The Deathly Hallows

• Type: Legendary Magical Objects, collectively known as the Deathly Hallows
• Owners: Originally the Peverell brothers (Antioch Peverell, Cadmus Peverell, and Ignotus Peverell); later owners of individual Hallows include Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore, the Gaunt family, Lord Voldemort, and Harry Potter, who is the only known wizard to have possessed all three simultaneously.
• Maker: According to legend in The Tale of the Three Brothers, the Hallows were created and bestowed by Death itself. Albus Dumbledore believed it was more likely they were created by the highly skilled Peverell brothers.

The Deathly Hallows consist of three distinct and powerful magical objects. When represented together, they form a unique symbol: a triangle enclosing a circle, bisected by a vertical line. This symbol was used by believers, like Xenophilius Lovegood, to identify one another.

• The Elder Wand: A fifteen-inch wand made of elder wood with a core of Thestral tail hair. Its appearance is noted for the bumpy, knot-like carvings along its length. It is visually distinct from all other wands.
• The Resurrection Stone: A black stone, notable for being cracked down the middle and bearing the symbol of the Deathly Hallows etched onto its surface. It was originally set into a golden ring, which became a Gaunt family heirloom.
• The Invisibility Cloak: A cloak woven from a shimmering, silvery material that feels like “water woven into fabric.” It is astonishingly light and fluid. Unlike other invisibility cloaks, its power has not faded over centuries, and it is impervious to most forms of magical damage and revealing spells.

Each Hallow possesses a unique and formidable magical property, allegedly making the one who unites them the “Master of Death.”

• The Elder Wand: Widely reputed to be the most powerful wand in existence, making its wielder nearly unbeatable in a duel. The wand's allegiance is not won through inheritance but by force; a wizard must defeat its previous master (by disarming or killing them) to truly command its power. The wand retains some loyalty to its previous masters, as it refused to harm Harry Potter when wielded by Lord Voldemort, as Harry was its true master.
• The Resurrection Stone: Possesses the power to summon echoes or shades of the deceased from beyond the veil. These shades are not truly alive; they are described as solid yet semi-transparent, cold, and separated from the living world. They are visible only to the holder of the stone and exist to offer comfort and support, though their presence is also a source of sadness as they do not truly belong in the mortal realm.
• The Invisibility Cloak: Grants its wearer true and total invisibility. Its enchantments are so powerful that they have not diminished over many centuries. It is capable of concealing its wearer not only from mortal eyes but, according to legend, from Death itself. It can also be used to hide multiple people. While highly resilient, its power can be momentarily negated by powerful enchantments like the Thief's Downfall at Gringotts.

The origins of the Hallows are immortalized in The Tale of the Three Brothers, a wizarding fairytale found in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The story recounts how the three Peverell brothers cheated Death and were each given a prize. Antioch, the eldest, asked for an unbeatable wand (the Elder Wand). Cadmus, the second brother, asked for the power to recall others from Death (the Resurrection Stone). Ignotus, the youngest and humblest, asked for something to enable him to go forth without being followed by Death (the Invisibility Cloak).

• The Elder Wand had a bloody history, passing from wizard to wizard through murder and conflict. Its trail is one of the most violent in wizarding history. Notable owners included Gellert Grindelwald, who stole it from Gregorovitch, and Albus Dumbledore, who won it in his legendary duel with Grindelwald in 1945. Its allegiance then passed unwittingly to Draco Malfoy when he disarmed Dumbledore, and finally to Harry Potter when he disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor.
• The Resurrection Stone was passed down through Cadmus Peverell's line to the House of Gaunt. Marvolo Gaunt treasured it as a sign of his pure-blood heritage. Lord Voldemort later turned the ring containing the stone into a Horcrux, unaware of its true nature. Albus Dumbledore located and destroyed the Horcrux, but not before being afflicted by a fatal curse from the ring. He hid the stone inside the first Golden Snitch Harry Potter ever caught, bequeathing it to him in his will. Harry used it in the Forbidden Forest before facing Voldemort, and then dropped it, where it was lost.
• The Invisibility Cloak was passed down peacefully through Ignotus Peverell's descendants, eventually reaching James Potter. Albus Dumbledore borrowed the cloak shortly before James's death to study it. He later gifted it anonymously to Harry Potter for his first Christmas at Hogwarts. Harry used it extensively throughout his school years and during his hunt for Horcruxes.

The Deathly Hallows are the central focus of the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. They represent an alternative path to immortality and power that rivals Lord Voldemort's method of using Horcruxes. The quest for the Hallows becomes a major temptation for Harry, who must choose between pursuing them and continuing Dumbledore's mission to destroy the Horcruxes. The legend provides critical insight into the motivations of key characters, especially Albus Dumbledore, revealing his youthful ambition and tragic past with Gellert Grindelwald. Ultimately, Harry Potter becomes the true “Master of Death,” not by seeking to conquer it, but by accepting his own mortality. He unites the three Hallows—inheriting the Cloak, being given the Stone, and winning the Wand's allegiance—but chooses to renounce their combined power. He keeps only the Cloak, abandons the Stone in the Forbidden Forest, and uses the Elder Wand to repair his own wand before returning it to Dumbledore's tomb, intending for its power to die with him.

• J.K. Rowling has stated in interviews that the idea for the symbol of the Hallows was partly inspired by a Masonic symbol featured in the film The Man Who Would Be King (1975) (J.K. Rowling interview).
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry snaps the Elder Wand in two and throws the pieces away, a significant deviation from the book where he places it back in Albus Dumbledore's tomb (film).
• The real-world publication of The Tales of Beedle the Bard allowed fans to read “The Tale of the Three Brothers” just as characters in the wizarding world would have.