((In this little one-shot, Harry reads "The Tale of the Three Brothers" to his kids. I'm not saying anything more.))
Harry pulled a battered old book from its shelf in thed library. It was small, and its margins were covered in Hermione's neat handwriting. He held the book in one hand, its cracking spine resting in his palm, and allowed it to fall open. The book fell open to the one story he knew was true. It was time for the kids to know, too.
From a drawer in his desk, Harry pulled out the old Invisibility Cloak. It had once belonged to his father, James Potter, otherwise known as Prongs.
***
James Sirius, the oldest of Harry's three children, flopped onto the bed. At the mature age of seven, he pronounced himself "too old for kid stories."
Albus Severus, the middle child at age five, loved hearing about his parents' childhoods. Funnily enough, in the young wizard's mind, his dad never mentioned anything that happened to him before the age of ten. It was almost like Harry Potter really started to exist then, which was very nearly true.
Lily Luna, three years old and the only girl, was Daddy's girl through and through. She also loved hearing fairy tales, especially the Muggle ones.
And so, here Harry was, book in hand, and Cloak draped over his arm, breathing deeply. Anyone who didn't know him would say he looked nervous. Those that did know him knew that that was an understatement. Harry Potter wasn't nervous, he was downright terrified.
***
He put the Cloak over the kids' shoulders, turning their backs invisible. James pulled the fabric up over his head, then made spooky ghost noises at Albus and Lily, who kicked him out of the Cloak.
"Today I'm going to read you a story that's a little different," Harry said, ending the silent argument. "It's a lot different from the Muggle stories I've read before, but it's a story you need to hear." He opened the book to the correct page. The symbol over the title stared out at him, like a triangular eye.
***
"'The Tale of the Three Brothers,'" he read. "There were once three brothers traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight."
"Wouldn't it be scarier at midnight?" James interjected. "I mean, all those Muggle stories were pretty scary. Imagine having to wear rags and clean the house for relatives that don't even like you!" Harry allowed himself a small smile. That facet of his life did bear resemblances to the Muggle fairy tale.
"In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wae through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure."
"Who was it?" Albus asked.
"The story'll say so, won't it Daddy?" Lily said in her sweet little voice.
"Let's keep reading and find out," Harry said, mussing his youngest son's hair. "And Death spoke to them."
"Death? Who's he?" James just couldn't resist the interruption. Harry just sighed, then continued where he left off.
"And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.
"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother."
"I wish I had that wand," James announced to his siblings.
"No you don't. That wand is more trouble than its worth, trust me," Harry said before he could stop himself. In an attempt to rectify his mistake before it got any worse, he kept on going with the story. "Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked upa stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.
"And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngestbrother wad the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death.
And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.
"Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts."
"Just like that? He let them go?" Albus asked.
"Just like that. BUT, this will come back to haunt them," Harry answered. He kept reading. "In due course, the brothers separated, each for his own destination.
"The first brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, sought out afellow wizard with whom he had a quaarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made himinvincible.
"That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand, and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.
"And so Death took the first brother for his own."
"This isn't a very nice story, Daddy," Lily said, her face buried in the Cloak.
"I know it isn't. But it's very important to me that you hear it. Just bearr with me, OK?"
"OK."
Harry resumed the story. His voice didn't quaver in the least. His children listened with wide eyes to the old tale, the bit of family lore. "Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the deaad, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.
"Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not trulybelong there and suffered. Finally the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as to truly join her.
"And so Death took the second brother for his own.
"But though Death searchedfor the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life." Harry finished reading and closed the book.
"Why'd you read us that?" the kids chorused.
"Well," Harry began, "you know that my Invisibility Cloak once belonged to my father. In fact, the Cloak has been handed down, father to son, for centuries. The brothers in the story were Antioch, the oldest, Cadmus in the middle, and Ignotus, the youngest. Ignotus was my ancestor, and yours. This Cloak is one of that original trio. I hope that, when the time comes for the Cloak to go to the next generation, you will 'use it well.' Can you promise me that?"
All three of them did.
Harry pulled a battered old book from its shelf in thed library. It was small, and its margins were covered in Hermione's neat handwriting. He held the book in one hand, its cracking spine resting in his palm, and allowed it to fall open. The book fell open to the one story he knew was true. It was time for the kids to know, too.
From a drawer in his desk, Harry pulled out the old Invisibility Cloak. It had once belonged to his father, James Potter, otherwise known as Prongs.
***
James Sirius, the oldest of Harry's three children, flopped onto the bed. At the mature age of seven, he pronounced himself "too old for kid stories."
Albus Severus, the middle child at age five, loved hearing about his parents' childhoods. Funnily enough, in the young wizard's mind, his dad never mentioned anything that happened to him before the age of ten. It was almost like Harry Potter really started to exist then, which was very nearly true.
Lily Luna, three years old and the only girl, was Daddy's girl through and through. She also loved hearing fairy tales, especially the Muggle ones.
And so, here Harry was, book in hand, and Cloak draped over his arm, breathing deeply. Anyone who didn't know him would say he looked nervous. Those that did know him knew that that was an understatement. Harry Potter wasn't nervous, he was downright terrified.
***
He put the Cloak over the kids' shoulders, turning their backs invisible. James pulled the fabric up over his head, then made spooky ghost noises at Albus and Lily, who kicked him out of the Cloak.
"Today I'm going to read you a story that's a little different," Harry said, ending the silent argument. "It's a lot different from the Muggle stories I've read before, but it's a story you need to hear." He opened the book to the correct page. The symbol over the title stared out at him, like a triangular eye.
***
"'The Tale of the Three Brothers,'" he read. "There were once three brothers traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight."
"Wouldn't it be scarier at midnight?" James interjected. "I mean, all those Muggle stories were pretty scary. Imagine having to wear rags and clean the house for relatives that don't even like you!" Harry allowed himself a small smile. That facet of his life did bear resemblances to the Muggle fairy tale.
"In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wae through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure."
"Who was it?" Albus asked.
"The story'll say so, won't it Daddy?" Lily said in her sweet little voice.
"Let's keep reading and find out," Harry said, mussing his youngest son's hair. "And Death spoke to them."
"Death? Who's he?" James just couldn't resist the interruption. Harry just sighed, then continued where he left off.
"And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him.
"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother."
"I wish I had that wand," James announced to his siblings.
"No you don't. That wand is more trouble than its worth, trust me," Harry said before he could stop himself. In an attempt to rectify his mistake before it got any worse, he kept on going with the story. "Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked upa stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.
"And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngestbrother wad the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death.
And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.
"Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts."
"Just like that? He let them go?" Albus asked.
"Just like that. BUT, this will come back to haunt them," Harry answered. He kept reading. "In due course, the brothers separated, each for his own destination.
"The first brother traveled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, sought out afellow wizard with whom he had a quaarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made himinvincible.
"That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand, and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.
"And so Death took the first brother for his own."
"This isn't a very nice story, Daddy," Lily said, her face buried in the Cloak.
"I know it isn't. But it's very important to me that you hear it. Just bearr with me, OK?"
"OK."
Harry resumed the story. His voice didn't quaver in the least. His children listened with wide eyes to the old tale, the bit of family lore. "Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the deaad, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him.
"Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not trulybelong there and suffered. Finally the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as to truly join her.
"And so Death took the second brother for his own.
"But though Death searchedfor the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life." Harry finished reading and closed the book.
"Why'd you read us that?" the kids chorused.
"Well," Harry began, "you know that my Invisibility Cloak once belonged to my father. In fact, the Cloak has been handed down, father to son, for centuries. The brothers in the story were Antioch, the oldest, Cadmus in the middle, and Ignotus, the youngest. Ignotus was my ancestor, and yours. This Cloak is one of that original trio. I hope that, when the time comes for the Cloak to go to the next generation, you will 'use it well.' Can you promise me that?"
All three of them did.
