Battle Of Hogwarts

''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 main ''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. Reception to the book was generally positive, and 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 has taken effective control of the Ministry of Magic. Meanwhile, Harry is about to turn seventeen and will lose his deceased mother's protection. 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 while 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. They each are given an object in Dumbledore's will: 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, but the Ministry prevents them from receiving it. During Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding, the Ministry falls to Voldemort; Death Eaters attack the wedding reception. The trio flee to 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home he left to Harry.

They learn that Sirius's late brother, Regulus, stole the Horcrux locket and hid it in the house. It was later stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. House-elf Kreacher locates Fletcher, who says the locket was 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 forest, unable to destroy the locket and with no further leads. The locket's dark nature affects Ron, and he abandons the group. Harry and Hermione learn about Dumbledore's past with dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald. They travel to Godric's Hollow, Harry's birthplace, where they are attacked by Nagini. They escape, but Harry's wand is damaged. One night, a doe Patronus guides Harry to a pond containing Gryffindor's sword. When Harry tries to recover it, the locket around his neck nearly kills him. Ron, guided back by the Deluminator, saves him and destroys the locket with the sword.

In Dumbledore's book, Hermione identifies a symbol also worn by Luna Lovegood's father Xenophilius Lovegood. When they visit him, he tells them of the mythical Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; the Resurrection Stone, which can summon the dead; and an infallible Invisibility Cloak. Xenophilius acts strangely, and the trio realize Luna has been captured. Xenophillius summons Death Eaters to catch them in exchange for Luna's freedom, but the three escape. Harry deduces that Voldemort is hunting the Elder Wand, which had passed to Dumbledore after he defeated Grindelwald. Harry also 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 Gringotts vault. With help from Dobby the house-elf, they escape to Bill and Fleur's cottage along with fellow prisoners, including the goblin Griphook. During the escape, Bellatrix kills Dobby. 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 is there. With Griphook's help, they break in, retrieve Hufflepuff's cup, and escape, though Griphook steals Gryffindor's sword in the process. Harry has a vision of Voldemort being informed of the heist and deciding to check his Horcruxes, thus revealing the remaining ones to Harry: Nagini, and one hidden at Hogwarts.

The trio enter Hogwarts with help from Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. Voldemort, alerted to Harry's whereabouts, 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 Ravenclaw's diadem is the Horcrux. 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 master, 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 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 an unintentional 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 his parents and other deceased loved ones. He drops 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 destroyed that soul 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 from the Sorting Hat and kills Nagini.

The battle resumes, with Molly Weasley killing Bellatrix, and Harry revealing himself to Voldemort and engages him in final battle. 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 at Malfoy Manor, Harry now commands the Elder Wand. Voldemort casts the Killing Curse at Harry, but the spell rebounds, killing Voldemort. Harry then uses the Elder Wand to repair his original wand before returning 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
Nineteen 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, the narrator concludes that "all was well".

Background

Franchise

''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', the first book in the series, was published by Bloomsbury on 30 June 1997. The second book, ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' was published on 2 July 1998. ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' was then published a year later on 8 July 1999. ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' was published on 8 July 2000. ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' was published on 21 June 2003. ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' was published on 16 July 2005, and sold 9 million copies in the first 24 hours of its worldwide release.

Choice of title

The title of the book refers to three mythical objects featured in the story, collectively known as the "Deathly Hallows"—an unbeatable wand (the Elder Wand), a stone to bring the dead to life (the Resurrection Stone), and a cloak of invisibility. Shortly before releasing the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had considered three titles for the book. The final title was released to the public on 21 December 2006, via a special Christmas-themed hangman puzzle on Rowling's website, confirmed shortly afterwards by the book's publishers. When asked during a live chat about the other titles she had been considering, Rowling mentioned ''Harry Potter and the Elder Wand'' and ''Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest''.

Rowling on finishing the book

Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in January 2007, leaving a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her room that reads "J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11 January 2007". In a statement on her website, she said, "I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric." She compared her mixed feelings to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of ''David Copperfield'', "a two-years' imaginative task". "To which," she added, "I can only sigh, try seventeen years, Charles". She ended her message by saying "''Deathly Hallows'' is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series".

When asked before publication about the forthcoming book, Rowling stated that she could not change the ending even if she wanted. "These books have been plotted for such a long time, and for six books now, that they're all leading a certain direction. So, I really can't". She also commented that the final volume related closely to the previous book in the series, ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', "almost as though they are two-halves of the same novel". She has said that the last chapter of the book was written "in something like 1990", as part of her earliest work on the series. Rowling also revealed she originally wrote the last words to be something like: 'Only those who he loved could see his lightning scar. Rowling changed this because she did not want people to think Voldemort would rise again and to say that Harry's mission was over.

Major themes

Death

In a 2006 interview, J. K. Rowling said that the main theme of the series is Harry dealing with death, which was influenced by her mother's death in 1990, from multiple sclerosis. Lev Grossman of ''Time'' stated that the main theme of the series was the overwhelming importance of continuing to love in the face of death.

Living in a corrupted society

Academics and journalists have developed many other interpretations of themes in the books, some more complex than others, and some including political subtexts. Themes such as normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds have all been considered as prevalent throughout the series. Similarly, the theme of making one's way through adolescence and "going over one's most harrowing ordeals—and thus coming to terms with them" has also been considered. Rowling has stated that the books comprise "a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry" and that also pass on a message to "question authority and ... not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth".

Some political commentators have seen J. K. Rowling's portrayal of the bureaucratised Ministry of Magic and the oppressive measures taken by the Ministry in the later books (like making attendance at Hogwarts School compulsory and the "registration of Mudbloods" with the Ministry) as an allegory criticising the state.

Christian allegories

The ''Harry Potter'' series has been criticised for supposedly supporting witchcraft and the occult. Before publication of ''Deathly Hallows'', Rowling refused to speak out about her religion, stating, "If I talk too freely, every reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books".Granger, p. 86 However, many have commented on Christian allegories that appear in ''Deathly Hallows''. For example, Harry dies and then comes back to life to save mankind, like Christ. The location where this occurs is King's Cross. Rowling also stated that "my belief and my struggling with religious belief ... I think is quite apparent in this book", which is shown as Harry struggles with his faith in Dumbledore.Granger, p. 88

''Deathly Hallows'' begins with a pair of epigraphs, one by Quaker leader William Penn and one from Aeschylus' ''The Libation Bearers''. Of this, Rowling said "I really enjoyed choosing those two quotations because one is pagan, of course, and one is from a Christian tradition. I'd known it was going to be those two passages since ''Chamber'' was published. I always knew hatif I could use them at the beginning of book seven then I'd cued up the ending perfectly. If they were relevant, then I went where I needed to go. They just say it all to me, they really do".

When Harry visits his parents' grave, the biblical reference "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" ( 1 Corinthians 15:26) is inscribed on the grave. The Dumbledores' family tomb also holds a biblical quote: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also", which is from Matthew 6:21. Rowling states, "They're very British books, so on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones ... utI think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they sum up – they almost epitomise the whole series".

''Harry Potter'' pundit John Granger additionally noted that one of the reasons the ''Harry Potter'' books were so popular is their use of literary alchemy (similar to ''Romeo and Juliet'', C. S. Lewis's '' Perelandra'' and Charles Dickens's ''A Tale of Two Cities'') and vision symbolism. In this model, authors weave allegorical tales along the alchemical magnum opus. Since the medieval period, alchemical allegory has mirrored the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. While the entire series utilises symbols common in alchemy, the ''Deathly Hallows'' completes this cycle, tying themes of death, rebirth, and the Resurrection Stone to the principal motif of alchemical allegory, and topics presented in the first book of the series.

Release

Marketing and promotion

The launch was celebrated by an all-night book signing and reading at the Natural History Museum in London, which Rowling attended along with 1,700 guests chosen by ballot. Rowling toured the US in October 2007, where another event was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City with tickets allocated by sweepstake.

Scholastic, the American publisher of the Harry Potter series, launched a multimillion-dollar "There will soon be 7" marketing campaign with a "Knight Bus" travelling to 40 libraries across the United States, online fan discussions and competitions, collectible bookmarks, tattoos, and the staged release of seven ''Deathly Hallows'' questions most debated by fans. In the build-up to the book's release, Scholastic released seven questions that fans would find answered in the final book:

# Who will live? Who will die?
# Is Snape good or evil?
# Will Hogwarts reopen?
# Who ends up with whom?
# Where are the Horcruxes?
# Will Voldemort be defeated?
# What are the Deathly Hallows?

J. K. Rowling arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of the missing British child Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when ''Deathly Hallows'' was launched on 21 July 2007, and said that she hoped that the posters would be displayed prominently in shops all over the world.

After it was announced that the novel would be released on 21 July 2007, Warner Bros. soon said that the film adaptation of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' would come out shortly before the novel's release, on 13 July 2007, making many people proclaim that July 2007, was the month of ''Harry Potter''.

Spoiler embargo

Bloomsbury invested £10 million in an attempt to keep the book's contents secure until 21 July, the release date. Arthur Levine, US editor of the ''Harry Potter'' series, denied distributing any copies of ''Deathly Hallows'' in advance for press review, but two US papers published early reviews anyway. There was speculation that some shops would break the embargo and distribute copies of the book early, as the penalty imposed for previous instalments—that the distributor would not be supplied with any further copies of the series—would no longer be a deterrent.

Online leaks and early delivery

In the week before its release, a number of texts purporting to be genuine leaks appeared in various forms. On 16 July, a set of photographs representing all 759 pages of the US edition was leaked and was fully transcribed prior to the official release date. The photographs later appeared on websites and peer-to-peer networks, leading Scholastic to seek a subpoena in order to identify one source. This represented the most serious security breach in the Harry Potter series' history. Rowling and her lawyer confirmed that there were genuine online leaks. Reviews published in both ''The Baltimore Sun'' and ''The New York Times'' on 18 July 2007, corroborated many of the plot elements from this leak, and about one day prior to release, ''The New York Times'' confirmed that the main circulating leak was real.

Scholastic announced that approximately one-ten-thousandth (0.0001) of the US supply had been shipped early — interpreted to mean about 1,200 copies. One reader in Maryland received a copy of the book in the mail from DeepDiscount.com four days before it was launched, which evoked incredulous responses from both Scholastic and DeepDiscount. Scholastic initially reported that they were satisfied it had been a "human error" and would not discuss possible penalties; however, the following day Scholastic announced that it would be launching legal action against DeepDiscount.com and its distributor, Levy Home Entertainment. Scholastic filed for damages in Chicago's Circuit Court of Cook County, claiming that DeepDiscount engaged in a "complete and flagrant violation of the agreements that they knew were part of the carefully constructed release of this eagerly awaited book." Some of the early-release books soon appeared on eBay, in one case being sold to ''Publishers Weekly'' for US$250 from an initial price of US$18.

Price wars and other controversies

Asda, along with several other UK supermarkets, having already taken pre-orders for the book at a heavily discounted price, sparked a price war two days before the book's launch by announcing they would sell it for just £5 a copy. Other retail chains then also offered the book at discounted prices. At these prices the book became a loss leader. This caused uproar from traditional UK booksellers who argued they had no hope of competing in those conditions. Independent shops protested loudest, but even Waterstone's, the UK's largest dedicated chain bookstore, could not compete with the supermarket price. Some small bookstores hit back by buying their stock from the supermarkets rather than their wholesalers. Asda attempted to counter this by imposing a limit of two copies per customer to prevent bulk purchases. Philip Wicks, a spokesman for the UK Booksellers Association, said, "It is a war we can't even participate in. We think it's a crying shame that the supermarkets have decided to treat it as a loss-leader, like a can of baked beans." Michael Norris, an analyst at Simba Information, said: "You are not only lowering the price of the book. At this point, you are lowering the value of reading."

In Malaysia, a similar price war caused controversy regarding sales of the book. Four of the biggest bookstore chains in Malaysia, MPH Bookstores, Popular Bookstores, Times and Harris, decided to pull ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' off their shelves as a protest against Tesco and Carrefour hypermarkets. The retail price of the book in Malaysia was MYR 109.90, while the hypermarkets Tesco and Carrefour sold the book at MYR 69.90. The move by the bookstores was seen as an attempt to pressure the distributor Penguin Books

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