- "Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!"
- — Minerva McGonagall to the Suits of Armour[src]
The Battle of Hogwarts was the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. It took place on May 2, 1998, within the castle and on the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When Lord Voldemort learned that Harry Potter was in the castle to locate and destroy one of his Horcruxes, he ordered every Death Eater and creature that had pledged loyalty to him to attack the school. Dumbledore's Army communicated the need to fight to the Order of the Phoenix and their other allies, leading to a large-scale battle. It ended with a decisive victory for the Order and the D.A., with many Death Eaters and Voldemort himself dead. It was the most devastating battle of the war, with casualties including Lord Voldemort, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, Fred Weasley, and at least fifty more.[2] It is also assumed to be the final conflict that the Elder Wand took part in.
Background
Horcruxes
At the climax of the Battle of the Astronomy Tower the previous year, Albus Dumbledore was killed by then-Defence Against the Dark Arts master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape.[3] Dumbledore, however, had left Harry Potter with a final task: to find, and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that Lord Voldemort had created at different points in his life. Over several months, two Horcruxes had been found: Salazar Slytherin's locket which had been destroyed by Ron Weasley in December of 1997 and the cup of Helga Hufflepuff which they had stolen from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank the day before the battle.[2] Two other Horcruxes had also been destroyed already: Lord Voldemort's old diary that he had during his school years at Hogwarts was destroyed in 1993 by Harry Potter,[4] and the Peverell ring by Dumbledore sometime between July 1 and July 26, 1996.[3] After learning that his Horcruxes were being systematically hunted down and destroyed, Lord Voldemort ordered a massive attack on Hogwarts Castle in an attempt to stop Harry Potter from destroying another Horcrux (Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem) that was hidden in the Room of Requirement.[2]
Hogwarts
On the First of August, 1997, the current Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, and the head of the auror office were captured by Voldemort and interrogated for the whereabouts of Harry Potter. However in one last brave act for Harry, Scrimegeour told Voldemort nothing, and was subsequently killed. This placed the Ministry of Magic under the control of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hogwarts School also fell under Voldemort's influence, and he appointed Severus Snape as new headmaster (ironically, Snape had killed the previous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, just a few months before). The Carrow siblings were also appointed as teachers.[2]
Many school subjects were revisioned at Voldemort's will; Defence Against the Dark Arts was more or less taught as a Dark Arts class, and Muggle Studies began to promote hatred against Muggles and Muggle-borns. As a result of this, a band of students began to fight back very early on in the 1997-98 school year, led by seventh year Neville Longbottom and sixth years Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. This group stood as the successor to the original Dumbledore's Army, founded by Harry Potter in 1995.[2]
Voldemort and the Elder Wand
Battle
Hogsmeade
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger apparated into the main street of the village of Hogsmeade while wearing Harry's invisibility cloak and were immediately detected by a group of Death Eaters due to the fact that they had triggered a Cauterwauling charm. They all tried to apparate but they had been trapped because they had been bound by an anti- apparation charm. The Death Eaters tried to reveal their whereabouts by summoning the invisibility cloak. The cloak however refused to be moved due to the fact that it was the cloak of legend from The Tale of the Three Brothers. The Death Eaters then sent Dementors to locate Harry so he had to produce a patronus to send them away. Aberforth Dumbledore then hid them in the Hog's Head while he told the Death Eaters that he had produced the patronus. and had set off the Cauterwauling charm by letting his cat out. Aberforth led Harry, Ron and Hermione to a secret passage from his pub to the Room of Requirement where members of Dumbledore's Army had been hiding all year. Neville Longbottom came out of the passage and took them to Hogwarts.
Arrival at Hogwarts
When Neville arrived at the Room of Requirement with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all the members of Dumbledore's Army who were hiding from the Carrows and Snape thought they had come back to fight the Death Eaters and Voldemort so they sent messages to many other former Hogwarts students, including many original members of Dumbledore's Army. Harry however informed them that they had come to search Hogwarts for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem and that Lord Voldemort was on the way to try and stop them.
Uprising
The trio split up once they had entered Hogwarts. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger travelled down into the Chamber of Secrets to obtain Basilisk venom filled fangs in order to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's Cup and any future Horcruxes that are found, while Harry went with Luna Lovegood to the Ravenclaw Common Room to have a look at a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing her diadem. Alecto Carrow, the Muggle Studies teacher and Death Eater, appeared while the two were searching the room, but Luna neutralised her. Minerva McGonagall arrived and summoned the other Heads of Houses. She then engaged in a fierce duel with Severus Snape and moments later Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout showed up, the three succeeded in driving Snape away. The students and staff gathered in the Great Hall as the rest of the Death Eaters arrived at the gates, accompanied by Lord Voldemort himself.
Hogwarts was fortified for the coming attack. Order of the Phoenix members arrived, also summoned by Neville Longbottom. Students old enough to fight stayed and younger students were evacuated by Poppy Pomfrey and Argus Filch. Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall and Pomona Sprout took groups of students to the tallest towers while Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt took others onto the Grounds. Fred and George Weasley defended Hogwarts secret passages.
First Part of the Battle
Harry questions The Grey Lady about Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem
Voldemort magically magnified his voice so it was heard throughout Hogwarts and Hogsmeade to give those inside the castle the chance to hand Harry Potter over to him or his army of Death Eaters and dark creatures would attack. When Pansy Parkinson suggested that they take the deal, practically every student, excluding the Slytherin students, in the hall threatened to curse her, and she was instructed to leave by Minerva McGonagall. Those not willing to fight or not of age(older than 17 years) were sent out of the school through the Hog's Head, particularly the students of Slytherin (who were sent out first).
Hogwarts was able to fend off the Death Eaters using an array of tactics, including mandrakes and magical plants, bewitched armored suits, and wand duels. The Death Eaters stormed Hogwarts, however, with the aid of the Acromantulas, Giants, Aurors and Ministry of Magic officials. It was in this part of the battle that Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed by Death Eaters.
Room of Requirement
Harry viewing Snape's memories in the Pensieve
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger found Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Hidden Things transformation of the Room of Requirement. But before they could remove or destroy it, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle arrived. Crabbe tried to kill Ron and Hermione with Killing Curses and accidentally destroyed the diadem with Fiendfyre, also killing himself in the process.[2]
Sacrifice
Using his connection with Voldemort's mind, Harry Potter uncovered Voldemort's whereabouts in the Shrieking Shack. It was there that Harry Potter witnessed Voldemort order Nagini to murder Severus Snape, believing that unless Snape was killed by him, he would not gain mastery over the Elder Wand. Snape's dying act was to pass on several of his memories to Harry. At this point, Voldemort ordered an hour-long ceasefire, with the request that Harry Potter be turned over to his custody. If they did not turn him over, Voldemort declared he would personally enter the battle.
Harry speaking to his mother after reviving her with the Resurection Stone
- "If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste... I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour... I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you... I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
- — Voldemort orders the one-hour ceasefire and retreat[src]
After viewing Snape's memories which revealed that Harry himself was, in fact, a Horcrux and that he needed to be killed for Lord Voldemort to die, Harry went into the Forbidden Forest to sacrifice himself. Before doing so, he used the Resurrection Stone to bring back his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin for emotional support. Due to Voldemort's use of Harry's blood in the process of creating himself a new body in 1995 in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, Harry survived the Killing Curse from Voldemort, although he was briefly knocked unconscious.
In those unconscious moments, Harry spoke to the spirit of Albus Dumbledore, who explained that the bit of Voldemort's soul inside of Harry was gone, and he could choose to go back to the world of the living or go on into the world of the dead. Harry accepted the choice to return, and feigned death while Voldemort's forces cheered in assumed victory.
Fall of the Dark Lord
Hagrid carries Harry Potter's supposedly dead body back to Hogwarts Castle
Voldemort suffered an additional betrayal when Narcissa Malfoy volunteered to confirm that Harry was dead, when she truly only wanted to get close enough to him to ask if her son, Draco Malfoy was still alive. Upon learning of Draco's survival, Narcissa lied to the Dark Lord, saying that Harry Potter was in fact dead. After Rubeus Hagrid carried Harry's "corpse" back to Hogwarts, guided by the Death Eaters walking in a victory march, Neville Longbottom openly defied Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord placed a spell on Neville, freezing him to the spot, placed the Sorting Hat atop his head, and set it aflame.
The Centaurs and Grawp then attacked the Death Eaters, giving Harry time to disappear under his Invisibility Cloak in the confusion. Neville broke free of Voldemort's curse and pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat. In one stroke, Neville used the blade to behead Nagini, thus destroying the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes and rendering him mortal. Voldemort, alongside his now weakened army, forced his way into Hogwarts.
Additional Hogwarts allies arrived at this time: Legions of knife-wielding house-elves led by Kreacher, the residents of Hogsmeade, the friends and families of every remaining student, all led by Charlie Weasley and Professor Slughorn. A flock of Thestrals led by Buckbeak, and the Centaurs also threw themselves into the battle.
In the midst of all the chaos, Harry, hidden under the Cloak of Invisibility, was buffeted into the Great Hall. Outnumbered and surrounded by people and creatures from both sides, the Death Eaters were cut down or run off by the forces of Hogwarts until only Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort remained. Bellatrix was slain by Molly Weasley, with whom she briefly dueled. Voldemort was furious at the loss of his best and last lieutenant, but Harry cast a Shield Charm between Molly Weasley and Voldemort before the latter could raise his wand. Harry then revealed himself to the survivors, giving them hope again.
The cheering crowd retreated to the walls of the hall and watched then as the two great nemeses, Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter, bantered and circled each other. Harry revealed to Voldemort that Severus Snape had always been a spy for Dumbledore, ever since Voldemort threatened Lily Potter's life. Harry also revealed that Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. It had been Draco Malfoy that was the rightful master, and that Harry had defeated Malfoy weeks ago, thereby gaining the allegiance of the Elder Wand.
- Harry Potter: " ...Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because he never had it won from him!"
- Lord Voldemort: "But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand! I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"
- Harry Potter: "...Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard...The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance...The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
- — Harry revealing the true master of the Elder Wand to Voldemort during their final confrontation.[src]
Harry dared Voldemort to feel remorse, to which Voldemort responded by casting a Killing Curse with the Elder Wand. Harry simultaneously cast his own Expelliarmus charm using Draco Malfoy's wand. However, because the Elder Wand rightfully belonged to Harry, the Killing Curse rebounded at Voldemort and ended his life once and for all. The Second Wizarding War had ended with a decisive victory for the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army.[2]
Aftermath
Casualties
- "Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Colin Creevey, and fifty others who had died fighting him"
- — Description[src]
There were many casualties in this epic battle such as Fred Weasley, who was killed in an explosion caused by an unknown spell that was cast by Augustus Rookwood. The first person known to die in the battle was Vincent Crabbe, who tried to use the Fiendfyre curse on Harry Potter, only to have it backfire and kill him. Severus Snape was killed by Nagini on Voldemort's orders. Neville Longbottom killed Nagini with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Colin Creevey was found dead after the battle by Neville and Oliver Wood, though it is unknown how he died or who killed him. Also Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed "off screen" and it is unknown how, but their deaths were caused by Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange.
When the battle erupted into its final stage, more people died on both sides. Bellatrix Lestrange died at the hands of Molly Weasley after Bellatrix nearly killed her daughter. The final duel saw Harry Potter battle with Lord Voldemort and defeat him. There were at least fifty-five lives lost on the side of the Order of the Phoenix that night.
List of known Deaths
| Character | Killed By | Cause of Death |
|---|---|---|
| Vincent Crabbe | Himself (by accident) | Fiendfyre |
| Fred Weasley | Unknown, possibly Augustus Rookwood | Explosion caused by unknown spell (possibly Expulso) |
| Remus Lupin | Antonin Dolohov[5] | Duel (possibly Antonin Dolohov's curse) |
| Nymphadora Tonks | Bellatrix Lestrange[5] | Duel |
| Colin Creevey | Unknown | Unknown |
| Severus Snape | Nagini | Snakebite |
| Nagini | Neville Longbottom | Beheaded with Gryffindor's sword |
| Bellatrix Lestrange | Molly Weasley | Duel |
| Lord Voldemort | Harry Potter/Elder Wand/Himself. | Harry's mastery of the Elder Wand and his own rebounding Killing Curse |
- It is likely there were other deaths not mentioned in the book. All Death Eaters were defeated, whether they were all killed is unknown, but those who survived most likely went to Azkaban.
See also
Appearances
Notes and references
- ↑ Video clip of J.K. Rowling from the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "A transcript of a web chat with J.K. Rowling" from The Leaky Cauldron