of the goat was followed by sheep (meat and wool), cattle (meat, milk, hides, power), horses (meat, milk, transport), pigs (meat and fat), chickens (meat and eggs), and others.

Cattle are considered the most significant domestication. In addition to providing meat, milk, and hides, they were also valuable as beasts of burden. They pulled wagons, greatly improving land transport. They pulled ploughs, greatly improving agriculture. The existence of domesticated cattle is thought to have been primarily responsible for the doubling of population in the Near East between 4000 and 5000 BC.

The process of domestication must have been to obtain young animals, raise them in captivity over enough generations so that they grew less wild and more tolerant of being managed. It is unclear why some animals could be domesticated but not others. Why the cow but not the buffalo? Predators would be unlikely choices for domestication, but the wolf was a predator and so was the cat, which was domesticated much later.

Domestication of animals brought many important advantages. They were dependable sources of meat. Cattle and goats converted grass, of little use to humans, into milk and milk products like cheese. Vast grasslands that could previously support only a few hunters could now support much larger populations of herders. Sheep and vicuñas produced wool each year. Animals could graze on broken lands of little use for farming.

Horses, oxen, llamas, and other animals provided power for pulling, ploughing, and carrying. Military uses were eventually found for onagers, asses, and horses, and to some extent, elephants, although elephants are not considered domesticated. The horse was domesticated first in the north Asian steppes and its use spread from there, probably in the wake of Asian migrations to the south and west. Paleontologists believe the horse evolved in the Americas actually, but went extinct there, perhaps due to hunting pressure.

Mounted Asian barbarians are thought to have overrun the first towns rising in Asia Minor and the Middle East around 6000 BC. The people that were overrun may not have seen a domestic horse previously, much less one on which a warrior could ride.

And speaking of the first towns...

Birth of Cities

People have always lived in groups; all the way back to primitive fish struggling in the ocean, all our ancestors have lived in some form of community. However, it isn't until around 6000 BC that humans began to settle down in clustered permanent structures to till the land more efficiently; the first cities.

The earliest towns were founded in places where several of many different factors came together to create a favorable spot. Many towns had rivers that ran through or nearby them, providing them a place to gather drinking water from and dump their waste; most had naturally rich soil, promoting intensive farming and allowing a surplus of goods to support non-farmers; some had flat pastures, good for raising a wide variety of animals; a few had valuable resources in the earth nearby, such as valuable metal ores (especially copper, for the first cities), gems, or some other valuable material; and several were conveniently located between other towns, serving as a welcome stop for trade caravans and growing rich off of the cash they spent.

title: Conhistory/Agricultural Revolution


text:
Introduction to Psychology/Sensation and Perception

Sensation and perception are related but different concepts. Sensation is the input about the physical world that is produced by our sensory receptors. Perception is the process by which the mind selects, organizes, and interprets sensations. Our eyes see, our ears hear, our hands touch--or do they? Without interpretation, there is no point to sensation.

How many senses are there?
If you asked the person on the street how many senses there were, it is almost certain that you would hear "Five: sight, hear, taste, smell, and touch." This is the classical concept of human senses. However, researchers have identified two more:
 * Kinesthesia, which is the sense of position of the parts of the body
 * Vestibular senses, which detect gravity, linear acceleration, rotary acceleration, and overall provide balance

Taste and smell are related, and both use receptors located in the mouth and other tissues that line other cavities.

The sense of touch is actually a group of subsenses, which could be better-called the somatic senses (somatic means "body"). These subsenses include:
 * Mechanoreception, which is the perception of pressure or vibration on the skin
 * Thermoreception, which is the perception of heat
 * Nociception, which is the perception of pain.

Sensory receptors
Sensory receptors are cells that are specialized for the task of transduction, or converting physical energy into neural impulses. There are many different types of sensory receptors, such as:
 * Rods and cones in the retina, which transduce light.
 * Cilla in the ear, which transduce sound
 * Pressure, vibration, heat, and pain receptors in the skin
 * Chemical receptors in the nasal cavities and mouth
 * Muscle spindles

Gestalt Effect
People have a tendency to see information and sensory images in tiny pieces. As pieces are sensed they form a larger pattern or picture.

Back to Table of Contents << Previous chapter||Next chapter >>


text:
Wikijunior:Solar System/Saturn/Tethys

Tethys is a moon of Saturn.

How big is Tethys?
Tethys is about 1060 km wide.

What is its surface like?
The surface of Tethys has many craters, as well as faults caused by cracks on its icy surface.

There are two types of terrain on the surface. One is made of heavily cratered regions, and the other is made of a dark coloured, lightly cratered belt that extends across the surface of the moon. The light cratering of the region indicates that Tethys was once internally active, causing older terrain to resurface. The cause of the terrain's dark colour is unknown, but recent images of Ganymede and Callisto from the orbiter Galileo suggest that Tethys' surface might have been formed in a similar manner as these two moons, consisting of hazy polar caps of unresolved bright ice patches with a darker zone in between.

The largest crater on Tethys is called Odysseus. It is over 400 km wide, almost 2/5 of Tethys' surface! It is quite flat, due to the movement of Tethys' icy crust.

Another interesting feature of Tethys' surface is the Ithaca Chasma. It measures 100 km wide and 3 to 5 km deep. It runs 2000 km long, about 3/4 of the way around Tethys' circumference. Thwre are two theories as to how it formed. The first is that as Tethys' internal water solidified, the moon expanded and the surface cracked to accommodate the extra volume. The other theory is that as impact that created the crater Odysseus caused shockwaves that travelled through Tethys and cracked the ice on the other side.

How long is a day on Tethys?
One day on Tethys is equal to 1.89 Earth days, or just over 1 day and 21 hours. It takes the same amount of time to finish a single orbit around Saturn. This means that the same side of the moon is always facing toward Saturn

What is it made of?
Thethys is almost completely made of water-ice.

Who is it named after?
After they were discovered, Tethys, Dione, Rhea and Iapetus were named Sidera Lodoicea ("the stars of Louis") to honour king Louis XIV. Astromomeers used to call them and Titan as Saturn I through Saturn V. (Tethys being Saturn III). Once Mimas and Enceladus were discovered, in 1789, the numbering scheme was extended to Saturn VII.

The name Tethys was suggested by John Herschel, son of astromomer William Herschel. In 1847, he published Results of Astronomical Observations made at the Cape of Good Hope, in which he suggested the names the names of the Titans, sisters and brothers of Cronos (the Greek Saturn), be used.

In Greek mythology, Tethys was a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus. She was mother of the main rivers of the universe, such as the Nile, the Alpheus, the Maeander, and about three thousand daughters called the Oceanids.

How was it discovered?
Tethys was discovered by Giovanni Cassini on March 21, 1684.

Wikijunior Sonnensystem/ Saturn/ Tethys

title: Wikijunior:Solar System/Saturn/Tethys


text:
Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Harry Potter

Overview
Harry James Potter is the primary character in the book series by J.K. Rowling. His father, James, was the only child born to a pure-blood wizard family, while his mother, Lily, was a muggle-born witch, meaning both her parents were non-magical. That makes Harry a half-blood wizard according to the tenets of "blood purity", which holds those born of Muggles to be the same as Muggles themselves, no matter their magical ability. When Harry was one year and three months old, the evil Lord Voldemort murdered his parents. When Voldemort cast a deadly curse at baby Harry, it rebounded, ripping Voldemort's soul from his body while leaving the infant unharmed except for a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

Harry spent the next ten years living with his neglectful relatives, the Dursleys. On his eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at the magical Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, delivered a letter of invitation to attend the school. Now Harry spends most of the year at Hogwarts with his two best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Each summer he returns to the Dursleys', an enforced confinement he must endure until he becomes of age at 17-years-old.

Harry's birthday, according to the author, is July 31, with internal evidence giving the year as 1980. This makes him almost a year younger than Hermione, and five months younger than Ron.

Harry's wand is holly with a Phoenix feather core. Holly is believed to repel evil and represents protection, joy, happiness, masculinity, and overcoming anger. The word holly is derived from "holy". A Phoenix is a mythical bird that continually dies by bursting into flames and is then reborn from its own ashes, an act symbolizing resurrection and purity.

Harry's wand is considered a "brother" to Voldemort's wand. Though they are made from different woods, the Phoenix feather in each came from Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's animal familiar.

Holly is also part of the Celtic Tree Calendar. Harry's birthday falls within its July 8 - August 4 period, represented by that wood.

Etymology
The etymology of the character's name is:
 * Harry: A diminutive of both Henry and Harold, meaning one who has power, a leader or ruler.
 * Potter: A trade/craft name, one who makes earthen vessels.

Role in the Books
Note: Harry Potter is the viewpoint character in this series, and thus takes part in nearly all events. Summarizing his role in the books here would, perforce, repeat the book summaries. For a brief overview of Harry's role in the series, it is best to begin here, then proceed to the individual book summaries. The sections below will quickly outline his role.

Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter's parents have just been murdered by Lord Voldemort, and the one-year-old orphan is delivered to his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, by three wizards, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Rubeus Hagrid. All three perform magic: Dumbledore quietly extinguishes the streetlamps, McGonagall transforms herself from a cat into a human, and half-giant Hagrid arrives with baby Harry on a flying motorcycle.

Ten years later, we again meet Harry and the Dursleys on cousin Dudley's 11th birthday. Harry's care has been abusive. He is relegated to the cupboard under the stairs whereas Dudley has been given two bedrooms. Odd things seem to happen around Harry, for which he is often punished, even when he is unable to control it. Harry, though cruelly oppressed, has adapted fairly well to his circumstances. When an owl delivers a letter to Harry, Uncle Vernon forbids him to open it. Soon, hundreds more begin arriving, creating panic in the household. Hagrid appears on Harry's 11th birthday to hand-deliver his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry—Harry is a wizard.

Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, the wizard commerce center hidden within central London, to get school supplies and a wand. For his birthday, Hagrid buys Harry a snowy owl that he names Hedwig. She becomes his constant companion throughout the series. Harry also learns he is famous. The evil wizard, Lord Voldemort, murdered Harry's parents, though he supposedly was killed when his lethal curse rebounded off baby Harry, leaving a lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead. Ever since, Harry, the only person known to survive this curse, has been heralded as, "The Boy Who Lived."

At King's Cross Station, Harry is left to find his own way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters and the Hogwarts Express, the train that transports students to the school. There, Harry meets the Weasleys, a wizarding family, who show him the secret to reaching the platform. Ron Weasley, also 11, becomes Harry's first true friend. On the train, Hermione Granger, a smart but rather bossy first-year girl, introduces herself. Harry and Ron initially dislike her, but they eventually become her close friends.

Harry's first year at Hogwarts is eventful. The Sorting Hat wants to place him in Slytherin House, but Harry rejects this. As a result, the Hat places him in Gryffindor, the same House Ron and Hermione are sorted into. A natural flyer, Harry is recruited for Gryffindor's Quidditch team, the youngest Seeker in over a century. At Hogwarts, Harry is guided by the kindly Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster, as well as the stern, but fair, Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration instructor and Head of Gryffindor House, and the gentle half-giant, Hagrid. Not everyone supports Harry, however. Potions Master Severus Snape instantly dislikes him, and Harry quickly becomes enemies with Draco Malfoy, a first-year Slytherin student, after Draco denigrates Muggle-borns such as Hermione, and insults the Weasleys. The Malfoys consider them inferior, even though they are a pure-blooded wizard family.

While the first book mainly introduces the magical world and its characters, a real quest soon unfolds. Harry suspects that Professor Snape is seeking the Philosopher's Stone (known as the Sorceror's Stone in the U.S. editions), a powerful magical object being guarded at Hogwarts. Using the Stone and Dark Magic, Lord Voldemort could possibly resurrect his body. Though Harry believes Snape is Voldemort's accomplice, it is actually Professor Quirrell. With Ron and Hermione's help, Harry foils Quirrell's plan to steal the Stone for Voldemort.

Chamber of Secrets
Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid promised to write Harry, but when no letters have arrived by mid-summer, Harry's hopes for their lasting friendships appear dashed. One night, Harry is astounded to find a House-elf named Dobby in his bedroom. Dobby warns that it is unsafe for Harry to return to Hogwarts, and admits that he intercepted Harry's letters to trick him into believing his friends no longer cared about him. After Dobby creates a disturbance, Uncle Vernon locks Harry in his bedroom and bars the window. Ron and the Twins arrive in a flying Ford Anglia and rescue him from the Dursleys. Harry happily spends the remaining summer at The Burrow, the Weasleys' home. While shopping in Diagon Alley with the Weasleys and Hermione, Harry sees Draco Malfoy and his father, Lucius Malfoy, at a Dark magic shop, behaving suspiciously.

At the Hogwarts Welcoming Feast, Dumbledore introduces Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Unusual events soon start happening, and Harry begins hearing a strange, disembodied voice. A mysterious bloody message reading, "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware," appears on a wall, and Argus Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris is found petrified, though still alive. Endless speculation about the Chamber of Secrets and who the Heir might be abounds after Professor Binns explains that the Chamber was supposedly created beneath Hogwarts by Salazar Slytherin over a thousand years before. Though never found, the Chamber is rumored to house a monster. Suspicion grows that Harry is the Heir, though Harry suspects Draco Malfoy. But as evidence grows against Harry, even he wonders if he is Slytherin's descendant. Tension mounts when students, including Hermione, are Petrified, causing Dumbledore to declare the school is no longer safe.

Harry and Ron find an old diary once belonging to Tom Riddle. Though the pages are apparently blank, Harry discovers he can communicate with Riddle's memory stored within the diary. Riddle shows Harry that the Chamber was opened fifty years before, and a student was killed. Hagrid, then a student, was implicated in releasing the monster. Shortly after, Harry's room is ransacked, and the diary is stolen.

A torn-out book page clutched in Hermione's petrified hand suggests the monster is a Basilisk, an enormous snake using the plumbing to move throughout the castle. When Ginny Weasley is taken into the Chamber, Gilderoy Lockhart is sent to rescue her, however, Lockhart's magical abilities and legendary exploits are a sham. Thwarting his escape attempt, Harry and Ron force him to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom where the Chamber of Secrets' entrance is located; once below, Harry becomes separated from the others and finds Ginny, barely alive in the Chamber. Tom Riddle, who is actually Lord Voldemort, is stealing Ginny's life force to reanimate himself. Releasing the giant Basilisk, he orders it to kill Harry, but Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix, appears, bearing the Sorting Hat, then blinds the Basilisk. Harry kills the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor, which has appeared in the Sorting Hat, and stabs the diary with one of the Basilisk’s fangs, destroying Riddle's memory and reviving Ginny. Hermione and the other petrified students are cured by Professor Sprout. Harry tricks Dobby's master, Lucius Malfoy, thus freeing the House-elf. Harry suspects it was Lucius who slipped the Diary into Ginny's cauldron while in Diagon Alley, though he lacks proof.

Prisoner of Azkaban
The story unfolds amid a much darker mood as Harry endures yet another dreary summer at the Dursleys. This time he must also suffer Aunt Marge, Uncle Vernon's visiting sister, who berates and belittles Harry. The Dursleys neither support or object to her behavior, and it appears they are beginning to fear Harry as he grows older. After Marge makes a few particularly nasty insults about his parents, Harry reacts angrily, inadvertently causing Marge to inflate and float into the air. Harry runs away, catching the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, though he first spies an ominous-looking black dog lurking in the shadows.

The Ministry of Magic intervenes, deflating Aunt Marge and modifying her memory (so she never remembered the incident), while Harry is allowed to remain at the Leaky Cauldron until the next school year starts. He is soon joined by the Weasley family and Hermione, who buys a rather strange cat that she names, Crookshanks. It continually attacks Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, infuriating Ron.

Harry overhears Mr. and Mrs. Weasley discussing Sirius Black, who escaped Azkaban prison with the seeming purpose to murder Harry Potter. Although Mr. Weasley asks Harry not to go looking for Sirius Black, Harry, though confused, is generally unperturbed by these dark events. While en route to Hogwarts, Harry has an unexpected close encounter with a Dementor, an eerie Azkaban guard that is hunting Black, causing him to hear a woman screaming before he faints. Remus Lupin, who is riding in Harry's compartment, casts an unknown spell that repels the creature.

At the Hogwarts Welcome Feast, Professor Dumbledore introduces Lupin as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. He also warns students to avoid the dangerous Dementors that are patrolling Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village while Black is at large. Hermione, meanwhile, appears to be taking every possible class, even those taught simultaneously, and continually disappears and reappears throughout the day.

After Sirius Black somehow breaks into the castle, Harry learns more about his parents' past and the circumstances surrounding their demise. Twelve years ago, Black, who was James and Lily Potter's best friend, betrayed them to Voldemort and murdered Peter Pettigrew, another friend. Harry is shocked that Black is his godfather; Harry vows revenge, but during a confrontation with Black and Lupin inside the Shrieking Shack, Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, is exposed as the supposedly-dead Pettigrew. Both Pettigrew and Black are illegal Animagi, as was James Potter; Lupin is a werewolf. All four were best friends while at Hogwarts, but it was Pettigrew, not Black, who revealed the Potters' secret location to Lord Voldemort, who then murdered them and attacked Harry. To escape, Pettigrew faked his own death by killing twelve Muggles, framing Sirius Black for the crime. Black, upon learning that Pettigrew was still alive and disguised as Scabbers, escaped Azkaban to kill Pettigrew for revenge.

After learning the truth, Harry bonds with his new-found godfather and is ecstatic he can leave the Dursleys for good. But Pettigrew, and the truth, quickly slip free, while Sirius is captured by Dementors intending to immediately suck out his soul. Hermione, who has been using a Time Turner to attend multiple classes all year, returns herself and Harry three hours into the past. Retracing their steps, they free Sirius Black, but he becomes a hunted fugitive once again. Harry, sadly, must remain with the Dursleys. Harry's one bright spot: Sirius, as Harry's legal guardian, sends a letter granting Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade Village.

Goblet of Fire
While Harry is attending the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys and Hermione, hooded figures believed to be Death Eaters rampage through the campground, terrorizing Muggle-born wizards. Voldemort's sign, a skull and snake, hovers in the night sky, though the Ministry of Magic discounts his return.

Returning to Hogwarts, Harry is mysteriously chosen as the fourth Champion in the Triwizard Tournament, an inter-school competition, even though he is underage and never entered his name into the Goblet of Fire. In addition to being forced to compete in the grueling contest, Harry is scorned by his fellow students, who believe he cheated to enter, and also Ron, who thinks Harry is vying for attention. Among his peers, only Hermione believes he never entered his own name, and she coaches him for each event. After Harry is nearly killed by a dragon in the First Task, Ron realizes Harry would not have cheated to enter such a dangerous contest, and the two reconcile. Meanwhile, it is becoming apparent that there may be a plot against Harry.

Harry soon faces an even more difficult challenge—romance. When he develops a crush on Cho Chang, a pretty Ravenclaw student, he awkwardly invites her to the Yule Ball, only to learn she is already dating Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts Tournament champion. Harry must cope with his jealousy and disappointment over Cho while struggling with resentment and animosity toward Diggory, even though he knows Cedric is fair and honest. Though competitors, the two boys gradually develop a mutual admiration, and they support and help each other during the Tournament.

During the final challenge, Harry and Diggory are unexpectedly transported to a graveyard where Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) instantly murders Cedric. Harry is bound, then forced to witness Lord Voldemort's rebirth in a gruesome ritual using a trace of Harry's blood that nullifies the protective Charm that has safeguarded him from Voldemort. The resurrected Dark Lord engages Harry in a deadly wizards' duel, but the shades of his dead parents, Cedric, Bertha Jorkins and muggle Frank Bryce come to Harry’s aid after being ejected from Voldemort's wand, an effect of their wands being brothers (ie. both wands contain a feather from the same phoenix), allowing him to escape to Hogwarts with Cedric's body and announce Voldemort's return. Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody, this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, nearly murders Harry, but he is saved by Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall. "Moody" is unmasked as Barty Crouch, Jr., the Dark Lord's faithful servant, who, using Polyjuice Potion, disguised himself as "Mad Eye," then rigged the Tournament to transport Harry to the cemetery. The real Alastor Moody is rescued from a trunk containing a secret compartment. Meanwhile, the Dementors suck out Barty Crouch's soul, making it impossible to verify Harry's story.

Order of the Phoenix
The darkest year yet that Harry has endured in the magical world. After Dementors attack him and cousin Dudley near the Dursleys' home, Harry is secretly escorted to 12 Grimmauld Place, the new headquarters for the revived "Order of the Phoenix," an underground resistance movement against Voldemort. An angry Harry is given little information about Voldemort or the Order's plans, causing him to frequently lash out at Ron and Hermione, though they actually know little more than he does. He also has difficulty remaining quiet about the Dark Lord's return, while the Ministry of Magic not only attempts to convict Harry for underage magic but is also waging a smear campaign against him and Dumbledore, refuting their claims that Voldemort has returned. Consequently, many in the wizarding community doubt Voldemort's resurrection.

Ministry of Magic official and spy, Dolores Umbridge, is personally appointed by Cornelius Fudge as Hogwarts' new Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, and later High Inquisitor. Umbridge prohibits students from learning defensive spells and works overtime to prevent Hogwarts and the magical world from believing that Voldemort has returned. Students grow rebellious under her ever-growing repressive rule, and Harry forms a secret group called Dumbledore's Army (D.A.) to teach real defensive magic. He also embarks on a romance with Cho Chang, but their differing personalities and her lingering anguish over Cedric Diggory's death soon doom their relationship. After the D.A. is uncovered, Dumbledore is ousted, and Umbridge assumes full command. The Weasley Twins launch a revolt, causing non-stop mayhem throughout the castle, before spectacularly departing Hogwarts for good on their broomsticks. The teachers do little, if anything, to help Umbridge restore order, who is finally tricked by Hermione and carried off by angry centaurs.

Through an unknown telepathic connection, Voldemort, seeking a prophecy about him and Harry that is stored inside the Ministry of Magic, lures Harry into a trap. In a climactic battle, Harry watches in horror as Bellatrix Lestrange murders his godfather, Sirius Black; Harry confronts Voldemort once again, and, this time, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge arrives in time to see the Dark Lord before he escapes. Fudge is now forced to publicly acknowledge Voldemort's return. Dumbledore reinstated as headmaster, reveals more to Harry about Harry and Voldemort's connection.

Half-Blood Prince
Harry's dashed hope to become an Auror is revived when Horace Slughorn joins Hogwarts as the new Potions master. Harry's O.W.L. grades were too low for Professor Snape's advanced Potions class, a required step to becoming an Auror, but Slughorn accepts students with lower scores. Meanwhile, Snape has assumed the Defence Against the Dark Arts post. Harry seemingly excels in potions under Slughorn's tutelage, but he is actually aided by an old textbook belonging to a gifted former student known only as "The Half-Blood Prince". Meanwhile, as Voldemort's Death Eaters create mayhem in both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, Harry learns his place in the war against the Dark Lord. Convinced that Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater, Harry suspects he is involved in some sinister plot, though he is unable to prove anything, and Dumbledore appears unconcerned. Ron and Hermione also discount Harry's suspicions, further frustrating him. Unknown to Harry, however, Snape has made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, to aid Draco in a secret task for the Dark Lord.

Harry and Dumbledore begin uncovering Voldemort's past by viewing gathered memories stored in a Pensieve. It is only after Professor Slughorn reluctantly yields a hidden memory that Dumbledore determines Voldemort has sheared off six pieces of his soul to make Horcruxes, storing them in various common-place objects, including ones once belonging to the Hogwarts founders. Two Horcruxes (Tom Riddle's diary and a Gaunt family ring) have already been destroyed, and Harry and Dumbledore potentially find a third, Slytherin's locket, hidden in a secret sea cave, though it is a fake. At the conclusion, Harry, the Order of the Phoenix, and Dumbledore's Army battles Voldemort's Death Eaters inside Hogwarts castle. Harry suffers a terrible loss when Dumbledore is killed by Severus Snape, who reveals to Harry that he is the Half-Blood Prince before escaping with Draco in tow. Vowing to find and destroy Voldemort and his remaining Horcruxes and to avenge Dumbledore's murder, Harry announces he is leaving Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione pledge to accompany him on his quest. Harry ends his and Ginny Weasley's newly-formed relationship, fearing Voldemort will target anyone close to him.

Deathly Hallows
Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts to embark on Professor Albus Dumbledore's mission to hunt and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Although Harry was entrusted with a dangerous and seemingly-impossible task, Dumbledore left only a few cryptic clues to aid his quest. He also bequeathed the Trio some unusual objects: a Quidditch Snitch and the Sword of Gryffindor for Harry; to Ron, a Deluminator; and Hermione receives a children's book titled, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" containing a mysterious, hand-drawn symbol next to a story about three brothers. The Ministry of Magic withholds Gryffindor's Sword, claiming it was never Dumbledore's. Realizing the Sword may be able to destroy Horcruxes, the Trio must find it. Though Ginny Weasley tells Harry she still loves him and will wait, Harry, believing his mission could take years, hopes she will find someone else.

As Voldemort's power and domination grows, Harry races to find the Horcruxes, but his loyalty to the late Headmaster falters after he uncovers dark secrets hidden within Dumbledore's past—he is not the man Harry believed him to be. The Trio's mission is also potentially jeopardized when Harry becomes fixated on finding the Deathly Hallows, three unique magical artifacts mentioned in Hermione's book. They discover that the Hallows emblem was also adopted by the Dark wizard, Grindelwald who Dumbledore defeated in a duel many years before. Each Hallow's existence is plausible: the Invisibility Cloak could be Harry's, while the Elder Wand may be the same one Dumbledore captured from Grindelwald. Only the Resurrection Stone seems dubious to Hermione, though Harry hopes it could resurrect his dead parents. Voldemort, meanwhile, seeks the Elder Wand, certain it is an invincible weapon.

Physically burdened by the difficult quest and plagued by growing doubts, Harry's resolve is further tested after Ron, frustrated with the mission's harsh realities, angrily departs. Hermione, devastated by Ron's desertion but loyal to Harry, remains, however. As Harry's faith in Dumbledore diminishes further, Hermione helps him to look beyond Albus' earlier transgressions and see only the good man he became through his deliberate choices and actions. Ron rejoins the group in time to save Harry's life and find the Sword of Gryffindor, destroy the Locket Horcrux with it.

Harry also seeks revenge against his hated nemesis, Severus Snape, though Snape, like Dumbledore, is also something other than he appeared to be. Even though Dumbledore is dead, and Harry now questions what Albus' true motives were, an unknown person or persons appears to be guiding the trio. Now Harry must decide whether he can place his trust into blind faith.

Voldemort's horcruxes are eventually found and destroyed, but a climatic battle at Hogwarts between the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix and their allies culminates in a final confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort. Because of Harry's blood protection and his being the master of the Elder Wand, he survives and kills Voldemort. The Wizarding World returns to peace.

Later life
In a post on her web site, the author has said that at the end of the Second Wizarding War, Harry became an Auror at the Ministry of Magic. In 2007, Harry became the youngest head of the Auror Office at the age of 27. He also married Ginny Weasley and had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna.

Strengths
"You are talented, famous and powerful – everything Horace values. Professor Slughorn is going to try to collect you, Harry. You would be his crowning jewel." — Professor Dumbledore to Harry Potter

Harry is a very clever and powerful wizard. He is most talented in Defence Against the Dark Arts and was one of only twelve students able to advance to N.E.W.T.-level Potions in his sixth-year class. In his third year, he was also able to cast a corporeal Patronus: a very advanced piece of magic many adult witches and wizards can't perform. Aside from his strong magical skills, Harry is extremely noble and brave, and will do almost anything to protect his friends. Throughout the series he is put into many stressful and dangerous situations, usually keeping a clear head throughout. He is very resilient, remaining strong despite having gone through a tremendous amount of suffering. He is prone to react emotionally in certain situations, and, as a result, often acts impulsively. However, he will listen to his friends' more logical and calm advice, particularly Ron and Hermione's, though sometimes reluctantly. Harry has a strong sense of good and evil, and he stands up for what he believes is right. Despite his difficult upbringing and the many hardships he has endured, Harry is remarkably compassionate and good-natured. He is loyal to his friends, and will do practically anything to protect or help them, just as they do for him.

“I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased.” —Professor McGonagall talking about Harry’s Transfiguration O.W.L

Although Harry is a true Gryffindor, a house known for bravery and nobility, he shares many traits common to Slytherin and unrelated to Voldemort's soul shard within him. These include cleverness, resourcefulness, determination, and a disregard for rules. This is almost certainly part of why the Sorting Hat considered placing him in Slytherin, though it was Harry's desire to be sorted into some other House that resulted in the Hat choosing Gryffindor. A commonly discussed strength, particularly by Albus Dumbledore, is Harry's ability to love, as well as his extremely pure heart.

"Listen to me, Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue; resourcefulness; determination; a certain disregard for the rules [...]" — Professor Dumbledore to Harry Potter

Harry excels at flying, either on a broomstick or astride magical airborne creatures such as Hippogriffs and Thestrals. This skill translates into a talent for Quidditch, making him the youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a century. During the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, his flying ability is compared favourably to Viktor Krum, then considered the world's best Seeker. In his sixth year, Harry becomes Gryffindor's Quidditch captain.

Weaknesses
Harry is known to "wear his heart on his sleeve." On many occasions he is unable to hide or control his emotions, especially anger and rage. Among other factors, this makes it difficult for him to master occlumency. He tends to tackle most situations and problems alone, often rushing in a linear, head-on manner before considering all options and finalizing a strategy. He sometimes finds it difficult to trust others; he generally confides solely to his best friends. His designation as, "The Boy Who Lived," and later, "The Chosen One," makes him feel pressured and unable to live up to the expectations of the Wizarding World. His desire to prove himself may have helped create a need to be the hero. This trait has caused him to behave somewhat foolishly, as he did in the Triwizard Tournament's second task (in Goblet of Fire) when he "rescued" the underwater hostages, despite them never being in any danger. This tendency takes a more deadly turn when Voldemort exploits Harry's predictable nature to lure him into an ambush, resulting in Sirius Black's death.

Though an intelligent and powerful wizard-in-training, Harry can be academically lazy, usually receiving slightly above average marks in his studies, although he did study reasonably hard for his OWLs and received good results. He achieved "Exceeds Expectations" in most subjects in which he shows aptitude in, and advanced to NEWT-level in most. One exception is Defence Against the Dark Arts, in which he achieved an "Outstanding," surpassing even Hermione, which stands as a testament to his extraordinary talent in defensive magic. His Potions ability is apparently better than it appears, as he is able to achieve an "Exceeds Expectations" grade on his OWL exam; in his sixth year he improves greatly, after finding an old potions textbook in which a talented former student (later revealed to be Severus Snape) has revised many potion-making techniques, and also invented many jinxes and spells.

Harry is noted to have low self-confidence, especially in the first book, where he expresses serious doubt that he could possibly be a wizard. He also worries that he wouldn't fit in, being the "worst in his class." This lack of self-confidence does reappear, though to a lesser extent, in each successive book, most notably in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he's worried that he's not worthy to be in Gryffindor, and in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when he resists Hermione and Ron's suggestion that he teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, believing he is unqualified. Harry also struggles with a guilt complex; he often blames himself for things out of his control. For instance, he blames himself for endangering his friends, allowing Pettigrew to escape, and both Cedric's and Sirius's deaths.

While dating Ginny Weasley, Harry fell deeply in love with her, creating her as his "greatest weakness", as Harry would protect her at the cost of his own life or quest. But by the same token, Ginny could be considered his "greatest strength" as he was fighting for her against Voldemort.

Relationships with Other Characters
Orphaned as an infant, Harry lacks a true family. The Dursleys, his only blood relations, disdain him, treating him so cruelly that Harry could be expected to cut off contact with them once he is of age. Cousin Dudley does show some remorse over how he bullied Harry and wishes him well when they part company, presumably for the last time, in the final book of the series. Rather than family, Harry instead develops close relationships with his Hogwarts school friends, most importantly, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and later, Ginny Weasley, as well as the entire Weasley clan.

Family
Dudley Dursley

Ever since infancy, Harry and Dudley have disliked each other. Dudley commonly bullies Harry and is very shocked when his overlooked cousin turns out to be a wizard. Harry threatens Dudley with his new abilities after the first year of Hogwarts is over, despite being forbidden to actually use magic outside of the school. While he never consciously carries through on any threat to use magic, awareness of Harry's having the ability to perform magic causes Dudley to treat Harry with some reserve. As Harry's power, and thus his self confidence, increases, Dudley's physical fitness and characteristic bullying behavior also increase, and they remain fairly evenly matched so long as Harry remains unable to use magic. The appearance of the Dementors in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is something of a watershed moment for the relationship, as Dudley seems to recognize that Harry is able to protect him when his muscles are useless. This is further reinforced by Dumbledore's visit in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Dumbledore points out how the Dursleys have mistreated their own son. Events at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows lead us to understand that Dudley has been trying to resolve matters, but Harry's suspicion of Dudley's motive prevents Harry, and the reader, from recognizing that until immediately before Dudley's final departure from the story.

Petunia and Vernon Dursley Father and mother of Dudley Dursley, and Harry's technical last-living relatives (Not counting Sirius Black).

James and Lily Potter

Harry's parents, James and Lily, who are long-dead, still play an important role in his development as he learns much about them from their close friends and allies. Harry loves his father, but his idolized image of the man he never knew becomes blemished after he unintentionally observes Snape's memories in a Pensieve that shows James' youthful behavior as being less than exemplary, and so unlike Harry's at the same age. Though deeply disappointed, Harry, with others' help, eventually is able to overcome his tarnished impressions about his father, seeing only the good man James chose to become. Though Harry has mostly identified with his father, he comes to understand his mother's influence on him as well, and that his own nature is much more akin to Lily's than to James. Harry has several brief encounters with James and Lily's spirits, who not only protect him (in Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows), but also express how much they love and admire their son.

The Trio
Ron Weasley Harry and Ron become best friends after meeting aboard the Hogwarts Express during their first year. Harry becomes so close to Ron and the other Weasleys that he is practically adopted into the family. Molly Weasley comes to love him as a son. Ron often educates the Muggle-raised Harry about the wizard world, while Harry shares much about Muggle life. Harry, unfazed by his own celebrity, notes that it occasionally makes Ron jealous, straining their relationship. Harry's wealth is a stark contrast to Ron's poverty, and this also creates conflict, for Ron at least, who envies Harry's ability to afford anything, though Harry rarely desires material goods and would gladly trade his fortune to be reunited with his parents. During their mission to hunt Voldemort's Horcruxes, Ron becomes frustrated and angry with Harry's seeming indecisiveness, as well as the difficulties of the quest. As a result, he briefly leaves the group. He returns in time to save Harry, and never again deserts his friend. Their bond is permanently and formally cemented when Harry marries Ginny Weasley, making Ron his brother-in-law.

Hermione Granger

Hermione not only becomes Harry's other closest friend, but she rounds out "the Trio", playing an integral part, along with Ron, in Harry's fight against Voldemort. Initially, she is unequal to Ron in Harry's eyes, and both Harry and Ron, upon meeting her, find her annoying and bossy. This quickly changes after she protects them from being wrongly punished, eventually earning her as crucial a role as Ron. Unlike him, however, her trust and faith in Harry never wavers. His faith in her, however, falters after Hermione, who usually turns a blind eye to his and Ron's irregular activities, reports to Professor McGonagall that Harry received an anonymous gift, an expensive racing broom, that could be cursed. Furious, Harry and Ron childishly shun her for months, deeply hurting Hermione, though the rift is eventually healed. In many ways, Hermione and Harry have more in common than Harry has with Ron, both coming from a Muggle background, though Hermione's upbringing has been loving and stable, unlike Harry's. Both she and Harry are an only-child, and this bonds them in ways unlike Harry's relationship with Ron, who has many siblings. Hermione becomes like the sister Harry never had, and vice versa. Hermione is about the only student in book 4 who believes Harry never cheated to enter the Triwizard Tournament, even though Ron initially thinks he did. She also understands Harry's nature better than just about anyone, including Ron, who is slower to mature than either her or Harry, and has far less insight into peoples' feelings. Both Harry and Hermione marry into the same family, further bonding their relationship.

Other Weasleys
Ginny Weasley

Later, Harry falls in love with Ginny Weasley, who the author describes as Harry's "ideal woman." Ginny had been in love with Harry for some time, though he always considered her as only a friend and Ron's kid sister. As she blossoms into a pretty young woman, Harry begins seeing her differently and becomes jealous when she has other relationships; he fears his chance with her has been lost forever. But Ginny had never stopped loving Harry, and they finally unite in book 6. But their new-found happiness quickly ends, when, to protect Ginny, Harry terminates their relationship as he embarks on Dumbledore's dangerous quest to defeat Lord Voldemort, a mission that could last years. Ginny is left heartbroken, and Harry imagines that she may eventually find someone else, though it was extremely unlikely Ginny would ever have even considered being with another man. After the Dark Lord's demise, Harry and Ginny are reunited, eventually marrying and having three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna.

Molly Weasley

Molly acts as Harry's surrogate mother through the saga, to a large extent taking him under her wing immediately upon his arrival at The Burrow in the second book. From there on, we see her doting on and loving him like her own son, much in contrast to Harry's aunt Petunia. She is fiercely protective, often overprotective of Harry, possibly trying to compensate for what she knows of Harry's nominal home life. One gets the impression that in Molly's eyes, Harry can do no wrong, unlike her own children, who she is quite often seen scolding; the most she does with Harry is a gentle remonstrance, as seen at the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix on Harry's arrival at Headquarters. She eventually becomes Harry's mother-in-law.

Teachers and other adults
Albus Dumbledore

Harry also maintains a close relationship with several adults, including Professor Albus Dumbledore, who is a kindly, though rather eccentric mentor during Harry's Hogwarts' years. Dumbledore, knowing that only Harry can defeat Voldemort, spends much time grooming him for his fateful encounter with the Dark Lord, though Dumbledore withholds crucial information, including that only Harry's death can destroy the Horcrux he unknowingly carries within him. Dumbledore realizes later, however, that by having utilized Harry's blood to resurrect his body, Voldemort has unwittingly provided Harry the protection he needs to survive. Dumbledore also recognized Harry's weaknesses and his need to "go it alone", and strongly encouraged him to always confide in Ron and Hermione and seek their advice. Harry is devastated by Dumbledore's tragic death in book 6, though he later comes to doubt Dumbledore's true intentions and his mission when unsavory incidents in Dumbledore's past are revealed. However, Harry's bitter disappointment in the late headmaster prevents him from seeing that, unlike Gellert Grindelwald, Dumbledore's youthful foray into magic's Darker side was little more than a brief flirtation filled with idle theories and never-applied beliefs that were ultimately rejected. As with his father, Harry finally understands that it was Dumbledore's deliberate choices in life that made him the great man he truly became.

Rubeus Hagrid

Hagrid is also important to Harry, and, like Sirius Black, he considers him as his true family. Though the gentle giant can be rather naive, unsophisticated, and sometimes lacks insight into other characters and their motives, he always helps guide Harry as he matures and will do anything to protect him. It is often Hagrid's opinion that most affects Harry. Hagrid remains a towering source of strength and protection for Harry throughout the series, and beyond.

Sirius Black

Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, also assumes an important mentor role and becomes his true family, though their short-lived relationship tragically ends when Bellatrix Lestrange murders Sirius in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius was a loving and caring godfather, but his long incarceration in Azkaban prison for a crime he never committed stunted his emotional development, making him a sometimes less-than-ideal guardian, treating Harry more as a replacement for his lost friend, James Potter, than as his ward. Hermione points out Sirius' rather reckless behavior to Harry, who, because he loves his godfather unconditionally, is blinded, initially, to Sirius' shortcomings. Harry eventually recognized these faults, but knows that his beloved godfather loved him in return and would have done anything to protect and provide for him; his death devastates Harry, leaving yet another huge void in his life.

Other Students
Cho Chang A romance blossoms between Harry and Cho Chang, a pretty Ravenclaw, though she is still grieving Cedric Diggory, who was murdered at the end of book 4. Her fragile emotions become more than Harry can understand or handle, however, and the doomed relationship cools quickly, though without lasting acrimony.

Hogwarts Friends

Harry also becomes good friends with his other fellow Gryffindor housemates Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom, who also become strong allies against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, though some may initially doubt him. Having lost their parents to Voldemort's reign of terror, Harry and Neville grow closer throughout the series. Luna Lovegood, a rather odd Ravenclaw girl, also becomes a friend and ally, risking her life to help Harry during the Battle at the Ministry in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry will come to regard her so highly, that he names his daughter, Lily Luna. Harry also is befriended by Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff student, a fellow Triwizard Tournament champion, and also his romantic rival after Harry develops a crush on Cho Chang. When students, including Ron, believe Harry cheated to enter the tournament, Cedric supports him. The two aid each other during the Tournament, but Cedric tragically dies when Voldemort orders Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) to murder him, as Harry helplessly watches. It is Cedric's murder that enables Harry to see Thestrals, magical creatures visible only to those who have witnessed death.

Antagonists
Draco Malfoy Not everyone at Hogwarts is Harry's friend, and many Slytherins despise him. Chief among them is Draco Malfoy, who becomes Harry's main Hogwarts nemesis. Draco's ever-present minions, Crabbe and Goyle, help him devise new ways to torment and undermine Harry. The Malfoy family are pure-blood wizards and loyal Lord Voldemort supporters, and Draco's and Harry's antagonistic relationship has partially been fueled by the elitist ideology droned into Draco since birth. Though Draco detests Harry and remains loyal to his own family, he never fully embraces his parents' evil, warped beliefs. His deliberate actions at Malfoy Manor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows protect Harry, who later twice saves Draco's life during the Battle at Hogwarts, even though Draco was apparently attempting to capture him. The two never become friends, instead maintaining a distant, respectful truce in their adult lives.

Severus Snape

Most Hogwarts teachers like Harry, but he endures an ongoing contentious relationship with Professor Severus Snape, Slytherin's House Head and Harry's potions instructor. Snape seemingly despises Harry for his fame, which often results in unfair treatment toward Harry, but Snape actually has a long-held and deep-seated grudge against Harry's father, James Potter, who was Snape's bitter antagonist, and, along with Sirius Black, bullied Snape during their Hogwarts school years. Harry's intense dislike for his potions master becomes full-fledged hate and rage when it appears Snape has murdered Dumbledore and re-joined Lord Voldemort at the end of book 6. Despite Snape's ongoing animosity toward Harry and his supposed treachery, he, unknown to Harry at the time, has always acted as Harry's protector, partly motivated by his deep love for Harry's late mother, Lily. Harry must eventually reconcile his antagonistic feelings for his belligerent potions master and secret ally, who, unknown to Harry at the time, is also the "Half-Blood Prince." Harry had come into possession of the Prince's old potions textbook that contained many revised formulas, as well as new spells, jinxes, and curses handwritten into the book's margins. Within a short period, Harry was inspired by the Prince to learn more about the subject than in all his previous years inside Snape's classroom. After learning the truth about Snape and what he did for him, Harry names his second child, Albus Severus, as a tribute to his fallen potions master, who, he later tells his son, was one of the bravest men he ever knew.

Lord Voldemort Without doubt, Lord Voldemort has been Harry's most formidable enemy. Voldemort, likewise, considered Harry his most dangerous foe, and became consumed with killing him. Even before Harry's birth, Voldemort feared him, believing in a prophecy foretelling that a boy, soon to be born, was destined to destroy him. When Voldemort made his first attempt to murder the infant, he forever bound himself to Harry by unintentionally attaching a small soul fragment to him, giving Harry similar abilities to Voldemort. This bond, again unintentionally, became even stronger after Voldemort used drops of Harry's blood to resurrect his own body.

Analysis
Harry's character is the classic literary protagonist known as the "epic hero". Other such heroes seen in mythology, fables, and legends include Hercules, Ulysses and Beowulf. The epic hero is typically mortal, but often is related or otherwise connected to gods or other divine immortal beings. In Harry's case, his parents were powerful wizards and he may be directly descended from the Peverells, an ancient wizard dynasty connected to the three Deathly Hallows (the Elder wand, a Resurrection Stone, and Harry's Invisibility Cloak). The hero typically possesses no extraordinary powers, but tends to be more talented, courageous, and resourceful than his peers. Traditionally, the hero is charged with a seemingly impossible quest or task that tests his endurance and moral fibre and that saves or benefits others, not himself. He must rely on his own courage, morality, intelligence, and strength to succeed. Though Harry has magical abilities, it does not set him apart from his contemporaries or his foes, who are also wizards. Harry must draw upon his superior bravery, strength, and cleverness, as well as seek help from others, to successfully accomplish Dumbledore's task to destroy Lord Voldemort and his remaining Horcruxes.

Because the books are mainly told from Harry's perspective, more is known about him than any other character. At best, Harry's treatment by the Dursleys was neglectful. Due to his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley's constant insults and taunts, Harry is somewhat shy, insecure, and has low self-esteem, though he survived the experience with overall good humour. While his parents overindulgence has turned Dudley into a cruel, egotistical bully, Harry's mistreatment seems to have had the opposite effect; he is inherently kind and compassionate to others and has a strong moral center. When Hagrid told Harry he was a wizard, he continually believed it must be a mistake.

Harry has always distrusted his fame and those who may gravitate to him solely to exploit it. He also shuns publicity, though later in the series he utilizes it, unwelcome as it is, to help achieve his objectives. Because Harry has suffered more traumatic events than most, he often feels misunderstood. Some Hogwarts students often ask him about his experiences, wanting to know exciting details, but Harry believes that most have little interest in the reasoning behind it. Throughout later books, Harry increasingly grows irritable, partially from a difficult puberty, but also from being publicly called a liar and constantly prodded for information about Lord Voldemort. Harry's fourth and fifth years at Hogwarts test his patience but also strengthen his bonds with Ron and Hermione, and also Headmaster Dumbledore.

It has been noted numerous times that while Harry bears a strong resemblance to his father, he has the almond shaped green eyes of his mother. The author has stated that this is an important fact; it helped to convince Professor Horace Slughorn to hand over a memory about Tom Riddle to Harry that Dumbledore needed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. There are indications in other sources that more is revealed about Harry's eyes in the later books. In fact, this particular physical resemblance to his mother plays an important role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Questions

 * 1) What kind of person does Harry consider a friend? An enemy? Give examples of each.
 * 2) Why did Harry request that the Sorting Hat not place him in Slytherin? Why did the Hat honor his request?
 * 3) Why didn't Harry ask the Sorting Hat to place him in Gryffindor? Why did the Hat choose Gryffindor for him?
 * 4) Considering Harry's family history, why would the Sorting Hat want to place him in Slytherin?
 * 5) Why did the Sorting Hat allow Harry to refuse Slytherin? Would other students be allowed to do the same?
 * 6) Does Harry understand Dumbledore's role in the Order of the Phoenix and the war against Lord Voldemort?
 * 7) How does Harry change after Lord Voldemort's return is verified and then announced to the Wizarding public?

Greater Picture
Since Lord Voldemort's return, Harry has been confused on where his life may be headed. Nearly everywhere he goes, some aspect of the Dark Lord and the raging wizard war greets him. Harry's life has been filled with much turmoil and tragic deaths, especially during his fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts. Harry has lost friends, mentors, and family, all amidst the ongoing war's confusion. In many cases, Harry is unsure what to do, where to go, or who he will lose next.

As his sixth year ends, Harry draws many conclusions regarding his future. He knows he must complete what was so innocently started with Lord Voldemort many years before and solve the many mysteries regarding the Dark Lord's power. Either he or Voldemort must defeat the other, just as the prophecy foretold. In Deathly Hallows, Harry is about to embark on a mission that is truly more important than his previous years' accomplishments. As his school years are about to end, if he even returns for his seventh year, Harry will hopefully be able to answer the question: how truly strong is, "The Boy Who Lived"?

According to the author, following Voldemort's defeat, Harry becomes an Auror at age 17 under Kingsley Shacklebolt. He later heads the Auror department in 2007. Note that if Harry did become an Auror in 1998, it must have been within three months of when Voldemort died; therefore, Harry can have had at most three months of school before entering specialized Auror training. Along with his other accomplishments, this may make Harry the first Auror in centuries to have been accepted without taking (and passing) NEWTs.

It could be argued that, despite his acting unofficially as an Auror during his seventh year, that career is one to which Harry is actually unsuited. It seems odd that, for no real reason (except, as Harry himself mentions, a flattering Death Eater in disguise, and the desire to spite Umbridge), Harry should choose to take up the plodding policeman's round of an Auror after Voldemort's defeat. The consistent story arc in the first six books would rather imply that Harry's life has actually been aimed at playing Quidditch professionally, for regional teams and for England. And in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix we see that Harry gets great joy out of teaching; once his professional sports life was done, perhaps a professorship at Hogwarts would round out his years, as they did Dumbledore's? The only thing arguing against this would be that Ginny, his wife, would also be playing professionally; odds are that they would have to face each other on the pitch, and one wonders how that would play out.

Similarities between Harry and Tom Riddle
When reading all seven books, one comes to notice Harry and Tom's similarities:

 * Both were "abandoned" at a very young age, too young to properly remember their parents.
 * Riddle, the future Lord Voldemort, never knew his mother. He did meet his father, but only sought him out for revenge, killing him. Harry only vaguely remembers both his parents, being too young when they were killed to remember anything more than vague images and fleeting feelings. However, he has been able to connect with them through objects once belonging to his father, such as the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map, his mother's letter, old photographs, and also his parents' friends. He will also meet their spirits.
 * Both were raised by Muggles. Riddle lived in a Muggle orphanage, while Harry lived with the Dursleys.
 * Both grew up believing untrue stories they were told about their parents. Riddle was told that his mother worked for a circus, Harry that his parents were unemployed drunks who died in a car crash.
 * Both boys wore second-hand clothes: Harry was given his repulsive cousin Dudley's enormous cast offs, and Tom wore tatty hand-me-downs supplied by the orphanage.
 * Both were friendless as children. Harry was kept isolated and denied a normal social life by his aunt and uncle, while Tom expressed his bitterness and loneliness by tormenting the other orphans, frightening them away.
 * Both are Parselmouths (wizards who have the ability to speak to snakes). This is less coincidental than it might seem, for Voldemort actually transferred this ability to Harry when attacking him.
 * The Sorting Hat almost placed Harry into Slytherin, though Harry asked to be placed in some other House.
 * Both boys had followers. Tom gathered them through fear, intimidation, and tenuous promises, while many students gravitated to Harry out of loyalty and a shared cause, but also curiosity and an attraction to his fame.
 * They also, as shown in Book One, have brother wands, each wand containing a tail feather from the same phoenix, that is later revealed to be Fawkes, Dumbledore's animal familiar.
 * Both boys were unaware they were wizards until about the age of eleven, even though each could make unusual things happen.
 * Both Harry and Tom were of great interest to Dumbledore, and both felt their first home was Hogwarts.
 * Both achieved greatness in the Defense Against the Dark Arts, however, each for different reasons.
 * Both were only-children.
 * Both are half-bloods, though that only matters to Tom Riddle. (Note that while both of Harry's parents were magical, Harry's mother was Muggle-born, which by the "pure-blood" definitions makes Harry still a half-blood.)
 * Both are rule breakers. Harry, of course, feels justified when he does things like leaving his dorm after hours, entering the Forbidden Forest, and eavesdropping on teachers because he believes it serves a greater purpose. Tom may have engaged in similar activities, but for darker and self-serving reasons, and without benefit of an Invisibility Cloak like Harry; while at school, Tom framed Hagrid for a girl's death, then went on to worse crimes.

There are also differences:

 * At his initial Sorting, Harry requested he not be placed in Slytherin. It is unlikely Tom Riddle would have made a similar request, even if he was unaware what his ancestry was.
 * Voldemort never has friends, only followers who fear him or hope to gain some reward or advantage. Harry makes many friends: his dorm mates, the Weasley family, and many teachers, especially Hagrid, Remus Lupin, and (the real) Mad-Eye Moody. They support Harry because they share a common belief.
 * Voldemort is driven by his fear of death. Harry ultimately embraces the possibility of death.
 * While both were nominally half-blood, Harry's mother, a witch, was Muggle-born, whereas Lord Voldemort's father was a Muggle, and incidentally, so was Snape's, which is why he called himself the Half-Blood Prince.
 * Harry cares about the people around him, even pitying Draco Malfoy by Book Six. Harry has the ability to love and be compassionate, making him more vulnerable to suffering pain, but also capable of experiencing deep friendship and loyalty that helps guide him to greatness. For Voldemort, love, fidelity, or compassion are unknown and unwelcome concepts.
 * Harry recognizes, and in fact states at one point, that he is not alone in his efforts, that he has had loads of help from others, especially Hermione and Ron. Voldemort's speech, in contrast, seems to be solidly littered with "I" and "myself"; he seems to be unable to admit that anything was done without his direct action, that if anything happened he was the sole driving force involved.