10 Most Powerful Magical Objects in ‘Harry Potter’

books

Apr 9

There’s no denying that objects are granted with great power in the Wizarding World. Wether evil, good or neutral, these are the 10 most magically potent objects in Harry Potter.

10. The Mirror of Erised

Powerful in its ability to affect the mind, the Mirror of Erised of course shows you your heart’s greatest desire. In this way, the mirror is sort of like a Bogart but in reverse. Although this power might seem relatively harmless at first, as Dumbledore says, many have wasted their lives staring into the mirror.

It’s funny because in a lot of ways, the mirror is like our own devices – we waste our lives in front of our own black mirrors thinking about the lives we want, the vacations we could go on, and the things we could buy.

Always remember though – “it does not do to dwell on dreams”.

9. Time-Turners

Many lists like this one feature Time-Turners as the most powerful object in the Wizarding World. However, I really don’t see how this is the case. Time-Turners are actually incredibly limited in what they can do – in fact they can’t really alter time at all, once you understand how time travel works in the Harry Potter universe. Basically, in Harry Potter, it is impossible to change the past, only the future. So in essence, Time-Turners don’t really give us any new power that we don’t already have. We’re all able to change the future already.

8. Prophecies

Like most things found in the Department of Mysteries, the exact power of Prophecies are unknown. Wizards make a big deal of collecting and storing prophecies – but why? What powers do they actually possess? Most likely, the department of mysteries study prophecies in a way to study the future. But again, the prophecies themselves seem to be largely self fulfilling, simply proving that there are forces at work in the world that are far greater than magic.

7. The Sorcerer’s Stone

The Sorcerers Stone is able to delay death for whomever uses it. Which begs the question – why didn’t Dumbledore an Flamel make better use out of it? Why didn’t they share the secret of eternal life with others?

Also, Dumbledore is said to be incredibly old and yet still young and spry. Did the stone have something to do with his incredibly long life?

Probably not. According to Rowling, Wizards just live longer than Muggles. But I wouldn’t put it past the sly old man!

6. The Pensieve

The Pensieve is actually a lot stronger than you might think. Capable of casting the user into memories, the Pensieve seems able to give one supernatural awareness of events that they witnessed. It is an incredibly effective tool thanks to its ability to lend insight into things that you would not have been able to notice at the time, or even events others have witnessed. I wonder how Dumbledore got his hands on it?

Well, as it turns out, the Pensieve seems to be older than Hogwarts itself.

5. Artifacts of the Founders

It is unclear in the books how much power exactly is associated with the heirlooms of the founders of Hogwarts. However, we do know that the Sword of Gryffindor is quite lethal not only because it is Goblin made, but because it seems to be able to come to the aide of anyone in need of it.

What about the powers of the other artifacts from the school founders, though? We see them act with incredible power during the books. But is that because they are bewitched by dark magic, or because they themselves are powerful?

4. The Elder Wand

The Elder Wand is capable of incredible magic – in fact, as we see at the end of the Seventh Book (although not in the movie), it is even capable of defying the otherwise universal rules of magic. What exactly the extent of the Elder Wand’s magic was, however, can be called into question, as Dumbledore was able to overcome Grindewald when the latter was still in possession of it. Despite the rumors, the wand cannot, therefore, be unbeatable.

3. The Cloak of Invisibility

The Cloak of Invisibility is without a doubt one of the most powerful objects in the Wizarding World. Capable of shielding anyone from harm for any given amount of time, the Cloak of Invisibility is an incredibly powerful tool. Additionally, its power stems far beyond just being able to save one person, but its ability to shield one’s friends, as well.

2. The Sword of Gryffindor

The Sword of Gryffindor is the single most powerful weapon in the Wizarding World apart from wands. Time and time again, it is able to defy the forces of dark magic, and is especially lethal against Voldemort. I don’t think this is an accident. It’s well known that Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were famous rivals. It seems his sword has remained to this day in order to continue to rival the nefarious deeds of Slytherin’s bloodline.

1. The Veil

So ancient and powerful that it predates the Ministry of Magic and still has not been figured out, the Veil is the single most powerful object in the Wizarding World. That’s simply because, as Rowling herself points out, death cannot be undone. Death is the one, universal certainty not only in our world, but in Rowling’s as well.

And there’s only one wizard who has ever conquered it.