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Chapter 1276: The Deathly Hallows
Chapter 1276: The Deathly Hallows
"Albert, I'd like to have a word with you."
After using the Felix Felicis, Harry approached Albert directly.
Seeing the apologetic look in Harry's eyes, George waved it off, indicating that Harry shouldn't worry about them. In truth, they were quite curious about what Harry wanted to discuss with Albert.
However, the two of them clearly didn't intend to talk here. They walked past the raucous celebration in the large tent, looking for a quiet spot.
"The garden over there should be empty," Harry said, leading the way.
As they passed by the open kitchen window, they noticed members of the Order of the Phoenix whispering about the possible events of the night.
The backyard garden was already in ruins, with dried-up plants everywhere and a few goblins stealthily eyeing them.
Albert raised his wand and swished it through the air, sending a red curse upward that burst into a shower of sparkling lights, instantly knocking out the surrounding goblins.
"You don't need to be that cautious!"
Harry thought Albert was being overly cautious, but he also understood that this caution was necessary and could prevent a lot of trouble.
"Alright, ask away."
"Have you found the remaining two Horcruxes...?" Harry trailed off as he noticed Albert's gaze, then quickly corrected himself, "I mean, their locations?"
"You didn't take the Felix Felicis, or perhaps you want to steer the topic toward the potion," Albert easily saw through Harry's thoughts.
"My supply of Felix Felicis is indeed running low. Bill told me that you gave them a bottle. Maybe I could buy some from you. I know you don't lack Galleons, but..."
"I do have some Felix Felicis in reserve, but unfortunately, now is not the time," Albert cut him off.
"I was hoping to use the Felix Felicis to search for that thing," Harry said, hoping to convince Albert. He truly needed the potion.
"Felix Felicis won't bring you true good luck, and the dosage is limited," Albert said, noticing Harry's apparent reliance on the potion.
"You didn't come to me just for this, did you?" He steered the conversation in a different direction.
"Yes, I want to ask about something very important."
Harry took out a golden snitch from his lizard-skin pouch and lit up his wand so Albert could see Dumbledore's message: I open at the close.
"Do you know what this means?"
"It would be pointless for you to get the answer directly from me," Albert said without looking at the writing on the snitch, immediately understanding Dumbledore's intention.
"Dumbledore wants you to find the answer yourself and open it at a crucial moment. The process of discovering the answer is actually more important than the answer itself."
"Do you know the truth?"
"In a sense, the truth is cruel."
"The truth is cruel to me?"
Harry opened his mouth, gazing at the golden snitch in his hand, and fell silent for a moment.
"Then what is hidden inside this snitch?" he asked.
"You'll find out when the time comes."
"Why do you all like to speak in riddles? Can't you just tell me directly?"
"No, what you discover for yourself is truly yours. Anything I say would just be meaningless gibberish," Albert refused to reveal the secret. Doing so would be pointless and might even make matters worse.
He didn't think he could convince Harry to face his impending death.
That would be asking for trouble.
"Are these your own guesses, or did Dumbledore tell you?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore didn't tell me much. After all, this is between you and the Dark Lord," Albert reminded him. "Oh, and don't mention that name. You should know it's cursed. Although the Aurors at the Ministry like to use it to bait Death Eaters, the situation will eventually reverse, and using it too often might bring trouble upon yourself."
Speaking of which, it was his suggestion to Scrimgeour to use the name 'Voldemort' to lure out Death Eaters, but it only worked once and became ineffective afterward.
"Then what about the story of the three brothers in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'?"
Harry was about to ask more questions when he saw Albert suddenly turn his head toward a certain direction. Hermione and Ron were walking toward them.
"Sorry, we..."
Hermione noticed Albert's gaze and realized that she and Ron shouldn't have come to disturb them at this time.
"You should be sorry for letting those two tag along," Albert said, waving his wand. Two Aurors appeared out of thin air, looking embarrassed.
Hermione and Ron stared at the two Aurors who had appeared behind them, stunned. They hadn't even realized they were being tailed.
"I'm sure you have more important matters to attend to than eavesdropping on young people's conversations," Albert said, sending the two Aurors away.
As the Aurors turned to leave, one of them muttered, "I hate that guy!"
"The Minister doesn't like him either, but you can't deny that he's powerful," said the other.
They were helpless as well. They had thought they could overhear some useful information, but Albert had seen through them.
"Those guys are so annoying. They never trusted us from the start.
Watching the two walk away, Ron couldn't help but spit on the ground.
"Your anti-tracking skills need work."
"How did you spot them?" Hermione was actually more curious about this, as neither she nor Ron had realized they were being tailed.
"For any skilled wizard, seeing through a Disillusionment Charm isn't difficult."
"All right," Harry interrupted, stopping the pair before they could continue with more questions that wasted time on trivial matters.
"Did Dumbledore give Hermione 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' so that we could search for the Elder Wand and use its unbeatable power to defeat the Dark Lord?" Harry asked.
"It's an interesting idea, but I dare say that even if you got your hands on the legendary Elder Wand, you still wouldn't be able to defeat the Dark Lord."
Albert was surprised by Harry's misinterpretation of 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard', or perhaps it was his own doing that had led their thoughts astray.
However, this didn't seem entirely unexpected. After all, with his interference as the butterfly-wing flapping intruder, it was more normal for some deviations to occur.
"Why not?" Ron couldn't help but ask. "Isn't it an unbeatable wand?"
"In a sense, it's a gap in experience," Hermione ventured.
"In a way, it is a gap in experience," Albert was pleased that Hermione could see this point clearly. "Ever since Dumbledore's sacrifice, it has become very difficult to defeat the Dark Lord solely based on strength."
"So even you can't do it?" Hermione was surprised by Albert's statement.
"Don't interrupt," Harry pulled the topic back on track. "You know that's not the main point."
Just as Hermione and Ron were about to ask what the main point was, they heard Harry say, "The fact that Albert isn't in a hurry means he definitely has a way to deal with the Dark Lord, and we don't need to worry at all."
"You do have a lot of confidence in me." Albert smiled.
"Because you always seem to be well-prepared," Harry didn't continue on this topic and instead asked, "Do you already know where the Elder Wand is?"
"Yes, I do," Albert replied.
Of course, he knew because the Elder Wand was currently in his pocket.
"You've found the Elder Wand!" Ron's breathing quickened.
"That thing holds no appeal for me," Albert said self-deprecatingly. "I prefer my own wand, rather than a wand that might bring me trouble at any moment."
"See, I told you Albert wouldn't be interested in the troublesome Elder Wand," Hermione said happily.
"My own magical power is already strong enough. The Elder Wand is of no use to me, and it would only bring a bunch of trouble." Albert shrugged, indicating his lack of interest in the wand. "Do you want that wand, Harry?"
"As long as it's not obtained by the Dark Lord," Harry replied.
In fact, Harry wasn't that eager to get the Elder Wand either, especially after hearing Albert say that even with it, he couldn't defeat the Dark Lord. So, for the time being, he lost interest in it.
"Do you know where the Resurrection Stone is?"
"You want the Resurrection Stone?" Albert was not surprised by Harry's question.
"Yes, I want to ask Dumbledore myself. You must know where the Resurrection Stone is," Harry replied.
Out of the three objects, Harry most wanted the Resurrection Stone. That way, he could talk to Dumbledore again and even see his parents.
"Dumbledore once searched for the Resurrection Stone. It was what he desired most, but he also paid a price for it." Albert spoke softly, "In my opinion, the Resurrection Stone is not a good thing."
"You mean that... that ring, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, is it now..." Harry looked at the Golden Snitch in his hand.
Why couldn't he get the Resurrection Stone now?
"What about the Invisibility Cloak?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.
"I remember Harry had a special invisibility cloak." Albert suddenly said.
"You mean... but how can you be sure it's Harry's invisibility cloak?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"In your first year, you left your invisibility cloak on the Astronomy Tower. I remember that on that day, you seemed to have sent away a dragon." Albert reminded them kindly.
"You were there, too!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Yes, Isabelle and I were on a date at the time. You suddenly burst in, and then you left in a hurry, leaving behind your most precious item." Albert suddenly felt a bit nostalgic for his school days.
"There was someone there at that time?" Ron was surprised.
Albert ignored Ron and continued, "After you left in a hurry, I picked up the invisibility cloak. It really is a very special cloak. It's not the kind made with a Disillusionment Charm, or an optical illusion, or even woven from the hair of an invisible beast..."
"Wait, didn't Dumbledore give Hermione 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' so that we could find the Elder Wand and defeat the Dark Lord?" Ron felt like he was being confused.
Wasn't defeating the Dark Lord the main point?
"If that's how you want to interpret it, then that's fine, but I think that wasn't Dumbledore's intention."
Albert waved his wand, conjuring a book out of thin air and handing it to Hermione. "This is a book compiled by Dumbledore himself, containing his annotations after reading 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. Perhaps it will help you find the answer."
"For me?"
Hermione took the book compiled by Dumbledore, 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard', in surprise.
"It's only lent to you temporarily, so don't lose it, or no one will be able to help Professor Dumbledore publish this book."
"Isn't this book already published?" Hermione was puzzled, as the 'Tales of Beedle the Bard' in her hand seemed to have been published before.
"I can assure you that Dumbledore has not published this on a large scale." Albert shook his head. "I think it's my responsibility to ensure that Dumbledore's work doesn't disappear on my watch."
"I'll take good care of it, I promise." Hermione immediately put the book into her handbag.
"So, Dumbledore didn't intend for us to learn about the secret from 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' and go looking for the Deathly Hallows." Ron felt that the whole thing was becoming increasingly bizarre, and he was thoroughly confused.
"People collectively refer to those three objects as the Deathly Hallows." Albert turned to Harry and said, "It is said that whoever possesses them will become the master of death."
"I think Vol... I mean, the Armless One would definitely stop at nothing to get his hands on them if he knew about this." Harry couldn't help but laugh, "That guy dreams of becoming the master of death."
"But the story doesn't mention the term 'Deathly Hallows'." Hermione asked in confusion.
"Of course not, and I don't know who came up with the term, but there is indeed a symbol of the Deathly Hallows on Ignotus' tombstone in the Valley of Gordrick."
"The Elder Wand."
Albert held his wand and drew a vertical line in the air.
"The Resurrection Stone."
He added a circle on top of the line.
"The Invisibility Cloak."
He drew a triangle outside the line and circle, forming a shape that looked like an eye with a vertical line through the pupil.
"Do you remember? Luna's father was wearing that thing." Ron pointed to the symbol in front of him and suddenly said, "When we were on our way here, Krum said this was Grindelwald's symbol, and he almost dueled with Luna's father because of it."
"So, do the Deathly Hallows really exist?"
"Yes, it is said that Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus were the original possessors or creators of the Deathly Hallows."
"Is it really possible to achieve that?" Hermione felt that it was incredible.
"Don't forget the Philosopher's Stone; if such a wondrous thing can exist, why not this?" Albert retorted, "The best evidence is that even when using an Invisibility Cloak, one would still show up on the Marauder's Map."
"That's true."
"So, Harry is a descendant of Ignotus." Hermione felt that the whole story was truly magical.
"Yes, perhaps he is a direct descendant of Ignotus. A Potter from that generation may have married the last heir of the Ignotus family, eventually inheriting the Invisibility Cloak."
"What about the Resurrection Stone?"
"Of course, it can't truly resurrect people, and perhaps Dumbledore has more to say on this matter. You can ask him about it later." Albert said with a strange expression, "By the way, the Gaunt family is most likely a descendant of Cadmus."
"So, Harry and the Strange Man are related?" Ron felt that the whole situation was becoming more and more unbelievable.
"So, the legend of the three brothers was only partially inspired by them."
The story hints that Antioch, the eldest, was killed by someone despite possessing the unbeatable Elder Wand. Cadmus, the second brother, committed suicide, and I suspect it had something to do with his frequent use of the Resurrection Stone, which affected his mental state. As for Ignotus, the youngest, he passed away naturally, and his descendants inherited the Invisibility Cloak.
"No, I didn't mean to..."
"You want to know what Dumbledore intended by doing this?"
"Yes."
"Sometimes, saying things outright doesn't make a difference. Like right now, by telling you all this, I'm already going against Dumbledore's original plan. He actually wanted you to seek the Deathly Hallows and become the master of death, rather than make the same mistakes he did."
"The master of death, mistakes?" Harry seemed to realize something and murmured, "So, my final enemy to conquer is death, not the Strange Man."
"Not the Dark Lord?" Hermione didn't understand.
"The Armless One, what's that about?" Ron asked in confusion.
"It's the Strange Man's nickname." Albert said jokingly, "You've seen his appearance; that guy has no nose."
"Then..."
Just as Ron was about to ask about the Elder Wand, Albert suddenly looked in a certain direction.
A cold chill accompanied the night wind, causing them to shiver involuntarily.
It was a group of Dementors, and there were quite a few of them.
(End of Chapter)
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