Summary
The finale of theHarry Potterseries was filled with more than a few exciting battles. Unfortunately, not every battle could be seen on the big screen, but one of the few that did make it was the duel between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange. It was a major moment toward the end ofThe Battle Of Hogwarts, though some have been left a bit confused by how Molly Weasley was able to kill one of the most powerful witches in theHarry Potteruniverse.
The wizarding world has some clearly laid out rules, and while the stronger do usually manage to win, that isn’t always the case. Even later on in the same battle, Harry Potter manages to defeatLord Voldemort thanks to his mastery of the Elder Wanddespite being the much weaker wizard between the two. While not technically impossible for Molly Weasley to have won, some might think she should have been bested by the twisted witch.
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How Did Bellatrix Lestrange Die?
During The Battle Of Hogwarts, one of the largest battlefields of all was inside the great hall. The chaos of the battles makes the sequence of events a bit unclear, but at some point, the Weasleys found themselves congregated nearnone other than Bellatrix Lestrange. No doubt seeking the twisted joy of killing a Weasley for herself, Bellatrix launched a curse toward Ginny Weasley, though luckily, Ginny was able to block the curse from making contact. The bold attack would prove to be the final mistake of Bellatrix’s life, as her attempt on Ginny’s life would be the thing that caused Molly Weasley to step in. As arrogant as ever, Bellatrix could only muster a laugh as Molly stepped up to fight her.
The two instantly engaged in a duel that while intense, didn’t last all that long. In the films, the battle between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix Lestrange is but a few spells cast between the two, but in the books, their battle is much more ferocious. After a few spells leave Molly Weasley wide-eyed, Bellatrix lets out a gleeful giggle, but she is quickly shut up when Molly fires back with some dangerous spells of her own.Eventually, Molly is able to overcome the defenses of Bellatrix, stunning and killing the violent witch once and for all. The funny thing is that Bellatrix wouldn’t even get to find out that the main she loved and idolized, Lord Voldemort, would die only a short while later after losing to Harry Potter.
How Powerful Was Molly Weasley?
As soon as fans of the series first read or saw Molly Weasley kill Bellatrix, people immediately wondered how strong Molly Weasley was. To a lot of people, there’s no way that Bellatrix couldn’t have been beaten so easily, especially with the long list of notable witches and wizards she’d managed to kill over the years. The thing that most people forget about Molly Weasley is, that while not the most powerful witch around, she was a member ofthe second iteration of the Order of the Phoenix, a group specifically formed to battle against Voldemort.
Her inclusion in that group immediately placed her as one of the stronger witches in theHarry Potteruniverse, as this means that Dumbledore trusted her abilities enough to believe that she could help protect Harry fromVoldemort’s Death Eaters. Her strength is further demonstrated by her ability to cast what are referred to as non-verbal spells, something that indicates great mastery of magic throughout the series. Above all of that, Molly Weasley was able to harness her feelings of love for her family when it came time to confront Bellatrix Lestrange, and as the most diehardHarry Potterfans will know, love is one of the most powerful forces any witch or wizard could hope to harness.
Why Was Molly Weasley Able To Beat Bellatrix Lestrange In A Duel?
There is likely a combination of factors that led to Molly Weasley being able to defeat Bellatrix Lestrange on her own. The biggest of those factors are Molly Weasley’s love for her family and Bellatrix’s arrogance. If Bellatrix had taken the fight a bit more seriously and hadn’tnearly killed Molly’s daughter, it’s entirely possible that she would have managed to kill Molly Weasley before going on to battle with other members of the family.
First, Bellatrix really didn’t take Molly as seriously as she should have. The member of the Order of the Phoenix wasmore than capable of taking on Death Eaters, yet Bellatrix treated the woman as if she was about to engage in battle with a child. She laughed at Molly throughout their interaction, and in the books, Bellatrix taunted Molly even further than she ever did in the movies. While Bellatrix was reveling in the chaos of the battle, simply feeling like killing a Weasley would be a bonus, Molly was fighting not just for her life, but for the lives of her family.
It also should be said that Molly had alreadylost one of her sons earlier on in the night, and the fact that she’d witnessed Bellatrix nearly kill another one of her children caused something in her to snap. Molly Weasley’s love for her family was so strong that it allowed her to step up to Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the strongest witches in history, without a second thought. She was willing to engage in the battle because she knew that she wasn’t going to let someone so vile kill her or any members of her family as she’d already suffered enough loss in the war. Those factors combined into a final flurry from Molly that proved to be the end of Voldemort’s most trusted ally.
