Harry Potter Books

Harry Potter

Plot outline

Part 1
Minister Rufus Scrimgeour addresses the wizarding media stating that the Ministry of Magic will remain strong as Lord Voldemort gains power throughout the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. Meanwhile Harry is seen when the Dursleys go into hiding and Hermione, using a spell, blanks her parents' minds, erasing everything they know about her. Later on Severus Snape arrives at Malfoy Manor to inform Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters of Harry's departure from No. 4 Privet Drive. Voldemort commandeers Lucius Malfoy's wand, as Voldemort's own wand cannot be used to kill Harry. Meanwhile, the Order of the Phoenix arrive at Privet Drive and escort Harry to safety using Polyjuice Potion to create six decoy Harrys. During their flight to the Burrow they are ambushed by Death Eaters, resulting in the deaths of Mad-Eye Moody and Hedwig. Voldemort attempts to kill Harry with Malfoy's wand, but fails. At the Burrow, Harry has a vision of Ollivander being tormented by Voldemort, who claims that the wand-maker had lied to him by informing him of the only way to kill Harry: obtaining another's wand.

Scrimgeour arrives at the Burrow and distributes items from Albus Dumbledore's will to Ron, Hermione and Harry. Ron receives Dumbledore's Deluminator; Hermione, The Tales of Beedle the Bard; and Harry is given the Golden Snitch. It's revealed that Harry was also willed to receive the Sword of Godric Gryffindor; however, Scrimgeour states that the sword is an important historical artifact and is not eligible to be given away.

Later, the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour is disrupted by Death Eaters, who have infiltrated the Ministry and are using its authority to persecute Muggle-born witches and wizards. The trio disapparate to London and find sanctuary at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. There they discover that the "R.A.B." from the false Horcrux locket is Regulus Arcturus Black, the younger brother of Sirius Black. From Kreacher, the Black's house-elf, they learn that Mundungus Fletcher stole the real locket. Kreacher and Dobby apprehend Fletcher, who reveals that the locket is in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. Under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion, the trio infiltrate the Ministry and successfully retrieve the locket, narrowly escaping into the wilderness, but revealing and thus losing 12 Grimmauld Place.

Unable to destroy the Horcrux, they take turns wearing it in order to dilute its negative psychological effects. Harry sees a vision of Voldemort interrogating Gregorovitch, a renowned wand-maker who claims that a teenage boy had once stolen the legendary Elder Wand from his shop. Voldemort then begins a search for the thief. While Ron wears the locket, he is overcome with the suspicion that Harry and Hermione are forming a romantic relationship. As a result, under the mistaken assumption that Hermione has rejected him, he abandons them in anger. Harry and Hermione then visit Godric's Hollow where they seek Bathilda Bagshot, the historian who may have the Sword of Gryffindor, which they believe will destroy Horcruxes. However, they are instead cornered by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, and barely escape. Harry's wand is broken. Hermione identifies the mysterious thief seen in Harry's vision as Gellert Grindelwald.

When evening falls, Harry sees a doe patronus which leads him to a frozen pond. Gryffindor's sword is beneath the ice. Harry enters the pool through the ice to reach the sword. The locket around his neck attempts to strangle him, but Ron returns to rescue him. Ron eventually overcomes the locket's power, smashing it with the sword.

The trio then visit Xenophilius Lovegood to learn about a symbol seen several times on their journey. They learn that the symbol represents the quest for the Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility. Lovegood betrays them to the Death Eaters in an effort to have his kidnapped daughter returned. Harry envisions Voldemort learning from Grindelwald that the Elder Wand lies with Dumbledore. The trio are captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix Lestrange imprisons Harry and Ron in a cellar in which they discover Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook the goblin. She tortures Hermione for information on how they found the sword, which was supposedly in her vault at Gringotts (she uses her wand to carve "Mudblood" on Hermione's arm). After Dobby apparates to save them, a short battle ensues, and Harry duels with Draco and defeats him. Dobby is killed by Bellatrix as the protagonists escape. As Harry mourns the loss of his friend, Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore's tomb and takes the Elder Wand.

Part 2
After giving Dobby a proper burial at Shell Cottage, Harry speaks with Griphook the Goblin about breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts bank, as Bellatrix's reaction suggests that a Horcrux may be hidden there. Griphook agrees to take Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Bellatrix's vault in exchange for the goblin-made Sword of Gryffindor. Harry asks Ollivander, the wandmaker, to identify two wands they took from Malfoy Manor. Ollivander says they belonged to Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy, but Malfoy's wand has changed its allegiance to Harry.

Using Polyjuice Potion to disguise herself as Bellatrix, Hermione slips past the Gringotts' goblin security along with a disguised Ron, and Harry and Griphook under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Using the Imperius Curse they reach the tunnels to the vaults but are stopped by a waterfall on the cart tracks which removes all enchantment and causes an alarm to sound. Griphook guides them past the vault's captive dragon guardian and into Bellatrix's vault. Harry discovers the Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, despite curses placed on the vault contents, at which point Griphook takes the sword and runs. With Gringotts security on their tail, the three jump onto the back of the dragon and fly far away. Harry briefly enters Voldemort's mind and learns that Voldemort has discovered the theft and killed many goblins in retaliation, including Griphook. The sword of Gryffindor was not recovered - it had vanished from Griphook's hand. Voldemort starts to keep Nagini–his snake and also a living Horcrux–with him at all times for protection. During the vision, Harry also sees Voldemort reviewing his Horcruxes and thus learns there is a Horcrux at Hogwarts, in some way related to Rowena Ravenclaw.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione apparate into Hogsmeade, but unknowingly set off a Caterwauling Charm alarm. They are rescued and concealed by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's brother. Aberforth seems to have lost all hope, but Harry convinces him to help them get into Hogwarts. Aberforth instructs a portrait of his younger sister, Ariana to fetch Neville Longbottom, who leads the three friends through a secret passage back to Hogwarts and reunites them with other student allies. Harry discloses they are looking for something connected to Ravenclaw but they do not know what; the only suggestion is the long-lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, but this has not been seen for centuries.

Severus Snape, now headmaster of Hogwarts, hears of Harry's return and gathers all students and staff in the Great Hall to inform them of their severe punishment should they aid Harry in any way. Harry steps forward and confronts Snape, who prepares to attack him, but Professor McGonagall intercedes and fires her own spells to defend him. Snape flees to Lord Voldemort and McGonagall gathers all beings in Hogwarts to prepare for battle. Luna Lovegood directs Harry to speak to Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena and ghost of Ravenclaw house. Helena is initially skeptical of Harry's intentions, but eventually reveals that she knows of Voldemort and confirms he performed "dark magic" on her mother's diadem, which is hiden somewhere in the Room of Requirement. While Harry is talking with Helena, Ron and Hermione go to the Chamber of Secrets where Hermione destroys the cup Horcrux with a Basilisk fang. In the aftermath the two kiss and realise they share deep feelings for each other. Harry is attacked in the Room of Requirement by Malfoy and his friends Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini, and saved by the arrival of Ron and Hermione. Goyle casts a Fiendfyre curse in the Room of Requirement, and dies in the uncontrolled flames, but Malfoy and Zabini are saved by Harry and his friends. Once in safety, Harry quickly destroys the Ravenclaw diadem with a basilisk fang and Ron Kicks it into the fire. They then start the search for Voldemort so that they may kill Nagini. They witness Voldemort telling Snape that the Elder Wand cannot be truly his until Snape dies, attacking him magically and leaving Nagini to finish him off. Before dying, Snape gives Harry some memories via a tear, and tells Harry to look at them using the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office.

Harry learns from Snape's memories that Snape and his mother were childhood friends and that Snape had loved her. Following her killing, Snape had defected from Voldemort and agreed with Albus Dumbledore to protect Harry out of his love for her, despite hating Harry's father. Harry learns that he himself was inadverently made into a Horcrux since he contains part of Voldemort's soul split off at the time of his mother's death. In Snape's memories, Dumbledore says that Harry has to die to destroy the Horcrux within him. Harry goes alone to meet his death at the hands of Voldemort, who casts a Killing Curse at him. Awaking, Harry finds himself in a strange white limbo, where the spirit of Dumbledore meets him and explains that the part of Voldemort within him was killed by Voldemort's own curse, and that Harry has the choice to return to the world or to "go on". Harry returns to the world of living, but feigns death until his body is carried into full view of everyone. Neville's defiant drawing of the sword of Gryffindor and Harry's sudden resurrection reignite the fighting. As Harry and Voldemort duel across the castle, Neville decapitates the snake with the sword, destroying the last of the Horcruxes. The now mortal Voldemort is then killed by his own Killing Curse as the Elder Wand rebounds it on him and flies into Harry's hands. Harry explains to his friends that the Elder Wand had recognised him as its master because he had disarmed Draco Malfoy, who in turn had disarmed its previous owner Dumbledore. Ron suggests that they keep the Wand, because it would make them invincible, but Harry wordlessly snaps the Elder Wand in half and throws each half over the side of the Hogwarts bridge, deciding that it's too powerful to be kept.

Nineteen years later, Harry and Ginny Potter, along with Ron and Hermione Weasley, now each married, see their children off on the Hogwarts Express. Harry's middle child, Albus Severus, reveals his fears to Harry about the possibility of him being sorted into Slytherin house. Harry confides in his son regarding Snape's courage and assures him that the Sorting Hat will allow him to choose his own house. Both couples watch their children leave.