Harry Potter books 1-4?

Question:

Harry Potter books 1-4?

It's been a few years since I've read any of the Harry Potter books and now I want to start reading them again. So far I've only read books 1-4 and I don't remember anything that happened in them so I was wondering if anyone could summarize all the important things that happened in these books.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: These summaries are written by J.K. Rowling

1st Book
The story begins with a description of the Dursleys, an utterly normal family in England, who are left with baby Harry Potter on their doorsteps. Aunt Petunia's sister Lily married James Potter and became a powerful couple in the wizard's world. They were killed by the evil Voltemort, leaving Harry with a large scar on his forehead and legacy as the only wizard to escape Voltemort alive. Head wizard Albus Dumbledore decides to have Harry grow up with the Dursleys until he is ready to attend Hogwarts, the premiere magic school in England. At age 11, Harry is wisped away to Hogwarts by the giant gamekeeper, Hagrid, to find himself lost amongst a new world of magic and power.
Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon Alley, where he retrieves some of his inheritance from Gringotts, the wizard bank, and purchases his books, wand, and robes from the Leaky Cauldron and Ollivanders. On the train to Hogwarts at platform Nine and Three Quarters, Harry meets his new friend Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Everyone is amazed to meet the famous Harry Potter. On the train Harry also meets Draco Malfoy, a boy with whom he develops a distrust and hatred. At Hogwarts, the children meet Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell, all professors and wizards. At the opening banquet, the Sorting Hat decides in which house the children live, sorting Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Harry into Gryffindor, and Draco Malfoy into Slytherin, the house run by Snape and known to have schooled Voltemort in years past.
Hermione busies herself with studies, Ron with chess, and Harry with learning about his family and powers. He becomes an expert flyer and is allowed to play Quidditch for Gryffindor's team. Draco Malfoy continually tries to get the Gryffindor kids in trouble, by setting them up and dragging them away from their beds at the wrong time. One day, Ron and Harry come across a large troll and rescue Hermione from death. From then on, the threesome spies on Snape and Quirrell and seek to discover the secrets at Hogwarts. They realize that the Sorceror's Stone is hidden by a three-headed dog at Hogwarts and is the secret to eternal life created by Nicholas Flamel.
They believe Snape is the culprit behind the evil and try to stop him from destroying Harry and Hogwarts.
Meanwhile, Hagrid keeps an eye on Harry and looks out for him. They visit Hagrid and meet his new pet dragon, Norbert. Norbert causes problems for everyone, as dragons are illegal animals. The three send the dragon away to Romania under Harry's Invisibility Cloak and are discovered out of bed doing so. They are branded and punished with detention and stricken of fifty points each. As detention the kids must help clean up the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. They find a unicorn slaughtered, with its blood scattered across the ground, and are frightened by an evil spirit. The good centaur Firenze flies Harry away from danger in the forest as soon as he discovers who Harry is.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that Voltemort tricked Hagrid into revealing the method by which to get past the three-headed dog and to the Sorcerer's Stone. They rush past the dog, and through the chambers to stop Voltemort from killing Harry. Ron gets everyone past the life sized Wizard's Chess board, while Hermione breaks the riddle that allows Harry to proceed to the ultimate chamber under ground. He sees the Mirror of Erised, the same mirror that shows the hopes and dreams of the person who looks inside. He finds Quirrell in the chamber without his stutter. He admits to hosting Voltemort and trying to destroy Harry in the forest. When his turban is removed, Harry sees a double face on top of Quirrell's head - it is Voltemort, and he wants to use Harry to get the Stone and then kill him. Harry discovers the Stone in his pocket and tries to kill Voltemort/Quirrel until he blacks out.
Harry awakens in the infirmary to Dumbledore congratulating him. He saved the Stone, Hogwarts, and his own life. Because of his bravery and that of Hermione, Ron, and Neville, Gryffindor wins the House Cup for the year. Harry must go back to the Dursleys for the summer, but looks forward to all the magic he will practice and learn in the future.

2nd Book
Tom Riddle comes to life, and he's the 16 year old Voldemort. Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets though not of her free will as she was being possessed by Riddle (Voldemort.) Harry destroys the memory of Riddle by stabbing the basilisk tooth through the diary. Lockhart is a really a fraud and he loses his memory and ends up in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Dobby belongs to Lucius Malfoy, and Harry tricks Lucius into setting Dobby free.

3rd Book
The plot of the film, not the book : Harry's
Aunt Marge comes to stay and insults Harry's mother. He gets angry and she swells into a balloon and floats off. An angry Harry packs his case and leaves and sits on the pavement by a park. He see's a vicious black dog and falls back, the Knight Bus (a triple decker) picks him up and they ride crazily through London to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry speaks to the minister for magic who lets him off. Mr Weasley tells Harry a prisoner called Sirius Black is after him.

On the train to Hogwarts the trio enter a carriage where a strange cloaked man is sat. The train grinds to a halt and a dementor walks through the door, the last thing Harry sees is the man jump up ward off the dementor and he hears his mother screaming. Then he passes out.

He wakes up and they continue to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts the fat lady portrait is torn up by Sirius Black and everyone has to sleep in the Great Hall. Harry isn't allowed on school visits to Hogsmeade Village so he tries to sneak in his invisibility cloak. Fred and George stop him and give him the Marauders Map.

In Hogsmeade Harry overhears that Sirius betrayed his parents to Voldemort and killed a man called Peter Pettigrew.

In Hogwarts he looks at the Marauders Map and sees a shape called Peter Pettigrew walking around, he investigates but is caught by Snape. His new teacher comes to the rescue and covers for him.

Harry learns how to ward off the dementors with Professor Lupin.

Hagrid becomes a teacher and one of the beasts attacks Malfoy, who overreacts and gets the beast sentenced to death.

There new Divination teacher makes a freaky premonition about Voldemort.

The trio go to Hagrid's to comfort him and leave when a stone is thrown at them.

The beast is 'killed' and Hermione punches Malfoy.

Ron is dragged into the Whomping Willow by the vicious dog and Harry and Hermione follow. They meet Sirius who was the dog in Animagus form. Harry is about to kill him when Lupin walks in and knocks the wand out of his hand. They learn that Ron's pet rat is really Peter Pettigrew and he betrayed Harry's parents. Snape comes and Harry knocks him out with a spell.

They go outside and drag Pettigrew, the moon shines and they discover Lupin is a werewolf who attacks Sirius.

They escape and go to a lake where the dementors come. Harry and Sirius are close to death when a figure appears and wards them off.

Back in the hospital wing Harry discovers that Hermione has a necklace which can turn back time. They go back, save the hippogriff (Buckbeak, the beast which was going to be executed) and then Harry realises it was him who warded off the dementors and does it again. They then save Sirius from execution who flies away on Buckbeak.

4th book
Plot of the book- not the movie
Harry Potter and the Weasleys go to watch the Quidditch World Cup. On that same night, the illegal Dark Mark appears in the sky. When Harry gets back to Hogwarts, he finds out a surprise. The competition between three of the magic schools is taking place this year. This is a very rare event, since it only happens once every five years but hasn't happened for ages because lots of the competitors died. Viktor Krum, a participator in the Triwizard Tournament, is from one of these amazing wizard schools. Hogwarts is the contest's location this year. Even though Harry is not old enough to enter, his name appears inside the magic goblet. He is in. But he soon will learn that the reason he was secretly entered was to put his and the rest of the world's life in danger......

Sorry for the range in sizes, got them from many different sites