‘Harry Potter’: The end of the film saga, explained

Do you know the ending of ‘Harry Potter’? What happened to the boy who survived? Who took over the leadership of Hogwarts after what happened in JK Rowling’s latest novel? Is there hope for the wizarding world after the Second Wizarding War?

The epic saga of novels, which would later be adapted to the big screen, has become a benchmark for an entire generation, and one of the essential sagas of cinema. Witches and wizards (or aspiring to be) have faithfully followed each and every one of the premieres that brought their favorite fictional characters to life. But, how does it all end? If you have recently seen the movies for the first time, or if you are a muggle a little clueless that needs a memory refresher, we have the solution! At FOTOGRAMAS we like to break things down, especially the best endings in the history of cinema. Those that have juice. They say that a few words are enough for a good listener, but why fool ourselves, a good explanation doesn’t hurt anyone.

Let’s briefly go back to the events leading up to the end of the story (we won’t be taking into account the later published stage play, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, we’ll just focus on the movies). Following the resurgence of the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, his army of Death Eaters is wreaking havoc in the wizarding world. The forces of evil have taken over the Ministry of Magic and the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogwarts. Of the latter, Severus Snape, the former Potions teacher and briefly Defense Against the Dark Arts (and one of the key characters in the Harry Potter saga), has risen as director.

Harry, Ron and Hermione have embarked on a journey in search of the horcruxes, (pieces of Voldemort’s soul that are protected in different unknown objects). Having made several, (after numerous attacks, anger, fights against snakes and a visit to the Malfoy mansion), they will go to Hogwarts to get one of the remaining ones, the Ravenclaw diadem, and destroy it along with the Hufflepuff Cup. , which they have stolen from Bellatrix Lestrange’s Gringotts vault.

Here we come to the final battle of the saga, whose eight films are among the best fantasy films in cinema history. In it, both sides will fight for life or death. Stop sobbing over that beautiful Harry Potter reunion on HBO Max and join us in the unraveling of the story..

Many horcruxes are left to finish off Lord Voldemort, and how are they destroyed?

At this time, there are still 4 left horcruxes to destroy.

The Hufflepuff Cup is destroyed in The Chamber of Secrets. Ron and Hermione go there to get a basilisk fang, whose remains rest since Harry killed him in the second film. Thanks to the monster’s poison, the Horcruxes they can be destroyed. Here another of the great moments of the saga arises, and Ron and Hermione merge into a passionate kiss after ending the piece of Voldemort’s soul.

The Ravenclaw headband it is destroyed by the three friends after unearthing it from the Room of Requirement, now converted into a giant lost and found loft. “If you have to ask, you’ll never know. If you know, you just have to ask.“It’s the premise that the Gray Lady gives Harry to get there.

Nagini, the snake. It is the last to be destroyed. However, we explain it now because the horcrux of Harry will have its own section later. The person responsible for ending it will be Neville Longbottomto whom it appears Griffindor’s sword (the only thing capable of ending the horcruxes, in addition to basilisk venom). Just as the creature is about to finish off Ron and Hermione, Neville heroically surges through the snake.

Speaking of iconic elements of each house… have you ever wondered what your Hogwarts house would be in Harry Potter?

Does Harry die in the forest after Voldemort’s attack? Does he really meet Dumbledore? How does Voldemort die?

To understand the end of horcrux What we need to explain we need to locate ourselves in a specific moment of the Battle of Hogwarts. After a first attack by Voldemort’s forces, the Dark Lord orders his followers to stand down and sends a message to Harry to meet him in the Forbidden Forest, in order to “end” the war. struggle. His intentions will really be to finish off Harry and then all those who do not submit to his authority.

Harry agrees and goes to meet him. In the path, manages to open the Golden Snitch that Dumbledore left him in his will, and inside it discovers the Resurrection Stone, one of the deathly hallows. She meets his loved ones, and is on her way to his own end. Voldemort casts the death spell on him (remember the Harry Potter spells you need to know), and Harry collapses.

Next, a heavenly vision begins. Potter stands in King’s Cross, London’s railway station, painted a pristine white, and before him, Dumbledore, dressed in a white cloak. under a bench, a monstrous creature writhes in pain. This is the last Horcruxwhich Voldermort accidentally created the night he tried to kill Harry, and has just destroyed by attacking him again.

“Is all this real? Or is it just going on in my head?asks Harry confused. Dumbledore, witty as always, replies: “Of course it’s going on in your head, Harry. But why would that mean it’s not real?“.

After this, Harry is resurrected again, although he pretends to be still dead (with the help of Narcissa Malfoy). Finally, when the Death Eaters arrive with his “corpse” at the school, he reveals the truth and begins the final battle, in which once and for all, in a face-to-face duel, he ends up with the Dark Lord. Harry employs a “Expelliarmus“, one of the ‘Harry Potter’ spells you should know about, which bounces Voldemort’s ‘Abada Kedrava’ back at himself.

Who was Severus Snape really?

The usual “antagonist” within the castle that Harry had to recurrently deal with (besides Draco Malfoy) was the imposing Professor Severus Snape. Throughout the different films, we see how with his dry, distant and, on numerous occasions, unpleasant character, he reproaches Potter’s attitudes and is against his “fame” and behavior. Nevertheless, when the Dark Lord assassinates him on the pier, Harry approaches him in his last moments and recovers his memories to take them to the pensieve.

There we discover that Snape was really an old childhood friend of Lily, Harry’s mother, and that he was in love with her. After being mistreated by James and his friends, he distanced himself from the group. He joined Voldemort’s forces, but when he discovered that his lord intended to kill the Potters, he returned to Dumbledore and began working as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.

Since then he has secretly protected Harry, despite the bitter feeling he produced. The patronus that Harry sees in Part 1 of ‘The Deathly Hallows’ is sent by him to protect and watch over the friends.

Who dies in the Battle of Hogwarts?

When the bloody battle is finally over, you can see how big an impact it has really had and the many lives he has taken behind him, both on one side and on the other.

In addition to the end of Tom Riddle, (Lord Voldemort), the most notable are:

Colin Creevey also dies in the novel, whom we met in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’, as the young amateur photographer who admires Harry and who is petrified.

Does Harry become ‘The Lord of Death’?

As we find out after the battle, Harry is the true owner of the Elder Wand. This is because, Draco had disarmed Dumbledore at the end of the sixth film, so the old headmaster’s wand began to obey him. During the kidnapping at Malfoy Manor that the friends suffered in the seventh tape, Harry disarms Draco, becoming the rightful owner of the Elder Wand..

At that moment, without knowing it, he would be the possessor of the three deathly hallows: The Cloak of Invisibility (a fundamental element of the saga, which he receives in the first film), the Elder Wand, and the Resurrection Stone (inside the snitch).

This won’t be the case after he throws the rock in the woods and breaks the wand at the end of the last movie.. The two most dangerous relics are thus left off the map, and the only one that had defended the younger brother of the Peverells from death, will continue on its way.

What happens to Hogwarts? Who stays in charge?

In the movies it is not specified about this in a very concrete way. However, JK Rowling did confirm it in the epilogue of her latest novel. After the disaster occurred, she names herself as director to Minerva McGonagall, which is responsible for managing the repair of the castle, and reorganizing the teaching staff. One of the new additions (and one that makes us especially excited) is that of Neville Longbottom as Professor of Herbology.

Finally: 19 years later…

We are not referring to the cast members (their change in these two decades we have already shown in this list of 50 actors and actresses of ‘Harry Potter’, the before and now), but to the characters. The end of the saga takes us 19 years after the final battle of Hogwarts. In what would be considered contemporary reality (at least at the time of the books’ publication). Here we see our three protagonists as adults, taking their children to Platform 9 and 3/4.

Harry has become an Auror, and has 3 children with Ginny Weasley: James Sirius, Albus Severus and Lily Luna. At this moment, we see how Albus Severus (played by the actor who originally played baby Harry in the first film) is preparing to begin his studies at Hogwarts.

On your side, Ron and Hermione are also married and have two children.:Rose and Hugo. Hermione would achieve a great position in the Ministry of Magicbeing the Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron also temporarily became an auror, but he eventually joined his brother George in the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes business. As JK Rowling commented.

Draco Malfoy left the dark path and ended up marrying Astoria Greengrass. They had a son named Scorpius Malfoy. They are the only ones apart from the three protagonists that we get to see in the last scene of the film.

All the ‘Harry Potter’ movies are available on streaming on HBO Max.