Item from harry-potter-deathly-hallows by
A small black stone that summons shades of the dead -- hidden inside the first Snitch Harry ever caught, 'opening at the close' to let him walk to his death surrounded by the people who loved him.
Dumbledore hid the Resurrection Stone inside the Snitch because he knew Harry would need it at the end. 'I open at the close' means it opens at the close of Harry's life -- when he accepts that he must die. Harry presses the Snitch to his lips in the Forbidden Forest and it opens. He turns the stone three times. James and Lily appear. Sirius. Lupin. They are not ghosts. They are not fully real. They are something in between -- present but separated by a veil, proud and sad and loving. Lily tells him it will be quick. Sirius says dying is easier than falling asleep. They walk with him to Voldemort's clearing. He drops the stone. It is never found again. The stone is the cruelest Hallow because it gives you almost what you want. But in Harry's hands it served its proper purpose: not to chain the dead to the living, but to give the living the courage to join them.
Small, cracked black stone with the Deathly Hallows symbol etched into its surface. Hidden inside a Golden Snitch that reads 'I open at the close.' The Snitch has flesh memory and only opens when pressed to the lips of the person who first caught it.
Also known as: the Resurrection Stone, Resurrection Stone, the Stone