Three Hallows' Eve || Harmione & Jily

Chapter 4.2

Taking off his glasses and placing them on his desk, Albus took a long deep breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'Quite a tale indeed.'

James chuckled slightly. 'How do you think we feel?'

Albus put his glasses back on and made a gesture with one hand. The pensieve gently floated off of the desk and back to its place in the cabinet between the shelves. 'This has reminded me, actually, that it's about time I return the cloak. I beg forgiveness that it has taken me so long to do so, I had honestly forgotten that I still had it.' He reached down and tapped his wand against the bottom drawer of his desk, murmuring a password under his breath. The drawer clicked and rolled open of its own accord, and from it, he withdrew the Invisibility Cloak. 'This does, in fact, explain the shortcomings in my attempts to understand and perhaps even replicate the Cloak's incredible properties. Certainly now I know I could never hope to do either.'

James took the Cloak as the Headmaster offered it. It felt heavier in his hand than it ever had before, though he supposed that could just be for the weight of the knowledge of what the artefact truly was. 'Lily's father used to like the phrase "All's well that ends well."' he offered, and the old man gave an obviously relieved smile.

'A William Shakespeare play. One of the greatest bards Britain will ever know, I should think. One of his sons was a wizard, did you know?'

'I had no idea,' James said.

Sirius snorted, 'I still have no idea. Who's William Shakespeare?'

'You've got no culture, either.'

Albus cleared his throat to head off the impending insult match and they both turned back to him sheepishly. James reeled his mind back through the conversation trying to land on something relevant in order to distract Albus from his amused grin. It always had felt wrong when the Headmaster humoured them like this. The immaturity didn't suit the most powerful wizard personality that he wore for the public, and it was always jarring to see.

Thankfully, the old man resumed the conversation again. 'Young Harry taking possession of the Hallows does present an interesting new dilemma, too.'

James furrowed his brow, wondering where Albus was going with the conversation.

'The Three Brothers became the subject of legend, as we all know, and faded into anonymity. While there are many of those who seek out the Hallows, very few indeed have ever thought to research their provenance. It has long since been my belief that the Three Brothers were in fact Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell - Ignotus being the youngest, with the cloak, and being an ancestor of yours, James, lends credence to that.'

He looked back at the cloak in his hand. It had been in the family for countless generations, he knew, but had never thought to look into the story being it. 'I think I'll have to fish out the Potter Grimoire at some point. I had no idea about its origins.'

Albus' looked up from the Cloak with keen interest clear on his face. 'If you'd permit an old man his curiosity, I'd be most intrigued to hear what you uncover.'

'As long as there are no family secrets involved, I'd be glad to.'

The Headmaster nodded and then shook his head as though to clear it of stray thoughts. 'We've digressed from the point I had meant to discuss. If Harry is indeed to be the master of all three of the Hallows, then I find myself in an interesting situation.'

The younger men looked at him expectantly. Instead of continuing aloud, he simply drew his wand and, after a brief moment of hesitation, placed it on the desk between them.

It didn't take James very long at all to realise what the Headmaster was saying - or rather, what he wasn't saying. 'The Elder Wand?' he breathed in shock. Sirius' gaze shot comically between him and Albus, who slowly nodded.