Is It Ever Enough

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. Anything you recognize is owned by J. K. Rowling! I receive absolutely no money from writing fanfiction.

(The authors note is at the bottom.)

The plan started off flawlessly. Hermione stunned some random muggle and took a piece of his hair. Three minutes later, Harry had a stockier build, a horrendously curly beard and thin, greasy brown hair. Next Hermione charmed Ron's hair to be the same color as Harry's before marching into Diagonal Alley.

It had been a while since Hermione was last here. The place was slightly eerie; shops were boarded up, hardly any shoppers were about, and the condemning UNDESIRABLE NUMBER ONE posters were everywhere she Hermione looked. She took a shaky breath before heading towards Gringotts, trying to avoid looking at the posters of her best friend.

They passed many raggedly dressed people, begging for gold and trying to convince any passerby that they were wizards. The over-powering feeling of injustice that Hermione felt whenever she thought of House Elf rights swelled in her Bellatrix-disguised chest, but she pushed the feelings aside. Hopefully one day, if they destroyed all the Horcruxes and Harry defeated Voldemort, all of those people would be helped and would be able to live the lives they deserved. Unfortunately, right now Hermione could do nothing, so she focused keeping up her Bellatrix act and avoiding looking at people on the streets.

Of course, whatever Hermione Granger put her mind to, she excelled at, and because she was doing such a well done job of not looking at the helpless people, she was surprised and frightened when one began to yell at her.

"My children!" a man with a bloody bandage over his eye bellowed at her. "Where are my children? What has he done with them? You know, you know!"

The man was distraught. His voice was cracked and high pitched. His finger, pointed at Hermione, shook with desperation. Worry filled his uncovered green eye, as green as Harry's, and. A tear slipped out. Hermione felt her throat clog with sorrow. Her tongue felt twisted; she had never liked impromptu things. She preferred to study and plan before events took place. Panic ate away at her, and she stumbled over her words.

"I- I really-" Hermione managed to stammer before the man LUNGED for her throat. Hermione backed up on instinct, not wanting to harm the poor man but not wanting to be harmed herself, before Harry knocked him out with a stunner.

Hermione had only a moment to recompose herself before a voice cried, "Why, Madame Lestrange!" From behind them.

Hermione again acted out of pure instinct. She drew herself up to Bellatrix's fullest height and infused as much contempt as she could into her tone.

"And what do you want?"

A man stopped in his tracks, clearly affronted.

"I merely sought to greet you," the man said cooly, "but if my presence is not welcome..."

Hermione couldn't have had a better opening. They didn't need any more distractions; they had a magical bank to break into.

"It is not," Hermione said in a frigid tone. "I am very busy and have business in Gringotts. Leave me." The man shot her a glare before stomping off in the opposite direction of the bank and muttering things under his breath. He was clearly furious, but apparently unwilling to risk the wrath of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Hermione," Harry hissed once the man had disappeared. "That was Trevors! He's a Death Eater!" Hermione felt her face drain of color and her hands begin to shake from stress. She'd messed up!

"I- Merlin, let's just get this over with," Hermione growled before herding Harry and Ron to to Gringotts.

The wizarding bank towered over the empty Diagon Alley. Little Ron quickly confounded the two wizard guards with his wand (hidden underneath his transfigured child-sized cloak). They entered the prestigious building, prepared for anything.

Hermione hadn't been to Gringotts in a few years. She paused for a while, taking in the grand marble hall and the tall, glittering ceiling. She'd read all about how Gringotts was nigh impenetrable. There were all sorts of traps for intruders; trained dragons, waterfalls to wash away all traces of magic, doors that will trap you inside them, and more. The very thought of being caught sent shivers of terror whispering brought her limbs. She wasn't a natural rule-breaker; whenever she, Harry, and Ron did something they weren't supposed to, she could never quite get that tiny voice out of her head that screamed for them to stop. Of course, she still felt that thrill she was sure Harry and Ron felt, and as she became used to being naughty, she even came to enjoy it and laugh afterwards (but only occasionally). Now, however, she felt sick inside. They weren't just breaking some school rule. They weren't just sneaking out after hours or something. This was a whole new level, even bigger than the Department of Mysteries. And if they were caught... well, they certainly weren't going to be punished with something as simple as detention.

A discreet cough from Harry, posing as a sympathizer of the Dark Lord from Transylvania with his son, woke Hermione from her thoughts. She took a deep breath and marched up to the table with many goblins behind it.

"Madame Lestrange!" a goblin exclaimed after looking up from his paperwork. "Dear me! How- how may I help you today?"

This was the tricky part of the plan. Hermione felt her hands going clammy and she had to force herself not to instinctively bite her lip in worry. She needed to distract this goblin so Griphook could swipe the clankers from him- a difficult task, seeing that those metal pieces were named after the noise they made- and she needed to talk quietly with this goblin so that no one overheard their conversation. Griphook had decided that there would be a good chance that the goblins would know Bellatrix had lost her wand. They had been informed of such things before, the goblin had said. Once Griphook had the clankers, he'd lead them to the door that would lead to the Lestrange vault. Griphook would then take off the cloak, give it to Harry, and quickly lead them to a cart. If anyone saw them at that point, they were counting on them thinking Griphook was still a Gringotts goblin. If they realized... well, Harry was the improviser. They'd probably run. But then they probably wouldn't make it.

This part of the plan was imperative.

"I am here to make sure that you creatures are aware of... recent happenings," Hermione said, forcing a sneer onto her face. She wasn't sure if Beatrix had informed the goblins of the loss of her wand, so Hermione had to avoid anything related to previous contact on this matter.

"I see," the old goblin said cooly, obviously offended by Hermione's term creature. She tried to ignore the burst of guilt that flashed through her. "And what would this situation be, exactly?"

Hermione swallowed back her nerves. Was he testing her? Or did he really know about the wand?

"My wand was taken by those brats," Hermione spat. "The Weasley boy, the Mudblood and Undesirable Number One." Hermione poured all the hate she felt for the madwoman she was impersonating into her words. Ron's little hands fisted in anger when Hermione called herself "mudblood". His reaction passed unnoticed, but Harry's grimace did not. Hermione caught the goblin she was talking to and one three stools down eyeing Harry suspiciously. The goblin three stools down moved his gaze to Ron, and Hermione felt a surge of panic. She had only cast one spell on him, but what if they could detect the magical aura of one simple spell?

"Well?" Hermione demanded loudly, drawing the attention of the goblins to herself. The old goblin looked away from Harry slowly and reluctantly met Hermione's sharp gaze. He nodded his head slightly.

"Yes, we are aware of your situation," said the goblin.

"And I trust you to be on the lookout," Hermione said in a low tone, trying to convey that she most certainly did not trust the goblin.

"Of course," he said through narrowed eyes. Hermione felt a tug at the bottom of her ridiculous dress; Griphook's sign that he retrieved what they needed.

"Do not disappoint me," Hermione said imperiously before quietly walking off to the wall that Griphook and lead her to by her sleeve.

"Merlin," Ron whispered in a distinctly un-pubertized voice. "You're amazing Hermione. If we hadn't changed the plan- Merlin, they knew about the wand-"

"Yes, yes," Hermione muttered, discreetly looking around. Many people were still watching her, but as she made eye contact with each human or goblin, they'd look away. "But I think they suspect. I swear, when that one goblin looked at you Ron- just hurry Griphook!"

A minute later showed the disguised Harry, Hermione, and Ron subtly following Griphook into an ajar door. Griphook had taken the invisibility cloak off observed, and it was now stuffed in Harry's jacket pocket. They quietly slipped out of Gringotts' entry room and as Hermione carefully shut the large door, she saw no eyes on them. What she did notice was the goblin who had studied Ron whisper animatedly with two of his coworkers.

"I can't believe we just did that," Harry said in surprise.

"Don't believe it," Hermione said tersely. "I think they know. Hurry, hurry- get into the cart!"

They rattled along, flying down the track deep into the bowels of the bank. Soon the sound of water became apparent. Griphook yelled in alarm, but it was too late. They flew right into the waterfall. The water suffocated her; it filled her mouth, her ears, her nostrils; it covered her eyes and tried to suffocate her. Then, with a lurch, the cart flipped over. Hermione cast a quick nonverbal cushioning charm as everyone tumbled onto the cold hard ground.

"The Thief's Downfall!" Griphook practically growled. "It washed away all enchantment, all magical concealment! They know there are impostors in Gringotts, they have set off defenses against us!" Hermione gasped and whipped around. Ron was once again taller than everyone (and was quickly transfigured his strips of child-clothing into an outfit that would actually cover him now that he'd grown), and Harry looked like himself again. The outfit Hermione had worn to impersonate Bellatrix was no longer skin tight; the robes were large (and sopping wet). "Hurry!" Griphook urged, "we must hurry!"

Hermione could hear people coming, so as everyone we took off running, she cast a forceful protego down the passageway before following her friends. She turned a corner and barreled into Ron, who was frozen. Hermione stopped and stared, well aware that they were wasting valuable time.

It was ginormous. The dragon's scales were pale, milky white and flaking off. It had giant chains attached to its legs to tether it to the ground. It's eyes were a fuzzy pink- a clear sign of (at least partial) blindness. Griphook was already using the clankers, driving the beast towards the wall and forcing it to cower in fear. Hermione felt anger for the creature, along with a healthy dose of fear. Who decided it was a good idea to trap such a beautiful, living creature underground for Merlin-knows-how-long? And what could have caused such scars on its face?

But there was no time to dwell on the injustice of the matter, because they were off again. Hermione ran behind everyone, struggling to keep up with her impracticable shoes. They stumbled to a stop in front of an ancient wooden door. Griphook gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the vault door. It melted away to reveal the contents of the Lestrange Vault. Hermione froze for a moment and stared.

There were piles upon piles of gold, countless skins of strange creatures, mountains of armor, potions in jeweled flasks, and so many mysterious instruments that Hermione couldn't possibly take in from only a second of observing.

Griphook stood in the doorway so that the vault wouldn't seal them in. They stood still, looking for Hufflepuff's cup or any unknown Horcrux. Each member of the Golden Trio felt the presence of the Horcrux deep in their bones; after spending so much time with one wrapped around their necks, they were able to recognize the feeling. A golden cup caught Hermione's eye, and she bent to pick it up.

"Harry, could this be-? Aargh!" She dropped the cup, and identical pairs came to life. Hermione heard Griphook say something to the boys, but she couldn't focus on his words. Her fingers hurt too much.

"It burned me!" she moaned. They must have set up the Gemino and Flagrante curses. If they didn't find the cup soon, they'd be crushed to death under the weight of expanding gold. Harry yelled something as Ron accidentally nudged one of the fallen goblets with his foot. Hermione stared at the part of his shoe where the material had burned away.

"Stand still, don't move!" she commanded. They looked around, searching for the Hufflepuff cup. The place felt like a furnace, and Harry caused copied galleons to spill across the floor, adding to the heat. Hermione became uncomfortably warm and is her desperately for water, wind, air conditioning- something, ANYTHING to help with this heat.

"IT'S THERE, IT'S UP THERE!"

And there it was. Hufflepuff's cup glinted regally far, far out of the Trio's reach.

"And how the bloody hell are we going to get up there without touching anything?" asked Ron.

"Accio cup," shouted Hermione, forgetting it was a pointless endeavor.

"No use, no use," Griphook snarled.

"But then, how-" Harry asked desperately before having an idea, "-the sword! Hermione, give it here!" She fumbled inside her robes, pushing aside the flask that contained the Unaging Potion that hung around her neck. She drew out her beaded bag and rummaged inside it for a moment before drawing out the Sword of Gryffindor and handing it to Harry.

"If I can just poke the sword through the handle- but how am I going to get up there?" Harry muttered.

The sound of a dragon's roar came from the other side of the vault, along with clanking that grew progressively louder. The waves of heat were messing with everyone's minds, and the fact that they're trapped only enforced this. Hermione took a deep breath. She needed to stay calm.

"Hermione," said Harry desperately as the clanking grew louder, "I've got to get up there, we've got to get rid of it-"

Th sound of Hermione's levicorpus interrupted Harry. He was hoisted into the air by his ankle. Harry hit a suit of armor, and replicas rained down on Hermione, Ron, and Griphook. They struggled and yelled in a sea of red-hot treasure. Hermione could feel the searing heat of gold and could see the burns it left.

"Impervius!" screeched Hermione in an attempt to protect herself, Ron and the sly goblin by the vault entrance. The pain was overwhelming; she could feel the burns all along her exposed legs and could feel the cloth of her outfit melting on her and the pain was excruciating; it hurt so bad, and Bellatrix carving those humiliating words into her skin hadn't hurt as much as this. She let out a scream of pain, and saw Ron reach for her before slipping and smacking his hand on a golden instrument. Ron roared in pain as more and more instruments appeared, but didn't let to of the whirring device. It looked like an alarm clock, and a foreboding feeling filled her stomach as she read numbers flashing across the screen of the device.

12-29-19-36

"No!" Hermione screeched as she lunged towards Ron, having guessed the function of the device.

"I've almost got it!" Harry yelled as he reached for Hufflepuff's cup, sword in hand.

"I can't let go!" Ron moaned in pain as he uselessly tried to unclench his fingers from the instrument.

"I didn't sign up for that," Griphook growled as he glared at the instrument, and after sending the Sword of Gryffindor one longing look, ran out of the vault to save himself.

"Oh no, oh no-" Hermione groaned as she tried to reach Ron before it was too late. But, as she walked through the sea of golden fire, the device emitted a sharp whistle.

"NO!" Hermione cried again, and vainly made one last desperate lurch to Ron. The instrument that he couldn't let go of was swinging back and forth due to Ron's attempt to shake it off, and because if this, Ron accidentally hit Hermione in the head with it. The side of it collided with her temple, and pain lit up Hermione's senses. She slumped forward and sank into the heat of the gold.

"Hermione!" She heard Ron shout. She laid there, unable to move her limbs, listening to the sharp whistle of the machine, hearing Harry and Ron's frantic voices, tasting the unique flavor of the Unaging Potion that spilled into her open mouth from a melted hole in her flask, and watching the darkness creep up on her. She couldn't even feel the pain from the gold.

Unconsciousness took ahold of her.

"HERMIONE!"

She didn't dream.

"Hermione, where are you-"

She didn't see anything.

"Harry- HARRY I NEED HELP!"

There was nothing.

"She's gone, she was knocked out, I don't know, I didn't mean to-"

Blackness.

"She's not answering! Hermione! HERMIONE!"

Emptiness.

...

Silence.

Author's Note: So lately, fanfiction has been far from my mind. I hadn't gotten an Email alert for new updates of my followed stories, for reviews, or anything fanfiction related at all. At first I thought nothing of it and kind of pushed it all to the back of my mind, but a few days ago I thought it seemed really fishy, so I manually looked up my most recent updates from stories I follow. There were 6 updates! I have no idea why I'm no longer receiving Emails from fanfiction, but for some cursed reason, my fanfiction Email service is pretty much dead. Does anyone know how to fix that? Anyways, last night, I was beginning to type up the second chapter of Is It Ever Enough (I write all my first drafts on paper before typing them), when I thought to check my story out. So I checked on my story and saw that it had 26 FOLLOWS, 11 FAVORITES, AND 8 REVIEWS! I was so surprised and happy that I got up and danced! The last I'd seen, my story only had 2 reviews, a few follows, and 1 favorite! Thank you guys SO MUCH! You made me so excited and so happy that I typed the entirety of chapter 2, which I hadn't planned to complete typing up until Thursday! (Of course, I promptly fell asleep straight after editing it, so that's why I'm updating this morning instead of last night.) Every follow, favorite, and (especially) review (I love feedback) meant so much to me, and I'd like to thank the following reviewers from the bottom of my Harry Potter-obsessed heart: Guest, anon, Anon (I'm so glad you liked my Luna humor, I wasn't sure that I'd done it justice), mionerocks (thanks for being the first reviewer!), Mylla-chan, flyingberry (I haven't planned the ending to the story yet, but I'll try not to make it too tragic for you), SuperPotterWhoLockFan (a fellow Potter Head and Whovian? You are awesome), and, most of all, kimmyy99. Your review was so uplifting, your feedback was great, and I'm just so happy right now that I can't even contain it! Don't forget to review again guys; you're the best!

Okay, now to address the other stuff.

Updating: I have a super busy schedule, but I want to add chapters as often as I can because I hate it when authors take half a year to update. So, my plan is to try to update once a month. For example, this is my update for October, and hopefully I'll have up one for November sooner rather than later!

Plot: I know that most of the stuff in this chapter was right along with what we read in the Deathly Hallows. *boooring- we already knew most of this stuff!* The thing is, every good story needs a background, and these two chapters were my background. Next chapter we will definitely be into the AU stuff, but it's going to be more set-up for the plot. The 4th chapter is where we're going to get the beginning of the good stuff like Child!Tom&Hermione. Just stick with me and review to let me know of what you think, okay? Feedback fuels my inspiration! (Jk- to an extent. If you actually read that long Author's Note up there, you'd understand. Your reviews actually caused me to update 2 days earlier than planned!)

Remember, this has no beta, so let me know if you see any spelling or grammar mistakes!

Read & Review please!