Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series of novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was released on July 21, 2007, bringing to a close the series that started with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 10 years previously in 1997. This last book chronicles the events directly following the previous book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), leading to the long-awaited final struggle between Harry Potter and his allies, and the ever-more-powerful and influential Lord Voldemort and his servants, the Death Eaters.
Epigraph
All the books in the Harry Potter series have dedications, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the only one to include an epigraph. It contains two quotes relating to death and friendship. The first quotation is from The Libation Bearers, by the 5th century BC Ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. The second quotation is from, More Fruits of Solitude (1682) by William Penn, the Quaker author and founder of Pennsylvania.
Leaving the Dursleys
Lord Voldemort and his followers plot to ambush Harry Potter, who is about to leave Privet Drive shortly before his protection at the Dursleys' home expires. Order members escort Harry using six Harry-lookalike decoys, but the real Harry is identified en route and attacked by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry manages to escape to The Burrow, although Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed.
A few days later, Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour arrives to give Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger bequests from Albus Dumbledore's will: Ron is given Dumbledore's Deluminator, Hermione receives a book of fairy tales, and Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's sword and the Snitch he caught in his first ever Quidditch match. The sword is withheld, however; Scrimgeour claims it is a historical artefact that did not belong to Dumbledore.
Search for the Horcruxes
During Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception, Kingsley Shacklebolt sends a warning that the Ministry has fallen. Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape and take refuge at the deserted Black family home. While there, the trio discovers a connection between a note left in the "fake" Horcrux locket and what is suspected to be the real Horcrux. Harry orders Kreacher the House Elf to fetch Mundungus Fletcher, who admits he stole the locket, gave it to Dolores Umbridge, as a bribe to avoid punishment. Positive this is the Horcrux, they infiltrate the newly Death Eater-controlled Ministry of Magic and escape with the locket but are unable to destroy it.
Their hiding place at Grimmauld Place is discovered so the trio go on the run. After several months, they overhear that Gryffindor's sword has been secured in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts Bank, although it is a replica; the real sword's whereabouts is unknown. Knowing it can destroy Horcruxes, Harry wants to search for it. But Ron, fearing for his family's safety and frustrated that Harry has no real plan for finding either the sword or the Horcruxes, decides to leave. Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow, hoping that Dumbledore hid the sword there. They are ambushed by Voldemort's snake Nagini. During their escape, Hermione accidentally breaks Harry's wand.
One night, a doe-shaped Patronus appears near their camp and leads Harry to Gryffindor's real sword. As Harry tries to retrieve it from an icy pond, the locket Horcrux tightens around his neck, nearly strangling him. Ron returns using the Deluminator. He rescues Harry and destroys the Horcrux with the sword. Ron warns them that Voldemort's name is now Tabooed: anyone uttering it reveals their location.
The trio go to Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father, to ask him about a symbol they have encountered in Hermione's fairy tales book. Xenophilius says it represents the Deathly Hallows, three legendary objects that conquer death: the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak. When pressed about Luna's absence, Xenophilius admits that Death Eaters abuducted her; he has alerted the Ministry that the trio are there, but they escape.
Snatchers (bounty hunters) capture the trio at their camp after Harry inadvertently speaks Voldemort's name. They are imprisoned at Malfoy Manor, along with Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Ollivander the wandmaker, and Griphook the goblin. Finding the sword among the trio's possessions, Bellatrix Lestrange suspects they have broken into her vault at Gringrotts Bank and tortures Hermione for information. Dobby apparates into the cellar to rescue the prisoners. Peter Pettigrew enters to investigate the noise but when choking Harry he is reminded of his life debt,[HP3] and loosens his grip; his own silver hand strangles him in retribution. Harry and Ron rush upstairs to rescue Hermione. Harry disarms Bellatrix and Draco and takes their wands. Along with Dobby the trio apparate to Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur Weasley's home. As they flee, Dobby is fatally stabbed by Bellatrix.
While at the cottage, Ollivander confirms the Elder Wand's existence and says that wands can change their allegiance if the previous owners are defeated or disarmed. Bellatrix's behavior convinces the trio that another Horcrux is hidden in the Lestrange vault. Aided by Griphook, they gain entry into the vault and retrieve Helga Hufflepuff's Cup Horcrux; Griphook takes the Sword, and the trio barely escape. Voldemort now realises that his Horcruxes are being destroyed, and his mental link with Harry reveals that one is hidden at Hogwarts. Harry soon learns it is Ravenclaw's Diadem.
The Battle of Hogwarts
The trio is aided entering Hogwarts Aberforth Dumbledore. Harry alerts the staff to Voldemort's impending invasion. The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and former Hogwarts students arrive as Voldemort's allies attack; among the many casualties are: Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Colin Creevey. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve basilisk fangs and Hermione destroys Hufflepuff's Cup with one. Harry remembers seeing the Diadem in the Room of Requirement. Reunited, the trio are confronted by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Crabbe mishandles the powerful Fiendfyre spell. The trio escape and rescue Draco and Goyle. Crabbe dies in the fire, and the Diadem is destroyed.
The trio sneak into the Shrieking Shack where they overhear Voldemort telling Snape that he believes Snape became the Elder Wand's master when he killed its former owner, Dumbledore.[HP6] Convinced that Snape's death will cause the wand's allegiance to pass to him, Voldemort orders Nagini to kill Snape, then leaves. As Snape is dying, he gives Harry his memories; they reveal that Snape was loyal to Dumbledore, motivated by his lifelong love for Lily Potter, Harry's mother. Dumbledore, who was doomed to die after being cursed by Gaunt's ring Horcrux, had ordered Snape to kill him, if necessary, to spare Draco from fulfilling Voldemort's task. It was Snape who sent the doe Patronus that led Harry to Gryffindor's sword. The memories also reveal that Harry himself is a Horcrux; Voldemort cannot die while Harry lives.
Resigned to his fate, Harry goes alone to the Forbidden Forest where Voldemort awaits. He opens the Snitch to reveal the Resurrection Stone and summons the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, who provide comfort and accompany him to Voldemort's camp. He then willingly allows Voldemort to strike him with the Avada Kedavra curse. Awakening in an otherworldly place, Harry is uncertain whether he is alive or dead. Albus Dumbledore appears and explains that, just as Voldemort cannot die while his soul fragment remains in Harry, Harry cannot be killed while his blood resides in Voldemort's body{cite}. Voldemort's soul fragment within Harry has been destroyed by the killing curse. Harry is given the choice to "go on" or return to the living world.
Harry revives, although he pretends to be dead and is carried to Hogwarts as a trophy by Voldemort's army. As the fighting continues, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. Neville pulls Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat and beheads Nagini, destroying the final Horcrux. As Harry and the Dark Lord confront one another, Harry knows that Voldemort was never the Elder Wand's true owner. When Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, Draco unknowingly won the Elder Wand's allegiance; when Harry later captured Draco's own wand, he became the Elder Wand's new master. Voldemort casts Avada Kedavra as Harry simultaneously conjures Expelliarmus, but protecting its master, the Elder Wand rebounds Voldemort's curse, killing him.
After the battle, Harry visits Dumbledore's portrait. He tells the professor that he will keep the Invisibility Cloak, but to prevent anyone from reuniting the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone will be left where it was dropped in the Forbidden Forest, and the Elder Wand is to be returned to Dumbledore's tomb. If Harry dies undefeated, the Elder Wand's power will be extinguished with his death. Dumbledore nods his approval. Before placing the Elder Wand into the tomb, Harry uses it to repair his own wand.
Epilogue
Nineteen years later, Harry has married Ginny Weasley, and they have three children: James, Albus Severus and Lily. Ron and Hermione are married and have two children, Rose and Hugo. The families meet at King's Cross station, where a nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts. James is the eldest and already familiar with school while Lily will start in two years' time. Harry's nineteen-year-old godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Bill and Fleur's daughter) in a train compartment. Teddy is apparently very close to the Potters, with Harry remarking, "He already comes round for dinner about four times a week." Harry spots Draco Malfoy and his unnamed wife with their son, Scorpius; Malfoy acknowledges Harry with a curt nod, then turns away. Harry comforts Albus, who is worried he will be sorted into Slytherin, by telling him that his namesake, Severus Snape, was a Slytherin and probably the bravest man he ever met. He adds that the sorting hat takes your own choice into account. Neville Longbottom is now the Hogwarts Herbology professor and is close friends with Harry. The book concludes with the words: "The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well."
Rowling's commentary and supplement
In an interview and online chat, Rowling gave additional information on the futures of the main characters that she chose not to include in the epilogue of the book.
* Harry became an Auror and later head of the Aurors' department, under Kingsley's recommendation. He owns Sirius's bike, which Arthur Weasley fixed up for him. He is married to Ginny. Because of the destruction of the piece of Voldemort's soul that resided in him, Harry can no longer speak Parseltongue.
* Ron worked for a time with George at their store, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and eventually became an Auror. He is married to Hermione.
* Hermione began a career at the Ministry of Magic at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and greatly improved life for house-elves and their ilk, but later moved to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; she helped ensure the eradication of oppressive, pro- pureblood laws. She is married to Ron. She also found her parents and removed the memory modification charm she put on them.
* Luna Lovegood has become a naturalist of sorts, searching the world for odd and unique creatures. She eventually marries Rolf, the grandson of Newt Scamander.
* Ginny Weasley played for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team for a time, then left her athletic career behind for marriage and family with Harry. She eventually becomes the lead Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet.
* George Weasley runs his joke shop with Ron, with great success. He names his first child Fred, after his late twin brother.
* Slytherin has become more diluted, and is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers.
* Voldemort's jinx on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position was broken with his death, and there is a permanent (unnamed) DADA teacher. Professor McGonagall, who was briefly the interim Headmistress, did not assume the position after Snape. An unnamed Headmaster was appointed.
* Firenze was welcomed back into his herd, who acknowledge that his pro-human leanings were not shameful, but honourable.
* Kingsley Shacklebolt became the Minister for Magic, with Percy Weasley working under him as a high official.
* As part of the changes introduced by Kingsley Shacklebolt, Azkaban no longer uses Dementors. As a result, England is now a "much sunnier place."
* Dolores Umbridge was arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned for crimes against Muggleborns.
* The Quibbler has returned to its usual condition of "advanced lunacy", and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.
ps: I love the ending esp. the epilogue! I'm happy that finally Draco Malfoy still alive although he didin't get friends with Harry! (well u can't get everything u wanted!). I feel sorry about Snape and Fred's death.. HUUUUUEEEEEE...HIKS..HIKS!!! (p.s.s : I'll find the picture later, sorry)
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