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Chapter 52: A Fairy Tale?
"What exactly did you see? Who?"
Dumbledore pressed urgently, not because he was so benevolent or concerned with the matter Ezio was investigating, but because the situation was beginning to slip from his control.
As a witness who had seen the monster hidden deep within Ezio, Dumbledore knew what kind of destruction it could cause if it were ever truly released. It was possible that a new round of turmoil in the wizarding world, no less than the one Voldemort had once unleashed, was about to appear. Dumbledore recalled the phantom he had seen: a river of blood, upon which stood a magnificent spectacle of white bone, with a floating continent of the souls of the dead serving as the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Dumbledore knew the wonders of magic, so he did not doubt that the vision he had seen was a baseless illusion. That bone-chilling death very likely existed in Ezio's heart; it was his innate magic, just like the various talents other wizards possessed.
"I'm so glad to see you're so concerned about my affairs, Professor Dumbledore."
Ezio spoke calmly. He had already sealed his heart again, allowing the absolute calm of an assassin's focus to take control of his mind. If he were to look in the mirror now, the reflection would only be of himself; the Mirror of Erised would become an ordinary mirror.
"Will you help me?"
Dumbledore looked into Ezio's ripple-less eyes and then slowly nodded. "I will."
"Thank you."
Ezio drew his wand. A table flew over from the side, floating quietly in front of the three of them. Then, under the effect of Transfiguration, it transformed into a tall figure wearing a black wizard's robe, its face concealed by a hood.
The figure was about one meter eighty-five tall, perhaps a little taller, with black hair and deep gray eyes. From the rise and fall of the face mask, one could tell he had a handsome nose and high cheekbones. But apart from these features, everything else was hidden beneath the robes.
"He wasn't the only wizard who has been to this place. But the other person's attire was too ancient, not from our era. What I regret is that the other person is also dead, and even his death has been concealed by magic. I don't know where he died."
Ezio was a little disappointed. If he had known where this person had died, he might have been able to find some clues by digging up his grave.
"Twelve moons, Professor Dumbledore. Are you really sure you don't know any clues about it?"
Now that the topic had come to this, Ezio was no longer holding back. He was now extremely eager to know everything.
"I do know, but what I know may not help you find any clues."
Dumbledore nodded. It was for this very reason that he hadn't told Ezio before. Perhaps letting him know would only bring him more confusion and despair.
"It doesn't matter. Please, tell me." Ezio looked into Dumbledore's eyes, staring at him intently.
"It's a... fairy tale. Just like the fairy tale of the Deathly Hallows. But unfortunately, the story of the twelve moons is not included in 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. It is much older. The only ones who know of it are probably those whose ancestors were all wizards. I heard it from my grandmother. It was a bedtime story from a long time ago."
"Legend has it that a powerful witch lived on the moon. She had extraordinary magical power and had lived for thousands of years. People regarded her as the embodiment of the moon, and she was called the Moon Witch. But one day, the moon disappeared. A darkness swallowed the moon, and the Moon Witch was driven from it."
"Having lost her home, the witch was grief-stricken. She desperately wanted to find the moon again, but to do so, she needed to break the darkness. So she began to search for a way all over the world. The wizards were happy to help her because they also wanted to see the moon rise again. So, with the enthusiastic help of many wizards, the Moon Witch came up with a plan."
"She created twelve Moonstones from pure, flawless magic gems. Each gem had powerful magic and contained the blessings of the wizards of the world. After the twelve gems were created, the Moon Witch found that her own magic had been exhausted. But she still wanted to see the moon's return with her own eyes. This was her last wish."
"So she gave the twelve Moonstones to twelve wizards. With their help, the gathered Moonstones unleashed an unprecedented magical power. It drove away the darkness, shattered the darkness that had swallowed the moon, and let the moonlight shine upon the earth once more."
"The Moon Witch died. She was buried on the highest mountain closest to the moon, and the twelve magic gems were taken away by those wizards. But the story had just begun."
"These Moonstones possessed powerful magic, each with a unique power, because the Moon Witch had divided her own magic among the gems."
"Healing & Purification, Life & Destruction, Prophecy & Insight, Concealment & Shadow, Glory & Dominion, Frost & Stagnation, Flame & Fury, Nature & Growth, Illusion & Deception, Storm & Lightning, Dream & Mind, Time & Eternity."
"These were the magical powers of the twelve Moonstones. And when they were gathered together, the one who possessed them would have magical power as strong as the Moon Witch, a power that could even destroy everything in the world, including the darkness that had swallowed the moon."
"The wizards who kept the Moonstones all wanted to possess the power of all twelve. And so, conflict and battle began."
Dumbledore paused his narration and looked at Ezio calmly.
"And then?" Ezio asked. The fairy tale must have been beautiful at the beginning, then it suddenly turned into a battle series. But on second thought, it was normal. How else could you pad the word count to lull a child to sleep?
"And then I fell asleep," Dumbledore said, spreading his hands. "My grandmother told it to lull me to sleep, and she succeeded. Although I heard it several times, I never heard the end. But the ending is probably that the twelve Moonstones disappeared from the world, and the moon no longer had a Moon Witch."
The corner of Ezio's mouth twitched slightly. He really wanted to punch Dumbledore in his old face, grab him by the ears, and shout, "Why did you like to sleep so much back then? Why would a young boy sleep! You can sleep all you want after you're dead, can't you?!"
"Then in the wizarding world, does this thing, the Moonstone, really exist?"
"I don't know," Dumbledore shook his head. "Perhaps it does, perhaps it's just a fairy tale. But that must have been a very long time ago. Now, there isn't even a trace of this fairy tale in the wizarding world. It's a story from too long ago."
"But if your father's death is truly related to the Moonstones, then the possibility of their existence..."
Ezio, who had quickly sorted through his thoughts, interjected. "Is just like the Deathly Hallows. Although they have disappeared from people's sight, they do indeed exist. People are even still searching for them, trying to gather them to obtain the power of Death."
"Escape death, conquer death, reverse death." Ezio's eyes narrowed slightly, which for some reason made Dumbledore feel a sense of dread. He suddenly had a subtle premonition that Ezio seemed to have guessed something. Because the Elder Wand was real, the Invisibility Cloak was real, and the two people who possessed them were both standing in front of Ezio right now.
"But I know that the Deathly Hallows are a lie. There is no Death in the world, so naturally, there is no power of Death." Ezio shook his head. He knew what the Deathly Hallows were and that it was all a lie. There was no power of Death; the Resurrection Stone, which could reverse death, was a conspiracy.
But what if? What if the novel and the real world were different? If the Hallows truly possessed the power of Death, then could the Moonstones also have the power of the Moon Witch?
"The Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak." Ezio looked up. "I will find the Resurrection Stone."
"No one in the world can truly unite the Deathly Hallows," Dumbledore said, shaking his head slightly. His initial acquaintance with Grindelwald was because they both wanted to find and unite the Deathly Hallows. The symbol of the Wizard's Purity Party was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. But even the two of them, despite spending decades, had not been able to find all three of Death's treasures.
"Magic will tell me where it is," Ezio said softly. He couldn't just tell Dumbledore, "Let's go to the Gaunt family's old house right now and get the Resurrection Stone ring!" That would be a stupid move and would ruin all his future plans.
After all, the Resurrection Stone was not something he needed to get his hands on right now. What Ezio wanted to confirm was whether the Deathly Hallows in this real world were different from the story. For the Resurrection Stone, he could only get it his own way. He could ask Dumbledore for related information, but he had to make him think it was all reasonable.
If he could confirm this, then the Moonstones represented by the twelve moons might also have real power, and the probability of wizards pursuing them would be very high. Moreover, the number of twelve gems was much greater than the three Deathly Hallows. The greater the number, the higher the probability of a wizard coming into contact with them and finding them.
"It is always partial to a good child who is both talented and hardworking, isn't it?"
Dumbledore was slightly taken aback, then nodded. He had to admit that Ezio was a talented and hardworking good child. He couldn't bear to see Ezio turn bad, not because he was good, but because the consequences would be too terrifying.
As Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief, Ezio left the classroom, leaving a confused Harry to look at Dumbledore, at a loss.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked cautiously. "Can you let go of my hand? It hurts."
"Ah! I'm sorry, Harry." Only then did Dumbledore realize his lapse in composure. He quickly apologized and rubbed Harry's shoulder. "I was just thinking about some things."
"About Ezio?"
"More about myself. I can never face the Mirror of Erised very well." Dumbledore didn't use the woolly socks as an excuse, because not even a three-year-old would believe that. And he couldn't tell Harry about Ezio's situation.
Harry nodded with some understanding. After all, who didn't have past memories they didn't want to recall? Dumbledore had lived for over a hundred years; he must have his own sorrows. Harry wasn't wrong to think so.
*****
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