In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we were saddened by the fact that we almost lost our hero Harry. To our surprise, he came back to life- but that actually brought more questions to our minds. Had he really died? If he had, how did he come back to life?
Another huge question considering the fact that Harry managed to live even after so many attempts to kill him was “what is the reason he is still alive?”. Well, let’s find out.
So, why didn’t he die?
The truth is, Harry was never dead.
His mother, Lily Potter sacrificed herself creating magical protection around infant Harry against Lord Voldemort. This was the main reason that he survived.
He avoided death a second time because Voldemort had used Harry’s blood to revive his physical body. This resulted in Harry’s mother’s protection setting inside Voldemort. So, as long as Voldemort was alive, Harry couldn’t die.
Why did Voldemort want to kill Harry?
After many years of Harry Potter books and movies, a lot of us still wonder why the Dark Lord wanted the death of Harry so badly. We’ve all probably scratched our heads wondering why Harry was the “chosen one”.
We need to keep in mind that Harry was the one who needed to “die” to destroy Voldemort, although Voldemort never knew about this. So why did he want to kill Harry so badly?
It was actually due to the prophecy that claimed that there was a boy whose power would destroy Voldemort. The prophecy said:
“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…”
— Sybill Trelawney’s prophecy made to Albus Dumbledore
Voldemort was obsessed with becoming immortal. He wasn’t going to let some boy get in the way of his immortality, and thus wanted to kill Harry.
There were two boys who fitted the prophecy- Harry and Neville Longbottom. Both of the boys were born in the same year the prophecy was made and both of their parents had tried to defeat Voldemort thrice, making both probable causes of Voldemort’s death.
However, Voldemort went after Harry. Possibly the main motivation for this was that Harry was a Half-Blood, just like Voldemort.
The Dark Lord had made it abundantly clear that he hated the Half-Blood and that he wanted to eradicate all the Half-Blood and establish the honor of the Pure-Blood.
What Happened When The Dark Lord Attacked Infant Harry?
As soon as Voldemort knew about the prophecy, he set his way to search for the boy who fitted it. He chose Harry as his mortal enemy and went to his house to kill him.
That night Harry and his parents, James and Lily, encountered Lord Voldemort. James fought valiantly, yet succumbed to the Dark Lord’s power. Lily and Harry tried their best to flee but failed.
When Voldemort cast the death spell to kill Harry, Lily threw herself in front of her son, begging for her son’s protection, asking him to take her life instead. Voldemort mercilessly killed her and cast the killing curse “Avara Kedavara” on Harry.
Voldemort was unaware of the sacrificial protection placed on Harry by Lily before her death, as a result of which he unintentionally gave a part of his soul to Harry and created a seventh Horcrux on Harry.
The killing curse bounced back leaving Harry unharmed with only a lightning mark on his forehead.
Voldemort intentionally made six Horcruxes,
- Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem
- Helga Hufflepuff’s cup
- Salazar Slytherin’s locket
- Tom Riddle’s diary
- Marvolo Gaunt’s ring
- Nagini
Harry Potter was only the unintentional Horcrux that was created by Voldemort.
What happened when Voldemort Cast the Killing Curse on Harry for the second time?
In the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, Part 2, we witnessed the Dark Lord casting the Killing Curse on Harry Potter for the second time. Initially, we supposed Harry died, but fortunately, he was sent to limbo, where he met Dumbledore. There, he was given a choice to die or to be alive and go back home where he chose the latter option.
What actually happened was when Voldemort cast the killing spell on Harry, it destroyed the Horcrux that resided on Harry, but left Harry alive.
Voldemort had once used Harry’s blood to revive himself, taking Lily’s protection present in Harry’s blood in the process. Lily’s love spell was still in effect in Voldemort. Since Voldemort was still alive, Harry also had to be alive.
Harry, hence came back to life from limbo and faced Voldemort for the last time.
Did Dumbledore Know Harry Would Survive?
Dumbledore was the true well-wisher of Harry from the very beginning and always wanted the best for him.
Dumbledore had stated, “His(Harry) body keeps her(Lily) sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you(Harry)”. This statement conveys he had confidence in the sacrificial protection of Lily.
His conversation with Snape let us know that Harry had to die at the hand of Voldemort but it was not hinted at all that Harry would survive that encounter.
When we go through the conversation, we also notice that Dumbledore was ready to sacrifice Harry for the greater good, and convincing Harry to surrender to the Dark Lord would be the best decision of all.
However, everything changed when Voldemort took Harry’s blood for the revival of his body in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
How did Voldemort die?
We all know that Voldemort had intentionally created six Horcruxes – fragments of his soul. The seventh Horcrux was Harry Potter, which was created unintentionally. It was also well known that the death of Voldemort was only possible after the destruction of all the Horcruxes.
Five of the Horcruxes were destroyed by Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The sixth Horcrux, Nagini, was killed by Neville Longbottom.
The Horcruxes residing in Harry got destroyed when Voldemort cast the death spell on him. Thus, with the destruction of the Horcrux inside of Harry, Voldemort was now susceptible to death.
Meanwhile, Harry knew that Draco Malfoy was the master of the Elder Wand. He used the disarming spell “Expelliarmus” on Draco and disarmed him in Malfoy Mansion. This made Harry the ultimate master of the Elder Wand.
Voldemort refused to believe he is not the master of the Elder Wand. In his rage, he cast the Killing Curse with the Elder Wand. The Elder Wand refused to kill its master, hence the spell rebounded on Voldemort.
This was how the Dark Lord finally met his end.
What happened after Voldemort died?
After the demise of the Dark Lord, tranquility was restored in Hogwarts and in the wizarding world. Harry placed the Elder Wand in the tomb of Dumbledore along with the Elder wand. He also returned the Cloak of Invisibility, and Resurrection Stone.
After the end of the war, Harry moved forward to become Auror. He also started his family by marrying Ginny Weasley.
In the final part of Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, Part 2, Harry along with his wife and his friends Ron and Hermione are seen on Platform 9¾ sending their children to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Could Voldemort come back too?
There is the possibility of Voldemort coming back as well. This unfortunate event was about to happen in the eighth part of the Harry Potter series which is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The reason which might bring Voldemort back was his daughter, Delphini as she went back in time when Voldemort was alive. But this process was cleverly stopped by Harry’s second son, Albus Severus Potter.
All these unfortunate wars and rivalries commenced with Voldemort’s obsession with immortality. What if he never had the desire to be immortal? What if he never wanted to kill Harry? What if he hadn’t killed Harry’s parents?
The situation would most likely have been a lot better. Harry didn’t have to spend his childhood with his cruel uncle and aunt in the first place and would’ve possibly lived a “normal” life full of love and of course, mischief.
Despite a difficult childhood, Harry evolved to become an amazing wizard of the period. He had possibly the best mentor anyone could ask for Dumbledore. He also had supportive friends, Hermonie and Ron who were always there for him throughout his difficult journey. These are the things our hero will always cherish throughout his life.
