The Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

The will of Albus Dumbledore was revealed one month after his death to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger by Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour.

For thirty-one days, the Ministry of Magic had not carried out Dumbledore's wishes as laid out in the will, instead temporarily confiscating and inspecting them under the Decree for Justifiable Confiscation for clues as to what Dumbledore intended the three teenagers to do with the items he left them. As they were not able to find any Dark magic in the items, the Ministry was no longer legally entitled to inspect them, and Scrimgeour brought them to the Burrow to give to Harry, Hermione and Ron, interrupting Harry's birthday celebrations in the process.

Items Left to Hogwarts
Almost all of Dumbledore's worldly possessions — including his books, magical instruments, and various other effects — were left to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He left many papers to the Hogwarts Archives, among them a set of notes on The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Scrimgeour was especially suspicious that of all the individuals the late Headmaster might have bequeathed items to, he chose three students.

The Golden Snitch


Harry received a Golden Snitch from Dumbledore; the first one he ever won playing Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Scrimgeour was suspicious that something was inside the Snitch, as Hermione mentioned that they had flesh memories. However, when Harry touched the Snitch, nothing happened. Because Harry caught the Snitch in his mouth, however, it needed to be touched to his lips, which revealed that it was inscribed with the message "I open at the close".

In May 1998, after Harry viewed Severus Snape's memories and realized that he was meant to let Lord Voldemort strike him with the Killing Curse, he spoke the words "I am about to die" to the Snitch. This caused it to open, revealing the Resurrection Stone within. Harry used the stone to speak to his late father and mother, as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They stood by him as he walked to what he believed would be his death, offering comfort and helping him be as brave as he was required to be in sacrificing himself.

The Deluminator
"' To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it '… That is a valuable object. It may even be unique. Certainly it is of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare? Dumbledore must have taught thousands of students, yet the only ones he remembered in his will are you three. Why is that? To what use did he think you would put to the Deluminator, Mr. Weasley?"

- Rufus Scrimgeour

Ron was bequeathed a Deluminator in Dumbledore's will. The trio used it when they were attacked by Death Eaters Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle at Tottenham Court Road. Ron put the lights out while Hermione wiped the Death Eaters' memories, and he and Harry cleaned up the café. They used it again in the dungeon of Malfoy Manor as part of their escape.

Most importantly, Ron used the Deluminator to find Harry and Hermione after temporarily abandoning them in the winter of 1997. He instantly regretted his decision to leave, which was influenced by the negative energy within Salazar Slytherin's Locket, but was unable to find them until the sound of Hermione saying his name came from the Deluminator, which began to emit light which led him back to his friends. Ron saved Harry's life and destroyed the locket Horcrux. While Ron was glum about Dumbledore's apparent prediction that he would leave his friends, Harry pointed out that it meant Dumbledore knew he would always want to come back.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard


Dumbledore left Hermione a first edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales. One of those tales was about the three brothers who apparently met Death and received three objects that protected them from death. Inside the front cover was a symbol that led Hermione to want to visit Godric's Hollow, where she saw the symbol on the grave of Ignotus Peverell and where she and Harry were attacked by Nagini. Hermione later wanted to visit Xenophilius Lovegood, who had worn the symbol to the wedding of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. At his home, Xenophilius told the trio about the Deathly Hallows, and they narrowly escaped an attempted ambush.

All of these events led to Harry understanding the importance of the Elder Wand, which played a vital role in his final defeat of Lord Voldemort. Also, when Harry spoke to Dumbledore after allowing Voldemort to hit him with the Killing Curse, Dumbledore revealed that he had given the book to Hermione in hopes that the trio would figure out the Deathly Hallows, but only gradually, so as to keep their focus on destroying the Horcruxes and to prevent Harry from being too tempted by the Hallows, as Dumbledore himself was.

Later in life, Hermione translated The Tales of Beedle the Bard from its original runes and published a new edition of it.

Godric Gryffindor's Sword


Dumbledore also bequeathed Godric Gryffindor's Sword to Harry, but the Ministry refused to turn it over to him, as it was not Dumbledore’s property. Scrimgeour speculated that Dumbledore left Harry the sword of Godric Gryffindor because it might be capable of defeating the Heir of Salazar Slytherin. Harry scoffed at this, and grew angry over the Ministry’s continuing suspicion of him and covering up of facts instead of actually working towards the defeat of Voldemort. Scrimgeour, highly insulted, leapt up, and the two exchanged heated words before being interrupted by Arthur and Molly Weasley. Scrimgeour soon departed.

"Interesting theory. Has anyone ever tried sticking a sword in Voldemort? Maybe the Ministry should put some people onto that, instead of wasting their time stripping down Deluminators or covering up breakouts from Azkaban...People are dying – I was nearly one of them – Voldemort chased me across three counties, he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but there’s no word about any of that from the Ministry, has there? And you still expect us to cooperate with you!"

- Harry Potter

It is probable that Dumbledore put the sword in his will to clue Harry and his friends in to the sword’s importance to their quest to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. As it was imbued with the venom of a basilisk, the sword is one of the few items capable of destroying one. It would later be used by Ron to destroy Salazar Slytherin's Locket and by Neville Longbottom to kill Nagini.

Behind the scenes

 * Prior to the stating of Hermione Granger's full name in Dumbledore's will, her middle name was considered to be "Jane", as J. K. Rowling had stated in interviews. Rowling decided to change it to "Jean" so that Hermione would not share a middle name with Dolores Jane Umbridge.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows