"Can you really not remember where you've seen a Deathly Hallow before?" Alaric asked.
"At least one of them should ring a bell."
"You mean… Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak?" Hermione asked, incredulously.
"But as far as I know, many people have Invisibility Cloaks. At least a number of Aurors have their own cloaks."
"Ah, but Harry Potter's cloak is a true Invisibility Cloak, Miss Granger!" Alaric emphasized.
"It's not a cloak that has been enchanted with the Disillusionment Charm, or one made from the hair of an invisibility beast, which can turn visible over time.
We're talking about a cloak that makes the wearer completely, truly invisible, permanently effective and unbreakable by any spell.
How many cloaks like that have you seen, Miss Granger?"
Hermione was rendered speechless.
Indeed, many other Invisibility Cloaks existed, but Harry Potter's cloak was clearly the most effective, able to hide even the outline and traces of the wearer completely.
"So, what about the Elder Wand?" Fleur asked. "Where have we seen it?"
"Oh, the Elder Wand is the easiest Hallow to trace," Alaric said.
"Its method of inheritance is quite unique."
"What's that about?" Fleur asked, intrigued.
"Only by taking the wand from its previous owner can one become its true master," Alaric explained.
"You've probably heard of the stories of the dark wizard Egbert the Evil slaughtering the wizard Emeric the Evil to obtain the wand?
Or how Godric Gryffindor died in his own cellar after his son, Harry, took the wand?
Or of how the fearsome Loxias killed Barnabas Deverill to steal the wand?
The bloody trail of the Elder Wand is all over magical history."
Fleur glanced at Hermione. Hermione frowned but did not argue.
"So, where is the Elder Wand now?" Fleur continued.
"The latest trace shows that the Elder Wand was in the possession of the wandmaker Gregorovitch in Germany, then stolen by Gellert Grindelwald," Alaric said, winking at the two girls.
Gregorovitch was a well-known figure in the wizarding world, residing in Germany and renowned as one of the three great wandmakers in Europe, alongside Britain's Ollivander.
Hermione remembered that during the Triwizard Tournament, Ollivander had mentioned that Viktor Krum's wand was made by Gregorovitch.
But the name Gellert Grindelwald…
"The Dark Lord of the past!" Hermione and Fleur exclaimed simultaneously.
"Grindelwald was the Dark Lord of the past," Fleur quickly added.
"His influence swept across Europe, forcing everyone to submit to his terror.
My grandfather mentioned that Grindelwald almost destroyed Paris."
"So, the person who defeated Grindelwald was—"
Hermione looked at Fleur, and they again answered in unison.
"Albus Dumbledore!"
They were astonished to realize that the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows, had been in Dumbledore's possession.
Fleur was particularly excited because she had grown up hearing the tale of the three brothers.
Now, she discovered that the legend was real, and all three Deathly Hallows were near her.
…
Back at home, Fleur decided to test the Resurrection Stone.
She closed her eyes, holding the stone in her hand and turning it three times as Alaric had instructed.
Soon, she knew she had succeeded because she could hear faint movements and see figures appearing in Alaric's home.
She opened her eyes to see these people before her.
Fleur knew that these were neither ghosts nor real people.
They were more solid than ghosts but still semi-transparent.
They approached Fleur—seeming more ethereal than living people but more tangible than ghosts.
Each person looked at Fleur, their appearances exactly as she remembered, each face bearing a loving smile.
Fleur recognized her grandparents, her ancestors, and people she once knew but who had long passed away…
She extended her hand, feeling the tender words of her long-lost relatives, tears streaming down her face as she gazed at their faces…
After a while, she bit her lip, though reluctant, she made her decision.
She wiped her tears, turned the Resurrection Stone in the opposite direction, and said her farewells to each of her relatives.
Gradually, everyone faded from her sight.
"You were right, the Resurrection Stone does not truly bring people back to life," Fleur said to Alaric.
"They were… indeed my relatives, but they seemed to only carry negative emotions, as if… the positive side of them had disappeared."
"Yes," Alaric nodded.
"The souls summoned by the Resurrection Stone are not complete. Much like ghosts, they have significant flaws, though the Resurrection Stone still has its uses."
"What do you mean?" The two girls were puzzled.
"It means we can use the Resurrection Stone to summon specific souls and obtain information from them that we couldn't get otherwise," Alaric explained.
The girls' understanding dawned.
Indeed, while it's said that only the dead can keep secrets, before the Resurrection Stone, even the dead have no secrets.
All their memories would be open to the stone's possessor.
In fact, this was the true use of the Resurrection Stone.
Those who hoped to resurrect loved ones would ultimately be driven mad by the negative spirits, but for someone like Alaric, who needed the stone to achieve other purposes, it was indeed a useful tool.
Additionally, Alaric had another point he hadn't mentioned: the summoned souls also had other uses.
These souls could have a far greater impact on the real world than ghosts, possessing some ghostly traits but also exhibiting behaviors that could be controlled.
This meant that if controlled, they could accomplish many tasks.
For Alaric, these summoned souls could serve as "true artificial intelligence" and "operating systems."
If he went further, he could imprison these souls in bodies, puppets, or automata, using their intelligence to control these creations, which was much more convenient than creating artificial intelligence through computer languages or directly using magic to control puppets.
In fact, soul magic was a significant feature of the Harry Potter world.
There was magic that allowed the souls of the deceased to continue existing as ghosts, in portraits, or through magical photographs.
The "living spirits" created by the Resurrection Stone were even better materials for Alaric's purposes.
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