Harriet Potter and the Minister of Magic
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.
Pairings: DM/femHP. CD/femHP. CD/HG. JP/LP (past). SS/LP (one-sided).
Warnings: Spoilers from canon (Books 4 to 7). Occasional time jumps from chapter to chapter. Mature content later on.
Notes: Look what it is – it's a chapter! And so soon too! This was way better than the last 7-month wait I made you guys go through before. Hahaha. Before I forget, the beautiful cover that I now use for this story is not mine. It belongs to BadassNerd, who is, as you can see, an AWESOME artist! :D Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 37 – The Gringotts Heist
The air was crisp and hazy that night as Autumn pulled her thick coat tighter around her frame and forced herself to keep trudging through the cold, snow-covered stretch of forest. When she got to the edge of a small clearing, she waited, scanning the area around her as she waited for her companion. After a few moments, she saw it – a silver doe patronus that materialized out of thin air and began leading her through a covered trail of trees and bushes.
At the end of the trail, Autumn saw a small cottage just by the outskirts of the forest. Without hesitation, she walked towards it, closing the wooden doors behind her with a loud slam before glaring impatiently at the heavily cloaked man waiting for her inside the dark room.
"We're running out of time." She greeted him curtly.
"So I've noticed." Severus Snape, decked out fully in his Death Eater robes, drawled at her with a cold sneer. "The more time we waste, the more the Dark Lord will likely suspect that something is wrong, especially when he finds out that his horcruxes are beginning to vanish one by one." He added, causing Autumn to wince and collapse down onto the chair across from him.
"What do you propose we do now?" She asked, breathing out a frustrated sigh.
"Were you able to tell Potter and Black everything they needed to know? Did they read Dumbledore's letter?" Severus gave her a sharp look, ignoring the uncertainty in her features.
Autumn nodded slowly, avoiding his gaze and staring at the floor.
"And how about the stone?" The former Potions Master paused again and shot her a questioning look. "Were you able to retrieve it just like Dumbledore asked you to?" He asked.
"I did." She reached into the pocket of her robes, pulling out a small, diamond-shaped stone that fit easily against her palm. "But I don't understand what this is for." She admitted.
"That is not for you to know." Severus told her flatly with a curt shake of his head. "What you should be concerned about is how you'll need to find a way to somehow give that stone to the girl at the right time – once she realizes what she is. Can you do that, Perigreen?"
"I—I—" Autumn stammered, running a hand nervously through her hair. "I don't know if I can do this, Severus. Harry, she's—she's only seventeen-years-old! She shouldn't have to die!"
"She's a horcrux." Severus' eyes darkened and a sneer curled his lips. He turned away from her, pointedly refusing to meet her gaze. "As long as she lives, so too shall the Dark Lord."
"I know, I know that! But I just—isn't there another way? Isn't there some other way that we can do this without having to send her to her death like that?! I can't just—" Autumn's voice broke off. She sighed again and covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her tears. "I don't want to do this, Severus. I can't just send an innocent girl to her death." She whispered.
"Neither can I." Severus answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "But we both knew what we signed up for. That girl will have to die by Voldemort's hand. There is no other way."
"But James doesn't even know—"
"Potter can not know!" Severus narrowed his eyes and glared warningly at her. "Even if we told him the truth of Dumbledore's plans, he'll never agree to it! We must act on our own!"
Autumn fell silent, tucking the stone back into her pocket. After a few minutes, she spoke, and Severus heard the hesitation in her soft voice. "What if Harry doesn't go to him?"
Severus stilled, his thoughts lingering on her words. When she lifted her gaze and met his eyes, it wasn't difficult to make out his answer to her question through his grim expression.
"Then you must drive the sword of Gryffindor through her heart."
"Cedric!" Hermione hissed urgently at the older teen as she and Harriet struggled to keep up with him just as he was approaching the counter of goblins at the back of the room. "Can you slow down a bit?! You look like you're being chased by a ghost!" She snapped at him.
"I can't help it!" Cedric hissed back under his breath as he stopped just behind a trio of wizards who were already waiting in line in front of one of the counters. "I feel absolutely ridiculous looking like this! Whose hairs did you put into this polyjuice anyway?!" He demanded.
Hermione met Harriet's equally cringing expression underneath the invisibility cloak. "To be honest, we don't know whose it was. It was one of those jerks who attacked us in that diner."
"What?!" Cedric paled and swallowed the dry lump that had formed in his throat when one of the men in front of him – a tall man with thick, unkempt hair and beady black eyes – turned around to give him a suspicious look. "You mean to tell me you don't know who I'm supposed to be impersonating right now?!" He snapped under his breath in a panicked squeak.
"Just act natural." Harriet offered as she and Hermione crouched down low behind him. "Just go up to that goblin over there and ask to see the Magical Artifacts archive." She told him.
"But what if he asks me for my name, genius?!" Cedric hissed back at her.
"Give them any name." Harriet suggested again. "Or maybe you can say you're—"
"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Hermione meeped, frantically elbowing Harriet's side.
"Er…Mione?" Frowning, Harriet turned to face the other girl, giving her an annoyed glare. "Not to point out the obvious or anything but I don't think he can give that name. For one, everyone knows what Lestrange is supposed to look like. Secondly, Lestrange is a woman—"
"No, no!" Hermione shook her head furiously and gestured to one of the witches who was standing in line a few meters ahead of them. "I mean Bellatrix Lestrange is right there, Harry! She's standing a few yards away from us, she's with two more of those Death Eaters!"
"What?!" Harriet stiffened as she followed Hermione's gaze, staring in shock at the sight of none other than Bellatrix Lestrange herself – in her trademark, lacy robes of black – standing in front of the line with a haughty sneer on her face. She was with two other Death Eaters, both of whom Harriet was sure she'd seen before, and she was arguing loudly with the head goblin.
"I wish to see my vault!" Bellatrix was shrieking loudly, stamping her foot on the ground.
"Madam Lestrange, please! We are just following protocol!" The goblin answered calmly as he leaned back against his seat and stared at her. "We need to see your key." He told her.
In front of her, Cedric stiffened and took a step backwards in alarm. Gulping loudly, he turned his head and hissed frantically at the two girls over his shoulder. "What do we do now?!"
"Just stay calm." Harriet whispered to Cedric, reaching forward to steady him by the arm. "I don't think they've even seen you. Don't draw attention, let's wait for them to leave."
"And if they recognize me?!" Cedric demanded pointedly.
"They won't." Hermione tried to reassure him.
Cedric took another step back. "No, no, no! This is crazy, 'Mione! I don't know why we thought we could get away with this! I don't even know the name of the guy I'm supposed to be impersonating! If Lestrange sees me and she finds out that I'm an imposter, she might kill me—"
"Cedric, quiet!" Harriet snapped at him, tightening her grip around his wrist. "I don't think they even know you're here. Look! They're arguing with that goblin about something."
"Huh?" Confused, Cedric turned his attention back to the front of the line, watching as Bellatrix and the two Death Eaters circled around the front counter, their voices growing louder.
"I want to see my vault!" Bellatrix Lestrange was practically screaming at the goblin as he stared back impassively at her through thick, half-moon glasses. "Take me to my fault now!"
"Madam Lestrange." The goblin continued to look calm as he answered her. "We cannot authorize entry if you do not have your key. If you would kindly just let us inspect your wand—"
"I hardly think I need to! I am one of your most valuable, high net-worth clients! Surely you can make this one exception for me?" Lestrange demanded again, glaring haughtily at him.
"As I said, Madam, rules are rules—"
The goblin suddenly cut himself in the middle of his sentence.
A dreamy, completely dazed expression slowly crossed his face. After a few seconds of smiling blankly, he turned to face Lestrange and nodded at her before standing up from his seat.
"As you wish, Madam Lestrange. I'll take you to your vault now." He bowed before the three Death Eaters and began to lead them towards the entrance to the underground tunnels.
Something smells funny. Harriet's eyebrows fused together at the scene she witnessed. Those three aren't who they say they are. Frowning, she ignored Hermione's insistent tugging on her hand and grabbed Cedric by the arm, forcing the former Hufflepuff to freeze in his place.
"Harry?" He whispered under his breath, looking confused.
"Change of plan." Harriet whispered back, her eyes narrowed as she watched Lestrange leading the two Death Eaters away. "I want you to follow after Lestrange, Cedric." She told him.
"What?!" Cedric could only gape at her in response, the expression on his face similar to that he'd probably have if Harriet had told him she was the daughter of the Dark Lord. "Har, you can't be serious! If she finds out that I'm not really a Death Eater, then she'll probably kill me!"
"Harry, what are you talking about?" Hermione turned her around so that she could gauge the expression on the other girl's face. "I thought we were here to go through the Magical Artifacts archive? Why on earth do you want to go following after Lestrange?" She demanded.
"Look, I know it sounds suicidal but you have to trust me on this, Mione." Harriet ignored their protests and began to push Cedric lightly towards the door Lestrange had gone in.
"I have a very, very strange feeling about those three Death Eaters."
Once he was sure that the goblin was fully under his Imperius Curse, Draco hastily tucked his wand back into his robes. Keeping his gaze focused on the goblin to maintain control, he, James and Sirius followed the goblin to the doors that led them to the underground vaults.
"Quick thinking." James muttered under his breath to him as they followed Sirius and the goblin to an empty cart. "For a second there, I thought he wasn't going to let us through."
"Thanks." Draco answered as he climbed into the cart after James. Just as the goblin, who had introduced himself as Bogrod, began to pull on the lever to start the cart, the three of them heard heavy footsteps. They looked up to see a tall, cloaked man running towards them.
"Madam Lestrange!" The man stopped when he reached the front of their cart and rested his hands on his knees, heaving for breath. Tensing, Draco arched an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder at Sirius, noting the way the other pureblood stiffened in suspicion.
"Madam Lestrange!" The man called to them again, but when Draco, James and Sirius continued to glare suspiciously at him, he added. "I wasn't aware that you had an errand to run in Gringotts this morning. May I accompany you as your additional guard?" He gave a low bow.
After a long moment of stunned, awkward silence, Sirius finally seemed to have recovered himself. He answered with a perfectly executed, Bellatrix sneer and shook his head.
"I have no need for another worthless idiot trailing after me!" He screeched, causing both James and Draco to flinch at his shrill voice. "Besides, who are you anyway, pathetic—"
"Why Madam Lestrange." The man straightened from his bow and sneered, levelling her with a tense, cautious look. "Surely, you know who I am. We have been in the league since we were teenagers. One would think—" He paused, studying Sirius closely. "—that we should be careful these days with imposters, especially after what happened at the Ministry of Magic."
James and Sirius both froze at that, shooting each other wide-eyed looks, but before either of them could say anything, Draco called the man's attention by giving him a cold smile.
"Marlowe." Draco acknowledged him with a curt nod. "Fine, you may accompany us but quit wasting our time, we're on a tight schedule." He ignored James and Sirius' relieved sighs and gestured for the other Death Eater to climb into the cart. "Get into the damn cart already."
"That's right. Uhm…That's my name. Marlowe." Marlowe continued to look uncertain at first, as though he wasn't sure whether to trust Draco or not, but he eventually nodded and rushed to jump into the cart after them. As soon as he was inside and Bogrod released the lever to get the cart moving, James pulled Draco aside and he hissed angrily at him under his breath.
"Are you bloody crazy?!" He snapped, glaring at Draco as though he had grown an extra pair of limbs. "What do you think you're doing asking this guy along?! He could blow our cover!"
"Well, if I didn't—" Draco retorted as he yanked his arm out of James' grasp. "—then he would have guessed something was wrong anyway! We'll ditch him after we get out of here!"
"Quiet, you two!" Sirius glared at them over his shoulder but he didn't get to say anything else because soon after, Marlowe pointed frantically at something ahead covering the tracks. Following his gaze, they saw that it was a thin, shimmering curtain of flowing clear water.
"What the bloody hell is that up ahead?!" He blurted out in a high-pitched screech.
"Bloody hell." James whispered, his face paling with dread. "I forgot all about that."
"What?! What's wrong, what is it?!" Hearing the realization in the older man's voice, Draco lifted his focus from Bogrod and glanced quickly at him but it was Sirius who answered.
"The Thief's Downfall." Sirius muttered, cursing softly under his breath. "It's a special protection mechanism in place that washes away all enchantments." He explained carefully.
"WHAT?!"
To Sirius' confusion, both Draco and the Death Eater named Marlowe had stiffened and were looking at him with wide, panicked eyes. Unfortunately, before any of them could say anything else, their cart careened wildly down the rail and pierced through the curtain of water.
Almost instantly, the water engulfed them with powerful magic before the seats beneath them suddenly collapsed, flipping them over and causing them to plunge to the ground.
All around her, Harriet could hear nothing else but panicked, terrified screams as she fell out of the cart and began plummeting well over 50 feet, racing toward the ground below. As she fell, Harriet grunted when she lost her grip on her invisibility cloak and reached out to retrieve it.
Falling beside her, Hermione had stopped screaming and was searching desperately through her robe pockets for her wand while Cedric – now completely rid of his polyjuice disguise – looked stunned and was gaping blankly at the three tall wizards falling beside them.
"M—Minister Potter? Sirius?! Draco?!" He croaked out in a strangled voice, causing the three screaming purebloods to pause and snap their heads to him, meeting his stunned look.
"Diggory?! What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Draco shouted back at him, his expression torn between disbelief and horror. Before Cedric could answer him, Hermione had finally pulled her wand out of her robe pockets and yelled out the first spell that came to mind.
"Arresto Momentum!"
At that, all seven of them – including Bogrod – froze in mid-air, mere inches above the ground, before the spell relapsed and they grunted in mild pain as they fell to the ground with a loud 'thud'. Scrambling to her feet, it took Harriet a moment to take in her surroundings. When she saw the person beside her, her eyes widened and a shocked, tearful laugh escaped her lips.
"Dad?" She croaked out.
Hearing her voice just as he was about to stand up, James stiffened. He turned his head slowly, staring at his daughter with glassy eyes – as though he couldn't believe she was there.
"Prongslet?" He whispered back, a weak smile making its way onto his face.
"Dad!" Harriet couldn't help another soft, tearful laugh as she jumped to her feet and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and allowing him to pull her into a tight hug. "Dad, you're alive! I can't believe it's you, you're here! I'm so happy to see you!" She cried.
"I've missed you too, sweetheart." James chuckled as he hugged her back, his throat dry from all the raw emotions constricted in his chest. "But I never would have thought I'd see you in here though." He added with a slight frown as he released her and reluctantly pulled away.
"Well, I never expected to see you!" Harriet countered back, looking confused as she stared up at him. "What were you doing in here anyway?! And why were you disguised as a—"
She cut herself off when she glanced over her father's shoulder and finally caught sight of the tall blonde who was watching her with an all-too-familiar look on his handsome face. Without thinking, Harriet's heart slammed painfully into her chest and she raced into his arms.
"Draco!"
"Har—oomph!"
As they stumbled painfully to the ground in a tangled pile of limbs, Draco didn't know whether to laugh or groan in pain. Shaking his head, he settled for neither and instead, he wrapped his arms around Harriet and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss. When they pulled apart a few minutes later, Harriet smiled at him and she reached up so she could cup his cheek.
"It's really you." She whispered, a tearful smile lighting up her face.
Draco nuzzled her neck in response, tightening his arms around her waist and pulling her closer against him until she was sure that he could feel her heart pounding against his chest.
"Uhm…Guys?"
Startled by Cedric's amused voice, the two former rivals were suddenly reminded of the other people around them and broke apart, blushing as they scrambled back to their feet. While Hermione was smiling at them and shaking her head, James and Sirius looked positively livid with barely controlled anger. They were both glaring dangerously at Draco, their teeth clenched.
"E—er, I uh." Seeing the look on James and Sirius' face, Draco let out a nervous laugh and hastily took a step away from Harriet. When neither of the two marauders smiled back at him, he swallowed audibly and raised both of his hands up at them in an 'I surrender' stance.
"I'm innocent, I swear! She came onto me!" He kidded weakly.
"Why you little—" James growled and he would have grabbed at Draco had Harriet not interrupted him by suddenly racing toward Sirius with another warm smile lighting up her face.
"Sirius! I didn't see you there!" Completely ignoring her father, Harriet laughed and launched herself at Sirius, pulling him into a tight hug. Fortunately, Sirius' focus was broken and he smiled as he returned her embrace. James, on the other hand, continued to scowl and glare at Draco as though he was seriously considering dismembering the much younger pureblood.
"Hey Brat." Sirius greeted her with an affectionate ruffle of her hair. "It's great to see you, Little Prongs. In fact, it's great to see that all of you are safe." He looked up and gave Cedric and Hermione a meaningful, pointed look. "But what in Merlin's name are you doing in here?!"
"I should be asking you three the same question!" Harriet countered back in an equally reproachful tone of voice. She pulled away from him and gave him, James and Draco a pointed glare. "Why are you here and what on earth were you doing polyjuiced as Bellatrix Lestrange?!"
"It's…a long story." Sirius tried to answer, wincing as he glanced over his shoulder at James and Draco. "What's important for you to know is that we're here looking for a horcrux—"
"You've found another one then?" Hermione interrupted, giving him a hopeful look.
"Another one?" James raised an eyebrow at the three teens in question.
"Well—" Harriet paused at that and she glanced at Hermione and Cedric, waiting until both teens nodded slowly at her before she answered. "—we, kind of, already destroyed one horcrux already. It was the locket of Salazar Slytherin. We broke into the Ministry to steal it."
"You broke into the what?!" Sirius and James paled, gaping at her in horror.
"Bloody hell, Potter." Draco smirked, shaking his head. "I always knew you were crazy but I think this just tops the list." He added with a grin, earning a glare from his miffed fiancee.
"Look who's talking! Weren't you just about to break into Gringotts?!" She retorted.
The smirk on Draco's face faltered and he winced, glancing at James for help.
"Don't change the subject, young lady!" James chimed in, stunning Harriet into silence for a few seconds when she realized that her father was actually siding with Draco for once. Ignoring her reaction, he went on. "Now explain to me – what were you doing in the Ministry?!"
"It wasn't as bad as it sounds, I swear! Anyway, we broke into the Ministry to get a horcrux. Then after we stole it from from Umbridge, we were able to destroy it using the Sword of Gryffindor. Although—" Harriet winced again. "—how we got the sword is another story—"
"Wait!" James raised a hand, cutting her off in the middle of her rushed rant. "Let's take this one step at a time then, Harry. You mean to tell me that you broke into the Ministry of Magic – one of the most dangerous places in London right now, a place swarming with Death Eaters – and you actually managed to steal a horcrux from Dolores Umbridge?" He demanded.
"Yes!" Harriet, Hermione and Cedric all blurted out in unison.
"And you somehow managed to destroy it?" James asked again.
"Yes!"
"How on earth—?"
"I already told you, Dad!" Harriet sighed and gave him an exasperated glare.
"We used the Sword of Gryffindor!"
Sirius looked even more confused at that and he scratched his head. "Okay, now I'm a little lost. How exactly did you three end up with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor?!" He asked.
Harriet opened her mouth to answer him but before she managed to say anything, Draco spoke up again, cutting her off and drawing all their gazes to his exasperated expression.
"As much as I'm really enjoying our happy little reunion, I think it's best if we continue catching up later." Draco drawled sarcastically. He didn't bother waiting for them to answer as he gestured frantically over his shoulder. "Maybe we can deal with that first?!" He screeched.
"Malfoy, what are you bloody on about now—"
The rest of James' retort ended up as a gasping wheeze as he froze and stared, wide-eyed at the hulking Welsh Green dragon that stood guarding the entrance to Lestrange's vault behind them. Though its legs, which were almost as large as James' entire torso, were chained to the ground, the dragon let out an angry hiss and growled loudly, attempting to lunge at them.
"Whoa!" Draco and Cedric both jumped back in alarm, accidentally crashing into each other and falling clumsily to the ground. Ignoring them, Hermione clasped tightly onto Harriet's arm and pulled the other girl back. James and Sirius both tensed, standing in front of the teens.
"If I remember correctly." Sirius muttered under his breath to James as he watched the dragon with narrowed gray eyes. "I know that Gringotts trains its dragons so that they expect pain when they hear a particular type of noise. Though, I just don't know which type of noise."
From where she was standing beside Harriet, Hermione scowled at his words.
"That's barbaric! Dragons shouldn't be treated that way." She said stiffly, causing James and Sirius to glance uncertainly at her for a second before turning back to the Welsh Green.
"What in the world is going on around here?!"
They were broken promptly out of their dazed staring at the dragon by the sound of Bogrod's loud, enraged voice just as the goblin finally regained his consciousness. Scrambling to his feet, he took one quick glance around his surroundings before he began to shriek at them.
"You're intruders! All of you! Guards! We have a breach inside Gringotts! Guards!"
Rolling his eyes, Draco raised his wand and pointed it at the screaming goblin.
"Imperio."
"Wait, I've got it!" Sirius exclaimed, watching with a grin as Draco managed to force the goblin back under his mental control. "Draco, let's see if you can get him to tame that dragon!"
"How?" Draco averted his gaze briefly from Bogrod and gave him a confused look.
"I don't know! Order him to get us around that dragon or something! He should know how!" Sirius suggested, watching as Draco sighed and ordered Bogrod to approach the dragon.
As soon as he was a few steps away from the Welsh Green, Bogrod reached toward a small wooden box on the wall, pulling out a strange-looking metal instrument. Then, without even blinking, he approached the dragon and gave the metal instrument a single, hard shake.
A shrill, ringing suddenly echoed around their rocky surroundings and at the sound, the dragon reared back instantly, wailing in pain and curling up around itself in a protective stance.
"That's brilliant." James grinned before turning around and meeting all four teens' wide-eyed stares at him with a calm, reassuring look. "Once we're inside Lestrange's vault, we'll only have a few seconds to look for the horcrux so we'll have to be quick. Do you all understand?"
"Um…What exactly is it we're looking for?" Cedric asked, looking uneasy.
"The Cup of Helga Hufflepuff." Draco answered. "I heard from Aunt Bellatrix that she had the cup stashed in her vault, but I can't exactly verify that." He added as an afterthought.
"And we're really sure the cup's a horcrux?" Cedric asked again.
"Er…Well." Sirius winced and shared a sheepish look with James before he answered. "To be honest, we're not sure the cup's a horcrux. All we know is that it's our closest bet right now to finding one, considering how much You-Know-Who has a penchant for flashy things."
"Can we all just stop talking now and get a move on?!" James snapped impatiently.
At James' outburst, they nodded and began to follow Bogrod to the vault entrance. Just as they reached the doors, Draco stepped up to Harriet and nudged her lightly with his elbow.
"I see now where you get your charming temperament." He remarked wryly.
"Oh shut up, Malfoy." Harriet nudged him back in annoyance.
They stopped, watching as Bogrod pressed his hand against the vault door. After a few seconds, the doors slowly began to melt, and they stared at the gleaming gold treasures inside.
"The cup! Get the cup!" Hermione screamed shrilly, pointing to the distinct-looking gold cup at the very top of the pile. Grunting, Harriet jumped to her feet and tried to shove her way through the rapidly growing mountains of galleons lying around the vault. A few feet away, Draco, James and Sirius were cursing in pain as they weaved through piles of searing hot gold.
"We'll be crushed!" Cedric croaked out as he maneuvered his way through another growing pile of rapidly multiplying gold and silver artifacts. "They still won't stop multiplying!"
"Brilliant assessment, Diggory!" Draco shouted back sarcastically, giving him an irritated glare. "I can see now why they made you Head Boy, your deductive reasoning is just flawless!"
"That's not helping, Draco!" Harriet snapped loudly at him when she noticed the way Cedric had stiffened with annoyance. "One of you, quick! Get over here and give me a boost!"
Cedric, the tallest one closest to her at the time, grunted before obediently making his way toward Harriet, wincing as the continously multiplying gold around him seared his skin. When he finally reached her, Harriet couldn't help cringing at all the painful burns on his arms.
He crouched, setting himself into a position to hoist her up. Nodding, Harriet climbed onto him and began to reach for the golden cup situated on top of the highest pile in the vault.
The minute her fingers clasped around the cup, Harriet grinned and let out a whoop.
"I got it!" She exclaimed.
"U—uhm…Er, Harry?!" Belatedly noticing how Sirius' voice seemed to be choked with growing panic, Harriet glanced up and stared questioningly at him and James across the room.
"We should probably think of how to get out of here right about now." He croaked weakly. Not long after, Harriet, Draco, Cedric and Hermione noticed the terrifying tower of gold and silver in front of them, dangerously close to overflowing and threatening to bury them alive.
"Get out!" James shouted loudly, pivoting sharply on his feet and running as fast as he could towards the vault doors. "Everybody get out of the vault right now! Let's go, let's move!"
"Dad!" Harriet screamed back at him as she and Cedric began pushing their way through the piles of gold back towards him. "The doors are closing! We'll never make it there in time!"
"Yes we can!" Raising her wand, Hermione aimed it at the piles of gold and shouted out a strange new spell that Harriet didn't recognize. Almost immediately, the rate at which the gold in the vault was multiplying seemed to double, and Harriet nearly cursed out loud in frustration.
"Hermione, how the bloody hell was that supposed to help—"
The approaching tidal wave of gold in front of them suddenly caved in, crashing down on them and sweeping them across the room. Harriet screamed as the wave of gold pushed them back, forcibly shoving them through the vault doors back to where Bogrod stood outside.
Stunned, the men jumped to their feet in shock and looked around. Harriet gaped and stood up slowly, realizing what happened. She held a hand out to help Hermione up to her feet.
"Hermione." She whispered, a wry smile curling her lips. "If I don't say it enough, I'll say it again. You are…bloody brilliant." She mused teasingly, giving the other girl a grin and wink.
"Always the tone of surprise." Hermione scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"You know you're brilliant, 'Mione." Still grinning, Harriet chuckled and shoved the golden cup into her bag. She was just about to look for the exit leading back outside Gringotts when an angry voice behind them suddenly drew their attention, causing them to whirl around.
"What is going on around here—" Bogrod, who up until that point had been waiting for them outside Bellatrix' vault, had suddenly chosen that moment to snap out of Draco's Imperius Curse again and glare at them in outrage. "Merlin's beard! You're thieves! Guards, arrest them!"
"Blasted goblin." Draco grumbled irritably, already fishing through his robe pockets for his wand. "I forgot all about him. What should we do with him? We can't leave him like this."
"Leave him anyway." James retorted, wincing as Bogrod screamed louder and nervously began backing away from them. "We have what we came for, there's no reason to harm him—"
As Bogrod continued to back away, the Welsh Green behind them suddenly gave a roar of outrage as it woke up. It spit out a mouthful of fire, reducing Bogrod into a pile of black ashes.
"Well." Sirius drawled sarcastically a few minutes later, breaking their horrified silence. "That was certainly unfortunate." He added, causing Hermione and Cedric to pale even more.
"We can't just stay here doing nothing!" James growled at him, finally snapping back to his senses. He glanced at the Welsh Green, noting the way it was staring threateningly at them. "That dragon looks like it wants us for its breakfast! Any bright ideas?" He turned to the teens.
"You're asking us?!" Harriet gaped dumbly at him. "Dad, you're the former Minister of Magic! And you used to be Head Auror!" She addressed the last part of her accusation to Sirius.
"Well, I do have one idea in mind." James admitted, though the uneasy grimace on his face did nothing to soothe the butterflies fluttering around in Harriet's stomach. "But it's mad."
"Mad just might be what we need right now." Sirius chimed in with a nervous laugh.
Before James could answer him, he was interrupted by the sound of alarms around Gringotts suddenly blaring loudly, alerting the guards. They looked up, paling at the sight of hordes of masked Death Eaters making their way down the underground tunnels towards them.
"Frankly, anything would be good right now so long as it gets us out of here as fast as humanely possible." Draco whimpered, fidgeting nervously with the long sleeves of his robes.
"So be it then." Steeling himself, James ignored their bewildered expressions and began to approach the Welsh Green in front of them with a gleam in his eyes. "Brace yourselves!"
"For what?!" Draco squeaked in a panicked, cracking voice.
"Dad, stop! What are you doing?!" Harriet stared after her father in horror.
James ignored her, pointing his wand at the chains that held the Welsh Green in place.
"Relashio!"
"A—are you serious?!" Cedric's eyes bugged as he watched James break out into a running spree before he launched himself into the air, landing effortlessly onto the Welsh Green's scaly back. As soon as he regained his balance, James grinned in triumph and beckoned for the others to follow. "Come on, let's get out of here!" He shouted above the dragon's roars.
Wearing an exhilarated grin identical to her father's, Harriet ignored Draco's shrill protests and took off after him, leaping high into the air and landing right on the dragon's back.
"Whooo! This is bloody wicked!" She cheered loudly, laughing.
"Wha—?" Cedric stared helplessly at them, his jaw hanging open in stunned disbelief.
"Bloody hell, I can't believe I'm marrying into this insane family!" Draco blurted out with an identical look of shock and dismay writen all over his face. "Are we really going to do this?!"
Behind him, he heard Sirius' shouts of laughter as he jumped onto the dragon, followed by Cedric and Hermione's terrified screams as they followed and latched onto the dragon's tail.
"Malfoy, stop complaining and just do it!" Harriet growled impatiently at him.
Wheezing and growing shaky with exasperated panic, Draco did as he was told and ran towards them, jumping as high as he could onto the Welsh Green's scaly back behind Harriet.
"Why aren't we taking off?!" James' voice was almost drowned out by Draco's cursing.
"It doesn't realize it's free!" Cedric answered, looking confused.
"Maybe it needs encouragement?" Sirius frowned thoughtfully at James. After a few seconds, both marauders shared a grin before pointing their wand at the dragon's back. Then, as though reading each other's mind, they jabbed the dragon sharply with the tip of their wand.
The Welsh Green screeched and roared with anger, its growls echoing throughout the entire underground passageways, before it finally opened its wings and soared into the air. It fell back and crashed a few times against the sides of the tunnels, causing a few Death Eaters – those chasing after them inside the railcarts – to scream and jump off the cart to avoid being hit.
As the Welsh Green roared and thrashed again, it jumped up – zooming towards the stone ceiling of Gringotts. Seated behind her, Harriet felt Draco's death grip on her waist tighten even more in nervous panic, causing her to wince in pain when his fingernails dug into her skin.
"D—Draco, love, can you ease up on your grip a bit?" She forced out a weak laugh.
"We're going to die! I swear, we're going to die!" Draco screeched, completely ignoring her altogether as his arms tightened around her waist and he buried his face into her shoulder.
"Malfoy, shut the hell up!" Sirius growled at him, looking annoyed.
As the Welsh Green crashed through the stone walls of the ceiling and continued soaring upwards towards the sky, Draco heard Sirius high-pitched, laughing cheers behind him.
"That was bloody brilliant!" He exclaimed, grinning roguishly at James and Harriet.
"That was CRAZY!" Draco shouted shrilly at him, finally opening his eyes and shooting Sirius a glare. "Did you not see what happened back there?! We almost got ourselves killed!"
"You know, Draco." James gave him a wry look. "If you can't handle a little bit of danger every now and then, then you may want to think twice about marrying a Potter." He kidded.
The Malfoy Heir paled at his words, staring at James with wide, horrified eyes.
"Dad!" Harriet broke their conversation off when she noticed the way James' shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "That's not funny! Leave him alone!" She warned him.
"Everyone, watch out!" At the sound of Hermione's flustered scream, James, Sirius, Harriet and Draco snapped their attention over their shoulders. Following Hermione and Cedric's gaze to the expanse of sky behind them, their eyes grew wide when they saw two black and white blurs chasing them from behind – two dark robed Death Eaters wearing white masks.
One of the Death Eaters, the one closer to them, reached up and yanked off his mask, allowing them to see his face. As soon as he recognized who it was, James stiffened in shock.
"Father?!" He rasped out.
Augustus Potter sneered at him before raising his wand and pointing it right at him.
"Crucio!"
With wide eyes, James pressed himself down against the dragon, narrowly avoiding the spell by a few inches. A split second after, Augustus raised his wand and pointed it at him again.
"Why are you attacking me?!I'm your son!" James raged furiously at him.
"You are no son of mine!" Augustus retorted as he aimed another spell at them that zoomed between James and Harriet's heads. "You're nothing but a disgraceful blood traitor!"
"Watch out, Dad!" Harriet screamed as she pushed herself against James, causing him to duck down just in time before another bright red spell beam hit him on the back of his head.
"James, look behind you!" Sirius yelled out in growing panic, causing all three in front – James, Harriet and Draco – to whirl around just in time to see Augustus and the other Death Eater he was with jump onto the dragon, gripping onto its scaly skin and crawling towards them.
Cedric grunted as he released one arm from his grip on the dragon and began digging desperately through his pockets for his wand. Beside him, Hermione watched in growing fear as, more and more, the Death Eaters began crawling closer and closer towards James and Harry.
When Harriet noticed the way the other Death Eater was beginning to aim a Killing Curse at James, she snapped. Ignoring Draco's protests, she released her grip on the dragon and launched herself at the Death Eater. He pulled back in shock, accidentally releasing his grip and causing both of them to fall off the Welsh Green, plummeting dangerously towards the ground.
"Harry!" Hermione screamed.
"HARRY, NO!"
James watched helplessly, paling with horror, as Harriet and the Death Eater continued to wrestle with each other in the air before they fell into the water below with one loud splash.
"I can't see her, James! She's not surfacing!"Sirius croaked out in a fear-roughened voice. He turned to stare wide-eyed at James again. "James, you hear me?! I can't see Harry!"
"She's fine! She's fine – she has to be!" James stammered; his eyes glassy with fear.
They heard another loud splash and looked up again, belatedly realizing that Draco had had also jumped off the dragon, landing in the water a few meters away from where Harry was. Releasing his grip on the Welsh Green, James intended to jump in after them. Unfortunately, before he could, Augustus snarled and lunged at him again, causing them both to fall back and begin wrestling each other for their wand. When Augustus managed to pin him down and began to raise his wand over him, pointing it at his neck, Sirius shoved forcefully at him from behind.
"Oomph!" Augustus grunted and clutched at his sides, rolling away. Just as he was about to steady himself back up, however, the Welsh Green suddenly gave another loud screeching wail and it swerved to the side, causing Augustus to scream as he was thrown off the dragon.
As soon as he was gone, James hastily scrambled up and peered over the dragon's wings, squinting to catch a glimpse of either Harry or Draco in the expanse of blue water below.
"I can't see them anymore!" Cedric whispered hoarsely, turning to James with wide gray eyes. "I can't even see Draco, Minister! Merlin, what if they're – what if they've drowned?!"
James refused to answer him.
Climbing back up to his feet, he ignored Hermione and Cedric's panicked screams at him and jumped off, breaking the water's surface with a loud splash. Not long after, Sirius jumped in after him, leaving Cedric and Hermione gaping down at them with identical looks of disbelief.
Harriet gasped desperately for air as she broke through the water's surface.
Coughing, she blinked the water out from her eyes and searched rapidly around her to assess her surroundings. Somehow, the waves had swept her near a deserted stretch of beach. She dived back down into the water and swam towards it, kicking her legs as fast as she could.
It didn't take long for her to get to the shore but the minute she surfaced from the water, she gasped at the sight that greeted her. There, by the water, Draco was wrestling with the Death Eater that Harriet had fallen with, and from the looks of things, the Death Eater obviously had the upper hand. He tackled Draco to the ground, using that advantage to shove Draco into the water and hold him there as Draco struggled wildly to push him off. When after a few more seconds, Draco's forceful thrashing slowly began to weaken, Harriet's heart stopped.
Oh my god, he's drowning him! Do something! Without thinking, Harriet jumped to her feet and ran blindly towards them, crashing into the Death Eater from behind and forcing him to relinquish his grip on Draco. She wasn't able to check up on her fiance right away, however, because the Death Eater suddenly turned and attacked her instead, causing Harriet to pull back.
"STUPEFY!" She screamed as the Death Eater lunged for her again, aiming for her throat. Fortunately, the minute her spell hit him on the chest, he fell forward, stunned, into the water.
Harriet didn't even have time to process what had happened. The minute she was sure that the man was knocked out, she whipped around and ran back hastily over to where she left Draco. When she saw that he was still passed out, she felt a stab of horror pierce her in the gut.
Oh no…No! He's not breathing! Harriet stifled the terrified sob that wanted to rip itself from her throat as she got down on her knees beside him, hastily pulling him out of the water.
"Draco! Breathe for me, love! Please! Please!" Trembling, Harriet blinked back the tears that were rapidly pooling in her eyes and laid him down onto the shore. She knelt down beside him and leaned down to place her mouth over his, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
When he didn't stir after her first few tries, Harriet choked back another sob and sat up, pressing both of her palms over his chest and trying to push at his chest to get him to breathe.
"Draco, please! Please, don't do this! Please wake up! Breathe!" She sobbed, alternating between breathing air into his lungs and pressing her palms harder against his chest. When her third round of this still didn't seem to wake him, her chin began to tremble and she felt herself slowing beginning to lose hope. "Draco, no! I can't lose you! Please come back to me, please!"
Just as Harriet was pulling back from giving him his fifth mouth-to-mouth, Draco's body suddenly gave a violent jerk. His gray eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath, coughing and wheezing the salt water out of his lungs. When he managed to look up a few minutes later and he saw Harriet kneeling over him, her cheeks streaked with tears, he gave her a shaky smile.
"You look hideous when you cry, Potter." He teased gently.
"You jerk!" Harriet managed a weak laugh through her tears as she launched herself at him and pulled him tightly into her arms, her entire body trembling with sobs of profound relief. "D—don't you ever do that again! You s—scared me! I thought that…I thought you w—were—"
"I'm sorry." Draco's face sobered as he pulled her closer against him, allowing her to cry against his chest. He was still having a bit of difficult breathing, and Harriet felt his harsh coughs wracking his frame. "Look, I'm okay now, see? I'm fine…Shh…Stop crying, love." He whispered.
Instead of answering him, Harriet closed her eyes and hugged him tighter, refusing to relinquish her grip on him even as they felt wave after wave of the ocean's water washing against them from where they were lying on the shore. After a long moment, Harriet finally managed to open her eyes. Helping Draco up to his feet, they assessed their new surroundings.
"Where are we, Har?" Draco whispered as he glanced around them, leaning half of his weight on Harriet as he allowed her to help him back to dry land. "I don't recognize this place."
"I don't know either." Harriet admitted softly, reaching up to wipe the tear stains on her face with the back of her hand. "Come on, we should go and find somewhere to set up camp."
"Camp?" Draco blinked at her in confusion. "Harry, how in Merlin's name do you expect us to be able to set up camp in the middle of nowhere? We don't even have a tent or anything."
As he spoke, Harriet was already reaching for the emergency kit in her backpack.
"How did you find him?"
"He was unconscious, washed up on the shore of the beach nearby."
"Thank Merlin he's alive. If any of those Death Eaters found him—"
"I don't even want to think about it."
"Shh! I think he's waking up!"
Hearing the loud, frantic voices, James groaned and opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times and squinting up at the ceiling. It took him a few seconds to make out where he was. He was lying down on a small bed, tucked underneath a pair of clean, white sheets. The tension in his shoulders relaxed and he lifted his gaze up to stare at the other occupants of the room.
"…Bill?"
"Hey Minister." The tall, red-haired man standing across his bed nodded slowly at James' hoarse greeting and answered him with a grim smile. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
"A little disoriented…and confused, but I'll live." James admitted, wincing as he forced himself up into a sitting position on the bed. When he glanced around the room again, he finally noticed the blonde, slender woman who was standing beside Bill and he gave her a nod as well.
"Fleur." He greeted weakly.
"You should lie back down, Minister." Fleur gave a tut of disapproval as she sat down by the foot of his bed, balancing a small basin of medicinal potions on her lap. "You have been unconscious for a few days now, you need rest. I'll have Tonks send some soup up for you—"
"Tonks? Wait is she—Harry! Where's Harry?! Where's my daughter?!" Ignoring Fleur's quelling glare at him, James' eyes widened in panic and he would have jumped out of his bed had Fleur not leaned over and gently pushed him back down. "What are you doing?! I have to go back out there and find Harry, she could be in danger! We were being attacked and she—I—"
"I'm sure Harry's safe, Minister." Bill tried to calm him down in a soft, soothing voice as he pushed James back down onto the bed again. "But right now, I'm afraid we can't let you out of here in your current state. Anyway, Sirius is in the next room. He's told us everything that—"
"Sirius?! He's here?! Is he okay?!" James' eyes snapped open again and he glared accusingly up at Bill just as Fleur sighed and reached up to replace the bandages on James' face.
"He's fine, James." Bill assured him with a nod. "He's been awake for two days now and he was able to explain to us everything that's happened. He doesn't know where Harry, Draco Hermione or Cedric are either, but he did give us a reference point to start looking for them—"
"I want to search for Harry immediately—" Ignoring the rest of Bill's explanation, James growled impatiently and tried to sit up again – only to wince in pain a few seconds later and clutch at the soreness in his ribs. "—those Death Eaters might be after her! I have to find her!"
"Minister, please!" Fleur implored in exasperation as she tried to push him back down.
"Your injuries are still healing—"
"I don't care! I need to save my daughter!" James shouted furiously at her.
"James, you have to calm down!" Bill finally seemed to have lost his patience as he gave a loud, sharp exhale of breath. "We understand you're very worried about Harriet right now. Believe me, we're doing all we can to find them!" He added, trying to reason with him. "But now is not the time to lose your head. We need to wait and discuss our next move with the others—"
"I'm bloody sick of waiting for goddamn help!" James snapped at him. "If you think I'm going to just sit here doing nothing while my daughter and her friends are out there, then you've got another thing coming! Now let me up, damn you!" He tried to push past Fleur to sit up again but just as he was about to stand, the thick doors to the room suddenly swung open.
Looking up at the sight of his two best friends – Remus Lupin and Sirius Black – walking into the room with matching grim looks on their unshaven faces, James stiffened in anticipation.
"Moony. Padfoot. " James' eyes narrowed in question as he took in the other marauders' dark expressions. "What are you doing here?! Are you two alright? Where's Harry?!"
"Hey Prongs." Sighing, Sirius raked a hand through his disheveled black hair and sat down onto the seat beside Bill. "How are you feeling? You've been unconscious for days now."
"Sirius." Gritting his teeth, James saw easily through Sirius' deliberate avoidance of his question and he glared warningly at him. "I asked you where my daughter was." He drawled.
"We don't know where she is, James."
Turning his attention to the voice that had spoken, James flicked his narrowed hazel eyes across the room and glared at Remus' tired features. When the werewolf stared back helplessly at him, unable to offer any other explanation, James buried his nails into his palms.
"What do you mean?!" James demanded, blinking at his two friends in disbelief. When they winced and offered no explanation, he turned to glance at Bill again. "You mentioned that you found me washed up on a beach somewhere. Did you happen to see anyone else there?!"
"There was no one else on that beach, James." Bill shook his head. "We tried to look around the other areas nearby but the thing is, with so many Death Eaters and poachers around looking for us, we couldn't risk being out in the open for too long." He admitted with a cringe.
"What about Hermione and Cedric? Did anyone else find them? Are they here?!" James' features were creased with worry. "Everything was happening so fast on that damn dragon!"
"We couldn't find them either." Sirius answered him with a solemn shake of his head. "To tell you the truth James, I wasn't really much help to you that day. I think the only reason we're even alive is because Bill found us both on that beach and brought us here." He told him.
At Sirius' words, James sighed in defeat and he turned his attention back to Bill.
"Thank you." He mumbled.
Instead of answering, Bill returned his nod before sighing and leaning back against the backrest of his seat. By the foot of James' bed, Fleur gave another 'tut' of disapproval at them. She leaned over and began checking the thick bandages wrapped around James' head and arms.
"Where are we?" James asked as he finally allowed himself to glance around the room.
"We're in a cottage somewhere near Cornwall." Remus explained as he sat down onto the chair across James' bed. He reached out, handing James a flask of water. "We should be safe here. We've cast enchantments around us so that we wouldn't be seen by intruders." He added.
"I see." James nodded, wincing when Fleur began cleaning the wounds on his head with antiseptic. "Who else is here? And why are we here instead of our hideout in Malfoy Manor?"
"Because it's already been infiltrated." Remus answered with a cringe, shaking his head. "Lestrange managed to weave her way through the secret passageways to the Manor somehow and they ambushed us. We were lucky to escape while we could without any serious injuries."
"Is Tonks or Teddy—" James wasn't sure how he could finish the rest of his question.
Fortunately, Remus caught on and he gave his friend a weak smile.
"'Dora and Teddy are fine. They're in the living room – along with Narcissa, Andromeda and Autumn. Arthur and Molly are still in London, helping the others there." He told him softly.
"Remus…If Andromeda's here, what about—" James paused and fell silent again.
As though reading the unspoken question from the other man's mind, Remus' eyes dimmed and he averted his gaze to his feet. Without lifting his eyes, he shook his head slowly.
"Her husband didn't make it. He…was one of those who were killed when the Death Eaters ambushed us." Sirius clenched his jaw. "Bellatrix went after him first for being a muggle."
"That fucking bitch!" James cursed furiously under his breath. Clenching his fists, he flicked his sharp glare back to Sirius. "And the others?! Is everyone else safe?" He demanded.
"Ron and Ginny are actually in Hogwarts right now, along with Neville." Bill answered, looking worried. "Mum and Dad wanted them to stay at home but they insisted that they'd be able to help some of the other younger students there, so they went anyway." He told them.
"From what I've heard, Hogwarts is still relatively safer than out here, especially since those three are all purebloods anyway. You-Know-Who wouldn't harm them." James muttered.
"Not if Severus Snape's the new Headmaster." Bill countered darkly.
"What?!"
James, Sirius and Remus all blinked and snapped their attention to him, gaping at him with stunned expressions on their faces. When Bill didn't answer, it was Sirius who spoke first.
"You mean to tell me Snivellus is the Headmaster of the school right now?!" Sirius' voice had risen a few octaves higher in disbelief. "That bastard, who knows what he's doing?!"
"Ginny wrote to us last week." Fleur interrupted, pausing in the middle of wrapping a fresh set of bandages around James' head. "She mentioned that she and most of the other students in Hogwarts now are already staging a coup against the Headmaster and the faculty."
"What's wrong with the faculty?" Remus asked, frowning.
"They're all Death Eaters." Fleur answered quietly.
"Mother of Merlin." Closing his eyes, James covered his face with his hands and fell back against the pillows of his bed. "There's nothing we can do. They're taking control of everything."
"Then we take it all back."
Startled at the new voice that had spoken, they looked up and stared at the sight of Autumn striding briskly into the room with a resolute expression on her face. When James blinked at her, unsure of what she meant, she walked over to stand between Sirius and Remus.
"We take it all back from those bastards! Everything." She ignored the uncertain stares she received from them and went on. "I suggest that we start by going after their main base."
"You don't mean—" Remus broke himself off and gave her a disbelieving look.
"I do." Autumn's expression went grim. She nodded at him before turning to stare pointedly at James. "James, how well do you know the underground passages in Potter Manor?"
"Pretty well, I would think." James answered. "I used to spend all my time exploring those passages when I was a child. Mostly just to get away from my father." He added bitterly.
"Do you think we can use any of those passages to stage an attack?" Autumn's eyes narrowed as she glanced at the former Marauder. "Can we use them to get into the Manor?"
"There are two…But it will be pretty dangerous." James muttered under his breath.
"How so?" Autumn asked. "Isn't the point of those passages is that we're not seen?"
"Well, one of the two passages I'm thinking about leads from Potter Manor all the way to a back street somewhere in the middle of Diagon Alley."James replied sarcastically, shaking his head. "In case you haven't realized, Diagon Alley is currently swarming with Death Eaters."
"Where does it lead to in the Manor?" Autumn insisted, ignoring his words.
"Well—" James sighed and frowned to himself in thought. "If I remember correctly, that passage leads to an underground cellar beneath the first floor sitting room. Why do you ask?"
"That could work." Autumn nodded slowly, considering his words. "If anything, that'll allow us to free prisoners, at the very least. But then, if the entrance is in the middle of Diagon Alley, only a few of us – at most two – can use it to sneak in. What about the other passage?"
"Second one's a bit less dangerous." James told her, raking a hand through his hair. "It leads from the Potter Manor library to a dingy old muggle shop near the outskirts of London."
"Then why didn't you tell us that one first?" Sirius gave him an exasperated glare.
"Because that one has a catch."In response, James' eyes narrowed and he glared flatly at them. "That passageway does lead to the library, but the only way we can get in is if someone actually opens the door from the inside, otherwise that door's useless." He drawled pointedly.
"Oh. Bugger that." Sirius' shoulders slumped, and he glanced at Remus for help.
"Autumn." Remus' expression was creased into a thoughtful frown as he turned to the red-haired woman again. "You mentioned awhile ago that, to avoid being caught by the Death Eaters, only two people would be able to use the first passage going into the Manor." He began.
"I did." Autumn nodded grimly. "If the entrance to that passage is in Diagon Alley, then we can't risk sending in more than two people. Otherwise, we'd draw attention and get caught."
"Then let's split the team into two parties." Bill offered, voicing Remus' thoughts out for him. "Two people will use the first passage to get into Potter Manor first, while the rest take the second passage and wait for the two to open the door for them from the inside?" He suggested.
"Exactly." Remus' eyes gleamed with triumph.
"That could definitely work." Autumn's face broke out into a conspiratorial grin. She turned to both Sirius and James, waiting for the two men's opinion. "What do you two think?"
James and Sirius met each other's eyes for a few seconds, as though trying to read what the other man was thinking. Finally, James glanced at Autumn again and he gave her a slow nod.
"I think it's time to take back what's mine."
Much later that night, after they finished cleaning and drying themselves, Harriet took in a deep breath and stepped outside their small, makeshift tent. She wrapped her arms around herself and sat down across the fire that Draco had set up, using its glow to keep herself warm.
As she sat down, she lifted her gaze and stared at the night sky with a thoughtful frown on her face, thinking back on everything that had happened since then. She knew her father and Sirius – maybe even Hermione and Cedric – were probably looking for them right now. It was killing her not knowing whether they were alright or if they managed to hide somewhere safe.
To Harriet's dismay, after she and Draco finished rifling through her bag that evening, they realized that they had with them some of Hermione's supplies – including some medicine, clothing and the Tales of Beadle the Bard storybook that Dumbledore had given to Hermione. Harriet wasn't sure if she should be thankful or worried about that, especially since she knew her friends were also stranded right now and were most likely looking for supplies of their own.
Sighing, she allowed her gaze to drift slowly to her small backpack lying on the ground. For a long time, she stared at the encrusted hilt of the sword of Godric Gryffindor, its blade partially covered by the bag's leather casing. Beside it was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, its golden material emitting a dim light around their campsite from how it reflected the glow of the fire.
I guess I'll have to be the one to destroy this Horcrux this time. Harriet thought grimly to herself, staring intently at the cup as it lay there, seemingly harmless, against the muddy ground. I just hope that everyone's alright. I'm sure they can take care of themselves but still—
"I'm sure they're fine."
Jumping slightly at the sound of his voice, Harriet's eyes flicked over to where Draco was stepping out of the tent with a grim look on his face. When he saw the forlorn expression her face, his eyes softened and he offered her a small smile before walking over to sit beside her.
"We'll find them." He added quietly, taking her hand and lacing their fingers together.
Instead of answering, Harriet nodded shakily and she used his closeness to lean against him, closing her eyes and resting her head against his shoulder. She allowed him to pull her closer, his arm wrapped snugly around her waist. He leaned down, dropping a kiss onto her hair.
"What's wrong?" He tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear.
Harriet shook her head, burying her face against his chest to hide her tears.
"You scared me today, you know." She whispered, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke. "When I saw that you weren't breathing, I thought…I thought you…" Her voice cracked and she let the rest of her words trail off, not even daring to finish the rest of her own sentence.
Draco stroked her hair gently, his arms tightening around her waist. He felt the steady rhythm of her heartbeat against his chest. "Come on, Potter. You can't get rid of me that easily." He chucked her gently on the chin, trying to get her to smile but she just shook her head at him.
"You don't understand, Draco." Harriet stammered, averting her gaze from his and looking away. "You scared me…As in really scared me. I thought I'd lost you – I th—thought—"
Frowning, Draco interrupted her by gripping her chin again and forcing her to look up so that he could study her expression. When Harriet tried to turn away again to hide the mistiness in her eyes, he shook his head and used his thumbs to wipe the wetness away from her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, caressing her nape. "I'll be careful next time, I promise."
Hearing the genuine remorse in his voice, Harriet gave him a small smile and nodded weakly. Sighing, she placed her hand over the larger one that he had cupped around her cheek.
When he glanced curiously at her, she leaned up to whisper softly into his ear.
"Can I have you tonight…please?"
Draco stilled at her words, his eyes suddenly turning from gray to molten silver. He turned slowly and stared intently at her, trying to gauge the expression on her face. When the warmth in her eyes didn't waver, he nodded and slowly began leading her towards their tent.
As soon as they were inside, he turned to her again, leaning down to her height and covering her parted lips with his in a searing kiss. With shaking hands, he began undressing her slowly, sliding his hands very carefully down the curve of her waist before tucking it inside her shirt and tugging the fabric up, inch by inch, off her slender frame. Tossing the garment to the floor, his lips never left hers as he allowed his hands to wander up and down her body, relishing the feel of her soft skin underneath his palms. She let out a harsh, needy moan and arched up closer against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and opening her mouth to his tongue.
He responded by kissing her deeper, one arm wrapping tightly around her waist and yanking her against him while the other hand reached around her again, unclasping her bra. When she broke the kiss and tilted her head, allowing him access to her neck, he obliged by leaning down, lavishing the skin along her throat with soft bites and kisses. He began backing her impatiently inside the tent, pushing her down to lie on her back on top of their shared bed.
"Draco, I—"
"Shhhh…Don't speak."
As he kissed her lips again and pinned her down against the bed, she pressed her palms against his shoulders and closed her eyes, submitting herself to the mind-numbing sensations.
They made love slowly and thoroughly that night – over and over and over again until Harriet's green eyes were glazed with tears and Draco was murmuring her name like a prayer. He held her in his arms afterwards, her soft cheek resting against his chest and his hand gently stroking her hair. With a sigh, Draco leaned down and pressed a kiss onto the top of her head.
"Try to get some sleep." He whispered softly, watching her as she struggled to stay awake, even as her dazed eyes began to flutter close in exhaustion. "I'll keep watch tonight."
Yawning, Harriet tilted her chin up and met his solemn gaze.
"Will you stay with me?"
In response, Draco's lips curled upwards into a tender smile.
"Always."
Notes: And that's all for now, I'm afraid! More to come soon, I promise. This story is, hopefully, winding down to a close by now so I'm at the stage where I'm trying to tie all of the loose ends of the story together. I'm anticipating about 4 or 5 more chapters left to go. :D
Next Chapter: Harriet and Draco destroy the horcrux cup. Any guesses on how this is going to happen?