" Fashioned from pure silver, it is inset with rubies, the stone that represents Gryffindor in the hour-glasses that count the house points at Hogwarts.Godric Gryffindor's name is engraved just beneath the hilt"

Rufus Scrimgeour: "Was it because Dumbledore believed that only the sword of Godric Gryffindor could defeat the Heir of Slytherin? Did he wish to give you that sword, Potter, because he believed, as do many, that you are the one destined to destroy He Who Must Not Be Named?"

Harry Potter: "Interesting theory. Has anyone ever tried sticking a sword in Voldemort?"

Before he died, Dumbledore entrusted the sword to Harry in his will. However, Rufus Scrimgeour claimed that the sword was not Dumbledore's to give away, and refused to give it to Harry. Dumbledore placed an identical copy of the sword in his office, because he knew that the Ministry of Magic would try to confiscate it, and hid the real sword in a hole in the wall behind his portrait. Sure enough, the sword on display in Dumbledore's office was later taken byRufus Scrimgeour for examination.