Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Hello friend!

I have brought you a new blog post today. Happy reading!

[WARNING: This contains MAJOR spoilers]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.  It’s extremely well written, and some parts are, to be honest, astounding. I was really enthralled by this book! It’s one of my favourites! It feels sadly empty without Dumbledore, but the dynamic trio are as courageous and resourceful as ever. Moreover, Neville’s transition from a clumsy and introverted boy to a sassy, brave and powerful wizard is amazing. My feelings toward Snape changed a lot, too [I still don’t particularly like him, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t admire him.]

Voldemort capitalises on Dumbledore’s death by gathering more loyal followers and finishing off the current Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour ( a puppet Minister for Magic, Pius Thickness, is appointed in his place). Harry Potter is about to turn seventeen, losing the protection he had as long as he stayed under the Dursleys’ roof.  The Order of the Phoenix move Harry to a new location before his birthday, but the Death Eaters, who have seen through their plans, launch a surprise attack on them; Mad-Eye Moody is killed (much to Tonks’ horror and rage. He was her mentor, after all. I have to admit, I didn’t expect old Moody to die so unceremoniously.) George Weasley loses his ear (Snape, who was aiming for a Death Eater behind Lupin, ended up cutting off George’s ear.) Voldemort himself arrives to kill Harry, but Harry’s wand fends him off of its own accord. Harry, Ron, and Hermione make preparations to abandon Hogwarts and ferret out Voldemort’s hidden Horcruxes; their resolve is impressive, but they have few clues to work with (yeah. Sad, right? Don’t worry, Dumbledore continues to guide them from beyond the grave.)  They know that one of the Horcruxes is Salazar Slytherin’s locket, but they don’t know its location ( the locket with the initials “R.A.B.” is a fake). Another Horcrux is a cup belonging to the founder of Hufflepuff, Helga Hufflepuff (one of the Four Founders of Hogwarts.)  Based on what Dumbledore told him during their private lessons, Harry deduces that the third Horcrux is connected to Ravenclaw’s founder, Rowena Ravenclaw, while the last one is probably Voldemort’s snake familiar, Nagini.  The trio also inherit strange bequests from among Dumbledore’s possessions; a Golden Snitch ( a ball used in Quidditch) for Harry, a Deluminator ( a device that can magically turn the lights off) for Ron, and a book of fairy tales for Hermione. (She proves to be extremely worthy of it!]

The trio attend Bill Weasley (the eldest  Weasley brother) and Fleur Delacour’s wedding (I know this is sudden, but their relationship has been blooming for a year. Tonks and Lupin are married, too.) There, they learn that the Ministry has fallen to Voldemort completely,; terrified, they flee to Grimmauld Place, Sirius’ old house (which, according to his will, belongs to Harry.)  The house elf, Kreacher (the selfsame horrid creature, pun intended, who lied about Sirius being held hostage at the Ministry of Magic) informs them that “R.A. B.” was actually Sirius’ younger brother, Regulus Arcturus Black, an extremely loyal Death Eater (for a while, that is. He soon became disillusioned with Voldemort’s extremist philosophy and mistreatment of house elves — particularly of Kreacher. ) He stole the locket and intended to destroy it, but his untimely demise prevented him from doing so; shortly after, it was seized by the Evil and Ugly Dolores Umbridge (that’s what I call her. Heh.) They infiltrate the Ministry in disguise (Polyjuice Potion is ever so reliable) and take the locket, but in doing so, accidentally break the protection of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, and are forced to go on the run. They’re absolutely blank as to how that evil object should be destroyed; under the locket’s evil influence, Ron, the most insecure of the three, abandons Harry and Hermione after a massive row. As these two continue their quest, trying to drown their grief, they discover a lot of things about Dumbledore’s past, including his connection to the infamous Dark Wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, and the death of his little sister, Ariana Dumbledore.Hankering for more clues,Harry and Hermione journey to Godric's Hollow. (Harry’s birthplace. His parents sacrificed their precious lives here.)There, they meet the famous historian Bathilda Bagshot, but she turns out to be Nagini in disguise (no, the damned snake can’t change her appearance at will. She killed Bathilda and entered her corpse. Disgusting and horrifying!!)  ...I’m going off topic here. She attacks Harry; Hermione rushes to his rescue, but accidentally damages Harry’s wand. They barely escape with their lives.

Lady Fortune finally smiles on them— a mysterious doe Patronus appears and guides Harry to the Sword of Gryffindor (which, for reasons not yet known, is stuck in a frozen pond in the Forest of Dean.) Discovering that the Sword is able to destroy Horcruxes, Harry plucks it out and attempts to stab the locket, but the cursed object wraps itself around his throat. Ron ( I almost cried at the time) appears at that precise moment and destroys the locket with the Sword. He explains that the Deluminator guided him to the two (he heard Hermione’s voice coming from it.) Hermione notices a strange symbol in Dumbledore’s book, recalling that it was worn by Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna’s father, at the wedding. They go to meet him. He tells them that the symbol represents the titular Deathly Hallows, which are composed of three objects (an unbeatable wand “the Elder Wand”, the “Resurrection Stone”, which is said to have the power to bring back dead people, and the infallible “Invisibility Cloak.”) It is revealed that the Elder Wand was in Dumbledore’s possession; Harry suspects that Voldemort is trying to steal the wand. His suspicions are confirmed when he has a vision of Voldemort removing the wand from Dumbledore’s tomb (how can you steal from a dead man?!?!]

Shortly after, the trio are captured by mercenary wizards and taken to Malfoy Mansion, where Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione to learn how the three acquired the Sword, which she believed was in her vault at Gringotts (I hated her so much in this scene!! ) With Dobby’s help, they escape with fellow prisoners Luna Lovegood (that’s right. The brave girl is enduring every torment the Death Eaters inflict on her) and famed wand maker Ollivander; however, Dobby is killed by Bellatrix ( I don’t know what you think, but poor, cheerful, adorable and selfless Dobby’s death was the saddest for me) and Harry ends up taking Draco’s wand, as his own is broken. Oh, and the traitorous rat, Pettigrew, is forced to strangle himself due to an enchantment set on him by Voldemort ( he knew he owed Harry his life, so he was beginning to have mixed feelings (sorta) and considered letting Harry, Ron and Hermione escape.) There’s something that I forgot to mention. Among the prisoners are Dean Thomas (a seventh year Gryffindor student), and Griphook, a goblin who works at Gringotts. Bellatrix’s insane rage when she assumed that the trio had broken into her vault leads Harry to suspect that there is something precious stowed away in her vault; Griphook confirms that she does, indeed, have a gold cup in her vault. The trio infiltrate Gringotts with Griphook’s help, but that horrible goblin steals the Sword of Gryffindor and abandons them. After much trial and error, the three manage to escape. The cup is actually a Horcrux (it’s Helga Hufflepuff’s.) Harry has a vision confirming that the unidentified Horcrux is at Hogwarts. 

They enter the school through an undiscovered secret entrance in the “Hog’s Head”, a bar in Hogsmeade owned by Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth. Harry tips the teachers off about Voldemort’s planned assault on the school, and Mcgonagall, Slughorn, and Flitwick (the Head of Ravenclaw and Charms Professor) attack Snape (who has now assumed the mantle of Headmaster. I was really upset at the time.) While he holds his own against the three skilled wizards for a while, a particularly powerful spell from Mcgonagall sends him packing.  The Order of the Phoenix (Fleur’s not an official member of the Order, but she’s skilled and wants to fight, so she comes alongt too) arrive to prepare for the battle that is drawing ever closer. They manage to buy enough time for Harry to locate the Horcrux; Voldemort had set a guard in the Ravenclaw tower, confirming the boy’s suspicions that Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem is the Horcrux. It’s hidden in the Room  of Requirement. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione destroy the cup with a basilisk fang in the Chamber of Secrets ( this echoes the destruction of the diary Horcrux, remember?). Voldemort and his creepy followers invade Hogwarts; Harry (who has been joined by Ron and Hermione) finds the diadem, but the trio are confronted by Draco and his boorish cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Crabbe attempts to finish them off using Fiendfyre, a deadly curse, but since he can’t cast it properly, he ends up being consumed by his own flames (The trio leap up on broomsticks; Harry grabs Draco’s cloak; Draco grabs Goyle’s arm. That’s how they escape, coughing, choking, with minor burns on their faces and arms. In the process, the diadem is destroyed.)

Several major characters are killed in the ensuing battle, including Remus Lupin (!!!), Nymphadora Tonks (!!!), and Fred Weasley (!!!). In his encampment, Voldemort wonders why the Elder Wand is not performing as per as his expectations; believing Snape to be the rightful owner of the Elder Wand as he was the one who killed Dumbledore, he instructs Nagini to kill him— which she does with unholy fervour. Harry, who is watching with eyes as wide as saucers, rushes to the dying Snape’s side as soon as Voldemort leaves. Snape hands him a bottle containing a few of his extracted memories, tells him that he has his mother’s eyes (a brilliant green) and dies. I was really horrified! I disliked Snape, but I never wanted him to die in such a horrible manner;I’ve always been repulsed by Nagini, but never did I hate her so much as then. She gets her comeuppance soon, don’t worry.  The memories reveal that Snape had a lifelong love for Lily (Harry’s mother), but these feelings were unrequited. She initially viewed him as a friend, but after he accidentally called her a “Mudblood”, she turned her back on him forever (of course she did.) After joining Voldemort’s army, Snape discovered, to his horror, that Voldemort was targeting the Potters, whose child was supposedly destined to destroy him. Snape begged him not to kill Lily, but Voldemort went ahead and did so anyways, leaving him heartbroken. He joined Dumbledore and began operating covertly, pretending to be on Voldemort’s side.  I know, I know, it’s almost unbelievable. Still, like I said, I really admire Snape’s bravery and determination (whatever his motivation was. We already know that.) Also, Dumbledore “planned” his murder with Snape (he was slowly dying from the effect of the ring Horcrux.) The memories also reveal that Harry is a Horcrux, too (I was like “HUH?! WHAT?!”) and must be destroyed in order to kill Voldemort. Voldemort gives him about an hour to surrender; Harry reluctantly decides to surrender himself. When he enters the Forbidden Forest, he discovers that the Resurrection Stone is hidden inside the Snitch (he now possesses two of the three objects that make up the Deathly Hallows— the Invisibility Cloak and the Resurrection Stone.) Voldemort strikes him with a Killing Curse, and the reader is led to believe that he’s dead; however, only the Horcrux part of him has been destroyed.

Refusing to surrender just because Harry is dead, Neville draws the Sword of Gryffindor and cleanly slices off Nagini’s head, destroying the final Horcrux. Bellatrix Lestrange gets her comeuppance when she’s killed by Mrs Weasley. Harry, who is now seen to be alive, faces Voldemort for the final time and reveals himself as the true owner of the Elder Wand; he Disarmed Draco, who Disarmed Dumbledore. As Voldemort attempts to kill him, his spell rebounds (Ha! Evil always destroys itself!) Harry returns the Elder Wand to Dumbledore’s tomb, as it corrupts its owner and causes said owner to come to a sticky end. 

In the epilogue on King’s Cross Station 19 years later, Harry and Ginny are a couple with three children— James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Ron and Hermione also have two children, Rose and Hugo. Draco has a son called Scorpius; Neville is a Hogwarts Professor; Harry’s scar has not hurt for 19 years. Happy Ending! The Harry Potter series has finally come to an end! It was really long, wasn't it? See you next time... 

Thank you! I hoped you enjoyed my article!