Slytherin's Girl

(22) Breaking The Bank

The streets of Diagon Ally was buzzing with people. Friends shouted across the crowd to attract the attention of other friends and it all seemed to carry a natural warmth. Little witches and wizards rushed between the legs of strangers, unafraid of the people they don’t know. It was beautiful in a sense to which childhood memories are beautiful, yet that had been me just a short year past.

I did not get enough time to take in the carelessness in which these people lived before the weight of my own world pulled me along. By that I meant that Draco grabbed my cloak and dragged me over to Gringotts.

The goblin frowned when we came closer, but did not dismiss us, like humans probably would have. After all, we were a group of 3 twelve year old and a in a bank. Neville half hid himself behind me.. I allowed Draco to take the lead since he knew most about matters of legal exchange.

“Mr Longbottom,” he pointed to Neville, “would like to demand repayment from the Black family for a sin against his own.”

The goblin looked over at the trembling blonde and then focussed his stare back on Draco. “Which sin would that be?”

“Mental torture and disablement under the Imperius curse.”

“Do you have proof?”

I handed over both the file from the hospital and the ministry. Merlin, it was hard to get our hands on them. The goblin scanned over their content and nodded approvingly.

“Very well, come back with a representative of the Black family to oversee the price to be repaid,” he finally said.

“That would be me,” acknowledged Draco. “Bellatrix Lestrange neé Black is in Azkaban for her crime. Sirius Black with her and my mother, Narcissa was unable to be here today. They sent me. The Black heir.”

The goblin did not look happy with the explanation. Then again, he didn’t look happy with anything. He couldn’t say anything against the proceedings; we made sure everything was up to legal standards.

The goblin led us to the carts and into the bank we went. Deep, very deep. The cart made enough twists and turns to get even the most keen of navigators completely lost. Deep into the ground we zoomed. I swear I saw a dragon and then we stopped. I almost went flying out of the cart, but Draco caught me around the waist.

The goblin placed his hand on the door of a fault. It melted away to reveal a room stacked from floor to ceiling with rare and expensive object. Animal skin, gems, jewellery and an impressive amount of armour.

“You can take what the Black heir sees fit as fair repayment,” said the goblin before leaving us alone in the vault.

“Don’t touch anything,” warned Draco. “If you see it we will call the goblin to get it. Can you sense it?”

I frowned. I could feel a slight pull of magic but the room was so full of protective spells that it intervened with the weird connection that I had to the horcruxes. “No, we’ll have to search the old fashioned way.”

“Do you even know what you're looking for?” asked the slightly nervous blond boy.

“Actually…” I forgot to ask Dobby what the horcrux looked like. How where we supposed to find it now?

Draco’s eyes went big and Neville looked ready to back out and go back to school. He really didn't like the thought of taking something that did not belong to him. The poor boy's morals are so important to him, it's adorable.

Without any warning, a searing hot pain delved itself into my chest. It took everything in my not to shout out in pain. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. My knees met the cold rough floor of the vault with a muted thud. My breath came out in puffs. It felt like something was trying to pull my heart from my chest with sheer force.

“Up there!” I shouted while breathing through the pain that threatened to overwhelm me. I had no idea what I was pointing at. I just knew that, that’s where we needed to look.

Draco’s gaze followed my finger to a cup on one of the top shelves. Without hesitation, Draco rushed out to find the goblin.

The goblin entered and retrieved the cup. He paid no heed to the suffering girl on the floor, nor the other blond boy by my side. I could feel Neville next to me. He was clearly trying to comfort my shrivelled form.

As sudden as the pain came it disappeared. I lifted my head and it immediately met that of Neville Longbottom. The two of us groaned. We managed to get up without further incidents.

Neville helped me up and we met the goblin and Draco outside. I opened the bag for the goblin to discard the cup in. Before it disappeared into the bag, I noticed the beautiful badger design.

The second that I felt the weight of the horcrux in the bag, my heart started to clench again. I handed the bag to Draco and rubbed soothing circles over my chest.

Draco gave me a concerned look before leading the way back to the cart. We made our way out of the bank as fast as we could and used the potkey to get back to school.

Dumbledore took the bag, the last protection that shielded the horcrux. We were happy to let him seal with its destruction. The four of us made our way to his office anyway, the pain the squashed my heart a few moments before, still too heavy on my chest and the boys’ minds to just leave it at that. If Dumledore thought this weird, he didn’t comment.

Dumledore didn’t even acknowledge us until we all but fell into the chairs in front of his desk.

“What’s plaguing your young minds?” he asked in his grandfatherly voice.

“It’s Salaza,” Neville immediately supplied.

His twinkling gaze turned to my hand that was still rubbing light circles around the ghost of my previous pain, right over my heart. He didn’t look very happy, all of a sudden.

“Please explain, my girl?” he asked. The twinkle in his eyes seemed dimmed.

“It was so weird,” I started, “we were in the vault for a while and then suddenly my heart started aching. It felt like pressure and like something was pulling at my heart.” I frowned, rubbing a little harder. “It disappeared when the goblin walked out of the vault. And started again when I held the bag it was in.”

A smile spread over his old face. I was confused to say the least. The sparkle reappeared in his eyes and he looked almost excited.

“What does it mean,” asked Draco. He looked a little white. He was clearly still hearing my pained moans as I fell onto the floor.

“It means, my dear boy, that you have found the last…” he stopped and subtlety glanced at Neville, “one. The reason Salaza felt pain was because the cup was trying to defend itself. It knows that it’s maker will be useless without it.”

Draco and I shared triumphant looks and shared a few high fives. Joy and relief washed over all who occupied the office, all except Neville who looked a little confused, but he didn’t ask. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Dumbledore’s expression was wrong. Did I distrust him so much, that I searched for faults even in moments of triumph?

I dismissed that thought and followed Draco down to the dungeons after thanking Neville for his help. The boy still carried a look of distrust in his eyes, but didn’t confront us. I just let it be for the time being. The truth would come out eventually.

Pansy was waiting for us in the common room. She looked a little annoyed and I realised that I completely forgot that I promised to study with her.

“How about we go study in the library?” I asked. I tried not to flinch from her stare. The girl was scary when she got angry.

“Fine, but you owe me.”

“I’m forever in your debt,” I mocked.

“I’ll remember that.”

I followed her out of the dungeons and into the quiet of the library. There we notices a red faced Hermione, who seemed to be arguing with an equally red faced Ronald.

“Oh, this will be interesting,” preened Pansy.

“Come on, let’s join them.”

She levelled a stare at me that made it pretty clear that she thought I have lost my mind. I probably did, because I pulled her over to the two Griffondors whose complexion matched their house colours.

Hermione greeted us when we neared their table. She asked us to join their study session and I immediately pulled out a chair next to her.

Ron’s face changed again to match the colour of my and Pansy’s robes. I idly wondered if he was a metamorphmagus. I shot the idea down immediately.

Pansy hesitated before she placed herself next to me.

I glanced at the book on front of the bushy haired girl. She immediately started to explain the work to us, like she didn’t expect us to understand anything. I let her be. That’s a great study tactic. Luckily, I learn best when I could hear the work being explained to me.

Harry joined us after a while. Everything went great until the boy wonder’s hand bumped against my own.

Pain.

Pain like I’ve never felt before cursed through my veins. It gripped at my heart. It pushed on my chest.

My throat started hurt. I realised that I was screaming.

The pain clouded everything.

I wasn’t aware of the panicked calls of my friends. I didn’t feel the pair of arms that caught me as when I started to fall. I didn’t notice when those arms picked me up and carried me all the way to the hospital wing. I didn’t notice the surprised or confused stares of the students as I was carried through the halls. I didn’t hear Madam Pomfrey move me to a bed. I didn’t feel the potion the was thrown down my throat.

All I felt was pain.

Overwhelming, excruciating, overpowering pain, as the live was slowly being pushed out of my chest.

Then it was gone.

The pain disappeared and left noting. Nothing, but a numb darkness that clouded everything around me.

I didn’t notice the worried glances shared between my friends, and not really friends as my body stopped thrashing on the white bed.

I didn’t notice Draco’s tear streaked face as he buried it in my neck.

I only noticed the darkness.

A/N: that's right I'm back. After a year of posting completely nothing and I just casually add another chapter and leave you with this cliffhanger.

I'm a bitch, I know.

Before you decide to unfollow me and never read this book again, just remember that you like Salaza and want to read wat happens next.

Even I you hate the writer.

Thank you for all of your patience and love fir this book, even when it seemed like I abandoned it ❤️❤️❤️