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Why did Dumbledore have James' cloak?

by David Haber

On a new post on her official web site, J.K. Rowling admitted she made a mistake in New York when she was asked, what question have you never been asked that you ought to have been asked? She now says the question should have been, Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

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Reader Comments: (Page 25)

After reading only a few pages of posts I saw several that said that the invisibility cloak could be GG. How? The only one left is the sword? So I skipped to the end.

Posted by Ashley from Texas on November 28, 2006 6:47 PM

Would it be possible for Lily or James Potter to have had a "true" prophecy from Sybil Trelawney, causing James Potter to leave the cloak with Dumbledore? I know Trelawney stays in the tower but what if she made the prediction before being hired? As far as I know, Trelawney's age hasn't been mentioned; she could even be a classmate of the Potters. Too far fetched?

Posted by Linda from Fort Wayne, IN on November 29, 2006 10:21 AM

Linda,
It's possible that Trelawney and the Potters were in school at the same time..
She and Snape were applying for jobs at Hogwarts at the same time...
they should be about the same age..give or take a few years...
DD told Harry that only two people KNEW what the prophecy truely said, not that only two people EVER knew what it said.....

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on November 29, 2006 12:49 PM

The cloak is not definitely a Horcrux of James.The most logical possibility is that the cloak was a possession of Godric Griffindor and that makes Harry the last descendant of Godric.And it fits the situation that Harry has to face Voldemort-the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin...

Posted by Soorej from India on November 30, 2006 03:04 AM

Somewhere in that library at Hogwarts, there HAS to be a list of the decendants of the four founders...

and I imagine somewhere at the ministry they have to have a list of all the pure blood families.since they seem so important to the running of the ministry..

Kind of makes me think, what did Slytherin do after he left Hogwarts? could the cloak have belonged to him? if all pure blood families are interrelated, wouldn't that mean somewhere back then all the founders bloodlines must have crossed, assuming they had children..

Morty could be Slytherin's last heir, but Harry could be the heir of the other three....

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on November 30, 2006 07:55 AM

Before you dismiss Harry's scar as a Horcrux, give this theory a try - as I don't believe LV did this "intentionally."

If Harry is a descendent of GG & LV knew/guessed this - perhaps he went there that night to Lilly & James & create a Horcrux out of the invisibility cloak (which may explain why Dumbledore was given the cloak for safe keeping) - instead, however, Lilly's action (love) foils this plan & Harry's scar becomes a Horcrux -- inadvertently producing a Gryffindor Horcrux (Harry/his scar) for LV.

Now, I have considered that IF Harry's scar is a Horcrux why would LV be determined to Harry (thereby destroying one of his own Horcruxes). We know that LV has gone farther than anyone else regarding creating a Horcrux -having split his soul numerous times rather than just once. In turn, he may have accepted a "partial" life (he's so un-human now) - with having a physical body being the most important aspect to him. Now that he has that, he may accept the fact that he has to one of his own Horcruxes because this particular Horcrux could backfire on him & destroy him once and for all (should Harry be able to find & destroy the other missing Horcruxes). In this way, it's better for him to remain eternally partial & safe rather than risk having the Horcrux destroy him in the end. Let�s not forget his arrogance & that he may believe he doesn�t even need a complete & whole soul! In addition, Harry/Dumbledore would never suspect Harry's scar as a Horcrux as LV wants to destroy Harry � so it�s hidden in plain sight. Harry, however, in the end figure this out & sacrifice himself to destroy LV. Also, this fits with the rumor that the last word of the 7th book is "scar."

Remember, JKR is a student of history and this theory would be a great example of the first rule of history, "Unintended Consequences" � you know��the best laid plans� sort of stuff! Perhaps the old magic "love" used to protect Harry created a violent reaction when LV tried to him & could have also caused the �incidental marking" of Harry with a Horcrux. This may also serve to explain why no one suspects the scar as a Horcrux - because splitting a soul numerous times & using a human vessel had never been done so there would be no precedent.

There is precedent, however, for "Great Evil types" to have a hand in their own downfall. Blinded by their own greedy desires they often help orchestrate their own demise. Seems to be a fitting end to LV is you ask me.

Posted by AJ from PA on November 30, 2006 11:54 AM

Harry isn't a descendant of Godric Gryffindor. If he was a true descendant, why was the hat so reluctant to put him in Gryffindor? First, as you know, the Hat said he had a good brain(for Ravenclaw) and if he would go to Slytherin he would have done lots. But of course, since Voldemort had the blood of Slytherin running through his brains, as Dumbledore said Voldermort was sorted in Slytherin almost the moment the Hat touched his head. Why hadn't it done so for Harry?

Posted by Isabel from Jamaica, NY on November 30, 2006 1:48 PM

As I understand it, a horcrux is not something that can happen accidentally..
I believe Sluggy discribes it as a complicated spell, or bit of magic.

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on November 30, 2006 3:15 PM

OK, AJ...I have no idea how you can make a horcrux by mistake and out of nowhere, wouldn't you have to cast a spell to create it? And, I mean a scar as a horcrux...it's part of Harry, do you think he's a horcrux (haha-no way).
Anyway, there's no way the cloak's a James Horcrux...this has been disproven several times and I won't repeat what so many others have said.
Also, I'm pretty sure Harry is not a descendant of GG.
I forgot what else I was gonna say...

Posted by Dagor from Canada on November 30, 2006 11:18 PM

o.k., guess I wasn't very clear. By accidentally I didn't mean that LV just went there & a horcrux was formed for no reason. I believe he went there that night to commit & make a horcrux upon completing his (which means he would have performed the spell needed to create the horcrux). The accidental part is that the Horcrux item he intended - whether it be the cloak or another object the Potter's had or something he brought w/ him that night - did NOT become a Horcrux as things went wrong & the spell was misdirected or altered in the violent reaction that Lilly's action "love" caused. Again, I stress that LV was pushing the envelope beyond what anyone had ever even dreamed of regarding Horcruxes & I think he got more than he bargained for that night - as things went wrong & he could not control the situation therby creating a Horcrux that he did not orginally intend. Therefore, while I believe the scar may be the Horcrux (not necessarily Harry himself) as the whole scene went awry that night. Let's not forget that DD believe that Nagini may be a Horcrux - which perhaps no one else would believe as that had never been done. So, the scar may be the same type of "out-there" Horcrux. Remember, Hagrid tells Harry in the first book that the scar on his head is not ordinary - that it could only come from being touched by an evil curse!

Posted by AJ from PA on December 1, 2006 07:31 AM

The Harry's-scar-is-a-horcrux theory interested me because there have been mumbles about Harry in the 7th book. What if Harry himself had to be destroyed to bring about Voldemort's downfall? Then possibly Neville could finish the job. I suspect he is going to play some sort of part in getting rid of Voldemort, JK would not have mentioned that little fact about both of them fufilling the prophecy otherwise. Anyway, just a theory.

Posted by Alex from UK on December 2, 2006 8:42 PM

I have a theory concerining the reason Dumbledore had James' cloak which I believe to be extremely feasible:

Dumbledore IS James Potter.

Think about it, Dumbledore love Harry, like a father. He even saves Harry's life at the end of the 6th book by petrifying him. He lets Harry do all sorts of things in school that are normally not accepted. He protects Harry and helps Harry become a stronger wizard.

If that isnt enough proof heres it is:

To me, it is very clear that Snape love Lily. Why does Dumbledore trust Snape? Because he loves Lily? That seems to be a very weak excuse. UNLESS Dumbledore is James and also loves Lily. If they both love the same person and say Snape knows Dumbledore is James, then there is obvious trust between the two. I suspect if you read the books over you find even more evidence regarding this.

Yes, the idea is farfetched, but the fact that such a farfetched idea fits in so well makes it extremely feasible.

Posted by VX14 from New York, NY on December 3, 2006 8:27 PM

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