CHAPTER 18

THE STORY OF THE HALLOWS

Rose walked into McGonagall's office to find the headmistress was seated at her desk, waiting for her. "Miss Weasley," she said. "Please come in. Sit down."

"Thank you," she said slowly, sitting down at a chair on the opposite side of McGonagall's desk. "Er, what's this about, Professor?"

"How are your classes going?" she asked, and Rose knew she probably looked startled.

"Er, good. Very well."

"And the Time Turner's been going well?" she asked.

"Yes," Rose said.

"No one knows about your use of it?"

"No, Professor, I've been very careful."

"Good," she said. "The work level hasn't been too demanding, I trust?"

Rose hesitated. "It's… intensive. I've been handling it fine, though." McGonagall nodded slowly.

"Well, Miss Weasley, I've been instructed to tell you before we begin scheduling for next term that the Ministry of Magic is no longer able to grant permission to any underage witch or wizard to use a Time Turner. They have decided that it's too dangerous, considering current events."

Rose was confused. "But—my mum had one, and that was in the middle of a war."

McGonagall hesitated. "The Ministry isn't entirely convinced that we aren't about to be, Miss Weasley."

Rose's eyes widened. "Do you believe that, Professor?"

McGonagall shook her head. "I can't be sure. Though I can't deny that the escaped Azkaban prisoners has made many people very concerned. And the Ministry has decided they are taking no chances. They'll allow you to finish the term, however, you must turn it in at the end of the year."

"But it's my mother's," Rose argued. "Can't I just give it back to her?"

"I'm not sure," McGonagall said. "I believe she would know, as her department had a part in deciding this new law. She would know more than I do." Rose nodded. "So, you will need to abandon one of your elective studies in your fourth year."

Rose immediately said, "Divination." McGonagall smiled slightly.

"I thought you might say that. Well, that's done, then."

"Is that all, Professor?" Rose asked. McGonagall looked at her and shook her head.

"Not quite. It's come to my attention that you've been researching the markings from the incident in the Forest last year." Rose clearly looked very alarmed because McGonagall added, "You're not in trouble, Miss Weasley. I only wish to offer some clarity, since the several different versions of the story I've heard amongst the student body is enough to make one's head spin. I believe Anastasia Krum has told you that the symbol belonged to the Dark wizard Grindelwald?"

"Yes, Professor. Although Madam Babbling told me it was a medieval symbol."

"Well… they're both correct, in their own way. I must confess something, Miss Weasley; I wasn't very truthful with you last year when I told you that I didn't know the symbol. The symbol has a long, complicated history behind it, and I'm honestly shocked that you haven't already heard it from your parents."

Rose's curiosity was peaked then. "Does it have to do with them, Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Weasley, it 've probably been told the Tales of Beedle the Bard as a child, correct?" Rose nodded and McGonagall continued. "The symbol is connected to the last tale in the collection, the Tale of the Three Brothers. I trust you know the story."

"Yes."

"There were some throughout the years that believed the story was not simply a fairytale, but that the brothers had lived and created the items in question. These people believed that the three objects formed the Deathly Hallows, and made the owner of all three the Master of Death. One such person was Albus Dumbledore. Another was Grindelwald." She paused and glanced at the portrait of the old headmaster, who was currently napping quietly in his chair. She nodded to herself and continued. "Grindelwald and Dumbledore knew each other when they were young. They shared their interest in the Hallows and Grindelwald used Dumbledore to gain power for himself, believing that he could become Master of Death if he found the objects. Even after Grindelwald left him, Dumbledore retained his interest in the Hallows, and encountered one of them through James Potter." Rose's eyes widened as McGonagall went on. "Mr. Potter's Invisibility Cloak proved to Dumbledore that he had been right, and the Hallows were real. He came upon the Elder Wand as well, becoming master of it, and towards the end of his life he also discovered the Resurrection Stone." Rose's stomach dropped as she realized what this meant. "When Dumbledore died, he left the Resurrection stone to Harry Potter and a copy of the collection of stories in question to your mother, in order for them to discover the Hallows themselves."

"Did they?" Rose asked.

"Yes. By the conclusion of the war, your uncle was in possession of all three Deathly Hallows."

"So… he's the Master of Death?"

"Well, no. He gave up two of the three Hallows after the war, and only kept the Invisibility Cloak, since it was a family heirloom of sorts." McGonagall looked at Rose carefully. "So I suppose you can tell Miss Krum that there's no longer any issue."

"Yes," Rose said, trying to ignore the fact that her ears may or may not have been turning red. "Thank you, Professor."

"Unless there is something you need to tell me, Miss Weasley," she said, looking at her expectantly.

Rose hesitated. Should she tell her what she'd found? She would never let her keep it, let alone use it, and even though she knew how much power it held she knew everyone else would be furious with her if she told the headmistress about it. "No, Professor, nothing. I was just curious because I saw it on Nott's cave. Does this mean he's… interested in the Hallows?"

"Most likely," McGonagall said. "It's a concerning thought. Well, if that's all, I won't keep you, Miss Weasley, I'm sure you have studying to do."

"Yes," Rose said, glad to be out of the room. "Thank you again, Professor." She left as quickly as she could without seeming suspicious, and practically ran the rest of the way back to the Great Hall. When she got to the table, she immediately sat down next to Al and Scorpius and said, "You'll never believe what McGonagall just told me."

"What happened?" Al asked.

"Remember Beedle the Bard? You know, Fountain of Fair Fortune and the like?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you remember the last one in the book? The Three Brothers?"

"Oh, yeah, that one gave me nightmares when I was little," Al said, shuddering.

"Er, not the one about hearts getting ripped out?" Scorpius asked incredulously.

"You were afraid of the Hairy Heart?" Al asked, laughing, and Scorpius looked embarrassed.

Rose looked at them both sternly and they shut up. "Anyway, do you remember the stone in the story that brought back the second brother's fiancé?"

Al nodded, confused, and then his eyes widened. "Bloody hell."

"They're real. They're called the Deathly Hallows. The brothers were real, too, as far as McGonagall knows, and they made the wand, the stone, and the cloak themselves. That's what the symbol's about. Guess who the last person to have them all was?" The other two were silent and she said, "It's your dad, Al. Your Invisibility Cloak's the cloak from the story too."

"Seriously?" Al asked. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"We have the stone from a literal fairytale?" Scorpius asked, looking alarmed.

"Yes. And it has something to do with the Second Wizarding War. And Albus Dumbledore. He wanted them too. I don't know all the details about either, though, I could tell that McGonagall wasn't telling me everything."

"Wait," Scorpius said. "Why was she telling you all of this? Did you tell her about the Stone?"

"No! She heard from everyone who thinks I'm Grindelwald's newest follower that I had the symbol or was looking for it or something. She didn't know I had the Stone." She decided to omit the part where Rose felt very much like she actually did know, but wasn't saying so.

"Good," Al said, sounding relieved. "We need to tell James about this."

"Yeah," Rose said. "It also means Nott must be after the Hallows, though. It makes sense; McGonagall said that whoever owns all three of them is the Master of Death."

"What does that even mean?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds like something a Death Eater would want," Rose said grimly. "Do you think that's why he's looking for your dad? Maybe Nott thinks he still has them." Al and Scorpius exchanged a look and Rose asked, "Am I missing something?"

"Ariana showed us her copy of the Prophet when we first got here. It said that Nott was spotted with some of his followers in Liverpool last night."

"Liverpool?" Rose asked. "But… he was in Cardiff."

"If he's going after your uncle, he's going the wrong way," Scorpius said.

"So he's going north," Al said. "Who do we know that's north of Liverpool?"

"Well, there are some old wizarding families in Bradford and Leeds, but other than that nothing I can think of," Scorpius said.

"Um… what about Hogwarts?" Rose asked, hearing the obviously nervous tone of her voice as she said it.

"Oh," Al said. "Er… maybe. Wonderful."

"Let's just wait and see the next place he's seen before we get worried," Rose said, but she was already very worried. Especially since, if he is looking for the Hallows, then they were exactly who he needed to find.