DISCUSSION GUIDE

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Introduction to the Harry Potter Books

In 1997 Joanne Rowling, a single parent living in Edinburgh, as she wished. Fans camped out overnight and lined up at
Scotland, published her first book. Her story about an bookstores in record numbers as each new installment in
eleven-year-old orphaned boy who discovers his heritage of the series appeared.
wizardry took the world by storm. Published as a children’s
book, it was embraced by readers of all ages, who found the This discussion guide is designed to help readers explore
engaging humor and gentle parody of the real world to be some of the deeper meanings underlying Rowling’s world
enjoyable and thought provoking. of wizardry and magic. Incorporating elements of fantasy,
mystery, humor, and friendship, the series has wide appeal
Rowling had planned, from the beginning, to tell the story for readers of all ages. On the surface the books are great
in a series of seven books. The initial success of the first title adventure tales, but like all great fantasy literature, they also
(published in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s deal with universal human values, longings, wishes, and
Stone and in America as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) choices.
guaranteed that she would be able to continue the story
 Year 1
Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter has been raised by his horrible relatives, Uncle Vernon and
Aunt Petunia, who treat him with disdain while lavishing attention on
their spoiled son, Dudley. On the eve of his eleventh birthday, Harry
receives news that changes his life: He is being summoned to attend the
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is astonished to learn
that his deceased parents, James and Lily Potter, were both wizards, and
that they died trying to protect infant Harry from a Dark wizard named
Voldemort. He also discovers, much to his own discomfort, that he is
famous in the Wizarding world; Voldemort’s attack on Harry has not
only left a lightning-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead, but has taken away
Voldemort’s power as well.

At school Harry soon makes both friends and enemies with equal ease.
Ron Weasley becomes Harry’s sidekick, and Hermione Granger, who at
first appears to be a boring know-it-all, quickly proves that she is a fast
friend too, and the three become a team. Draco Malfoy, a bully and a
bigot, along with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, become Harry’s enemies.
Involved with classes, teachers, and Quidditch, an aerial sport played on
broomsticks, Harry is also intrigued by the mystery of a hidden object,
guarded by a three-headed dog. The attempt to solve the mystery with
his friends brings Harry face-to-face with his nemesis, Voldemort, in the
disguise of someone he least suspects.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

1. Why does Dumbledore decide to have Harry grow up 5. Why does Dumbledore give Harry the Cloak of
with the Dursleys rather than with one of the wizard Invisibility? Why is the Cloak so important to Harry?
families? How does Harry’s experience with his relatives
build his character? 6. Discuss the importance of the Mirror of Erised and the
meaning of its name. Dumbledore tells Harry: “It shows
2. W
 hy does it take so long for Harry’s wand to choose him us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate
when he visits Diagon Alley? What is special about his desire of our hearts . . . However, this mirror will give us
wand? Why does Ollivander say, “The wand chooses the neither knowledge or truth.” (p. 213) What does he mean by
wizard”? (p. 85) this? What would you see if you looked in the mirror?

3. When Harry first meets Malfoy, he reminds him of 7. Why do you think Harry and Professor Snape dislike
Dudley. How are these two alike? How are they different? each other so much?

4. Why do Harry and Ron dislike Hermione in the

beginning? How does their friendship with her grow?
What qualities and strengths does each of them bring to
their adventures?
8. Professor Quirrell tells Harry: “There is no good and
evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it . . . .”
(p. 291) Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this
statement. How do you see this idea at work in our own
world?

9. Dumbledore tells Harry to “Always use the proper name

for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing
itself.” (p. 298) What does he mean by this? Why is it
important to name a thing that you fear?

10. What explanation does Dumbledore give Harry for the

protection he received during Voldemort’s attack when
he was a baby? What does he mean when he says:
“. . . to have been loved so deeply, even though
the person who loved us is gone, will give us
some protection forever”? (p. 299) How does this
protection keep Harry safe even in the most difficult
circumstances?

11. While finding their way to the Sorcerer’s Stone, what

strengths do Harry, Ron, and Hermione each contribute
to solving the puzzles? Were you surprised when
Quirrell turned out to be the one who was after the
Sorcerer’s Stone? Was there anything in the plot that led
you to suspect him?

12. J. K. Rowling has great fun creating names of people,

places, and spells in this story. How does a name give
us clues to a character’s personality? The following are
just a few suggestions of names to explore:
Severus Snape
Professor Quirrell
Argus Filch
Professor Sprout
Draco Malfoy
Voldemort
Minerva McGonagall
Albus Dumbledore
 Year 2
Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry escapes a dismal summer with his relatives when Ron Weasley
and his twin brothers, George and Fred, fly their father’s bewitched Ford
Anglia to the Dursleys’ and take Harry back to their home, The Burrow.
When Harry and Ron are unable to get through the barrier at Platform
Nine and Three-quarters, they use the magic car to fly them to school.
Crashing into the Whomping Willow on the school grounds, they start
the term in big trouble for breaking school rules.

Soon Harry, Ron, and Hermione become involved in larger problems.

Harry hears a sinister voice in the walls while students, especially those
with Muggle blood, are being attacked. Writing on a wall declares that
“The Chamber Is Open” and the “Heir of Slytherin” is responsible for the
attacks. Hermione is rendered petrified, but not before she is able to leave
clues to help Harry and Ron find the hidden chamber.

A mysterious diary, tales about past troubles at Hogwarts involving Hagrid

and another student named Tom Riddle, a giant spider in the Forbidden
Forest, and the disappearance of Ron’s younger sister Ginny all lead to a
stunning climax. Harry and Ron discover the entrance to the Chamber of
Secrets, but Harry alone must rescue Ginny and escape the evil force that
lurks there.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

1. Should Ron and Harry have taken the car to Hogwarts?

How else could they have gotten to school?

2. Why is it important for the students to know the legends

as well as the history of Hogwarts? Discuss Hermione’s
question to Professor Binns: “Please, sir, don’t legends
always have a basis in fact?” (p. 149) How does knowing
the history of the founding of Hogwarts help the students
understand the present?

3. What does Hermione do in this book that seems out

of character for her? Why is she willing to risk getting
caught breaking the rules? What strengths does she
contribute to solving the mystery of the Chamber of
Secrets?
4. Why do you think Harry is able to understand and speak 11. Rowling introduces new characters and names in this
Parseltongue? Why doesn’t he know when he is speaking it? second book: Gilderoy Lockhart, Tom Riddle, Dobby,
Moaning Myrtle. How does the name fit the personality
5. Discuss the significance of Fawkes the phoenix. What is of each of these characters? What do you learn about the
a phoenix? Why is this one so important to Dumbledore? history and mythology of the legendary creatures and
What is the significance of the name Fawkes? plants in this story – the Basilisk, the phoenix, and the
Mandrake – that helps you understand their significance
6. When they are in Dumbledore’s office and Dumbledore in the plot?
asks Harry if he wants to tell him anything, Harry says
no, even though many things are bothering him. Would 12. What does Dumbledore mean when he says to Harry:
you have told the headmaster your concerns and asked “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are,
for his advice? Why is Harry reluctant to ask for help? far more than our abilities.” (p. 333) What choices does
Harry make that define his character?
7. Who is Tom Riddle? Why did he keep a diary? How is he
able to make Ginny Weasley do what he wants her to do?

8. Dobby says he has always known about Harry Potter’s

greatness, but not his goodness. What does Dobby
mean? What is the difference between “greatness” and
“goodness”? What role does Dobby play in this story?

9. Discuss the character of Gilderoy Lockhart. Why do most

of the teachers dislike him? Why is losing his memory a
fitting punishment for Lockhart?

10. In the first book we learned that both Harry’s and
Voldemort’s wands contain a phoenix feather from the
same bird. What further connections between Harry
and Voldemort do we learn about in Chamber of Secrets?
What are the important differences between Harry and
Riddle?
 Year 3
Harry Potter
and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Wizarding world is concerned for Harry Potter’s safety when Sirius
Black, an escapee from the prison of Azkaban, is believed to be hunting
him. Dementors (Azkaban guards) are stationed around Hogwarts as the
term begins, and Harry experiences an overwhelming sense of despair and
blacks out whenever they are near him. The new Defense Against the
Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, takes a special interest in Harry, as does
the Divination teacher, Sybill Trelawney, who seems determined to predict
his early death.

Harry learns more about his father’s career at Hogwarts, and many of his
father’s friends from that time come forward to help him: Remus Lupin,
who has a deep secret, and Sirius Black, who was wrongly imprisoned and
is actually Harry’s godfather, are the allies who save Harry from the real
traitor, Peter Pettigrew. Hermione’s secret Time-Turner, which has allowed
her to attend more than the usual load of classes, becomes a key to
helping Sirius escape capture, and Harry learns one of the most valuable
spells of all: how to invoke the Patronus charm that allows him to banish
Dementors and his own deepest fears.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

1. What does Aunt Marge say that provokes Harry to risk 2. Why does the Minister of Magic take a personal interest
using magic outside of school? Why does he react so in Harry’s welfare when he arrives at the Leaky Cauldron,
hastily by leaving the house? How has Harry’s attitude and why does this surprise Harry?
changed toward his relatives?
3. Why do the Dementors affect Harry so strongly? Discuss
their method of controlling the prisoners in Azkaban.
Why is Dumbledore opposed to the Ministry’s use of
Dementors? What is the effect of the Dementors’ “kiss”?

4. Harry and his friends have three new teachers this year.
Compare what they learn in Hagrid’s Care of Magical
Creatures class, Lupin’s Defense Against the Dark Arts
class, and Trelawney’s Divination class. What are the skills
that each teacher brings to his or her subject, and what
skills do the students learn best from each of them?
5. Sirius Black has been a prisoner in Azkaban for twelve 10. Discuss the feelings that Harry has when he discovers
years. Peter Pettigrew has spent those years hiding in the truth about Sirius Black. Why does Harry stop Sirius
the body of a rat. How have these years affected each and Lupin from killing Pettigrew? Why did Harry’s
of them? How did Sirius survive in Azkaban, and how feelings change from his earlier wish to hunt down
was he able to escape? What does this tell us about his Sirius Black for revenge?
character?
11. Why is Snape so unwilling to hear anything good about
6. Why is Scabbers a good name for Ron’s rat? Why is a rat Sirius Black or Remus Lupin? Why does he continue to
a suitable animal form for Pettigrew to assume? Discuss be mean to Harry, Ron, and Hermione?
how all the Animagus forms suit their characters: Prongs,
Padfoot, and Wormtail. How does an Animagus differ 12. Discuss Hermione’s role in saving Sirius and Buckbeak.
from a werewolf? Why is the Time-Turner necessary in helping Sirius
escape? Why is it so important that Harry and Hermione
7. What does Lupin’s lesson on Boggarts teach about how not be seen when they go back in time?
to face our deepest fears? When Harry tells Lupin his
Boggart would take the form of a Dementor, Lupin says, 13. What does Dumbledore mean when he says to Harry:
“That suggests that what you fear most of all is – fear. “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You
Very wise, Harry.” (p. 155) What does he mean? Why is think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in
Lupin the only other person besides Dumbledore who times of great trouble?” (p. 427) What is the importance
will say Voldemort’s name? of Harry learning to produce the Patronus?

14. Consider some of the new names in this book and

discuss what the names suggest about the characters:
Cornelius Fudge
Sirius Black
Remus Lupin
Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew)
Sybill Trelawney

8. What does the word Patronus suggest? Why does the

Patronus only appear if you are concentrating very hard
on a happy thought? Why is each one “unique to the
wizard who conjures it”? (p. 237) For Harry to summon
his Patronus, he tries several memories. What do we
learn about Harry’s character during this process? Which
memory from your own life could you use to summon a
Patronus?

9. What is the most important thing that Harry learns about

his father from Lupin? What does Lupin mean when he
tells Harry, “James would have been highly disappointed
if his son had never found any of the secret passages out
of the castle.” (pp. 424–425)
 Year 4
Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire
Harry becomes aware of a wider Wizarding world in this volume, as
he attends the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys, and becomes
involved in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts, competing against
students from other schools. Hermione becomes obsessed with the
condition of the house-elves after witnessing the treatment of Winky by
Ministry official Crouch, and starts an organization to help them.

The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody,
teaches his students about Unforgivable Curses, while Harry struggles to
master skills for the three tasks that constitute the Triwizard Tournament,
a competition he did not enter willingly. At the end of the third task,
he is transported by Dark magic to a graveyard where the Death Eaters
have gathered to witness the rejuvenation of Lord Voldemort. Escaping
against all odds, Harry returns to Hogwarts with the body of his fellow
competitor, Cedric Diggory, discovers the true identity of Moody, and
delivers the ominous news that Voldemort has regained his power.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

1. The previous volumes have all opened at the Dursley 3. Why can’t younger wizards learn to “Apparate” and get
home, but this book starts somewhere else. How did that from one place to another quickly? Why do they have to
change the tone of the story for you? Why do you think use a “Portkey”? Is there any advantage to the Portkey?
Rowling departed from the way she had started the other What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Floo
books? powder to get from one place to another?

2. M
 uch of the humor, as well as the feeling of authenticity,
in the Harry Potter series comes from the juxtaposition
of our world and the Wizarding world. What are some
of the humorous comparisons in Goblet of Fire, both in
and out of Hogwarts? Compare the Quidditch World
Cup and the Triwizard Tournament to sporting events
in our world. What are some of the serious connections
between things in our world and the more sinister
aspects of those events as illustrated in the books?
4. How are the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang him, “Curiosity is not a sin . . . But we should exercise
distinct from the students at Hogwarts? What difficulties caution with our curiosity . . . yes, indeed . . .” (p. 598)
might there be in developing friendships between the What does he mean by this? When does Harry not
schools? Compare the relationships among teachers from exercise caution?
the three schools to those among the students.
10. When Harry faces Voldemort, his will takes over and
5. What is the effect on the students and staff when Harry’s he refuses to answer the questions Voldemort asks.
name comes out of the Goblet of Fire? How does the Harry is determined not to die cringing, but to stand up
relationship between Harry and Cedric develop through to Voldemort the way his father did. What events and
the three tasks of the tournament? Why does Harry take experiences have helped Harry develop this courage?
time to free others besides Ron during the second task?
11. What do you believe causes the connection between
Harry’s wand and Voldemort’s? How do the shadow
figures that emerge from the connection between the
wands help Harry escape? Why does Voldemort need
Harry’s blood to regain his body?

12. Is Harry learning to become a great wizard, or is he just

lucky to escape the forces that arise against him? What
skills has he gained in this volume? Do you believe that
Harry is living out a destiny or acting of his own free will?

13. In the hospital wing after Harry returns from the
graveyard, Dumbledore says to Snape: “Severus . . .
you know what I must ask you to do. If you are
ready . . . if you are prepared . . .” (p. 713) What do
6. Magical objects that have been used for good, or simple you think Dumbledore is asking him to do? Why
mischief, by Harry in earlier volumes are used for does Dumbledore trust Snape without reservation?
darker reasons in this book. How does this change the
tone of the story? How does Barty Crouch, disguised as 14. W
 hy does Cornelius Fudge refuse to believe that
Moody, use the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder’s Voldemort has returned? Why does he refuse to
Map? What clues are there in the story that would lead believe Harry’s story? The final chapter is entitled “The
you to suspect that Mad-Eye Moody was not the person Beginning.” What does that tell you about the events
he appeared to be? Why could Dumbledore not detect that happened in this volume and the events to come?
this deception? Why is Snape convinced that instead of
the true culprit, it is the students who are stealing his 15. Consider some of the new characters in this volume.
ingredients for Polyjuice Potion? What do their names tell us about their personalities?
Rita Skeeter
 hat is the significance of Hermione’s campaign for the
7. W Bartemius Crouch
welfare of the house-elves? Why is she adamant about Ludo Bagman
improving their conditions? Why do the house-elves Viktor Krum
resist her efforts? Discuss what Sirius Black means when Fleur Delacour
he says: “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a Cedric Diggory
good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” Madame Maxime
(p. 525) Igor Karkaroff

8. One of the most annoying characters in the series

is Rita Skeeter, the journalist. What does she do to
alienate Harry and Hermione? Why is it so important
to Hermione to get revenge on Rita? What skills does
Hermione possess that make it possible for her to do so?

9. Harry has his first experience with Dumbledore’s

Pensieve in this volume, a device through which he
learns many important facts from the past. The first time
he (inadvertently) enters the Pensieve, Dumbledore tells
 Year 5
Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix
At the end of summer, Harry is forced to conjure his Patronus outside of
school, to protect himself and his cousin Dudley from Dementors. Harry
is then summoned to appear before the Wizengamot, his first trip to the
Ministry of Magic. While the Order of the Phoenix, using headquarters
at the home of Harry’s godfather Sirius Black, works against the forces of
the rejuvenated Voldemort, the Ministry refuses to credit the return of this
arch-villain, removes Dumbledore as headmaster of Hogwarts, and installs
Dolores Umbridge, who runs the school by strict and arbitrary rules and
unusually cruel punishments.

Hermione rallies a group of students to take secret lessons in Defense

Against the Dark Arts from Harry; they call themselves Dumbledore’s
Army. Harry is disturbed by increasingly vivid images he experiences
unwillingly through the eyes of Voldemort and finds it difficult to absorb
the lessons in Occlumency, which he takes with Professor Snape to learn
to shut his mind. Finally, one of his visions leads Harry and several
members of the D.A. to the Ministry of Magic. Lured into a trap by
Voldemort and his Death Eaters, they battle to save a prophecy that tells
of the connection between Voldemort and Harry.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

1. Why is it necessary for so many wizards to accompany 3. How is the trip on the Hogwarts Express different
Harry to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix? for Harry this year? Why can Harry see the Thestrals
Describe Harry’s mood when he learns about the Order that he couldn’t see before? What is the significance of
and the fact that no one has told him about it. What meeting Luna Lovegood at this point in the story? What
does he feel when he learns that Ron and Hermione have dimension does Luna bring to the story? The Sorting Hat
been made prefects? Compare his mood to that of his does more than Sorting this year; why does it recite the
godfather Sirius. How are Sirius and Harry alike, and history of the school and issue a warning?
how are they different?
4. H
 ow does Dolores Umbridge’s teaching style differ from
2. W
 hat does Harry learn about the Ministry when he the others who have taught Defense Against the Dark
attends his disciplinary hearing? Why have Fudge’s Arts? Discuss Hermione’s comment after Umbridge’s
feelings toward Harry changed so drastically from the banquet speech: “It explained a lot . . . . It means the
beginning of Prisoner of Azkaban? Why is Fudge so Ministry’s interfering at Hogwarts.” (p. 214) Compare
antagonistic toward Dumbledore? Harry’s difficulties with Umbridge to his difficulties with
Snape, both inside and outside the classroom.
5. Why won’t Harry tell his teachers about the dreams and friends in their school days to those of Ron, Hermione,
visions he is having? Compare Harry’s visions to the fake and Harry. How are they similar and how are they
dreams he and Ron concoct for Divination. Why can’t he different?
use his real dreams in class? Why does he hesitate to go
to Dumbledore until he sees Arthur Weasley in mortal 11. How do the upcoming O.W.L. exams affect the mood of
danger? Harry and the others in their fifth year at Hogwarts? Do
the exams truly measure the knowledge they will need
in their careers? What is Rowling saying about the value
of learning from books and of personal experience?
What examples of the importance of each can you find
illustrated in the plot?

12. Harry thinks to himself that if he could have chosen

any members of the D.A. to accompany him, Ron, and
Hermione to the Department of Mysteries, it would not
have been Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Why does each of
them want to come, and what does each of them have
to contribute to the journey and the battle that takes
place there?
6. How does Harry know that Hermione is serious about
him teaching a secret club for students who want to 13. W
 hat does Lucius Malfoy mean when he says of Harry,
learn defensive spells? Who helps him find the space for “He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord
the club? Who names the D.A.? How does the D.A. help understands this about him.” (p. 782) Why does Harry’s
Harry overcome his feeling of isolation from the others? Cruciatus Curse not work on Bellatrix, even though he
What is the importance of the D.A. for its members? feels such hatred after seeing her kill Sirius? How does
he survive when Voldemort tries to possess him in the
7. W
 hat is the most dangerous aspect of Umbridge’s atrium of the Ministry of Magic?
character? What is the effect of her rise to power from
professor to High Inquisitor to Headmaster on both 14. Anger has been a strong emotion for Harry throughout
students and staff? How does her behavior relate to the most of this volume. How has his anger served him, and
warnings of the Sorting Hat at the opening banquet? how has it hampered him? Why does Dumbledore allow
How do the events at Hogwarts mirror what is going on Harry to rage against him in his office after the battle at
in the Wizarding world outside the school? the Ministry is over? Discuss Dumbledore’s comment,
“In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your
8. What is Harry’s greatest fear about the dreams he is mind. It was your heart that saved you.” (p. 844) How
having? Why does Dumbledore keep his distance from does Harry feel after learning the parts of his story that
Harry throughout this book, until the end? What does Dumbledore has held back from him until now?
Snape mean when he says, “Time and space matter in
magic, Potter.” (p. 531) Why does Dumbledore insist that 15. When Harry first visits the Ministry in chapter seven,
Snape be the one to teach Harry Occlumency, and why is he notices the Fountain of Magical Brethren, a group of
this skill so difficult for Harry to learn? Compare Snape’s statues that includes a centaur, a house-elf, and a goblin
lessons in Occlumency to Lupin’s lessons for producing looking up to a witch and a wizard. After the battle
a Patronus in Prisoner of Azkaban. Why was Harry able to Dumbledore tells Harry, “The fountain we destroyed
learn from Lupin and not from Snape? tonight told a lie. We wizards have mistreated and
abused our fellows for too long, and we are now reaping
9. What do Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn from their visit our reward.” (p. 834) Discuss the theme of prejudice
to St. Mungo’s Hospital? The visit to see Mr. Weasley is a throughout the first five books and how the abuse of
prime example of the way in which Rowling interweaves others has harmed the wizards.
humor and pathos throughout the series. How does she
do it in this scene?

10. Discuss the significance of what Harry learns about his

father and Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew from Snape’s
memory in the Pensieve. How does this knowledge
affect Harry? What does this tell us about Harry’s
character? Compare the relationships of James and his
 Year 6
Harry Potter
and the Half-Blood Prince
Dumbledore takes a more active role in Harry’s education, personally
retrieving him from the Dursleys’ home and taking him along to recruit
a new teacher for Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn. In Slughorn’s Potions
class, Harry acquires a second-hand textbook once owned by someone
who called himself the Half-Blood Prince, and he uses the notes in the
book to his own advantage. Meanwhile, Harry is convinced that Draco
Malfoy has become a Death Eater with a secret mission, which he is
determined to uncover. But Dumbledore gives Harry a more important
task: to retrieve a memory from Slughorn that will illuminate a mystery
about Voldemort’s past.

Voldemort’s return to power has brought about murder and mayhem

throughout the country. Dumbledore tries to provide Harry with
knowledge he will need to ultimately defeat Voldemort, including
glimpses into the past through the Pensieve and the awareness of the
possible creation of Horcruxes that Voldemort used to contain pieces
of his tattered soul. The story acquires a serious tone; it is now clear
that only Harry can rid the world of this villain, as a long-ago prophecy
stated: “Neither can live while the other survives.”

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

1. What is the connection between the Ministry of Magic 4. W

 hy doesn’t anyone else share Harry’s concern that
and the Prime Minister’s office in London? Under what Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater? Review the
circumstances does the Minister of Magic visit the Prime enmity between Harry and Draco that has persisted
Minister, and why will those visits never be disclosed? since their first year at Hogwarts. Why does Harry risk
sneaking into Draco’s compartment on the train, and is
2. W
 hy does Narcissa Malfoy insist that Snape make Draco’s attack on him more vicious than other attacks in
an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco? Describe the the past?
differences between Narcissa and her sister Bellatrix.
Why does Narcissa feel it is necessary for Snape to make 5. D
 iscuss Harry’s assessment of Snape’s first Defense
the Vow? Against the Dark Arts class: “It was surely one thing to
respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to
3. Why does Dumbledore take Harry with him to convince speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress
Slughorn to return to Hogwarts? What is Slughorn’s in his voice?” (p. 178) Is this an indication of Snape’s
weakness that Dumbledore hopes to exploit, and how true feeling, or is it Harry’s past perception of Snape that
does Harry’s presence help recruit him? Why does gives him this feeling? Discuss Lupin’s comment to Harry
Dumbledore feel it necessary to warn Harry about that he has inherited an old prejudice against Snape from
Slughorn’s habit of “collecting” favored students? both James and Sirius. (p. 333)
6. Slughorn introduces students to four potions that 10. W
 hy does Scrimgeour try to get Harry to act as if he is
play an important role in the story, particularly in this working with the Ministry during Christmastime? Why
volume: Veritaserum, Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia, and is Harry unwilling to do that? Why does Dumbledore
Felix Felicis. Discuss how the name of each describes also refuse to cooperate with the Ministry, instead
its properties and how each of these potions (or the pursuing his theories about Voldemort on his own?
knowledge of them) affects the plot in this book. What
is Slughorn’s answer to why more people don’t use Felix 11. W
 hy does it take Dumbledore so long to tell Harry
Felicis? Discuss his warning about Amortentia, that it where he is going when he leaves Hogwarts? Discuss
produces not love, but obsession. Harry’s anger at the Headmaster for not taking his
concerns about Malfoy seriously, and Dumbledore’s
comment: “Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even
between the best of friends! Each of us believes that
what he has to say is much more important than
anything the other might have to contribute!” (p. 359)

12. How does Harry retrieve the important memory from

Slughorn? Did he really need Felix Felicis to get it?
Discuss the concept of Horcruxes and how Tom Riddle
coaxed the information from Slughorn. What effect has
the creation of so many Horcruxes had on Voldemort?

13. What does Dumbledore mean when he tells Harry

“Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just
as tyrants everywhere do!” (p. 510) Which tyrants
throughout history might this statement describe?
How would they compare to Voldemort? Why does
Dumbledore believe that the ability to love is the “only
7. D
 umbledore’s private lessons with Harry consist mainly protection that can possibly work against the lure of
of learning about Tom Riddle’s history and background. power like Voldemort’s”? (p. 511) Why does he refer
Why is it important for Harry to have this information, back to the Mirror of Erised in Sorcerer’s Stone when he
even though much of it is conjecture? Compare the story explains this to Harry?
of eleven-year-old Tom Riddle learning that he will attend
Hogwarts to Harry’s similar experience in Sorcerer’s Stone.  t what points in this volume could Harry have used
14. A
Compare Riddle’s experience living in the orphanage the Felix Felicis potion for his own benefit? Discuss
to Harry’s living with the Dursleys. Why was it easy for the times he does use it, or pretends to use it. What do
Harry to make friends at school, while as Dumbledore these instances tell us about Harry’s personality, and his
tells him “Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do growth in maturity, during this year at Hogwarts?
I believe that he has ever wanted one”? (p. 277)
15. Why does Dumbledore immobilize Harry on the
8. Discuss the theme of jealousy that surfaces in this Astronomy Tower? Would Draco have used the Killing
volume as the Hogwarts students become more aware Curse on Dumbledore if Snape had not arrived? Why
of their emerging feelings. Why does Ron get involved does Draco hesitate to finish the job? Describe the
with Lavender? Why does Harry hold back his growing effects on Harry of each of the deaths at the ends of
feelings for Ginny? How do Slughorn’s private parties for books four, five, and six. How does each affect his
students lead to further feelings of exclusion? How does resolve to be the one to finish Voldemort?
Harry feel about being more “fanciable” as “The Chosen
One” this year, as opposed to his dubious reputation in
Order of the Phoenix?

9. Harry’s borrowed copy of Advanced Potion-Making gives

him an advantage in the Potions class, but also access to
some nasty and dangerous spells. Should he be using this
book? Why is Hermione so opposed to him following
the notations in the book? Who did you suspect was the
“Half-Blood Prince”?
 Year 7
Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows
Harry leaves the Dursley home for the last time to begin his quest to
vanquish Lord Voldemort. Devastated by the death of his mentor, and also
angry at the limited information left to him by Dumbledore, he embarks
with Ron and Hermione on a long, tortuous journey to find the last of his
enemy’s Horcruxes so that Voldemort can be killed. The worlds of both
wizards and Muggles are subjected to a reign of terror as Voldemort and
his Death Eaters gain control of the Ministry and of Hogwarts, and Harry
and his friends are constantly on the move to avoid detection.

Along the way, they become aware of an ancient legend that may have
a bearing on Harry’s ability to defeat Voldemort – the story of three
brothers who tried to thwart Death with three objects known as the
Deathly Hallows. This is an idea that Harry finds irresistible for a while.
But the death of Dobby, the house-elf who rescues them from a desperate
situation, helps Harry focus again on the quest to destroy the Horcruxes,
and eventually there is only one place left to go – back to Hogwarts.
When Harry makes his last and best gesture to bravely surrender himself
to Voldemort in order to end the battle of Hogwarts, everything he has
worked for reaches a shining climax, allowing goodness to triumph at last.

Discussion Questions for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

1. In the first chapter, Voldemort says, “That Potter lives is 4. W

 hat are the reactions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione to
due more to my errors than to his triumphs.” (p. 6) Is each of their bequests from Dumbledore’s will? Why do
this true? What character traits and skills does Harry these objects turn out to be the perfect gifts for each of
possess that Voldemort cannot understand or accept? them? Why is it important that Bill and Fleur’s wedding
take place before they leave on their quest? Why is Harry
2. What is Harry’s immediate reaction to the article in which so disturbed to learn at the wedding that Dumbledore’s
he reads about Rita Skeeter’s book on Dumbledore? How family lived in Godric’s Hollow?
does this news – and his later readings of parts of the book
– affect his feelings for Dumbledore? Why did Dumbledore 5. W
 hat causes the change in Kreacher when Harry, Ron,
not share this part of his past with Harry? and Hermione return to Grimmauld Place? Why does
this location make the perfect hideout for them to start
3. When Harry leaves the Dursley home with the decoy their search? What causes the argument between Harry
look-alikes, how do the Death Eaters know which one is and Lupin? Why does Harry refuse Lupin’s help? Why
the real Harry? What does Lupin mean when he says that is he so adamant about searching for the Horcruxes
Expelliarmus is Harry’s “signature” move? What does himself, without help from the members of the Order of
this tell us about Harry? the Phoenix?
6. Compare Dolores Umbridge’s role at Hogwarts in Order 11. Why does Wormtail’s silver hand cause his own death
of the Phoenix to her role at the Ministry in Deathly when Harry reminds him that he spared his life?
Hallows. How have the Death Eaters gained control of Compare Wormtail’s death to Dobby’s sacrifice while
the Ministry, and how do they maintain that control? saving Harry and his friends from Malfoy Manor. Why
Compare the takeover of the Ministry to tyrannical does Harry insist on digging Dobby’s grave himself,
regimes that you have studied. without using magic? How does Dobby’s death affect
Harry?
7. W
 hy does Slytherin’s locket affect the mood of whoever
is wearing it? Did the locket affect Umbridge the same 12. What does Griphook mean when he tells Harry he is
way? Is it the locket that causes Ron to desert Harry a strange wizard? How does Harry’s friendship with
and Hermione? Would they have quarreled without Dobby, and his rescue of Griphook, contribute to his
its influence? Why is it fitting that Ron be the one to eventual triumph over Voldemort and the Death Eaters?
destroy the locket, and why is it so difficult for him to do What other experiences in Harry’s life have helped him
so? Compare Ron’s experience of being taunted by the to have an open mind and heart?
images from the locket to the way in which Tom Riddle’s
diary possessed Ginny in Chamber of Secrets. 13. W
 hen Harry reaches Hogwarts, he isn’t planning to
involve the other students who gather to welcome him
back until Hermione tells him, “You don’t have to do
everything alone.” (p. 583) Compare Harry’s response
to the approaches of Tom Riddle, who confided in no
one and operated alone, and Albus Dumbledore, whose
brother Aberforth called him a “natural” at secrets.

14. W
 hat is the most important thing that Harry learns
from the memories that Snape gives him? Why is it
important for the dying Snape to share these with
Harry? When Dumbledore appears to Harry he asks,
“Was I better, ultimately, than Voldemort?” (p. 713)
Compare the motives of Dumbledore, Voldemort, and
Snape in their early lives and later. What experiences
and beliefs shaped each of them?
8. Discuss the grave inscriptions that Harry and Hermione
see in Godric’s Hollow: on Kendra and Ariana’s grave, 15. How does Harry survive Voldemort’s attack? Why does
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” he decide to lose the Resurrection Stone in the forest
(p. 325) and on James and Lily’s grave, “The last enemy and place the Elder Wand back in Dumbledore’s grave?
that shall be destroyed is death.” (p. 328) What do these What insights has Harry gained during his quest to
inscriptions mean to Harry? What do they mean to you? destroy Voldemort that make him a true hero?

9. What is the importance of “The Tale of the Three

Brothers”? Why does Xenophilius Lovegood wear the
symbol of the Deathly Hallows, and why do so few
wizards know the name for the three objects in the tale?
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione discuss which is the
most important Hallow, they each choose a different one.
What does this tell us about them and about the tale?

10. Why does Harry become obsessed with the idea of the
Deathly Hallows and especially the Elder Wand? Is it
because he knows that Voldemort is searching for the
wand? What does Grindelwald mean when he says to
Voldemort, “ . . . my death will not bring you what you
seek . . . . There is so much you do not understand.” (p. 469)
What does Ollivander add to Harry’s knowledge of the
Elder Wand?
Talking About the Books

1. Discuss the idea that appears throughout the series of 5. Susan Cooper, author of The Dark Is Rising sequence,
the power of a name. Dumbledore teaches Harry that has written: “Fantasy goes one stage beyond realism;
fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. Why are requiring complete intellectual surrender, it asks more
so many wizards afraid to say the name Voldemort, and of the reader, and at its best may offer more . . . Fantasy
why does Harry insist on using it? When Dumbledore is the metaphor through which we discover ourselves.”
faces Voldemort at the end of Order of the Phoenix, and (Susan Cooper, Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing
when Harry faces him in the final battle in Deathly for Children, McElderry Books, 1996, pp. 44–45) How
Hallows, why do they both call him by his given name, does the fantasy element of the Harry Potter series help
Tom Riddle? readers discover more about themselves and others?
What insights have you gained from reading these
2. Describe the growth and maturation of major characters volumes?
throughout their seven years at Hogwarts. Who do you
think changes the most? What experiences and insights
contribute to their growth? Which characters – students
and/or adults – remind you of people you have known
in your own life?

3. Comparing the six Defense Against the Dark Arts

teachers Harry encounters, which one do you think
was most effective and why? Which classes at Hogwarts
prepare the students with skills for their future lives? In
Order of the Phoenix, Dolores Umbridge tells her class: “I 6. In Harry Potter’s world, the magic community exists
am here to teach you using a Ministry-approved method alongside our “real” world and provides a contrast to
that does not include inviting students to give their the institutions that are familiar to us: educational,
opinions on matters about which they understand very governmental, medical, and sporting. Compare the
little.” (p. 317) Discuss this point of view in relation to Ministry, Hogwarts, St. Mungo’s, Azkaban, the Triwizard
teaching methods of the other professors at Hogwarts Tournament, and the Quidditch World Cup to similar
and those that you have experienced in your own organizations and events in our own world. How
schooling. do these parallel existences compare to the similar
constructions in other books of fantasy?
4. Author Philip Pullman, in his 1996 Carnegie Medal
acceptance speech, said: “There are some themes, some 7. D
 umbledore tells Harry: “That which Voldemort does
subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house-
with adequately in a children’s book.” (randomhouse.com/ elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence,
features/pullman/author/carnegie.php) Discuss this quote Voldemort knows and understands nothing . . . . That they
in relation to the Harry Potter series. What do you identify all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the
as its major themes, and why are they best illuminated in a reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.”
coming-of-age saga? (Deathly Hallows, pp. 709–710) Discuss this idea in relation
to the truths of your own life. What are the important
elements that have shaped your own character?

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