The Battle of Hogwarts

The trio enter Hogwarts with the help of the Hog's Head bartender, Aberforth Dumbledore, who reveals he sent Dobby to rescue them. He further reveals to them a new secret passage into the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts, where renegade students, led by Neville Longbottom, are hiding from the Death Eaters running their school. Neville alerts Dumbledore's Army and The Order of the Phoenix and they all arrive in The Room of Requirement. Harry believes he must hurry to locate the horcrux, as Voldemort is on his way. Harry believes the horcrux is an artifact of Rowena Ravenclaw's, and learns of a lost diadem from some Ravenclaw students. Luna takes Harry to the Ravenclaw common room to see a replica of the diadem, and they are met there by Alecto Carrow, who reveals that Voldemort warned her Harry might appear in the Ravenclaw common room. This gives away the fact that it must be something of Ravenclaw's. Harry alerts the Heads of House to Voldemort's impending arrival; the younger students are evacuated and the Order of the Phoenix and others arrive to help defend the school. As the Death Eaters attack, Harry realizes that he saw Ravenclaw's Diadem the previous year, in the Room of Requirement. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione sneak off to the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve basilisk fangs, which they can use to destroy Hufflepuff's Cup and the other horcrux. The trio then go to the Room of Requirement where they are confronted by Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Crabbe mishandles a powerful spell and sets fire to the contents of the Room, killing himself. Harry and his friends manage to escape, retrieving the Diadem and rescuing Malfoy and Goyle, and the Diadem is destroyed by the magical fire.

After having another vision of Voldemort, Harry leads his friends to the Shrieking Shack, where they see Voldemort kill Snape. Voldemort has been, until now, unable to do anything extraordinary with the Elder Wand, which he believes is due to Snape being the true master, as he was the one to kill Dumbledore. As he dies, Snape gives up his memories to Harry, who then uses the Pensieve to watch them. He finds out that Snape was indeed on Dumbledore's side all along, motivated by his lifelong love for Lily Evans, Harry's mother. Dumbledore, dying anyway, had instructed Snape to kill him so that Draco would not have to. Snape has been acting to protect Harry all along, and it was he who sent the doe Patronus, which is the same form as that of Lily's, to lead Harry to Gryffindor's sword. However, Harry also discovers that he himself is a Horcrux, and that Voldemort cannot be killed while Harry remains alive. Dumbledore explains to Snape in the pensieve that Harry must willingly allow Voldemort to kill him, for Voldemort to die.

Remus Lupin, his wife Nymphadora Tonks, Fred Weasley, and Colin Creevey are killed in battle. Resigned to his fate, Harry makes his way to the Forbidden Forest, where Voldemort is waiting for him. As he leaves, he informs Neville Longbottom that the snake Nagini must be destroyed at all costs. Realising that his final meeting with Voldemort is "the close" referred to in the riddle on the Snitch, Harry says to it "I am about to die". The Snitch opens up to reveal the Resurrection Stone. Harry uses the Stone to summon the spirits of James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, who comfort him during his final walk to death. When he reaches Voldemort, Harry drops the Stone, removes his invisibility cloak, and reveals himself. Prepared for death, he allows Voldemort to hit him with the Avada Kedavra curse. However, Harry awakens in an enormous room akin to King's Cross railway station. A wounded and dying baby-like creature lies on the floor, representing Voldemort's damaged soul. He meets the deceased Albus Dumbledore, who explains that Harry cannot die while the blood carrying Lily's protection resides in Voldemort's body. He further explains that the part of Voldemort's soul within Harry has been destroyed by the Avada Kedavra curse. Harry is given the choice of "going on", or continuing with life and stopping Voldemort; he chooses the latter. It is stated (but by Dumbledore, which, if the statement is true, is only being imagined by Harry) that the scene is happening inside Harry's head and not in a true place, although the Dumbledore that Harry imagines he is talking to also states that it is not less real for that.

Back in the forest, Harry wakes. Voldemort asks Narcissa Malfoy to determine whether or not Harry is alive. Narcissa sees he is, and whispers to him the question of whether her son Draco is alive. On hearing in the affirmative, Narcissa lies and tells Voldemort that Harry is dead, because that means the battle can be ended and she can see her son again. On Voldemort's orders, a captured Hagrid carries Harry (feigning death) back to Hogwarts as a trophy. He jeers that Harry was killed while trying to flee, and Neville Longbottom steps forward and defends Harry's honor. Voldemort tries to get Neville, a "pureblood," to join him, but Neville refuses; as punishment, Voldemort puts the Sorting Hat upon his head, and sets it ablaze. At that moment, reinforcements charge in and the battle resumes. Amidst the confusion, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak while Neville pulls Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat and beheads Nagini, destroying the final Horcrux. Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry confronts Voldemort. Harry realises that Draco Malfoy was the true master of the Elder Wand, for it was Draco who had disarmed Dumbledore and thus beaten him in battle, while Snape was acting according to a wandless Dumbledore's wishes when he killed him. Harry subsequently disarmed Draco, and thus, mastery of the Elder Wand has passed to Harry, not to Voldemort. Voldemort fires Avada Kedavra at Harry, and at the same time Harry fires Expelliarmus at Voldemort. The Elder Wand refuses to kill its master and the spell rebounds, killing Voldemort. Celebrations erupt, and Harry seeks solitude with Ron and Hermione in Dumbledore's office. Harry uses the immense power of the Elder Wand to repair his own wand, and elects to return the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave instead of keeping it for himself. If he dies a natural death and is not disarmed in battle, the ownership of the Elder Wand will die with him, and it will become an ordinary wand. He also confirms to Dumbledore's portrait that, despite proving himself the only worthy possessor of all the Deathly Hallows, he will not seek out the Stone in the forest. He decides, though, to keep the Invisibility Cloak; in the children's story, the cloak was the wisest choice.