Rosabella Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

V: A Dinner Party and a Bedtime Story

Soon everyone started arriving. While most of the guests were Ministry workers and their spouses, there were also a few children and teens.

The first to arrive are two men, both dressed in just dress pants and a button down. One looks a couple years older than the other, who looks no older than 20. The older of the two has light brown hair and isn't very tall, maybe 5'9". The other has bright red hair and is easily six feet tall.

"Wotcher Dad." The older one says. Dad?

"Ah. Good to see you, Carson. This is your younger cousin, Rosabella. Rose this is my son and your cousin, Carson."

"Nice to meet you. Or rather see you again." Carson says. "Oh. This Charlie Weasley. He just started working at the sanctuary this summer."

"Sanctuary?" I ask.

"Yeah, Charlie and I work at a dragon sanctuary in Romania."

"Really?! That's so cool. Are related to Molly Weasley, Charlie?" My hair goes from blonde to mint green. Mint green is the colour my hair turns when I'm happy or excited.

"Woah. You're a metamorphmagus? Our friend Tonks is one." Carson and Charlie both say. Charlie forgot about my question and focused more on my hair. I make it return to blonde.

"Yeah. That's what you said I was, right Uncle Neil?"

"Yes, Rose." Uncle Neil says from where he's greeting the Malfoys.

"Draco!" I say and run over.

"Hey, Bella." Draco greets.

"Manners Draco." A woman says from where she stands next to Lucious. "Nice to meet you, dear. My name's Narcissa Malfoy, I'm Draco's mother."

"Nice to meet you." I shake her hand.

After I greet the Malfoy's and some other Ministry people, I see the Weasley family enter. I kinda ignore them. No offence to them, but they tend to be a circus. I see Charlie hug them, so I was right in guessing they were related. Once everyone is present, we all head to the dining room.

At the large table, Uncle sits at the head, with Carson and I to either side of him. Everyone else fills in the rest of the seats. Draco and his family sit next to me and Charlie sits next to Carson, while the rest of the Weasleys sit farther down.

Once everyone was sitting the house elves bring out the first course of dinner. We dinned on soups, steaks, buttered rolls, chocolate pudding, and more. Eventually, dinner is done and all the guests leave, except Carson and Charlie.

I head up to my room and get ready for bed. Before I can turn out the lights, there's a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I call. Carson walks in holding a thick, old book bound in leather.

"Since you didn't grow up in the wizarding world, I decided I should tell you one of our greatest stories. My father used to tell me this story every night for years." He says.

"What is it called?"

"The Tale of the Three Brothers."

"That book looks like it will take a while to read and I'm really tired."

"Oh. This book has more than one story in it, it holds many stories of our world."

"Okay." And Carson opens the book and begins to read.

"The Tale of the Three Brothers. There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at Midnight. Most wizards say midnight instead of twilight, which was what the time was originally. Nobody likes twilight. Anyway, in time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure; Death.

And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travellers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.

So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother.

Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.

And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility. Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts."

"Why would the first two brothers trust Death? Obviously, he can't be trusted. He's Death for goodness sake." I interrupt.

"The two were foolish. Anyway, in due course, the brothers separated, each for his own destination.

The first brother travelled on for a week or more and reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible.

That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.

And so Death took the first brother for his own."

"Again, he was stupid." Carson ignores me.

"Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.

Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her.

And so Death took the second brother for his own.

But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

"Who owns the wand, stone, and cloak now?"

"Well it is rumoured that the Gaunt family had the stone last, but they died out decades ago; the Potter family, specifically James Potter your adoptive father, had the cloak last, but it hasn't been seen since he died. As for the wand, it was passed from wizard to wizard with no order, so no one except its current owner knows. Well, good night Rose."

"Good night Carson."

The story echoes through my mind as I sleep.

-----------------------

Hey guys. I've always loved the Tale of the Three Brother since I first read it, so I decided to add it in. Once again, if you like the story so far, don't forget to vote.

-Ro