The Harry Potter franchise has many important scenes that define the character, but only one scene defines the entire finale.

Harry Potter dealt with prophecies, destiny and bravery, but one scene in particular was the key to the franchise and the resolution of Harry and Voldemort’s story. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Harry learned that he had to go to Voldemort, like a pig to the slaughter, because he was a Horcrux himself. The clues were in the books and movies all along, but Harry did not know for certain that he had to be killed until he relived Snape’s memories in Dumbledore’s pensieve.

Fearful though he was, Harry went into the Forbidden Forest because he felt duty-bound to save the Wizarding community. Dumbledore had never told him that he would need to willingly walk up to the Dark Lord and be killed, but Harry did it anyway. In a scene that eerily mirrored what happened at Godric’s Hollow, Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort, who hits the Boy Who Lived with a second Killing Curse, Leading Harry to one of the franchise’s most important scenes.

Why Did Harry Go to King’s Cross Station After Avada Kedavra Hit Him?

After the Killing Curse hit him, Harry ended up in a place nobody expected him to be; King’s Cross Station. The otherwise bustling train station was empty, save for Albus Dumbledore and what looked like an injured baby, which was actually the remains of Voldemort’s mangled soul. Harry’s soul was in a state of limbo, neither alive nor dead after his sacrifice. It seemed as though this was some sort of purgatory where his soul had come to a halt, and he had a choice whether to return to the land of the living or stay dead. It was clear from the text that this state of limbo looked different to different people, as Dumbledore asked Harry about his surroundings.

“It looks,” he said slowly, “like King’s Cross station. Except a lot cleaner and empty, and there are no trains as far as I can see.’

‘King’s Cross station!’ Dumbledore was chuckling immoderately. ‘Good gracious, really?’

‘Well, where do you think we are?’ asked Harry, a little defensively.

‘My dear boy, I have no idea. This is, as they say, your party.'”

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, King’s Cross Station served as the confluence between Muggle and Wizarding Worlds. For Harry, it was especially a gateway to a new life, which was why it made sense that he saw King’s Cross when he stood at another important juncture in life, one which would decide the fate of the Wizarding World. In a way, this scene showed that more than his discovering he’s a wizard, it was his first visit to King’s Cross that was the most important moment in his life.

How Did Harry Survive the Killing Curse For the Second Time?

Harry had a history of surviving the Avada Kedavra curse. On Halloween in 1981, Lily Potter shielded her son with her own body, and her sacrifice triggered a powerful protection that lay in her love for Harry. However, fans might wonder how he was able to survive a second time, especially since Voldemort fashioned his new body with Harry’s flesh and blood in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and could touch Harry. The assumption would be that Lily’s protection would get negated in this case, but in reality, it only grew in strength because of Voldemort’s actions. Voldemort unwittingly enhanced Lily’s protection by making another body with her blood. Therefore, as long as Voldemort was alive, his physical body tethered Harry to the land of the living, even if he wanted to kill him. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, he destroyed his own Horcrux but Lily’s enchantment sent him to limbo instead, where he faced a choice.

Additionally, Harry Potter had also become the Master of Death by the time he walked into the Forbidden Forest. He had disarmed Draco, which made him the true owner of the Elder Wand. Harry was given the Invisibility Cloak by Dumbledore in his very first year, and he had also got the Resurrection Stone from the Golden Snitch before he sacrificed himself. While it is unclear whether being the Master of Death imbued any special protection to the wizard or witch, the Elder Wand (which Voldemort had used) would resist hurting its own Master, who was Harry at this point of time.

This Scene Truly Fulfilled Trelawney’s Prophecy

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies….”

The first prophecy was made by Sybil Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore at the Hog’s Head Pub early in 1980. This was what Voldemort acted on, choosing little Harry as the subject of the prophecy and marking him as his equal when he fired a Killing Curse at him. Seeing how creating a body of Harry and Lily’s blood kept her enchantment alive, Voldemort fulfilled an important part of Sybil Trelawney’s prophecy, “either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.”

While Voldemort stayed alive in the corporeal world, he kept Harry alive, too. This prophecy was the very core of the Harry Potter series, as it was what started the tragic course of events that pitted the Dark Lord against The Boy Who Lived. This was proved beyond a doubt when Harry got the chance to either be at peace or to return to the Battle of Hogwarts and finish what he had started.

Harry’s Trip to King’s Cross Station Allowed Him to Defeat Voldemort

Just as Voldemort kept Harry alive unintentionally, Harry kept a piece of Voldemort inside him as an accidental Horcrux. This Horcrux could only be destroyed in one way: if Harry was killed by Voldemort himself. When Voldemort hit Harry with the Killing Curse, he could not kill Harry. Instead, he slayed the part of his soul that had latched on to Harry years ago in Godric’s Hollow. Harry and Dumbledore even saw the dying piece of his soul under a bench at King’s Cross in the form of an injured infant.

As long as the Horcrux inside Harry stayed alive, Voldemort would survive, even after Nagini and all the other Horcruxes were destroyed. It was vital for Harry to go to limbo, or purgatory, and then return to the land of the living, free of Voldemort’s soul after it had been eradicated. This scene was absolutely necessary for Voldemort to be defeated permanently, once and for all, with no chance of a return. Otherwise, even if Harry won in the final duel with the Dark Lord, he would have found a way to return through his connection within Harry himself.