Hey everyone! Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter
Theory. In today’s video, I’m going to be covering a topic that has been requested
a lot in the comment section. I had made a video on this topic previously, but that was
near the beginning of the channel and I didn’t do a very good job of it, so now I’m here
for redemption. The subject of today’s video is: HOW did the motherly, nurturing and caring
Molly Weasley defeat the POWERFUL, infamous, and feared Bellatrix Lestrange.
Amidst the total chaos of the Battle of Hogwarts, there were many ICONIC moments, but there
was one in particular that stuck out to me as it put the power of love on display in
totality. Jets of light flew left and right, and witches and wizards fought all over the
place, but in one area of the castle, there was a showdown that meant everything for one
person.That person was Molly Weasley. The caring, tender mother of the Weasley family
and stand-in mother for Harry Potter had found herself battling with one of the most feared
witches in the wizarding world, Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatix’s fear-inspiring name
and bloodthirsty reputation were well-deserved, and she was known to have murdered and tortured
numerous witches and wizards (including Neville Longbottom’s parents). Her magical capabilities
were more than impressive, and she was widely considered to be one the most powerful and
dangerous witches of her time. She was also one of, if not Voldemort’s
MOST LOYAL follower as well as his most POWERFUL follower (after Snape, however Snape wasn’t
a genuine follower). She was a frightening pure-blood witch that came from the Black
family, a long line of powerful witches and wizards with a twisted agenda. She was personally
responsible for murdering Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks- and she showcased an affinity
for the cruciatus curse and displayed considerable knowledge in the realm of the dark arts. Not
only that, but she was also an expert duellist, charms expert, powerful occlumens, and tenacious
warrior. Molly Weasley was..well, Molly Weasley. A
motherly figure known for her love and her ability to nurture and care for those that
she was close to. She was never stated to possess any sort of insane magical power,
but what she did have was an edge- a side of her that didn’t come out very often.
This ‘edge’ of course only came out when those that she loved were in danger, and in
the Battle of Hogwarts, Bellatrix and this other side of Molly were introduced.
To set the scene, Bellatrix was first fighting Hermione, Luna, and Ginny. The 3 young witches,
collaborating together, were equalizing with Bellatix, but when Bellatrix shot a killing
curse that was ‘so close to Ginny that she missed death by an inch” - Molly had to
step in. She had had enough. Let’s explore the text further:
“Not my daughter, you bitch!” yelled Molly “Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak as she
ran, freeing her arms. Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of
her new challenger.” “OUT OF MY WAY!” shouted Mrs. Weasley
to the three girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel. Harry watched with
terror and elation as Molly Weasley’s wand slashed and twisted, and Bellatrix Lestrange’s
smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around
the witches’ feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting to kill.”
“What will happen to your children when I’ve killed you?” taunted Bellatrix, as
mad as her master, capering as Molly’s curses danced around her. “When Mummy’s gone
the same way as Freddie?” ““You — will — never — touch — our
— children — again!” screamed Mrs. Weasley. Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh
her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly Harry
knew what was going to happen before it did.” “Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s
outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.
“Bellatrix’s gloating smile froze, her eyes began to bulge: For the tiniest space
of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared,
and Voldemort screamed.”
And JUST LIKE THAT, Molly Weasley defeated the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange. But, other
than being on the receiving end of a curse, what actually caused Bellatrix to DIE? What
curse did Molly use? In the film- why did Bellatrix explode?
We all know that Avada kedavra is the killing curse, and that it would be the obvious spell
choice that one might use when wanting to KILL someone, but the text doesn’t ever
indicate that this is the spell that she used. In the books, when someone uses Avada Kedavra
it almost always describes it as a ‘green jet of light’ - and in this instance it
just wasn’t the case. To further argue that it wasn’t avada kedavra that she used, we
need to remember that Avada Kedavra is one of the UNFORGIVABLE curses. Not only is the
use of these curses punishable, but their mere existence is frowned upon by regular
witches and wizards. Molly just simply wouldn’t have used it- even in these dire dire circumstances-
as I feel that by using it she may feel that she is stooping to the level of the bad guys.
Additionally, avada kedavra just doesn’t fit here.
So, if we’re pretty sure she didn’t use Avada Kedavra, how did Bellatrix actually
die? How else could Molly have killed her? This is where we need to dissect the text
a little.
“Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the
chest, directly over her heart.” IF it wasn’t a lethal spell that Molly used,
then to me it would suggest that the placement of the spell was the leading factor in Bellatrix’s
death. Stunning spells are popular among witches and wizards, and in my eyes, there are two
possible NON-murderous spells that Molly could have used- the less likely spell being a well
positioned Petrificus Totalus. Petrificus Totalus is also known as ‘the full body-bind
curse’ and essentially freezes/paralyzes your enemy. My thought process here is that
because the spell hit Bellatrix directly above her heart, it could have ‘frozen’ her
heart and stopped it from pumping blood- effectively killing her. And while this does check out
for the most part- I feel that it is MORE likely that Molly used Stupefy. Stupefy is
both the quintessential spell that one might use to stun, AND one of the signature spells
of the ‘good guys’. A well positioned stupefy could have done just what petrificus
totalus would have done- ‘stopping’ her heart and ending her life.
However, there’s always the possibility that Molly simply used a spell that we don’t
know about. In the Harry Potter universe there are probably thousands, hundreds of thousands,
MILLIONS of spells that have been introduced since the dawn of magic- and I’m willing
to bet that most modern day witches and wizards only know a fraction of them. There’s a
whole restricted section in the Hogwarts library filled with books on magic that witches and
wizards aren’t supposed to touch- and if we go by the scene in the film where Bellatrix
was defeated- it’s clearly quite powerful magic. She basically freezes and then blows
up- it’s like a petrificus totalus and a bombarda maxima all in one- but whether there’s
a one-spell solution for this result or not is anyone’s guess. In fact, if we look at
her death in the film (and I know that the book is a MUCH better way to dissect this
scene) she actually does use two spells- a white spell (that could very well be petrificus
totalus) and then a red spell- which could very well be bombarda or perhaps even reducto.
What we have to remember about Molly Weasley is that before she was Molly Weasley, caring
mother figure, she was Molly Prewett- a witch that came from a long line of powerful witches
and wizards. I’m more than willing to bet that Ms.Weasley is a lot more than meets the
eye- and just because she’s unassuming, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know
a lot of POWERFUL magic. After all, Molly Weasley Destroyed Bellatrix Lestrange.
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content please LIKE the video and subscribe
to support the channel. What spell do YOU think Molly used? Let me know in the comment
section below Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live