I love this stuff.
J.K. Rowling has updated her site and quashed a rumor about Book 7:
"Oh pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. I haven't written 750 pages of book seven, and if I had, I'd be very worried, as I'm not close to finishing it yet."
More important is this MAJOR hint from JKR, a question that no one has asked her yet:
Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?
Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn't what we in the know call 'a Mark Evans situation.'* There IS a significant - even crucial - answer.
Significant? Crucial? Speculation is running high at The Leaky Cauldron. In Book 1, Dumbledore gives Harry his father's invisibility cloak at Christmas. I assumed that James had given it to Dumbledore for safekeeping. I never wondered why the cloak specifically. Obviously, I should have!
What is the cloak's significance? Someone in the Leaky thread suggested it belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one of Hogwarts's founders. I agree. Either it belonged to him or is connected to him in some way. Does it indicate that James was and now Harry is the heir of Gryffindor? Still, what does it all mean?
NO, I don't think the invisibility cloak is a horcrux.
Your theories?
Update: It looks like Travis got to it first. He says:
There has been speculation that it got to Dumbledore because someone (Snape?) was under the cloak in Godric’s Hollow when the murder happened. Snape might fit. He had “turned spy” by then…
I've thought about this possibility, too, that Snape may have been under the cloak at the Potter's house (or in the area?) that night. But if so, why didn't he do anything? And Dumbledore said James had given him the cloak. Again, why did James give it to him? Unless Voldemort can see through invisibility cloaks, James could have protected his family with it.
Update II (9/14): JKR updates her web site with a few comments, and it makes the news! Can you believe it?
More fan theories.
September 13th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Snape wouldn't do anything for the same reason Dumbledore preferred that he die instead of Snape. James wouldn't let Snape do anything because James knew Snape, being the spy, was more important in the war against Voldemort than he was.
Here's the whole deal (I'm putting this together as I go; I haven't read this anywhere else, though I'm sure others have constructed similar scenes):
After James, Lily, and Harry are put under the protection of the Fidelius charm, James decides he no longer needs his cloak, because he's hidden by the charm. So he gives it to Dumbledore for use by members of the Order.
The night that Pettigrew betrays the Potters, Snape is on the scene and overhears the betrayal. Snape goes straight to Dumbledore with the information, but there is now only one person who can warn the Potters - Snape himself. Snape overheard Wormtail giving the Potters' location. And Snape can't tell Dumbledore because of the Fidelius charm. So Dumbledore gives Snape the invisibility cloak and tells him to go straight to the Potters and warn them.
Snape arrives just moments before Voldemort, warns the Potters…but too late. Voldemort arrives on the scene. Snape is inclined to do something about it, but James won't let him, convincing him that it would be too big of a loss for his cover to be blown. So Snape observed the whole thing, under the cloak.
This explains (a) how and why James gave the cloak directly to Dumbledore, (b) the mystery about whether or not anyone else was at Godric's Hollow that night (I think Pettigrew was there too), (c) more the of the mystery of why Dumbledore trusted Snape, and (b) why Snape still feels so much rage against James - James saved his life, and Snape was unable to do so in return. Indeed, it was ultimately his fault that Voldemort went after the Potters, and he had to stand by and watch the evil deed he put into place go down with no ability to do anything about it.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
One potential flaw in this line of thinking: this means that all through PoA, Snape actually knew that Pettigrew was the secret keeper, not Sirius - which means he and Dumbledore would both have known of Sirius' innocence, and that certainly doesn't fit their behavior.
I guess that's a pretty fatal flaw…back to the drawing board. I'm going to try to construct my own theory on this prior to looking up others.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Update: LaShawn Barber is working with this issue as well. I started constructing a theory there and then refuted myself. I'm going to put the content of that below (click "Read More"). The caveat here is that this is the first time I've come across this issue, and I'm trying to work it out a bit myself before looking up other theories.
September 20th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
What if there is more to the cloak than just its property of invisibility? Something that James did not want to chance falling into Voldemort's hands and for him to learn the secret of. Either Voldemort was collecting things or researching things to help him in his conquest. Things that were directly related to Hogwart's that could allow him having even more power. One item of each founder used in the creation of Hogwarts kind of thing, like keystones in the creation of the school and its existence.
Or something as simple as the Fidelius Charm wouldn't allow even James and Lily to leave their house cause they wouldn't be able to find it again. (Petunia would have told Harry his own address so he could come home to Privett Drive.) But then what purpose did Dumbledore have it or someone else have it and give it to dumbledore to keep when it couldn't be returned to James? Maybe Lily was seeing Remus on the side (SHOCK) and James was insecure so preventing her from going out to see him?
September 22nd, 2006 at 11:59 am
Let's keep it simple.
Snape is the first to arrive at the Potters' after their murders, perhaps trying to warn them. He alerts Dumbledore (somehow), finds the cloak in the house, and uses it to protect Harry until Hagrid arrives to take the baby to Privet Drive. Perhaps he hid with Harry under the cloak. He then gives the cloak to Dumbledore.
And there we have tangible proof of Snape's loyalty.
Does it work?
September 26th, 2006 at 1:55 am
I found a theory over at sugar Quill I like.
The Cloak was given to Dumbledore NOt to use for its invisibility elements, but for a means of communication/keeping in touch! It's one half of a pair of — something.
dumbledore gave it to harry to keep an eye on him as he was growing up. In the 6th book, he insists Harry keep it with him because it is the way he knows what is going on with Harry. It also explains how he knew immediately Harry didn't have it before they went to the cave.