Departure of the Hero

The Hero's Journey begins with their departure from the known world.

Campbell identifies five stages that may occur during the departure, though as noted in the overview not every story includes every stage and they don't always happen in the same order.

The Call to Adventure

The hero begins in the ordinary world. The adventure begins when something occurs that prompts them to do something extraordinary: they may hear a story of misfortune or ill deed that prompts them to action, they may blunder accidentally into an unusual situation, they may be thrown into action by outside forces intruding upon their world.

For Harry, it begins with a letter from a school he didn't know existed, delivered by a being he didn't believe was possible, and accompanied by unexpected revelations about his parents and his heritage.

Refusal of the Call

Often the hero may try to resist the call at first. They might feel bound by some obligation to remain at home, or may initially be afraid of the perils of the unknown.

Harry's resistance is brief: he simply refuses to believe at first that the revelations about his parents and his heritage could possibly be true.

Supernatural Aid

The hero often encounters a helper who helps persuade them to take the journey and then acts as an aid or guide for much of the journey. The helper often takes the form of a wise old man who acts as a mentor to the fledgling hero.

For the series as a whole, and for book six in particular (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), the role of the mentor is filled by Hogwarts' headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. But in the earlier books in the series, Dumbledore's role is primarily in the background, and the mentor role is filled by one of Dumbledore's surrogates. In the first two books, that role is mostly filled by Rubeus Hagrid, a loyal servant of Dumbledore who helps deliver the Call to Adventure. Hagrid, however, is also a somewhat Unreliable Narrator. While he helps Harry (and the reader) get his bearings in the first couple of books, by the third book he has been relegated to the role of friend and ally, and Harry finds more complex mentors in people like Professor Remus Lupin, godfather Sirius Black, and eventually Dumbledore himself.

In addition to his mentor figures, Harry is also aided througout the series by his close friends Ron and Hermione and his own Hedwig, and by other friends he makes along the way.

Crossing the Threshold

This is the point in the story during which the hero first ventures into the unknown. The first journey is usually brief, and the hero often has the opportunity to simply return to the comfort of the known.

Harry's first trip to Diagon Alley gives him the briefest of glimpses into the unknown world, and provides him with some tools (most importantly his wand) that will be vital on his journey, and a new companion, Hedwig, an owl who will be his familiar and a beloved pet.

In later books, Harry will almost always become involved in some small adventure prior to the start of the school year that ends up setting the stage for a large adventure yet to come.

Belly of the Whale

Finally, the hero sets off on the journey, separating himself from the known world and committing to the unknown.

In nearly all the books the journey into the unknown takes the form of a trip on the Hogwarts Express, the train that travels from the everyday world to the magical world of Hogwarts and its environs, where he begins his initiation into the mysteries of the unknown.