attempted to use the Resurrection Stone to talk to his deceased family. The curse destroyed his hand and began to spread throughout his body. Though the spread was partly contained in the destroyed and blackened hand by Snape, Dumbledore was doomed, having, at most, a year left to live. In their Kings Cross encounter, Dumbledore told Harry that this proved he had learned nothing from his past mistakes and ambitions for using the Hallows, and was part of the reason for his fear that Harry might also become obsessed with their power if told of them. The stone was later passed to Harry through Dumbledore's will, hidden inside the Golden Snitch Harry caught with his mouth, nearly swallowing it, in his first-ever Quidditch match. The Snitch revealed the message "I open at the close" when touched by Harry's lips. Harry is unable to open the Snitch until he is about to die in the Forest, and realises then "the close" means the end, or his death. Harry uses the Stone to summon his deceased loved ones – his parents, his godfather Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin – to comfort him and strengthen his courage, before he goes to meet his death at Voldemort's hand. The stone falls unseen from Harry's numb fingers in the Forbidden Forest as he reaches Voldemort's encampment. Harry survives the encounter and he and Dumbledore's portrait later agreed that Harry will neither search for it nor tell others where it is. In a 2007 interview, J. K. Rowling said she would like to believe a centaur's hoof pushed it into the ground, burying it forever. Cloak of Invisibility Introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the cloak of Invisibility has the power to shield the wearer from being seen by Death. Unlike other invisibility cloaks known to exist, it is able to completely shield the wearer and others from sight and cannot be worn out by time or spells; other cloaks will lose their ability to conceal the wearer over time or become worn out, but the Hallow cloak will never fade or become damaged. At the end of Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore explains to Harry the cloak's true magic is it can shield and protect others as well as its owner. This is apparent when it does not respond to a Death Eater's Summoning Charm while concealing Harry, Ron and Hermione in Deathly Hallows. Hermione