"I brought you the cloak."
Harry took off the cloak and gave a shy smile.
Cyrus never would have imagined that just moments after thinking about the three Deathly Hallows, Harry would show up with the final one in hand.
"You're giving me this cloak?"
Cyrus asked, peering through Harry's round glasses. "But why?"
"Back at the Department of Mysteries, Professor Dumbledore told me to bring the cloak and give it to you, saying it might be useful. But before I could get to you, Voldemort fled," Harry explained.
At the time, as soon as Harry returned to Hogwarts, he had rushed to the castle to retrieve the cloak.
Cyrus quickly realized Dumbledore's reasoning: seeing Voldemort possessing two of the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore likely thought that if their side could unite all three, they might have a better chance of repelling Voldemort.
"Although Voldemort escaped in the end, I think you should still have the cloak. It might come in handy next time," Harry said with a slightly embarrassed smile. "You don't need to return it. I just realized I've never given you a Christmas gift before."
He practically shoved the cloak into Cyrus's hands.
The back of the cloak shimmered silver, as though encrusted with diamonds, glimmering brightly. Holding it felt like grasping liquid silver, cool to the touch.
"But you probably don't know the secret of this Invisibility Cloak, Harry," Cyrus said, feeling a twinge of guilt. The gifts he had given Harry in the past were nowhere near as valuable, let alone comparable to a Deathly Hallow.
And to think, back when he had just been revived, Cyrus had even considered stealing the Invisibility Cloak to make his escape!
"This is a priceless treasure!"
"Of course, because it was left to me by my mom and dad!" Harry nodded earnestly, and his response left Cyrus momentarily speechless.
Cyrus had intended to tell Harry that this wasn't just any ordinary cloak but one of the Deathly Hallows, a cloak that even Death itself couldn't defy. However, hearing Harry's response made him realize that these things were never what truly mattered to Harry. What mattered to Harry were the emotions and the meaning behind the gift.
"My mom and dad spent their lives fighting against Voldemort..." Harry walked over and sat beside Cyrus near the edge of the carriage, his head lowered. "Voldemort killed them..."
"Ever since I got my Hogwarts letter, people have been calling me the Boy Who Lived. They say I defeated the invincible Dark Lord. But the truth is, I don't know anything about it, and I'm not his match."
"I'm always relying on others, waiting for someone else to help or save me. That's why I know I'm not the extraordinary one.... But you are!"
At this point, Harry raised his head earnestly, his beautiful eyes looking at Cyrus as though gazing at the radiant sun.
"You've defeated Voldemort three times. You're the one who can truly destroy him!"
"If my parents knew I gave you the cloak, they'd be happy, because I believe you'll bring an end to Voldemort once and for all!" Harry said seriously. "And besides, you've saved my life many times. Sirius supports my decision too."
Sirius truly was a reckless spendthrift.
Cyrus thought to himself, that guy wouldn't care even if he squandered his entire family fortune. Of course, ever since Bellatrix reclaimed her surname, Sirius was no longer the primary heir to the Black family.
Though he was male, he'd been removed from the family tree after all.
"Thank you, Harry." Cyrus took the cloak, folded it neatly, and placed it beside him before speaking again. "But I still need to tell you something about this cloak. It's not just any ordinary cloak; it's one of the Deathly Hallows."
"Deathly Hallows?"
Cyrus then recounted the tale of Death and the three brothers to Harry, also mentioning the current locations of the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone.
"The Elder Wand is currently in Dumbledore's possession, and the Resurrection Stone is with me," Cyrus explained. "But after Voldemort used the power of time to return to the past, he undoubtedly changed much of history. He reclaimed most of his soul fragments, retrieved the Resurrection Stone, defeated Dumbledore at some point in time, and seized the Elder Wand...
"Of course, after I defeated him, the ownership of that wand should have passed to me."
Harry listened, dumbfounded, to the entire story.
He was awestruck by the power of the Elder Wand, but what moved him the most was the legend of the Resurrection Stone.
"Can the Resurrection Stone really bring the dead back to life?"
If it were true, then his parents…
"I know what you're thinking, Harry," Cyrus said, taking out the Resurrection Stone. The stone was shaped like a rhombus and looked like obsidian, with the symbol of Death etched into its center.
He placed the stone in Harry's palm. The chill of the stone made Harry shiver.
"Remember Cadmus from the legend, who tried to resurrect his beloved?" Cyrus reminded him. "The Resurrection Stone can't truly bring back the dead. In fact, Dumbledore and Grindelwald once planned to use this thing to create an army of Inferi."
Harry was stunned to learn about this side of Dumbledore's past, but at that moment, he couldn't focus on it. Instead, he asked urgently, trying to find a way to counter Cyrus's word—
"But Voldemort was resurrected!"
"Was he resurrected? Or was he never truly dead to begin with?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow and said with a smile. "I injured Voldemort, so I can see it clearly. His body now is no longer human. After being struck by Gryffindor's sword, his wounds no longer bleed."
At this point, Cyrus couldn't help but feel he and Voldemort were complete opposites.
Voldemort's current body was created through the Resurrection Stone, like a more powerful and advanced Inferius. Meanwhile, Cyrus's body was formed from the immense vitality of the Philosopher's Stone.
Life and death...
Cyrus pondered deeply, everything seemed like fate mocking him.
"..Right.."
Upon hearing Cyrus's question, Harry felt as if he was encased in solid ice. He lowered his head, a flash of guilt, frustration, and a bit of fear crossed his eyes—yes, Voldemort had never truly died, so how could it be called a resurrection?
He remembered what Voldemort had said in the Department of Mysteries, that he was just a Horcrux, and that Voldemort couldn't be killed because he was still alive!
If that's the case, would it be better for him to just die?
But when it came to death...
Harry had never really thought about it before.
Of course, during many encounters with Voldemort, he had thought he might be killed, but the situation now was completely different from then.
Being killed by someone else, or dying by his own hand, or—he looked up at Cyrus and sighed..
Being killed by someone he trusted...
After all, he is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
________
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