The wizardly character debuted in Rowling's 1997 book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," the first of seven in a series, which will spawn eight movies (the seventh book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," will consist of two films).
Potter, a child of wizards, is marked by a scar on his forehead that is in the shape of a lightning bolt. Potter attends a school for young wizards known as Hogwarts where he participates in a rough, broom wielding sport known as Quidditch and has to constantly battle the dark forces of a character who's name is too evil to mention. In the films, Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter while the key roles of Ron and Hermione are played by Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
The stories draw from a wide range of myths and legends from a variety of cultures. Spells, which are chanted and often resemble Latin or may even consist of Latin as their foundation, make up the magic "tricks" in the fictional world.
Beyond the mythical characters, there are lots of spells that resemble those in classic magic that include: levitation, time travel, invisibility, foretelling the future and more.
