Deathly Hallows
"Wait, does the Tales of Beedle the Bard mention Demon God?" Hearing Dumbledore and Flamel speak in unison, Xiwen was momentarily stunned and quickly asked.
He still vaguely remembers that Professor Kettleburn gave the Young Wizard Xiwen a copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," saying it was so that he would be familiar with the story when watching the play "The Fountain of Fortune," so that he wouldn't be unable to understand it.
Unexpectedly, the Ashwinder, intended as a prop, caused a major accident with Riddle, almost burning down the Great Hall...
Out of respect for Professor Kettleburn, Xiwen only skimmed through the story of "The Fountain of Fortune" at the time.
Because he wasn't very interested in fairy tales, myths, and legends, he hadn't read many of the other stories. He could only vaguely remember that there seemed to be five stories in the collection, four of which were besides "The Fountain of Fortune."
"If I'm not mistaken, it's quite possible that one of the stories in the collection is about a Demon God." Dumbledore nodded to Xiwen, then looked at Flamel and asked, "Nicole, do you have a copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard in your library?"
"Perhaps it was collected a long, long time ago; I need to look for it." Flamel said, trying to summon his alchemical flying Flying Carpet, which he used for traveling, to take him to the library.
At that moment, Xiwen had already reached out and drawn a small golden circle, picking up the copy of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" that Professor Kettleburn had given him, which he had casually tossed aside in the dungeon room.
For the same reason he wasn't interested in these kinds of stories, Xiwen didn't want it to take up Pocket Watch Space. But since it was a gift from Professor Kettleburn, he couldn't just throw it away, so Xiwen casually placed it in the dungeon.
Unexpectedly, this collection of stories will come in handy someday.
"Flamel, no need to trouble yourself." Xiwen handed Flamel the storybook with its dark blue illustrations and light gray cover, saying, "I have a copy in that room in the dungeon; Xiwen must have left it there. You can borrow it."
Seeing this, Flamel nodded in agreement, glanced curiously at the collection of stories, and then turned to the last story—<The Tale of the Three Brothers>.
"This must be the story." Dumbledore looked at the contents of the story, a fleeting hint of nostalgia and reminiscence in his eyes.
The Tale of the Three Brothers revolves around three very powerful wizards: the three wizards used magic to build a bridge across a dangerous river and successfully overcame death.
Death was furious, for he felt he had lost three new sacrifices. But the cunning Death did not attack them directly; instead, he pretended to praise the three brothers' powerful magical skills and asked each of them to make a wish as a reward for overcoming death.
The eldest and second eldest of the three brothers were very interested in this and both hoped to obtain something useful. The eldest wished for the Elder Wand, which would make him more powerful, while the second eldest wished for the Resurrection Stone, which could bring his deceased lover back to life.
However, neither of them escaped the clutches of Death in the end—the elder brother died in his sleep, his powerful Elder Wand stolen by other cruel wizards; the younger brother, consumed by the pain of being unable to reunite with his lover, eventually hanged himself on the balcony.
The third of them didn't trust Death, so he wished for an item that would allow him to continue his journey even when Death couldn't follow him. Death reluctantly gave him his Invisibility Cloak and never found the third brother again.
It wasn't until he was quite old that he removed his Invisibility Cloak and gave it to his son. Then, like an old friend, he faced Death...
"This story tells us that greed can lead to an earlier death," Flamel said softly after reading the story. "People cannot escape death; they can only eventually accept it."
Hearing Flamel's exclamation, Xiwen asked curiously, "With the Philosopher's Stone, haven't you already escaped death?"
"How could I have escaped death?" Flamel smiled gently, looking at Xiwen. "My body is constantly aging, and I've only persisted in living until now because of a lingering thirst for knowledge. In a way, you could call that greed."
"In fact, Perenelle and I were already mentally prepared to die together." Flamel and Madam Flamel exchanged a gentle glance and smiled. "There's no need to think of death as something too terrible; it's just another great adventure."
"As long as we live a fulfilling life and cherish the meaning of life in our hearts, then anyone can face Death with equanimity like the youngest of the three brothers, instead of being schemed against and killed by Death like the eldest and second eldest brothers."
Dumbledore smiled and shook his head at Flamel, saying, "Nicole, it's too early to talk about such things. We still need your strength to fight that Demon God!"
"Haha, I've said too much," Flamel said with a laugh. "The moral of the story cannot be equated with reality. Regardless of whether the Demon God Strange saw is the Death from the story, if he wants to invade our world, we must ensure he doesn't leave alive!"
As Flamel spoke, he seemed to suddenly become hundreds of years younger, as if he had regained his youthful passion. Only then did Xiwen realize that besides his kind old man image, Flamel also had a confident and passionate side.
"Albus, do you have any leads?" Flamel asked with a smile.
"I wouldn't call it a clue, but I do know something about this story," Dumbledore said with a hint of reminiscence. "Speaking of which, when I was young, Grindelwald and I were extremely obsessed with those three gifts of Death mentioned in the story. People usually call them the Deathly Hallows!"
"The symbol of the Pure-blood Party, which Grindelwald now leads, uses the three Deathly Hallows as the emblem of its followers—'⃒⃘⃤', with the straight line representing the Elder Wand, the circle representing the Resurrection Stone, and the triangle representing the Invisibility Cloak."
"Those who know a little about it widely believe that if someone could combine the three holy artifacts, they would become the master of Death!" He sighed softly. "But now that I think about it, what master of Death is there? It's probably just people's wishful thinking and greedy pursuit of legends."
"Yes, the idea that possessing the three holy artifacts grants a person power beyond death actually contradicts the entire story," Flamel said thoughtfully.
He then asked, "Albus, you don't seem like the type to chase after those elusive Deathly Hallows. Was it Grindelwald who seduced you?"
"It was indeed him who brought it up, but it was I who truly wanted the Deathly Hallows," Dumbledore shook his head and said to Flamel. "I was foolish enough to think that getting the Deathly Hallows meant getting everything!"
"Back then, Ariana Dumbledore was still alive, and I had just met Grindelwald. It was the time when I was most captivated by the ideas he instilled in me. I ruthlessly fantasized that if I found the Invisibility Cloak, I would hide my sister; if I found the Resurrection Stone, I would resurrect my parents to take care of her and Aberforth, leaving no burden on our cause..."
"Later, Ariana Dumbledore died in that accident, and Grindelwald fled Godric's Hollow. I, however, became even more delusional, wanting to find the Resurrection Stone, believing that only by resurrecting Ariana Dumbledore could I atone for my guilt..."
"I guess you haven't found the Resurrection Stone," Flamel said to Dumbledore, frowning.
"Yes, I spent a long time searching for the Resurrection Stone, but I couldn't find it. Then I gradually came to terms with it," Dumbledore said somberly, pursing his lips. "No matter what I do, I can't make up for what I owe Ariana Dumbledore, not even if I find the Resurrection Stone."
Seeing the lingering longing in Dumbledore's eyes, Xiwen slowly frowned.
"Dumbledore, are you still trying to get the Resurrection Stone?" He stared intently into Dumbledore's light blue eyes and asked, enunciating each word clearly.