How does Harry Potter come back to life?

Last Modified Feb 25, 2025 03:33 EST
How does Harry Potter come back to life?
Harry Potter (Source: Screengrab from the film)


At the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter gets resurrected after being hit by the Avada Kedavra curse in the forest. He was able to do so because of Lily's Love Protection, which still lived within Voldemort.


When Harry was a child, Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow on Halloween night in 1981 to kill Harry. While attempting to save his wife and child, James Potter was killed. When Voldemort unleashed the Killing Curse on Harry, Lily Potter protected her baby son, forcing it to rebound and break apart Voldemort's physical body. Harry lived. He was known as "The Boy Who Lived" and had a scar on his forehead that resembled lightning.


How does Harry Potter come back to life?


How does Harry Potter come back to life?
Harry Potter (Source: Screengrab from the film)


In Godric's Hollow, Lily gave her life and saved Harry, because the greatest defense magic has is love. Harry was told by Dumbledore at an early age how Lily's love endured and protected him from the Killing Curse. As sisters, Lily and Petunia Dursley were of the same blood, therefore, Harry was safe when he moved in with the Dursleys. Dumbledore was aware of this, which is why he decided to take in Harry after he became an orphan and insisted that Harry spend every summer with the Dursley family, even though they mistreated him. Harry was still under Lily's protection when he first arrived at Hogwarts.


As shown in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort is unable to touch Harry since doing so would cause him excruciating pain. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry had to be rushed out of the Dursleys' home in the middle of the night after the love protection enchantment broke on his seventeenth birthday. But Voldemort himself unintentionally extended Lily's protecting magic, ultimately using the Killing Curse to bring his own demise. This is how Harry Potter came back to life.


Harry escaped Avada Kedavra in the forest because Lord Voldemort used Harry's blood to return, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. When Voldemort used Harry's blood, it initially appeared that the love protection was nullified because he could now touch Harry without feeling any pain. However, when Voldemort created his own body from Harry's blood, Lily's protection took a new shape.


How does Harry Potter come back to life?
Harry Potter (Source: Screengrab from the film)


The Horcrux that lived inside Harry was destroyed when Voldemort struck him in the forest with Avada Kedavra, but the boy was unharmed. Lily's love spell was still active because Voldemort was still alive. After being placed in limbo, Harry encounters Dumbledore. He had the option of going home or dying and finally resting, and he decided to return.


Harry battles Voldemort one final time after returning from limbo. He stood before his enemy, giving his life for his friends and loved ones, just as his mother had done for him in Godric's Hollow. This gave everyone at Hogwarts a new spell of protection. Finally, the battle between the two wizards comes to an end when the Elder Wand defected Voldemort and switched its allegiance to Harry.


Also read: Who wrote Harry Potter series?

FAQs about Harry Potter

A. Harry Potter survived Voldemort's Killing Curse because of Lily’s love protection.

A. When Voldemort tried to unleash the deadly curse "Avada Kedavra" on him, the curse rebounded and hit Voldemort because the Elder Wand had shifted its allegiance to Harry.

A. No, Harry didn’t use Draco’s wand to kill Voldemort.

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