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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first volume in a planned series of seven books written by British author J. K. Rowling, and featuring Harry Potter, a young wizard. The book was first published on 30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in London, and has also been made into a film of the same name.

Both the motion picture and book were released in the United States under the name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as the publishers were concerned that most American children would get the wrong impression from the word "philosopher," not knowing that the book actually revolved around magic, despite the Philosopher's Stone being an historical concept somewhat relevant to the story. In their defense, it must be noted that the renaming of books for international distribution is a common practice, even for highly known and internationally recognised authors.

Whatever the reasons for the change, it had no effect on the sales figures, and the Harry Potter series rapidly became one of the most-in-demand among young readers, who seemed to be undaunted by the ever-increasing length and complexity of the volumes.

Harry Potter, born on July 31, 1980, was orphaned on October 31, 1981, when the evil wizard Lord Voldemort murdered his parents, Lily and James Potter, a witch and wizard, respectively. Harry's mother's sacrificial attempt to save Harry causes the killing spell (Avada Kedavra) cast upon Harry by Voldemort to backfire, forming a fated connection between the two during which parts of Voldemort's power was transferred to the infant. From the spell backfire, Harry is given a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead and Voldemort seemingly dies. Harry's mother's love and Voldemort's powers give Harry a lingering magical protection against further attacks by Voldemort.

Harry is retrieved by Hagrid under the orders of Albus Dumbledore and put in the reluctant care of his Muggle (non-magical) relatives, his mother's sister Petunia Dursley and her husband Vernon. They live in Little Whinging, a suburb of London, along with their spoiled son Dudley (born June 22, 1980). The Dursleys, who intensely dislike magic, conceal from Harry any knowledge of his magical abilities and tell him that his parents were killed in a car crash. The Dursleys mistreat Harry, whose bedroom is a cupboard under the stairs, filled with spiders.

A week before his eleventh birthday, Harry begins receiving letters informing him of his acceptance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the Dursleys' attempts to stop the letters, Hagrid eventually tracks them down and briefly rescues Harry from his relatives' grasp so that Harry can purchase his school supplies, only to return him to the Dursleys with a train ticket to Hogwarts leaving from Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station, London.

There are four houses in Hogwarts, each with very specific characteristics. Slytherin is filled entirely with ambitious, cunning witches and wizards. Ravenclaw is home to the most intelligent witches and wizards. Gryffindor houses only the brave, and Hufflepuff is where the most fair and honest go. Each student upon arriving at Hogwarts must go through the Sorting Ceremony by trying on an ancient hat. Though the hat considers placing him in Slytherin, Harry is sorted into Gryffindor house. His closest friends at Hogwarts become Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and his biggest rival is Draco Malfoy, who belongs to the rival Slytherin house.

In the course of the year, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that a 3-headed dog, christened Fluffy by Hagrid, guards a trapdoor in a forbidden corridor of Hogwarts. They speculate as to what it guards and eventually they figure out that Fluffy guards the legendary Philosopher's Stone. The three friends come to believe Severus Snape, the sinister-looking Potions Professor, is trying to steal it in order to restore Lord Voldemort to power.

When they feel they have no choice, Harry, Ron, and Hermione go through the trapdoor to get to the Stone first. They negotiate the security system set up by the school's staff and find that Professor Quirrell, not Snape, is trying to steal the Stone. Snape was, in fact, actually grudgingly trying to protect Harry from harm all along. Harry confronts Quirrell and survives a second encounter with Lord Voldemort, who has been living inside Quirrell on the back of his head. Quirrell is killed in the process and Voldemort is driven away as a ghostlike form. Dumbledore agrees with Nicholas Flamel, the manufacturer of the Stone, to destroy it.