Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
Overview
Voldemort gathers his followers at Malfoy Manor to plan Harry Potter’s capture during an imminent move. Snape supplies key intelligence, while Yaxley reveals Ministry infiltration via Pius Thicknesse. Voldemort asserts he will kill Harry himself, seizes Lucius Malfoy’s wand, humiliates the Malfoys and Bellatrix, and murders Professor Charity Burbage to feed to Nagini.
Summary
Severus Snape and Yaxley arrive at Malfoy Manor for a meeting led by Voldemort. They pass through the gates unchallenged and enter a crowded drawing room where an unconscious woman hangs upside down above the table. Voldemort seats Snape at his right and asks for news.
Snape reports that the Order of the Phoenix will move Harry Potter next Saturday at nightfall. Yaxley disputes this with a different date via Auror Dawlish, but Snape explains it is a deliberate false trail. Snape adds that the Order avoids Ministry-controlled transport, forcing Harry to travel in the open. Voldemort decides Harry must be attacked in transit and vows to kill Harry himself.
Yaxley reveals progress infiltrating the Ministry, boasting he has Imperiused Pius Thicknesse, which Voldemort calls a start but insufficient without broader control. A distant wail prompts Voldemort to rebuke Wormtail for failing to keep a prisoner quiet.
Before departing to hunt Harry, Voldemort demands a wand and forces Lucius Malfoy to surrender his. He taunts the Malfoy family’s unease and, with Nagini coiled about him, humiliates them further by mocking Bellatrix Lestrange over her niece’s marriage to Remus Lupin. Bellatrix pledges loyalty and purification of her family line.
Voldemort then revives the captive, revealed as Professor Charity Burbage of Hogwarts, who had defended Muggle-borns. She pleads to Snape, who remains impassive. Voldemort kills Burbage with the Killing Curse, and orders Nagini to feed, sealing the meeting with an act of terror.
Who Appears
- VoldemortLeads the meeting, outlines plan to attack Harry in transit, takes Lucius’s wand, kills Charity Burbage.
- Severus SnapeProvides accurate intelligence on Harry’s move; stays impassive as Charity Burbage pleads to him.
- YaxleyChallenges Snape’s date, reports Imperiusing Pius Thicknesse, notes Ministry transport infiltration.
- Lucius MalfoyDisgraced host; forced to surrender his wand; silently endures Voldemort’s humiliation.
- Bellatrix LestrangeFawning loyalist; mocked over niece’s marriage; vows to purge her family’s perceived impurities.
- Narcissa MalfoyMaintains a rigid, fearful composure; subtly signals Draco to remain silent.
- Draco MalfoyTerrified observer; avoids eye contact; falls from his chair when Burbage is killed.
- Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew)Rebuked for failing to keep a prisoner quiet; scurries from the room.
- NaginiVoldemort’s snake; coils over him and is ordered to eat Charity Burbage.
- Charity BurbageHogwarts Muggle Studies teacher; captured, pleads to Snape, murdered by Voldemort.