The Deathly Hallows is the seventh and final installment of the Harry Potter franchise (excluding Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) written by J. K. Rowling. It's a phenomenal conclusion to this epic saga and was published by Bloomsbury Publishing Company on July 21, 2007. The novel was released in over 93 countries worldwide and translated into more than 120 languages. Rowling finished writing the book in January of the year of release and has declared it to be her favorite book in the series. Additionally, Rowling stated that this conclusion to the thrilling series has long been anticipated, right from the start, putting an incredible end to an equally incredible series.
The main plot consists of Harry, Ron, and Hermione on a quest to destroy the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, aka "he who must not be named", by attempting to destroy the 7 pieces of his soul without his knowledge. He split his soul through methods of murder, which was further explained in The Half-Blood Prince. Continuing the search for Horcruxes first mentioned in the sixth Harry Potter book, the story presents an intriguing and exciting journey with higher stakes than ever that defies all odds. At the start of the seventh novel, only two Horcruxes had already been destroyed. The first was Tom Riddle's diary. This was destroyed by none other than Harry himself in the second novel, The Chamber of Secrets. The other was the resurrection stone, which was one of the deathly hallows.
At the end of the sixth novel, it was mysteriously revealed that Dumbledore had destroyed the stone, not to mention how or when he did so. Furthermore, the novel begins with the trio searching for the real locket once they discovered at the end of the previous book that the one retrieved by Dumbledore and Harry was a fake. The only clue they had to the owner of the real Horcrux was the initials RAB. The final book focuses on the battle between good and evil, which takes place in memorable settings, including the Gringotts bank and the beloved Hogwarts School. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to set off on a journey to hunt Horcruxes all across England, eventually leading to the exhilarating showdown at the end of the book. The final entry is definitely among Rowling's most ambitious, as many characters and storylines make their return and reach their conclusions. The storyline is so personal that it allows readers to form a real emotional connection with the characters. In the book, readers face a much darker tone than in previous entries, as well as a more mature set of characters.
The title "Deathly Hallows" has a central part to play, but also a mysterious, well-hidden one. The items commonly referred to as the deathly hallows are the set of mythical objects created by death itself in The Tale of the Three Brothers; the Elder wand, resurrection stone, and invisibility cloak. Hermione reads the story from her storybook given to her by Dumbledore in his will: The Tales of Beetle the Bard. They are very important, for they are very powerful. The Elder Wand was said to be the most powerful wand of all time. For this reason, Voldemort hunts for it excessively in an attempt to gain ultimate power. So, Harry has to hunt it down as well and try to find it before Voldemort does. Harry had the invisibility cloak since the first book of the series, and the resurrection stone was a Horcrux unexplainably destroyed by Dumbledore. All of these powerful magical items play an important part in Harry's final battle.
In the final battle, Harry ultimately kills Voldemort and saves Hogwarts. Harry breaks the Elder Wand, which now belongs to him since he killed its former owner. At the end of the story, Harry and Ginny get married and have a son, Albus Severus Potter. The closing scene, set 19 years after the final battle, is Albus and Rose, Hermione and Ron's daughter, getting on the train to Hogwarts. It is the start of a new era, with their kids going to Hogwarts just like them. The book ends with the line, "All was well.".
