The Potter Twins and the Deathly Hallows {7}

32. Petals for Armor

We begin swimming for the opposite shore. The lake does not seem to be too deep: soon it is more a question of fighting our way through reeds and mud than swimming, and finally, we flop, drenched, panting, and exhausted, on to slippery grass. 

Hermione collapses, coughing and shuddering, and it is only when I see Harry and Riley staggering to their feet and beginning to cast protective enchantments around us that I join her, sprawling out with a cough. I realise now the extent of the pain I'm in; my arms and legs are still spasming, my chest aches with every breath I take, and the entire left side of my face feels like it's on fire. 

"Up you get, Hayles," Harry whispers, taking my hands and helping me into a sitting position. It's the first time I see the others properly since escaping from the vault. They all have angry red burns all over their faces and arms, and their clothing is singed away in places. They're wincing as they dab essence of dittany on to their injuries. Hermione hands Harry the bottle, then pulls out five bottles of pumpkin juice she took from Shell Cottage, and dry robes for all of us. 

"Well, on the up side," says Ron finally, who is sitting watching the skin on his hands regrow, "we got the Horcrux. On the downside --"

"-- no sword," I say through gritted teeth, as Harry applies dittany to my angry burns on my face. 

"No sword," Riley echoes. "That double-crossing fucker..."

Harry pulls the Horcrux from the pocket of his wet jacket and sets it down on the grass in front of us. Glinting in the sun, it draws our eyes as we swig our bottles of pumpkin juice. 

"At least we can't wear it this time, that'd look a bit weird hanging around our necks," says Ron, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

Hermione looks across the lake to the far bank where the dragon is still drinking. 

"What'll happen to it, do you think?" she asks. "Will it be all right?"

"You sound like Hagrid," says Ron. "It's a dragon, Hermione; it can look after itself. It's us we need to worry about."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, I don't know how to break this to you," says Ron, "but I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts."

All five of us start to laugh, and once it starts, it's difficult to stop. My ribs ache, I feel light-headed with hunger, but I lay back on the grass beneath the reddening sky and laugh until my throat is raw. 

"What are you going to do, though?" says Hermione finally, hiccoughing herself back to seriousness. "He'll know, won't he? You-Know-Who will know we know about his Horcruxes!"

"Maybe they'll be too scared to tell him," says Riley hopefully. "Maybe they'll cover it up --"

The sky, the smell of the lake water, the sound of Riley's voice is extinguished: pain cleaves my head like a sword stroke. He's standing in a dimly lit room, and a semi-circle of wizards are facing him, and on the floor at his feet kneels a small, quaking figure.

"What did you say to me?" His voice is high and cold, but fury and fear burn inside him. The one thing he dreaded -- but it can't be true, he can't see how...

The goblin is trembling, unable to meet the red-eyes high above his. 

"Say it again!" murmurs Voldemort. "Say it again!"

M--my Lord," stammers the goblin, it's black eyes wide with terror, "m--my Lord...we t-tried t-to st-stop them...im--imposters, my Lord...broke -- broke into the -- into the Lestranges' v-vault..."