Harry Dresden


 *  Harry redirects here. For other meanings, see Harry (disambiguation).

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a wizard working as a private investigator out of Chicago, USA. Created by Jim Butcher, he serves as the protagonist of The Dresden Files book series.



Early life
Harry was born to Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay and Malcolm Dresden, on Halloween. His mother died in childbirth, so Malcolm took care of him while trying to make a career as a stage magician, travelling across the country. When Harry was six, Malcolm died of a brain aneurysm, orphaning Harry at a young age. After this, Harry became a ward of the state.

Harry first manifested his powers at age ten, during a running long jump at school Olympics in spring. Desperate to win, he magically pushed himself about about ten feet further than he would have jumped on his own, and, although landing badly and spraining his wrist, he won a blue ribbon he keeps to this day.

About two weeks after first manifesting he was adopted by Justin DuMorne, a wizard and former Warden of the White Council, who took him as his apprentice.

DuMorne would later, when Harry was around 16 years old, try to enthrall both Harry and his girlfriend, fellow adoptee Elaine Mallory. He would succeed in enthralling Elaine, but Harry escaped and, after facing and beating He Who Walks Behind, a Outsider summoned by DuMorne to kill Harry, decided to go back and rescue Elaine. Harry faced DuMorne in a duel to the death, and won, stealing the air spirit of knowledge Bob and, thinking Elaine died in the fire, leaves.

Harry is then found by the White Council, to his suprise, as far as he knew, there were no other wizards besides himself, DuMorne and Elaine, and put on trial for breaking the First Law of Magic: Thou Shalt Not Kill. However, due to the intervention of Ebenezar McCoy, he is let off due to the killing being in self-defence, and he is put under the Doom of Damocles, a wizarding probation that basically means that if he broke the rules again, he would be executed on the spot. He is also taken by McCoy as McCoy's apprentice (though this would later be found out to be because McCoy was the Council's wet-works man, and was under orders to kill Harry if he showed any signs of rebelliousness - which happened fairly often, apparently).

After spending some years "getting his head together" under McCoy's tutelage, Harry attained membership to the Council, though he didn't, and still doesn't, trust them (this is being rectified, slowly) and spent some years travelling across America, much like he did with his father, before joining Ragged Angel Investigations, under Nicholas Christian, where he spent three years gaining his licence as a Private Investigator. After this, he opened his own business, which had been open for two years as Storm Front opens.

Storm Front
In Storm Front, Harry comes up against a two-bit sorcerer mixing sex, drugs, magic and murder, the Shadowman. Also introduced is the White Council, the Warden Morgan, along with several other major characters in the series such as Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, of the Chicago Police Department's Special Investigations division, who hired Harry on a "per case" basis as a consultant and Susan Rodriguez, a reporter for The Arcane, a newspaper that reports on the supernatural occurances in the area.

Fool Moon
In Fool Moon, Harry faces off against several different kinds of werewolves, and gains a new ally in Billy and his gang of werewolves, known as the Alphas. Harry also concludes at the end of the novel that someone is trying to kill him, having put together certain facts from the novels. He also begins dating Susan at the end of the book.

Grave Peril
In Grave Peril, Harry is manipulated into a conflict with the Red Court of Vampires, led by Bianca. He also gains another friend in Michael Carpenter, a Knight of the Holy Cross, and meets Thomas Raith, of the White Court of Vampires, for the first time. Unfortunately for Harry, Susan is kidnapped by Bianca, and half-turned into a Red Court vampire. Harry gets her back, but as a consequence, has started a war with the vampires.

It is also revealed in this book that Harry has a fairy Godmother, Leanansidhe, who helped him escape DuMorne in exchange for his loyalty.

Summer Knight
Summer Knight begins with Harry living rough, spending all his time trying to find a cure for Susan. He is quickly ensnared into averting a war between the Faery Courts, Summer and Winter, as not doing so would send the world into one of two climates: A ice age if Winter won, and a time of exuberent growth, if you were a Ebola virus, it would give you lots of friends, if Summer won. Harry also learns that the current Queen of the Winter Court, Mab, has bought his debt from his Godmother. They haggle a deal whereby Harry will do three favours for Mab, which he chooses, and he'll be free from Fae influence. The events of Summer Knight make one favour, so Harry owes Mab two more.

It is also revealed that Elaine survived the fire from when Harry took down Justin, and hid in the Summer Court, building up a debt to the current Summer Lady, Aurora, to protect her from those who would want to find and use her.

Death Masks
In Death Masks, Harry meets the other two Knights of the Cross, and has to find the Shroud of Turin before Nicodemus, the head of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Denarians being fallen angels who inhabit 30 pieces of silver, uses it to set off a apocalyptic plague. He also has to contend with a duel with Paolo Ortega, a Duke of the Red Court, and meets Susan again for the first time since her half-transformation in Grave Peril. At the end of the novel, Harry takes up the Fallen Angel Lasciel to protect Michael's youngest son.

Harry also meets Thomas Raith again, and meets Jared Kincaid, a mercenary, and The Archive, who Harry names Ivy, a seven year old child who hold all human knowledge.

Blood Rites
In Blood Rites, Harry picks up a stowaway from a job, a Foo Dog, who he eventually decides to keep, and names Mouse. Harry also has to contend with a ritual curse being sent to kill the women around Arturo Genosa, a pornographic movie director. He also finds out that Thomas Raith is his half-brother, on his mother's side. Eventually, he's pulled into a power struggle in the White Court.

Harry decides to stamp on the Black Court subversion that is happening also. In taking out the problem, Mavra, he severely burns his hand after Mavra exploits a loophole in his defensive capabilities.

It's in this book that Harry learns that Ebenezar McCoy is the White Council's Blackstaff, the wet-works man who can break the Laws of Magic at will, if he thinks that the Council is being manipulated by them. Harry also learns that Kincaid is a Scion, or part demon.

Dead Beat
Dead Beat sees Harry forced by Mavra (who didn't die in Blood Rites) to take a job looking for "The Word of Kemmler", the last in a series of magical texts by the (deceased) necromancer, Heinrich Kemmler‎, in order to protect Murphy, who is on holiday in Hawaii with Kincaid. While trying to deal with the group of "Kemmler-lites", the Red Court launch their first major offensive on the Council, killing most of the Wardens in the process. Due to this, and also to raise morale among the younger members of the Council, who see Harry as a idol, and because the Council needs every wizard with combat experience, Harry is made a Warden, much to his, and others', chagrin. Also in this book, Harry becomes aware of Lasciel's presence in his head, and has to walk a fine line between using her gifts, such as Hellfire, which supercharges his spells, and her photographic memory, and resisting her, or else he will fall under her power.

Proven Guilty
Proven Guilty sees Harry investigate black magic in Chicago, at the behest of the Gatekeeper. He also finds himself up against faerie constructs based around horror films, and leads a charge on the Winter Fae capital, Arctis Tor, in order to retrieve Molly Carpenter, Michael's oldest daughter, who is later revealed to be the warlock behind the black magic. At Molly's trial, Harry "becomes a politician", in his own words, cutting off the Merlin's choices until the Merlin is forced to allow Harry to take Molly under the Doom of Damocles.

White Night
Women with the ability to use magic (too weak to be full wizards) have been disappearing. It looks like the White Court may be taking a more active role in the war between vampires and wizards and it looks like Thomas is connected, but Thomas isn't answering Harry's calls.

Small Favor
Harry loses his ability to charge his spells with Hellfire and has to make due without it for his favor to Queen Mab and the recent resurgence of the Denarians. Towards the middle of this book, he gains the ability to use Soulfire the divine equivalent of Hellfire fueled by his own soul, though it will regenerate given enough time, and acts which are "good for the soul."

Turn Coat
Morgan arrives on Harry's door accused of the murder of one of the Senior Council members. Harry assists the White Court, which has also been setup by the Black Council, in proving Morgan's innocence.

Magic
Harry Dresden uses several objects as magical foci, most prominently his staff, blasting rod, and bracelet. For his personal spells, he uses fake pseudo-Latin.

Spells

 * Forzare: force
 * Solvos: Break spell.
 * wind-based:
 * Ventas servitas: wind
 * Ventas reductas: small scale wind (much like a snow blower)
 * fire-based:
 * Flickum bicus: small fires (lighting candles, and other small scale fires)
 * Fuego: destructive fire attack
 * Pyrofuego: larger destructive fire attack
 * electricity-based
 * Galvinius: used with copper chain focus as a kind of taser
 * Fulminos/Fulminas (both have been used with no distinguishable difference): generates or redirects a bolt of lightning
 * earth-based:
 * Geodas: earth
 * Gravitus: concentrates gravity
 * Ventas Ferro: used to manipulate metal magnetically
 * Aquilevatus: water
 * Hexus: Shuts down electrical equiptment.
 * Noctus ex illuminus: illusions
 * Dormio, dorme: used to put someone into a dreamless sleep
 * Aparturum: opens a way to the Nevernever