Their plans were made, their preparations complete, in the smallest bedroom a single long, coarse black hair plucked from the sweater Hermione had been wearing at Malfoy Manor lay curled in a small glass phial on the mantelpiece.
"And you'll be using her actual wand." said Harry, nodding toward the walnut wand. "So I reckon you'll be pretty convincing."
Hermione looked frightened that the wand might sting or bite her as she picked it up.
"I hate this thing." she said in a low voice. "I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn't work properly for me...It's like a bit of her."
Harry could not help but remember how Hermione had dismissed his loathing of the blackthorn wand, insisting that he was imagining things when it did not work as well as his own, telling him to simply practice. He chose not to repeat her own advice back to her, however, the eve of their attempted assault on Gringotts felt like the wrong moment to antagonize her.
"It'll probably help you get in character, though." said Ron. "Think what that wand's done!"
"But that's my point!" said Hermione. "This is the wand that tortured Neville's mum and dad, It tortured Y/n... and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius!"
Harry looked as if he wanted to snap it, to slice it in half with Gryffindor's sword, which was propped against the wall beside him now.
"Hermione, I understand why you do not want to hold or use such a wand, but we do not have any other choice." Y/n told her. "This could be our only chance to get the Horcrux that sits in the vault if we are correct in our assumptions. If we fail or get caught out then everything we have worked hard for will fall apart. You know who will find out what we are up to and protect the Horcruxes making it virtually impossible to get to them from then on. We must succeed."
"I miss my wand." Hermione said miserably. "I wish Mr. Ollivander could have made me another one too."
Mr. Ollivander had sent Luna a new wand that morning. She was out on the back lawn at that moment, testing its capabilities in the late afternoon sun. Dean, who had lost his wand to the Snatchers, was watching rather gloomily.
Remembering what Ollivander had told them of the secret workings of wands, Y/n knew what Hermione's problem with the wand was. She had not won the walnut wand's allegiance by taking it personally from Bellatrix.
The door of the bedroom opened and Griphook entered. Harry reached instinctively for the hilt of the sword and drew it close to him, but regretted his action at once. He could tell that the goblin had noticed. Seeking to gloss over the sticky moment, he said. "We've just been checking the last-minute stuff, Griphook. We've told Bill and Fleur we're leaving tomorrow, and we've told them not to get up to see us off."
They had been firm on this point, because Hermione would need to transform into Bellatrix before they left, and the less that Bill and Fleur knew or suspected about what they were about to do, the better. They had also explained that they would not be returning. As they had lost Perkins's old tent on the night that the Snatchers caught them, Bill had lent them another one. It was now packed inside the beaded bag, which, Y/n was impressed to learn, Hermione had protected from the Snatchers by the simple expedient of stuffing it down her sock.
Though he would miss Bill, Fleur, Luna, and Dean, not to mention the home comforts they had enjoyed over the last few weeks, Harry was looking forward to escaping the confinement of Shell Cottage. He was tired of trying to make sure that they were not overheard, tired of being shut in the tiny, dark bedroom. Most of all, he longed to be rid of Griphook. However, precisely how and when they were to part from the goblin without handing over Gryffindor's sword remained a question to which Harry had no answer. It had been impossible to decide how they were going to do it, because the goblin rarely left Harry, Ron, Y/n and Hermione alone together for more than five minutes at a time. "He could give my mother lessons." growled Ron, as the goblin's long fingers kept appearing around the edges of doors. With Bill's warning in mind, Harry could not help suspecting that Griphook was on the watch for possible skulduggery. Hermione disapproved so heartily of the planned double-cross that Harry had given up attempting to pick her brains on how best to do it, Y/n was rarely out of Hermione's company these days so it was impossible to ask him without Hermione hearing. Ron, on the rare occasions that they had been able to snatch a few Griphook-free moments, had come up with nothing better than "We'll just have to wing it, mate."
Y/n slept badly that night. He and Hermione lay together in the bed they shared as darkness had long engulfed the room. His mind went over the plan they had all agreed upon and though it seemed solid and good there was still much that could go wrong. But it was too late to change it now, they had used enough time planning, they would have to trust in their abilities.
It was a relief when six o'clock arrived and they could slip out of their bed.
"You had better take the Polyjuice potion before we dress in the clothes you took from Grimmauld place." Y/n whispered to Hermione.
Hermione just nodded but Y/n caught it. She was nervous.
"Hermione." He called her name. "I would not have agreed to this plan if I did not have faith in you. I know you can do this."
"But what if we make a mistake Y/n..." Hermione began to whisper. She was voicing all his own concerns, but Y/n knew that it would not help for him to agree with her right now.
"We will not. We have planned in great detail for this. I also have a backup measure I will use if needs be." Y/n confided to her.
"I just want this to be over already." Hermione said now.
Y/n moved to hold her from behind. "As do I Hermione. But after today we will be one step closer to the end. That is what we have to tell ourselves."
Hermione just nodded now and they separated. Hermione then took out her beaded bag procuring from it the Polyuice potion with Bellatrix's hair mixed in last night and two sets of robes. She handed one to Y/n who began to use the cover of semidarkness to strip down and change.
When he was done he could hear Hermione forcing down the polyjuice potion trying hard not to gag.
"Are you alright?" He whispered.
"She tastes foul..." Came the reply but it did not sound like Hermione. She now sounded like Bellatrix.
"I did not imagine she would taste nice to begin with... I will leave you to change while I fetch Griphook." Y/n said and he left the room to knock lightly upon the door of the room the Goblin was staying.
It's door swung open Griphook was already ready. Not a word was said between them as made their way downstairs and soon Hermione joined them looking very much like Bellatrix Lestrange.
She was almost as tall as he was, her long black hair rippling down her back, her heavily lidded eyes looking disdainful.
"They'll be waiting outside." Hermione said quietly.
The three crept out into the garden, where they saw Harry and Ron were indeed waiting for them. The dawn was chilly, but there was little wind now that it was May. Y/n looked up at the stars still glimmering palely in the dark sky and listened to the sea washing backward and forward against the cliff, He was going to miss the sound.
Small green shoots were forcing their way up through the red earth of Dobby's grave now, in a year's time the mound would be covered in flowers. The white stone that bore the elf's name had already acquired a weathered look. He realized now that they could hardly have laid Dobby to rest in a more beautiful place, but Y/n ached with sadness to think of leaving him behind.
As they walked towards the two Hermione was tucking the small, beaded bag into the inside pocket of the old robes she was now wearing from Grimmauld Place.
"She tasted disgusting, worse than Gurdyroots!" Hermione said to the other two.
"Ron, come here so I can transfigure you..." Y/n said taking out his wand.
"Right, but remember, I don't like the beard too long..." Ron started.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, this isn't about looking good..." Hermione said annoyed.
"It's not that, it gets in the way! But I'd liked my nose a bit shorter..."
Y/n shook his head and set to work as he transformed various aspects of Ron's appearance. Then he raised his wand to cast a disillusionment charm upon himself. Ron was to be given a completely fake identity, and they were trusting to the malevolent aura cast by Bellatrix to protect him. Meanwhile Harry and Griphook were to be concealed under the Invisibility Cloak
"How is that?" Y/n asked.
"I can only see your wand." Hermione commented showing that his spell had worked.
"I will keep it up my robe sleeve so I can use it without being seen if need be." Y/n said back.
Harry meanwhile was looking over the transfigured Ron, if he hadn't know Ron so well he would never have been able to guess it was him with the job Y/n had done on him. Ron's hair was now brown, long and wavy, he had a thick brown beard and mustache, no freckles, a short, broad nose, and heavy eyebrows.
"Well, he's not my type, but he'll do." joked Harry. "Shall we go, then?"
All four of them glanced back at Shell Cottage, lying dark and silent under the fading stars, then turned and began to walk toward the point, just beyond the boundary wall, where the Fidelius Charm stopped working and they would be able to Disapparate. Once past the gate, Griphook spoke.
"I should climb up now, Harry Potter, I think?"
Harry bent down and the goblin clambered onto his back, his hands linked in front of Harry's throat. He was not heavy, but Harry disliked the feeling of the goblin and the surprising strength with which he clung on. Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of the beaded bag and threw it over them both.
"Perfect." she said, bending down to check Harry's feet. "I can't see a thing. Let's go."
Y/n turned on the spot, concentrating only on the Leaky Cauldron, the inn that was the entrance to Diagon Alley. He felt the compressing darkness, and seconds later Y/n's feet found pavement and he opened his eyes on Charing Cross Road. Muggles bustled past wearing the hangdog expressions of early morning, quite unconscious of the little inn's existence.
The bar of the Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. Tom, the stooped and toothless landlord, was polishing glasses behind the bar counter, a couple of warlocks having a muttered conversation in the far corner glanced at Hermione and drew back into the shadows.
"Madam Lestrange." murmured Tom, and as Hermione passed he inclined his head subserviently.
"Good morning." said Hermione, Y/n saw Tom look surprised.
"Too polite." Y/n whispered in Hermione's ear as they passed out of the inn into the tiny backyard. "I am sorry but you need to treat people harsher. Like Bellatrix does."
"Okay, okay!" Hermione drew out Bellatrix's wand and tapped a brick in the nondescript wall in front of them. At once the bricks began to whirl and spin. A hole appeared in the middle of them, which grew wider and wider, finally forming an archway onto the narrow cobbled street that was Diagon Alley.
It was quiet, barely time for the shops to open, and there were hardly any shoppers abroad. The crooked, cobbled street was much altered now from the bustling place Y/n had visited before his first term at Hogwarts so many years before. More shops than ever were boarded up, though several new establishments dedicated to the Dark Arts had been created since his last visit. Y/n and Harry's own faces glared down at them from posters plastered over many windows, always captioned with the words UNDESIRABLES NUMBER ONE AND TWO.
A number of ragged people sat huddled in doorways. He heard them moaning to the few passersby, pleading for gold, insisting that they were really wizards. One man had a bloody bandage over his eye.
As they set off along the street, the beggars glimpsed Hermione. They seemed to melt away before her, drawing hoods over their faces and fleeing as fast as they could. Hermione looked after them curiously, until the man with the bloodied bandage came staggering right across her path.
"My children!" he bellowed, pointing at her. His voice was cracked, high-pitched, he sounded distraught. "Where are my children? What has he done with them? You know, you know!"
"I...I really..." stammered Hermione.
The man lunged at her, reaching for her throat. Then, with a bang and a burst of red light he was thrown backward onto the ground, unconscious. Ron stood there, his wand still outstretched and a look of shock visible behind his beard. Faces appeared at the windows on either side of the street, while a little knot of prosperous-looking passersby gathered their robes about them and broke into gentle trots, keen to vacate the scene.
Their entrance into Diagon Alley could hardly have been more conspicuous, for a moment Harry wondered whether it might not be better to leave now and try to think of a different plan. Before they could move or consult one another, however, they heard a cry from behind them.
"Why, Madam Lestrange!"
Y/n turned his head, A tall, thin wizard with a crown of bushy gray hair and a long, sharp nose was striding toward them.
"It's Travers." He heard the goblin hiss to Harry's, but at that moment Y/n could not think who Travers was. Hermione had drawn herself up to her fullest height and said with as much contempt as she could muster.
"And what do you want?"
Travers stopped in his tracks, clearly affronted.
"He's another Death Eater!" breathed Griphook so that only Harry could hear, and Harry sidled sideways to repeat the information into Hermione's ear.
"I merely sought to greet you." said Travers coolly. "But if my presence is not welcome..."
Y/n recognized his voice now. Travers was one of the Death Eaters who had been summoned to Xenophilius's house.
"No, no, not at all, Travers." said Hermione quickly, trying to cover up her mistake. "How are you?"
"Well, I confess I am surprised to see you out and about, Bellatrix."
"Really? Why?" asked Hermione.
"Well." Travers coughed, "I heard that the inhabitants of Malfoy Manor were confined to the house, after the...ah...escape."
Harry willed Hermione to keep her head. If this was true, and Bellatrix was not supposed to be out in public...
"The Dark Lord forgives those who have served him most faithfully in the past." said Hermione in a magnificent imitation of Bellatrix's most contemptuous manner. "Perhaps your credit is not as good with him as mine is, Travers."
Though the Death Eater looked offended, he also seemed less suspicious. He glanced down at the man Ron had just Stunned.
"How did it offend you?"
"It does not matter, it will not do so again." said Hermione coolly.
"Some of these wandless can be troublesome." said Travers. "While they do nothing but beg I have no objection, but one of them actually asked me to plead her case at the Ministry last week. 'I'm a witch, sir, I'm a witch, let me prove it to you!'" he said in a squeaky impersonation. "As if I was going to give her my wand... but whose wand," said Travers curiously, "are you using at the moment, Bellatrix? I heard that your own was..."
"I have my wand here." said Hermione coldly, holding up Bellatrix's wand. "I don't know what rumors you have been listening to, Travers, but you seem sadly misinformed."
Travers seemed a little taken aback at that, and he turned instead to Ron.
"Who is your friend? I do not recognize him."
"This is Dragomir Despard." said Hermione, they had decided that a fictional foreigner was the safest cover for Ron to assume. "He speaks very little English, but he is in sympathy with the Dark Lord's aims. He has traveled here from Transylvania to see our new regime."
"Indeed? How do you do, Dragomir?"
"'Ow you?" said Ron, holding out his hand.
Travers extended two fingers and shook Ron's hand as though frightened of dirtying himself.
"So what brings you and your...ah...sympathetic friend to Diagon Alley this early?" asked Travers.
"I need to visit Gringotts." said Hermione.
"Alas, I also." said Travers. "Gold, filthy gold! We cannot live without it, yet I confess I deplore the necessity of consorting with our long-fingered friends."
Harry felt Griphook's clasped hands tighten momentarily around his neck.
"Shall we?" said Travers, gesturing Hermione forward.
Hermione had no choice but to fall into step beside him and head along the crooked, cobbled street toward the place where the snowy-white Gringotts stood towering over the other little shops. Ron sloped along beside them, while Y/n, Harry and Griphook followed.
A watchful Death Eater was the very last thing they needed, and the worst of it was, with Travers marching at what he believed to be Bellatrix's side, there was no means for Y/n or Harry to communicate with Hermione or Ron. All too soon they arrived at the foot of the marble steps leading up to the great bronze doors. As Griphook had already warned them, the liveried goblins who usually flanked the entrance had been replaced by two wizards, both of whom were clutching long thin golden rods.
"Ah, Probity Probes." sighed Travers theatrically. "So crude...but effective!"
And he set off up the steps, nodding left and right to the wizards, who raised the golden rods and passed them up and down his body. The Probes, Y/n knew, detected spells of concealment and hidden magical objects. Knowing that they had only seconds, Y/n and Harry pointed a wand at the guards in turn and murmured. "Confundo." Unnoticed by Travers, who was looking through the bronze doors at the inner hall, each of the guards gave a little start as the spells hit them.
Hermione's long black hair rippled behind her as she climbed the steps.
"One moment, madam." said the guard, raising his Probe.
"But you've just done that!" said Hermione in Bellatrix's commanding, arrogant voice. Travers looked around, eyebrows raised. The guard was confused. He stared down at the thin golden Probe and then at his companion, who said in a slightly dazed voice,
"Yeah, you've just checked them, Marius."
Hermione swept forward, Ron by her side, Y/n, Harry and Griphook trotting invisibly behind them. Y/n glanced back as they crossed the threshold. The wizards were both scratching their heads.
Two goblins stood before the inner doors, which were made of silver and which carried the poem warning of dire retribution to potential thieves. Harry looked up at it, and all of a sudden a knife-sharp memory came to him: standing on this very spot on the day that he had turned eleven, the most wonderful birthday of his life, and Hagrid standing beside him saying, "Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it." Gringotts had seemed a place of wonder that day, the enchanted repository of a trove of gold he had never known he possessed, and never for an instant could he have dreamed that he would return to steal. But within seconds they were standing in the vast marble hall of the bank.
The long counter was manned by goblins sitting on high stools, serving the first customers of the day. Hermione, Ron, and Travers headed toward an old goblin who was examining a thick gold coin through an eyeglass. Hermione allowed Travers to step ahead of her on the pretext of explaining features of the hall to Ron.
The goblin tossed the coin he was holding aside, said to nobody in particular. "Leprechaun" and then greeted Travers, who passed over a tiny golden key, which was examined and given back to him.
Hermione stepped forward.
"Madam Lestrange!" said the goblin, evidently startled. "Dear me! How...how may I help you today?"
"I wish to enter my vault," said Hermione.
The old goblin seemed to recoil a little. Y/n glanced around. Not only was Travers hanging back, watching, but several other goblins had looked up from their work to stare at Hermione. He moved his wand in his his sleeve now.
"You have...identification?" asked the goblin.
"Identification? I...I have never been asked for identification before!" said Hermione.
"They know!" whispered Griphook in Harry's ear. "They must have been warned there might be an impostor!"
"Your wand will do, madam." said the goblin. He held out a slightly trembling hand, and in a dreadful blast of realization Harry knew that the goblins of Gringotts were aware that Bellatrix's wand had been stolen.
"Act now, act now." whispered Griphook in Harry's ear,
Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak but before he could anything he heard Y/n voice whisper beside him.
"Imperio!" Y/n quietly cast.
A curious sensation shot down Y/n's arm, a feeling of tingling warmth that seemed to flow from his mind, down the sinews and veins connecting him to the wand and the curse it had just cast. The goblin took Bellatrix's wand, examined it closely, and then said, "Ah, you have had a new wand made, Madam Lestrange!"
"What?" said Hermione. "No, no, that's mine..."
"A new wand?" said Travers, approaching the counter again, still the goblins all around were watching. "But how could you have done, which wandmaker did you use?"
Y/n pointed his wand at Travers now. "Imperio!" he quietly cast once more.
"Oh yes, I see." said Travers, looking down at Bellatrix's wand. "Yes, very handsome. And is it working well? I always think wands require a little breaking in, don't you?"
Hermione looked utterly bewildered, but to Y/n's relief she accepted the bizarre turn of events without comment.
The old goblin behind the counter clapped his hands and a younger goblin approached.
"I shall need the Clankers." he told the goblin, who dashed away and returned a moment later with a leather bag that seemed to be full of jangling metal, which he handed to his senior. "Good, good! So, if you will follow me, Madam Lestrange," said the old goblin, hopping down off his stool and vanishing from sight. "I shall take you to your vault."
He appeared around the end of the counter, jogging happily toward them, the contents of the leather bag still jingling. Travers was now standing quite still with his mouth hanging wide open. Ron was drawing attention to this odd phenomenon by regarding Travers with confusion.
"Wait...Bogrod!"
Another goblin came scurrying around the counter.
"We have instructions." he said with a bow to Hermione. "Forgive me, Madam, but there have been special orders regarding the vault of Lestrange."
He whispered urgently in Bogrod's ear, but the Imperiused goblin shook him off.
"I am aware of the instructions. Madam Lestrange wishes to visit her vault...Very old family...old clients...This way, please..."
And, still clanking, he hurried toward one of the many doors leading off the hall. Y/n looked back at Travers, who was still rooted to the spot looking abnormally vacant, and made his decision, With a flick of his wand he made Travers come with them in case a scapegoat was needed, walking meekly in their wake as they reached the door and passed into the rough stone passageway beyond, which was lit with flaming torches.
"We're in trouble, they suspect." said Harry as the door slammed behind them and he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak. Griphook jumped down from his shoulders, Y/n removed his disillusionment charm now and neither Travers nor Bogrod showed the slightest surprise at the sudden appearance of Harry Potter or Y/n Grindelwald in their midst.
"I used the Imperius,curse." Y/n said to Hermione, Harry and Ron to quell their confused queries about Travers and Bogrod, who were both now standing there looking blank.
"But that's forbidden..." Hermione said.
"Hermione I don't think we're in a position where we can really complain. You know who wants us dead as it is and the ministry is under his control..." Harry pointed out.
"Still, though. You know how to use an unforgivable curse." Ron said to Y/n now.
"...I know how to use two actually Ronald." Y/n corrected him.
"Two..." Hermione uttered.
"The Imperius curse and...the killing curse." Y/n reluctantly revealed.
"The killing curse..." Hermione repeated.
"I should clarify, I have not used it on a person." Y/n said quickly wishing to calm their anxiety about it.
"It is just...If I am to kill Atticus, I wish to make it as quick and painless as possible ...even if it is not a mercy he deserves anymore." Y/n said.
The three of them could not argue with Y/n there, they all knew of the prophecy he had been tasked and burdened with.
"What do we do now?" asked Ron wanting to change the topic. "Shall we get out now, while we can?"
"If we can." said Hermione, looking back toward the door into the main hall, beyond which who knew what was happening.
"We've got this far, I say we go on." said Harry.
"I agree. This will be our only chance." Y/n nodded.
"Good!" said Griphook. "So, we need Bogrod to control the cart, I no longer have the authority. But there will not be room for the wizard."
Y/n pointed his wand at Travers.
"Imperio."
The wizard turned and set off along the dark track at a smart pace.
"What are you making him do?" Hermione asked.
"Hide." said Y/n as he pointed his wand at Bogrod, who whistled to summon a little cart that came trundling along the tracks toward them out of the darkness. Y/n was sure he could hear shouting behind them in the main hall as they all clambered into it, Bogrod in front with Griphook, Harry, Ron, Y/n and Hermione crammed together in the back.
With a jerk the cart moved off, gathering speed. They hurtled past Travers, who was wriggling into a crack in the wall, then the cart began twisting and turning through the labyrinthine passages, sloping downward all the time. Y/n could not hear anything over the rattling of the cart on the tracks. His hair flew behind him as they swerved between stalactites, flying ever deeper into the earth, but he kept glancing back. They might as well have left enormous footprints behind them, the more he thought about it, the more foolish it seemed to have disguised Hermione as Bellatrix, to have brought along Bellatrix's wand, when the Death Eaters knew who had stolen it...
They were deeper than Y/n had ever penetrated within Gringotts, they took a hairpin bend at speed and saw ahead of them, with seconds to spare, a waterfall pounding over the track. Y/n heard Griphook shout. "No!" but there was no braking, They zoomed through it. Water filled Y/n's eyes and mouth: He could not see or breathe. Then, with an awful lurch, the cart flipped over and they were all thrown out of it.
Harry heard the cart smash into pieces against the passage wall, heard Y/n quickly cast something, and felt himself glide back toward the ground as though weightless, landing painlessly on the rocky passage floor.
"C...Cushioning Charm," Hermione spluttered looking to Y/n who nodded, as he pulled her to her feet, but to Harry's horror he saw that she was no longer Bellatrix, instead she stood there in overlarge robes, sopping wet and completely herself, Ron was red-haired and beardless again. They were realizing it as they looked at each other, feeling their own faces.
"The Thief's Downfall!" said Griphook, clambering to his feet and looking back at the deluge onto the tracks, which, Y/n knew now, had been more than water. "It washes away all enchantment, all magical concealment! They know there are impostors in Gringotts, they have set off defenses against us!"
Harry saw Hermione checking that she still had the beaded bag, and hurriedly thrust his own hand under his jacket to make sure he had not lost the Invisibility Cloak. Y/n turned to see Bogrod shaking his head in bewilderment. The Thief's Downfall seemed to have lifted the Imperius Curse.
"We need him." said Griphook, "We cannot enter the vault without a Gringotts goblin. And we need the Clankers!"
"Imperio!" Y/n cast again, his voice echoed through the stone passage as he felt again the sense of heady control that flowed from brain to wand. Bogrod submitted once more to his will, his befuddled expression changing to one of polite indifference, as Ron hurried to pick up the leather bag of metal tools.
"Y/n, Harry, I think I can hear people coming!" said Hermione, and she pointed Bellatrix's wand at the waterfall and cried. "Protego!" They saw the Shield Charm break the flow of enchanted water as it flew up the passageway.
"Good thinking." said Y/n.
"Lead the way, Griphook!" Harry said.
"How are we going to get out again?" Ron asked as they hurried on foot into the darkness after the goblin, Bogrod panting in their wake like an old dog.
"Let's worry about that when we have to." said Harry. He was trying to listen, He thought he could hear something clanking and moving around nearby. "Griphook, how much farther?"
"Not far, Harry Potter, not far..."
And they turned a corner and saw the thing for which Y/n had been prepared, but which still brought all of them to a halt.
A gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of them, barring access to four or five of the deepest vaults in the place. The beast's scales had turned pale and flaky during its long incarceration under the ground, its eyes were milkily pink, both rear legs bore heavy cuffs from which chains led to enormous pegs driven deep into the rocky floor. Its great spiked wings, folded close to its body, would have filled the chamber if it spread them, and when it turned its ugly head toward them, it roared with a noise that made the rock tremble, opened its mouth, and spat a jet of fire that sent them running back up the passageway.
"It is partially blind." panted Griphook. "But even more savage for that. However, we have the means to control it. It has learned what to expect when the Clankers come. Give them to me."
Ron passed the bag to Griphook, and the goblin pulled out a number of small metal instruments that when shaken made a loud, ringing noise like miniature hammers on anvils. Griphook handed them out: Bogrod accepted his meekly.
"You know what to do." Griphook told Harry, Ron, Y/n, and Hermione. "It will expect pain when it hears the noise. It will retreat, and Bogrod must place his palm upon the door of the vault."
They advanced around the corner again, shaking the Clankers, and the noise echoed off the rocky walls, grossly magnified, so that the inside of Y/n's skull seemed to vibrate with the din. The dragon let out another hoarse roar, then retreated.
"That's barbaric..." Hermione could not help but say.
"It is disgusting..." Y/n nodded his head in agreement. Despite having fought one before he always thought that Dragon's were majestic creatures that should be treated with respect. Y/n could see it trembling, and as they drew nearer he saw the scars made by vicious slashes across its face, and guessed that it had been taught to fear hot swords when it heard the sound of the Clankers.
"Make him press his hand to the door!" Griphook urged Y/n, who turned his wand again upon Bogrod. The old goblin obeyed, pressing his palm to the wood, and the door of the vault melted away to reveal a cavelike opening crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures some with long spines, others with drooping wings, potions in jeweled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown.
"Search, fast!" said Harry as they all hurried inside the vault.
He had described Hufflepuff's cup to Ron and Hermione as Y/n had already seen it, but if it was the other, unknown Horcrux that resided in this vault, he did not know what it looked like. He barely had time to glance around, however, before there was a muffled clunk from behind them, The door had reappeared, sealing them inside the vault, and they were plunged into total darkness.
"No matter, Bogrod will be able to release us!" said Griphook as Ron gave a shout of surprise. "Light your wands, can't you? And hurry, we have very little time!"
"Lumos!"
Y/n shone his lit wand around the vault. Its beam fell upon glittering jewels, he saw the fake sword of Gryffindor lying on a high shelf amongst a jumble of chains. Ron, Harry and Hermione had lit their wands too, and were now examining the piles of objects surrounding them.
"Harry, could this be... Aargh!"
Y/n's attention was quickly caught as Hermione screamed in pain, and he turned his wand on her in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip. But as it fell, it split, became a shower of goblets, so that a second later, with a great clatter, the floor was covered in identical cups rolling in every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them.
"It burned me!" moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered fingers.
"They have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses..." said Y/n.
"Indeed." Griphook snarled. "Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless...and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!"
"Okay, don't touch anything!" said Harry desperately, but even as he said it, Ron accidentally nudged one of the fallen goblets with his foot, and twenty more exploded into being while Ron hopped on the spot, part of his shoe burned away by contact with the hot metal.
"Stand still, don't move!" said Hermione, clutching at Ron.
"Just look around!" said Harry.
"Remember, the cup is small and gold, it has got a badger engraved on it, two handles..." Y/n reminded them all.
"Otherwise see if you can spot Ravenclaw's symbol anywhere, the eagle..." Harry added.
They directed their wands into every nook and crevice, turning cautiously on the spot. It was impossible not to brush up against anything, Harry sent a great cascade of fake Galleons onto the ground where they joined the goblets, and now there was scarcely room to place their feet, and the glowing gold blazed with heat, so that the vault felt like a furnace. Harry's wandlight passed over shields and goblin-made helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling, higher and higher he raised the beam, until suddenly it found an object that made his heart skip and his hand tremble.
"It's there, it's up there!"
Ron, Y/n and Hermione pointed their wands at it too, so that the little golden cup sparkled in a four-way spotlight, the cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, which had passed into the possession of Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle.
"And how the hell are we going to get up there without touching anything?" asked Ron.
"Accio Cup!" cried Hermione, who had evidently forgotten in her desperation what Griphook had told them during their planning sessions.
"No use, no use!" snarled the goblin.
"Then what do we do?" said Harry, glaring at the goblin. "If you want the sword, Griphook, then you'll have to help us more than...wait! Can I touch stuff with the sword? Hermione, give it here!"
Hermione fumbled inside her robes, drew out the beaded bag, rummaged for a few seconds, then removed the shining sword. Harry seized it by its rubied hilt and touched the tip of the blade to a silver flagon nearby, which did not multiply.
"If I can just poke the sword through a handle...but how am I going to get up there?"
The shelf on which the cup reposed was out of reach for any of them, even Ron, who was tallest. The heat from the enchanted treasure rose in waves, and sweat ran down Harry's face and back as he struggled to think of a way up to the cup, and then he heard the dragon roar on the other side of the vault door, and the sound of clanking growing louder and louder.
They were truly trapped now. There was no way out except through the door, and a horde of goblins seemed to be approaching on the other side. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and saw terror in their faces.
"Y/n." said Harry as the clanking grew louder, "I've got to get up there, we've got to get rid of it..."
Y/n nodded and raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and whispered. "Levicorpus."
Hoisted into the air by his ankle, Harry hit a suit of armor and replicas burst out of it like white-hot bodies, filling the cramped space. With screams of pain Ron, Y/n, Hermione, and the two goblins were knocked aside into other objects, which also began to replicate. Half buried in a rising tide of red-hot treasure, they struggled and yelled as Harry thrust the sword through the handle of Hufflepuff's cup, hooking it onto the blade.
"Impervius!" screeched Hermione in an attempt to protect herself, Y/n Ron, and the goblins from the burning metal.
Then the worst scream yet made Harry look down. Ron, Y/n and Hermione were waist-deep in treasure, struggling to keep Bogrod from slipping beneath the rising tide, but Griphook had sunk out of sight and nothing but the tips of a few long fingers were left in view.
Harry seized Griphook's fingers and pulled. The blistered goblin emerged by degrees, howling.
"Liberacorpus!" yelled Harry, and with a crash he and Griphook landed on the surface of the swelling treasure, and the sword flew out of Harry's hand.
"Get it!" Harry yelled, fighting the pain of the hot metal on his skin, as Griphook clambered onto his shoulders again, determined to avoid the swelling mass of red-hot objects. "Where's the sword? It had the cup on it!"
The clanking on the other side of the door was growing deafening...it was too late...
"There!"
It was Griphook who had seen it and Griphook who lunged, and in that instant Harry knew that the goblin had never expected them to keep their word. One hand holding tightly to a fistful of Harry's hair, to make sure he did not fall into the heaving sea of burning gold, Griphook seized the hilt of the sword and swung it high out of Harry's reach.
The tiny golden cup, skewered by the handle on the sword's blade, was flung into the air. The goblin still astride him, Harry dived and caught it, and although he could feel it scalding his flesh he did not relinquish it, even while countless Hufflepuff cups burst from his fist, raining down upon him as the entrance of the vault opened up again and he found himself sliding uncontrollably on an expanding avalanche of fiery gold and silver that bore him, Ron, Y/n and Hermione into the outer chamber.
Hardly aware of the pain from the burns covering his body, and still borne along on the swell of replicating treasure, Harry shoved the cup into his pocket and reached up to retrieve the sword, but Griphook was gone. Sliding from Harry's shoulders the moment he could, he had sprinted for cover amongst the surrounding goblins, brandishing the sword and crying, "Thieves! Thieves! Help! Thieves!" He vanished into the midst of the advancing crowd, all of whom were holding daggers and who accepted him without question.
Slipping on the hot metal, Harry struggled to his feet and knew that the only way out was through.
"Stupefy!" he bellowed, and Ron and Hermione joined in and Y/n cast a protective shield around them.
Jets of red light flew into the crowd of goblins, and some toppled over, but others advanced, and Harry saw several wizard guards running around the corner.
"We need to work away out of here! Quickly!" Y/n called out.
The tethered dragon let out a roar, and a gush of flame flew over the goblins. The wizards fled, doubled-up, back the way they had come, and inspiration, or madness, came to Harry. Pointing his wand at the thick cuffs chaining the beast to the floor, he yelled, "Relashio!"
The cuffs broke open with loud bangs.
"This way!" Harry yelled, and still shooting Stunning Spells at the advancing goblins, he sprinted toward the blind dragon.
"Harry...Harry...what are you doing?" cried Hermione.
But Y/n knew exactly what Harry was thinking and grabbed Hermione's hand as he ran towards the Dragon.
"Climb up quickly." Y/n urged Hermione.
The dragon had not realized that it was free. Harry's foot found the crook of its hind leg and he pulled himself up onto its back. The scales were hard as steel, it did not even seem to feel him. He stretched out an arm to Hermione and she hoisted herself up, Y/n and Ron climbed on behind them, and a second later the dragon became aware that it was untethered.
With a roar it reared. Y/n dug in his knees, clutching as tightly as he could to the jagged scales as the wings opened, knocking the shrieking goblins aside like skittles, and it soared into the air. Harry, Ron, Y/n and Hermione, flat on its back, scraped against the ceiling as it dived toward the passage opening, while the pursuing goblins hurled daggers that glanced off its flanks.
"We'll never get out, it's too big!" Hermione screamed, but the dragon opened its mouth and belched flame again, blasting the tunnel, whose floors and ceiling cracked and crumbled. By sheer force the dragon clawed and fought its way through. Harry's eyes were shut tight against the heat and dust. Deafened by the crashing of rock and the dragon's roars, he could only cling to its back, expecting to be shaken off at any moment, then he heard Y/n and Hermione yelling, "Defodio!"
Both were helping the dragon enlarge the passageway, carving out the ceiling as it struggled upward toward the fresher air, away from the shrieking and clanking goblins. Harry and Ron copied them, blasting the ceiling apart with more gouging spells. They passed the underground lake, and the great crawling, snarling beast seemed to sense freedom and space ahead of it, and behind them the passage was full of the dragon's thrashing, spiked tail, of great lumps of rock, gigantic fractured stalactites, and the clanking of the goblins seemed to be growing more muffled, while ahead, the dragon's fire kept their progress clear...
And then at last, by the combined force of their spells and the dragon's brute strength, they had blasted their way out of the passage into the marble hallway. Goblins and wizards shrieked and ran for cover, and finally the dragon had room to stretch its wings. Turning its horned head toward the cool outside air it could smell beyond the entrance, it took off, and with Harry, Ron, Y/n and Hermione still clinging to its back, it forced its way through the metal doors, leaving them buckled and hanging from their hinges, as it staggered into Diagon Alley and launched itself into the sky.
There was no means of steering, the dragon could not see where it was going, and Y/n knew that if it turned sharply or rolled in midair they would find it impossible to cling onto its broad back. Nevertheless, as they climbed higher and higher, London unfurling below them like a gray-and-green map, Harry's overwhelming feeling was of gratitude for an escape that had seemed impossible. Crouching low over the beast's neck, he clung tight to the metallic scales, and the cool breeze was soothing on his burned and blistered skin, the dragon's wings beating the air like the sails of a windmill. Behind him, whether from delight or fear he could not tell, Ron kept swearing at the top of his voice, Y/n was laughing in disbelief and Hermione seemed to be sobbing.
After five minutes or so, Harry lost some of his immediate dread that the dragon was going to throw them off, for it seemed intent on nothing but getting as far away from its underground prison as possible, but the question of how and when they were to dismount remained rather frightening. He had no idea how long dragons could fly without landing, nor how this particular dragon, which could barely see, would locate a good place to put down. He glanced around constantly, imagining that he could feel his scar prickling...
How long would it be before Voldemort knew that they had broken into the Lestranges' vault? How soon would the goblins of Gringotts notify Bellatrix? How quickly would they realize what had been taken? And then, when they discovered that the golden cup was missing? Voldemort would know, at last, that they were hunting Horcruxes...
The dragon seemed to crave cooler and fresher air, It climbed steadily until they were flying through wisps of chilly cloud, and Y/n could no longer make out the little colored dots which were cars pouring in and out of the capital. On and on they flew, over countryside parceled out in patches of green and brown, over roads and rivers winding through the landscape like strips of matte and glossy ribbon.
"What do you reckon it's looking for?" Ron yelled as they flew farther and farther north.
"No idea." Harry bellowed back. His hands were numb with cold but he did not dare attempt to shift his grip. He had been wondering for some time what they would do if they saw the coast sail beneath them, if the dragon headed for open sea, he was cold and numb, not to mention desperately hungry and thirsty. When, he wondered, had the beast itself last eaten? Surely it would need sustenance before long? And what if, at that point, it realized it had four highly edible humans sitting on its back?
The sun slipped lower in the sky, which was turning indigo and still the dragon flew, cities and towns gliding out of sight beneath them, its enormous shadow sliding over the earth like a great dark cloud. Every part of Y/n ached with the effort of holding on to the dragon's back.
"Is it my imagination." shouted Ron after a considerable stretch of silence. "Or are we losing height?"
Y/n looked down and saw deep green mountains and lakes, coppery in the sunset. The landscape seemed to grow larger and more detailed as he squinted over the side of the dragon, and he wondered whether it had divined the presence of fresh water by the flashes of reflected sunlight.
"No, The Dragon is lowering!" Y/n called back.
Lower and lower the dragon flew, in great spiraling circles, honing in, it seemed, upon one of the smaller lakes.
"I say we jump when it gets low enough!" Harry called back to the others. "Straight into the water before it realizes we're here!"
They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and Harry could see the dragon's wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the water.
"NOW!"
Y/n slithered over the side of the dragon and plummeted feet first toward the surface of the lake, the drop was greater than he had estimated and he hit the water hard, plunging like a stone into a freezing, green, reed-filled world. He kicked toward the surface and emerged, panting, to see enormous ripples emanating in circles from the places where Harry, Ron and Hermione had fallen. The dragon did not seem to have noticed anything, It was already fifty feet away, swooping low over the lake to scoop up water in its scarred snout. As Harry, Ron and Hermione emerged, spluttering and gasping, from the depths of the lake, the dragon flew on, its wings beating hard, and landed at last on a distant bank.
Y/n swam over to the spluttering Hermione now to make sure she was alright and when he was sure she was the four struck out for the opposite shore. The lake did not seem to be deep. Soon it was more a question of fighting their way through reeds and mud than swimming, and at last they flopped, sodden, panting, and exhausted, onto slippery grass.
Hermione collapsed, coughing and shuddering. Though Y/n could have happily lain down and slept, he knew they had no time to rest. He staggered to his feet and moved over to Hermione while Harry started casting the usual protective spells around them.
Y/n could see Hermione had angry red burns all over her face and arms, and parts of her clothing was singed away in places. He looked at his own clothes as well as Ron and Harry's to see they fared no better than her.
"Come here." Hermione said as she took out her bag now and extracted a bottle from it. Y/n sat down beside her as she uncorked the bottle labeled essence of dittany and put some on her hands wincing. The burns immediately began to disappear as the skin on Hermione's hand was cured. She wiped some of the residue left on Y/n's own hands, he felt them sting for a moment before they grew numb and soon they did not hurt at all. The burns had healed.
"Stay still a moment." Hermione said shuddering as he poured some more into her hand and began to rub it on Y/n's cheek causing him to wince slightly. In the chaos of the heist he had not noticed his cheek had been burnt. He simply looked at Hermione's eyes as she tended to him.
"Hurry up will you." Ron spoke up looking at his own burns.
Annoyed by this Hermione handed Harry the bottle, and told him and Ron to heal themselves, then pulled out the bottle of whiskey Y/n had bought for Harry with three glasses as well as a bottle of pumpkin juice she had brought from Shell Cottage and clean, dry robes for all of them. They changed and then gulped down their well earned drinks.
"Well, on the upside." said Ron finally, who was sitting watching the skin on his hands regrow. "We got the Horcrux. On the downside..."
"No sword." said Harry through gritted teeth, as he dripped dittany through the singed hole in his jeans onto the angry burn beneath.
"No sword." repeated Ron. "That double-crossing little scab..."
"Do you still have it?" Y/n asked Harry as he looked out to the Dragon on the far back as it drank the lake water.
Harry pulled the Horcrux from the pocket of the wet jacket he had just taken off and set it down on the grass in front of them. Glinting in the sun, it drew their eyes as they swigged their drinks.
"At least we can't wear it this time, that'd look a bit weird hanging round our necks." said Ron, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
Hermione joined Y/n in looking across the lake to the far bank, where the dragon was still drinking. "What'll happen to it, do you think?" she asked. "Will it be all right?"
"You sound like Hagrid." said Ron. "It's a dragon, it can look after itself. It's us we need to worry about."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't know how to break this to you." said Ron. "But I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."
All four of them started to laugh, and once started, it was difficult to stop. Harry's ribs ached, he felt lightheaded with hunger, but he lay back on the grass beneath the reddening sky and laughed until his throat was raw.
"What are we going to do, though?" said Hermione finally, hiccuping herself back to seriousness. "He'll know, won't he? You-Know-Who will know we know about his Horcruxes!"
"Maybe they'll be too scared to tell him?" said Ron hopefully. "Maybe they'll cover up the whole thing." Ron said.
"Given how grand our escape was I do not think they will have the chance too." Y/n told him. "Do you think he knows yet Harry?" He asked but received no response.
"Harry?" Hermione asked and the three looked to see Harry with his eyes closed.
Pain cleaved Harry's head like a sword stroke. He was standing in a dimly lit room, and a semicircle of wizards faced him, and on the floor at his feet knelt a small, quaking figure.
"What did you say to me?" His voice was high and cold, but fury and fear burned inside him. The one thing he had dreaded...but it could not be true, he could not see how...
The goblin was trembling, unable to meet the red eyes high above his.
"Say it again!" murmured Voldemort. "Say it again!"
"M-my Lord." stammered the goblin, its black eyes wide with terror. "M-my Lord...we t-tried t-to st-stop them...Im-impostors, my Lord...broke...broke into the...into the Lestranges' v-vault..."
"Impostors? What impostors? I thought Gringotts had ways of revealing impostors? Who were they?"
"It was...it was...the P-Potter and G-G-Grindelwald b-boys and t-two accomplices..."
"And they took?" he said, his voice rising, a terrible fear gripping him. "Tell me! What did they take?"
"A...a s-small golden c-cup, m-my Lord..."
The scream of rage, of denial left him as if it were a stranger's. He was crazed, frenzied, it could not be true, it was impossible, nobody had ever known. How was it possible that the boy could have discovered his secret?
The Elder Wand slashed through the air and green light erupted through the room, the kneeling goblin rolled over, dead, the watching wizards scattered before him, terrified. Bellatrix and Lucius Malfoy threw others behind them in their race for the door, and again and again his wand fell, and those who were left were slain, all of them, for bringing him this news, for hearing about the golden cup...
Alone amongst the dead he stormed up and down, and they passed before him in vision, his treasures, his safeguards, his anchors to immortality, the diary was destroyed and the cup was stolen. What if, what if, the boy knew about the others? Could he know, had he already acted, had he traced more of them? Was Dumbledore at the root of this? Dumbledore, who had always suspected him, Dumbledore, dead on his orders, Dumbledore, whose wand was his now, yet who reached out from the ignominy of death through the boy, the boy...
But surely if the boy had destroyed any of his Horcruxes, he, Lord Voldemort, would have known, would have felt it? He, the greatest wizard of them all, he, the most powerful, he, the killer of Dumbledore and of how many other worthless, nameless men, How could Lord Voldemort not have known, if he, himself, most important and precious, had been attacked, mutilated?
True, he had not felt it when the diary had been destroyed, but he had thought that was because he had no body to feel, being less than ghost...No, surely, the rest were safe...The other Horcruxes must be intact...
But he must know, he must be sure...He paced the room, kicking aside the goblin's corpse as he passed, and the pictures blurred and burned in his boiling brain. The lake, the shack, and Hogwarts...
A modicum of calm cooled his rage now. How could the boy know that he had hidden the ring in the Gaunt shack? No one had ever known him to be related to the Gaunts, he had hidden the connection, the killings had never been traced to him. The ring, surely, was safe.
And how could the boy, or anybody else, know about the cave or penetrate its protection? The idea of the locket being stolen was absurd...
As for the school. He alone knew where in Hogwarts he had stowed the Horcrux, because he alone had plumbed the deepest secrets of that place...
And there was still Nagini, who must remain close now, no longer sent to do his bidding, under his protection.
But to be sure, to be utterly sure, he must return to each of his hiding places, he must redouble protection around each of his Horcruxes...A job, like the quest for the Elder Wand, that he must undertake alone.
Which should he visit first, which was in most danger? An old unease flickered inside him. Dumbledore had known his middle name...Dumbledore might have made the connection with the Gaunts, Their abandoned home was, perhaps, the least secure of his hiding places, it was there that he would go first.
The lake, surely impossible...though was there a slight possibility that Dumbledore might have known some of his past misdeeds, through the orphanage.
And Hogwarts...but he knew that his Horcrux there was safe, it would be impossible for Potter to enter Hogsmeade without detection, let alone the school. Nevertheless, it would be prudent to alert Snape to the fact that the boy might try to reenter the castle. To tell Snape why the boy might return would be foolish, of course, it had been a grave mistake to trust Bellatrix and Malfoy. Didn't their stupidity and carelessness prove how unwise it was ever to trust?
He would visit the Gaunt shack first, then, and take Nagini with him. He would not be parted from the snake anymore... and he strode from the room, through the hall, and out into the dark garden where the fountain played, he called the snake in Parseltongue and it slithered out to join him like a long shadow.
Harry's eyes flew open as he wrenched himself back to the present. He was lying on the bank of the lake in the setting sun, and Ron, Y/n and Hermione were looking down at him. Judging by their worried looks, and by the continued pounding of his scar, his sudden excursion into Voldemort's mind had not passed unnoticed. He struggled up, shivering, vaguely surprised that he was still wet to his skin, and saw the cup lying innocently in the grass before him, and the lake, deep blue shot with gold in the failing sun.
"What did you see?" Y/n asked him calmly. "Does he know?"
"He knows." Harry nodded though own voice sounded strange and low after Voldemort's high screams. "He knows, and he's going to check where the others are, and the last one." he was already on his feet. "Is at Hogwarts. I knew it. I knew it."
"Hogwarts?" Y/n repeated.
"What?" Ron was gaping at him.
Hermione sat up, looking worried. "But what did you see? How do you know?"
"I saw him find out about the cup, I...I was in his head, he's..." Harry remembered the killings. "He's seriously angry, and scared too, he can't understand how we knew, and now he's going to check the others are safe, the ring first. He thinks the Hogwarts one is safest, because Snape's there, because it'll be so hard not to be seen getting in, I think he'll check that one last, but he could still be there within hours..."
"Did you see where in Hogwarts it is?" asked Y/n, now getting to his feet too.
"No, he was concentrating on warning Snape, he didn't think about exactly where it is..."
"Wait, wait!" cried Hermione as Ron caught up the Horcrux and Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak again. "We can't just go, we haven't got a plan, we need to..."
"We need to get going." said Harry firmly. He had been hoping to sleep, looking forward to getting into the new tent, but that was impossible now. "Can you imagine what he's going to do once he realizes the ring and the locket are gone? What if he moves the Hogwarts Horcrux, decides it isn't safe enough?"
"But how are we going to get in?" Hermione asked.
"We will have to go through Hogsmeade..." said Y/n.
"Exactly, we can try to work something out once we see what the protection around the school's like. Get under the Cloak, Y/n, Hermione, I want to stick together this time."
"But we don't really fit..."
"It'll be dark, no one's going to notice our feet."
The flapping of enormous wings echoed across the black water. The dragon had drunk its fill and risen into the air. They paused in their preparations to watch it climb higher and higher, now black against the rapidly darkening sky, until it vanished over a nearby mountain. Then Y/n and Hermione walked forward and took their place together between the other two. Harry pulled the Cloak down as far as it would go, and together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness.