That evening, Riley laid down in Harry's lap on his bunk. Ron sat next to them. They all warmed their hands by the bowl of flames.
"I've always liked it. These flames Hermione makes," Ron said as he wistfully watched Hermione who was outside taking watch.
Harry nodded acknowledging that he had heard the redhead but his attention was on pleasing his girlfriend who was closing her eyes because his hand was threading through her long blonde hair.
"How long you reckon she'll stay mad at me?" Ron asked the two of them.
"Keep talking about that little ball of light touching your heart... she'll come around," Harry laughed as Riley got out of his lap and swatted him.
"Hey! I thought that was really sweet," Riley smiled winningly at the Weasley.
"It was true. Every word," Ron grinned back at her.
"You're going to think I'm mental, but I think that's why Dumbledore left it to me... the Deluminator. I think he knew that at some point I'd... need to find my way back. And she'd lead me," Ron fished through his backpack.
"Bloody hell. I just realized. You need a wand, right?" he questioned Harry.
"Yeah," the boy who lived replied.
"Well, I've got one. Here. It'sBlackthorn, ten inches, nothing special, but I reckon it'll do. I took it off a Snatcher a few weeks back," the redhead handed the wand over to Harry who examined it.
"Don't tell Hermione, but they're a bit dim, Snatchers. This one was definitely part Troll. The smell of him..." Ron whispered to the two.
Riley clapped a hand over her mouth and snorted.
"Are you serious?" she laughed.
"Yeah," Ron chuckled as Harry ignored the two and pointed his wand at the bowl of flames in front of them.
"Engorgio," he mumbled as the flames in the bowl flared massively making the three jerk back in fear.
"Oh my god, put it out, Harry! Put it out!" Riley commanded as she hid behind him.
"Reducio!" Harry yelled as the flames subsided.
"What's going on in there?" Hermione asked from outside.
"Nothing!" the three said in unison.
"Maybe a bit more practice, eh?" Ron nudged Harry.
"Or maybe don't. I don't want to be killed," Riley smirked at her boyfriend who shoved her playfully.
"We need to talk,"
The three looked at the front of the tent where Hermione stood gripping the Life and Lies of Dumbledore book.
"All right," Ron spoke.
"I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood," the brunette stated ignoring Ron and staring at Riley and Harry.
"Why?" Riley asked.
"See this? It's a letter Dumbledore wrote to Grindelwald. Look at the signature. It's the mark again," Hermione walked up to them.
Dumbledore replaced the A in Albus with the triangular eye.
"This keeps popping up. In your book, Hermione, the Beedle and the Bard. In the graveyard in Godric's Hollow," Riley paused when she saw Harry pondering.
"It was there too," Harry breathed.
"Where?" Riley asked.
"Outside Gregorovitch's wand shop on the alley wall," Harry told her.
"But what does it mean?" Ron questioned as they all stared at the symbol etched in the letter.
"Harry, you don't have a clue where the next Horcrux is. None of us do. But this, this means something. I'm sure of it," Hermione looked confident.
"I think Hermione's right. I think we ought to go and see Lovegood. What say we vote on it? Those in favor..." Ron raised his hand.
Hermione rolled her eyes and then also raised her hand.
"Sorry Haz, but she's right," Riley ruffled his hair, and then her hand flew in the air.
Harry sighed and then rested his head on her shoulder.
....
The sun was low over a hillside as the group started walking to the Lovegood residence. Ron was happily leading with Harry, Hermione, and Riley trailing behind.
"Are you still mad at him?" Riley asked.
"I'm always mad at him," Hermione shrugged her shoulders.
As they walked over a hill, a strange-looking house was in view.
"That house screams Luna," Riley smiled remembering the sweet Ravenclaw with the radish earrings.
When they walked up to the front door they noticed a sign tacked on it saying The Quibbler Editor: Xenophilius Lovegood.
Hermione knocked on the door three times.
Ron pointed to a sign that read "Keep off the dirigible plums."
The door swung open revealing Luna's father in soiled pajamas.
"What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" he growled as his jaw went slack in shock when he looked at Harry.
"Hello, Mr. Lovegood. I'm HarryPotter. We met a few months back," Harry told the man politely.
Mr. Lovegood's gaze drifted onto Harry's lightning scar on his forehead.
"Would it be okay if we came in? It won't take long, sir. I promise," Harry reassured as the older man nodded and let the four inside of the house and sat them in the living room.
There were stacks of Quibbler issues that rose all the way to the ceiling. An old heat press machine sat in the corner chugging as paper spit out of it.
"Excuse me," Mr. Lovegood went over to the wheezing machine.
Riley noticed some of the past Quibblers lying on the floor.
One had the title of Muggle Murders Rise. Another said that the Quidditch World Cup was canceled amid death threats.
Riley shivered.
"Well, sir, we need some help," Harry spoke.
"Ah. Help. I see. Yes, well, the thing is, helping Harry Potter, rather dangerous these days," Mr. Lovegood shook slightly.
The four exchanged glances with each other.
"Aren't you the one who keeps telling everyone it's their first duty to help Harry?" Ron crossed his arms.
"I have expressed that view, yes. In the past. Would you excuse me one moment? I shall return shortly and, um, try to help you," Mr. Lovegood dashed out of the room.
"There's something fishy going on around here," Riley whispered to the other three.
"He's mental. Let's face it. Luna's always good value, but she's nutty as squirrel poo," Ron exclaimed making Riley slap his arm.
"Do you see that?" Hermione gasped as she pointed at a massive spiral horn on the wall.
"Well, yeah, of course. It's massive, isn't it?" Ron chuckled as he started towards the horn.
Riley rolled her eyes.
"No! Don't go near it!" Hermione ordered.
"What she means is that it's an Erumpent horn. It's a Class B Tradeable Material," Riley said.
"Yeah, all right," Ron scoffed as Mr. Lovegood returned to the living room with a tray that rattled with teacups.
"May I offer you all an infusion ofGurdyroots? We make it ourselves," Luna's father put the tray down on a table.
"Excuse me, but where's Luna?" Riley asked.
"Luna? Oh, um, she'll be along. Now how can I help you, Mr.Potter?" the older man went tense at his daughter's name.
"Well, sir, it's about something you were wearing around your neck at the wedding. A symbol," Harry explained.
"You mean this?" Mr. Lovegood shoved his hand down his nightshirt and pulled out a chain with the triangular eye.
"Yes! Exactly. What we wondered, sir, is, well, what is it?" the chosen one questioned.
"What is it? Well, it's the sign of the Deathly Hallows, of course," Mr. Lovegood said.
"The what?" the four asked in unison.
"The Deathly Hallows. I assume you're all familiar with The Tale of the Three Brothers?" the older man inquired.
"Oh yeah! My dad used to read me that all the time!" Riley grinned as she remembered when she was young and how her father would put her to sleep with that story.
"Same!" Ron grinned and then high-fived her.
"I've also read it," Hermione nodded.
"I'm not familiar with that," the boy who lived shook his head.
Hermione reached in her back and pulled out The Beetle and the Bard book.
"It's in here," she showed Harry the book.
"Well, there's no real reason to go on unless one is familiar with the tale. Why don't you read it aloud, Miss...?" Mr. Lovegood pondered for a moment.
"Granger. Well... all right," Hermione opened her book.
"Storytime. Storytime," Riley chanted.
"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight-"
"Midnight. Mum always said midnight," Ron told Hermione as she glowered at him.
"Just let her get on with the story," Riley rolled her blue eyes.
"But twilight's fine. Better actually," the Weasley put his hands up.
"In time, the brothers reached a river too treacherous to pass..."
As Hermione continued, Mr. Lovegood stared out the window with a worried expression written on his face.
"But being learned in the magical arts, the three brothers simply waved their wands and made abridge. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure,"
"It was Death and he felt cheated, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He granted each brother a wish for their cleverness. The oldest, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. So Death fashioned one from an elder tree on the banks of the river," Hermione cleared her throat.
Riley sat eagerly listening to the story reminded of the past.
"The second brother, who was an arrogant man, asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death plucked a stone from the river. Finally, Death turned to the third brother. A humble man, he asked for something that would make him disappear. And so it was that Death handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility. Death then stepped aside and the brothers went their separate ways," Hermione said.
"The first brother traveled to a distant village where, with ElderWand in hand, he killed a wizard with whom he had once quarreled. Proceeding to an Inn, he bragged of his invincibility. But that very night..." the brunette paused.
"Go on I love this part," Riley grinned evilly.
"Another wizard crept upon him as he lay sleeping. He took the Elder Wand... and slit the brother's throat for good measure. And so Death took the first brother for his own," she went on.
"Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his home, where he took out the stone and turned it thrice in hand. To his delight, the girl he had 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," Hermione stated.
"As for the third brother, Deathsearched for many years but was never able to find him. Only when he had 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," Hermione shut the book.
"Well, there you are. Those are the Deathly Hallows," Mr. Lovegood stared out the window as the sun vanished and went underneath the top of the hill.
"Sorry... I still don't really understand," Harry looked confused.
The older man turned and grabbed a paper and a quill and drew a vertical line.
"The Elder Wand," he mumbled as he drew a circle on top of the line.
"The Resurrection Stone," he enclosed both in a triangle.
"The Cloak of Invisibility. Together... they make the Deathly Hallows. Together... they make one master of Death," Mr. Lovegood stated handing Harry the drawing.
"Woah, that's epic," Riley was in awe.
"Mr. Lovegood, does the Peverellfamily have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows?" Hermione questioned the man as Harry and Ron looked confused.
"That was the name on the grave with the mark on it in Godric'sHollow. Ignotus Peverell," Riley explained.
"Ignotus and his brothers Cadmusand Antioch are thought to be the original owners of the Hallows and therefore the inspiration for the story," Mr. Lovegood stated.
His focus wavered and he blinked back tears as he stared at the tea kettle.
"Ah, but your tea's grown cold. Excuse me, I'll be right back," Mr. Lovegood grabbed the kettle and exited the room.
"I think we should leave. I have a bad feeling about this for some reason," Riley said.
"Yeah, I'm not touching this stuff, hot or cold," Ron agreed.
"Which one would you choose if you could? Of the Deathly Hallows?" Harry asked the group suddenly.
"None," Riley said as Harry, Hermione, and Ron all answered differently.
"You're supposed to say the Cloak, but who wants to spend all day being invisible. Dead boring if you ask me. But an unbeatable wand!" Ron said proudly.
"Its owner grew drunk with power and was murdered!" the brunette girl breathed.
"Yeah, but imagine what a short wicked life you'd lead," the Weasley smirked.
"All of them have too much power I can't even manage my life right so how can I even manage these powerful things?" Riley joked as Ron and Harry laughed loudly. Hermione looked amused.
"Why the Stone, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Well, you could bring people back, couldn't you? Mad-Eye.Dumbledore. Sirius. Anybody," Harry's face crumbled as Riley kissed his cheek.
"But according to the story they don't want to come back. It's all stupid anyway. There's no such thing as the Deathly Hallows," Riley gently stroked his hair.
"But I have one. The Invisibility cloak my father left me," the chosen one argued.
"There have always been Cloaks-" Hermione was cut off.
"Not like Harry's. I've seen a fair few. Dad used to bring home the ones the Ministry confiscated from petty thieves and the like. They always got holes or tears. Harry's is different. Its perfect," Ron spoke.
"And I think I've actually held the Resurrection Stone in my hands, that night in Dumbledore's office when he showed me the ring he'd destroyed, the Horcrux. It had a symbol on it. Now I think it was the mark of the Hallows," Harry explained.
The four sat up as Mr. Lovegood returned.
"Mr. Lovegood. Thank you, sir," Hermione said politely.
"You forgot the water," Ron noted as Mr. Lovegood set the tray of teacups back on the table.
"The water?" the older man questioned.
"For the tea," Ron cocked his head to the side.
"Did, didn't I? How silly of me," Mr. Lovegood laughed weakly.
"It's ok we're just gonna go," Riley made her way to the front door but was blocked by Luna's father.
"No, you mustn't," the man spat.
"Let us go!" Riley yelled.
"You're my only hope. They were angry, you see, about what I'd been writing, so they took her. They took my Luna. But it's really you they want..." Mr. Lovegood had tears slipping down his face.
"Who took her, sir?" the boy who lived asked.
"Him. Surely you call him You-Know-Who. But his real name of course is... Voldemort," Mr. Lovegood stated.
"NO!" Riley screamed as she looked out the window and saw dark figures on broomsticks jetting towards the house.
The group dropped to the floor. Harry had his arms around Riley and gripped her waist tightly as light exploded inside of the house making copies of the Quibbler fly in the air.
Lovegood waved wildly from the window.
"Stop! I've got him!"
The man was blasted backward by a stunning spell and the Deathly Hallows necklace flew beside Harry.
"Take my hand, everyone!" Hermione yelled over the explosions as the group crawled on their knees to avoid the volley of spells ricocheting around the room.
Mr. Lovegood fled his house.
Suddenly the teapot on the tray was flung towards the spiral horn.
"MY HAND NOW!" Hermione screamed as the group grabbed her hands.
There was a huge explosion but the group tumbled back to their camp breathing heavily.
....
That was chapter 44! I'm really tired today haha. Anyways I hope you all have a fantastic day!
xx Asiya