The Deathly Hallows

• Type: Legendary Artifacts, Deathly Hallow
• Owners: Peverell brothers; various owners throughout history, including Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, and Harry Potter (the only known wizard to possess all three simultaneously).
• Maker: According to legend, Death. According to Albus Dumbledore's theory, the three highly skilled Peverell brothers: Antioch Peverell, Cadmus Peverell, and Ignotus Peverell.

The Deathly Hallows are three distinct, immensely powerful magical objects that, according to wizarding legend, were created by Death itself. Each Hallow has a unique appearance and function. The three objects are represented by a symbol composed of a vertical line inside a circle, which is itself enclosed within a triangle. This symbol was famously worn by Gellert Grindelwald and later by Xenophilius Lovegood.

• The Elder Wand: The most powerful wand in existence. It is approximately fifteen inches long, made of elder wood, and contains a core of Thestral tail hair. The wand is described as having distinctive bumps along its length, resembling clusters of elderberries.
• The Resurrection Stone: A black stone, which was eventually set into a gold ring bearing the Peverell coat of arms (which is also the symbol of the Deathly Hallows). It is described as being unevenly cracked down the middle.
• The Cloak of Invisibility: A true Invisibility Cloak of unparalleled quality. It is described as feeling fluid and silvery, like “water woven into material.” Unlike lesser cloaks, its magic never fades, it cannot be damaged by spells, and it provides perfect concealment.

When united, the Hallows are said to make the possessor the Master of Death. However, the true meaning of this title is debated. While some, like Gellert Grindelwald, believed it granted invincibility, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter came to understand it as the wisdom to accept mortality rather than flee from it.

• The Elder Wand: Also known as the Deathstick or the Wand of Destiny, it renders its master unbeatable in a duel. However, its allegiance is fickle and can only be won by defeating its previous master. This “defeat” does not necessarily mean killing; disarming the previous owner is sufficient to win the wand's loyalty, a fact Lord Voldemort failed to grasp.
• The Resurrection Stone: When turned three times in the owner's hand, the stone can summon shades or echoes of the deceased. These apparitions are not ghosts but are more solid, yet they do not truly belong in the living world and appear sad and cold, separated from the summoner by an invisible veil. Prolonged interaction with them can lead to madness and despair, as it did for Cadmus Peverell.
• The Cloak of Invisibility: This Hallow provides complete and enduring invisibility. It can hide multiple people and is impervious to most revealing spells, such as the Summoning Charm or Homenum Revelio. While Alastor Moody's magical eye could not see through it, creatures that rely on non-visual senses, such as Dementors, could still sense the presence of those hidden beneath it.

The origin of the Hallows is immortalized in The Tale of the Three Brothers, a story in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The tale recounts how the three Peverell brothers used their magic to cross a dangerous river, cheating Death of new victims. An angered Death appeared and, feigning admiration, offered them each a reward.

• Antioch Peverell, the eldest, asked for an unbeatable wand and received the Elder Wand. His arrogance led to his murder for the wand.
• Cadmus Peverell, the middle brother, asked for the power to recall the dead and received the Resurrection Stone. He used it to bring back his deceased fiancée, but her sad state drove him to suicide.
• Ignotus Peverell, the youngest and wisest, distrusted Death and asked for a way to hide from him. He received a piece of Death's own Cloak of Invisibility. He lived a long life, greeting Death as an old friend only when he was ready.

Albus Dumbledore believed the Peverell brothers were simply exceptionally powerful wizards who created the items themselves. Over the centuries, the Hallows were separated.

• The Elder Wand passed through a long and bloody line of owners, including Gellert Grindelwald, who stole it from Gregorovitch. Dumbledore won it from Grindelwald in their legendary duel in 1945. Its allegiance then passed to Draco Malfoy (who disarmed Dumbledore), Harry Potter (who disarmed Draco), and briefly to Lord Voldemort (who stole it from Dumbledore's tomb but never won its true mastery).
• The Resurrection Stone was passed down through the Peverell line to the House of Gaunt. Lord Voldemort later stole the Gaunts' ring, unaware of the Stone's true nature, and turned it into a Horcrux. Dumbledore retrieved and destroyed the Horcrux, cracking the stone in the process, and later hid it inside the first Golden Snitch Harry Potter ever caught.
• The Cloak of Invisibility was passed directly down through Ignotus Peverell's family line, eventually being inherited by James Potter and then his son, Harry Potter. It is the only Hallow to have remained in the possession of the original family.

The Deathly Hallows are the central MacGuffin and thematic core of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Initially, the trio's quest for Horcruxes is complicated by the legend of the Hallows, which Xenophilius Lovegood explains to them. The quest for the Hallows represents a tempting alternative to the difficult task of hunting Horcruxes. The Hallows serve as a profound thematic contrast to the Horcruxes. Where Voldemort fears death and seeks to conquer it by mutilating his soul, the story of the Hallows teaches that true mastery of death comes from accepting it. Harry Potter's ultimate triumph comes from understanding this distinction. He uses the Resurrection Stone not to live, but to find the courage to die. He becomes the true master of the Elder Wand through an act of non-lethal defeat, not murder. Ultimately, he chooses to keep only the Cloak of Invisibility, the Hallow of wisdom and humility, while discarding the Stone in the Forbidden Forest and intending to let the Elder Wand's power die with him.

• J.K. Rowling has stated that the Hallows were partly inspired by the Masonic symbol of the square and compasses, and that she drew the symbol for the Hallows long before she fully fleshed out its meaning in the story (J.K. Rowling interview).
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, The Tale of the Three Brothers is depicted in a unique and critically acclaimed animated sequence, visually distinct from the rest of the film.
• J.K. Rowling has confirmed that Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are distant relatives through their connection to the Peverell brothers, with Harry descending from Ignotus and Voldemort from Cadmus (J.K. Rowling interview).