Chereads / Harry Potter The Final Straw / Chapter 131 - A Dangerous Return

Chapter 131 - A Dangerous Return

Hermione was looking over Harry's disguise carefully. She found that he made a attractive girl and that made her blush just a tiny bit while she inspected him. With a twirling motion of her fingers to him, he pirouetted on the spot slowly allowing her to see him from behind.

Not sensing anything but reassurance from the bond, Harry did as Hermione requested and pirouetted so she could see his entire disguise.

Slowly, Hermione stepped up to Harry, hugged him tightly, and whispered into his ear, "It's a perfect disguise, Harry. No one will recognize you at all. I think you look great but don't get too used to wearing my clothes."

When they parted, Harry was blushing furiously and Hermione was sporting a small smile with a hint of color on her cheeks. Bolstered by Hermione's support, Harry turned to the adults and said in a falsetto voice while flipping his hair over his shoulder, "Shall we be going? I need to have my hair done this afternoon and I don't want to be late."

Hermione cracked up at Harry's imitation of a female Draco Malfoy while the adults were highly amused.

"Okay, now that you lot are all done laughing at me, let's get going. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back into my own clothes." Harry opined while making his way towards the front door.

Harry and Dora were the last ones to leave the house while they waited for everyone to get into position. Everyone had disguised themselves in some fashion except for Andromeda. She was usually seen in the Alley during the mornings so it wasn't unusual.

Dora apparated them to the alley just outside the Leaky Cauldron and they made their way inside. She noticed Harry fidgeting and hissed quietly, "Stop fussing. You look fine."

Harry's only response was to glare at her but he did relax a bit. His feet were a touch sore from the low-heeled shoe and he felt a little exposed even though he knew that everything was covered by the dress and robes. Plastering on a vapid smile, he pretended to inspect his nails like he had seen Lavender and Parvati do hundreds of times.

"Come on, sweetie. We don't want to be late for our appointment." Dora said with a light laugh in her voice as she watched Harry put on a show. She was definitely going to show this memory to everyone using a Pensieve. Especially, the memory of the two old guys in the corner leering at the Boy-In-Drag.

Harry and Dora stepped out into Diagon Alley and discretely checked to see if everyone was in place. Spotting everyone, they began heading up towards Gringotts. It had been decided that going to the bank first was the better course of action. The change in plans would allow them to beat the lunchtime traffic at the bank and to enter the Ministry while everyone else was hurrying off to eat.

It was Harry's first time back to the bank since before his first year and even though he was in disguise, he was eager to visit his vault again. What he hadn't expected was the reception that they received.

The Goblins had seemed so polite to him during his first trip there. Looking back, it could have been because he was a child but he wasn't quite sure. The teller was sneering down at them in contempt as they approached the counter. With a surprisingly high-pitched voice, the goblin growled, "What do you want?"

Unnoticed by either Harry or Dora, the goblin had pressed a button beneath his desk that started recording everything said or done at his station. The goblins were in the business of making money and information was worth more than its weight in gold.

Harry stepped forward, placed his key on the counter, and said calmly, but quietly, in his disguised voice, "I would like to visit my vault."

The goblin inspected the key for a moment then looked back up at the two humans in front of him. The key was genuine and that meant that the young woman in disguise was probably Harry Potter. With a feral grin, the goblin quietly purred, "Right this way, Ms. Potter."

Harry and Dora barely managed to contain their shock at being discovered so easily. In response, each of them covertly palmed their wands as they followed the goblin down to the cart.

Dora was going through their options while they sped towards Harry's vault. Originally, the plan was to leave a few pieces of gold in the bank like Sirius had done earlier. Now, she knew that they were too exposed so they were going to take everything. Her biggest worry was what to do about the nasty little blighter driving the cart.

When they reached Harry's vault, the goblin snapped, "Key." and held out a clawed hand expectantly.

Before Harry could hand the key to the small creature, Dora stopped him with a touch, took the key from him, and then handed it to the goblin. Something was bothering her and the longer they were down here the worse that feeling was becoming. Returning the goblin's sneer, Dora snapped waspishly, "Wait outside, we will be done in a moment."

Without waiting for an answer, she swept Harry past the disgruntled goblin and pulled the door partially closed behind them. Quietly, she whispered, "Take it all, something is not right here. I'll watch the door."

Harry didn't argue with her assessment, he was feeling decidedly uneasy as well. The shoulder bag that he was carrying was actually an enchanted bag that would easily hold the contents of his vault. He opened the bag and set it on the floor before beginning to levitate the piles of gold into it.

While Harry was working, Dora had discreetly warded the door to prevent the goblin from eavesdropping. Once she was sure that the Goblin couldn't hear what was going on, she whispered, "How much longer?" while never taking her eyes off their minder.

"Almost done." Harry whispered back as he franticly transferred the last pile of gold into his bag. A tense minute later, he stepped over to Dora and said, "Finished. What are you going to do about him?" he indicated the goblin outside with a flick of his finger.

Thinking frantically about what to do, the strain was evident in Dora's voice as she spoke, "I'm either going to Obliviate him or put him under the Imperious Curse."

Having been on the receiving end of one and experiencing a near miss with the other, Harry nodded his head in acceptance before asking, "Do you need me to distract him?"

"That would be the easiest thing. Move so you have him between us before you talk to him. I'll strike the moment he turns his attention to you." Dora whispered grimly.

She cancelled the charm on the door and Harry walked out to distract their escort.

Putting the goblin between them, Harry cleared his throat, and said in his normal voice, "Excuse me. How did you know who I was?"

....

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