Harry Potter is an English series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series chronicles the various adventures of a young wizard, Harry Potter, the titular character, and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's quest to defeat the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who aims to become immortal, conquer the wizarding world, subjugate non-magical people, and destroy all those who stand in his way, especially Harry Potter. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed. As of May 2015, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final installment selling roughly 11 million copies in the United States within the first 24 hours of its release. A series of many genres, including fantasy, coming of age and the British school story (which includes elements of mystery, thriller, adventure and romance), it has many cultural meanings and references. According to Rowling, the main theme is death. There are also many other themes in the series, such as prejudice, corruption, and madness. The series was originally printed in English by two major publishers, Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Press in the United States. The seven books adapted into an eight-part film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is the second highest-grossing film series of all time as of August 2015. Because of the success of the books and films, Harry Potter-themed areas, known as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, have been created at several Universal Parks & Resorts theme parks.
Ravenclaw was one of the four Houses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its founder was the medieval witch Rowena Ravenclaw. Members of this house were characterised by their wit, learning, and wisdom. The emblematic animal symbol was an eagle, and blue and bronze were its colours. The Head of Ravenclaw was Filius Flitwick, and the House ghost was the Grey Lady, real name Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena. Ravenclaw corresponded roughly to the element of air, and it was for that reason that the House colours were chosen; blue and bronze represented the sky and eagle feathers respectively, both having much to do with air. The Ravenclaw points hourglass contained blue sapphires. Ravenclaw House prized learning, wisdom, wit, and intellect in its members. Thus, many Ravenclaws tended to be academically motivated and talented students. They also prided themselves on being original in their ideas, and methods. It was not unusual to find Ravenclaw students practising especially different types of magic that other houses might shun. Hermione Granger, an extremely intelligent witch and the top student in her year, was sorted into Gryffindor, though she admitted that the Sorting Hat had seriously considered placing her in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws tended to be curious about the world and paid attention to the world around them. Ravenclaws were known to be logical and rational. In addition, Ravenclaw students tended to have abilities regarding Memory. Garrick Ollivander, for example, possessed an eidetic memory and can remember every wand he has sold, and Gilderoy Lockhart had an exceptional talent in the Memory Charm..
Quidditch is a competitive sport in the Wizarding World of the Harry Potter universe, featured in the series of novels and movies. It is an extremely rough but very popular semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches, and academic D. Bruno Starrs has written about its uniqueness as a sport in which players in the same match may be any age or gender.[1] Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls called the Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. There are six elevated ring-shaped goals, three on each side of the Quidditch pitch. In the Harry Potter universe, Quidditch holds a fervent following similar to the position that association football holds as a globally popular sport.
