History TearJerker / HarryPotterandTheDeathlyHallows

* Colin Creevey, a sixth-year and somehow "tiny in death."

* The trailer for ''Part 2'' shows Lupin and Tonks reaching out for each other as spells flash around them.
** Several forums agreed that there was ''at least'' a 50/50 chance that they'd die before they actually touch.

** Even worse, before the battle, Fred and George are shown together for the last time, still maintaining their jovial and lighthearted natures. Of course, anyone who's read the books knows what's about to happen, which makes it incredibly sad.

* All of the Hogwartians raising their wands, sending bright lights out as [=McGonagall's=] statues are parading around them. Especially when you've read the books and you know that all their protections are going to be for naught anyway. The final moment before the battle of them all being united in protection, ready to defend their friends and the place they know and love. The epic music that accompanies this scene just screams "shit's about to go down, some of your favourite characters are about to die, and Hogwarts will never be the same."

* Special mention should be given to the death of Hedwig since the film version depicts it as being closer to a HeroicSacrifice. The owl had a chance to fly away and be free (possibly tricking some viewers who had read the book into thinking she'd be SparedByTheAdaptation), but she chose to remain by Harry's side and help him, only to be hit by the curse... suddenly go limp... and drop from the sky...
** And Harry's horrified LittleNo as he watches Hedwig fall[[note]]props to Creator/DanielRadcliffe there; he seriously sounds like someone just shot his pet[[/note]].

** Guess what; it still gets worse. During the scene where Harry reveals he's still alive, watch George during the reaction shot where everyone begins smiling and cheering. He turns to look over one shoulder and you can see him say "Fred," as if he was looking for his brother's reaction.

** Fred and George were together for everything, and after the battle is over, and everyone is cheering, George glances over at where Fred would be, seeking to share in the joy with him. It had become automatic. It doesn't immediately dawn on George that Fred is not with him and never will be again. It kind of makes you feel bad for everyone who's lost a twin.

** Bill bringing the news of [[KilledOffscreen Moody's death.]] To see a respected and powerful Auror meet his end so anti-climatically (without even leaving a body to bury, since he fell thousands of feet from the sky)... it's just cruel.

* Everything about Harry and Hermione's visit to Godric's Hollow. ''Everything''. Harry and Hermione visiting the graves of the former's parents, with Harry "wishing he were sleeping under the snow with them"; Harry seeing his childhood house with all the encouraging notes, and the statue commemorating the Potter family, all together.

** Worse, George wasn't there for some reason, meaning he found out about his twin's death either by seeing his corpse or, more likely since Percy and Harry hid it, someone telling him. First his ear got cut off, then his twin died... dude had a rough year.

** Snape's death gets even worse when you take into account that he died before Harry and Voldemort's final confrontation. Meaning he died without ever knowing if Dumbledore's plan succeeded, and never knowing if the man who had killed Lily Evans was taken down. Keep in mind, Snape knew Dumbledore's ultimate plan for Harry and what he needed to do. So in Snape's dying moments, he passed his memories along, knowing that he was essentially sending Lily's son, the last vestige of the woman he had loved, to his death.

* The scene that shows Tonks and Lupin's bodies, while Harry remembers that they had a son.

** The part in which Snape finds a letter from Lily to Sirius, and simply breaks down in tears.

** Petunia and Lily's falling out. Petunia lashes out at her sister and calls her a "freak", then gleefully keeps rubbing the point in when she sees how hurt Lily is from hearing that. Meanwhile, their parents are too distracted by everything to intervene despite Lily desperately turning to them, and the last we hear of Petunia is her spitefully yelling "freak!" at her sister before she storms back to their parents. When Snape meets up with Lily on the train a bit later, Lily is visibly in tears and heartbroken at the realization that her sister despises her. As horrible as Petunia is, it's heartbreaking to see them once having a great relationship as children, only for Petunia to get so consumed by jealously that she lashes out at her sister, and permanently severs the bond between the two by spelling out exactly what she thinks Lily is.

* When Harry is walking to his death, he half-wants someone to stop him and send him home, but he then considers that Hogwarts ''is'' his home and even identifies a little with both Snape, the person that's been unnecessarily cruel to him for years, and Voldemort, the ''person who is about to kill him''.

* Before his final defeat, Voldemort was intending to disband Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. "The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone," thus sayeth the Dark Lord. To see those three houses gone after nearly a millennium would be almost heartbreaking to any fan who was in that house if Voldemort got his way.

** When Luna tells Harry she should close Dobby's eyes, and how he's just barely able to nod in affirmation, clearly overcome with emotion and on the verge of crying.

** Then it's followed with the opening title accompanied by a soundtrack that sounds like "Sorry, it's going to end". And the next scene is Harry looking down at Dobby's grave.

* The dragon scene is really played up in the movie. First the dragon's expression as it looks up longingly at the far-off light in the ceiling, then when it finally gets there, it just sits and ''breathes'' that fresh air that it probably hadn't had in a long time.

** It gets even harder when you remember that Fred and George's actors are actual twin brothers. It can be difficult seeing a cast member you've known for several years play out their character's death scene. Now imagine seeing your own brother play it out.

** Snape casting his Patronus and it's revealed to be a doe, the same as Lily's Patronus. When he casts the Patronus Charm, he flourishes his wand in a way that we've never really seen Snape doing. It subtly shows how no matter cold and stoic Snape acts, he still has plenty of style in him.

** Which is most likely what she was going to say at the end of the chapter in the book.
*** What makes this more tragic is that for decades she resented her sister for being a witch when she couldn't be one, so she spent her life being obsessed with being ordinary and eventually abusing her sister's son. Finally, for the first time in years, she admits that she does love her sister for the first time in years and for the first and last time to her sister's son, where it's implied that she will never see him again. It's tragic to think that while all her actions are not excusable, she's finally admitting her love for her sister to the nephew she abused. Her affection for her sister did not stop her from resenting her or abusing her sister's son.

** Bill bringing the news of [[KilledOffscreen Moody's death.]] To see a respected and powerful Auror meet his end so anti-climatically, without even leaving a body to bury, since he fell thousands of feet from the sky.

* Bill bringing the news of [[KilledOffscreen Moody's death.]] To see a respected and powerful Auror meet his end so anti-climatically, without even leaving a body to bury, since he fell thousands of feet from the sky.

*** Of course, it's rather subverted in that whatever affection she had for her sister didn't stop her from abusing said sister's son.

** Creator/JimDale in the American audiobook release had to record two different takes of the closing seconds of the last disc (the part where he was actually reading the story and the part where he was reciting the "This has been..." spiel) because he was starting to get emotional as he read it. As he narrates the last couple of paragraphs, you can just ''hear'' him slow down, at first almost imperceptibly around the time he notes that Harry waved to his children, but the pace he reads the last paragraph was about half his usual tempo of reading, and then the last sentence...
-->''"The scar had not pained him in nineteen years. All... was... well."''

[[folder:From the book]]

** Arthur and Molly spend the entire night riding a carousel of fear, as not only Arthur, but four of their children, are involved in the mission and ensuing battle - with one child, George, suffering a serious injury.

* "Kreacher's Tale." Not just because of what happened to Kreacher and Regulus, but because of how Regulus's sacrifice affected Walburga Black. Horrible person though she was, it's heartbreaking to hear Kreacher talk about how she went mad with grief over never finding out what happened to her son, and Kreacher, as loyal as he was to her and as much as this must have been hard for him, could not tell her the truth because Regulus made him swear he won't.

** At one point Harry calls Kreacher out on the fact that by giving Narcissa and Bellatrix information to pass to Voldemort, Kreacher essentially betrayed Regulus's cause. Though Hermione defends Kreacher by saying that house-elves don't really think about things that way, it's likely that this was the first time he was faced with this viewpoint. It's easy to imagine Kreacher feeling a sense of MyGodWhatHaveIDone afterward.

** The CerebusRetcon of Albus's crooked nose, caused by Aberforth punching him during Ariana's funeral. Keep in mind that any non-curse physical injury can be healed with magic, meaning that Albus kept it into his advanced age as a reminder for his [[MyGreatestFailure greatest failure]].

* The scene where Lupin comes to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione in 12 Grimmauld Place and ends up ''arguing'' with Harry. The scene where Harry bad-mouths Sirius by accusing Lupin of "stepping into Sirius's shoes" hits particularly hard. And all of this happened because Lupin left Tonks. While she was pregnant. All of this because of his paranoia that his lycanthropy will be passed down to his son. And while he was harsh on Lupin, Harry was right about that.

** Harry angrily saying that parents shouldn't leave their children unless they have to, particularly because not only does Remus have to leave his son because he dies, but Tonks is also killed, leaving Teddy an orphan. Also, when Harry says this he's thinking about his parents, [[ParentalSubstitute Sirius and Dumbledore]], all of whom were taken from him.

** What really clinches Cadmus's fate is how excited and eager he was to see his fiancée again, being overjoyed at first. The slow realization that they could never actually be reunited and that, by doing this, he had forced her to suffer must have been torture for the poor guy.

** Now look at this whole matter from Percy's point of view: You know that you screwed up massively with your family, but you still decide to join the fight for what's right to at least undo some of the damage you did by your blind obedience and the first person who welcomes you back with open arms is the brother who you'll watch die merely hours later. Adding to that there is the fact that Percy was older than Fred and most certainly wanted to be a bit of the protector, since we can see him having the best interests of his family in mind in earlier books, but Percy fails to do this, as he survives while Fred dies right in front of him. Yeah...ouch!

** Just imagine how Andromeda Tonks mostly likely reacted after the dust settles. She lost her favourite cousin two years back and has recently lost her husband to Snatchers. Now, not only does her son-in-law die but so does her only daughter, who was murdered by her sister, who also dies.

** The chapter is a TearJerker for Petunia as well. Throughout the series, the readers have seen Harry's point of view as a wizard. Now we get a chance to see someone who desperately ''wanted'' to be in the Wizarding World, but never could be (and her sister ended up taking all their parents' affection as a result, twisting the knife even deeper). Petunia's hatred of magic was the only way she could deal with the heartbreak and jealousy of being TheUnfavourite.
** During "The Prince's Tale", Harry once again gets to view "Snape's Worst Memory" but this time, he keeps his distance. He's seen Lily and Snape's friendship start to strain, and realizes that this is where it ends. As much as Harry disliked Snape, he at least feels sorry for what he went through here.
--->''But Harry kept his distance this time, because he knew what happened after James had hoisted Severus into the air and taunted him; he knew what had been done and said, and it gave him no pleasure to hear it again... He watched as Lily joined the group and went to Snape's defence. Distantly he heard Snape shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word: "Mudblood."''
** In the same memory Snape argues with Lily about the actions of his school friends Mulciber and Avery, who we know later grew up to be Death Eaters. Though Snape defending them comes off as hypocritical, given that he condemns the actions of the Marauders who at least never used dark magic on other students, it's implied that they and other future Death Eaters were the only students other than Lily who he had a positive relationship with in his youth.

* Speaking of which, he may have been an AssholeVictim, but the reaction of Malfoy in both the book and movie are kind of heartbreaking. In the book, the first thing he says after making it out of the room is “Crabbe…Crabbe…” [[HesDeadJim After which Ron bluntly tells him he’s dead]]. In the movie, Draco watches in horror as Goyle plummets to his death, unable to do anything except climb.

** There are shades of Creator/AlanRickman in that pacing, too. A reminder that the last scene's events being possible were ''Snape's'' legacy also, not just the Golden Trio's.

[[folder:From the first film]]

* Seeing Harry go back into his closet for one final time as he prepares to leave it, and his childhood home, behind forever is a bit hard to watch. Especially if you have read the books and know that, for all the bad memories associated with it, it was the one place where he was completely safe from Voldemort's grasp to that point. The fact that, the last time the films visited that closet, Harry was an innocent ten-year-old boy with no clue of his origins and is now a young man who has seen acquaintances, close friends, and mentors die in front of him several times and is now poised for a showdown with the cause of most, if not all, of his suffering, only starting with his parents dying, being shipped off to the Dursleys', and forced to sleep in the closet in the first place.
* Special mention should be given to the death of Hedwig, since the film version depicts it as being closer to a HeroicSacrifice. The owl had a chance to fly away and be free (possibly tricking some viewers whom had read the book into thinking she'd be SparedByTheAdaptation), but chose to remain by Harry's side and help him, only to be hit by the curse... suddenly go limp... and drop from the sky...

* When Bill and Fleur's wedding is attacked by Death Eaters after they've taken over the Ministry, Ron and Hermione rush through the crowd to join each other while Harry sees Ginny defending herself from Death Eaters. As Harry runs to help and [[SayMyName calls out her name]], Lupin grabs him and yells at him to get out of there. He then pushes Harry to Hermione and she Apparates the Trio to London, leaving everyone else behind and Harry feeling guilty. Bear in mind that it'll be nine months before Harry sees Ginny and the rest of his friends and loved ones again...

** And then you see that actually was carving the word "Mudblood" into her arm with a knife. Holocaust parallel, anyone? And though that only happened in the movies, in the book Hermione said she was proud to be a "Mudblood."

[[folder:From the second film]]

* [=McGonagall=] attacking Snape, while an SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, is a bit depressing, considering she learns that her colleague and former student, someone she ''knew'' had a close friendship with the man she respected and had a ''devoted friendship'' with, had killed him. Hats off to Dame Creator/MaggieSmith, her face just ''screams'' "How could you do this to him?!", similar to Harry's freak out in ''Half-Blood Prince''.
** Snape's face when [=McGonagall=] starts to duel him. Not only does he know she is prepared to kill him and would very well be able to, he falters a bit as he raises his wand, like he's afraid of hurting her.

*** The scenes also bring to light the tragedy of Voldemort's obsession with avoiding death and ruling the Wizarding World. He came so single minded that he was willing to destroy Hogwarts - the first place he ever felt truly at home.

** Also, there's the FridgeHorror that, at some point, Snape would have to force himself to break away from the body that once held his only past genuine human connection to conceal any dark involvement (and ultimately join to Dumbledore's side for her sake) he had. Imagine that pain that could only be understated by inference.

** This line they added to his death scene, and the ''way'' he says it: no malice, no anger, not even any bitterness, just calm and accepting and a little sad. "You have your mother's eyes" — this is the only time that Snape has ever directly talked about Lily to Harry and acknowledged that he is also the son of the woman he loved as well as the man he hated. It's stunning how almost ''loving'' it sounded, almost as if he was talking to Lily herself. (Not...[[{{Squick}} not like that]]...) Both Creator/JimDale and Creator/StephenFry read the lines as sort of a strangled whisper, but Rickman's version is possibly even better. This is the moment when Snape finally comes to respect Harry. In the very last moments of his life, he gets over his shallow prejudices against James Potter's son and comes to terms with the fact that, although he resembles his father, Harry sees the world through the eyes of his mother. He accepts that Harry really ''is'' a good person.

** If you remember Harry's first potions lesson and Snape's introduction, the "foolish wand-waving" is suddenly not just something he resents as a strict teacher, but something that obviously reminds him of Lily.

*** And adding onto it, Harry and Ron share no last words, or pats on the back. The weary/sad/understanding look they share is all they need, combined with the SingleTear on Ron's cheek.

** Harry reaches out for Lily's hand for the first time of all the times he's seen her ghost... and he goes right through her. Made worse, because, in that moment, you realize Harry needs a hug from his mother more than anyone in the series ever has. He's walking to his death. Despite the fact that he is going to the forest to Voldemort casting ''Avada Kedavra'' on him, Voldemort will probably torture him or, worse, set Nagini on him. Just some sort of reassurance, some sort of touch, you can see on his face as he starts forward, stumbling, towards his mom. Though at the very least, he's able to actually SEE his parents again and TALK TO THEM for the first time in so many years! Having that much closure in of itself is already a great comfort which no doubt helped him as he walks to his death, sacrificing all.

** For bonus points, it's the only time we see Voldemort show any emotion other than pure rage or sadism. Once he senses that Nagini has been killed, all we can see in his eyes is pure, unfiltered terror. Added with that bone-chilling scream, it's unsettling watching a once very powerful monster reduced to nothing but ash and tears.

* Speaking of which, he may have been an AssholeVictim, but the reaction of Malfoy in both the book and movie are kind of heartbreaking. In the book, the first thing he says after making it out of the room is “Crabbe…Crabbe…” [[HesDeadJim After which Ron tells him he’s dead]]. In the movie, Draco watches in horror as Goyle plummets to his death, unable to do anything except climb.