The Deathly Hallows themselves

We discovered so many incredible magical objects through the Harry Potter books, but J.K. Rowling saved some of the best till last.

Thanks to an old children’s book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Harry learnt that there once were three brothers who sought to escape Death. One took the Cloak of Invisibility, another took the Resurrection Stone, and the final brother acquired the Elder Wand.

Despite Hermione’s certainty that the Hallows were simply a childhood story, Harry became obsessed with the three most powerful objects in the wizarding world, as you would. And for the first time ever, Hermione turned out to be wrong about something – they were definitely real…

Dobby’s sacrifice

Ever since he first turned up at Privet Drive in Chamber of Secrets, Dobby had always been there for Harry Potter. Or as he would say, ‘Harry Potter, sir!’ From trying to protect Harry from the Basilisk to knitting Harry a spectacular pair of socks, Dobby was an absolute dear on every single page.

His final sacrifice (saving Harry and his friends in Malfoy Manor, stabbed by Bellatrix Lestrange’s knife in the process) was an utterly heartbreaking turn of events. Harry was deeply affected by this loss, and dug Dobby’s grave the ‘non-magical’ way, as a sign of respect for the house-elf.

Hermione

Yes, we know Hermione wasn’t exactly a new character or anything, but she gets her own section here because of how incredible she was in Deathly Hallows.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione went off to hunt Horcruxes, it was thanks to Hermione’s talents being as bottomless as her jewelled bag that keep the trio out of harm’s way. From her complicated charms on their tents, to her grit and determination even after Ron left, to just being generally awesome, Hermione’s bravery in this book was just staggering.

The Battle of Hogwarts

The book’s defining moment. With Voldemort on his way, and Harry convinced that the Dark Lord’s final Horcruxes must lie in the castle itself, Hogwarts ‘takes arms’ under the steely determination of Professor McGonagall.

With every quarter of the wizarding school getting involved – even the paintings and suits of armour – this magical battle truly brought out a new side to a lot of characters, uniting in victory and tragedy.

Molly’s finest hour

Ah, Molly, the jumper-knitting mother and beloved family head of the Weasleys. Wouldn’t hurt a fly, would she? Except she absolutely would if someone tried to kill her daughter. Oh Bellatrix, that was a big mistake.

In our humble opinion, Molly’s defining moment across all seven Harry Potter books was her final stand with Bellatrix – a witch whose evil and menace almost matched that of Lord Voldemort himself. After Lestrange’s curse missed Ginny by nearly an inch, Molly stepped up for her only daughter in the most delightful way possible, and rid the world of the Death Eater forever.

All together now: ‘NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!’

Neville’s bravery

The Battle of Hogwarts brought out a newfound strength in a lot of characters – not least of all Neville Longbottom. After spending his earlier Hogwarts years melting cauldrons and chasing after his toad Trevor, Neville truly came into his own during his final Hogwarts year, leading Dumbledore’s Army and emerging as a war-torn champion when Harry returned.

Seeing Neville’s transformation into a leader and hero was quite something. To top things off, Neville also destroyed Lord Voldemort’s final Horcrux – the terrifying giant snake Nagini. Not too shabby.

Ron and Hermione finally kissed

Seven. Books. It took SEVEN BOOKS for Harry’s two best friends to finally lock lips. After years of bickering, a few botched attempts at inviting the other on a date, and several thousand other awkward moments, Hermione and Ron broke into a passionate embrace right in the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts. As Harry said: ‘Is this the moment?’ Yeah, guys, really?

The Prince’s Tale

A lot of heroes were born out of the Battle of Hogwarts, but none of them were quite as brave as Severus Snape.

It wasn’t until the Battle of Hogwarts that Harry learnt that Snape was not on Voldemort’s side after all. Snape’s dying moments said it all – he looked into Harry’s eyes and bestowed upon him a collection of memories that explained everything: his lonely childhood, his love for Lily, his devastation when she was murdered. It was a powerful chapter that put a flawed but wonderful character into perfect context.

Voldemort’s death

Of course, we quite liked it when this happened. Yes, after decades of on-off torturing of wizard and Muggle-kind alike, Lord Voldemort was vanquished by Harry Potter. The best bit? His own spell rebounded back on him. How embarrassing.

The epilogue

Just when we thought the adventure had come to a close once and all, we were thrilled to find an epilogue entitled ‘Nineteen Years Later’.

Here we learnt that Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione now had children of their own going off to Hogwarts. We also saw tiny glimpses into the lives of some other characters: Neville was now a Herbology Professor, Draco Malfoy was married with a son called Scorpius and Hagrid still lived happily at Hogwarts, ready to take Harry, Ron and Hermione’s children for tea. Blub.