74 pages 2 hours read

J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007

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Chapters 1-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Lord Voldemort and his followers gather at the home of the Malfoy family. Through Professor Severus Snape, Voldemort learns that “the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety” (3). Snape adds that the Order suspects that Voldemort’s followers have infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, and Yaxley, another follower, confirms that he has “succeeded in placing an Imperius Curse upon Pius Thicknesse” (5), the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Voldemort explains to the Death Eaters that he “must be the one to kill Harry Potter” (7), but he must borrow one of their wands to do the job. He takes Lucius Malfoy’s wand, then mocks the Malfoy family because their relative, Nymphadora Tonks, recently married a werewolf, Remus Lupin. Voldemort warns the Malfoys that sometimes “family trees become a little diseased over time” (10) and that they must “cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest” (11). Voldemort introduces his followers to Professor Charity Burbage, whom he has kidnapped. Voldemort explains that Professor Burbage taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts and that she believes Muggles and Muggle-born wizards “are not so different from [pureblood wizards]” (12).