Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
d. David Yates, 130 minutes

Film Plot Summary

The film continued with the concluding scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010). Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), an evil wizard and the leader of the Death Eaters, stole the Elder Wand from Albus Dumbledore's (Michael Gambon) opened tomb. He sent a lightning bolt up into the sky with the wand.

At Hogwarts School surrounded by airborne Dementors, blank-faced and pale Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), the former Potions and Defence Against the Arts Professor, was now Headmaster of the dark and dismal wizardry school. Students were marched in groups through the Entrance Courtyard.

At Shell Cottage, magical house elf Dobby's body had been buried on the beach after being hit by Bellatrix Lestrange's knife aimed at Harry (in the previous installment of the film). Following the elf's funeral, a smooth white rock was engraved with his epitaph: "Here Lies Dobby, A Free Elf." Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) sat at Dobby's grave site looking into a shard of Sirius Black's (Gary Oldman) two-way mirror. In the cottage (which functioned as an Order of the Phoenix safe house), Harry spoke to rescued goblin Griphook (Warwick Davis), an ex-employee at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, requesting his assistance to break into the bank because of his knowledge of the underground rail-system. Harry suspected that there was a Horcrux (another piece of Voldemort's soul) inside Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, and he wished to destroy it: "Let's find it and kill it, we're one step closer to killing him." (Snape had also put a fake sword of Gryffindor in her vault.) As part of the deal, Griphook would assist the trio of Harry, Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint), in exchange for the true sword of Gryffindor.

At the cottage, Harry also questioned rescued Diagon Alley wandmaker and seller Garrick Ollivander (John Hurt), who provided information about the two wands that Harry had stolen from Malfoy Manor (in the previous film) and were now in his possession:

• the "unyielding" wand of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter)
• the wand of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) - Harry was told an important fact - "It's allegiance has changed" now that Harry had won it

Ollivander also explained how there were three Deathly Hallows (being searched for by Lord Voldemort, altogether making one "the Master of Death"):

• the Elder Wand
• the Cloak of Invisibility ("to hide you from your enemies")
• the Resurrection Stone ("to bring back loved ones from the dead")

Ollivander warned that since Voldemort already had the Elder Wand in his possession, he was afraid that Harry didn't stand a chance. Hermione had in her possession one of Bellatrix's hairs, which she used to impersonate her, with a spell. Ron was also disguised as a long-haired wizard with a full beard. The group apparated to Diagon Alley, where Harry and Griphook (under the Invisibility Cloak), along with the disguised Ron and Hermione, approached Gringotts. Inside the bank, when Hermione's impersonation of Bellatrix appeared to be failing, Ron was compelled to use the Imperius curse on elderly goblin bank clerk Bogrod (John Key) to obey commands and gain entrance into the vault area.

In an exciting, action sequence, Griphook and the trio rode underground railtracks to the vault. Alarms screeched and they were dropped from the transport when their "Enhancement" disguises were washed away by The Thief's Downfall. Hermione saved them from being smashed on rocks with the slowing Arresto momentum spell. To get into the vault area, they had to bypass the Ukranian Ironbelly, a roaring, dragon-like creature, using noisemakers produced by Griphook. Harry sensed the location of Voldemort's Horcrux inside Bellatrix's vault - the Horcrux was Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, a small golden cup earlier stolen by Tom Riddle and made into a Horcrux. The group unwittingly set off a Geminio curse - everything that they touched duplicated itself into many useless copies (that also duplicated) to hide the original. When Harry snatched the cup with the Gryffindor Sword, Griphook betrayed them and escaped with the sword ("I said I'd get you in. I didn't say anything about getting you out"). The trio was almost drowned by multiplying gold cups. As Griphook fled, he alerted security to the "thieves," while Bogrod was incinerated by the dragon's fiery breath.

Surrounded by guards, Hermione proposed that the trio jump onto the back of the dragon. She released the creature from its chains with a Relashio command, and the group hung on as the freed creature climbed out of the underground cavern, and sent several goblins to their deaths on a derailed track car. After crashing through the domed roof of the bank, the dragon flew off and saved them. They dropped off the dragon's back into a lake. At the same time, Harry experienced a troubling vision of the vengeful Lord Voldemort furiously retaliating for the theft of another Horcrux. He told his companions that he saw the Hogwarts Castle and Rowena Ravenclaw (a clever witch and one of the founders of Hogwarts) in his vision - somehow, she was connected to one of the Horcruxes located there. The plan was to get to Hogwarts (to destroy the next Horcrux), but first they would apparate to snowy Hogsmeade, a small town northwest of the school. From there at Honeydukes, they would take the secret passage in the cellar. Harry further sensed that Voldemort was disconnected and possibly wounded after each Horcrux was destroyed: "If anything, he feels more dangerous."

Evidence of Voldemort's killing rampage was seen in the next sequence. With bloody feet and with his snake Nagini slithering next to him, Voldemort walked within Malfoy Manor amongst the dead, including Griphook and other Gringotts' employees and workers. Voldemort told his followers (speaking in parseltongue), including disgraced Death Eater Lucius Malfoy (Jason Isaacs), his wife Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory), and their son Draco, about the threat of Harry: "The boy has discovered our secret, Nagini. It makes us vulnerable. We must deploy all our forces now to find him." Their plan was to invade Hogwarts to protect another hidden Horcrux.

After they appeared in Hogsmeade, the trio immediately set off Caterwauling alarms deployed by expectant Death Eaters. They were almost detected, but then rescued from capture by elderly bearded Aberforth Dumbledore (Ciaran Hinds), Albus' younger brother, who ushered them into the basement of his Hog's Head Inn. After being reprimanded for coming to the village, Harry figured out that it was Aberforth who had been eyeing him through the two-way mirror shard, and the one who had sent now-deceased elf Dobby to rescue them at the Malfoy Manor (in the previous film). He had now rescued them a second time. Harry asked about the full-sized two-way mirror hanging on the wall above the fireplace - it was a picture of Aberforth's deceased sister Ariana (Hebe Beardsall). (Aberforth had purchased Sirius' mirror from Mundungus Fletcher.)

Aberforth had given up and was discouraged by Voldemort's victories - he advised the resistance fighters to end their hopeless "suicide mission," go home and save themselves. But Harry insisted they must get into Hogwarts, as murdered trustworthy Albus had urged them. Ariana was instructed to summon Harry's previous student friend Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), now a resistance leader and Hogwarts' new Herbology teacher. When Neville returned with Ariana - within the framed picture, the wall opened and revealed a secret passageway behind the portrait - the only one left that led to Hogwarts. On their way, a bruised and beaten Neville described how Snape's changed school had been taken over by cruel Death Eaters and Dementors, and by an ominous pair of Death Eaters named Carrows ("Brother and sister, in charge of discipline"): Amycus Carrow (Ralph Ineson) and Alecto Carrow (Suzanne Toase).

A small group of resistance students had been hiding out and living in the school's Room of Requirement - they greeted Harry and his friends with applause. Harry announced his plan to find an unknown, hidden object in the castle to defeat You-Know-Who. When he mentioned it had something to do with Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) suggested it was Rowena Ravenclaw's lost Diadem, or tiara-like crown. Harry's girlfriend and Ron's sister Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), told everyone that Snape was aware of Harry's presence in Hogsmeade, and called for all the students to meet in the Great Hall. Snape threatened students or staff with immediate punishment for those who would attempt to aid Harry Potter or withhold information about him. Harry stepped forward from hiding within the assembled students, and was joined by members of Dumbledore's resistance army (DA) (members of the Order of the Phoenix). He rebuked Snape for standing where Headmaster Dumbledore once stood. He challenged Snape to explain how he had betrayed and killed Dumbledore. Snape reached for his wand to kill Harry, but the boy was defended by Gryffindor House head Professor Minerva McGonagall (Maggie Smith) with her dueling wand. Deflected wand curses struck and knocked out the Carrow siblings behind Snape, who fled by crashing through the window behind him as he apparated away. McGonagall called him a "Coward!" as the students cheered.

A few girls screamed uncontrollably when Voldemort's amplified voice warned the students about foolishly taking up Harry's fight against him. He whispered loudly:

"Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have one hour."

Convinced Slytherin House student Pansy Parkinson (Scarlett Byrne) yelled for others to grab Harry, but he was protectively and reassuredly surrounded by Dumbledore's Army members. McGonagall ordered Hogwarts caretaker Argus Filch (David Bradley) (with his cat Mrs. Norris in his arms) to escort Slytherin students to the dungeons. Preparations were made for battle, by securing the castle and providing Harry with time to locate and destroy the Horcrux. With the Piertotum Locomotor spell, McGonagall brought Hogwarts' armored knight statues to animated life to help defend and protect the castle's boundaries. Three others cast more spells to create a strong shield around the castle:

• Charms master and head of Ravenclaw House Filius Flitwick (Matthew Davis)
• Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), head of Slytherin House
• Molly Weasley (Julie Walters), with 'good witch' powers, the mother of Ginny and Ron and twins Fred and George

Voldemort, meanwhile, was summoning his dark and evil forces outside the castle, to begin combat. Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) and wizard Kingsley Shacklebolt (George Harris), both members of the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the two Weasley twins Fred and George (James and Oliver Phelps) arrived to aid McGonagall and defend one side of the castle.

Ron and Hermione went off to find a basilisk fang, while Harry rushed on to the Ravenclaw common room to start his search. Luna forcefully insisted to Harry, because no one alive had ever seen the Diadem, that he had to first speak to someone dead - Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald), Rowena's daughter. Helena's shy ghost, the Grey Lady and the Ravenclaw House ghost, was summoned from below. She screamed at him that lying Tom Riddle (Voldemort in disguise) performed defiling "dark magic" on her mother's Diadem. Harry promised to destroy it if he knew its location - she reluctantly revealed that it was now hidden in the Room of Requirement ("in the castle, in the place where everything is hidden").

At the Chamber of Secrets where they had gone to acquire a basilisk fang, Ron and Hermione were able to enter by Ron's mimicking of Harry's parseltongue language (he had acquired the tongue while Harry talked in his sleep). They acquired a basilisk fang from the skeletal remains. Ron asked that Hermione stab the fang into the Horcrux - Helga Hufflepuff's Cup - to destroy it. When she did so, both Voldemort and Harry reacted, and a drenching whirlpool tidal wave erupted beneath them. As the waters quickly receded, they grabbed each other for a passionate kiss - and then chuckled.

Death Eaters, Dementors, Giants, Acromantulas, and Snatchers led by Scabior (Nick Moran) were attacking the school, although they were temporarily prevented from entering by the school's protective disintegrating shield, the statues, and the power of the assembled Order members. With his Elder Wand, Voldemort cast a powerful spell which caused the shield to lose its potency and dissolve, although his wand cracked along its length from the pressure. As some of Voldemort's forces chased Neville along the Covered Bridge leading to the school, he caused the bridge to collapse and kill them while just barely saving himself ("That went well").

On his way to the Room of Requirement, Harry briefly stopped to kiss Ginny, realizing that he might be dead by dawn. She told him, "I know," hinting that she knew that he loved her - without saying it. Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and two Slytherin buddies Gregory Goyle (Josh Herdman) - son of a Death Eater, and Blaise Zabini (Louis Cordice) also headed after Harry. At the moment that he sensed and located the Diadem in a wooden box, he was confronted by Draco's group, who demanded his wand back and explained that his mother's substitute wand didn't understand him. Harry asked why Draco hadn't identified him to Bellatrix earlier at Malfoy Manor. Suddenly, Hermione and Ron appeared - she cast an Expelliarmus spell at them, as Goyle retaliated with a killing Avada Kedavra, which she countered with a Stupefy spell. The Diadem was sent sailing into a towering pile of furniture, which Harry scrambled to retrieve. Ron was furious at Goyle for lethally cursing his girlfriend and ran after Goyle. But then Ron returned screaming a danger warning to his friends as the inexperienced Goyle cast an out-of-control Fiendfyre curse - causing a blazing inferno in the form of fiery creatures (a dragon, chimera, and serpent). The trio desperately ran for their lives, as Goyle lost his life after falling into the engulfing flames.

Eventually, the trio were able to mount broomsticks which they flew to sail over the flames and escape. But when Harry realized that Malfoy and Blaise would burn to death, he decided to fly back and save them ("We can't leave them"), to Ron's begrudging consternation ("If we die for them, Harry, I'm gonna kill you!"). Once they all returned to the entrance, Harry stabbed the Diadem with another basilisk fang from Hermione, and Ron kicked it back into the burning Room of Requirement, just as the Fiendfyre reached the door and formed itself into three Voldemort heads. As before, Voldemort panted and groaned when he felt the destruction of the Diadem, and Harry also sensed the effects. Voldemort took out his frustration on Ministry of Magic official Pius Thicknesse (Guy Henry) with an Avada Kedavra killing curse, and then told Nagini: "I need to keep you safe." Visionary Harry told his friends that the last Horcrux was Voldemort's snake Nagini. Harry saw the snake in the Boathouse, where Voldemort was speaking to ally Lucius Malfoy, and foreseeing that Harry "will come to me." The Dark Lord assured him that he must not give up the fight against Harry, and ordered him to "go and find Severus. Bring him to me."

After their adventure in the Room of Requirement, the trio raced through the besieged and ruined castle, blasting attacking Death Eaters and other Dark monsters along the way. They were shocked to see werewolf Snatcher Fenrir Greyback (Dave Legeno) bloodily cannibalizing fallen Gryffindor student Lavender Brown's (Jessie Cave) neck - Hermione used her wand to create a blasting curse and send him hurtling through a window. When dozens of Dementors surged over the devastated castle, Aberforth Dumbledore created a shielding Patronus Charm to repel them. The three ran toward the school's Boathouse where Snape was already speaking with Voldemort. They overheard a discussion about the Elder Wand, which Snape claimed was Voldemort's to command ("It answers to you and you only"). Voldemort thought otherwise - that the Elder Wand wasn't serving him ("Where does its true loyalty lie?"), and that he wasn't "its true master." He claimed: "The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner" - and because Snape had killed Headmaster Dumbledore earlier, the Elder Wand served only Snape. Although Snape had been "a good and faithful servant," Voldemort wished to have total control of the Elder Wand and he stated: "Only I can live forever."

Voldemort violently slashed at Snape's throat with a Sectumsempra curse, and then ordered Nagini to kill him. After the snake struck four or five times, Snape was mortally wounded and Voldemort fled the scene. Before he died, Snape asked Harry to take his tears (his memories), captured in a glass flask, to the Pensieve. He looked at Harry one last time before dying: "You have your mother's eyes." As they were about to leave, Voldemort's amplified voice spoke to his forces: "You have fought valiantly but in vain...Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat." He asked for all combatants to dispose of their dead with dignity during an armistice. Then he spoke to Harry, taunting him with a challenge to fight him directly: "Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this, I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me." They found that the Great Hall in the crumbled Hogwarts was being used as a medical treatment facility, and many had died fighting for Harry. Ron's brother, twin Fred Weasley had perished and others were mourned and grieved over, including Remus Lupin and his wife Nymphadora Tonks (Natalia Tena).

Harry retreated to the Headmaster's office to use the Pensieve, a stone basin with a detached shallow metal dish, to examine Snape's memories. After pouring in Snape's tears, Harry lowered his face into the dish and had numerous past virtual-reality experiences:

• a redhead (Harry's magic-endowed mother Lily (Ellie Darcey-Alden)) and a brunette girl (Harry's aunt Petunia Dursley (Ariella Paradise)) were playing in a meadow
• a young Severus Snape (Benedict Clarke) was seen to have a crush on friend Lily
• as Hogwarts students, Lily became a Gryffindor House member, where she met Harry's future father James Potter (Alfie McIlwain) and his best friend Sirius Black (Rohan Gotobed), while jealous and disappointed Snape was sorted into the Slytherin House; a bullied Snape despised the lazy and arrogant James
• Snape became a young adult Death Eater, in league with Voldemort; he secretly spoke to Albus Dumbledore about his knowledge of a prophecy, to help try and protect Lily whom he loved (and therefore Harry); in exchange, Snape agreed to "anything" - including defection from the Death Eaters
• Snape was not aware that Voldemort would come after Harry's parents James and Lily (Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somerville) - and their baby Harry
• Wormtail (Timothy Spall) betrayed the location of the Potters to Voldemort
• Voldemort murdered Harry's parents at Godric's Hollow, but was unable to eliminate Harry with the Killing Avada Kedavra curse - the baby Harry suffered a scar on his forehead
• Snape was devastated and told Dumbledore: "You said you would keep her safe"; Dumbledore set up a bargain with Snape - Snape would protect Harry every day from Voldemort's return, in exchange for Dumbledore never revealing Snape's hidden strong feelings for Lily ("No one can know")
• Snape appeared to personally despise Harry during his student years at Hogwarts, constantly reminded of how James had arrogantly bullied him; at the same time, Snape admired Dumbledore as a friend and mentor, and at one point temporarily saved Dumbledore's life from a curse in Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, although the delayed curse would take effect a year later
• Dumbledore told Snape that he knew about Draco Malfoy's orders to kill him (in the sixth film); to gain Voldemort's trust, Dumbledore's death at Snape's hand was planned between them ("You must be the one to kill me, Severus. It is the only way")
• Snape was reluctant to tell Harry about everything - he was supposed to tell Harry what he knew when all the Horcruxes had been destroyed, and when Voldemort was most vulnerable
• Harry had accidentally become one of Voldemort's Horcruxs when Voldemort had originally tried (and failed) to kill him as a baby - when the curse had rebounded off of Lily onto Harry, a piece of Voldemort's living soul had broken off of him and latched onto Harry ("A part of Voldemort lives inside him")
• therefore, Harry had to die "at the proper moment" - and "Voldemort himself must do it" - destroying the part of Voldemort's soul within Harry would be a further step toward killing Voldemort

Stunned by the revelations, Harry told Ron and Hermione that he was voluntarily going to the Forbidden Forest, without them. He reminded them that their job was to kill Nagini, the sole remaining Horcrux, before tearfully leaving. On his way, he removed the Golden Snitch from his pocket, when an inscription appeared: "I Open at the Close." He responded: "I'm ready to die." After he touched it to his lips, the Snitch opened and revealed its meaning - inside was the Resurrection Stone. As Harry grasped it, his deceased parents, Remus, and godfather Sirius were called back to life, to emotionally support him - in his heart. His mother reinforced: "You've been so brave, sweetheart." He asked Sirius: "Does it hurt? Dying?" and was assured: "Quicker than falling asleep." His father added: "You're nearly there, son." Proceeding onwards to the forest, Harry dropped the Resurrection Stone at his feet.

He came upon Voldemort and the Death Eaters (and Bellatrix Lestrange) awaiting his arrival ("The Boy Who Lived"), with captured prisoner Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane). Voldemort muttered "Come to die" as he raised his Elder Wand at Harry, who stood still with his eyes closed as he was blasted with the Killing Avada Kedavra curse.

After a blinding white flash, Harry (without his glasses or injuries) awoke in a "cleaner" version of King's Cross station (without trains) - in a state of limbo. He looked under a seat and saw a stunted, bloodied, fetal-like, dying skeletal creature resembling Voldemort. The voice of former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore told him: "You can't help." Dumbledore then appeared and explained that it was "a part of Voldemort sent here to die." The part of Voldemort that lived within Harry, a Horcrux (the small bloodied creature), had just been destroyed by Voldemort himself. Harry was given the choice to either go back and confront Voldemort, or continue to the afterlife. Harry chose to return to the forest, but felt helpless against Voldemort's Elder Wand, although Dumbledore advised: "Help will always be given at Hogwarts, Harry, to those who ask for it," amended to: "Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it." Harry noted it was curious that his mother Lily's and Snape's Patronus (a doe) were matches. Dumbledore walked off and vanished.

Harry returned to the forest, but faked being dead to mislead Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. Narcissa Malfoy whispered to the downed Harry, asking if her son Draco was alive, to which Harry nodded affirmatively. She then told everyone that Harry was dead. Hagrid carried his apparently lifeless body in his arms back to Hogwarts castle, where a triumphant and gloating Voldemort announced his victory ("Harry Potter is dead"), and kept Harry's disbelieving, heartbroken supporters at bay with his wand. He continued:

"From this day forth, you put your faith in me. Harry Potter is dead. (laughter) And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die."

Lucius and Narcissa successfully urged their son Draco to join Voldemort's forces. Neville boldly stepped forward and declared to the taunting Lord:

"We lost Harry tonight. But he's still with us, in here. So's Fred, and Remus. Tonks. All of them. They didn't die in vain. But you will. Because you're wrong. Harry's heart did beat for us. For all of us. This is not over."

He drew the Sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat (found earlier in rubble) that he was carrying. At that instant, Harry rolled out of Hagrid's arms - to everyone's surprise and relief. Voldemort was shocked and furious by the new revelation, and hurled more killing curses at him. Harry fled with the others into the castle (and ordered: "We have to kill the snake"), while the disillusioned followers of Voldemort began to desert him. Many Death Eaters Disapparated, while the entire Malfoy family retreated and gave up the fight. Only a few Death Eaters remained for one last stand against Hogwarts.

The second battle for Hogwarts commenced. One of Voldemort's wand-blasts hurled Neville backwards into the air before he could pass off the Sword to Harry. Voldemort and Harry engaged in a one-on-one duel with their wands (the Elder Wand vs. Harry's wand that he had taken from Draco), while Ron and Hermione pursued Nagini, the last Horcrux. More fighting broke out in the Great Hall, where angered Molly Weasley ("Not my daughter, you bitch") defended her daughter Ginny against a murderous assault from sadistic and cackling Bellatrix. Molly hurled a succession of four curses at Bellatrix, followed by one that struck her in the chest - it froze her in mid-air. She gasped and then was obliterated and disintegrated to death with one more final blow that caused her to explode into pieces.

Meanwhile on Hogwarts' rooftop, embattled Harry was able to tell Voldemort about his mostly-powerless Elder Wand. [Note: He hinted that Draco had temporarily become the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore just before his murder. And then Harry, in turn, won the wand's allegiance when he took Draco's wand.]:

"You were right when you told Professor Snape that wand was failing you. It will always fail you...what if the wand never belonged to Snape? What if its allegiance was always to someone else?"

As Harry grabbed Voldemort by the neck, he hurled both of them from the top, forcing his adversary to chaotically Apparate both of them during a wrestling free-fall to the ground. The two combatants crashed into the Entrance Courtyard - each without their wands. They retrieved them and continued fighting - to another stalemate. In another part of the castle, Neville retrieved the Sword of Gryffindor and used it to decapitate Nagini, who was taking a lethal lunge at both Ron and Hermione in the atrium. With the last Horcrux now destroyed, the now-vulnerable Voldemort dropped to his knees. Harry countered Voldemort's last Killing curse with a Disarming Charm. The Elder Wand refused to kill its true master - it flew from the Dark Lord's hands and landed in Harry's grasp. The spell rebounded on Voldemort, engulfed him, and disintegrated him into nothingness. He was finally gone.

To his two long-time friends on the Viaduct Bridge, Harry explained the reasons that the Elder Wand ("the most powerful wand in the world") was ineffective for Voldemort:

• "It answered to somebody else."
• "When he (Voldemort) killed Snape, he thought the wand would become his. But the thing is, the wand never belonged to Snape."
• "It was Draco who disarmed Dumbledore that night in the astronomy tower. From that moment on, the wand answered to him."
• "Until the other night when I disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor...It's mine."

Harry snapped the Elder Wand in two, realizing that it was very troublesome. He tossed the two pieces over the edge of the Bridge. The trio stood quietly, hand in hand, looking into the distance.

In the film's epilogue, 19 years later, the trio had grown up:

• Harry Potter was married to Ginny, with three children: Albus Severus Potter, James Sirius Potter II, and Lily Luna Potter
• Ron Weasley was married to Hermione, with two children: Rose Weasley, and Hugo Weasley

At the train station, on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the Potters were bidding Albus and James farewell before they were off to school on the Hogwarts Express, while the Weasleys were saying goodbye to Rose. (Also present was a married Draco, with his departing son Scorpius Malfoy.) Albus nervously asked Harry: "What if I am put in Slytherin?" Harry answered by explaining the origin of his son's name: "You were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin (Snape) and he was the bravest man I've ever known." If Albus were to be made a Slytherin, Harry reassured him: "Then Slytherin House will have gained a wonderful young wizard." However, he could choose Gryffindor if he wanted ("The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account"). They watched their children depart, and waved goodbye.

Film Notables (Awards, Facts, etc.)

This was the eighth film in the long-running series-franchise. It was based upon J.K. Rowling's seventh and final Harry Potter book, which was split into two films. David Yates also directed the previous film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010). Both films told of Harry's search for and destruction of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes (Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, the one inside Harry himself, and snake Nagini), and the battle between forces of good and evil, culminating in a cataclysmic double showdown.

Part 2 was the only Harry Potter film to be released entirely in 3-D.

The film received only three Academy Awards nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup.

Key Scenes: The action sequence (in a cave-car) as the trio snuck into goblin-owned Gringotts Wizardry Bank to break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault; the battle for Hogwarts; the fiery scene in the Room of Requirement; the dramatic death of Professor Snape by snake Nagini (allowing Voldemort to acquire ownership of the Elder Wand that Snape had used to reluctantly kill Dumbledore); Harry's death scene (and revival), the second battle for Hogwarts, and the ultimate defeat of Voldemort.

As expected, the film broke major box-office records, including:

• global debut opening weekend (worldwide) earnings ($483.2 million)
• highest grossing fantasy live action film ($381 million)
• the highest three-day opening weekend (domestic) earnings ($169.1 million)
• biggest opening weekend 3-day 3-D film ($169.1 million) and the widest 3-D launch at 4,375+ locations
• biggest opening weekend 3-day IMAX film ($169.1 million)
• highest opening (single) day's gross (domestic) earnings ($91 million, which included the midnight grosses)

It also took third place in the race for the all-time top-grossing (worldwide) film of all-time (at $1.33 million), and was the highest grossing (domestic) film of 2011. However, it suffered a franchise-worst 72% drop in its second weekend, although it was still destined to be one of the top-grossing films of all-time. It was also tied with Avatar (2009) for taking only 19 days to reach $1 billion (worldwide).

Of all eight Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011) finally surpassed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) as the single, # 1 highest (domestic) grossing film of the franchise at $381 million.