History Literature / HarryPotterandTheDeathlyHallows

* 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. 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 kill him because he is a SoulJar for Voldemort]].

* 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''', Harry's willingly letting Voldemort strike him with the Killing Curse destroyed the shard of Voldemort's 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 lived]]. '''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 currently at Hogwarts'' with the same protective charm]].

** [[spoiler:Bellatrix's stubbourn insistence throughout the last two books that Snape was untrustworthy despite the Dark Lord clearing Severus? She was right.]]

* HotBlooded: [[spoiler:In the afterlife, Dumbledore cites this as why he made he made the Hallows Quest so difficult for Harry. Dumbledore was counting on Hermione to slow Harry down, worrying that an impulsive Harry would seek out and harness the Hallows before he could understand and respect their power. Dumbledore meant well, fearing Harry would make the same impulsive mistakes he had made years ago when he and Grindelwald sought them out.]]

** Both Lestrange and Riddle discount ThePowerOfLove to their cost.

** "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 pulled a HeelFaceTurn after Lily's death and has 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 do it, 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.]] Phew.

* OhCrap: Voldemort goes utterly ballistic when he learns that Harry and his friends broke into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts and stole the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, as it means that Harry knows about the Horcruxes and is actively hunting them, with intent to destroy them and make Voldy mortal again.

* WhamEpisode: Practically every chapter where a major character is killed off. Hell, every chapter from "Malfoy Manor" (the twenty-third out of thirty-six, not counting the epilogue) on.

* {{Irony}}: Neville, the other Child of the Original Prophecy that was said to be capable of standing against and fighting Voldemort, [[spoiler:is offered by the BigBad himself to join his side. Neville promptly refuses and is then insulted by Voldemort, and shortly after, he ends up killing Nagini, Voldemort's last Horcrux, rendering him mortal and helping to seal his fate once and for all]]. [[SelfFulfillingProphecy Good job helping Neville]] [[NiceJobFixingItVillain live up to his part of the Prophecy, Voldy!]]

* DirtyCoward: Mundungus Disapparates as soon as Voldemort confronts him during the chase, leaving Moody to die.

* 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.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: It's inevitable that Voldemort's eventually going to realize his Horcruxes have been compromised (and that more of them have been destroyed in the interim since the Diary in ''Chamber of Secrets''). The Trio knows this, which is why they're trying to keep their tactical advantage a secret as long as possible. [[spoiler: The jig's finally up after the Gringotts heist.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** 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 grudingly clear him due to major holes in the evidence. [[spoiler: 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.]]

** [[spoiler: Bellatrix's stubbourn insistence throughout the last two books that Snape was untrustworthy despite the Dark Lord clearing Severus? She was right.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: It's inevitible that Voldemort's eventually going to realize his Horcruxes have been compromised (and that more of them have been destroyed in the interim since the Diary in ''Chamber of Secrets''). The Trio knows this, which is why they're trying to keep their tactical advantage a secret as long as possible. [[spoiler: The jig's finally up after the Gringotts heist.]]

** 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 inevitible 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 SoulJars, they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.

* UnstoppableRage: Voldemort goes utterly ''batshit'' when he learns that Harry and his friends broke into Bellatrix's vault and stole the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, as it most certainly means that they know about his SoulJar ploy. He also fears that if Harry knew about that one, he might've known about (and even destroyed) the others.

** 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 inevitible 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 stragglers, they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.

* AllegianceAffirmation: [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Severus Snape]] pulls one of these during Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows, finally confirming where it is that his loyalties ultimately lie.

** It was a threefer: '''Firstly''', Harry's willingly letting Voldemort hit him with the Killing Curse destroyed the shard of Voldemort's 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 lived]]. '''Also''', when 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 currently at Hogwarts'' with the same counter-charm]].

** [[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 destroyed). As with the Order's example above, it's justified for 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).

** [[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 keep him alive even when the Horcrux was destroyed). As with the Order's example above, it's justified for operational security. Again, Dumbledore was 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).

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: 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 inevitible 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 stragglers, they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: 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). 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). If word leaks and Voldemort relocates the remaining ones before the Trio can find and destroy them, they're ''screwed''. The rest of the Order doesn't find out what the Trio's been doing until the climax.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: 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). 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). If word leaks and Voldemort relocates the remaining ones before the Trio can find and destroy them, they're ''scerwed''.