Ivan, lost in his own thoughts and unable to see where he was going, collided with Luna and the little witch stumbled backwards, almost hitting the wall behind her.
When Luna saw the figure in front of her, her frown disappeared and she shouted happily.
"Hi, Ivan!"
Before Ivan could reply, Luna added, as if she had thought of something, "Oh, no, I should call you Professor Hales now!"
"Don't ever call me that in private. You don't want me to call you Miss Novgood all the time, do you?" Yvonne said, shrugging.
The two then looked at each other and laughed.
"Have you been looking for any information, Ivan?" Luna asked curiously as she bent down to pick up the books that were scattered on the floor.
Yvonne took the book from the young witch, thanked her, and began to explain. "Well, it's a legend about Britain."
"Do you remember the story of the three brothers?" Ivan asked after a moment's hesitation.
"Of course I do!" Luna nodded, and dreamily repeated the fable, apparently enjoying it.
"And do you believe the story to be true? About Death and the Hallows?" Ivan asked, sounding slightly confused.
"Why not? We don't have any proof that Death doesn't exist, do we?" Luna asked in singsong tones.
Ivan paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, realizing that he had asked a stupid question. Little witches tended to believe in all kinds of unusual things, and this prophecy was probably no exception.
However, the more she searched for information, the more she was unable to determine if the legend was true.
Ivan's initial impression of the original book was that the Hallows were beneath him, as the other two Hallows, with the exception of the Elder Wand, performed poorly in the book.
However, Grindelwald was able to develop the Cloak of Invisibility, which could not only change shape at will, but also resist and weaken spells.
Even the Resurrection Stone seemed to hide other secrets, more than just conjuring magical illusions.
"By the way, Luna, I seem to remember that your father studied this legend, didn't he?" Yvonne asked, suddenly remembering what she had seen in Luna's memories.
"Well, that's right… ever since my mother left, Dad would go through some information every day, but he didn't seem to want me to know," Luna said, looking up slightly as she tried to remember.
"May I visit Mr. Novgood tomorrow?" Ivan asked hesitantly. According to Luna, Xenophilius had been studying Deathly Hallows for years, and might have learned something useful.
Xenophilius did know something about the Deathly Hallows back in time.
"Of course! Daddy would be so happy to know you're here!" Luna exclaimed, her eyes wide with joy.
Ivan rubbed his nose, surprised at how welcoming Xenophilius was to him.
"I told Dad you found the Crumple-Horned Snorkack for us, and we sold hundreds of copies of that episode, and he's always wanted to thank you," Luna explained with a smile.
"You don't have to. You helped me solve the riddle that Lady Ravenclaw left behind. Isn't it only right for friends to help each other?" Yvonne asked, amused.
"But I'm not the one who has to thank you…" Luna said seriously, blinking.
Yvonne was stunned into silence for a moment, then changed the subject and agreed to meet the witch at Hogwarts Tower the next morning.
… .
Half a day passed in the blink of an eye. Early the next morning, Ivan woke up in his bed in the staffroom. After washing up, he went to the top of the tower to meet Luna.
As it was the Christmas holidays, Hogwarts Castle was quite empty, and most of the students had packed their bags and gone home on the Hogwarts Express.
Ivan did not stay at the castle, and when they arrived at the meeting place, he used Apparition to take Luna with him to Nofgood's mansion.
There was a spatial shift, and when the white flames disappeared, the two of them were standing on a barren mountain in northern Britain.
A short distance in front of them stood a strange-looking house, which resembled a giant black cylinder covered in branches and vines.
Although Yvonne had seen it in Luna's memory, she had to admit that Luna's father had unique tastes.
He had also heard from the enforcers at the Wizarding Market that Xenophilius had made the rented house in Knockturn Alley look very strange, and had complained about not being able to find any Plimpies or Hornbugs in the vicinity of Knockturn Alley.
With that in mind, Yvonne and Luna stepped into the courtyard. The winding path was lined with strange plants, and two old, wind-bent begonias stood guard on either side of the front door. Their leaves had fallen off, but they were still full of small red berries and large, white-beaded mistletoe crowns.
Luna was very interested in introducing Ivan to a bunch of dirigible plums she had personally planted. She even used magic to string one up and replace it with an earring.
"It's nice," Yvonne said, amused by the sight of the witch attaching a pinky-sized orange fruit to her ear.
"Really?" Luna seemed very pleased, as she picked another plum and replaced the other earring, then she hummed to herself as she pulled Ivan into the house.
"Luna, is that you?" a booming voice asked as soon as they stepped inside.
Yvonne turned to look and saw a middle-aged wizard in his forties coming down the stairs.
Xenophilius had hair as white and fluffy as marshmallows, and his flaxen robes were stained with dirt, but Ivan's attention was drawn to the golden chain around his opponent's neck, which was glittering with a strange symbol that Ivan recognised as the symbol of the Deathly Hallows.