NO MORE A PRETENDER~ {The Lestrange Daughter #3}

𝟑𝟑. Courage

Valentine had left Decker with instructions to gather the other Snatchers and wait for her in the tree line of the Forbidden Forest bordering Hogsmeade. Thanks to the Imperius Curse, he wasn't able to argue with her whether he wanted to or not. 

Meanwhile, she headed straight back up to the Head Masters office where she had been only hours ago. The door opened on its own as she arrived, revealing the room to be empty. She supposed Snape was still with Voldemort but didn't have the time to contact him and tell him what was happening. 

This was the first time anyone had really known where Harry was for months now and she needed to get the sword to him as soon as possible. She didn't know where it was hidden herself but she didn't have to. All she needed was the hat.

"Excuse me?" She called up to it, fairly out of breath. 

The wrinkles in the hat that formed the face deepen and it groaned as if waking up.

"Yes, girl? What is it?" It asked gruffly.

"I know where Harry is." She said, taking out her wand. "I'm going to take you with me and make sure he gets the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. He's going to need it."

"Very well then-" The Hat had barely finished speaking when Valentine summoned it down to her, now holding it in her hands. "What about Professor Snape?"

"What about him?"

"Should he not accompany you?"

"He's busy with The Narc Lord right now and this can't wait. Besides, I'm a big girl. I can handle this on my own." 

-----No More A Pretender-----

The sky was dark, painting the forest in deep greens and blues. Anyone else would have pulled out their wand to light the way yet Valentine didn't stumble over the roots and rocks. With the Sorting Hat in a bag slung over her shoulder and her wand in the right pocket of her coat, she knew exactly where she was going and spent no time being cautious as she cut through the trees. 

Her mind raced as her feet did the same, her bright eyes almost glowing reflecting the moonlight. Harry was alive and presumably safe in Gloucestershire. Which wasn't even fifty miles from Wiltshire. Which was where she'd spent half of her life. Which was where Malfoy Manor was located. Which was where Voldemort had set up base.

It was so far yet so near at the same time, Gloucestershire to Wiltshire. Decker hadn't mentioned if the rumour of Harry's whereabouts were widespread and if she could expect to run into any Death Eaters of other Snatchers. It was a possibility she didn't really want to think about but it couldn't be ignored so she thought about it anyway. 

How would she handle that? She was recognisable enough at this age that a Death Eater was more likely than not going to be able to link her back birth parents whether she liked it or not. The same could be said for a handful of Snatchers as well. Her eyes alone were a dead giveaway to most. Would she be able to fight someone off without revealing who she was? Even Greyback was out there somewhere with his small army of the bitten. Now, that was something she didn't want to think about. 

He would go running to Voldemort with hardly a second thought. He was barely considered a true Death Eater and uncovering that the Dark Lords new favourite was secretly working against him was sure to win him some perks, murderous werewolf or not. And those were all valid concerns if Harry was still even in Gloucestershire or worse if they were currently searching for him in the Forest of Dean and just hadn't managed to find him yet. 

The thought of arriving just moments too late was worse than any nightmare she'd had to date. She was on her own tonight with no one to fall back on. There was no time to find Snape and tell him. There was no time to lay down face first in the forest and freak out about everything that could go wrong as tempting an option as that was.