Another Favourite Book!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


Yes, a self confessed Potter fan. Although I didn't read any of the books until 2007, when dared to by my boyfriend. I told him they were 'books for children' and I wasn't interested. And he bet me that I wouldn't be able to get them finished by the end of the summer. Anyone who knows me will know I can never let a bet pass me by and so decided to give it a go (albeit unwillingly.)


I admit, the first two books were written in a way which was obvious that they were for children (well, after all, that is what they were meant to be originally,) but by the time I was halfway through 'Azkeban' I was hooked. Fantasy really isn't a theme I look for in a book, I much prefer real life stories and things I can relate to, but I found myself getting completely lost in this Wizarding World and was (must to my surprise) absolutely loving it. While I love all the books, my favourite is definitely Deathly Hallows. While it's not the longest of the series I just loved finding out how everything ended, who survived, who died, what happened to everyone and all the twists and turns along the way. This was also the only book that has made me cry. I'm not one for crying at stories, I don't even cry in films really, but there were a few moments in this book I just found so emotional. (Obviously the death of Dobby and again at the end of the Battle for Hogwarts.)


Here's a brief (ish) summary of what happens...

Following Dumbledore's death, Voldemort has completed his ascension to power and gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione drop out of school to find and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. They isolate themselves to ensure the safety of their family and friends. They do not have much knowledge about the remaining Horcruxes except the possibility that two of them are objects that belonged to Hogwarts founders Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, and that the third is Nagini, Voldemort's snake familiar. The locations of the two founders' objects are unknown, and Nagini is presumed to be with Voldemort himself. As they search for the Horcruxes, the trio learn details about Dumbledore's past, as well as Snape's true motives.

The trio recovers the first of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Salazar Slytherin's locket, by infiltrating the Ministry of Magic. They recover the Sword of Godric Gryffindor; it is one of a few objects that can be used to destroy Horcruxes (being dipped in Basilisk venom), and they use it to destroy the locket. In their travels the trio comes across a strange symbol, which an eccentric wizard named Xenophilius Lovegood (father of Luna) tells them represents the mythical Deathly Hallows. The Hallows are revealed to be three sacred objects: the Resurrection Stone, a stone with the power to recall the dead to the world of the living; the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; and an infallible Invisibility Cloak. Harry learns that Voldemort is seeking the Elder Wand, but is unaware of the Hallows and their significance. The trio decides that discovering Voldemort's Horcruxes is more important than procuring the Hallows for themselves. They break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at the Wizarding Bank Gringotts to recover another Horcrux, the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. Harry learns that another Horcrux is hidden in Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the school. They find this Horcrux, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and successfully destroy the cup and the diadem.

The book culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, in conjunction with students and members of the wizarding world opposed to the rise of Voldemort, defend Hogwarts from Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and various magical creatures. Several major characters are killed in the first wave of the battle. The battle commences and Voldemort requests Harry meets him in the Forbidden Forest, alone, to battle face to face and meet his fate. 

(I won't reveal the ending purely because I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read it.)

I also found it really interesting as to what happens to everyone next. Although there's an epilogue of where everyone is 19 years later, JK Rowling had obviously thought about it in great detail and had made notes of what happens throughout all the key characters' lives.

J.K Rowling completed the book while staying at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh in January 2007 and left a signed statement on a marble bust of Hermes in her room which read; "J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) 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, "Deathly Hallows is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."


So if you haven't read the series, please, please, give it a go. Don't be ignorant like I was. In a way I'm glad I read them at the age I am now, because not only have I been able to appreciate and understand the writing more, but I haven't had to wait for any of the books to come out :)


Until next time my loves <3