Harry Dresden

=Harry Dresden=

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.

Before the Series
Harry was born to Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay and Malcom Dresden. His mother died in childbirth, so Malcom took care of him while trying to make a career as a stage magician, travelling across the country, until Harry was six, whereupon Malcom died of a brain aneurysm. After this, Harry became a ward of the state, until he was adopted, aged ten, by Justin DuMorne, a former Warden of the White Council, who had turned to black magic. Justin 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 to kill Harry by Justin, 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, Justin 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 (see Restoration of Faith for details). 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 Justin 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, 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 queen, 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 Denarian, Denarians being fallen angels who can manifest on Earth, uses it to set off a apocalyptic plague. He also has to contend with a duel with Paulo 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 Denarian Lasciel to protect Michael's child.

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

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 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 Ebenezer 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 part-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, 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, 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, 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.

--Noddle 23:12, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

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.