The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Jacob's Plan

If Sarah had known exactly what she wanted to say to Barnaby, there was little time to do so. Jacob had them busy for over a month in their preparations, and rightly so; what they were about to attempt had never been achieved before. 

"You seriously want us to rob Gringotts?!" Sarah had asked in their room at the Leaky Cauldron when Jacob had revealed the plan. "Are you mental?"

"I'm ninety percent sure You-Know-Who has got Bellatrix looking after a horcrux, and a hundred percent sure that if he has, Gringotts is where she'd put it."

"But, no one's ever done it before!" Sarah insisted. "Nearly everyone that's tried has wound up arrested or dead."

"Which is why they won't be ready for anyone to try," said Jacob. "That's our advantage. That, and I've been watching the place for weeks to figure out as much as I can. And we've got a team now, so there's a higher chance of one of us making it out."

"One of us?!"

"Look, I know it's not ideal, but as I've said, You-Know-Who can't be killed unless we find this thing and destroy it. It's a big risk, but it's one we've got to take to end this war. Are you all willing to take it?"

Sarah looked to the others. 

Merula shrugged. "If anyone's powerful enough to rob Gringotts, it's me. I'll do it."

"My Gran says the Lestrange vault is one of the ones guarded by a dragon," said Barnaby. "I used to hear it sometimes when we visited ours. If I get to see it this time, then I'll come."

"I don't know much about Gringotts," said Elena, "but if this will help end the Dark Lord's regime, I will help."

Sarah sighed, wondering when she had become the most rational person among her friends. 

"I suppose you're right. We've got no choice. So let's do it."

***

Step one of Jacob's plan had been for he and Sarah to break into their parents' house. They'd done so in the middle of the following night. 

"This was embarrassingly easy," whispered Jacob, after they'd used the unlocking charm on the front door and stepped into the familiar entryway. "You must have gotten your talent at protective spells from them."

Sarah bit back a angry retort as Jacob added, "I know where dad keeps his Gringotts key. I'll get it while you get their hairs. I'll meet you outside."

He crept of in the direction of their father's study, while Sarah tiptoed up the stairs to their parent's bedroom. Though it had been years since she'd set foot in her old home, she didn't need light to find it easily. She nearly stopped at her old bedroom, tempted to peak in and see what her parents had done with it, but she forced herself to pass by. Whatever she saw in there--whether her parents had gotten rid of her old possessions and transformed it into a library or guest room, or if they'd preserved it exactly as it had been the last night she'd slept there--was bound to upset her. 

She silently opened their door, as she'd done countless times as a child after a bad dream, and crept in. Her parents were both in bed, deep in sleep. Jacob was right. This was incredibly easy. Still, what did they have to worry about? They were both of wizarding parentage, had never dipped their toes in the dark arts, but had done nothing to resist when Voldemort took over. They were safe. They only thing they ever had to worry about was their children. 

Sarah waved her wand and cast a sleeping charm over the pair of them, so they wouldn't awaken when she plucked out their hairs. She did so, first her father's, then her mother's, carefully placing each in a separate vial and stoppering it. She hovered in the room a moment, watching their peaceful faces as they slept.