Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re discussing 10 things you may have missed from the Deathly Hallows BOOK.
I’ve already done a video on this for the FILM version, so if you haven’t seen that,
then go and have a look afterwards.
The Deathly Hallows is perhaps the darkest entry in the entire Harry Potter series.
Filled with war and death, the book follows the final moments of Harry Potter’s quest
to destroy the horcruxes that Voldemort hid around Britain.
With so much lore, and so many intertwining stories, it’s easy to overlook some of the
smaller interesting facts and tidbits that fill its pages.
So today, we’re going to take a deep dive into the final chapter of Harry Potter’s
life at Hogwarts, and rediscover some of the things you might have missed.
10.
The Book Dedication
It’s not uncommon for authors to dedicate their book to someone, but most of the time
these dedications are glazed over by the majority of book-readers.
This is because these dedications aren’t significant to us.
They’re also usually positioned towards the very beginning or very end of a book.
Near the beginning they’re an obstacle, and near the end they’re an afterthought.
And for those of you who don’t tend to linger on the table of contents pages or dedication
pages, you may have missed JK Rowling’s FINAL book dedication, which she happened
to position in to the shape of a lightning bolt.
This is of course a reference to Harry’s scar and one final symbolic thank-you to Harry.
9.
The only book without a Quidditch Match
For most of Harry Potter’s life, he didn’t have much to be proud of.
Under the care of the Dursleys, he was constantly mocked and belittled.
The few achievements he managed to earn were often dismissed, or downplayed.
So realizing his full potential, as a stunning wizarding athlete, was one of the most empowering
aspects of Harry’s life.
His early victories as a Quidditch seeker, and the hard work he channeled into his practice,
was one way that Harry recovered from his abusive life in the muggle world.
And with the war against Voldemort in the Deathly Hallows at a peak, it’s easy to
forget that there was once more to life than fighting against Dark Wizards.
So, you might have actually not realized that the game of Quidditch… one of the most important
aspects of Harry Potter’s life… was never even played in the Deathly Hallows.
8.
Snape, Harry and Voldemort’s Deaths
The ancient history of the Deathly Hallows is, deliberately, a mystery lost to the ages.
Although the myth of the Peverell Brothers seems to be mostly true..
There are many among the wizarding world who dismiss it as pure fantasy and fairy tales.
But when we take a second look at the story of the ill-fated siblings, we’ll find that
their deaths were eerily similar to the ones that Severus Snape, Tom Riddle, and Harry
Potter shared in the final book.
When it comes to the Peverell Brothers, each of the three boys died in a unique way, befitting
the type of gift they originally received from death.
The one obsessed with power, died when a thief tried to steal his Elder Wand.
The brother who sought the means to resurrect the ones he loved, died because he couldn't’
get over the death of his true love.
And the final Peverell, the one who simply asked for an invisibility cloak, so that he
could hide from death, had the most peaceful death of all.
If we compare the Peverells' deaths with Snape, Potter, and Voldemort… we can see that Voldemort
died in his quest for power.
Harry Potter died in peace, just like the Peverell brother who first possessed the cloak.
And Severus Snape’s death, as heroic as it might have been, was all due to the love
he still bore for Lily Potter.
He loved her so much that he would risk his life for her son.
7.
Harry jinxes himself
At one point in the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley ended up discussing
Ginny.
The conversation might not have seemed like anything special at the time, but by the end
of the Deathly Hallows, a comment that Potter made in gest actually came true.
In their conversation, Harry quickly remarked that his relationship with Ginny wasn’t
that serious… and he wasn’t going to marry her… or anything crazy like that.
But, as we all know, Potter actually did go on to marry Ginny.
Perhaps, at that moment, he jinxed himself.
Or, more likely, J.K.
Rowling smartly knew that this bit of back and forth between Harry and Ron could be used
to foreshadow the Chosen One’s future.
6.
Potty mouths
As Lord Voldemort’s power grew, the wizarding world seemed to grow progressively dimmer,
darker, and more complex.
The brighter times of Harry’s early years at Hogwarts were increasingly foggier and
foggier.
By the time of the Deathly Hallows, Harry, and the world around him, had matured to the
point where death was a real consequence that children faced… and war against dark wizards
was a tragic, but true, reality.
So, the language of Harry’s friends, and mentors, naturally changed as well.
Adults and students were no longer forced to stick to polite etiquette.
And often, when the circumstances weighed the Order of the Phoenix down, you could hear
many of them use abrasive curse words when talking about the opposition.
5.
Was Snape a secret-keeper?
Albus Dumbledore was the secret keeper for the Order of the Phoenix’s secret headquarters.
And when Severus Snape murdered him in the battle for the Astronomy Tower, the knowledge
of the Phoenix’s location passed down to those that survived him.
This, naturally, must have meant that Snape himself acquired the knowledge as well.
Which makes us wonder..
Did Snape ever reveal that address to Voldemort?
4.
Harry heals himself Harry Potter was no slouch when it came to
magic.
He was an impressive duelist, defeating far more experienced dark wizards in open combat.
And even without the aid of Severus Snape’s old school book, Harry would become quite
an expert with potions.
But for all of Harry’s abilities, he struggled with healing spells.
He famously relied on his friends, and the caretakers at Hogwarts, to deal with his most
grievous injuries.
But during the events of the Deathly Hallows, Harry displayed a unique skill…
using magic to close a cut.
Perhaps, with the war growing ever more dangerous, Harry brushed up on his healing magic.
Or, perhaps, this is just a tiny inconsistency.
3.
The 7 Potters was kind of useless
If you’ve read the Deathly Hallows, then you’ll remember how Harry Potter was successfully
escorted from the home of the Dursleys.
In order to avoid his demise at the hands of the Death Eaters, the Order of the Phoenix
decided to disguise themselves as Harry, and hope the Death Eaters on their trail chose
the wrong one.
But if you took a moment to think about it, this plan doesn’t really make sense.
Since the Death Eaters had the ability to track the Order’s magic, Harry’s friends
were hesitant about using magic openly.
But in the end, when the Death Eaters attacked, they were forced to defend themselves with
their wands, casting colourful spells throughout the neighborhood.
Since they ended up using magic anyway, wouldn’t it have been better to simply prepare a portkey
on the street outside, and quickly rush Harry through?
2.
The other titles
While preparing the Deathly Hallows, J.K.
Rowling worked tirelessly to keep the title of the book a secret.
She swore up and down that the name of the book would be a dead give away to the plot,
and she didn’t want to let fans know until the last possible moment.
But even by that point, the title never seemed to be settled.
Apparently, Rowling had a few other ideas that she bandied around, before ending up
on the “Deathly Hallows”.
These other ones included “Harry Potter and the Elder Wand” , Harry Potter and the
Hallows of Hogwarts, and Harry Potter and the Peverell Quest.
I’m sure any of these other titles would have been just as great, but I’m glad we
ended up with the one we got.
1.
The historical significance of the Hallows
Now, when you first heard the title, the term “Hallows” might have had a strange ring
to it.
While only a few modern words originate from Hallows, the phrase “Deathly Hallows”
has a strong historical root.
Hallows were, oftentimes, holy relics that were connected to saints or other famous church
leaders.
And even before the rise of Catholicism, Hallows were associated with powerful pagan heroes
who had divine heritage.
While calling the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility “Deathly
Hallows'', J.K.
Rowling was drawing upon a millennia old tradition… which seems to indicate that they had primacy
in the magic world as the most powerful items to ever exist.
And there you have it -1 0 things that you might have missed when first reading Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
As always, these books are chocked full of lore and symbology, so there is much much
more that you can find.
And when you do, make sure you share it with the rest of us in the comments below.
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Until next time
Remember
There is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher- what not to do, how not to be