Change the Future

DH 16

"Er—why?" She took a deep breath, as though bracing herself, and said,

"It's that mark, the mark in Beedle the Bard. Look at this!" She thrust The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore under Harry's unwilling eyes as he saw a photograph of the original letter than Dumbledore had written Grindelwald, with Dumbledore's familiar thin, slanting handwriting. "The signature," said Hermione. "Look at the signature, Harry!" He obeyed looking more closely with the aid of his lit wand, he saw that Dumbledore had replaced the A of Albus with a tiny version of the same triangular mark inscribed upon The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"Er what are you?" Ron said tentatively, but Hermione quelled him with a look and turned back to Harry. 

"It keeps cropping up, doesn't it?" she said. "I know Viktor said it was Grindelwald's mark, but it was definitely on that old grave in Godric's Hollow, and the dates on the headstone were long before Grindelwald came along! And now this! Well, we can't ask Dumbledore or Grindelwald what it means. I don't even know if Grindelwald's still alive but we can ask Mr. Lovegood. He was wearing the symbol at the wedding. I'm sure this is important, Harry!" Harry did not answer immediately. He looked into her intense, eager face and then out into the surrounding darkness, thinking. After a long pause he said,

 "Hermione, we don't need another Godric's Hollow. We talked ourselves into going there, and"

"But it keeps appearing, Harry! Dumbledore's left me The Tales of Beedle the Bard, how do you know we're not supposed to find out about the sign?" 

"Here we go again!" Harry felt slightly exasperated. "We keep trying to convince ourselves Dumbledore left us secret signs and clues"

"The Deluminator turned out to be pretty useful," piped up Ron. "I think Hermione's right, I think we ought to go and see Lovegood." Harry threw him a dark look. He was quite sure that Ron's support of Hermione had little to do with a desire to know the meaning of the triangular rune.

"It won't be like Godric's Hollow," Ron added, "Lovegood's on your side, Harry, The Quibbler 's been for you all along, it keeps telling everyone they've got to help you!"

"Famous last words" Harry whispers to Ron who gives him a sorry smile.

"I'm sure this is important!" Hermione said earnestly. 

"But don't you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me about it before he died?"

"Maybe maybe it's something you need to find out for yourself," Hermione said with a faint air of clutching at straws. 

"Yea," Ron said sycophantically, "that makes sense." 

"No, it doesn't," snapped Hermione, "but I still think we ought to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Godric's Hollow? Harry, I'm sure we ought to know about this!" 

"I think we should vote on it," said Ron. "Those in favour of going to see Lovegood" His hand flew into the air before Hermione's. Her lips quivered suspiciously as she raised her own. "Outvoted, Harry, sorry," Ron said, clapping him on the back.

"Nice way to get back on her good side Ronald" George whispers to Ron making him glare.

"Fine," Harry said, half amused, half irritated. "Only, once we've seen Lovegood, let's try and look for some more Horcruxes, shall we? Where do the Lovegoods live, anyway? Do either of you know?"