Battle of the Astronomy Tower
Location Information
- Type: Battle; Infiltration and Assassination
- Location: Astronomy Tower and surrounding corridors, Hogwarts Castle
- Date: 30 June, 1997
- Outcome: Decisive Death Eater victory.
- Albus Dumbledore assassinated.
- Hogwarts Castle successfully infiltrated for the first time in the Second Wizarding War.
- Severus Snape's true allegiance seemingly confirmed as being with Lord Voldemort.
Description and History
The Battle of the Astronomy Tower was the culmination of a year-long mission assigned to Draco Malfoy by Lord Voldemort: to kill Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Throughout his sixth year, Draco worked to repair a Vanishing Cabinet located in the Room of Requirement, which was linked to a twin cabinet in Borgin and Burkes. This created a secret passage for Death Eaters to enter the supposedly impenetrable castle. On the evening of the battle, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter returned to Hogwarts after retrieving what they believed to be one of Voldemort's Horcruxes from the Crystal Cave. The journey and the act of drinking the Emerald Potion had left Dumbledore severely weakened. They arrived via Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and flew to the top of the Astronomy Tower, the highest point of the castle. They were drawn there by the appearance of the Dark Mark, which had been cast over the tower by the Death Eater Gibbon to lure Dumbledore into a trap. Aware of the impending danger and just moments before Draco Malfoy's arrival, Dumbledore used a non-verbal Petrificus Totalus to immobilise Harry Potter, who was hidden beneath his Invisibility Cloak. This was done to protect Harry and ensure he would not interfere.
Role in the Story
The battle marked a major turning point in the Second Wizarding War, signifying the end of Hogwarts as a safe haven and resulting in the death of one of the wizarding world's most powerful figures. The conflict occurred in two primary locations: the confrontation on the tower itself and the fighting in the corridors below.
- The Confrontation on the Tower
- A pale and determined Draco Malfoy confronted the weakened Dumbledore and successfully disarmed him, an act that unknowingly made Draco the master of the Elder Wand.
- Dumbledore, despite his condition, remained calm and engaged Draco in conversation, attempting to persuade him to abandon his mission and accept the Order of the Phoenix's protection.
- Draco hesitated, and was soon joined by other Death Eaters who had ascended the tower: Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, and Thorfinn Rowle. They goaded Draco to fulfill his task.
- Severus Snape was the last to arrive on the scene. After a quiet plea from Dumbledore—“Severus… please…”—Snape cast the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, at the Headmaster.
- Dumbledore's body was thrown from the battlements, and the spell immobilising Harry was broken upon his death.
- The Battle in the Corridors
- While the events on the tower unfolded, a fierce battle erupted in the castle below. Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood of Dumbledore's Army had been patrolling the corridors. They were joined by Order of the Phoenix members Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Bill Weasley.
- They engaged the invading Death Eaters in a chaotic fight filled with jinxes and curses. During the skirmish, Bill Weasley was brutally savaged by Fenrir Greyback, leaving him permanently scarred.
- The Death Eater Gibbon, who had cast the Dark Mark, was killed by a stray Killing Curse cast by fellow Death Eater Thorfinn Rowle.
- The Escape and Aftermath
- Following Dumbledore's murder, Snape led Draco and the other Death Eaters in their escape from the castle.
- A grief-stricken Harry Potter pursued them, attempting to cast spells like the Cruciatus Curse on Snape, but Snape effortlessly repelled all of his attacks.
- During the pursuit, Snape mockingly corrected Harry's spellcasting and revealed that he was the creator of the spells Harry had learned from the Advanced Potion-Making textbook, declaring, “I am the Half-Blood Prince.”
- As they fled across the grounds, Thorfinn Rowle set Rubeus Hagrid's hut on fire. The Death Eaters, with Snape, successfully disapparated once they passed the Hogwarts boundary.
- Harry returned to find students and staff gathered around Dumbledore's body at the foot of the tower. The event concluded with Dumbledore's funeral days later and Harry's decision to not return to Hogwarts for his seventh year, instead dedicating himself to destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes.
Participants and Casualties
- Invading Force (Death Eaters)
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- Harry Potter (immobilised for the primary confrontation)
- Casualties and Significant Injuries
- Injured: Bill Weasley (mauled by Fenrir Greyback, resulting in permanent scarring and lycanthropic contamination).
Behind the Scenes
In the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the battle is portrayed differently. The fighting in the corridors between the D.A. and the Death Eaters is entirely omitted. Instead, Bellatrix Lestrange is shown to be a more central figure in the invasion, casting the Dark Mark herself, destroying the Great Hall's windows, and leading the charge to set Hagrid's hut ablaze. The film also adds an attack on The Burrow by Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback during the Christmas holidays, which does not happen in the book at all and is a separate event from the Battle of the Astronomy Tower (film).
