While in the Malfoy Manor,lord voldemort and his Death Eaters plan to ambush Harry Potter when he leaves the Dursley home with the Order of the Phoenix for the final time. Voldemort takes Lucius Malfoy's wand, in the hope that it will be able to kill Harry.
Meanwhile, Harry disposes of things he would not need, as he does not plan to go back to study at Hogwarts – notably, his Quidditch robes. Indeed, Harry would not have this year an occasion to play Quidditch; however, on three key occasions – getting hold of the Hufflepuff Cup and the Ravenclaw Diadem, and during the final fight with Voldemort – the "unerring skill of the Seeker" would be vitally useful to him in snatching an object out of the air.
Members of the Order of Phoenix are ambushed by Death Eaters as they attempt to escort Harry from the Dursleys' to a safe house by broomstick using decoys. Harry's wand, seemingly of its own accord, countercurses Voldemort when Harry is attacked, allowing him to narrowly escape. Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed, and George Weasley loses an ear.
The trio go to the Burrow where Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour arrives to give Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger bequests from Albus Dumbledore's will. Ron receives the Deluminator, Hermione is left a children's book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry inherits Godric Gryffindor's Sword and a Snitch, bearing the mysterious phrase "I open at the close". The Ministry claimed the sword to be "an important historical artefact", however, and kept it.
At Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding reception, a Patronus, conjured by Kingsley Shacklebolt arrives, announcing that the Ministry of Magic has fallen under Voldemort's control, and that Ministry officials, and Death Eaters are on their way to The Burrow at that moment. As the wedding dissolves into chaos, Death Eaters approach, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione disapparate to Tottenham Court Road, where they hide in an empty cafe to plan their next move. However, the Death Eaters find them there and they narrowly escape. They eventually find and take refuge in 12 Grimmauld Place.
While at Grimmauld Place, Harry deduces that Sirius Black's brother Regulus was the "R.A.B" who removed the Locket Horcrux from the sea cave.[HP6] Hermione recalls seeing a locket whilst cleaning the house, and they discover that the house-elf Kreacher had stolen the locket from the items to be thrown out. Kreacher tells them that he had placed the Locket Horcrux in the cave as ordered by Voldemort, and Regulus later died after retrieving it and deceiving Voldemort. With the help of Kreacher and Mundungus Fletcher they learn that the locket is now in Dolores Umbridge's possession. The trio successfully infiltrate the Ministry of Magic and recover the locket. However, Grimmauld Place is compromised when they return, forcing them to flee to the countryside.
The trio begin to travel the country, looking for Horcruxes and the means to destroy them. Overhearing a discussion between Griphook the goblin, Dean Thomas, Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, and Gornuk (another goblin), the trio learn that the Sword of Gryffindor that is held at Hogwarts is a fake. Harry decides to find the real sword that can destroy the Horcruxes; some time after this Ron and Harry argue over Harry's lack of a plan, after which Ron abandons the group. Harry and Hermione search for the sword in Godric's Hollow, as well as Harry's old house. While looking at the house, Harry and Hermione are beckoned by Bathilda Bagshot into her home. Knowing something is not right, Harry follows her upstairs, where she transforms into Nagini. Voldemort himself appears almost immediately after. Hermione casts a Blasting Curse that ricochets around the room, facilitating their escape, but also irreparably damaging Harry's wand. When Voldemort realises they have escaped him, his fury is so strong that Harry is forced to see Voldemort's memory of the night he had killed Harry's parents, leading Harry to fall unconscious.
Hermione apparates Harry to the Forest of Dean. While he is on watch, a silver doe-shaped Patronus leads Harry to an icy pond containing the real Sword of Gryffindor. As Harry dives into the freezing water to retrieve it, the locket Horcrux starts strangling him. Ron, who was guided back to the pair by the Deluminator that Dumbledore gave him, saves him. Ron recovers the sword and destroys the locket with it. Ron warns that Voldemort's name is now Tabooed: speaking it reveals the speaker's location to Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
