Dumbledore gave Harry a pack of cards that had portkey functionality, under the name Santa Claus and claiming that they were a portkey to Salem, but instead heading to a location somewhere in London. Harry gave them back for further investigation, thinking that they might be a trap, Dumbledore took them back but didn’t activate the portkey.
It’s possible that this was just a short reference, meant to establish Dumbledore’s steps of trust in parallel to the gift of the Cloak of Invisibility, and that Harry did not retrieve the portkey and Dumbledore did not place it upon Harry’s person...
But activation trigger was to rip the King of Hearts—a king card known for its face character stabbing itself in the back of the head—in half.
Dumbledore wants to give Harry his cloak, but decides to capitalize on the opportunity.
He delivers it anonymously with a note telling Harry not to trust Dumbledore.
Upon meeting Dumbledore, this allows him to impress Harry by deducing the nature of his cape, and then show his trustworthiness. Furthermore, he can comment on the potentially pure motives of the mud-slinger.
Harry is alternately ashamed of his distrust of Dumbledore, and impressed with Dumbledore’s charity and kindness, +2 to Dumbledore.
It’s not been explicitly confirmed, but given the similarity in forms to later notes signed Santa (and confirmed to be Dumbledore), the note’s writer claiming the Cloak was freely given by Harry’s father, and the explicit warning against letting Dumbledore see the Cloak, it’s very likely that Dumbledore gave Harry the Cloak as in canon.
Dumbledore gave Harry a pack of cards that had portkey functionality, under the name Santa Claus and claiming that they were a portkey to Salem, but instead heading to a location somewhere in London. Harry gave them back for further investigation, thinking that they might be a trap, Dumbledore took them back but didn’t activate the portkey.
It’s possible that this was just a short reference, meant to establish Dumbledore’s steps of trust in parallel to the gift of the Cloak of Invisibility, and that Harry did not retrieve the portkey and Dumbledore did not place it upon Harry’s person...
But activation trigger was to rip the King of Hearts—a king card known for its face character stabbing itself in the back of the head—in half.
By the way, who gave the Cloak to Harry?
I vote Dumbledore; he’s a clever schemer.
Dumbledore wants to give Harry his cloak, but decides to capitalize on the opportunity. He delivers it anonymously with a note telling Harry not to trust Dumbledore.
Upon meeting Dumbledore, this allows him to impress Harry by deducing the nature of his cape, and then show his trustworthiness. Furthermore, he can comment on the potentially pure motives of the mud-slinger.
Harry is alternately ashamed of his distrust of Dumbledore, and impressed with Dumbledore’s charity and kindness, +2 to Dumbledore.
It’s not been explicitly confirmed, but given the similarity in forms to later notes signed Santa (and confirmed to be Dumbledore), the note’s writer claiming the Cloak was freely given by Harry’s father, and the explicit warning against letting Dumbledore see the Cloak, it’s very likely that Dumbledore gave Harry the Cloak as in canon.