Break-In at Gringotts

"Bye~!" Anne screeched over the crowd, unfazed by the looks being thrown at her. How can she constantly be unabashed by everything? A soft, silent, chuckle leaves my mouth as she jauntily glides over to another first-year Hufflepuff. I believe her name is Grace Nutley if I recall correctly.

Giving a sheepish wave in return, I turn my back and move to descend into the dungeons. My glide to the class stops abruptly as I reach the first step down. I can feel my breath hitch as the change from bright brown, copper-looking, bricks to cool grey dark stone knocks the wind out of me.

The cool wind that wafts from down the stairs, the air, heavy with moisture, the cold that permeates underground places; it all slaps me back. It looks just like… just like before. I clutch the railing on my right as my legs quit on me. The rail becomes slick with the sweat that begins to coat my skin. My nerves fire up, shooting the phantom pain from my cage throughout my body. Her words play on repeat in my mind and join in the symphonic horror of her cackles.

You filth! How dare your dirty eyes meet mine!

Your existence is a stain on our pure legacy!

Weak filth!

As her words stab my psyche as I fight for both my breath and footing. I'm not weak, I'm not. I'm not some pathetic little girl anymore. My other hand begins to desperately cling to my holstered wand; Clutching it harder than the railing.

I'm not defenseless, not anymore. Slowly, the fight in my mind starts to soften. Focusing on my heartbeat, Zach's words echo through my mind. In, and out. In, and out. My breathing leveling, I wipe the sweat off my forehead as I start my descent into the dungeons.

Out of the handful of students going to class this early, they all distance themselves from me as I glide down the hall. My haunted face acting like a magnet of equal polarity, repelling people as if the memories that chill my being to the bone are infectious.

Don't let them see. Keep your cold mask on. Don't let it slip or they'll tear me to pieces. If they see then I'll be back in that cell. Keeping my head up, as I fight the burning in my throat, I pretend to not notice their whispers, the stars as I march forward. Night Vision works overtime in the dungeon hallway as only the metal torches light the way. Although the hallway equals the above-ground ones in height, the musty air and dim lighting subtract from the space. Mind fixated on holding back… everything, the wicked grin and Dick's disheveled quiff go unnoticed as he enters the trench dug around me.

Avoiding eye contact, he brushes past me with intentional force. Surprise wipes the grin off his face as I refuse to go down. Anger boils past his facade as we pass by each other. His jaw clenches at my disobedience and decides to make one final effort.

Fully past each other at this point, he sticks his hand out to grab the strap of my bag and puts strength in one, unnoticeable, yank. The pull from my bag on my shoulder shoves me out of my mental fixation as I have to choose between falling to the ground or the strap tearing.

Instinct kicks in as years of experience order my body to let the force take me to the ground. My body slams to the ground with such force to the point that there would have been an audible smash.

Confused at the lack of a satisfying sound to join my kick to the ground, the failure of a Prefect picks up his pace slightly. Looking back, he lets out a frustrated grunt at the lack of visible reaction. Eyes connecting, his pupils turn to pinpricks at my blank stare.

A sigh escapes my mouth as I look at my belongings scattered through the hall. I should learn the Pack Charm, the thought of learning a new spell lifts my mood slightly as I gather my books, pens, potion supplies, parchment paper, and my copy of The Daily Prophet.

Brushing my skirt, I distract myself with the memory of the newspaper's content as I continue to glide to Potions.

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

I remember when news of the break-in first hit. During the first day or two after the break-in, people flooded Diagon Alley to know more. Some were fine with their explanation, and some emptied their vault. It might seem stupid for them too but a break-in happens only once in a decade, maybe two.

The only reason why that article jumped out at me was its placement. A break-in at one of the most secure wizarding bank's in the world is news! It's a big deal and yet the update was hidden deep in the paper.

The article's content was weird too. It mentioned the possibility of Dark wizards yet it never mentioned a statement from the lead Auror? The wording implies that the person who broke in actually made it INSIDE the vault! That's a big deal, so why isn't this article downplaying it so much?

The fact that the vault was emptied right before makes it even weirder. You can't empty a vault in a day, too much gold. And even if they were steadily moving gold out you'd hear about that sort of thing. It must have been only one or two things in the vault. If an entire vault was dedicated to just a few items then it, or they, must be something incredibly valuable and owned by a wealthy wizard.

So this just raises the question that the spokesgoblin stupidly brought up, what was in the vault? Puzzlement, almost, pushed the fact that I'm underground out of my mind as I entered Mr.Snape's Potions room.