Changes: Cloak of Invisibility

Revision as of 19:58, 2 September 2010

"Point me!"
This article is about the Deathly Hallow. You may be looking for normal Invisibility cloak.

""The Cloak of Invisibility," he finished, enclosing both line and circle in a triangle."

The Cloak of Invisibility was the third and final of the three Deathly Hallows which, according to legend, was first owned by Death, later given to the youngest of the Peverell brothers, Ignotus Peverell. According to legend, whoever unites it with the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand will be the Master of Death. The Cloak of Invisibility was the only known Invisibility Cloak that would not fade with age and provide everlasting protection to the wearer, something no normal Invisibility Cloak could provide. In 1991 it passed it the possession of Harry Potter who used to to great success in the Second Wizarding War and resolved to pass it down to his own children.

History

According to The Tale of the Three Brothers in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a wizarding fairytale, Ignotus Peverell and his brothers, Antioch and Cadmus Peverell were out travelling the world. They came upon a wide, fast river that was too deep to wade through, too dangerous to swim across. So the brothers, who were skilled in magic, waved their wands and conjured a bridge. They got to the middle when Death himself appeared and spoke to them. Death, outraged that they had outwitted him when they crossed a treacherous river by magical means, pretended to congratulate them and offered each of them a prize for their skill. While Antioch and Cadmus asked for powerful objects for themselves, (the eldest, Antioch, an unbeatable wand, the second eldest, Cadmus, a Resurection Stone) Ignotus was the only one of the three Peverell brothers who did not trust Death. Instead of asking Death for something to further his own desires, he asked for the power to leave that fateful meeting without Death being able to follow him. He asked for something that would allow him to not be followed by Death - the Invisibility Cloak. Not wishing to betray his true motives in giving the brothers their "prizes," Death begrudgingly took off his Cloak of Invisibility that he used to sneak up on people with and handed it over to Ignotus.

While his two brothers met gruesome fates indirectly at the hands of their own gifts (the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone), Ignotus used the Cloak of Invisibility to successfully hide from Death for many years. Finally, when he was an old man and had lived a happy, long life, Ignotus took off the Cloak of Invisibility, gave it to his own son, and went with Death as an old friend.

The Cloak of Invisibility was passed down Ignotus' family line and eventually ended up in the hands of his final known descendants, the Potters. It eventually ended up in the hands of James Potter, the father of Harry Potter. James used the Cloak of Invisibility in many of his misdeeds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and kept it afterward. Around the time that Lord Voldemort was hunting the Potters for their son, the Cloak of Invisibility came to the attention of Albus Dumbledore when James showed him the Cloak of Invisibility, and Dumbledore, who had searched for the Deathly Hallows in youth, asked to borrow the Cloak from James to study it. After James was killed, the Cloak was left in Dumbledore's possession.

Invisiblebody — Harry using the Cloak of Invisibility on Christmas Day 1991.

Harry: "I'm going to keep Ignotus's present, though."

Albus Dumbledore's portrait: " But of course, Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on!"

— Harry's decision to keep the Cloak of Invisibility^[src]

Ten years later, Dumbledore gave Harry Potter the Cloak of Invisibility as a Christmas present anonymously and told him to "use it well." This would be one piece of advice that Harry would heed quite well over his school life and beyond, as the Cloak of Invisibility aided Harry on countless trips and missions, including his hunt for Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. It was not until 1998, that Harry learned the true nature of his own Invisibility Cloak and its true identity as the Cloak of Invisibility, as spoken of in the legend of the Deathly Hallows. As Ignotus' last remaining descendant, the Cloak was rightfully Harry's and was kept by him after Lord Voldemort's defeat. Harry resolved to pass it on to his own son one day, just as his ancestor Ignotus had done with his son.

The story of the Deathly Hallows became a legend which some witches and wizards believed it to be actual fact, while to most of the public it became as a fairytale, as did all of Beedle the Bard's stories. However Albus Dumbledore felt that it was more likely the Cloak was created by Ignotus himself, with the object's power (in combination with the other two) later creating the story of it formerly being the property of Death. This would make the Cloak a remarkable, and never equaled, creation.

Abilities

"It's never occured to me before, but I've heard stuff about charms wearing off cloaks when they get old, or them being ripped apart by spells so they've got holes in. Harry's was owned by his dad, so it's not exactly new, is it, but it's just... perfect!"

— Ron Weasley on the Cloak of Invisibility^[src]

The Cloak of Invisibility is especially powerful. It is resistant to jinxes, hexes, and other spells which would normally damage or otherwise render a normal Invisibility cloak ineffective. For example, just before the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were huddled under it, a Death Eaters' Summoning Charm had no effect on removing the Cloak of Invisibility. It has also remained completely effective throughout its long existence, many times that of other cloaks, which lose their power over time.

Although powerful, the Cloak of Invisibility is not infallable. While the Cloak itself resists spell damage, it does not shield the wearer from spells used against them personally. For example, Harry was petrified while under the Cloak twice during the 1996–1997 school year. In addition, it will not hide the wearer from detection that is not based on optical sight, such as Alastor Moody's magical eye, magical creatures such as Dementors, or spells such as Homenum Revelio.

Known Uses

James Potter used it to sneak into the kitchens to steal food (mentioned in 1991).
Harry Potter hid beneath it to sneak into Restricted Section of the library to find out about Nicolas Flamel in 1991.
Harry used it to view the Mirror of Erised in 1991 along with Ron.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione rotated use of the cloak to help care for Norberta, Hagrid's dragon, in 1992.
Harry and Hermione sneaked Norberta out of the castle to Charlie Weasley's friends with the cloak in 1992.
The trio went under the cloak to the Third Floor Corridor when they saved the Philosopher's Stone in 1992.
Harry and Ron used it to get out of the castle to follow the spiders in 1993.
Harry sneaked into Hogsmeade twice in his Third year underneath it.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione used the cloak to visit Hagrid before the Hippogriff Buckbeak was executed.
Severus Snape also used it on the same day to hide in the Shrieking Shack in an attempt to capture Sirius Black.
Harry went to Hogsmeade underneath the cloak, because he wanted to remain hidden during a visit in 1994.
Harry ventured out to see the Dragons for the First task in 1994.
Harry went to the Prefects Bathroom and back to the Common Room to work on the egg's clue under it in 1995.
The trio used the cloak to visit Hagrid when he returned from his mission to the giants in November 1995.
Harry used the cloak to sneak into Dolores Umbridge's office to use the Floo Network in 1996.
Hermione and Harry sneaked back into Umbridge's office under the cloak the day of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione used the cloak to follow Draco Malfoy to Knockturn Alley in 1996.
Neville Longbottom and Harry attempted to use the cloak on the Hogwarts Express that same year, but were unsuccessful as there were too many people to navigate the corridors undetected.
Harry tried to eavesdrop on Draco Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express under the cloak in 1996.
At Professor Slughorn's Christmas party Harry used it to eavesdrop upon Malfoy and Professor Snape.
Harry also used the cloak when he was trying to catch Malfoy in the Room of Requirement the same school year.
Harry used his cloak under the effects of Felix Felicis to obtain the Slughorn's memory in 1997.
Albus Dumbledore ordered Harry to wear the cloak during their trip to the Horcrux cave in 1997.
An immobilsed Harry watched Dumbledore die while hidden within it on the same night 1997.
Harry was hidden underneath the cloak after the trio escaped the Wedding of William Weasley and Fleur Delacour and during the Skirmish on Tottenham Court Road on the same night.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione rotated using the cloak to spy on the Ministry of Magic in August of 1997.
They used it during the Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic with Harry underneath it most of the time.
The trio used it for security while Apparating to various places in the countryside in 1997 and 1998.
Harry and Hermione visited Godric's Hollow while disguised as Muggles by using Polyjuice Potion and hiding under the cloak on Christmas Eve 1997.
Harry was hidden underneath the cloak when the trio were searching for Xenophilius Lovegood's house just before the New Year in 1997.
On the same day, Ron was hidden in order to protect his alibi during the Ambush at the Lovegood House.
Harry and Griphook hid beneath the cloak on 1 May, 1998 when they broke into Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
The same night, the trio Apparated to Hogsmeade to break into Hogwarts.
Harry and Luna used it to view the statue of Ravenclaw with her diadem in the Ravenclaw Tower.
The trio used it during intervals of the Battle of Hogwarts in which they did not want to be seen.
Harry hid under it when Lord Voldemort thought he was dead during the Battle of Hogwarts.
After Luna distracted everyone in the aftermath of the battle, Harry used the cloak to find Ron and Hermione and tell them everything that had happened.

Behind the scenes

Although superior to any other cloak in terms of durability and longevity, the Cloak was unable to hide Harry from certain methods of magical detection, such as Alastor Moody's Magic Eye, Marauder's Map, and the Homenum Revelio spell. It was also unable to hide Harry from creatures able to sense location by methods other than primarily sight, such as Dementors and Nagini.
The Cloak also had the limitation of only being able to hide what it was large enough to cover - it did not grow with the user(s), and if any part of them accidentally slipped past the boundaries of the Cloak, that part risked exposing their presence to anyone nearby. Thus, as the trio grew taller, they often had to stoop more to be completely covered by the Cloak.
While it shields the wearer from sight and cannot be harmed by any class of spell aimed at it, the Cloak does not act as a shield against spells, curses, or hexes, as Harry is affected by the Full Body-Bind Curse curse twice while under The Cloak in 1996.
The Cloak's apperance in the movie differs from the the one described in the book. In the book, it is described as a fluid-like, silvery material.

Appearances

Cloak Sign — The Cloak of Invisibility is one of the three Deathly Hallows, represented here by the triangle

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 |made=
 |usage=Cloak
-|owners=*[[Ignotus Peverell]]
+|owners=*[[Death (The Tale of the Three Brothers)|Death]]
+*[[Ignotus Peverell]]
 *Generations of Peverells
 *[[James Potter I]]