A pair of Vanishing Cabinets will act as a way to get between two places. Objects placed in one cabinet will appear in the other. The cabinets seem to ward off all known defensive spells, as they were successfully used to transport several Death Eaters from Borgin & Burkes into Hogwarts School. If one cabinet is broken, a transferred object moves to a kind of limbo.
Vanishing Cupboard in Borgin And Burke's.
Draco Malfoy discovers the Vanishing Cabinet
Harry had previously hidden in a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes in 1992 to avoid being seen by Lucius and Draco Malfoy, but at the time he didn't realise what the Cabinet was, nor its powers. Had he completely closed the door at the time, he would have found himself inside the Hogwarts cabinet.
The Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts was obviously not known for the danger it represented, as neither the headmaster nor the caretaker removed it from the premises. Though they knew it was a Vanishing Cabinet, no one seemed to know it was linked to a second cabinet in the shop of Borgin & Burkes. Peeves damaged this Cabinet in 1992 when he was persuaded by Nearly Headless Nick to drop it in a classroom right above Filch's office to get Harry out of trouble with the caretaker. In 1996, Fred and George Weasley shoved Montague headfirst into the Cabinet on the first floor of Hogwarts. Montague escaped (by Apparating) and was found in a toilet's u-bend by Draco Malfoy, who summoned Professor Snape for help. Montague revealed the previously unknown powers of the Cabinets to Draco. Draco then realized its usefulness. The Hogwarts Vanishing Cabinet was later moved to the Room of Requirement and in 1997 Draco Malfoy repaired it to allow a group of Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts from the Borgin & Burkes Vanishing Cabinet.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) (Deleted scene) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)