Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth novel in the Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling. It was published in 2003.
Summary Of The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter is spending another boring summer with the dreadful Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon when a group of malevolent spirits known as “dementors” unexpectedly attack Harry and his cousin Dudley. After using magic to defend himself, Harry is visited by a group of wizards and taken to 12 Grimmauld Place, London.
Number Twelve is the home of Harry’s godfather, Sirius Black, and the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order, led by Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is a group of wizards dedicated to fighting the evil Lord Voldemort and his followers. The Order must operate secretly, outside the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic, which is run by the corrupt Cornelius Fudge. Fudge refuses to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned.
Because Harry used magic against the dementors and because underage wizards are not allowed to use wands outside school, he faces a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry. With Dumbledore’s help, Harry is cleared and allowed to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Reuniting with his best friends Ron and Hermione, Harry learns that Dolores Umbridge, a Fudge employee, will be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The Sorting Hat, which traditionally assigns new students to one of four houses, warns the students against internal division. Meanwhile, the magical newspaper, the Daily Prophet, continues to publish unfair and false reports about Harry. Many classmates gossip about Harry behind his back, but he ignores them and tries to focus on his studies, as all fifth-year students at Hogwarts must take the O.W.L. exams, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels.
Umbridge refuses to teach the students defensive spells, and soon Fudge appoints her as High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, giving her the authority to inspect and evaluate all the teachers. Harry, Hermione, and Ron form their own Defense group, known as Dumbledore’s Army, or D.A. Twenty-five other students sign up, and they meet as often as possible to learn and practice defensive spells.
Desperate to communicate with his godfather Sirius, Harry struggles as Umbridge monitors all Owl Post and patrols the fires that students use to communicate with wizards outside Hogwarts. Umbridge openly dislikes Harry, whom she sees as a liar, and eventually bans him from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron’s twin brothers, Fred and George, leave Hogwarts in protest and plan to open a joke shop in London with the money they won in the Triwizard Tournament last year.
Harry continues to have disturbing dreams about walking down a corridor in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. At the end of the corridor, Harry passes through several doors and enters a room filled with dusty glass spheres. Before he can learn what the dream means or what the spheres represent, Harry wakes up.
One night, Harry has a vision of being inside a large snake and attacking Ron’s father. Waking in terror, Harry is taken to Professor McGonagall, who brings him to Dumbledore. Dumbledore alerts the Order, and Mr. Weasley is saved by two members of the Order. Dumbledore then insists that Harry take Occlumency lessons to help protect his mind from further intrusion by Voldemort.
Harry struggles with Occlumency, finding it difficult to clear his thoughts completely and thus block the external influence. Meanwhile, his scar (from the attack in which Voldemort killed Harry’s parents) burns painfully whenever Voldemort experiences strong emotion. The D.A. continues to meet regularly, and the members show significant improvement in their defensive skills until they are eventually caught by Umbridge.
Dumbledore takes full responsibility for the group and resigns as Headmaster. Umbridge takes over his position. The students begin their O.W.L. exams, and Harry has another vision of Sirius being held captive and tortured by Voldemort. Desperate, Harry becomes determined to rescue him. Hermione warns that Voldemort might be trying to lure Harry to the Department of Mysteries, but Harry cannot ignore the possibility that Sirius is in danger.
Harry sneaks into Umbridge’s office and uses the fire to transport himself to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place to search for Sirius. The house-elf Kreacher tells Harry that Sirius is at the Ministry. Harry returns to Hogwarts and realizes he and his friends have been caught in Umbridge’s office. Hermione and Harry convince Umbridge to follow them into the forest, claiming they are hiding a weapon for Dumbledore. In the forest, centaurs carry Umbridge away. Harry and his friends then ride the thestrals, flying horses, to the Ministry.
At the Ministry, they cannot find Sirius and realize Hermione was right about the trap. Harry sees a glass sphere with his name and Voldemort’s name on it. He takes the sphere, and they are attacked by Death Eaters who demand the sphere. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville use their Defense skills to fight the Death Eaters with moderate success, but they are ultimately aided by members of the Order. In the chaos, Harry drops the sphere, which shatters. During the battle, Sirius is killed by his cousin and Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry is devastated.
Dumbledore arrives and subdues the Death Eaters. Voldemort and Lestrange escape just as Fudge arrives. Dumbledore explains that the sphere contained a prophecy stating that Harry has a power Voldemort does not know about: love. The prophecy claims that Harry will either kill Voldemort or be killed by him. Dumbledore also reveals why Harry must spend each summer with the Dursleys.
Because Harry’s mother died to save him, her blood provides him with a powerful protection, which can only be maintained if Harry lives with her blood relative, Aunt Petunia. This blood bond ensures Harry’s safety as long as he calls Little Whinging home. With this knowledge, Harry returns to the Dursleys’ for another unhappy summer.