Vault Beneath the Earth

A few weeks turned into a few months, and April passed by before Rose deemed her friends "combat ready". With the greatest threat to her friends mitigated for the time being, Rose turned her attention back to Hufflepuff's Cup.

Rose had already set to work tracking down Hufflepuff's Cup. It was well known that it was passed down in the Hufflepuff line, but it stopped at a woman called Hepzibah Smith. It was believed that the Cup was stolen from her after she was murdered, although from what Rose learned, her house-elf did it.

"That is being wrong!" Dripty shouted when Rose asked him. "House-elves is never killing their masters or mistresses!"

"I didn't think so either," Rose said. "I wanted to make sure."

"House-elves is being easy to blame," Atrien told her. "People is not thinking twice about it when a house-elf is being blamed."

"Don't house-elves need to follow orders?" Rose asked.

"Exactly," Atrien said. "You is being a clever witch. A house-elf cannot be murdering their master or mistress, even if they is being treated badly. We is craving orders, like you is needing to eat."

"I don't need to eat," Rose replied.

Atrien scowled at her. It wasn't the same as Professors Snape or McGonagall, but its purpose was clear: Rose was missing the point.

"I understand what you mean," Rose said. "A house-elf wouldn't murder their witch or wizard because they're afraid to live without him or her."

"Precisely," Atrien said. "Hepzibah Smith was not being murdered by her house-elf, Hokey."

"I never mentioned her house-elf's name."

"You is not needing to. Atrien is being familiar with the Hufflepuff family."

Rose blinked, then sighed. She had spent the past several months scavenging the library for records and information about the Hufflepuff bloodline, and Atrien was telling her that her search could've begun and ended with Atrien.

"What do you know about Hufflepuff's Cup?" Rose asked.

"It is being an ancient artifact of the Hufflepuff family," Atrien began.

Many younger house-elves gathered around them, and Rose took a seat. Logic dictated that Atrien was about to give them a lecture, but the faces of the children said it was going to be as enjoyable as a bedtime story.

"Legend says that Hufflepuff's Cup provided whatever nourishment the holder is needing, but only if that person was being of pure heart. Even house-elves could be using it if they was needing. Helga Hufflepuff was being a friend to all people, big or small, human or house-elf, Magical or Muggle."

"Even me?" one of the children asked.

"Of course, Leyna," Atrien replied.

"What about me?" Rose asked.

"Not you," Atrien replied, a bitter look on her face. "Miss Rose is being no good."

The children giggled as Rose hung her head, her fake misery betrayed by the broad smile on her face.

"Hufflepuff's Cup was being passed down from one Hufflepuff to another for generations, until it finally stopped with Hepzibah Smith."

"Why?" Dripty asked.

"It was being stolen!" Atrien declared.

There were several gasps from the children and Rose.

"Hepzibah Smith was murdered, and on that day, two things was being stolen. Hepzibah Smith was being at an antiquity shop called Borgin and Burkes, where she was often going to buy rare artifacts for her collection. She was having Hufflepuff's Cup with her that day, but, along with Slytherin's Locket, it was never being seen again. It is being believed that her murderer is having both of them."

As Atrien spoke, Rose wrote down the highlights in her notebook. She made a note about Slytherin's Locket; if the same person had Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket, the locket might be important to Sally as well.

"Did they ever catch the bad guy?" Leyna asked.

"Sadly, they was not catching him," Atrien said. "They was blaming poor Hokey, Hepzibah's house-elf, for the murder. No one was understanding that house-elves would not be harming people, even today."

"When did this happen?" Rose asked.

"July 12th, 1947," Atrien replied.

"That puts it… What year is it now?" Rose asked.

A few of the children giggled.

"Is Miss Rose really not knowing?"

"Miss Rose is really not knowing."

"It is being 1994," Atrien told her.

"So this happened 47 years ago," Rose said. "That's just a few years after the first Basilisk attack."

"That is being correct."

"Is there someone I could ask about the original murder? How does that work in this world? I assume you can't just call in a Cleric to use speak with dead to find out who killed her, unless you know where I can find Hepzibah's body."

"Atrien is not knowing where Hepzibah Smith is being buried, but if you is needing help, you should be asking Miss Susan Bones."

"Madame Bones's daughter?" Rose asked. "She didn't look the family type."

"Niece," Atrien corrected. "Madame Bones is being very fond of Miss Susan, and might be helping you, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, Atrien."

"You is being welcome, Miss Rose, although Atrien is having a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Why is you being so interested in Hufflepuff's Cup?"

When Rose realized she needed help, she had prepared answers for that question. She couldn't mention Sally to anyone, otherwise she risked inciting his wrath. As relatively easy as it was for her to take on Cruentius, Sally's pet would be nearly impossible for anyone else to beat.

"I can't explain how, but it's going to help me get rid of the Dementors and find Sirius Black."

Atrien eyed her suspiciously, but then nodded her approval.

"Then us house-elves is wishing you the best of luck, Miss Rose."

"Thank you," Rose said, curtsying. "Before I leave, I've got a favor to ask of Dripty."

"Before Miss Rose is ordering Atrien's elves around, Atrien would like to be asking something of Miss Rose."

"Go ahead."

"If Atrien were forgetting her place, she'd be telling Miss Rose that she shouldn't be losing her temper with Professor Dumbledore. He is trying his best to be keeping order in Hogwarts, even if it isn't looking like it."

Rose muttered something under her breath, as Reflectesalon reminded her not to lose her temper. It took every ounce of patience Rose had to not lose it in front of Atrien.

"I'll remember that," Rose said coolly. "Can I borrow Dripty or not?"

"What is it Miss Rose is needing?"

Moments later, Rose appeared at her next stop: the Hufflepuff common room. The walls were stone, with vines creeping along them. Bright light shone through the windows, shining on the various portraits and plants that decorated the room.

When Rose popped into Ravenclaw Tower, she was greeted with glares. Here, Rose was greeted warmly, as if she fit right in with everyone else.

"Hey, Rose," Max said. "I didn't know you'd be stopping by."

"Me either, until a few moments ago," Rose said, still looking around the room. "I like your common room."

"Thanks."

Max sat down next to Ellie on one of the many couches. Ellie smiled up at Rose.

Max and Ellie were in Ancient Runes with Rose, so she was getting to know them rather well. Max spoke softly, but knew when to raise his voice. He seemed relaxed in spite of the Dementors outside. His relaxed attitude and authoritative manor reminded Rose of Harold Strant.

Ellie was interesting, because she was mute. This didn't seem to bother her, and she happily used something called "sign language" to communicate. Rose hadn't figured it out yet, but Max often translated for her. Rose had also learned that Ellie received special lessons concerning silent casting, which Rose thought was a brilliant idea, even if one could speak.

"How are you two doing?" Rose asked.

Ellie began moving her hands around.

"'We were just working on Ancient Runes homework,'" Max translated. "'Have you looked at it yet?'"

"Not yet," Rose replied. "I've been busy today, although I may come back later if you're interested in working on it together."

Normally, Rose would've worked on her homework with Hermione or Sally-Anne, but Hermione was starting to shut herself away anywhere she could. She hid in the library, the Room of Requirement, even the bathroom just so she didn't have to deal with people. This didn't concern Rose as much as Hermione leaving the condition conch in her room, something she'd started doing in the past week.

"How's Hermione been doing?" Max asked. "She seems off in class."

"She hasn't been sleeping well," Rose replied, sitting on the floor. Her eyes widened when she felt the soft plush. "Oooh! Soft!"

Not thinking, Rose pulled off her glove and felt the carpet. When Rose realized that she had removed her right glove, she quickly slipped it back on, hoping no one had noticed the rune on her hand.

"I hope she feels better," Max said, apparently neither confused about nor alarmed by Rose's behavior.

"What brings you here?" Ellie signed.

"I'm looking for Susan," Rose said. "I need to talk to Madame Bones at the DMLE, and it would help if I had someone to vouch for me."

"She and Hannah went for a walk," Max said. "That was 20 minutes ago, so they'll probably be back soon."

"Well, I get a break then," Rose said, collapsing on the soft floor.

"Ellie says 'Why do you need to see Madame Bones?'"

"I need the investigation notes from the murder of Hepzibah Smith," Rose replied. "Someone stole something from her, and I need it. It will indirectly help me remove the Dementors."

"If you keep telling people that, they're eventually going to ask how," Sally told her.

"That'd be wonderful," Max said. "I can't wait until they're gone." He looked around, then leaned in closer. "Speaking of Dementors and Sirius Black, is it true that he's going after Ron Weasley, not Harry Potter?"

"Looks that way, although I can't figure out why," Rose said. "So much of this doesn't make sense!" Rose covered her face with her hands. "Where's Shadow when I need her?"

"Ellie wants to know 'Who's Shadow?'" Max said.

"My friend back home," Rose replied. "She's clever, logical, and never overlooks anything. She'd have figured this all out by now. Shadow would've found the one thing I overlooked."

Rose felt someone nudging her foot and looked up. Ellie was signing something to her.

<'Is that why you need the cup?'> Reflectesalon told her, under special orders to relay Ellie's thoughts to Rose.

"Sort of," Rose said. "I haven't been able to talk to her all year, and it's driving me mad."

"Well, we'll help in any way we can," Max said.

"What's special about Ronald?" Ellie asked.

"That's the thing," Rose said. "Unless Sirius Black is siding with Brain in their fight, I can't figure out why he'd be after Cohort."

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Max suggested. "It seems like it's bothering you."

"You've got no idea," Rose said. "Something else would be wonderful."

As she was talking with Max and Ellie, other Hufflepuffs greeted Rose as if she belonged there. It wasn't just Max and Ellie, but nearly everyone. A few people looked confused, but quickly said hello anyway. Rose began to think she had chosen the wrong house.

"I like it here," Rose said. "Everything's cozy, and people are friendly. You've got proper books, plenty of places to sit, and your secret entrance doesn't announce itself."

"Portraits don't seem like a good choice for protecting a doorway," Ellie said. "I do like the knights."

"Nimblewrights," Rose said. "Moon suggested them."

"That's… Luna?" Max asked.

"Yup. They make our entrance noticeable, but I think everyone knows where it is anyway."

"Hello, Rose."

Rose looked up and saw Cedric standing over her.

"Salutations, Cedric," Rose replied.

"We were just talking about the knights outside of Gryffindor Tower," Max said.

"Nimblewrights," Rose corrected him.

"That's what Hermione calls them," Cedric said, sitting down beside Rose. "I'd like to say I like them better than the trolls they had."

Cedric, Max, and Ellie began discussing better creatures they could've used for security, while Rose spaced out. She had little concern for the conversation, and was just killing time until Susan found her way to the Hufflepuff common room.

<Rose, you were asked a question,> Reflectesalon informed her.

"What?" Rose asked.

"What brings you here?" Cedric asked.

"Looking for Susan Bones, so I can talk to Madame Bones without getting attacked on sight," Rose said.

"I meant to ask earlier, but why not just ask Professor Dumbledore?" Max asked.

"We aren't on good terms at the moment," Rose replied.

She hadn't spoken with the Headmaster since the Nimblewrights were put in place, and even that conversation could've gone better. Every time Rose saw Professor Dumbledore, she couldn't help but think that he was the one stopping her from attacking the Dementors. She knew he wasn't really the one stopping her, but he was enforcing the will of the Ministry.

"Well, I passed Susan and Hannah on my way up here, and it doesn't look like they're in any hurry to get back. Why don't you go talk to them?"

"That desperate to get rid of me?" Rose asked.

"You seem anxious," Cedric said.

"Little bit," Rose replied. "I just–"

"Hey, everyone," Hannah said.

Rose whirled around and saw Hannah and Susan entering the common room.

"Susan!" Rose exclaimed, appearing next to her.

"Ah!" Susan and Hannah exclaimed, jumping back.

"I need to borrow you," Rose said.

Rose and Susan appeared in a small, well-organized office. Sitting at the lone desk was Madame Bones, although she jumped to her feet the moment she saw that she had visitors.

"Auntie Amelia!" Susan exclaimed.

"Susie, what are you doing here?" Madame Bones asked. "How'd you get in?"

"Rose brought us," Susan said, indicating her companion. "She wants to talk to you about something."

Madame Bones narrowed her eyes at the pair of them, but it only served to increase Rose's respect for the woman. She had a good head on her shoulders.

"Aren't you the little girl that dropped a basilisk's head on Fudge's desk?" Bones asked.

"What?!" Susan shrieked, turning to stare at Rose.

"Yeah, that was fun," Rose said. "But more to the point, I need to see the records on the murder of Hepzibah Smith."

Madame Bones continued to watch Rose with suspicion.

"Why?"

"I need Hufflepuff's Cup."

Madame Bones opened her mouth, but Rose cut her off.

"Before you ask, I can't say why, but I can say it will help remove the Dementors. Unless you've got something of Sirius Black's. That would allow me to locate him and put an end to this right now."

"I haven't."

"Really?" Rose asked. "Didn't you check his house or something when you arrested him? Confiscate his belongings?"

"They destroyed his wand, as is procedure. I didn't work the case, so I don't know, but I know they didn't go after his belongings."

"Where did he live?"

"Number 12 Grimauld Place, which is hidden to those that weren't invited by the Black Family," Bones replied.

As Rose and Madame Bones talked, Susan stared off into space, the conversation completely going over her head.

"Define 'Black Family'," Rose said. "Does it work for people that were invited by someone with the last name 'Black'?"

"Doubt it, but that's still good thinking," Bones said. "What'd you say your name was?"

"Rose Peta-Lorrum," Rose said, curtsying.

"Susie, what's your father's name?" Bones asked.

"Erm… Edgar?" Susan replied, tuning back into the conversation.

"Just checking," Amelia said. "Peta-Lorrum, take Susie back to Hogwarts, and meet back here. I'll take you to where we house the records."

Serendipity appeared in Rose's hand, and she wished Susan back to the Hufflepuff common room.

Bones blinked, then drew her wand.

"How'd you do that?" she asked. "Illusion?"

"I sent her back the same way I brought us here," Rose replied. "Professor Dumbledore must've informed you about me by now."

Bones glared at Rose, but still lowered her wand. She reached into her desk and pulled out a small badge.

"Visitor's pass," she explained as Rose took the badge. "You'll want that on in case we run into anyone."

"Thank you," Rose said.

Madame Bones led Rose out of her office, down a corridor, then into something she called a "lift".

"What's it do?" Rose asked.

"It takes us to where we're going," Madame Bones replied. "Records!"

The lift responded by jerking into motion, then sprang back, then down. It flew down so quickly that Rose began to feel like she was in a free fall. After a few seconds, the lift stopped, and a bell sounded.

"Here we are," Bones said, leading the way into a large warehouse filled with shelves of boxes.

Bones led Rose down along the aisles, stopping at one in particular towards the end.

"'S'," Bones said. "Unfortunately, Smith's a rather common surname, so this might take a little while to find."

Bones pulled out her wand and summoned a ladder to them.

"You need a better filing system," Rose said.

Ten minutes later, they came upon the case of Hepzibah Smith. Madame Bones removed the box from the shelf, signed her name on the front of it with her wand, then handed the box to Rose.

"Anything you learn in here is the property of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain. Failure to treat the information with care will result in legal action being taken against you. Do you understand and accept these terms?"

"Sure," Rose said, taking the box and hopping off the ladder. She flipped through the contents of the box as Madame Bones joined her.

Rose quickly found what she was looking for in the file: a list of the employees at Borgin and Burkes. The culprit was obvious the moment she read his name.

"It would be him," Rose groaned. "Tom Riddle."

"You think he had it?" Bones asked.

"It can't be a coincidence," Rose replied. "I'll need a list of Voldie's followers, ranked in order of loyalty. He already gave that book to Goldilocks, so if he's clever, he wouldn't have given him more than one artifact."

"Did you just call Lucius Malfoy 'Goldilocks'?"

"Yup," Rose replied, returning the file to its place. "I need those names."

"Off the top of my head, I'd say Bellatrix Lestrange or Severus Snape," Bones said as she levitated the box back into place. "Fenrir Greyback was another big follower, but I don't think he'd have trusted Greyback with something that valuable."

"If it's Professor Snape, then that's easy," Rose said. "Which one's Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"The mad one," Madame Bones replied. "Serving life in Azkaban after torturing a pair of Aurors until they went mad themselves."

Rose knew the name rang a bell, but she couldn't think why.

"I'm not waiting for you," Bones called. "I can get you a list, but that's all I'm doing."

Rose dimension jumped to keep up with Madame Bones.

"Most of You-Know-Who's known followers are in Azkaban," Bones said. "I don't know how much help they're going to be. They aren't the chatting type."

"They don't need to be," Rose said. "I've got my own ways of extracting information. Can you get me into Azkaban?"

Bones shook her head.

"The only reason I let you see those records was because you're friends with Susie. I'm not breaking any more rules for someone I don't know just because she says she's going to catch Sirius Black."

She had a good point, although Rose figured she was still missing something. Madame Bones was being too trusting for someone who ran the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Everything Rose knew about her said that she shouldn't be so trusting.

"Why are you helping me?" Rose asked. "It can't just be because I'm friends with Susan."

"Also doing a friend a favor," Bones replied, quickly veering to the left on their way back. "That's all you need to know."

They walked past the rest of the aisles of boxes, then arrived in a separate room. A light turned on for them, and Rose found herself in a smaller room filled with boxes.

"Everything we've got on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers," Madame Bones said, folding her arms. "Starts from his rise to power, and ends with his demise back in '81."

"I'm going to be a minute," Rose said. "I've got research to do."

Rose spent the rest of Wednesday in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's record room, reviewing everything they had on Voldemort. By the end of it, she came to the same conclusion as Madame Bones had: Voldemort had most likely given Hufflepuff's Cup to Bellatrix Lestrange for safekeeping.

That left her with two problems: 1. What if Voldemort didn't give it to anyone? 2. How was she going to get any information out of Bellatrix Lestrange?

Saturday was the last Quidditch match of the season, and her friends wanted to go, so Rose put her search on hold for the day. Sunday she took off to Azkaban, hoping to learn something from the Death Eater.

Rose appeared in a dark, dreary castle. She saw Dementors floating around, but, like the ones at Hogwarts, they paid no attention to her.

"N4," Rose muttered. "Where's N4?"

Looking around her, all the cells had numbers on them, but no letters.

"That makes it difficult," Rose muttered.

After a good ten minutes of searching, Rose discovered that she was in the south wing of the prison. That meant she was looking for the north wing, so she went straight north.

As Rose walked through Azkaban, she sensed the misery of the prisoners. Their despair was all around her. They had no happiness; no hope. If someone wasn't bad before being thrown inside the forsaken isle, they would've been within a month.

"It really is just like Thedo Minor," Rose muttered.

It wasn't long before Rose came to her destination. Sitting in Cell N4 was a woman with wiry, black hair. She sat in the corner, smiling to herself as she muttered something Rose couldn't make out.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Rose said.

The woman looked up, her eyes darting left and right looking for the source of the noise. When she spotted Rose, her lips curled into a smile.

"You're a new one," she said. She rushed over to the bars of her cell. "What's wrong with your hair?"

She looked over Rose with the eyes of a predator assessing its prey. Rose stared back at her, her face betraying no emotion.

"You were a follower of Voldemort," Rose said.

"You dare speak his name?!" Bellatrix hissed. "Only those close to him would dare utter it!"

"Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort," Rose said. She knew annoying Bellatrix wasn't the best way to get her help, but Rose had no interest in showing kindness to the woman.

Bellatrix snarled at Rose.

"Or would you rather I call him 'Tommy'?" Rose asked.

To her surprise, the woman in the cage didn't get angrier, but instead smiled.

"Of all the hallucinations I've had, you might be my favorite," she said.

"Just like you were once the Dark Lord's favorite?" Rose asked.

"I don't like to brag, but yes, I am," Bellatrix said. "Whatever My Lord wants, My Lord gets."

"Is that why he's dead and you're locked up?"

As if someone flipped a switch, Bellatrix turned from delighted to enraged with a swift action.

"He is not dead!" she shrieked. "The Dark Lord will rise again, and he will purge the world of filth!"

Rose didn't exactly have a plan for getting the information out of Bellatrix, beyond possibly knocking her out and using probe thoughts on her. The problem with that plan, as Reflectesalon had pointed out to her, was she might take the opportunity to hit Bellatrix a little too hard.

"And when he does, he'll get you out of here?" Rose asked. "After all, you are his favorite."

"I am," Bellatrix cooed.

"Is that why he entrusted Lucius with his old diary, but gave nothing to you?"

A sly smile formed on Bellatrix's lips, and Rose knew she had her.

"Oh, but he did," Bellatrix said. "My Lord gave me something. Said it must be kept safe."

<Ref, anything?> Rose asked.

<She's hiding it. I can't tell what she's got.>

"What was it? What did Our Lord ask you to keep safe?"

Bellatrix chuckled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Rose did something then about which she'd only ever thought. She activated Serendipity and cast moment of prescience on herself. The eighth-level Divination spell gave her a bonus to a single check, and she needed all the help she could get. Just for additional support, she added owl's insight into the mix, giving herself +10 to Wisdom.

"Hufflepuff's Cup."

Rose activated moment of prescience, giving herself +20 on her next Sense Motive check. She concentrated on Bellatrix, looking for any sign that she'd hit a nerve. For just a moment, Rose felt that she understood the deranged woman before her. Everything Bellatrix did made perfect sense, right down to the way she worshiped Voldemort as a deity.

Bellatrix was valued as a Death Eater, something that she knew she deserved but was never given by anyone else. On some level, Rose understood that, but she what she understood more was the maniacal laughter that was emitted from the woman's mouth. She was excited because someone knew.

"Where is it, Bellatrix?" Rose asked.

"And why should I tell you?" Bellatrix asked. "We both know you're real."

Rose knew Bellatrix had a point, although she was a little shocked that the woman realized she wasn't a hallucination. She was more clear-minded than she let on, although that wasn't saying much. Unfortunately, now that Bellatrix knew what Rose was after, she wasn't going to give it up, not when it put that object at risk.

"Fair enough," Rose said.

Rose used greater dimension jumper to appear on the other side of the bars. She still had enhanced Wisdom, so she knew it was a bad idea to kill Bellatrix, no matter how badly she wanted to. Still, she knocked the woman to the ground.

"Listen closely, Bellatrix," Rose said, her foot planted firmly on Bellatrix's neck as the older woman struggled and thrashed against her. "I'm going to take the cup from you. That precious object that your master gave you to guard? I'm going to take it from you, and when Tommy returns, he'll find that you lost it to a Muggle-born." Rose leaned in close to the Death Eater and whispered, "and then he'll never come back for you."

Rose lifted her boot so the woman could talk.

"You filthy mudblood!" Bellatrix screamed.

Rose clamped her hand over Bellatrix's mouth.

"Instead of being angry at me, be angry at yourself. You brought this on yourself when you took Toad's parents from him."

Rose cracked the Death Eater on the head, knocking her unconscious.

Rose waited outside of Gringotts for the door to open. Her research said that it had somehow been warded against ghosts, so she couldn't just use ghostform to waltz in and take the cup.

While many thieves might have been deterred or angry by this, it made Rose excited instead. What she wanted from this was a challenge, and she was getting that challenge.

After reading Bellatrix's mind, Rose learned that the woman had put Hufflepuff's Cup in her vault in Gringotts. Allegedly, no one had ever successfully stolen anything from Gringotts, but then again, no one had ever broken into Azkaban, which Rose had done less than an hour ago.

When breaking into somewhere with as much security as Gringotts, Rose would've done more research, cased the target, learned the layout of it, and flawlessly (according to Rose, although Shadow's opinion differed) executed the heist. However, Rose didn't have the time. She wanted to hand Sally Hufflepuff's Cup so he'd remove the ward and she could talk to her family without concern for her friends.

The second the door opened, Rose bolted inside, completely invisible to anyone. She knew it wasn't going to be easy; no doubt Gringotts had top-notch security, but she was no ordinary thief.

Once inside, Rose slipped into a side room.

"I wish I knew the path to the Lestrange Vault," she whispered.

Rose's mind was instantly filled with the exact path she needed to take through Gringotts in order to find Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Now the trick was getting there without running into anyone. Rose didn't know exactly what security there was, so she didn't want to risk ghostform. For all she knew, an alarm would sound the second a ghost was detected in the vaults, or they would just be completely warded against ghosts.

Once again, Rose had to wait for the vault doors to open, so she opted to use the time to her advantage. She flipped through her notebook and found what she needed.

Rose began to shrink. Chunks of bone and cartilage protruded form her back, but quickly became tinted crimson. Her ears became pointed, but she otherwise remained the same. When her transformation concluded, she resembled a small fairy.

Rose, now in the form of a pixie, fluttered over to the door that led into the vaults. Within five minutes, it opened and she sped through.

What lay inside resembled a mine shaft, complete with carts. A goblin would take a client inside the cart, then the cart sped off into the darkness. Fortunately, there were no more doors for Rose to deal with, so she flew as fast as her new pixie wings would allow, activating greater dimension jumper as often as possible.

Rose flew down into the black, following find the path as far as it would take her. She didn't know how long it would take, or what other defences there were, but she didn't care. She was determined to find a way.

After about a minute, Rose encountered her mortal enemy: a door.

The railway was blocked off by a large, metal door. Rose could've broken it down with mountain hammer, but that would no doubt trigger an alarm, and Rose wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

Can't use ghostform, can't use greater blink, Rose thought. Wait, maybe I can.

Sk'lar had explained how dimension door and greater blink worked to her on more than one occasion, but he'd recently explained it again when she asked why they could work in Hogwarts. Dimension door worked by moving the caster into the Ethereal Plane, then folding space between their location and the destination, then moving the caster back to their original plane. Blink and greater blink worked the same way, which was why she could use them in Hogwarts. The wards stopped apparition, which, as Professor Dumbledore had explained, worked by folding space in the Material Plane (or Rowling Plane) rather than the Ethereal Plane. Thus, the wards were designed to stop casters from folding space, but Rose's spells didn't fold space in the current plane, so she could use them without impediment.

Rose successfully blinked through the door, cursing that she hadn't thought of that sooner.

I do that all the time. Why was I so fixated on using ghostform?

Rose flew unimpeded through Gringotts for nearly an hour before finding the Lestrange Vault. It was contained within a section Rose assumed was used for high security vaults, all of which were guarded by a dragon.

It was common knowledge that Rose didn't like dragons, but even she felt sorry for the beast for just a second. It was clearly underfed, and most likely miserable to be used in such a way. Rose found it a little insulting that creatures that were worshiped and feared in her world were used as pets in this one.

Rose returned to her original form, then blinked through the door into the vault.

Inside she found a large chamber covered in riches of all sorts. The floor was covered in coins, and the shelves were covered in art.

Now where is it?

Rose floated around the room, looking at the entire area under true seeing. After looking over the shelves, she found it. It stood on its own, appearing ordinary for something that she'd spent all week tracking.

She floated over to Hufflepuff's Cup, looking at it closely. She didn't know if it was a fake or what would happen when she touched it, but she wasn't going to wait to find out. Rose grabbed the cup and dimension doored out of the vault.

Rose appeared in the Chamber of Secrets and placed Hufflepuff's Cup on the ground.

"There!" she shouted. "Happy?!"

As with the last time she was there, a green-haired child rose out of the ground. He smiled when he saw her, as if seeing an old friend for the first time in years.

"Thank you, Rose," he said. "You've got no idea how much this–"

"Save it!" she barked. "I got it for you, now take down the ward!"

"You understand that I can't just snap my fingers and–"

Rose drew Serendipity and aimed her at the cup.

Sally flinched, then slowly held up his arms.

"I linked a single rune to the runes that hold the ward in place," Sally said. "It's beneath your left foot."

Rose wasn't going to take her eyes off him for a moment, so she slid her foot back and called out Intelligencer.

"Int, check the floor in front of my left foot," Rose ordered.

The expeditious messenger complied, flying down to the floor in front of Rose.

<There's a rune here.>

"How do I know it won't hurt me if I destroy it?" Rose asked.

"It won't, but the Blood Pact will harm me if you destroy it," Sally said. "I just need you to move, that's all."

Rose recalled Intelligencer, then lowered her wand. She took a few paces back, giving Sally a clear shot at the rune.

Sally raised his left arm. It turned red and lashed out at the rune, slicing it right down the middle.

"Done," Sally said. "Within five minutes, the ward will have completely faded."

Rose narrowed her eyes.

"How do I–"

"Check your hand."

Rose pulled off her glove, and saw that the rune was indeed fading.

"The terms have been met, so the deal has concluded."

Rose looked up at Sally.

"The ward remains around the Chamber of Secrets," Sally reminded her, "so I won't take it personally if you want to leave."

Rose didn't know what to say. She felt like she should thank Sally for dropping the ward, but he was the one that put it there in the first place. He had honored his deal, and that was something.

"Thanks for honoring the deal," Rose said.

"I didn't have a choice," Sally replied. "It's what I like about Blood Pacts. They force people to be honest."

Rose nodded. She still wanted to know what Sally intended to do with the cup, but she decided she had more pressing issues that needed her attention.

"See you soon, Sally," Rose said.

"I'll try to make the next one more of a challenge, Little Rosie," Sally replied.

Rose vanished, reappearing near the Room of Requirement. The sun was just beginning to peak out over the horizon as she paced back and forth along the hallway.

Once the door appeared, Rose ran inside so she could be alone.

"This is it," she said.

Rose took a deep breath.

<Shadow, are you there? Eom.>