Harry Potter 5th Book
The Order of the Phoenix

Memorable Harry Potter Quotes
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

It's a secret society…Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time. (Hermione to Harry explaining the Order, p. 67)

Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius...Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army. (Dumbledore to Fudge as he takes the blame for Harry's D.A., p. 618)

I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you, Harry...They might not have found Arthur for hours, and then it would have been too late, but thanks to you he's alive and Dumbledore's been able to think up a good cover story for Arthur being where he was. (Mrs. Weasley to Harry, p. 479-80)

Harry Potter Book Report
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

At the start of the Harry Potter 5th book, we find Harry back at the Dursleys - again - only this time he is anxious and shifty, constantly waiting for news of Voldemort and the Wizarding world. One evening he encounters Dudley and his gang in the park. They have a spat that ends with Dudley and Harry being attacked by Dementors. Harry conjures his Patronus, the Stag, to save himself and his cousin. When he arrives home he immediately receives a letter which explains that he has been expelled from Hogwarts for breaking the decree for the restriction of underage wizardry. He then immediately receives notes from Mr. Weasley and Sirius telling him not to leave his Uncle's house. Even stranger is the fact that Aunt Petunia receives a Howler from an unknown source which causes her to allow Harry to stay even though Uncle Vernon is trying to kick him out.

Harry is rescued by a convoy including Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, and a few more wizards unknown to Harry. They take him to Number 12 Grimmauld Place which is visible only to the eyes of someone who knows it's there. Harry finds Ron and Hermione here and they try to explain that this house is the headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix, a secret society set up by Dumbledore to fight against Voldemort. Harry is angry and takes it out on his friends. He doesn’t understand why he's heard nothing from anyone all summer. Ron and Hermione reveal it's because Dumbledore made them swear not to tell Harry anything. Furthermore Harry finds out that the Daily Prophet along with Cornelius Fudge has been slandering him and Dumbledore all summer, saying that they are crazy attention seekers and that Voldemort has not really returned.

A hearing has been scheduled for Harry to decide whether or not he will be allowed back at Hogwarts. While he waits, they all stay at Grimmauld Place which Harry finds out is the home of Sirius Black, his godfather. Sirius is there and unable to leave for fear of being found out by the Ministry. They pass the time ridding the house of all the evil, dark magic that the Black family owned. Harry meets Kreacher, the Black family house elf who has a pure hatred for any wizard not pure blood.

When Harry's hearing finally arrives the time has been changed. He and Mr. Weasley barely make it in time. He is taken to the Ministry of Magic and subjected to a full criminal trial which is unheard of for his offense. It is clear that Fudge wants to make an example of him. Dumbledore and Mrs. Figg show up as part of Harry's defense team and by a stroke of luck he gets off all charges. Many of the Wizengamot are surprised by the fact that a young boy can produce a fully formed Patronus. Dumbledore ignores Harry at the trial which totally perplexes him.

So starts another year at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter 5th book where things are more topsy-turvy than ever. Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet Luna, "Looney," Lovegood whose father is the editor of The Quibbler, equivalent to our National Enquirer. Professor Umbridge has taken the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry recognizes her from his trial. They quickly learn that she is loyal to only the Ministry and has no intention of teaching them anything useful. Instead, she's there to make sure nothing suspicious is going on at Hogwarts. Harry speaks out against her during the first class about Voldemort's return earning himself a detention. She makes him write lines "I must not tell lies" which shows up carved into his hand instead of on the paper. Percy Weasley has become a Ministry supporter and urges Ron not to associate with Harry. Umbrdige is given the title of "High Inquisitor" with which she has the power to assess and dismiss any teacher she feels is unworthy. She begins her Educational Decrees. All student groups are forbidden and Sirius almost gets caught when meeting secretly with Harry in the Gryffindor Fire.

Umbridge's reign of terror leads to the formation of "Dumbledore’s Army" by Harry and Hermione. This is a group of students who want to learn defensive magic so they can be prepared when the time comes. The group uses the Room of Requirement for secret meetings. Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Colin Creevy are among some of the students who join up. Ron joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team but Harry, Fred, and George are banned for fighting with Malfoy and the Slytherins. The craziness continues.

Harry begins seeing through the eyes of a snake in his dreams and is startled one night when he appears to have watched Mr. Weasley attacked at the Ministry. He tells Dumbledore in time and Mr. Weasley is saved. It turns out that Harry and Voldemort's minds are connected causing him to see events through Voldemort's eyes as they happen. Dumbledore orders Snape to begin teaching Occlumency to Harry which is the act of closing one's mind so that nobody can penetrate it. Seems that Voldemort has not yet figured out that Harry can get inside his head. Dumbledore worries that once he does he will begin using Harry's weaknesses against him.

When a mass breakout from Azkaban of known Death Eaters occurs and The Daily Prophet reports that Sirius is behind it, Hermione decides it's time to set the record straight. She has Rita Skeeter do an interview with Harry about Cedric's death and Voldemort's return and then asks Luna Lovegood's father to print it in The Quibbler. When it is printed, Umbridge bans The Quibbler from Hogwarts causing even more attention to be paid to the article. People start to take Harry seriously again in light of some of the strange happenings around the country. Umbridge fires Professor Trelawney but Dumbledore forces her to allow Trelawney to stay citing that only he has the power to banish teachers from the grounds. Firenze, the Centaur, replaces Trelawney and Divination takes a positive turn. Umbridge finds out about Dumbledore's Army. When Dumbledore takes the blame they try to take him to Azkaban but he disappears with Fawkes. Umbridge replaces him as headmistress of Hogwarts.

Meanwhile in the Harry Potter 5th book, Harry has been working on Occlumency with Snape but things are not going well. In a bizarre twist, Harry is able to access one of Snape’s memories which happens to be of a time when James Potter, Harry’s dad, mercilessly teased him. Snape is furious with Harry for penetrating his mind and tells him he will no longer teach him the art of Occlumency. In other events, Fred and George's "Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes" joke business has taken off with the help of Harry's Triwizard winnings. The twins decide that traditional schooling isn't for them so they decide to leave Hogwarts to pursue a joke shop. They make a spectacular exit which causes Umbridge serious problems from fireworks to a moat in the castle that won't disappear! And funny enough, none of the teachers will help her clean up.

Hagrid has returned after his journey to find and recruit the giants with Madame Maxime. He comes back with his giant half-brother Grawp whom he hides in the Forbidden Forest. Before he leaves again he asks Harry, Ron, and Hermione to look in on Grawp from time to time. They don’t really want to but out of love for Hagrid they agree.

The end of the Harry Potter 5th book is the most exciting and terrifying of the Harry Potter book collection. After false information retrieved from Kreacher who was setting them up, Harry fears that Sirius has been captured by Voldemort and is being held at the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Luna go to save him. There is a huge showdown in the Ministry between Harry's group and the Death Eaters headed by Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort is after the Prophecy made by Professor Trelawney explaining his downfall caused by Harry. Harry gets the prophecy but then finds out he was tricked by Voldemort. Sirius is not really in danger. Voldemort just needed Harry to retrieve the Prophecy for him. After much fighting when members of The Order of the Phoenix arrive, Sirius is killed and Voldemort is scared off by Dumbledore who shows up at the last minute. Harry is close to inconsolable over the death of his Godfather and his group of friends is badly beat up.

Finally at the end of the Harry Potter 5th book, Dumbledore explains why he has been ignoring Harry all year long. He was trying to protect him. He feared that Harry and Voldemort had a connection which when used against them, could harm The Order. Dumbledore thought his distance would make Voldemort less apt to try to get to them through Harry. He realizes he was wrong to keep Harry in the dark, explaining that it is his love and fear for Harry’s safety that helped him make this decision. Harry heard in the Prophecy that "neither can live while the other survives" and has Dumbledore confirm that either he will have to kill Voldemort or Voldemort will have to kill him in order for this to all end.

Harry Potter Book Review
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

So right now I feel like Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling when she said that maybe the Harry Potter 5th book is too long but she couldn't take anything out because it was all necessary. I couldn't possibly tell you the story without really telling it, and believe me, I had to leave out a lot of detail!

That said I have to say that the Harry Potter 5th book is my favorite of the Harry Potter book collection. I actually didn't like it at all the first time I read it. This was because Harry was so mad and so beaten down by everyone, including Dumbledore inadvertently, that there was a dark and gloomy feel to the whole novel. It reminded me of The Empire Strikes Back in the Star Wars trilogy - the bad guys are winning for most of the story.

Umbridge is just perfectly awful. I didn't think I could dislike a character more than Snape or Lucius Malfoy but Umbridge takes the cake. In all the books she is by far the most detestable. Which makes her a great character. From her pink outfits, cat décor in the D.A.D.A office, and quills that write in blood - there is nothing redeemable about this woman. I was totally psyched to see her get what she deserved at the end.

Another fantastic part of the Harry Potter 5th book is the Fred and George Weasley story. Always a fan of the fun-loving, jokester twins, I thought their exit from Hogwarts and the havoc they wreaked on Umbridge's reign as headmistress was unforgettable. And you watch them go knowing that they will totally be successful and maybe bring some financial assistance to the Weasley family.

The death of Sirius is sad for Harry because he thought of his Godfather as his only true family. I am not a huge fan of Sirius but was sad to see him go for Harry's sake. I mean, how bad can things get for poor Harry? At least Voldemort doesn't get the prophecy, Lucius Malfoy is found out for who he really is, and Fudge has to admit the truth once and for all. A little retribution I think.

Again, as I always end each review, I was head over heels for Dumbledore. When a tear "trickles down his face into his long silver beard" I shed one too. Dumbledore loves Harry like his own. All he does he does in the name of keeping Harry safe and ridding the Wizarding world of Voldemort. I don't believe a stronger, more patient and kind, intelligent, and magnificent character has been written for some time.

...Harry Potter Prophecy

Why? The Prophecy is desperately sought out by Voldemort because he wants to figure out the secret to destroying his only true enemy - Harry Potter. Harry thwarts this plan but not before he learns "neither can live while the other survives" from the Prophecy made by Professor Trelawney all those years ago. Harry carries this knowledge with him right up to the final scene of the last Harry Potter book.

Harry Potter Trivia
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

1. What product are the Weasley twins testing all year long?
   Skivving Snackboxes

2. What former teacher does Harry encounter on the closed ward?
   Gilderoy Lockhart

3. Who tortured Neville's parents into insanity?
   Bellatrix LeStrange

Harry Potter Spells
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

"Expelliarmus" - disarms the opponent of their wand.

"Stupefy" - stuns the opponent.

"Petrificus Totalus" - makes the opponent "stiff as a board" and unable to move.

"Colloportus" - closes and seals a door.

"Impedimenta" - slows down or stops a person or object.

Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

Professor Umbridge

And What About Lord Voldemort?
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

Voldemort is a terrible presence in this book. He plagues Harry's thoughts and dreams to the extent that Harry is inside his mind as he is doing horrible things - like attacking Arthur Weasley. At the end of the Harry Potter 5th book, Dumbledore and Voldemort duel it out at the Ministry of Magic as Voldemort tries to steal the Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. He escapes but not before Cornelius Fudge and many other ministry officials catch a glimpse of him and realize that Dumbledore and Harry were right all this time.

Harry Potter Information Tidbit
The Order of the Phoenix - Harry Potter 5th Book

J.K. Rowling sued the Daily News for $100 million for publishing pieces of Harry Potter Book 5 four days before it was officially released.

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