Augustus Rookwood knew right where the diadem was. He didn't bother to gawk at the unrestricted volume of items that were stored within his master's vault. The rest of his team was doing enough of that for him. Idiots. Over the year, Voldemort had acquired quite a hefty collection of dark artifacts. His travels had taken him all over the world and it showed.

The urge to pocket some of them were almost too tempting to resist, but he knew better than that. His Master would slowly obliterate anyone that stole from him. He had seen the man in action to many times to be so foolish. If any of his team were idiotic enough to try…well, it would be interesting to see how long they would last. Forgiveness is not a word that one associates with his Master.

For that reason, he marched to the hiding place of his Master's most prized possession, ignoring everything else around him. He refused to be distracted by thing that would get him painfully executed. If he had, he might have seen the two house elves that were watching them. One was dressed in a regal suit and the other in a majestic gown, both wore the crest of the House of Potter on them.

Duncan and his life mate Vonda watched silently as the bootlickers, as Master Harry was fond of calling them, searched the vault. They repressed their anger at the thieving scum, as it was a necessary evil. Master Harry had been very clear on what they were supposed to do.

Vonda slowly slid her hand into the one of her mate. She smiles slightly; it always sent a shiver down to her toes whenever she touched him. Duncan's scowl softened a little when she did it, though his eyes never left his target.

For five generations he has been the personal elf to Lord Potter, as Vonda had been to Lady Potter. They had been trained differently than other house elves. They were properly educated in all aspects of Wizarding Society, and understand them better than many on the Wizengamot do.

Most Wizarding aristocrats as a rule barely registered house elves unless they needed something. Lord Alexander Potter often used this to his advantage at dinner parties, and acquired most of his wealth through the practice. Many a skeleton had escaped from their closets due to good wine and the loose lips of aristocrats that should have been more aware of who was serving them. Duncan was quite pleased when Master Charles forbade them from continuing the practice. He found the whole thing dreadfully untactful.

"You have kept my bed warm for over a century my love." Vonda's voice was soft but unwavering. Duncan gave her hand a small squeeze to show her that he heard her. He knew this conversation was coming and he would let her have her say.

"In that time I have watched you serve and watch over five generations of Potters. I have seen you smile down at them upon their births, worry over the choices they made, steady them as they prepared to bond with their life mates, and I've watched you weep over their graves. So please tell me why you feel that you must at this point die for them?"

"Master Harry did not ask this of me. This is my choice. He knows nothing of this, nor will he."

"He would not approve of this."

"I know that my love. These bastards robbed Master Charles of his life and Master James of the honor of sharing a warm bed with his mate and watching his youngling grow. For sixteen years we have heard his painting weep for those losses." Vonda bowed her head in shame. She had grown accustom to the sound. She pushed it to the back of her mind as if it was a creak in a loose floorboard. To her mate it was like daggers in his heart. She lost count of how many sleepless nights he would sit and talk to the panting of James Potter. She never asked of what they talked about. It was private and she would never pry out of respect.

"I do not intend to shirk my bed warming duty to my life mate. Please understand that this is something that I cannot or will not let pass. This is as much for Master Harry as it is for Master James."

"I'm not an idiot Duncan! This is for you as well. I know you better than you know yourself my love. Just promise me…that you will come back to me."

"You have had possession of my heart for over a century. How could I not?"

"Good answer."

Rookwood had found the diadem just where Voldemort had said it would be. It was conveniently hidden in an old grandfather clock. He knew that it would kill any that touched it. He cast a wordless summoning charm, expecting the doors to burst open and the diadem to fly into his hands. However nothing happened. Again he cast the charm and again it was for naught. Frustration was starting to set in when he saw a suit of armor nearby.

"You there! Open that door!" He ordered a suit of armor after he had casted a spell to make it do his bidding. Zilch. Next Augustus performed a simple spell just to make sure that magic worked in the room. He wouldn't put it past his master to test him, or perhaps it was another trick left by Potter brat.

This time it worked. He noticed that his fellow Death Eaters were looking around worried. Something wasn't right about this vault. He felt it in his gut. The hairs on the back of his neck unexpectedly stood on end. Immediately he wished that he was asked to go fetch the body of James Potter instead of this damn diadem.

Duncan brought a finger to his temple and withdrew the memory of what he just witnessed. The silver memory dangled off the tip of his finger. He pulled a small vial out of thin air and deposited the silver liquid into it.

"Take this to Lady Potter." Duncan said as he handed the vial to his mate. Her hands were trembling when she took it. She knew that this may be the last time she would possibly touch her mate.

"Remember what I said, my love." Escaped Vonda's lips before hers claimed his. He never saw the tear streak down his cheek before she popped away. Duncan steeled himself, and then faced the enemy of his master. With a snap of the house elf's fingers the illusion in the vault vanished to revel an empty vault with mirrored walls.

Lily was just finished reading the letter that Dobby had delivered to her. It was in between classes so she took refuge in her office as opposed to going to the teacher's lounge. She told Dobby that on the future to deliver any messages from his Mistress directly to her office. It startled a few of the first years when he popped out if nowhere. Though, this gave her a perfect opportunity to introduce the students to a house elf, and to stress that they should be treated with respect and kindness.

She and the rest of the Marauders had found that house elves were a faster and more reliable means to send messages to each other. However it would not have been good if Dobby had popped in during her seventh year class. It was due to start in about five minutes and Draco would be there. She wasn't sure if he would recognize Dobby, but she didn't want to take the chance. She and Narcissa had kept their friendship secret for so long. It would put Cissy in unnecessary danger if it was discovered now.

Like it or not, Draco was on their enemy's team as of right now. She thought of her friend's request. She wasn't sure if she could deliver on it. Her being muggle born would be a huge handicap. She remembered how Harry and Draco would play together whenever Narcissa could sneak a proper visit. He was such a sweet boy back then, before Lucius twisted his mind. Everything that she had heard about him, led her to believe that it was a lost cause. Still, she would try.

Lily was so deep in thought that she didn't hear Vonda pop into her office. It wasn't until she felt her soft hand on her forearm that Lily looked up. Her personal house elf was holding a small vial with a silvery liquid in it. Vonda gave the vial to her Mistress.

"Already?" Lily asked as it registered what was probably in the vial. It was then that she saw that Vonda's cheeks were covered in tears.

"What happened?" When the house elf didn't answer her immediately, Lily knew that Duncan must have ordered her silence.

"As you Mistress, I hereby order you to tell me what has or is about to happen." Vonda was trained to control her emotions in front of humans and had done so for over a century. Today that tradition was broken. She was only able to get out a Thank you Mistress, before Vonda bursted into tears and threw herself at her Mistress. Lily cradled Vonda in her arms as the house elf wept into her chest. She told Lily everything that Duncan was planning on doing.

"Cub, you got that look." Lupin asked with a raised temple

"And what look is the Moony?" Harry questioned him with a look he thought was expressionless.

"The same look your father got when he was conflicted by something. So, spill it already." Remus prodded Harry. He knew it was only a matter of time before Harry couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Fine! You know it's really annoying that you can see right through my best poker face. Just how do you do that anyway? Mum, Padfoot, I can even snow Nympy most the time, but you can see right past it."

"I've known you dad since we were able to pee our names in the snow. Like it or not, you have all his mannerisms. As for your mum, let's just say she humors you a lot more than you know."

"OH SHIT! Just how much does she know?"

"That's between the two of you. You'll just have to ask her yourself."

"No thanks, I still haven't gotten over the talk we just had." Harry said as he used his fingers to give emphasis to the words the talk.

"Perhaps she should have given you The Talk, before my cousin hauled you off to a Succubus Colony to get your oats sowed." Narcissa teased as she came in with a tray of tea for them.

"Why does everyone think we went there to fuck our brains out? Hello…an eighty foot Basilisk was on the loose. They called us for help, or has everyone forgotten that. As I recall, I even saved one of their younglings from becoming breakfast." Harry said in his defense. It was really irritating that everyone thought he was there to get his freak on.

"From what I heard, her mother was very grateful, as was her two sisters. Just out of curiosity, how many times did they thank you?" Narcissa inquired with an amused smirk on her face. Harry's face paled instantly.

"You know about that?" She nodded. That meant if she knew, than his mum was probably the one who told her. How was he ever going to look his mum in the eye again?

"Like I said Cub, Lily humors you a lot."

"She talked to the child's mother herself. She was very proud of you for what you did for them and very pissed that you put yourself that close to death to do it. As for the rest…it's not my place to say." Narcissa added as she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, before she left the office. Harry found that he was very grateful that he skipped breakfast, because it would have been all over Remus's new office.

"Now what seems to be bothering you Cub?" Moony asked in an attempt to change the very sensitive subject. The gratitude on Harry's face was overwhelming.

"I had a very interesting conversation with Madame Bones today."

"I see."

"You were there the night that Longbottom went to the Department of Mysteries right?"

"Yes I was." Remus said very guardedly. Harry looked like a dog with a bone. Lily and his wife both made him swear to not tell Harry that Ginny Weasley was the one that he and Nymphadora rescued. Though, the reasons for keeping it secret no longer existed, and he felt Harry had every right to know. He had given his word, so he was honor bound to keep the secret.

"Did that bitch Lestrange take Ginny Weasley prisoner that night? Harry knew that the wolf in Moony's mind made it impossible to be Obliviated.

"I can't answer that question Cub." Remus said with regret, as he closed his eyes and shook his head. He hated being in this position.

"Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Harry said with a colossal grin. He knew that if he was wrong, Moony would have simply said no.

A large silvery white patronus pounced into the office, and slid to a halt right in front of Harry. All doubts in his mind were crushed as he looked at a perfect copy of his animangus form that was in front of him. He was surprised by the amount joy he was feeling at that moment. I found her! Only to have dagger plunged into his heart as he heard Ginny's voice tell him the message.

"CALL ALL AVAILABLE MARAUDERS TO GRINGOTTS!" Harry yelled as he leap to his feet, and activated his Signet ring that also served as a portkey

"Hold on Cub! We don't know the situation yet!" But it was too late Harry was already gone.

Ginny knew she didn't have the time to wait for Harry to get there. She could hear the Death Eaters on the other side of the door and it would be only a matter of time before they would break through the spell George casted.

Tonks had often told her that in combat situations that you should always go with your strengths. She had taught Ginny some hand to hand, as well as some wicked spells that didn't use up too much magic. She had a feeling that she would be putting a large strain on her magical core today. She didn't want to run out of juice at the wrong time.

Fred and George were looking at her like they were expecting an answer to their questions. They would have to be disappointed for now, because that was the least of their worries. They needed a plan and they needed it quickly. They also needed one of them to take command. Since her brothers weren't stepping up to do that, it was up to her.

"Alright! Empty your pockets boys. I need to see what we have to work with." Ginny said taking command, as every story Tonks ever told her came into her mind.

"Oi! Who put you…"

"In charge?"

"You two did when you just stood there with your wands up your bum's. We don't have the time for a peeing contest right now. Trust me boys, you won't like my aim." Ginny finished her statement with her wand aimed at their heads, and both of the gulped. Ginny took that as an endorsement of her leadership. With that silliness behind them, she focused on what they had to do.

"Good…now empty you pockets and let's see what we have to work with." It was then that Ginny realized that she was still wearing Harry's robe. She knew from personal experience that it was made out of Basilisk skin, so she was pretty sure that it would repel most curses. Not, that she wanted to test that theory anytime soon. Harry had been full of surprises today and she hoped his robe was full of them too. She reached into the side pockets and found them empty. She let out a disappointed groan, then she remembered how he made has motorbike disappear into the inside layer of his robe the previous night.

She touched the inner coating and it was ice cold and rippled like water. She silently wished for something good to defend them with, as she plunged her hand into the unknown. Fred and George stopped what they were doing as they watched Ginny's hand and then half her arm disappear into the lining of the robe. The robe itself looked as if she had never touched it. George went so far as to poke the other side of it to be sure.

"Wicked" They both said at the same time. To Ginny it was an odd sensation to say the least. It was ice cold when she first touched it, but now it was only slightly cold. Her arm had a tingling sensation as all the hairs on her forearm stood on end. At first she thought nothing was going to happen and then she felt something cold, round, and metallic in her hand. She pulled her hand out to see a silver ball with a red button on it and a lightning bolt etched onto the side if it.

"What in the bloody…"

"Hell is that?"

"Shock Grenade"

"How do you know?" Asked George

"Haven't the foggiest…just do. What do you lot have?"

The total tally was 7 pouches of instant darkness powder, 5 decoy detonators, 2 portable swamp bombs, and a variety box of shrunken goodies, as George put it.

"Will that swamp fill up the entire room?" Ginny asked as a plan started to form in her head. Fred gave affirming thumbs up. Ginny told them to get move some desks to the far walls and to get on them. As they did that, the sounds of spells hitting the door was getting louder. They were running out of time. As soon as they were safely on the desks, Ginny cast a chameleon charm on her brothers and then lastly herself. Fred and George jaws dropped as their skin and clothes changed to look like what they were standing next to. Their little sister was proving to be a bolt out of the blue.

"Before you ask, no I won't teach you the spell. I don't need the two of you camped out in the Harpies locker room. Fred set off the portable swamp as soon as they come in the room." Ginny couldn't see it, but she was sure they were both pouting.

As if on cue, the door was blasted open and the room was filled with Death Eaters. In all there were ten of them, unfortunately Malfoy was not amongst them. As they started to look for them, Fred set off the portable swamp. Soon Voldemort followers were knee deep in mucky swamp water. Ginny took advantage of their distracted situation to drop the Shock Grenade into the water. The fools had no clue what was about to happen.

Ten seconds later, the water was charged with an enormous amount of electricity. Normally only one or two would have been hit with the blast, but thanks to the water they were all caught in it. Ten death Eaters screamed out as they were cooked alive. If the swamp didn't smelled bad enough before, the stench of overcooked Death Eater was ten times worse.

Ginny dropped the chameleon charm and herself and her brothers. She then transfigured a nearby chair into a broom and zoomed out of the room. She wasn't taking any chances if the water was spill charged with electricity.

"Fred old boy, someone has become all cloak-and-dagger." George said as he transfigured his own broom and mounted it.

"George old chum, I think your right. Gin-Gin has just gotten loads more interesting." Fred added as he mounted a broom as well. They made a secret vow to discover all of their little sister's secrets.

Rookwood wasn't sure what surprised him more. The fact that all the contents in the vault were an illusion or it could have been that he believed it without question. Another thing it could have been was the realism that an elegantly dressed house elf was currently standing in front of him. Truth be told it was that the arrogant little thing hade the audacity to look him in the eye, as if he was equal to him.

"Lord Potter wished me to congratulate you for getting past his wards. He also wants me to thank you for leading us to the horcrux. It will speed things along nicely." Duncan said in a most articulate and refined voice.

"You dare speak to me you little rodent?" Augustus hissed at the house elf. All the while his team was circling the small creature. Duncan showed no signs that he was distressed by this. This was when he was going to break from the plan his master had decided on. Master Harry never gave him a direct order to follow the plan to the letter, so he saw no reason that he couldn't alter it. That was what he was telling himself anyway.

He was just supposed to give them the jack-in-the-box and leave. His master's message was inside and the gift would take care of the rest. Duncan felt that a personal touch was needed, and he had waited for so long to say such things to these wizarding vermin.

With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a small table. On it was a pair of reading glasses and a cup, along with a scratch of parchment.

"If you will please indulge the eccentricities of my Master for just a few more seconds; he was very specific on how he wanted this done." The old house elf lied as he put on the reading glasses and took a healthy drink from the cup. No one seemed to notice the liquid was green. After he picked up the parchment and cleared his throat. It was then that Duncan addressed the Death Eaters.

"My master wanted me to read this word for word. Ahem…Roses are red, Violets are blue, You inbreed, backward ass, baby raping collection of fuck stains killed my father so…FUCK YOU!" All the Death Eaters were in shock that a house elf would dare speak to them in such a manner. Duncan took the opportunity to activate Harry's gift. The jack-in-the-box played a child's tune and they all seemed mesmerized by it. Duncan refused to close his eyes. He wanted to see the look on their faces as death claimed them. Next it sprung open, and instead of a clown popping out, it was an eye of a basilisk. It spun in the air as it hovered for a few seconds. Its death gaze was reflecting off the mirrored walls, so none of them would be robbed of its deadly beauty.

Augustus Rookwood stared in the perfectly preserved eye of the monster they had let loose to begin with. Talk about irony. He was the first to fall. Three others saw it directly and the mirrored walls took care of the remaining five.

"Flawless Victory." Duncan said as he calmly walked over to the eye and watched as the yellow turned gray. Its deadly power was gone forever. It was a shame that it was a onetime use. It would have been a valuable weapon against their enemy. He knew that his mate would be very happy that the improved Mandrake potion that Lady Lily and Mr. Slughorn perfected worked. He stood over the corpse of Augustus Rookwood and smiled.

"Master James sends his regards." He taunted as he kicked him for extra measure. He then looked over at the petrified others. His smile was gone and his eyes held more malice that was thought capable of one of his kind. With a wave of his hand the petrified ones were shattered to dust.

"That was from Master Charles."