Elaine's POV:

I awoke the next morning and finally decided to get out of bed. My sore muscles ached as I was moving, but I had to shower and eat.

Showering felt like something completely new to me. Before I did jump in the shower, I let the water warm up, and I saw myself in the mirror for the first time. I didn't even recognize myself. My face was pale, and I had giant bags under my eyes. My hair was matted, tangled, and greasy. The bandage around my neck was starting to peel off, so I gently ripped it off to reveal a long, skinny scab. Careful not to damage the scab, I showered and cleaned it thoroughly.

I felt like a new person when I was showered and changed into clean clothes. That's when my stomach started to rumble. I checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was only 6:30am. I knew my friends would still be sleeping, so I crept downstairs and found my way to the kitchen. "Oh hey Fred...hey George," I said casually, opening the cabinets. The twins were sitting at the kitchen table talking to each other. That's when I did a double-take and realized that they were actually there. "OH MY GOD!" I squealed, breaking down into a puddle as I pulled them both in for a hug. "What are you guys doing here!" I exclaimed, so happy to see the two of them beaming at me. "Got a letter from Bill last night that said the four of you were here...mum actually let us leave the house to come see you," George explained. "Yea I couldn't believe it myself...of course, Ginny is rather pissed...mum didn't let her come," Fred said. "How long are two allowed to stay?" I asked immediately trying to plan to spend as much time as I could with them. "Only until dinner time...she's having Bill write to her every hour on the hour that we are still here and safe," George explained, still smiling at me. "Elaine are you okay?" Fred asked me, pointing to my injured neck. "Yea...Bellatrix," I said, immediately covering my neck with my hand. "Well don't touch it...let me get a bandage," George said, standing up and offering me his seat.

George reappeared, bandage in hand and wrapped the cut neatly so it wouldn't get infected. I thanked him and the three of us ate breakfast together, trying to be as quiet as possible and not wake anyone else up. "How did Bellatrix do that?" Fred asked as we ate toast and eggs. "Held a knife to my throat," I replied as if that event wasn't horrifying in itself. Between the twins, they asked so many questions about what has been going on the past seven months we've been in hiding, that it took me almost three hours to explain. Of course, I couldn't tell them that we were hunting horcruxes, but I did tell them everything else. "We heard you guys broke into the Ministry...the pictures were badass," George said, pulling a newspaper clipping from his pocket. The picture showed Harry, Ron, Hermione and I running away from Yaxley. "Mum freaked when those were the on the front page," Fred explained as I read the article about the break-in.

"Sorry am I interrupting?" a girl with brownish hair and a thick New York accent asked as she hesitated to walk into the kitchen. She was looking right at George. "Not at all," George said, his face quickly grew red. "Who are you?" Fred asked, not having noticed George's sudden redness. "I'm Brandy...Grindelwald," she said, pausing before she said her last name. "The Malfoy's kidnapped me and I've been in that dungeon with Luna, the goblin, and Olivander for weeks now...maybe months," she explained, trying to remember when she was taken. In all honesty, I felt terrible for Brandy. Her skin was sunken into her face and it was clear she hasn't eaten in a long time.

After Brandy told us all about why she was kidnapped (apparently her father has information Voldemort is dying to get and the Malfoy's kidnapped her to get her father to come and speak with Voldemort), she strolled back off to bed, glaring at George for a second too long. "What was that about?" I asked George, his ears now matching the color of his hair. "She's cute, I don't know," he said, shrugging it off. I decided to let it slide for now because, soon enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione woke up. They all shouted in surprise when they saw Fred and George sitting with me at the table.

The six of us spent the rest of the day together...trying to soak up as much of the fleeting time we had left. Of course, the day flew by faster than any other day we've experienced so far, and we were forced to say goodbye to the twins by 5pm that night.

The next week and a half was spent planning. We decided to make use of our time and catch up on some much needed rest and food (as well as questioning Luna, Brandy, Griphook, and Olivander about what's been going on at the Malfoy Manor).

One night, after dinner, Brandy asked me to help her with her hair. Of course, I said yes, grateful to have a few minutes alone with her. "I wanted to ask you...how is Draco?" I asked, as she handed me a hairbrush. "He's just wonderful...he helped me through a lot of shit that his parents put me through...snuck me food and kept me company when he could," she said. "And is he, like, being safe?" I asked, unsure of how to word the question. I mean, how safe could you get when Voldemort is in and out of your own house? "Yea from what I've seen he hasn't been putting himself in danger...besides helping me, that is," she explains. I nod, knowing he'd do the same for me if I was in that position. "You know he talks about you like all the time? It gets rather annoying sometimes," she said with a laugh, and my stomach did a leap. Draco talks about me...and just knowing that, made me smile.

As Harry, Ron, Hermione and I finished planing, one thing was clear...we had to break into Gringotts Bank. "Bellatrix seemed really scared when she was torturing me...and we think another horcrux is in her vault," Hermione explained, running a hand over her arm where Bellatrix had carved the word 'MUDBLOOD'. "So...do we have enough polyjuice potion?" I asked Hermione. My bag had been left at the Malfoy's house, but Hermione was able to snatch hers before we disappeared. "For one person," she said, holding up the almost-empty flask of the potion. "Hermione...you still have Bellatrix's hair?" Harry asked. "Right here," she replied, holding up a small vile with one strand of hair. And from there...we formed a plan. Harry and Griphook (the goblin from the Malfoy Manor Dobby rescued) would be under the invisibility cloak. Ron and I were going to use magic to change our appearances slightly, and Hermione was going to use the polyjuice potion to change into Bellatrix. "Right...so when do we leave?" I asked, once we worked out the entire plan. "Tomorrow morning," Harry said. With that, the four of us sulked off to bed....though none of us were going to be able to sleep.

Our nerves were at an all time high the next morning. After barely eating our breakfast, we prepared to leave the house. Once we were ready, Hermione took the polyjuice potion, turning herself into Bellatrix.

Hermione then changed Ron's appearance. He grew long, black hair and had a hooked nose. She then turned to me and changed my hair to be pin-straight and dark brown. She added bangs to almost cover my eyes and changed my nose to be much bigger than normal. Once we were all ready, the four of us gathered in the garden.

I glanced at Dobby's grave and gave him one last goodbye as we waited for Griphook to appear. Once he did, Harry spoke, "We're relying on you Griphook. If you can get us past the guards and into the vault, the sword is yours," Harry said in a serious tone. We all put our hands together and apparated to Diagon Alley.

We landed in Diagon Alley and immediately moved to a shaded area to make sure the invisibility cloak was covering Harry and Griphook completely. Once we were sure everything was secure, we started walking down Diagon Alley. It didn't look familiar at all. It was crawling with Death Eaters, and all the shops (except those that catered to the Dark Arts) were closed. On every window there were posters of Harry and my faces. A familiar Death Eater, one of whom I did not know the name of, spoke to Hermione during our walk to Gringotts. "Madam Lestrange," he said with a bow as he walked past us. "Good morning," Hermione said politely. The Death Eater shot her a funny look and kept walking. "Good morning? Good morning? Your Bellatrix Lestrange not some google-eyed school girl," Griphook whispered from under the invisibility cloak. "Hey! Go easy on her!" Ron said stepping next to Hermione. "If she gives us away we might as well use that sword and slit our own throats..understand?" Griphook snapped back. "No, he's right. I was being stupid," Hermione said.

As we continued to walk down Diagon Alley, I noticed someone walking towards us that looked extremely familiar. It was Draco Malfoy. My heart began racing like crazy. "Does everyone see who's walking towards us?" I said loud enough for my friends to hear. Hermione slowly nodded. If Draco notices us, it will blow up our whole plan. It will ruin everything. "Just keep walking forward. Pretend you don't see him," Harry whispered from under the cloak. The closer we got to Draco, the faster my heart began to beat. Just as we were about to pass him, he saw us. He looked from Bellatrix to Ron and then to me. That's when my heart dropped to my stomach. He was now walking towards us. "Hello Aunt Bellatrix...mind if I have a word with your friend here?" Draco said, grabbing my hand and holding it up. "Just make it quick," Hermione (who, of course was Bellatrix) snapped.

Draco quickly pulled me aside as my friends waited for me a few feet away. "What the hell are you doing!" Draco asked in a whisper-yell. I brushed the bangs away from my eyes so I could see him properly. "SH!" I said, knowing my friends could hear him from that far away. "You're not actually about to do what I think you are...are you?" he asked. "Well...that depends...but, to be frank...yes," I said confusingly. I didn't know what to say. "You have to be careful...I can't send you baskets of food if you're dead," he said with a smirk. "Wow thanks...look, I really have to go I-" but I was cut off. Draco had pulled me close to him, and he began kissing me...hard. Everyone in the alleyway was staring but I didn't care...my world was on halt as I kissed him back. Slowly wrapping my arms around his neck and popping my right foot in the air...I wouldn't have cared if Voldemort appeared next to me right now...

"Oh for the love of god!" I heard Hermione say, ripping me away from Draco. As she dragged me towards the bank, I continued to look back at him, completely lost for words. "For god sakes...someone took a picture of that! If that gets published in the Daily Prophet...you'll both be dead," Ron said as we entered the bank. "Well it's not my fault!" I bickered with him and continued to walk down the long aisle of the marble bank. "Shush you two!" Hermione ordered, snapping at us both. Ron and I rolled our eyes at her, but remained silent.

The rest of the way, the only sound that was made was from Hermione and I's heels on the floor. We reached the furthest desk where a goblin sat, filling out some paperwork. Hermione gave a little cough to try and notify the goblin that we were standing there. The goblin remained focused on his paperwork. "I wish to enter my vault," Hermione spoke, trying her best to sound like Bellatrix. "Identification?" the goblin asked. "I hardly think that will be necessary," Hermione replied. "Oh Madame Lestrange!" the goblin squeaked when he finally looked up. He eyed Ron and I curiously and left to the room behind the desk. "I don't like to be kept waiting," Hermione snapped at the goblin as he walked away. "They know. They know we're imposters," I heard Griphook whisper. By the front door of the bank, I turned slightly and saw a wizard guard walking up to us. "Harry, what do we do?" Ron whispered in a shaky voice.

Just then, the goblin returned with another goblin. "Madame Lestrange, would you mind presenting your wand?" the new goblin asked. "And why should I do that?" Hermione snapped. "It's the banks policy. Surely you understand," the goblin replied politely. The wizard guard behind us was slowly getting closer and closer. "No! I most certainly do not understand!" Hermione yelled at the goblin. She really sounded like Bellatrix now. It gave me the chills. Her voice was cold and cruel. "I'm afraid I must insist," the goblin snapped. He was getting suspicious and very agitated. Just as the wizard guard reached us, Harry put the imperious curse onto the goblin. The goblin giggled slightly and smiled at us. "Very well Madame Lestrange, if you will follow me," the goblin spoke. He stepped down from behind the desk and led us through a pair of solid gold doors. There was a cart there waiting for us and we piled in. When the cart started moving, I was holding on for dear life.

As we flew through various parts of the underground, we were about to go underneath a waterfall. "WHAT IS THAT GRIPHOOK?" Harry screamed. Griphook pulled on the break, but it was no use. We were already going so fast that it would be impossible to stop the cart. The cart went underneath the waterfall and we all got soaked. Hermione, Ron and I had all transformed back into our original selves. The cart then slammed its breaks and we came to a stop. A small red light popped out of the cart and began screeching. The floors to the cart dropped causing all of us to fall into the depths of the underground. As we plummeted downwards, I grabbed my wand and screamed, "ARRESTO MOMENTUM!"

All of us landed softly onto the ground. "Well done Elaine," Harry said as he helped me off the ground. "Oh no! You guys look like you again," Harry said as he looked at the three of us. "The thief's downfall. It washes away all enchantments. It can be deadly," Griphook spoke. "Oh you don't say," Ron snapped sarcastically. "Just out of interest...is there anyway out of here?" I asked Griphook. "No," he replied. "Brilliant," Ron answered back. The other goblin we had with us was no longer under the imperious curse. "What the devil are you all doing down here? THIEVES!" he shouted. "Imperio," Ron muttered and the goblin was in a happy daze once more.

"The Lestrange vault is this way," Griphook said and he began leading us through the caves. From where we landed, it was only a five minute walk. On our way we heard something roar. "Well, that doesn't sound good," Ron said when I gave him a nervous look. When we reached Bellatrix's vault, I stopped dead in my tracks. "What is it, Elaine?" Ron asked since he didn't see what I was seeing yet. "Bloody hell, it's a Ukranium hornback," Ron whispered. A gigantic white dragon was curled up in front of the vault's door. "Here, take these," Griphook said as he handed out these noise-makers. "Elaine, walk behind me. Wands out," Harry ordered as we started walking past the dragon. The noise-makers sure did their job in keeping the dragon away. "It's been trained to expect pain when it hears the noise," Griphook explained as we reached the vault door. "That's barbaric," Hermione said.

When we entered the vault, I noticed right away it was filled to the ceiling with jewels and goods. "Is it in here Harry? Can you feel it?" I asked him as he examined the room. Harry nodded and we all picked a side of the vault to examine. "Harry? Is that it? Up there?" I asked him. A small cup had caught my eye. "Yes! Yes that's it!" Harry exclaimed. Just as he was going to reach for the cup, Hermione bumped into a gold plate and it dropped to the floor with a loud clang. I looked closely at the dish because it began to multiply. "That'll be the Gemino Curse. Everything you touch will multiply," Griphook explained. Ron accidentally tripped over the plates that continued to multiply and knocked over a whole table of things. The room got very crowded very quickly. "Hermione give me the sword," Harry ordered. Hermione immediately went into her bag and threw him the sword of Gryffindor. Harry was able to get to the cup, but it fell into the mess of multiplying items. Griphook grabbed the cup right as I was about to. "We had a deal Griphook!" Harry yelled. "The cup for the sword!" he yelled back. Harry threw the sword in front of Griphook as Griphook threw the cup into the air. Luckily Hermione caught the cup and immediately placed it in her bag.

"I said I'd get you in...but I didn't say anything about getting you out," Griphook said in a menacing tone. Griphook opened the vault's door and all of the objects poured out right next to the dragon. The sound of dozens of wizard guards was coming from the other side of the dragon. We were completely trapped. Harry ushered us all out of the vault very quickly and up onto a balcony so we could see what was going on. Spells were flying in every direction and we had no means of escape. "We can't just stand here! Anyone have any ideas?" Ron screamed. "I have one but its mad!" Hermione screamed back. She quickly turned towards the balcony's edge and blew the railings away. She jumped off of the edge of the balcony and onto the dragon's back. "WELL COME ON THEN!" she screamed as she struggled to get a secured spot on the dragon. Ron and I jumped next and then Harry. "REDUCTO!" I screamed and pointed my wand at the chains holding the dragon down. Harry then sent another spell at the dragon's tail when it didn't realize it was freed. The dragon began to clumsily climb the sides of the cave wall. It didn't take long before he broke the floor of the bank's lobby level. "Everyone hold on!" Harry screamed as the dragon hit his head on the chandelier. Glass rained down on us, cutting my arms and face in the process. The wizard guards on the floor were trying to fight the dragon, but the dragon quickly broke through the ceiling and climbed up onto the roof of the bank. When we did reach the roof of the bank, the dragon took several moments to breathe in the fresh air, but we had to leave. I glanced down at Diagon Alley where a hundred people were flooding out of the bank, screaming in terror. Then I saw Draco standing close, watching us from the ground. When he saw it was us on the back of the dragon, he disapparated on the spot.

"HE'S COMING!" Harry screamed. "REDUCTO!" I screamed and shot the dragon's tail. The dragon finally took off and soared in the air. Finally, we were above the clouds and far away from the bank. "Absolutely brilliant!" Ron exclaimed to Hermione.

After about an hour of flying, everyone was sore from hanging on, but no one dared to move or readjust themselves.

About twenty minutes later, the dragon was finally descending. We were in a mountainous range and in between the mountains were giant lakes. The dragon continued to get close to the water to drink. "WHEN SHOULD WE DROP?" Ron asked Harry as the dragon was getting closer and closer to the water. "NOW!" Harry screamed and we all let go. I plunged into the frigid water. The icy cold water filled my lungs and tore at my bruised and bloodied skin.