Deathly Hallows (objects)
The Deathly Hallows are three fictional magical objects that appear in the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K Rowling, and which are referred to by the title.
The three objects are the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility.
The symbol
The symbol of the Deathly Hallows appears as an equilateral triangle with an inscribed circle inside it, and a vertical line within the triangle, going from the upper angle down through the circle. This symbol appeared in the cover illustrations of some editions of the book. Hallows with magical properties have historically appeared in a number of stories and legends.
The trio first encounters the symbol at the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. Viktor Krum tells Harry that it is the sign of Grindelwald, when he sees Xenophilius Lovegood wearing it around his neck.
The symbol is also drawn into a copy of a children's book called "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" that Albus Dumbledore left to Hermione Granger in his will.
Appearance in the book
Template:Book-in-universe Information about the objects is revealed slowly as part of the plot development of the book. Albus Dumbledore leaves a book to Hermione Granger in his will, entitled The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This is apparently a children's book of fairytales, but The Tale of Three Brothers tells the legend of how these objects came to be. Death had given three objects to three brothers, who had succeeded in subverting him when crossing a river. Dumbledore believed the objects to have been created by three Peverell brothers - Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell. Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of The Quibbler and father of Luna Lovegood, tells the Trio that anyone holding all three objects together becomes the master of Death itself. Though they are mentioned in the fairy tale, Harry Potter learns they are real. Although Harry owns the cloak and the stone hidden inside the Snitch Dumbledore left him, and indirectly uses the wand at the end, it appears Harry never needed to be Master of Death — that is, he did not need all three deathly hallows to defeat Voldemort.
Alternatively, it is suggested but highly implausible that the Hallows were the reason Harry survived the Killing Curse: he had the Cloak with him, but he left the Stone in the Forbidden Forest before his meeting with the Dark Lord, and (as he tried to explain later, though the facts didn't really fit with earlier events) the Wand technically belonged to him.
Although it has been speculated that the Hallows were the reason that Harry survived the Killing Curse, Dumbledore states that Harry survived due to his mother's protection still existing in the blood of the resurrected Voldemort. It is mentioned that the Deathly Hallows being combined allows the bearer to become the 'true master of death'. Just before the Killing Curse in the the forest, Harry becomes the owner of all three Hallows. In the moments after combining the Hallows, Harry accepts his own death and walks to it knowlingly, without fear. The quest for the Hallows is largely symbolic and has more of a metaphysical meaning.
Elder Wand
The Elder Wand, known throughout history as the "Deathstick" and the "Wand of Destiny," is an extremely powerful magic wand made of elder wood. According to the mythology of the Harry Potter universe, it is the most powerful wand in existence, and when used by its true master, he or she cannot be defeated in a duel. The wand's ownership, however, is a tricky matter. As stated by the wand maker, Mr Ollivander, ownership can only be transferred properly. That is, the wand will only fully work for the new user if the wand was "captured" from its previous owner. This can occur during a duel (although because the Wand makes its owner unbeatable, this seem unlikely), or in non-magical ways (stealing the wand, killing in muggle fashion, etc.).
Thus did Antioch Peverell meet his end—murdered in his sleep by a rival wanting to claim the wand. Ever since, the wand has been sought by power-hungry wizards until it subsequently fell to Dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald (who stole it from Gregorovitch, a famous wand-maker). Albus Dumbledore later defeated Grindelwald and took possession of the wand.
After Dumbledore's death, the wand was placed inside his White Tomb. Voldemort opened it and claimed the wand as his own. Only later did he learn that he never mastered the wand because he did not defeat Dumbledore—Draco Malfoy did (in Half Blood Prince), although Voldemort believed it was Snape. In the final chapters of Deathly Hallows, the wand's allegiance is transferred to Harry after he disarms Draco, even though Draco never had it in his possession. Voldemort cast two curses on Harry with the Elder Wand, including the Killing curse, but each lacked the desired effect. (However, the wand did "kill" Voldemort's soul fragment that was embedded in Harry because it was not the wand's owner). The Killing Curse merely knocked Harry unconscious, although while he was in a dream-like state, he was given a choice to let it kill him or return to the living world. Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse caused a lesser pain that he was able to control. In the end, the Elder Wand's allegiance to Harry, coupled with his Expelliarmus charm, caused Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse to rebound and kill him.
Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his damaged Phoenix-feather wand (an act that the great wand-maker Mr. Ollivander believed impossible), and then intends to secretly return it to Dumbledore's tomb. Keeping it hidden from power-seeking enemies, Harry hopes he will die of natural causes without being defeated; the wand's power will die with him.
Resurrection Stone
The Resurrection Stone allows the holder to see and communicate with the dead. It is used once by Harry Potter.Template:HP7 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 and being unable to be with her. The stone was then set into a ring, and came into the possession of Marvolo Gaunt. It bore the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, which Gaunt believed was the Peverell coat of arms. However, Voldemort turned the ring into a Horcrux, not knowing its true power.
Dumbledore recovered the ring from Marvolo's estate, realizing it was both a Horcrux and one of the Deathly Hallows. Forgetting that as a Horcrux the Resurrection Stone was likely cursed, and motivated by personal desire, Dumbledore attempted to use the Resurrection Stone to talk to his deceased family. The curse destroyed his hand and a curse began to spread. Though the spreading was partly contained by Severus Snape, Dumbledore was given less than a year to live. Dumbledore then destroyed the Horcrux and the ring was passed to Harry through his will. The ring was encapsulated inside the first Snitch Harry ever caught, which could only be opened when Harry was about to face his death. Near the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry uses it once to summon his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. The stone then slips through his 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 order to prevent the three Deathly Hallows from ever being reunited by a single owner.
Cloak of Invisibility
The Cloak of Invisibility has the power to shield the wearer from being seen by Death. It can never be worn out by time or spells, unlike typical invisibility cloaks, which become opaque with age and were vulnerable to being punctured by various spells. The cloak initially belonged to Ignotus Peverell, who was buried in Godric's Hollow, and was passed down through his descendants to James Potter and, finally, to Harry Potter, who is revealed to be a descendant of Ignotus Peverell. The cloak was not in James Potter's possession the night he was murdered; he had lent it to Dumbledore, who was greatly interested in the Deathly Hallows. When he realized James Potter might own the legendary cloak of invisibility, he borrowed it from him to "study it." Harry decides that the Cloak of Invisibility will be the only Hallow he will keep and intends to pass it on to his descendants. At the end of Book 7, Dumbledore explains to Harry that the Cloak's true magic is that it can shield and protect others as well as its owner, as was demonstrated by Harry and his friends throughout the series.
Though it is pointed out in the seventh book that the Cloak, unique amongst its kind, cannot be penetrated by any magic, and not even Death was able to see through it, Mad-Eye Moody, using his magic eye, is able to see Harry hidden beneath the cloak in Goblet of Fire. While in Hagrid's hut, Dumbledore [Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban], can 'see' Harry hidden beneath the cloak. It is likely that either the Cloak's abilities are exaggerated (as the Brothers probably never encountered 'Death' either), or Moody's Eye is much more rare and powerful than is expected. Given Umbridge's use of the Eye, it seems to be a rare item.
References
- Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bloomsbury, 2007.
