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Xenophilius Lovegood: "There is nothing Dark about the Hallows — at least, not in that crude sense. One simply uses the symbol to reveal oneself to other believers, in the hope that they might help one with the Quest."
Harry Potter: "I'm sorry. I still don't really understand."
Xenophilius Lovegood: "Well, you see, believers seek the Deathly Hallows."
— Xenophilius Lovegood explaining the Hallows Quest, and the importance of the sign of the Deathly Hallows to it, to Harry Potter[src]
Deathly hallows necklace

A Deathly Hallows necklace, a sign of the quest

The Hallows Quest, also simply known as the Quest, was a term used by believers of the Deathly Hallows to describe their journey to seek out the three objects. Those undertaking this journey referred to themselves as Questers. It was said that the person who collected and mastered all three Hallows would become "Master of Death". Questers often wore the sign of the Deathly Hallows on their person to identify themselves to other Questers, in the hope that they could meet and share knowledge with fellow believers.[1]

Background[]

The Deathly Hallows referred to three objects from the fairy tale The Tale of the Three Brothers by Beedle the Bard. In this story, three brothers were said to have made a bridge over a dangerous river, but before they could cross, they were confronted by Death itself. Death felt cheated that they hadn't drowned in the river, but Death was cunning and would not be denied so easily. He pretended to congratulate the brothers and offered each of them a prize. The eldest brother asked for an unbeatable wand, a weapon worthy of one who had conquered Death. Death took a branch from an Elder Tree that grew nearby and fashioned it into a wand. The second brother wanted to humiliate Death further and asked for the power call loved ones back from the grave. Death took a stone from the river and imbued it with the power summon spirits of the deceased back from the afterlife. The youngest brother, most humble and wise of the three, did not trust Death, and so he asked for something that would allow him to continue safely on his way without Death being able to harm him. Death reluctantly gave him an infallible Invisibility Cloak. Questers referred to these objects as the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility.[1][2]

After receiving the objects, the eldest brother used the Elder Wand to take revenge on an old enemy, then proceeded to boast of his invincible wand. That night, another wizard killed him in his sleep and stole the wand. The second brother returned to his home and used the Resurrection Stone to bring back his late bride. However, she was cold and unhappy, as she did not belong in the living world anymore. He later took his own life so he could truly join her. The youngest brother was able to hide from Death for many years, and only when he reached a very old age did he finally take off the Cloak and give it to his son. He greeted Death as an old friend and they departed this life as equals.[1][2]

Questers believed that the original owners of the Hallows, and therefore the three brothers from the tale, were the Peverell brothers, Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus. Some people, such as Albus Dumbledore, also believed that they manufactured the objects themselves, rather than being given them by Death.[2]

It was said that the Hallows were lure for fools, and that many had died in their quest to reunite all three of them.[3]

Known personal Hallows Quests[]

"Invincible masters of death, Grindelwald and Dumbledore! Two months of insanity, of cruel dreams, and neglect of the only two members of my family left to me."
— Albus Dumbledore describing this time of his life[src]
Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald

Dumbledore and Grindelwald during a time when they were active Questers

In their youth, Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore sought the Deathly Hallows, envisioning themselves as "invincible Masters of Death" ruling over the Muggles "For the Greater Good". Grindelwald managed to track down and steal the Elder Wand from its master at the time, the wandmaker Gregorovitch, obtaining mastery of it by Stunning him. Albus Dumbledore would later take the Wand for himself after a vicious duel between the pair.[3]

In his later life, Dumbledore would abandon actively searching for the Hallows, though he still took opportunities to seek them when they arose. However, while he was successful in locating the other two Hallows, his attempts in taking them for his own led to tragedy. Correctly deducing that James Potter's Invisibility Cloak was the fabled Cloak of Invisibility, he borrowed it from James for study. However, Voldemort broke the protection of the Fidelius Charm around the Potters house during this time, and Dumbledore thus partially blamed himself for the deaths of James and Lily, as he had robbed them of an alternate means to hide themselves. His attempt to use the Resurrection Stone also ended in tragedy, as it was turned into one of Voldemort's Horcruxes by virtue of being set in Marvolo Gaunt's Ring. In a "foolish" attempt to use the Stone, Dumbledore activated a deadly curse which drastically shortened his lifespan. These failures caused him to finally consider himself unworthy as a Quester.[3]

ItsTheSignDeathlyHallows

Xenophilius Lovegood displaying his necklace, his proof as a Quester

Xenophilius Lovegood also considered himself a Quester, wearing a necklace bearing the sign of the Deathly Hallows. His search for the Hallows was most likely brought on by his overall belief in those things that very few other wizards believe in or even consider possible. Though he was adamant in his Quest, he is not known to have ever come close to locating any of the Hallows, despite unknowingly having a possessor of two of them in his sitting room for a noted duration.[1]

Harry Potter once considered undertaking the Hallows Quest after being told about it by Lovegood, believing that it was what Dumbledore would have wanted him to do, and what he needed to do to vanquish Voldemort. He eventually, however, realised that this was a flawed assumption, and that he should stick to his own personal "Quest" for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Despite not actively seeking the Hallows, he ended up with all three in his possession, though never all at the same time. The Cloak of Invisibility was gifted to him by Dumbledore many years previous as his rightful possession from his father. The Resurrection Stone was covertly bequeathed to him in Dumbledore's will, covertly concealed with the first Golden Snitch he ever caught. The Elder Wand was mastered by Harry after he disarmed Draco Malfoy during a skirmish at Malfoy Manor (Draco having previously disarmed Dumbledore during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and taken mastery of the Wand), and was briefly held in his possession after his defeat of Voldemort at Voldemort's Last Stand before the Wand was returned to the White Tomb.

Behind the scenes[]

  • The term "Hallows Quest" and its related terms, as well as the custom of carrying the sign of the Deathly Hallows, are only ever mentioned by Xenophilius Lovegood. Given his unreliable nature, it is possible that these trappings of the search for the Deathly Hallows were invented wholesale by Lovegood, and that other seekers such as Dumbledore and Grindelwald did not adhere to them.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 21 (The Tale of the Three Brothers)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Tales of Beedle the Bard, "The Tale of the Three Brothers"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 35 (King's Cross)
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