Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the United States by Scholastic, and in Canada by Raincoast Books. The novel chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) and the final confrontation between the wizards Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

Deathly Hallows shattered sales records upon release, surpassing marks set by previous titles of the Harry Potter series. It holds the Guinness World Record for most novels sold within 24 hours of release, with 8.3 million sold in the US and 2.65 million in the UK.Generally well received by critics, the book won the 2008 Colorado Blue Spruce Book Award, and the American Library Association named it the "Best Book for Young Adults". A film adaptation of the novel was released in two parts: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in November 2010 and Part 2 in July 2011. 

Plot

Background

Throughout the six previous novels in the series, the main character Harry Potter has struggled with the difficulties of adolescence along with being famous as the only person ever to survive the Killing Curse. The curse was cast by Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, a powerful evil wizard who murdered Harry's parents and attempted to kill Harry as a baby, due to a prophecy which claimed Harry would be able to stop him. As an orphan, Harry was placed in the care of his Muggle (non-magical) relatives Petunia Dursley and Vernon Dursley, with their son Dudley Dursley.

In The Philosopher's Stone, Harry re-enters the wizarding world at age 11 and enrols in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He befriends fellow students Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and is mentored by the school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He also meets Professor Severus Snape, who dislikes and bullies him. Harry fights Voldemort several times while at school as the wizard tries to regain a physical form. In Goblet of Fire, Harry is mysteriously entered in the Triwizard Tournament, which he discovers is a trap designed to allow the return of Lord Voldemort to full strength. In Order of the Phoenix, Harry and several of his friends face off against Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. In Half-Blood Prince, Harry learns that Voldemort has divided his soul into several parts, creating "Horcruxes" from various unknown objects to contain them. In this way, he has ensured his immortality as long as at least one of the Horcruxes still exists.Two of these had already been destroyed: a diary destroyed by Harry in Chamber of Secrets and a ring destroyed by Dumbledore shortly before the events of Half-Blood Prince. Dumbledore takes Harry along in an attempt to destroy a third Horcrux, Slytherin's locket. However, the Horcrux had been taken by an unknown wizard, and upon their return, Dumbledore is ambushed and disarmed by Draco Malfoy. Draco cannot bring himself to kill Dumbledore, so Snape kills him instead.

Overview

Following Dumbledore's death, Voldemort took control of the Ministry of Magic. Meanwhile, Harry is about to turn seventeen, and lose the protection from his mother. Members of the Order of the Phoenix relocate the Dursleys, and prepare to move Harry to the Burrow, by flying him there, using Harry's friends as decoys. Death Eaters attack them upon departure, and in the ensuing battle, "Mad-Eye" Moody and Hedwig are killed and George Weasley is wounded. Voldemort arrives to kill Harry, but Harry's wand fends him off on its own.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione prepare to hunt down Voldemort's four remaining Horcruxes, and inherit bequests from Dumbledore: a Golden Snitch for Harry, a Deluminator for Ron, and "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", for Hermione. They are also bequeathed the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, which can destroy Horcruxes, but the Ministry prevents them from receiving it. During Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding, the Ministry falls to Voldemort, and the wedding is attacked by Death Eaters. The trio flee to 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home.

They learn that Sirius's late brother Regulus had stolen the Horcrux locket and hid it in the house, where it was stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. House-elf Kreacher locates Fletcher, who had the locket taken by Dolores Umbridge. The trio infiltrate the Ministry and steal the locket from Umbridge, but Grimmauld Place is compromised in their escape. They hide in the wilderness, unable to destroy the locket and with no further leads. The locket affects Ron, and he abandons the group. Harry and Hermione discover about Dumbledore's past with Gellert Grindelwald. They travel to Harry's birthplace, where they are attacked by Nagini. They escape, but Harry's wand is damaged. One day, a doe Patronus guides Harry to a pond containing Gryffindor's sword. When Harry tries to recover it, the locket nearly kills him. Ron, guided back by the Deluminator, saves him and destroys the locket.

In Dumbledore's book, Hermione identifies a symbol they had seen worn by Xenophilius Lovegood, father of Luna Lovegood. They visit him and are told the symbol represents the mythical Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; the Resurrection Stone, which can summon the dead; and an infallible Invisibility Cloak. As Xenophilius acts strangely, the trio realize that Luna has been captured, and he has called Death Eaters to catch them in exchange for her freedom. The three escape, and Harry deduces that Voldemort is hunting the Elder Wand, which had passed to Dumbledore after he defeated Grindelwald. Harry deduces that his Invisibility Cloak is the third Hallow, and his Snitch contains the Resurrection Stone.

The trio are captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix tortures Hermione, believing they stole Gryffindor's sword from her vault at Gringotts. With the help of Dobby the house-elf, they escape to Bill and Fleur's house along with fellow prisoners, including the goblin Griphook. During the escape, Dobby is killed by Bellatrix. Harry has a vision of Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb. The trio decide to break into Bellatrix's vault, believing another Horcrux to be there. With Griphook's help, they break in, retrieve Hufflepuff's cup, and escape, but Griphook steals Gryffindor's sword in the process. Harry has a vision of Voldemort being informed of the heist, and deciding to check on his Horcruxes, revealing the remaining ones: Nagini, and one at Hogwarts.

The trio head to Hogwarts, entering the school with the help of Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. Voldemort is alerted to Harry's whereabouts, and mounts an assault on Hogwarts. The teachers and students mobilize to defend the school. Ron and Hermione destroy Hufflepuff's cup with basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets. Harry discovers that the Horcrux is Ravenclaw's diadem. The trio find the diadem in the Room of Requirement, but are ambushed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe attacks them using a cursed fire, but fails to control it; the fire kills him and destroys the diadem. Meanwhile, many are killed in Voldemort's assault, including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley.

Voldemort feels the Elder Wand is not performing as expected. Believing that Snape, having killed Dumbledore, is its true owner, Voldemort murders Snape. Harry arrives as Snape dies, and Snape passes him memories to view in the Pensieve. They reveal Snape loved Harry's mother, and had acted as a double agent against Voldemort. He had watched over the trio, conjuring the doe Patronus. It is also revealed that Dumbledore was dying after mishandling the ring Horcrux, and had planned his "murder" at Snape's hands. Harry also learns that he is a Horcrux, unbeknownst to Voldemort, and must die at Voldemort's hands to render him mortal. Harry gives himself up, instructing Neville Longbottom to kill Nagini. On the way, he uses the Resurrection Stone within the Snitch to reunite with deceased loved ones. He loses the stone as he meets Voldemort, who casts the Killing Curse on him.

Harry awakens in a dreamlike location resembling King's Cross and is greeted by Dumbledore. He explains that Voldemort's original Killing Curse left a fragment of his soul in Harry, causing their connection. The latest Killing Curse had destroyed that fragment, allowing Harry to return to life or to "go on". Harry returns to life and feigns death. Voldemort calls for a truce at Hogwarts and demands their surrender. Neville, however, pulls Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat and kills Nagini.

The battle resumes, with Bellatrix being killed by Molly Weasley, and Harry revealing himself to Voldemort. He explains that the Elder Wand's loyalty transfers upon the defeat, not the killing, of its former master. Draco, not Snape, had been the Elder Wand's master, having disarmed Dumbledore before Snape killed him. Having disarmed Draco prior, Harry is now the master of the Elder Wand. Voldemort attempts the Killing Curse on Harry, but the spell rebounds, killing Voldemort. Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his original wand, intending to return the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb. He keeps his Invisibility Cloak, and lets the Resurrection Stone remain lost. The wizarding world returns to peace.

Epilogue

19 years later, the main characters are seeing their children off to Hogwarts. Harry and Ginny have three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Ron and Hermione have two children, Rose and Hugo. Harry's godson Teddy Lupin is found kissing Bill and Fleur's daughter Victoire; Draco and his wife are sending off their son Scorpius. Albus is departing for his first year, and worries he will be placed in Slytherin. Harry reassures him, telling his son of Snape's bravery, and that the Sorting Hat could account for his wishes. As his scar has not hurt in 19 years, Harry notes that "all is well".