Chapter 17: The Old Legend of the Three Brothers
The Christmas holiday passed by in a flash as Draco was filled with "extracurricular academic research".
In addition to conducting these small, additional research, Draco also accompanied his mother Narcissa to several boring social gatherings with relatives from her mother's family - the Yaxleys, the Rosiers, the Parkinsons, the Flints, the Bulstrodes, the Crabs...
When it comes to networking, no one in the Malfoy family can compare to Narcissa. Her maiden name, Black, carries too much meaning: most pure-blood wizarding families are related to it, which makes her an easy choice at social gatherings.
Tall, fair-skinned, and with golden hair, Narcissa possessed a beauty that was a source of pride. Furthermore, she came from a family background that included both the Black and Malfoy families, making her a frequent guest at social gatherings of pure-blood wizarding families.
Draco sometimes felt that his mother did not enjoy these activities, but she only participated patiently for the sake of the family's interests.
Most of the time, especially when faced with some pure-blood wizard families whose wealth and status were inferior to hers, Narcissa didn't have much interest in deliberately making friends with them.
Those wizards didn't care. As long as she sat arrogantly at the social occasions they invited her to, it was considered as giving them face and supporting them.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Narcissa won't humble herself - as long as Narcissa is willing, she will be the most capable person at the party.
If there is profit to be made, she will not hesitate to abandon her arrogance, and use her approachable attitude and impeccable social etiquette that no one can refuse to win the favor of those lonely old aunts and gain a "win-win" "friendship".
Only at this time would her arrogance be temporarily put away - although Draco knew that the arrogance in her bones had never disappeared.
However, despite her pride, Narcissa has always been a gentle mother to Draco.
The group of people at the party who were so respectful to Narcissa probably found it hard to imagine that she would even tell Draco a bedtime story with a childlike innocence.
Even though at the age of 17, his heart was already broken and he had already realized that bedtime stories were useless for sleep, Draco cherished this rare carefree time with his mother.
Such moments would allow him to temporarily forget the worries in his heart, although Lucius did not seem happy about it.
"Okay! He's almost 12 years old and doesn't need you to coax him anymore." Lucius leaned against Draco's door frame with an impatient and cold face.
Draco didn't say anything, but just took his mother's hand thoughtfully and looked at her with watery eyes.
This trick works every time.
"It's so rare that Xiaolong comes home, but you deprive me of the right to be with him..." Narcissa sighed, and skillfully played the role of a hurt mother. "Do you have a heart..."
"Okay, okay." Lucius wrinkled his nose, playing with his cane, and surrendered. "One last story."
Narcissa flipped a random page from The Tales of Beedle the Bard in her hand.
"Then let's talk about "The Legend of the Three Brothers":
Once upon a time, there were three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, narrow path. It was almost dusk (or midnight) when they came to a river. The water was too deep to wade through, and it was too dangerous to swim across.
However, the three brothers were proficient in magic. With a wave of their wands, a bridge appeared over the treacherous water. When they reached the middle of the bridge, a hooded figure blocked their way.
Death spoke to them. He was angry because he had lost three new offerings—travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic, saying that they had evaded Death through their cleverness and that each of them would receive a reward.
The eldest brother was a warlike man, and what he wanted was the most powerful wand in the world: a wand that would always help its owner win a duel, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! Death walked to an elder tree on the shore, fashioned a wand from the overhanging branches, and gave it to the eldest brother.
The second son was an arrogant man who decided to continue humiliating the god of death and wanted the power to resurrect the dead. The god of death picked up a stone from the shore and gave it to the second son, telling him that the stone had the power to bring the dead back to life.
Then Death asked the youngest, the third, what he wanted. The third was the most humble and intelligent, and he didn't believe in Death. So he asked for something that would prevent Death from finding him wherever he went. Reluctantly, Death gave him his Invisibility Cloak.
Then Death stood aside and let the three brothers continue on their way. They talked about their wonderful experience and admired Death's gift as they walked forward. Later, the three brothers separated and headed towards their respective destinations.
The eldest traveled for over a week. Arriving in a remote mountain village, he argued with a wizard. Naturally, he used his elder wand, the Elder Wand, as a weapon, undoubtedly winning the duel. After his opponent fell dead, he continued on his way, entering a tavern and boasting loudly about his invincibility with the powerful wand he had received from Death. That same night, while the eldest was drunk, another wizard crept up to his bedside, stole the wand, and slit his throat. Thus, Death took the eldest's life.
Meanwhile, the second brother returned to his solitary home, took out the stone that could bring the dead back to life, and turned it three times in his hands. To his surprise, the girl he had hoped to marry, who had tragically died young, immediately appeared before him. But she was sad and distant, a veil separating them. Though she had returned to the human world, she did not truly belong there, and she suffered. Ultimately, driven mad by hopeless longing, the second brother committed suicide, desperate to truly be with her. Thus, death took the second brother's life.
However, Death searched for the third son for many years but could not find him. The third son lived to a very old age before finally taking off the Invisibility Cloak and handing it over to his son. He then greeted Death as an old friend and happily left the world with him as an equal.
The story was quickly told in Narcissa's soft voice and Lucius's warm gaze fixed on his wife.
After hearing this story, Draco was not sleepy at all, but his eyes lit up.
Almost every child in a wizarding family is familiar with this story, but this time, Draco heard something different from this old story.
The Elder Wand... His mother had told him about it many times. Could this be what the Dark Lord had been looking for?
To be honest, who would have thought that such a bedtime story might hide some huge truth, or even some magical treasure from the wizarding world?
He had long wanted to do some research on the Elder Wand. Back in November, when he was writing his paper on Murrick, he had come across the term "Elder Wand"—Merrick's opponent, the evil monster Egbert, had inherited his Elder Wand through a duel.
Although it is just unofficial history and has little actual basis, after all, such a story that has been passed down to this day cannot be completely groundless.
Where can I get more information about the "Elder Wand"? In fact, since November, Draco has been wandering around the Hogwarts library, hoping to find more relevant information; after all, he has no suitable opportunity to approach Florin Forsco or Ollivander.
Now, surprisingly, he suddenly realized that perhaps his mother could answer some of his questions.
"Mom, do you know the names of those three brothers?" There was a hint of trembling and excitement in Draco's voice.
"Oh, I suppose it's the legend of the three Peverell brothers," Narcissa said casually.
"Do you think the Elder Wand really exists?" Draco asked her softly.
"You silly child, this is just a legend." Lucius, who had been sitting on the bed at some point, ruffled his son's platinum blond hair and couldn't help laughing softly.
"That's possible. The names of the three Peverell brothers appeared in the Black family's book, 'Born Nobly: A Genealogy of Wizardry.'" Narcissa smiled, her gentle blue eyes looking at Lucius. "I've never believed that legends are just legends. There must be a prototype. Although it was one of the earliest families to disappear, I believe that the family that appeared in that book—the Peverell family—did exist."
Lucius remained silent, clearly indifferent to the matter. He pulled an exquisite pocket watch from his pocket and waved it in front of Narcissa, staring at her eagerly.
"Okay, little dragon, close your eyes and go to sleep. You have to catch the train to Hogwarts early tomorrow morning." Narcissa kissed Draco on the forehead and said good night to her beloved son.
Draco yawned obediently, pretending that he was beginning to feel sleepy.
Lucius gently blew out the candle on the bedside table, put his arm around his wife's waist with a smug look on his face, and went back to his room to rest.
Draco opened his eyes sleeplessly in the moonlight, the soft voice of Narcissa reading still echoing in his mind: "A wand most powerful in the world... A wand that will always help its owner win a duel... Death walked to an elder tree on the shore and made a wand out of the overhanging branches..."
The elder wand... the last thing the Dark Lord used was the elder wand... the one he took from the dead Dumbledore...
If... if the Elder Wand was not just a legend - he stared blankly at the curtain above his head. He seemed to know the whereabouts of the Elder Wand at present.
That wand should still belong to Professor Dumbledore - in his previous life, he had used a Disarming Charm to knock the wand away.
Yes, it was that wand. He clearly remembered the unique elderberry pattern on the wand that flew out under the moonlight of the Astronomy Tower.
It must be. If anyone in the world could possess the Elder Wand, there could be no one more worthy than Professor Dumbledore.
If the legends about the Elder Wand were true, then it all made sense.
Why were Ollivander and Florin Forskol locked in the dungeon of the Malfoy family, tortured beyond recognition by the Dark Lord? Why did the Dark Lord leave England at the most critical moment of capturing Potter and his companions, and travel thousands of miles to find the wand master Gregorovitch? Why did the Dark Lord disregard decency to disturb Dumbledore's eternal sleep and dig out the silent wand...
However, a great magic wand like this is by no means simple, and not everyone who gets it can become extremely powerful.
As far as Draco could tell, the Elder Wand in the Dark Lord's hands didn't seem to be working as well as it could.
There must be some unknown secrets about this old wand and the power it can exert.
He suddenly remembered something Ollivander had casually mentioned in Ollivander's Wand Shop: "...the wand chooses the wizard. Every Ollivander wand has a powerful magical substance. They have a mind of their own. That is their essence."
The theory that wands had minds of their own was an intriguing one, and Draco hadn't believed it at first, but the experience of losing his wand in a previous life had convinced him otherwise.
Apart from his destined wand, other wands were not easy to use - not even his mother's.
None of them could fully understand his thoughts.
It was as if the wands had minds of their own. They chose the wizard.
So, will they change their choices?
Draco still remembered that when he went to the Room of Requirement to ask Potter to return his wand, he said a strange thing: "Whoever wins it keeps it." Potter said that the wand was no longer Draco's.
This was a strange statement. How could his destined wand not be his?
What does it mean to "win"? Does a rough snatch count as "winning"? At least there should be a fair duel, right?
If ordinary wands are so wondrous, wouldn't a magical object as powerful as the Elder Wand perhaps possess even more character? Does it need to be "earned"? Is taking it from the dead a form of "earning"?
Furthermore, does Porter have any theoretical basis for what he said? How credible is his statement?
Maybe it was just some random nonsense. After all, Potter wasn't a wand master. I'd have to ask Ollivander myself to confirm the truth.
These vague pieces of information were like a pile of scattered puzzle pieces, clamoring in his mind for him to piece them together quickly.
However, haste is not enough, and Draco knew clearly that he could not get the answers to all the questions immediately. He was lucky to have even a little clue.
Before falling asleep, he had already planned his next move.
When he went to Diagon Alley to buy new books for his second year, he would definitely find an opportunity to visit Ollivander's wand shop.