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Animagus: A witch or wizard that can change into animal form. All Animagus legally need to register with the Ministry of Magic, though it appears they often don’t.

Azkaban: A fearsome wizarding prison, run by Dementors.

Basilisk: A gigantic snake that lives in the Chamber of Secrets, it kills instantly if eye contact is made with any other living creature.

Sirius Black (also Padfoot): The most infamous prisoner ever to be held at Azkaban, the wizards' prison. He was accused of murdering 13 people with a single curse, and his exact location is not currently known. Handsome and reckless, he was best friend to James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Petigrew. He is an Animagus who takes the form of a large black dog. Sirius Black is Harry’s godfather and cousin of Nymphadora Tonks, Bellatix Lastrange and Narcissa Malfoy.

Chamber of Secrets: A hidden chamber within Hogwarts, built over a thousand years ago by Salazar Slytherin, one of the school's four founders. According to legend, only Slytherin's true heir can ever open the Chamber, unleashing a horrible monster that supposedly lives inside it.

The Daily Prophet: The wizards' newspaper. Hermione is an avid subscriber.

Death Eaters: What Voldemort’s closest followers call themselves.

Dementor: Dark, cloaked, faceless creatures who are the guards of Azkaban. Dementors suck all of the joy and light out of a person, and a kiss from one of them will relieve someone of his or her soul.

Dobby: A house-elf whose former owners are the Malfoys and an adoring fan of Harry’s. Dobby was freed unintentionally by Lucius Malfoy due to some quick thinking on Harry’s part. Though Dobby’s help is oftentimes ineffective or downright dangerous, he has proven a reliable source of information for Harry and his friends.

Professor Albus Dumbledore: The headmaster of Hogwarts through Harry’s sixth year. Elderly, wise, kind and one of the greatest wizards of all time, Dumbledore is one of the few men who Voldemort ever feared. He has a keen sense of humor and a love of lemon drops.

Gillyweed: A magical plant that, when eaten, gives a person gills like a fish, allowing her or him to breathe underwater.

Goblet of Fire: A large wooden cup that is filled to the brim with dancing blue flames. It magically selects the contestants for the Triwizard Tournament, and also serves a darker purpose.

Hermione Granger: The brilliant, over-opinionated, bushy-haired, fiercely loyal, kind-hearted, liberal-minded best friend of Harry and secret heart’s desire of…

Gryffindor: One of four student houses at Hogwarts, it is named for Godric Gryffindor, one of Hogwarts's four founders, who was known for his bravery.

Half-Blood: Describes a person with mixed wizarding and Muggle ancestry.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: The place where Harry and his friends learn it all – both in the classroom and out!

The Knight Bus: A magical bus that serves as emergency transport for stranded witches and wizards. It is not the most reliable or safest mode of transportation.

Draco Malfoy: A Slytherin student who has been Harry’s enemy since the day they both started at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy is handsome, pompous, mean-spirited and comes from a pure-blood family. His father Lucius is a Death Eater and his mother, Narcissa, is Sirius Black’s cousin.

Ministry of Magic: The council that governs the wizarding world and whose primary concern is to keep wizards and witches a secret from Muggles.

Muggle: A non-magic person.

Peter Petigrew (Wormtail): A shy, timid member of the Marauders who hero-worshipped James Potter and Sirius Black. He is an Animagus who takes the shape of a rat and is, in fact, one of Voldemort’s most loyal subjects.

Platform 9 3/4: The magical platform at King's Cross Station in London where Hogwarts students board the Hogwarts Express.

Quidditch: A wizard sport played up in the air on broomsticks, in teams of seven.

Professor Severus Snape: A frustratingly inconsistent Hogwarts Professor, first of Potions, then of his coveted Defense Against the Dark Arts. A former Death Eater who, according to Albus Dumbledore, is reformed, Professor Severus Snape saves Harry and his friends’ necks more than once, but is often cruel, taunting and downright mean to just about anyone associated with Harry. He holds a long-standing grudge against The Mauraders.
Sorcerer's Stone: A small, ruby-red stone that can change metal into gold and produces the Elixir of Life, which makes the drinker immortal.

Squib: Someone who has no magical powers even though he or she was born into a wizarding family.

Triwizard Tournament: A dangerous, year-long magical tournament between three European wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beaux-Batons and Durmstrang. One student from each school is chosen to compete, their names selected by the ancient Goblet of Fire. The Tournament is held for the first time in 700 years during Harry’s fourth year at Hogwarts.

Voldemort (see also, Tom Marvolo Riddle): The most powerful dark wizard of modern times who is also referred to as “You-Know-Who” and “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” because, as Hermione points out, “fear of a name incites fear of the thing itself.”

Ron Weasley: Harry’s tall, red-haired best mate who is loyal, brave, good-hearted and often thoughtless. He carries a bit of a torch for he and Harry’s shared bushy-haired best friend…

Source: kidsreads.com