"Well then Gentlemen. Let's show these dirty goblins how unprotected their gold really is." Lucius said with a sneer as Igor Karkaroff slowly dismantled the roof. Avery Junior's hand twitched as the man checked himself for whacking Lucius over the head. Crabbe Senior rolled his eyes and took the lead closely followed by Amycus Carrow as they went into the opening made by Igor.
"Lucius, Avery. If you could?" Igor asked patiently. The two men nodded and descended wand first into the room down below. Amycus had already dismantled the simple defences on the door while Crabbe was ready to blast the first person coming through the door. Goyle Senior descended into the room with a sneer.
The door went open and Amycus and Crabbe dashed through. Avery and Lucius followed the pair closely with wants pointed down both ways down the hallway. "Clear." Amycus declared gruffly. Igor came down last and with a swish of his wand he closed the entrance. Without any instruction the group hurried down the hallway and took a turn that led them directly to a set of small stairs.
Amycus did not break his stride and dashed down straight away while Crabbe pushed himself against the wall and kept an eye out for anyone wondering by. The rest trooped down and once everyone was through Amycus closed the ranks.
It was a long trek down. At the end of it Lucius and Igor were out of breath while the rest were winded but capable. "I am too old for this." Igor grumbled drawing a few looks from the unexpected comment. "Haven't you gone down like this before?" Avery asked curiously. "At a gentle and refined pace as expected from a man of my age." Igor retorted.
"Stay in character." Amycus grunted as his eyes kept darting all over the place. His wand at the ready to curse the first person not part of the group. "Twenty minutes." Goyle said silkily as he tapped his flask at his side meaningfully. "We must keep moving." Crabbe said in a deeper voice than the man himself had.
Goyle pursed his lips as he was clearly displeased about something. "You are right my boy. Amycus if you would be so kind to lead the way." the Durmstrang headmaster agreed as he ignored the disapproving glance Carrow shot him. With a wave of his free hand he gestured for Crabbe to follow him. The rest waited for a few moments before jogging after them.
They navigated through the hallways without a problem. The hallways were clean and no patrols of any kind were in the way. They only paused to find a dead goblin, naked aside from a loincloth. Amycus quickly determined the goblin had been struck down by an axe which was chalked up by Igor to be a victim of the goblin infighting he had suspected would happen.
"But in the hallway. Wouldn't that happen in an arena?" Lucius asked curiously as they left the corpse in their wake. Goyle sneered at the platinum blond. "They are vicious little creatures. Do you really think they would agree to a civilised duel to the death in some underground pit?"
Lucius had the grace to wince instead of glaring at the other man. "Four goblins ahead and around the bend. One in heavy armor and a tower shield." Amycus announced. Igor was clearly saddened after a moment of thought. "There is no safe way around. We need to go through them." "Crabbe. I am going to get that shield away. Don't waste the opening."
"The rest of you focus on the other goblins. Go for cutting curses and the like. Don't bother stunning the things." Amycus ordered calmly. A dozen or so seconds later the goblins trotted around the corner. Clearly they had a hard day. Their armor wore marks of battle and the tower shield was dented and warped through the abuse it had gone through.
Their guards were clearly down as the heavily armored goblin only had time to blink stupefied as his shield was turned aside by a conjured hook before Crabbe's piercing curse went through his head. Two of the other goblins were cut down as well in the opening volley but the armor of the third endured the single curse that hit it and the goblin was unharmed.
With a bellow the goblin charged despite the odds. Igor reacted first and the group shifted under the wave of his wand. A spike erupted spearing the goblin from below and through his armor. "That went well." Amycus grunted. "No idea if the goblin's shout got anyone's attention."
"We'd best keep moving then." Crabbe commented. Without any further delay they hurried down their chosen route. It did not take them long to find the entrance into the caverns. However unlike what was expected the hallway was both heavily trapped and both doors were recently upgraded with heavy security spells.
"Well this is going to suck." Lucius muttered as they kept watch while Igor and Amycus worked in tandem. Beside him Avery gave him an agreeing nod while saying nothing. The other flank was covered by a tense Crabbe and a dour looking Goyle. There was a snap-hiss of a fire trap going off but as there was no cry of pain the guards assumed and hoped it was planned. The lack of cursing that following the tense silence confirmed it.
Then a game of whack a mole suddenly started as a squad of goblins suddenly rounded the corner. Avery and Lucius reacted immediately. The pair of cutting curses slicing into the side of another heavily armored goblin who didn't have time to bring his defences to bear. His armor had stopped one curse but failed to stop the second.
Startled but undeterred the rest of the group whirled to face them and charged. Uncaring that four of their number were felled as a second volley, reinforced by Crabbe and Goyle struck out. Several twangs were heard and crossbow bolts flew over the charging group and overshot the wizards holding the line.
They started to backpedal as they flung another volley of spells. This time only one goblin fell thanks to an injury to his legs. It was his fellows trampling him that killed him. The distance however was nearly closed when Igor popped out of the hallway and hastily transfigured a solid foot high wall just in front of the charging goblins.
Lucius did not bother holding back a relieved laugh as his wand slashed out and tore a goblin open as the spell struck through the less protected back. Igor joined in with a grim expression as his whip of fire lashed out keeping their opponents down. This gave the other four men time to cut them down as the goblins tried to scramble to their feet.
One goblin jumped through the magical fire and took a cut to the chest like it was a harmless breeze. His war axe keened for Goyle while the owner screamed a violent warcry. Goyle maintained his dour expression as his free hand pulled out a dagger from the depths of his robe and deflected the axe in a single smooth motion while stepping out of the way of the goblin. As the goblin stumbled at the unbalanced landing a cutting curse ended his efforts.
Lucius and Avery whistled impressed as the dagger disappeared into the same depths it had come from with the same speed it had appeared. Goyle allowed a moment of smugness towards the two shine through before the unpleasant expression firmly took up residence again. Crabbe meanwhile kept his focus on the remaining goblins and ensured none would try that again.
"Gentleman." Igor said with a nod as the Durmstrang headmaster hurried back into the hallway he had come from. The four took their old positions and nervously waited, well aware if it was not for Igor's quick intervention things would have gone a whole lot worse. At Crabbe's signal the group took a sip from their flasks.
They waited tensely and almost jumped when Amycus popped his head out to let them know they had access to the tunnels. They hurried through the access tunnel to find themselves on a rocky edge with a small winding path to hide the entrance from casual view from the minecart tracks.
Amycus enlarged the sixth broom. "Six old brooms. All disposable." "Thank you Amycus." Igor replied as he maneuvered himself onto one. "It has been a while." Lucius was surprised by how nostalgic the man sounded. "It has been indeed." he added in a tone of realisation. The last broom he had touched before this one was the firebolt he had bought for Harry.
'Since he had killed a heretic god with it, it had been a sound investment.' he thought with a smile as he forced himself to remember the lessons a long time ago on a green field next to an old magical castle. "They are slow and not fast to turn. But we don't want to be speeding our way through this. We can't be vigilant if we fly smack dab into a wall." Amycus noted as he took to the sky and followed Igor.
Said headmaster was busy with an arcane ritual that was giving him a sign which direction he should go. "Hmm. The vault is a bit further than I had anticipated." Amycus pretended to ignore the muttered complaint that followed. Partly out of shock but the man underneath the disguise would not admit so under verisatum.
With Igor in the lead a silent tense flight followed. All six pairs of ears looking for the sound of an approaching minecart or the dragons known to be the underground guardians. Whether it was luck of Igor's skill to navigate down the labyrinth underground they encountered none. The group arrived at another landing and the brooms were soon shrunk and put into various pockets.
"It should be down here." Igor said with a clear frown. "If it is anything like the… my family's vault there should be a line of defenses paid for by the family first before we get to the actual vault." Lucius answered. Avery gave him a nod for catching his slip before it could compromise their flimsy disguise." "Then let's take a sip for an upcoming victory." Amycus said meaningfully before he took a sip from his flask. The rest of the group soon mimicked the motion.
Amycus took the lead with the clanker in hands. He did not wait long to use it and the threatening growl that emerged from the corner turned into a piteous whine and the shuffling of a frightened beast. When they rounded the corner they could see a white scarred Ukranian Ironbelly doing its best to stay as far away from Amycus clanker with its binding.
"How disgusting." Igor commented with a steely expression. He then turned his attention to the multiple paths while Goyle seized the creature up with a more analytical look. "Paths to multiple vaults. It appears the Lestrange family is not as wealthy as it acts." an amused Avery observed.
"It is this path." Igor declared and matched words with action. Amycus gave the clanker one final swing before handing it to Lucius. "Keep a steady beat." he commanded before hurrying behind Igor. Lucius was blinking dumbly before Avery gave him a prod as the dragon seemed to be gathering its courage.
Lucius clanked the device and the dragon immediately returned to whimpering and hiding in its corner. Well aware he was within fire-spitting range he slowly backed up into the tunnel the rest of the group had gone into barring Avery. All the while he steadily kept shaking the clanker to ensure the dragon didn't get any ideas.
He heard the grinding of the mechanisms of the vault door behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see a messy vault with gold and items spread everywhere. Igor waved his wand and choked. "All of this gold.. It is cursed." "Blasted Lestranges are vigilant as well." Amycus growled as he worked his own magic. Igor however beat him to it by identifying the curses on the gold.
"It will burn to the touch and multiply." the headmaster explained. "It is linked to a ritual array at the back of the vault. Merely dispelling the magic will not work." "We can levitate the items. Crabbe, Goyle. Follow me." he commanded. The three men started to tiptoe their way into the vault while Lucius kept the clanker going.
He glanced over his shoulder again while Avery kept his wand loosely aimed at where they had come from while Igor worked silently. His wand danced in the air while magical streams flickered in and out of visibility. He suddenly stopped and let the unheard orchestra crash to a halt.
The reason became clear as Goyle was slowly making his way back to the entrance. Floating in front of him was a thin golden cup with two delicate handles. The badger in the center however made it clear to whom the cup had belonged to. Igor cast a pair of spells and nodded. "This is what we were here for."
"I shall get the others." Goyle said after bagging the cup and entrusting it to Avery who clearly was surprised. "I just have an idea. The gold multiplies after it has been touched right?" Lucius asked in confirmation. Avery held back a snarky comment he wanted to make on Lucius thinking and instead nodded. "Do you think it is possible we can trigger that without us actually being there?"
Avery and Igor looked thoughtfully for a moment before Igor focused his full attention on Lucius. "That might be possible. But may I ask why?" "Well… if we leave the vault door open all the conjured gold will carry the real gold out. If it keeps going it would even toss the real stuff over the ledge and into the abyss."
"I am afraid we do not have time for petty revenge." Igor rebuked gently. Avery shook his head. "No, it's actually quite smart. The goblins can't tell what was stolen if it was possibly crushed or hard to recover." Lucius nodded eagerly and clanked a bit more enthousicitly. Igor made to stroke his beard but found he had none. Holding back a pout at the loss of his well maintained beard he said thoughtfully "That would prevent our opponent from knowing we are onto him."
He gave a decisive nod. "Yes. This is a good idea. I was too focused on the retrieval of the object to consider hiding our tracks. Avery if you could be so kind as to cast a variety of spells at the other vault doors to fool the goblins into thinking we only succeeded in breaking the defences of this vault door."
Goyle returned right on time with Crabbe and Amycus in tow to which Igor quickly explained the plan. The four immediately went back into the vault and set to work leaving Lucius alone with his clanker and a terrified dragon beyond sight. He did not bother to hide his relief when Avery returned.
A dozen or so minutes later the four men returned. "We did what we came for. Good idea Malfoy." Amycus praised. "It does put us on a time limit. The flood of gold will start in ten minutes… that reminds me. Bottles up." "Have we been down here for so long?" Igor asked, surprised at the quick passage of time.
"We have." Amycus replied simply and gruffly. The men took another sip of their flasks and then brought out their brooms. They carefully retraced their flight through the winding tunnels when the screeching sounds of metal sliding against metal was heard. "A cart approaches, Up, UP!" Amycus cried out.
In their haste to gain attitude Crabbe and Goyle headbutted the unforgiving rock ceiling and wobbled uncertainly. The other reached out and steadied them both before they could tumble off their brooms. Igor swiftly casted an illusion spell that made the ceiling appear lower. Six carts, each filled to the brim with goblins, raced by down below heading towards the tunnels the men just had come from.
"It appears our break in has been detected." Igor said serenely as if it was not a problem at all. Goyle clearly had something spiteful to share but seemed too busy nursing his sudden headache. "Regardless we'd best keep moving. Stay vigilant." Amycus warned as he slowly descended through the illusion once the screeching no longer could be heard. He signalled to Igor that it was all clear who then took the lead again.
Their cautious pace soon found them again at the ledge. Unless last time however there were two goblins stomping from the hidden entrance to it. Their armour, dented and damaged at places still conveyed their high rank. "They are 'somewhere' inside the tunnels? What kind of security system do you run?!" one goblin demanded of the other. The older goblin gave its younger part a scathing glare before deigning to reply.
"I see your skill in your axe made you grow too big for your breeches greenling." Predictably the younger goblin sneered at the insult. Before he could fire back the elder continued his verbal assault "If it wasn't for my 'shoddy' work you would not even be aware some humans managed to get this far. So I ask you, what kind of security operation do you run?" he asked in the same tone he had been sneered at.
"One based on the strength of their axe hand. Something I can clearly demonstrate to you, manager of the wards." the younger goblin replied. "Brainlessly hacking away at your foes might have gotten you this far 'manager of security'." the elder said in a dismissive tone. "But you need to use that empty shell you call a head for the day to day operations. As seen by the sheer amount of humans that managed to get inside tonight. We normally had to wait for a dozen years to reach the same number."
"You cannot compare this to your drudging day to day business with the stupid humans." the manager of security growled in objection. "You idiotic elders conjured this plan to challenge a thrice damned Campione." "I did not. That was done by the now dead king and his council of sycophants. And it gave you the opening to this position did it not. I suppose cowering away in one of the distant corners paid off for you."
The insult hit it's mark and the younger goblin drew and slashed with his axe in a single smooth motion. The older goblin was unfazed as he redirected the strike into the ground with his greaves. His own axe slashing sideways into the younger goblin's head whose helmet managed to withstand the blow.
It did him no good as the more veteran goblin pressed his advantage. He forced away the axe raised in a trained reaction. His next strike struck home through the face opening of the helmet killing the younger goblin. He did not get a chance to relish his victory as a muttered 'Sectumsempra' struck him through his own defences and cut him to pieces inside his own armor.
"Good shot." Amycus admitted grudgingly as he was the first to slowly float around the corner the group had halted at. Igor swept by him and landed at the ledge before making a beeline at the goblin Goyle had hit. The man rifled through the goblin's belongings with an alacrity that Amycus thought was fully in character for the person he was pretending to be. But rather odd for the person wearing the disguise.
"Aha. I suspected the goblins would use this kind of magic to observe intruders." Igor crowed triumphantly as he displayed a small crystal, the size of his thumb for all to see. Amycus held himself back from kicking the man as his cry had attracted the attention of the goblins inside the hidden hallway whose deference and fear of their superiors overrode their curiosity.
"Sloppy." Igor meanwhile mumbled as the first goblin emerged from the narrow passage and was cut down by three spells. Another one soon replaced him but there were two wands still available to cut the goblin down. "I wonder why they never tried to mentally link the status of the wards to the holder." he theorized as his wand worked spell after spell on the little crystal.
"Igor. I hope whatever you are doing is important!" Crabbe demanded as his wand slashed out and cut down another goblin. The narrow passage meant that the goblins could only come one or two at a time which in turn prevented them from using their numbers to force the wizards off the ledge.
"It quite is." Igor assured him. A moment later the crystal shattered. "While Goyle's spellwork ensured that there will be another fight for their positions. Which most likely will cost a dozen or so goblin lives by the time the hierarchy is sorted again. I just destroyed their ability to observe their own wards."
He stood up and brought his own magic to bear. A wall of flames rushed past the small copse of corpses and burned the next approaching goblin and his brethren behind him. "Which means if we leave this area as soon as possible. They will have no idea where we are. It should also tie up in ideas of reprisal for months as they need to redo key parts of their warding scheme to allow now crystals to interact with it." he lectured calmly as the fire let up.
"There is a reason why my school only allows the headmaster to know the full state of the wards. The deputy can only command certain parts of it if the need arises." A wind spell this time forcefully tossed the corpses into a dead area. Clearing the way for the wizards to go through. "Now let us make haste. The goblins must have sent a runner for more reinforcements."
They raced past the blood splattered path into the hallway where more burned corpses awaited them. "Some are not even wearing armour. We must have caught them with their pants down." Avery noted. "Do you think they were trying to rest to face Ha… the Campione tomorrow?" Lucius asked worriedly as they pelted into the underground hallways.
"I do not think the goblins would be that foolish." Igor assured the silvery blond man through his labored breathing. "Less talking. More running." Amycus commanded in a clipped tone. They came to the last T-split before the emergency stairs up when a group of heavily equipped goblins wheeled around a corner of their own. "Transfigure the material around the hallway to form a wall!" Igor commanded.
In concert the men reached out and the entire hallway bent out of shape to deny the goblins a way through. As the transfiguration ended they could hear the sound of axes hitting the stone that showed that the goblins would not be denied. "Go go go!" Lucius chanted as he took the lead. Avery was hot on his heels. The rest soon followed with the rearguard being formed by Amycus who took the time to conjure some oil and set it alight.
Barely a quarter of the way up Igor started to falter. Goyle had however anticipated this and shoved a potion into the man's mouth. "The crash is going to be something to behold is it not?" Igor asked wryly to Goyle. "I strongly suggest you do so under our nurse's watch." the man suggested in return. The edges of his lips crinkling into the phantom of a smirk.
Igor knew damn well why he did so. The said nurse would have his head as he could hardly explain why he was going to crash on an overuse of pepper up potions. "I must be feeling my age if I am going to need midday naps." Amycus appeared and spared Igor a worried look. "I can keep up my friend." he assured the men as he started once again climbing his way to the top.
It was a grueling slog and by the end of it all men were exhausted. Amycus kept pushing them however. They carefully negotiated the upper floor which was blissfully empty and snuck into the room they entered in. "Humans! Humans in the building!" A goblin screeched. "Brooms out!" Amycus commanded. "Avery, Crabbe, Reducto in three, two one.." he counted down.
The blasting curses streaked out and hit the weak spot created by Igor blasting it clear off the room and sending it tumbling down the empty street below. Goyle shot out on the broom first soon followed by Igor as Lucius turned the door they had come through into a steel fortress gate.
"Go Lucius!" Avery shouted as he rocketed out of the building. Amycus and Crabbe were close on their heels. Lucius pulled out his own broom, waited for it to return to its normal size and hopped on it. He shot through hole cackling like a madman. The first goblin through the transfigured defences would have to go through its goblin life as a pink one for a while.
"Aurors milling around cluelessly in the Alley. Fly over them and give them a good look at our faces!" Amyscus ordered as he took the lead. The rest turned around and followed his tracks. Shooting over the red clad pair as they fumbled with their wands uncertain what they should do. Despite the darkness of the night they managed to get a good look at the faces that flew dangerously close over them.
And they would most certainly remember that Lucius tried to kick one of them on the head as he passed by.
A frantic call was made and soon Aurors on brooms tried to follow the path of the thieves. However by then the gang were safely ensconced in Moody's safehouse. "We did it. We broke into Gringotts and got away with it" Lucius exclaimed with a grin as his form slowly returned to that of Sirius Black. "We did not." Avery corrected as he turned back into Remus Lupin. "A gang of dastardly death eaters broke into Gringotts. We never did anything."
"And that also means that you will not write it down for posterity or the like Black." Severus Snape said snidely as his disguise of Goyle Senior faded away. "Indeed." Dumbledore said as he delighted himself with the return of his white beard. Igor did not have anything like that. "Not even on your far future deathbed can you tell this. The goblins hold their grudges for a long time."
"You should all head home." Moody commanded as he destroyed the few extras he had lugged with him to reinforce his cover as Amycus Carrow. "In case they start looking for you now that everyone knows Gringotts has been broken into." "They would call us up wouldn't they." Shacklebolt grouched as he added the items to the pile to be destroyed Moody had insisted he'd carry as Crabbe Senior.
"Let's go Sirius." Remus said and he whirled on the spot and popped out. Sirius gave a wave before following his example. Fawkes appeared in a burst of fire and whisked off with Snape and Albus before anything could be said. Shacklebolt gave Moody one final nod before popping away himself. Moody spent a minute salvaging a few useful things before a mysterious fire burned down the nondescript barnhouse he had used as a hideout.