The Rare Cloaks

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86998

Diana L. asked:
><snip>    If these cloaks can be bought, like at Diagon Alley, I
wonder how 
> much they'd cost?  And, of course, the off-repeated question, where 
> did James get the cloak he left to Harry?  Will we ever find out?  


I can't answer your first question, but the second was answered in the
October 19, 2000, AOL chat interview:

Q: Where did James get his Invisibility Cloak?

JKR: That was inherited from his own father -- a family heirloom! 

Here's the link:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/quickquotes/articles/2000/1000-aol-chat.htm

To speculate a bit about the apparent rarity of the cloaks: Maybe the
original maker and his family died out in VW1 or earlier and the
secret of their making has been lost. It would be rather like Mr.
Ollivander dying childless and leaving the British witches and wizards
to find wands elsewhere in Europe or settle for used ones. (I hope he
has at least one heir!) Obviously there's no canonical evidence for
this guess, but the wizarding population does seem to have been
drastically reduced in VW1. I also think Spy!Snape would own one if
they were readily available and we wouldn't see so many people who
aren't animagi or metamorphagi resorting to disguises. 

Carol