If the King of Knights and the Knights of the Round Table were the most representative legends of muggle Britain, then the Deathly Hallows were surely the wizarding world's equivalent.
Just as no one knew for certain whether the King of Knights had truly existed in history, no one could confirm whether the Deathly Hallows had ever really appeared...
Ginny Weasley, who had never been good at hiding what she was thinking and had not noticed Xenophilius's expression turning strange, directly asked Draco about it.
She did not seem to doubt for even a moment that Draco would have an answer for her.
"The Deathly Hallows? What are those?"
"According to legend, whoever possesses all the Deathly Hallows becomes the Master of Death."
"Huh? Death? Are you even listening to what you are saying?"
What Draco said not only failed to answer her question, it only gave rise to even more curiosity. And yet, unexpectedly, he really did answer Ginny.
No, to be precise, it sounded more like he was saying it half jokingly...
"Death? That does not sound... very pleasant."
"In fact, in the wizarding world, it is generally believed that only dark wizards would pursue those legends, and they wear that symbol on their bodies. After all, Master of Death sounds rather like someone who wants to rule the wizarding world, does it not?"
"Dark wizards. That does sound dangerous."
While answering Ginny, Draco kept the corner of his eye fixed on Xenophilius across from him.
In truth, aside from Pansy and the other girls, Draco generally treated everyone else with indifference.
So while it looked as though he was answering Ginny, this was really a test for Xenophilius.
He wanted to know what kind of attitude Xenophilius had toward the Deathly Hallows, and why he had tried to hide the symbol just now.
And as expected, it was almost as though Draco could manipulate hearts. The moment he "belittled" the Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius stopped remaining silent...
"How ignorant! The Hallows are not dark at all. At least not in such a crude sense. That symbol is simply a way for one believer to identify himself to another, and to seek help on the path of discovery."
Xenophilius suddenly raised his voice. And at that moment, there was none of the earlier discomfort he had shown in front of Draco. It was as though he had become a completely different person. That obvious change left Ginny staring in surprise.
Which made her blurt out the question in her heart. "So what exactly are the Deathly Hallows?"
"It all begins with The Tale of the Three Brothers. I once wrote about it in The Quibbler..."
Xenophilius had suddenly become animated and started telling a story, leaving Ginny momentarily unable to react.
Was this really Luna's father?
Just as Ginny turned toward Luna in surprise, hoping to get some kind of answer from her friend, she saw Luna's calm, composed expression, as though none of this were particularly unusual.
Or rather, as though all of it was exactly what Luna had expected...
...
In truth.
If you were a loyal reader of The Quibbler, you would definitely know that the Deathly Hallows were not some unfamiliar thing.
Because references to them appeared in The Quibbler from time to time, and one issue had even featured a special report devoted entirely to the Deathly Hallows.
That was why Luna's face had hardly changed at all. After all, she was a devoted Quibbler reader...
But why had Xenophilius gone out of his way to hide it?
Was this not supposed to be nothing more than a bedtime story?
Seeing Xenophilius's unusual expression, Draco narrowed his eyes slightly and recalled the version of the story he knew.
Everything about the Deathly Hallows came from The Tale of the Three Brothers, and the Hallows did not refer to a single object, but three powerful magical artifacts.
It was said that if you gathered all three, you would be able to defeat any enemy.
That naturally included Voldemort...
At that thought, Draco seemed to catch hold of something important.
And just then, Xenophilius seemed to have finished telling his story.
"So these things... I mean, these Hallows really exist?"
Xenophilius seemed not to notice the doubt in Ginny's tone at all. He lifted his brows and answered with complete certainty.
"Of course!"
"..."
That level of confidence actually left Ginny unsure how to respond.
She did not really believe those so called Hallows actually existed, but she had no intention of arguing or questioning him either. After all, as Luna's friend, she knew very well how stubborn the Lovegoods could be at heart.
Meanwhile, Draco, sitting to one side, showed a trace of interest in his eyes. But he had no intention of pressing the matter further.
Because this was not the real reason he had come here.
Only, fate seemed determined to toy with Draco, and had no intention of letting him accomplish his goal so easily...
Just as Draco decided to get straight to the point and explain why he had come, he noticed something strange beneath his robes.
Heat.
Vibration.
Without the slightest hesitation, Draco pulled out the thing that had caused the disturbance.
And everyone present saw the motion clearly.
The first to react was, of course, the red haired witch. "Is that... a mirror?"
"No, not just a mirror. I think it is a Two way mirror."
One had to say, it was worthy of the editor of The Quibbler. With only a single glance, Xenophilius recognized the true nature of the mirror in Draco's hand.
And if it was reacting like that, there was only one explanation. The other owner of that mirror was trying to contact Draco Malfoy, who now sat before them all with a slight frown on his face...
...
Xenophilius was naturally extremely curious about where the "antique" in Draco's hand had come from, and who the person on the other side of the Two way mirror might be.
But considering Draco's privacy, and the manners a host ought to have, Xenophilius took the initiative and offered him some private space.
"If you need it, Luna can take you up to the top floor. No one else will disturb you there."
"Then I will take you up on that."
Draco had already been thinking the same thing, so he simply went along with the suggestion.
Only...
Was this the moment Lockhart had been talking about?