the_debt_of_time

history," Hermione said, repeating the words as though she were reading them directly
from a book.
"Are you familiar with children's stories, Miss Granger?"
Hermione scoffed at the memory of the book that man in front of her bequeathed
to her in his will. "Beedle the Bard?"
"One of my favourites." Dumbledore beamed excitedly. "Yes, the Bard took stories
from actual events and wrote them in a way to tell a story, to entertain the masses, and to
teach a lesson. What is your favourite tale, Miss Granger?"
"The Three Brothers," she said, biting back the sarcasm that she felt was due in her
answer.
"I am a fan as well." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and Hermione struggled not to
turn her gaze to the Elder Wand on his desk. "And do you believe that Death, who handed
over the Elder Wand, the Cloak of Invisibility, and the Resurrection Stone, was an actual
being?"
"No, sir. Even if the brothers and their objects truly existed, which I highly doubt,"
she asserted with a silent chuckle, "death is not a person."
"So the tale has been passed down as instruction then. What lesson perhaps would
children learn from such a tale?" he asked her.
"Not to treat death lightly," Hermione answered. "The brother who took the Elder
Wand thought he could thrust death upon others by force, but in the end, there is always
someone stronger than you. The brother who took the Resurrection Stone thought he
could steal from death, but you cannot control who lives and who dies. The final brother
thought to evade death by hiding, but death comes to us all in the end."
"What lesson, do you think, children and adults alike would learn from Eloise
Mintumble's story?"
Hermione stared at the man as she pieced his words together. Then her eyes
narrowed and her temper flared. "Are you saying that she didn't destroy twenty-five people?
That the Ministry of Magic made it all up in order to avoid having people foolishly use
magic to alter time?"
Dumbledore grinned. "That would be a very cunning story to create."
"Yeah, the author was probably in Slytherin," she muttered bitterly.
"Do you have the Time-Turner, Miss Granger?"