DH:21 - The Tale of the Three Brothers (Bloomsbury 2007)
Italics are impressions from my first read, when I did not yet know what was going to happen.
1) Xeno: "that knuckle-headed young man at your brother's wedding." Sort of rules out the theory that Krum sold him the Erumpent horn, doesn't it?
2) The Quest. Are the Deathly Hallows like some sort of wizarding holy grail? Xeno says not many wizards know of the Hallows, and yet Grindelwald adopted the sign publicly. You'd think someone would have researched its origins at some point, wouldn't you?
3) Beedle the Bard. Well, we knew the symbol was connected with this book, since Hermione found it there. Dumbledore's subtle clues got them there in the end. I love folk tales. The only thing that makes me sad is that it turned out I was wrong about the Deathly Hallows being the bones of a Founder.
4) The Tale of the Three Brothers. I wonder what really happened? Beedle is a bard, so of course he used metaphor in the telling of his tale. I wonder if the brothers Peverell didn't steal the three items from a great Dark wizard who had created them himself? I am very tempted to write this story....
5) Antioch and the Elder Wand. Best not to boast if you have it, I guess. No other wand can beat it, but you can be beaten in other ways, and the wand taken from you. A dangerous weapon, both for the owner and those who face him or her. Is this the wand that was displayed in Ollivander's shop window? Is it perhaps the blackthorn wand? No, too easy. I bet I know what Voldemort is looking for now.... According to Xeno, the wand disappeared into the mists of time, which means that people learned, as Ron surmised, that "keeping their traps shut" was important.
6) Cadmus and the Resurrection Stone. It can recall the dead, but not necessarily to life. And the dead do not necessarily wish to be recalled. It would seem that Cadmus died without issue, but the stone stayed in the family, which means it must have been passed on to...
7) Ignotus and the Cloak of Invisibility. He attained a "great age" even for a wizard apparently. How long is that? 300 years? 400? Based on the surname Peverell (which is mentioned as being on the stone for the first time here) and the fact that the story is written in Ancient Runes, my guess is that the story went like this: The brothers were born in France sometime in the 800's (when people there started having surnames), then later came with his family to England, perhaps during the Norman Conquest. The family was drawn to Hogwarts, which was a famous centre for magical learning, and old Ignotus there met a young man named Beedle, and before his death, told him his wondrous story. Beedle wouldn't have been writing in Runes after the 11th century. However, the name "Peverell" and the gravestone might both have been added at a later date, which makes it even more confusing. Does it seem likely that the Hallows symbol would have been invented and used by the brothers?
8) The Master of Death. Oh, that does sound like something Voldemort (and Grindelwald before him) would want, doesn't it?
9) "Luna ought to have enough plimpies soon," he said quietly. OK, this made me almost certain that Luna was dead. His quiet voice seemed so ominous.
10) Harry's cloak. Ooh! Sounds like out heros have a Hallow! One down, two to go.... But still the question of why they are important to the Horcrux quest.
11) The trio's choices. Ron chooses the wand, Harry chooses the stone, Hermione chooses the cloak. Well, that makes sense based on their personalities and histories, but since two of the brothers ended up dead at an early age, it really doesn't bode well.
12) Harry learns something new. As far as he knew up until now, a wand is a wand is a wand. His wand was special only because the core matched Voldemort's. But now that he knows better, he's going to want something special to replace his wand, isn't he? Hermione doesn't buy it, though. "Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's." *giggle*
13) Luna's portraits. Five faces, realistically painted and bound together by a golden chain as friends. There is a certain "awww..." factor here. But is it a tribute, or a binding?
14) Luna is gone. She hasn't been home in some time. This is bloody ominous. She's dead, isn't she? She's been taken, because of what Xeno had been printing in the Quibbler. Yes, Xeno is a coward, but I understand it and I don't really blame him. Luna is all he's got, and he's doing what he has to in order to protect her. Ravenclaws aren't as brave as Gryffindors. It's sort of odd that Harry chose to confront Xeno instead of grabbing Ron and Hermione and Apparating the hell out of there, but it would have been worse for Xeno, and therefore for Luna, if he had.
15) KABOOM! The Lovegood house is destroyed. I hope some of it can be fixed by magic. It's a shame about Luna's paintings.
16) Hermione's daring escape plan. She hides Ron so that the Weasleys won't get into trouble, then Obliviates Xeno so he can't tell the DEs anything they talked about or that Ron was there, and then she crashes them through the floor so the DEs get a brief glimpse of Harry to save both Xeno and Luna, and finally Disapparates them away in mid-air. Rock on, girl!
1) Xeno: "that knuckle-headed young man at your brother's wedding." Sort of rules out the theory that Krum sold him the Erumpent horn, doesn't it?
2) The Quest. Are the Deathly Hallows like some sort of wizarding holy grail? Xeno says not many wizards know of the Hallows, and yet Grindelwald adopted the sign publicly. You'd think someone would have researched its origins at some point, wouldn't you?
3) Beedle the Bard. Well, we knew the symbol was connected with this book, since Hermione found it there. Dumbledore's subtle clues got them there in the end. I love folk tales. The only thing that makes me sad is that it turned out I was wrong about the Deathly Hallows being the bones of a Founder.
4) The Tale of the Three Brothers. I wonder what really happened? Beedle is a bard, so of course he used metaphor in the telling of his tale. I wonder if the brothers Peverell didn't steal the three items from a great Dark wizard who had created them himself? I am very tempted to write this story....
5) Antioch and the Elder Wand. Best not to boast if you have it, I guess. No other wand can beat it, but you can be beaten in other ways, and the wand taken from you. A dangerous weapon, both for the owner and those who face him or her. Is this the wand that was displayed in Ollivander's shop window? Is it perhaps the blackthorn wand? No, too easy. I bet I know what Voldemort is looking for now.... According to Xeno, the wand disappeared into the mists of time, which means that people learned, as Ron surmised, that "keeping their traps shut" was important.
6) Cadmus and the Resurrection Stone. It can recall the dead, but not necessarily to life. And the dead do not necessarily wish to be recalled. It would seem that Cadmus died without issue, but the stone stayed in the family, which means it must have been passed on to...
7) Ignotus and the Cloak of Invisibility. He attained a "great age" even for a wizard apparently. How long is that? 300 years? 400? Based on the surname Peverell (which is mentioned as being on the stone for the first time here) and the fact that the story is written in Ancient Runes, my guess is that the story went like this: The brothers were born in France sometime in the 800's (when people there started having surnames), then later came with his family to England, perhaps during the Norman Conquest. The family was drawn to Hogwarts, which was a famous centre for magical learning, and old Ignotus there met a young man named Beedle, and before his death, told him his wondrous story. Beedle wouldn't have been writing in Runes after the 11th century. However, the name "Peverell" and the gravestone might both have been added at a later date, which makes it even more confusing. Does it seem likely that the Hallows symbol would have been invented and used by the brothers?
8) The Master of Death. Oh, that does sound like something Voldemort (and Grindelwald before him) would want, doesn't it?
9) "Luna ought to have enough plimpies soon," he said quietly. OK, this made me almost certain that Luna was dead. His quiet voice seemed so ominous.
10) Harry's cloak. Ooh! Sounds like out heros have a Hallow! One down, two to go.... But still the question of why they are important to the Horcrux quest.
11) The trio's choices. Ron chooses the wand, Harry chooses the stone, Hermione chooses the cloak. Well, that makes sense based on their personalities and histories, but since two of the brothers ended up dead at an early age, it really doesn't bode well.
12) Harry learns something new. As far as he knew up until now, a wand is a wand is a wand. His wand was special only because the core matched Voldemort's. But now that he knows better, he's going to want something special to replace his wand, isn't he? Hermione doesn't buy it, though. "Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's." *giggle*
13) Luna's portraits. Five faces, realistically painted and bound together by a golden chain as friends. There is a certain "awww..." factor here. But is it a tribute, or a binding?
14) Luna is gone. She hasn't been home in some time. This is bloody ominous. She's dead, isn't she? She's been taken, because of what Xeno had been printing in the Quibbler. Yes, Xeno is a coward, but I understand it and I don't really blame him. Luna is all he's got, and he's doing what he has to in order to protect her. Ravenclaws aren't as brave as Gryffindors. It's sort of odd that Harry chose to confront Xeno instead of grabbing Ron and Hermione and Apparating the hell out of there, but it would have been worse for Xeno, and therefore for Luna, if he had.
15) KABOOM! The Lovegood house is destroyed. I hope some of it can be fixed by magic. It's a shame about Luna's paintings.
16) Hermione's daring escape plan. She hides Ron so that the Weasleys won't get into trouble, then Obliviates Xeno so he can't tell the DEs anything they talked about or that Ron was there, and then she crashes them through the floor so the DEs get a brief glimpse of Harry to save both Xeno and Luna, and finally Disapparates them away in mid-air. Rock on, girl!