Al was very happy to see Gael, and when he noticed Yorl, he greeted him warmly as well.
This was John's first time entering the house filled with morning glories.
Al invited them up to the attic, which was his room.
Sunlight streamed in through the attic window. Gael was no stranger here.
There had even been a few times when Gael stayed the night, lying on the same bed with Al and talking about life until late.
John picked up a book. Al wrote with heavy pressure; by tracing the indentations on the page, John could tell what was written.
"This is an article from Transfiguration Today."
Al explained, "I published a paper there while I was at school."
As he spoke, Al asked with some confusion, "You're a Hogwarts student too, right?"
Clearly, he knew John's identity as a Hogwarts student.
But Al had no impression of him. He had never seen John at school.
Although he had already graduated, judging by John's age, the boy should only be about two years younger than him.
"Sixth-year at Hogwarts," John said with a light chuckle as he closed the book. "You can't possibly know everyone from all four Houses."
Al stared at John, trying to read something from his face.
John remained composed and said calmly, "From the Slytherin common room, you can see the giant squid in the Black Lake. Though those merpeople do enjoy scaring students. My friend's been frightened by them more than once."
Hearing this, Al's suspicion about John's identity lessened.
Without having been to Slytherin, one wouldn't know these things.
And if he was from Slytherin House, then it wasn't strange that Al didn't recognize him.
Slytherin and Gryffindor were not on good terms. It was nothing unusual that he didn't know him.
With the probing over, Al needed to take care of his sister.
Today's performance was a puppet show meant to delight children.
As his friends, John and Gael were able to watch as well.
Al was highly skilled in Transfiguration. He gave a light flick of his wand.
A box containing Muggle puppets opened, and the wooden figures walked onto the small stage he had set up.
Al called his sister's name. "Ariana."
Ariana seemed to know about today's puppet show and walked over.
When she saw the strangers, Ariana showed no reaction to Gael.
But she looked at John.
Al introduced, "This is my sister, Ariana."
"This is Gael. He's been to our home before," Al told Ariana. "And this is Yorl."
"..Yorl."
Al had expected Ariana to remain silent as usual, but this time, she spoke.
Staring at John, Ariana hugged her teddy bear.
John smiled. "Hello, Ariana."
The girl sat beside her brother, and Al suppressed the strange feeling in his heart.
He lightly waved his wand, setting the puppets in motion.
Today, the piece Al was performing for Ariana was the tale of the Three Brothers from The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
When he was younger, Al had once fantasized about obtaining the Invisibility Cloak from the third brother, so he could secretly do many things behind his parents' backs.
As he grew older, that longing had not diminished.
However, his reason for wanting the Invisibility Cloak had changed. He now wanted it for Ariana's sake.
As Ariana grew, her condition worsened. Al even had to cast protective magic around the yard just to keep the house from being blown apart by her.
Her magic running out of control made it impossible for Ariana to use those cheap Invisibility Cloaks.
Those inferior items would lose their effect the moment they were struck by magic.
But Al knew the tale of the Three Brothers was, in the end, just a story.
This wizarding children's fairy tale had been flipped through by Al countless times.
After their parents' passing, he had begun to harbor thoughts about the other treasures in the story.
Al seemed a little distracted, yet the movements of his hands did not falter.
The puppets performed the tale of the Three Brothers. The Elder Wand of the eldest, the Resurrection Stone of the second, and the Invisibility Cloak of the third.
Each one was so tempting to possess.
Ariana watched very seriously. Seeing her expression, Al waved his wand with a hint of heaviness.
Gael was also watching closely. When Death promised the three brothers their wishes, ambition flickered in his eyes.
"The Deathly Hallows," Gael murmured softly.
As for John… he was watching nothing at all.
He was practically blind, and they expected him to watch a show?
John felt rather speechless, though he did not show it.
He lightly tapped the ground, activating the supersensory charm.
Through it, he could "see" the puppets performing.
The legend of the Three Brothers.
John was someone with considerable authority on the matter.
Because he carried a Resurrection Stone himself.
At the same time, he had witnessed the Elder Wand change hands, and the owner of the Invisibility Cloak was his schoolmate.
"Al, you want an Invisibility Cloak?" Gael was someone skilled at reading hearts.
He could sense that during Al's performance, there was a clear longing for the Invisibility Cloak.
"Yes. Who wouldn't want that?" Al replied casually.
Gael looked toward John and asked, "What about you, Yorl? What do you want?"
"Me?" John thought for a moment. He already had the Resurrection Stone, and honestly, the Invisibility Cloak was somewhat underwhelming.
"I'm more interested in the Elder Wand," he said.
Having witnessed Dumbledore wield the Elder Wand and forcibly shatter his domain, John was very interested in the wand's amplifying power.
The Philosopher's Stone could enhance power as well, but it clearly could not reach the same level as the Elder Wand.
Unfortunately, the Elder Wand had ultimately been taken by Grindelwald. And when John encountered him, he had been alone.
If he had enough manpower back then, he would have taken the Elder Wand outright.
Would he still have needed to scheme, ambush, and lay curses against Voldemort?
Hearing John's answer, Gael said ambitiously, "I'd rather have the Resurrection Stone. With that stone, one could assemble a powerful army."
Al wanted the Invisibility Cloak so his wings could fly freely.
Gael wanted the Resurrection Stone to build an army through its power.
John wanted the Elder Wand to enhance his strength.
Their different choices reflected the three of their differing ambitions.
They were just like the three brothers. The eldest's power, the second's arrogance, and the third's humility.
"That's just a story," John said calmly, the Resurrection Stone on him betraying nothing. "Stories represent things that aren't real."
"You're wrong, Yorl." Gael gave a wicked smile. "What if I told you that tonight, we could obtain one of them?"
For a moment, John thought Gael was planning to ambush him at night and steal the Resurrection Stone.
Fortunately, the fact that he possessed the stone had not been exposed.
Gael was talking about something else.
"What do you mean?" Al's voice carried tension, along with a barely noticeable hint of anticipation.
The corners of Gael's lips curled into a captivating smile as he produced a chain.
Hanging from it was a symbol composed of a triangle, a circle, and a vertical line.
"I've been searching," Gael said. The Deathly Hallows symbol in his hand refracted the sunlight, "for one of the three brothers in Godric's Hollow. Ignotus Peverell."
Ignotus Peverell, the third of the three brothers, the holder of the Invisibility Cloak.
Hearing this, Al's heart pounded violently.
He stared in disbelief at the spirited Gael before him. Although he knew this young man of similar age carried ambition, he had never imagined the scope of his plans was this great.
Could The Deathly Hallows be real?
The news was so shocking that Al momentarily lost focus.
The moving puppet show came to a halt.
Ariana looked up. Seeing that Al had yet to react, John simply took out his wand and gave a light tap.
The puppet show reached the part where the third brother put on the Invisibility Cloak and evaded Death's search.
John knew this story by heart.
"That's just a story," Al murmured.
Gael said dramatically, "The history of magic records the deeds of the Elder Wand. That's a bloody chapter of magical history."
Yes. If the Elder Wand existed, why couldn't the other two?
Al was still processing the news when Gael shifted his gaze to John, who was performing the puppet show for Ariana, and said fervently, "Let's go search for it together. The three of us."
"The Invisibility Cloak?" John said casually. "It's not as great as you think."
If it were really that powerful, Harry wouldn't have been seen through by Dumbledore.
Besides, John knew exactly where it was. It was sitting in the Potter household.
Hearing John's offhand tone, Gael said in disbelief, "Aren't you excited?"
As the tale of the Three Brothers came to an end, John lowered his wand, clicked his tongue, and tapped it lightly against his own head.
Like cracking an egg, John's body vanished into thin air before the two of them.
"A simple Disillusionment Charm can handle it, and you still want to go chasing an Invisibility Cloak," John said with clear disdain.
The Disillusionment Charm was not true invisibility. It was more like optical camouflage.
But John's mastery of the charm was high enough that once concealed, he disappeared completely from the two of them.
Now he understood why Gael had dragged him here. It was to use this story to rope him into that so-called greater good of changing the world.
"Invisibility isn't disappearance," John said calmly. "In my view, the Invisibility Cloak is far less useful than the Elder Wand. Power is what truly allows a person to stand firm."
Gael's enthusiasm dimmed somewhat.
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