Harry Potter, #7
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN
Overview
Harry reels from his broken wand and turns his anger on Dumbledore’s secrecy. Hermione produces Rita Skeeter’s biography from Bathilda’s house, revealing Dumbledore’s teenage friendship with Grindelwald, their supremacist ideas, and Ariana’s tragic death. The revelations shake Harry’s faith, while Hermione argues Dumbledore changed, deepening tension between them.
Summary
At sunrise, Harry sits outside the tent, devastated by the loss of his wand and the vanished protection of the twin cores. He hides the broken pieces in Hagrid’s pouch and seethes at Dumbledore for leaving them directionless and exposed after the disaster in Godric’s Hollow.
Hermione, tearful and cautious, brings tea and a pristine copy of Rita Skeeter’s The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, found in Bathilda’s house with a note from Rita. Harry opens it and discovers the photograph caption naming the laughing boy beside young Albus as Gellert Grindelwald.
Harry and Hermione read the chapter The Greater Good, which recounts Dumbledore’s glittering school record, his return home after Kendra’s death, Ariana’s secret confinement, and Bathilda’s account of Grindelwald’s arrival in Godric’s Hollow. A reproduced letter shows young Albus endorsing wizard dominance ‘for the greater good,’ echoing the ideology that later fueled Grindelwald’s tyranny.
The book alleges Ariana’s mysterious death ended the friendship, that Aberforth blamed Albus and broke his nose at the funeral, and questions why Dumbledore delayed confronting Grindelwald. The insinuations leave Harry feeling as shattered as after Ron’s departure, his trust in Dumbledore collapsing.
Hermione urges caution, stressing Rita’s bias and Dumbledore’s later record opposing Dark Arts and defending Muggle-borns. Harry counters that at their age Dumbledore plotted supremacy while he and Hermione risk their lives to stop it, and that Dumbledore never confided in him as he once did in Grindelwald.
After a heated exchange, Hermione gently insists Dumbledore loved Harry. Harry, unconvinced, resumes the watch with Hermione’s wand while she retreats to the tent, their bond strained by grief, doubt, and unanswered questions.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterGrieves his broken wand, reads Rita’s book, feels betrayed by Dumbledore, clashes with Hermione.
- Hermione GrangerFinds Rita’s book in Bathilda’s house, reads with Harry, defends Dumbledore, comforts Harry despite tension.
- Albus DumbledoreSubject of revelations: teenage friendship with Grindelwald, supremacist ideas, Ariana’s death, later redemption debated.
- Gellert GrindelwaldDumbledore’s brilliant friend; shares ideology ‘for the greater good’; flees after Ariana’s death.
- Ariana DumbledoreDumbledore’s troubled sister; her secret confinement and death spark family conflict.
- Aberforth DumbledoreBlames Albus for Ariana’s death; breaks Albus’s nose at the funeral.
- Bathilda BagshotSource for Rita; recounts Dumbledore–Grindelwald friendship and events surrounding Ariana’s death.
- Rita SkeeterAuthor of the accusatory biography shaping the chapter’s revelations and Harry’s doubts.