Dark Detector

Dark Detector
Object information
Usage	Detection of lying, concealment or the Dark Arts
Owners	Alastor Moody Bartemius Crouch Junior Harry Potter Dumbledore's Army

A Dark Detector was the name given to a wide variety of sophisticated magical devices used to discover or identify the presence of Dark Wizards and their activities.

Usage

While some were used to detect lying, some were to uncover concealment, or even when Dark Wizards or one's enemies were around, they were all unique in their shared ability to interact and improve upon each other when made to work together; a trait no other magical artefact was known to possess. However, those experienced in their use still tended to advise those who were not against relying on them too much, as they could be fooled. They could be purchased at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley.

Known Dark Detectors

• Foe-Glasses
• Probity Probes
• Secrecy Sensors
• Sneakoscopes
• Trace-tracking dark detector with eyes

History of usage

Alastor Moody

Alastor Moody seemed to own quite a few of these. This is probably because of his overly cautious and paranoid nature. They were used by Barty Crouch Jr when he was impersonating Moody using Polyjuice Potion during the 1994–1995 school year at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore's Army

When Dumbledore's Army was formed in 1995, there were various Dark Detectors in the Room of Requirement when it served as the D.A.'s Headquarters.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter owned two sneakoscopes throughout his Hogwart's years. The first one he got from Ron in 1993 for his Birthday. In 1997 Hermione gave him a new one for his Birthday, as his old one was cracked and worn out.

Statute of Secrecy Task Force

Following the outbreak of The Calamity and the subsequent establishment of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force in the late 2010s, the British Ministry of Magic supplied members of said department with modified Dark Detectors, which had been "re-purposed" and "attuned" to find hidden Traces created by the Calamity.

Behind the scenes

• https://twinfinite.net/2019/06/harry-potter-wizards-unite-how-to-get-dark-detectors-what-they-do/

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) (Appears in deleted scene(s))
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Pottermore (Mentioned only)
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite