Poisoned Youth | ✓

61- The Three Brothers

1998:

Despite my slight tolerance of Ron's presence, Hermione did not share my resilience. Hermione's anger did not abate overnight and therefore unsurprisingly she communicated mainly by dirty looks and pointed silences the next morning. Ron responded by maintaining an unnaturally sombre demeanour in her presence as an outward sign of continuing remorse.

"Someone helped us," Ron kept saying. "Someone sent that doe. Someone's on our side. One Horcrux down, mate!"

"The question is who and why," I responded to him.

Not wanting to be stuck inside with Harry and Ron, I decided to sit out with Hermione as she stayed on watch. Hermione and I were talking about the weird symbol in the storybook, Dumbledore's letter to Grindelwald, and on the tombstone back at Godric's Hollow when I saw large blue flame out of the corner of my eye. We shared a look and bolted inside.

"What's going on in here?" I shouted, pulling back the tarp door.

"Nothing," both boys said sheepishly.

"We need to talk," Hermione huffed.

Ron sat up straighter and gave a lopsided smile, "all right."

"I want to go to Xenophilius Lovegood," Hermione said to Harry, ignoring Ron.

He stared at her.

"Sorry?"

"Xenophilius Lovegood. Luna's father. I want to go and talk to him!"

"Er— why?"

"Because of the symbol," I spoke up and walked over to the three of them.

Hermione took a deep breath, as though bracing herself, and said, "It's that mark, the mark in Beedle the Bard. Look at this!"

She thrust The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore under Harry's unwilling eyes. Harry looked at the signature she had shown me before but did not have the same epiphany I had when I saw it. He looked up at Hermione with his eyes full of confusion.

"The signature," said Hermione. "Look at the signature, Harry!"

"Er— what are you —?" said Ron tentatively, but Hermione quelled him with a look and turned back to Harry. Ron looked up at me but I only gave him a small smile.

"It keeps popping up, doesn't it?" she said. "I know Viktor said it was Grindelwald's mark, but it was definitely on that old grave in Godric's Hollow, and the dates on the headstone were long before Grindelwald came along! And now this! Well, we can't ask Dumbledore or Grindelwald what it means— I don't even know whether Grindelwald's still alive— but we can ask Mr Lovegood. He was wearing the symbol at the wedding. I'm sure this is important!"

Harry did not answer immediately. After a long pause he said, "Hermione, we don't need another Godric's Hollow. We talked ourselves into going there, and —"

"But it keeps appearing, Harry! Dumbledore left me The Tales of Beedle the Bard, how do you know we're not supposed to find out about the sign?"

"Here we go again!" Harry felt slightly exasperated. "We keep trying to convince ourselves Dumbledore left us secret signs and clues —"

"The Deluminator turned out to be pretty useful," piped up Ron. "I think Hermione's right, I think we ought to go and see Lovegood."

Harry threw him a dark look. I was quite sure that Ron's support of Hermione had little to do with a desire to know the meaning of the triangular rune. Harry gave me a pleading look, but I only shook my head.