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 was 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, Malfoy Manor. They are beginning to plan out how to kill Harry Potter before he hides again after he leaves 4 Privet Drive. After "borrowing" Lucius's wand - Voldemort does so in a way that indicates Lucius has no choice - Voldemort kills his captive, Hogwarts Professor Charity Burbage, teacher of Muggle Studies, for teaching the subject and for suggesting that the end of pure-blood wizard family lines would be beneficial to society.

Harry Potter, meanwhile, is reading some articles about Albus Dumbledore. One is sympathetic, the other is critical of him. In those obituaries, it is revealed that his father, Percival Dumbledore, supposedly hated Muggles and had killed several of them. Percival died in Azkaban for his crimes. It is also suggested that Dumbledore was responsible for the death of his younger sister Ariana, and that he was, at one time, a Blood purity supremacist.

Harry regrets not having asked Dumbledore more about his past, but this is soon forgotten as he leaves 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. Eventually Order of the Phoenix members and Ministry of Magic Aurors, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, arrive to escort them to an undisclosed location. Before leaving, Dudley admits that he cares about Harry and thanks him for saving his life during the Dementor attack of 1995.

Soon after, the Order of the Phoenix arrives with a plan to sneak Harry away from his house and evade being captured by Voldemort. Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, and Mundungus Fletcher take Polyjuice Potion to make themselves look like Harry. Each depart with a different Order member. Harry leaves with Rubeus Hagrid in a flying motorcycle. After they are chased by Death Eaters and Voldemort, in which Harry's wand shots a curse at Voldemort on its own volition and breaks Voldemort's wand, the two crash-land in Ted Tonks's garden. They take a Portkey which transfers them straight to The Burrow. There, the casualties are counted: Hedwig was struck by a killing curse; George Weasley's ear was slashed off by Severus Snape; Mad-Eye Moody was killed by Voldemort himself. Harry later has a vision regarding his escape, in which Voldemort questioned Ollivander, who crafted the wands, about why it happened.

A few days later, Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrives at The Burrow to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione the personal effects of Albus Dumbledore, which had been left to them in his will: To Ron, a Deluminator (known as a "Put-Outer" in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), with the power to douse all lights in the surrounding area; to Hermione, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book of wizard-culture fairy tales; and to Harry, Godric Gryffindor's sword, and the first Golden Snitch Harry had ever caught in a Hogwarts Quidditch match. The sword was withheld because, Scrimgeour claimed, it was not Dumbledore's to give. The three try to discover the purpose of the objects given to them, but are forced to give their attention to other matters: The wedding between Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley would occur the next day.

Harry disguises himself for the wedding to avoid causing an uproar. He takes a Polyjuice draught to costume himself as someone known as Barny Weasley. During the wedding celebration, Kingsley Shacklebolt's patronus arrives to warn the attendants: Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione flee the wedding, first arriving in a Muggle café.

Though they think themselves safe for the moment, two Death Eaters suddenly locate them, almost immediately upon their arrival, and attack them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione manage to defeat the Death Eaters, but thinking themselves in danger in public, flee to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Order headquarters, where they hide.

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

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

After a month of spying on the Ministry of Magic, the trio infiltrate it in order to retrieve the Horcrux from Dolores Umbridge. They ambush three employees, and use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate them. They discover the Ministry of Magic has changed considerably; Muggle-born wizards and witches are openly being persecuted by the Ministry, they are being interrogated in the dungeon courtrooms, and their wands are being confiscated.

The three discover Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody’s magical eye has been taken by Umbridge, and Harry takes it back. The trio 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. They move from place to place, never staying anywhere too long.

After several months of travelling, they overhear a conversation wherein it is revealed that Godric Gryffindor’s sword, which was in Dumbledore's possession, is actually a copy, and someone did something with the real sword. Harry hears this and is heartened, and after questioning the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, he discovers that the sword had last been used by Dumbledore to destroy another Horcrux, Gaunt’s Ring.

Ron is discouraged, feeling that with the sword now necessary as well, and out of reach, their quest is becoming hopeless. Ron argues with Harry and angrily departs, 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, full of sorrow, fear they will never see Ron again, but eventually realize they have to continue without him. They make their way 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 historian Bathilda Bagshot, an old family friend of Dumbledore’s who authored A 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 Gellert Grindelwald. He was Bagshot’s relative and, 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. Harry's wand is accidentally broken in the chaos.

After running for days, a Patronus in the shape of a silvery doe appears on the edge of their camp and leads Harry to Godric Gryffindor’s sword, hidden in a frozen forest pool. Harry strips down to his underwear 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 and pulls the sword out of the pool, as Harry puts his many layers of clothes back on. 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, the Deluminator, which has more powers than they originally thought. He reveals that Voldemort's name has been "made Taboo": anybody saying it can be traced and located, which is how they were found in the café and at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione is furious at Ron for leaving, and takes some time to mollify. She realizes their next necessary 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 The Tale of the Three Brothers, a fairy tale about three men who bested Death, and each 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, unlike most cloaks of that nature. Lovegood tells them that the three items are collectively represented by Grindelwald's mark, and are 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 that Lovegood has betrayed them to the Ministry; Luna, his daughter, was taken captive earlier in the year 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 reports 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 Malfoy Manor.

There, Hermione is tortured and interrogated by Bellatrix Lestrange to find how she acquired Godric Gryffindor’s sword. Harry and Ron are imprisoned in the basement with Dean Thomas, Griphook the goblin, Ollivander, and Luna Lovegood. Harry locates his broken shard of mirror and in desperation begs for help. Dobby appears to help him, and frees them. Dobby saves Dean, Luna 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 grabbing Harry's neck with his artificial hand. Harry calls in the debt of life that Wormtail owes him, and Wormtail hesitates. 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 Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and in exchange offers him the goblin-made sword of Godric Gryffindor.

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 with some hair that had been left on her after the attack at Malfoy Manor. Ron is disguised as a different Death Eater, and Griphook and Harry go in under the Invisibility Cloak. They manage to evade traps and find the Horcrux, Helga 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. Gryffindor'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. They immediately head to Hogsmeade to find a way to sneak into the school.

At Hogsmeade, Harry and friends are cornered by Death Eaters and saved by Aberforth Dumbledore. After revealing the history between him and his brother (Albus Dumbledore), Aberforth opens a secret passageway to Hogwarts, where Neville Longbottom greets them.

The Battle of Hogwarts ensues soon afterward, after Voldemort realizes his other Horcruxes are no longer functional. 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 The Room of Hidden Things. After reuniting with Ron and Hermione, he learns 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 via the Pensieve that Snape was always on Dumbledore's side, motivated by his lifelong love of Lily Evans. Dumbledore had Snape promise to kill him if the situation demanded it; the curse placed on the Horcrux ring had limited Dumbledore's life, regardless.

Harry also learns from these memories that Dumbledore believed 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 other remaining Horcrux) at all costs, then sacrifices himself to Voldemort. He refuses to fight back, and is seemingly killed.

However, Harry finds himself in a sort of dream, and meets the deceased Albus Dumbledore in what appears to be a deserted King's Cross Station. Here, it is explained he cannot be killed by Voldemort whilst Voldemort lives, since Voldemort used Harry's blood to recreate his body. Also, Lily's protection over Harry binds the two. He appears to be in a near-death state in which he can speak to Dumbledore.

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, and abandoned under a bench.

He also learns that Dumbledore himself had sought the Hallows, with Grindlewald, for less than noble reasons. The death of his sister resulted from their association. In Dumbledore's opinion, only Harry is worthy of possessing the Hallows. Harry is given the choice of dying or of returning to try to stop Voldemort. Harry chooses to return and fight.

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, who is wearing the Sorting Hat. At that moment, the centaurs join the side of Hogwarts in the battle, and attack.

In the confusion, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. 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 wagers correctly that Draco Malfoy, by means of Disarming Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower, was the wand's true master. Since Harry had Disarmed Malfoy, the mastership of the wand passed to Harry, not Voldemort. Harry also attempts to save Voldemort from himself by daring him to feel remorse, calls him by the name Tom, and warns him of the fate that awaits him if he cannot feel remorse. This shocks Voldemort 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 Harry. When Voldemort strikes Harry with the Killing Curse from the Elder Wand, opposed by Expelliarmus from Harry, the Killing Curse rebounds on Voldemort. Harry's theory has been proven correct - the Elder Wand refused to kill its true master. Voldemort, bereft of all his Horcruxes, finally dies.

Harry is now master of all three Deathly Hallows, but chooses to deliberately lose the Stone of Resurrection and hopes to deactivate 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 are married and have three children named James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Neville Longbottom is the Herbology professor at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione are married and have two children named Rose and Hugo. Draco Malfoy is married to a woman who is later disclosed as Astoria Greengrass, and has a boy named Scorpius. He has been spared an imprisonment in Azkaban.

They all meet at King's Cross, prepared to send their children to Hogwarts at the beginning of term. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks' son Teddy is revealed to be flirting with Fleur Delacour and Bill Weasley's daughter, Victoire.

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

Book chapters

 * 1) The Dark Lord Ascending
 * 2) In Memoriam
 * 3) The Dursleys Departing
 * 4) The Seven Potters
 * 5) Fallen Warrior
 * 6) The Ghoul in Pajamas
 * 7) The Will of Albus Dumbledore
 * 8) The Wedding
 * 9) A Place to Hide
 * 10) Kreacher's Tale
 * 11) The Bribe
 * 12) Magic is Might
 * 13) The Muggle-Born Registration Commission
 * 14) The Thief
 * 15) The Goblin's Revenge
 * 16) Godric's Hollow
 * 17) Bathilda's Secret
 * 18) The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore
 * 19) The Silver Doe
 * 20) Xenophilius Lovegood
 * 21) The Tale of the Three Brothers
 * 22) The Deathly Hallows
 * 23) Malfoy Manor
 * 24) The Wandmaker
 * 25) Shell Cottage
 * 26) Gringotts
 * 27) The Final Hiding Place
 * 28) The Missing Mirror
 * 29) The Lost Diadem
 * 30) The Sacking of Severus Snape
 * 31) The Battle of Hogwarts
 * 32) The Elder Wand
 * 33) The Prince's Tale
 * 34) The Forest Again
 * 35) King's Cross
 * 36) The Flaw in the Plan
 * 37) Nineteen Years Later

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 and Symbolism


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. The other titles she had in mind were Harry Potter and the Elder Wand, which became a chapter title, and Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest. There were also fan rumours of titles such as "Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch," "The New Beginning," the "Pyramids of Furmat," "The Forest of Shadows," the "Fortress of Shadows," and others.

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 "All Hallows' Eve." 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 pilgrims venture 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 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.

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 symbolism in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows does not follow any particular legend, but there are clearly four Hogwarts founders, and Voldemort indicated that he intended to make six Horcruxes.

Revealed Details
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."


 * We will find out significant Information on Lily Potter, which will ultimately play a role in what Harry with have to do at the end of the book.

Peter: And I was wondering, are we going to learn a lot about Harry's mother?

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.''


 * The Gleam of Triumph in Albus Dumbledore's eye will be "enormously significant."

MA: Does the Gleam of Triumph still have yet to make an appearance?

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.''


 * We will learn more about Albus Dumbledore's past.

JKR: ''... You will know more about Dumbledore. I have to be sooo careful on this.''

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 -''


 * 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." The last word is actually "well." The last phrase is: "All was well." 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.

JKR: "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."


 * 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.

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. Rowling may also write a book about Dumbledore's life.

Film adaptation
A film adaptation is planned somewhere between the time of the end of 2009 or middle of 2010. It had been suggested that the final book might be split into two movies owing to the amount of important information related to the overall story line. Howwever, Warner Brothers have stated that no decision has been made. In addition, Steve Kloves has not yet started work on the script owing to the US Writer's Guild strike.

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