Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable muggle aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard

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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 invincibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley- a great big 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 would who reads about him - will find unforgettable. For it's there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.

Pages 309          RL4           Ages 8 +

The summer after his first year at Hogwarts is worse than ever for Harry. The Dursleys reach new lows of malevolent prissiness. And just when Harry thinks the endless vacation is over, a neurotic house-elf named Dobby shows up to warn him against going back to school. Of course, Harry doesn't listen. But Hogwarts isn't the cure he expects it to be. Almost immediately a student is found turned to stone, and then another. And somehow Harry stands accused. Could Harry Potter be the long--feared heir of Slytherin?

Harry and friends are stretched to their limits dealing with the likes of moaning myrtle, a spirit who haunts the girls' bathroom; the outrageously conceited new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart; and the mysterious Tom Riddle (a boy from Hogwarts' past ), whose diary gives terrifying new meaning to the phrase "a compelling read."

Pages 341        RL 4         Ages 8+

For twelve long years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter's defeat of You-Know-Who was Black's downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black Muttering in his sleep, "He's at Hogwarts...he's at Hogwarts."

Harry Potter isn't safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst. 

  Pages 435       RL 4.5          Ages 9 +

This is the pivotal fourth novel in the seven-part tale of Harry Potter's training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the international Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and find the courage to do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that's supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn't happened for a hundred years.

He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he's not normal -- even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it's haunting Harry Potter's dreams. Why else would he be walking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?

Harry has a lot on his mind for this, his fifth year at Hogwarts: a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey; a big surprise on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and the looming terror of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. But all these things pale next to the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Be-Named-- a threat that neither the magical government nor the authorities at Hogwarts can stop. 

As the grasp of darkness tightens, Harry must discover the true depth and strength of his friends, the importance of boundless loyalty, and the shocking price of unbearable sacrifice.

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet...

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate -- and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasly twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the Mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it's the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and coplex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

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