To be honest, if he did not have to teach students, Tver felt he could easily become addicted to the comfortable life at Hogwarts.
Just like now. Karkaroff and Sirius were in charge of classes, and all he had to do was occasionally appear in the classroom and use the Elder Wand to show off a few spells that were not only far beyond the syllabus, but possibly illegal. That alone was enough to send the students' admiration for him soaring back to its previous level.
And most of his time was spent studying the Deathly Hallows.
"This is the Cloak of Invisibility?" Marvolio held up the Cloak of Invisibility that Harry had temporarily lent to Tver, looking rather disdainful.
Even Grindelwald, who was drinking tea beside him, showed a look of agreement.
They had already studied it during this period. It was indeed a magical Cloak of Invisibility with a lasting effect, but that was all it was. A Cloak of Invisibility.
For the three of them, Tver, Grindelwald, and Marvolio, achieving invisibility was easy even without a wand.
More importantly...
"This Cloak of Invisibility doesn't even hide one's aura. How could it possibly evade Death's pursuit?" Marvolio asked in confusion.
"That's only a legend. We're not even certain whether Death actually exists," Tver said, shaking his head.
More and more evidence suggested that the so-called Death was merely a rule of this world. Of course, until they had the ability to verify it, this was only the most likely guess.
But regardless, the three Hallows that were said to allow one to evade death were now right in front of him, and Tver still could not understand how these things had come to be called the Deathly Hallows.
If one really had to say which of them had anything to do with death, it would instead be the seemingly most useless Resurrection Stone.
"The so-called conquest of death was probably just a powerful symbolic title ancient alchemists gave to the three strongest alchemical creations of their era..."
Grindelwald withdrew his gaze, faintly disappointed.
Back then, he and Dumbledore had also studied the Deathly Hallows, and had even tried to pursue them.
But after obtaining the Elder Wand, he had realized very clearly that the Elder Wand was simply a powerful wand. It had nothing to do with death.
Of course, that was then. Now, after hearing that Tver had gathered all three Hallows, he had initially been quite interested.
But as their research continued, that interest turned into disappointment.
Their conclusion from back then had indeed been correct.
"But I still think something feels strange..."
Tver unwillingly ran his fingers over the badge in his hand.
After gathering the founders' magic, this badge seemed to have returned to its original dormant state.
Aside from the gentle, soothing power it constantly gave off, Tver could no longer sense the abundant vitality from before.
Surely he had not absorbed all of it?
"Then think about it from the angle of opposing the rules," Marvolio said casually.
"Opposing the rules?"
"Exactly." He pointed at the three Hallows on the table. "Since Death has become a rule of this world, these three things are opposing that rule."
"The Elder Wand lets people overcome the rule of death. The Resurrection Stone breaks the rules of the dead. The Cloak of Invisibility bypasses the law of death."
"Judging by these three effects, they basically place death under one's control from every angle. Naturally, that makes their owner the Master of Death!"
The more he spoke, the more excited Marvolio became, almost thrilling himself with his own "brilliant" idea. But a cold snort from Grindelwald instantly sobered him.
"Hmph. How does one defeat an intangible concept like death? If there really were a target to attack, the Elder Wand's little boost in power would hardly matter. I would have struck it a few times myself long ago."
To put it plainly, if he had not been unable to reverse Ariana's death back then, he and Dumbledore would never have fallen out.
If the rules of death could truly be broken, then with him and Dumbledore working together, who would need the Deathly Hallows?
Marvolio was still somewhat intimidated by Grindelwald. After all, this was the famous first-generation Dark Lord, and also the teacher of his nominal superior.
"Then what are we supposed to do? We can't just watch Tver obediently wait for death, can we?" he said, sounding rather wronged.
He had clearly been dragged over here, and now that he had finally thought of something useful, he was still being dismissed like this.
Tver, however, looked thoughtfully at the three Hallows on the table.
"Marvolio's idea may not be entirely wrong. The three Hallows might be techniques ancient wizards used to overcome death. Or rather, their experience..."
"And the most important thing is how to find the moment when one faces death directly..."
"How are you supposed to face death once you're already dead?" Grindelwald snapped.
Tver shrugged helplessly.
"That, I don't know."
It was not as though he had no such experience at all. In fact, one could say he was very experienced with death.
Whether it was his previous life, the moment the original owner died, or even inside the Death Chamber at the Ministry of Magic, Tver had truly felt the presence of death.
Actually dying once was impossible, so perhaps he would have to find Cynthia and make another trip to the Ministry of Magic?
The moment this thought appeared, there was a knock on the door of the house in Hogsmeade.
"Tver, it's me, Joanne Rowling!"
There was a hint of mischief in Joanne's voice, as though she had prepared some kind of prank for Tver.
Logically speaking, after completing the first Harry Potter book, she should have already left Hogsmeade and begun her global signing tour. Why had she come back here?
Curious, Tver did not even go over to open the door. With a casual flick of his hand, the door opened at once.
"Wow, long time no see, Tver!"
Joanne was still holding her hand up to knock. When she saw Tver still standing in the living room, her eyes immediately lit up.
After Tver's reminder, Joanne had later obtained the genuine Beautification Potion, as well as the weight-loss potion kindly provided by Madam Primpernelle.
Under these combined effects, Joanne had not only quickly returned to her former state, but her radiant complexion made it almost impossible to tell she was a single mother.
It was said that Bulstrode had even blocked so many eager admirers for her that rumors had begun spreading about some improper relationship between the two of them.
But thinking about it, a cold, handsome assistant and a mature, intellectual, famous female author did sound rather compelling...
Still, Tver's attention was more focused on Cynthia behind Joanne, and the large sacks at her feet.
"Those sacks are stuffed full. What's inside?"
"Heh." Joanne immediately gave a cold laugh, though it did nothing to hide the excitement in her eyes. "Thanks to your overwhelming publicity campaign, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has become the best-selling novel in multiple countries over the past two months!"
"And these..."
She kicked one of the sacks. It toppled over, and the overstuffed tie burst open under the strain. Letters came spilling out with a rustle.
"They're all letters from our enthusiastic readers!"