Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The death of Fred Weasley leaves Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley brothers reeling. Ron is seized by a hunger for revenge, but Hermione reminds him that “[they’re] the only ones who can end it” (640) by killing the final Horcrux, Voldemort’s snake, Nagini. Harry looks into Voldemort’s mind and sees him in the Shrieking Shack, commanding Lucius to bring Snape to him. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione race to the Shack, the castle continues to dissolve into chaos, and they watch as Death Eaters kill their friends and classmates. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak into the Shrieking Shack beneath the Invisibility Cloak, and they hear Snape telling Voldemort that “resistance is crumbling” (652), and the battle is nearly won. Voldemort tells Snape that the Elder Wand “has not revealed the wonders it has promised” to him, and he feels “no difference” (653) between the Elder Wand and his own wand. He theorizes that he is not the rightful possessor of the Elder Wand because Snape was the one who killed Dumbledore and therefore “earned” the wand. Voldemort orders Nagini to kill Snape by biting his throat, and as Snape lays dying on the ground, Voldemort leaves satisfied, believing that the wand will “now do his full bidding” (657).