Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Damaged Bridges	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 46870 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, all rights belong to Rowling and Warner Bros, nor do I make any money from the production of this work.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
The Chalice and the Blade

Dora hadn’t been much in the mood for eating the rest of the day, but by the evening she felt better enough to join the others in the library when she heard them finishing dinner. She entered the room stuffed from floor to ceiling with heavily laden bookshelves to see everyone either sitting at the table or lounging in the more comfortable armchairs, having just started a discussion.
She came in just in time to hear Harry saying, “...great to keep training and studying, but I feel like I’ve got to do something! I don’t want to just sit around waiting for Dumbledore to come up with leads on where to find Hufflepuff’s Cup. I don’t see why we can’t do a bit of brainstorming ourselves and come up with a place to start looking.”
“Of course we should, Harry!” said Hermione. “That’s perfectly sensible...”
“But where would we start?” asked Parvati. “Dumbledore already found the one where You-Kn... Voldemort’s grandfather and mum used to live...”
“...and we found the one at Hogwarts,” Hermione added.
“...and the one which was originally in a place where the Orphanage people had taken Tom Riddle to when he was a kid,” said Harry.
“...and the one that horrible Mr Malfoy gave Ginny,” said Luna, with a glance at her girlfriend who looked a bit disturbed.
“So besides the snake, which is going to be with Voldemort wherever he’s hiding out, there’s only the Cup left,” sighed Harry, “and the others have already been in the most obvious places we could think of...”
“You don’t think he could have hidden two Horcruxes at Hogwarts do you?” asked Parvati.
“It’s doubtful,” said Hermione. “I would think that he would want to hedge his bets by having all of them in different locations.”
“Right,” Harry agreed, looking frustrated, “and for the life of me, I can’t think of any other place that Dumbledore and I have discussed which might have meant something to Voldemort...”
“Well,” chimed in Ginny for the first time after taking a deep breath, “he did give the Diary to Mr Malfoy for safekeeping. Do you think he might have given Hufflepuff’s Cup to another one of his top Death Eaters?”
“I dunno,” said Harry, sounding a bit skeptical, “The Diary was the first one he made, and I could see him giving that one to a Death Eater to give to one of their kids to take to Hogwarts some day to open the Chamber, but it’s hard to imagine that he’d give Hufflepuff’s Cup to a Death Eater - it’s a lot more special to him and Voldy’s not a particularly trusting sort...”
“Hmm,” said Hermione.
All eyes turned to Hermione, recognising that particular “Hmm” she made when she was on the verge of an interesting thought.
“...It’s true that Voldemort’s not generally trusting, Harry,” Hermione continued, “but we shouldn’t rule out the possibility that he might have given the Cup to one of the Death Eaters he trusted most! ... Didn’t he consider Barty Crouch Jr to be one of his most trustworthy for not having ‘sold him out’ to stay out of Azkaban?”
“That’s a good point,” Harry agreed, nodding and frowning pensively. “So anyone else who had been sent to Azkaban was probably someone he trusted more than others, because they weren’t the sort to deny him publicly. And there’s one in particular who comes to mind...”
“...my dear Auntie Bellatrix,” said Dora sardonically from the doorway where she had been hovering and listening.
Everyone seemed startled; they peered at Dora, looking a bit torn.
“Er... Are you feeling a bit better then?” asked Parvati, voicing the question which everyone apparently felt was the most important to ask her first.
Dora sighed; the last thing she wanted was to be thought of as an invalid, but she knew they’d all just be distracted if she didn’t get it out of the way.
Besides, it might be good to get some of the things she’d been feeling off her chest, and Dora was comfortable enough with everyone to talk about it with them. Ginny, she’d known more or less as long as she had Harry and Hermione, and Luna was just the sweetest and Dora loved her bluntness, and she’d grown fond of Parvati in the time she had known her - very fond, in fact.
Parvati was as kindhearted and brave as anyone else seated before her, and pretty, and bubbly, and if Parvati were just a bit older...
“I’m not sure really,” said Dora, letting that thought pass as she chose one of the comfiest looking cushioned armchairs to sit in.
“It’s just... it’s hard, you know?” she muttered, her eyes growing watery again. “I really dunno what the hell t’do. ... And if I’m bein’ honest with myself - and I’ve ‘ad all day t’be honest with myself - Remus doesn’ even really come into it... I mean, he does, a bit, because it makes me sad not bein’ with him, but that’s not really what’s botherin’ me the most...”
Dora took a deep breath, struggling not to cry again as she had been on and off throughout the day.
“It’s just...” She took another deep breath and tried to start again. “I never thought of myself as the mum ‘type’ - never really wanted t’be a mum. Not like this anyway...”
Dora left it unsaid that the most she had envisioned was a vague possibility that in the future - the far-flung future, a sort of imaginary, fantasy future - she had pictured herself with another girl, and perhaps, maybe, adopting a kid, or even two, together.
Dora snorted. “Maybe I’m just selfish, I dunno... I mean, look at me, I know I’m all grown-up - a real tough Auror, right? ... But on the inside I still feel like a little girl - a teenager - like I should still be in Hogwarts. ... ‘S why I always felt a bit uncomfortable with most of the other Aurors... and even most of the Order - like I was just play-actin’ y’know... even though I love gettin’ the bad guys - kicking some arse...”
“How the hell am I gonna do this?” she suddenly moaned, the tears leaking out the corners of her eyes. “We’re more or less at war - I need t’be strong, t’be out there fighting - helpin’ you lot - helpin’ the Order. How am I supposed to have a kid I’m not sure I even want in the middle of a bloody war?
“... And I feel awful, like I’m terrible person for even thinkin’ that way!” Dora covered her face miserably with both hands and let out a sob, feeling deeply ashamed. “I’m supposed t’love a baby - I want to love this baby - and maybe - if there weren’t a war - if I hadsomeone..... But I can’t put that on Remus... I just can’t! That wouldn’t be fair to him - he didn’t ask for this - I pushed ‘im into it!”
As she cried again for what seemed like the hundredth time since that morning, Dora felt comforting arms around her, someone kissing her head. From the lilac scent, she knew it was Parvati. Then she felt another pair of arms, and from the hints of spearmint and strawberry, she knew it was Hermione.
“We’ll get through this,” she heard Parvati’s voice murmur, “together. You won’t be alone.”
In her other ear, Dora heard Hermione say quietly, “You don’t have to be strong all the time. We love you Dora - your baby will have a family that loves it - no matter what happens - I promise...”
After a few minutes of cuddling, Dora calmed down to a sniffle and withdrew her hands from her face to see Luna ready with a box of tissues, Ginny and Harry both hanging back a bit, looking on sadly and a bit awkwardly trying to look comforting at the same time. But there was something especially troubled and even more heart-wrenching in Harry’s eyes.
Buoyed by all the affection, Dora took a handful of tissues from Luna.
“Thanks guys,” she said, blowing her nose and smiling wanly at everyone, feeling a bit better, if still apprehensive about what the future held. “Sorry for being such a wet blanket - I just couldn’t hold that in any more...”
“Don’t be sorry - it’s not awful of you to know the truth about what you’re facing,” said Harry quietly. “It’s smart - it’s honest! ... But whatever you decide to do, just know that Hermione speaks for both of us! You do have someone! You’ve got us, and you’ve got a home with us if you want it. So don’t let that affect your decision... You’re family, and that means your baby is family too!”
Dora bit her lip, understanding all too well what Harry was offering and why he was offering it. Somehow, as comforting as Hermione’s and Parvati’s unequivocal support was, Harry’s earnest declaration settled matters...
“Thank you Harry,” Dora said softly, her eyes stinging with tears now for entirely the opposite reason that she had been crying earlier. “That means more to me than I can even find the words t’say right now,” she sniffled.
Taking more tissues from Luna, Dora dabbed her eyes and blew her nose again.
“Right then,” she said, her smile much broader, “Now maybe we can get down to business! I was standin’ in the doorway listening to you lot work things out. And like I said, I agree that my dear sainted Auntie Bellatrix is probably the most likely person to be looking after the Cup... Figuring out where she put it is the tough part though.”
“She’s married to Rodolphus Lestrange, right?” said Harry. “Is it possible that they have a manor like the Malfoys and are hiding it there somewhere, like Mr Malfoy had the Diary?”
“Well, as far as I know, the Lestrange family definitely had a manor,” said Dora. “I s’pose that’s a possibility.”
“The thing is,” Hermione mused, “it’s like Harry said earlier - we need to consider the fact that Voldemort allowed Mr Malfoy to keep the Diary at home because he envisioned one day giving it to a student to unlock the Chamber of Secrets. Is it really likely that he would have treated Hufflepuff’s Cup the same way? ... After all, the other Horcruxes were apparently either in quite secure locations, or where someone would be very unlikely to look for something of value.”
“Huh!” said Harry, looking pensive. “There’s one place that’s supposedly the safest place in the world for valuable things - though Voldemort apparently did manage to break in when he was possessing Quirrell - what about Gringotts? The Lestranges would have a vault, right? Probably chock full of treasure... It would be one artifact of value among many.”
For a moment Number Twelve’s library was more silent than the quietest library in the world with librarians so strict they would make nuns look like rowdy hooligans.
“I bet that’s it,” said Ginny, breaking the silence. Harry nodded.
“Well, it’s worth checkin’ out at least,” said Dora, “And I can even think of one way to get some of us inside,” she added with a grin.
“Of course!” Ginny gasped, “You’re a metamorphmagus! ... You could be your aunt Bellatrix!”
“Right in one, Ginny,” Dora agreed.
“But is that safe?” asked Parvati worriedly. Dora didn’t have to ask her what she meant.
“Well, it’s risky, I admit,” said Dora, “But I’m not going to sit this war out while I can still get around okay. I’ll just have t’take my chances just like anyone else who’s in trouble now that Voldemort seems to be runnin’ the whole show.”
“There is one problem though,” Luna piped up. “What about the real Bellatrix? And what if the goblins have been warned to be really careful of anyone who might want to access the Lestrange vaults?”
“Huh, that could be a problem, true,” Dora admitted. “They could require her wand as proof of identity, and that’s not something I have.”
“What if there were another way in though?” asked Hermione, her eyes widening as if she’d just had a brainwave. “House-elves can apparate inside Hogwarts, right? Maybe they can bypass goblin anti-apparition charms as well. ... Dobby or Kreacher could apparate some of us into the Lestrange Vault and then Harry could use his scar to locate the Cup in the vault!”
“That’s genius!” Ginny exclaimed, eyes wide.
“You know, that would solve a whole load o’ problems, wouldn’ it?” said Dora, nodding.
“Yeah, it would!” said Harry eagerly, his brooding expression evaporating. “Kreacher, Dobby,” he called out.
There were two cracks and two house-elves appearing out of thin air.
“What service can Kreacher...?” Kreacher began in his croaky bullfrog voice.
“...and Dobby...” Dobby squeaked. Kreacher narrowed his eyes at Dobby - they were clearly still working out the kinks in their arrangement in regards to serving Harry.
“Yes... and Dobby,” said Kreacher begrudgingly, “What service can we provide Master Harry?”
“I need an answer to a question first,” said Harry. “Can house-elves get past Goblin anti-apparition wards?”
“Oh yes, Master Harry, sir...” Dobby gleefully burst out before Kreacher had a chance to answer.
“Brilliant!” said Harry, pumping his fist in the middle of Dobby’s answer. “I need to get into Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault.”
“...but house-elfs must be knowing where they is going,” Dobby continued without missing a beat, “and Dobby is not knowing where is being Madam Bellatrix’s vault.”
“Oh!” The excited look slid from Harry’s face.
“Kreacher knows where Missy Bella’s vault is,” croaked Kreacher, eyeing Harry with suspicion. “But why does Master Harry wish to enter Missy Bella’s vault?”

~o0o~
Harry wasn’t sure that he wanted to know how Kreacher knew where Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault was, despite Kreacher’s dramatic turnaround. It was a painful reminder that Kreacher had disappeared two Christmases ago and plotted with Narcissa Malfoy to sell out Sirius.
But Harry couldn’t help considering the question anyway. No doubt at one time or another in the past when Sirius’s parents had been alive, Kreacher must have been sent to Gringotts with Bellatrix for some reason - perhaps to carry an over-large amount of gold or some such thing, or to fetch something heavy that Bellatrix wanted to give to the Blacks for Christmas or a birthday?
Whatever! Harry put that out of his mind, just glad that Kreacher knew.
“I don’t want to take anything which belongs to Bellatrix, Kreacher,” said Harry, choosing his words carefully. “I want to find something which belongs to Vol... er, the Dark Lord. It’s like the Locket - it contains something evil which must be destroyed, and it’ll help me defeat him again.”
“Oh!” Kreacher blinked, his features changing from a look of suspicion, to an expression of understanding, and then to a grimace of hate. “Then Kreacher will help Master Harry if it means that the Dark Lord will be exterminated.”
“Great!” said Harry, his heart racing with exhilaration again. “I’ll need some help though. Can you get more than one person in, say me and Hermione and Dora?”
“Tis easy for Kreacher to take two, Master Harry, one for each hand...”
“But Dobby can be bringing someone too,” Dobby beamed, “if Kreacher is letting Dobby follow him...”
“Kreacher will let Dobby follow,” said Kreacher, “Anything that is for helping Master Harry to kill the Dark Lord!”
“Excellent!” Harry exclaimed. “Be ready to get cracking then you two. We might as well get this done with...”
“Shouldn’t we tell Dumbledore first?” asked Luna. “...Just in case something goes wrong?”
“Yes, we should,” Hermione agreed.
“Yeah, alright then,” said Harry, sounding a bit impatient. “But if he doesn’t answer straight away, I don’t want to wait - Luna can keep trying to contact him while we’re gone. This shouldn’t take long anyway.”
“Fair enough Harry!” said Dora, reaching into a pocket for her mirror, but Hermione had beaten her to it.
Hermione spoke into her mirror, “Professor Dumbledore! ... Are you there?”
Harry peered over Hermione’s shoulder and was surprised when Dumbledore’s piercing blue eyes appeared in Hermione’s mirror within seconds. Behind Dumbledore there seemed to be what looked like a forbidding, black forest under cover of night, his face lit up eerily by the glow from his wand tip.
“Ah, Miss Granger, Harry,” Dumbledore said quietly, “This is a surprise at this time of evening.”
“Er... where are you, sir? ...if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Not at all Harry. I am currently somewhere in the Lake District, tracking reports of suspicious activity which may be nothing but muggle campers... In any case, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I think we’ve figured out where Hufflepuff’s Cup is Professor,” said Harry, his heart beginning to race.
“Really?” Dumbledore looked quite surprised, “That would be something indeed. All of the potential leads I have been pursuing since we parted turned out to be dead-ends...”
“We think it’s in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault in Gringotts,” Hermione interjected, sounding a bit breathless.
“Good heavens,” Dumbledore’s bushy eyebrows shot up even higher, “I hadn’t even considered that possibility, given Bellatrix’s... ah, less than stable behaviour, to put it most charitably. How did you arrive at this conclusion?”
“The process of elimination,” said Hermione, “We were brainstorming with all the information we had available. There didn’t seem to be any other locations which might have had some meaning to Voldemort, so we began considering the possibility that he may have given it to another Death Eater for safekeeping, as he did his Diary. But it didn’t seem likely that he would have been so cavalier about its security...”
“Of course!” Dumbledore interrupted, nodding as he stroked his long beard pensively. “Voldemort needed the Diary to be accessible in order for someone to open the Chamber of Secrets again - such would not be necessary with the Cup, and a Gringotts Vault is perhaps the safest place to hide such a precious artifact. ... Well then, I shall return immediately and we can work out a plan...”
“We’ve already come up with one,” said Harry eagerly. “Kreacher and Dobby are going to apparate us directly into her vault. We were just about to go and fetch it...”
If Dumbledore had been surprised before, he now looked like he could be knocked over with a feather.
“Er... I presume then that Kreacher has visited the vault before?” he said a bit weakly.
“Seems like it,” Harry replied, “Anyway, the only reason we called was to give you a heads up in case we do run into trouble...”
“But we ought not,” Dora added, suddenly peering over Hermione’s other shoulder. “I’ll be goin’ with them, Professor. It seems like a pretty solid plan, so we should be alright. ... And we’ll call you the moment we get back and finish it, which shouldn’t be too long really.”
Dumbledore looked slightly dubious as he continued to stroke his beard, then he nodded.
“Very well then. I shall leave it in your capable hands and continue my current investigation in the meantime. Good luck!”
“You too sir,” said Harry.
Returning her mirror to her pocket, Hermione stood up. A few minutes later, after making sure they had everything they needed, including a sack in which to place the Cup when they found it, Harry called Kreacher and Dobby back. Kreacher took hold of Harry and Hermione’s arms and Dobby had Dora’s hand.
“Right then, here goes,” Dora muttered.
For a moment the world disappeared into a weird blankness, neither darkness nor light; Harry was surprised at how different it felt from wizard apparition. There was no sensation of twisting or being squeezed through a thin tube, and when the moment passed he was stunned by the wealth of treasures surrounding him.
He gaped in frank awe. This was nothing like his own vault, which certainly had a fair abundance of gold in it, but was only a small fortune in comparison to this. He wondered if the vault Sirius had left him looked anything like Bellatrix’s.
There were great heaping mountains of galleons, suits of armour and shields, marble statues, a plenitude of sparkling gems, rings and necklaces, covered paintings, boxes full of crystal jars and vials full of potions and what looked disturbingly like blood, gleaming swords and daggers with bejeweled hilts, shelves of silver and gold platters, plates, utensils, candlesticks, crystal goblets, and assorted decorative artifacts - and what appeared to be well over a hundred gem encrusted golden and silver chalices and goblets.
“Blimey,” he muttered as he peered at the plethora of cups glittering in the light of three wands. “It’s got to be one of them.”
“Well, we should probably be quick,” said Hermione, grabbing Harry’s hand. “Focus, Harry! Who knows how long we’ve got? For all we know there could be some sort of alert system inside the vaults.” She glanced at Dora questioningly
Dora shrugged. “Dunno... could be! I’ll keep an eye on the door and let you two get on with it.”
Harry closed his eyes and focused, allowing his feelings to swirl around his centre, letting Hermione’s presence flow through him. The connection to Voldemort within faded and his scar began to prickle from without as the horcrux impinged on the surface of his skin.
“I think I hear something outside Harry!” called out Dora - who was pressing her ear to the door of the vault - after a few minutes had passed. “Carts on the track maybe! I think we’ve been rumbled! You’d better hurry...”
Harry opened his eyes and led Hermione by the hand to the shelves, peering at each goblet and chalice as his heart began pounding against the wall of his chest. Finally he managed to pinpoint it.
“There, it’s that one on the top shelf! The gold one with a badger on it...”
“I see it Harry,” Hermione squealed excitedly. “I see it!”
“It’s bloody high though!” Harry groaned. “How the hell are we supposed to get it...”
“Wingardium Leviosa,” Hermione muttered, aiming her wand at Harry.
He felt his clothes stretching, lifting him into the air; Harry grit his teeth when he felt his jeans tightening around his groin. He grabbed at Hufflepuff’s Cup and Hermione gently lowered him back down, then he thrust it into the sack Dora was holding.
“Okay, let’s go,” Harry barked.
Kreacher grasped Harry and Hermione, and Dobby clutched Dora just as the cast-iron door began to screech and groan. The vault vanished and they were in that strange blankness again. They reappeared moments later in a room with mahogany shelves crammed with books that reached from the carpeted floor to the ceiling.
Ginny, Luna, and Parvati all heaved great sighs of relief, as if they had been holding their breaths the entire time - which Harry reckoned they more or less had, as barely fifteen minutes had passed since he and Hermione and Dora had departed.
“Right, let’s get that bloody thing to the cellar and get this over with!” said Harry, not looking forward to what was coming next.
They all scurried down the narrow staircase in single file to the lowest level and Harry pushed open the door, entering a basement with red brick walls lined with shelves on one side and boxes piled high on the other. The Sword of Gryffindor was laying flat on top of an oak worktable by the rear wall.
Harry eyed the sword, with its ruby encrusted hilt and its silvery blade glinting in the harsh light of the bare light bulb dangling from the ceiling above. Dora retrieved Hufflepuff’s Cup from her bag and set it next to the sword.
“Alright, there you go Harry,” she said, smiling wanly at him. “After this, it’s all about hunting down Voldy and doin’ him and the snake in.”
Harry bit his lip thoughtfully, for a moment looking much like his fiancée often did.
“I think you should do this one, Dora,” Harry quietly suggested. Dora looked puzzled.
“Me? Why me, Harry?”
“It just feels right,” he replied, giving her a meaningful look. Dora’s eyes widened when it hit her.
“‘Cause I’m a Hufflepuff?” she asked, just to be clear.
“Yeah!” Harry nodded. “Hermione did in Ravenclaw’s Diadem, and even though she’s a Gryffindor, that actually seemed right too...”
“Oh!” Hermione shot Harry a look that conveyed surprise, adoring gratitude, and embarrassment all rolled into one. “I never even thought of that.”
“It does make sense though,” Luna beamed. “You’re the most Ravenclaw Gryffindor there is.”
Ginny and Parvati both giggled.
Dora set the small golden chalice on the floor and hefted the Sword of Gryffindor with both hands, feeling its weight and giving it a practice swish.
“Right then, Harry! Brace yourself! You may wanna sit down for this!”
“Oh, right!” Harry quickly sat down on the cool concrete floor and Hermione joined him, curling an arm around his shoulders.
Dora lifted the sword high above her head. The blade flashed as it cleaved the air and struck Hufflepuff’s Cup.
The Cup shrieked and shuddered, releasing a billowing maelstrom of black smoke, a windstorm whipping around the cellar, rattling the shelves. Harry groaned, clutching at his burning scar, beads of sweat on his clammy forehead, both of Hermione’s arms around him now...
- 22
- 23
- 24
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Damaged Bridges