Okay, I know how mad you are going to be about these long waits and I can't really blame you. All I can really say on the matter is that life gets in the way sometimes and I do not have the time to write as much as I would like to. I hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless.

Onward!

Harry, Hermione, Red, and I were huddled in the cozy living room of Shell Cottage, all sitting silently, and waiting for someone to say something.

We had all told our stories of what had happened to us in Malfoy Manor-Harry and Ron explained that Dobby had shown up in the dungeons and completely saved their asses before Hermione somberly told us about Bellatrix's torture and I reluctantly shared my bonding time with Greyback-and now we were just sitting there, unable to say or do anything.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Red asked from his spot next to Hermione on the couch.

"Well, I think we need to talk to the goblin upstairs." Harry explained to them before looking over at me, who, unsurprisingly, was completely confused because until then I hadn't even known a goblin was in the house. "He hasn't let go of the sword of Gryffindor since we got here. I think he knows something about this sword and the fact that it is supposed to be in the LeStrange vault."

I nodded even though I wasn't exactly sure what was going on; after all, I was pretty much unconscious for most of the conversation with Bellatrix.

"I think we should speak to Ollivander about the wands we lifted too. I want to know if they are safe for us to use." Hermione added.

Wands? They stole wands? Man, I must have missed a lot when I was writhing on the floor in pain. Wands-speaking of which…. "Where is my wand?" I asked, feeling the panic creep up in my voice. "LeStrange had it last…I-I-where is it?"

Harry put a hand up, as if silently telling me to calm down, before reaching around the side of the couch and grabbing a handful of wands. From the middle of the pile, he withdrew my black wavy wand and handed it to me.

I took the wand, letting the feeling of having a part of me reconnect sink in as looked it over; everything seemed to be all right with it.

"While we are at it, I think we should have Ollivander look that one over as well." Harry added as he watched me watch my wand.

I wrinkled my forehead at his comment. "Why? It seems fine. No damage done to it."

"That's not what I meant, Allie…" He paused as he took my wand back from me. "It doesn't work for any of us except you…it is not exactly normal for a wand to do that."

I shrugged, thinking Harry was just being paranoid about it. Yes, my wand was very powerful, but it wasn't unmanageable. I wasn't going to argue with him though. If it gave him a peace of mind then I wouldn't deny him that. "If you think it's for the best."

"I do." He said. "Okay, let's go up then."

The goblin's room was right across the hall from mine; it was smaller and darker but still comfortable for someone to recuperate in if, you know, you're a goblin who is used to dark, depressing places.

"Griphook, excuse me, but may we have a word with you?" Hermione asked, entering the room first. This is truly what I loved about my best friend; she had a way of being nice to everyone, even mean, grumpy goblins.

"If you must, then go ahead." He grumbled.

Hermione looked back at Harry who came closer to Griphook, who was sitting on his bed, just staring at the sword of Gryffindor that I now noticed in one corner of the room.

"This is the sword of Gryffindor." Harry said, not questioned.

"Yes, which means the one in the LeStrange vault is a fake…theif." The goblin mumbled the words as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Wait, there were two swords? When did this happen? And even if there were…

"We didn't steal it." I said, coming forward now. "The sword of Gryffindor comes to the aid of Gryffindor's in need. Well, we were in need and there it appeared. If it's not in the right place then it's not our fault."

The goblin mumbled again; this time it was so low my vampire ears couldn't even pick the words up.

"Why does Bellatrix think hers is the real one?" Harry asked.

"It is a really excellent replica…only a goblin would notice that it was not the true sword… But I believe she did not question it because the headmaster of Hogwarts gave it to her." Griphook acted as if it were a stupid question. "He used to be a teacher there and he gave it to her for 'safe keeping', or so he said."

I couldn't think of which teacher would do such a think until…oh, wait. Yeah, I actually could think of one. My eyes drifted to Harry who had also figured it out.

"Snape? Snape gave the fake to her?"

The goblin answered Harry's question with a nod of the head.

"But that seemed a bit extreme, don't you think?" Ron asked. "She seemed to be more concerned with us actually being in the vault than being in possession of the sword."

Hermione and me met gazes. "Do you think that means there is another one in there?" I was careful not to say the word 'horocrux' and save us all a mount of questions from the goblin.

"It's definitely a possibility." Hermione answered before her eyes turned to Harry's.

He pursed his lips and nodded, knowing where we were going with this conversation. "We need to get into that vault."

Griphook laced his fingers together, as if ready to make a deal, and took a deep breath.

I came to stand next to Harry. "We have money…I can pay you anything you want."

The creature snorted. "Muggle money? I have no use for it. And as for Potter's gold, I don't want it."

"Then what is it that you want?" Harry asked, getting annoyed now.

Griphook smiled deviously. "The sword."

I rolled my eyes about to say no right away when Harry's hand caught mine and stopped my lips from moving. I glanced over at him. "Fine," He said, causing me to start and sputter some gibberish. "We'll give you the sword after you get us into the vault."

The goblin smiled. "It's a deal then."

"Harry, what were you thinking? Telling him we would give him the sword of Gryffindor? It's bloody mad." Red said as we stood outside the wandmaker's room, waiting for Fleur to finish changing his bandages.

"He did what he had to." I said, cutting in. "It's not like he had a choice in the matter considering we have no other way of getting into Gringotts without him."

That second, Fleur emerged from the room in a way that did not make me want to smack her across her too pretty face….hmm, interesting new development.

"He's weak but willing to talk to you. Go on in." She said, stepping aside and heading down the stairs slowly. I knew that both she and Bill had no idea what we were doing there or what we wanted with their two house guests but I couldn't worry about their feelings getting hurt because they were out of the loop; we were, in fact, keeping them safe by not telling them about our mission.

"Thanks." Red said, still completely smitten with his new sister-in-law.

I opened the door and stepped in hesitantly. Ollivander was sitting in a chair close to the window, not doing anything in particular except staring out at it.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. I hope we are not disturbing you."

"Oh, of course not, my dear. Please, come in. Mrs. Weasley told me the four of you needed to speak with me." He said, waving us into the room. We all crowded into the tiny, but well lit, room and stood around until Harry handed over the two wands they had taken from Malfoy Manor.

"I was wondering if I could have you take a look at these wands for me…tell me if they are safe to use." Harry explained, handing him the first of the two.

The elderly man began twirling the wand in his hand, studying it very closely. "Ah, well this is made of walnut…12 ¾ inches…unyielding with a dragon heart string core..." He paused. "This is the wand of Bellatrix Lestrange…How did you come upon it?"

"We took it from her when we were at Malfoy Manor." Harry took that wand from him and handed him the next. "How is it that you can tell the wand's owner by just looking at it?"

Ollivander spoke as he began to study the new wand. "I remember every wand I ever sold Mr. Potter. Now, let's see…this one is made of hawthorn…10 inches…quite springy with a dragon heart string core…it belonged to Draco Malfoy." He paused. "I would say both would be fine to use even though they do not belong to you."

Harry nodded and thanked him before turning back to look at me. I sighed nervously as I stepped forward and handed the man my wand. "If it's not too much of a burden we would like you to look at this wand too."

Ollivander's eyes widened as he twirled and bended my wand, trying to figure out what it was. "This is a wand that I have never seen before…something powerful and…dark."

I exchanged a glance with Harry before coming closer to the man. "Dark? What do you mean by dark?"

"This wand is made of holly, 11 inches long, with a Thestal tail hair core…"

"That is correct." I wondered how he could tell what was inside of my wand by looking at the outside.

"It's strange…There is only one other wand in existence that has this type of core. Do you know which one that is?"

I shook my head to silently say 'no' but at the same time I heard Harry say 'yes'. "The Elder Wand."

"The Elder Wand? As in Dumbledore's wand and the one Voldemort is after?" I asked both of them.

Ollivander nodded.

"So, you believe the Elder Wand exists then?" Harry questioned. "It's real?"

Once again, the elderly man nodded. "And it has a twin."

"A twin?" I was majorly confused now. "I don't understand what you mean."

Ollivander took his eyes off of my wand for the first time since he got it in his hands. "Miss. Cullen, your wand is extraordinary. Do you know what it means to have the tail hair of a Thestral as the core?"

I shrugged. "Other than it being ironic because I'm kinda dead, no."

The wand maker held my wavy wand up to me and I took it gently in my hands. "This wand and this core cannot be mastered by just anyone, Miss Cullen. In order to use this particular wand, one must be able to fully except death. It is no wonder that it picked you because of who you are, because of what you are." He paused. "Wand makers never make wands with Thestral hair because of this reason…Tell me where is it that you got your wand?"

"I found it in a wand shop in America…why?" I asked.

The man looked back out at the window. "This wand was crafted out of dark magic, Miss Cullen. It radiates a need to do folly to it's opponents…just as the Elder Wand does."

I felt terrible at his words. I hadn't meant to pick a so-called 'evil wand'. "Sir, I didn't know…I just sort of walked in and it was sitting there and I chose it without even thinking."

Ollivander smiled and began to shake his head. "Oh no, Miss Cullen. You did not choose this wand…it has most certainly chosen you."

"But why?" I asked, coming to sit on the bed across from him.

"Because, with this, you can defeat its brother and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." He explained before turning his eyes to Harry. "He tortured me…made me give him information about how to destroy you after your last meeting three years ago when your wands connected. You-Know-Who realized that to defeat you he could not use his wand when it was so connected to yours…he needed something stronger. What he didn't know-what none of us knew-is that the Elder Wand, just as his did, has an equal." Ollivander grabbed my hands and pressed the to his. "Now that he has the Elder Wand he will come for you two…he will find you and he will try to kill you."

The man looked down at my wand, still in my hand, before returning his gaze back to me. "With this wand, you will have a chance. Keep it safe, Miss Cullen, and most importantly, keep it secret."

"So, that was unexpected." I said when we left the wand maker's room and headed over to my room. I was lucky enough to get the extra bedroom at the end of the hall because I was unconscious; I guess that means being pathetic has its perks…like a bed.

"That's the understatement of the century." Hermione said as she closed the door behind us and came over to help me sit down on the bed. I waved her hand away, indicating that I was all right.

Harry sat down on the other side of me and Red took the free rocking chair in the opposite corner of my tiny bedroom.

"So, what are we going to do?" Harry asked.

"What do you think we are going to do? We have to continue hunting the horcruxes like we have been." I answered matter-of-factly.

"No, I meant about your wand, Allie." He said, taking it from my hand and examining it as if it were a foreign object. "This is some pretty serious magic and we have it in our hands. We have to figure out how to use it to our advantage."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "We can't worry about that right now, not until the horcruxes are all destroyed."

I could see Hermione and Red nodding their heads in agreement. "Allie's right. We can't start a new mission until this one is complete." Hermione explained. "So, we have to figure out our next move."

"Well, we need to get into that vault. Chances are that there is a another horcrux in there; the way she was acting made it seem like there was something more important in that vault that she wanted to protect than the sword." Red interjected.

"I think you are right." Harry said. "The only question is: how are we going to get in?"

"Ah!" Hermione screeched before holding a finger up, indicating that we should wait a minute, before beginning to rummage through her beaded bag. Seconds later, she pulled out a vial and small handkerchief. "I plucked this off of Bellatrix while she was…while she was, you know." Hermione didn't want to relive the torture she had gone through and I didn't really blame her; after all, I was trying to forget what happened, myself.

"And that vial? It's what I think it is, isn't it?" I asked as I took the vial filled with the slimy potion and studied it with a disgusted look I had wore a thousand time before when trying to down this stuff.

"Polyjuice Potion, yes." She said with a slight smile.

I smiled back and looked at the boys, making sure they both understood what was going down too. "Hermione Jean Granger, you are devious and sneaky, and I love it!"

"Yeah, it's a good plan, Hermione; but, what about the rest of us? You only have one hair from one person and there is no way we are going to let someone go alone." Ron brought up.

We were all silent for a moment before Harry's voice piped in. "I have a plan that can get us all into Gringotts."

"Super duper." I said. "Let's hear it and get going. Sitting around is getting way too boring for me."

We were all standing outside of Shell Cottage: Harry, Red, Griphook, and me. Hermione was inside, taking the Polyjuice potion and changing into some Bellatix-like clothes.

I was with Red, helping him put the finishing touches on his costume. We decided that he was going to pretend to be a henchman for LeStrange and Harry, Griphook, and I were going to be under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Alright, I think that should about do it." I said, as I patted the last of his fake beard onto the glue on his face. Taking a step back, I decided to admire my handy work. "Damn, Red. You don't even look like yourself."

"Excellent." He said, smiling, and trying out his new, deep henchman voice.

I smiled back. The next second I heard the cottage door slamming shut. I turned and, in disbelief, allowed my jaw to drop at the sight of none other that Bellatrix LeStrange standing there.

The tall, wild haired woman walked toward the four of us, looking awkward; she stopped in front of me and fidgeted. "Well, do I look all right?"

"You. Look. Wicked." Ron said, now using his regular voice.

"Literally wicked, Hermione." I added with a knowing smile; the girl was obviously a nervous wreck because she was wearing an evil meat suit. "Just try to remember to keep your head up and your attitude bitchy…we won't make it to the vault if you don't."

"Right, got it." She said with a nod.

"So, that's it? We are all set then?" Harry asked, making sure that all of us were there and in the right form.

"I think so." Hermione answered.

"Ditto." I added.

"Alright, then. Let's get to it." Harry grabbed my hand, squeezing it and smiling over at me, before reaching over and taking Griphook's hand with his free one.

I held onto Ron's hand and Hermione took his other one and we were ready to go.

"Allie, apparate us into the alley next to the bank…that'll be a good enough distance for us to get under the cloak and into character without being seen." Harry instructed, earning a nod from me.

"Okay. Here we go." I closed my eyes and felt myself push us into the small, constricting tube of the apparation. We were squished and pulled and poked and everything else that came with this bit of magic for a few seconds until we were spit just as quickly out the other end.

I took a deep breath and let go of Ron's hand; I was about to let go of Harry's, out of habit, but he squeezed mine and smiled over at me yet again. I smiled back knowing what he was silently saying.

"Quick! The cloak! Someone is coming!" Red told us in an urgent whisper.

Quickly, Harry grabbed Griphook and threw the goblin on his back before taking the cloak and tossing it over me; he then scrambled under the thing, himself.

"Ms. LeStrange." A man walked by and tipped his hat-kind of acting a little intimidated-as he greeted the woman he believed to be the vile Death Eater.

"Good morning." Hermione said cheerfully, only earning herself a smack in the arm from an invisible me.

The girl yelped. "Ouch!"

"You are supposed to be Bellatrix LeStrange not a bloody happy school girl." Ron snapped at her.

"Right, sorry." Hermione mumbled under her breath.

"It's fine, Hermione. Let's just get going." I said.

Hermione nodded and tried to put scowl on her face, one that was very unconvincing but had to do for now.

Hermione/Bellatrix walked out of the side alley, followed by Ron/henchman into the rather empty street of Diagon Alley; Harry, Griphook, and I kept silent and close to the two of them.

The few people who were on the streets began to creep to the sides, trying to get out of the Death Eater's way; it was easy to see that no one would bother us until we got to Gringotts. We ventured further down the street and I realized that something else was different about Diagon…it had gone, well, dark.

The shops were all advertising dark magic and dark products; nothing seemed to be good about this place anymore. I don't know why but it made me really upset, probably because it meant that evil had touched here…and pretty much everywhere else.

I guess the wizarding world was a whole new place now. It was cold and scared and going bad. To be honest, it really sucked.

We finally arrived at the entrance of the bank but something was different than I expected when we arrived; there were guards outside, waiting and watching.

I sighed as quietly as I possibly could. "We're screwed." I whispered to Harry as we got closer and closer. Chances were these guards weren't standing outside just for the hell of it; more than likely they had been tipped off that we were on the moving and headed towards them. Ugh, damn Malfoys.

"We don't need that negative attitude." He whispered back. "Try a more positive tone next time."

"Okay, we're screwed!" I used my sickeningly sweet voice that I usually reserved for Snape. I gave him a thumbs up and an exaggerated smile just to be a big pain in the ass.

Harry smiled slightly and looked down at me for a second. "That'll do, love. That'll do."

His eyes returned to the guards and we both realized then just how truly screwed we were despite my attempt at a cheery disposition.

Merlin, help us. We sure as hell are gonna need it.

Yeah, it's short, I know. But it was either it be this length and I get it out to you guys faster or I write an uber long chapter and you have to wait another two weeks. Lol, yeah I thought this option was better. Please let me know what you think if you feel inclined. I always appreciate hearing from you guys even if I cannot always respond to all of your reviews. As always, thanks for reading!