Harry Dresden

Harry Dresden is a wizard who works as a private investigator of sorts in Chicago (he's in the phone book, the only listing under "Wizards"), dealing with paranormal crimes and consulting for the Chicago Police Department. He is named after three different stage magicians — Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone, Sr., and David Copperfield. This name was given to him by his father, Malcolm Dresden, a stage magician himself, who raised Harry while still performing his magic show all across the country. The stories are told from Harry's point of view in a hardboiled style. Harry is considered a magical "thug," lacking fine control of his power, but is one of the strongest living wizards in terms of pure magical strength, as well as factors surrounding the timing of his birth. He originally favored fire and wind spells in battle, but has since evolved towards fire and kinetic force, and has recently started using earth (It's My Birthday Too and Turn Coat), Lightning (Small Favor and Turn Coat), and has used water at least once (Turn Coat). He is also an expert at tracking spells (which he uses in his investigations) along with summoning and entrapment spells to speak to faeries and other supernatural sources of information. Due to his lack of finer control, Harry often must rely on magical items to help focus and channel his magical energy, such as his staff, blasting rod, shield bracelet, and force rings. In Changes, we see the first instances of Harry using wide area war magic, fire and ice combinations, and pure ice magic. He's also gotten much better at using Veils and tighter control of his fire spells because of teaching his apprentice Molly Carpenter. Harry has also been known to carry around many firearms such as a .38 revolver, a .357 and most recently a .44 revolver and a sawed-off shotgun for those times when 'magic just doesn't cut it'. Harry's traditional arsenal includes a duster (first a canvas model, later replaced with a leather duster received as a gift) enchanted with protective magics, (Destroyed during the events of Changes), a rune-carved staff, a 'blasting rod' (a wooden stick used to give him finer control over his evocation magic, particularly fire), a shield bracelet (which Dresden has upgraded significantly throughout the series), a silver ring (used to channel blasts of kinetic energy) which has grown from merely one to several on both hands over the course of the series, and his mother's silver pentacle amulet (which receives a nice upgrade in Changes). Harry also benefits from having a large number of contacts and acquaintances within the different groups of the magical community. Whereas most traditional and hidebound wizards refuse to have dealings with other magical beings, Harry has gained a great deal of respect and infamy that often allows him to pursue other options normally not available to wizards. Of particular relevance is the fact that Harry has met and has some level of interaction with all the Queens of the Summer and Winter Courts of Faerie. Harry's mother, Margaret Gwendolyn LeFey, was a wizard herself, although Harry knew little of her prior to book six. He has since learned that he is not her only child. He has an older half-brother named Thomas (who just happens to be a White Court vampire). Harry was raised by his father, a stage illusionist, until the age of six, when his father died of a brain aneurysm. He spent some years as a ward of the state before being adopted at ten (shortly after manifesting his magical powers) by Justin DuMorne, a former Warden of the White Council who had turned renegade and dark mage. Justin later tried to enthrall Harry as his slave, but Harry fought back and in the process killed Justin. Harry was then entrusted to the care of Ebenezar McCoy, who mentored Harry and helped keep him out of trouble, until Harry was old enough to support himself. In Changes it is revealed that McCoy is his maternal grandfather.

Magic
Harry Dresden uses several objects as magical foci, most prominently his staff, blasting rod, shield bracelet, and energy-storing rings. He also uses his silver pentacle pendant inherited from his mother. For his personal spells, he uses pseudo-Latin; for this he also draws on various other foreign languages, including Spanish and Italian.

Harry describes himself as being bad at delicate magic, being better with undelicate magic. What he lacks in the precise application of magic, he can sometimes make up for by using a lot more power for his spells than would be necessary if he were more skilled, going for quantity instead of quality.Summer Knight, ch. 4: "Whatever veil had been used, it was beyond anything I could have even attempted. I'm not exactly a neurosurgeon when it comes to magic. I've had my moments, but mostly I muddle through by shoving a lot of energy into my spells until it doesn't matter if half of it is slopping out. Magically speaking, I'm a brawny thug, and noisy as hell." He is especially good with things requiring the redirection of energies.White Night, ch. 3: “When it comes to magic, I’m not much for delicate. [...] Finding things. Following things. Blowing things up, mostly,” I said. “I’m good at those. Redirecting energy, sending energy out into the world to resonate with the energy of what I’m trying to find. Moving energy around or redirecting it or storing it up to use later.” But although he might not be very good at them, he states that he is able to learn and use finer magic with a lot of practice and concentration.White Night, ch. 3: “I’ve practiced enough to handle a lot of different kinds of delicate magic,” I said. “But. . . it’s the difference between me strumming power chords on a guitar and me playing a complex classical Spanish piece.” By the time of Changes, Harry is even able to create passable simple veils, due to having to teach them to and practice them with Molly.Changes, ch. 03

Items

 * Staff - A long staff used for channeling magic. Also works well as a bludgeoning weapon.
 * Blasting rod - A rod used for channeling fire spells.
 * Shield bracelet - A bracelet with tiny medieval shield charms on it. Used for creating force fields. The bracelet began as a simple silver construction, but has evolved to feature a chain of multiple metals woven together and shields of different metals.
 * Energy-storing rings - Rings which are enchanted to store a small fraction of kinetic energy into them at all times. Harry first owned only one copper ring, and and later had rings made of silver for each of his fingers. They are described as simple bands with a number of runes inscribed on the interior. As of Small Favor, he had upgraded these rings from single bands to three bands stacked on top of each other, with each band capable of holding the same amount of energy as one of the previous rings.
 * Silver pentacle pendant - A pendant Harry inherited from his mother. Used for various spells, including tracking Thomas's identicle pendant and as a focus for calling up wizardly light. Once used to kill a loup-garou.
 * Also as of the events in Changes Harry has gained a red jewel that has joined to the center of the pentacle. This jewel contains the entire knowledge of Harry’s mother pertaining to her vast knowledge of The Ways.
 * A cane sword, able to channel earth-based magic
 * For mundane weapon backup, Harry started off with a Smith and Wesson .38 Chief's Special revolver, upgraded to a unknown .357 revolver, and his most recent firearm is a Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver.