The Battle of Hogwarts

• Type: The final and most decisive battle of the Second Wizarding War.
• Location: Hogwarts Castle, its grounds, and the village of Hogsmeade.
• Owner/Residents: The battle was contested by two primary factions:
  • Hogwarts defenders: Students and staff of Hogwarts, the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and their allies.
  • Invaders: Lord Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters, Snatchers, and allied Dark creatures.
• Key Features: Large-scale magical warfare, destruction of Hogwarts Castle, collapse of Voldemort's forces, and the end of the war.

The Battle of Hogwarts took place on 2 May 1998, and was the climactic confrontation between Lord Voldemort and those who stood against him, led by Harry Potter. Prelude and Preparations The battle began when Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger returned to Hogwarts in search of a Horcrux, later identified as Ravenclaw's lost diadem. Their arrival in Hogsmeade alerted Lord Voldemort to their location, and he summoned his army to attack the school. Under the command of Professor McGonagall, the school was prepared for a siege. Underage students were evacuated through the Hog's Head Inn, while students of age were given the choice to stay and fight. Members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army were alerted and arrived to bolster the castle's defenses. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn, and Molly Weasley led the effort to cast powerful defensive enchantments over the castle. The First Phase of the Battle Lord Voldemort's army, consisting of Death Eaters, giants, Acromantulas, and Dementors, launched their assault. The protective enchantments were breached, and fighting erupted throughout the castle and grounds. During this phase:

• Percy Weasley returned to fight alongside his family, reconciling with them in the process.
• Fred Weasley was killed in an explosion outside the Room of Requirement.
• Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed in combat.
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Room of Requirement, where they were ambushed by Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Crabbe unleashed a cursed Fiendfyre which went out of his control, destroying the room, the diadem Horcrux, and killing himself.
• Harry witnessed the death of Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack at the hands of Lord Voldemort and Nagini. Voldemort believed this would grant him mastery of the Elder Wand. Before dying, Snape gave Harry his memories.

The Truce and Aftermath After the initial assault, Lord Voldemort called a one-hour ceasefire. He broadcasted a message to the castle's defenders, demanding that Harry Potter surrender himself in the Forbidden Forest in exchange for the safety of everyone else. During the truce, the defenders gathered their dead and wounded in the Great Hall. Harry, after viewing Snape's memories and understanding he himself was an unintentional Horcrux, resolved to sacrifice himself. He walked into the Forbidden Forest, where he was struck down by Voldemort with the Killing Curse. The Final Confrontation Harry awoke in a limbo-like state at a spectral King's Cross Station, where he conversed with the spirit of Albus Dumbledore. He learned that Voldemort's Killing Curse had destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul within him, but he was tethered to life by Voldemort's use of his blood. Harry chose to return to his body. Narcissa Malfoy, tasked with checking if Harry was dead, lied to Lord Voldemort to save her son, Draco Malfoy. Voldemort and his army marched back to the castle with Harry's seemingly lifeless body. The battle resumed when Neville Longbottom defied Voldemort, pulling the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and decapitating Nagini, destroying the final Horcrux. The battle moved into the Great Hall. Molly Weasley killed Bellatrix Lestrange in a duel after Lestrange tried to attack Ginny Weasley. Harry Potter revealed he was alive and confronted Lord Voldemort. Harry explained that Voldemort was not the true master of the Elder Wand; Harry was, having won its allegiance from Draco Malfoy. When Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at Harry, and Harry cast his own Disarming Charm, the Elder Wand refused to kill its true master and its spell rebounded, killing Lord Voldemort for good.

The Battle of Hogwarts serves as the climax of the entire Harry Potter series. It is the culmination of the Second Wizarding War and the lifelong conflict between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. The battle's outcome determined the fate of the Wizarding World. Its conclusion brought an end to Voldemort's reign of terror, destroyed all of his Horcruxes, and restored peace. In the aftermath, Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed the new Minister for Magic, and the Ministry of Magic was purged of corruption.

• The Great Hall: Served as a command post, a makeshift hospital for the wounded, and a temporary morgue. It was the site of the final duel between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.
• The Room of Requirement: The location where Harry located the Diadem of Ravenclaw. It was destroyed by Fiendfyre during a confrontation with Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle.
• Hogwarts Grounds: The primary battlefield for the initial assault, featuring duels, giant attacks, and the charge of the Acromantulas.
• The Forbidden Forest: The location where Harry willingly went to sacrifice himself to Lord Voldemort. It was also where the Centaurs, led by Bane, finally joined the battle against the Death Eaters.
• The Shrieking Shack: The site where Lord Voldemort murdered Severus Snape.
• Entrance Hall: The scene of numerous duels, including McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kingsley Shacklebolt dueling Lord Voldemort himself just before Harry's final reveal.
• Ravenclaw Tower: Where Harry confronted Alecto Carrow and Luna Lovegood stunned her, and where Amycus Carrow was disarmed by Harry and tortured by Professor McGonagall.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the location of Severus Snape's death is moved from the Shrieking Shack to the Boathouse. (film)
• The final duel between Harry and Voldemort is significantly different in the film, taking place in the courtyard and involving the two flying around the castle while locked in a magical struggle, rather than dueling in a circle of onlookers in the Great Hall. (film)
• J.K. Rowling has stated that she always intended for Molly Weasley to be the one to kill Bellatrix Lestrange, to show the power of a mother's love and contrast it with Bellatrix's obsessive devotion. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• The death of Colin Creevey, who snuck back into the castle to fight despite being underage, was meant to be particularly tragic and highlight the cost of war on the innocent.