Speaking of Harry’s luck, I find it fascinating that throughout the series, Harry almost never accomplishes anything with his own skill/hard work. Things are always done for him or he gets incredibly lucky.
Book 1: The only notable thing he did was catch the key, which somehow he was born as the greatest flyer ever.
Book 2: He didn’t do anything remarkable. A sword came out of the hat just at the right moment, and a phoenix happened to heal him when he ahould have died.
Book 3: In one of the few times that Harry worked hard to accomplish something, he mastered the Patronus charm, which is pretty commendable. That was about the only notable thing in this book (other than somehow defying all rules of existence and logic with a time turner – see earlier in this thread for my still unanswered kashya on that.)
Book 4: This book is probably the prime example. Harry literally had everything done for him. Someone else put his name in the cup. Someone told him what the first task was. Someone basically told him what to do in the first task. (Maybe he should get credit for learning the summoning charm, except for the fact that had he been an even half decent student, he would have already known it.) Someone basically told him what the second task was. Someone told him what to do in the second task, and gave him the necessary supplies. Someone was eliminating obstacles for him in the third task, and even eliminating contestants as well. Then Voldemort could have killed him on the spot, but of course he had to toy with his victim first, and gave him back his wand.* Then Harry offers the feeble attempt of a disarming charm and gets lucky that his wand connects with Voldemort’s. Then the echoes of his parents tell him exactly what to do. In sum, he literally did nothing on his own in this book.
Book 5: He foolishly puts all his friends in danger, which actually leads to Sirius getting killed. Then precisely at the moment when Voldemort’s spell is about to kill him, Dumbledore swoops in and saves him.
Book 6: He earns a sterling reputation in potions by using someone else’s work. He again puts his friends in danger, though this time none of them died.
Book 7: He and his friends infiltrates the ministry with barely a plan, though luckily they escape. Someone basically gives him the sword.
He gets captured and Dobby rescues him. Someone lets slip that the cup is in Gringotts. Again, he leads an expedition with barely a plan, but luckily (thanks to a dragon) they escape. He sees in a vision that the diadem is in Hogwarts and he just happens to have stumbled across it the year before. Then Voldemort’s curse doesn’t kill him. Then he is able to beat Voldemort because he has the allegiance of Voldemort’s wand.
In sum: Harry is not anything special. He always has someone helping him, or is simply in the right place at the right time.
But at least he’s better than Ron, who in seven books, did all of two useful things.
* Why is it that every villain makes this same mistake?