Tomb of Albus Dumbledore

• Type: Tomb / Mausoleum
• Location: On the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, by the shore of the Great Lake.
• Owner/Residents: The final resting place of Albus Dumbledore.
• Key Features: A white marble tomb; the only grave located on the Hogwarts grounds.

The tomb of Albus Dumbledore is a magnificent, solid white marble structure that was magically created to house the body of the late Hogwarts Headmaster following his death. It is located on the edge of the Great Lake on the school grounds. The tomb was formed during Dumbledore's funeral at the end of the 1996-1997 school year. After a eulogy was given, flames erupted around Dumbledore's body, which was wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars. When the flames subsided, they revealed the white tomb, which had encased the body. The decision to bury Dumbledore at Hogwarts was a unique honour granted by the Ministry of Magic, making him the only Headmaster to be interred on the school grounds. For a time, it served as a place of mourning and reflection for those who revered him, including Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. In March of 1998, the tomb was desecrated by Lord Voldemort. Acting on information he had tortured from Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort sought the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows, believing it had been buried with its most recent master. Voldemort cast a spell that cracked the tomb open, allowing him to retrieve the powerful wand from the hands of Dumbledore's corpse. The act demonstrated Voldemort's profound lack of respect for the dead and his obsession with overcoming death. The state of the tomb following the Battle of Hogwarts is not specified in the novels, but it is presumed to have been repaired.

The tomb's primary significance is twofold. First, its creation at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince serves as a powerful and solemn symbol of the end of an era at Hogwarts and in the wizarding world. It represents the loss of the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever feared and marks a turning point as the Second Wizarding War escalates. Second, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the tomb becomes a crucial plot device. It is the final hiding place of the Elder Wand. Harry Potter's vision of Voldemort breaking into the tomb confirms the Dark Lord's quest for the Hallow and sets up the final confrontation over the wand's true mastery. The desecration of the tomb is a pivotal moment, as it is when Voldemort physically takes possession of the Elder Wand, believing its power is now his.

The tomb is a single, sealed sarcophagus. Its known contents at the time of Dumbledore's burial were:

• The body of Albus Dumbledore.
• The Elder Wand, which was buried with him.

• J.K. Rowling clarified in an interview that the white flames at the funeral did not consume Dumbledore's body, but rather created the tomb around it (J.K. Rowling interview, 2007).
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the tomb is depicted as a distinct, pointed white structure located on a small island in the Great Lake, separate from the shore. This design is maintained in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, where the scene of Voldemort breaking it open is shown. He fires a single, powerful spell that shatters the lid, allowing him to take the Elder Wand (film).