At the beginning of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", Molly and Arthur offer the Burrow as Order headquarters when Grimmauld Place is no longer safe. She feels immensely uncomfortable with the trio's decision to drop out of Hogwarts and initially attempts to dissuade them from doing so. As the novel progresses, the family is forced to head for safety at Auntie Muriel's home. At the end of the book, Molly and her entire family fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. She is devastated by the death of her son Fred and is pushed to the edge when Bellatrix Lestrange almost strikes Ginny with the Killing Curse. Enraged, she engages Bellatrix in an intense duel, killing her with a curse that hits her in the chest. Rowling has stated that the reason she had Molly kill Bellatrix was to show Molly's great powers as a witch and to provide a contrast between Molly's consumption with "maternal love" and Bellatrix's with "obsessive love".