Harry turned to look at Ron and Hermione. They seemed just as puzzled by what Xenophilius had said.
"Deathly Hallows?" Harry repeated.
"Yes," said Xenophilius. "You've never heard of them? Not surprising. Only a handful of wizards believe they exist. I remember that foolish young man at your brother's wedding", he nodded toward Ron, "accusing me of wearing the mark of a dark wizard! Ridiculous. The Hallows are not 'dark', at least, not in the vulgar sense of the word. The symbol is simply how believers recognize one another, a way to share knowledge in pursuit of the truth."
He dropped several sugar lumps into his Gurdyroot tea, stirred, and took a sip with great satisfaction.
"I'm sorry," said Harry. "I'm still not sure I understand."
Out of politeness, he took a sip of his own tea, and nearly spat it out. It tasted like someone had squeezed Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into a cup.
"It's simple," said Xenophilius, smacking his lips. "Seekers of the Deathly Hallows devote themselves to finding the three sacred objects."
"But what are the Deathly Hallows?" asked Hermione.
Xenophilius set down his empty cup. "I imagine you're all familiar with The Tale of the Three Brothers, yes?"
"I'm not," said Harry.
"I am," said Ron and Hermione together.
"Good, good," said Xenophilius solemnly. "Then it all begins with that tale. I have it here somewhere…"
He began scanning the towers of parchment and books around the room, but Hermione interrupted politely. "I have a copy, Mr. Lovegood, right here."
She pulled out The Tales of Beedle the Bard from her beaded bag.
"The original?" he asked eagerly. When she nodded, he said, "Splendid! Then why don't you read it aloud? It's the best way for everyone to understand."
"Alright," said Hermione. She opened the book, cleared her throat, and began to read. Harry noticed the familiar triangular symbol printed at the top of the page.
⚡︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❖ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⚡︎
Once upon a time, there were three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight.
After a while, they came to a river too deep to wade across and too dangerous to swim. But the three brothers were wise in the magical arts, and with a flick of their wands, they conjured a bridge across the treacherous water.
Halfway across, a hooded figure appeared before them, Death himself.
"Wait, Death talks to them?" Harry interrupted.
"It's a story, Harry," Hermione reminded him.
"Oh. Right. Sorry. Go on."
Death spoke to them. He was angry, for he had been cheated out of three new victims; travelers usually drowned in that river. But Death was cunning. Pretending to congratulate the brothers for their cleverness, he offered them each a prize of their choosing.
The eldest was a combative man. He asked for a wand more powerful than any other, a wand that would always win duels for its master, a wand worthy of one who had conquered Death.
So Death walked to a nearby elder tree, broke off a branch, and fashioned from it a wand, which he presented to the eldest brother.
The second brother was an arrogant man. He decided to further humiliate Death and demanded something that could bring back the dead.
Death stooped and picked up a stone from the riverbank, telling him it possessed the power to summon the departed.
Then Death turned to the youngest brother. He was the humblest and wisest of the three, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would allow him to leave that place without being followed.
Reluctantly, Death handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.
"Wait," Harry blurted, "Death had an Invisibility Cloak?"
Hermione gave him a look, and he mumbled, "Right, sorry, go on."
Death stepped aside and let the three brothers continue on their way. They walked on, marveling at the strange gifts Death had given them.
After a time, the brothers parted, each traveling to his own destination.
The eldest went on for a week or more until he reached a distant village, where he got into a quarrel with another wizard. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he won the duel easily. His opponent lay dead, and the eldest brother went to an inn, boasting loudly of his invincible wand that had been won from Death himself.
That very night, another wizard crept upon him as he slept, slit his throat, and stole the wand.
And so Death took the first brother for his own.
Meanwhile, the second brother returned to his home alone. He took out the stone that could recall the dead and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement, the girl he had once hoped to marry, but who had died before their union, appeared before him.
Yet she was sad and cold, as though separated from him by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there. Her suffering made the living world unbearable to her.
Driven mad by longing, the second brother killed himself, so that he might truly join her.
And thus Death took the second brother.
But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he never found him. It was only when the brother had grown very old that he finally took off his Cloak of Invisibility, gave it to his son, and greeted Death as an old friend. Together, they departed this life as equals, gladly and without fear.
Hermione closed the book.
"That's it," said Xenophilius, nodding gravely.
"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"Those," he said, "are the Deathly Hallows."
He plucked a quill from the cluttered table beside him and pulled a scrap of parchment from a nearby stack.
"The Elder Wand," he said, drawing a straight vertical line. "The Resurrection Stone," he added, placing a circle atop it. "And the Cloak of Invisibility." Around them both, he drew a triangle, the very symbol that had so intrigued Hermione. "Together," he finished, "they make up the Deathly Hallows."
"But the story doesn't mention the words 'Deathly Hallows,'" Hermione pointed out.
"Of course not," said Xenophilius, his self-satisfied tone grating. "It's a legend, meant to entertain, not instruct. But those of us who understand the deeper truths can recognize the three objects hidden in the tale, three Hallows, whose mastery makes one the Master of Death."
"You said 'Master of Death', ?" Ron asked.
"Master, conqueror, victor, call it what you like," said Xenophilius with a casual wave of his hand.
"So… you're saying," Hermione said slowly, struggling to keep skepticism from her voice, "that you believe these objects, the Hallows, actually exist?"
His eyebrows rose once more. "Naturally."
"But, Mr. Lovegood," said Hermione, "how can you possibly believe, ?"
"Luna has told me about you," said Xenophilius. "You're intelligent, I grant you that, but sadly, your mind is closed."
Hermione ignored the jab. "We all know Invisibility Cloaks exist," she said patiently. "They're rare, yes, but—"
"Ah, but the third Hallow," Xenophilius interrupted, "is no ordinary cloak, Miss Granger! Not one woven with Disillusionment charms or spun from Demiguise hair, those fade over time. No, this cloak gives true invisibility, permanent, perfect, and unbreakable by any spell. Tell me, how many such cloaks have you seen, Miss Granger?"
Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it again, clearly at a loss. She, Harry, and Ron exchanged glances, each thinking of the same thing: there was such a cloak, and it was right there in their possession.
"Exactly," said Xenophilius triumphantly, as if he'd won an argument. "You've never seen what it's like. Its owner would be unimaginably fortunate, wouldn't he?"
"Alright," said Hermione at last. "Let's suppose such a cloak exists. What about the stone, Mr. Lovegood? The one you call the Resurrection Stone?"
"What about it?"
"Well, how could that possibly be real?"
"Then prove that it isn't," said Xenophilius calmly.