Intro of new book

Plot

Leaving the Dursleys
As Harry Potter's protection at the Dursleys' home will expire when he turns 17, the Order of the Phoenix decide to move Harry and the Dursleys to separate safe locations. Before he leaves, Dudley uncharacteristically expresses his gratitude to Harry for saving him from the Dementors.[HP5] Order members arrive to escort Harry, but despite using six Harry-lookalike decoys, the real Harry is identified en route and ambushed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry and the others narrowly escape to The Burrow, although Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed, whereas George Weasley loses his right ear, due to Severus Snape's unintentional curse Sectumsempra.
A few days later, the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour arrives to give Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger bequests from Albus Dumbledore's will: Ron is given Dumbledore's Deluminator, Hermione receives a book of children's fairy tales, and Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's sword and the Snitch he caught in his first ever Quidditch match. The sword is withheld, however; Scrimgeour claims it is a historical artefact belonging to the Ministry.

Search for the Horcruxes
During Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception, Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus warns that "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." Death Eaters soon arrive. Harry, Ron and Hermione escape amid the chaos via Apparition and eventually take refuge at the deserted Black family home. While there, Harry notices that Sirius Black's late brother (and former Death Eater) Regulus has the same initials as the "R.A.B." who removed the locket Horcrux from the hidden sea cave.[HP6] Hermione recalls once seeing a locket at Grimmauld Place, and Harry sends Kreacher the House Elf to fetch Mundungus Fletcher, who admits he stole the locket and bribed Dolores Umbridge with it. Positive this is the Horcrux, they infiltrate the Ministry of Magic using Polyjuice Potion. They escape with the locket but are unable to destroy it.
When their hiding place at Grimmauld Place is discovered, the trio go on the run. After several months, they overhear that Gryffindor's sword has been secured in Bellatrix Lestrange's Gringotts' vault, although the Ministry is unaware it is a replica; the real sword can destroy Horcruxes, but its whereabouts is unknown. Harry wants to search for it, but Ron, fearing for his family's safety and frustrated that Harry has no real plan for finding either the sword or the Horcruxes, decides to leave. Harry and Hermione go to Godric's Hollow, hoping that Dumbledore hid the sword there. However, they are ambushed by Voldemort and his snake Nagini. During their escape, Hermione accidentally breaks Harry's wand.
One night, a doe-shaped Patronus appears near their camp and leads Harry to Gryffindor's real sword. As Harry tries to retrieve it from an icy pond, the locket Horcrux tightens around his neck, strangling him. Ron, who suddenly returns, aided by the Deluminator Dumbledore inherited him, rescues Harry and destroys the Horcrux with the sword. Ron tells them that Voldemort's name is 'tabooed': anyone uttering it reveals his or her location.

The Deathly Hallows
The trio go to Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna's father to ask him about a symbol they have encountered several times. He tells them it represents the Deathly Hallows, three legendary objects that conquer death: the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak. Harry is convinced that his Invisibility Cloak is one of the Hallows. Luna has been abducted by the Death Eaters, and Xenophilius hopes that she will be returned if he cooperates with them. He betrays the trio to the Ministry, but they are able to escape.
Snatchers capture the trio at their camp after Harry inadvertently speaks Voldemort's name. They are imprisoned at Malfoy Manor, along with Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Ollivander the wandmaker, and Griphook the goblin. Finding the sword among the trio's possessions, Bellatrix Lestrange suspects they have broken into her vault at Gringrotts and tortures Hermione for information. Dobby apparates into the cellar to rescue the prisoners, although the noise brings down Peter Pettigrew. Ron and Harry attack him and he tries to choke Harry. When Harry demands he repay his life debt,[HP3] Pettigrew loosens his grip, then is murdered by his own silver hand in retribution. Harry and Ron rush upstairs to rescue Hermione, and Harry captures Bellatrix and Draco's wands. The group escapes by apparating with Dobby to Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur Weasley's home, but Dobby has been fatally stabbed by Bellatrix.
While at the cottage, Ollivander confirms the Elder Wand's existence and says that wands can change their allegiance if the previous owners are defeated or disarmed. The trio plot with Griphook to infiltrate Gringotts, convinced another Horcrux is hidden in the Lestrange vault. Using Polyjuice potion and aided by Griphook, the trio gain entry into the Lestrange vault and retrieve Helga Hufflepuff's cup Horcrux; Griphook takes the sword, and the trio barely escape with the Cup. Voldemort now realises that his Horcruxes are being retrieved from their once-safe locations, and through his mental link with Harry, he unintentionally reveals that one is hidden at Hogwarts.

The Battle of Hogwarts
The trio arrive in Hogsmeade. Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' brother, helps them secretly enter Hogwarts. Harry alerts the staff to Voldemort's impending invasion. The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and former Hogwarts students arrive as Voldemort's forces attack; as the battle ensues, casualties mount, including Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Colin Creevey. Harry learns that Ravenclaw's Diadem is the Horcrux, and he remembers seeing it in the Room of Requirement. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve basilisk fangs; Hermione destroys Hufflepuff's Cup with one. In the Room of Requirement, the three are assaulted by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. But Crabbe mishandles the powerful Fiendfyre spell, killing himself and inadvertently destroying the Diadem.
Harry glimpses Voldemort's thoughts. The trio sneak into the Shrieking Shack where they overhear Voldemort telling Snape that he believes the Elder Wand fails to work for him because Snape became the Wand's master when he killed its former owner, Dumbledore.[HP6]. With Snape's death, the wand's allegiance will pass to him. Voldemort then orders Nagini to kill Snape and leaves. As Snape lies dying, he gives Harry his memories; they show Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore, motivated by his lifelong love for Lily Potter, Harry's mother. Dumbledore, doomed to die after being cursed by Gaunt's ring a Horcrux, had ordered Snape to kill him, if necessary, sparing Draco from fulfilling Voldemort's task. It was Snape who sent the doe Patronus to lead Harry to Gryffindor's sword. Unknown to Voldemort, Harry is also Horcrux, and he concludes that Voldemort cannot be killed while he (Harry) lives.
Resigned to his fate, Harry goes alone to the Forbidden Forest where Voldemort awaits. The Snitch opens to reveal the Resurrection Stone. Harry summons the spirits of his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, who provide comfort and help guide him to Voldemort's camp. He then willingly allows Voldemort to strike him with the Avada Kedavra curse. Awakening in an otherworldly place, Harry is uncertain whether he is alive or dead. Albus Dumbledore appears and explains that, just as Voldemort cannot die while his soul fragment remains in Harry, Harry cannot be killed while his blood lives in Voldemort's body. Dumbledore also says that Voldemort's soul fragment within Harry was destroyed by the killing curse. Dumbledore says Harry can choose to "move on" or return to the living world.
Harry revives, although he pretends to be dead and is carried to Hogwarts as a trophy by Voldemort's army. As the fighting breaks out again, Harry covers himself with the Invisibility Cloak. Neville pulls Gryffindor's sword from the Sorting Hat and beheads Nagini, destroying the final Horcrux. In the continuing battle, Molly Weasley fatally curses Bellatrix Lestrange after she attempted to kill Ginny. As Harry and the Dark Lord confront one another, Harry knows that Voldemort does not command the Elder Wand. When Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, Draco unknowingly won the Elder Wand's allegiance; when Harry later captured Draco's own wand, he became the Elder Wand's new master. Voldemort casts Avada Kedavra as Harry simultaneously conjures Expelliarmus, but protecting its master, the Elder Wand rebounds Voldemort's curse, killing him.
After the battle, Harry visits Dumbledore's portrait. He tells the professor that he will keep the Invisibility Cloak, but to prevent anyone from reuniting the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone will be left where it was dropped in the Forbidden Forest, and the Elder Wand is to be returned to Dumbledore's tomb. If Harry dies undefeated, the Elder Wand's power will be extinguished with his death. Dumbledore nods his approval. Before placing the Elder Wand into the tomb, Harry uses it to repair his own wand.

Epilogue
In the epilogue, set nineteen years later, Harry and Ginny Weasley have three children: James, Albus Severus and Lily. Ron and Hermione have two children named Rose and Hugo. The families are at King's Cross station, where a nervous Albus is departing for his first year at Hogwarts (it is mentioned that Lily will start in two years time). James is the eldest and already familiar with school. Harry's nineteen-year-old godson, Teddy Lupin, is found kissing Victoire Weasley (Bill and Fleur's daughter) in a train compartment. The children exclaim with delight their hope he will marry their cousin. Teddy is apparently very close to the Potters, with Harry (his godfather) remarking, "He already comes round for dinner about four times a week." Harry spots Draco Malfoy and his unnamed wife with their son Scorpius at the station; Malfoy acknowledges Harry with a curt nod, then turns away. Harry comforts Albus, who is worried he will be sorted into Slytherin, telling him that Severus Snape, one of the two Hogwarts headmasters whom he was named after, was a Slytherin and probably the bravest man he ever met. Neville Longbottom is now the Hogwarts Herbology professor and is close friends with Harry. The book concludes with the words: "His scar had not hurt in nineteen years. All was well."

Pre-release history

Choice of title
Shortly before the release of the title, J. K. Rowling announced that she had considered three different titles for the book.[5][6] The final title "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was released to the public on December 21, 2006 via a special Christmas-themed hangman puzzle on Rowling's website, confirmed shortly afterwards by the book's publishers.[7] The particular date has given rise to some interest, due to two prophecies included in Order of the Phoenix, that state "...at the solstice will come a new... and none will come after..."[8]
When asked "What does 'Deathly Hallows' mean?" J.K. Rowling responded, "Any clarification of the meaning of 'Hallows' would give away too much of the story – well, it would, wouldn't it? Being the title and all. So I'm afraid I'm not answering." She also declined to say what her other shortlisted title had been, at least until after publication. The phrase "Deathly Hallows" was trademarked under the name "Stone Connect (UK) Limited" on December 5, 2006, along with 5 other phrases.[9] It was later denied that any of the others had ever been contenders for the actual title.[10] The word "hallows" had already appeared in phrases registered by representatives of Warner Brothers before publication of Half-Blood Prince. "Hallows of Hogwarts" and "Hogwarts Hallows" were registered as trademarks by Seabottom Productions Ltd in 2003-2004, amongst a number of fake titles.[11][12] Asked during a live chat as to the other titles she had been considering, Rowling mentioned Harry Potter and the Elder Wand and Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest.[13]

Marketing campaigns
The launch was celebrated by an all night book signing and reading at the Natural History Museum in London which Rowling attended along with 1700 guests chosen by ballot.[14] Rowling intends to tour the USA in October, where another event will be held at Carnegie Hall in New York with tickets allocated by sweepstake.[15]
Scholastic Inc., the American publisher of the Harry Potter series, launched a multi-million dollar "THERE WILL SOON BE 7" marketing campaign with a 'Knight Bus' travelling to forty libraries across the United States, online fan discussions and competitions, collectible bookmarks, tattoos, and the staged release of seven Deathly Hallows questions most debated by fans.[16]
Scholastic also hosted "Harry Potter Place" - a magical and interactive street celebration at Scholastic headquarters in New York City, where the first U.S. signed edition of Deathly Hallows were unveiled on July 20.[17] The festivities included a 20 foot high Whomping Willow, face-painting, wand-making, fire-eaters, magicians, jugglers and stilt-walkers.
Several bookstores set up small kiosks displaying free-to-take bookmarks. The bookmarks show reasons why Severus Snape should be considered a friend or a foe on opposite sides along with the Deathly Hallows logo at the bottom.[18]
J. K. Rowling arranged with her publishers for a poster bearing the face of the missing Madeleine McCann to be made available to book sellers when Deathly Hallows was launched on 21 July and said that she hoped that the posters would be displayed prominently in shops all over the world.[19]

Rowling on finishing the book
Rowling has said that she had written the last chapter of the book "in something like 1990".[20] As of 1999, she revealed that the last word was to be "scar".[21] But she noted that she constantly rewrote; in the event "scar" appeared in the last line of text, but was not the last word. The final version of the book contains "scar" in the second-to-last sentence, the last being "All was well." Rowling finished the book in January 2007, and in a statement on her website, she said, "I've never felt such a mixture of extreme emotions in my life, never dreamed I could feel simultaneously heartbroken and euphoric." She compared her mixed feelings to those expressed by Charles Dickens in the preface of the 1850 edition of David Copperfield, "a two-years' imaginative task." "To which," she added, "I can only sigh, try seventeen years, Charles..." She ended her message, "Deathly Hallows is my favourite, and that is the most wonderful way to finish the series."[22]

Spoiler embargo
Rowling made a public request that anyone with advance information about the content of the last book should keep it to themselves, in order to avoid spoiling the experience for other readers.[23] To this end, Bloomsbury invested GB£10 million in an attempt to keep the book's contents secure until the July 21 release date.[24] Arthur Levine, U.S. editor of the Harry Potter series, denied distributing any copies of Deathly Hallows in advance for press review, but two U.S. papers published early reviews anyway.[25] [26]

Online leaks and early delivery

The title page of the leaked book.
In the week prior to its release, a number of texts purporting to be genuine leaks appeared in various forms. On July 16, a set of photographs representing all 759 pages of the U.S. edition was leaked to the Internet and was fully transcribed prior to the official release date.[27][28][29][30] The photographs later appeared on websites and peer-to-peer networks, leading Scholastic to seek a subpoena in order to identify one source.[31] This represented the most serious security breach in the Harry Potter series' history.[32]
Scholastic announced that approximately one ten-thousandth (0.01%) of the U.S. supply had been shipped early—interpreted to mean about 1200 copies.[33] Some of the early release books soon appeared on eBay.[34]

Price wars and other controversies
Asda,[35] plus several other UK supermarkets, had already taken pre-orders for the book at a heavily discounted price. Asda then sparked a further price war two days before the book's launch by announcing they would sell it for just GB£5.00 a copy (about US$10). Other retail chains also offered the book at discounted prices.[36] In Malaysia, a similar price war brought about controversy regarding sales of the book.[37] The book's early Saturday morning release in Israel was criticised for violating the Sabbath.[38]

Sales

Queue in London at Waterstone's near Picadilly Circus; some people camped outside the bookseller for over two days to be among the first to get the book
On 21 July 2007, all English language editions, except for the American and Canadian editions, were released at one minute past midnight (00:01) BST; the American and Canadian editions were released at one minute past midnight (00:01), local time.[39][40] It was released globally in 93 countries.[41] The book reached the top spot on both the Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble best-seller lists just a few hours after the date of publication was announced on 1 February 2007.[42] In July 2007 the U.K. newspaper the Daily Telegraph reported that it had been bought by more than 10% of the British population in the 5 days since its release.[43]
Retailers such as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders reported that more orders had been placed for this book than for any other in history,[44] with Amazon.com stating that advance orders of the book reached 2.2 million worldwide,[45] breaking the record set by the sixth book of 1.5 million.[46] Scholastic announced an unprecedented initial print run of 12 million copies.[16]

A bookstore in the United States just before the midnight release.
On the book's first day of sales, it sold 11 million copies in the UK and U.S., breaking the record of 9 million held by the sixth book.[47] In the U.S., 8.3 million hardcovers were sold during the first 24 hours, breaking the record of 6.9 million set by the sixth book.[48] In addition 400,000 copies were sold in Germany in the first 24 hours,[43] all 250,000 copies made available in Holland and Belgium,[43] 170,000 in India,[49] and just over 573,000 copies in Australia;[50] while in Canada over 800,000 copies were sold in the first two days.[51] Barnes & Noble, the largest U.S. book chain, reported all-time record sales of 1.8 million copies in the first two days including 560,000 in the first hour - a rate of more than 150 copies per second. The audiobook broke records as well, with 225,000 copies sold in the first two days, according to Random House Audio's Listening Library.[52] Borders reported record sales of 1.2 million copies on the first day, breaking the record of 850,000 set by the sixth book.[53]
During the run-up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bloomsbury's stock lost more than £151M in value. Investors were reacting to the end of the publisher's key product.[54] In the last financial year in which no Harry Potter book was released, Bloomsbury's profits dropped by 75%.

Critical reception
The Baltimore Sun's critic, Mary Carole McCauley's, praised the entire Harry Potter series as "a classic bildungsroman, or coming-of-age tale." She noted that "[b]ook seven... lacks much of the charm and humor that distinguished the earlier novels. Even the writing is more prosaic", but then observed that given the book's darker subject matter, "[h]ow could it be otherwise?"[55]
The New York Times's critic Michiko Kakutani wrote "The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal coexist...and people's lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world."[56]
Reviewer Alice Fordham from The Times writes that "Rowling’s genius is not just her total realisation of a fantasy world, but the quieter skill of creating characters that bounce off the page, real and flawed and brave and lovable." Fordham concludes, "We have been a long way together, and neither [Rowling] nor Harry let us down in the end."[57]
By contrast, Jenny Sawyer of the Christian Science Monitor says that while "There is much to love about the Harry Potter series, from its brilliantly realized magical world to its multilayered narrative," however, "A story is about someone who changes. And, puberty aside, Harry doesn't change much. As envisioned by Rowling, he walks the path of good so unwaveringly that his final victory over Voldemort feels, not just inevitable, but hollow."[58]

Rowling's commentary and supplement
In an interview[59] and online chat,[60][61][62] Rowling gave additional information on the futures of the main characters that she chose not to include in the epilogue of the book.
Harry had gone back to Hogwarts to complete his NEWT, and became an Auror, and is the head of the Aurors' department, under Kingsley's recommendation. He owns Sirius's bike, which Arthur Weasley fixed up for him. He is married to Ginny. Due to the destruction of the piece of Voldemort's soul that resided in him, Harry can no longer speak Parseltongue.
Ron worked for a time with George at their store, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and eventually became an Auror. He is married to Hermione.
Hermione began a career at the Ministry of Magic at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and greatly improved life for house-elves and their ilk, but later moved to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; she helped ensure the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws. She is married to Ron. She also found her parents and undid the memory modification she put upon them.
Luna Lovegood has become a naturalist of sorts, searching the world for odd and unique creatures. She eventually marries Rolf, the grandson of Newt Scamander.[61]
Ginny played for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team for a while and then left behind her athletic career for marriage and family with Harry. She eventually becomes the lead Quidditch correspondent for the Daily Prophet.
George names his first child Fred.
Slytherin had become more diluted, and is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers.
Voldemort's jinx on the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was broken with his death. The subject has a permanent new, unnamed teacher.
Firenze was welcomed back into the herd, as the rest of the herd was forced to acknowledge that Firenze’s pro-human leanings were not shameful, but honourable.
Kingsley permanently became Minister of Magic, with Percy working under him as a high official.
Azkaban no longer uses Dementors, as part of the changes introduced by Kingsley.
Umbridge was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned for crimes against Muggleborns.
The Quibbler has returned to its usual condition of "advanced lunacy", and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.