mother of wands (d.m) part two

XXV

I look quickly to my arm, the giant scar that runs down it now a never ending a reminder.

Bill must notice because he sits awkwardly across from me, "Were you hurt?"

I jump at his question, "Oh... A little. Hermione patched me up, or I think she did, I had passed out."

Athena grabs my hand comfortingly, "You pulled through, we all did."

"Malfoy Manor, you say?" Fleur asks, stirring more sugar into her cup. "Ze Malfoy's are not a good family."

Ron and Athena's eyes fall to me, my palms sweating as every part of me begs to tell them everything. Everything Draco and I did to reverse what was happening, everything we tired to change or shift the outcome.

I wanted to scream that there was more to them then people thought. More to Narcissa, hell, even more to Lucius than the rumors that were spread.

But I held my tongue, allowing my teeth to dig so far into my flesh that I tasted blood. Just as they all came to trust me, they would learn trust the Malfoy's, or Draco at the very least.

Suddenly, Luna and Harry appear, both with sullen looks on their faces. We all look to them for what to do next, Harry the compass of this situation.

Luna strides over to the small dining table and takes a seat, twiddling her fingers together and avoiding our gazes.

Harry stays where he is, standing in the doorway and rubbing his shaky hands down the front of his pants. "I need to speak to the goblin."

Hermione nods, Athena and Ron stand with her and join Harry as they make their way to the stairs. Before they begin to ascend, Athena turns to me and nods quickly, signaling to follow them.

I smile kindly at Bill and Fleur, taking one last scalding sip of tea and stumbling up behind them.

We shuffle into a small room with two twin sized beds and seashell wall paper. Had it not been for the circumstances, I would have probably thought this was a nice place to stay.

I could imagine Ginny and Ron or the twins fighting over who got the bed nearest the window that overlooked the coast. The way the waves crashed on the shore, lulling them into a deep sleep that could only be awoken by the smell of Molly's cinnamon rolls wafting upstairs in the morning.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case today. Instead the room felt uninviting and distant. Sterile, like a hospital room or doctors office right before you're due for a shot.

Griphook sits quietly in a wicker chair adorned with a light blue pillow, his short legs just barely dangling over the edge. His hands rest clasped in front of him, his head unwavering as the 5 of us enter.

"How are you doing?" Harry said, a slight annoyance to his tone.

The goblin paused, still refusing to acknowledge our presence. "Alive."

Harry turns to us and rolls his eyes lightly, we all step in a little further. "You probably don't remember that-"

"That I showed you to your vault the first time you came to Gringotts?" Griphook continues, finishing Harry's sentence for him. "Even amongst goblins, you're famous Harry Potter."

Harry walks across the room, staring out of the white windowsill to what I imagine is Dobby's grave.

"You buried the elf?" Griphook asks nonchalantly, as if 'the elf' didn't save his life too.

"Yes," Harry responds, turning back to us, the faint glimmer of water in his eyes.

The goblin ponders this for a moment, his sandy hands rubbing together like sandpaper as he thinks. "You're a very unusual wizard. How did you come by this sword?"

To Harry's right, rested up against the creme wall lies the sword that appeared in the pond. I tense as he stares at it intently. "It's complicated... Why did Bellatrix Lestrange think it should be in her vault at Gringotts?"

I feel Ron, Hermione and Athena shift next to me. My stomach flips as I recall what happened at Malfoy Manor, my hand instinctively grabbing my left forearm, a dent in the flesh that wasn't there before. Hermione does the same.

"It's complicated," Griphook mocks.

I look to Ron, he and I were the only ones there when the it appeared. He meets my eyes apprehensively, is there something I should know?

Harry sighs, "The sword presented itself to us in a moment of need, we didn't steal it."

His confidence was unwavering.

Griphook notices too because he unclasps his hands and rest them on the arms of the chair. "There was a sword identical to this one placed in Madame Lestrange's vault this past summer, it is a fake."

Harry's eyes narrow suspiciously, "And she didn't suspect it was a fake?"

"The replica is very convincing, only a goblin would know this was the true sword of Gryffindor." The goblin retorts.

Hermione perks up, "Who was the aquintance?"

"A Hogwarts professor, as I understand it, he's now Headmaster." Griphook relpies.

"Snape?" Ron asks. "He put the fake sword in Bellatrix's vault, why?"

Griphook shrugs nonchalantly, "There are more than a few curious things in the vaults at Gringotts."

"And in Madame Lestrange's vault as well?" Harry says, lifting an eyebrow.

All at once it hits me, this isn't a conversation about the sword of Gryffindor, Harry suspects Bellatrix is hiding something even more precious, perhaps another horcrux.

Griphook catches on too as he rests back into the chair, a calculated look in his eyes. "Perhaps."

"I need to get into Gringotts, into one of the vaults." Harry states matter of factly, as if there is no other option.

"It is impossible-" Griphook begins.

"Alone, yes." Harry interrupts. "But with you, no."

Griphoook pauses again, the tension in the room growing thick. "And why should I help you?"

Harry shrugs, "I have gold, lots of it."

"I'm not interested in gold." The goblin says.

Ron shifts his weight uncomfortably, "Then what?"

Griphook takes a moment, scanning the room before his eyes land on the sword. "That. That is my prize."

Harry looks to the silver sword, adorned with beautifully set rubies and carvings, then back to us and nods.

****