Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Overview
A mysterious silver doe Patronus leads Harry to the real Sword of Gryffindor. Harry nearly drowns retrieving it when the Horcrux strangles him, but Ron returns, saves him, and, confronting his deepest insecurities, destroys the locket.
Back at the tent, Hermione’s fury gives way to wary truce as Ron explains the Deluminator guided him back and supplies Harry with a replacement wand.
Summary
In a snowy Forest of Dean, Harry takes the night watch and is lured by a silent, silver doe Patronus through the trees. The doe vanishes at a frozen pool where Harry spots the Sword of Gryffindor beneath the ice. Convinced he must act, Harry cuts the ice and dives, but the Horcrux chain tightens around his throat and he begins to drown.
Ron Weasley suddenly rescues Harry, hauls him from the pool, and retrieves the sword. Shocked but elated by Ron’s return, Harry decides the moment has come to destroy the locket. He insists Ron wield the sword because Ron won it from the pool, then opens the Horcrux using Parseltongue.
The locket manifests taunting visions: distorted, seductive versions of Harry and Hermione that exploit Ron’s fears of inferiority and jealousy. Urged by Harry, Ron overcomes the hallucinations and shatters the Horcrux with the sword. The visions vanish; Ron breaks down, and Harry reassures him that Hermione is like a sister to Harry.
They return to the tent. Hermione wakes, sees Ron, and furiously attacks him for leaving. After a heated argument, Ron explains he ran into Snatchers after Disapparating, then the Deluminator later captured Hermione’s voice and a guiding light entered his chest, leading him back to their vicinity. He tracked them over days and followed the doe to Harry.
Harry confirms Ron saved his life and that the locket is destroyed. Ron hands over a spare wand to replace Harry’s broken one. Hermione, still upset, settles into a guarded silence, but a fragile reconciliation is underway as the trio regains a crucial weapon and destroys another Horcrux.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterFollows the silver doe, retrieves Gryffindor’s sword, nearly drowns; opens the locket in Parseltongue and supports Ron through destroying it.
- Ron WeasleyReturns, rescues Harry, resists the Horcrux’s taunts, destroys the locket with Gryffindor’s sword; explains the Deluminator guided him back; gives Harry a spare wand.
- Hermione GrangerKeeps watch, then awakens to Ron’s return; vents anger over his departure; questions the Patronus and hears Ron’s Deluminator account; uneasy truce follows.
- Silver Doe PatronusMysterious Patronus that leads Harry to the pool containing the Sword of Gryffindor; caster remains unseen.
- Riddle-Harry and Riddle-Hermione (Horcrux manifestations)Taunting illusions from the locket that exploit Ron’s fears until he destroys the Horcrux.