Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

            This is it.  This is what it all comes down to.  Who will win?  Good or evil?  In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a fiction book by J.K. Rowling, Harry and his two very good friends set out to defeat the evil that is roaming through their world.  Ever since the beginning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out to discover the secrets of “You-Know-Who” and his evil ways.

            It all started in the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, when the villainous Lord Voldemort stormed through the doors of the house that belonged to Lily and James Potter.  As he chanted the dreaded spell, he murdered James and came upon Lily holding her beloved son, Harry.  Trying to shield her son from the very face of death, there was a sudden flash of green.  Lily was gone… but Harry was alive.  Protected by his mother’s love, Harry was left with nothing but a lightning scar on his forehead.

            After the tragic death of his parents, Harry had no choice but to live with his relatives.  As young Harry grows up and is old enough to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the secret about his identity is still hidden from him.  Though Harry can do mysterious things, he doesn’t yet know that he is a wizard.

            The school year approaches and Hagrid, the school’s gamekeeper, finds Harry.  Lies are about to be unveiled.  All his life, Harry grew up thinking that his parents died from a car crash and his scar was merely a witness to such a thing.  Now he finds out the truth. 

            He leaves with Hagrid and begins his new life at Hogwarts.  He meets Ron and Hermione who ultimately help him along his journey to defeat the monster that took everything from him.

            Though Voldemort may have been overcome for a short period of time, he comes back to life and continues to bring horror throughout the wizarding world, trying to accomplish one thing… to finish what he started… to kill Harry Potter.

            Through all the years at Hogwarts, Harry puts some of the pieces together and continues to inch closer to ending Lord Voldemort’s evil reign.  However, this task is very dangerous.  The powers of Lord Voldemort are almost unbeatable and beyond comprehension.

            In the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are about to enter their seventh and last year of school at Hogwarts.  Lord Voldemort is becoming more powerful than ever and is on the move.  They must defeat him.  On their quest, they find out that their mission is much more difficult than they think.  Voldemort has portions of his soul hidden.  One remains inside of him, keeping him alive, but seven other pieces of his soul are scattered with no hint as to where to find them.  In order to put an end to him, all pieces of his soul must be located and destroyed, including the one in Voldemort himself. They skip their last year of school to find them and to ultimately rid the world of this terrible wizard.  As the book progresses they continue their search, getting closer and closer to finding all of them while escaping the deadly spells of Voldemort and his “Death Eaters.”

            Though the book is filled with sorcery and dark magic, I believe that it contains a hidden and deeper meaning.  The story of Harry Potter and his fight against Lord Voldemort very closely resembles that of the story of Jesus Christ and his resurrection and victory over death.  In the book Rowling uses phrases that are stated in the Bible like “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death,” found in 1 Corinthians 15:26 and “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” found in Matthew 6:21.  Another theme that resembles that of Jesus Christ is Lily Potter.  When she faced Voldemort, she shielded her son Harry which ultimately saved his life.  He was protected by his mother’s love.  Just like Harry, we are saved by the grace of God.  He loves us so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross for us and take on the punishment that we rightfully deserve.

            All throughout the books, I enjoyed reading about Harry and his friends. I don’t read that often, but out of the books that I have read, I haven’t read many books quite like these.  In fact, I can’t put a finger on any book that I enjoyed reading as much as those of Harry.  The author does such a great job of describing the characters and what they are feeling.  By the time I finished the series, I felt as if Harry, Ron, and Hermione were almost like good friends to me.  The books made me feel like they were real. Throughout all their stories, I got to know them and their personalities.  Another thing that I liked about these particular books was the fact that I never knew what was going to happen next. 

            It is hard for me to choose, but after finishing the books, I came to the conclusion that the last book, the Deathly Hallows, was my favorite.  It was exciting, cheerful, suspenseful, sorrowful, and everything else that comes with a good book.  It was a great way to end such a wonderful series.  I hope that you can enjoy getting to know Harry and his story as I did.  I am sure that I will read other books that are thrilling and full of action, but I will never forget the life of Harry Potter.