Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry's fifth year, the Ministry of Magic refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned and sends Dolores Umbridge to take control of Hogwarts. Harry secretly teaches students to defend themselves, while visions lure him into a trap at the Ministry that costs him his godfather.
It is the longest book in the Harry Potter series.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Harry Potter | Fifth-year student |
| Dolores Umbridge | Ministry official turned teacher |
| Sirius Black | Harry's godfather |
| Albus Dumbledore | Headmaster of Hogwarts |
| Severus Snape | Teacher who trains Harry in Occlumency |
| Luna Lovegood | Dreamy, honest new friend |
| Neville Longbottom | Classmate who grows braver |
| Bellatrix Lestrange | Fanatical Death Eater |
| Kreacher | Sirius's bitter house-elf |
How does the year begin?
Two dementors attack Harry and his cousin Dudley in Little Whinging, and Harry is put on trial for using magic, then cleared. He is taken to 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius's old family home and headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret group fighting Voldemort. The Ministry and the Daily Prophet mock Harry and Dumbledore as liars.
↑ Back to the topWhat does Umbridge do at Hogwarts?
Umbridge teaches defense without letting students use magic and gives Harry detentions in which he must write lines with a quill that cuts the words into his hand. She becomes High Inquisitor and then headmistress. In response, Hermione and Harry set up Dumbledore's Army, a secret group in the Room of Requirement where Harry teaches spells.
↑ Back to the topWhat are Harry's visions?
Harry dreams he is a snake attacking Mr. Weasley, and it really happens; Mr. Weasley survives. Harry and Voldemort's minds are connected. Snape tries to teach him Occlumency to block the link, but the lessons end when Harry sees Snape's worst memory, of being humiliated by Harry's father. The Army is betrayed, Dumbledore escapes rather than be arrested, and Fred and George leave school in a dazzling display of fireworks.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens at the Department of Mysteries?
During an exam, Harry sees Sirius being tortured in the Department of Mysteries. With Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna, he flies to London. It is a trap: Voldemort wants a prophecy about Harry and himself, kept in a glass sphere there. Death Eaters attack, the sphere smashes, and Order members arrive. Bellatrix Lestrange strikes Sirius with a spell, and he falls through an ancient archway hung with a veil and is gone.
↑ Back to the topHow does Order of the Phoenix end?
Harry chases Bellatrix, and Voldemort appears. Dumbledore fights him in the Ministry atrium, and Voldemort briefly possesses Harry, who drives him out by thinking of Sirius. Fudge finally sees Voldemort with his own eyes and must admit the truth. Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore tells Harry about the prophecy: a boy born at the end of July would have the power to defeat Voldemort, and neither can live while the other survives. Voldemort chose Harry. Grieving, Harry leaves for the summer, with the Order promising to watch over him.
↑ Back to the topMore about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.