Fairy tale?

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

Dumbledore pressed him with a hint of urgency, not out of any great benevolence or concern for the matter Ezio was investigating, but because the current situation was slipping out of his control.

As the witness who had seen the monster hidden deep within Ezio's body, Dumbledore knew exactly what level of destruction that creature could unleash once it was set free.

It was entirely possible that a new wave of turmoil in the wizarding world, no less severe than the one Voldemort had once incited, was about to emerge.

Dumbledore recalled the vision he had seen at the time: a river formed of blood, a magnificent spectacle of bones standing upon it, and a floating continent in the sky composed of dead souls that stretched beyond the horizon.

Dumbledore knew the wonders of magic, so he did not doubt that the hallucination he had seen was baseless; that bone-chilling death likely existed in truth within Ezio's heart, an innate magic just like the various talents possessed by other wizards.

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

Ezio spoke calmly. He had already resealed his inner self, allowing the absolute coldness of Assassin's Focus to take command of his mind. If he were to look into a mirror now, the reflection would show only himself; the Mirror of Erised would become nothing more than an ordinary looking glass.

"Will you help me?"

Dumbledore looked into Ezio's ripple-free eyes and then slowly nodded: "I will."

"Thank you."

Ezio drew his wand. A table flew over from nearby and hovered silently before the three of them. Then, under the influence of Transfiguration, it transformed into a tall figure wearing black wizard robes, with a hood pulled low to conceal their face.

The figure stood about one meter eighty-five, perhaps taller, with black hair and dark gray eyes. From the contours of the face mask, one could discern a sharp nose and high cheekbones, but beyond those features, everything else was hidden beneath the robes.

"He is not the only wizard who has been to that place, but the other person's attire was too ancient—not someone from our era. However, to my regret, that other person is also dead, and even his death was hidden by magic. I do not know where he died."

Ezio felt a sense of regret. If he knew where that fellow had died, he might have been able to dig up a grave or two to find some clues.

"Twelve Moons, Professor Dumbledore, do you truly not know any clues regarding it?"

Since the conversation had reached this point, Ezio was no longer as reserved as before; he was now desperately eager to know every piece of information.

"I do know, but what I know may not help you find any leads."

Dumbledore nodded. It was precisely for this reason that he hadn't told Ezio; perhaps knowing would only bring Ezio more confusion and despair.

"It doesn't matter, please tell me."

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

"It is a... fairy tale, much like the tale of the Deathly Hallows. But unfortunately, the story of the Twelve Moons is not included in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It is much older; those who know of it are likely only those whose ancestors were wizards. I heard it from my grandmother; it was a bedtime story from a long time ago."

"Legend has it that a powerful witch lived upon the moon. She possessed extraordinary magic and had lived for thousands upon thousands of years. People regarded her as the embodiment of the moon, and she was known as the Moon Witch. But one day, the moon vanished, darkness swallowed it, and the Moon Witch was driven from the moon."

"Having lost her home, the witch was filled with grief. She longed to retrieve the moon, but to accomplish this, she needed to break the darkness. Thus, she began searching for a way across the world. Wizards were willing to help her, for they too wished to see the moon rise again. So, with the enthusiastic help of many wizards, the Moon Witch conceived a plan."

"She crafted twelve Moon Gems using pure, flawless magic stones. Each gem held immense power, and within them were the blessings bestowed by the wizards of the world. Once the twelve gems were created, the Moon Witch found her own magic exhausted, but she still wished to see the return of the moon with her own eyes. This was her final wish."

"She gave the twelve Moon Gems to twelve wizards. With their help, the gathered Moon Gems unleashed an unprecedented, miraculous power. It drove away the darkness, shattered the gloom that had swallowed the moon, and allowed the moonlight to shine upon the earth once more."

"The Moon Witch died, and she was buried on the highest mountain closest to the moon. The twelve magic gems were taken away by those wizards, but the story had only just begun."

"These Moon Gems possessed powerful magic, each with unique abilities, for the Moon Witch had divided her own power among them."

"Healing and purification, life and destruction, prophecy and insight, concealment and shadows, glory and dominion, frost and stagnation, fire and fury, nature and growth, illusion and deception, storms and lightning, dreams and the mind, time and eternity."

"These are the miraculous powers possessed by the twelve Moon Gems. When they are gathered together, the one who possesses them holds magic as powerful as that of the Moon Witch—a power capable of destroying everything in the world, including the darkness that swallowed the moon."

"The wizards who stored the Moon Gems all wanted to possess the power of all of them, and so, theft and battle ensued."

Dumbledore stopped his narration, his gaze resting calmly on Ezio.

"And then?" Ezio asked. This fairy tale should have been beautiful at the start, but it suddenly turned into an action flick. Still, thinking about it, that was normal; if you didn't pad the word count, how could you put a child to sleep?

"Then I fell asleep." Dumbledore spread his hands. "My grandmother told it to put me to sleep, and she succeeded. Although I heard it a few times, I never finished it. But the ending was likely that the twelve Moon Gems vanished from the world, and the moon never had the Moon Witch again."

The corner of Ezio's mouth twitched slightly. He really wanted to punch Dumbledore's old face, grab him by the ears, and shout: "Why were you so fond of sleeping back then? You're young, why sleep?! Can't you sleep all you want after you're dead?!"

"Then, in the wizarding world, does the thing called the Moon Gem actually exist?"

"I do not know." Dumbledore shook his head. "Perhaps it is real, perhaps it is just a fairy tale. But that must have been a very long time ago. In the present, there isn't even a shadow of this fairy tale in the wizarding world; it is a matter from too long ago."

"But if your father's death is truly related to the Moon Gems, then the possibility of their existence..."

Ezio, having quickly cleared his thoughts, cut in.

"It is just like the Deathly Hallows. Although they have vanished from people's sight, they do exist, and people are still searching for them, trying to gather them to obtain the power of Death."

"To escape death, to conquer death, to reverse death."

Ezio's eyes narrowed slightly, making Dumbledore feel an inexplicable sense of trepidation. He suddenly had a subtle premonition that Ezio seemed to have guessed something, for the Elder Wand was real, the Invisibility Cloak was real, and the two people who possessed them were standing right in front of Ezio at this moment.

"But I know the Deathly Hallows are a lie. There is no Death in this world, and naturally, there is no power of Death."

Ezio shook his head. He knew what the Deathly Hallows were, and he was clear that they were a fabrication. There was no power of Death in the world, and the Resurrection Stone that could reverse death was nothing but a conspiracy.

But what if? What if there was a difference between novels and the real world?

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

"The Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak."

Ezio looked up. "I will find the Resurrection Stone."

"No one in the world can truly gather the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. His initial acquaintance with Grindelwald was because they both wanted to find and gather the Deathly Hallows; the banner of the Alliance of Wizards was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. But even the two of them, despite spending decades, had never managed to fully collect those three treasures of Death.

"Magic will tell me where it is."

Ezio said softly, as he could not directly tell Dumbledore, "Let's go to the House of Gaunt's old manor right now and get the Resurrection Stone Ring!"

Such an approach would be foolish and would ruin all his subsequent plans. After all, the Resurrection Stone was not something he had to obtain this very instant. What Ezio wanted to verify was whether the Deathly Hallows in this real world possessed differences from those in the novels. As for the Resurrection Stone, he could only obtain it in his own way; he could ask Dumbledore for relevant information, but he had to make him believe that everything was reasonable.

If this point were confirmed, then the Moon Gems represented by the Twelve Moons might also possess real power, in which case the probability of wizards seeking them out would be very high.

Moreover, the quantity of twelve gems was far greater than that of the Deathly Hallows. As long as the quantity increased, the probability of wizards encountering and finding them would be higher.

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

Dumbledore paused slightly, then nodded. He had to admit that Ezio was a talented and hardworking child. He could not bear to see Ezio turn bad, not because he was kind, but because the consequences of that would be too terrifying.

While Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief, Ezio walked straight out of the classroom, leaving a bewildered Harry looking at Dumbledore, feeling at a loss.

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

"Ah! My apologies, Harry."

Only then did Dumbledore realize his lapse in composure. He quickly apologized and rubbed Harry's shoulder.

"I was thinking about some things just now."

"About Ezio?"

"More about myself. I am always unable to face the Mirror of Erised very well."

Dumbledore did not use wool socks as an excuse, because even a three-year-old would not believe that, and he could not tell Harry about Ezio's affairs either.

Harry nodded, understanding slightly. After all, who didn't have past memories they didn't want to recall? Dumbledore had lived for over a hundred years and must have his own sad stories; Harry's assumption was not wrong.