The Harry Potter series spent years building up to one huge fight. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we finally got to see it as the good guys took on the Death Eaters and the rest of Voldemort’s followers. This war was dubbed the Battle of Hogwarts.
Everyone recalls the huge moments and the fact that Harry Potter and his friends came out on top. As with any battle like this, there were plenty of casualties on both sides. We’re looking back at this epic confrontation and talking about those characters who were unable to survive this battle.
Nagini
It wasn’t just the humans who perished during the Battle of Hogwarts. Lord Voldemort’s loyal and trusted snake Nagini was among the fallen. Harry discovered that Nagini was one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and therefore had to be destroyed for Voldemort to be vulnerable.
Harry needed help to win this war. That’s when Neville Longbottom stepped up. After years of being the laughing stock of Gryffindor, Neville was the one to slice Nagini’s head off during the battle. He got his shining moment and got everyone one step closer to beating Voldemort.
Colin Creevey
Poor little Colin Creevey. We first met him during Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as a first-year student obsessed with Harry Potter. During his sixth year, Creevey didn’t attend school due to being a Muggle-born. The Death Eaters had taken over by that point.
Creevey answered the call for the Battle of Hogwarts but was sent away by Professor McGonagall due to being underage. However, he must’ve snuck back in as Harry spotted his dead body. We don’t know how he died and this never appeared in the films so that didn’t make it any clearer.
Vincent Crabbe
Vincent Crabbe spent the series as one of the henchmen for Draco Malfoy along with Gregory Goyle. During the Battle of Hogwarts, he defied Malfoy and chastised him for falling out of favor with the Dark Lord. While facing off against Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Room of Requirement, Crabbe conjured the Fiendfyre curse.
This deadly curse backfired as it demolished the room and killed Crabbe in the process. It did accidentally destroy a Horcrux, so there was some good with this move. This death never made it to the big screen as Jamie Waylett, the actor who portrayed Crabbe, was dealing with legal troubles.
Lavender Brown
Though she was a background character in every installment, it wasn’t until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Lavender Brown became a focal point. She was the annoying and sometimes overly clingy girlfriend of Ron Weasley. Brown fought for Dumbledore’s Army during the Battle of Hogwarts.
She had one of the more gruesome deaths of the entire series. During the fight, Brown fell from a balcony and was attacked by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Physically seeing it, even for a moment, in the film version was pretty hardcore. She was momentarily saved by Hermione but died from the injuries.
Nymphadora Tonks
This was one of the sadder deaths during the battle. Nymphadora Tonks became a fan favorite after she first appeared in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Though we didn’t see much of her relationship with Remus Lupin, it was still one that fans seemed to adore.
A member of the Order of the Phoenix, Tonks was one of the bravest witches we met. She fought despite having recently given birth. That meant she was weakened during her encounter with her aunt Bellatrix Lestrange, which she lost. Tonks’ son was ultimately raised by her mother, Harry, and Ginny.
Remus Lupin
It makes sense to talk about Remus Lupin alongside Tonks. He was another one of the most popular characters and that happened as soon as he was introduced in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Like Tonks, he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Lupin fought valiantly alongside his wife during the Battle of Hogwarts. During the first half of the fight, he dueled Antonin Dolohov in the main courtyard. With Lupin no longer in his prime, Dolohov managed to kill him. Professor Flitwick was surprisingly the one to avenge him when he bested Dolohov.
Severus Snape
Severus Snape spent the vast majority of the series as an unlikable antagonist. He was mean to Harry for years and then murdered Dumbledore at the end of book six. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Snape mostly avoided the fight. Yet he was still taken out by Lord Voldemort.
Realizing that his wand wasn’t the Elder Wand, Voldemort believed Snape possessed it since he killed the previous owner. Voldemort ordered Nagini to poison Snape, ending his life. Before he was fully gone, Snape gave Harry his memories, which revealed that he was an undercover good guy all along.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Voldemort was easily the biggest bad guy of the story but Bellatrix Lestrange made a strong case for second place. She tortured Neville Longbottom’s parents to the point where they lost their minds. She murdered Sirius Black in a devastating moment. It was Bellatrix who performed the Cruciatus Curse on Hermione and then killed Dobby.
You might expect Neville or Harry to have gotten revenge on Bellatrix during the Battle of Hogwarts. Instead, it was Molly Weasley who dealt the final blow to her. Bellatrix’s need to mock her opponents left an opening that Molly capitalized on. It was the most surprising victory of the franchise as Molly wouldn’t be someone we’d think could defeat Bellatrix if we didn’t see it happen.
Fred Weasley
Another one of the sadder deaths from this fight. Fred and George Weasley were a constant source of fun throughout the series. Their jokes were always welcome when things got dire. During the Battle of Hogwarts, the twins and the rest of the Weasleys had an uplifting moment when they reconciled with Percy.
Fred fought alongside Percy near the Room of Requirement. It was a rare explosion that took Fred’s life. He was joking until his last moment and his death hit everyone around him hard. Seeing everyone, especially Ron, mourn him was heartbreaking. George went on to name his son after Fred.
Lord Voldemort
The Battle of Hogwarts ultimately came down to the altercation between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. The latter did everything he could to put the war in his favor. Most of his followers were loyal, he was ruthless, and he had many plans put into play. Plus, he had his Horcruxes.
Eventually, all of his Horcruxes were destroyed, including the one he never intended to make, Harry. When Harry shocked him by revealing he was still alive, it set the stage for their final encounter. Harry used Expelliarmus as Voldemort used the killing curse. With Harry holding the Elder Wand, he won out and Voldemort was defeated.
