Ron and Hermione were standing outside the front door awaiting my return. When they saw me appear, they ran over to me and Hermione hugged me.
"I was so worried," she said.
"Did you get Malfoy's hair?" asked Ron.
"Yes," I said, opening up my hand to show them the short blonde hair. "And Bellatrix Lestrange was there too, so I also got one of her hairs. We can try both vaults."
"Perfect! We should put the hairs in a safe place," said Hermione, leading us back into the house.
"How did you do it?" asked Ron.
"Bellatrix's hair was on her jacket, so I just pulled it off, and to get Malfoy's hair I, er, I just pulled it out when he wasn't looking."
Once we were back in Ron's room, Hermione said, "When are we planning on breaking into Gringotts?"
"The day after my birthday," I said.
"Man, that's in three days," said Ron.
"All right. We need a really good plan if we're going to do this," said Hermione.
"I was thinking that I would turn into Bellatrix and Ron would turn into Malfoy," I said.
"Ugh, why do I have to be Malfoy?" Ron groaned.
"I don't want to grow a dick, and I don't think Hermione wants to either," I said. Hermione laughed.
"Fine. I'll do it," said Ron, laughing too.
"Hermione, you can be under the Invisibility Cloak" I said. "Then we'll Apparate to Diagon Alley and go to Gringotts."
"What if the real Draco and Bellatrix are in Diagon Alley that day too?" said Hermione.
"We'll just have to make sure they don't see us. There's no way we can know in advance where they are going to be."
"Yes, I suppose," said Hermione.
"Okay, so once we're in Gringotts, I'll go to Bellatrix's vault, and you two will go to Malfoy's. Look for either a gold cup with the Hufflepuff symbol on it or something with the Ravenclaw symbol. Then we'll leave. If everything goes well, it shouldn't be too hard."
"Are we coming back here afterwards?" asked Ron.
"I don't think we should plan on it," said Hermione. "What if something goes wrong? We need a hidden place to go to."
"What about Grimmauld Place?" said Ron. "I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind, right Alyssa?"
"No, he would probably love it, but I don't want to put him in danger either," I said. We sat in silence for a few minutes, stumped once again. "Ron, does your Dad still have the tent that we stayed in when we went to the Quidditch World Cup?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"We could pack that and then just hide out in the forest where the World Cup was. No one would find us there, and we can stay there until we figure out what to do next."
Ron and Hermione agreed that it was the best plan. "We should start packing then," said Hermione. We gathered everything that we thought we would need in Ron's room, including the tent, canned food, books, clothes, and more.
"Put all that stuff in here," said Hermione, holding out a small bag.
"How is all this stuff going to fit in that tiny bag?" said Ron.
"I charmed it," said Hermione.
"Where do you learn all these spells, Hermione?" asked Ron.
"Unlike you, I read."
* * *
The morning of July 31st, I woke up earlier than usual. I climbed out of bed careful not to wake Hermione or Ginny. While walking down the stairs to the kitchen, I realized I was finally sixteen and no longer had the Trace. I could use magic now whenever I wanted. I was tempted to go back up to my room to get my wand and do a bunch of spells while the rest of the household was still asleep, but I decided against it.
When I entered the kitchen, I was surprised to see that Fred was also there, but more surprising was the look on his face. Fred, who always looked like he was ready to crack a joke, looked angry and upset. He turned when he heard me come in.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Yeah. Take a look at this," said Fred, pointing to the Daily Prophet, which was on the table. I picked up the paper and my mouth dropped open at the headline: Fudge Found Dead in His House Last Night.
"Oh my god, does your Dad know?"
"Yeah. He already left for work."
I looked back down at the article and began to read.
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, was discovered dead in his home on July 30th at eight o'clock PM by Pius Thicknesse, his head advisor.
"When Fudge did not show up for our meeting that evening, I was worried, since he is an extremely timely man," says Thickness. "I went to his home to check up on him and found him lying motionless on the floor of his study."
After several examinations, the Healers at St. Mungos have concluded that Fudge died of a severe heart attack.
"Are they serious?" I exclaimed. "A heart attack? It's so obvious that Thicknesse went into Fudge's home and killed him. I bet there wasn't even any meeting scheduled."
"That's exactly what Dad thinks, and I agree," said Fred. "Thicknesse is one of the advisors who's under the Imperius curse. They probably also put the Healer who was examining Fudge under the Imperius curse too. Keep reading. It gets much worse." I turned back to the paper and continued to read.
Thicknesse will be taking Fudge's place as Minister of Magic, since he was Fudge's highest advisor and has much experience dealing with Ministry issues. When asked what changes he will make within the Ministry, Thicknesse replied, "There are not many aspects of the Ministry that need to be changed since Fudge was an excellent Minister, but we will be getting much stricter on Muggle-born policies."
I looked up at Fred, totally disgusted. "Now Voldemort basically has the whole Ministry under his control," I said.
"I just wonder how much longer it's going to take for people to start realizing that you and Dumbledore were telling the truth about You-Know-Who being back."
"Probably not until Voldemort actually shows himself," I said. "I don't' get why he's waiting so long."
"Yeah, I don't know," said Fred. "Maybe he's busy with other things."
I put the paper down, not wanting to read anymore.
"There's one more thing you should read," said Fred, as if he had read my mind. He scanned the paper, and pointed to the paragraph he wanted me to read. I looked over his shoulder and read it.
Thicknesse's first action as Minister of Magic was announcing that attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is now compulsory for every young witch and wizard. After much deliberation, Severus Snape, the Potions Master at Hogwarts, has been appointed the new Headmaster of the school.
"What?! No!"
"I know. Now You-Know-Who has both the Ministry and Hogwarts."
"The other teachers won't stand for this! They know the truth, they know how Dumbledore died!"
"They'll stay, though," said Fred. "They need to protect the students. They'd probably end up in Azkaban if they tried to leave, anyways."
"I just hate the thought of Snape sitting at Dumbledore's desk touching all his things." I shook my head, trying to get the image of Snape reclining in Dumbledore's chair, smiling smugly, out of my mind. If only I had been able to stop him from fleeing the school that night. Images of Snape's face etched with hatred towards me filled my mind.
"Oh, happy birthday, by the way," said Fred, smiling.
"Ha, thanks," I said. "This is probably the best present I've ever received."
"I tried."
* * *
Everyone was in a bad mood at breakfast after reading the article.
"I'm sorry this had to happen on your birthday, dear," said Mrs. Weasley.
"It's okay," I said. I thought to myself that is was probably a sign that this was going to be a very bad year for me. "I'm going to visit Sirius today. To say goodbye."
"When are you three leaving?" asked Mrs. Weasley quietly.
"We're leaving tomorrow, Mum," said Ron.
Mrs. Weasley had to choke back a sob. "Why so soon?" she cried. "Can't you stay a bit longer? Maybe you can go to school for another year," she added hopefully.
"Mum, I'm definitely not going back to Hogwarts now that Snape is Headmaster," said Ron.
"I don't want to go either," said Ginny.
"Do not start with me, young lady!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny was quickly silenced.
"The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be back," said Ron, trying to sound convincing.
When Mrs. Weasley started to cry, I decided it was a good time to leave the table. Ron needed to be alone with his mom. Hermione followed me back up to our room.
"I feel horrible," I said. "Mrs. Weasley has always been so good to me and now I'm taking Ron away from her."
"It's not your fault," said Hermione. "It's Ron's choice."
"I'm going to visit Sirius for the day," I said. "I'll be back later."
I got dressed quickly and Apparate to Grimmauld Place. I landed on the top stoop and opened the door. I didn't bother ringing the bell, since I didn't want Sirius's mother to start screaming. I closed the door behind me.
"Sirius?" I called out. "Hello?"
I heard hurried footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Alyssa!" Sirius exclaimed when he saw me. He ran to me and gave me a huge hug. "What a great surprise! Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks," I said.
"I was just about to send off your present. Come upstairs. I'll give it to you."
I followed Sirius upstairs to his bedroom and took the small, brown package that he handed to me. I tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside was a small leather pouch with a drawstring to tie around the waist.
"Thanks, Sirius!" I said, hugging him.
"It's made out of Mokeskin. You can put anything in there and only the owner can take it out. It's very rare."
"It's perfect," I said.
"Now let's talk about you," said Sirius. "I got your letter saying you've decided not to return to Hogwarts." I nodded. "Can you tell me what you'll be doing instead?"
"Dumbledore left me some stuff to do. That's about all I can say."
Sirius nodded. "And Ron and Hermione?"
"They're coming with me. Mrs. Weasley is having a really hard time dealing with it."
"You know, I could come to," said Sirius. "You wouldn't have to tell me what you are doing."
"Thanks, but I don't see how that could work. If you're with us all the time, you're bound to find out what we're doing and Dumbledore gave me specific orders to only tell Ron and Hermione. I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize. Just promise me you'll be careful."
"I will. Don't worry."
* * *
I returned to the Burrow at dinner time. All the Weasley's were in the kitchen about to sit down for dinner, except Mr. Weasley, who I assumed was still at the office.
"Oh good, you made it back in time for dinner," said Mrs. Weasley. "Have a seat."
I was very quiet during dinner. I was still thinking about Sirius. It had been so hard saying goodbye. I knew he was hurt by the fact that I didn't want him coming along, but I did not want to put any more people whom I loved in danger on my behalf.
"Time for birthday cake," said Mrs. Weasley, caring over a large cake shaped as a Snitch. I had almost forgotten it was my birthday. "Make a wish, dear."
I leaned over the cake, wishing that Ron, Hermione, and I would successfully kill Voldemort. Then I blew out the candles and everyone cheered.
I couldn't fall asleep that night. I tried acting brave around Ron and Hermione, but truthfully, I was extremely nervous about breaking into Gringotts.
* * *
Everyone was very quiet at breakfast the next morning. Mrs. Weasley kept refilling our plates with more eggs and bacon and toast.
"This will probably be your last decent breakfast for a little while so eat up," she said.
After breakfast, Hermione and I hugged everyone goodbye, promising not to be gone too long. We left the house and waited in the garden for Ron.
"Put this on," said Hermione, pulling out a plain black robe from her bag. "I stole it from Mrs. Weasley. I hope she won't miss it." I put the robe on while Hermione continued to rummage through her bag. She pulled out two bottle filled with polyjuice potion and the small flask that held the two hairs. She pulled out the long black one and dropped it into one of the bottles. It fizzed and the potions became a gross looking murky black color.
"Here you go," said Hermione.
"Looks yummy," I said. I took a sip and gagged. I forced myself to finish the rest. My stomach felt queasy as my skin bubbled and became paler, my hair became thicker, and I grew about four inches. When the transformation was done, Hermione looked up at me and said tentatively, "Alyssa? You okay?"
"Yeah," I said. My voice was deep and raspy.
"The robe is a little too wide and a bit short, but it'll do," said Hermione.
Ron appeared in the garden just then and looked at me wide eyed. "Wow, Bellatrix is one scary looking lady," he said.
I laughed. Hermione handed Ron the polyjuice potion with Malfoy's hair and Ron made a face as he drank it down. When his transformation was over, Hermione packed back up her bag. The small pouch that Sirius had given me was tied around my waist. Hermione had charmed it so that it would fit the Invisibility Cloak. I had also put the locket it in. I took out the cloak and handed it to Hermione
"Ready?" I said. Ron and Hermione each linked an arm through one of mine in response. I turned on the spot and with a crack we had Apparated into the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the landlord, was behind the bar.
"Madame Lestrange, Master Malfoy," Tom murmured. Ron was about to give him a friendly greeting, but I nudged him with my elbow, signaling for him to be quiet. We needed to be in character, and Bellatrix and Malfoy were definitely not the sort of people who would greet Tom. I looked at Ron again. Even though I knew it was really Ron, I felt weird being so close to Malfoy after what had happened the last time I saw him. I felt embarrassed almost.
I drew out my wand when we reached the brick wall and tapped the brick that opened the archway to Diagon Alley. We stepped through and I looked around. There weren't many people around, since it was still early.
"We need to hurry," I whispered. "We only have an hour until we change back." Ron and I walked along the sidewalk towards Gringotts. I could feel Hermione's presence behind us. People were careful not to make eye contact with me. Bellatrix had a very intimidating presence, even if people didn't know that she was a Death Eater.
"Draco!" I heard someone squeal from behind us. I turned around and saw Pansy Parkinson running toward us. When she reached us, she said to Ron, "You should have told me you were going to be here today," before kissing him on the mouth. I watched Ron's eyes widen in shock as Pansy shoved her tongue between his lips. It would have been a funny sight, but all I could feel was jealousy. Malfoy and Pansy were still together. I hated that that bothered me.
I cleared my throat and Ron pulled away. "This is my aunt," he said, trying to act nonchalant.
"Nice to meet you," said Pansy. I grunted in return and then looked sharply at Ron and said, "We are in a hurry, Draco. Let's go."
"Catch you later, babe" said Ron to Pansy, and we continued on our way. The feelings of jealousy still hadn't gone away, but now was not the time to concentrate on how I felt towards Malfoy. I had much more important things to deal with.
We arrived at the foot of the marble staircase leading up to Gringotts. We entered through the large bronze doors, my heart pounding in my chest. We reached the vast marble hall and walked toward the long counter behind which sat many goblins. I leaned close to Ron and whispered, "Remember, meet me back at the Leaky Cauldron, but if the polyjuice potion has already worn off, Apparate to the woods where the World Cup was held. Good luck." When we reached the counter, I departed from Ron and Hermione and approached one of the goblins.
"Madame Lestrange, how may I help you today?" said the goblin.
"I wish to enter my vault."
"Follow me then, Madame. I shall take you to your vault," said the goblin, hopping off of his stool. He disappeared for a moment and then appeared around the end of the counter. The goblin walked to one of the many doors leading off the hall and I followed him. We went through the door, and the goblin whistled to summon a little cart that came trundling along the tracks toward us out of the darkness. I got in and with a jerk, the cart was speeding along the track, sloping downward. So far everything was going according to plan.
When we reached the vault, I estimated that I had about forty-five minutes left until the potion wore off. That gave me about half an hour to look, since I needed time to get back to the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't much time.
The goblin pressed his hand to the door of the vault, and the door melted away to reveal a small room crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, and potions in jeweled flasks. I began to sweat as I looked around. There was so much stuff. I would never have time to look through all of it. I wasn't even sure what the Hufflepuff cup looked like, and if it was a different Horcrux, I would never be able to find it in just thirty minutes.
"Are you looking for something in particular, Madame?" asked the goblin.
"A gold cup with the Hufflepuff symbol on it," I said. "I can't seem to remember where I put it."
"Is that it up there?"
I looked up and gasped. I quickly passed off the gasp as a cough and tried to conceal my joy as I looked at the small gold cup, which had a badger engraved on it. It had to be it. I asked the goblin to get it down for me, since it was out of my reach. The goblin pointed its finger at it and the cup zoomed down into the goblin's hand. The goblin handed the cup to me and I put it in the pouch where the locket was also located.
"I'm finished. Let's go," I said, commandingly. I followed the goblin back into the cart and we sped back up the track. When I entered the marble hall, I looked around for Ron. We hadn't planned on meeting in the hall, but there was a slight chance that he and Hermione were here now too. I saw my reflection on the glass wall, and I was relieved to see that I still looked just like Bellatrix. That meant Ron still looked like Malfoy. The room was very crowded now, and as I made my way to the door, I kept my eye out for Malfoy. Relief flooded through me when I saw him in the corner, but he was with Pansy. I was relieved that Ron and Hermione had made it out safely, but why were they wasting time with Pansy?
I hurried over to them and said to Ron, "Come along, Draco."
Ron turned to me, looking very surprised. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"I know. It's lucky I found you," I said. Without saying anything to Pansy, Ron followed me out of Gringotts, and Hermione, I assumed, was right behind us. The streets of Diagon Alley were very busy, so I would have to wait to tell them that I'd gotten the Horcrux. I couldn't risk anyone overhearing. I was about to reproach Ron for not saying goodbye to Pansy, since that was out of character for Malfoy, but before I could say anything Ron said, "Is anything the matter?"
"No, everything went great," I said. "I'll tell you everything when we're not surrounded by so many people. What about with you two?"
Ron looked at me with a puzzled expression, which I didn't understand, but then he said, "You mean me and Pansy? That's definitely not great. Thanks for getting me away from her. She's always all over me. She's can be so annoying and suffocating." We continued to walk hurriedly down the street. It was really weird having a conversation with Ron when he looked like Malfoy. I looked back at him and said, "Well, you won't have to deal with her anymore."
"How'd you know that I'm going to break up with her? I haven't told anyone yet. It's that obvious, huh?"
I looked at Ron, totally confused. "What do you mean you're going to break up with her?"
Ron looked at me with that puzzled expression again. "I'm going to break up with her. It's pretty simple. Are you sure everything's okay, Aunt Bella?"
"Why are you calling me Aunt Bella?" I said, laughing.
Ron stopped walking. "That's what I always call you."
"What's wrong with you-" I stopped talking immediately. I suddenly realized with a jolt that this wasn't Ron; it was actually Malfoy! I had to get myself away from Malfoy and fast, but I had to convince him that I was Bellatrix.
"Er, I'm sorry, Draco. I'm all out of sorts today," I said quickly.
"What's that on your forehead?" said Malfoy, scrutinizing my face. I quickly clamped a hand to my forehead. With my other hand I picked up a strand of hair. It was thinner and straighter than Bellatrix's hair and my skin color looked a bit tanner than it had a few minutes ago. I was turning back into myself! Without thinking, I turned on the spot to Apparate. That last thing I saw was Malfoy's face, his mouth opening in horror as comprehension dawned in his eyes.
AN: Thanks for all the reviews!