Hermione Jane Granger  

Hermione is easily the brightest witch in her year at Hogwarts. She is a Gryffindor who entered Hogwarts in 1991. Her parents are Muggles, and both dentists (SS). She reads voraciously and tends to believe that anything worth knowing about can be learned about in books. When she discovered, for example, that Divination was more of an imprecise art than an exact science, and that all her reading and research couldn't make a Seer out of her, she took against it, and later quit the class. In her first year at Hogwarts, Hermione found herself disliked by most of the other kids. She was a bossy know-it-all who told everyone else off for not doing everything according to the rules. She mellowed somewhat over that first year and even more in the years that followed, but she has not lost her disapproval of rule-breaking.

Hermione has a brilliant mind. She has memorized many, many spells and can reason her way through difficult situations that stump everyone else. By her fifth year, she could cast a Protean Charm - N.E.W.T standard magic (OP19). Portable, waterproof fires are a specialty of hers. She even spent one school year taking double classes using a Time Turner to be in two places at once, but she found this too exhausting to keep up. She excels at most subjects and often helps Neville Longbottom through difficult Potions classes. Most teachers consider her a star pupil, although Snape calls her a show-off.

Hermione has bushy brown hair and brown eyes (CS13). Her middle name is Jane (WBD). Her birthday is September 19 (AOL) and for a birthday present in 1993 she bought herself a large ginger cat named Crookshanks (PA4). Her best friends are Ron Weasley and Harry Potter; she also gets along very well with Ginny Weasley. In her fourth year at Hogwarts, she found herself the object of the affection of Viktor Krum, a famous Quidditch player from Bulgaria, who was a visiting student at Hogwarts from Durmstrang Institute. She returned his affection to some extent, although she seems to be developing an interesting relationship with Ron which might grow into something more. Only time will tell.

Hermione has a developing social conscience and will work tirelessly for those she sees as oppressed or an underdog. She was quick to take Neville under her wing and help him along, especially in Potions class. She bought Crookshanks from a magical creatures store because no one had wanted him. She spent hours preparing a defense for Buckbeak, a falsely-accused hippogriff, and later began to take an interest in the plight of house-elves. Hermione has a younger sister who is not a Witch, judging by the fact that she isn't at Hogwarts.

Harry James Potter

Early Years 
1980-1981
Harry James Potter was born on July 31, 1980, to James and Lily Potter. James Potter's best friend, Sirius Black, was named Harry's godfather. Sirius, James, and Lily were all part of the Order of the Phoenix, a group of witches and wizards who were desperately fighting against Voldemort. They were outnumbered and many of them were killed, but they fought on. James and Lily had narrowly escaped Voldemort three times during this time.

Before Harry was born, a prophecy had been made about a boy to be born at the end of July which indicated that this person would be able to defeat the Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort heard part of this prophecy through an agent and resolved to destroy the child. Both Harry and another child, Neville Longbottom, would have fit the prophecy, but Voldemort decided that Harry must be the one and went after him. James and Lily knew that Voldemort was trying to kill Harry, and by October of 1981, they had used the Fidelius Charm to hide themselves from the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, the person they chose as Secret Keeper for the Charm, Peter Pettigrew, turned out to be a double agent who revealed their location to Voldemort. 

On the evening of October 31, 1981, the Dark Lord came to the Godric's Hollow, the town where James and Lily were living as Muggles, and attacked. James tried to hold Voldemort off at the door but failed; he was apparently killed there. Lily tried to run with Harry but Voldemort caught her. Curiously, he offered to spare her life, but she stood in his way and he killed her to get to Harry. This sacrifice turned out to be vitally important, for it was the ancient magic of this act that protected the child. When Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse hit Harry, the protection of Lily's sacrifice made the curse rebound onto Voldemort, who was all but killed. The curse left a curse scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on Harry's forehead.

The battle between the Potters and Voldemort left the house in ruins. Dumbledore dispatched Hagrid to go to Godric's Hollow and retrieve Harry. Hagrid managed to rescue Harry before the Muggles had a chance to investigate and interfere. While he was there, Hagrid encountered Sirius Black, who asked that Harry be given to him, since he was the boy's godfather. Hagrid refused, since he was following Dumbledore's orders to retrieve the boy. Sirius lent Hagrid his flying motorcycle to fly Harry to safety. 

It is unclear where Hagrid and Harry were for the next twenty-four hours. Dumbledore apparently spent the time arranging for Harry's safe keeping in Privet Drive, but even McGonagall didn't know what was going on. The next evening, she met Dumbledore in Privet Drive and shortly thereafter Hagrid arrived on the flying motorcycle with Harry. The three of them left Harry in a bundle of blankets on the doorstep of Number Four, the home of Harry's last surviving blood relatives, the Dursleys. 
1981-1991
For the next ten years, Harry lived a life of emotional abuse and physical deprivation. His Aunt Petunia, Lily's sister, and his Uncle Vernon were determined to squash any magic out of him. They never told him about his true identity. They told him that his parents had died in a car crash, which was also how he got the scar on his head. They doted on their son Dudley, who was a spoiled bully, while making Harry sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. The number one rule in the Dursley household was "Don't ask questions." Their goal was to keep him oppressed and downtrodden in the hopes that he wouldn't develop what they considered to be abnormal tendencies toward magic. They sent him to the same school as Dudley, who picked on Harry mercilessly. The other kids at school tended to avoid Harry because they didn't want to be nice to someone Dudley picked on or they'd attract his bullying on themselves. Harry was made to wear Dudley's old clothes, which were much too large for Harry. 

Despite the efforts of the Dursleys, Harry did exhibit some magic tendencies during his years at the Dursleys. At one point, when Uncle Vernon had become so frustrated with Harry's untidy hair that he cut it all off, Harry turned up at the breakfast table the next morning with hair all grown back. Another time, Harry was being chased by Dudley and his gang when Harry found himself unexptectedly up on the school roof. Harry had turned a teacher's wig blue and also shrunk a particularly ugly jumper (sweater) of Dudley's so that he wouldn't have to wear it.

Periodically during these years, Uncle Vernon's sister Marge would visit the Dursleys. She took great delight in tormenting Harry. She would give expensive presents to Dudley and either something horrible or nothing at all to Harry. She brought her pet bulldog, Ripper, to visit and when Harry was nine, she actually allowed the dog to chase Harry up a tree, where he had to remain until she called the dog off after midnight.

By the time he was ten years old, Harry had grown into a skinny, knobbly-kneed boy with untidy black hair and a narrow face. He wore glasses that were broken and taped from repeated blows aimed at him by Dudley. He was surprisingly quick, a skill developed over years of getting out of the way of his bullying cousin. He still lived in the cupboard under the stairs. His eyes, which were the same as his mother's, were brilliant green.

His life changed abruptly during the summer of 1991. Strange letters began arriving that frightened his aunt and uncle into fleeing the house and running to hide in a hut on a rock out at sea. In the midst of a huge storm, with waves crashing on the rock, just after midnight, Hagrid arrived on the rock where he discovered that Harry had no idea that he was a wizard. Hagrid did his best to explain to the boy all about his past, and when morning came on July 31, 1991, Hagrid took Harry to Diagon Alley to shop for the things he would need for school. A few weeks later, on September 1, Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express and was taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
September, 1991 through June, 1992
During Harry's first year he made close friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He developed a rivalry with Draco Malfoy. He was an average student. He learned to ride a broom and discovered that he was a natural at it. He was made a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the youngest house player in a century. During this year, it became evident that Voldemort was trying to infiltrate the school to try to get a Philosopher's Stone that was hidden in the third floor. Harry eventually uncovered the plot and chased Quirrell, who was being controlled by Voldemort, down into a series of chambers under the school. Here, with Ron and Hermione, Harry overcame numerous challenges and eventually faced Quirrell and Voldemort. Harry successfuly protected the Stone from Voldemort, although he was seriously injured in the process, and spent three days unconscious in the hospital wing afterwards.

Ron Weasley

Ronald Bilius Weasley is the sixth of Molly and Arthur's sons. He is currently attending Hogwarts where he is the best friend of Harry Potter. Ron has a generally positive outlook on life but struggles with feelings of having to live up to five older brothers who have made their mark on Hogwarts one way or another.

Ron also finds himself frustrated with being poor. "Why is everything I own rubbish?" he exclaims when he is faced with second hand dress robes with lace on them and a maniacal little owl  who chokes on owl treats (GF10).

Ron and Harry find themselves at odds occasionally and have even spent some weeks not speaking to each other, but Ron is a devoted friend and helper for Harry. Ron's skills at chess helped Harry pass through McGonagall's enchanted chess set guarding the Sorcerer's Stone. He lied for Harry when Snape caught Harry with the evidence of an illicit visit to Hogsmeade in their third year, saying he'd brought the Zonko's stuff back for Harry on a previous visit (PA14). After Hagrid lost Buckbeak's case, Ron took over responsibility for the appeal from Hermione, who was strained to the breaking point from her classload (PA15), and he was deeply offended over the Committee's unjust handling of the final hearing (PA16). He urged Harry to protest to their Head of House or the Headmaster when Umbridge gave Harry sadistic detentions.

Ron has been very supportive of Harry as he's been plagued by feedback from his mental connection with Voldemort. His questions after a post-Quidditch practice vision helped them both analyze how much information Harry was getting, and he gave Harry some intelligent advice, although Harry refused to take it (OP18). He's taken action to snap Harry out of a couple of overpowering nighttime visions, and protected Harry from having his problems become public property via the other boys in their dormitory (OP24, OP26).

Ron seems to be developing an interesting and possibly romantic relationship with Hermione, but for now it's in the arguing and teasing stage. He was highly annoyed that Hermione went to the Yule Ball with Krum, but never got around to asking her himself. He ended up going to the Ball with Padma Patil, but he was so busy glowering at Hermione and Krum that Padma abandoned him to dance with some boys from Beauxbatons. Ron didn't seem to mind in the least.

Ron is an avid Quidditch fan; his favorite team is the Chudley Cannons and his bedroom at the Burrow--an attic room at the top of the stairs--is plastered with posters of the team. Ron's broom, however, like everything else he owns was a hand-me-down Shooting Star which is "frequently outstripped by passing butterflies" (CS3). In August of 1995, however, Ron became a prefect and was rewarded by his mother with a new broom, a Cleansweep Eleven. That fall he tried out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was made Keeper (OP13).

Ron gets plenty of teasing from his older brothers, particularly Fred and George. When he was made a prefect during the twins' last year at Hogwarts, they resumed their old habit of calling him by baby-talk nicknames, something they hadn't done since his first year. They taunted him for awhile about whether he would try to give them detention, but Hermione indirectly put a stop to the worst of that (OP).

When Ron was three, he broke Fred's toy broomstick, and Fred retaliated by changing Ron's teddy bear into a giant spider, while Ron was holding it. Ron's been terrified of spiders ever since, although he can tolerate working with dead ones in Potions (CS9). After encountering Aragog in the forest, Ron was so afraid he threw up in Hagrid's pumpkin patch.