The end has come. The battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war at Hogwarts. With the Horcruxes nearly destroyed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione must face their most dangerous enemies yet. The stakes have never been higher, and no one is safe. As Voldemort’s forces descend upon the castle, Harry realizes that he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. It all ends here.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United Kingdom United States |
Premiere date |
July 15, 2011 |
Running time |
130 minutes |
Genre |
Fantasy Adventure Mystery Family Action |
Budget |
$125,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,342,359,942 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
David Yates |
Produced by |
David Heyman David Barron J.K. Rowling |
Written by |
Steve Kloves |
Music by |
Alexandre Desplat |
Cinematography |
Eduardo Serra |
Edited by |
Mark Day |
Production Co. |
Warner Bros. Pictures Heyday Films |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #08 in Harry Potter Collection
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The Plot
The Shadow Over Hogwarts and the Gringotts Pact
Following the events of the previous film, Lord Voldemort violates the sanctity of Albus Dumbledore's tomb to steal the Elder Wand. In a display of newfound power, he shoots a massive bolt of lightning into the dark sky. The scene shifts to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which has transformed from a safe haven into a shadowy concentration camp patrolled by Dementors. Students are marched in formation through the Entrance Courtyard while Severus Snape, now the Headmaster, watches from the high vantage point of the Quad Battlements with a cold, blank expression.
Meanwhile, at Shell Cottage, Harry Potter sits before Dobby’s fresh grave following the funeral, staring into a shard of a Two-way mirror. He questions the goblin Griphook about why Bellatrix Lestrange was so terrified that they had entered her vault at Gringotts. Griphook reveals that a fake Sword of Gryffindor currently resides in the vault—a forgery he recognized but Bellatrix did not. Suspecting that Bellatrix’s violent reaction implies a Horcrux is hidden there, Harry, Ron, and Hermione strike a reluctant deal with the goblin: Griphook will help them break into the Lestrange vault in exchange for the real Sword of Gryffindor. The trio agrees, despite knowing this bargain will leave them without their only means of destroying Horcruxes.
Harry then speaks with Garrick Ollivander to identify wands taken from Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy. Ollivander warns that Bellatrix’s wand is "unyielding" and dangerous, whereas Draco’s wand has changed allegiance to Harry after being won in a duel. When Harry asks about the Deathly Hallows, Ollivander claims ignorance, though Harry knows via his connection to Voldemort that the wandmaker was tortured into revealing the Elder Wand's location. Upon learning Voldemort has acquired the wand, Ollivander grimly warns Harry that he stands no chance if the Dark Lord truly possesses it.
The Heist at Gringotts
The mission begins with Harry and Griphook concealed under the Invisibility Cloak, while Hermione uses Polyjuice Potion to disguise herself as Bellatrix Lestrange and Ron is transfigured into a foreign wizard with bushy facial hair. They Apparate to Gringotts, where Harry is forced to use the Imperius Curse on the goblin Bogrod to bypass security when Hermione’s impersonation falters. As they venture deep underground, their cart passes through "The Thief's Downfall," a magical waterfall that washes away all enchantments, removing their disguises. Despite this, they manage to enter the vault with the imperiused Bogrod's help.
Inside, Harry locates the Horcrux—Helga Hufflepuff's Cup—but accidentally triggers the Gemino curse, causing every object they touch to multiply exponentially and burn them. Amidst the expanding sea of hot gold, they seize the Cup, but Griphook betrays them. He snatches the Sword of Gryffindor, declaring he only promised to get them in, not out, and flees to trigger the alarm. Trapped and nearly crushed by the multiplying treasure, Hermione realizes their only escape is the captive dragon guarding the vaults. They release the beast, climbing onto its back as it incinerates several goblins, including Bogrod. The dragon smashes through the cavern roof and flies off, carrying the trio to freedom.
Voldemort’s Rage and the Return to Hogwarts
After jumping from the dragon into a lake, Harry suffers a violent vision. He sees Voldemort, furious over the theft of the Cup, slaughtering Griphook and numerous Gringotts staff at Malfoy Manor. In his rage, Voldemort inadvertently thinks of his other Horcruxes, revealing that one is hidden at Hogwarts. Realizing the Dark Lord is becoming fragile and fearful, Harry tells Ron and Hermione they must head to the school immediately to destroy the next object before Voldemort secures it.
The trio Apparates to Hogsmeade but instantly triggers "Caterwauling alarms" set by waiting Death Eaters. They are nearly cornered but are saved by Aberforth Dumbledore, who pulls them into his home. Harry realizes Aberforth is the one he saw in the mirror shard and the one who sent Dobby to save them. Aberforth feeds them but cynically advises them to flee, calling Albus’s mission a suicide pact. Harry refuses to give up, citing his trust in Albus. Resigning himself to their stubbornness, Aberforth opens a secret passage behind a portrait of his sister, Ariana, where Neville Longbottom appears to escort them.
Neville leads them to the Room of Requirement, where the bruised and beaten remnants of Dumbledore's Army have been hiding from the Carrow siblings. The students welcome Harry with applause, eager to fight. When Harry admits he needs to find a Ravenclaw artifact, Luna Lovegood suggests Rowena Ravenclaw's lost Diadem. Though Cho Chang points out no living person has seen it, the clue gives them a direction. Suddenly, Ginny Weasley enters, sharing a lingering gaze with Harry before announcing that Snape knows of Harry’s intrusion and has summoned everyone to the Great Hall.
The Revolution in the Great Hall
In the Great Hall, Snape threatens the students with severe punishment if they hide Harry. Harry steps out from the crowd, confronting Snape openly. He taunts the Headmaster for standing where Dumbledore once stood and demands he tell the truth about Dumbledore's murder. As members of the Order of the Phoenix burst in, Snape draws his wand. Professor McGonagall intervenes, engaging Snape in a fierce duel. She fires a relentless barrage of curses which Snape deflects—intentionally directing them to knock out the Carrow siblings behind him—before he dissolves into smoke and flees through a window. McGonagall brands him a coward as the students cheer.
The victory is short-lived as Voldemort’s amplified voice echoes through the castle, demanding they surrender Harry Potter to save themselves. Pansy Parkinson screams for someone to grab him, but Ginny and the rest of Dumbledore's Army immediately form a protective wall around Harry. McGonagall orders Filch to escort the Slytherins to the dungeons and begins fortifying the castle. She animates the stone knights of Hogwarts to defend the perimeter while Flitwick, Slughorn, and Molly Weasley cast a massive protective shield over the school.
The Lost Diadem and the Basilisk Fang
While the battle preparations begin, Harry realizes he must speak to the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw to find the Diadem. Luna guides him to her. Helena is initially reluctant, bitter that Voldemort defiled her mother’s artifact with Dark magic, but Harry convinces her he intends to destroy it. She reveals the Diadem is hidden in the room "where everything is hidden"—the Room of Requirement. Simultaneously, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione destroys Hufflepuff’s Cup with a Basilisk fang. The destruction unleashes a massive tsunami of water within the Chamber, which they barely survive. Soaked and adrenalized, the two finally share a passionate kiss, laughing as years of tension resolve into romance.
Outside, Voldemort’s army bombards the magical shield. When the shield holds, Voldemort breaks it with a powerful spell that cracks the Elder Wand slightly. The barrier dissolves, and the invasion begins. Scabior leads a group of Snatchers onto the Wooden Bridge, but Neville triggers charges he planted, collapsing the bridge. Scabior and the Snatchers fall to their deaths, while Neville barely pulls himself to safety. The Battle of Hogwarts fully erupts as Giants, Acromantulas, and Death Eaters storm the grounds.
Fire in the Room of Requirement
Harry locates the Diadem in the Room of Requirement but is ambushed by Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. Draco is hesitant, but Goyle casts killing curses at the trio. When his spells miss, Goyle unleashes Fiendfyre, a cursed fire that manifests as massive beasts—dragons, chimaeras, and serpents—consuming the room. Goyle, unable to control the blaze, falls into the inferno and dies. Harry, Ron, and Hermione find broomsticks and attempt to fly out, but Harry sees Draco and Blaise trapped on a precarious stack of furniture. He turns back to save them, with Ron begrudgingly helping.
They rescue the Slytherins and escape just as the room is incinerated. Outside, Harry stabs the Diadem with a Basilisk fang and Ron kicks the burning artifact back into the Room. As the doors seal, the Fiendfyre forms three terrifying visages of Voldemort. The destruction of the Horcrux sends a shockwave to Voldemort, who, in his pain and frustration, murders Pius Thicknesse.
The Prince’s Tale
Harry has a vision of Voldemort in the Boathouse, ordering Lucius Malfoy to bring him Snape. The trio fights their way through the castle, witnessing Fenrir Greyback feasting on Lavender Brown; Hermione blasts the werewolf out a window, but Lavender is already dead. Approaching the Boathouse, they witness a confrontation between Voldemort and Snape. Voldemort explains that the Elder Wand answers only to the wizard who killed its previous master. Believing Snape is the master because he killed Dumbledore, Voldemort slashes Snape's throat and orders Nagini to strike him repeatedly to ensure the wand's allegiance transfers.
After Voldemort leaves, Harry enters and kneels beside the dying Snape. Snape, weeping, insists Harry take his memories, which leak from him as tears. Harry collects them in a glass phial. With his final breath, Snape tells Harry he has his mother’s eyes, then dies. Voldemort’s voice returns, ordering a temporary ceasefire and challenging Harry to meet him in the Forbidden Forest.
Harry takes the memories to the Pensieve in the Headmaster’s office. The revelations are shattering: Snape had been best friends with Lily Evans (Harry’s mother) since childhood and loved her deeply. Although they drifted apart and she married James Potter—who relentlessly bullied Snape—Snape remained loyal to her memory. He became a double agent for Dumbledore after Voldemort threatened Lily. The memories reveal that Snape killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore’s own orders, as the Headmaster was already dying from a curse on Marvolo Gaunt’s ring. Most devastatingly, Harry learns that he is an accidental Horcrux; a piece of Voldemort’s soul latched onto him when the killing curse rebounded. For Voldemort to die, Harry must die.
The Forest and the Stone
Accepting his fate, Harry informs Ron and Hermione he is going to the Forest. He bids them a tearful goodbye, telling Hermione she must kill the snake, Nagini. On his walk, Harry takes out the Golden Snitch and whispers, "I am ready to die." The Snitch opens to reveal the Resurrection Stone. Harry summons the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin (who died in the battle alongside his wife, Tonks). They offer him comfort and courage. Harry drops the stone and approaches Voldemort’s clearing. He finds Hagrid captured and the Death Eaters waiting. Harry stands unarmed and closes his eyes as Voldemort casts the Killing Curse.
Harry awakens in a pristine, white version of King's Cross Station. Under a bench, a small, flayed, bloody creature—representing the piece of Voldemort's soul—whimpers in agony. Albus Dumbledore appears, explaining that Harry is not dead; Voldemort only destroyed the Horcrux inside him. Dumbledore confirms that help is always given at Hogwarts to "those who deserve it." He tells Harry he has a choice: board a train and move on, or return. Harry chooses to return.
The Final Stand
Harry wakes in the forest but plays dead. Narcissa Malfoy checks his body but only whispers to ask if Draco is alive. When Harry nods, she lies to Voldemort, declaring Harry dead. Hagrid is forced to carry Harry’s body back to the castle as a trophy. Voldemort announces his victory to the devastated defenders. Ginny screams in anguish, and Neville limps forward. Voldemort mocks Neville, but Neville delivers a defiant speech, declaring that Harry and the others didn't die in vain. He draws the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat just as Harry leaps from Hagrid’s arms, alive.
Chaos erupts. Many Death Eaters, including the Malfoys, abandon Voldemort. The battle moves into the Great Hall. Molly Weasley sees Bellatrix Lestrange attacking Ginny and intervenes. In a display of fierce protective power, Molly duels Bellatrix, eventually freezing her body and blasting it into dust, killing her. Meanwhile, Harry and Voldemort duel furiously throughout the castle, eventually landing in the courtyard.
The End of the War
Ron and Hermione try to kill Nagini but are cornered. Just as the snake strikes, Neville decapitates it with the Sword of Gryffindor, destroying the final Horcrux. Voldemort, weakened, falls to his knees. He fires one last Killing Curse at Harry, who counters with a Disarming Charm. The spells collide, but the Elder Wand refuses to kill its true master—Harry. The spell rebounds, obliterating Voldemort, who crumbles into ash and drifts away in the wind.
In the aftermath, Harry explains to Ron and Hermione that the Elder Wand never belonged to Snape, but to Draco, who had disarmed Dumbledore. Since Harry disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor, the wand is now his. Rather than keeping the supreme weapon, Harry snaps the Elder Wand in two and throws the pieces off the bridge, choosing a life free of its burden.
Nineteen Years Later
Nineteen years later, a healed wizarding world is shown at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Harry and Ginny are married with three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. They join Ron and Hermione, who are married with their own children, Rose and Hugo. Draco Malfoy is seen with his wife and son, Scorpius, acknowledging Harry with a curt nod. Albus Severus confesses his fear of being sorted into Slytherin. Harry crouches down and tells his son that he is named after two headmasters of Hogwarts, one of whom was a Slytherin and "the bravest man I ever knew." He assures Albus that the Sorting Hat takes one's choice into account. The train departs, and the trio watches their children leave, marking the end of their journey.
