Chapter 305: Deathly Hallows

Once Voldemort's soul vanished, Hermione and Fleur immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted.

Seeing the destruction of one of Voldemort's Horcruxes brought them a sense of reassurance and bolstered their hope of eventually defeating him.

Alaric bent down and picked up the black gem with the peculiar symbol from the ring's remains, then used the Vanishing Spell to dispose of the rest of the ring.

"What is this? The gem from the ring?" Hermione asked, eyeing the black gem with curiosity.

"It's got such a strange pattern."

"I feel like I've seen this symbol somewhere," Fleur said, studying the symbol on the gem thoughtfully.

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"But I remember clearly that there was no mention of this symbol in any book in the Hogwarts library, and it's not Ancient Runes."

"This is the symbol of the Deathly Hallows," Alaric explained.

"Fleur is bound to recognize it; in fact, most young witches and wizards have heard of the legend of the Deathly Hallows.

Though it's not surprising you haven't seen it, Hermione, as the legend is more like a fairy tale in the wizarding world, quite different from Muggle tales."

"Deathly Hallows?" Hermione was still puzzled. She looked at Fleur.

"Have you heard of this story?"

"This… I…" Fleur thought for a moment, then seemed to recall something.

"It's from 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'! I think I've heard that term in 'The Tale of the Three Brothers.'"

Realizing Hermione was still confused, Fleur began to explain.

"It's a story from 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard,' which is one of the most popular stories we wizards read as children."

"It's similar to Muggle stories like 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' or 'Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales,'" Alaric added.

This left Fleur a bit confused, but she continued with her explanation.

"Once upon a time, three brothers were traveling along a lonely, winding road as dusk approached. 

Death spoke to them. Death was angry because he had lost three new victims—travelers who usually drowned in the river they had crossed.

But Death was cunning.

He pretended to congratulate the brothers on their magic, saying they had outwitted him and could each receive a reward.

The eldest was a combative man, who asked for the most powerful wand in existence: a wand that would always help its master win in duels, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death himself.

Death went to a nearby elder tree and fashioned a wand from its branch, giving it to the eldest.

The second brother was a proud man who wanted to further humiliate Death by asking for the ability to bring the dead back to life.

Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, telling him it had the power to resurrect the dead.

Then Death asked the youngest brother what he wanted.

The youngest was the most humble and wise, and he did not trust Death.

Therefore, he asked for something that would enable him to leave without being followed by Death.

Reluctantly, Death gave him his own Invisibility Cloak.

Death then left, allowing the three brothers to continue on their journey, discussing the incredible gifts they had received.

Later, the brothers went their separate ways.

The eldest traveled for over a week to a distant village, where he quarreled with a wizard.

Naturally, he used the 'Elder Wand' as his weapon and won the duel.

After his opponent fell dead, he continued to boast about his invincible wand in a tavern.

That night, after drinking heavily, another wizard stealthily came to his bed, stole the wand, and slit his throat.

Thus, Death took the eldest's life.

Meanwhile, the second brother returned home, took out the resurrection stone, and turned it three times.

To his delight, the girl he had wished to marry but who had died appeared before him.

However, she was sad and cold, as though separated by a veil.

Although she had returned to the world, she did not truly belong there and was in great pain.

Eventually, the second brother was driven mad by his hopeless desire to be with her and took his own life.

Thus, Death took the second brother's life.

But Death searched for the youngest brother for many years, but could not find him.

The youngest brother lived to a ripe old age, then removed the Invisibility Cloak and handed it to his son.

He then met Death as an old friend, and they departed together, equal in age."

"That's the story," Alaric concluded briefly.

"Sorry?" Hermione asked, somewhat confused.

"These are the Deathly Hallows," Alaric explained.

He took out a pen and a notebook, then snapped his fingers.

The notebook floated into the air and flipped open to a new page.

"The Elder Wand." He drew a vertical line on the paper.

"The Resurrection Stone." He added a circle at the top of the line.

"The Invisibility Cloak." He drew a triangle outside the line and circle, forming the symbol.

"Combined, they are—the Deathly Hallows."

"So… you mean…" Hermione said slowly, with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"You believe these items—these Hallows—actually exist? And that using them would make one the Master of Death?"

"Yes," Alaric nodded.

"And you've already seen two of these three items, and now you've seen the third."

"You mean…" The two girls looked at the black gem in disbelief.

"This is the Resurrection Stone?"

"Without a doubt," Alaric affirmed. "This is the Resurrection Stone."

"Then, it really can… bring people back to life."

The girls' breaths quickened; the concept of resurrection was highly tempting.

"Yes, it can indeed bring people back to life," Alaric confirmed.

He could sense their excitement. However, his next words brought a twist.

"But—think back to the story."

In the tale, the second brother, despite resurrecting his beloved, found her sad and disconnected from the living world, which drove him to madness and ultimately led to his suicide.

In other words, the Resurrection Stone's power comes with flaws.

The girls' excitement quickly turned to disappointment.

"It's actually quite natural," Alaric said, trying to comfort them.

"If everyone could resurrect the dead easily, the world would be in chaos."

Soon, their attention shifted elsewhere.

"You mentioned that we've already seen two of the Deathly Hallows," Hermione suddenly recalled and asked.

"I have no memory of seeing them."

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