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"Fuck me!" Mia said, looking at the vault.
The door of the vault meltedaway to reveal a cavelike opening crammed from floor to ceilingwith golden coins and goblets, silver armour, the skins of strangecreatures, some with long spines, others with drooping wings potions in jewelled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown. Mia barely had time to glance around, however,before there was a muffled clunk from behind them. The door hadreappeared, sealing them inside the vault, and they were plungedinto total darkness.
"Lumos," Harry called, lighting up everyones wands.
Mia shone her lit wand around the vault. Its beam fell uponglittering jewels; she saw the fake sword of Gryffindor lying on ahigh shelf amongst a jumble of chains.
"Guys, could this be. . . .? Aargh!"
Hermione let out a yell, and Mia turned his wand on herin time to see a jewelled goblet tumbling from her grip. But as itfell, it split, became a shower of goblets, so that a second later,with a great clatter, the floor was covered in identical cups rollingin every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them.
"They have added the Gemino curse," Griphook yelled, "everything you touch will multiply!"
"Fantastic," Mia snapped. "Remember, the cup's smalland gold, it's got a badger engraved on it, two handle, otherwisesee if you can spot Ravenclaw's symbol anywhere, the eagle. . . ."
They directed their wands into every nook and crevice, turningcautiously on the spot. It was impossible not to brush up againstanything; Mia sent a great cascade of fake Galleons onto theground where they joined the goblets, and now there was scarcelyroom to place their feet.
Mia's wandlight passed overshields and goblin-made helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling;higher and higher she raised the beam, until suddenly it found anobject that made her heart skip and her hand tremble.
"It's there, it's up there!"
Harry, Ron and Hermione pointed there wands at it too, so that thelittle golden cup sparkled in a three-way spotlight: the cup that hadbelonged to Helga Hufflepuff, which had passed into the possessionof Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle.
"Pass me the sword!" Mia yelled, moving towards the cup as more objects began to multiply. Hermione fumbled insider her robes, drew out a beaded bag,rummaged for a few seconds, then removed the shining sword.Mia seized it by its rubied hilt and looked around. "Fuck it," she said as she began moving as more and more objects began multiply around them. Half buried in a rising tide of treasure, Mia let out a yell as she found herself being swallowed by the treasure.
"MIA!" Harry yelled.
"Stop moving!" Hermione yelled as everyone held their breath. It was silent for a few seconds before there was a large blast of red energy and Mia appeared, holding the sword and the cup in each hand. She let out a yell as the wave of treasure knocked her over, throwing the cup from her grip.
"Where's the fucking cup?!" she yelled, looking around. It was Griphook who had seen it and Griphook who lunged and grabbed it.
"Give it!" Mia screamed.
"The cup for the sword!" he demanded, holding his hand out. Mia groaned in frustration as she threw the sword to the goblin who took it with an evil grin on his face. He threw the cup to Mia.
"Get us out Griphook!" Mia screamed.
"I said I'll get you in," he said, "I didn't say anything about getting you out."
"Griphook!" Harry yelled as he the goblin ran off, yelling, "Thieves!" He vanished into the midst of the advancing crowd, all of whom were holding daggers and who accepted him without question.
"That bastard!" Mia screamed. She groaned in frustration as she knew the only way out was through. Two large red energy balls appeared at her hands as she blasted it forward as a large blast of red light flew into the crowd of goblins, and some toppled over,but others advanced, and Mia saw several wizard guards runningaround the corner.
The tethered dragon let out a roar, and a gush of flame flewover the goblins; The wizards fled, doubled-up, back the way theyhad come, and inspiration, or madness, came to Mia.
"Get on the dragon!" she yelled as the other three looked at her like she was insane. "Trust me!" She blasted her energy at the thick cuffs chaining the beast to the floor and the cuffs broken open with loud bangs.
The dragon had not realized that it was free: Mia's foot foundthe crook of its hind leg and she pulled herself up onto its back.The scales were hard as steel; it did not even seem to feel him. Sheestretched out an arm and Hermione hoisted herself up. Harry and Ron climbedon behind them, and a second later the dragon became aware thatit was untethered.
With a roar it reared, Mia dug in her knees, clutching astightly as she could to the jagged scales as the wings opened, knocking the shrieking goblins aside like skittles, and it soared into theair. Mia, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, flat on its back, scraped against theceiling as it dived toward the passage opening, while the pursuinggoblins hurled daggers that glanced off its flanks.
The dragon opened its mouth and belched flame again, blasting thetunnel, whose floors and ceiling cracked and crumbled. By sheerforce, the dragon clawed and fought its way through. Mia's eyeswere shut tight against the heat and dust: Deafened by the crashof rock and the dragon's roars, she could only cling to its back,expecting to be shaken off at any moment; then she heard Hermione yelling, "Defodio!"She was helping the dragon enlarge the passageway, carvingout the ceiling as it struggled upward toward the fresher air, awayfrom the shrieking and clanking goblins: Mia, Harry and Ron copiedher, blasting the ceiling apart with more gouging spells.
Theypassed the underground lake, and the great crawling, snarling beastseemed to sense freedom and space ahead of it, and behind themthe passage was full of the dragon's thrashing, spiked tail, of greatlumps of rock, gigantic fractured stalactites, and the clanking ofthe goblins seemed to be growing more muffled, while ahead, the dragon's fire kept their progress clear.
And then at last, by the combined force of their spells andthe dragon's brute strength, they had blasted their way out of thepassage into the marble hallway. Goblins and wizards shrieked andran for cover, and finally the dragon had room to stretch its wings:Turning its horned head toward the cool outside air it could smellbeyond the entrance, it took off, and with Mia, Harry, Ron, and Hermione still clinging to its back, it forced its way through the metaldoors, leaving them buckled and hanging from their hinges, as itstaggered into Diagon Alley and launched itself into the sky.
