Chapter Ten
Not a Killer
Another head hangs lowly,
Child is slowly taken.
And the violence caused such silence.
Who are we mistaken?
(Zombie - The Cranberries)April 30th, 1998"It has to be there," Hermione insisted. "She was adamant that we'd broken into
her vault."
They had circled around this argument before. Bellatrix's behaviour at Malfoy
Manor the month prior had implied that something important was housed in the Lestrange
vault and not just an imitation of the Sword of Gryffindor. Unfortunately, there was no
way to get inside. Ron suggested Polyjuice Potion, but without a piece of Bellatrix to use,
that was impossible. Harry wanted to return to the manor to see if he could find something
to use, but Sirius refused to allow any of them to risk themselves on a suicidal mission.
Hermione wanted to ask Narcissa for help—she was Bellatrix's sister, after all—but
Sirius explained that since the Horcrux would be hidden in the Lestrange vault, Narcissa
had no claim to it despite being a blood relation to Bellatrix; not while Rodolphus and
Rabastan Lestrange remained alive. It was Ron who then proposed hunting down the
Lestrange brothers and killing them, after which everyone in the room proceeded to ignore
him.
Harry suggested asking Griphook for help, which Sirius shot down quickly. He
insisted Griphook would turn on the lot of them faster than Kreacher had betrayed him.
They had nearly given up hope when they were handed the Horcrux on a silver
platter.
That silver platter arrived in the form of a dragon Patronus that burst into the
kitchen at Shell Cottage late one night. All occupants save for Harry, Hermione, Sirius, and
Ron were asleep. Hermione admired the intricate beauty of the Patronus as it hovered for
a few moments before opening its mouth and speaking with Draco Malfoy's voice.