Chapter 46
Draco pushed the covers off of himself and rolled out of bed, trying to be as quietly as possible. He didn't want to disturb either Blaise or Theo, who due to the lack of room in the house, were now sharing a room with him. Neither of the boys knew where he was going; no one in the house knew. Harry and Hermione decided it was best not to let anyone know. The last thing they needed was for anyone to try and stop them, or even ask them what they needed to do.
However Draco knew that Bill and Fleur suspected something was up with them. They had spent the better part of the last few days locked up in Harry and Ron's room as they formulated a plan that tried to minimize as many risks as possible. But it was hard; there were too many variables to consider that could go wrong.
He pulled on a pair of muggle jeans and a sweatshirt. While he wasn't entire familiar with the muggle clothing, Hermione had insisted that it was easier for stealth, so he had taken to wearing it. He grabbed the few belongings he had, along with his wand, and headed toward the door of the room.
"Are you really going to leave in the middle of the night like this?" a voice called out from behind him.
Draco turned to see both Blaise and Theo sitting up in their separate beds, staring at him.
"Seriously, Mate?" Theo asked him. "After everything, you're just going to leave without so much as saying good bye?"
Draco looked down, ashamed. "We decided it was better for no one to know. It reduces the complexity of having to explain our plan to everyone."
"But we're not exactly everyone, Draco," Blaise argued. "We're your best mates; we're family."
"I have to go with them," Draco said softly. "I made a promise that I'll stick with them and help them. And I can't let her go without me. It will kill me not to know what's happening to her. I need to go with them."
"We're not asking you to not go, Draco," Theo explained. "As much as it saddens us, we all know that we're not the only two ones in your life who are important to you. We know how much Granger, and even bloody Potter and Weasley mean to you now. But you could at least tell us when you're planning on leaving us."
"We're breaking into my aunt's vault. She has something we need; I can't tell you what, just that it is imperative that we get it. I know how mental it sounds, but you need to trust me. We planned out everything, and hopefully everything will go accordingly. As great as it would be to stay here and avoid the war, we can't. Each of us has a part to play," Draco said softly.
"We weren't planning on stopping you," Blaise said. "Just…be careful, Draco. Gryffindors are bloody reckless with how they always charge into a situation; don't let them get you killed."
"It's a good thing they have a Slytherin then, isn't it? I'll be too busy worrying about our survival and making sure we get out alive."
Draco's attention turned as he saw the clock hit 5:59. "I have to go. I promised I'd meet them right at 6 o'clock, and while I have my doubts about Ron and Harry, I know Hermione will be there waiting. Hell, she probably has been ready for the last half hour."
"Good luck, Draco," Theo said earnestly, as he got out of bed and gave him a one armed hug.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Blaise said with a smirk.
"Thanks," Draco said, shooting them both a smile. "And good luck to both of you too, mates. Hopefully we can all see each other again soon."
And with that, he turned and headed out of the room. He would miss his friends, but there was no more to say than that.
Hermione stared at the watch on her hand of the borrowed body, as she waited impatiently for the boys to join them. Honestly! If they weren't up she would be furious. Didn't they know how important today was? There was just so much that could go wrong!
She saw three figures in the dark approaching her slowly, getting bigger as they came closer.
"How long does it take them to get here?" Griphook grumbled beside her as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot irritably.
"Long enough," she replied nervously.
"Morning, Love," Draco said softly as he approached them. "I'd kiss you, but seeing how you look like my aunt, I feel like it would be slightly inappropriate.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Oh yes! How weird it would be for you to give your aunt a good morning kiss," she snapped sarcastically.
He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "Are you alright, Hermione?" He asked her gently, as he placed an arm on her waist.
"Sorry," she apologised. "I'm just scared. And on top of that, I have to be using this God-awful wand. I hate how responsive it is to me, and how good it works." It didn't work as well as her own still did, but the fact that she had taken it from Bellatrix made it work for her.
"Isn't that beneficial?" Ron asked her, confused. "I mean, wouldn't it help your roll if it is more believable because your wand is working?"
"It's not my wand!" She replied. She'd much rather be using her own vine wood wand; however it wouldn't work for the character she would be playing. The only thing that was comforting her was that her own wand was safely tucked in her pocket. "And on top of that think of all the horrible things this wand has done. It's tortured Neville's parents to insanity, and Merlin knows how many other people. It's killed Sirius. The wand is evil! And what does that say about me?" she whispered.
Draco pulled her into his chest. "Hermione, while the wand may have been wielded for evil purposes, the wand itself is not evil. Bellatrix was. The fact that it's working for you does not make you evil; it just means that you defeated Bellatrix."
She let his words sink in as she felt his warm body against hers. She was thankful that Draco was coming with them for the rest of their journey; her biggest worry was that he would chose to stay behind with his friends and leave her. She never once voiced her fears to him, because she didn't want him to be obliged to go with her.
But he had come with her, without as much as a second thought. She wanted to just burry her head into his chest and forget about everything; the mission, the Horcruxes, even Voldemort. But that couldn't happen for obvious reasons.
"We should get going," she said as she regretfully pulled away. "I don't know how much time we have in this potion, other than it's been at least five minutes since I consumed it, and I'd rather not have to drink it again. It tasted so awful," she said, making a face. "It was worse than Gurdyroots!"
Draco smirked at her. "Well, carry on my lady," he said teasingly.
She ignored him, and made her way over to Ron as she held up her wand. Silently, she gave him a beard, and turned the colour of his hair to a slightly darker shade. She was about to change his facial structure when Ron began to comment.
"Make my nose slightly shorter; it looks better that way," Ron suggested to her.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not trying to make you look handsome, Ron! Honestly I'm just trying to disguise you, and that's all that matters. Okay?"
"Fine," he said huffing, as he accepted the body transformation he was given.
"Good," she said. "Now, can we proceed?"
Harry nodded, as he held up his invisibility cloak. They all joined hands, Hermione holding Draco's and Harry's, and disapparated to the muggle side of Diagon Alley. Harry pulled on his cloak, hiding both himself and Griphook, and Draco disillusioned himself.
"Ready?" she asked them both silently, and she received two gentle taps of agreement. She looked to Ron, who nodded towards her. "Time to do this," she said.
Hermione and Ron stepped into Tom's bar. The entire room seemed to silence as she walked in, and the thickness in the air was clear.
"M-M-Madam Lestrange!" Tom squeaked at her, clearly shocked by her presence.
"Good morning," Hermione replied cheerfully, earning her an invisible nudge.
"You can't be so nice," Draco chided her. "My aunt would rather murder all of these people in their sleep than have a decent conversation.
She quickly attempted to recover from her mistake. "I need to get to get to Diagon Alley, so get out of my way before I hex you," she said, trying to make her voice as cold as she possibly could.
"Perfect," Draco whispered to her, as he gently squeezed her hand.
Tom look nervous at her remark, however did not look surprised. Bellatrix Lestrange was one pleasant woman. He stepped aside and made a gesture with his hand for her to proceed onwards.
She walked past him, not paying him a single shred of attention, and slowly the room picked up chatter once more. By time she had made it to the back of the room, the bar was nearly as lively as it had been before her entry.
Hermione lifted her wand and tapped on the bricks in the pattern she had learned years ago when she was first beginning her studies at Hogwarts. Those days seemed so peaceful and happy compared to the dark times they currently were in. She longed to just go back to the times when her biggest problem was that she was only a month ahead in her studies. She would trade nearly anything for it. But even then in her young age she knew that it would be inevitable that she would be caught up in the war. Harry was her family, and she would do anything to help him.
As she walked down the streets of Diagon Alley, she noticed everyone shying away from her. They would take one look at who was approaching them and hide their dirty faces, hoping she wasn't there for them. Hermione's heart ached as she saw them. The thing that bothered her the most was that they were muggleborns, just as she was. Could this have been a possible fate for her, had she not been friends with Harry?
The next thing she knew, a man who had a bloodied bandage plastered across his face staggered up to her.
"My children!" He cried out, in obvious physical and emotional pain, as he pointed a finger at her. "Where are my children? What has he done with them? You know, you know!" he shrieked. He came closer and Hermione took a slight step back. She bumped into an invisible Draco, who steadied her slowly. The man was still making his way toward her, and she raised her wand. She was hesitant on using it on this poor man, who quite clearly just wanted his family back. However she was caught in her disguise and had no choice in being able to help the man.
Before she knew it, his hand was raised to her throat, and she knew in less than a second he would be choking her. She tried to curse him, to do anything to get him off of her, but she was too shaky to do so.
A burst of red light knocked him down. Hermione looked over shocked, at Ron, who held his wand in the air. His face remained emotionless, as he lowered his wand.
The people around them began to scurry away even quicker from the scene, if possible, trying to avoid her.
"Why, Madam Lestrange," a voice called out from behind her. She turned to see a grey headed, thin wizard making his way towards her.
"What do you want?" she asked him with as much contempt as she possibly could. She stood taller, trying to add more confidence to her appearance.
"He's a Death Eater, his name is Travers," Draco whispered to her.
Her eyes nearly widened, and she knew that she somehow needed to remedy her mistake.
"I merely sought to greet you, but if my presence is not welcomed…"
"No, no Travers, don't be stupid. I just hate dealing with these things so early in the morning."
"How did it offend you?" he asked her curiously.
"It is none of your concern," she said. "Anyways, I have places to go, so if you don't mind."
"Yes, yes, of course. However I must confess to being surprised to seeing you out and about, especially after everything."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked in a chilly tone. She was worried; had something happened to Bellatrix lately, which would compromise Hermione's cover?
"Well I had heard that the inhabitants of Malfoy Manor had been confined to the house, after the…ah…escape which occurred."
Oh Merlin's Robes! She hadn't known that the Malfoy family were currently under house arrest!
"Well you heard incorrectly. The Dark Lord forgives those who have been faithful to him in the past. Perhaps your credit with him as mine is," she said with a sneer.
The Death Eater looked offended by her statement, all though he also looked less suspicious of her.
"Allow me to walk you and your friend to your destination," he said after a moment. "Where are you headed to?"
"Gringotts," she said, hoping desperately that he would leave.
"Ah yes, gold, filthy gold. I was on my way there as well. That makes it easier for me to join you. But I did not catch your companion's name, Mr…?"
"Dragomir Despard," Hermione filled in. "He's from abroad and speaks very little English. He has come to see the Dark Lord's regime as he is sympathetic to our cause."
"Ah, well how do you do Mr Despard?" Travers asked with false politeness.
"Ow you?" Ron replied imperfectly. The two shook hands, however Travers looked slightly wary of the handshake.
"Shall we proceed?" Travers asked her, as he extended an arm to her.
She sneered at him, and pushed past his hand. It was the first time since she had taken the Polyjuice that she was glad for Bellatrix's antics, as it saved her from having to do certain things.
The journey to Gringotts was filled with silence, which suited her just fine. While she could be using the opportunity to learn more about the Death Eaters and their plans, she could just as likely give away something which reveals who she really is. So it was a lot safer to simply play it cool.
As they made their way to the entrance they were met by two guards, holding The Probes in their hands. She hoped Harry and Draco would act quickly to confund them so they wouldn't reveal her.
"One moment, Madam," The guard said as he held up The Probe to her.
"But you already cleared me," she said in a snippy voice, hoping the boys would act quickly.
She saw his eyes glaze slightly. "Yes, of course, Madame. Excuse me, I simply forgot."
They made their way over to the counter where they were met by a Goblin.
"Madame Lestrange!" He said, clearly shocked to see her here.
"I want to visit my vault," she said in a cool voice.
"Of course, Madame," the Goblin trembled. "But I'll need to see some identification please. Can you hand me your wand?"
They knew! They knew that Bellatrix's wand had been taken so they were being more cautious.
"My wand?" She snapped. She watched as his eyes seemed to darken, and knew that one of the boys cursed the goblin. Satisfied, she handed her wand over to the goblin.
"I see you've had a new wand made," The goblin said, and Hermione nearly expelled air.
"A new wand?" Travers asked her with confusion. There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "I see what you mean."
"If you'll follow me, Madame," The goblin said. He began to send several different commands to the goblins. They looked at him like with bewilderment.
"Bogrod, you know we have special concerns about that vault!" One of the goblins said as they rushed after him.
"Can't talk…old family…special orders…need to go to vault," the goblin, Bogrod, replied.
She sighed as they headed off towards the carts. At least the tricky part was over; or so she thought.
After going down the monstrous ride, undergoing the Thief's Downfall, and sneaking past the dragon, they had finally made their way into the vault.
Draco knew that it wouldn't take long for the Gringotts' goblins to figure out their plan and that they would have to be quick about their search.
"It's not here!" Ron said in frustration as he searched through the various artefacts in the vault.
"Don't touch anything!" Draco shouted out, however it was too late. The objects began to spin uncontrollably and duplicate. "I warned you about the duplication spell, Ron!"
"Well excuse me for trying to hurry up and find the Horcrux before we get caught," Ron retorted back.
"Not now, both of you," Hermione said stepping in. "Accio Cup" she tried. When nothing happened, she turned to Harry. "Harry, can you even tell where it is?"
The Chosen One closed his eyes to try and sense the cup. "There," he said suddenly, as he pointed towards the top shelf of the vault.
Draco felt the objects in the vault burn his skin as they continued to multiply. But what worried him the most was that he heard the Goblins making their way towards the vault.
"Hurry!" he shouted to Hermione.
Nodding, she spelled him into the air. Harry made an effort to grab the cup, however his aim was not as good as it could have been, and he caused the cup to go flying in the air.
Ron made an attempt to jump after the cup, but Griphook also had the same idea. Unfortunately for them, it was the Goblin who caught the cup.
"Give me the sword," The Goblin insisted, as he held the cup closely.
"Griphook, can't it wait until after we get out of here?" Draco asked exasperatedly. The Goblin must have known of their plan to betray him.
"The sword for the cup, that was our deal," Griphook demanded as he made no movement to relent.
He looked towards Harry, who simply sighed. They heard the voices getting closer, and knew the guards would be upon them in seconds. The door to the vault which had previously disappeared began to form once more.
"Just give it to him. We'll destroy it later. Griphook has to leave with us anyways," Harry said, as he rushed towards them.
As Draco made the exchange, the door to the vault burst open, and suddenly the sight of the goblins became visible.
Griphook shot him a sinister smile, before turning and running towards his fellow goblins. "Theives!" Griphook shouted. "Theives!"
This was apparently all the confirmation that the goblins needed before running towards them with daggers in their hand. Behind them were wizarding guards as well.
The four of them began casting spells at the goblins, and slowly plowed a small path. The wizards were still a bit further away, which helped create room for them to run past the goblins.
Once they got past them, they saw the tethered dragon, which was currently not pacified by the clankers. The dragon was shooting fire at anyone; goblin or wizard.
"Relashio," Draco heard Harry yell and with a series of bangs, the cuffs broke, releasing the dragon.
"What are you doing, Potter?" Draco yelled out. Now was not the time to increase their workload.
Harry sprinted towards the dragon as he yelled back at them. "Get up, climb on…come on-"
The four climbed up the dragon, who still wasn't aware of its' current freedom from the chains. Draco kicked the dragon's hind legs, and with a roar the dragon tried to push past the low ceiling and make its way up.
"We'll never get out, it's too big!" Hermione shouted, as the dragon scraped its claws against the walls.
"Defodio," Draco yelled instinctively, and the passageway began to enlarge.
The dragon began to flow towards the roof, sensing the fresh air. Draco braced himself as the dragon broke its way through the floors, startling quite a few goblins who were working on those levels, and finally through the roof.
As Draco soared through the air on the dragon, flying away from the Wizarding bank, he couldn't help but think how there never was a dull moment while with the Golden Trio.