BREATHE -draco malfoy

thirty three.

"As for the third brother, Death searched for many years but was never able to find him. Only when he had attained a great age did he 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 finished reading the Tale of Three Brothers, looking around the room expectantly. They were sitting in the home of Luna Lovegood, drinking tea with her father, Xenophilius, who had explained to them what the symbol was. But they all were looking at Hermione in confusion, as they didn't completely understand how the story connected with the symbol. Ana sipped at her tea, or at least tried to, as the tea was too strong and awfully bitter. Tea was Ana's favorite beverage, but she could hardly stomach this stuff, so she set her cup down and tried not to grimace, as she did not want to offend Mr. Lovegood.

"Well there you have it. Those are the Deathly Hallows," Xenophilius said as he stared out the window into his front yard. He was a strange man, extremely tall with shoulder-length white hair and a thick accent. He wore a flowy cardigan over his button down shirt and seemed strangely on edge. But, since Ana had never talked to the man before, she figured this was just a part of his personality. 

"I'm sorry sir, but I won't think we really understand," Ana said cautiously, eyeing Mr. Lovegood as he turned to face them. 

"What's that got to do with the symbol?" asked Ron in confusion. 

Lovegood took out a quill and parchment, searching for it through the clutter of his home. He placed the parchment on the coffee table and started to draw the symbol, starting with a straight line down the page. 

"The Elder Wand," Mr. Lovegood explained dramatically before drawing a circle at the bottom of the line. "The Resurrection Stone," he drew a big triangle around the picture, "The Cloak of Invisibility. Together they make the Deathly Hallows. Together, they make one master of Death." 

Xenophilius Lovegood's attention wavered abruptly then and he stared down at the tea kettle, opening the lid and peering in. He looked at the four of them with kindness, but soon faltered, looking a bit distraught. His tone and mannerisms reminded Ana so much of Luna, especially the way he was gazing off into the distance, as if in a trance. Ana's heart was racing with anticipation, now that they knew what the symbol was. She and her friends still didn't understand the significance of the mark, but at least now they had gotten the whole story and knew what it was. It made Ana excited and impatient and she felt the urge to reach into Hermione's bag and start reading every book she owned, even though Ana had already read most of them from cover to cover. The answers they were looking for were just across the horizon and Ana felt eager to reach them.

"We should be going," Hermione said to Mr. Lovegood, her tone gentle and calm. But he did not answer with the same calmness, slamming the tea kettle down and screaming at them with his back turned. 

"Sir?" Harry said in surprise. Ana's eyes widened. She knew that this man was odd, but this seemed extremely odd. She stared at him with open alertness.

"They were angry, you see, about what I'd been writing. So they took her. They took my Luna," Xenophilius said, tears in his eyes as he turned to face the four teenagers. 

"They took Luna?" Ana gasped, still looking at the man as if he had gone mad. She was taken aback by his sputtering, the way he was breathing heavily in Harry's face.

"Who took her, Sir?" Harry asked calmly. Mr. Lovegood's face went even more pale and he stared down at Harry, his expression transforming into calm again. 

"Voldemort."

Ana flinched hard when he uttered the name and she heard Ron call out in protest at the word. Within moments, they heard a roar outside, saw black, curling shadows in the air. Death Eaters were here, and they weren't coming for the tea.