Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Deluminator
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Deluminator | |
|---|---|
| Type | Device |
| Features | Puts out lights |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Deluminator, also referred to as a "Put-Outer", is a small magical device that looks like a cigarette lighter. It captures and stores a light source, like a streetlight, and can later be used to restore the light to its original place.
[edit] Extended Description
The Deluminator was used by Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to "put out" the surrounding streetlights to make it harder to see the proceedings while Harry Potter was being delivered to the Dursleys. Once the wizards had left Privet Drive, Dumbledore released the lights from the Deluminator to restore the street to its normal night-time illumination.
It was later used in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Alastor Moody to darken Grimmauld Place while the Advance Guard was landing in the square. Moody again restored the streetlights once all the wizards were inside the house, before closing the front door.
Again, the Deluminator appears in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. It is given by the Minister of Magic to Ron under the terms of Dumbledore's will. Ron later discovers that, as well as being able to remove and replace light, the Deluminator has the ability to track Harry and Hermione, despite their magical shields. It seems to key on the use of his name, picking up their conversation from the point at which they mention Ron. Having started tracking their conversation, it seems to be able to provide some sort of transport to their vicinity; it is never entirely clear how this is managed, exactly, but it produces a ball of light which, when it contacts Ron's chest, allows him to Apparate to Harry and Hermione's vicinity. Finally, in the basement of Malfoy Manor, Ron discovers that captured lights will simply float in the air, if they are released in a place distant from their original sources.
[edit] Analysis
Dumbledore, as we can see by even a casual inspection of his office, is very fond of creating magical / mechanical hybrid devices. Given that Moody says he "borrowed" the Deluminator from Dumbledore, we can assume that it is a rare device in the Wizarding world; it is entirely possible that it is, in fact, a unique artifact, possibly an invention of Dumbledore's.
