The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|141| Lestranges' Vault

And, still clanking, he hurried toward one of the many doors leading off the hall. Harry looked back at Travers, who was still rooted to the spot looking abnormally vacant, and made his decision: With a flick of his wand he made Travers come with us, walking meekly in our wake as we reached the door and passed into the rough stone passageway beyond, which was lit with flaming torches.

"We're in trouble; they suspect," I said as the door slammed behind them and Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak. Griphook jumped down from his shoulders; neither Travers nor Bogrod showed the slightest surprise at the sudden appearance of Harry and Maisey Potter in their midst. "They're Imperiused," I added, in response to Hermione and Ron's confused queries about Travers and Bogrod, who were both now standing there looking blank. "Harry did Travers and I did the goblin, Bogrod, but I don't think we did it strongly enough, I don't know..."

And another memory darted through his mind, of the real Bellatrix Lestrange shrieking at him when he had first tried to use an Unforgivable Curse: "You need to mean them, Potter!"

"What do we do?" asked Ron. "Shall we get out now, while we can?"

"If we can," said Hermione, looking back toward the door into the main hall, beyond which who knew what was happening.

"We've got this far, I say we go on," said Harry.

"Good!" said Griphook. "So, we need Bogrod to control the cart; I no longer have the authority. But there will not be room for the wizard."

Harry pointed his wand at Travers.

"Imperio!"

The wizard turned and set off along the dark track at a smart pace.

"What are you making him do?" I asked.

"Hide," said Harry.

Flicking my wand once more, I had Bogrod summon a little cart that came trundling along the tracks towards us out of the darkness. I was sure I could hear shouting behind us in the main hall as we all clambered into it, Bogrod in front with Griphook, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I crammed together in the back.

With a jerk the cart moved off, gathering speed: We hurtled past Travers, who was wriggling into a crack in the wall, then the cart began twisting and turning through the labyrinthine passages, sloping downward all the time. I could not hear anything over the rattling of the cart on the tracks: My hair flew behind me as we swerved between stalactite crystals. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster and was absolutely amazed by the underground vaults.

We took a hairpin bend at speed and saw ahead of us, with seconds to spare, a waterfall pounding over the track. I heard Griphook shout, "No!" but there was no braking: We zoomed through it. Water filled my eyes and mouth: I could not see or breathe: Then, with an awful lurch, the cart flipped over and we were all thrown out of it. I heard the cart smash into pieces against the passage wall, heard Hermione shriek something, Harry thrash, and felt myself glide back toward the ground as though weightless, landing painlessly on the rocky passage floor.

"C-Cushioning Charm," Hermione spluttered, as Ron pulled her to her feet, but to my horror I saw that she was no longer Bellatrix; instead she stood there in overlarge robes, sopping wet and completely herself; Ron was red-haired and beardless again. They were realizing it as they looked at each other, feeling their own faces.

"The Thief's Downfall!" said Griphook, clambering to his feet and looking back at the deluge onto the tracks. "It washes away all enchantment, all magical concealment! They know there are impostors in Gringotts, they have set off defenses against us!"

"We need him," said Griphook, "we cannot enter the vault without a Gringotts goblin. And we need the Clankers!"

"Imperio!" I said again; my voice echoed through the stone passage. Bogrod submitted once more to my will, his befuddled expression changing to one of polite indifference, as Ron hurried to pick up the leather bag of metal tools.