AN: I would really like some feedback about whether my readers like the story/the direction I'm going. I have a premise, but reviews inspire me. Please take a second when you're finished reading to review. Thanks. I still don't own Harry Potter
Chapter 8
"Mr. Ollivander, how could you? You just let four people die, they never even had a chance" screeched Hermione.
"Calm down, girl," Mr. Ollivander replied. "I, merely, made a tactical decision that will allow you and Mr. Potter to continue upon your quest. I did what was best; what else would you have done with those four? Now, Bellatrix, lead us to your vault."
Hermione was silent as she searched for an answer to the wand-maker's question. She hated that she could see the logic behind Mr. Ollivander's words. The casualty with which Mr. Ollivander had dealt death to the Malfoys and their fellow Death Eater unnerved her more than a little bit.
Bellatrix led the group through the caverns to her vault. When they stopped she laid her hand upon the door and after thirty seconds marked by the grinding of gears the door swung open to reveal the contents of her vault.
"Wow," Hermione uttered upon seeing the quantity of gold and priceless artifacts contained within.
"Bellatrix, you know what we came here for. Get the horcrux," ordered Mr. Ollivander.
Obediently, Bellatrix made her way to a small cup that looked insignificant when compared to many other objects in the vault. She picked it up and tossed it to Harry, who was able to catch it despite the lack of forewarning.
"This is definitely a horcrux," mused Harry as he turned the cup over in his hands while examining the small badger engraved on the surface. "I destroyed the locket. Dumbledore destroyed the ring. Hermione destroyed the locket. Now we have the cup. We're doing it; we're making progress."
"Mr. Potter, it is time for us to go," said Mr. Ollivander while looking at the door. "While we didn't trigger any alarms in the vault, the goblins will know that we triggered the Thief's Downfall and we do not want to stick around to suffer their wrath."
"Right, but how can we escape? The cart is gone and I doubt that the goblins will be willing to send us another one," Harry responded while following the tracks with his eyes.
"You are correct, Harry. This is when we rely on a diversionary tactic in order to accomplish our goals. Do you agree that the Dark Lord would come rushing if Bellatrix was to call him using her mark at Gringotts, where he knows that he is vulnerable? We are going to call him and have him blow down the front door, while we escape through the back," the wand maker said with a smile.
"Why is everyone in the magical world so illogical," moaned Hermione. "If we call him here then he will know that we know about the Horcruxes."
"Hermione, he will try to kill us either way," Harry said while gritting his teeth. "It was only a matter of time before he found out what we have been doing. If we can use that information to make it possible for us to escape then I don't see any other options. What do you expect us to do, breakout using one of the mythical dragons of Gringotts?"
Hermione started laughing at Harry's question. She remembered Ron telling them that Gringotts supposedly had dragons guarding the lower vaults. When she first heard this she was amazed and horrified; however, Ron had also then proceeded to tell Harry and Hermione that they were expected to fight a troll before the sorting hat would place them in a house.
"Mr. Ollivander, do you have any idea how the goblins will respond to a frontal assault on Gringotts? How much time will we have to escape, while they are occupied with the attack?" Hermione questioned as she contemplated the different variables in their equation.
"Despite their finest efforts, the goblins won't buy us much time when confronted with an opponent of the Dark Lord's caliber. We may have five minutes, at the most. Once we get out of the caverns, if the last Gringotts goblin has been slain, the magic that prevents us from disapparating will be broken. However, the pride of the goblins will not allow any to ignore a frontal assault on their main fortress. Therefore we can be assured that the Dark Lord will facilitate our escape," the wand maker reasoned.
"If we are going to do anything we should do it soon before the nargles move on from Harry and Hermione," Luna, who had been extremely quiet since waking up, interjected.
"I don't know about nargles, but Luna is right. If there are no more objections then I will have Bellatrix make the call," Mr. Ollivander said quickly.
"Why, Gregorovich, do you attempt to deny me that which I desire? The fool Ollivander attempted to do the same at first and he is still paying the price for his resistance. I will ask one more time, where is the wand?"
Gregorovich could only cough in response. When the door had opened to his wand shop he was looking forward to providing another young wizard with the companion that would serve alongside them as they grew into the wizard that they were destined to become. He had not expected England's successor to the Dark Lord Grindlewald to walk into his shop and begin questioning him about the Elder wand. "I don't have it anymore; it was stolen from me by the one who considered himself the dark lord before you."
"I can tell that you are finally telling me the truth; was that so difficult? Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to live. Anyone who dares to defy me is destined to meet the same fate. Embrace your death, Avada Kadavra!"
It is time for me to meet my predecessor. The man who lost his title to that fool Dumbledore has never before been deserving of my attention. However, I can no longer ignore him; he has what I have spent so long searching for and now will suffer my wrath. Voldemort thought before disapparating to Nuremburg, the sight of Grindelwald's prison.
The old fool couldn't deny me in life; now that he is dead his wards have no chance of preventing me from accomplishing my goal. Voldemort walked closer to the fortress and looked for traces of Dumbledore's magic. As I expected, instead of casting wards that would make those who seek your treasure vulnerable, you would settle for simple repelling charms. You were once a great wizard, apparently that time ended with the defeat of this supposed Dark Lord.
In no time, Voldemort had made his way through the ward scheme and was standing at the entrance to Grindelwald's cell. "You will tell me where the Elder wand is and I will decide whether or not you deserve to live."
Grindelwald appraised his visitor before bursting into maniacal laughter. "So you are the one who determined himself to be worthy of my title? You apparently did not consider the consequences of splitting your soul as many times as you have. Let me assure you that you will fail in your quest to find what you seek. When Dumbledore would visit me, he would tell me of you. Now, I am surer than ever that your quest is futile. You don't realize that you seek not that which you never had, but that which you have lost."
"I am not a patient man, Grindelwald. You will tell me where it is and you will tell me now!"
"You must realize that Dumbledore would have never allowed me to keep it after our duel. I take it that, since you are my visitor, he is dead. Fine, go. You know where you will find the wand."
"I shall go, but one last thing: Avada Kadavra!" The body of Grindelwald fell to the ground as a smirk made its way across Voldemort's snake-like face.
Of course the old fool would have the Elder wand. There is no other way that he would have been able to face my power. I will go to Hogwarts to claim what should be mine; what wand more fitting for the new ruler of the world. Voldemort thought as he made his way back to the entrance of the castle where he could dissaparate to Hogwarts. However, just before he was about to apparated to Hogwarts he felt one of his faithful Death Eaters calling his with their dark mark. Bellatrix, I gave you no instruction to go to Gringotts. If this is for any reason other than you capturing the Potter brat then my wrath will be terrible.
"Hurry, we won't have long now," Harry shouted as Bellatrix touched her index and pointer fingers to the dark mark on her forearm.
"Right, this way," Mr. Ollivander said as he began to lead the group down a set of tunnels away from where they had initially come from. "It is a secret that has been kept from the majority of the magical world; during the last war against the goblins, wizards managed to penetrate the wards that protect Gringotts in order to assassinate the Goblin Overlord. The tunnel they used to break-in should still exist near the oldest of vaults, which prior to Gringotts transformation into a bank were the various rooms of the goblin fortress."
"That is fascinating, how could Dumbledore have allowed anyone, as dreary as professor Binns, to drone on and on about the clerical aspects of goblin rebellions when there were pertinent lessons to be learned," Hermione asked in an indignant huff.
"Professor Binns prevents the students from falling victim to the wrackspurts that occupy Hogwarts," Luna answered cheerfully.
After this exchange the group was quietly following Mr. Ollivander when they heard a resounding explosion.
"He must be anxious to get to Bellatrix and determine why she summoned him. We won't have much longer, I'm sure that the floor runs red with goblin blood as we speak." Mr. Ollivander said before muttering under his breath, "He was always destined for terrible, but great, things."
""We have to hurry," Harry yelled. "We are almost there. I destroyed the diary. Professor Dumbledore destroyed the ring. Hermione destroyed the locket. Now we have Gryffindor's sword and Hufflepuff's cup. If we can escape then we can do it!"
"Well said Harry, when your voice gained that tone in the Ministry of Magic I knew that everything was going to work out," Luna said while looking at Harry approvingly.
" , how much further do we have to go," asked Hermione while throwing a look back over her shoulder.
Mr. Ollivander brought the group to a stop in the middle of a large cavern and pointed his finger a tunnel ahead of them in the 2 o'clock position. "That tunnel there will lead you out of Gringotts."
"You mean lead us, Mr. Ollivander you can't mean that you intend to stay here," asked Hermione, shocked at the implications of the wand maker's statement.
"I do intend to stay here, the last time that I went through that tunnel I promised that I would never use it again. My retreat was bought with the blood of three of my comrades who sacrificed themselves in order to prevent the goblin brute force from catching up to us. Now go, we don't have time to argue. The Dark Lord approaches; I will hold him off for as long as I can. Mr. Potter, it has been a pleasure knowing you. My only regret is that I won't be there to witness your rise to greatness."
Harry looked between Hermione and Luna before nodding. "Come on, girls. Mr. Ollivander and Bellatrix will buy us time; we need to get moving."
Voldemort stepped over the bodies of the goblins who had attempted to resist him. He could feel Bellatrix's dark mark singing to his magic from beneath the floor and knew this meant that she was at her vault.
Taking flight, Voldemort flew through the tunnels of Gringotts and in a matter of minutes arrived at Bellatrix's vault. When he could not feel the hum of his horcrux from within the vault his anger reached unchartered levels. Following the call from Bellatrix's dark mark, Voldemort flew still deeper into the tunnels of Gringotts.
Eventually he made his way into the lowest cavern of Gringotts and was incredulous when he was met with the sight of the old wand maker and Bellatrix Lestrange in battle-stances near a series of tunnels at the far side of the cave.
"What do we have here, Bellatrix? A bitch would turn against her master? Ollivander you have just assured yourself a most painful death. Standing against me and daring to use the Imperius curse against one of my followers? Prepare yourself for my wrath."