Wisdom and Victory {Fred Weasley}

Chapter 14

Hope you have a lovely day :)

It wasn't difficult for Victoria to sneak out of Hogwarts, and she hadn't expected it to be either. She inhaled the sweet smell of sugar as she emerged from the trapdoor in the basement of Honeydukes, before stepping silently through the shop floor, carefull not to make a sound. Out the front door she went, locking the door shut behind her.

The cold, bitter air swirled around her as she glanced for any sign of life, but all the shops had closed, and all that was left was the yellow glow coming from the windows of the Three Broomsticks. No Death Eaters to be seen. Yet.

Victoria headed down the alley as instructed, glancing at her watch. Two minutes. Where were they? For that matter, who was they? There was a crack behind her, and somebody grabbed her arm, before pulling her into disapparation once more. She landed with a thud, holding her wand tightly in her pocket. "Stop doing that!" she hissed to Mr Malfoy, who scowled at her before releasing her arm.

"This way," he said stiffly. She followed him through the halls of the manor, this time going up and down two flights of stairs, only to reach the same small library. Did they think she was an idiot? He flicked his hand lazily to the door and she stepped through with a nervous glance.

Riddle was there, as he had been before but this time facing her as she entered. She hastily looked away, not wanting him to know anything about her that he didn't already. This time there were two more people there, that Victoria recognised instantly. Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. The first was sprawled elegantly over the arm of a chair, and the second was sat stiffly, bolt upright and with a disinterested sneer on his face. Victoria swallowed and scowled at him, which he returned.

"You look like someone I killed," he said, his voice low and gruff.

"I know," said Victoria, bitterly reminded of the attack that killed her mother.

"This is Victoria McGonagall," said Riddle, walking over to her. This time, she didn't flinch. "Please," he said, "Make yourself at home." Still frowning, Victoria removed her cloak and folded it neatly, placing it on the sofa before sitting down, her back straight. She wanted nothing more than to glare at the man before her, but knew she couldn't. Not if she wanted her memories to remain private. Instead she stared at the towering tree by the window, its leaves shaking in the harsh winds.

"I have a job for you, McGonagall," said Riddle, sweeping over to her line of view. She looked instead at the arm of the chair.

"Look at the Dark Lord when he addresses you!" snapped Bellatrix, shifting where she sat.

"That is enough, Bellatrix," said Riddle softly. "She is clever, McGonagall. She knows she has secrets to be uncovered. But I will not see them. Not yet." There was silence, save for the howling of the wind, the crackle of the fire, and the furious breathlessness of Bellatrix Lestrange. "Your job, is to enter the Lestrange vault - tonight - and ensure that its contents are orderly."

Victoria swallowed and nodded. That didn't seem so bad. She wouldn't have to hurt anyone. "I shouldn't draw attention to myself, I presume?" Her voice wavered only slightly.

"That is the general idea," said Riddle, now facing the fire. "I have many willing servants, but none who will evade the attention of accessing this particular vault, quite like you could."

"Am I to break in?" She wasn't sure what she'd do if the answer was yes. Go back to Hogwarts? She was sure that qualified as endangerment.

Riddle laughed, but not because he was amused. It was mockery. "Lestrange?" Victoria noted how he addressed Rodolphus in comparison to Bellatrix. So it seemed, did she, because she shifted again where she sat, averting her challenging gaze from Victoria to her husband. The next moment, his hand reached out to Victoria's cloak, and on it he placed a small golden key.

"Number five," he said simply, and she nodded in understanding.

"Am I looking for anything in particular?" she asked finally.

Bellatrix shifted again. "A small, golden cup," said Riddle. "With a badger engraved upon it. You will know when you see it." Victoria absentmindedly wondered if it had anything to do with Hufflepuff, but shook the thought from her mind. She had more important things to worry about.

"You will leave now and return within the hour," said Riddle. Victoria took this as her dismissal and nodded, leaving the room wordlessly. Mr Malfoy was waiting outside and he showed her out once more, before she disapparated directly from the front steps to Diagon Alley.

*****

The door to vault number five swung open slowly, and Victoria took one last look at the dragon behind her, before darting inside, peering round. There were mounds upon mounds of gold littering the floor, along with armour, trinkets and cups of all kinds.

She stepped through, her eyes scanning the shelves for the object she'd been sent to find, but not retrieve. After the hope had left her a little bit, and much tutting from the goblin behind her, she saw it. The smallest cup in the room, high on a shelf that she had to crane up to reach, not thinking to use magic until after she'd failed. She levitated it down gently, allowing her fingertips to graze the historic metal.

As soon as her skin met the cool surface, a shudder shot down her spine and she unwillingly frowned. Her heart thumped a little faster, and the overwhelming feeling of dread filled her chest. She looked again at the cup. Clearly it was full of dark magic.

This was her chance. This was what she'd been waiting for. She couldn't steal it - she had to return to the manor, and they would surely know. But maybe there was something else she could do...

A heavy crease formed between her brows as she thought, patting down her pockets for something that might help. But all she had was her wand, her gloves, and a crumbled piece of spare parchment that she'd written a cool spell on to look up when she had a moment.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she tapped her wand once to the bit of parchment, and once to the cup. "Expressium," she mumbled. A black string of smoke flew at once from the cup to the parchment, which lifted up slightly, before falling down to the surface on which it lay. The goblin clicked his tongue again.

She quickly stashed the cup away, stuffing the parchment into her glove before heading back out the vault and into the cart. It looked like she had a brand new lead.