Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1)

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley - a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry - and anyone who reads about him - will find unforgettable.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers. A new faithful TV adaptation of the Harry Potter books is currently in production, and full-cast editions of the audiobooks are now out.

To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. She also collaborated on the writing of a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which was published as a script book.

Her other books for younger children include The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig, which were published in 2020 and 2021 respectively and have been global bestsellers.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.

J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honours for her writing. She also supports a number of humanitarian causes through her charitable trust, Volant and is the founder of the children's charity Lumos.

Image: © J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, is the first book in the *Harry Potter* series and introduces readers to a magical world hidden inside ordinary life. The story begins with Harry Potter, a lonely orphan who lives with his cruel relatives, the Dursleys. Harry’s parents died when he was a baby, and he has been raised by his aunt Petunia, uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley. The Dursleys dislike anything unusual and treat Harry as a burden. He sleeps in a cupboard under the stairs, wears Dudley’s old clothes, and is constantly blamed for things he cannot explain. Strange things sometimes happen around Harry, such as his hair growing back overnight or glass disappearing at a zoo, but he has no idea why.

Everything changes around Harry’s eleventh birthday. Letters begin arriving for him, but Uncle Vernon refuses to let him read them. More and more letters come, delivered in impossible ways, until the Dursleys flee to a hut on a small island to avoid them. At midnight on Harry’s birthday, a giant man named Rubeus Hagrid arrives and tells Harry the truth: he is a wizard. His parents, James and Lily Potter, were also magical, and they were murdered by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. When Voldemort tried to kill baby Harry, the curse mysteriously rebounded, destroying Voldemort’s power and leaving Harry with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. In the wizarding world, Harry is famous as “the boy who lived,” though he himself has grown up knowing nothing about it.

Hagrid takes Harry into the magical world for the first time. They visit Diagon Alley, a hidden street full of wizarding shops, where Harry buys his school supplies for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He gets robes, books, a wand, and an owl named Hedwig. He also discovers that his parents left him money in Gringotts, the wizard bank. For the first time in his life, Harry feels that he belongs somewhere. He is amazed by magic and overwhelmed by the attention he receives from people who know his name. Hagrid also collects a mysterious package from a high-security vault, though Harry does not yet know what it is.

Harry travels to Hogwarts by train from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, where he meets Ron Weasley, a friendly boy from a large and poor wizarding family. Ron becomes Harry’s first real friend. On the train, they also meet Hermione Granger, a clever and hardworking girl who comes from a non-magical family. At first, Hermione seems bossy and too eager to follow rules, while Ron and Harry are more relaxed. Harry also meets Draco Malfoy, a proud and unpleasant boy who looks down on families like Ron’s and believes wizarding blood status matters. Harry rejects Draco’s offer of friendship, which begins their rivalry.

At Hogwarts, Harry is sorted into Gryffindor House, along with Ron and Hermione. Draco is sorted into Slytherin, a house known for ambition and for producing many dark wizards. Harry begins learning magic through classes such as Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Some teachers are kind or interesting, while others are difficult. Professor Snape, the Potions master, seems to hate Harry from the beginning and often treats him unfairly. Harry also discovers that he has a natural talent for flying on a broomstick. After an incident during a flying lesson, Professor McGonagall makes him the youngest Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team in a century.

Although Hogwarts is wonderful compared to Harry’s life with the Dursleys, it is also full of danger and mystery. Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that a huge three-headed dog is guarding something in a forbidden corridor. They begin to suspect that the hidden object is the same mysterious package Hagrid took from Gringotts. Later, they learn about Nicolas Flamel, a famous alchemist who created the Sorcerer’s Stone, an object that can turn metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality. The children believe the Stone is hidden at Hogwarts and protected by powerful enchantments.

Harry becomes convinced that Snape is trying to steal the Stone for Voldemort. During a Quidditch match, Harry’s broom goes out of control, and Hermione sees Snape muttering what looks like a curse. She sets his robes on fire to stop him. The children take this as proof of Snape’s guilt, though the truth is more complicated. They also learn more about Voldemort’s possible return. Harry realizes that the magical world still fears Voldemort so much that many people refuse to say his name. Though Voldemort vanished years ago, his shadow remains over everything.

The friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione grows stronger after they face a troll together on Halloween. Hermione had been crying in the bathroom after Ron insulted her, and when a troll gets into the school, Harry and Ron rush to save her. They manage to defeat the troll by luck and teamwork. After that, Hermione becomes their close friend, and the three of them form the central bond of the story. Each brings something important: Harry has courage, Ron has loyalty and wizarding-world knowledge, and Hermione has intelligence and discipline.

Near the end of the school year, the trio learns that Hagrid has accidentally revealed how to get past the three-headed dog to a stranger. They believe the Stone is in immediate danger. When they cannot get help from the adults, they decide to protect it themselves. They pass through a series of magical obstacles set by the Hogwarts teachers. They get past the dog, survive Devil’s Snare, catch a flying key, play a dangerous life-sized chess game, and solve a logic puzzle involving potions. Ron sacrifices himself in the chess game so Harry can continue, and Hermione helps Harry reach the final stage.

In the final chamber, Harry is shocked to find not Snape, but Professor Quirrell, the nervous Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Quirrell reveals that he has been serving Voldemort all along, and that Snape had actually been trying to protect Harry. Voldemort is living in a weakened form on the back of Quirrell’s head, hidden under his turban. Quirrell tries to use Harry to get the Sorcerer’s Stone from the Mirror of Erised, a magical mirror that shows a person’s deepest desire. Because Harry wants to find the Stone but not use it, the Stone appears in his pocket. When Quirrell attacks him, Harry’s touch burns Quirrell because of the protection left by his mother’s sacrifice. Harry passes out, and Quirrell is defeated, while Voldemort escapes again.

Harry wakes in the hospital wing, where Professor Dumbledore explains what happened. Lily Potter’s love protected Harry, leaving a powerful magic that Voldemort could not understand. Dumbledore also explains that the Stone will be destroyed so no one can use it. At the end of the year, Gryffindor wins the House Cup after Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville earn last-minute points for their bravery. Harry returns to the Dursleys for the summer, but he is no longer the same lonely boy. He now has friends, a home at Hogwarts, and a better understanding of who he is. The book ends with a feeling of wonder and hope, while also hinting that Voldemort may one day return.