Chapter 40
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world obviously belongs to JK Rowling and not me. Obviously.
… … … …
Early on the morning of May 1st, the residents of Shell Cottage slept soundly. Well, all of them except for Leila. Leila's dreams were once again plagued by Bellatrix Lestrange. As she slept, she whimpered in her sleep. It was loud enough to wake up Hermione, who lay on the bed beside her. After Mr. Ollivander left, Leila, Hermione, and Luna had relocated to the room he once occupied. Leila and Hermione shared the bed together, while Luna preferred to make her own bed on the floor. Hermione reached for her wand to give a little light to the room and noticed several tears slipping down Leila's cheek. She then began to shake her friend awake.
"Leila, wake up," Hermione whispered. "Leila."
After several shakes, Leila finally awoke with a gasp. She looked at Hermione in confusion before her breathing began to even.
"You were dreaming again," Hermione stated.
"It wasn't the kind you're thinking of. Just another nightmare," Leila whispered.
"Another, as in this isn't the first?" Hermione asked.
"Let's just go back to sleep," Leila suggested.
"No, either talk with me about this or I'll tell Draco and Harry," Hermione responded.
"You wouldn't," Leila hissed.
"Wouldn't I?" Hermione furthered.
Leila looked to her friend and groaned before lying once more against her pillows staring up at the ceiling. She lay there for a few moments in silence. She really didn't want both Harry and Draco worrying about her. Hermione must have thought that she wasn't going to talk, because she whispered "Nox" and the light went out on her wand. She heard Hermione fall back onto her pillows before she started talking to her friend.
"You have to promise not to say anything to them," Leila whispered.
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
"I don't want to worry them, especially not today with what we have planned," Leila sighed.
"Well, go on then," Hermione said.
"Ever since that night at Malfoy Manor, I—I've been, having nightmares," Leila began.
"About?" Hermione interrupted.
"Bellatrix," Leila rushed. "When you woke me up, I was dreaming that she was waiting for us inside her vault. She's always haunting my dreams."
"Why haven't you told anyone?" Hermione asked.
"Because I don't want anyone to think I'm weak and that I can't handle what we're doing," Leila explained.
"Being scared doesn't mean you're weak: it means you're human," Hermione replied.
"But last time I was near Bellatrix, I froze. I let her hurt Draco. What happens when we meet up with her again?" Leila furthered.
"It means that you're aware of what could happen and that you can make a conscious effort so that it doesn't happen again," Hermione said.
"I hope so. I don't want that woman hurting anyone else that I love," Leila sighed.
Leila snuggled back into her pillow, trying to push her thoughts aside. But thoughts of Bellatrix continued to plague her. All she wanted was to sleep, but the woman just wouldn't go away. When she finally did fall back asleep, six o'clock rolled around all too soon. Then she and Hermione quietly rose from the bed to prepare for the day. As Leila dressed, Hermione went over the items in her beaded bag. Bill had given them another tent, so that was safely packed in the bag. The wands they were going to use were packed on top so that they could be easily accessed when they were ready to go. Hermione dressed in clothes that looked somewhat similar to what Bellatrix would wear while Leila put on one of the dresses that Mrs. Malfoy had bought for her. She then ran her fingers through her hair.
"Let's get this over with," Leila groaned.
Hermione walked over to Leila and pointed her wand at her hair. Leila's dark locks soon turned blonde. Her disguise was going to be that of a distant Malfoy cousin, or at least that's what they'd say if anyone asked. For the most part, Leila's job was to keep her mouth shut until they were on in the vault. Hermione then changed Leila's eye color from her emerald color to a light blue. With another flick of Hermione's wand, Leila's cute button nose was slightly more upturned.
"I think this will do," Hermione said.
Leila examined herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the wall. She ran her fingers through her hair once more before putting a tiny braid in it. After pulling the brown pea coat from the bed, she pulled it over her body.
"I don't look anything like me," Leila muttered.
"That's the point," Hermione insisted.
"I know, I know; I'm just saying," Leila said rolling her eyes.
"You look better than I will," Hermione said as he grimaced at the vial in her hand.
Leila chuckled a little, but then Hermione took the Polyjuice Potion out of her bag. There was enough for only two: one for Hermione and the other for Draco, who was going to transform into one of his parents, only they didn't have a clue which one. So just in case, Leila and Hermione had put outfits together that resembled something that Lucius and Narcissa would wear. Leila and Hermione had said they'd meet him in the bathroom once they were dressed. So the girls walked to the bathroom, where they found Draco nervously sitting on the ledge of the bathtub. He was shaking his legs while his elbows rested on them and his hands were clasped.
"Morning," Leila said.
Draco looked up and smiled before he stood up. He reached for a blonde Leila and wrapped an arm around her.
"You look nice, but I still think you're prettier as you," Draco said as he kissed Leila's blonde locks.
"I trained you well," Leila chuckled.
Hermione turned her back to the couple as she poured the Polyjuice Potion into two tin cups she had stored in her beaded bag. She then pulled out both vials, each of them containing a hair from the person they were changing into. Draco and Leila watched as Hermione added the hairs into their respective cups. One cup looked disgusting as if it was filled with the Gurdyroot Infusion while the other only looked a little better. Hermione handed Draco the cup, which she had put the blonde hair in, and raised her cup.
"Cheers," Hermione said.
"Cheers," Draco responded.
Draco and Hermione both drank their Polyjuice Potion and gagged after the liquid had been drunk. They both began to change shape, Hermione's hair and teeth began to darken. Draco began to shrink in height and his hair began to lengthen. Leila turned her head away because she couldn't bear to watch which one of his parents Draco was turning in to. It wasn't until after a mutter of "thank Merlin," that Leila looked back up to see Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy standing in the bathroom with her. For a moment, Leila froze and backed herself up against the door. The sight of Bellatrix, even though it was really Hermione, made her breathing become shorter. She shut her eyes, trying to tell herself that it was only Hermione and that Bellatrix was nowhere near them. She then turned her whole body so that her face was pressed against the door.
"Leila, what's wrong?" Draco asked.
"Nothing," Leila said through gritted teeth.
"Just because you don't look like you, doesn't mean I can't tell when you're lying to me," Draco responded.
"Draco, just drop it," Leila demanded.
"Not until you tell me what's going on," Draco furthered.
"It's nothing that you need to worry about," Leila continued.
"Who was the one telling me not to keep everything to myself?" Draco responded.
"This is different," Leila sighed.
"Let me be the judge of that," Draco said.
"Leila's been having nightmares of Bellatrix since we arrived at Shell Cottage," Hermione blurtered.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Hermione, you promised not to say anything!" Leila shouted.
"Actually, I never agreed to that," Hermione retorted.
"Leila, why didn't you tell me?" Draco questioned.
"We need to meet Harry and Ron," Leila snipped.
"Shouldn't we talk about this?" Draco asked.
"We don't have time," Leila scoffed.
With that Leila opened the bathroom door and walked into the hallway. She quietly tip-toed downstairs to meet Harry and Ron before they headed outside to their designated meeting spot at Dobby's grave. Still in the bathroom, Bellatrix and Narcissa, who were Hermione and Draco, looked at each other. Draco ran his fingers through his much lengthened and partially darkened hair.
"She's so stubborn and can be such a headache sometimes," Draco muttered.
"You know you wouldn't have her any other way," Hermione chuckled.
"It would be nice if she was a little bit less of a headache sometimes," Draco said, shaking his head.
"Funny, she says the same thing about you," Hermione quipped.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco questioned.
"Nothing," Hermione smirked.
"You girls and your nothings; who knew one word could be so dangerous," Draco groaned.
"While I do think she needs to talk with you or Harry about this, she is right about something; we do need to get going soon," Hermione said.
"Right, big day," Draco sighed.
Hermione walked a few steps out the door before she grabbed the doorframe and turned around to face Draco once more.
"She just didn't want you to worry about her, you know," Hermione said.
"I always worry about her," Draco said shaking his head.
"More than you already do," Hermione smiled.
"I think it comes with the territory," Draco responded.
"She has good intentions, but she worries about burdening others too much," Hermione said.
"She never burdens me," Draco stated.
"You should tell her that; but right now we need to get changed. I'll see you outside," Hermione furthered.
Draco nodded his head and closed the door behind Hermione. He quickly changed into the clothes they had prepared in case the hair turned out to be his mothers. Thankfully, they had just paired a long coat with boots, so he could wear his normal shirt and jeans tucked into the boots underneath, despite his own clothes practically drowning himself with his mother's thin frame. While he was stressing this mission on the inside, he was certainly glad he didn't have to add the torture of transforming into his traitorous father too. While his mother hadn't found the right way to deal with the situation, he knew that she still loved him. She had pleaded with his aunt and his father, so he held no malice toward his mother; but his blasted father was a different story. He tried not to let his hatred for his father consume him, but in all honesty that was what he felt toward his father: bitterness and hatred. Draco twirled his mother's wand in his hand. This wand seemed to work a little better for him than his wand had been working. It was as if it didn't want to work properly for him anymore, but that probably sounded crazy. So, seeing as Harry was without a wand, he used Draco's old wand and Draco used his mother's wand because he had figured that either of his parents would've been forced to use his mother's wand.
"Oi, Malfoy, can you hurry it up? I gotta go before we leave," Ron called from outside the door.
Draco sighed and pushed the long hair out of his face before he walked to the door to open it. Ron stood outside the door and the moment he saw Draco, he snickered.
"Not a word, Weasley. Not a word," Draco hissed.
Ron chuckled as he patted Draco's shoulder before side-stepping past him into the bathroom. Draco rolled his eyes and then headed down the stairs quietly. As he crossed the final step, he heard the back door shut quietly. Assuming that Harry and Leila had been the ones to exit the house, Draco followed after them and out the back door. The sun was beginning to rise as he made his way across the sand to where Dobby was buried. He saw Harry and Leila walking up the hill in front of him. He attempted to pick up his pace a little, but the boots the girls had paired with his mother's outfit were bloody impossible to walk in. He didn't envy witches and their sense of fashion one bit. He just hoped the mission went smoothly and quickly so that he could be rid of these bloody clothes sooner rather than later. When Draco finally caught up to Harry and Leila, Leila glanced at him before stubbornly taking a step closer to her brother. Harry looked at Draco, having almost the same reaction as Ron. He attempted to stifle a chuckle, but it was no use. Draco shook his head as Ron came running up the hill.
"What'd I miss?" Ron asked.
"Nothing, but we need to get you transfigured before Hermione gets out here," Leila responded.
"Just remember that I don't like the beard too long. Hermione knows…" Ron began.
"Now isn't the time to look all handsome to try and impress Hermione," Leila retorted.
"Wha—well, that's completely off the point," Ron spluttered. "It's just that the beard gets in the way!"
"Likely story," Leila said with an eyebrow cocked.
"Any day now," Draco groaned.
Leila shot a slight look of disgust at Draco, before drawing her wand. She pointed it at Ron and set to work. Harry noticed Leila's cold shoulder toward Draco and looked over to the blonde who now looked like his mother. Draco simply shrugged back at Harry as Leila gave Ron the finishing touches. His ginger hair had been slightly darkened and significantly lengthened. His nose was a bit shorter and he had a slight beard growing on his chin, while his eye color changed from a blue to a hazel. Leila, who had particularly excelled at Transfiguration, looked at her work proudly. What made her more proud was the fact that she had felt completely confident with the spells, like she had been before the kidnapping. Not once did she hesitate, but, then again, she did have plenty of practice beforehand.
"There," Leila said. "How does he look?"
"Not my type, but I suppose he'll do," Harry said.
"I thought you had a thing for gingers, Potter," Draco smirked.
"Yeah, well at least I'm still a bloke," Harry joked back.
"If I look like Ginny, I'm gonna kill you, Leila," Ron hissed.
"Don't you trust me, Ron?" Leila winked.
"I did…" Ron said hesitantly.
Harry, Leila, and Draco chuckled as Ron began to feel his face. Harry moved to talk something over with Ron, leaving Leila and Draco standing near each other.
"Leila," Draco sighed. "I really don't want you mad at me before we do this."
"I'm not mad," Leila shrugged.
"Then what?" Draco asked.
"I—I," Leila stumbled for words.
"You what?" Draco furthered.
"Like I said before, it's nothing," Leila muttered.
Leila slightly turned her back to Draco when something dawned on him.
"It's okay to be scared," Draco whispered.
"What?" Leila questioned quickly turning around to face him again.
"You heard what I said," Draco said.
"You wouldn't think any less of me?" Leila asked.
"Never, love, but here's a secret for you: I'm pretty sure we're all a little uncertain. I'm certainly scared as hell, but I know that this is what's right," Draco responded.
"I love you," Leila whispered.
Leila wiped away a stray tear from her cheek as Draco reached for her arm. Leila smiled.
"Now isn't the time for any funny business," Harry said.
"Normally, I'd love to argue my brother on that point; but you look like your mother and I'd be scarred for life," Leila responded.
"Me too," Harry said as he squirmed slightly.
"Fine, but the second we're back to normal…" Draco began.
"No, no, no," Harry interrupted.
"When we're back to normal," Leila grinned.
"I don't want to hear this," Harry groaned.
Harry's hands childishly flew over his ears as Leila chuckled at her brother. But before Leila could make some quip directed at her brother, Bellatrix…erm, Hermione walked up the sandy hill with the goblin reluctantly following behind her. The goblin was muttering about it being too early while Hermione looked annoyed until she came upon them.
"Well?" Hermione asked. "How do I look?"
"Hideous," Ron commented.
"Weasley, you sure know how to charm 'em," Draco chuckled.
Leila elbowed Draco, who muttered something under his breath. Leila tried to look at Hermione, but the sight of Bellatrix still bothered her, so she looked past Hermione. But when she did, she found Griphook backing away slightly, tightly clutching the Sword of Gryffindor. Just then, the goblin looked up and made eye contact with Leila as he took another small step backwards. Leila raised both her eyebrows at the goblin.
"Going somewhere?" Leila asked.
"Of course not," the goblin hissed.
Leila could tell that the goblin wasn't telling the complete truth. He clearly didn't trust them and would probably do almost anything to escape with the Sword of Gryffindor. They needed to keep their eyes on him, that she knew for certain. Harry noticed the scene and took a few steps closer to Griphook.
"You can give that to Hermione to hold, all right, Griphook?" Harry commanded, pointing to the Sword of Gryffindor.
Griphook eyed Harry as Hermione opened her beaded bag. He sneered slightly at the humans in front of him before he dropped the sword into Hermione's bag. Harry nodded his head before he walked back to where Ron, Leila, and Draco stood beside Dobby's grave. Hermione followed, with the goblin trailing behind her. The teenagers looked to each other with an uncertainness in their eyes, but Leila quickly placed her hand in the middle. Despite how terrified she truly was, Draco was right. This was the right thing to do. Draco made eye contact with Leila and smiled at her as Ron immediately placed his hand on Leila's, quickly followed by Draco, Hermione, and Harry.
"It's now or never, I suppose," Leila said.
The teenagers nodded their heads in agreement before looking to Griphook, who was still slowing meandering toward them.
"We're relying on you, Griphook," Harry stated. "If you get us past the guards and into the vault, the sword's yours."
Leila bit her tongue at Harry's words. He never should have made such a risky deal, especially with a goblin. As much as Leila hated prejudices, there was something that screamed "double-crosser" about Griphook. Something about him justified her prejudices, at least in her eyes. Griphook narrowed his eyes at Harry before placing his hands on the joined hands of the teenagers. With that, Draco gave one last look to his companions before he Disapparated them. They had chosen Draco for the job because he was the one most familiar with Knockturn Alley, especially with the more secluded areas. They wanted to seem as legitimate as possible and coming from Knockturn Alley was just another thing to make their disguises seem more plausible.
In an instant they touched the cobbled path of Knockturn Alley. Leila was thankful that the brick was behind her to stop her from falling flat on her bottom. Shreds of paper littered the alley and it wasn't hard to miss that those papers had the faces of Leila, Harry, and Draco plastered all over them. Hermione bravely led the way down the cobbled street, which eventually turned into a sketchy part of Diagon Alley, until someone greeted her, causing her to stop in place. It was Tom the barman from the Leaky Cauldron. He must've been out on errands or something, but he looked terrified as he greeted Hermione.
"Madam Lestrange," Tom greeted.
"Good morning," Hermione said brightly.
Leila face-palmed her forehead as the man in the alley looked at Hermione curiously before shaking his head and walking away. Griphook began to rip Hermione to shreds. Hermione backed against the wall and squinted her eyes in frustration.
"Good morning? Good morning?" Gripphook hissed. "You're Bellatrix Lestrange, not some dewy-eyed school girl."
"Hey, easy," Ron growled.
"If she gives us away, we might as well use that sword to slit our own throats," Griphook sneered. "Understand?"
"That doesn't…" Ron began to speak, as he narrowed his eyes.
"Ron, he's right. I was being stupid," Hermione sighed.
"You need to treat people like they're scum and you're far better than them. Just pretend that everyone you see is accusing you of cheating…" Draco began.
"I would never do that! How dare you make such accusations…" Hermione began.
"Exactly," Draco grinned.
"I see," Hermione slightly smiled.
"But none of that unless you're torturing someone," Draco continued.
"Right," Hermione said, attempting to shift her body posture to a stance similar to Bellatrix's.
"Just don't do that while I'm looking," Leila shivered.
Harry looked to his sister before looking further down the alley. He heard a shout of someone in the distance and looked slightly uneasy. He still wasn't under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak.
"Okay….well, let's do this then," Harry said.
The other teenagers nodded in agreement as Harry bent down so that Griphook could easily climb onto his back. Harry and Griphook were going to be hidden under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak. Griphook scurried onto Harry's back, digging his feet into Harry's shoulders and tightly wrapping his arms around Harry's head. Harry looked uncomfortable, but this was part of the plan. As Harry stood back up, Leila dug Harry's Cloak from her bag. Hermione and Ron began to walk toward the bank as Leila attempted to throw the Invisibility Cloak over her brother, but with Griphook on his shoulders, she couldn't reach that high.
"Let me help you," Draco said.
Draco reached for an edge of the Cloak and gently placed it over the goblin so that the invisible shield fell over Harry and Griphook. Leila looked down and could see Harry's right foot.
"A little more to the right," Leila said.
The Cloak moved, but in the wrong direction so more of Harry's foot was visible.
"Your other right," Leila groaned.
Harry adjusted the Cloak once more so that it now fully covered him and Griphook. Leila attempted to take once last look at her brother, but she could only see a Narcissa Malfoy standing across from her. For the slightest moment, she had forgotten that it was Draco in front of her, but his familiar smirk was plastered on his face.
"Are two coming or not?" Harry hissed.
Leila took a step forward but instantly ran into something hard. She heard Harry groan as she jerked backward.
"Harry," Leila groaned. "There's a reason you're supposed to be behind us."
"Ron and Hermione…" Harry began.
"Will wait for us before they get too far," Leila finished.
Leila rolled her eyes and took a few steps to her left before continuing forward. As Harry, Leila, and Draco walked for Hermione and Ron, they stepped over the papers with their faces on them. While for the most part, Leila was content with her normal appearance, she was quite thankful that she looked almost nothing like herself. Ron and Hermione had stopped in the middle of the cobbled street, but it wasn't to wait for their group. They were shocked by the sight before them in Diagon Alley. When Leila saw what they were looking at, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. There were ragged and bloodied beggars huddled in doorways of the shops. They were pleading for money or wands from those passing by, insisting that they really were witches and wizards. But it wasn't until a man with a bloody bandage over his eye staggered over to them. He narrowed his eyes right at Hermione and looked to be getting angrier by the second.
"My children!" The man shouted, pointing at Hermione. He appeared to be fighting to keep hold of his emotions, but his voice still cracked. "Where are my children? What has he done with them? You know, you know!"
"I—I—" Hermione stammered.
"How dare you speak to one of the Dark Lord's officials like that," Draco interrupted. "You'd better watch yourself or you'll meet the same fate."
"So it's true what he's done with my children?" the man hissed.
The man lunged at Hermione, reaching for her throat, but after a loud bang and a jet of red light, he was thrown backward onto the cobbled stones. Ron slowly lowered his wand arm as the people in the street began to stare at their group.
"So much for not making a scene," Leila muttered.
"Maybe we should just forget the whole thing," Harry whispered.
But before anyone could respond there was a shout from behind them.
"Madam Lestrange! Madam Malfoy!"
The group turned around to find a man dressed in dark clothing striding toward them.
"That's Travers: he's a Death Eater and a nasty one at that," Draco whispered for only those closest to hear.
"I thought they were all pretty nasty," Leila commented.
"I recognize his voice," Hermione whispered as Travers drew closer.
"Lovegood's," Draco whispered. "Whatever it takes, we can't let him recognize us."
Leila looked to Draco uncertainly who pushed his shoulders back and pursed his lips like his mother often did. Hermione too straightened her stance and with a disgusted look on her face.
"Not so disgusted, remember, he thinks we're on the same side," Draco whispered.
Hermione nodded as Draco eyed Travers as he stopped in front of them.
"Travers," Draco responded first.
"Travers," Hermione said sternly.
"I must confess my surprise to see you both out and about," Travers responded.
"Clearly you aren't as close with the Dark Lord as you claim to be," Draco stated.
"The Dark Lord forgives those who have served him most faithfully in the past, isn't that right?" Hermione said in a near perfect imitation.
"Well—I—never-" Travers spluttered.
"Tsk, tsk, if he can overlook you losing your way for those years, certainly one blunder won't go unforgiven," Draco continued.
"I paid my dues," Travers hissed.
"And we're paying ours; but perhaps your credit isn't as good with him as ours is, Travers," Hermione stated.
Travers looked offended as he stood a bit taller, but his look of suspicion left them. He then looked down and placed his foot on the cheek of the man who had tried to attack Hermione. He spit on the man before looking back at Hermione.
"How did it offend you?" Travers asked.
"It's none of your concern. It's been put in its place," Hermione said coolly.
Travers cocked one eyebrow and spit once more at the man on the ground before turning to notice Ron and Leila.
"Who are they? I don't recognize them," Travers said.
"This is Dragomir Despard. He speaks very little English, but he's in sympathy with the Dark Lord's aims," Hermione explained.
"Is that so? Well how do you do, Despard?" Travers asked.
"Ow, oo?" Ron responded.
Ron extended his hand for Travers to shake, which he reluctantly thrust two fingers forward to shake. Ron shook the man's fingers as Travers eyed Leila.
"And who is this delightful creature?" Travers questioned.
If the situation had been normal, Leila would've pretended to gag; but she simply nodded her head and batted her eyelashes.
"Ze name's Bianca," Leila stated, attempting to muster her best French accent.
"Not so fast there Travers," Draco chuckled uneasily. "She's Lucius' cousin's daughter. She's come from France to improve her English."
"That's no matter. And how old is Miss Bianca?" Travers questioned.
"She's engaged," Draco said starting to lose his cool.
"Is she now?" Travers questioned, clearly not convinced.
"Yes," Draco said sternly.
"Pity, I certainly could've been of assistance to Miss Bianca; but what brings you all to Diagon Alley so early?" Travers asked.
"I need to visit Gringotts, which we need to…" Hermione began.
"Alas, I also…" Travers interrupted.
Not paying any attention to what Travers was saying, Leila fake coughed and turned her head to the side where she presumed Harry to be standing.
"We need to be rid of him," Leila whispered.
"Working on it," Harry whispered back.
"Remember, any means necessary," Leila furthered.
"I've got a plan," Harry stated for only Leila to hear.
Travers looked once more to Leila and winked. She batted her eyelashes as Travers offered her his arm. She accepted his arm as he walked with them to the bank. Leila hoped Harry acted through with his plan sooner rather than later. This bloke was disgusting, not to mention he was making Draco act very tense. Travers attempted to strike up a side conversation with Leila as they headed up the stairs to Gringotts. Leila noticed the two wizards standing in front of the door barring their entrance. If she was forced to make conversation with him, she was at least going to get some information out of him.
"Vat eez zat?" Leila asked.
"Ah, Probity Probes," Travers sighed. "They're so crude, but so very effective."
"Vat do zey do?" Leila asked as she turned away from them.
"They detect concealment charms and hidden objects. There's nothing to fear though, I'll go first to show you," Travers said.
Travers patted Leila's hand before she released it from his arm. Leila turned around to see Draco's frustration easily visible on his face. She mouthed "knock it off" to Draco, who noticed her comment mouthing and squared his shoulders. Leila turned around just in time to watch as the wizards raised the golden rods up and down Travers body.
"Simple as that, now it's your turn, Miss Bianca," Travers grinned.
Leila giggled nervously before turning back to look at her friends. Ron nodded as he tapped his wand against his pant leg. They must have something planned because when Leila took a step forward, Travers and the two guards jolted a bit. Then one of the guards moved to raise his probe higher when Travers spoke.
"Marius, you've already done that to the girl," Travers hissed. "Don't add insult to injury."
"He's right, you just checked her," the other wizard said.
"My apologies, ma'am," the wizard named Marius said, bowing slightly.
"Make sure eet doesn't 'appen again," Leila said, narrowing her eyes.
She then walked forward to where Travers was waiting for her. Her actions were disgusting her, but if it got them closer to breaking into Gringotts then it should be well worth it in the end. In the corner of her eye Leila noticed the guards jolt once more as Hermione stood near the guards with a scowl on her face and her arms folded across her chest.
"How long will you be in our lovely country?" Travers asked.
"As long as eet takes," Leila responded.
"As long as what takes?" Travers questioned.
Leila giggled awkwardly and thankfully the others entered just at that moment so she didn't have to answer him.
"Traver's, I think it's time Bianca comes with us," Draco said, clearing his throat.
"We were only getting better acquainted, Madam Malfoy," Travers said.
"You have business that needs attending to," Draco hissed.
"I do?" Travers began and then jolted forward. "Oh, I do. Well, I must be off to the Leaky Cauldron."
"Correct, Leaky Cauldron is where I'm headed. Good day Madam Lestrange, Madam Malfoy, Despard and I hope we'll be seeing more each other Miss Bianca," Travers said.
Travers took one step forward and grabbed Leila's hand before he pressed a kiss against it. He looked up at Leila to which she responded by batting her eyelashes again. So the cad pressed another kiss against Leila's hand and then departed for the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief as Leila also disgustedly rubbed her hand against her coat.
"That forward good-for-nothing…" Draco began.
"Cissy, they're watching us," Hermione said through gritted teeth.
"Let's just get this over with before he comes back," Leila whispered.
"I agree," Draco muttered.
They walked a little further in to the bank and watched the goblins, who continued to work, but the guards eyed them suspiciously. Hermione then began to walk forward as Ron followed close behind her. Draco and Leila followed after them as Hermione struggled to walk confidently in the boots on her feet, not that Draco was doing much better in his. As they walked by, the goblins turned to watch them. Hermione walked to the head desk where the goblin didn't even lift his head to notice them. As they stood there, Leila could hear Harry's feet shuffle, so she shuffled her own to try and make up for the noise. If the goblin noticed the noise, he didn't show it. Instead, he simply continued to work, so Hermione cleared her throat. The goblin didn't even take one glance at them. Hermione then stood up straighter and crossed her arms.
"I wish to enter my vault," Hermione demanded.
The goblin didn't look up and continued to press his quill to the parchment while he answered.
"Identification?" the goblin questioned.
An awkward silence lulled over the group. Only their breathing could be heard as Hermione mulled over what to say next.
"I hardly think that'll be necessary," Hermione responded.
"You can't be that thick to not recognize us," Draco inserted.
The goblin raised an eyebrow before looking up at them.
"Ah, Madam Malfoy, Madam Lestrange," the goblin stated.
He narrowed his eyes at them before stepping down from the podium and disappearing.
"Something's not right," Draco whispered. "They've never kept us waiting before."
"I don't like to be kept waiting," Hermione stated.
The goblin still was hidden from their sight, but they could hear whispers from behind the podium.
"They know," Griphook whispered loud enough for Harry, Leila, and Ron to overhear. "They know she's an imposter."
Ron gasped before the goblins then began to look at them again.
"Not good," Leila said tensing up.
"They've been warned," Griphook continued.
"And it just keeps getting better," Leila said sarcastically.
The sound of the footsteps of the guard behind them began to grow louder across the marble floor. Leila reached for the closest thing to her, which happened to be Ron's hand. Ron turned around to look at the guard before he squeezed Leila's hand back.
"Harry?" Ron whispered. "What do we do, Harry?"
"If you have another one of your brilliant plans, now would be the time for it," Leila furthered as she began to shake.
"Gimme a moment," Harry whispered back.
"I'm not sure we have that long," Leila gulped.
The goblin who had been seated at the high podium returned from behind it with another goblin at his side. Great, now they were calling in all the bloody reinforcements. The goblin who had been seated looked as if he were out for blood and looking to trap them as the older goblin stepped forward to talk to Hermione.
"Madam Lestrange, would you mind presenting your wand?" the older goblin asked.
"And why should I do that?" Hermione asked.
"It's the bank's policy. I'm sure you understand given the current climate," the older goblin furthered.
"No. I most certainly do not understand," Hermione snipped.
"I'm afraid I must insist," the older goblin stated.
"Bella, if we're not welcome here we should move our business elsewhere," Draco continued.
"You still won't be allowed to remove your possessions unless your present your wand," the first goblin chimed in.
Suddenly, the older goblin jolted forward followed by the sound of shuffling of feet.
"Very well, Madam Lestrange. If you will follow me," the older goblin said somewhat jovially.
The first goblin looked absolutely disgusted at his superior while Hermione and Draco couldn't hide the surprise in their faces. Leila looked embarrassingly at Ron before she released his hand. They followed after the goblin, Hermione, and Draco who led them through a hall with many doors. They seemed to be walking farther and farther underground, until they came to a cart. Leila had never been on this cart before. But from Draco's description of what to expect, this specific cart only led to the oldest and most important Gringotts clients' vaults. The heavy door closed behind them and Harry ripped off the Invisibility Cloak and allowed Griphook to get off his back.
"They know," Harry said.
"I think we got that," Leila groaned.
"Erm—Potter," Draco said pointing to the older goblin apparently known as Bogrod.
"Oh, right. He's Imperiused," Harry shrugged.
"For a second there I thought you were trying to get us caught," Ron said breathing a sigh of relief.
"Well, I don't think it's that strong though. I've never been very good at Unforgiveables," Harry stated.
"I suppose this would be my area of expertise then?" Draco responded.
Harry nodded as Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it at Borgod. He cast an Imperius curse on the goblin, having Imperiused Madam Rosemerta for the better part of the school year last year, the curse came almost second-nature. It was one of two Unforgiveables he had mastered, although he didn't have the stomach for the Cruiatus Curse anymore and he never could perform an Avada Kedavra.
"That should last a while," Draco said.
"So what now?" Ron asked. "Should we get out if we can?"
"I'm pretty sure I heard the door lock behind us," Hermione said.
"We've got this far, we should just keep going," Harry stated.
"Now that we've got that sorted…" Griphook began. "We need Bogrod to control the cart. I can't do it anymore. Also, one of you will need to stay behind. There's not enough room on the cart."
Griphook grinned manically, but Harry immediately protested.
"We're all going. We'll squeeze together or sit on laps if we have to," Harry demanded.
"I said there isn't room," Griphook sneered.
"You bloody…" Leila began.
"Then we'll transfigure the bloody cart; we're not leaving anyone behind," Harry hissed, interrupting Leila.
"If we're leaving anyone behind it would be you," Ron said narrowing his eyes.
"You need me to get into the vault," Griphook shot back.
"Which is also the only way you're getting anywhere near to the Sword of Gryffindor," Draco interjected.
"Our way or no Sword," Harry stated.
"Harry you can't just…" Hermione began.
"What's it gonna be, Griphook?" Harry questioned.
"Whatever you're going to do, make it quick," Griphook sneered.
"Who's the best at Transfiguration?" Draco asked.
"That'd probably be me," Leila said.
Hermione nodded her head in agreement as Leila walked closer to the cart. She drew her wand and pointed it at the cart. She muttered a spell and the cart lengthened about two feet in size. It wasn't exactly that complicated of a spell, but despite all the tension, it felt nice to be recognized for being good at something. The extra two feet allowed for three passengers to ride on the side, rather than just two. Leila lowered her wand arm and turned back around to her companions.
"That should do," Leila said.
"Let's get this over with," Harry said.
Harry was the first one to rush over to the cart. He took the seat in front on the side closest to the group. Leila's brother held out his hand to help her onto the cart. She accepted his hand and climbed over it until she was on the other side. Pretty soon, their cart began to plummet into the depths of Gringotts. Leila sat in between Draco and Hermione, while Ron and Harry sat on the opposite side as Griphook maneuvered Bogrod to work the cart properly. As the cart moved along the track, it twisted and turned and dropped great heights. Leila felt as if she were on a roller coaster. She had only been on a roller coaster once and that was when Dudley had dropped some tickets at an amusement park, so she had taken them and ridden a roller coaster. This feeling was far worse and she felt like she was going to vomit.
"Leila, are you all right?" Draco asked.
"Motion sickness," Leila muttered.
"Since when? You fly just fine," Draco commented.
"That's different. I control that," Leila groaned.
The cart suddenly took a sharp turn which caused Leila's hand to fly to her mouth.
"We'll be there soon," Draco comforted.
Suddenly, the cart took another sharp turn and they were pounded by a downpour of water. Leila screamed as the water fell on her. She had breathed in too much water, which made it hard to breathe once they made it past.
"No!" Griphook shouted.
"Griphook, what was that?" Harry shouted.
But Griphook had no time to respond because their cart suddenly came to a screeching halt just before they were ejected from their seats. The group began to freefall into the depths of the Gringotts chasm beneath them. Leila screamed as they fell faster and faster as she reached for her wand, but thankfully Draco beat her to it.
"Arresto momentum!" Draco shouted.
When they were merely a few feet from the ground, they came to a halt in midair. Seconds later they finished falling, but thankfully they didn't splat against the rocky surface. They all grunted as they hit the ground.
"Quick thinking, Malfoy," Hermione gasped.
"Yeah, well done," Harry complimented.
"I suppose he's good for something," Ron attempted to chuckle, but found it rather difficult because he was still short of breath.
Leila turned around to find Hermione attempting to sit up, only she looked like Hermione. Leila then turned to Draco, who looked like Draco dressed in his mother's clothes. Ron looked like Ron and her blonde hair was back to her original darker color.
"Damnit our disguises are ruined, what was that?" Leila groaned.
"Thief's Downfall," Griphook and Draco stated simultaneously.
"It can be rather deadly," Griphook finished.
"You don't say," Ron scoffed.
"You knew about that?" Leila asked turning toward Draco.
"I haven't actually seen it before," Draco said. "Only heard rumors of it. Never actually thought it existed."
"Depends which defenses they've set off against us. We'll only know when we run into them," Griphook stated.
"Great, that's just great. Our enchantments are gone and we can't be for certain what lies ahead," Leila breathed heavily as she rolled onto her back.
"You don't have to continue," Griphook hissed.
"I never said I wanted to quit. I was merely commenting that we've gotten ourselves into quite a mess," Leila sneered at the goblin.
"Fighting with each other isn't going to make this any easier," Hermione reprimanded.
"Then what are we going to do?" Ron asked.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but the first thing I'm going to do is get out of this blasted outfit," Draco hissed.
Draco ripped the feminine boots from his feet and tossed them down the great chasm before he stood up to remove the long coat. Underneath, he was wearing a pair of jeans and blue long-sleeved shirt that Mrs. Weasley had given to him. He then ran his fingers through his much shorter hair as Ron stared at him with his mouth gaping.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Why didn't I think to put my clothes underneath this bloody thing?" Ron groaned.
Draco shrugged as Leila dug in her beaded bag to hand him his shoes. Suddenly, Bogrod stood up and began sneering at them.
"What the devil are all you doing down here?" Bogrod hissed. "Thieves! You gave up the keys, you…"
"Imperio!" Draco hissed.
Bogrod went back to his complacent counterpart, willing to do all their bidding. Draco exhaled deeply and looked to the group.
"Guess that falls under "all enchantments," eh?" Draco smirked.
"I don't know whether I should be impressed or terrified right now," Ron said.
"You're safe…" Draco smiled. "For now."
"Funny, real funny," Ron commented rolling his eyes.
"Enough! What are we going to do?" Leila asked.
"Griphook, is there another way out of here?" Hermione asked.
"No," Griphook answered.
From deep within the heart of the earth, strange noises echoed through the chasm. The teenagers looked to each other in terror.
"That doesn't sound good," Ron commented.
"We find the vault and get what we need. This way we have time to come up with a plan," Harry said.
"Because planning always seems to work for us," Leila muttered.
"Good news is I think I know where we are," Draco said.
"You do?" Hermione asked.
"We just need to follow that path," Draco said pointing. "It gets narrow at some points but if we follow one at a time it should take us to…"
"To what?" Ron asked.
"The dragon," Draco stated.
"A dragon? How the bloody hell are we supposed to get past a dragon?" Ron shouted.
"It's not like two of us have done it before or anything," Leila said sarcastically.
"This one isn't like the ones in the Triwizard Tournament…" Draco began.
"This one is trained to be more ruthless; but that's where Bogrod comes in," Griphook interrupted.
They all turned to Bogrod who looked as if he hadn't a care in the world. Harry took a few steps toward the path and stopped for a moment to look at it before he turned back to the group.
"Draco, you seem to know where we're headed; so why don't you lead the way," Harry suggested.
Draco nodded his head and entwined his fingers with Leila's before he walked to the head of the line, still holding onto her hand. While Draco had never actually traveled this path, he had only looked below on the cart rides to see what was beneath. But he knew that they weren't that far from the dragon as long as they followed the path, which had a narrow trail with a steep drop-off. The tension was high among the group, but once they were past that…well, then they were closer to what they came here for: the Horcrux.