Following Dumbledore's death in half blood prince, Voldemort has completed his ascension to power and gains control of the Ministry of Magic. Harry, Ron, and Hermione drop out of school so that they can find and destroy Voldemort's remaining three horcruxes. They are forced to isolate themselves to ensure the safety of their family and friends. All that they know about the horcruxes are that two are likely objects that belonged to the Hogwarts founders Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff, and that the third is Voldemort's snake familiar. The locations of the two founders' objects are unknown, and the snake is presumed to be with Voldemort himself. As they search for the horcruxes, the trio learn details about Dumbledore's past, as well as Snape's true motives.
The trio recovers the first of Voldemort's horcruxes, a locket, by infiltrating the Ministry of Magic. They recover the Sword of Godric Gryffindor; it is one of a few objects that can be used to destroy horcruxes, and they use it destroy the locket. In their travels the trio come across a strange symbol, which an eccentric wizard named Xenophilius Lovegood tells them represents the mythical Deathly Hallows. The Hallows are revealed to be three sacred objects: the Resurrection Stone, a stone with the power to bring others back to life; the Elder Wand, an unbeatable wand; and an infallible Invisibility Cloak. Harry learns that Voldemort is after the Elder Wand, but the trio decides that discovering Voldemort's horcruxes is more important than procuring the wand for themselves. They break into a vault at the wizarding bank Gringotts to recover another horcrux, the cup of Helga Hufflepuff. Harry learns that another horcrux is hidden in Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the school. They find the horcrux, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and destroy both.
The book culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, in conjunction with students and members of the wizarding world opposed to the rise of Voldemort, defend Hogwarts from Voldemort, his Death Eaters, and various magical creatures. Several major characters are killed in the first wave of the battle. In an effort to save the survivors, Harry surrenders himself to Voldemort, who attacks Harry with the Killing Curse, sending Harry to a sort of limbo between life and death. There, Harry meets Dumbledore who explains that when Voldemort first attacked Harry as a baby, he inadvertently stored a piece of his soul in Harry's body, making Harry a horcrux. Dumbledore further states that because Voldemort used Harry's blood to regain his full strength, Harry is protected from any harm that Voldemort could commit, meaning that Harry can return to his body despite being hit by the Killing Curse. Harry then returns to his body, the battle resumes, and with the last horcrux destroyed, Harry is able to defeat Voldemort. An epilogue describes the lives of the surviving characters and implies that peace has returned to the wizarding world.
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