That night, Hermione and Ellie sat just outside the tent, keeping watch as Ron and Harry stayed inside. Ellie sat behind her girlfriend, her arms wrapped around Hermione's waist as she rested her chin on her shoulder.

A sudden blast came from inside the tent, making the girls jump. They heard Harry's voice recite the reducing spell and scrambled to their feet.

"What's going on in there?" Hermione questioned as she pulled her girlfriend with her, ducking underneath the tent's flaps.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing!"

"We need to talk," Hermione announced as she came face-to-face with the boys.

"Yeah, all right," Ron answered as Harry looked to her expectantly.

Ellie watched quietly as Hermione pushed past the boys to stand on one of the steps, her natural leadership tendencies emerging.

"I want to go see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Sorry?" Harry confirmed.

Hermione stepped closer to Harry as she presented him a page in her book, bending the binding backwards as she showcased the image she had been analyzing just a few moments earlier.

"See this? It's a letter Dumbledore wrote to Grindelwald. Look at the signature. It's the mark again. It keeps cropping up," Hermione explained as she sat on the steps. "In Beedle the Bard, in the graveyard in Godric's Hollow."

"It was there too," Harry stated, realization overcoming his expression.

"Where?"

"Outside Gregorovitch's Wand Shop."

"What does it mean?" Ron questioned.

"Look, you've got no idea where the next Horcrux is, and neither do I. But this, this means something. I'm sure of it," Hermione reasoned.

"Yeah, Hermione's right," Ron agreed as he stepped up to stand next to the girl. "We ought to see Lovegood."

Ellie stepped up to Hermione's other side, interlacing their fingers together. "She has a point, Harry. It's the only lead we have."

"Let's vote on it. Those in favor?" Ron suggested as he raised his hand.

The rest of the group stayed quiet, simply staring at the ginger. Hermione merely gave him a frown look as she walked away, taking Ellie along with her.

--

It was December 28, 1997, the day after Hermione's suggestion to visit Xenophilius.

The quartet had apparated to the outskirts of the Lovegood residence. They climbed the hill and saw an oddly shaped home that seemed to have resembled a rook in chess.

"Luna," Harry stated as he stopped to observe the home.

"Luna," the rest of the group confirmed.

The quartet grew nearer, and soon enough, they stood just outside the residence. On its dark oak door was a golden plaque that read: The Quibbler; Editor X Lovegood.

Ellie knocked on the door and stepped backward as Ron read the sign: Keep off the Dirigible Plums.

The door suddenly opened, though the bottom half stayed in place. The man who had opened the door had long, grey hair, his clothes seeming to have been knitted poorly. He held a deranged expression as he scanned the faces of the trio.

"What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" the man barked.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood. I'm Harry Potter. We met a few months ago," Harry introduced as he stepped up to the porch. "Could we come in?"

Now inside, Xenophilius brewed them some tea, gesturing for them to sit around the small table. Harry and Ron were seated on separate chairs as Ellie sat with Hermione, her hand resting on the Gryffindor's thigh.

"Luna's not here," Ellie whispered to her girlfriend as she examined her surroundings.

"Where is Luna?" Hermione asked out loud, referring to her girlfriend's curiosity.

"Luna? She'll be along," the man answered.

Together, the five of them held the mug to their lips to take a sip of their tea.

"So, how can I help you, Mr. Potter?" Xenophilius asked.

"Well, actually... It was about something you were wearing round your neck at the wedding. A symbol," Harry explained.

The man withdrew his necklace from his chest and held it in his hand for Harry to see.

"You mean this?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed as he touched the symbol lightly, examining the metal. "That exactly. What we've wondered is, what is it?"

"What is it? Well, it's the sign of the Deathly Hallows, of course."

"The what?" the quartet asked, leaning forward in inquiry.

"The Deathly Hallows. I assume you're all familiar with 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'."

"Yes," Hermione replied.

"No," Harry denied.

"I'm American. So, no..." Ellie replied, earning an odd look from the man.

"I have it in here," Hermione explained as she rummaged in her bag, retrieving her book. She flipped open to one of the last chapters of the book and began to read out loud.

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight."

"Midnight. Mum always said 'midnight'." Ron interrupted, earning a glare from Hermione. "But 'twilight's' fine. Better, actually."

"Ron, shut up. Let her read," Ellie said in a monotone voice, making the boy instantly cower back in his chair.

"Do you want to read it?" Hermione asked with an irritated tone.

"No, it's fine."

Ellie settled in closer to her girlfriend, resting her head on her shoulder as Hermione began to read.

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too treacherous to pass. But being learned in the magical arts, the three brothers simply waved their wands and made a bridge. Before they could cross, however... they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. It was Death, and he felt cheated. Cheated because travelers would normally drown in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him. The oldest asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. So Death fashioned him one from an elder tree that stood nearby. The second brother decided he wanted to humiliate Death even further and asked for the power to recall loved ones from their grave. So Death plucked a stone from the river and offered it to him. Finally, Death turned to the third brother. A humble man... he asked for something that would allow him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And so it was that Death reluctantly handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility."

Ellie noticed that Xenophilius had stood from his chair and uttered a message to one of his birds, its black wings spreading to soar away from the home. She dismissed it as Hermione continued with the story.

"The first brother traveled to a distant village where, with the Elder Wand in hand, he killed a wizard with whom he had once quarreled. Drunk with the power the Elder Wand had given him, he bragged of his invincibility. But that night, another wizard stole the wand and slit the brother's throat for good measure. And so Death took the first brother for his own. The second brother journeyed to his home where he took the stone and turned it thrice in hand. To his delight, the girl he'd once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared before him. Yet, soon she turned sad and cold for she did not belong in the mortal world. Driven mad with hopeless longing, the second brother killed himself so as to join her. And so Death took the second brother. As for the third brother... Death searched for many years but was never able to find him. Only when he attained a great age did the youngest brother shed the Cloak of Invisibility and give it to his son. He then greeted Death as an old friend and went with him gladly, departing this life as equals," Hermione concluded as she shut her book.

"So there you are. Those are the Deathly Hallows," Xenophilius confirmed as he stared outside his window.

"I'm sorry, sir. I still don't quite understand," Harry admitted, making the man turn around to frantically search for something.

"Where's that pen I had?" he mumbled as the quartet rose to their feet to see what he was hunched over.

Ellie laced Hermione's fingers together as she leaned over to mutter something to her girlfriend's ear.

"This doesn't feel right," Ellie muttered. Hermione squeezed her girlfriend's hand in reassurance as she leaned over to peck Ellie's cheek.

Xenophilius drew a straight, long line on a sheet of parchment.

"The Elder Wand. The most powerful wand ever made."

He proceeded to draw a circle on top of the line, turning to face the quartet once more.

"The Resurrection Stone."

He then drew a triangle that surrounded the two drawings, resembling that of his necklace.

"The Cloak of Invisibility. Together, they make the Deathly Hallows. Together, they make one master of Death."

"That mark was on a grave in Godric's Hollow. Uh, Mr. Lovegood, does the Peverell Family have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows?" Hermione questioned.

The man frantically made his way past the group, seeming to be affected by the question.

"Uh.... Uh... Ignotus... Excuse me... And his brothers, Cadmus and Antioch are thought to be the original owners of the Hallows and therefore the inspiration for the story. Uh... uh... But your tea's gone cold."

The man was now at the table, checking the watch on his wrist worriedly.

"I'll be right back," he said as he excused himself downstairs.

"He's a crazy man. Creeps me out," Ellie muttered under her breath, earning a nudge in her ribs from her girlfriend.

"Darling, don't say that," Hermione whispered in attempt to be polite.

Ellie simply shrugged her shoulders as she bent down to pick up Hermione's bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Let's get out of here," Ron suggested as he picked up his bag. "I'm not drinking any more of that stuff, hot or cold.

The quartet made their way downstairs, finding the man to be peering outside his window.

"Thank you, sir," Hermione thanked in a polite tone, making the man jump at her voice. His hands were shaking nervously as he brushed a strand of hair away from his face hastily.

"You forgot the water," Ron noted.

"Water?"

"For the tea," Ron explained.

"Did...? Did I?" the man questioned, then proceeded to laugh as he made his way around the kitchen. "How silly of me."

"It's no matter. We really should be going anyway," Hermione reassured.

The man suddenly snapped at her, sliding the pots and pan off his counter. Ellie brought her arm in front of her girlfriend, pulling her backwards protectively.

"No, you can't!"

The man proceed to make his way to the closed door, pushing on it with ragged breaths.

"Sir?" Harry trailed.

Xenophilius whirled around, pressing his back against his door with a deranged expression in his eyes.

"You're my only hope. They were angry, you see, about what I'd been writing. So they took her. They took my Luna. My Luna..."

"No... not Luna..." Ellie mumbled fearfully, in disbelief at what had happened to her friend.

The man stepped forward once more, bring his hand to examine Harry's scar.

"But it's really you they want," the man said gravely.

Harry removed the man's hand from his head. "Who took her, sir?"

The man's eyes were wide as he stared into Harry's eyes.

"Voldemort."

Within seconds, dozens of Death Eaters broke into the windows, bringing the quartet to crawl on the ground for safety. Blasts of hexes flew over their heads as shreds of newspapers and glass circled about.

The four of them met together, barely clasping hands with one another. They Disapparated just before the roof came down, the rubble being enough to kill them if they hadn't made it out in time.