Harry Potter for Dummies

By now everyone has heard of Harry Potter, even if you have never read one book or watched one movie, gasp! The newest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, rated PG 13, is set to hit movie theaters July 11, 2007.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest Harry Potter book, and the shortest movie, at 2 hours and 19 minutes.

If you haven't been paying much attention to all of the Harry Potter "stuff", don't worry, there's still hope for you yet. You've got a little bit of time before the movie comes out to get a crash course in everything you need to know for the newest Harry Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. So here it goes.

All of the Harry Potter movies are based on the books of the same name written by J.K. Rowling. Obviously, you need to know who Harry Potter is. He is a glasses clad wizard-in-training played by Daniel Radcliffe. He attends a school by the name of Hogwarts, and in this film it is fifth year at the school.

The school's principal is Professor Dumbledore, who is very nice, not always a stickler for rules, and has candy and some animals as pets in his office. He has been known to share his candy from time to time.

Harry's best friend is a red head by the name of Ron Weasley, played by Rupert Grint. He is quite loyal to his pal Harry, and can usually be recognized by his clothes, which remind viewers of hand me downs. He carries a wand, which does not always work as intended. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets he made Harry puke with the wand. Oops!

Hermione is the female pal of Harry and Ron who knows everything, but this does not stop Ron from having a crush on her. She is pretty intelligent and can be seen in the library a lot. She can also be referred to as the brains among the three friends.

Cho Chang, played by Katie Leung, is another female character, but this female scares Harry Potter. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry desperately wanted to ask her out, but she was already spoken for. This newest film leaves room for a little romance between the two.

This gives you a general run down of some of the main characters. The best way to prepare for the new Harry Potter film is to catch all the old movies; but, if you can't, this little guide will help you as you venture out to see one of the year's hottest films.

Enjoy the show!