Deathly Hallows
The Deathly Hallows are the three magical objects that are the focus of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The form, function, and purpose of each of the Hallows are revealed as the plot of the novel progresses. In the course of their quest to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn of the Hallows and The Tale of the Three Brothers, notably through conversations with Xenophilius Lovegood and the wandmaker Ollivander. According to Rowling, the story about how these objects came into existence is based upon Geoffrey Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale. The concept is also in keeping with British legends such as the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain and the Hallows of Ireland.[citation needed]
According to the tale, the Peverell brothers evaded Death, who then gave them a choice of anything they wanted: the first brother chose a wand that could not be defeated in battle; the second asked for a way to bring back someone from the dead; and the third selected a cloak that made the wearer invisible, even to Death himself. Very few actually believe this story to be true though many, like Viktor Krum, believe the sign of the Deathly Hallows to be the mark of Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, as Krum says it had been carved into a wall at his school, Durmstrang, by Grindelwald himself (Grindelwald attended Durmstrang as a child until he was expelled for use of Dark magic).
Harry eventually comes to possess all three Hallows. He does not know until the end of the novel that he has been carrying the Resurrection Stone in the Golden Snitch bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy becomes the master of the Elder Wand when he disarms Dumbledore, but it transfers its loyalty to Harry after he takes Draco's wand in a later fight at Malfoy Manor. The Invisibility Cloak he received during his first year, and which had belonged to James Potter, proves to be the third Hallow. After Voldemort's death, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his%2
According to the tale, the Peverell brothers evaded Death, who then gave them a choice of anything they wanted: the first brother chose a wand that could not be defeated in battle; the second asked for a way to bring back someone from the dead; and the third selected a cloak that made the wearer invisible, even to Death himself. Very few actually believe this story to be true though many, like Viktor Krum, believe the sign of the Deathly Hallows to be the mark of Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, as Krum says it had been carved into a wall at his school, Durmstrang, by Grindelwald himself (Grindelwald attended Durmstrang as a child until he was expelled for use of Dark magic).
Harry eventually comes to possess all three Hallows. He does not know until the end of the novel that he has been carrying the Resurrection Stone in the Golden Snitch bequeathed to him by Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy becomes the master of the Elder Wand when he disarms Dumbledore, but it transfers its loyalty to Harry after he takes Draco's wand in a later fight at Malfoy Manor. The Invisibility Cloak he received during his first year, and which had belonged to James Potter, proves to be the third Hallow. After Voldemort's death, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his%2
Elder Wand
The Elder Wand, known throughout history as the Deathstick or the Wand of Destiny, is an extremely powerful wand made of elder wood with a core of Thestral tail hair. It is supposedly the most powerful wand in existence, and when used by its true master, he or she cannot be defeated in a duel; though according to Dumbledore, this is false, for he was able to defeat the legendary dark wizard Grindelwald, who was master of the Elder Wand at that point. It also appears, as the wand is somewhat sentient (as are all wands), that it will not allow itself to cause real harm to its true master. As stated by Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker, the wand will never fully work for the new user unless he or she directly disarms, stuns or kills (even in Muggle fashion)[citation needed] the previous master. Rowling has stated that the wand is brutal in its choice of master, and that, while most wands have some allegiance to their own masters, the Elder Wand only responds to power. If a master dies naturally without ever being defeated, the wand's power will die for any following owner, since it was never won from the former.
The power of the Elder Wand was first shown in history, as Antioch Peverell, the eldest of the mythical Three Brothers, had a duel with an enemy he had long wanted to defeat. He won, and left his enemy dead on the floor. After boasting of his unbeatable wand, Peverell was robbed in his sleep by a rival wanting to claim the wand, who slit his throat for good measure. Ever since, power-hungry wizards have sought this wand, and it is the Hallow most easy to track through history. It eventually came to the possession of Gregorovitch, a Bulgarian wandmaker. Gregorovitch boasted about possessing the Elder Wand, believing it would boost his popularity, and he tried to reverse engineer its secrets as he faced competition from Ollivander. It subsequently fell to Gellert Grindelwald, who stole it from Gregorovitch. Ultimately Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore, who then assumed control of the wand. Dumbledore considered it the "only hallow [he] was fit to possess, not to boast of it or kill with it, but to tame it."
When Dumbledore arranged his own death with Severus Snape, he intended Snape to "end up with the Elder Wand." Because his death would not have been the result of his defeat, Dumbledore hoped this might break the wand's power. However, since Draco Malfoy had disarmed Dumbledore before Snape killed Dumbledore, the plan failed – Draco unwittingly became the wand's new master, even though he never took physical possession of it from Dumbledore, and the Elder Wand was placed with Dumbledore's body in his tomb.
In the final book, Voldemort learns about the wand and goes on a search for it, and eventually learns Dumbledore had possessed the wand. He opens Dumbledore's tomb and claims the wand as his own. Assuming incorrectly that Snape is the wand's current master, Voldemort slays Snape, not realising the wand's allegiance was to Draco. Furthermore, the Elder Wand's allegiance had since shifted to Harry, as Harry had subsequently forcefully Disarmed Draco and taken his wand (although that was not the Elder Wand).
Only in his final encounter with Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts is Voldemort told he never won the true allegiance of the wand, as he did not gain ownership by defeating its previous owner. Despite this, Voldemort uses the Elder Wand to cast his final Killing Curse against Harry's Expelliarmus charm. Since the wand's allegiance is to Harry, Voldemort's spell backfires and kills him once and for all. Following this, in the book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his own damaged holly and phoenix-feather wand, which he says he was "happier with", and returns the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's grave. In the film, however, Harry does not repair his phoenix-feather wand and instead chooses to destroy the Elder Wand, presumably remembering what had happened to Antioch Peverell long before, or to prevent the wand from falling into the wrong hands again.
Resurrection Stone
The Resurrection Stone allows the holder to communicate with the dead. According to the fairy tale concerning the origin of the Deathly Hallows, using the Resurrection Stone drove its original owner, Cadmus Peverell, to commit suicide after seeing his deceased fiancée but being unable to truly be with her. By the time the stone was seen in Marvolo Gaunt's possession, it had been set into a ring that bore the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, which Gaunt believed to be the Peverell coat of arms. Both Dumbledore and Grindelwald desired the stone, but for different reasons. While Dumbledore wanted it to communicate with his dead family, Grindelwald intended to use it to create an army of Inferi. Voldemort eventually turned the ring into a Horcrux, unaware of its additional magical properties.
Dumbledore recovered the ring from Marvolo's estate, recognising it as both a Horcrux and one of the Deathly Hallows. Forgetting that it was a Horcrux and as such was likely protected by curses laid by Voldemort, and blinded by personal desire, Dumbledore attempted to use the Resurrection Stone to talk to his deceased family. However, the curse destroyed his hand and began to spread throughout his body. Though the spread was partly contained in the destroyed and blackened hand by Snape, Dumbledore was doomed, having at most a year to live.
The stone was later passed to Harry through Dumbledore's will, hidden inside the Golden Snitch that Harry caught with his mouth, nearly swallowing it, in his first-ever Quidditch match. The Snitch revealed the message "I open at the close" when touched by Harry's lips. Harry is unable to open the Snitch until he is about to die in the Forest, and realises then that "the close" means the end, or his death. Harry uses the Stone to summon his parents, Sirius, and Remus Lupin to comfort him before he confronts Voldemort. The stone slips through Harry's numb fingers in the Forbidden Forest. He and Dumbledore's portrait later agreed that Harry would neither search for it nor tell others where it is. In a 2007 interview, Rowling said she would like to believe that a centaur's hoof pushed it into the ground, burying it forever.
The Resurrection Stone allows the holder to communicate with the dead. According to the fairy tale concerning the origin of the Deathly Hallows, using the Resurrection Stone drove its original owner, Cadmus Peverell, to commit suicide after seeing his deceased fiancée but being unable to truly be with her. By the time the stone was seen in Marvolo Gaunt's possession, it had been set into a ring that bore the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, which Gaunt believed to be the Peverell coat of arms. Both Dumbledore and Grindelwald desired the stone, but for different reasons. While Dumbledore wanted it to communicate with his dead family, Grindelwald intended to use it to create an army of Inferi. Voldemort eventually turned the ring into a Horcrux, unaware of its additional magical properties.
Dumbledore recovered the ring from Marvolo's estate, recognising it as both a Horcrux and one of the Deathly Hallows. Forgetting that it was a Horcrux and as such was likely protected by curses laid by Voldemort, and blinded by personal desire, Dumbledore attempted to use the Resurrection Stone to talk to his deceased family. However, the curse destroyed his hand and began to spread throughout his body. Though the spread was partly contained in the destroyed and blackened hand by Snape, Dumbledore was doomed, having at most a year to live.
The stone was later passed to Harry through Dumbledore's will, hidden inside the Golden Snitch that Harry caught with his mouth, nearly swallowing it, in his first-ever Quidditch match. The Snitch revealed the message "I open at the close" when touched by Harry's lips. Harry is unable to open the Snitch until he is about to die in the Forest, and realises then that "the close" means the end, or his death. Harry uses the Stone to summon his parents, Sirius, and Remus Lupin to comfort him before he confronts Voldemort. The stone slips through Harry's numb fingers in the Forbidden Forest. He and Dumbledore's portrait later agreed that Harry would neither search for it nor tell others where it is. In a 2007 interview, Rowling said she would like to believe that a centaur's hoof pushed it into the ground, burying it forever.
Cloak of Invisibility
According to the legend, the Cloak of Invisibility has the power to shield the wearer from being seen by Death. It is a true invisibility cloak, in that it is able to completely shield the wearer from sight and cannot be worn out by time or spells; other cloaks will lose their ability to conceal the wearer over time or become worn out, but the Hallow cloak will never fade or become damaged.
In Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Harry's Cloak is in fact one of the Deathly Hallows. It originally belonged to Ignotus Peverell. After his death, the cloak was passed down from father to son through Peverell's descendants to James Potter.[8] The Cloak was not in James's possession the night he was murdered; he had previously lent it to Dumbledore, who was greatly interested in the Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore returned the Cloak to Harry several years later as a Christmas present during his first year at Hogwarts. Harry uses the Cloak throughout the series in order to sneak around the school on various adventures. It is large enough for Ron and Hermione to accompany him, and they frequently do, although this becomes increasingly difficult as they grow up throughout the series. At the end of Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore explains to Harry that the Cloak's true magic is that it can shield and protect others as well as its owner. This is apparent when it does not respond to a Death Eater's Summoning Charm while concealing Harry, Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows.
While making the wearer invisible to Muggles and wizards, some creatures are able to sense people hidden under it. Snakes, for example, cannot see through the Cloak of Invisibility, but they can somehow detect people under it. Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, also seems to sense Harry when he wears the cloak. Wearers can also be detected by the "Homenum Revelio" spell. In Goblet of Fire, Moody's magical eye could see Harry under the cloak. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore warns that the Dementors' perception of humans is unhindered by invisibility cloaks, as they sense people through emotions.
According to the legend, the Cloak of Invisibility has the power to shield the wearer from being seen by Death. It is a true invisibility cloak, in that it is able to completely shield the wearer from sight and cannot be worn out by time or spells; other cloaks will lose their ability to conceal the wearer over time or become worn out, but the Hallow cloak will never fade or become damaged.
In Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Harry's Cloak is in fact one of the Deathly Hallows. It originally belonged to Ignotus Peverell. After his death, the cloak was passed down from father to son through Peverell's descendants to James Potter.[8] The Cloak was not in James's possession the night he was murdered; he had previously lent it to Dumbledore, who was greatly interested in the Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore returned the Cloak to Harry several years later as a Christmas present during his first year at Hogwarts. Harry uses the Cloak throughout the series in order to sneak around the school on various adventures. It is large enough for Ron and Hermione to accompany him, and they frequently do, although this becomes increasingly difficult as they grow up throughout the series. At the end of Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore explains to Harry that the Cloak's true magic is that it can shield and protect others as well as its owner. This is apparent when it does not respond to a Death Eater's Summoning Charm while concealing Harry, Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows.
While making the wearer invisible to Muggles and wizards, some creatures are able to sense people hidden under it. Snakes, for example, cannot see through the Cloak of Invisibility, but they can somehow detect people under it. Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, also seems to sense Harry when he wears the cloak. Wearers can also be detected by the "Homenum Revelio" spell. In Goblet of Fire, Moody's magical eye could see Harry under the cloak. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore warns that the Dementors' perception of humans is unhindered by invisibility cloaks, as they sense people through emotions.