I got up and looked around as Hermione was reaching for her beaded bag. The goblin that had been guiding us, looked like he had been in shock when he saw the three of us return to our normal sizes.

"What are you looking at?" Kam asked as she was getting up.

"We need him," said Griphook, "we cannot enter the vault without a Gringotts goblin. And we need the Clankers! The imperious curse is starting to wear off!"

"Imperio!" Harry said again; his voice echoed through the stone passage.

Bogrod submitted once more to his will, his befuddled expression changing to one of polite indifference, as Ron hurried to pick up the leather bag of metal tools the goblin had been carrying.

"Harry, I think I can hear people coming," said Hermione, and she pointed her wand at the waterfall and cried, "Protego."

They saw the Shield Charm break the flow of enchanted water as it flew up the passageway.

"Good thinking," said Harry, "lead the way, Griphook!"

"How are we going to get out again?" Ron asked, as they hurried on foot into the darkness after the goblin; Bogrod panting in their wake like an old dog. "I mean, we clearly have three extra people that still should be shrunken!"

"I must've messed something up when I mixed the ingredients together," Hermione said.

"Do you have more in that bloody, beaded bag, Hermione?" Astoria asked, out of breath.

"Unfortunately, no. Marcus and Alex didn't have enough, or else I would've made plenty just in case this happened!" she shrieked back.

"Let's worry about that when we have to," said Harry. He was trying to listen: he thought he could hear something clanking and moving around nearby. "Griphook, how much further?"

"Not far, Harry Potter, not far ..."

And they turned a corner and saw something that non of us had been prepared for, and it brought all of us to a halt.

"Holy f-!" Kamrynn screamed.

I grabbed her and covered her mouth so she wouldn't catch it's attention because a gigantic dragon was tethered to the ground in front of us, barring access to four or five of the vaults in the place. The beast's scales had turned pale and flaky during its long incarceration under the ground; its eyes were milkily pink: both rear legs bore heavy cuffs from which chains led toenormous pegs driven deep into the rocky floor. Its great, spiked wings, folded close to its body, would have filled the chamber if it spread us, and when it turned its ugly head towards us, it roared with a noise that made the rock tremble, opened its mouth and spat a jet of fire that sent them running back up the passageway.

"It is partially blind," panted Griphook, "but even more savage for that. However, we have the means to control it. It has learned what to expect when the Clankers come. Give them to me."

Ron passed the bag to Griphook and the goblin pulled out a number of small metal instruments that when shaken made a loud, ringing noise like miniature hammers on anvils. Griphook handed them out: Bogrod accepted his meekly.

"You know what to do," Griphook told Harry, Ron and Hermione. "It will expect pain when it hears the noise: it will retreat, and Bogrod must place his palm upon the door of the vault."

We advanced round the corner again; Harry shaking the Clankers and the noise echoed off the rocky walls, grossly magnified, so that the inside of my skull seemed to vibrate with the din. The dragon let out another hoarse roar, then retreated. I saw that it was trembling, and as we drew nearer, I saw the scars made by vicious slashes across its face, and guessed that it had been taught to fear hot swords when it heard the sound of the Clankers.

"Make him press his hand to the door!" Griphook urged Harry, who turned his wand again upon Bogrod.

The old goblin obeyed, pressing his palm to the wood, and the door of the vault melted away to reveal a cave-like opening crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures, some with long spines, others with drooping wings, potions in jeweled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown.

"Bellatrix is hella rich," Kam smirked as she took in the sight.

I shook my head.

"Search, fast," Harry directed.

I figured that we were looking for Hufflepuff's cup because Harry had described Hufflepuff's cup to us the night before, but if it was the other, unknown Horcrux that resided in this vault, no one knew what it looked like. We barely had time to glance around, however, before there was a muffled clunk from behind them: the door had reappeared, sealing them inside the vault, and they were plunged into total darkness.

"No matter, Bogrod will be able to release us!" said Griphook, as Ron gave a shout of surprise. "Light your wands, can't you? And hurry, we have very little time!"

"Lumos!" we all shouted at the same time.

I shone his lit wand around the vault: its beam fell upon glittering jewels, the fake sword of Gryffindor lying on a high shelf amongst a jumble of chains. We all set upon look through the piles of items set before us.

"Harry, could this be –? Aargh!" Hermione screamed in pain and Harry turned his wand on her in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip: but as it fell it split, and became a shower of goblets, so that a second later, with a great clatter, the floor was covered in identical cups rolling in every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them.

"It burned me!" moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered fingers.

"They have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses!" said Griphook. "Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless – and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!"

"OK, don't touch anything!" said Harry desperately, but even as he said it, Kam accidentally nudged one of the fallen goblets with her foot, and twenty more exploded into being while Ron hopped on the spot, part of her shoe burned away by contact with the hot metal.

"Fuck!" she yelled, hopping up and down on one foot. "Fuck that hurts!"

"Stand still, don't move!" said Hermione, clutching at Kam.

Kamrynn pushed Hermione to the side. "Bitch, you best keep your hands off of me."

"Just look around!" said Harry. "Remember, the cup's small and gold, it's got a badger engraved on it, two handles – otherwise see if you can spot Ravenclaw's symbol anywhere, the eagle –"

We directed their wands into every nook and crevice, turning cautiously on the spot. It was impossible not to brush up against anything; Harry sent a great cascade of fake Galleons on to the ground where they joined the goblets, and now there was scarcely room to place their feet, and the glowing gold blazed with heat, so that the vault felt like a furnace. My wandlight passed over shields and goblinmade helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling. Higher and higher I raised the beam, until suddenly Harry let out a small shriek.

"It's there, it's up there!"Astoria shouted. 

Ron and Hermione pointed their wands at it too, so that the little golden cup sparkled in a three-way spotlight: the cup that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, which had passed into the possession of Hepzibah Smith, from whom it had been stolen by Tom Riddle.

"And how the hell are we going to get up there without touching anything?!" asked Ron.

"Accio cup!" cried Hermione, but nothing happened.

"You're such a dumb bitch," Kamrynn rolled her eyes.

"No use, no use!" snarled Griphook.

"Then what do we do?" asked Harry, glaring at the goblin. "If you want the sword, Griphook, then you'll have to help us more than – wait! Can I touch stuff with the sword? Hermione, give it here!"

Hermione fumbled inside her robes, drew out the beaded bag, rummaged for a few seconds, then removed the shining sword. Harry seized it by its rubied hilt and touched the tip of the blade to a silver flagon nearby, which did not multiply.

"If I can just poke the sword through a handle – but how am I going to get up there?"

The shelf on which the cup reposed was out of reach for any of them, even Ron, who was tallest.The heat from the enchanted treasure rose in waves, and sweat ran down Harry's face and back as he struggled to think of a way up to the cup; and then he heard the dragon roar on the other side of the vault door, and the sound of clanking growing louder and louder.

We were truly trapped now: there was no way out except through the door, and a horde of goblins seemed to be approaching on the other side. Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and saw terror in their faces.

"Hermione," said Harry, as the clanking grew louder, "I've got to get up there, we've got to get rid of it –"

I raised my wand, impatient because of the circumstances, and pointed it at Harry and whispered, "Levicorpus."

Hoisted into the air by his ankle, Harry hit a suit of armour and replicas burst out of it like whitehot bodies, filling the cramped space. With screams of pain Ron, Hermione, Kamrynn, Astoria, me and the two goblins were knocked aside into other objects, which also began to replicate. Half-buried in a rising tide of red-hot treasure, we struggled and yelled as Harry thrust the sword through the handle of Hufflepuff's cup, hooking it on to the blade.

"Impervius!" screeched Hermione, in an attempt to protect all of us from the burning metal.

Kamrynn let out a terrible scream as all of us were waiste deep in the treasure. It was all I could do to keep my composure so Harry didn't drop out of the air. Griphook had sunk out of sight and nothing but the tips of a few long fingers were left in view. Astoria lifted her wand up and helped me keep Harry from falling. 

Harry seized Griphook's fingers and pulled. The blistered goblin emerged by degrees, howling.

"Liberacorpus!" yelled Harry, and with a crash he and Griphook landed on the surface of the swelling treasure, and the sword flew out of Harry's hand.

Astoria and I both put down our wands and looked to see which direction the sword had flown. Harry landed with a slight thud. Kamrynn was crying as Ron pulled her onto his back. It didn't seem that she could take this much longer. Hermione was the same. I reached my hand out towards her.

'Get it!' Harry yelled, fighting the pain of the hot metal on his skin, as Griphook clambered on to his shoulders again, determined to avoid the swelling mass of red-hot objects. "Where's the sword? It had the cup on it!"

The clanking on the other side of the door was growing deafening – it was too late –

"There!"

It was Griphook who had seen it and Griphook who lunged, and in that instant, I realized that the goblin had never expected them to keep his word. One hand holding tightly to a fistful of Harry's hair to make sure he did not fall into the heaving sea of burning gold, Griphook seized the hilt of the sword and swung it high out of Harry's reach.

The tiny golden cup, skewered by the handle on the sword's blade, was flung into the air. The goblin still astride him, Harry dived and caught it, and although he could feel it scalding his flesh he did not relinquish it, even while countless Hufflepuff cups burst from his fist, raining down upon him as the entrance of the vault opened up again and he found himself sliding uncontrollably on an expanding avalanche of fiery gold and silver that bore him, Ron and Hermione into the outer chamber.

Hardly aware of the pain from the burns covering his body, and still borne along on the swell of replicating treasure, Harry shoved the cup into his pocket and reached up to retrieve the sword, but Griphook was gone. Sliding from Harry's shoulders the moment he could, he had sprinted for cover amongst the surrounding goblins, brandishing the sword and crying, "Thieves! Thieves! Help! Thieves!" and He vanished into the midst of the advancing crowd, all of whom were holding daggers and who accepted him without question.