Deluminator

Deluminator
Object information
Manufacturer	Albus Dumbledore
Made	1920s or earlier
Usage	To remove or return light to its sources To guide and apparate Ron Weasley back to his friends
Owners	Albus Dumbledore (formerly) Alastor Moody (briefly) Ron Weasley

"It looked like a silver cigarette lighter, but it had, he knew, the power to suck all light from a place, and restore it, with a simple click."

— Description

The Deluminator, also known as the Put-Outer, is a magical device used by Albus Dumbledore (the first known owner and designer of the one Deluminator known to exist) to remove light sources from the Deluminator's immediate surroundings, as well as bestow them. It looks like a standard silver cigarette lighter.

Dumbledore left the Deluminator to Ron Weasley, in his will (presented by Rufus Scrimgeour), after his death.

History

Albus Dumbledore's usage

Dumbledore using the Deluminator to darken London's streets

In 1927, Dumbledore used the Deluminator to darken London's streets to talk with Newt Scamander and avoid detection by the Ministry of Magic employees.

File:Tumblr mc81m7sp3A1qa9jn1o1 250.gif

Dumbledore using the Deluminator to darken Privet Drive

In 1981, after the murders of James and Lily Potter by Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore used the Deluminator to darken Privet Drive, where the Dursley household was located. Dumbledore was expecting Rubeus Hagrid to transport the infant Harry Potter to Privet Drive, where Dumbledore would leave him at the Dursley household. Dumbledore's Deluminator allowed Hagrid to arrive with added security.

In 1995, Dumbledore lent the Deluminator to Mad-Eye Moody, who used it when transporting Harry from the Dursleys' home to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at 12 Grimmauld Place. The Deluminator again provided added security to keep Harry Potter safe, as he was a highly valued target among Lord Voldemort's supporters, and to keep the Order's headquarters secret, because these headquarters were also a highly valued target.

In 1996, Dumbledore used it again to darken Privet Drive before coming to collect Harry.

Ronald Weasley's usage

Ron using the Deluminator for the first time after Dumbledore left it to him

In 1997, the Deluminator was left to Ron Weasley in Dumbledore's will. It seemed to also act like a homing device. Whenever Hermione and Harry mentioned Ron's name, he could hear snippets of conversation before and after, even though he was far away. It then acted as a guide, leading Ron back to Harry and Hermione after he left them following an argument.

In 1998, Ron Weasley used the Deluminator in the Malfoys' cellar, so that Luna Lovegood, Ollivander, Ron and Harry could see inside the cellar, releasing light that he had earlier taken from the lamps within Perkins's tent. And when Peter Pettigrew came down into the cellar, Harry told Ron keep the lights on, and leave as it is. The lights, being unable to rejoin their sources, simply remained in the room.

During the Calamity which affected the Wizarding world in the 2010s, the Deluminator was among the many magical items which became Foundables, being guarded by Confoundables.

Function

The main use of the Deluminator is to take, or release light. There's a button on it, and when pressed, will absorb the nearest light source and a light ball will fly towards the Deluminator. If light is already taken, the Deluminator can also release light. The light will go back to their sources if the original source is nearby, otherwise the light will stay at the Deluminator.

There seems to be another use as demostrated by Ron Weasley. Whenever the user's name is mentioned in a conversation, the Deluminator will play the snippet of conversation just before and after the user's name is said.

Behind the scenes

The functioning of a Deluminator

• In its first and second appearances in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Deluminator was called a Put-Outer.
• In the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the Deluminator is able to turn off electric appliances, as seen in Luchino Cafe when Ron put out the lights and the TV turned off.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron explains that the Deluminator creates a blue light which, after entering his chest near his heart, allows him to disapparate to where his love interest (Hermione) and his best friend (Harry) are located. The ability to transport a wizard, via a light through the heart, to where his or her favourite (or most treasured) people are is curiously similar to the epitaph Dumbledore selected for his mother and sister: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
• The Noble Collection sells an exact replica of the device, which even includes a small light inside.
• The Deluminator may have been inspired by the Phial of Galadriel in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, with the exception that, unlike Galadriel's gift to Frodo, the Deluminator can remove light in addition to bestowing it.

Appearances

The Deluminator, as seen on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance) (Identified as "Put-Outer")
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First identified as Deluminator)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game) (Nintendo DS version only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Appears in a deleted scene)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite