Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Voldemort’s voice again fills Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and commands his forces to retreat. He tells his enemies to “dispose of [their] dead with dignity” (660). He then speaks to Harry directly, saying that Harry has one hour to give himself up in the Forbidden Forest. Otherwise, Voldemort will “punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal [Harry]” (660). Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts, and in the Great Hall, they find survivors and victims of the battle. Harry sees “Remus and Tonks, pale and still peaceful-looking” (661) among the dead. Harry is overwhelmed by grief, and he runs to Dumbledore’s office and drops Snape’s memories into the Pensieve. Harry watches as Snape’s memories reveal that he was friends with Harry’s mother, Lily, and how jealous he was when Lily started to get close to James Potter. In a moment of humiliation, Snape called her a “Mudblood,” and Lily severed their friendship. Years later, Snape’s memories show the moment when he left Voldemort to become Dumbledore’s informant. He begged Dumbledore to “Keep her—them—safe” (678) from Voldemort. Harry sees one scene after another of Snape and Dumbledore conspiring to bring down Voldemort, and one night, Dumbledore tells Snape that when the time comes, “[Snape] must kill [Dumbledore]” (682) to help Dumbledore avoid the “pain and humiliation” (683) of being killed by Voldemort or his followers. Snape resists but eventually agrees to follow through with this heinous act. In another scene, Dumbledore explains to Snape that “on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill [Harry] [...] a fragment of Voldemort’s soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto [Harry]” (686). Dumbledore explains that “the boy must die” (686) if Voldemort is ever to be defeated. Snape is angry, accusing Dumbledore of “raising [Harry] like a pig for slaughter” (687) instead of protecting him out of reverence for Lily. Snape shows Dumbledore his Patronus: the silver doe that Harry saw the night he found the sword of Gryffindor. Dumbledore asks if Snape is still in love with Lily “after all this time,” and Snape replies, “Always” (687). Another memory shows Dumbledore’s portrait instructing Snape to hide the sword of Gryffindor close to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione are camping in a forest. The memories end, and Harry emerges from the Pensieve.

Harry is stunned and horrified to learn the truth about his connection with Voldemort. He realizes that “his job [is] to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms” (691) so that Lord Voldemort may finally be defeated. He realizes that “this cold-blooded walk to his own destruction [will] require a different kind of bravery” (692). Harry comes across Neville as he heads for the Forbidden Forest, and he makes Neville promise to kill Voldemort’s snake. Neville agrees, and as Harry contemplates his death on his trek into the forest, he remembers the golden Snitch Dumbledore gave him and the inscription “I open at the close” (698), so he tries to open it again. The Snitch opens, revealing the Resurrection Stone. Harry uses the stone to summon his dead loved ones, and James, Lily, Sirius, and Lupin appear at his side. Harry’s parents tell him they are proud of him, and he asks if the four of them will stay with him. James promises they will stay “until the very end” (700). Harry continues into the Forbidden Forest and presents himself to Voldemort and his followers. Hagrid has been taken prisoner, and he watches in horror as Harry stands unarmed before Voldemort. Voldemort relishes the sight of Harry Potter, “The Boy Who Lived” (704). Harry sees “the mouth move and a flash of green light,” and then “everything [is] gone” (704).

Harry is transported to a strange afterlife-world that looks like King’s Cross station. He sees something that looks like “a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking” (706) lying under a seat. Dumbledore joins him, and when Harry asks if he’s dead, Dumbledore says no. Dumbledore says that by letting Voldemort kill him, Harry has destroyed the fragment of Voldemort’s soul that clung to him, and Harry’s soul is “completely [his] own” (708). Dumbledore explains that three years ago, Voldemort took some of Harry’s blood to bring himself back to life, and because the love of his mother protects Harry, Voldemort became something like a Horcrux to Harry. Harry is tethered to life while Voldemort lives, and he can return to the world of the living. Dumbledore expresses embarrassment and shame as he recalls his youthful pursuit of the Deathly Hallows, and he thinks of his selfishness that led to the death of his mother, his sister, and so many others. He admits that he knew what Grindelwald was capable of, “but [he] closed [his] eyes” (716) to his friend’s capacity for evil. Dumbledore tells Harry that if he decides to return to the land of the living, “there is a chance that [Voldemort] may be finished for good” (722). Harry decides to go back and finish the fight against Voldemort.

Harry regains consciousness on the forest floor and plays dead, and Voldemort sends Draco’s mother, Narcissa, to see if Harry is alive. She asks if Draco is still alive, and when Harry says yes, Narcissa announces that Harry is dead. Voldemort orders a sobbing Hagrid to carry Harry back to the castle. At Hogwarts, Voldemort announces that he has slain Harry Potter, and he orders everyone to “come out of the castle now, kneel before [him], and [they] shall be spared” (729). Neville dares to speak out against Voldemort, and Voldemort puts the Sorting Hat on Neville’s head and sets it on fire. Neville pulls the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and slices off Nagini’s head, destroying the final Horcrux. Harry hides beneath the Invisibility Cloak and tries to aid in the ensuing battle, watching as the school house-elves join in and Mrs. Weasley kills Bellatrix. Harry emerges from the Invisibility Cloak, and the fighting subsides as Harry and Voldemort circle one another. Before the crowd, Harry calls Voldemort by his given name, Tom Riddle, and he announces that Dumbledore and Snape worked together to bring about his downfall. Harry also taunts Voldemort, explaining that “the true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy” (743), who disarmed Dumbledore atop the astronomy tower before Snape killed him. Harry stole Malfoy’s wand, meaning that Harry is now the master of the Elder Wand. In a rage, Voldemort uses the killing curse at the same moment that Harry uses the Disarming Charm, and Voldemort falls over dead, “killed by his own rebounding curse” (744). The onlookers erupt into screams and cheers, and the survivors come together to celebrate the defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Any happiness Harry feels is “muffled by exhaustion, and the pain of losing Fred and Lupin and Tonks pierce[s] him like a physical wound” (746). Harry decides not to keep the Elder Wand, but he uses it to repair his broken wand, then promises to put it back where Voldemort found it.

Nineteen years have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry married Ginny, and together they have three children: James, Albus Severus, and Lily. Ron and Hermione married and have two children, Rose and Hugo. The families take their children to catch the Hogwarts Express, and Harry’s son, Albus, is nervous about his first year at Hogwarts. He wonders, “What if I’m in Slytherin?” and Harry explains that Albus was named for two headmasters at Hogwarts: “One of them was Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man [Harry] ever knew” (758). As the train prepares to leave, Albus asks why so many people are staring at Harry, and Ron jokes that he is extremely famous. As the train pulls away, Harry touches his lightning bolt scar, which “[has] not pained Harry for nineteen years” (759).