𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

Chapter 38

"I want to see Xenophilius Lovegood," said Hermione one cold morning.

"What?" I stopped in front of her.

"He was wearing that necklace with the same mark on that grave. That mark has been appearing all over my book."

"Which book, Hermione?" Star asked.

"The Tales of Beedle The Bard."

And so we went. We packed our stuff within the next week and Apparated about a mile away from the Lovegood house.

We walked there quickly. Up the hill, up the steps, to the door.

I knocked.

"Ah, hello?" said Xenophilius quietly, opening his door.

"Hello, sir?" I said, backing up.

"Oh, dear!" He jumped a little.

"I am Y/n Potter, we've come to see you."

We walked inside once he moved away. The house was shaped a bit like a rook in chess. The house was cluttered and messy.

Xenophilius led us upstairs. A noisy printing machine stood in a corner of the room, printing our copies of The Quibbler.

"Where's Luna?" Star asked.

"Luna... Luna's just down at the river..." Xenophilius said, throwing a blanket over the printer.

"We've come to ask you about something..." Hermione said, sitting on a dusty chair. "What do you know about that symbol? The one on your necklace."

Xenophilius froze. "Well... I know... I know that... um. Have you read The Tales of the Three Brothers?"

Hermione, Ron, and Star said, "Yes," but Harry and I said, "No."

"I have it here." Hermione pulled out her copy of the book.

"Why don't you read us the tale?"

Hermione cleared her throat. "One night, at twilight -"

"Midnight," Ron interrupted. "Mum always said midnight."

"Would you like to tell the story, Ron?"

"No... twilight's fine."

(A/N: No, Twilight is a terrible book/movie series and is not fine.)

"Three brothers, travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight reached a deep treacherous river where anyone who attempted to swim or wade would drown. Learned in the magical arts, the brothers conjured a bridge with their wands and proceed to cross."

Hermione looked up at Ron, who was staring at the book in her hands.

"Halfway through the bridge, a hooded figure stood before them. The figure was the enraged spirit of Death, cheated of his due. Death cunningly pretended to congratulate them and proceeds to award them with gifts of their own choosing. The eldest brother, a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. Death granted his wish by fashioning the Elder Wand from a branch of a nearby elder tree standing on the banks of the river. The second brother, an arrogant man, chose to further humiliate death and asked for the power to recall the deceased from the grave."

Ron looked away.

"Death granted his wish by crafting the Resurrection Stone from a stone picked from the riverbank. The third and youngest brother, who was the most humble and wise, did not trust Death and asked for something to enable him to go forth without Death being able to follow. A reluctant Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Invisibility Cloak. The three brothers took their prizes and soon went their separate ways. The eldest brother travelled to a village where a wizard whom he had quarrelled lived. He sought out a duel and fought the wizard using the wand, instantly killing the latter. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the eldest brother walked to an inn not far from the duelling site and spent the night there. Taken by his conscience and lust of the Elder Wand's power, the eldest brother boasted of this wand gifted by Death and his own invincibility. That very night, Death transfigured to a murderous wizard. The unknown murderous wizard crept to the inn as the eldest brother slept, drunk from wine. The wizard slit the oldest brother's throat for good measure and stole the wand. That was when Death took the first brother."