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1-Page Summary of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Overview
Harry is forced to spend another summer in the Dursley house, which he hates. He’s angry that his friends aren’t sending him any news about the war against Voldemort. Suddenly one night a group of dementors attack him and Dudley, sucking out their souls. Harry uses magic to drive them away, but then he has to go before the Ministry of Magic for a hearing because they can’t let him use magic outside school. If found guilty, he will be expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Harry is then taken to his godfather’s house in London. It’s also the base of a group of rebels who fight against evil wizards, led by Dumbledore. The rebellion is kept secret from the Ministry, which is led by Fudge, who insists that Harry and Dumbledore are delusional about Voldemort returning and that he has not returned.
Harry attends the hearing. Although Fudge is determined to get Harry expelled, Harry has an eyewitness who can prove that he cast the spell out of self-defense. His neighbor, Arabella Figg, is a squib and knows Dumbledore well enough to testify on his behalf. Thanks to her testimony and Dumbledore’s support, Harry is cleared of all charges.
Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione return for their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They learn that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is Dolores Umbridge, a Ministry official who has been trying to discredit Harry by pressuring the Daily Prophet newspaper to publish untrue stories about him.
Harry and his classmates do not like Professor Umbridge. She refuses to teach them defensive magic, which is a main part of the course. In addition, she tells Harry that he’s lying about Voldemort returning. This causes many arguments between her and Harry in class, which leads to her giving him detentions at night. During these detentions, Harry has to write lines with a blood-inked quill as punishment for his behavior during class time. Fudge soon appoints Professor Umbridge as the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts (which gives her more authority over the school). She begins reforming Hogwarts by making new rules for students’ freedoms and banning Quidditch from being played there again because Harry was responsible for Cedric Diggory’s death while playing it in Goblet of Fire. At this time Hagrid returns from a mission where he tried to convince giants to fight on their side against Voldemort but failed miserably. It seems clear that either Hagrid or Trelawney will be fired due to Umbridge’s appointment as headmistress; however Trelawney leaves before she can fire her so Umbridge fires Hagrid instead since he broke one of Dumbledore’s rules when leaving Hogwarts grounds without permission
In retaliation to Umbridge’s punishment, Harry and his friends form a secret defense group called Dumbledore’s Army. They meet as often as they can and learn defensive spells.
During this time, Harry begins to have strange dreams about a corridor and a door at the end of it. He always wakes up before he is able to figure out what his dream means. He also experiences pain in his scar whenever Voldemort feels an extreme emotion. Near Christmas, Harry has a vision where he watches from inside a snake’s eyes as it attacks Ron’s father. Professor McGonagall takes him to Dumbledore, who speaks with the portraits on his wall and they are able to help Mr. Weasley get away safely. Harry is worried that there may be some connection between himself and Voldemort because of their shared experience under the curse when they were infants (when Voldemort tried unsuccessfully to kill them both). Dumbledore agrees with him but insists that Harry take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape in order for him not to reveal any secrets from within his mind while under attack by Voldemort or other dark wizards/witches through Legilimency (the ability of one wizard/witch to enter another’s mind). However, Harry struggles at Occlumency due to Snape’s seeming lack of patience in teaching it properly; thus, he doesn’t seem capable of improving upon this skill despite numerous attempts throughout several months’ time.
