The Second Arc begins!

This is a short chapter for a prologue, which is essentially a retelling of the Tale of Three Brothers.

Enjoy.

Pairings: Potential Hadria (FemHarry) x Tom Riddle, but more platonic than romantic, other pairings undecided. See A/N at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Currently un-beta-ed. Let me know if you spot any mistakes, thanks.

Prologue: The Tale of Three Brothers

"Omnes una manet nox, et calcanda semel via leti." One night is awaiting us all, and the way of death must be trodden once. — Quintus Horatius Flaccus

There were once three brothers, Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus, of the Peverell family. They were wizards, talented and skilled, and while working together, there was little that could trouble them.

Even in those days, there were many, at least in the pureblood circles, that knew of their family as the wealthy French household that settled down in the country years back. They made their name in tales and song and dance, a form of magic that wasn't as explored as it should have been, considering the power there was in these arts.

"Performers," the snobbier English purebloods would call them, with upturned noses and smiles of disdain. "Bards," if they were more polite about it.

But the three brothers, like their parents and grandparents, knew how to use words and music to their advantage, and found no shame in doing so. Word of their actions and deeds spread with the wind, and there was power in them.

And one day, they happened on a Story that would become a legend passed down among generations of children born of Magic. Of course, they didn't know it yet, at the time.

The Story began at dusk, when the three brothers came across a river, a great alarming stretch of whitewater rapids that would have presented an obstacle to any ordinary man. Even a wizard might find themselves stumped. It might be easy to say that a bridge could be conjured to cross it, but that would neglect the power required to conjure a bridge large enough to span across the wide river, and the thrum of natural magic—deep and ancient—that sang between the flashing foam and water.

Many an ambitious wizard had attempted to cross the river, only for their magic to fail them and they would find themselves washed up on a different shore, where a Ferryman would be waiting to take them across another river.

But the Peverell brothers were well-versed in their art, and wove a bridge of magic that sang in accompaniment to the melody of the river. They waved their wands, like conductors of music, and crossed the river safely, and they were the first to have done so.

Now, what was not known to most people, was that the Higher Entities had been watching these three brothers ever since they ventured into the vicinity of the river. Fate had been in a state of anticipation for a while, but remained tight-lipped on the outcome of this event, and Death had not understood until the moment the Peverell brothers set their eyes on the river, when for every other mortal human, They knew for certain they would be welcomed into Their domain, the deaths of these three brothers remained an Uncertainty.

Now Magic was very proud of their children, as she always was, when their gifts were used to their fullest potential. And Death became curious about these three brothers, because they had to become very important figures of history, if Fate was so excited about their crossing of the river, a momentous achievement for sure, but not one immediately evident as future-changing.

So, Death sent one of his Ferrymen to greet the three brothers, a being not much different from a Dementor capable of speech.

And the Ferryman spoke to the three brothers, congratulating them for their feat of magic, and according to Death's instructions, offered each of them a token of appreciation for their skill. But it should be said that the Higher Entities do not give rewards freely. Those They favour are expected to use their favour wisely. And the gifts They give are always tests of their own.

But the oldest brother, Antioch, not knowing this, was a young hot-blooded wizard who had always preferred direct combat over their family's more subtle musical arts. And so, he asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!

If the Ferryman had felt any befuddlement over the mortal's delusions, they did not show it, and merely found an elder tree growing by the river. It was not an ordinary elder tree. Even if it had been ordinary in its seedling stage, it had since become something extraordinary, having sunk its roots deep into damp soil fertile with ancient magic and steep in the blood of those who had fallen victim to this river.

(In the East, it was believed that anything—from rock to tree, and sometimes even well-used objects—given enough time, could gain wisdom and spirit. And thus it is unknown if this elder tree had cultivated its own sentience and magic, over the ages it spent by this river, witnessing the deaths of many.)

The Ferryman cut off a thin branch from such an elder tree, and skillfully fashioned a wand out of it. With Death's blessings, they gave it to Antioch, who unexpectedly, did not wonder about what the Ferryman might have used as a wand core for this elder wand.

Then the second brother, Cadmus, seeing it was his turn, had become arrogant enough that he asked for the power to recall others from Death, for though they had grown used to the praises of others, receiving the praise given by the Ferryman, whom they thought was Death, was an achievement greater than any other.

So the Ferryman found a stone—a small crystalline object of unknown mineral—amongst the many rocks by the river, and after it had been blessed by Death, gave it to Cadmus. They told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead. And Cadmus, like his older brother, accepted his gift without question.

But the youngest brother, Ignotus, who was always the last and had spent many years watching his older brothers, also happened to be the wisest and most cautious. And he wondered about many things, like the wood and core of the wand given to his oldest brother, and the origins of this stone found by a river where many had died before them.

Superstitious, his brothers called him, for he had picked up many a quirk from the people they met on their travels. For example, he would knock gently on old wood, requesting blessings from the spirits within, and was always careful with any he brought indoors.

So Ignotus felt that there was only one thing that was the most important, having met the figure of Death, and asked the Ferryman for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death.

But the Ferryman had nothing they could give that would allow the youngest brother such a thing, and Death Themselves sent them a cloak of invisibility, which they took and handed over to Ignotus. Observing that the Ferryman had retrieved the cloak from thin air, rather than from somewhere along this strange river, accepted the cloak with thanks.

And thus the three brothers continued on their journey, while the Ferryman returned to their usual duties, and Death continued to watch these mortals carrying Their blessings.

As it was said before, that gifts and favours from the Higher Entities required the right heart and soul to use them. They were tests, after all, not curses or objects of damnation.

The first to fail his test was also the first to have received it.

By this time, the three brothers had separated, having chosen their own paths and itinerary. Antioch held the elder wand as he stopped by a village and challenged another wizard he had a feud against. Then, having won the duel, regaled a tale to everyone about the powerful Invitation in his hand.

It was of no surprise that in the middle of the night, when he was drunk and dead asleep, his throat was slit and his precious wand stolen. It was an exclusive Invitation that should be kept secret, for when it becomes known, it is no longer an Invitation for others to Death, but an Invitation for one's own death.

And so Death thanked Antioch for accepting his Invitation with a disappointed sigh, and the Ferryman collected his soul, and Ferried him across the river to the other side.

The second brother took longer than the first, for it was a while before he reached home after his long journey, and fiddled with the stone he was given. After turning in thrice in his hands, a shade of his long lost love appeared before him, more than a ghost but less than a living human.

She was pale and cold, like the dead, and having been summoned from the Haven she rested in, suffered greatly, for those that had passed into the land of the dead may never return to the living, unless given another chance by Life, and sent to reincarnation.

Giving into Temptation, Cadmus summoned her many times, returning her each time he realised that she was suffering. But soon his resolve weakened, and rather than leaving her to rest and await the day they meet again when his life was done, he killed himself so that they may be reunited sooner.

And so Death had the Ferryman collect him with another sigh, and midway through their journey across, the Ferryman passed his oar to the second brother, and was released from his duties.

The third brother took the Freedom he was given, and made sure that he would never be parted from it. There were no tales told about it, and for all the legends that had sprung from the things he had done throughout his life, spread far and wide, he only told this one story to his children. It was a quiet bedtime story, that they would tell their children, who would go on later to tell their own children, and so on and so forth.

Ignotus lived old enough to see his great-grandchildren, before he included the Freedom he had been given into his will. It would become a family heirloom, and for as long as it remained within the family, no one else may take the life of those within its protection without their consent.

One night, a few nights after Ignotus had made all his arrangements for his descendents—and he had little to make, for he had taught his children and grandchildren well—Death sent a Grim to greet him, and Ignotus followed the large black dog with a light heart.

(He doesn't know it, but he's the first mortal human the Grim has met that greets him as if he really were just a friendly big black dog. He doesn't know that this Grim will then, out of passing curiosity, end up watching his descendents for many years to come.)

And it is as they say. He met Death at the end of the road, and thanked Them for his gift, and Death would always remember him fondly, for he was the only one of the three to pass Their test.

For Ignotus, he met his second brother by a river, who had finally passed his oar to another, and they went forth together to find their oldest brother.

For Death, They decided that the one who could pass all three of Their tests would be worth making their Champion. It would be many years later, before Death discovers the reason for Fate's anticipation, when a child picks up all three of Their gifts and would not be Tempted or Invited, choosing only Their Freedom.

The mortals would have, by then, gone on to spin tales about how the collector of all three gifts would become the Master of Death, not knowing that each of the Higher Entities were Masters of Their respective domains, and that to the Higher Entities, any Master was a Colleague, and any Champion was perhaps, an Intern.

That's all for now~ Thanks for reading!

Arc Two Chapter One will be out one week from now.

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