'Harry Potter' Ending, Explained

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) marked a major conclusion for a franchise that started back in 2001, and it didn't disappoint. Focusing more on the battles, this film was all about Harry and his friends taking the fight to Voldemort and having their last stand at Hogwarts.

There was a lot of loss as well, with more than a few beloved students and teachers dying, as well as some last-minute revelations that changed the entire narrative. But over a decade later, the film, which serves as a massive ending on its own, still has many ideas that are worth revisiting and unpacking.

The Battle Of Hogwarts Is An Amazing And Tension-Filled Fight

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) showed Harry, Ron, and Hermione as fugitives looking for Voldemort's Horcruxes to be able to stop him once and for all. But in that time, Hogwarts was under the thumb of dark wizards who treated the school and anyone who wasn't a Pure-Blood terribly.

When the Golden Trio made it back to the school, they represented a light that had been missing for some time and gave much of the staff and students the strength they needed to fight back. While most Slytherins couldn't be trusted, the other houses stayed on to fight. The Battle of Hogwarts saw the Order of the Phoenix and staff of the school defenses ready as all manner of dark forces crept in.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of losses that took place as we saw the deaths of Lavender Brown, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks, to name a few. But what made these deaths hit so hard was that everyone fighting for the side of good was doing it for Harry, and we see the young wizard deal with the weight of that realization.

There are also moments of growth as well, as Neville Longbottom blows up the bridge filled with Death Eaters, nearly dying along the way, and he quickly becomes an invaluable part of the battle. But the most interesting part is that while Voldemort knows Harry is there, there's no mad dash for them to unite. Instead, Harry and his friends are finding the remaining Horcruxes, facing and then saving Malfoy, and having all the time they need to play a game of mental chess to stop him.

Revealing Snape's True Motivation Proved Why He Was So Tragic

At this point, those who haven't read the book aren't aware that there is more to Severus Snape than meets the eye. As Voldemort makes moves to gain control of the Elder Wand, he uses Nagini the snake to kill Snape, as he killed Dumbledore, to become the wand's owner. Harry sees Snape dying and takes a tear to see one of his memories in Dumbledore's office.

As Harry learns the truth, we not only see that Snape always loved Lilly Potter but that he was also the one trying to protect her and, in turn, Harry, from Voldemort. He may have treated him poorly, but he would do anything to protect him, even getting angry after learning that Dumbledore was lining up Harry, who was a Horcrux, to be killed.

This moment is what revealed to many that Snape was easily the most important character in the franchise, and it's a shame that it came after his death. He spent his life loving someone who could never love him back, and that never stopped him from being a good man. There's a tragedy to his character that can't be replicated and is the reason why the word "always" still hits so hard.

Harry Potter's Sacrifice Is The Deepest Part Of The Entire Film

Harry's lightning bolt scar is his most famous feature, and we learn that it was a by-product of Voldemort's killing curse being deflected. This turned Harry into an inadvertent Horcrux that even the Dark Lord wasn't aware of. But now Harry has to deal with the reality that for him to win, he has to die.

In the Forbidden Forest, he kisses the first Golden Snitch he got that Dumbledore willed to him, and it opens to reveal the Resurrection Stone. He was then met with the spirits of his parents, Lupin, and Sirius Black, and all of them praised him for his bravery and comforted him by saying death isn't so bad and is as easy as falling asleep.

Confronting Voldemort, the Dark Lord strikes him down with a killing curse, and Harry enters a state in his mind where he gets to communicate with Dumbledore. The wizard gives him some clarity about his situation and reminds him that we always have a choice to return or stay where we are, and he reminds Harry that Hogwarts will always help those who deserve it. Harry returns to the land of the living and assures Malfoy's mother that her son is alive, giving her the strength to lie to Voldemort and say Harry is dead.

What makes this scene the deepest of the whole series is how it feels like the first true moment of relief in the entire franchise. It's a time for Harry to reflect on what has happened and what has yet to transpire, and how that influences his future decisions. This was always a story that was happening around him, and he rarely had control over it, but for the first time, he has the ability to turn the page.

Voldemort's Defeat Isn't As Simple As It Seems

The final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort ended with two distinct spells facing off with one another, and while Voldemort's was easily much more powerful, Harry managed to hold his own. In the background, Neville, with the Sword of Gryffindor in hand, killed Nagini, the final Horcrux, and Voldemort eventually lost his edge in the battle. From there, the moment he was disarmed, Voldemort accepted his fate and turned to ash before his enemies and followers.

Though it seems like Harry did most of the work, Voldemort's defeat was a carefully orchestrated plan that started all the way back when Dumbledore was killed. As Snape protected Malfoy from killing the wizard, he also kept it under wraps that Malfoy was the one who disarmed Dumbledore. The rules of the Elder Wand also state that if you have the wand and are disarmed, whoever disarmed you was the owner. Voldemort thought it was Snape, hence why he killed him. But the wand was never his.

With the wand betraying the Dark Lord, Voldemort never had a true edge in the battle, and by losing his Horcruxes, he could never truly be immortal. He lost fair and square, and it was because he relied on people that he manipulated through intimidation and violence. On the other side, Harry's friends and allies trusted him and wanted to help because they were good people.

While Voldemort didn't die as any mortal would, his greatest fear, his defeat still proved that even though he wanted to be above mortality and human nature, he could never truly escape one fact. The fact that it's the people around us and how we treat them who define us; in Voldemort's case, he treated everyone like tools, and tools aren't always on our side.