Harriet Potter

I slept badly that night, and stayed awake for the first few hours, thinking back to how I felt the night before I infiltrated the Ministry of Magic.What I had felt then as determination, almost excitement, now felt bouts of anxiety and painful doubt.We can't call it a thorough plan, and James and Sirius made many constructive suggestions, but they can't help much about the part after entering the vault.It can be said that Felicia is our only reliance. Slughorn has introduced its effects, but none of us have actually taken it. No one knows how much good luck can help us.There was a moment when I touched the Resurrection Stone, and Lily's soft singing and touch were so close to me.

I didn't realize that I was asleep, and I couldn't talk about waking up. Someone fired a warning shot in my head. When I opened my eyes, my first reaction was that I was worried that I would be late.There are still 10 minutes until the scheduled six o'clock, but I can already hear someone walking outside the door, with a clear rhythm and a clear goal. It is Hermione. Maybe she wants to review the plan before breakfast, maybe she can't sleep either.

I met Ron on my way out of the room, and we exchanged a quick hello and we headed to the kitchen together.Hermione was inspecting the contents of the beaded pouch, muttering words rapidly, and Kreacher was still frying the third egg. We'd explained the plan to him last night, and it wasn't obvious from his actions that he was equally nervous.

After breakfast we each put on the Invisibility Cloak, and Hermione took out a note and pressed it on the table with a vial in which the silvery semi-solid swirled and unfurled like smoke.

"I haven't done this before, so I don't know how it works," said Hermione, "but I think this should make sure they understand what we're doing."

I leaned over the note, where Hermione's long, sharp writing was lined up neatly.

To Kingsley:

If we're not back by noon, check out the memory in the bottle.

Harry, Ron and Hermione

"That's enough," I said, "Come on."

Hermione poured the Felicia into three goblets, double-checked that the portions were even, and then we each took one.We've discussed giving Kreacher a Felix Felicia, but its effect on non-human creatures is unknown, and the pixie's obedience instinct is certainly much stronger than the potion.

"Cheers," Ron said half-jokingly, raising his glass.

We drank the potion at the same time, and immediately, I felt a slow but clear sense of exhilaration flowing through my body, as if there were infinite opportunities.I can do anything, everything... suddenly it seems not only possible, but easy to get a Horcrux out of Gringotts and get it out safely...

Ron and Hermione smiled confidently, as did I.

"Wow," whispered Hermione.

"That's great!" said Ron.

Kreacher took us to apparate directly to a street corner. The shops here were all boarded up. It was remote enough, and it was only a few steps away from the main road leading to Gringotts.Apparently, no passer-by stumbled upon the strange scene of an elf appearing in one place three times in a row this morning.Kreacher stayed where we were and each of us put on the cloak of invisibility so we couldn't see each other anymore, but we had practiced our walking position and footsteps to make sure we didn't step on or bump into other people, and today Felicia made sure we can do it.

The street was quiet, and when the store opened, there were almost no customers outside.The winding cobblestone alleys have changed a lot. Most of the old shops have been boarded up, but a few new shops selling black magic items have been built.My own face glared from posters in many of the windows reading "Undesirable Number One."Ragged people crowded the doorways of the various shops, whimpering to the few passers-by, begging for gold coins, and emphasizing that they were real wizards, above our steps.We arrived at the marble steps of Gringotts bronze doors without being hindered or attracted any unwanted attention. Two wizards, each holding a slender golden rod, which is the honesty detector, which can detect hidden spells and hidden magical objects.

I called out Kreacher's name in a low voice, and the pixie popped into existence at the top of the steps, and the two wizards immediately approached him with detectors.The Felix told me I'd have to Confound them in a few seconds, which was easy, and I'd already aimed for the one on the left, knowing Ron and Hermione would take care of the other.

Then my scar was struck by lightning, and I fell to my knees in the middle of the steps, screaming uncontrollably.I realized right away that it was impossible not to go unnoticed by the guards, and Ron and Hermione were distracted by this sudden situation—

With a bang, I looked up, and the guard who was standing on the right flew to the left, and fell into a ball with another person, staring at Kreacher in surprise and anger.

"Kreacher enters the vault at Master's order," said Kreacher haughtily, pointing at them with a long, powerful finger. "The honor of the Black family bears no such insult."

The two threw aside the Honesty Probe and pulled out their wands, and I cast the Imperius Charm without thinking, hitting them just in time.A strange feeling quickly passed into my arm, and a tingling warm current seemed to flow out of my mind, connecting me with the wand and the spell I just cast along the muscles and blood vessels. Pick up your wand and walk back to the post to the right of the door.At this moment, the expression of the doorman on the left suddenly became blank. He blinked and seemed to be confused by the situation where he was sitting on the ground with his wand in his hand.He's got a Memory Charm, which I assume Hermione did.

"You fell, Marius," said the man on the left. "This elf is going into his master's vault."

Marius touched the back of his head, slowly got up, and reached out to the Honesty Detector again.

"I checked it just now," said the man on the left.

"Wait, I think—" Marius shook slightly, "ah, yes, checked."

If Kreacher was confused by these changes, he didn't show it.He dropped his hands after a few seconds and walked straight through the door as I had asked.There are two goblins standing in front of the second door ahead, staring at the conflict that just happened here with great interest. Fortunately, in the accident just now, we didn't reveal any part from under the invisibility cloak, but I can't help it right now. Explaining what happened to Ron and Hermione, he had to whisper "go", got up and followed.Passing the door, I glanced back: Marius scratched his head, his companion stood meek and quiet.

"How did they mess with you?" asked the goblin on the right gleefully.

"They have doubts about Kreacher's mission." Kreacher said arrogantly, as another elf poked and scratched in front of him with a finger.

"Human." The goblin snorted, "You are an elf with a contract. But why don't you just manifest yourself at the counter? Those of your kind who accept orders from humans do that."

When it comes to "accepting human orders", the goblin's tone is full of maliciousness, which immediately angers Kreacher.

"It's not the goblin's business to worry about how Kreacher carries out his master's orders," he announced.

I wanted to cast a spell on the two goblins, but the potion instructed me not to act rashly.They looked at each other, and seemed to have reached a consensus not to care about the elf, and the elf moved away with a gloomy expression.Kreacher strode into the marble foyer with head held high, and we followed.Behind the long counter, goblins sit on high stools and receive the first customers of the day.No one took a second look at this elf who handled business on behalf of the master.

"Kreacher was ordered to enter Lady Lestrange's vault." Kreacher said to an older goblin, a warm current surged from his chest, and I was suddenly convinced of this choice.

The other party stared at him in surprise, then lowered his head and quickly flipped through a booklet on the table.

"You are not a Lestrange elf," said the goblin.

"Kreacher serves the noblest and oldest House of Black," said Kreacher. "Lady Lestrange is of noble Black blood."

"But you are an elf with a contract." The goblin stared at Kreacher cautiously, and I realized that he had figured out the identity of the elf, "The heir to the contract of the Black family—"

The soul is out of the body.I said silently for the second time, and the goblin paused, "Ah, the order of the descendants of the family, the contract is in the blood!"

The older goblin clapped his hands, and a younger goblin walked over.

"I want to use jingle pieces," said the older goblin, and the young goblin left quickly, and in a short while brought a small leather bag to the older goblin, which seemed to be full of tinkling metal. .

"Yes, yes! Come with me, elf of House Black," said the elder goblin, jumping off the stool and disappearing, "I will take you to Lady Lestrange's vault."

He appeared at the end of the counter, happily running towards us, the contents of the little purse still clinking.

We followed him hurriedly toward a door at the side of the hall, which opened at his command, when a man popped into the center of the hall, shouting loudly over the indignant voices of the goblins.Hermione gasped: it was Dolohov, the Death Eater who almost killed her once.

"Emergency orders from the Dark Lord himself!" Dolohov yelled before the spinning had come to a complete stop. "No one must now—"

He lost his balance in the final half of his spin and fell on his back with a thud, prompting snickering all around.Taking advantage of this opportunity, we followed the elder goblin to the door, and the next second I pushed Kreacher out.

"Get off at once, Kreacher!" I whispered. "Go back to Grimmauld Place! That's an order!"

"Small--"

The door slammed shut in front of me, and I only had time to catch a glimpse of the elf's helpless expression through the crack, his round eyes full of panic and begging.The same scene might have happened when Regulus gave the last order, I shook my head to get the thought out of my mind.

"Did you see how I made that idiot fall?" said Ron, ripping off the cloak.

"Neither of us could see anyone, Ron." Hermione's head popped out of nowhere, her face pale. "Harry, did you...?"

"He knows. Dolokhov was probably sent to seal the vault. At least we can now be sure that there are Horcruxes inside." I also tore off the invisibility cloak, and saw three people suddenly appear in front of me. The goblin did not Showing a bit of surprise, "He's under the Imperius Curse, we need jingle pieces to get into the vault. But my spell might not be strong enough..."

"What do we do now?" Hermione asked. "Can we get out?"

"With the help of the Felix Felicia, it should be possible," I said, "but if we don't return before the potion expires—"

"We've come here, let's go forward." Ron said, "There will be a way."

The goblin whistled, and out of the darkness a cart rolled down the track.We climbed into the trolley, the goblin in front, and me, Ron, and Hermione crammed in the back, when I was sure I heard shouts from the hall behind me, hoping Kreacher had obeyed.

The trolley started suddenly, getting faster and faster, and then began to turn and turn along the maze-like corridors, and dive down, the sound of the rattling car made me unable to hear anything.We made sharp turns between stalactites and flew deep into the earth.Fortunately, my glasses were firmly fixed on the bridge of my nose by a spell, and I kept looking back, feeling that someone might be chasing me at any moment.

We descended to depths I had never been in before in Gringotts, turned a sharp bend, and saw a waterfall rushing down the track ahead.With only a few seconds to react, I heard Ron and Hermione yell "Armor for protection" as the waterfall was caught in the air and we flew under it.

"Wingardim, Leviosa!" I yelled, tapping on the cart.

The small trolley tilted suddenly, jumped up flickeringly, and then stopped unsteadily above the track.The three of us slammed into the back of the front seat, and the goblin rolled out of the front of the cart.He must have hit hard enough, but he didn't make any sound.The cart was about a foot off the ground and it felt safe to get off, we jumped off the cart to find the track directly below the cart twisted into a menacing shape, we would have been with the cart by now if we hadn't stopped At the high speed just now, it flew onto the stone wall and broke into pieces.

"They found someone broke in!" Hermione said, and quickly stepped forward to check the goblin's situation. "The waterfall, and this, I think they are all activated defensive measures!"

"Ask him how far away Lestrange's vault is," said Ron, pointing at the goblin.

I did as I said, and the goblin still had a polite indifference on his face. He pointed to the darkness ahead, "Turn that corner, and you'll be there after passing the fire dragon."

"Tell us how to get past the dragon," I said.

From the little bag the goblin took out some small metal utensils, which clanked loudly and crisply when shaken, like little hammers on an anvil.

The three of us look at each other.

"We should take it," said Ron. "There's got to be a need for it out there."

"I heard someone coming down!" said Hermione nervously.

"The Iron Armor Charm will stop them for a while," I said. "We're going to be quick."

We added a few more spells to the passage, broke the front rails, and then I ordered the goblin to lead the way, and we followed him into the darkness.

The author has something to say: Happy New Year, everyone!