I followed Harry outside, to where he sat, digging his nails into his palm.

I said nothing for a few moments, but as I was opening my mouth, Hermione came out with the mugs of tea. Harry accepted his gratefully.

"Thanks." he said.

"Harry, do you mind if I talk to you?"

"No." he said. It was evident to me from looking at Harry that he did not blame Hermione at all for the loss of his wand, but was simply upset as he had been banking on the protection of the wand's twin core against Tom when the two finally met.

"Harry, you wanted to know who the man in the picture was. Well. . .I've got the book."

Saying this, she pushed a prstine copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore into his lap, and he gaped at it.

"Where - how -?"

Hermione explained she had found it in Bathilda's sitting room, with a note from Rita Skeeter sticking out of it. The note was addressed to Bathilda, telling her that she had said everything in the book, even if she did not remember it.

Hermione timidly asked Harry if he was still angry at her; Harry explained that, were it not for her, he would be dead, and she gave a small smile.

The two were shocked to find Albus had been best friends with Gellert Grindelwald in his younger years, and I glanced at the book Harry had in his arms, reading it with the two of them, of Rita's account on what really happened to Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. Inside the book was a letter from Albus to Gellert, about doing things 'For the Greater Good.' It went on to finish, at the end of the current chapter, by saying 'Is it possible that Ariana Dumbledore was the first person to die 'for the Greater Good?'

Silence fell after the chapter, but not for long. Harry and Hermione soon got into a heated argument over Albus' true reasons for all this, Harry exclaiming angrily that all he had ever been asked to do was blindly trust and do things, risk his life over and over again. Finally, he dismissed Hermione, who left to go back inside the tent.

Harry glanced at me, still angry with Albus. Come midnight, it was snowing softly, and Hermione took over the watch with me, and Harry went to bed.

Hermione busied herself with re-reading Hogwarts: A History, while I busied myself with wondering whether Luna was alright.

Some time later, Harry awoke, and came to the tent mouth. Hermione told him that she had heard, and though she had seen, someone moving around outside the enchantments. We took off to a new location half an hour later, arriving in a large wooded area.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, looking around.

"The Forest of Dean," Hermione replied. "I came here once with mum and dad."

That night, we camped inside the tent, the other two huddled up around a jar of bluebell flames for warmth, and I realised that I, too, was beginning to feel a slight chill. I was a little concerned, as cold had never bothered me before, and instantly slipped out of my guise, staying visible to the other two.

Hermione glanced up and shrieked in shock as she saw all seven foot of me sat in the chair.

"Oh, sorry," I said. "My body was beginning to feel a slight chill."

"Why didn't you come over here, then?!" Hermione demanded.

"You don't understand, Hermione. I'm not meant to feel cold, or heat. Ever."

"Oh, just get over here already!"

I flew over to them.

"Not like that!" she said, looking positively alarmed.

I shifted back to being Dean once more and sat down beside them, only to notice that the cold was no longer bothering me at all, but still strangely grateful for the warmth of the flames. Just what was going on?

Three nights later, Harry told Hermione to get some sleep, saying he would take the watch for that night.

I followed him outside, to where he looked round sharply at every sound.

I ducked back inside the tent for a moment, and when I came back out, Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"Fod goodness sake's Harry. . ." I muttered, rushing off to find , I stopped dead, as I felt an hourglass shaking. Shifting back to my true form, I took the hourglass out.

"I thought it was you." I said, looking at it. The hourglass was cracked in several places and only had a small part of sand inside it. I say 'sand' loosely, it was, of course, actually the person's Time. I smiled as I looked to the name engraved on the bottom of the hourglass. Tom Marvolo Riddle. The glass was split into sections, each one for a Horcrux. If I was right, and I knew I was, the locket was about to be destroyed. I had to be there.

I flew off at top speed, arriving as Ron stood before the locket with the Sword of Gryffindor, looking nervous.

"Hello." I greeted them. Ron gave a cry of shock, looking even more nervous to see me there.

I held up my scythe and pointed at the locket.

"I'm here for the piece of soul that lies inside there."

He immediately looked a little calmer, just as Harry spoke in Parseltongue to the locket, which erupted open.

"I have seen your heart, and it is mine." the locket hissed.

"Don't listen, Ron, stab it!" Harry yelled.

The locket continued to hiss out everything that Ron had ever feared, every little thing. The climax was of smoky versions of Harry and Hermione appearing from within the locket, taunting Ron, and finally, the two of them intertwined their bodies with a kiss. This seemed to be the breaking point for Ron; he dashed forward and swung the sword at the locket. At the last second, as the sword hit, I swung my scythe, severing the piece of Tom Riddle's soul from it's metal cage. There was a scream that seemed to echo, and then. . . silence. I looked down at the hourglass in my hand and was pleased to see that one of the cracks was missing, and there was a little more Time in the hourglass - in the bottom, that is. Soon, all the Horcruxes would be gone, and Tom Riddle's death would be imminent.

Once Harry had explained to Ron that Hermione was like a sister to him; had always been like a sister to him, and he a brother to her, we made our way back to the tent, to where Hermione was still asleep.

"Hermione!" Harry called. "Hermione, wake up!"

She shot bolt upright. "Harry, what's going on, are you all right?"

"It's ok, everything's fine. More than fine. I'm great. There's someone here."

"What do you mean? Who -?"

She turned her head and saw Ron, who stood there, holding the Sword of Gryffindor in one hand and dripping water onto the carpet.

She walked towards him, her mouth slightly open in shock. Ron gave a weak smile and half raise his arms hopefully.

I smirked, stepping back, knowing what was to come.

She yanked his rucksack from him as he went to put it down and began pummeling him as hard as she could with it. I winced.

"You - complete - ARSE - Ronald Weasley!" she shrieked as she hit him.

"Ow - Hermione, gerroff!" he yelled.

Harry and I gave one another a helpeless look. Best to leave them to it - for now.

"Hermione, I'm sorry!"

"You come here after weeks - weeks - and you just say 'sorry'?!" she said incredulously. "You crawl back here after weeks and weeks - oh, where's my wand?!"

She turned on Harry, who had long since hidden her wand under a cushion.

"Where is my wand?!"

Harry backed off. She was starting to look positively demented.

"I don't have it!" he said.

"Harry Potter, you give me my wand!"

"Hermione, calm d-"

"Don't you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!" she screeched. "Don't you DARE! And YOU!" she suddenly screamed, spinning to glare and point at Ron, who practically whimpered as he took a few steps back. "I came running after you! I shouted you, called you! I begged you to come back!"

"I know, and I'm sorry!" he shouted back.

"Oh, you're sorry!" she gave a mad laugh. "You come here after weeks and say 'sorry' and that makes everything alright?!"

The argument continued in this vein for a short while longer, until Ron finally manged to get a real owrd in edgeways, and explained he'd tried coming back the moment he had left, but had run into Snatchers.

"Was Fenrir Greyback with them by any chance?" I spoke up.

"No," Ron said, giving me an odd look. "Why?"

"When I came to see you, Fenrir and some of his cronies set on me. I had to. . scare them off." I explained.

Ron winced, imagining exactly what I'd done to scare Fenrir.

Eventually, the argument simmered down as we all exchanged stories, and Hermione climbed into bed at last, followed shortly after by the boys, leaving me to once again pick up the Tales of Beedle the Bard, since I'd read all the other books Hermione had brought with us. Oddly enough, I found myself re-reading The Tale of the Three Brothers for the umpteenth time that night, followed by Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump. I remembered her, she'd been quite handful. She knew her own mind and gave me an earful when I'd given her the choice of whether to move on or stay in Limbo.

That night, Hermione spoke up as the boys were fiddling with a radio that Ron was trying to get to come up with a news channel he'd heard, that told news how it really was, unlike every other channel.

"We need to talk." she said, coming over with The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore once again.

"What?" Harry asked apprehensively.

"I want to go see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Er - what?" Harry said, looking nonplussed.

"Luna's father. Xenophilius Lovegood. I want to go see him."

"Why?" asked a confused Harry.

"It's the mark," Hermione said. "The mark that was in Beedle the Bard, it's in here, look!" she thrust the book under his nose, and I peeked over to see the handwritten letter to Gellert from Albus, and where Albus had signed his name was a small sign of the Hallows in place of an A for the first letter of his name.

After a small argument over the mark and going to see Xenophilius, Ron, who was obviously trying to win brownie points with Hermione, offered a vote.

"All those in favour of going to see the Lovegoods -"

His hand shot immediately into the air, and Hermione's lips twitched despite herself. She then raised her hand and Ron clapped Harry on the back, smiling.

"Sorry, Harry, outvoted."

I kept quiet. Once again, I seemed to be completely invisible to the three of them, and this time I wasn't doing anything. Once again, the loneliness crept over me, and I shoved it off.

The next morning, we were all in Ottery St Catchpole, looking out over the village, looking towards The Burrow.

"It's weird, being this near but not going to visit." Ron said.

"Well it's not like you haven't seen them, you were there for Christmas." Hermione said coldly.

Ron laughed and explained he hadn't been there, he'd been with Bill andFleur at Shell Cottage, and how Bill wasn't best pleased with Ron for abandoning the others, but had said nothing to the rest of the family.

We walked for a few hours, and, finding nothing, Disapparated further north and finally found the Lovegood's home. Hermione rapped on the door once Harry had stowed his Cloak away, and barely ten seconds later, Xenophilius opened the door, and, after a couple of minutes chat, he reluctantly allowed us in. I thought it was very strange behaviour at first, before remembering where Luna was. The poor man was worried sick about her.

Five minutes later, he sat down with us after making us all a cup of tea made from Dirigible plums.

"Now," he said, moving a stack of papers aside. "how may I help you, Mr. Potter?"

"Well, we were wondering," Harry said after an encouraging nod from Hermione. "whether you could tell us about the symbol you were wearing at Bill and Fleur's wedding, Mr. Lovegood. We wondered what it meant."

"Are you referring to the sign of the Deathly Hallows?" Xenophilius asked, his eyebrows raised in mild surprise.

"The Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked, sounding confused. Neither Hermione nor Ron knew what it was either. I said not a word. I'd be talking enough once the story was told without chipping in questions I already knew the answers to.

"I assume you re all familiar with 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'?"

Harry said no, but both Ron and Hemrione nodded. As Xenophilius looked around for a copy, Hermione went to reach into her bag, but I suddenly decided to speak up.

"No need, Xenophilius. I know the tale by heart."

"Oh?" he said, turning to me. "Then do tell."

"Alright." I said, and, taking a breath, I told the tale I knew so well, not only from reading, but from having being there myself.

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight-"

"Midnight, mum always told us." Ron interrupted, I gave him a sharp glare and he wisely shut up. I continued.

"In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too deep 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. And Death spoke to them -"

This time it was Harry who interrupted me.

"Sorry, but Death spoke to them?"

I gave him an ever sharper look and said as sarcastically as I could, "Well, we all know that can't be possible, don't we, Harry?"

He coughed and went red, remembering just who he was speaking to.

I coughed, and, for the second time, continued with the tale.

"And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of the three new victims,

for travelers 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."

"Y - Death's got a Cloak of Invisiblity?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yeah, so he can sneak up on people. Sometimes he gets bored of running up and shrieking, flapping his arms." Ron said with a grin.

I gave them both a look this time and mouthed 'shut up.'

I continued the tale once again.

"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. In due course the brothers separated, each for his own first brother traveled on for a week 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 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 so Death took the first brother for his own.

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 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 to truly 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 the he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

A silence followed the tale, until Xenophilius, who had been gazing out of a window, turned and spoke.

"There you are, then." he said.

Harry gave him a puzzled look, and he drew a piece of parchment towards himself and drew a vertical line upon it.

"The Wand," he said. He then drew a triangle around the line, so the line was going straight down the middle of the triangle. "The Cloak." Finally, he drew a circle inside the triangle. "The Stone. These three together make the Deathly Hallows."

After Hermione and Xenophilius had argued about the existence of the Hallows, and the identities of the brothers, Xenophilius left to go down to the kitchen, and the trio looked to me immediately.

"It's not true, is it? It's just a story, right?" Hermione asked me.

I shook my head.

"No, it's not true. That's not how it happened at all."

"Wait - so the story is real?" Ron said, goggling at me.

"Of course it is. Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus were the original owners of what you mortals call the Deathly Hallows."

"And my Cloak?" Harry asked.

I nodded.

"Originally, your Cloak was a scrap from my own Cloak. Over the centuries, after the brothers had died, I realised I was going to have to find the owner of the Cloak, if only to sap a small bit of the original magic from it to restore order to my own Cloak."

"And the Stone. . .?" Harry's voice was nearly a whisper now.

"Yes, the Stone exists. It was once part of the ring that Albus wore last year."

Harry opened his mouth to ask where it was, then suddenly realised and looked to the moleskin purse around his neck. I said nothing.

"And the Elder Wand?" Ron asked excitedly.

I swung my hand through the air and grabbed my scythe and pulled the Wand from it and they all gasped.

"This is the true Wand. The copy of it currently lies with Albus Dumbledore in his tomb."

"Woah. . ." said an awed Ron.

I smiled and put my scythe - and the Wand away again. Harry got up and had a look around, then started walking upstairs, his eyes focused on something. Hermione, Ron and I followed. We were in Luna's bedroom, and on the ceiling were six beautifully painted pitcures of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville. . . and me. The pictures were surrounded by a golden chain made up of the word 'friends' I felt a huge rush of affection for Luna, a beaming smile lit my face, and I look around her dark, cold bedroom, knowing where she was. I opened my mouth to explain to the others, when Xenophilius appeared with the tray, set for five once more. He froze, seeing where we were.

"Where is Luna, Mr. Lovegood?" Harry asked.

"I told you. She is down at the Bottom Bridge." he replied.

A few minutes later, Hermione handed Harry the latest Quibbler - which had Harry's picture from the Ministry. Undesirable Number One.

Xenophilius explained 'they' had taken Luna and would only give her back once he handed Harry over.

Hermione glanced out of the window and screamed as the Death Eaters arrived. The next few minutes were a blur of heat and excitement as a stray spell hit the Erumpent Horn and caused the entire house to explode. Before Disapparating, Hermione made sure that the Death Eaters saw Harry, so Xenophilius would not suffer any more than he already had.

Not even I, Death, had any way of knowing that soon, very soon, we would all be seeing Luna. I also had no way of knowing that Tom Riddle grew ever closer to taking the copy of the Elder Wand from Albus Dumbledore's cold, dead hands.