History Literature / HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows

* GroinAttack: Defied with Ron telling Harry he should zip his fly by hand.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Dumbledore, much like [[Film/CitizenKane Charles Foster Kane]], is the real focus of the final book despite being dead. In the end, he proves to be one for the series overall, since most of his choices and decisions in the past and present determine the outcome of the story. Harry even {{Lampshade|Hanging}}s this at one point, telling Ron that it's easier to know how Voldemort thinks than figuring out Dumbledore.

** As revevealed in flashback during the previous book, [[spoiler:even Dumbledore -- who'd tolerated Snape's enmity with Harry over the last half a decade -- eventually got fed up with Snape's vindictiveness (in this case pettily putting Harry through repeat detentions).]]

** Harry and Malfoy have hated each other's guts the entire series, yet [[spoiler:Harry still chooses to save him and Goyle in the burning Room of Requirement]], and he's horrified when he first thinks they're dead, with the narration specifically noting "he [Harry] had never wanted this. What a terrible way to die." This ends up paying off later, when [[spoiler:Narcissa lies to Voldemort about Harry being dead after the latter informs her that her son is still alive, setting the stones for Voldemort's ultimate downfall]].

* EvilLivingFlames: This is essentially the point of the Fiendfyre spell, which takes the forms of several monsters while wrecking the Room of Requirement. These evil flames are extremely dangerous and difficult to control for the caster, as Crabbe learns the hard way.

** Meanwhile, Harry is impersonating Albert Runcorn, who, as Arthur Weasley told him, ratted out Cattermole to begin with.

* FakingAnotherPersonsIllness: Ron's father and brothers enchant a ghoul to look like him, and tell the ministry that he's deathly ill with Spattergroit, to cover up the fact that he dropped out of school to go Horcrux-hunting with Harry and Hermione.
** Ariana, Dumbledore's sister, became half-insane because she refused to use magic after a traumatic experience where she was attacked by three {{Muggle|s}} boys who found out she was a witch. Her family put it about that she just had poor physical health to avoid attracting attention, leading many people to theorize that she was a [[MuggleBornOfMages Squib]], when in reality she would have magic exploding out of her when she couldn't keep it in anymore.

* HomoeroticSubtext: The relationship between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald that makes up the bulk of the b-plot is filled with subtext but is never quite confirmed as being romantic, especially since Harry himself, being a dense teenager, doesn't seem to pick up on it. Elphias Dodge makes a joke about it that goes over Harry's head. Auntie Muriel says there were "strange rumors" about it. Rita Skeeter actually gets the closest to anyone to outright confirming it. She makes a thinly veiled sex joke when she says people will think, "Grindelwald simply conjured a white hankerchief from the end of his wand and '''came quietly'''". She also makes the AllGaysArePedophiles insinuation when she says that Dumbledore took an "unnatural" interest in Harry. Bathilda notes that Grindelwald was very upset when he had to leave in a hurry when Ariana died so he didn't get in trouble in way that implies that relationship was more than platonic as well. Grindelwald's last moments telling Voldemort that there are things he doesn't understand is literally about the Elder Wand and magic more broadly but the subtext is also there that he's talking about Voldemort not understanding love. Dumbledore also uses the word "inflamed" which does not exactly carry a platonic connotation and cries when he hears Grindelwald died to protect his tomb. Aberforth also makes some thinly veiled jibes about them being more than friends.

* ICantBelieveImSayingThis: During the Potterwatch broadcast that the trio listens to, one of the twins (presumed to be Fred) urges everyone to stay cautious and not to get lulled into a false sense of security with the rumors of Voldemort being abroad. He ends it by saying "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but: safety first!"
* IdenticalTwinIDTag: George loses an ear in the EscortMission, making the difference between himself and Fred much easier to identify. [[spoiler:And then Fred is killed in the final battle, negating the need to tell the difference between them altogether.]]

** The trio deciding to wear the [[HatePlague the evil locket of doom]] for months on end, even though they quickly recognize that it makes them feel awful. Although the stated reason is that they are so worried about what happens if they lose it that they want always to keep it in view, all three seem to forget that pockets exist, that they have a BagOfHolding, and it never occurs to Harry to utilise the Mokeskin Pouch of Safekeeping that Hagrid gave him, even though he's wearing the pouch around his neck and would've therefore looked at or at least touched it every time he put on or removed the locket. Made even worse by the fact that Harry and Hermione ''continue to wear the thing'' after it has seriously backfired on them.

** [[spoiler:Dumbledore in the AfterlifeAntechamber admits he picked it up when he attempted to use the Resurrection Stone in the Ring Horcrux to speak to his dead loved ones. The curse on the Ring resulted in Dumbledore receiving fatal injuries from the encounter, necessitating his eventual suicide pact with Snape.]]

* IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat: When the PowerTrio ask Kreacher what he did with the locket, he tells them the story of Regulus and his MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment. But when he gets to how he himself escaped the cave of Inferi, Kreacher can only say he escaped because "Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back." Ron intuits that Voldemort must have enchanted the site to protect against Disapparition ... but only by wizards. Picking up the thread, Hermione realises that his [[FantasticRacism dismissal of the house-elf race]] meant he [[OutsideContextProblem couldn't recognise what they could do]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: While Griphook stealing the Sword of Gryffindor and selling out the trio was uncalled for, he was correct in pointing out that wizards have discriminated against and looked down on goblins for centuries, and proved those ideals are very much still in place when Ron unintentionally offends him while discussing ownership of the sword. Griphook also correctly predicts the trio were planning to go back on their word and keep the sword, thus proving they are no better than any other witch or wizard that has been actively screwing over goblins for centuries.

* KansasCityShuffle: The point of the Seven Potters operation just in case the Death Eaters attack them en-route to the Burrow. Initially, it works as planned; despite having advance intel, the Death Eaters didn't know about the decoys and it upends their entire pursuit. More, one of the decoys was specifically placed with Mad-Eye to draw Voldemort's attention just in case (as Voldemort would expect "Harry" would be traveling with the toughest and most dangerous Auror). This costs him valuable time as he chases the wrong target ([[spoiler:even if it gets Mad-Eye killed eventually)]]. The plan finally fails because Harry accidentally uses one of his signature spells in defense, thereby outing himself as the real Harry.

** After going from serving Lord Voldemort as a Death Eater to getting a steady job as the Ministry of Magic's ''executioner,'' [[BackForTheFinale Walden Macnair]] [[spoiler:returns for the Battle of Hogwarts and himself thrown into a wall and knocked out by Hagrid, who had loved and tried to save Buckback the Hippogriff from being executed by him in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban book three]]. {{Downplayed|Trope}}, as he presumably survives to be put in Azkaban with Umbridge, unlike many Death Eaters who were arguably less despicable, who were killed during the battle.]]

* KillItWithFire: One of the few ways to destroy a Horcrux is with the dark magic spell Fiendfyre, a.k.a. cursed fire, but the spell is so dangerous and hard to control that even ''Hermione'' says she wouldn't dare try it.

* KnightTemplar: The young Dumbledore at the time when he was tempted to join Grindelwald's quest to take over the world -- he wanted to liberate wizards from having to live in hiding (especially poor Ariana). He stressed to Grindelwald that they should use the minimum amount of force required and that with their power ComesGreatResponsibility. Subverted with Grindelwald, who may have come across as one (even using the slogan "for the greater good"), but likely only wanted power.

* LaserGuidedKarma: A positive example: [[spoiler:because Harry chose to save Draco in the burning Room of Requirement, when Narcissa finds out he survived being hit with the Killing Curse, she has incentive to lie to Voldemort that he's dead in order to get back to the castle and find her son]].

** Rowling has stated that the phrase on the Snitch ("I open at the close") is one about the books themselves. Specifically, ''Deathly Hallows'' takes place in the 1997–1998 academic year. In Britain, 1997 was the year that ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' was published. In America, ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' wasn't released until 1998. The book series opens in the real world during the years that the book series closes in the Wizarding World.

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details ''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. Moreover, Mundungus himself suggested that bit of skullduggery. If Fletcher really was passing on intel, why would he have withheld that crucial component of the plan? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it still doesn't answer why the Death Eaters' own mole locked them out of the loop. [[spoiler:Ironically, Harry later learns Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as Snape used him as a ReverseMole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the near-disaster of the Seven Potters operation, the Order fears they have another Snape in their midst and somebody else has turned traitor. Indeed, the prologue confirms in advance that Snape's intel on the Order's mission came from an inside source. Initially, the Order thinks it was Mundungus Fletcher, but grudgingly clear him due to major holes in the evidence (see LockedOutOfTheLoop).This sets up a minor mystery of not only who leaked the intel, but why they didn't inform the Death Eaters about the decoy Potters. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed there actually ''isn't'' a mole inside the Order -- or rather, it's a reverse-mole. It was actually Snape who fed operational details -- specifically the idea to use the decoy Potters -- to a bewitched Mundungus. Snape then used his "inside source" to "discover" the plan and report it to Voldemort both to give Harry a fighting chance and to ensure his own deep cover was preserved.]]

* MundaneMadeAwesome: The very last spell that Harry casts at the end of the book is "Reparo", a rather mundane spell for repairing broken objects. Doesn't sound like a fitting conclusion to the series? Well, it helps that [[spoiler:he casts it with the Elder Wand -- the most powerful wand in history -- and he uses to to repair his broken holly-and-phoenix wand, which we were earlier told was irreparable]]. Still doesn't sound that awesome? Well...there's also the fact that [[spoiler:it's the ''only'' spell that he casts with the Elder Wand, and he does it to make it clear that he has no intention of claiming the wand's power for himself]]. This makes him [[spoiler:probably the only Wizard in history ever to reject the Elder Wand, the most coveted magical object on Earth]].

* MurphysBullet: The Battle of the Seven Potters is riddled with stray spells because everyone is up in the air and therefore is hard to aim. The two spells that land have the most devastating outcomes. First, Hedwig (Harry's beloved owl companion) gets hit by a killing curse. Shortly after, Hagrid gets hit by a stunning spell. Unconscious, Hagrid can't drive the motorbike, so he and Harry start plummeting toward the ground.

** Thanks to a combination of his {{Pride}}, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood incomprehension of certain aspects of base human nature]], and incomplete knowledge of the prophecy which causes it to become [[SelfFulfillingProphecy self-fulfilling]], Voldemort in many ways directly contributes to his own downfall. For instance, the man ''destroys one of his own {{Soul Jar}}s''. Admittedly, it was part of a huge BatmanGambit set up by Dumbledore, but, ''still''.

-->'''Dedalus:''' You know how to drive, I take it?\\
'''Vernon Dursley:''' Of course I ruddy well know how to drive!\\

* BloodMagic: [[spoiler: Because Voldemort used Harry's blood to rejuvenate himself back in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', he's kept Lily's protective charm on Harry alive with his new body. As long as that enchantment survives, Harry survives. He anchors Harry to life while he lives. As a result, he can't kill Harry. This causes a NegateYourOwnSacrifice for Harry after he willingly lets Voldemort try to kill him because he himself is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort]].

* {{Bookends}}:
** After Harry defeats Voldemort for the first time (when he is but a fifteen-month-old baby) Hagrid brings him to Privet Drive using Sirius's flying motorcycle. Sixteen years later, when the Order gets Harry away from Privet Drive before the blood wards fall, Hagrid is the one that takes Harry away... on Sirius's flying motorcycle. And in the climax, [[spoiler:Hagrid once again carries Harry in his arms.]]

* BrickJoke: In [Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince the previous book]], Ginny says she told Romilda Vane that Harry has a dragon tattooed on his chest. After Ron takes Polyjuice Potion to look like Harry, he looks down at his bare chest and comments that he ''knew'' Ginny was lying about the tattoo.

* BroughtDownToNormal: Voldemort gets hit with this in a way, after his Horcruxes are all destroyed. Before this, he was more or less immortal and felt like an unbeatable threat. After the destruction of the Horcruxes, Voldemort is just as mortal as any other man. Harry even invokes this trope by calling him by his Muggle name Tom Riddle, [[DoNotCallMePaul infuriating him on its own terms]] and signifying he is just a human being.

** The Battle of Hogwarts in particular is full of references to earlier events of the series: many characters make cameo appearances--such as the painting of Sir Cadogan and the ghosts of the Headless Hunt--lessons that the characters have had over their academic careers are alluded to such as Neville and Professor Sprout using mandrakes against the Death Eaters, and [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione sneak off to get basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy the last remaining Horcruxes]].

* ChildrenForcedToKill: Averted. From the start of this series to the end of this book, no Hogwarts student from Harry's generation has killed any other person, even in self-defence ([[HoistByHisOwnPetard not counting Crabbe's stupidity]]). This is despite these children being trained in powerful, often dangerous magic and being "of age" in this book -- and involved in a battle where their own lives were on the line. This is probably to keep the kids from crossing the MoralEventHorizon. [[spoiler:It's probably why it is Molly who kills Bellatrix, and not Neville -- for Neville to do so may not have sat well with some parents and young readers.]][[invoked]]

* CorporalPunishment: We can only imagine what the hell is going on at Hogwarts while the heroes are running around the countryside. Neville certainly looks like he had a pretty rough time of it when he shows up after a year's worth of it. Apparently things would have been even ''worse'' if the Carrows had had the complete run of things. Even happens in ''lessons'': "They had us practicing the Cruciatus Curse on first-years. ... That's where I got this [scar]. I refused to do it." Heaven knows what this must have been like for Snape, who [[spoiler:gave his word to Dumbledore before the latter's death that he would [[ProtectThisHouse do everything in his power to protect the students no matter what happened]]]]. For almost a whole year, he has to constantly strike a balance between reining the Carrows' worst behaviour (which includes torturing eleven-year-olds) in, yet not so much that it gives [[spoiler:his status as a double-agent]] away.

* CryingWolf: A subplot in this novel involves Rita Skeeter, a shady tabloid journalist who first appeared in ''The Goblet of Fire'', and her new biography of Dumbledore. Based on his firsthand knowledge of her (lack of) ethics and his experience with Dumbledore, Harry is initially certain the book's claims are false. They are far truer than Rita's usual output.

** The Deathly Hallows symbol. Viktor Krum is enraged to see Xenophilius Lovegood wearing it as a pendant, because it was used by Grindelwald, but it turns out the mark was originally benign and unluckily appropriated by evildoers. Given that Grindelwald is fantasy version of the European fascists of the early 20th century , it's a good parallel to the swastika, once a benign religious symbol that pre-dates the Nazis by millennia, being found in Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.

** As revevealed in flashback during the previous book, [[spoiler:even Dumbledore -- who'd tolerated Snape's enmity with Harry over the last half a decade -- was finally starting to get fed up with Snape's vindictiveness (in this case pettily putting Harry through repeat detentions).]]

* FourIsDeath: Leading up the final battle, Voldemort has used the Killing Curse on Harry three times: First in Godric's Hollow as a baby, later in the cemetery after being resurrected, and again in the Forbidden Forest. He tries it one last time, and pays the ultimate price for it.

* GottaKillThemAll: The [[SoulJar Horcruxes]]. Only by destroying all four remaining can Voldemort be killed.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Neville Longbottom, leading the anti-Voldemort resistance inside Hogwarts while the Power Trio is roaming around the country looking for Horcruxes.

** [[spoiler:Bathilda Bagshot: killed by Nagini sometime before Harry & Hermione get to Godric's Hollow]]

** [[spoiler:Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour gives Harry, Ron, and Hermione the contents of Dumbledore's will (well, sans the Sword of Godric Gryffindor) and presumably returns to the Ministry. It is Kingsley Shacklebolt's lynx Patronus that informs everyone at Bill and Fleur's wedding that Rufus was killed during Voldemort's coup.]]

* KillTheCutie: Ariana in the B-plot, though she's been dead for about a century in the present.

* LamePunReaction: Never mind the fact that his brother just [[EarAche had his]] ''{{ear|Ache}}'' cut off; Fred is disgusted beyond belief that, with the world of ear-related humour before him, George went with ''holey''. This may be a StealthPun on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronages_of_Saint_George#England Saint George, patron saint of England]].

** "The Tale of the Three Brothers" proves crucial to the finding of the Deathly Hallows and an understanding of how to defeat Voldemort. But of course he's never read it because it's in a book of children's stories. This is Rowling's not-so-subtle TakeThat to all the publishers who rejected her draft of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', ''and'' all the critics who dismiss her work as ''"for children only"''.
** Dumbledore's MathematiciansAnswer to Harry's question: ''"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry. But why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"'' Rowling was a destitute single mother who'd lost her husband, her job, and had no training or skills that anyone valued. But she had always loved stories, and decided to write one, and the rest is history. AnAesop on ThePowerOfImagination.
* LethalHarmlessPowers: Harry uses this to justify only disarming Stan Shunpike instead of stunning him; if he stunned the brainwashed Stan, he'd be as dead as Harry using Avada Kedavra on him.

-->I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that. I thought you knew.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: [[spoiler:Lily Evans was this to Snape. While he was no saint to begin with, being heavily involved in the Dark Arts, Lily finally declaring enough is enough when he calls her a 'Mudblood' in a rage is when he really has his StartOfDarkness. Her death is also what eventually inspires his HeelFaceTurn.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details ''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery. If Fletcher really was passing on intel, why would he have withheld that crucial component of the plan? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it still doesn't answer why the Death Eaters got locked out of the loop by their own mole. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as Snape used him as a ReverseMole and then wiped his memory.]]
** Continuing on from the last book, Ron and Hermione are the only other characters besides Harry who know about the Horcrux Hunt (though Lupin and others in the Order of the Phoenix have correctly guessed Dumbledore left secret orders for Harry to fulfil). Justified, as the Trio, like Dumbledore, recognize the necessity of operational security given the stakes. Their one secret tactical advantage is that Voldemort doesn't yet know his Horcuxes have been compromised (or that Dumbledore destroyed Morfin Gaunt's Ring). It's inevitable he'll figure it out eventually -- but if word leaks prematurely and Voldemort relocates the remaining Horcuxes before the Trio can find and destroy the SoulJar[=s=], they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.
** [[spoiler:While Dumbledore briefed Snape on the fragment of Voldemort's soul inside Harry, he intentionally withheld intel on Voldemort's Horcruxes (and how Lily's blood charm within Voldemort's resurrected body could theoretically keep Harry alive even when the Horcrux was destroyed). As with the Order's example above, it's justified by operational security. Again, Dumbledore was both trying to protect their secret advantage ''and'' ensure Harry ''would'' be killed by Voldemort specficially (as it was the ''only'' way to activate the LoopholeAbuse and give Harry a chance at survival).]]
* LoveHurts: [[spoiler:Snape around Lily. He not only fails to save her, but then spends the remainder of his life trying to protect the son she had with the man he hated, even though he tried to keep him in detention for most of his school life. It probably didn't make things any easier that Harry looked exactly like James but with Lily's eyes.]] Ouch.
* LoveRedeems: Dumbledore tells Harry in the first book, "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love." When Grindelwald lets Voldemort kill him, he says "Kill me, then, Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek. ... There is so much you do not understand. ...". While he is talking about the Elder Wand and magic more broadly, he's also talking about love. His death is meant to represent his love for Dumbledore which ultimately makes him a more sympathetic villain than Voldemort who could never understand loving someone so much that he'd be willing to die for him, even after his own death. It could also be interpreted as Grindelwald trying to make amends in the only way he could for everything that happened between the two of them.

[[folder:Tropes M–R]]

* MarriedInTheFuture: [[spoiler:In the [[DistantFinale epilogue]], Harry and Ginny are married, as are Ron and Hermione.]]

** It was a threefer: '''First''', Voldemort's striking Harry with the Killing Curse destroyed the portion of his soul within Harry. But Harry survived '''because''' [[spoiler: Lily's willing sacrifice for Harry meant that Voldemort could not harm him while ''her blood'' was present. Voldemort using [[BloodMagic Harry's blood in his resurrection]] had the side effect of anchoring Harry to life while Voldemort lives.]] '''Also''', because Harry [[spoiler: ''willingly'' leaves Hogwarts and goes into the Forest to confront Voldemort, he essentially does the same thing his mother did: he protects everyone at Hogwarts from Voldemort with the same protective charm]].

** [[spoiler:Crabbe's attempt to kill the Trio did nothing but destroy the Horcrux they needed to destroy and kill Crabbe himself.]]

** Going for the hat trick with Voldemort, there's his tactical blunder in [[spoiler:declaring a ceasefire in the middle of the Battle of Hogwarts. He does this to issue an ultimatum to Harry to surrender within one hour and to allow his forces to regroup in the Forbidden Forest. However, the total time lost due to the ceasefire, Harry and Voldemort both being knocked into unconsciousness via the Killing Curse, and the march back to the school grounds ends up backfiring. It gives Horace Slughorn and Charlie Weasley enough time to gather overwhelming reinforcements from Hogsmeade and throughout wizarding Britain, including Hagrid shaming the centaurs into ending their neutrality. Not even Voldemort and his forces could have hoped to win when the balance was several hundred versus thirty or so]].

* NotAfraidToDie: The ultimate difference between Harry and Voldemort, [[spoiler:and also the true way to become the Master of Death]].

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Ron and Hermione [[spoiler: recovering the Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Hufflepuff's cup. This could have been used to show another spiritual illusion to try and stop them, like with the locket,]] but it was left out due to the book's CosmicDeadline (see above). Happily, it's included in the movie.

** Snape has an even bigger one when [[spoiler: he realizes Voldemort is planning to kill Lily after the former informed him of the prophecy he overheard]].
* OnceMoreWithClarity: Snape's memories, especially in regards to his worst memory. Back in Book 5, [[spoiler:Harry initially believed it was his worst memory because of the immense amount of humiliation he suffered at the hands of the Marauders. With the new context of Snape's earlier memories, Harry (and thus, the reader) realizes the real reason why it's Snape's worst memory: it's the memory of the day that he gravely insulted Lily, the love of his life, which caused her to end their friendship and set off a chain of events that led to Snape joining the Death Eaters and eventually causing Lily's death]].

** [[spoiler: Harry's hit by the Killing Curse and [[NearDeathExperience could be considered dead]] -- but it only really kills the SoulFragment left by Voldemort.]]
** It turns out [[spoiler: Dumbledore can still give instructions and advice via his portrait.]]

* PictorialLetterSubstitution: There's reference to a letter Albus Dumbledore had written a long time previously, where he replaced the first letter of his first name with what we later find out to be the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.

* PoliceState: After the death of Scrimgeour Voldemort takes control of Wizarding world of England and starts sending Muggle-borns, suspected Muggle-borns and any dissenters to Azkaban, imperiusing people into inflate his ranks, installs Death Eaters at Hogwarts, and makes Hogwarts attendance mandatory, among other horrible things.

** After six books where Harry is always telling his friends to stay safe and that he will do things on his own, this book shows how he finally accepts his friends' help.

"No," Harry [[InformedWrongness corrected]] him. "He must've known you'd always want to come back."

[[folder:Tropes S–Z]]

** A variation. This time, instead of seeing Voldemort's transition from cute, troubled kid to full-on genocidal maniac, we get to see Snape's transition from cute, troubled kid to troubled heartbroken adult, and Dumbledore's transition from cute, troubled kid to wise manipulative [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] -- both of them dabbling considerably in the Dark Arts for a while. Apparently coming from a broken home is a prerequisite for this kind of thing. Interestingly, all three of them were {{Insufferable Genius}}es as teenagers.

* StudentsSecretSociety: Dumbledore's Army has been upgraded - under the guidance of [[TookALevelInBadass Neville Longbottom]] - into an actual LaResistance against the Death-Eater dominated school direction.

* SuspiciouslyPrescientPlanning: Harry, Ron, and Hermione go visit Xenophilius Lovegood during Christmas break, hoping to also see Luna while they're there. When they ask where their friend is, Xenophilius claims that she's out fishing for plimpies and will be back in a short while. Though the three initially believe him, they eventually realize that Xenophilius doesn't actually expect Luna to be home any time soon when they see he only set a tray for four people (that and [[spoiler:Luna's bed doesn't look like it's been slept in recently, strongly indicating she hasn't been home at all]]).

* TastesLikeDisdain: Bathilda Bagshot reveals under pressure from Rita Skeeter that she was neighbors with the Dumbledore family in Godric's Hollow. When they first moved there, Bathilda tried to be neighborly and brought them a batch of homemade Cauldron Cakes, but Albus's mother Kendra slammed the door in her face.
* TeleportationRescue: [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, had most of Sirius's mirror (Harry had a shard of it and got the occasional glimpse of someone he couldn't quite identify and who looked like the then-deceased Albus Dumbledore). When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were caught by the snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor, Dobby Apparated into the manor and rescued them, as well as Luna Lovegood and the wand expert Ollivander.]]

** Sure, Voldemort. Continue to [[spoiler:cast the Killing Curse on "The Boy Who Lived", even though it is clear that the spell backfired on you]]. ''[[SarcasmMode Brilliant]].''

** After escaping from the Ministry, the trio speculate about what happened to the Cattermoles. Hermonie states the smartest move for the married couple would be to go home, collect their children, and escape the country as quickly as possible, Ron worriedly noting [[spoiler:that after posing as and seeing how others talked to him, Reg Cattermole ''really'' didn't come across as quick-witted.]]

** Snape delivers one of these speeches to [[spoiler:Dumbledore, after he reveals that Harry (whom Snape has been protecting) must die in order to defeat Voldemort]]. It's the one time that Snape gets properly angry at Dumbledore.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: One that doesn't actually tell us what the protagonists are doing, only their kids.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Ron and Hermione [[spoiler:recovering the Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets. This could have been used to show another spiritual illusion to try and stop them, like with the locket,]] but it was left out due to the book's CosmicDeadline (see above). Happily, it's included in the movie.

** Snape has an even bigger one when [[spoiler:he realizes Voldemort is planning to kill Lily after the former informed him of the prophecy he overheard]].

** [[spoiler:Harry's hit by the Killing Curse and [[NearDeathExperience could be considered dead]] -- but it only really kills the SoulFragment left by Voldemort.]]
** It turns out [[spoiler:Dumbledore can still give instructions and advice via his portrait.]]

** It was a threefer: '''First''', Voldemort's striking Harry with the Killing Curse destroyed the portion of his soul within Harry. But Harry survived ''because''' Lily's willing sacrifice for Harry meant that Voldemort could not harm him while ''her blood'' was present. [[spoiler: Voldemort using [[BloodMagic Harry's blood in his resurrection]] had the side effect of anchoring Harry to life while Voldemort lives.]] '''Also''', because Harry [[spoiler:''willingly'' leaves Hogwarts and goes into the Forest to confront Voldemort, he essentially does the same thing his mother did: he protects everyone at Hogwarts from Voldemort with the same protective charm]].

* BloodMagic: [[spoiler:Because Voldemort used Harry's blood to rejuvenate himself back in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', he's kept Lily's protective charm on Harry alive with his new body. As long as that enchantment survives, Harry is protected from Voldemort. He anchors Harry to life while he lives. As a result, he can't kill Harry. This causes a NegateYourOwnSacrifice for Harry after he willingly lets Voldemort try to kill him because he is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort]].

* NegateYourOwnSacrifice: [[spoiler:Harry himself is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort, so he must die. He willingly goes to Voldemort to let him kill him and fully expected it to be a HeroicSacrifice. However, according to Dumbledore in Limbo, Harry's decision to let Voldemort kill him rather than keep fighting was what "made all the difference".]]
** It was a threefer: '''Firstly''', Voldemort's striking Harry with the Killing Curse destroyed the shard of his soul within Harry. '''But''' Lily's willing sacrifice for Harry meant that Voldemort could not harm him while her blood was present. [[spoiler:Voldemort using Harry's blood in his resurrection had the side effect of anchoring Harry to life as long as Voldemort lives.]] '''Also''', because Harry [[spoiler:''willingly'' leaves Hogwarts and goes into the Forest to confront Voldemort, he essentially does the same thing his mother did: he protects everyone at Hogwarts from Voldemort with the same protective charm]].

-->-- '''Remus Lupin''' (quoting '''Dumbledore''')

[[folder:Tropes A-F]]

* AllegianceAffirmation: [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Severus Snape]] pulls one of these, finally confirming where it is that his loyalties ultimately lie--namely, to the late Lily Evans Potter.

* AllMythsAreTrue: Hermione dismisses the Deathly Hallows as just part of a wizard fairytale. You can probably guess by the book's title whether she's right or wrong. [[spoiler:[[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that Dumbledore says it's more likely that the Peverell brothers were merely very gifted wizards who created the Hallows themselves rather than literally receiving them from Death.]]

* AlternateAesopInterpretation: InUniverse. In the tale of the three brothers, the Elder Wand that makes its wielder impossible to defeat in battle brings death to the oldest Peverell brother when someone [[SlainInTheirSleep kills him in his sleep]] to steal it. The moral is supposed to be that you can't hold death at bay through brute force. Ron points out, not unreasonably, that the moral might as well be that if you have a wand that makes you impossible to defeat in battle, ''you shouldn't [[TooDumbToLive strut around and brag about it like an idiot]]''. [[spoiler:Considering that Dumbledore wielded said wand in plain sight for fifty years by not drawing any attention to it, Ron kinda has a point.]]

* AnalogyBackfire: Hermione and Ron try separately to console Harry that [[spoiler:the events that [[BrokenPedestal tarnished his image]] of Dumbledore]] happened when he was "young" and that he was frustrated that he had to sacrifice his future to take over providing for his brother and sister. Harry tells them both that he was about their own age, they're fighting tyrant-run regime, and [[spoiler:he sought to impose one at that time]]. He also tells them he would have loved to have been able to have siblings and wouldn't see them as a burden.

-->'''Hermione:''' [[PunctuatedPounding YOU! COMPLETE! ARSE! RON! WEASLEY!]]

* AnyoneCanDie: After three books of major characters dying at the end, this book wastes no time in racking up a body count of characters, both minor and major, with one such death happening in the first chapter of the book. The casualties include [[spoiler:Charity Burbage, Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody, Rufus Scrimgeour, Mykew Gregorovitch, Bathilda Bagshot, Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Gornuk, Peter Pettigrew, Gellert Grindelwald, Dobby, Vincent Crabbe, Fred Weasley, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown[[note]]Not outright confirmed until the release of the movie[[/note]], Nagini, Bellatrix Lestrange, Lord Voldemort, and even Harry Potter himself (albeit only briefly)]], along with several unidentified characters who died during the climactic Battle of Hogwarts.
* ArmourPiercingQuestion:
** When Vernon suspects Harry of trying to get them out of their house so Harry can use some kind of magic to take ownership, Harry, after reminding him that he already has money as well as a house left to him by his godfather, asks Vernon if he thinks Harry would want their house for [[SarcasmMode "all the precious memories"]] he has of the place?
** After listening to Snape stammer out an apology for calling her a "Mudblood," [[spoiler:Lily]] cuttingly points out that he calls everyone of her birth a "Mudblood," so why should she be any different?

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: The Bloody Baron, who is a contemporary of Rowena Ravenclaw, should not be a Baron as they didn't exist until after the Norman Conquest in 1066, when Hogwarts was said by Professor Binns in 1992 to have been founded "over a thousand years ago", i.e. prior to the year 992. Rowena must have had her children very late in life (if we assume the Founders were in their twenties and thirties when Hogwarts was founded) for her to have a teenage Helena after 1066.

* AscendedMeme: The final book in the series where the protagonist [[spoiler:dies and goes to an afterlife that looks like a train station before coming back to life]]. The ''Literature/BarryTrotter and The Dead Horse'' parody novel did this three years before.
* AsLongAsThereIsOneMan: In the climax of the book, [[spoiler:Voldemort has apparently killed Harry (who's faking it, but that's not what's important here), and drags his body out for all the people in Hogwarts still fighting the Death Eaters to see. The fighters seem pretty cowed until one person steps forward... [[TheSoCalledCoward Neville Longbottom]], who's spent the entire series getting mocked, cursed, beaten, battered, and having his parents' misfortune thrown in his face. Voldemort [[WeCanRuleTogether offers to let Neville join his army]], and Neville responds, "I'll join you when hell freezes over," followed by a {{battle cry}}]].

* AssimilationAcademy: Once Voldemort takes over the Ministry, Hogwarts becomes one of these under Snape and the Carrows. Muggle-borns are barred from attending and every pure- and half-blood youth is forced to attend (previously, they could attend a school abroad or be homeschooled if that's what their parents wanted). Additionally, Defence Against the Dark Arts becomes just the Dark Arts where students are actually taught them and Muggle Studies becomes a compulsory subject where everyone is taught anti-Muggle propaganda. Any student who tries to speak out or disobey the rules is subject to imprisonment in the dungeons and torture by the Carrows. [[BlackShirt The Slytherin sympathizers]], like Crabbe and Goyle, enjoy the changes, while Neville, Ginny, and Luna re-form Dumbledore's Army to rebel against them.

%%** Dumbledore, [[spoiler:Snape]], and Grindelwald.
%%** Regulus Black was also TheAtoner, although he is dead before the book begins.
** The Malfoy family, and Draco in particular, plays with this trope. Draco legitimately regrets joining up with the Death Eaters and his role in Dumbledore's death, but he never actively tries to redeem himself partly because he's in too deep and partly just because of a lack of character. In the end, he settles for what might be called passive resistance.

* BavarianFireDrill: Harry, under the guise of Ministry of Magic employee Runcorn (apparently a very feared and intimidating fellow), manages to [[spoiler:walk himself, also-disguised Hermione and Ron, and a ''ton'' of Muggle-born and Half-blood wizards under investigation straight out of the Ministry, ''currently going on lockdown because they know there are intruders'', just on sheer bluster. The Golden Trio's escape is a close call,]] but on the whole, it worked far, far better than it had a right to.

* BloodMagic: [[spoiler: Because Voldemort used Harry's blood to rejuvenate himself back in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', he's kept Lily's protective charm on Harry alive with his new body. As long as that enchantment survives, Harry is protected from Voldemort. He anchors Harry to life while he lives. As a result, he can't kill Harry. This causes a NegateYourOwnSacrifice for Harry after he willingly lets Voldemort try to kill him because he is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort]].

* DarkestHour: The halfway point of the book is by far the darkest and most hopeless moment in the entire series. [[spoiler: Ron walks out on the group, leaving Harry and Hermione to fend for themselves, the two are stuck with the locket Horcrux with no way to destroy it and have no leads on any of the others, they have no idea what's going on with Voldemort or any of their allies that are currently fighting or on the run, and the two are nearly killed by Nagini and Voldemort himself when they go to visit Godric's Hallow.]] The only remotely happy thing that occurs during this stretch of the book is Harry seeing all of the encouraging messages left for him on his old house, letting him know that he is not alone in his fight against Voldemort.

** Harry and Malfoy have hated each other's guts the entire series, yet [[spoiler: Harry still chooses to save him and Goyle in the burning Room of Requirement]], and he's horrified when he first thinks they're dead, with the narration specifically noting "he [Harry] had never wanted this. What a terrible way to die." This ends up paying off later, when [[spoiler: Narcissa lies to Voldemort about Harry being dead after the latter informs her that her son is still alive, setting the stones for Voldemort's ultimate downfall]].

* FinalBattle: The Battle of Hogwarts; Hogwarts and its allies duke it out with Voldemort and his followers, all while a colony of pissed-off {{giant spider}}s run around eating people.

* FullNameUltimatum: When Ron comes back to Harry and Hermoine, she attacks him shouting "You-complete-arse-Ronald-Weasley!" When Harry tries to calm her down, she responds with "Don't you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!"

[[folder:Tropes G-L]]

** [[spoiler:Severus Snape. Full-stop. He did a great thing in becoming Dumbledore's spy and potentially saved hundreds, if not ''thousands'', of lives. However, that doesn't change the fact that he's a humongous arse for the entire series. [[WordOfGod J.K. Rowling herself said]] that if anyone else had been the Chosen One and Voldemort attacked them and their parents, Snape would never have turned his back on Voldemort. Good? Ultimately, yes. Nice? Absolutely not.]][[invoked]]

* GrayRainOfDepression: It starts raining right after a very nasty argument between Harry and Ron breaks out. It's pouring rain at the moment Ron Disapparates. The chapter ends with Harry listening to Hermione's crying and the sound of rain hitting the tent.

** The main antagonist of the in-universe fictional story "The Tale of the Three Brothers", and the supposed creator of the Deathly Hallows. While the Hallows definitely exist, it's [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane ambiguous]] whether Death truly created them or if they were created by the Peverell brothers themselves.

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: The Snatchers fail to confiscate Ron's Deluminator, Harry's piece of mirror, and Hermione's handbag, despite the fact that one is a magical device, one a potential weapon, and one a BagOfHolding.

** Hagrid tackles a Death Eater off his broom when he tries to shoot Harry during the Battle of the Seven Potters, plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground. Subverted in that he survives the fall.
** [[spoiler:Regulus Black]] died stealing one of Voldemort's horcruxes, so Kreacher could take it home and attempt to destroy it.

* HereditaryWeddingDress: When Fleur Delacour marries into the Weasley family, she wears an heirloom tiara, goblin-made, which complements her own stunning beauty. Nor did Molly Weasley, her mother-in-law, offer the tiara lightly; it comes up in an emotional moment during Half-Blood Prince.

** The trio deciding to wear the [[HatePlague the evil locket of doom]] for months on end, even though they quickly recognize that it makes them feel like crap. Although the stated reason is that they are so worried about what happens if they lose it that they want to keep it in view at all times, all three seem to forget that pockets exist, that they have a BagOfHolding, and at no point does it occur to Harry to utilise the Mokeskin Pouch of Safekeeping that Hagrid gave him, despite the fact that he's wearing the pouch around his neck and would've therefore looked at or at least touched it every time he put on or removed the locket. Made even worse by the fact that Harry and Hermione ''continue to wear the thing'' after it has seriously backfired on them.

** The [[spoiler:Dumbledore in the AfterlifeAntechamber admits he picked it up when he attempted to use the Resurrection Stone in the Ring Horcrux to speak to his dead loved ones. The curse on the Ring resulted in Dumbledore receiving fatal injuries from the encounter.]]

** Lily also doesn't appear to have (or of she does, doesn't use) her wand when Voldemort comes for her, instead using her hands to create an ineffective barricade against him and not even trying to escape as her son would sixteen years later.
** Harry and Ron, too being completely unprepared to flee at a moment's notice while at the Burrow even though they know Voldemort and the Death Eaters are after them.

* ImmortalityInducer: As indicated in ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard'', it is a common misconception that those who claim ownership of all three of the Deathly Hallows will become immortal -- i.e., the "Master of Death". A young, foolish Dumbledore subscribed to this belief, and only snapped out of it when his younger sister died. [[spoiler:In reality, the Master of Death is one who accepts that, even with magic, true immortality is impossible, and that death isn't the worst thing in the world.]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: We get a segment where we see Voldemort's attack on the Potters through his perspective. Voldemort openly walks on the street on Halloween, with numerous innocent children around him. One child [[ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself compliments his costume]], but runs off back to his mother when he is intimidated. As if the thought of a mass-murdering fascist casually walking near children isn't scary enough, Voldemort himself notes that with one small flick of his wand, the child would never reach his mother (he doesn't go through with it, though).
* IndyPloy: [[spoiler:The Trio's "Infiltrate Hogsmeade and from there Hogwarts and somehow find the Last Horcrux" plan, which gets lampshaded by Hermione. Justified, as Harry correctly argues they ''don't'' have time to come up with a plan of attack. The jig's up and Voldemort knows now about the Horcrux Hunt. If they don't move ''now'' and get inside the castle, Voldemort will get to it first and hide the Horcrux in a location they'll never be able to find.]]
* InternalReveal: Going into the final book, Ron and Hermione are only aware of the broad strokes of what happened during Harry and Dumbledore's trip to the Cave in ''Half-Blood Prince''. The attack on Hogwarts and the murder of Dumbledore understandably overshadowed everything else that happened that night. With their subsequent preperations for their own Hocrux Hunt, Harry never had a chance to fill them in on the more specific details about that night. So, Ron and Hermione don't learn about what actually happened on the island or about Dumbledore's potion-induced hallucination until Harry tells Aberforth when they arrive in Hogsmeade.

** James' first words to Snape ("Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?") are almost identical to a line from Malfoy's first conversation with Harry ("Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?").
** Grindelwald telling Voldemort, "Kill me, then. Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek... There is so much you do not understand..." is meant to be an echo to Dumbledore's line all the way back in the first book, "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love."
* {{Irony}}:

** Draco Malfoy, the hateful, racist, elitist, snobbish, and smug bully that has done everything in his power to make life as difficult for Harry and his friends as possible throughout the entire series, was directly responsible for letting the Death Eaters into the school and getting Dumbledore killed, and whose parents are both Death Eaters fully loyal to Voldemort, [[spoiler: ends up being the entire reason Harry manages to triumph over Voldemort, due to Harry saving his life in the Room of Requirement (giving Narcissa Malfoy incentive to lie to Voldemort about Harry's "death"), and Harry disarming him at Malfoy Manor giving the latter the true loyalty of the Elder Wand, causing Voldemort's Killing Curse to rebound and end him once and for all]].
** [[spoiler: The Basilisk that Voldemort had plotted to use to purge Hogwarts of Muggle-borns and Harry was used against him by having her venom destroy most of his Horcruxes, which led to his Final Downfall and Death. More irony is the fact that the sword of Godric Gryffindor was used to destroy a few horcuxes, which was only possible because it was made from Goblin silver which absorbed the basilisk venom, the goblins wizards looked down upon ended up helping save the wizard world, doubled by the fact that it took two of the founders, Salazar's Basilisk and Godric's sword, two of the most sworn rivalries in Hogwarts carried out by their houses for centuries, together were able to defeat Voldemort once and for all. Even more ironic, Voldemort's horcurxes that were not destroyed by the basilisk venom were destroyed by Vincent Crabbe and Voldemort himself]]

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: After getting to keep her job after sadistically torturing and abusing the entire population of Hogwarts' students and staff sans Filch in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix,'' [[JerksAreWorseThanVillains Dolores Umbridge herself]] returns to the series, now overseeing [[spoiler: [[KangarooCourt the Muggle-Born Registration Commission]] where Muggle-Born witches and wizards are forced to disclose whom they "stole" their magic from.]] Even worse, [[spoiler: the Dementors that guard her are kept at bay ''effortlessly'' by her Patronus, which is a ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice physical manifestation of positivity and happiness]]'' Needless to say, once she [[BoomerangBigot lies to a disguised Hermione about her Half-blooded nature]] during the Ministry heist, Harry wastes no time in Stunning her and Yaxley and swiping the [[SoulJar Locket of Slytherin]]. WordOfGod confirms that the post-Voldemort Ministry of Magic gave her a life sentence in Azkaban for her crimes against Muggle-Borns, ''[[ShootTheDog not all of whom survived her persecution,]]'' to the surprise of exactly nobody.]]
** After going from serving Lord Voldemort as a Death Eater to getting a steady job as the Ministry of Magic's ''executioner,'' [[BackForTheFinale Walden Macnair]] [[spoiler: returns for the Battle of Hogwarts and himself thrown into a wall and knocked out by Hagrid, who had loved and tried to save Buckback the Hippogriff from being executed by him in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban book three]]. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed,]] as he presumably survives to be put in Azkaban with Umbridge, unlike many Death Eaters who were arguably less despicable, who were killed during the battle.]]

** [[spoiler: Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour gives Harry, Ron, and Hermione the contents of Dumbledore's will (well, sans the Sword of Godric Gryffindor) and presumably returns to the Ministry. It is Kingsley Shacklebolt's lynx Patronus that informs everyone at Bill and Fleur's wedding that Rufus was killed during Voldemort's coup.]]

** Rowling has stated that the phrase on the Snitch ("I open at the close") is one in regards to the books themselves. Specifically, ''Deathly Hallows'' takes place in the 1997–1998 academic year. In Britain, 1997 was the year that ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' was published. In America, ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' wasn't released until 1998. The book series opens in the real world during the years that the book series closes in the Wizarding World.

** "The Tale of the Three Brothers" proves crucial to the finding of the Deathly Hallows and an understanding of how to defeat Voldemort. But of course he's never read it because it's in a book of children's stories. This is Rowling's not-so-subtle TakeThat to all the publishers who rejected her draft of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', ''and'' all the critics who dismiss her work as ''"for children only"''.

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details...''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery. If Fletcher really was passing on intel, why would he have withheld that crucial component of the plan? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it still doesn't answer why the Death Eaters got locked out of the loop by their own mole. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]
** Continuing on from the last book, Ron and Hermione are the only other characters besides Harry who know about the Horcrux Hunt (though Lupin and others in the Order of the Phoenix have correctly guessed Dumbledore left secret orders for Harry to fullfil). Justified, as the Trio, like Dumbledore, recognize the necessity of operational security given the stakes. Their one secret tactical advantage is that Voldemort doesn't yet know his Horcuxes have been compromised (or that Dumbledore destroyed Morfin Gaunt's Ring). It's inevitable he'll figure it out eventually -- but if word leaks prematurely and Voldemort relocates the remaining Horcuxes before the Trio can find and destroy the {{Soul Jar}}s, they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.

* LoveHurts: [[spoiler:Snape with regards to Lily. He not only fails to save her, but then spends the remainder of his life trying to protect the son she had with the man he hated, despite the fact that he tried to keep him in detention for most of his school life. It probably didn't make things any easier that Harry looked exactly like James but with Lily's eyes.]] Ouch.
* LoveRedeems: Dumbledore tells Harry in the first book, "If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love". When Grindelwald lets Voldemort kill him, he says "Kill me, then. Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek. . . . There is so much you do not understand. . . . ". While he is talking about the Elder Wand and magic more broadly, he's also talking about love. His death is meant to represent his love for Dumbledore which ultimately makes him a more sympathetic villain than Voldemort who could never understand loving someone so much that he'd be willing to die for him, even after his own death. It could also be interpreted as Grindelwald trying to make amends in the only way he could for everything that happened between the two of them.

[[folder:Tropes M-R]]

* NearDeathExperience: [[spoiler:Harry is temporarily killed by Voldemort near the end of the book, and [[DeadPersonConversation speaks to Dumbledore]] in a place like King's Cross Station (it's apparently a way-station to the afterlife). Because Voldemort used Harry's blood to resurrect, though, Harry is given the option to live again rather than go on to the afterlife. He revives and then defeats Voldermort.]]

* NegateYourOwnSacrifice: [[spoiler: Harry has to die, since he himself is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort. He willingly goes to Voldemort to let him kill him and fully expected it to be a HeroicSacrifice. However, according to Dumbledore in Limbo, Harry's decision to let Voldemort kill him rather than keep fighting was what "made all the difference".]]
** It was a threefer: '''Firstly''', Voldemort's striking Harry with the Killing Curse destroyed the shard of his soul within Harry. '''But''', Lily's willing sacrifice for Harry meant that Voldemort could not harm him as long as her blood was present. [[spoiler: Voldemort using Harry's blood in his resurrection had the side-effect of anchoring Harry to life as long as Voldemort lives]]. '''Also''', because Harry [[spoiler:''willingly'' leaves Hogwarts and goes into the Forest to confront Voldemort, he essentially does the same thing his mother did, he protects everyone at Hogwarts from Voldemort with the same protective charm]].

** It's not entirely clear what the Muggle boys did to Arianna that left her traumatised for the rest of her life, though thanks to the symptoms she displays and her [[PapaBear father's reaction]], [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil there are theories]].

** Despite himself being in love with Hermione, Ron's pretty good at not ''she's'' in love with ''him''.

** Snape has one when [[spoiler: he realizes Voldemort is about to kill him]].
** Snape has an even bigger one when [[spoiler: he realizes Voldemort is planning to kill Lily after the former informed him of the prophecy he overheard]].

'''Ron:''' [[LampshadeHanging I thought you didn't approve of the spell?]]\\

** Speaking of Hermione, during the Battle of Hogwarts, she ''asks Harry to utilize his PsychicLink with Voldemort and look inside him and learn of his thoughts'', something that she always wanted Harry to avoid whenever possible right up to that point, to find out his location and get Ron to stick with the mission objective of destroying [[SoulJar Horcruxes]] [[spoiler:after Fred's death]].

* PictorialLetterSubstitution: There's reference to a letter Albus Dumbledore had written a long time previously, where the first letter of his first name was replaced with what we later find out to be the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.

[[folder:Tropes S-Z]]

** [[spoiler:Remus, and Tonks]] are killed off-page during the Battle of Hogwarts, and [[spoiler: Fred]] is killed ''on''page before that, making it clear that at this point, AnyoneCanDie. It only gets worse from there.

* SarcasmBlind: Elphias Doge, horrified by Aunt Muriel's insinuations toward the Dumbledore family (that Kendra Dumbledore had imprisoned her daughter, that she may well have been willing to murder her, etc.), attempts to rally by snarkily suggesting the terrible idea that Ariana was responsible for Kendra's death. Muriel takes it at face value and seamlessly transitions to musing over the possibility, to Doge's indignation.

** "The Prince's Tale" in particular is ''the'' biggest wham episode in the entire ''series''. To summarize:
*** [[spoiler: Snape knew Lily and Petunia when they were all children, Lily and Petunia had a falling out on Lily's first day of school (thus cementing Petunia's hatred of her sister and future nephew), Petunia had contacted Dumbledore previously and had knowledge about Hogwarts, Snape was in love with Lily and had pulled a HeelFaceTurn after her death, meaning he's been working with Dumbledore since the beginning of the series, Dumbledore had planned his own death in the last book and specifically asked Snape to kill him, Dumbledore reveals Harry is an unintended horcrux and must die to make Voldemort mortal, and the chapter ends with the reveal that Snape was the one who sent the silver doe and planted the Sword of Gryffindor earlier in the book. Oh yeah, and there's also the reveal that Lupin and Tonks were killed offscreen.]] Phew.

---> "The Ministry has fallen. [[spoiler:Scrimgeour]] is dead. They are coming."

** Earlier in the book, when Hermione is arguing with Xenophilius about whether the Deathly Hallows exist, Hermione points out that the only one with any real evidence for it is hardly special and has been replicated repeatedly. Then Xenophilius replies, totally unaware of the bombshell he is dropping on them: [[spoiler:"Ah, but the Third Hallow is a ''true'' Cloak of Invisibility, Miss Granger! I mean to say, it is not a travelling cloak imbued with a Disillusionment Charm, or carrying a Bedazzling Hex, or else woven from Demiguise hair, which will hide one initially but fade with the years until it turns opaque. We are talking about a cloak that really and truly renders the wearer completely invisible, and endures eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment, no matter what spells are cast at it. [[ItWasWithYouAllALong How many cloaks have you ever seen like that, Miss Granger?]]"]]

** Word of Rowling clarifies this as the reason Remus and Tonks died against Dolohov and Bellatrix. Months spent hiding due to the latter's pregnancy dulled their duelling skills, allowing their powerful enemies to triumph fatally.

** Hermione, Luna, and Ginny vs Bellatrix. Hermione was using Bellatrix's wand against her, meaning she was naturally at a disadvantage, subsequently allowing Bellatrix to match them all. Had it not been for said handicap, it can be safely assumed they would have won, though not without serious difficulty.

** A non-lethal version involves Harry merely knocking Umbridge unconscious with a spell.

* KansasCityShuffle: The point of the Seven Potters operation just in case the Death Eaters attack them en-route to the Burrow. Initially, it works as planned; despite having advance intel, the Death Eaters didn't know about the decoys and it upends their entire pursuit. More, one of the Decoys was specifically placed with Mad-Eye to draw Voldemort's attention just in case (as Voldemort would expect "Harry" would be traveling with the toughest and most dangerous Auror). This costs him valuable time as he chases the wrong target ([[spoiler:even if it gets Mad-Eye killed eventually)]]. The plan finally fals because Harry accidentally uses one of his signature spells in defense -- thereby outing himself as the real Harry.

** The Malfoys. Narcissa is the only one who evinces redeeming actions, while Draco and Lucius fight for Voldemort until the end, and Draco specifically stands with Voldemort in the final battle [[spoiler:trying to capture Harry in the Room of Requirement]]. They seemingly get off scot-free, though, to be fair, they seem confused by it.

* VillainsWantMercy: This is Voldemort's reaction after realizing that he was dying and desperately begged for anyone to save him, frantically screaming and begging for his life.

* BrickJoke: "[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo!]]"

** As Moody explains the escape plan from 4 Privet Drive, he addresses Fred, who proclaims to be George like he did way back in the first book to his mother. [[{{Understatement}} Moody tolerates it rather less than Molly]].

** The Battle of Hogwarts in particular is full of references to earlier events of the series: many characters make cameo appearances--such as painting knight Sir Cadogan and the ghosts of the Headless Hunt--lessons that the characters have had over their academic careers are alluded to such as Neville and Professor Sprout using mandrakes against the Death Eaters, and [[spoiler:Ron and Hermione sneak off to get basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to destroy the last remaining Horcruxes]].

* OnceMoreWithClarity: Snape's memories, especially in regards to his worst memory. Back in Book 5, [[spoiler:Harry initially believed it was his worst memory because of the immense amount of humiliation he suffered at the hands of the Marauders. With the new context of Snape's earlier memories, Harry (and thus, the reader) realizes the real reason why it's Snape's worst memory: it's the memory of the day Lily, the love of his life, ended their friendship, setting off a chain of events that led to Snape joining the Death Eaters and eventually causing Lily's death]].

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details...''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery. If Fletcher really was passing on intel, why would he have withheld that crucial component of the plan? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change the rest of the intel came from ''someone'' in the Order (with the added mystery of why the Death Eaters got locked out of the loop by their mole). [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the Seven Potters operation nearly goes disastrously astray, the Order fears they have another Snape in their midst and somebody else has turned traitor. Indeed, the prologue confirms in advance that Snape's intel on the Order's mission came from an inside source. Initially, the Order thinks it was Mundungus Fletcher, but grudgingly clear him due to major holes in the evidence (see LockedOutOfTheLoop).This sets up a minor mystery of not only who leaked the intel, but why they didn't inform the Death Eaters about the decoy Potters. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed there actually ''isn't'' a mole inside the Order -- or rather, it's a reverse-mole. It was actually Snape who fed operational details -- specifically the idea to use the decoy Potters -- to a bewitched Mundungus. Snape then used his 'inside source' to 'discover' the plan and report it to Voldemort both to give Harry a fighting chance and to ensure his own deep cover was preserved.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details...''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery; why would he have withheld that crucial intel? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change the rest of the intel came from ''someone'' in the Order. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the Seven Potters operation nearly goes disastrously astray, the Order fears they have another Snape in their midst and somebody else has turned traitor. Indeed, the prologue confirms in advance that Snape's intel on the Order's mission came from an inside source. Initially, the Order thinks it was Mundungus Fletcher, but grudgingly clear him due to major holes in the evidence (see LockedOutOfTheLoop).This sets up a minor mystery of who exactly leaked the intel to the Death Eaters. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed there actually ''isn't'' a mole inside the Order -- or rather, it's a reverse-mole. It was actually Snape who fed operational details -- specifically the idea to use the decoy Potters -- to a bewitched Mundungus. Snape then used his 'inside source' to 'discover' the plan and report it to Voldemort both to give Harry a fighting chance and to ensure his own deep cover was preserved.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan in advance and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details...''except'' for the decoy Potters; that visibly confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery; why would he have withheld that crucial intel? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher likely just panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change the rest of the intel came from ‘’someone’’ in the Order. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill points out, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details..''except'' for the decoy Potters; that confused them until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was Mundungus himself who suggested that bit of skullduggery; if he was really passing on information, why would he have withheld that crucial intel? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change the rest of the intel came from ‘’someone’’ in the Order. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill realizes on the way back to the Burrow, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details..''except'' for the decoy Potters. That confused them out of the gate and threw them into disarray until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was none other than Mundungus who suggested that bit of skullduggery in the first place. If Fletcher was really passing on information, why would he have withheld that crucial bit of intel? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher must have panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change that the rest of the inel came from ‘’someone’’ in the Order. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the disastrous Seven Potters operation, the Order of the Phoenix initially thinks Mundungus Fletcher is a mole (between the Death Eaters knowing their plan and Mundungus abandoning [[spoiler:Mad-Eye to his death]]). However, this trope is ironically what clears Mundungus of suspicion (not that the Order forgives him for deserting). As Bill realizes on the way back to the Burrow, the Death Eaters knew all their operational details..."except" for the decoy Potters. That confused them out of the gate and threw them into disarray until Harry accidentally outed himself. More, it was none other than Mundungus who suggested that bit of skullduggery in the first place. If Fletcher was really passing on information, why would he have withheld that crucial bit of intel? While everybody grudgingly agrees Fletcher must have panicked in the heat of battle, it doesn't change that the rest of the inel came from ‘’someone’’ in the Order. [[spoiler:Ironically, it's later revealed Mundungus ''himself'' was locked out of the loop, as it was Snape who used him as a reverse-mole and then wiped his memory.]]

** After the Seven Potters operation nearly goes disastrously astray, the Order fears they have another Snape in their midst and somebody else has turned traitor. Initially, they think it's Mundungus, but grudgingly clear him due to major holes in the evidence. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed there actually isn't a mole -- or rather, it's a reverse-mole. Snape fed operational details -- specifically the idea to use the decoy Potters -- to a bewitched Mundungus. Snape then used his 'source' to 'discover' the plan and report it to Voldemort both to give Harry a fighting chance and to ensure his own deep cover was preserved.]]

* BullyTurnedBuddy: Played with in the Epilogue [[spoiler:when Harry and Draco briefly interact at King's Cross Station. While the Trio and Draco have buried the hatchet and are at least cordial, they're also not really friends; too much damage was done during their years at Hogwarts.]]

* BloodMagic: [[spoiler: Because Voldemort used Harry's blood to rejuvenate himself back in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', he's kept Lily's protective charm on Harry alive with his new body. As long as that enchantment survives, Harry is protected from Voldemort. He anchors Harry to life as long as he lives. As a result, he can't kill Harry. This causes a NegateYourOwnSacrifice for Harry after he willingly lets Voldemort try to kill him because he is a [[SoulJar Horcrux]] for Voldemort]].

** It was a threefer: '''Firstly''', Voldemort's striking Harry with the Killing Curse destroyed the shard of his soul within Harry. '''But''', Lily's willing sacrifice for Harry meant that Voldemort could not harm him as long as her blood was present. [[spoiler: Voldemort's use of Harry's blood in his resurrection had the side-effect of anchoring Harry to life as long as Voldemort lives]]. '''Also''', because Harry [[spoiler:''willingly'' leaves Hogwarts and goes into the Forest to confront Voldemort, he essentially does the same thing his mother did, he protects ''everyone at Hogwarts'' from Voldemort with the same protective charm]].