Battle of Hogwarts

"We did it! We bashed them, wee Potter's the one. And Voldy's gone moldy so now let's have fun!"

- Peeves

The Battle of Hogwarts was the final battle of The Second Wizarding War and took place on the 2nd of May, 1998. It was the most devastating battle of the war and the many deaths included Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape and Fred Weasley. It is also assumed to be the final battle the Elder Wand took part in.

Horcruxes
At the climax of The Battle of the Lightening-Struck Tower the previous year, Albus Dumbledore was murdered by then-Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Severus Snape. Dumbledore, however, had left Harry Potter with a final task: to find, and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that Lord Voldemort had at different points of his life. Over several months, two Horcruxes had been found: Salazar Slytherin's locket which had been destroyed by Ron Weasley in December of 1997 and the cup of Helga Hufflepuff which they had stolen from Bellatrix Lestrange's valt at Gringotts Wizarding Bank the day before the battle. Two other Horcruxes had also been destroyed earlier: Voldemort's old diary that he had during his school years was destroyed in 1992 by Harry Potter, and the Peverell ring by Dumbledore sometime between July 1 and July 26, 1996. After learning that his Horcruxes were being systematically hunted down and destroyed, Lord Voldemort ordered a massive attack on Hogwarts Castle, where another Horcrux (Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem) was hidden in the Room of Requirement.

Hogwarts
At the end of July to beginning of August 1997, the current Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, was captured by Voldemort and interrogated for the whereabouts of Harry Potter. In one last brave act for Harry, however, Scrimegeour told Voldemort nothing, and was subsequently killed. This placed the Ministry of Magic under the control of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Hogwarts also fell under Voldemort's influence and he appointed Severus Snape as new headmaster (ironically, Snape had killed the previous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, just a few months before). The Carrow siblings were also appointed as teachers.

Many school subjects were revisioned at Voldemort's will, such as Defence Against the Dark Arts more or less became a Dark Arts class and Muggle Studies began to promote hatred against Muggles and Muggle-borns. As a result of this, a band of students began to fight back very early on in the 1997-98 school year, led by seventh year Neville Longbottom and sixth years Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. This group stood as the successor to the original Dumbledore's Army, founded by Harry Potter in his fifth year.

Hogsmeade
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger apparated into the main street of the village of Hogsmeade while wearing Harry's invisibility cloak and were immediatly detected by Death Eaters who tried to reviel their whereabouts by summoning the invisibility cloak. The cloak however refused to be moved due to the fact that it was the cloak of legend from The Tale of the Three Brothers. The Death Eaters then sent Dementors to locate Harry so he produced a patronus to send them away. Aberforth Dumbledore then let them escape into the Hog's Head while he told the Death Eaters that he had produced the patronus. Aberforth led Harry, Ron and Hermione to a secret passage from his pub to the Room of Requirement where members of Dumbledore's Army had been hiding all year. Neville Longbottom came out of the passage and took them to Hogwarts.

Arrival at Hogwarts
When Neville arived at the Room of Requirement with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley everyone thought they had come back to fight the Death Eaters so they sent messages to many other former Hogwarts students, including many original members of Dumbledore's Army. Harry however informed them that they had come to search Hogwarts for Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem and that Lord Voldemort was on the way.

Hogwarts was fortified for the coming attack. Order of the Phoenix members arrived, also summoned by Neville Longbottom. Students old enough to fight stayed and younger students were evacuated by Poppy Pomfrey and Argus Filch. Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall and Pomona Sprout took groups of students to the tallest towers and Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt took others onto the Grounds. Fred and George Weasley defended Hogwarts secret passages.

Uprising
The trio split up once they had entered Hogwarts. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger travelled down into the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, while Harry went with Luna Lovegood to the Ravenclaw Common Room to have a look at a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing her diadem. Alecto Carrow, the Muggle Studies teacher and Death Eater, appeared while the two searched, but Luna neutralised her. Minerva McGonagall arrived and summoned the other Heads of Houses after a group of them chased Severus Snape from the castle. The students and staff gathered in the Great Hall as the rest of the Death Eaters arrived at the gates, accompanied by Voldemort himself.

Hogwarts was able to fend off the Death Eaters using an array of tactics, including mandrakes, bewitched armored suits, and wand duels. The Death Eaters stormed Hogwarts, however, with the aid of the Giants.

Ultimatum
Voldemort magically made has voice heard throughout Hogwarts and Hogsmeade to give those inside the castle the chance to hand Harry Potter over to him or his army of Death Eaters and dark creatures would attack. When Pansy Parkinson suggested that they take the deal, practically every student in the hall threatened to curse her, and she was instructed to leave. Those not willing to fight or not of age were sent out of the school through the Hog's Head, particularly the students of Slytherin (who were sent out first).

Room of Requirement
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger found Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement. Before they could remove or destroy it, though, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle arrived and Crabbe accidentally destroyed the diadem with Fiendfyre, also killing himself in the process.

Sacrifice
Using his connection with Voldemort's mind, Harry Potter uncovered Voldemort's whereabouts in the Shrieking Shack. It was there that Harry Potter witnessed Voldemort order Nagini to murder Severus Snape, believing that unless Snape died, he would not gain mastery over the Elder Wand. Snape's dying act was to pass on several of his memories to Harry. At this point, Voldemort ordered an hour-long ceasefire, with the request that Harry Potter be turned over to his custody. If they did not turn him over, Voldemort declared he would personally enter the battle.

After viewing Snape's memories, Harry moved into the Forbidden Forest to sacrifice himself, believing that his death would cause both Voldemort and Harry to perish. Due to Voldemort's use of Harry's blood in the process of creating himself a new body in 1995 in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, Harry survived the Killing Curse from Voldemort, although he was briefly knocked unconscious.

In those unconscious moments, Harry spoke to the spirit of Albus Dumbledore, who explained that the Horcrux inside of Harry was gone, and he could choose to go back to the world of the living. Harry accepted the choice to return, and feigned death while Voldemort's forces cheered in assumed victory.

Fall of the Dark Lord
Voldemort suffered an additional betrayal when Narcissa Malfoy volunteered to confirm that Harry was dead, when she truly only wanted to get close enough to ask if her son was still alive. Upon learning of Draco's continued survival, Narcissa lied to the Dark Lord, saying that Harry Potter was dead. After Rubeus Hagrid carried Harry's "body" back to Hogwarts, guided by the Death Eaters walking in a victory march, Neville Longbottom openly defied Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord placed a spell on Neville, freezing him to the spot, placed the Sorting Hat atop his head, and set it aflame.

The Centaurs then attacked the Death Eaters, giving Harry time to disappear under his Invisibility Cloak in the confusion. Neville broke free of Voldemort's curse and pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat. In one stroke, Neville used the blade to behead Nagini, thus destroying the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes and rendering him mortal. He, alongside his now weakened army, forced his way into Hogwarts.

Additional Hogwarts allies arrived at this time: Legions of knife-wielding house-elves led by Kreacher, the residents of Hogsmeade, the friends and families of every remaining student, all led by Charlie Weasley and Professor Slughorn. A flock of Thestrals led by Buckbeak and the Centaurs also threw themselves into the battle.

In the midst of all the chaos, Harry, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, was buffeted into the Great Hall. Outnumbered and surrounded, the Death Eaters were cut down or run off until only Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort remained. Bellatrix was slain by Molly Weasley, with whom she briefly dueled, just as Harry revealed himself to Voldemort.

The crowd retreated and watched then as the two great enemies, Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter, bantered and circled each other. Harry dared Voldemort to feel remorse, to which Voldemort responded by shooting a Killing Curse from the Elder Wand. Harry simultaneously fired his own Expelliarmus charm using Draco Malfoy's wand. However, because the Elder Wand rightfully belonged to Harry, the Killing Curse rebounded at Voldemort and ended his life once and for all. The Second Wizarding War had ended.

Casualties
"Fred, Tonks, Lupin, Colin Creevey, and fifty others who had died fighting him"

- Description

There were many causalities in this epic battle such as Fred Weasley, who was killed in an explosion caused by an unknown spell used by Augustus Rookwood. The first to die was Vincent Crabbe, who tried to use the Fiendfyre spell on Harry Potter, only to have it backfire and kill him. Severus Snape was killed by Nagini on Voldemort's orders. Neville Longbottom killed Nagini with Godric Gryffindor's sword. Also Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed "off screen" and it is unknown how, but their deaths were caused by Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange.

When the battle erupted into its final stage, more people died on both sides. Bellatrix Lestrange died at the hands of Molly Weasley after Bellatrix nearly killed her daughter. The final match saw Harry Potter battle with Lord Voldemort and defeat him. There were fifty-four lives lost on the side of the Order of the Phoenix that day.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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