Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Overview
The trio escape the Ministry to the old Quidditch World Cup woods, where Ron is splinched and Hermione heals him with dittany. Hermione reveals Yaxley breached Grimmauld Place, forcing them to camp under protective charms with the recovered locket Horcrux.
As fear and scarcity set in, Harry’s scar-vision shows Voldemort killing Gregorovitch while seeking a stolen object taken long ago by a golden-haired thief, hinting at a new, critical quest.
Summary
Harry, Ron, and Hermione crash into a forest clearing, not the Forbidden Forest but the former Quidditch World Cup site. Ron is badly splinched, a chunk of his arm missing. Hermione applies Essence of Dittany to stop the bleeding and partly heal him. She admits Yaxley held onto her during Disapparition and briefly crossed Grimmauld Place’s Fidelius boundary, compromising their safe house.
They raise protective enchantments and pitch the old Ministry tent. Tense over using Voldemort’s name, they settle in, brew tea, and worry about the Cattermoles’ escape. Hermione reveals she seized the real Slytherin locket; the trio confirm it seems intact as a Horcrux but cannot open it. Harry wears it for safekeeping, feeling a cold, unsettling throb against his chest.
Short on food and uneasy, Harry keeps watch while the Sneakoscope stays silent. He frets over next steps, Kreacher’s fate at Grimmauld Place, and the unknown remaining Horcruxes. Anxiety builds as the locket’s presence weighs on him and his scar begins to prickle.
Harry then experiences a vivid scar-vision: Voldemort tortures wandmaker Gregorovitch for a stolen item; rifling Gregorovitch’s memory reveals a laughing, golden-haired youth stunning him and leaping from a window with the prize. Voldemort kills Gregorovitch, still fixated on the thief and the object.
Back in the tent, Hermione scolds Harry about Occlumency, while Harry and Ron puzzle over Voldemort’s goal, noting it’s unrelated to wandlore. Harry struggles to place the familiar thief’s face, sensing this pursuit will shape their next moves.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterLeads escape, safeguards the locket Horcrux, stands watch, and experiences a scar-vision of Voldemort killing Gregorovitch and seeking a stolen object.
- Hermione GrangerDisapparates them to the World Cup woods, heals Ron’s splinching with dittany, wards the campsite, and reveals Grimmauld Place is compromised.
- Ron WeasleySplinched during escape; weakened but conscious, frets over the Cattermoles, objects to saying Voldemort’s name, and helps assess the locket.
- Lord VoldemortTortures and kills Gregorovitch while hunting a mysterious stolen object, seen through Harry’s scar-vision.
- GregorovitchWandmaker captured and interrogated by Voldemort about a long-ago theft; his memory reveals the thief before he is killed.
- Corban YaxleyClings to Hermione during Disapparition, learns Grimmauld Place’s secret, effectively destroying the trio’s safe house.
- Golden-haired thiefUnidentified, merry-looking youth who long ago stole the object Voldemort seeks; glimpsed in Gregorovitch’s memory.
- KreacherOff-page concern; Harry worries Yaxley may reach him at Grimmauld Place and force information.