We have finally reached the heist! I borrowed a lot from the canon scene from Deathly Hallows, so full transparency there. As I reread the canon scene, it was striking to me the connections and similarities between canon and how The Sapphire Princess reached this point. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Draco felt his feet hit the pavement, as Blaise stumbled over next to him. Trying to maintain their balance as well as the cloak over their bodies, Draco looked around at Charing Cross Road in central London, with the old sign reading The Leaky Cauldron swinging above his head.
Next to him and Blaise, Daphne and Theo had just landed, pulling themselves to their tallest of heights, the act having commenced.
"You morons ready for the stupidest shit we've ever done," Theo muttered under his breath.
Daphne's face morphed into a haughty expression, something Draco was used to seeing on his aunt. The knowledge that the dark-haired witch in front of him, who he had personally seen torture and kill, was actually one of his closest childhood friends sent a wave of discomfort through his body. He felt Blaise grab his arm to steady him.
Theo and Daphne exchanged a glance, one full of trust and intimacy that Draco had never seen between Rodolphus and Bellatrix. And with that, the two disguised Death Eaters entered the Inn, with the invisible Blaise and Draco trailing behind.
The bar of the Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. Ever since the beginning of the war, and especially since the Battle of Diagon Alley nearly a year prior, hardly anyone came to the place.
The Battle of Diagon Alley. Draco's mind wandered to Pansy, and his body shuddered again. Had she been in the Leaky Cauldron when she died? Or on the cobblestoned streets he was about to feel beneath his feet.
Where had his once girlfriend and closest friend lost her life? Was he standing above her ghost now…
Blaise gave him another shake, sensing Draco's anxiety, rising like waves against a causeway. Forcing Pansy from his mind, he centered himself in the present. With a nod of appreciation towards the other man, Draco forced himself to follow Theo and Daphne into the pub.
Behind the bar, Tom the barkeeper was washing glasses. A shell of the jovial figure Draco remembered from his teenage years, he looked up at the new arrivals and bowed his head subserviently.
"M'sieur and Madam Lestrange," he muttered, his eyes trained on the wood of the bar top.
Daphne ignored him, while Theo opened his mouth to say something before smacking it shut.
The group passed through the Inn, filing into the tiny courtyard in the back. Theo coughed slightly, before lifting his wand to tap on the brick wall. Obediently it opened to reveal the mostly abandoned shopping district.
The fake Lestranges strolled into the store-lined street as if they owned it. In the years since the onset of the war, as the Dark Lord gained more control of their world from the shadows, it had become less and less shocking to see Death Eaters strolling the streets.
Still, the image of Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange meandering their way down Diagon Alley set a few eyebrows flying before the onlookers hid their faces and disappeared into alcoves and alleyways.
On the storefront windows, Draco saw 'Wanted' posters for several Order members, as well as Death Eaters, depending on which side had put them up and on who gained control of the Ministry in any given month. To his surprise, he saw his own face staring back at him from the boarded-up storefront of Flourish and Blotts.
Draco Malfoy. Wanted for crimes against the Regime.
The Regime. If those passing by were not stupid enough to read between the lines, the fact that Draco Malfoy was a traitor to Voldemort would be obvious by now.
Beggars stood huddled in doorways, pleading for gold. As the Lestranges waltzed by, they seemed to melt away in the presence of the most dangerous wizarding couple in the world. They drew hoods overs their faces and fled.
The Slytherins had been expecting this. The image of the Lestranges walking through Diagon Alley to Gringotts was not necessarily an anomaly, as more Death Eaters felt they had the power to exist in public. However, no matter how often the Lestranges visited their vault, it was a circus show when they did.
As they reached the marble steps leading up to the bronze doors, Draco felt his adrenaline peak. For a moment, he felt faint, as his blood rushed entirely to his head. Stumbling forward, he felt Blaise reach out and pull him back up.
"What's the matter with you?" he hissed, his dark eyes darting nervously between Draco and the entrance to Gringotts.
Draco blinked slowly, as his surroundings came back into focus. "I… I don't know."
"Well, pull it the bloody fuck together. It's now or never, mate."
Draco nodded, frowning at his strange physical reaction. Of course, he was nervous, more nervous than he had been on any other mission in his life, but it still did not explain the overwhelming energy that had taken him over.
As if his magic was being drained.
He shook his head, pushing away the fog threatening to blind him to his immediate circumstance. Daphne and Theo were entering through the doorway, and ignoring his strange reactions, Draco pushed forward as he and Blaise followed them in.
The long counter remained manned by goblins, serving the first customers of the day. Daphne, Theo, Blaise and Draco headed towards an old goblin who was examining a thick gold coin through an eyeglass. Theo stepped forward, playing the dominating presence of Rodolphus, as Daphne glanced around the hall.
"You boys still here?" she whispered quietly, relying on proximity to get her message across.
Blaise reached forward under the cloak to brush her arm with the fabric. She nodded, evidently reassured by their presence. Draco raised his wand under the cloak, preparing for anything.
The goblin at the counter tossed the coin he was holding aside, said to nobody in particular 'Leprechaun' and then looked up to see which customers had approached him.
"Monsieur Lestrange!" said the goblin, evidently startled. "And… oh my, Madam Lestrange! Dear me – how may I help you today?"
"We wish to enter our vault," Theo said, his voice low and steady, so different from the chipper and sarcastic tone Draco knew Theo favoured.
The old goblin seemed to recoil a little. Draco glanced around. Several other customers and goblins had stopped their business to watch the Lestranges. They were garnering too much attention.
"Do you… do you both have identification?" the goblin asked, nervousness etching itself in the lines of his face.
Theo raised an eyebrow, his voice drawling. "Do not pretend you do not know whose presence you are in, goblin."
Daphne chuckled, Bellatrix's hysteria well mimicked. "The goblin wants us… us to prove to him our identity!"
Draco didn't even give the old goblin the chance to respond. Raising his hawthorn wand beneath the Cloak, he pointed it at the goblin and whispered 'Imperio!'
A not unfamiliar sensation shot down Draco's arm, as the warmth spread from his mind down the sinews and veins connecting him to his wand.
"Ah… yes," the goblin replied, his speech slowed, the worry lines disappearing, face relaxed. "That will work nicely, Monsieur and Madam Lestrange."
If Daphne and Theo were surprised at the goblin's change of tone, they didn't show it. They maintained their haughty and condescending expressions without cracking, a testament to their pureblooded upbringing and commitment to this mission.
The old goblin behind the counter clapped his hands and a younger goblin approached from another part of the counter.
"I shall need the Clankers," he told the goblin, who dashed away and returned a moment later with a leather bag that seemed to be full of jangling metal, which he handed to his senior.
Draco shuddered slightly, the memory of why they needed the Clankers fresh in his mind from the last time he had visited the Lestrange Vault.
This was the most absurd yet important mission he had ever been on.
"Good, good! So if you will follow me, Monsieur and Madam Lestrange," said the old goblin, hopping down off his stood and vanishing from sight. "I shall take you to your vault."
He appeared around the end of the counter, jogging happily towards them, the contents of the bag still jingling. Draco frowned, focusing on the goblin a bit more thoughtfully. He was too cheerful; it was a dead giveaway. As he concentrated on returning solemnity to their goblin, he heard a voice shout from behind them.
"Wait – Bogrod!"
Another goblin came scurrying around the counter.
"We have instructions," he said, with a bow to Daphne and Theo. "Forgive me, Monsieur and Madam Lestrange, but there have been special orders regarding the vault of Lestrange."
He whispered urgently in Bogrod's ear, but the Imperiused goblin shook him off.
"I am aware of the instructions. The Lestranges wish to visit their vault… very old family… old clients… this way, please…"
And, still clanking, he hurried towards one of the many doors leading off the hall, the group of Slytherins following in his wake. They entered a rough stone passageway, lit only by flaming torches.
"The goblin's imperiused," Draco muttered to Theo from beneath the Invisibility cloak.
"And here I thought it was my acting skills…"
Bogrod whistled to summon a little cart which came trundling along the tracks towards them out of the darkness. From behind them, Draco was sure he could hear yelling in the main hall. The group of five clambered in, Draco basically having to sit on top of Theo to fit them all.
"Draco, this is not the moment to get fresh with me…"
"Theo, I will push you out of this cart into the void."
Daphne chuckled quietly, her own laugh disorienting when it came from Bellatrix's mouth.
With a jerk the cart moved off, gathering speed: they hurtled into the darkness, the cart beginning to twist and turn through the labyrinthine passages, sloping downwards all the time. Draco could not hear anything over the rattling of the cart on the tracks: his hair flew behind him as they swerved between stalactites, flying ever deeper into the earth, but he kept glancing back.
Whether from intuition, or sheer lack of hope, he knew they didn't have much time.
At least they had planned for that.
They were deep into the bowels of Gringotts. They took a hairpin bend at speed and saw ahead of them, with seconds to spare, a waterfall pounding over the track. There was no braking; it was too late. They zoomed through it, as Draco swallowed mouthfuls of water. Then, with an awful lurch, the cart flipped over and they were all thrown out of it. Draco heard the cart smash into pieces against the passage wall, heard Blaise shout something and felt himself glide back towards the ground as though weightless, landing painlessly on the rocky passage floor.
"Cushioning charm," Blaise muttered, standing up from his own landing spot. "Thanks Flitwick, really came through there."
Draco glanced over at Theo and Daphne, and though he expected it, he was still started to see both of their own faces staring back at them, the Lestranges nowhere to be seen.
"Thief's downfall," Daphne muttered, wringing out her long, blonde hair. "That's what Bill was talking about. Didn't think it would be so… wet."
"They know they've got imposters in Gringotts," Theo said, sharing a nervous look with Blaise. "Like I knew we knew, but…"
"We're playing a high stakes game here," Blaise said, looking over at Draco. "And only we control if we get high rewards."
Draco nodded, glancing over at the goblin on the floor next to him. He was shaking his head, seemingly out of his enchanted state. Draco didn't hesitate, whispering Imperio once more. Bogrod stood up, submitting once again. His expression turned to one of polite indifference.
"To the vault," Draco said, as Blaise cast a shielding charm behind them up the passageway, buying them time.
The little goblin nodded and began walking them down the passageway. Draco heard a roar as they turned a corner, and though he was expecting it, his jaw still dropped.
A gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of them, barring access to four or five of the deepest vaults in the place. The beast's scales had turned pale and flaky during its long incarceration under the ground, with its spiked wings folded under it. Its ginormous head turned to them upon arrival.
"That's the blind dragon?" Daphne whispered. "Didn't think it would be so… big."
"It's a dragon, Daph, what were you expecting? The kid's version?"
Bogrod pulled out the Clankers again and started to rattle them. At the sound, the dragon began to retreat with a hoarse roar, having been trained to associate the sound with pain. The group pushed forward towards one of the deepest vaults in Gringotts, protected directly behind the blind dragon. At Draco's command, Bogrod placed his hand against the wood. The door of the vault melted away to reveal the Lestranges vault, just as Draco remembered it.
The deep room was filled to its brim with precious treasures, silver and gold, the skins of strange creatures, potions in jewelled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown.
Draco paused for a moment on the crown. The image of the skeleton, almost mannequin-like, with a crown tilted slightly on its head set his brain spinning into memory, searching desperately for something in the recesses of his mind, something important…
"Oi," Blaise hissed, smacking him. "We've got a cup to find."
"Right," Draco responded, forcing his gaze away from the empty sockets, that despite lacking eyes, seemed to stare directly into his soul.
The group of four Slytherins and the goblin entered the vault. As Daphne stepped over the threshold, there was a sudden bang and they were plunged into darkness.
The door had slammed behind them.
"Oi!" Theo exclaimed, his voice oscillating between octaves. "Gringotts, what the fuck? Why are you making yourself so hard to rob?"
"Bogrod's still under the Imperius," Draco said, casting a Lumos, trying to keep his voice steady as to not alarm anyone. "He can get us out, but we need the cup first."
The vault filled with light as the other members of his groups lit their own wands. As if they were of one mind, they began searching in earnest, examining various jewels and objects around them.
"Draco, is this it?" Daphne said, reaching down to pick up a goblet on the floor. As her skin made contact with the golden exterior, she screamed in pain, flinching back.
"Daph!" Theo cried, rushing over to her. She held her hand up; massive, red welts were spreading over her palm.
"It burned me," she moaned, reaching up to suck on her blistered fingers.
"Mother fucker," Blaise swore, wiping sweat off his forehead. "Look at the cup."
Where Daphne had touched the golden goblet, there were now at least ten, having seemingly sprouted from another, making a little cup forest on the stoned floor.
"Goddammit," Theo muttered. "Gemino and Flagrante. Everything we touch will burn and multiply."
"That sounds like a joke we made about Millicent Bulstrode in sixth year…"
"Blaise, shut up," Draco said, desperation filling his voice for the first time. "Don't touch anything! We'll be crushed. We just need the cup."
"Don't move," Daphne hissed at them all, her voice shaking still from the pain. "Draco, describe the cup exactly."
"Small and gold, two handles, a badger engraved on the side," Draco muttered, eyes skimming everywhere the light could touch. "Last time I saw it here it was on a higher shelf…"
Draco's voice trailed off, eyes and wand light reaching the peaks of the ceiling, dancing over the various treasures, searching desperately, until finally…
"It's there, it's up there!"
Blaise, Theo, and Daphne all pointed their wands upwards, combining the light so that the little cup sparkled under the spotlight.
Though it was really unimportant in the grand scheme of things, his first thought as he laid his eyes on the Horcrux was that he hadn't expected it to be so pretty.
"How do we get to it?" Blaise demanded, looking around at the group. "Should've brought a fucking broomstick."
"It doesn't matter how many times it multiplies if we're holding on to the real one," Daphne point out nervously.
"I'll grab it," Draco said, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. "I've handled the Cruciatus before, how worse can it be?"
"Absolutely the fuck not, Draco," Theo replied, pushing forward. He grabbed Draco's shoulder and pulled him back.
"Why not?"
"Because of Hermione, you idiot," Theo hissed, his eyes flickering between Draco and the Horcrux. "You really want her to get blisters all over her body right now? She needs her fucking hands."
Draco felt his own palms burn at Theo's comment. The other man was right; he knew it. He couldn't do anything that would endanger Hermione's quest, whatever the bloody quest turned out to be.
Draco glanced down at his hands, frowning. The burning from a moment before had intensified. Draco opened his right palm to discover a thin cut, bleeding slightly, crossing from the base of his thumb to his smallest finger.
"What the fuck?" he whispered, shock flooding his veins.
Theo glanced down at Draco's hand and the blood seeping out from it. The other man visibly blanched.
"No time," Theo whispered, his body starting to shake. "We don't have time. We need to go now."
"I didn't touch anything!" Draco exclaimed.
"Exactly," Theo muttered, the word weighing down his whole body.
Before Draco could decipher exactly what Theo meant, the other man was pushing past him.
"Daphne, now!" he shouted. The witch raised her wand and cast a spell at Theo, sending the other man flying into the air. Through magical momentum, he reached the shelf and grabbed onto the Horcrux with both hands.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream, causing Daphne to suddenly lose control of the spell. The second her concentration broke, Theo went tumbling towards the ground, falling over treasure all the way down.
It was a golden explosion.
The treasure multiplied at lightning speed, covering Blaise, Daphne, and Draco in an ever-increasing sea of jewels. The tide was washing them out.
Draco tried to avoid it as much as possible, but every time the gold touched his skin, he swore as the white-hot treasure imprinted itself into his body.
"Bogrod! Get Bogrod!"
Draco didn't know who had shouted at him, but he retained his wits long enough to push the half-buried goblin towards the door, forcing the creature to touch the wood with his palm. The vault entrance gave way, and the lot of them were swept out into the hall in an avalanche of fiery gold and silver.
"Theo! Put it in your pocket! Come on!"
After Daphne's yelling, Theo shoved the Horcrux into his pocket, as more and more fake Hufflepuff cups exploded around him.
"Fuck! Fuck! I can't believe I just let myself be maimed for the likes of Harry Potter!"
Draco pushed himself up from the treasure, trying to regain his bearings. His injuries seemed to be superficial, thankfully enough for Hermione. But at that exact moment, he had much more serious problems.
A hoard of goblins with swords and knives came rushing towards the group, shouting and screaming. The alarm was raised; for the second time in Draco's lifetime, someone had successfully broken into Gringotts.
And though it had not been easy by any definition of the term, now came the difficult part.
Getting out.
As they had known from the jump, the group grabbed on to each other, falling into a battle formation.
The only way out is through.
"Stupefy!" Draco bellowed, beginning their ascent towards the surface. The sheer force of his spell sent a dozen goblins flying backwards. He heard the others shouting curses behind him, and the group forced their way towards freedom. As one of Blaise's spells sent a shower of goblins through the air, Draco saw wizard guards racing down the passageway.
The tethered dragon let out a roar, and a gush of flame flew over the goblins; the wizards fled, double-up, back the way they had come.
The original plan was to fight their way as a group to above the Thief's Downfall, get under Potter's invisibility cloak to get to the top level, and apparate out. But with hordes of goblins approaching, wizard guards on their way as backup, and a very angry dragon, a spark of mad imagination overtook Draco.
One Weasley for curse breaking. One Weasley for dragon rearing. And one Malfoy for dragon freeing.
Given that this was originally going to be Potter's mission, Draco decided to take a page from the Chosen One's book and do something so incredibly insane that it would probably work, but definitely against all odds.
"Relashio!" Draco shouted, pointing his wand at the thick cuffs chaining the beast to the floor.
The cuffs blew open, one almost knocking Draco to the floor.
"This way!" Draco yelled, shooting more curses at the goblins, as he started sprinting towards the blind dragon.
"What sort of Malfoy bullshit is this?" Blaise roared, sending goblins flying as if they were defying gravity.
The dragon hadn't realized its freedom yet, confirming the group's continual advantage, Draco hooked his foot into one of the scales on the dragon's back and forced himself up.
Grabbing on for dear life, he turned back to the group.
"Do you trust me?" he shouted.
It was a loaded question, especially for this group of people. And for reasons Draco would find hard to explain later, he had chosen to ask it, at that exact moment. With goblins descending upon them, and one foot on a dragon, he had demanded trust of his oldest friends.
And though they really had no reason to, the word trust seemed to force the group into action.
Daphne was the first to move.
"Come on," she shouted, grabbing Theo's hand and pulling him forwards. Blaise looked dumbfounded, but after a split second of hesitation, his threw himself after the couple.
Daphne hoisted herself up, pulling Theo behind her. Blaise heaved himself into the air, landing at the base of the dragon's tail, and began to climb his way up to its mid-body, where Draco, Daphne, and Theo were suspended. Blaise grabbed onto Draco's mid-section, binding himself to the group.
It was all of them or no one.
Only a moment later, the dragon realized it was free.
It reared its head into the air, almost sending the group falling off. A massive roar filled the cavernous hall, reverberating off all the stones surrounding them, sending terrifying echoes into the ether.
"Hold on for dear fucking life, mates!" Theo exclaimed, cackling hysterically, grabbing at Daphne like a lifeline.
The dragon pulled itself up, and without wasting even a second, spread its wings, knocking goblins aside with an effectiveness that put the group's cursing abilities to shame. With a mighty roar, the dragon soared into the air, scraping against the stone passageway as it propelled itself to freedom.
Draco heard goblins screeching behind him, but the dragon was hurtling itself forward too fast for the Gringotts guards to catch them.
"Defodio!" Blaise shouted, pointing his wand forward, enlarging the passageway in front of them for the dragon to make it through. It was struggling, desperate to escape, unsure of where it was going. Theo joined in, and the two men broke through the ceiling, towards the fresh air, giving the dragon just enough space to push its head through. With a final push, it crashed through, sending fractured rocks and stalactites flying.
The din of the screaming goblins began to fade, and Draco sensed it. He felt the dragon did too. With a few more spells from Theo and Blaise, and the force of its gigantic body, it reached the surface.
The dragon pulled itself into the main marble hallway of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Wizards and goblins were sent running for cover, and Draco couldn't help but fucking laugh as the dragon stretched its wings, pushed itself along with the interlopers through the bronze doors, taking off into the sky above Diagon Alley.
The dragon was heading for freedom. They were heading for the war's end.
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