The moment the dragon spotted them, its head turned sharply toward them, nostrils flaring as it drew in a breath.
Victor's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."
He kicked the goblin aside and grabbed Hermione and Harry, shoving them behind a stone pillar. A blast of fire erupted across the chamber, roaring over the spot where they'd been standing a second earlier, forcing Victor to duck behind the pillar with them.
Harry stared at him. "That was close."
"Yes. Very."
The dragon pulled against its chains, roaring as it tried to reach them.
Hermione glanced at the creature. "How are we supposed to get past that?"
Victor kept watching from behind the pillar, eyes scanning the chamber, until hespotted a small wooden box beside some old equipment. "Stay here."
He crossed the chamber, picked up the box, and opened it. Inside were several strange metal instruments. He recognised them immediately, and a grin crossed his face. "Hehehe."
Harry looked at him suspiciously. "What?"
Victor turned to the goblin. "How did you know these could control the dragon?"
The goblin gave him an irritated look. "It is trained."
Victor took one of the instruments and shook it. A sharp, piercing bell-like noise rang through the chamber. The dragon recoiled instantly, pulling against its chains and lowering its head, backing away from the sound, visibly frightened.
Harry stared at it. "What is happening?"
"The dragon was trained to fear this sound," Victor explained. "They raised it this way so whenever the sound plays, it gets frightened and retreats."
Hermione watched it cower, her expression changing. "That's horrible."
"It might be." Victor looked back toward the vault. "But it's also the reason we're getting past it."
Harry watched the dragon move away from their path. "I almost feel sorry for it."
"So do I," Hermione said.
Victor switched the sound on again and started moving toward the vault. "Save the sympathy for later. We still have a Horcrux to destroy."
The goblin led them down the narrow passage toward the high-security vaults, Harry, Hermione, and Victor following closely, the bell-like device still ready in case the dragon became a problem again.
Eventually the goblin stopped in front of a massive stone door marked with the Lestrange family crest, raised his hand, and pressed his palm against the centre. A deep metallic rumble followed, then several clicks from the locking mechanism, and the enormous door began to swing open, revealing the dark interior of the vault.
The goblin stepped aside with a crooked grin. "Hehehe... go inside."
Hermione stared at him a moment, then leaned closer to Victor. "I think your Imperius Curse might have made him less intelligent," she whispered.
Victor glanced at the goblin, still grinning stupidly. "That's possible," he admitted. "Although I'm not sure he was particularly bright to begin with."
Harry gave him an annoyed look. "Can we stop insulting the goblin and get the Cup?"
"Fine." Victor stepped toward the open vault.
They stepped inside and all three stopped.
The room was enormous. Gold, jewels, silverware, ancient weapons, goblets, jewellery, and countless other valuables were piled from the floor almost to the ceiling — some stacked neatly on shelves, others thrown into heaps over the years, making it hard to tell where one pile ended and another began.
Hermione raised her wand, illuminating the vault. "Victor, do you know what the cup looks like? Because finding one particular cup among all this is going to be practically impossible."
Victor raised his wand too, looking around, a little awestruck by the sheer amount of treasure. He knew what they were looking for, but seeing the vault made the task feel considerably harder. "It's a small golden cup. Two handles, and there should be a badger engraved on it."
Harry looked at the mountains of treasure. "That's not exactly going to narrow it down."
"No," Victor admitted, pointing his wand toward the nearest pile. "And don't touch anything."
Hermione understood immediately. "Because of the enchantments?"
"Exactly. These objects have been cursed with Gemino and Flagrante — touch something and it multiplies, and the copies can get dangerously hot. If we start grabbing things randomly, we'll bury ourselves in here."
Harry looked at the piles around them. "So how are we supposed to find one cup when there are hundreds of them?"
Victor glanced at him. "Might be difficult for us. But I think you can do it."
Harry frowned. "Me?"
"Just point toward whatever you feel drawn to. If you get a hunch that something's important, tell us." That was the reason he'd brought Harry — his connection to Voldemort.
Hermione looked at Victor. "You think Harry will be able to recognise the Horcrux?" She still didn't understand how that would work.
"I think so."
Harry began moving slowly through the vault, letting his wandlight sweep across the piles while Hermione and Victor searched from the other side. The golden objects seemed endless, but he kept looking, trusting the strange pull Victor had told him to follow.
Then he saw a cup that drew him in, and without thinking he raised his hand to touch it.
Victor stopped him.
"That's enough, Harry," Victor said, watching the smile spread across Harry's face.
*****
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