The seventh and final book in the modern witchcraft series Harry Potter tells the story of famous Harry Potter’s final battle against the evil Lord Voldermort. However this doesn’t take place until the final third of the book, a vast amount has to happen before Harry and his friend’s are ready to face the battle of their lives.
At the close of the previous book Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the only man to ever truly concern Voldermort, Albus Dumbledore is struck by a killing curse from a fellow faculty member Professor Severus Snape. He and Harry had just returned from a dangerous journey in search of Voldermort’s remaining Horcruxes (inanimate objects which hold a torn piece of Voldermort’s soul) when they are attacked by Snape and his fellow Death Eaters (Supporters of Lord Voldermort). After Dumbledore’s death Harry vows that he will finish the work his Headmaster had begun and he and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger leave Hogwarts in order to track down the remaining lost Horcruxes.
The book begins as Harry sends his Muggle (non-magical) aunt, uncle and cousin out of their own home as the magical protection that has lingered over Harry and his mother’s sister’s house is broken upon Harry’s seventeenth birthday. Harry in turn chooses to also leave the house and a number of decoys are organized so that Harry may fly safely to the Burrow, the home of the all magic Weasley family. The innate theme of tragedy rears it’s head even this early on in the novel when, during his escape from Privet Drive Harry and his companions are attacked, causing several to be wounded and even leading to the loss of a character that has been a central part of the books since their beginning. The softer readers should expect a few tears at this point; these will be the first of many in the grand finale of the Harry Potter saga.
Upon arriving safely at the Burrow Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione decide to isolate themselves in order to keep their family and friends safe, Ron arranges to have his household ghoul act as his stand in, retiring the creature to his own bed with a bad case of Spattergroit, whilst Hermione performs a complex and heart wrenching charm that removes all memory of her from her parent’s minds. This done the three intend to set off in search of the lost Horcruxes when suddenly, in the midst of a family wedding at the Burrow, Death Eaters attack and the three companions are forced to make a swift exit.
Before departing the wedding however Harry is privy to a conversation regarding the personal life of the late Hogwarts Headmaster, which raises several intriguing questions about his past and mysterious relationships. In many ways this conversation is vitally important to the plot and helps Harry and his friends unravel a second mystery that is revealed later in the novel, however many aspects of Dumbledore’s past are referred to without any resolution ever being provided. It is almost as though Rowling paid too much attention to this notion – which is wrapped within the premise of a tabloid journalists’ revelatory biography on the Headmaster – and then is unable to fulfil the promise it holds. Whilst on the other hand much of what is explicitly revealed about Dumbledore is somewhat of a let down, Rowling builds an intense sense of mystery around Dumbledore and his past that largely outweighs the final truths that are revealed. This however is one of the few flaws in this increasingly dark and gripping novel.
Back to the immediate story however and Harry, Ron and Hermione’s quest lead them to the Ministry of Magic in London, which has fallen under the rule of Voldermort and his followers. The three find the first Horcrux here and steal it from the fabulously evil Professor Umbridge whom readers will recognize from previous books. The group do not know how to destroy the amulet however and take turns in wearing it until they can work it out. The amulet has a disturbing affect on those who wear it however and as tempers run high a quarrel occurs between Harry and Ron and Hermione, which ends with Ron storming off, leaving Harry and Hermione to make the choice to continue on without him. This part of the book adds fantastic weight to what is – in my opinion – the greatest turn in the plot when the relationship between Ron and Hermione finally reaches a romantic climax.
Meanwhile, a dark and tense interlude in Godric’s Hollow on Christmas Eve leads to Harry and Hermione seeking succour in the Forest of Dean, where a mysterious silver patronus leads Harry to the Sword of Griffindor; which he discovers, after a brief bought of almost drowning and being reunited with Ronald, will destroy the Horcrux amulet. Reunited the trio resume their search and find themselves on a second trail of the Deathly Hallows, a wizarding fairy story of three items given to three wizarding brothers by Death himself that granted them immortality: a wand, a cloak and a stone that revives the spirits of the dead. Harry learns that Voldermort too is on the trail of the Deathly Hallows but only has interest in the wand and appears to be unaware of the other items.
A series of other life threatening events, including an encounter with a dragon, eventually lead the three back to Hogsmead, the wizarding village that lies just outside the Hogwarts’ grounds. The trio find themselves in the presence of Abaforth Dumbledore the younger brother of the previous Headmaster who reveals much about Dumbledore’s secret past and grants them a secret entrance into the Hogwarts’ castle where they find a rebellious resistance has been started by their schoolmate, the wonderfully endearing Neville Longbottom. From here a battle begins to rage as Voldermort calls on giants and dark magic to bombard the castle, killing several recurring characters. This section of the book is filled with tear jerking moments, both good – when Ron and Hermione and reconciled – and bad – when the identities and secrets of the dead are revealed. This is probably the most emotionally thrilling part of the book, which does not bode well for Harry’s following encounter with Voldermort, and distracts from the importance of that event somewhat. However I personally find this forgivable as I have always felt that it is the secondary characters of the series that have made Harry Potter the masterpiece that it is, whilst I never really liked Harry much.
A face to face encounter between Harry and Voldermort leads to a surreal and complicated dream sequence in which Harry meets again with Dumbledore who vaguely explains further aspects of the mystery surrounding Voldermort and how to bring about his final demise. A further battle ensues and an unlikely hero destroys the final Horcrux allowing the inevitable defeat of Lord Voldermort.
An epilogue closes the book, which looks several years into the future and discusses in brief the state of the magical world after Voldermort’s downfall.
A long and sometimes arduous book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is still one of the greatest fantasy books I have ever read, as with it’s predecessors it is the characters that shine the brightest in this book and it is wonderful to see certain aspects of their personalities or relationships finally resolved. Although the story is weak in some places, by and large the book covers all the questions readers will have been asking since the beginning. Whilst the dark and mythical Deathly Hallows sub-plot is a creative and innovative device that further encourages the books believability: by which I mean the interlocking and complex structure of the secret magical world, its politics, culture and beliefs. As a final end to the Potter saga this book would struggle to be much better; it is suitably adult for the now post pubescent readers who began with the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997 (ten years prior to the release of the Deathly Hallows) whilst still indulging in the emotional highs and lows of the peer group.
The book waxes and wanes throughout, some parts far more gripping and even chilling than others, yet by the close you feel as if a huge expanse of time has passed since you began. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the book palpably pulses with a sense of growth and maturity, which could not be expressed without the final length of the novel. Nay-Sayers would do well to work their way through the previous books just to make it to this final piece as it defines the entire series with a fierce and energetic force. Overall Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the most emotional and exciting book of the entire series and is a must read for those who love the genre.
Cited From: Best Books