Harry Potter, meanwhile, is rummaging through his school trunk, sorting what he will need to take with him from what will be left behind. While taking a break, he reads some articles about Albus Dumbledore. One is sympathetic, the other critical. In those obituaries, it is revealed that his father, Percival, supposedly hated Muggles and had attacked three Muggle boys, earning himself imprisonment in Azkaban, where he later died. In one of the article, written by Rita Skeeter, it is also suggested that Dumbledore was responsible for the death of his younger sister Ariana, and that he was, at one time, a wizarding supremacist in league with Gellert Grindelwald.
Harry begins having regrets about not having asked Dumbledore more about his past, but this is soon forgotten as he leaves his home that night. He convinces his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley that they need to leave as well to avoid being captured by the Death Eaters. Eventually Order of the Phoenix members, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, arrive to escort them to an undisclosed location. Before leaving, Dudley admits that he cares about Harry and thanks him for saving his soul during the Dementor attack of 1995, and they shake hands.
The Death Eaters discover the real Harry after he attempts to disarm an imperiused Stan Shunpike. Moments later, Voldemort joins in the pursuit. Hagrid leaps off the bike at another Death Eater, and as Voldemort is about to kill Harry, Harry's wand acts of its own accord and shoots a curse at Voldemort that breaks Lucius's wand. Voldemort attempts to strike again, but at that moment, Harry enters the protective charms of the Tonks' home, and Voldemort and the Death Eaters are unable to follow him.
Harry finds Hagrid, who had survived his fall, and meets Tonks' parents, Ted and Andromeda. The couple show the two a Portkey, which transports them straight to the Burrow. There, the casualties are counted: Hedwig was struck by a Killing Curse; George's ear was slashed off by Severus Snape; Mad-Eye Moody was killed by Voldemort himself. Harry later has a vision regarding his escape, as a result of a connection between his and Voldemort's minds, in which Voldemort questions Ollivander, who crafted the wands, about why Harry's wand acted as it did. Ollivander is unable to explain.
During their time at the Burrow, Harry, Hermione, and Ron are kept busy with preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding, which Harry suspects is an attempt by Mrs. Weasley, Ron's mother, to stop their planning and delay their departure. Nevertheless, they manage to get together and discuss their plans for completing the quest Dumbledore left them, to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes.
The day before the wedding, Harry's 17th birthday, Harry dreams of Voldemort searching for someone known as "Gregorovitch." For his birthday, he receives a number of gifts, the most useful being a new sneakoscope from Hermione. He also shares a short romantic embrace with his ex-girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. Knowing that he was about to leave, she pationately kisses him as something to remember her by, which Ron "accidentally" interrupts. Later in the day, Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, arrives at the Burrow to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione the personal effects of Albus Dumbledore, which had been bequeathed to them in his will: To Ron, the Deluminator, with the power to douse all lights in the surrounding area; to Hermione, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of wizard-culture fairy tales written in Runes; and to Harry, Godric Gryffindor's Sword, and the first Golden Snitch Harry had ever caught in a Hogwarts Quidditch match. The sword was withheld because, Scrimgeour claimed, it was not Dumbledore's to give. The three try to discover the purpose of the objects given to them, but are forced to give their attention to other matters, specifically Fleur and Bill's wedding the following day.
Harry disguises himself as "Ron's cousin" Barny Weasley for the wedding to avoid causing an uproar. After the ceremony, while Ron and Hermione are dancing Harry speaks with Elphias Doge and Ron's great aunt Muriel from whom he learns more less than savory details from Dumbledore's past; Dumbledore had had a sister, Ariana, whose existence had been hushed up by the family, and who Muriel believes was a squib. During the wedding celebration, Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus arrives to warn the attendants that Lord Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and Rufus Scrimgeour has been killed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione flee the wedding, first arriving on Tottenham Court Road in Muggle London. There, they quickly make for a café to settle down and decide their next course of action.
The first morning there, Harry finds the name Regulus Arcturus Black, the deceased younger brother of his also deceased godfather Sirius, and a former Death Eater, on a bedroom door. Harry realises that Regulus was the "R.A.B." from the fake Horcrux locket Harry found with Dumbledore, and he, Hermione, and Ron begin searching the house for the real one. They soon surmise that the locket had indeed been in the house, at one time. Unable to find it, they call upon Kreacher, the Black family's house-elf. Kreacher tells the trio that he had helped Voldemort place the real Horcrux in the cave. After Regulus learned of this, however, he had ordered Kreacher to return with him to the cave in order to substitute a fake locket for the real one, as the Black family would have been safer not involved in Voldemort's affairs. Regulus was killed in the process while Kreacher escaped with the Horcrux locket. Kreacher also tells them that Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket, and they send him to find Fletcher.
While waiting for Kreacher, the trio are visited by Order member Remus Lupin. He explains more of the situation: the Voldemort-controlled Ministry and Death Eaters are searching for Harry, claiming that he had a part in Dumbledore's death, and the Ministry is now openly persecuting Muggle-born wizards and witches. He then offers to join the trio in their quest, not wanting to remain with his wife Nymphadora Tonks, who is pregnant with their child, because he fears the child will be a werewolf like him. Harry calls him a coward for abandoning his son, and Lupin angrily storms off. Later, Kreacher brings Fletcher back to 12 Grimmauld Place, but he has already given away the locket to Dolores Umbridge as a bribe.
After many more listless weeks, they make their way to Godric's Hollow on the off-chance Dumbledore left the sword there for them, with Bathilda Bagshot, author of A History Of Magic. Arriving in Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve, the two first visit the graveyard where both Harry and Dumbledore's families are buried. After sharing an emotional moment and laying a wreath on Harry’s parents' grave, they visit the memorial to Harry's family, and then encounter the historian Bathilda Bagshot, who was an old family friend of the Dumbledores. They follow her to her house, where they find a picture of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald. He was Bagshot's relative, and long ago, Dumbledore's childhood friend. However, it is actually a trap; "Bathilda" is actually Nagini, Voldemort’s snake familiar, and after a very violent encounter, Harry and Hermione only narrowly escape from Voldemort. In the chaos, Hermione casts a Blasting Curse that destroys Harry's wand.
Harry was briefly incapacitated following the incident in Godric's Hollow, and he and Hermione spend Harry's few days convalescence in the Forest of Dean where Harry sits down to vindictively read Rita Skeeter's book The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. He discovers that the boy he saw in Lord Voldemort's mind is none other than Grindelwald and that Dumbledore and Grindelward had been good friends as teenagers and had shared the idea that wizards should rule over the Muggles. Making this discovery, Harry reaches a new level of disillusionment with his former mentor. The following evening, a Patronus in the shape of a silvery doe appears on the edge of their camp and leads Harry to Godric Gryffindor's Sword, hidden in a frozen forest pool. Harry strips down to his underwear and dives down after the sword, but the locket Horcrux around his neck tries to keep Harry under the water long enough for him to drown.
Hermione, who has recently been pouring over The Tales of Beedle the Bard realises their next necessary step. She tells them that they need to speak to Xenophilius Lovegood and ask him about Grindelwald's mark, a symbol which has shown up time and again during their journey. Only days after escaping from Voldemort in Godric's Hollow, the trio begin searching the hills surrounding Ottery St. Catchpole for the Lovegood residence. At the Lovegood House, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are told that the symbol actually represents the Deathly Hallows. Mr. Lovegood then introduces them to The Tale of the Three Brothers, a fairy tale about three men who bested Death and who received a magical item for it: An unbeatable wand (called the Elder Wand), a stone which could bring back the dead (the Resurrection Stone), and an Invisibility Cloak that can hide the wearer from Death itself and never failed with age, unlike most cloaks of that nature. Lovegood tells them that the three items are collectively represented by the symbol, and whoever masters all three artefacts will be the "Master of Death." Harry believes his own cloak to be the legendary Invisibility Cloak and is very excited. They soon discover that Lovegood has betrayed them to the Ministry; Luna, his daughter, was taken captive earlier in the year because he was encouraging support for Harry, and he believes that giving them Harry will win her freedom. The trio barely escape from the Death Eaters sent to fetch them. In an ingenious plan to ensure escape, but also protect Ron's alibi, Hermione throws Harry's cloak over Ron and blasts away the floor. When they are sighted by the Death Eaters, she guides Harry and Ron as they Disapparate away.
After hearing the story of the Deathly Hallows, Harry becomes obsessed with finding them, and he begins to neglect his duties as the group's leader as he sits in reverie. With Harry not performing, Ron steps up to lead them as they venture up and down the island checking any place with links to the Wizarding world for signs of another Horcrux. After listless weeks, Ron finally manages to tune into a rogue wizard radio broadcast called "Potterwatch," run by Lee Jordan, which reports the news as it actually happened unlike the Daily Prophet. The broadcast is quite entertaining, and Harry laughs for the first time in months. However, after the programme, Harry accidentally says Voldemort's name, breaking the Taboo, and a group of Snatchers find Harry, Ron, and Hermione and capture them, taking them to Malfoy Manor.
There, they are taken into the drawing room to have their identities confirmed. The Malfoys' son Draco is home for the Easter holidays. He is reluctant to identify the trio, but when Lucius Malfoy is satisfied that the prisoners are indeed Harry Potter and his accomplices, he reaches for his Dark Mark. At that instant Bellatrix Lestrange, who was with the Malfoys, stops Lucius, because she saw a sword being carried by one of the Snatchers and believes it to be Godric Gryffindor's Sword which was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts. She singles out Hermione for torture and interrogation to find how the trio acquired the sword, while Ron and Harry are locked in a cellar with Dean, Griphook, Ollivander, and Luna. Hearing Hermione's cries, Harry locates his broken shard of mirror, sees a flash of blue in it resembling Dumbledore's eye and in desperation begs for help. Upstairs, Hermione lies to Bellatrix, saying that the sword is a copy. Bellatrix sends Draco to fetch Griphook who Harry convinces to corroborate Hermione's story. As Draco slams the door, Dobby Apparates into the cellar. Harry orders him to take Dean, Luna, and Ollivander first and then return for everyone else. When Dobby Disapparates, the noise is heard upstairs, and Wormtail is sent to investigate.
When he reaches the cellar, Harry and Ron attack him, but Wormtail resists, losing his wand to Ron, but grabbing Harry's neck with his artificial hand. Harry calls upon the Life debt that Wormtail owes him, and Pettigrew momentarily hesitates, and his artificial hand, made for him by Voldemort three years previous, immediately strangles Wormtail to death for the mercy he has shown. Ron and Harry, helpless to aid him, rush upstairs to save Hermione. They peek through the door to find Hermione passed out on the floor, and Bellatrix questioning Griphook. When they crash through the door, Ron disarms Bellatrix, and he and Harry begin a fierce exchange of spells with the others in the room. They are forced to stop, when Bellatrix threatens to cut Hermione's throat. As Voldemort approaches, Dobby returns and drops a chandelier onto Bellatrix. Ron sprints to pull Hermione from the wreckage as Harry wrests three wands from Draco; his wand and the wands Ron and Harry had taken during the earlier skirmish. Harry picks up Griphook, seizes Dobby and Disapparates as Ron does the same with Hermione. They escape as Voldemort is close to arriving, but Dobby is slain by Bellatrix as they flee.
Griphook eventually agrees to help the trio, in return for Gryffindor's sword. Harry reluctantly concedes that he will have to give up the sword but plans to hand over the sword after all the Horcruxes have been destroyed. He tells Griphook he can have the sword after they have broken in to the Bank, but he is very careful not to mention when, as Goblins are notoriously known for going back on their word. The trio spend nearly a month planning in one of the Cottages cramped bedrooms, only seeing daylight or the other occupants of the house at mealtimes. Harry, as well as the other two, comes to strongly dislike Griphook, because the Goblin seems to relish causing pain. During their stay, Remus Lupin visits them again. Chastened by Harry, he had returned to Tonks by Christmas, and he came to Shell Cottage to tell everyone that she has given birth to a son who does not have his werewolf tendencies, but instead possesses Tonks's Metamorphmagus abilities. Lupin also gives Harry the honour of being Teddy Lupin's godfather. After many rounds of wine, he departs, and as they are cleaning up, Bill corners Harry and tells him to be wary of Griphook.
After extensive planning, on 1 May the group sets out for Gringotts to obtain the Horcrux. Hermione poses by way of Polyjuice Potion as Bellatrix using a lone hair that had been left on her during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. Ron is disguised as a fictional foreign wizard, and Griphook and Harry go under the Invisibility cloak. Through their use of disguises and Harry's repeated use of the Imperius Curse, they manage to gain access to the bank. As they are travelling down the tunnel to the Lestrange Vault, their cover is blown, and the Gringotts' defences are set against them. With Griphook's help, they gain access to the vault and find the Horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. Harry grabs it, but Griphook betrays their presence and flees with the sword. Many guards begin to pour into the vicinity as Harry, Ron, and Hermione exit the vault. Fighting off the guards, they narrowly escape on the back of a captive half-blind dragon which is released into the wild following their escape. Gryffindor's sword is kept by Griphook.
When they arrive in Hogsmeade, they immediately trigger the Caterwauling Charm placed on the village alerting the Death Eaters to their presence. Harry and friends are cornered by the Death Eaters, but are saved by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's brother. Harry also discovers that Aberforth was the one he saw in the mirror at Malfoy Manor. During the ensuing argument, Aberforth urges the trio to flee, but they refuse to give up. Aberforth then tells them the truth about Ariana; She had been a witch, but an attack on her by Muggle boys had left her unable to control her abilities. Percival attacked the Muggles in retaliation. The family kept Ariana and her condition secret, to protect her, with Kendra and Aberforth caring for her the most. However, one of Ariana's outbursts killed Kendra. With Aberforth about to return to school, Albus took over care of Ariana. At this time he was introduced to Gellert Grindelwald. He began to neglect his duties as he was planning his uprising with Grindlewald, for which he was confronted by Aberforth. The three wizards got into a duel, in which Ariana was killed. After sharing this sad story and being told that his brother regretted that moment to his death, Aberforth opens a secret passageway to Hogwarts, where Neville Longbottom greets them. The trio learn that Neville, Ginny, and Luna had restarted Dumbledore's Army to resist the regime of Severus Snape, who was made headmaster following Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry and that the members of the reconstituted D.A. have taken shelter in the Room of Requirement to hide from Snape's forces.
Shortly after Harry's arrival, Voldemort discovers that two more of his Horcruxes have disappeared and gathers an army of Death Eaters, Dementors, and his other supporters, in order to assault the school and kill Harry once and for all. After forcing Snape to flee, McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who only recently arrived, raise their own army consisting of teachers, students, the D.A, the Order of the Phoenix, and enchanted statues and suits of armour. At midnight, the Battle of Hogwarts begins. All the while Harry tries to locate the diadem and Ron and Hermione who had gone missing. Thinking that the diadem had not been seen in living memory, he speaks with the Grey Lady and surmises that Tom Riddle had learned of the diadem's location from her. Shortly after the battle begins, Harry recalls seeing the diadem in the Room of Requirement and meets up with Ron and Hermione, who had disappeared in order to retrieve Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy the next two Horcruxes. The trio reenter the Room of Requirement, and Ron remembers all about the house-elves in the kitchens. He does not feel that it is right to order them to die for them, so he makes his thoughts known. With a clatter, Hermione drops all the basilisk fangs she is holding, and she and Ron share a deep, meaningful kiss, completely forgetting that Harry is there and that there is a war going on. After being reminded, they search the Room of Hidden Things, a version of the Room of Requirement that students have used to hide contraband over the centuries. Once they are inside, they are confronted by Malfoy and his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. During a short duel in which Crabbe aims to kill, Crabbe mishandles the Fiendfyre spell, causing a huge inferno. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Goyle escape on two old brooms, and the diadem is destroyed by the fire, along with Crabbe. Soon after, Fred and Percy Weasley, who had just reconciled with his family, are seen duelling with two Death Eaters one of whom is Minister for Magic Pius Thicknesse. After they defeat them, there is an explosion in the corridor, and Fred is killed, deeply affecting his brothers.
As he dies, Harry runs out to him, and Snape gives up his memories to Harry. Voldemort then delivers an ultimatum; if Harry does not surrender himself in an hour, he will join the battle, and all in Hogwarts will be destroyed. Returning to the castle, Harry sees the defenders looking for loved ones and counting up the dead, with Lupin and Tonks laying next to Colin Creevey and Fred. After seeing this, Harry makes his way up to Dumbledore's office to view the memories Snape left him. It is revealed that Snape was, in fact, a triple agent for Dumbledore, motivated to protect Harry's life at all costs by his lifelong love of Harry's mother and that had been loyal to Dumbledore ever since Voldemort had decided to go after the Potters. Dumbledore, cursed to die when he placed on the Gaunt family ring, not thinking that thae Horcrux would carry a curse, had asked Snape to kill him if the situation demanded it, to spare himself a longer death at the hands of Voldemort's henchmen. It is also shown that Snape had stolen the true Sword of Gryffindor and then passed it on to Harry.
Harry also learns from these memories that Dumbledore believed Harry a Horcrux and that Voldemort cannot be killed until Harry himself is killed by Voldemort. Now resigned to his fate, Harry sneaks out of the castle under his Invisibility cloak and stops to tell Neville to kill Nagini, the other remaining Horcrux, at all costs. Then, before he sacrifices himself to Voldemort, he opens the Golden Snitch left to him by Dumbledore to reveal the Resurrection Stone. He uses it to summon the spirits of his parents, of Sirius, and of Remus Lupin, all of whom provide emotional support as Harry walks to his death. He enters Voldemort's camp and shows himself. He tries to betray no fear as he allows himself to be hit with the Killing Curse. His last thought is of Ginny.
Dumbledore confides in Harry that he had sought the Hallows, with Grindelwald, for less than noble reasons and that the death of his sister resulted from their association. In Dumbledore's opinion, only Harry is worthy of possessing the Hallows. With all of his secrets in the open, Harry can no longer find himself angry with Dumbledore even after all he has been through. Harry is given the choice of moving on or returning to try to stop Voldemort. Harry chooses to return and fight.
Back in the forest, Voldemort appears to have collapsed at the same time Harry did. Fearing not all went according to plan, he orders Narcissa Malfoy to check and see if Harry is dead, and after being subtly notified that her son, Draco, is alive and well inside Hogwarts, she tells Voldemort and the Death Eaters that Harry is indeed dead, so that she may enter the castle and find him. Voldemort then attempts to desecrate Harry's "corpse" by casting the Cruciatus Curse on it multiple times, but Harry feels no pain from these curses. Afterward, Voldemort orders Hagrid to carry Harry back to Hogwarts during the Death Eaters victory march. Voldemort then challenges Hogwarts to surrender but is faced down by Neville. Voldemort proceeds to torture Neville by summoning the Sorting Hat, placing it on his head, and setting it aflame. At that moment, Hogwarts reinforcements appear near the school boundaries and run toward the school, the centaurs join the side of Hogwarts in the battle, and the battle recommences.
In the confusion, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. Nagini, the last Horcrux, is beheaded by Neville using Gryffindor's sword, pulled from the Sorting Hat. Harry fights his way into the Great Hall casting curses and protective spells from underneath his cloak, where a huge battle is taking place as Hogwarts fighters, Dumbledore's Army, the Order of the Phoenix, and other forces battle the remnants of Voldemort's army. At the height of the battle, Voldemort fights Minerva McGonagall, his old mentor Horace Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, while nearby Bellatrix battles Ginny, Luna, and Hermione. After Ginny narrowly avoids a Killing Curse, her mother takes over and kills Bellatrix. In his anger, Voldemort tries to smite Mrs. Weasley, but Harry reveals himself by casting a Shield Charm to protect her.
Coming face to face with Voldemort in the Great Hall, Harry is seemingly faced with impossible odds — Voldemort possesses the Elder Wand and has murdered who he thought to be its previous master, Severus Snape. Harry believes differently based on the information he received from Ollivander; as Harry sees it, Draco Malfoy became the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore against his will, therefore, defeating him. Since Harry had taken Malfoy's wand at Malfoy Manor, mastery of the wand passed to Harry, not Voldemort. The two debate this point among the verbal barbs they trade, with Harry revealing that Dumbledore also asked Snape to kill him if necessary to prevent anyone from defeating him, but that not all went according to plan. Harry also attempts to save Voldemort who he is calling by his given name, Tom Riddle, from himself by telling him to feel some remorse. This shocks Voldemort more than anything Harry has said to him up to this point.
Harry explains all of this to Voldemort, who chooses not to believe him. Just as the sun breaks the horizon, Voldemort attacks Harry. When Voldemort's Killing Curse from the Elder Wand strikes Harry's Disarming Charm, the Killing Curse rebounds on Voldemort. Harry's theory has been proven correct — the Elder Wand refused to kill its true master. Voldemort, bereft of all his Horcruxes, finally dies.
In the wake of the battle, changes begin to occur in the Wizarding world. Kingsley Shacklebolt is appointed interim Minister for Magic and the Death Eaters are fleeing for their lives. Harry takes the time to explain to Ron and Hermione everything that happened as they walk to the Headmaster's office. Harry is now master of all three Hallows but chooses to deliberately lose the Resurrection Stone and hopes to deactivate the Elder Wand as well. Dumbledore's portrait applauds his decision.
In the story's epilogue, taking place nineteen years, that is in 2017, after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny are married and have three children named James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. Neville Longbottom has become the Herbology professor at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione are married and have two children named Rose and Hugo. They all remain close friends. Draco Malfoy is married to a woman who is later disclosed as Astoria Greengrass and has a boy named Scorpius. He has been spared an imprisonment in Azkaban.
They all meet at King's Cross, prepared to send their children to Hogwarts at the beginning of term. Albus secretly confides in his father his fear of being Sorted into Slytherin. Harry tells him that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of whom was a Slytherin and the bravest man he ever knew, as well as, reminding him that the Hat will also take into account his personal preference, as it had so many years before when Harry himself was sorted. As he watches the train pull away, Harry absent-mindedly touches the scar on his forehead, noting that it had not pained him in nineteen years. The story closes with the words, "All was well."
