Harry dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden forest intentionally. Many fans thought that this was crazy for him to do so. He could have used the stone for his benefit. He could have used it to bring back his dead parents and friends.
In the magical world of Harry Potter, we get to see different mysteries like this. Most of the mysteries are often answered in the book or in the movie sooner or later. So, this act of Harry also made many fans wonder why he would drop the Resurrection Stone?
We all know one thing for sure, Harry didn’t do it out of foolishness. He must have some valid reasons behind that and he did.
“My dear boy, I do,” said Dumbledore, while his fellow picture looked confused and curious. “A wise and courageous decision, but no less than I would have expected of you. ”- Dumbeldore
In the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore, we see that the Headmaster is satisfied with what Harry did. He stated his action to be wise and courageous. Harry also stated that he doesn’t plan on bringing back the stone.
Harry was only the one who knew the location of the stone. So, except for Harry, no other people would be able to obtain the resurrection stone.
So, why does Harry give up on the powerful magical item?
First of all, we need to know what the Resurrection stone is and how it came into Harry’s possession.
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The Resurrection Stone
“Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.” — The Tale of the Three Brothers
The Resurrection Stone was one of the Deathly Hallows. It is believed to be created by Death himself. Along with the stone, there were other two hallows, the Elder Wand, and the Invisibility Cloak.
This stone was first possessed by one of its brothers of Peverell, Cadmus Peverell. It was bestowed upon him by Death himself on his wish. We will get to know further about how he and his brothers obtained the Deathly Hallows in the Tale of Three Brothers.
As stated in the story, the resurrection stone has the power to resurrect the dead loved ones at a cost. We witness the power that the stone holds when Harry uses it before going to Voldemort.
Before facing the Dark Lord, Harry brought his parents, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin back from the dead for a short time. They provided him with enough courage to face Voldemort and sacrifice himself for his friends.
The Resurrection stone cannot fully resurrect the dead. Only the shade of the loved ones can be resurrected. To do so, the person wanting to resurrect should flip the stone three times.
The dead are then resurrected in a shade form, meaning they are more physically solid than ghosts and less than a living body. The shades stay as long as the holder holds the stone in their hands.
History of Resurrection Stone
Like in the Muggle world, the wizarding world also had famous fairytales. The stories were quite famous. They were often told to the wizarding children. One of the famous ones was the Tale of Three Brothers.
This story was taken from a collection of stories written by Beedle the Bard. His book The Tales of Beedle Bard included different fairy tales. The stories were used as teaching material. It taught them morals, and humility and provided wisdom.
The Tale of Three Brothers was inspired by the three Prevell Brothers who met death. After successfully attempting to cross a treacherous river, death appeared in front of them.
The brothers used their magical power to make a bridge to cross the river. At halfway, Death pretended to congratulate them and offered them gifts of their choice. Death provided a gift thinking it would bring their downfall.
The elder brother wished for a most powerful wand, the second brother wished for a power to recall death, and the youngest brother asked for something that would hide him from death. After listening to their wish, death granted the eldest brother an Elder wand, the second brother a Resurrection stone, and the youngest brother the Invisibility Cloak.
Resurrection stone was made from the stone on the river bank. Death used his power to turn the stone into the Hallows. This is how the Resurrection Stone was obtained by the second brother Cadmus Peverell.
After obtaining such powerful magical items, all the brothers went their way. But they didn’t live for long except for the youngest brother. Curious to know more about what happened to the brothers, why not watch the movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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How did Harry get the Resurrection Stone?
The Gaunt ring, which was one of the Horcruxes of Voldemort, had the resurrection stone. Tom Riddle aka the Dark Lord had taken it from his father, Marvolo Gaunt after killing him. The sacrifice of his father and grandfather turned the ring successfully into one of his Horcrux.
The stone on the ring was one of the Hallows which Voldemort never knew of. He hid the ring in the Gaunt family shack. He also placed strong defensive cures on the ring, i.e anyone who wears the ring would lose their life.
After Dumbledore successfully retrieved the ring and destroyed it with Godric Gryffindor’s Sword. The Resurrection Stone was safe and worked properly. He hid them in the snitch which was caught at the first Quidditch match by Harry. He sealed the snitch and wrote, “I open at the close.”
In order to get the stone, Harry also had to fulfill another condition. He should accept his death at the hands of Voldemort. Harry kept the snitch containing the Stone in the moleskin pouch as he was unable to open it.
In 1998, during the battle of Hogwarts, Harry was able to get the stone. Before facing Voldemort, he was ready to die at the hand of the Dark Lord. So, the magical seal was possible for Harry to break.
He kept the Snitch near his mouth and then said “I open at the close.” It opened the Snitch and Harry was able to get the Resurrection Stone. He then flipped the stone three times and was able to see the shade of his parents, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.
So, why didn’t Harry desire the Resurrection Stone?
If he had kept the resurrection stone for himself then he would have been able to revive himself even if he died in the hands of the Dark Lord.
Reason Why Harry Dropped Resurrection Stone
There are different reasons which show us why Harry didn’t keep the Resurrection stone. Even after dropping the stone, he didn’t desire to go back and look for it. We also learn more about Harry’s personality based on his decisions.
Let’s look at the reason why Harry dropped the Resurrection stone.
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He never Desired to be the most Powerful
In the movie, we see Harry as a kind, brave and strong wizard. He never backs off when he has to fight for what is right. Although having a desire to protect everyone, he never thought of being the most powerful is the only way to do so.
Harry Potter also knew about all three Deathly Hallows and the power those items possessed. He also knew that he could have been Master of Death if he had passed all three Hallows. He also deserved the title.
But Harry never desired those powers. The fact that he didn’t want to get any power is shown many times in the movie and in the book. When Harry broke the Elder Wand after the battle. Unlike his nemesis, Voldemort, who desired to be the most powerful wizard and also made Horcruxes just to be immortal, Harry never thought the same.
The same can be said for the Resurrection Stone. He never entertained the idea of getting the Resurrection stone for himself. Just like how he broke the Elder Wand, he also let go of the Resurrection stone.
He also never told anyone about the whereabouts of the Stone. Not even to the Headmaster, Dumbledore.
He didn’t want Voldemort getting his hands on Hallows
When facing the Dark Lord, Harry was prepared to sacrifice his life for his friends. If he wasn’t ready to do so then he would have never got the resurrection stone. He knew that there was no way he could save his life.
So, he didn’t want Voldemort to get his hands on such powerful items. Although Voldemort didn’t know about other hollows except for the Elder Wand. He didn’t want to encourage the idea of becoming the Master of Death to Voldemort.
He was always aware of how hungry The Dark Lord was for power. So, he hid the Stone in the best way he could in a short time by dropping it in the forbidden forest.
Harry knew what Resurrection Stone showed was not real
Harry always knew what the stone showed wasn’t real. Harry always remembered Dumbledore’s teaching that “it does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.”
When Harry met death after getting cursed by Voldemort, there he met Dumbledore. So, when Harry told Dumbledore what he did to the Resurrection Stone, the Headmaster praised him for doing so. He told Harry that he made a wise and courageous decision.
Why was Harry’s decision wise and courageous?
The people resurrected by the stone were not real and they were merely the shadows of people who had already moved on. Harry also knew this to some extent.
So, the best he could do for his loved ones is that he never summoned them and lived his life to the fullest. So, Harry’s decision was wise.
Not being able to see your loved ones is very hurtful. Harry also desired the presence of his parents. This desire can be fulfilled by the resurrection stone. So, to give up the presence of his loved ones he had to give up on the stone.
Harry might have needed great courage to do so. To Lose is the only way he can become close to his loved ones.
What happened to the Resurrection Stone?
Most of you might be wondering what happened to the resurrection stone after it was dropped into the forbidden forest. The whereabouts of the stone were only known by Harry. We also do not find further mention of the stone in the movie or in the book.
What happened to the Resurrection Stone?
In an interview, the author of Harry Potter, J.K Rowling gives us a short description of what could have happened to the stone after it was dropped in the forest.
Basically, the forbidden forest is inhabited by centaurs. So Rowling suggests that she just imagines the stone to be crushed by the strong ‘Hoof’ of the centaurs. This destroyed the stone completely.
Harry also never wanted to use the stone again. So, the Resurrection stone is basically destroyed and won’t reach the hands of anyone.
