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 in 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" redirects here. For other uses, see Deathly Hallows (disambiguation).Author
Jason Cockcroft (first edition)
United Kingdom
English
7th in series
Bloomsbury (UK)
21 July 2007
607 (first edition)
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.[1][2] Reception to the book was generally positive, and the American Library Association named it a "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, 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, an 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 and discovers it is a trap designed to allow the return of 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 parts, creating "Horcruxes" from various unknown objects to contain them. In this way, he has ensured his immortality as long as at least one Horcrux still exists.[3] Two of these are 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 was 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 does it instead.
Overview
Harry is about to turn seventeen and will lose his deceased mother's magical protection. Order of the Phoenix members relocate the Dursleys for their protection. Harry is being flown to The Burrow, with friends and allies acting as identical decoys. Death Eaters immediately attack, and, in the ensuing battle, "Mad-Eye" Moody and Hedwig are killed while George Weasley is wounded. Voldemort arrives to kill Harry, whose wand fends off the attack.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione prepare to hunt down Voldemort's four remaining Horcruxes. Each is bequeathed an object from Dumbledore: a Golden Snitch for Harry, a Deluminator for Ron, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, for Hermione. Harry is also bequeathed the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, but the Ministry claims it never belonged to Dumbledore. Death Eaters attack during Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception while the Ministry of Magic falls to Voldemort. The trio flee to 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home that was left to Harry.
They discover that Sirius's late brother, Regulus, was the mysterious R.A.B. who stole the Horcrux locket but died in the process. His house-elf Kreacher was unable to destroy the locket, which was later stolen by Mundungus Fletcher. Kreacher locates Fletcher, who says the locket was taken by Ministry official Dolores Umbridge. Infiltrating the Ministry, the trio steal the locket from Umbridge, but Grimmauld Place is compromised in their escape. They flee to the forest and are unable to destroy the locket and have no further leads. The locket's dark nature affects Ron, who 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. There they are attacked by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, who inhabited Bathilda Bagshot's corpse. They escape, but Harry's wand is badly damaged. One night, a doe Patronus guides Harry to a pond containing the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. When Harry tries to recover it, the locket tightens around his neck, nearly killing him. Ron, guided back by the Deluminator, saves him and destroys the locket Horcrux with the sword.
In Dumbledore's book, Hermione identifies a symbol also worn by Luna Lovegood's father Xenophilius Lovegood. He tells them of the mythical Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; the Resurrection Stone, which can summon the dead; and an Invisibility Cloak. Xenophilius fails to say that Luna is being held captive. He summons Death Eaters to capture the trio in exchange for his daughter's freedom, but they escape. They speculate that Dumbledore won the Elder Wand by defeating Grindelwald. Harry's 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 seaside cottage, along with fellow prisoners, including Luna, Mr Ollivander, and the goblin Griphook. During the escape, Bellatrix fatally wounds Dobby, and Harry hand-digs the house-elf's grave. Harry has a vision of Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb. The trio 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 another vision that Voldemort has been informed of the heist and decides to check his Horcruxes. Harry sees that Nagini is a Horcrux, and another is hidden at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, helps the trio enter Hogwarts. 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 and share an impulsive kiss. Harry discovers Ravenclaw's diadem is the Horcrux hidden there. The trio find it in the Room of Requirement but Draco, Crabbe and Goyle ambush them. Crabbe attacks with fiendfyre, but is unable to control it; the cursed fire kills him and destroys the diadem. Meanwhile, many allies die during Voldemort's assault, including Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Fred Weasley.
The Elder Wand resists Voldemort's commands. Believing that Snape, having killed Dumbledore, is its true master, he has Nagini attack Snape just as Harry arrives. Mortally wounded, Snape passes his memories to Harry. Harry views them in the Pensieve. The memories reveal that Snape loved Harry's mother and acted as a double agent against Voldemort in an attempt to protect her. He watched over the trio, conjuring the doe Patronus, influenced by his love for Lily, who also had a doe Patronus. 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 to render Voldemort mortal. Before surrendering himself, Harry instructs Neville Longbottom to kill Nagini. On the way, he uses the Resurrection Stone 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, where he is greeted by Dumbledore. Dumbledore explains that Voldemort's original Killing Curse left a soul fragment 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. Harry reveals himself to Voldemort and engages him in a final battle. He explains 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. Before returning the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's tomb, Harry uses it to repair his old wand. He keeps his Invisibility Cloak and leaves the Resurrection Stone lost in the forest.
Nineteen years later, the trio see 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, son of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, is found kissing Bill and Fleur's daughter Victoire; Draco and his wife are seeing off their son Scorpius. Albus is departing for his first year and worries he will be sorted into Slytherin. Harry reassures him, recounting Snape's bravery, and revealing the Sorting Hat could account for his wishes. As his scar has not hurt in nineteen 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.[4] The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published on 2 July 1998.[5] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was then published a year later on 8 July 1999.[5] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published on 8 July 2000.[6] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published on 21 June 2003.[7] 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.[8][9]
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.[10][11] 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.[12] 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.[10]
Reception
Critical response
On Metacritic, the book received a 83 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews.[76]The Baltimore Sun's critic, Mary Carole McCauley, noted that the book was more serious than the previous novels in the series and had more straightforward prose.[77] Furthermore, reviewer Alice Fordham from The Times wrote that "Rowling's genius is not just her total realisation of a fantasy world, but the quieter skill of creating characters that bounce off the page, real and flawed and brave and lovable". Fordham concluded, "We have been a long way together, and neither Rowling nor Harry let us down in the end".[78] The New York Times writer Michiko Kakutani agreed, praising Rowling's ability to make Harry both a hero and a character that can be related to.[79]
Time magazine's Lev Grossman named it one of the Top 10 Fiction Books of 2007, ranking it at No. 8, and praised Rowling for proving that books can still be a global mass medium.[23] Novelist Elizabeth Hand criticised that "... the spectacularly complex interplay of narrative and character often reads as though an entire trilogy's worth of summing-up has been crammed into one volume."[80] In a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, the reviewer said, "Rowling has shown uncommon skill in playing them with and against each other, and also woven them into a darn good bildungsroman, populated by memorable characters and infused with a saving, irrepressible sense of fun". They also praised the second half of the novel, but criticised the epilogue, calling it "provocatively sketchy".[81] In another review from The Times, reviewer Amanda Craig said that while Rowling was "not an original, high-concept author", she was "right up there with other greats of children's fiction". Craig went on to say that the novel was "beautifully judged, and a triumphant return to form", and that Rowling's imagination changed the perception of an entire generation, which "is more than all but a handful of living authors, in any genre, have achieved in the past half-century".[82]
In contrast, Jenny Sawyer of The Christian Science Monitor said that, "There is much to love about the Harry Potter series, from its brilliantly realised magical world to its multilayered narrative", however, "A story is about someone who changes. And, puberty aside, Harry doesn't change much. As envisioned by Rowling, he walks the path of good so unwaveringly that his final victory over Voldemort feels, not just inevitable, but hollow".[83] In The New York Times, Christopher Hitchens compared the series to World War Two-era English boarding school stories, and while he wrote that "Rowling has won imperishable renown" for the series as a whole, he also stated that he disliked Rowling's use of deus ex machina, that the mid-book camping chapters are "abysmally long", and Voldemort "becomes more tiresome than an Ian Fleming villain".[84] Catherine Bennett of The Guardian praised Rowling for putting small details from the previous books and making them large in Deathly Hallows, such as Grindelwald being mentioned on a Chocolate Frog Card in the first book. While she points out "as her critics say, Rowling is no Dickens", she says that Rowling "has willed into a fictional being, in every book, legions of new characters, places, spells, rules and scores of unimagined twists and subplots".[85]
Stephen King criticised the reactions of some reviewers to the books, including McCauley, for jumping too quickly to surface conclusions of the work.[86] He felt this was inevitable, because of the extreme secrecy before launch which did not allow reviewers time to read and consider the book, but meant that many early reviews lacked depth. Rather than finding the writing style disappointing, he felt it had matured and improved. He acknowledged that the subject matter of the books had become more adult, and that Rowling had clearly been writing with the adult audience firmly in mind since the middle of the series. He compared the works in this respect to Huckleberry Finn and Alice in Wonderland which achieved success and have become established classics, in part by appealing to the adult audience as well as children.[86]
Subsequent works
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
On 4 December 2008, Rowling released The Tales of Beedle the Bard both in the UK and US.[119] The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a spin-off of Deathly Hallows and contains fairy tales that are told to children in the "Wizarding World". The book includes five short stories, including "The Tale of the Three Brothers" which is the story of the Deathly Hallows.
Amazon released an exclusive collector's edition of the book which is a replica of the book that Amazon purchased at auction in December 2007.[120]
Seven copies were auctioned off in London by Sotheby's. Each was illustrated and handwritten by Rowling and is 157 pages. It was bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones.[121]
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
In 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released, a two-part play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by Rowling, Thorne, and John Tiffany.[122] Billed as the eighth story in the Harry Potter series, it picks up where the epilogue of Deathly Hallows left off, following an adult Harry Potter and his son, Albus Severus Potter.[123] Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016,[124] and it premiered on 30 July 2016. The play opened on Broadway on 21 April 2018 at the Lyric Theatre, with previews starting on 16 March 2018.
Both parts of the stage play's script have been released in print and digital formats as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II. The first edition, the Special Rehearsal Edition, corresponded to the script used in the preview shows and was published on 31 July 2016, the date of Harry's birthday in the series and Rowling's birthday, as well. Since revisions to the script continued after the book was printed, an edited version was released on 25 July 2017, as the "Definitive Collector's Edition". According to CNN, this was the most preordered book of 2016.[125]