Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the Harry Potter series. It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including the surreptitious return of the antagonist Lord Voldemort, O.W.L. exams, and an obstructive Ministry of Magic. The novel was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada. It sold five million copies in the first 24 hours of publication. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix won several awards, including the American Library Association Best Book Award for Young Adults in 2003. The book was also made into a 2007 film, and a video game by Electronic Arts. Plot During the summer, Harry Potter is frustrated by his friends' non-communication and with Dumbledore barring him from helping combat a newly-resurgent Lord Voldemort. One evening, Dementors attack him and cousin Dudley, but Harry fends them off using magic. Later, Order of the Phoenix members arrive at the Dursley house to evacuate Harry. They whisk him off to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home, which is now the Order's headquarters. Ron and Hermione are there and tell Harry that the Order is a secret organisation that Dumbledore created to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Harry wants to join but is still too young. The Ministry of Magic, under Cornelius Fudge, attempt to malign Harry for stating that Voldemort has returned. Harry is also charged with performing underage magic while with a Muggle, but is exonerated and returns to Hogwarts. Dolores Umbridge, a senior Ministry employee, is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She initiates strict rules and a textbook-only curriculum and forbids the students from practicing defensive spells. Harry, Ron, and Hermione form a secret student Defense group called Dumbledore's Army. The group secretly meets in the Room of Requirement to practice under Harry's instruction.