Most of us have certainly heard about the Deathly Hallows. Even the seventh book itself in the franchise is named after the Deathly Hallows. Yet we may be unknown about the hallows, their history, and their uses.
In this article, we are about to know about all the hallows and their combined symbol.
Deathly Hallows Symbol
The Deathly Hallows symbol is a triangle enclosing a circle and a vertical line. It is a representation of the three Deathly Hallows which are three legendary objects. These objects united make a man “Master of Death”.
The 3 legendary objects are the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and Invisibility Cloak. Thus, the symbol of Deathly Hallows represented all these hallows.
The outer triangle represents the Invisibility Cloak. The Resurrection Stone (which is placed in the ring) is symbolized by the circle enclosed in the triangle. Similarly, the symbol of the elder wand is the straight line between the circle and the triangle.
What is the story behind the Deathly Hallows?
(The Tale of Three Brothers)
The existence of Deathly Hallows is believed to have come from the tale of three brothers. This story is about the three Peverell brothers who had made the magical bridge over the perilous river and overcame the danger of death.
They meet the personification of death halfway down the bridge who was angry to lose three potential victims. Yet, he pretended to be impressed and granted each of them a wish as a reward. It was tactics of Death to make them dead.
The elder brother, Antioch Peverell asked for an unbeatable wand and was hence granted the Elder wand. The eldest one, getting the most powerful wand, bragged about it. He was then robbed and killed when he was asleep.
The middle brother, Cadmus Peverell asked for the object that could resurrect the dead one. So, he was granted the Resurrection Stone. He used the stone to resurrect back the woman he loved. However, she was not fully alive. On listening to her sorrows, he killed himself to join her.
The youngest brother, Ignotus Peverell didn’t trust Death and asked the way so that Death does not follow him. Thus, Death unwillingly granted him the Invisible Cloak. He hid under the cloak for many years and Death was never able to find him.
He finally removed his cloak after the great age and handed it over to his son. Death got impressed by his achievements so Death chose him as his equal and then departed.
Elder Wand
Elder Wand was among the three magical objects of the Deathly Hallows. It was created by Death himself as a reward to give to Antioch Peverell as he had outsmarted Death.
Elder Wand is supposed to be the most powerful wand that ever existed. It was able to perform the magic that most skilled wizards could not perform with a normal wand.
Elder wand gave its loyalty to the one who could win it from the previous master. Most of the time in the Harry Potter movies/books, we could witness that Dumbledore possessed the wand. Later Draco Malfoy and Harry too possessed it. Voldemort was also seen trying to have possession of the wand.
Resurrection Stone
Resurrection stone was another deathly Hallows that Death had gifted to Cadmus Peverell. It was the second Deathly Hallow created by Death which had the power to recall the loved ones who were dead.
When the stone was turned three times in the user’s hand, the stone got activated and it would bring back the spirits of their loved one. The spirits could only be seen when one held the stone, and only the one who held the stone could see the spirits.
Cadmus used it to resurrect the women he loved. He died eventually, and the stone got passed on to many generations, ending up in Voldemort’s mother’s family.
Hence, the stone was owned by Lord Voldemort, which he turned into one of his Horcruxes. He also cursed the stone so that no one else would use it. The stone was possessed by Dumbledore too. Later, it was passed on to Harry, who used it in the Second Wizarding War.
Invisibility Cloak
Invisibility Cloak is the magical garment that Death gave to Ignotus Peverell as a bounty for outsmarting him. It is the cloak that makes that person who wears it invisible.
It is the handiest of all Deathly Hallows. It is believed that Ignotus was even able to defeat Death for a long time hiding over it.
The cloak was successfully passed over from generation to generation. James Potter was also the one to get it which was further passed to Harry through Dumbledore.
Harry used the cloak in various adventures mostly around the Hogwarts premises. He visited various restricted areas of Hogwarts and unveiled many secrets.
How did Dumbledore possess all three Deathly Hallows?
Dumbledore at a young age was obsessed with gaining all of the Deathly Hallows and becoming the Master of Death. He, along with his friend Gellert Grindelwald, was set to hunt the hallows. Thus, Gellert stole the Elder wand from the wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch.
Dumbledore became the owner of the Elder wand after he defeated Gellert Grindelwald. He was the owner of the wand for forty years until Draco Malfoy disarmed him during the last time of minutes of his life. Albus used the magical power of the wand for good purposes.
He possessed the Resurrection stone too. He found the stone in the ring when he went to Gaunt’s house in search of believed Horcrux which was the Resurrection stone itself. We know that the Resurrection stone can bring back the spirits of a deceased loved one.
Thus, Dumbledore wore it in the hope to meet his late sister, Ariana Dumbledore, whose death he felt responsible for. Despite knowing that the stone was cursed by Voldemort, he kept it on for a long time.
Dumbledore also possesses the Invisibility Cloak. He took it from James Potter to study it. He kept it for 10 years and passed it to Harry.
How did Harry get all three Deathly Hallows?
Harry Potter was anonymously gifted the Invisibility cloak on Christmas eve with the note. The note read “Your father left this in my possession when he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.”
Later it got revealed that Dumbledore gifted him the cloak. The cloak belonged to James, who had passed away. Dumbledore had borrowed the cloak from James to study it. It had been in his possession for ten years after which he passed it to Harry at the correct time.
The Resurrection stone was inherited by Harry after the demise of Albus Dumbledore, respecting his will. It was inside the same Golden Snitch that Harry had swallowed to catch it in his first Quidditch Match.
Harry got the Elder wand almost at the end. We are aware that Dumbledore was the master of the Elder wand for a long time. Dumbledore was disarmed by Draco Malfoy before Snape killed him. This made Draco the new master of the wand.
Eventually, Harry disarmed Draco during the wizarding war going on. Thus Harry was the new master of the Elder wand.
Harry possessed all three Deathly Hallows at once at a particular interval of time.
Master of Death
As mentioned above, a person becomes a “Master of Death” upon combining all three Deathly Hallows. According to Dumbledore, a true master of death does not run away from death. He accepts death as an inevitable truth and realizes there are more worst things than death.
The known Master of Death was Ignotus Peverell, Albus Dumbledore, and Harry Potter.
Ignotus hid from Death under the invisibility cloak for long ages. He had mastered only one hallow yet he was able to deny the possibility of death for the longest time. He later realized the certainty of death and removed the cloak. Death being impressed considered him as his equal friend and a Master of Death.
Dumbledore was able to possess all of the three hallows at different intervals of time. He is considered a Master of Death as he fulfilled the most important criteria of accepting his death.
Harry was the real and ultimate Master of Death as he possessed all the hallows at once. He owned an invisibility cloak, mastered the elder wand, and possessed the resurrections stone before he lost it. Most importantly he accepted his death.
Where are Deathly Hallows now?
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry kept the Elder wand in Dumbledore’s grave after he had defeated Voldemort. He remained its master.
The resurrection stone is hidden somewhere between the rocks in the ground of the forbidden forest. Harry may have intentionally dropped it to prevent any others from finding it.
The Cloak of Invisibility remained with Harry. In Harry Potter and Cursed Child, it was revealed Harry gave the cloak to his eldest son, James Sirius in his sixth grade. However, it was stolen by James Sirius, Harry’s youngest son.
Death is the inevitable consequence of life. It is the ultimate truth that everyone has to face. The greed to be the immortal being can lead the person to a worse consequence than death.
Lord Voldemort is an example, well known among us. His greed for being immortal led him even in the worst condition. He chose the Horcruxes rather than the Deathly Hallows to fulfill his purpose of being immortal. However, he kind of possessed two of the hallows except for the invisibility cloak.
However, all 6 of the Horcruxes were destroyed, and he was killed at last. His body was shown disintegrating in the resting chamber of Voldemort.
