The case for why Harry Potter should have held onto the Resurrection Stone

Any true Harry Potter fan knows “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” which describes the creation of the Deathly Hallows: The Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak. The tale teaches a lesson — that using either of the first two is foolish because these Hallows are an attempt to cheat death. For example, the second brother who had the Resurrection Stone ultimately was driven mad by the ghost of his love and killed himself to be closer to her.

Because of this, Harry’s decision to drop the Resurrection Stone in the forest, where it would be just another rock, has always seemed understandable and wise. But a Facebook post of screenshots taken of an entry by Tumblr user and Potterhead marauders4evr has been going totally viral. . . probably because it’s absolutely heartbreaking and makes an excellent point about Harry tossing the Resurrection Stone to the ground in the Forbidden Forest.

Though it’s understandable why Harry tossed the stone — it’s certainly possible that one could become obsessed with talking to their loved ones again and wasting their lives without being able to say goodbye — marauders4evr painted a hypothetical situation about what Harry could have done with the stone to benefit the loved ones of those lost during the battle against Voldemort. He could have set up a room in Hogwarts with only a desk and a chair, calling people into the room one by one:

OK, sobbing. But that’s not all.

Marauders4evr goes on to list dozens of people Harry could bring in to see their lost loved ones who passed away during the Battle of Hogwarts, but also others who have been grieving, too — including Luna, who is able to see her mother; friends of Cedric Diggory; Aberforth, so he can say goodbye to Albus and Ariana; and the rest of the house elves, so they can see Dobby one last time. Then, it’s Harry’s turn:

But what would Harry do with the stone afterwards? Surely, destroy it? After all, this kind of magic is enough to drive any witch or wizard mad. But as marauders4evr highlights, Harry was able to pry himself away from the Mirror of Erised, and he’s grown a lot since then; he keeps it, but doesn’t touch it. . . for one last person who must use it when it’s time:

Wow. Are you crying? Because we definitely are. Leave it to an awesome Potterhead to make us cry over and over again in brand new ways about the Wizarding World. J.K. Rowling, can you pen an alternate ending? Please and thank you.

(Image via Warner Bros.)