First published 21 July, 2007
Illustrations by Mary GrandPré
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 784 pages
ISBN: 545010225
Chapter One - The Dark Lord Ascending
Chapter Two - In Memoriam
Chapter Three - The Dursleys Departing
Chapter Four - The Seven Potters
Chapter Five - Fallen Warrior
Chapter Six - The Ghoul in Pyjamas
Chapter Seven - The Will of Albus Dumbledore
Chapter Eight - The Wedding
Chapter Nine - A Place to Hide
Chapter Ten - Kreacher's Tale
Chapter Eleven - The Bribe
Chapter Twelve - Magic Is Might
Chapter Thirteen - The Muggle-born Registration Commission
Chapter Fourteen - The Thief
Chapter Fifteen - The Goblin's Revenge
Chapter Sixteen - Godric's Hollow
Chapter Seventeen - Bathilda's Secret
Chapter Eighteen - The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore
Chapter Nineteen - The Silver Doe
Chapter Twenty - Xenophilius Lovegood
Chapter Twenty-One - The Tale of the Three Brothers
Chapter Twenty-Two - The Deathly Hallows
Chapter Twenty-Three - Malfoy Manor
Chapter Twenty-Four - The Wandmaker
Chapter Twenty-Five - Shell Cottage
Chapter Twenty-Six - Gringotts
Chapter Twenty-Seven - The Final Hiding Place
Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Missing Mirror
Chapter Twenty-Nine - The Lost Diadem
Chapter Thirty - The Sacking of Severus Snape
Chapter Thirty-One - The Battle of Hogwarts
Chapter Thirty-Two - The Elder Wand
Chapter Thirty-Three - The Prince's Tale
Chapter Thirty-Four - The Forest Again
Chapter Thirty-Five - King's Cross
Chapter Thirty-Six - The Flaw in the Plan
Epilogue - Nineteen Years Later
It’s not easy. Harry is plagued with rumors of Dumbledore’s past, and begins to wonder if the Headmaster he so long revered might have had a much darker past than he ever let on. The three are frequently without food, and with winter coming their journey is no day at the beach. Because of their lack of plan, lack of food, and lack of progress, their spirits are often low, and Ron especially becomes argumentative. One night he and Harry get into an epic fight and Ron leaves to go back home.
Harry and Hermione are devastated that he’d abandoned them. They finally decide to revisit Godric’s Hollow in search of clues, and once again they’re almost caught by Voldemort. Every step they make, it seems, he is there anticipating them. They’ve almost died too many times to count, and their spirits sink even lower when Harry discovers his wand was broken in the battle.
Ron redeems himself a few weeks later by coming back and saving Harry’s life in the nick of time. They manage to destroy another Horcrux with Gryffindor’s sword, and they become excited again as they begin to learn about a mysterious trio of magical objects called the Deathly Hallows. Whomever possesses the three objects will be a master of death, and to Harry, it’s his one chance to beat Voldemort and live to tell the tale.
As his adventures and the danger he’s in increases, Harry begins to truly understand what Dumbledore intended him to do. He realizes, almost at the last minute, that his own life will have to be sacrificed in order for Voldemort to truly be vanquished. Filled with love for his friends, he willingly gives his life so that they may live.
His last act of heroism, however, saves his life. He meets Dumbledore again in death, and Dumbledore answers many of his questions. He is given a choice to stay or to go back, and he chooses to go back and fight.
It’s all over between Harry and Voldemort with just one spell. Harry is left alive, the true master of the Hallows, and Voldemort is killed for good. He now understands more than he ever has about love (which he loves Ginny), and life, and sacrifice, and in spite of the loss of many of his friends during the last battle, is grateful for the second chance he’s been given at life, and love.