Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER THIRDTY-ONE
Overview
Voldemort demands Harry by midnight; Hogwarts rallies as evacuations begin. Harry learns from the Gray Lady that the Horcrux is Ravenclaw’s diadem and retrieves it from the Room of Requirement. Crabbe’s Fiendfyre destroys the diadem; Harry saves Malfoy and Goyle. The castle is breached, and Fred Weasley is killed.
Summary
In the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall organizes evacuations and defenses when Voldemort’s voice demands Harry by midnight. Pansy Parkinson attempts to expose Harry, but the other Houses shield him. Kingsley assigns battle positions as fighters mobilize. Harry departs to resume the Horcrux hunt.
Unable to find Ron and Hermione, Harry seeks the Ravenclaw ghost. The Gray Lady reveals she is Helena Ravenclaw and that she stole her mother Rowena’s diadem, hiding it in an Albanian tree. Tom Riddle charmed the secret from her and later hid the diadem back at Hogwarts. Realizing it lies in the Room of Requirement’s hidden cache, Harry races to act as the battle starts; Hagrid and Grawp join the fray.
Harry reunites with Ron and Hermione, who have destroyed Hufflepuff’s cup using basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets. They enter the Room of Hidden Things and find the diadem, but Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle ambush them. Crabbe unleashes Fiendfyre, which turns the room into a living inferno. Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape by broom, rescuing Malfoy and Goyle; Crabbe perishes in the flames. Harry snatches the falling diadem before exiting.
Outside, the diadem bleeds and splits, destroyed by the Fiendfyre’s power, signaling another Horcrux gone. Battle rages through the corridors as Death Eaters penetrate defenses. Fred and Percy duel foes, Percy mockingly resigns to Thicknesse, and moments later a massive explosion tears the corridor apart. Amid wreckage and screams, the Weasleys and Hermione gather, and Harry sees that Fred has been killed.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterDrives the Horcrux hunt; learns the diadem’s history; retrieves it; rescues Malfoy and Goyle; witnesses Fred’s death.
- Hermione GrangerDestroys Hufflepuff’s cup with a basilisk fang; duels in the Room; explains Fiendfyre; helps rescue Goyle.
- Ron WeasleyLeads basilisk plan; opens Chamber via Parseltongue; helps destroy the cup; aids fiery escape; mourns Fred.
- Professor Minerva McGonagallCommands evacuations and defenses; expels Slytherins from the Hall after Pansy’s outburst.
- VoldemortIssues midnight ultimatum demanding Harry; attacks Hogwarts as the battle commences.
- Helena Ravenclaw (The Gray Lady)Reveals she stole the diadem and Riddle learned its Albanian hiding place.
- Draco MalfoyConfronts Harry in the Room; loses control of allies; is saved by Harry from Fiendfyre.
- Vincent CrabbeAttempts to capture and kill; unleashes Fiendfyre; dies in the inferno he created.
- Gregory GoyleDisarmed and Stunned in the Room; rescued by Ron and Hermione amid Fiendfyre.
- Fred WeasleyDefends Hogwarts with Percy; jokes mid-duel; killed by an explosion during the battle.
- Percy WeasleyFights beside Fred; taunts Thicknesse; grieves over Fred’s body.
- Kingsley ShackleboltCoordinates battle assignments with staff and Order fighters.
- Rubeus HagridArrives with Grawp and Fang to fight; joins the castle chaos.
- GrawpHurls his way into battle near the castle, aiding defenders.
- Ginny WeasleyOrdered to safety; later duels from a window during the siege.
- Nymphadora TonksLeaves safety to find Remus; joins the fighting inside the castle.
- Aberforth DumbledoreAssists evacuations and defense; challenges strategy on Slytherins; leads fighters inside.
- Professor Pomona SproutDeploys mandrakes as weapons to repel attackers.
- Nearly Headless NickDirects Harry to the Gray Lady.
- Pansy ParkinsonTries to have Harry seized; is overruled and removed with Slytherins.
- Pius ThicknesseDuels Percy; is jinxed and incapacitated during the corridor fight.
- Mrs. Augusta LongbottomExits the passage and heads to aid Neville in battle.