A/N: Alright guys, from here on out it's gonna start to pick up so get ready for some freaking feels! Not immediately, but they're coming. I'm so glad you guys like this story it makes me so happy! I adore you guys!
On a totally unrelated note: HOLY SH*T GAME OF THRONES! I missed Sunday's episode and I still haven't had a chance to watch it but I just saw a spoiler on Tumblr and I'm hyperventilating! Holy crap holy crap holy crap! EEEEKKKKK!
Okay, I'm going to go fangirl by myself now. Thanks for listening.
Tallyho!
Chapter 19:
"Why are you looking at me like that? You should be relieved we know which horcrux is in Gringotts now!"
"Yeah, except for the fact that Gringotts is huge and we don't even know where to begin looking!"
"Ron, sit down, you're going to give yourself a hernia. Harry's right, the fact that we know which horcrux is in Gringotts is great news. Now we just need to narrow it down to who Voldemort would trust to put it in their vault."
"Stop looking at me like that, Weasley. I wouldn't know where the bloody horcrux is; I've been dead for months remember? And even before then, the Dark Lord didn't trust me as far as he could throw me."
The night before, Harry had a vision of Helga Hufflepuff's cup and that it was in a vault somewhere in Gringotts. Elated with what he saw, he immediately told Ron, Hermione, and Draco and they were now discussing where the cup might be. Narcissa was in the other room, listening in on the conversation and couldn't help but be intrigued by what she heard. Finding, that they were getting no where, she took a chance on a hunch she had and entered the dining room where the four were sitting.
"Excuse me, Harry, but I have a question for you," she began.
Harry looked at her expectantly as did the other three. Narcissa cleared her throat. "Hufflepuff's cup; is it kind of gaudy looking? Bronze with two handles and a laurel leaf design with a badger on it?"
Everyone's eyes widened. "Mum," Draco said, "you've seen it?"
Narcissa nodded solemnly as her suspicions were confirmed. "Yes. And I think I know where it is."
Draco groaned recognizing the look in his mother's eyes. It was the look she always gave him before she told him bad news. "Please tell me it's in your vault, mother." he said.
She bit her lip and shook her head. "It's in Bella's."
The room went silent as they contemplated what Narcissa had just told them. Hermione was the first to gather her bearings. "Bella. As in Bellatrix Lestrange?"
"The one and only." Narcissa said.
Ron threw his hands into the air. "Well that's great. That's just bloody fantastic! How the hell are we supposed to get in there?!"
Narcissa bit her lip in apprehension. She had an idea but she wasn't sure she was comfortable sending a group of teenagers (her son included) into Gringotts to retrieve a horcrux in her sister's vault. She didn't care that they had done it before, now that she and Draco were involved, it made her nervous to let them go freely. And, although she hadn't told anyone, she had grown quite fond of the Golden Trio, Hermione especially. Blame it on her maternal instinct but she didn't want to put them in danger; if she could she'd protect them all.
But she couldn't.
"Narcissa," Hermione said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "are you alright?"
She cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm fine. I just… I think I might have an idea for how you can get into the bank."
Harry's eyes widened and Draco looked at her suspiciously as Narcissa fully entered the room and stood by the table. "I found a hair of Bella's in my hairbrush the other day. It's still there. If you make a Polyjuice Potion, I can give you the hair to put in and Hermione can pretend to be Bella for a short while and get into the vault to get the cup. The problem is that Bella's vault is in the deep deep levels of the bank and it takes a while to get down there. I'm not sure how long the potion would last."
"That's not the only problem," Ron added, "there's also the matter of getting into the bank in the first place, then finding the bloody thing, then getting out all while Hermione pretends to be Bellatrix Bloody Lestrange! No offense Mrs. Malfoy." he included.
"None taken." Narcissa said quietly.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Draco said. "Why did Hermione suddenly get volunteered to be my psycho aunt?! Have you lost your mind?" He ignored Narcissa's pursed lips at his reference to her sister but didn't miss the look exchanged between her and his girlfriend.
"Hermione's the only one who'd be able to pull it off." Harry explained. "It'd be less believable if it were one of us plus Hermione's the smartest out of all of us; it'd be better if she was in control of the situation even if she wasn't really her."
"Absolutely not! No way! It's too big of a risk! The goblins aren't stupid; they'll know something's not right if we send her in there! Even if they can't figure it out right away, they'll know that it's not really Bellatrix."
"Have you any better ideas then, Malfoy?" Ron challenged.
"Send someone else! Someone we can trust-"
"Who?!" Harry asked. "No one else knows about the horcrux hunt except us and sending in someone else is even more dangerous than doing the job ourselves! If you want a job done right, you do it yourself-"
"Oh, don't get all poetic on me, Potter, it doesn't suit you! I don't care about your damned logic behind this, we're not sending her in there!"
"ALRIGHT, ALL OF YOU, SHUT IT!" Hermione bellowed.
Immediately all three boys went silent as they looked at the small brunette. She looked furious and Narcissa, behind her, didn't look very happy either. "I can speak for myself, thank you." Hermione said, her voice stern and even despite feeling anger inside. She looked to her boyfriend. "Draco, I understand that you're trying to protect me and I appreciate that, but I don't need it. I've been doing stupid and dangerous things since I was eleven and I'm sure as hell not going to stop now. I don't need you to protect me, I need you to support me." Draco's eyes softened at her but his jaw was still taut and his fists were still clenched.
She turned her attention to her best friends. "As for you two, don't ever volunteer me for something like that again." Ron opened his mouth to interject that Narcissa had technically volunteered her but closed it when he saw Hermione glare at him. "I can make my own decisions, I don't need you two to make them for me," she continued. "That being said, I will pretend to be Bellatrix because it's the only way for it to be believable. Harry will have to be under the Invisibility Cloak and just follow us as quietly as possible as we get in. Ron, Draco, we'll just change your appearance-"
"Wait, since when are you coming with us?" Ron interrupted, looking to Draco.
Draco scoffed. "If you think I'm letting her go into Gringotts dressed up as my aunt with just you two for backup, you've got another thing coming, Weasley."
Ron shook his head. "It's too dangerous as it is! We bring one more person in with us and it might set them off!"
"I'm the only person who knows what Bellatrix is like, personally, and without my help on that, you're all done for."
Ron was about to retort but Hermione cleared her throat, distracting him. She raised an eyebrow at the two before looking to Narcissa. "Would it be out of character for Bellatrix to have two people with her when she went to her vault?"
The blonde thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so. Bella doesn't need bodyguards, per se, but she always did like to travel with an entourage."
Hermione nodded before looking back to Ron and Draco. "There you have it. Draco's coming. It'd be better if we had someone with us who knows Bellatrix's character, anyway."
Draco looked at Ron and smirked. Hermione rolled her eyes before looking back to Narcissa. "The Polyjuice potion will take about a month to make. Do you think it'll still be there by then?"
She nodded. "It should be. The Dark Lord doesn't know what you're doing and Bella thought it was just a useless artifact so I doubt anyone will go looking for it right now."
The brunette breathed in relief. "There is something else, though," Narcissa added. "The cart that leads you to the vaults can only be run by a goblin."
Harry bit his lip. "I might be able to help with that."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "You know a goblin that can help?"
"I know a goblin." Harry corrected. "Getting him to help might be a bit tricky."
"You mean Griphook?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded. Ron thought for a moment. "Bill said they don't make deals unless they can get something in return. And I highly doubt a sack of Galleons will suffice."
Draco shook his head. "Goblins are greedy. You're going to need something of value. Of important value."
They all thought for a moment but nothing came to mind. They dropped the subject for the time being as Hermione began to brew the Polyjuice Potion while leaving the boys to train on their own. They all trusted each other enough to train together without the risk of trying to kill each other; still, Narcissa watched them and gave them advice just to be safe. As the night continued, training came to a close and everyone found different things to do to keep themselves entertained: Ron and Harry began a game of Wizard's Chess, Narcissa played a soft melody on the piano, and Draco watched Hermione as she brewed the potion. He chuckled at her appearance: her hair was beginning to curl uncontrollably from the steam, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes had a determined but distant look to them as she focused on her task. She seemed to have forgotten his presence until he brushed a strand of hair behind her hair causing her to look at him.
He gave her a small smile. "You should get some rest. You've been working on this thing for hours." She was about to protest before Draco interrupted her again. "I know you want to work on it love, but the potion won't even be finished for another month. You should try and get as much rest as you can since you'll be spending all your energy on this and training."
She looked at her watch and yawned as she saw that it was half past eleven in the evening. Sighing in defeat, she put away her supplies and put her cauldron somewhere safe before letting Draco lead her up the stairs to their room. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. Her blonde lover smiled at her as he kissed her temple before crawling into bed to get some sleep too.
The month had passed quicker than expected and the Polyjuice Potion was ready. All four teenagers were standing in the dining room preparing to leave for Gringotts to steal the horcrux. They were just waiting on Griphook.
Bill had found Griphook a few months back after he had escaped the clutches of snatchers; the same snatchers that had killed Ted, in fact. He had been staying at Bill and Fleur's place ever since. Harry and Ron went to Griphook asking for help to break into the vault. As they expected, the goblin wanted something in return. Fortunately, they didn't visit him empty handed.
A few weeks prior, Ron had gone scouting to see if he could find any information on the Dark Lord or his followers. While investigating, he stumbled upon the sword of Gryffindor amongst a pile of snow and leaves deep in the mountain ranges. He brought it back to Grimmauld Place ecstatic. Although everyone was confused as to how Ron found it, none of them questioned it, deciding it was better not to look a gift horse in the mouth. As it turns out, finding the sword became useful as they promised it to Griphook in return for his help to get into the bank much to Hermione's chagrin. They later told her, however, that they did not intend to give Griphook the sword as it should stay with them since they were Gryffindors and it would be better for them to keep it as they could use it to destroy the cup. Hermione didn't like that plan much better.
Narcissa came downstairs to the dining room holding a hairbrush and a black cloak and dress that would be similar to something Bellatrix would wear. The blonde handed the two to Hermione as she filled a cup with the potion. Narcissa gave her an encouraging smile as Hermione grimaced at the smell coming from the potion. They refreshed themselves on the plan once more before Griphook arrived as Hermione grabbed the clothes and potion to go change.
"Wait," Draco said grabbing her arm and turning her back around to face him. Before she could question him, his lips crashed against hers passionately. She kissed him back with fervor as she allowed herself to forget what they were about to do for one second. Harry, Ron, and Narcissa looked away to give the two a moment but that didn't stop the smile growing on the latter's face. She hadn't told either of them, but she approved of Hermione. They were able to keep each other in line and challenge each other in more ways than one. He smiled brighter when he was around her and his eyes had a fire in them that had been dimmed for years. She had brought him back to life in ways Narcissa never imagined and she would forever be grateful.
As they pulled out of the kiss, they looked at one another, silver into brown. He kissed her forehead as she took a deep breath. "Sorry," he said quietly, "I just had to do that before you turned into… her."
She gave him a small smile and caressed his cheek. He leaned into her touch. "Everything's going to be fine. We're going to be fine." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince: him or herself. Draco seemed to sense this and kissed her palm before taking her hand in both of his. She stood up straight and took a deep breath before walking to the bathroom to change, not letting go of his hand until she had to. Draco's hand lingered in the air a moment longer before taking a deep breath himself and clearing his throat bringing the attention back to him. "Alright, what are we doing for these disguises?"
Meanwhile, Hermione was doing some deep breathing exercises to calm her rapid heartbeat. Her arms were on the sink and her head dipped. You can do this, Hermione, she told herself. You can do this. The whole world depends on this. Do it for mum and dad. Do it for Harry and Ron. Do it for Draco. With those thoughts running through her mind, she splashed her face with water before changing into the clothes Narcissa lent her. After she was dressed, she took the black curly hair from Narcissa's hairbrush and dropped it into the potion. She gagged as it gurgled, plugged her nose and drank the thick liquid.
She slammed the cup down on the counter and took a deep breath as she tried to prevent herself from vomiting. As the nausea went away, she noticed her hands begin to change. They transformed from her soft and clean hands into dirty, pale, and thin ones. Her nails changed to long, dark ones that almost looked like claws while she gained a couple of inches in height and her hair changed from a light brown into a dark black. Last to change was her face as her young features transformed into that of an older woman with dark eyes, a pale complexion, and teeth that would give her parents nightmares for years.
Hermione approved her appearance in the mirror. She was a splitting image of Bellatrix Lestrange. The only difference was the innocent look in the eyes rather than the crazed ones she had seen. Hermione took her meager supply of makeup and added some dark eyeliner to make the eyes more intense and tousled the hair a little more to give it an extra frenzied type of look. When she felt satisfied, she straightened her posture and tried a couple of sneers and smirks in the mirror that she felt belonged to the face. Satisfied with what she could come up with, she returned to the dining room to find Griphook standing with Harry and two men she didn't recognize until she realized they were Ron and Draco.
Ron's hair had been changed to a dirty brown color and his blue eyes had been changed to a dark brown. He was wearing black robes and held himself in such a way that was intimidating but mysterious, as if he were daring you to approach him. Draco, on the other hand, had changed his hair to a dark black and his silver eyes changed to a dark brown also. He also wore black robes but held himself in the typical Malfoy stance: proud, strong, and intimidating.
Hermione gave them a quick nod before looking to Harry. "Ready?"
He nodded and they all walked to the living room to have enough space for all five to apparate. Narcissa followed. "One last thing you should know," she said. "Bella's got a duplication charm on the items in her vault. If you touch anything other than the cup, you'll be burned and then the object will multiply continuously until it completely covers you. Make sure you don't touch anything other than that cup."
All four nodded. Narcissa turned to her son and pulled him in for a hug. "Please be careful." she begged.
He nodded. "We will, mum," he reassured her.
Narcissa let him go and turned to Hermione. "Remember, Bella is ruthless and she doesn't take no for an answer. Keep your chin up, shoulders back, and glare at anybody who dares to look at you sideways."
Hermione nodded and gulped. She was caught by surprise when Narcissa pulled her into a hug but quickly returned the gesture. The Slytherin pulled away and smiled at her as she finally looked at Harry and Ron. "You two be careful also. Ron, be sure to stand tall and try to be as confident as you can. Any sign of nervousness will signal that something's wrong. And Harry, I'm sure I don't have to tell you to just be as quiet and patient as possible."
Both boys nodded and were caught by surprise as well when Narcissa gave each of them a hug. They both returned the gesture, however, before grabbing everyone's hand and apparating to Diagon Alley.
And then Narcissa Malfoy was alone.