Summary: Chapter Twenty: Xenophilius Lovegood
Hermione remains angry at Ron, but Ron and Harry feel
much more optimistic now that they’ve destroyed one Horcrux. Ron
tells Harry that a magical Trace has been placed on Voldemort’s
name, so that anyone who says it can be tracked by the Ministry.
This Trace is how the trio were discovered in Tottenham Court Road.
Fortunately, Harry and Hermione have already slipped into the habit
of calling Voldemort You-Know-Who.
Hermione announces that she wants to visit Xenophilius
Lovegood, having found, in the signature of the letter from Dumbledore excerpted
in Skeeter’s book, yet another appearance of the triangular symbol
associated with Grindelwald and worn by Xenophilius. Ron concurs,
noting that Xenophilius’s underground newspaper, The Quibbler,
has been staunchly pro-Harry, despite the price on his head.
The trio find the tower where the Lovegoods live, but
Xenophilius seems alarmed at their presence and reluctant to invite
them in or help them. Grudgingly, he lets them come in. Ron chides
Xenophilius for printing in his newspaper that people should help
Harry, then appearing unwilling to help Harry himself, and finally
Xenophilius agrees to help. He excuses himself to go call Luna,
who, he says, is outside fishing, then serves them a nasty-tasting
root infusion. Xenophilius asks Harry what he has come for, and
Harry inquires about the symbol. Xenophilius tells him that it is
the sign of the Deathly Hallows.
Summary: Chapter Twenty-One: The Tale of the Three
Brothers
Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all baffled—none of them
have heard of the Deathly Hallows. Xenophilius explains that the Deathly
Hallows have nothing to do with Dark Magic, and that the symbol
is merely a way for wizards to indicate to each other that they
believe in a particular legend and are engaged in a quest for certain
objects—the Deathly Hallows. To explain what these objects are,
Xenophilius has Hermione read an old and familiar fairy tale from The
Tales of Beedle the Bard.
Three brothers were traveling on a road when they came
to a river. They made a bridge using magic, but when they were halfway across,
Death spoke to them. Death was angry at being cheated of their lives,
but he congratulated them and offered them each a prize. The oldest
brother asked for a wand that would always win duels, and Death
fashioned one out of an elder tree branch. The second asked for
the power to bring people back from the dead, and Death gave him
a stone with that power. The youngest brother asked for something
that would let him leave that place without being followed by Death,
and Death reluctantly handed over his own Invisibility Cloak.
The three brothers departed. The first brother was killed
in his sleep by a thief after he boasted about his wand. The second
brother summoned the spirit of a girl he had once loved, but she
couldn’t truly be with him in life, so he killed himself to join
her. The youngest brother lived for many years, then handed the
cloak off to his own son and welcomed Death like an old friend.
