Death (The Tale of the Three Brothers)

"And Death spoke to them."

- Tale of the Three Brothers

It was Death who, according to Beedle the Bard in his tales, witnessed the three Peverell brothers defy him by successfully crossing a deadly river. He was upset because he could not take them for his own, so he offered to give each brother an artifact of great power. The Peverell brothers chose the Elder Wand, Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. These items later became known as the Deathly Hallows.

Peverell brothers
"He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him."

- Hermione Granger reading the Tales of Beedle the Bard

Death is a minor antagonist featured in the last of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, The Tale of the Three Brothers. In the story, the three Peverell brothers (Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus) are featured out traveling the world when at twilight they came to a treacherous river that has been known to claim many lives when attempting to cross it. The Peverells who were powerful wizards, merely whipped out their wands and created a bridge out of thin air and casually began to cross the river when they were met by a black hooded figure midway across, blocking their path.

This figure is none other than Death himself, who is outraged that he has been cheated out of new victims due to their magical abilities and that he cannot take them as his own. But Death is cunning and pretends to congratulate the brothers on being powerful enough to elude him before offering each of them a prize for their skill. Death proceeds to give the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility to each of the brothers, a collection of items that would come to be known in time as the Deathly Hallows.

Revenge
"Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts."

- Tale of the Three Brothers

Secretly each of these objects is part of an elaborate scheme devised by Death to reclaim each of the brothers as his own. Indeed, as the story progresses, each of the brothers in turn loses his life at the indirect hands of his own gift (Antioch being murdered due to the lust created by the Elder Wand and Cadmus having committed suicide upon seeing the Resurrection Stone's limitations), giving Death two of his victims back.

Ignotus's fate
"But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him."

- Tale of the Three Brothers

However, the Cloak of Invisibility enables Ignotus to elude Death for a good many years, and finally when he has become an old man and has lived a happy long life, he takes off the Cloak, gives it to his son, and departs the living world with Death as an old friend, but on his own terms and not those of Death.

Personality and traits
"He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travellers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning."

- Death

Death is portrayed as a character who does not like to be on the losing side of anything. He is shown to be angered when anyone eludes him, denying his fresh victims, and he is described as having "grudgingly" giving Ignotus his own Cloak of Invisibility, knowing that he has probably been outsmarted by the most benevolent brother.

In both instances, he is described as being agitated when he feels he has been cheated or beaten at his own game (in this case being outsmarted by Ignotus). He is also shown to be a very cunning character, plotting an elaborate scheme using the Deathly Hallows to reclaim each of the brothers for himself.

However, he is not beyond being outwitted, as demonstrated when Ignotus sees through his facade and turns his scheme on its head by asking for something that would make it impossible for him to be followed by Death.

Magical Abilities and skills
"So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother."

- Death


 * Wand maker: Death is able to create powerful wands, as such he created the most powerful wand in existence, the Elder Wand.
 * Tracking people: Death is able to track people easily if they are not under magical concealment as such he tracked down Antioch and Cadmus Peverell to bring them to their deaths.
 * Resurrection: Death is able to bring dead people back to the living world through the Resurrection Stone. However, as there is no true way to bring dead people back, this method only brings them in a spectral state, and is not truly with the living.
 * Manufacturer: Death is able to create three powerful objects: the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility.

Antioch Peverell
"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!"

- Tale of the Three Brothers

Death was furious when his magical powers were outdone or when he was outsmarted. Therefore he sought revenge upon the Peverell brothers whom had eluded him. So when he pretended to have congratulated them and gave them a choice of a prize, Antioch decided to humiliate Death by asking for a wand that worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death. So Death followed him until he stopped to stay at an inn. He then boasted loudly that he had snatched the Elder Wand "from Death himself". Therefore, Death took his life for his own in the form of another murderous wizard who lusted for the Elder Wand's power.

Cadmus Peverell
"Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death."

- Tale of the Three Brothers

Death was not one to take kindly to losing or being outwitted. Therefore he sought revenge upon the Peverell brothers after their twilight encounter. So when he pretended to congratulate them and gave them a choice of a prize, Cadmus, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death followed him back to his home, where he attempted to use the stone to bring back his lost lover who had died an untimely death. However the limitations of his gift ended up being his downfall. However delighted he was at first to see the woman he loved, he was dismayed to find that it was only a pale imitation of her: the dead did not truly belong in the living world. In the end, Cadmus killed himself so he could truly join her. Death had taken Cadmus's life for his own just as he had done with Antioch.

Ignotus Peverell
"And then he [the third brother] greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

- Tale of the Three Brothers

Death was furious when he felt he had been outsmarted or eluded when he felt he was due new victims. Therefore he sought vengeance when the Peverell brothers defied him when crossing the fateful river. So when he pretended to congratulate them and gave them each a choice of a prize, Ignotus, who did not trust Death by any means, requested the power to leave that meeting without being followed by Death rather than ask for something that furthered his own desires. Death, not wishing to betray any hint of his true intentions, begrudgingly took off his Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to Ignotus. Ignotus used the Cloak of Invisibility to hide from Death, successfully eluding him for many years. Finally, when he was an old man and had lived a happy, long life, Ignotus took off the Cloak, passed it on to his son, and went with Death as an old friend, but on his own terms and not those of Death.

Behind the scenes
"...I think it more likely that the Peverell brothers were simply gifted, dangerous wizards who succeeded in creating those powerful objects"

- Albus Dumbledore's speculation.


 * It is actually unknown what kind of being Death is. Presumably Beedle the Bard uses Death in his Tale of the Three Brothers not as a specific character, but as a metaphor for the physical act of dying, or of being close to death.
 * Death, as a character, appears in many other pieces of literature, such as The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.
 * Albus Dumbledore, however, speculated that these artifacts weren't truly given to the brothers by Death. He completed his reasoning by saying that it was far more likely the brothers were simply very gifted wizards and they succeeded in creating the three objects. It is, however, unproven by anybody, although this does remain the most logical answer.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Notes and references
La Mort