Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the series, and Harry’s 5th year at Hogwarts. This year in his life is highly focused on persuading his doubtful piers that Voldemort is in fact back. The wizarding world is now convinced that Harry is a nutcase, in his accounts of Voldemort’s return, and especially Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, who is highly publicizing the falsity that everybody is safe.
Harry’s normally boring summer quickly turns into a bad one when his cousin Dudley nearly loses his soul to a Dementor…and he would have had Harry not saved him with a Patronus Charm. However, despite his heroic performance, using magic within the presence of muggles is illegal by magic law. In his trial, the wizengamot are hard to persuade, but after his account, his witness Ms. Figg, and Dumbledore’s statement, the board vote in favor of Harry, allowing him to go to Hogwarts like normal.
Like every year, there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Delores Umbridge (a familiar face to Harry, having seen her in favor of the law in his court). In his first class with her, she immediately ensures the students that they are completely safe, and real magic will not be necessary. Harry tries to convince her on the contrary, which earns him a detention.
At his detention, he is made to write lines…but not with just any old quill, a very “special” quill, which turns out to use his own blood as the ink, leaving deep cuts in his hands which read “I must not tell lies”. Even with Hermione’s steadfast demand to tell Dumbledore, it remains a secret in Harry’s determination to not give Umbridge the satisfaction.
Due to Umbridge’s lack of proper teaching, Hermione takes a firm stand in convincing Harry to lead a private group of interested people how to do real magic, in light of recent events involving Voldemort’s return. Hermione elects Harry as the leader, having many experiences with Voldemort and near death situations. The private club gains more interest than expected, and the people of it were blown away by Harry’s powerful speech and all of his unknown accomplishments. They unanimously decide to name the new club Dumbledore’s Army.
Throughout the school year, Harry has often been having strange dreams (or rather reoccurring nightmares), always at the same place. One of the worst of which, occurring near Christmastime, involves Mr. Weasley being attacked by a snake… but he felt like he was the snake. The Weasley children and Harry are immediately sent to the Burrow by portkey, and Harry receives immense gratitude, for perhaps saving Mr. Weasley’s life. Because of Harry’s alarming dream, Dumbledore orders Harry to take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape, to teach him how to block out the force of unwanted people (Voldemort) reading his mind.
Dumbledore’s Army continues to meet in the room discovered by Neville called the Room of Requirement. Meanwhile, Harry grows more and more in love with Cho Chang, up until the dreadful visit to Hogsmeade village with Cho, where Cho becomes irritated with Harry because of his failure to care about her enough… or at least, in Cho’s eyes.
It soon becomes time for the 5th year students to take their O.W.L.’s (Ordinary Wizarding Level Exams). During one particularly boring exam, Harry dozes off into another one of his strange vision dreams; this time, proving especially devastating and destructing. Witnessing his godfather being tortured astonishingly, Harry is unexpectedly awakened by an O.W.L. instructor. As soon as the exams are over, Harry immediately informs Ron and Hermione and starts to produce a plan.
After making his way through various obstacles involving Delores Umbridge, Harry is eventually able to reunite successfully with Ron and Hermione, only when 3 more loyal members of the DA (Ginny, Luna, and Neville) appear, willing to fight just as hard. Losing his protest against which, Harry surrenders in letting them accompany in their noble mission. They quickly decide on the Thestral transportation method, and head off to the ministry in good hopes.
The 6 of them proceed into the Department of Mysteries, although having no idea where to go next. They explore several rooms until they find the Prophecy Room. Harry rushes anxiously to find row 97, where a prophecy marked with his name is. Death Eaters appear out of nowhere, requesting the prophecy in return for keeping them alive, and initiating a livid battle throughout the whole Department.
Soon enough, several Order of the Phoenix members show up, willing to loyally fight against Voldemort and his army of followers. The veil room held many fights, going back and forth between death eaters and Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s army members; one of the most dramatic, being Sirius Black fighting his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry tries desperately to help his willing godfather, but he refuses to accept it and persuades Harry to stay back and hide. After Bellatrix fires plenty of deadly curses in his direction, Sirius testifies his bravery, and encourages her to fight harder. Angered by Sirius’ mockery, she did.
The shot of green light hit Sirius straight on the chest. His face still clung to his last, bellowing laugh as he drifted slowly, gracefully, backwards. Harry struggled violently against Lupin’s firm grip, screaming deafeningly at the top of his lungs as he helplessly watched his godfather disappear behind the veil. Still completely unaware of what was going on, Harry insists that he had only just gone behind the veil, they could save him. Lupin tries aimlessly to convince him of the truth, although failing to let the word no one wanted to hear escape from his mouth. Harry eventually escaped Lupin’s boundaries in one raging movement, seeking revenge in the form of death.
Harry attacks Bella in the area outside the Department with Crucio, but fails miserably. Bellatrix teaches him how it’s done with a demonstration. As Bellatrix fight for the prophecy and Harry fights to take her life, Dumbledore appears to Harry’s side, willing to help in the crisis. Bellatrix disappears before anyone can inflict fatal damage, and Voldemort arrives. Dumbledore and Voldemort battle harshly before Harry’s eyes. In order to convince Dumbledore to give up, he uses Harry and possesses his weak body, trying to persuade Dumbledore to kill him, which, in Harry’s mind, sounds like a terrific idea. When Harry is finally released, Dumbledore sends Harry back to his office at Hogwarts to wait for him, when he has time to think about the more than chaotic happenings.
When Dumbledore finally arrives back, Harry is so weak, he takes everything out on Dumbledore and his possessions. Dumbledore calmly argues to Harry that the feeling he is suffering from is a sign that he is a man; that he is human. Harry bellows out in his fury, that if that is the case, he does not want to be human. He is sick of everything, he doesn’t care anymore. Harry is left completely in the dark. It seems like all hope has been lost. Harry’s head is exploding with every feeling in the world, and he wants it all just to end.
It turns out Voldemort was not about to kill Sirius; he used reverse Legilimency to summon Harry, because he knew it lure Harry into his “mastermind” trap. Sure enough, it did.
Through Dumbledore’s help, he discovers that the reason Voldemort wanted to kill him was because of a prophecy that was made before he was born. He also finds in the prophecy that “Either must die at the hand of the other, For neither can live while the other survives”. This means one of them must kill the other in the end. It is then that Harry discovers that if there is going to be one to kill Voldemort, it must be him. Voldemort wanted the prophecy to verify the rumored information. Harry figures out the truth that has been hidden from him ever since birth. The challenge that he never had the choice to reject is becoming a reality right before his eyes.
Harry is eventually forced, although unwillingly, to accept the fact that Sirius will never come back. He even consults Nearly Headless Nick, to see if maybe he can obtain some hope to see Sirius return as a ghost. “He will have…gone on,” Nick says. Voldemort’s show hits publicity, giving the wizarding community insecurity, terror, and also remorse, for not believing Harry before. As the end of Harry’s 5th year at Hogwarts arrives, Harry is left to stress over matters that no teenager should have to endure, nervously anticipate the challenges that lie ahead of him, and to nobly prepare, knowing that he is the only soul capable of defeating the Dark Lord for good.