A Fairy Tale?

"What exactly did you see? Who was it?"

Dumbledore pressed him urgently. It wasn't because he was especially kindhearted or particularly concerned about the matter Ezio wanted to investigate. It was because things were starting to slip out of his control.

As someone who had witnessed the monster hidden deep inside Ezio, Dumbledore knew just how much destruction it could cause once unleashed.

A new wave of turmoil might soon engulf the Wizarding World, one no less severe than the upheaval Voldemort had once caused.

Dumbledore recalled the vision he had seen: a river formed from gathered blood, with a magnificent spectacle of white bones rising above it. The sky was a floating continent made up of the souls of the dead, stretching beyond the horizon.

Dumbledore knew how wondrous magic could be, so he didn't doubt that the vision he had seen was more than some baseless hallucination. That bone-chilling death might well truly exist in Ezio's heart. It was a magic he had been born with, just like the various gifts other wizards possessed.

"I'm glad to see that you care so much about my affairs, Professor Dumbledore."

Ezio spoke calmly. He had sealed off his heart again, letting Assassin's Focus's absolute composure take control of his mind. If he looked into the mirror now, it would reflect only himself; the Mirror of Erised would become an ordinary mirror.

"Will you help me?"

Dumbledore looked into Ezio's unruffled eyes, then slowly nodded. "I will."

"Thank you."

Ezio drew his wand. A table flew over from nearby and hovered quietly in front of the three of them. Then, under the influence of Transfiguration, it became a tall figure in a black wizard's robe, its face hidden beneath a hood.

He was about six foot one, perhaps a little taller, with black hair and dark gray eyes. The shape of the face veil suggested a proud nose and high cheekbones, but apart from those features, everything else was hidden beneath the robe.

"He wasn't the only wizard to visit that place, but the other one was dressed in a style that was far too old-fashioned. He wasn't from our time. Unfortunately, that other man is dead too, and his death was hidden by magic as well. I don't know where he died."

Ezio was a little disappointed. If he knew where the man had died, he might be able to find some clues by digging up his grave.

"Twelve Moons, Professor Dumbledore. Are you really sure you don't know anything that might lead to it?"

Now that they had reached this point, Ezio no longer held back as he had before. He was desperate to learn everything he could.

"I do know something, but it may not help you find any clues."

Dumbledore nodded. That was precisely why he hadn't told Ezio. Perhaps knowing would only leave him more confused and hopeless.

"That's all right. Tell me."

Ezio looked into Dumbledore's eyes, staring intently at him.

"It's a... fairy tale, much like the story of the Deathly Hallows. Unfortunately, the tale of the Twelve Moons was never included in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It's much older, and perhaps only people whose families have been wizards for generations know it. I heard it from my grandmother. It was one of the old stories she used to tell me to help me fall asleep."

"Legend has it that a powerful witch lived on the moon. She had extraordinary magic and lived for thousands upon thousands of years. People thought of her as the embodiment of the moon and called her the Moon Witch. But one day, the moon disappeared. Darkness swallowed it, and the Moon Witch was driven from it."

"Bereft of her home, the witch was heartbroken. She desperately wanted to bring the moon back, but to do that, she had to break through the darkness. So she began searching for a way all over the world. The wizards were happy to help her, because they too wanted to see the moon rise again. With the eager help of many wizards, the Moon Witch came up with a plan."

"She made twelve Moon Gems from pure, flawless magical gemstones. Each one held great power, and within them were the blessings wizards across the world had bestowed. After making all twelve, the Moon Witch discovered that her own magic had been drained. Even so, she still wanted to see the moon return with her own eyes. It was her final wish."

"So she gave the twelve Moon Gems to twelve wizards. With their help, the gems gathered together unleashed an unprecedented, wondrous power. It drove away the darkness and shattered the gloom that had swallowed the moon, allowing moonlight to shine upon the earth once more."

"The Moon Witch died. She was buried on the highest mountain, the one closest to the moon, while the wizards took the twelve magical gems away. But that was only the beginning of the story."

"The Moon Gems possessed great power, each with a different ability, because the Moon Witch had divided her own magic among them."

"Healing and purification, life and destruction, prophecy and insight, concealment and shadow, glory and dominion, frost and stasis, flame and fury, nature and growth, illusion and deception, storm and lightning, dreams and the mind, time and eternity."

"These were the wondrous powers of the twelve Moon Gems. When they were brought together, whoever possessed them would wield magic as powerful as the Moon Witch's. That power could even destroy everything in the world, including the darkness that had swallowed the moon."

"The wizards who held the Moon Gems all wanted to possess the power of every gem. And so the fighting and the struggle to seize them began."

Dumbledore stopped speaking and looked calmly at Ezio.

"And then?" Ezio asked. The fairy tale seemed lovely at first, then suddenly turned into a battle story. But on second thought, that made sense. How else would you pad out the word count enough to lull children to sleep?

"Then I fell asleep." Dumbledore spread his hands. "My grandmother told it to help me fall asleep, and she succeeded. I heard it a few times, but I never made it to the end. I think the twelve Moon Gems eventually vanished from the world, and the moon was left without its Moon Witch."

Ezio's mouth twitched. He wanted to punch Dumbledore's old face and grab him by the ear, shouting, "Why did you always have to fall asleep back then? Why sleep when you're young? You can sleep as much as you like after you die!"

"Do Moon Gems really exist in the Wizarding World?"

"I don't know." Dumbledore shook his head. "Perhaps they were real, or perhaps it was only a fairy tale. But it all happened a very long time ago. These days, there isn't even a trace of that tale in the Wizarding World. It's from too long ago."

"But if your father's death really was connected to the Moon Gems, then the possibility they exist..."

Ezio quickly picked up the thread, his thoughts already falling into place.

"...is like the Deathly Hallows. They've disappeared from people's sight, but they do exist, and people are still searching for them, trying to bring them together in order to obtain the power of Death."

"Escape death, defeat death, reverse death."

Ezio narrowed his eyes slightly. Dumbledore felt a sudden, inexplicable shiver of unease. He had the subtle feeling that Ezio had guessed something, because the Elder Wand was real, the Invisibility Cloak was real, and the two people who possessed them were both standing before Ezio.

"But I know the Deathly Hallows are fake. There's no such thing as Death, so naturally there can't be any power of Death."

Ezio shook his head. He knew what the Deathly Hallows were and understood that they were a lie. There was no power of Death in the world; the Resurrection Stone, which supposedly reversed death, was nothing but a conspiracy.

But what if? What if the novels and the real world weren't quite the same?

If the Hallows truly held the power of Death, might the Moon Gems also possess the Moon Witch's magic?

"The Elder Wand. The Invisibility Cloak."

Ezio lifted his head. "I'll find the Resurrection Stone."

"No one in the world can truly bring together all three Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. He and Grindelwald had first met because they both wanted to find and unite the Deathly Hallows. The symbol of the Alliance of Wizards was the image of the Deathly Hallows, but even the two of them, despite spending decades searching, had never managed to find all three of Death's treasures.

"Magic will tell me where it is."

Ezio spoke softly. He couldn't just tell Dumbledore, Let's go to the old House of Gaunt now and get the Resurrection Stone Ring!

That would be foolish and would ruin all his plans. After all, the Resurrection Stone wasn't something he had to get immediately. What Ezio wanted to confirm was whether the Deathly Hallows in this real world differed from those in the novels. As for the Resurrection Stone, he would have to get it his own way. He could ask Dumbledore for information about it, but he had to make sure Dumbledore thought everything was reasonable.

If he confirmed that the Hallows were real, then the Moon Gems represented by the Twelve Moons might also possess real power. That would make it much more likely that wizards would pursue them.

Besides, there were twelve gems, far more than the three Deathly Hallows. The more there were, the greater the chance that wizards would encounter them and find them.

"It always favors a talented and hardworking good boy, doesn't it?"

Dumbledore was momentarily taken aback, then nodded. He had to admit Ezio was a talented and hardworking good boy. He couldn't bear the thought of Ezio turning bad—not because he was kind, but because the consequences would be too terrifying.

As Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief, Ezio walked straight out of the classroom, leaving a bewildered Harry looking at Dumbledore in confusion.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry ventured. "Could you let go? It hurts."

"Ah! Sorry, Harry."

Only then did Dumbledore realize he had lost his composure. He quickly apologized and rubbed Harry's shoulder.

"I was just thinking about something."

"About Ezio?"

"More about myself. I've never been able to face the Mirror of Erised properly."

Dumbledore didn't use wool socks as an excuse, because not even a three-year-old would believe that. And he couldn't tell Harry about Ezio's situation either.

Harry nodded, understanding a little. Who didn't have some painful memories they didn't want to revisit? Dumbledore had lived for more than a hundred years, so he must have had his own sorrows. Harry wasn't wrong to think so.