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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 57)

Ever wonder why Dumbledore knows so much about what happened the night Lilly and James d...someone had to have witnessed the entire act. I am betting someone was under the cloak, dumbledore? Maybe James gave it to Dumbledore just before he d. JKR has said that Snape was not under the cloak that night. And why would James give it to Dumbledore when he needed it for his family to be protected.

Posted by Joh from Montana on April 11, 2007 09:24 AM

Maybe the fact that James left the cloak in Dumbledore's possession isn't as important as a specific object possibly hidden by the cloak. Something that Voldemort wanted at the time, something he was ing to personally for, something worth ing for.

Posted by Kevin from Chicago, Illinois on April 13, 2007 8:46 PM

'Tonks was very interested in Harry's vision of the attack on Mr Weasley...
"There isn't any Seer blood in your family is there?" (OotP UK hb. p.426)

Harry is not a Seer, we know that - but what if Lily Potter was.
What if she foresaw the event that took place at Godric's Hollow on that fateful night?

If it is true it would mean an unravelling of many an unanswered question.
If Lily were a Seer and she knew what was going to happen it means that she could have spent a long time devising powerful charms with which to protect Harry, knowing that they would be 'activated' when she made her sacrifice. She would have been working alongside Dumbledore, ensuring he knew exactly when the event had taken place (thus explaining how he knows so much about what happened) and using him as a 3rd party to make contact with Petunia to ensure that Harry would be kept with his blood relative as some of the charmworks power depended on it.
It would also explain just why Dumbledore has James Potter's cloak - as James gave it to him to pass on to his son, his contribution to the fight against Voldemort. James would have known too that he was going to , and the cloak was added protection for Harry in the dangerous years to come.
If this is true it means Lily's sacrifice was even greater than we have thought, as she 'seen' the event, she knew she would have a choice on that night yet she didn't run, or even attempt to run with Harry, she stayed and she d.

This could also explain why the Potter's never chose Dumbledore to be their Secret Keeper - the future is not set in stone, and if Dumbledore had the secret the future may have been altered and Harry never attacked - never marked as an equal! Maybe Lily had to follow what she had seen in order for Voldemort ever to be defeated.

One final thing, it may be the reason Petunia refers to Lily as a 'freak' - can't be much fun having a sister who sees the future, and gets it right!

Posted by Orlando from England on April 15, 2007 12:53 PM

Orlando--
Awesome ideas! Lily being a Seer... we never saw that one coming, did we? And you are right, it does explain alot. James could just as easily been the Seer- never does it say that he took Divination, but never does it say that he didn't.
Does it seem to any of you that Harry gets most of his magical talent from Lily? He mastered a Summoning Charm overnight, a CHARM, which Lily's wand was good for, according to Ollivander in SS. Harry isn't too talented at Transfiguration, which is what James' wand was good for, but he seems to excell in Charms, just like his mother. Harry gets his Quidditch from his father, but nothing truly magical. I don't know, it just bothers me. What else did James have that Harry now has, besides looking exactly the same and being good Qudditch players?
Perhaps James was the Seer, and that talent skipped-- er-- three generations.

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on April 15, 2007 5:44 PM

orlandos theory is exellent. if dumbledore was at the scene of the potters s, then he could've obtained the cloak to give to harry (the third to deny voldemort) to somehow help harry in finally defeating him, and dumbledore had acted on lilys words, following orlandos theory that she had seen her and told dumbledore.

Posted by Rob from England on April 16, 2007 02:01 AM

Thanks Rob & Ashley:

I know I say that we know Harry is not a Seer, but the line 'You have your mother's eyes' which we hear so much made me think - what if Harry is a Seer, but he hasn't realised it?

Throughout OotP Harry has his mind connection with Voldemort and in his dreams he sees through Voldemort's eyes. However, the events of the opening chapters of GoF sees Harry having a dream yet again - but this is from a 3rd person perspective, he isn't in the chair with Voldemort, he isn't Nagini, he is a viewer - an extra person watching the events.
With all that follows in OotP we seem to link the dream from GoF in together with it, but they are in fact different kinds of dreams. Have we perhaps missed a clue?
Maybe Harry is a Seer, but he does not know it, perhaps this explains why in CoS the name Tom Riddle means something to him and how he knows just what to do when he stabs the diary - he's seen it all before?

Posted by Orlando from England on April 16, 2007 2:04 PM

Orlando;

Another clue to the "Harry as a Seer" theory is in the POA movie where, right before Trelawney makes her prediction, Harry sees Sirius' face clearly in the crystal ball. This may be one of the foreshadowing events from the movie JKR mentioned. His tea leaf abilities may also lend support. The idea that Lily may have been a Seer or come from a line of Seers is supported by what Petunia says about her & Lily's mom being "proud to have a witch in the family". Petunia definitely would think someone who can see the future is a "freak", and being a witch to boot would have made Petunia very resentful of her sister's abilities.

Posted by Dave Porter from New Mexico on April 17, 2007 07:20 AM

Hmm, Lily (or James) as a seer...i can see that (no pun intended...)
Also, i know that earlier, someone mentioned Harry having to use the cloak to enter Godric's Hollow, and that led to the question of WHAT was in Godric's Hollow. Well...wut if the last horcrux was there. I also think it is very important place, seeing (....) as where that is where the whole story started. Do ya think Harry could/would go back and visit his old house? Could there also be something important in his home?

Posted by Enna from Maryland on April 17, 2007 5:41 PM

James and Dumbledore were never ers, but could still have been ers. It is not entirely clear whether you need to have been malicious in your ings to produce a horcrux. We do know that Dumbledore defeated the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945. He could conceivably created a horxcrux then from what we know, but on the other hand it may be you have to also be evil to do this. Also Dumbledore is not scared of , which is a recurring theme.

Posted by gabrielle from london on April 20, 2007 1:54 PM

Hey, great site!
What if JKR has given us a clue to why the invisibility cloak is important with the revealing scene she left us with in her penultimate book?
I.E When Dumbledore freezes Harry under it right before his . This could be a reiteration of whatever happened in Godric's Hollow that fateful night Harry was given his scar. Question was, who was under it, and why didn't they intervine?

Posted by C�ara from Northern Ireland on April 20, 2007 2:35 PM

I was always wondering about the Sorting Hat as a horcrux for someone. I mean, the way it talks as though it is an actual living thing, the way it can magically produce Godric's sword, and the meaning of the Slytherin VS Gryffindor... Wouldn't the horcrux have to be one of the Hogwarts founders since it has been around since the beginning?

Posted by Katherine from Wellesley, MA on April 22, 2007 09:06 AM

I think there must be something signifcant at Godric's Hollow -- It's called Godric, for pete's sake. I agree that the sorting hat could be a horcrux -- but wouldn't it try to like brainwash first years into joining voldemort? It would not only be Godric Gryffindor's item but it would bring together the houses theme.

Posted by Rebekah on April 24, 2007 11:23 AM

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