How Molly Weasley managed to killed Bellatrix Lestrange? Who felt sorry, please raise your hand.

Before Molly faced down Bellatrix in a one-on-one duel, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood were there with her. All four of them were fighting Bella and the Death Eaters, but when the killing curse missed Ginny by an inch, that is when Molly knew what she had to do.

Her son Fred was dead just minutes before that, and they were still fighting. Molly Weasley had dropped all her restraint as a good human being and would have none of it. She stared Bellatrix down and challenged her to a one-on-one duel.

Molly Weasley had hit Bellatrix Lestrange straight in the heart with an unspecified spell and killed her on the spot.

Since Avada Kedavra is an unforgivable curse, many fans have argued that it is not what Molly used. The book does not mention the spell, and the movie does not show a green light, so we can be sure it isn’t the killing curse.

Because of that, many fans theorize about why, how, and with what spell Molly killed Bella. We are now examining various fan theories and possibilities to answer how that might have happened.

Not my daughter, you bitch!

In the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the duel between Molly and Bellatrix transpires without naming the killing spell. It is quite a battle.

Both women used such powerful incantations and spells that the ground around them started to crack and heat up. Molly moved her family aside and directly confronted Bella to stop her from harming anyone again, meaning she probably stopped holding back.

The duel is short, but it shows how Bellatrix realized she was in over her head. She tried to taunt Molly for killing Fred to throw her off guard but only succeeded in provoking her more. Here is that part of the Battle of Hogwarts:

“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, and 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, and her eyes began to bulge: For the tinies space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.”

Taken from the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The movies

In the final movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2, Molly first hits Bella with a spell that freezes her, most likely Petrificus Totalus. Then, she launches another one that shatters her entire body into pieces, which could be expelliarmus, bombarda, stupefy, or any spell that can produce such an effect.

This represents a change compared to the book, probably because of that theatrical effect of Bella being frozen in one second and then shattered in the next. She topples to the ground after the only spell that kills her in the book.

Molly Weasley

Molly is a pure-blood witch that comes from the famous Prewett family. Her siblings Gideon and Fabian Prewett were in the original Order of the Phoenix and were killed in the First Wizarding World by Death Eaters.

She was a Gryffindor at Hogwarts and a gifted witch. Just because she chose family over pursuing power does not mean she is, in any way, weaker than any Death Eater. She had the skills, ability and motivation to stare down Bella or anyone in a duel, apart from Voldemort.

It could have been a number of spells

Here we see how little we know about the Wizarding World. The spells we read about in books and see in the movies are only a fraction of the magic in the Harry Potter fictional universe.

We are only given a glimpse into ancient magic, while the Hogwarts Legacy game explores this phenomenon deeper.

Intent

A vital component for casting spells is the intent and emotion of the caster. If cast to kill or fatally wound, many spells can be lethal. This is what we think happened here. Molly used a spell she was most apt at casting and her intent to protect her children was so strong it hit Bella straight into her heart.

We also think that JK. Rowling wanted to show just how little you can know about people if you judge by appearance. When, in the right circumstances, a person’s true strength emerges.