Could Grindelwald Become the Master of Death?

The Deathly Hallows, considered by the majority of wizards to be nothing but a part of an old kids’ tale, were three immensely powerful and unique artifacts: the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand; the Invisibility Cloak that provided perfect protection; and the Resurrection Stone able to summon the shadows of those who died.

The fable suggested that the one who could find and reunite all three Deathly Hallows would become the Master of Death, whatever it meant, and many wizards have embarked on a journey to try and locate these artifacts throughout the centuries. None of them succeeded in their quest, though.

This same aspiration became the foundation of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald’s friendship. But after their breakup, Dumbledore gave up on trying to reunite the artifacts, and Grindelwald didn’t. For many years, Europe’s most powerful dark wizard kept searching for the Deathly Hallows and came out empty-handed.

Still, the question stands: was there ever any chance for Gellert Grindelwald to become the Master of Death in the first place? To find an answer, let’s quickly recap the whereabouts of all three artifacts back in those days.

The Elder Wand belonged to the famous wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch, and Grindelwald stole it from him. The Invisibility Cloak was with one of Harry Potter ’s ancestors, someone who came two or three generations before the Boy Who Lived; and the Resurrection Stone was with Marvolo Gaunt, Voldemort’s Gramps.

Theoretically, since all three Deathly Hallows were in Great Britain at that time, Grindelwald could’ve got them all. But what about actually reuniting them?

According to Albus Dumbledore, his own rival had no chance of doing so: it was destiny that decided whether someone was worthy of possessing the Deathly Hallows, and destiny was neither on his nor on Grindelwald’s side.

"Maybe a man in a million could unite the Hallows, Harry. I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Elder Wand, and not to boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it,” claimed the Headmaster.

He proceeded to explain that the Deathly Hallows wouldn’t even work well for those they were not meant to and showed it on his own example since back in the day, he actually possessed each of the artifacts and tried to get them to work.

“But the Cloak, I took out of vain curiosity, and so it could never have worked for me as it works for you, its true owner. The stone I would have used in an attempt to drag back those who are at peace, rather than to enable my self-sacrifice, as you did. You are the worthy possessor of the Hallows," explained Dumbledore.

Considering that Gellert Grindelwald had very similar motivations as his rival, none of the Deathly Hallows would’ve worked for him, and he had no chance of becoming the Master of Death. The thing is, only the one not interested in that could become the Master of Death — like Harry. But Harry, well… Was not interested, as we said.

So yeah, sorry, Gellert fans: even if your boy managed to find all three Hallows, he wouldn’t have got anything out of them.