The Final Quarter Mile
The Final Quarter Mile
Maya's stomach dropped out of her chest. The Ministry men had just asked her to do the impossible. Kill Harry Potter? As if she could. Maya chewed her lip thoughtfully. Killing the 'Chosen One' might be to her benefit. The media coverage she would get – all eyes would be on her – what kind of dark magic would she need to accomplish such an arduous task? Her eyes shone at the very thought. Harry Potter would die.
"I'll do it," Maya declared, eyeing the gold hungrily. The Ministry men looked at each other eagerly. Maya didn't see the look that passed between them; all she knew was that she now had enough gold to survive. Enough gold to fill her Gringotts account to overflowing.
"We thought we could count on you," the first Ministry man said, grinning from ear to ear. "You come highly recommended; do not disappoint us."
Maya looked at him as though he were from another planet. He clearly didn't understand. This job meant the more to her than he could imagine – Harry Potter would be the greatest Snitch she could catch. If she killed him, the world would tremble at her feet. She wasn't sure they understood the magnitude of what they were asking. Her name would be spoken in reverence, just as Voldermort's had once been.
"Why?" Maya asked suddenly, a thought occurring to her. "You're from the Ministry. Why would you want the famous Harry Potter dead?"
"Because Harry Potter has made himself quite a few enemies of late," the Ministry man said evasively. "It's not like one can't accrue those when they shoot to such power; he is the Head of the Auror's Office, after all."
Maya nodded, completely understanding. She'd made a few enemies of late, too. All the families she had destroyed in the progress of becoming who she was now. Maya could never go back to the naive Qudditch player she had once been. She would never grace the stadiums again, never hear the roar of the crowds, and always hear the cry of her next victims replaying over and over again in her mind. Maya eyed her wand with reproach. It had taken so many lives. She wondered what would happen when it met Harry Potter – just how much his mother's love still protected him. If it did protect him still, as she thought it might, it would help explain a lot. Like why he'd filled the protective walls of Azkaban to overflow. The Ministry were even beginning to talk about opening a new wizarding prison in Britain.
"Who do you know that resides in Azkaban?" Maya asked, surprising the Ministry men.
They looked at each other once again, considering their answer. It was almost as if they were conversing in their minds, speaking in words she could not hear. Maya watched them, saw their body language, the way they tensed up, the sparkle fading from their eyes.
"That brings us to the second part of our contract," the Ministry men told her firmly, looking as though he'd rather not mention it. But they had agreed, Maya could tell. They wouldn't be paying her so much money, otherwise.
"You thought that killing Harry Potter was a big deal," the second Ministry man said smugly. "Then you will have no trouble breaching the barrier of Azkaban and setting the prisoners free."
Maya had always known the contract was too good to be true; how could she breach the walls of Azkaban, when it was defended by more than just walls? Potter had erected a protective spell around it with the help of his friend Granger, making it impossible to apparate in and out of the prison. Not only that, but Maya knew there would be no way past the Azkaban guards. Not Dementors, because Potter hated them and was too cowardly to use them; no, he used more dangerous creatures, and if Maya had it right, she'd have to know the answer to more than just one riddle.
"Are you insane?" Maya breathed, shock registering on her face. "You're asking me to do two impossible things. Kill Harry Potter and break the prisoners – evil dark wizards – out of Azkaban. You're asking for a death sentence."
"No we're not," the Ministry man said gleefully. "You're magically bonded to do everything the contract says. By accepting those particular galleons, you have tied yourself to the task. Refuse to do it, and you will die. Much like an Unbreakable Vowel."
Maya couldn't believe her ears. She looked at the gold in disgust, wishing that she could get rid of it. It would be the first thing she did; spending it at her leisure, drowning herself so she could forget what she'd agreed to. Why she had allowed herself to fall into this trap, she didn't know. But it could be worse. Things could always be worse. Maya could be out to sea with no plan, no nothing. What she had was a smidgen of an idea of how she could carry out what they'd asked; and it already had involved breaking the prisoners out of Azkaban. Pity that the Ministry men hadn't known she'd be two steps ahead. She needed one thing in order to complete the other. Success would come, and it would be worth every penny they paid her.
