Chapter 21

- The Three Brothers -

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

In time, the brothers reached a river too treacherous to pass.

But being learned in the magical arts the three brothers simply

waved their wands and made a bridge.

Before they could cross, however they found their path blocked by a hooded figure.

It was Death, and he felt cheated.

Cheated because travelers would normally drown in the river.

But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic

and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.

The oldest asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence.

So Death fashioned him one from an elder tree that stood nearby.

The second brother decided he wanted

to humiliate Death even further

and asked for the power to recall loved ones from the grave.

So Death plucked a stone from the river and offered it to him.

Finally, Death turned to the third brother.

A humble man...

he asked for something that would

allow him to go forth from that place

without being followed by Death. And so it was that Death reluctantly

handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.

The first brother traveled to a distant village where, with the

Elder Wand in hand he killed a wizard with

whom he had once quarreled.

Drunk with the power that

the Elder Wand had given him he bragged of his invincibility. But that night, another

wizard stole the wand and slit the brother's throat for good measure.

And so Death took the first brother for his own.

The second brother journeyed to his home where he took the stone

and turned it thrice in hand.

To his delight, the girl he'd once hoped to marry before her untimely death

appeared before him.

Yet, soon she turned sad and cold for she did not belong in the mortal world.

Driven mad with hopeless longing the second brother killed

himself so as to join her.

And so Death took the second brother.

As for the third brother Death searched for many years

but was never able to find him.

Only when he attained a great age did the youngest brother

shed the Cloak of Invisibility and give it to his son.

He then greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly...

Departing this life as equals."

As Teddy closed the book, Lovegood sighed. "So there you are. Those are the Deathly Hallows."

Harry held his cup of bitter tea, rubbing his thumb on the handle. "I'm sorry, sir. I still don't quite understand." Lovegood looked a thim, thinking for a bit, then with a nervous attitude he got up in search of something. "Where's that pen I had?" He found it, along with a sheet of spare parchment.

On it he drew a long straight line. "The Elder Wand." He explained. "The most powerful wand ever made." Next he drew a small circle over the line. "The Resurrection Stone." Around the two he drew a large triangle. "The Cloak of Invisibility. Together, they make the Deathly Hallows. Together, they make one master of Death."

An energy seemed to have filled Harry's body. He shifted left and right as if he could not contain his energy. "That mark was on a grave in Godric's Hollow. Uh, Mr. Lovegood, does the Peverell Family have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows?"

Lovegood's shivered in shock and begun to stuttered uncontrollably, pushing past them. "Uh- Uh- Ignotus- and his brothers, Cadmus and Antioch... are thought to be the original owners of the Hallows... and therefore the inspiration for the story. Uh- Uh- But your tea's gone cold." He looked into the kettle. "I'll be right back." He trotted off to the kitchen.

Ron made a sick face. "I'm not drinking any more of that stuff, hot or cold." Teddy walked after Lovegood followed closely by Harry.

"Thank you, sir." Teddy said, watching as Lovegood made more tea. But he cocked his head when Lovegood presented him with the kettle. "Sir, you forgot the water."

"Water?"

"For the tea." He gestured to the pot.

"Did-? Did I?" He let out a jittery laugh. "How silly of me."

"It's no matter." Harry stepped in. "We really should be going anyway."

"NO YOU CAN'T!"

Clang!

Mr. Lovegood had dropped the kettle in the sink, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. "Sir?" Teddy spoke softly. Lovegood took in a shaky breath, looking on the verge of tears as he turned around, staring at Harry. A pit formed in Teddy's stomach and he self consciously took a step back. "You're my only hope." A sob left his quivering lips. "They were angry, you see, about what I'd been writing. So they took her... They took my Luna. My Luna. But it's really you they want."

"Who took her, sir?" Harry asked. But when Lovegood didn't answer he glanced sideways at Teddy. Teddy breathed slowly, a grave expression washed over his eyes. "Voldemort."

Bang! Crash! Bang! Ah!

The noise upstairs was deafening and the ceiling above them exploded. Teddy covered his head from the falling pieces of wood, furniture and stones. "Arkie!" He shouted, running back to where they'd left the others. Together they all ran outside and up one of the long, grassy hills surrounding the Lovegood's home.

Gasp!

Death Eaters, in their black misty forms, circled the house firing spells at it and them. Debris flew everywhere. They didn't even seem to care that Mr. Lovegood was still inside the very home they were tearing apart. "Stop! I've got him!" Mr Lovegood ran out of the house, waving his arms, his voice cracking over the noise. Teddy watched as suddenly the man's body was repelled backwards by one of the Death Eater's spells.

"Teddy!" Arkie cried from further up the hill, holding out her hand for his. Forcing his tired, soar legs to move, he dashed up to her, taking her hand. In that short split of a second before they disapparated, Teddy glanced back at the scene behind them and the man lying unconscious on his doormat. But everything blurred and disappeared before he could say anything.