Harry Potter theory: Peverell Family

Greetings, magical mates! 

Recently I was chatting with Jason Bussey in the SuperCarlinBros Discord server and he had quite an interesting theory about the Peverell brothers. 

As we navigate through this theory, I will delve into canon sources, offering as much detail as possible to enrich your understanding. Join me in this enthralling exploration of J.K. Rowling's cherished universe, where I'll not only share my insights and opinions but also provide a nuanced perspective that may reshape your perception.

So, ready your wands, don those wizarding robes, and accompany me on this captivating journey into the history of magic and intrigue. This post combines theory and extrapolation, grounded in the known canon to offer a comprehensive exploration of the subject at hand.

(Note: As there is very little recorded history of the Peverell brothers, most of this post is full of heavily imagined possibilities. The references used come from numerous sources, including the HP Fandom site, the HP Lexicon site, as well as WizardingWorld.com)

Backstory

The Peverell family is said to have begun in Medieval times, which means their family could have begun anytime from 500 CE to the early 1300s. The oldest record I could find of the name is William Peverel listed as a companion of William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066.

Jason thinks the three brothers, Ignotus, Antioch and Cadmus, were born as triplets July 12, 1214 probably somewhere in Nottingham. (Unfortunately the only reference I found to Nottingham in HP history was that it's where Voldemort killed a goblin family in the first Wizard War.) Peverell Sr. (we don't know his name) was a thestral breeder (no official evidence for this, but heavy suggestion) and happily raised these mystical creatures that were invisible to his sons’ eyes. Jason came up with a headcanon that Peverell Sr. would say to his sons, "someday you will understand."

On their 11th birthday, their mother, also their primary magical teacher, succumbed to dragon pox and passed. After watching her take her last breaths, the boys could suddenly see the thestrals, marking a profound turn in their magical journey. As they mourned their mother, preparations were canceled for their attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Instead, their father taught them at home and Summers were devoted to raising and breeding thestrals. On their 17th birthday, their father declared Antioch as the heir to the thestral ranch, who accepted proudly.

Antioch, fueled by a desire to assert his seniority and secure his position as the chosen successor to his father, meticulously fashioned a new wand. He selected elder wood as its core material, defying the prevailing superstition encapsulated in the saying, "elder wand, never prosper," and in a symbolic gesture, incorporated a strand of hair from one of his father's thestrals into the wand's core. This act of craftsmanship not only demonstrated his mastery in magical arts but also served as a tangible representation of his determination to establish himself as the primary inheritor of his father's legacy.

Soon, their father fell gravely ill. As his health deteriorated, the weight of impending loss cast a somber shadow over all three brothers' personalities. Inevitably, the day arrived when their father passed away and Cadmus dove deeper into his research on the thestrals' connection to the veil between life and death. This pivotal moment marked another turning point in their lives, setting them on divergent paths. In the aftermath of both their parents' demise, the brothers rarely appeared in town.

The Three Brothers

Antioch, discontent with the preordained destiny of his inheritance, spiraled into excessive drinking and duels. Self-propagating the rumor of his "Elder Wand's extraordinary power", he met a tragic end when the fearful villagers, finding him asleep at the pub, killed him and stole his wand.

Following Antioch's demise, his brother Ignotus, fearing the town's perception, departed and took their father's thestral hair research with him. Settling in West England (Godric's Hollow), he uncovered additional magical properties of thestral tail hairs and crafted a cloak that granted him true and complete invisibility. During his time in Godric's Hollow, he met a simple witch, and together they had a son, unnamed in history books. This son, in turn, also married a witch, and their daughter, named Iolanthe, continued the Peverell legacy by marrying Hardwin Potter, the eldest son of the first of the Potter line, a twelfth-century wizard named Linfred of Stinchcombe.

Iolanthe promised her grandfather that she would continue the tradition of passing on the cloak to the first born child in the Peverell line. Her husband helped keep her secret so the cloak remained an heirloom in their family until it was passed down to Harry Potter in his first year at Hogwarts.

Cadmus, settling in town, found solace with a woman but faced societal disapproval for their out-of-wedlock child. Fleeing to Ireland (Count Kerry), they posed as a married couple while Cadmus strived to gather funds for a proper union. Tragically, the woman perished in childbirth, leaving Cadmus with their child. In his grief, he delved into the study of thestral magic, attempting to breach the veil and reunite with his lost love. Despite his efforts, he could only bring back a part of her essence, unable to touch their baby. (Personally, I think the Resurrection Stone is actually a thestral bone or tooth that was enchanted using some kind of potion. OR it was a regular stone associated with death, like a black diamond, and enchanted with a potion using thestral blood. Yes, thestral's have no skin, so they have very little blood, probably why the potion is extremely rare.) Overwhelmed by sorrow, Cadmus left his infant at an orphanage with just his ring and probably a letter, then took his own life.

And that is our story of the Peverell brothers!

Sidenote 1

We don't know a lot about Cadmus, except that supposedly he has an extensive line of descendants that eventually intertwines with the Gaunt family. Which is why we can assume confidently that he had a child before he took his life. Nobody knows what happened to the orphaned child, but I think that whoever it was stayed in the area because Lord Voldemort's ancestors, the Gaunts, lived in Little Hangleton. The reason I suggest Cadmus left a letter with his child is because Marvolo Gaunt, 1890s - 1920s, was aware of being a descendant of the Peverell family. This says to me that he might have heard stories that were passed down from Cadmus' child.

Sidenote 2

At some point between the 1200s and the 1500s, a female descendant of Cadmus married into the Gaunt family, changing the family name from Peverell and intertwining their blood with that of Salazar Slytherin's own descendants. JK Rowling confirmed the Peverell's are NOT descendants of Slytherin, the Gaunts are. The Peverell's were married into the Gaunt family, we just don't know when. In 1576, a descendant of the original Gaunt family, Gormlaith, murdered her sister, Rionach, and kidnapped her niece, Isolte, because she didn't approve of sister raising her niece to be accepting of non magic people. Isolte later escaped and came to America where she established Ilvermorny. (The Gaunt family was later listed in the Pure-Blood Directory from the 1930s as being one of the “Sacred Twenty-Eight” families who stayed true to "pure-blood status".)

Dumbledore tells Harry that Marvolo, Morfin and Merope were the last in the line of the Gaunt family, so somehow the Gaunt family immigrated from Ireland to Little Hangleton sometime between the 1500s and the 1800s when Marvolo was born. I have a strong suspicion that Corvinus Gaunt, late 1700s - 1925, is the granfather of Marvolo Gaunt, because he's the one who found the Chamber of Secrets the first time and incorporated the trapdoor entrance into the plumbing of a new bathroom that was built in the 18th century. I believe Voldemort found out about the entrance to the school the summer after his 6th year when he went to Little Hangleton to find Marvolo. The math here lines up that it could actually have been Marvolo who told him where the entrance was and how to open it because Marvolo was a fanatic of Slytherin and probably didn't want those secrets to die with him. Especially if Corvinus really was Marvolo's grandfather.

What's very interesting to me is that Corvinus and Marvolo are reported to have died around the same time. Corvinus died in 1925 and Marvolo died between December 1925 and 1928.

Another question here is where Corvinus came from, because Gormlaith and Rionach are the only other Gaunt descendants we know about. Was Corvinus a descendant of Gormlaith and Rionach's father's sibling, maybe? Granted, there's no evidence anywhere of this, but there would have to be since there's no record of Gormlaith and Rionach having another sibling to pass on the name. And as we know, Isolte Sayre never had the Gaunt name.

The Peverell legacy extends beyond the brothers, resonating through the ages. Ignotus, the quiet yet pivotal figure, fashioning a cloak that granted true invisibility. His lineage, weaving into the Potter family through the marriage of Iolanthe, ensured the preservation of the legendary cloak until it reached the hands of “The Chosen One”: Harry Potter. Cadmus, plagued by sorrow and driven by an unfulfilled longing, left behind a legacy that intersects with the Gaunt family, laying the groundwork for Voldemort's ascent to power.

Food for Thought

In a fascinating parallel to the Peverell brothers' story, each artifact they made, while possessing a certain allure, deviates from conventional expectations.

The Elder Wand, crafted with elder wood and thestral hair, stands as a symbol of defiance against the superstition that an elder wand never prospers. However, its inability to secure victories in conflicts draws a compelling parallel to the peaceful nature of thestrals. Much like these mystical beings, the wand veers away from the conventional expectation of dominance, emphasizing a harmony with the tranquility inherent in thestral creatures.

The Resurrection Stone, steeped in the desire to bring back the departed, ironically contradicts its intended purpose. Rather than resurrecting the deceased, the stone allows one to merely perceive the realm of death. This unexpected twist aligns with thestrals, not as harbingers of doom but as creatures that, once understood and accepted, expand one's perception of the world. The stone, much like thestrals, prompts introspection and a broader understanding of mortality once the fear of death is confronted.

However, it is the Invisibility Cloak that mirrors the essence of thestrals most faithfully. The cloak's primary function aligns with the nature of thestrals, utilizing invisibility to provide protection and concealment from harm. The symbiotic relationship between the cloak and thestrals becomes evident, as both entities employ invisibility as a means of safeguarding, underscoring the interconnectedness of these magical elements.

In essence, the artifacts associated with the Peverell brothers form a narrative that resonates with the complexity and mystery of the thestrals. Only the cloak mirrors the true nature of the elusive magical creatures. Just as thestrals defy conventional understanding, so too do the Peverell artifacts, inviting us to ponder the profound intricacies of the magical forces that shape the wizarding universe.

With these thoughts, another intriguing notion surfaces: what if the true criteria for claiming ownership of the Deathly Hallows lies not in the readiness to inflict harm but rather in the acceptance in facing one's own mortality? This suggests that mastery over Death comes not from the willingness to kill, but from an unwavering acceptance of one's own vulnerability. In this alternate interpretation, the mastery of each Hallow is intimately tied to the mastery of essential aspects of the human experience.

To master the Elder Wand requires a deep acknowledgment of the inevitability of one's own demise. The individual achieves loyalty of the wand when they are not only prepared to confront the mortality of others but, more significantly, when they have embraced the idea of their own impending end. It transforms the concept of power, suggesting that the wielder's strength is drawn not from dominance over others but from an internal resilience and acceptance of the circle of life and death.

Similarly, the mastery of the Resurrection Stone hinges not on the futile attempt to bring back the departed but on the acceptance of loss. The possessor achieves true mastery when they comprehend the irrevocable nature of death and can navigate the bittersweet terrain of memory and love without clinging to the illusion of resurrection. It becomes a testament to emotional resilience and a poignant acknowledgment that the journey through grief holds its own form of mastery.

The Invisibility Cloak, in this alternative perspective, symbolizes the conquest of the deepest fear — the fear of death itself. To master the cloak is not just about physical concealment but about conquering the existential dread that shrouds mortality. When one faces the fear of the unknown, the cloak becomes a tool not just for hiding but for navigating the world with courage and wisdom, unburdened by the paralyzing anxiety of what lies beyond the veil.

In this reinterpretation, the Deathly Hallows transform from mere instruments of magical power to profound symbols of personal growth and existential understanding. They become conduits through which individuals navigate the complexities of life, death, and the enduring human spirit.

Until next time, may your wands stay at the ready, and may your curiosity remain as boundless as the magical realms we've explored together.

- The Researcher -