It's Your Guardian Angel!

9:42:33

Two hours and eleven minutes after Kingsley's announcement, I found myself crouching behind yet another conveniently placed pile of bricks. This time, however, the Auror kneeling beside me was blonde and decidedly bossier.

"Are you always this clumsy?" Vane demanded when I'd knocked the third brick to the ground.

I scowled. "Sorry, I have just returned from a prolonged stay in captivity, you know."

She frowned and, sliding a small, softly glowing vial from her pocket, tossed it in my direction. I caught it, my fingers closing reflexively around the warm surface (good to know that I still had my Beater senses).

"Drink it," she said, transferring her attention back to the imposing marble building before us.

I peered at its contents, recognising it as Pepper-Up potion, and downed the potion, wincing as the liquid sent a wave of crackling warmth through my body.

"Better?"

I nodded, flexing my hands. I no longer felt like passing out, which, you know, helped, considering that Vane and I were to enter the hostile lair of a bloodthirsty goblin and his forces. Baby steps and all that.

I leaned forward, resting my hands carefully on the bricks, and peered above the mound. A werewolf and a goblin guarded the former bank's entrance.

"How are we going to get past?" I hissed.

The Auror shifted, pulling a length of shimmering silver-blue cloth from the same pocket ("Merlin, Vane - how much are you carrying in there?").

"Kingsley loaned it to me," she whispered, flinging the cloth over our laps. "It's not the cloak, so it will give away if bombarded with enough spells."

I watched as my lower half disappeared. "Gringotts is sure to be warded, though. We'll be revealed the second we step through those doors."

"That's where you come in," Vane said. "I read the reports - I know you were able to reinforce the barrier against the Bulgarian twins back in the Ministry prison. Can you form a similar barrier around us while we pass through the wards?"

I faltered, saying, "I was in much better shape then, and I barely got out of there alive. Besides, I only reinforced a pre-existing barrier. You're asking me to create an entirely new one strong enough to withstand goblin-made wards...while moving." Surely she saw how impossible this was.

"We don't have a choice, Adela," the Auror said firmly.

I chanced another glance at the bank's entrance - the werewolf and goblin were, strangely enough, now engaged in a passionate argument - and groaned. Well, if I vomited all over her in the process, she only had herself to blame.

"Alright," I said. "Let's do it."

Vane smiled, saying, "And to think, when we first met, I thought you were an astoundingly incompetent imbecile." She flung the cloak over our bodies before her insult could fully register.

"That," I sniffed as we huddled together. "Was rude."

The Auror ignored me, instead linking our non-wand arms as we began to waddle clumsily forward. I squinted through the shimmering, translucent fabric, tensing when the werewolf froze, his head whipping towards us. Bollocks - I still reeked of giant.

Vane elbowed me (with far more force than was necessary, if you asked me) and, wincing, I raised my wand.

"Vulnera vitra sanentur," I thought fiercely and, flicking my wand upwards, sent a ripple of soft blue light through the cloak. The invisibility cloak shuddered, and for a brief, terrible moment I feared it would disintegrate under the force of the crude spell -

But the fabric held, and, although I felt dangerously close to fainting, the barrier was up. The werewolf, still sniffing suspiciously, turned to resume his squabble with the goblin, and I let Vane direct me forwards.

Thankfully, we passed through the guards without issue. Once we'd entered the dim interior of the bank, Vane drew me behind one of the twelve marble pillars lining the perimeter of the main hall - or, at least, what remained of the main hall. Gone were the rows of teller windows that had once been frequented by every wizard in the British wizarding world. In their place were rows of massive pewter and bronze cauldrons that billowed periwinkle smoke.

Several wizards scurried around the cauldrons, throwing various potion ingredients into the contents. I watched as a skinny woman with greying hair peered nervously into the closest cauldron. She wiped her hands on her pink paisley apron and murmured, "Work, damn it."

I exchanged a horrified look with Vane; this witch was working to craft the wands for the goblins. How could they betray their own kind? I looked at the long array of cauldrons, my heart sinking as I counted them rapidly: there were fifty cauldrons line up, and I spotted a stack of various types of wood piled up at the opposite end of the hall. Merlin. This didn't make any sense; Xavier had told me that the goblins already had enough wands to supply five armies. Why, then, were they making more? The Squibs couldn't use the wands and giants were too clumsy to use them, either. Werewolves preferred the might of their own teeth and claws to magic, which left only the goblins as suitable candidates.

The doors at the far end of the hall banged open, revealing a hulking man with yellowing eyes. Greyback. I tensed, my breath hitching, and sent another jet of magic into the shield, fortifying it as the werewolf strode into the room. The wizards scurried away from him, their eyes averted. The skinny witch let out a startled yelp and, giving the potion's contents another frantic stir, edged towards the werewolf.

"Where are the wands, dearie?" the werewolf demanded, casting an amused glance at the wizards huddling against the walls.

"I-the tail hairs provided were not effective enough. I fear that they must be plucked from a living thestral and added immediately," the woman squeaked, looking down. Behind her, her hands tugged nervously at the back of her apron.

"Well," the werewolf drawled, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "It is a very good thing that I've brought you one."

"Xavier!" the werewolf barked, and I felt my stomach lurch. No, I must have heard wrong. Xavier was gone - he'd said he was going to run after letting us free. He had changed, he had wanted redemption -

Xavier King stepped through the double doors, looking remarkably alive and unharmed. Behind him, he dragged a baby thestral, which walked unsteadily, its bony hooves slipping on the slick marble floor.

Vane hissed beside me. "Isn't this the boy who saved you?" she muttered, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

I nodded jerkily, too overwhelmed to speak. Numberita struggled to make sense of it all. Perhaps he had decided that a life on the run was not for him and had chosen instead to rejoin Ragnuk's forces? That, however, didn't explain the lack of bruising; surely Ragnuk - or, at the very least, Greyback - would have punished him for letting us go.

"Ah," the woman said, looking around blindly. "W-wonderful."

She couldn't see the thestral. Greyback had apparently come to the same conclusion, for he sighed impatiently. Grinding his teeth audibly, the werewolf walked swiftly towards the huddle of wizards and grabbed one by the arm. The wizard let out a strangled cry, and the werewolf smiled, snapping his teeth mere centimeters from the wizard's face. He moved his other hand up to grip the wizard's throat tightly.

I gasped. Was he going to -

Snap.

The wizard crumpled to the ground, and the witch screamed, her hands flying to her mouth.

I lurched forward, but Vane yanked me back, her mouth grim. She jerked her head towards the side of the room, where I spotted two goblins. Although I didn't recognize either of them, I knew I couldn't risk detection. The taller of the two held a wand, which, judging by the stains mottling its surface, had been stolen from a witch or wizard. I shuddered, pressing closer to the marble column. I could only hope that the former owner of that wand was still alive.

"There," the werewolf said, his rasping voice booming in the marbled room. "Make the wand."

When the witch didn't immediately move, Greyback snarled, surging forward in a move that was more beast than human. He towered over the woman, his hands curving menacingly over her head.

"O-okay," the witch whimpered. Xavier pulled the thestral forward, his eyes averted, and the witch tentatively plucked an inky black hair from the thestral's tail. The thestral let out a harsh, all-too-human scream.

Beside me, Vane winced, her eyes fixed on the thestral. She could see it, too. Numberita briefly wondered whose death she had witnessed before I pushed the thought away. Right now, it didn't matter if the Auror had witnessed one death or a dozen. We needed to stop their operations, for we stood no chance against an army of goblins armed with wands.

I watched as the witch walked towards the closest cauldron, the thestral hair clutched tightly in her hand. At the opposite end of the hall, the pair of goblins leaned forward eagerly, their black eyes gleaming. An idea began to form in Numberita. It was ludicrous and near-impossible, but then again, when were my ideas ever not impossible?

I turned to Vane, saying quietly, "Do you think you can cast a Confundus on the goblin with the wand? The werewolf and goblin were fighting outside; if we can just trigger the same sort of conflict here, we might be able to rescue the captives and ruin their wand-creating operation in the chaos."

The Auror blinked at me incredulously. "Are you mad? Kingsley said this was a simple scouting mission. We aren't here to start a fight."

"There are currently no less than nine captives in this room. There were ten when we entered. Can you honestly say that you can, in good conscience, leave these wizards to die? You saw what Greyback did to that man. He will not hesitate to do the same with the rest."

Sensing that the Auror was wavering, I hurriedly continued, "Please, Eve. I would do it myself, but I have to keep this shield up." Blast it - the shield! There was no way Vane could cast a confundus charm through it. I'd have to get rid of the shield, but that meant we risked detection.

Apparently coming to the same conclusion that Numberita had, Vane scowled. She looked again at the remaining wizards huddling by the wall. "We'll have to risk it," she decided.

I nodded, feeling sweat drip from my temples. "On three, then. One...two...three."

I let the barrier down with a strangled gasp, feeling my shoulders slump from the sudden release, as Vane flicked her wand towards the closer goblin. The goblin flinched, his eyes becoming glazed. Thankfully, his companion was too busy watching the events unfolding before him to notice.

"Now what?" Vane hissed, her voice strained.

"We need him to cast a hex at Greyback - ideally he would shout something like 'die, werewolf scum' whilst doing so," I began but, seeing the Auror's ensuing glare, hurriedly amended, "uh, just the spell will do."

I peered around the marble column, my heart stilling when I saw Greyback looking directly at me. I bit back a startled yell, my breath rasping between my clenched teeth. Through the silvery veil of the invisibility cloak, I saw the werewolf, his nose flaring, begin walking deliberately towards us.

"I believe," I heard the werewolf rasp, "we have some visit-"

A bolt of yellow magic hit his side, and he yelped, doubling over in pain. His head whipped towards the two goblins. The Confounded goblin blinked, staring at his wand in disbelief, and his companion looked wildly between his friend and the (very) angry werewolf.

Greyback let out an ear-shattering roar and began running towards the goblins. At his call, the double doors banged open, revealing three more werewolves. Upon seeing their leader advance towards the goblins, the werewolves soon followed suit. The other goblin wrenched the wand from his companion's hands and, eyes wide, conjured a shimmering net. Greyback slammed into the net and, although the magic shuddered, was unable to pass through.

"You dare attack me?" the werewolf thundered.

The goblin cast another panicked look at his companion, but the other goblin was still reeling from the effects of the Confundus charm. "Stay back, werewolf," the goblin warned, his gnarled fingers clenched tight around the stolen wand.

"Good timing," I murmured to the Auror beside me.

"Come on," Vane said, pulling me to the side. "Let's save some wizards."

I cast the shield again and, linking arms with Auror, began edging towards the captive wizards. Xavier stood guard two meters from the crouching wizards, and I resisted the urge to send a hex his way. I wasn't going to risk revealing ourselves just so I could get revenge.

We crept behind the traitorous wizard and, careful to keep quiet, approached the witch. The witch stared at the ensuing scuffle, her lips moving in silent prayer. In her lap, she wound the thestral tail hair nervously around her fingers.

Glancing at Xavier to make sure the wizard was looking away, I crouched, positioning my mouth near the witch's ear.

"Oi!" I whispered. "This is your guardian angel. We're here to save you."

At my (admittedly not well thought out) words, the witch gave a loud squeal and fell backwards. This squeal, unfortunately, occurred during a lapse in the scuffle and consequently reverberated around the silent room. This, of course, led to three terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things:

One: Vane elbowed me soundly in the gut, which made my eyes water and the shield protecting us dissolve instantly.

Two: Reeling from the pain of Vane's horribly uncalled for act of violence, I (accidentally, mind you) pulled the invisibility cloak aside, revealing Vane's seemingly disembodied head.

Three: the witch we were supposed to be saving began to scream at the sight, drawing all eyes to us (or, more specifically, Vane's head, which was rather red by this point).

The Auror glared at me (actually, she glared at my right elbow, as I was still entirely concealed under the invisibility cloak) and pulled the cloak to the floor, freeing her wand arm.

"H-hello," I said to the witch, giving a half-hearted wave. "Er, sorry about the guardian angel bit. I didn't, uh, think that one through."

The witch managed a weak smile before her eyes rolled up, and she toppled, unconscious, to the ground. Silence fell thickly for eighteen long seconds as we all stared at the fallen witch.

"Get them!" I heard Greyback roar. I ducked instinctively, narrowly missing a scarlet hex. Large, angry-looking cracks began to appear in the marble walls as jinx after jinx came soaring our way.

"I don't suppose any of you have your wands," I gasped, looking hopefully at the crowd of wizards. They shook their heads, eyes wide, and I groaned. "Brilliant."

I shot a stunning hex towards the rapidly approaching werewolves, but they dodged it nimbly. The hex collided with a pewter cauldron, sending its steaming contents pilling onto the floor. Noxious black smoke began billowing upwards instantly as the floor began to warp and, exchanging a look with Vane, I began to send a barrage of curses at the cauldrons. As cauldron after cauldron toppled to the ground, filling the room with a horrid stench, I backed slowly, stopping only when I collided with the wall.

"What now?" I shouted. "The smoke won't keep them away forever."

The Auror flung another wave of crimson magic, sending a werewolf crashing to the ground, before saying, "We can't go back the way we entered; there's no way we can make it safely across the room - especially if we have to drag all these hostages with us." She shot an annoyed look at the closest wizard, who let out a loud whimper.

"That's the only exit!" I protested. Spotting an approaching bolt of emerald light, I deflected the curse with a slash of my wand. Already, I could feel my legs trembling, and the heavy fumes were making my thoughts run slowly. If I blinked, I could see my blackened hands splinter into four, and I didn't know whether I was imagining the bone-shaking sirens splitting the air.

We were two witches against six foes and, from the sounds of the howls, that number would increase shortly. I spotted something shift out of the corner of my eye, and I whirled, my wand pressing firmly into the soft flesh of Xavier King's neck.

"You," I seethed. My wand began to glow red, and Xavier hurriedly said, "I can help you all escape!" He lifted his bare hands, showing that he was unarmed, and I frowned.

"Do you honestly believe we will trust you?" I said. "Why did Ragnuk let us escape? What plans do you have?"

Xavier shook his head, saying, "Adela, I know this looks bad, but I honestly did believe I was helping you. Luke - Luke must have seen me wavering, and he spoke to Ragnuk...they knew I was having doubts and that I wanted to let you free, and they took advantage of that. I was tricked, Adela, just like you."

I paused, a horrible feeling burrowing deep in my stomach. "What do you mean, 'tricked'? You seem perfectly happy to be with your werewolf friends."

He swallowed visibly. "I - you have to see something," he said. "Please."

His dark eyes were sincere, and I found myself wavering.

"Knock him out already! Perhaps the monsters will let us go if we have a hostage," Vane shouted, her voice strained. I could barely make the Auror out through the thick smoke. Her normally perfect bun was in wild disarray as the Auror shot spell after spell into the dark gloom.

"You know they won't hesitate to kill me," Xavier said. His face glowed with brilliant colour as hex after hex collided with the wall behind him. "I can show you another way out, but you'll have to trust me."

What choice did we have? I cursed inwardly and jerked my head towards the wand poking from his trouser pocket. "Toss me your wand," I ordered.

"What? Adela, I'll be helpless if -"

"Your wand," I said. I stepped forward, pressing my wand firmly against his throat -

Glowering, the man obeyed, and I pocketed his wand hurriedly. "Vane," I shouted, keeping my eyes firmly on Xavier, "revive the witch!"

Thankfully, although she let out a stream of nasty expletives, the Auror cooperated. She stalked over to the witch's fallen body and slapped her soundly. The witch let out a loud groan, her hand going to her cheek.

"Vane!" I protested, eyes wide.

"What?"

"You - you have a wand! You could have revived her in a less violent way."

"She is an idiot who almost got us all killed," the Auror said stiffly.

I was also an idiot who almost got us all killed. I wisely decided to shut up about the witch and instead turned to the wizards. "Alright, who here wants to avoid a painful death?"

Nine tentative hands raised, and I nodded grimly. "Follow us closely. Do not hesitate. Do not get left behind. Is that clear?"

Nine wizards and one witch nodded, and I turned to Xavier. "Alright, Xavier. Lead the way."

We ran, Vane and Xavier in the lead while I brought in the rear, towards the wall directly to our right, dodging falling stone and werewolf. Upon reaching the wall, Xavier crouched and, pressing his hand against the bottommost slab, pressed firmly. With a loud shudder, the wall slid to the side, revealing a dark tunnel. If I squinted, I could just make out the last vestiges of sunlight filtering weakly at the far end.

Meeting Vane's eyes, I nodded, and the Auror yelled for the captives to follow her. I waited for all ten captives to exit the room before moving towards the door. Before I could follow, however, an arm shot out in front of me.

"What are you doing?" I hissed incredulously. I risked a glance behind us and, seeing the eight shadowed forms barreling rapidly towards us, cursed. Xavier was going to get us both killed and for what? Sheer pettiness?

Xavier shook his head, saying, "Adela, I need to show you something."

"Can't it wait?" I asked, my voice half-strangled with fear. Merlin, this was not the way I wanted to go. I could hit Xavier with a full body-bind curse, but that would mean his assured death once the werewolves caught up - which, by Numberita's calculations, would happen in twenty-three seconds. As much as I disagreed with his choices, I couldn't let him die. I watched in horror as the wall slid shut behind Xavier, closing me off from my only escape route.

"I know why they let you free," he said.

Eighteen. Seventeen. Sixteen.

"Why, Xavier?"

Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen.

"I'm so sorry, Adela."

Twelve. Eleven. Ten.

I pointed my wand at his throat again, eyes cold. I was tired of questions. I was tired of waiting, of fumbling, blind, through the plans of others.

"Tell me," I demanded.

Nine. Eight. Seven.

"Al," he said, and the world stilled. Al.

Vane: He's different. Something's off.

Al Al Al

"What about him?" I said, wavering on my feet. I had the sickening feeling that I knew what he was going to say, but I needed to hear it from his lips. When Xavier didn't immediately answer, I let out a strangled yell and, surging forward, gripped his shirt firmly with my hand. He slammed against the wall, his head cracking against the marble with a loud thud.

"It's Luke," Xavier gasped out. "It's always been Luke."

Three. Two. One.

I stumbled backwards and felt strong hands wrap tightly around my arms.

"Hello, little one. You've been very naughty."

Zero.

AN: thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think :)