ꕥ|ꕥ
ꕥ|ꕥ
The group of five stood in the small bedroom, all of them looking at Hermione as she held up a strand of hair. "And you're definitely sure that it's hers," Ron asked as they eyed the piece of hair, the redhead in his own disguise that Sofia and Y/N had helped get him into. His wore a beard with his hair slightly longer, dressed in all black.
"Positive," the bushy-haired girl replied quietly, the group all sharing glances at each other before Harry cleared his throat and motioned to the door.
"Right...well, we'll be on the beach waiting for you. Make sure the Polyjuice is fully in your system," he told her, turning to the door and gesturing for Ron and Sofia to follow as Y/N stayed in her position leaning against the wall. With a glance to the girl, Sofia silently asked if she was coming, being given a nod along with the motion for her to go with the boys and wait.
Shutting the door behind her, Sofia left the two silently in the room, Hermione still in a trance as she looked at the stand of hair in between her fingers.
"You don't have to, you know," Y/N spoke up as she eyed her worriedly, "If you'd rather Sofia and I be her, it's fine. You don't need to."
With a small glance up to her and a shake of her head, Hermione sighed. "No, I want to. She's been in my head for the past few days, and I think this'll help me see that I shouldn't be afraid of someone like her. I'll be fine."
"You're sure," Y/N questioned softly, taking in the girl's slightly nervous demeanor as she saw Hermione shuffle her weight between her feet. "There's nothing wrong if you don't want to. I only want you to do it if you're comfortable."
She watched Hermione think for a moment, her eyes averting to the floor before she looked back up to her with a hesitant nod. "I promise that I'll be okay. And besides, I'd rather it not be you because if the potion wears off then you'll be compromised. I can do it."
With an understanding hum, Y/N leant off of the wall and slowly walked towards her. "Right, but if the potion wears off of you then you'll get in trouble, and that's the last thing I want to happen—"
"I've got the ring, Y/N. Even if I get caught, nothing'll hurt me," Hermione interjected with a soft, pointed look, Y/N backing down with a deep breath and shy nod. Looking away to the small clock on the wall, Y/N read the time.
"Okay. Fine, I trust you. But if anything happens to you I'm stepping in, alright," she clarified, Hermione giving a nod and a small smile before sparing a glance out the window to see Harry, Ron, and Sofia all making their way onto the beach.
"You should go. I'll be out in just a moment," she told her as she turned back towards her, Y/N giving a nod before she stepped towards Hermione, the bushy-haired girl giving her a somewhat puzzled expression. "What're you doing?"
"Good luck kiss," Y/N asked quietly, looking down to her lips for a moment before staring back into her brown eyes. "Can I?"
With a small nod and exhale, Hermione raised a hand to cup her cheek. "Come here, my love," she said quietly, Y/N wasting no time in pressing her lips to hers carefully, eyes fluttering closed. Delicately stroking her thumb over Y/N's cheek, Hermione applied a bit more pressure to the kiss before pulling away reluctantly. "I'll be out in a few."
With one last nod and a peck to her lips, Y/N turned and made her way out of the room, into the narrow, small hallway by the staircase before she descended it. Catching a glimpse of the goblin already outside with the others, she made her way towards them, the crashing of waves heard as she felt the sand under the soles of her shoes.
"She alright," Ron asked as he saw her coming towards them, only being given a small hum as a 'yes' in response as she looked at the ground. He scratched at his fake beard for a moment as he shared a glance with Harry and Sofia. "She'll be fine, you know?"
"Of course, I know that. I still worry, though," she muttered back in reply, Sofia placing her hand on her back and rubbing small, soothing circles onto it for a few seconds to ease her nerves.
"It'll be fine. It's Hermione, (Y/N/N). She knows how to handle things, trust me," she assured her softly, Y/N giving a nod as Harry stood silent beside Ron. With the sound of someone approaching them, the group turned to their left, their eyes widening and all becoming a bit shocked.
Hermione averted eye contact and looked down as she was now seen as Bellatrix, arms slumped at her sides. "Well? How do I look," she asked after a few moments of them gawking, Harry giving a small grin at the sight as he found it entertaining before turning to look to the rest of the group.
"Hideous," Ron answered, Sofia and Y/N shooting him a scolding side glance as Hermione only pursed her lips and looked down.
"Ronald," Sofia murmured sternly, throwing him a harsh glare as he shrunk down in his spot, holding his hands up defensively as he looked guilty. "Sorry, sorry."
"You can give that to Hermione to hold, alright, Griphook," Harry asked the goblin, the shorter man giving a nod before he seemed to perk up in his spot, reaching into the small pocket of his pants and holding out something familiar to the group.
"Oh! Almost forgot. I found this down the shore this morning on a small walk, I believe this belongs to you," he told Hermione, flashing her bag to her as the group seemed a bit dumbfounded.
"It's been here the whole time? How far was it," Y/N asked, but the goblin only gave a small shrug as Hermione thanked him and put the sword into the bag.
"I found it a few miles down, was caught up in the tides when we Apparated here. I let it out to dry, though, so it's as good as new," he answered, Hermione giving a sigh as she now approached the group. Holding her hand out first, Sofia motioned for them to follow. Ron was the first to join her hand, then Y/N, then Hermione, then Harry. Waiting for the goblin, they all spared him a look.
"We're relying on you, Griphook. If you get us past the guards and into the vault, the sword is yours," Harry reminded him as he now joined their hands, the group being whisked away into a cloud and no longer seen on the beach.
What felt like a few seconds passed by as they felt the ground under them again, taking in the dark surroundings of the familiar alley. Turning to Y/N and Sofia, Harry pulled his Cloak out of his pocket, gesturing from them to come to him.
"Alright, girls, under here with me. It's just big enough for us, but we have to stick together, so it might be a bit cramped," he told them, but they only nodded as he threw it over themselves, no longer being seen as Hermione, Ron, and the goblin were left. Hermione looked around for a second before slowly walking up a small staircase to the left, catching the eyes of a man as he bowed ever so slightly. "Madam Lestrange."
"Good morning," she told him, receiving a weird look as a scoff was heard from behind her.
"Did you just say 'good morning'? 'Good morning'? You're Bellatrix Lestrange, not some dewy-eyed school girl," the goblin reprimanded her as she walked down the stairs back towards them, Y/N flipping the Cloak off of her to shoot the short man a glare.
"I'd suggest you watch that tone with her or you can consider that sword ours. You don't speak to her like that, go easy on her," she snapped with her jaw clenched, the goblin giving her a roll of his eyes and a huff.
"She gives us away, we might as well use that sword to slit our own throats," he retaliated, "Do you understand?"
"No, he's right. I was being stupid," Hermione mumbled as Y/N gave a last glare to the goblin before disappearing under the Cloak again as they stood in a back alley.
"Okay, alright. Let's do it. Griphook," Harry called out, motioning for the goblin to join them under the Cloak as he held his hand out from under. Joining them, Harry helped the shorter man onto his shoulders, the Cloak managing to conceal the four underneath as they walked to Gringotts close together, trailing behind Ron and Hermione.
Approaching the large bank, Ron and Hermione spared each other a glance before slowly opening the doors, taking careful and cautious steps in as the rest followed behind silently. Security lined the walls of the entrance and bank as goblins were seen working at their desks.
Standing at the entrance, they seemed to be frozen in place as Harry adjusted the goblin on his back, the Cloak moving a bit, but not too much to cause it to slip off of them. With a back glance to Ron, he only gave Hermione a wary look telling her to go on before she turned back around, taking in a sharp breath.
Slowly, and awkwardly, putting a foot out, Hermione made her way through the center walkway of the bank, the rest following. With another step, she slipped in her heels, her ankle giving out before she straightened herself back upright.
"We're screwed," Sofia whispered almost inaudibly to Y/N, but she was only given a harsh look and a dismissive expression as they continued to make their way through. Hermione kept her head up high as Ron kept his bowed down, catching the attention of some goblins working at their desk as they spared the two a look from their papers.
Nearing the front desk, Ron and Hermione stopped with the four behind them just a foot away. Though they approached the goblin seated in front of them, he made no move to look up as he continued to write on his piece of parchment. Hermione tried clearing her throat, but that didn't even earn them a glance from him.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she pursed her lips together. "I wish to enter my vault," she told him, the goblin only dipping his quill in his pot of ink and continuing to scribble onto his parchment. "Identification?"
"I hardly think that'll be necessary," Hermione replied, the goblin sparing a look up to her only to stand upright and stop his writing. "Madam Lestrange."
With a narrow of her eyes, that seemed to convince the goblin to go prepare her, turning around when Hermione called out, "I don't like to be kept waiting."
With an amused side glance to each other, Y/N and Sofia observed the somewhat shocked look on Ron's face as Harry stayed emotionless. As the raven-haired boy turned his head ever so slightly, he caught security starting to circle around them. Shuffling closer to Ron with the girls, he leaned in towards him.
"They know. They know she's an imposter. They've been warned," he told him, Ron sparing a glance over his shoulder to see a security guard slowly stalking toward them.
"What do we do? What do we do, Harry," he asked quickly, another goblin being seen now making an appearance at the desk as he looked down to the two in front of him.
"Madam Lestrange, would you mind presenting your wand," he asked as he eyed them skeptically, Hermione narrowing her eyes for a moment before giving an unamused expression. "And why should I do that?"
"It's the bank's policy. I'm sure you understand the current climate," he responded, the three others and the goblin slowly walking towards the desk, trying to make their way around it.
"No, I most certainly do no understand," Hermione continued as Ron looked a bit shaken up behind her.
"I'm afraid I must insist," the goblin told her as the other stood behind him quietly. Being closest to the desk, Y/N snuck Draco's wand from her pocket, slipping it out and under before slowly raising it to the goblin discreetly.
"Imperio," she muttered, Sofia and Harry watching her slowly retract it as a small cloud of gas formed in front of the goblin before he inhaled it, his demeanor falling into a polite one as he smiled down at Ron and Hermione.
"Very well, Madam Lestrange. If you will follow me," he told them politely, the two giving a confused, secretive glance to each other as they followed the goblin, the others right behind them.
☟︎☟︎☟︎
Griphook drove the cart down the vaults and tunnels of the bank as the group sat around him, holding onto it. Winding down trails and many, many curves, the goblin that had been cursed was in a dazed state, sitting in the back.
Nearing a small waterfall, the group seemed to catch a glimpse of something underneath them. "Griphook, what was that," Y/N asked frantically as the goblin was seen trying to stop the cart, but the controls weren't working. Going down another turn, they neared the bottom of the waterfall, going straight towards the water as he tried to stop them, but they were drenched within seconds. Ron's disguise was smeared off along with Hermione's, the two only left in their clothes.
The cart stopped the cart suddenly as a small, flashing light popped up from the front, emitting an orange light before the group felt their seats go out from under them, falling down as screams and shrieks left their mouths.
"Arresto momentum," Hermione casted quickly, the group slowing down just before they hit the ground, hovering over it before they collided onto it with a few grunts.
"Well done, Hermione," Harry complimented breathlessly as she scurried up to go to Y/N, the girl giving her a dismissive wave as she stood up to tell her she was okay. Ron helped Sofia up as the goblins slowly straightened themselves out, looking to see the cart above disappearing on the tracks.
"You both look like yourselves again," Sofia spoke up frantically, eyeing their no longer disguised selves as Y/N looked over Hermione's.
"The Thief's Downfall. Washes away all enchantments," Griphook told them, "Can be deadly."
"You don't say," Ron sputtered out sarcastically, "Just out of interest, is there any other way out of here."
"No," Griphook replied as the other goblins started to come to his senses, looking shocked and surprised at the group as his mouth hung wide. "What the devil are all you doing down here? Thieves! When you gave up the keys, you—"
"Oh, shut up, will you? Imperio," Sofia murmured as she pointed her wand at the goblin, him going back into his dazed state as Ron smirked at the scene. Falling quiet, the group stood still until they heard a snarl and a roar, all turning to each other for a moment with wary expressions.
"That doesn't sound good," Ron said as he started to move towards the noise, the rest following behind. Walking through the dark turns and twists of the bank, they neared a corner as Ron leant forward first, catching a glimpse of a dragon chained down to the ground. "Oh, bloody hell. That's a—"
"Ukrainian Ironbelly," Y/N murmured out in shock as Griphook reached into a box next to him, giving the redhead a bell as the dragon turned to them. With a growl, it stood and moved towards them, the group cowering back as Y/N almost stumbled into Hermione, Harry catching her before she could.
Griphook grabbed a bell of his own and shook it, the sound making the animal cower back with a snarl. Ron followed his actions, the group inching their way around it as it sunk into a corner. "It's been trained to expect pain when it hears the noise."
"That's barbaric," Hermione spoke up angrily, eyeing the animal sympathetically as Y/N grabbed at her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, entering a long hallway to the side. Grasping the other goblin's hand in his, Griphook pressed it to the door of a vault, it opening swiftly as they entered quickly. But the door shut right behind them as soon as the two goblins joined.
"Lumos," Harry casted as all of their wands lit up, the light refracting and bouncing off of the gold around them brightly.
"Blimey," Ron muttered as he looked to a pile next to him, Sofia approaching one to her left as she seemed in awe.
"Bloody hell, and I thought you were loaded, Y/N," she muttered out as the group slowly made their way down the vault.
"Accio Horcrux," Hermione said, but nothing came to them as Ron spared her a look.
"You're not trying that one again, are you," he queried, Hermione giving him a slight scowl as Y/N gave her a hand a small squeeze before dropping it to join Harry at the front.
"That kind of magic won't work in here,"Griphook told them, the two cousins seeming to aimlessly wander around as they took each step cautiously.
"Is it in here, you two," Ron asked, Sofia looking to share a look with Hermione before glancing to Y/N. "Do you feel anything?"
"Yeah," Y/N whispered out as Harry gave a nod, the two turning to look in the same direction and raising their wands up. A cup caught their eye, along with a slight stinging sensation above their scars as Hermione bumped into a piece of gold with a gasp, all of them turning to look at her only to see it doubling itself, making copies.
"That's it! Up there," Harry said, but the rest were far too busy focusing on the many duplicated items around them.
"They've added the Gemino curse. Everything you touch will multiply," Griphook said frantically, Y/N looking at Harry, only to find him still fixed on the cup before she turned to Hermione. "Granger, sword me!"
With a swift reach into her bag, Hermione pulled out the sword and threw it to her, Y/N catching it in her hand as gold surrounded them, starting to flood. Without thinking, Y/N tugged at Harry's arm, struggling with him as they climbed over the mountains of metal towards the cup.
"Stop moving," Hermione told Ron and Sofia, the two halting their motions as they watched Y/N inch her arm up, pointing the sword at one of the cup's arms, then losing sight of her behind a mountain of chalices and golden bars. With the room falling silent and the two cousins no longer seen, the three and the goblins shared a scared look before a clashing was heard, Harry and Y/N thrashing their way through the pile of gold.
They collided with a groan in front of Griphook, the cup dropping from her hold and into the goblin's grasp. "We had a deal!"
"The cup for the sword," he told her, the girl wasting no time in giving it to him as he threw it to Hermione, objects starting to duplicate around them again. "I said I'd get you all in. I didn't say anything about getting you out."
"Why, you little—"
Without letting Sofia finish her rant, he slipped from the door with the other goblin as the group drowned in gold, the objects flooding out of the vault and into the hallway as they thrashed against the things surrounding them. Struggling and struggling, they were able to pry themselves from it, running straight out and to the end of the hallway past the staircase to overlook the railing, catching Griphook with the sword and the dazed goblin. "Thieves! Help!"
"Griphook," Y/N and Harry yelled as they stood at the end, the goblin only giving them a sinister smirk.
"Foul little git. Least we've still got Bogrod," Ron breathed out, all of them watching the dragon give a roar as fire came from it, incinerating the dazed goblin in front of it to dust. "No we don't," Y/N muttered scarily.
"That's unfortunate," Ron replied frantically, security guards now being seen as they sent hexes at them, the group ducking into the side hallways. Ron pulled Harry and Sofia with him as Hermione did Y/N, pushing themselves flush against the wall.
"We can't just stand here! Who's got an idea," she yelled at them, Ron sparing a look to her and Sofia before looking to Y/N as well.
"Don't look at us! You're the Brightest Witch of our Age along with the descendant of Ravenclaw and a top student! Aren't you the brilliant ones," he retaliated, Y/N rolling her eyes as Sofia gave him a glare.
"I've got something, but it's mad," Hermione told them as a chunk of the wall was hexed in front of them, rubble and dirt falling to the ground.
"Hermione, there is nothing more mad than this moment. Have a go at it," Y/N told her quickly, the girl giving a nod before she pointed her wand to the corner of the wall. "Reducto!"
The railing was knocked out of the wall and to the floor just a few stories beneath them as the group watched Hermione leave the hallway, run down it, and jump through the air onto the dragon's back.
"Did she just—"
"Yes—and bloody hell," Y/N cut Ron off with a small smirk, Hermione turning to them with a quick turn and hasty wave of her hand. "Well, come on then!"
Without even thinking, the rest jumped onto the dragon, prying and hanging onto it by its spikes. Hermione and Sofia turned to the walls, pointing their wands at the chains as they yelled, "Relashio!"
The dragon was freed from its captive as it sent fire at the security and goblins, all of them hiding behind pillars to escape the flames. Looking up to the opening above, the animal started to climb the walls, clawing at it. Making its way up the rocks with the group clinging to it, a cart was seen with security coming at it. Thrashing at the rails, the dragon broke a piece of the tracks off, making the goblin and men on it plummet down.
And with a final fly upwards, the dragon went right through the floor of the bank, goblins scurrying from their desks as it blew fire everywhere. Flying up again, it hit the chandelier, making it break and collapse to the ground before it broke through the dome, glass ceiling, debris and shards flying everywhere.
The dragon stopped on top of a building, the group clutching onto it as they gave each other a scared look. "Well, now what," Ron and Harry asked, Y/N and Sofia having no time to reply as Hermione turned and stung its tail, a loud cry and roar coming from it.
With shrieks and screams, the group was flown into the air, the wind hitting their faces as they soared above the city. "That was brilliant! Absolutely and incredibly brilliant," Ron exclaimed with a smile that Harry seemed too shocked to reciprocate, Hermione and Sofia only giving a small nod as Y/N gave a sarcastic laugh.
They held on for a few more minutes until they were over a lake, the dragon slowly starting to descend down towards the water. "He's gonna drop," Harry told them, all of them giving frantic look as Ron gave him a worried expression. "I say we drop."
"When," Hermione and Sofia yelled, Harry and Y/N looking at each other with a nod before they yelled, "Now!"
With splashes and hard impacts, the five were greeted with the feeling of water drenching them, submerging into the murky surroundings. Y/N and Harry felt a stinging sensation over their scars, visions of all of the Horcruxes coming to them.
They saw green flashes of lights and bodies falling to the floor with Voldemort. They saw the ring, the diary, then the locket. Y/N had a memory of her destroying it go through her mind for a split second, almost like it had happened again right there in front of her in that moment as she caught a glimpse of Voldemort holding his chest, right over his heart with a scream.
Then they saw Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw and some sort of banner with the house emblem on it. The vision of the cup they had gotten from the vault flashed their minds, then all they saw was the Dark Lord.
Popping up to the surface, Y/N and Harry gasped for air as they saw the others swimming towards the shore, quickly following them. With Ron helping Sofia up to the rocky surface and Y/N Hermione, Harry turned to them hastily as he wrung out his shirt.
"He knows. You-Know-Who," he told them, the group stumbling behind him as their clothes clung to their bodies. "He knows we broke into Gringotts. He knows what we took and he knows we're hunting Horcruxes."
"How is it you know—"
"We saw him," Y/N sputtered out as they scurried to a patch of grass, cutting Hermione off as the girl gave the two a cornered furrow of her eyebrows.
"And you two let him in? You can't do that!"
"Hermione, it's not like we can help it! Well, maybe we can, I don't know," Harry snapped back frustrated.
"Never mind that! What happened," Ron asked as he wiped his nose, Sofia brushing a piece of her hair that clung to the side of her face away.
"He's angry. Scared—I think—I don't know," Y/N replied frantically, the group starting to strip from their clothes at the top of a small hill as Hermione pulled out new outfits from her bag. "He knows if we find and destroy all the Horcruxes we'll be able to kill him. And he's not stopping to make sure we don't find the rest."
"And one is at Hogwarts," Harry cut in, Sofia looking up to him quickly with a confused look. "What? You saw?"
"The castle—great grandmother—Rowena," Y/N sputtered out as she reached down to the hem of her shirt, starting to tug it up and off of her as Harry and Ron started to undress themselves as well. "It's got to be something with her, and we have to go there as quick as we can to get it before he does."
"Y/N, we can't do that! We've got to plan! We've got to figure it out," Hermione interjected as she handed them all clothes.
"Hermione! When have our plans ever actually worked," Harry retaliated, "We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose. Every single time."
"They're right," Ron chimed in as Sofia stood uncomfortably in her drenched clothes next to him, not making any move to change into them as Hermione unclasped one of the buttons of her outfit. "One problem: Snape's headmaster now. We can't just walk through the front door."
"Um, well, we'll go to Hogsmeade," Harry told them assertively, "To Honeydukes. Take the secret passage in the cellar. It's...There's something wrong with him. It's like, in the past, we've been able to follow his thoughts—always, too."
Hermione stood still as she pulled out a towel for her and Sofia, the two wrapping it around each other before Y/N motioned for her to hand it over. "You're shivering and you're wet. I'll hold it up, you get changed. I'll make sure they don't see."
With a small nod, Hermione handed her the towel, disappearing behind it to grab at her clothes in the bag. Ron did the same for Sofia, averting his eyes only to Y/N and Harry since they were already dressed. "I won't look, don't worry. Get dressed," he told her, the girl giving a quick nod as she changed out of her clothes into new ones.
"It all feels disconnected now," Harry finished, Ron only thinking for a moment as the two girls continued to get changed behind the towels, the boys and Y/N only keeping their gazes on each other.
"Maybe it's the Horcruxes," Ron suggested, "Maybe he's growing weaker, and maybe he's dying. Think, maybe it feels disconnected because he's disconnecting."
"I see where you're coming from, Ronnie, and it's a good idea, but he'd hurt more if that was the case. It's more like he's wounded," Y/N told him, but threw him an appreciative grin for his input. "If anything, I reckon he feels more dangerous."
_______________________________