HP/LOTM: Visionary - 437

Chapter 437: The Deathly Hallows, the Potter Family, and the Department of Mysteries

The next morning, Hermione came rushing in and shook her two companions awake.

"We have to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood," she said, tugging at their blankets. Ron clutched his blanket and curled deeper into the corner.

"Who?" Harry frowned, thoroughly confused.

"Luna’s father. Look at this." Hermione pulled out the book she had taken from Bathilda’s house. Inside were letters Dumbledore had written to Grindelwald.

"See this symbol? Krum said it was Grindelwald’s mark. Maybe we should ask Mr Lovegood about it." Hermione grabbed Harry as if she meant to haul him up by force.

"I think I have seen that sign before. Outside Gregorovitch’s shop?" Harry sat up.

His movement shoved Lada, who had been asleep on top of the bedding, straight off the pile. She flipped over and thumped onto the floor.

"Mrrrow. Why are we up so early?" Lada’s lazy voice drifted out as she stretched hard enough to arch her back.

"Lada, do you recognise this?" Hermione had a sudden idea and thrust the book toward her.

It turned out to be a lucky hit.

As the one who effectively held sway over Britain’s magical creatures, Lada had access to a kind of intelligence most wizards could never reach. Wizards did not bother hiding their conversations from goblins, house-elves, pixies, or fairies, just like even the most careful Muggle official would never check the floor for ants before chatting.

"Hm. The Deathly Hallows symbol?" Lada said.

That answer cut off their plan to look for Lovegood entirely.

"The Deathly Hallows? So that storybook Dumbledore left me… I get it. Was he hinting at this, in his own roundabout way?" Hermione blurted, instantly connecting it to the copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard Dumbledore had given her.

"But what does the Deathly Hallows have to do with Horcruxes?" Harry scratched his head.

"Maybe Dumbledore meant for us to use the Deathly Hallows to defeat Voldemort," Ron said, forcing himself upright.

"That makes sense. But does that mean we have to collect them?" Harry said, feeling the weight on his shoulders double.

"No need. One of the Hallows, the Invisibility Cloak, is already in your hands," Lada said.

She hopped onto Harry’s rucksack, rummaged, and a nearly transparent cloak slid out.

"The three Peverell brothers. But why would that have anything to do with Harry?" Hermione flipped open The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

"Let me explain," Lada said.

A pleasant teenage voice suddenly spoke through the cat.

"Aiden!" all three of them shouted.

"Looks like you destroyed the Horcrux I left at the Ministry," Aiden said, using Lada’s body. He absentmindedly licked his paw twice, like he could not help it.

"That means you have the baseline strength to handle the next Horcrux. If you can destroy the next one, the last two should not be able to stop you."

Harry and Hermione both wanted to crack his skull open and see what he was thinking. He clearly knew where Horcruxes were and still chose to hide it.

"Heh," Aiden said, acting as if he could not hear their murderous thoughts. "Back in the twelfth century, in Stinchcombe, there was a wizard named Linfred. He was known for gathering herbs, making remedies, and treating illness. Locals called him the Potterer."

"So he is my ancestor?" Harry asked, unable to hold it in.

"Do not interrupt him," Hermione snapped, poking Harry.

"Later, Linfred’s eldest son, Hardwin, married a beautiful witch named Iolanthe Peverell. After they married, they moved to Godric’s Hollow. From then on, Hardwin shortened his father’s nickname and laid the foundation for the Potter family that would last for centuries," Aiden said, calmly laying out Harry’s family history.

"Peverell. Descended from the three brothers? That is where Harry’s Hallow comes from," Hermione said, compressing the information into something her two one-track-minded friends could actually digest.

"And now comes the Department of Mysteries’ confidential part," Aiden said. "The Death from The Tales of Beedle the Bard is, in truth, the first chairman of the Mind Alchemy Society, the organisation that later became the Department’s predecessor."

"The Peverell family funded the Mind Alchemy Society when it was founded, but they pulled out halfway. They left with three objects that had been tainted by Protocol power."

"Were they hunted down for it?" Hermione asked.

"No. Protocols, the power of Death especially, are not so easy to control. They died when the alchemical items went out of control. Still, you do not need to worry," Aiden said.

He saw Harry’s hand twitch toward the cloak, as if Harry meant to throw it away on the spot, and quickly stopped him.

"The Invisibility Cloak is the most complete of the three. Its side effects are not obvious."

"What will it do to me?" Harry asked.

"It will not kill you outright. But it will make you naturally give off an aura of death, and that will attract some very strange people, like that female Tom. If you want to become an Auror later, though, it is not the worst trait to have," Aiden replied.

"So we already have one Deathly Hallow. If we find the other two, we become the Master of Death and beat You-Know-Who?" Ron said, closing the storybook. He had just finished rereading the tale of the three brothers.

"Two corrections," Aiden said. "First, you only need to find one more Hallow. Second, next you need to go to the Hog’s Head Inn in Hogsmeade and meet someone. He will lead you to the next Horcrux."

Aiden waved a hand. Grey fog began to seep across Lada’s fur.

"Mrrp? Why do I suddenly feel so sleepy? Did you do something?" Lada asked, blinking at them.

"Lada, you…" Ron started.

The fog abruptly thickened and swallowed her whole, leaving only the Sword of Gryffindor to drop onto the ground with a sharp clink.

"Now what?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry. Ron picked up the sword.

"We go to Hogsmeade," Harry decided.

They packed quickly, folded the tent, slung their gear, and set off on foot for Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade was half-dead. Many shops were shuttered, and wanted posters for Harry and the others were plastered everywhere.

There should have been Snatchers patrolling, but lately a mysterious two-person vigilante pair had been hammering the patrols so badly that fear had spread through the ranks.

On the surface, Voldemort had tightened and reinforced the patrol range. In reality, most of the search parties were just putting on a show. The Death Eaters were not being paid enough to risk their lives.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, the trio knocked on the Hog’s Head Inn’s door. Aberforth yanked it open, face grim and hostile, and Harry lifted one corner of the cloak so the man could see him.

"Troublesome. Get in," Aberforth snapped, turning away.

Harry and the others followed him inside.

There, Harry saw a figure he had been yearning for for far too long…