Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows



Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last book in the 'Harry Potter' series by J. K. Rowling. It was released at 00:01 BST in the United Kingdom and other English speaking countries. It is due to be released July 21st, 2007 at 00:01am local time in the United States and Canada. It is already a bestseller.

The title was first released to the public through a hangman game posted by J. K. Rowling on her official website on 21 December 2006. Shortly afterwards, it was confirmed by the publishers. Rowling left a note, written on a bust of Hermes in her room at the Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh that 'JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan 2007'. On her website she said While each of the previous Potter books has strong claims on my affections, 'Deathly Hallows' is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series'. She has previously said that although all the books carry on the story, Deathly Hallows is more a continuation of the story in the previous book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, than has been the case with any other book in the series. On 20 March 2007, Scholastic, the U.S. Publishers of the book revealed that the U.S. version of Deathly Hallows will have 784 pages, printed on recycled paper.

Plot
The final book begins with Voldemort and his Death Eaters at the home of Lucius Malfoy. They are beginning to plan out how to kill Harry Potter before he can be hidden again. After borrowing Lucius's wand, Voldemort kills his captive, Professor Charity Burbage, teacher of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, for teaching the subject and suggesting that the end of pureblooded wizards was a good thing.

Harry, meanwhile, is getting ready for his trip and reading two obituaries of Albus Dumbledore, a sympathetic one and an unsympathetic one; it is revealed that Dumbledore’s father, Percival, supposedly hated non-wizards and had killed several Muggles, and had died in Azkaban for his crimes. It is also hinted that Dumbledore was responsible for the death of his young sister Ariana, and that he was at one time a Wizard supremacist.

Harry regrets not having asked Dumbledore more about his past, but this is soon forgotten as he is leaving his home that night. He convinces his aunt Petunia, uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley that they need to leave as well to avoid being captured by the Death Eaters, and eventually they leave escorted by a pair of wizards, though not before Dudley admits that he cares about Harry.

Soon thereafter the Order of the Phoenix arrive with a plan to sneak Harry away from his house without Voldemort capturing him. Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, the Weasley twins, Fleur Delacour, and Mundungus Fletcher take a polyjuice potion to make themselves look like Harry, and each departs with a different member of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry departs with Hagrid and, after being chased by Death Eaters and Voldemort, narrowly escapes to the Burrow. There, the casualties are counted: Hedwig, Harry’s owl, was struck by a killing curse; George Weasley lost an ear; Mad-Eye Moody was killed by Voldemort himself. Harry later has a vision regarding his escape; his wand had reacted with Voldemort’s borrowed wand, destroying it, and he has a vision of Voldemort questioning Ollivander, the wand maker, about why it happened.

A few days later, the Minister of Magic arrives at the Weasley residence to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione what Dumbledore had willed to them: to Ron, a Deluminator (known as a "put-outer" in previous books), with the power to douse all the lights in a room; to Hermione, a book of wizard-culture children’s stories; and to Harry, Godric Gryffindor’s sword and the first snitch Harry had ever caught. The sword, however, was withheld because, the minister claimed, it was not Dumbledore's to give. The three try to discover the purpose of the objects being given to them, but are unable to figure it out before the wedding between Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley the next day.

Harry disguises himself for the wedding, but during the wedding they all receive a message; Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all flee the wedding, first fleeing to a Muggle café.

Though they think themselves safe for the moment, two Death Eaters find them almost immediately and attack them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione manage to defeat the Death Eaters, but thinking themselves in danger in public, flee to 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black’s home, where they hide themselves.

The group realizes that Regulus Arcturus Black was the R.A.B. from the amulet Harry found with Dumbledore, and begin searching the house for the Horcrux. Kreacher, after a bit of persuasion, tells the trio that he had helped Regulus in assisting Voldemort to place the locket horcrux in the cave. After Regulus became disenchanted, however, he ordered him to return to the cave such that he could substitute a fake locket for the real one, however, he is killed in the process.

Eventually they realize that Mundungus Fletcher stole the amulet and send Kreacher to find Fletcher and bring back the amulet. Kreacher finds Fletcher, but he has already given the amulet away to Dolores Umbridge.

After a month of spying on the Ministry of Magic, the trio try to infiltrate it in order to retrieve the Horcrux from Dolores Umbridge. They ambush three wizards and use polyjuice potion to impersonate them.

They discover the Ministry of Magic has changed considerably; Muggle-born wizards and witches are being rounded up openly and the Ministry itself is persecuting muggle-borns and confiscating their wands.

The three discover Mad-Eye Moody’s eye has been taken by Umbridge, so they take it; they then knock out Umbridge and take the horcrux from her, freeing a number of muggle-born wizards and witches in the process and encouraging them to flee the country. However, in the process their hiding place is discovered, Ron is injured, and they are forced to flee to the countryside, moving from place to place, never staying anywhere too long.

After several months of moving around they overhear a conversation wherein it is revealed that Godric Griffindor’s sword is actually a fake, and someone did something with the real sword. Harry hears this and is heartened, and after questioning the portrait of Phineas Black, he discovers that the sword had last been used by Dumbledore to destroy another Horcrux, the Gaunt’s ring.

Ron is discouraged, feeling that with the sword now necessary as well, and out of reach, their quest is getting hopeless. Ron gets in an argument with Harry and leaves, leaving Harry and Hermione together; it is later revealed that he relented almost at once but was unable to find them thanks to the protection spells Hermione had laid. The two are greatly saddened and fear never seeing Ron again, but eventually realize they have to go to Godric's Hollow on the off-chance Dumbledore left the sword there for them.

Arriving in Godric's Hollow, the two first visit the memorial to Harry’s family, then the graveyard, where both Harry and Dumbledore’s families are buried. After laying a wreath on Harry’s parents’ grave, they encounter the old woman Bathilda Bagshot, an old family friend of Dumbledore’s who authored The History of Magic.

Thinking she may have been entrusted with the sword, they follow her to her house, where they find a picture of the dark wizard Grindelwald, Bagshot’s relative and once, long ago, Dumbledore’s childhood friend. However, it is actually a trap; “Bagshot” is actually Nagini, Voldemort’s snake familiar, and Harry and Hermione only narrowly escape from Voldemort, accidentally destroying Harry’s wand in the process.

On the run for a few more days, eventually a doe patronus appears on the edge of their camp and leads Harry to Godric Griffindor’s sword, hidden in a frozen forest pool. Harry strips down and dives down after the sword but the locket Horcrux on his neck tries to strangle Harry.

Ron returns in time to save Harry from drowning, pulling the sword out of the pool in the process. The two then destroy the Horcrux with the sword and return to camp. Ron was able to find Harry with the aid of Dumbledore's gift. He reveals that Voldemort's name has been "made taboo": anybody saying it can be traced, which is how they were found out earlier (in the café and at Grimmauld Place).

Hermione is furious that Ron had left despite her pleas, and takes some time to mollify. She has meantime discovered their next step: to speak to Xenophilius Lovegood and ask him about Grindelwald's mark, a symbol which has shown up time and again during their journey.

At Lovegood’s home, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are told an old wizard story about three brothers who bested death, and each had received a magical item for it – an unbeatable wand (called the Elder Wand), a stone which could bring back the dead (the Resurrection Stone), and an Invisibility Cloak that "could hide the wearer from Death itself" and never failed with age. Lovegood tells them that the three items are collectively represented by Grindelwald's mark, and called the "Deathly Hallows", since whoever owns all three sacred items is the Master of Death. Harry believes that his own cloak is the legendary Invisibility Cloak, and is very excited.

They discover, though that Lovegood has betrayed them to the Ministry; Luna, his daughter, has been taken captive and he believes that giving them Harry Potter will win her freedom. The trio barely escape from the Death Eaters sent to fetch them, but Harry is emboldened and believes that they need to collect all the Deathly Hallows to defeat Voldemort.

A few weeks later, the three are still no closer to finding the Deathly Hallows or more Horcruxes. They finally manage to tune into a rogue wizard radio broadcast, run by people they know which gives news on what is really happening. However, Harry accidentally says Voldemort’s name and Voldemort’s followers find Harry, Ron, and Hermione and capture them, taking them to Lucius Malfoy’s home.

There, Hermione is tortured and interrogated by Bellatrix Lestrange to find how she acquired Godric Griffindor’s sword, believing it to have been stolen from her vault, while Harry and Ron are imprisoned in the basement with Dean Thomas, Griphook the goblin, Ollivander the wand maker, and Luna Lovegood. Harry asks the broken fragment of mirror he has for help and Dobby appears to help him, freeing them. Dobby saves Dean and Ollivander, but they have made too much noise and Wormtail is sent to check on the prisoners.

Harry and Ron attack him, and Wormtail resists, losing his wand to Ron but strangling Harry with his artificial hand. Harry calls in the debt of life that Wormtail owes him, and Wormtail hesitates -- but Wormtail’s artificial hand, made by Voldemort, immediately strangles Wormtail to death instead for the mercy he’s shown.

Ron and Harry, helpless to aid him, rush upstairs to save Hermione with the help of Dobby. They escape as Voldemort is close to arriving, but Dobby is slain by Bellatrix Lestrange as they flee.

After burying Dobby, Harry and his friends begin planning anew. Harry questions Ollivander about the Elder Wand, and chooses not to try and prevent Voldemort from acquiring it from the tomb of its last owner, Dumbledore. Instead, he questions Griphook about how to break into Gringott’s, and in exchange offers him the goblin-made sword of Godric Griffindor.

After extensive planning, the group goes to Gringott’s to see if they can find one of the horcruxes in the Lestrange vault; Hermione poses as Bellatrix Lestrange, Ron is disguised, and Griphook and Harry go in under the Invisibility Cloak. They manage to penetrate the traps and find the horcrux, Hufflepuff’s cup, but Griphook betrays their presence and flees with the sword. Harry, Ron, and Hermione narrowly escape on the back of a captive dragon. Griffindor's sword is kept by Griphook.

From the alarms at Gringott's, Voldemort discovers at long last that they are seeking out his horcruxes. Voldemort has also successfully stolen the Elder Wand that he believes will allow him to defeat anyone, including Harry, in a duel.

Harry has a vision shortly after the escape; he can see through Voldemort’s eyes and hear his thoughts. Voldemort lists off all the locations of the horcruxes, realizing now they are being sought after and destroyed.

Voldemort inadvertently reveals that the unknown Horcrux, which Harry suspects to be a relic of the founder of Ravenclaw, is safe within Hogwarts. Harry realizes that if they want to get the Horcrux within Hogwarts, they need to do so immediately, before Voldemort finds his other horcruxes missing, and the trio immediately head to Hogsmeade to find a way to sneak into their old school.

At Hogsmeade, Harry and friends are cornered by Death Eaters and saved by Aberforth Dumbledore. Aberforth opens a secret passageway to Hogwarts, where Neville Longbottom greets them.

The Second Battle of Hogwarts ensues soon afterward after Voldemort realizes his other Horcruxes are no longer functional, and Harry is separated from Ron and Hermione in the confusion. Harry discovers the Ravenclaw Horcrux is none other than Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem and that it is hidden in the Room of Requirement. After meeting back up with Ron and Hermione, he discovers they were able to enter the Chamber of Secrets and retrieve fangs from the remains of the Basilisk, which Hermione used to dispatch Helga Hufflepuff's Cup.

After saving Draco Malfoy's life, Harry finds Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem in the Room of Requirement, and it is destroyed. Harry, Hermione and Ron go to the Shrieking Shack, where they see Voldemort order Nagini, who is now encased inside a protective, bubble-like cage, to kill Snape, believing this will transfer the Elder Wand's power to him.

As he dies, Snape gives up memories to Harry, which reveal that Snape was on Dumbledore's side, motivated by his lifelong love of Lily Potter. Snape was asked by Dumbledore to kill him if the situation demands it; the curse placed on the horcrux ring had limited Dumbledore's life, regardless.

Harry also learns from these memories that Dumbledore believes Harry is a horcrux, and that Voldemort cannot be killed until Harry himself is killed by Voldemort. Now resigned to his fate, Harry tells Neville to kill Nagini the snake (the other remaining horcrux) at all costs, then sacrifices himself to Voldemort, not fighting back, and is seemingly killed.

However, Harry awakens and meets the deceased Albus Dumbledore in what appears to be a deserted Kings Cross station. Here, it is explained he cannot be killed by Voldemort whilst Voldemort lives, since he used Harry's blood to recreate his body, and Lily's protection binds the two. He appears to be in a near-death state in which he can speak to Dumbledore, and can still choose to die or to go on living.

He also discovers that the part of Voldemort's soul he had had inside himself has been separated by the attempted murder and is represented in his vision by a flayed naked child, whimpering in agony.

He also discovers Dumbledore himself had sought the Hallows, with Grindlewald, for less than noble reasons - resulting in the death of his sister Ariana from neglect. In Dumbledore's opinion, only Harry is worthy of possessing the Hallows. Harry is given the choice of dying or of returning to try and stop Voldemort, which he decides to do.

Back in the forest, on Voldemort's orders, Hagrid carries Harry (seemingly dead) back to Hogwarts. Voldemort challenges Hogwarts to surrender, but is faced down by Neville. Voldemort proceeds to torture Neville with the Sorting Hat -- at that moment, the centaurs attack.

In the confusion, Harry covers himself with the invisibility cloak and Nagini, the last horcrux, is killed by Neville using Gryffindor's sword pulled from the Sorting Hat.

In the ensuing battle, Bellatrix is killed by Molly Weasley and Harry reveals himself to prevent Voldemort from killing her in retaliation.

Coming face to face with Voldemort in the Great Hall, Harry is seemingly faced with impossible odds - with Voldemort possessing the Elder Wand and having killed its previous master Snape, he cannot be beaten in a duel. However, Harry gambles correctly that Draco Malfoy was the true previous master of the Elder Wand, not Snape. Since Harry has since Disarmed Malfoy, the mastership of the wand has passed to Harry, not Voldemort. Harry also attempts to save Voldemort from himself by trying to get Tom Riddle to feel remorse for his actions, warning him of the fate that awaits him if he is unwilling to feel remorse for his evil acts. This shocks Riddle more than anything Harry has said to him up to this point.

Harry explains all of this to Voldemort, who chooses not to believe him. Voldemort attacks in his usual way instead.

When Voldemort strikes Harry with the killing curse from the Elder Wand, opposed by a disarmament curse from Harry, the killing curse rebounds on Voldemort. Harry's theory had been correct. Voldemort, bereft of all his horcruxes, dies.

Harry is now master of all three Deathly Hallows, but chooses to deliberately lose the Stone of Resurrection and hopes to inactivate the Elder Wand as well. Dumbledore's portrait applauds his decision.

In the story's epilogue, taking place 19 years (2017) after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny Weasley have three children named James, Albus Severus, and Lily, Neville Longbottom is the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, and Ron and Hermione have two children named Rose and Hugo. Draco Malfoy is married (we don't know who), and has a boy named Scorpius.

They all meet at King's Cross, about to send their children to Hogwarts at the beginning of term. Lupin and Tonks' son Teddy is revealed to be in love with Fleur and Bill's daughter Victoire.

It is revealed that Harry's scar has not hurt since the Dark Lord's defeat, and there, the story ends.

List of characters killed
This book has the most named casualties of any book in the series. In all, 54 people were killed in the Battle of Hogwarts

Background to the series
The books concern the adventures of Harry Potter at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and his struggle against the evil villain of the books, Lord Voldemort. Harry is aided in this by his school friends, notably Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, and by various adults including the school's headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Harry, by accident of birth and a prophecy foretelling his importance, has become the centre of all attention by both sides in the long running war between Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and Ministry of Magic on one side, and Voldemort's Death Eaters on the other.

The series of books was originally published as a children's book by UK publishers Bloomsbury, and US publishers Scholastic. However, it rapidly became a phenomenal success both amongst children and amongst adults. The books each chronicle one year at school for the characters concerned and follows a long tradition of children serial books about life in schools. Perhaps unlike some of the traditional series of this format, each book has matured and expanded in complexity and scope compared to the last, approximately developing with the age of the principal characters. Although it is reported that the author had comprehensively plotted the entire series of books before the first was published, and that this plot remains unchanged, she has also stated that it has undergone a number of revisions as it has progressed. This may in part reflect the extraordinary success of the book and a need to direct its content more towards the adult market. The books started as relatively slim volumes of 300 pages, but have grown towards 700 pages as the series progressed.

Choice of title


Rowling first announced that she had a particular title in mind in the latter part of 2006. However, she also announced that she had a final choice of three possible titles, before choosing this one. She has declined to explain the meaning of the title, or say what the other two possibilities were, on the grounds that doing so would reveal information about the book.

Hallows is a word which has fallen into disuse in modern English except as part of some names. It is popular to name churches after saints, and there are a number of 'Church of all Hallows' in Britain, as well as some schools. Similarly the holiday of Halloween is derived from the same word. This usage of the word refers to saints, relics of saints, or the places where saints have lived or their remains have rested (making those places holy). Part of the mythology of hallows is that the spirit of the saint remains in his relics, and may come to the aid of those who seek it. Thus Christians, and those of other faiths, would make pilgrimages to see holy relics or visit shrines hallowed by the saints.

Rowling has chosen to use the word 'deathly' in the title, rather than deadly. These two are similar in sound, and sometimes confused in meaning, but are different. A 'deathly hallow' need not be dangerous, but rather in some way is related to death.

The word 'hallows' has been used in a number of legends to represent important and powerful objects. The Tuatha de Danaan in Ireland possessed six hallows, Manannan’s house, Goibniu's shirt and tools, Lochlan's helmet, Alba's shears, a fishskin belt and Asal's pig bones. These were guarded by four Guardians of the Hallows, Manannan, Lugh, Cumhal and Fionn. As the legend changed, the hallows became four objects; the spear of Lugh, Stone of Fal, Sword of Nuada and Dagda's Cauldron. These became the four suits in a pack of Tarot cards and took on the representation of the four magical elements, earth, air, fire and water. The coronation ceremony for monarchs still contains four ritual objects, now represented as the sceptre, sword, ampulla of oil and crown. Similar objects also appear in Arthurian legends where the Fisher King is the guardian of four hallows; the sword, spear, dish and holy grail. Earlier Arthurian legends also refer to a set of thirteen treasures of Britain.

The Harry Potter books already contain a number of 'hallows'. Dumbledore has explained to Harry that he believes Voldemort sought out relics of each of the founders of Hogwarts to use as Horcruxes. Slytherin's locket has already been identified as a likely Horcrux, as has a cup once belonging to Helga Hufflepuff which was stolen by Voldemort from Hepzibah Smith. There was also the mention of a Tiara that may have been owned by Ravenclaw or Gryffindor; this may be related to a tiara which Harry saw in passing in the Room of Requirement. The symbolism in the book does not exactly follow any particular legend, but there are clearly four Hogwarts founders, and Voldemort indicated that he intended to make six Horcruxes. Two other Horcruxes have been identified and destroyed; an heirloom ring once belonging to Voldemort's grandfather, Marvolo Gaunt, and a diary written by Voldemort while at school. Assuming one section of soul was always intended to reside within Voldemort himself, this leaves two unaccounted. Dumbledore was uncertain what these might be, suggesting founder's relics, or perhaps the snake Nagini. Nagini would not fit Voldemort's pattern of choosing historical relics, but Dumbledore was unable to identify any further specific founders relics. He suggested the sword of Godric Gryffindor, but also dismissed it as he believes the sword has always been kept safely out of Voldemort's hands. The symbolism of four hallowed objects extends into the suits which now appear on tarot cards. These are wands, coins, cups and swords. In particular the picture card, the Magician, shows a man waving a wand, with a sword, cup and engraved metal disc on a table in front of him. Sources suggest that the figure depicted may represent Hermes, the same ancient god as the bust which Rowling used to announce completion of the book. Hermes is also considered a messenger in older legends. If this is taken to confirm the symbolism, then it suggests that the missing hallows ought to be a sword and a wand. A wand once featured prominently in the window of Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley, and Ollivander himself has now disappeared.

The symbolism of the four revered hallows also extends to the four elements of wind, fire, earth and water, which traditionally make up all creation. Rowling has already stated that each Hogwarts house represents one of these four elements.

Known information
"Wait til you read the seventh book. I cried."

Doctor Who, The Shakespeare Code

Since Deathly Hallows is the final book in a series, it is reasonable to assume that it will tie up the ongoing story lines from the previous books and either Harry Potter or Voldemort will die. This gives us an outline of how the plot must be developed. J. K. Rowling has given a number of interviews about her books over the 10 years of publication. As there is only one book left, once again anything she has mentioned will happen in the future, can only now appear in this final book.

Unfinished storylines
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Harry has stated his intention to leave school and continue the fight against Voldemort. Ron and Hermione have said they will help him. Harry comes of age as a wizard on his 17th birthday, July 31 (which he shares with Rowling), and thereafter will be permitted to perform magic outside school, and apparate. Unfortunately, the magical protection which Dumbledore had somehow placed upon him while he lived with his blood relatives will also expire when he comes of age. It is not clear how much of this protection may be due to his mother's sacrifice of her life to protect him, and how much to Dumbledore's intervention, nor what effect Voldemort having recreated his body using Harry's blood will have on this.

Hogwarts is in disarray. The death of the headmaster means that another must be appointed, and Severus Snape is most unlikely to be returning to any teaching post. Should Minerva McGonagall become headmistress, then someone may need to be appointed to teach her subject, transfiguration (although she might take up both posts, as Umbridge remained Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after becoming head). It has been suggested that the school might close, for the safety of the students in view of the success of the attack upon it at the end of Half-Blood Prince.

Dumbledore has explained to Harry how Voldemort may be destroyed, and given his best advice on locating Voldemort's six Horcruxes. Two have been destroyed (ring, diary), and two more identified (locket, cup, ). The hunt for the locket has already begun, and the mysterious R.A.B. who had apparently already stolen it from Voldemort's hiding place will finally be identified. Considered opinion is that the most likely candidate is Regulus Black, brother of Harry's godfather Sirius. A similar locket was once seen at the Black family home, though at that time it was considered unimportant. Harry will have to identify the remaining Horcruxes, though it is likely that the suggestions Dumbledore had already made will be useful. There is confusion as to the seventh soul segment, which presumably once remained in Voldemorts body. It is unclear whether this may have been destroyed on his first 'death', or may have passed to some other container, or is what everyone considers to be Voldemort (i.e. the one who hid in Albania and whom Wormtail found) and impossible to destroy.

Harry intends to return to the Dursleys' in the holidays. He has said he will visit Godric's Hollow, where his parents once lived and died, and he has been invited to the upcoming wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour.

The prophecy about the Dark Lord and the one who may defeat him remains to be fulfilled. The prophecy states that either one of the two mentioned individuals, now accepted to be Harry and Voldemort, must kill the other if the survivor is to be able to 'live'. Dumbledore believes that prophecies are self-fulfilling, that if the individuals concerned ignore the prophecy, then it will not happen. However, neither Harry nor Voldemort believes this, and in any event the two are now clear enemies. It seems that for the book to reach a conclusion, at least one of them must die.

Important
Interviewer: Do you know what Harry's parents look like?
 * The fact Harry Potter has his mother's eyes will play a very important role in the Seventh Book.

J.K.R.: "Yes. I've even drawn a picture of how they look. Harry has his father and mother's good looks. But he has his mother's eyes and that's very important in a future book."

Peter: And I was wondering, are we going to learn a lot about Harry's mother?
 * We will find out significant Information on Lily Potter, which will ultimately play a role in what Harry's end up having to do at the end of the book.

JKR: ''yeah, you will. Erm - it's - errr - yet again kind of the - in - you won't find out ... OK, in book three, you're absolutely right, you find out a lot about Harry's father. Now, the - the important thing about Harry's mother - the really, really significant thing - you're going to find out in two - in two parts. You'll find out a lot more about her in book five, or you'll find out something very significant about her in book five, and you'll find out something incredibly important about her in book seven. But I can't tell you what those things are, so I'm sorry, but they - yes, you will find out more about her, because they're - both of them are very important in what Harry ends up having to do.''

MA: Does the Gleam of Triumph still have yet to make an appearance?
 * The Gleam of Triumph in Albus Dumbledore's eye will be enormously important in the final book.

JKR: ''That's still enormously significant. And let's face it, I haven’t told you that much is enormously significant, so you can let your imaginations run free there.''

MA: Now that Dumbledore is gone, will we ever know the spell that he was trying to cast on Voldemort in the Ministry?
 * We will learn more about Albus Dumbledore and the spell that Dumbledore used against Lord Voldemort in Book 5 that made a gong like sound.

JKR: Uuuummmm...[makes clucking noise with tongue ]

ES: Let the record show she made a funny sound with her mouth.

[All laugh, Jo maniacally.]

JKR: ''It’s possible, it's possible that you will know that. You will — [pause] — you will know more about Dumbledore. I have to be sooo careful on this.''

Interviewer: ''What did the Potter parents do for a living before Voldemort killed them? ''
 * What Harry's parents did for a living is important.

JKR: ''I'm sorry to keep saying this, but I can't tell you because it's important to a later plot. But you will find out later!''

ES: ''This is one of my burning questions since the third book - why did Voldemort offer Lily so many chances to live? Would he actually have let her live?''
 * We will find out why Voldemort gave Lily so many chances to live.

JKR: Mmhm.

ES: Why?

JKR:' ''[silence] Can't tell you. But he did offer, you're absolutely right. Don't you want to ask me why James's death didn't protect Lily and Harry? There’s your answer, you've just answered your own question, because she could have lived and chose to die. James was going to be killed anyway. Do you see what I mean? I’m not saying James wasn't ready to; he died trying to protect his family but he was going to be murdered anyway. He had no - he wasn't given a choice, so he rushed into it in a kind of animal way, I think there are distinctions in courage. James was immensely brave. But the caliber of Lily's bravery was, I think in this instance, higher because she could have saved herself. Now any mother, any normal mother would have done what Lily did. So in that sense her courage too was of an animal quality but she was given time to choose. James wasn't. It's like an intruder entering your house, isn't it? You would instinctively rush them. But if in cold blood you were told, "Get out of the way," you know, what would you do? I mean, I don't think any mother would stand aside from their child. But does that answer it? She did very consciously lay down her life. She had a clear choice -''


 * WARNING: SPOILER!!! According to Rowling, the last word in the story was "scar."


 * WARNING: SPOILER!!! According to an interview with Jonathon Ross, JK Rowling said that the last word in the story is no longer "scar." She said, "Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word."

In a later interview with the BBC network, closer to the release of the final book, J.K. Rowlings revealed that she had changed the ending of her novel.

When asked by the chat show host whether the word "scar" was still the last word in the book, as had been reported, she said: "Scar? It was for ages, and now it's not.

"Scar is quite near the end, but it's not the last word." .

She finished the book alone in a hotel room.

"I was sobbing my heart out -- I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face. That was really tough."


 * Rowling MAY write a book about Dumbledore's life

Future Books
Rowling has said that she will not write any more books about Harry. However, she has also said that she may publish some of the 'background' information which she has created during the 17 years she has been writing the books. When questioned about possible future books about Harry, she jokingly suggested Harry Potter and the Mid-Life Crisis.

On her website she posted her feelings about finishing the final book:
 * I always knew that Harry's story would end with the seventh book, but saying goodbye has been just as hard as I always knew it would be. Even while I'm mourning, though, I feel an incredible sense of achievement. I can hardly believe that I've finally written the ending I've been planning for so many years. I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric.
 * Some of you have expressed a (much more muted!) mixture of happiness and sadness at the prospect of the last book being published, and that has meant more than I can tell you. If it comes as any consolation, I think that there will be plenty to continue arguing and speculating about, even after 'Deathly Hallows' comes out.

Rowling has stated in an interview that she MAY write a book about Albus Dumbledore's life.

Film adaptation
A film adaptation is planned somewhere between the time of the end of 2009 or middle of 2010.

Sources and further reading

 * MuggleNet Interview with J.K. Rowling
 * Bloomsbury Press Release on the name for book 7
 * J.K. Rowling's Official Website
 * Quick Quote Quill, collected statements by J K Rowling
 * Issues unresolved at this point in the story from the HP-Lexicon
 * Continuing storylines from previous books from Harry Potter Lexicon
 * Information about Deathly Hallows from The Leaky Cauldron
 * Articles on aspects of Deathly Hallows from Beyond Hogwarts
 * Plot Analysis for book 7'' from Mugglenet
 * Information about Deathly Hallows from Veritaserum
 * The latest news, rumors and confirmed information on Deathly Hallows from HPANA
 * Arthurian legend of the hallows and the Fisher King
 * The grail Legend and Harry Potter