Beyond Hogwarts


<Latest Articles
Comments Index
Save Last On

Search Beyond Hogwarts:

Reference Desk:
Beyond Hogwarts FAQ
Wizard to Muggle Currency Converter
Harry Potter Spelling Reference


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?

> Read the full article

Pages:  <<  <  17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ...  >  >>

Reader Comments: (Page 27)

I have not read all 26 pages of this forum, that would take too long but, I have some random thought that might be considered by y'all.

First of all I think that it might be usefull to try and guess of what HP parents did for a living. I think its quite important for the next book.

If that IS important for next book, my guess is that HP learn more about that from aunt Petunia. Like Jo said, aunt Petunia would have an important place in book 7.

I also think that the book not be about finding out WHO R.A.B. is. HP probably find out who he is during his visit to GH. I think HP meet a person at GH (or at the graveyard of GH where his parents are buried). Together with R.A.B. he may go and try to find the other horcruxes. I think THAT be the biggest and most important part of the book.

As for the cloak of James/Harry Poter/DD, did anyone mentioned allready that HP left the cloak at the astronomy tower at the end of book 6? I can't remember that he went to get it after he left it there. So, is the cloak still at the astronomy tower? Or did anyone get it? I don't think the cloak is still at the tower, since the ministry of magic allready searched the place, (see page 604 of HBP)and they didn't find the cloak. WHERE IS THE CLOAK THEN?!?!

I may have overlooked something in the book, if I did, let me know! I'm curious of what you think...

Posted by Lynn from Holland on December 13, 2006 04:05 AM

Read through your article and I have a few words to say: Highly unlikely.

A James Potter horcrux? Or even a Godric Gryffindor horcrux? Heck, to me, claiming that the cloak belonged to Godric Gryffindor is pushing it, claiming that it is a horcrux of someones is pushing it even further.

Invisibility cloaks aren't that common and if Dumbledore had James's, the Order would've had more to use. Moody has two, looses one when Sturgis Podmore gets caught and refuses to lend his only remaining one to Mundungus later on (although this may be because of several reasons). From that perspective, it looks as though the Order is pretty short on Invisiblity cloaks. So as I said, James probably gave his to Albus so that the Order would have more to spare.

Posted by Rane from Sweden on December 13, 2006 11:07 AM

For the cloak to be a James horcrux, James would have had to someone. Does James honestly seem like a person that would another person? He saved his enemy's life for Pete's sake.

Harry is not a decendant of Godric Gryffindor. JKR said that Harry's grandparents were nothing special, and then was later asked "So that pretty much s the theory that Harry is a descendant of Gryffindor, doesn't it?" and she said something like "I'm afraid it does."

Posted by Sarah from Hogwarts on December 15, 2006 8:19 PM

OK, these are my thoughts and they are mine:)

Whilst pondering the question "Why did Dumbledore have the cloak?' it suddenly struck me that making one assumption leads to an answer and ultimately on to an explanation of several other questions posed in the books. That assumption is that 'Snape was in love with Lily'!

How does this pan out? Well firstly, we know that there is a recurring theme of the triumph of love over evil so it is not too great an assumption that JKR might use my assumption as a plot device. When Harry witnesses James tormenting Snape in the penseive Lily does show some sympathy towards Snape and does berate James for it so there is some reason to believe that Snape would react firstly with gratitude and later with fondness and ultimately love especially if it is a repeated occurance.

Let's now look at the scene of James and Lily's . Voldemort has learnt of the whereabouts of the Potter family and is on the way to Harry. Snape - at this time a Eater - hears of Voldemort's plan and because of his love for Lily tells Dumbledore. They both rush to warn James and Lily and get there just ahead of Voldemort. There is little time to do very much, but just before Voldemort arrives James gives Dumbledore the cloak for safe keeping, however Dumbledore has a use for it. He makes himself invisible by his own means, immobilizes Snape to stop him doing anything foolish and throws the cloak over Snape (a parrallel with Harry in the tower at Dumbledores ). Voldemort s James and Lily but fails to Harry, Dumbledore does not intervene for reasons as yet unknown/guessed (haven't got any ideas on this so far). Snape sees Lily's and this turns him from Eater to Dumbledore supporter, Snape now hates Voldemort and this is why Dumbledore trusts him, after all Dumbledore has a deep belief in the power of love.

So that's why Dumbledore has the cloak and also why he trusts Snape but we don't have to stop there!

Snape is a very complex character, perhaps the most complex of them all and has deep, confused and complicated emotions. His feelings towards Harry are profound and in strong conflict. On the one hand he hates him for who he is, the result of Lily and James love but on the other Harry is all that remains of Lily and so Snape might wish to protect that legacy. Don't forget also that Harry 'has his mother's eyes' so that every time Snape looks at Harry he is reminded of Lily and this engenders more hatred but also an opposing wish to preserve the memory they represent. We look for some sort of magical explanation for Harry's eyes but in reality it is simply that they just resemble Lily's.

Thoughts?

Posted by Satsuma from London on December 15, 2006 8:20 PM

Satsuma
Since I am also a supporter of the theory that Snape loved Lily, I liked your comments. The only flaw here is: Jo has debunked the speculation that Snape was under the INVISIBILITY CLOAK the night Lily and James d. You find it on her website in the �Rumours section�.

But that does not rule out, that Snape could still have been in Godric�s Hollow that night! Maybe he is also an Animagus, only we, the reader don�t know it yet. Other fellow HP fans, have guessed he could transform into �BAT� and I believe to remember that Ron calls Snape a couple of times a �overgrown bat�! My humbly guess is a SPIDER.

Posted by Mistral from Switzerland on December 16, 2006 12:59 PM

Hmm...

I don't think Severus is an Animagus. Honestly, add more content to his already stuffed character and Joanne would be forced to rename the series to "Severus Snape and the [Insert Corresponding Book Title]"

He might've fancied Lily, but I'm more inclined to believe that the loife he owed James play a much larger role than some petty love interest way back in time.

Posted by Rane from Sweden on December 18, 2006 08:49 AM

Ok, I been going over all this time and time again in my head and I just wana throw some ideas into the fire here..

Harrys Scar: I agree with others that it isnt a Hurcrux..What if, LV intending to make one with Harrys ..It split his soul and some how become intangled with Harry when the spell was backfired by the Love spell placed on Harry by his mother..We know that AD beleves that LV transfered some of his powers to Harry when he went to him ("transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure.") and we know the prophecy of "marking him as his equal" & " either must at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives"..It would also explain the connection Harry has with LV..

Professor Lupin and Harry on the covered bridge (Forshadowing): "She had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even and, perhaps, most especially, when that person could not see it in themselves" I beleve, this has something todo with Snape

The Cloak: Im thinking it can help protect Harry in someway...Im not sure how but, Im thinking it has something todo with Love and it being a FAMILY HEIRLOOM..Harrys parents knowing they along with Harry was marked for , gave it to AD knowing it would be safe with him, to give to Harry..It would also give a glimmer of light in the phrase "Use it Well"

Just some thoughts to throw out there...

Posted by Sean from Corbin, KY on December 21, 2006 07:15 AM

I think it's Dumbledore's horcrux, because he could Fawkes. Phoenixes return from , don't they? So Dumbledore could make a horcrux by ing fawkes.

Posted by Thijs from The Netherlands on December 21, 2006 08:36 AM

I don't think that any of the good guys can make a horcrux. Because didn't Dumbeldore or Slughorn say something like if you use a horcrux you'll be like, half a person when you "return from the ". Because they have a fraction of their soul, they don't have a whole soul. So I don't think Dubeldore or Sirius are gonna come back.

(I'd be nice though. But hey, J.k. is pretty imaginative. She might come up with some different way for people to come back from the .:D)

Posted by Ian from snoodleville on December 21, 2006 11:35 AM

I don't believe Dumbledore, James or Griffendor could have made an Horcrux. And btw where is that cloak now? We know that it was on top of the Astronomy tower. I remember Harry being conscious of the fact that it was lying there when he went to see Bill Weasley. But I don't remember reading Harry got that back. Is this significant?

Posted by Balaji from Los Angeles, CA on December 22, 2006 2:01 PM

Sean
Thanks for quoting the prophecy. It gives me a chance to voice something about the prophecy that has bothered me for some time.
The phrase "neither can live while the other survives" just doesn't make sense. For instance how can neither Harry or Voldemort live if lets say Voldemort survives.

Shouldn't it have been "one cannot live while the other survives?" Now that would make sense unless....

What if this part of the prophecy refered to 3 people. For instance neither Harry nor Tom Riddle can live while Voldemort survives.

I even got to thinking that it could also refer to Snape or Malfoy.

I just don't think that JK would make a slip like this- she's a genius at manipulating story lines and meanings with such subtleties.

Did the wording seem odd to anyone else? Or am I just thinking things to ?

Posted by Mikey from New Jersey on December 22, 2006 9:27 PM

I guess the cloak could belong to Griffindor, but It's wrong to think that him, or Dumbledore or James would make a horcrux because it's an evil thing to spleet your soul, plus you have to committ a . I have a theory that Harry potter may be the last horcrux, that one that comes from the gryffindors house. But this would meen that he has to at the end of the 7th book.

Posted by Ilija Nikolovski from Rome, Italy on December 23, 2006 12:13 PM

Pages:  <<  <  17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ...  >  >>



Latest Discussions | Comments | The Septology | Harry's World | Harry Potter Movies | FAQ


BeyondHogwarts.com is not affiliated with or approved by
Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros., or J.K. Rowling
Original Content Copyright © 2006-2009 David Haber, All Rights Reserved