July 21, 2007	Saturday	Rajab 05, 1428

LONDON, July 20: In the Harry Potter books, British author J. K. Rowling has created a fictional, self-contained wizarding world of magic and mystery. Here is an A to Z of its characters and keywords:

A is for Azkaban, a prison for wizards;

B is for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a popular sweet for young wizards, whose flavours include ear wax and vomit;

C is for Cho Chang, with whom Harry has his first kiss;

D is for Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry attended by Harry, which is the setting for the books;

E is for the elixir of life, which can make the drinker immortal;

F is for Fang, the docile boarhound owned by Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts;

G is for Gryffindor, the house at Hogwarts which Potter belongs to;

H is for Harry Potter, the hero of the books, a young, orphaned wizard with extraordinary powers whose struggle against dark evil Voldemort is the main plotline, and Hermione Granger, his clever close female friend.

I is for inquisitorial squad, a group of Harry's enemies who enforce discipline at the school;

J is for jinx, a spell cast to cause misfortune to another;

K is for knut, one of three types of coin which make up currency in the wizarding world;

L is for Lupin, Hogwarts' kindly professor of defence against the dark arts;

M is for muggles, or people who cannot use magic;

N is for nine and three-quarters, the invisible train station platform which pupils returning to Hogwarts must access by running at a barrier;

O is for order of the phoenix, a group brought together by Dumbledore to fight against Voldemort;

P is for the philosopher's stone referred to in the title of the first Harry Potter book which produces the elixir of life and which is kept at Hogwarts;

Q is for quidditch, a game played on broomsticks whose aim is to throw balls through hoops at either end of a pitch and which ends when a player catches the winged ball known as the “golden snitch”.

R is for room of requirement, a room at Hogwarts which only appears at times of need, fitted out with whatever is required by the passing wizard;

S is for Slytherin, another Hogwarts house which Harry's arch-enemy Draco Malfoy belongs to;

T is for thestrals, sinister winged horses which are reputedly an omen of evil;

U is for Umbridge, a Hogwarts teacher who forces out Dumbledore to become headmistress;

V is for Voldemort, Harry's ruthless and power-hungry arch-enemy who killed the young wizard's parents;

W is for Weasleys, seven loveable red-haired siblings who all attend Hogwarts, including Harry's close friend Ron;

X is (almost) for expecto patronum, a spell used by Harry to ward off evil creatures like dementors;

Y is for you know who, the way many wizards refer to Voldemort because they are too afraid to use his real name;

Z is for Zonko, owner of a joke shop in Hogsmeade, the town closest to Hogwarts.—AFP