Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures

It worked — Evan managed to control Bellatrix with the Imperius Curse!

He could now order her to do whatever he wished… but only so long as the orders weren’t too outrageous or too strongly against her own will. Otherwise, Bellatrix’s resistance would grow stronger until she broke free from the magic.

In fact, Evan could already sense Bellatrix’s fierce resistance, and his Imperius Curse wouldn’t last long.

The effectiveness of the Imperius Curse depended not only on the strength of the magic and the skill of the caster, but also on the caster’s own evil intentions. The more evil and hate-filled the caster, the stronger the curse’s power. This applied to all Dark Magic and was one of its fundamental forces.

Evan did indeed despise Bellatrix, found her loathsome, but that didn’t mean he was evil enough to want to hurt her with an Unforgivable Curse. So, though his magical power was strong, the Imperius Curse he cast was of limited strength; it wouldn’t hold Bellatrix for long.

Still, it would be enough time to get into Gringotts and retrieve the cup!

The situation was troubling, and it wasn’t just about the strength and duration of the Imperius Curse.

Ever since the spell had taken hold, Evan had kept his arms around Bellatrix, not letting go. The two of them were pressed together, which made him feel rather sick — he could smell the faint stench of blood on her, unlike Elaine’s, and it was nauseating. But he forced himself to ignore it; he needed more time to think.

As for whether others would wonder why they held each other for so long, Evan simply couldn’t worry about that for the time being.

Was there anything wrong with a passionate embrace between a couple?

Was there anything wrong with displaying affection in public in broad daylight?

And even if it was, who would dare interfere?

Death Eaters were feared everywhere for their brutality, and Bellatrix in particular was notorious — mad enough to kill at the slightest provocation. Even most Death Eaters feared her; anyone bold enough to meddle in her private affairs might well be killed on the spot.

As long as Voldemort, the final party in the triangle, didn’t appear, and as long as the Polyjuice Potion and the Imperius Curse were still in effect, Evan and Bellatrix could hold each other for as long as they pleased.

That sense of being able to do whatever they pleased was… frankly, appalling!

The real problem now was that Evan didn’t want Bellatrix to realize they had entered her vault and taken the cup. If she knew, then Voldemort would know they were hunting Horcruxes. Of course, it was only a matter of time before he found out, but the longer they could delay that revelation, the better.

Evan had already dealt with the Lestrange brothers and the two other Death Eaters. When they regained consciousness, they would remember nothing of what had happened, only the false memories Evan had planted.

He would also have to deal with Bellatrix’s memory, but it wasn’t something he could attempt at the doors of Gringotts. Simply letting her go or killing her outright was far from the best choice. Perhaps he could take her down into the vault and deal with her there…

Then a thought struck him — as long as he had the Polyjuice Potion, he could have Hermione impersonate Bellatrix.

That way, even if Bellatrix disappeared, the Death Eaters wouldn’t immediately be able to trace anything back to Gringotts.

No, in fact, they could keep up the disguise for quite some time. For the next while, they could go on impersonating Bellatrix, using her identity to visit Malfoy Manor and even the death-ridden land where that black-robed witch Evan had just seen. As long as they got down into the underground vault, with no crowd watching, he could delve further into Bellatrix’s memories and extract more useful information.

With this in mind, Evan decided not to let Bellatrix go!

“Bella, Rabastan is going with me to the vault,” Evan whispered, giving Bellatrix an order. “You’re coming with us to place the Sword of Gryffindor yourself. It’s very important…”

No sooner had he spoken than Bellatrix, still in Evan’s grasp, gave another violent jerk, struggling against his command. But she failed to break free; her resistance was swiftly suppressed by Evan.

“You’re right. Those filthy goblins are not trustworthy. I’m going with you. There are other important things in the vault that the Dark Lord has entrusted to me. I need to check them out,” said Bellatrix loftily. “Now let go of me, you fool. Let’s move faster — I’ve no desire to waste all day in those filthy tunnels .”

Evan slowly released her. Harry, Hermione, and Elaine watched the two of them with tense, careful eyes, and the other wizards and goblins were staring just as intently.

Seeing that Bellatrix showed no sign of lashing out, everyone seemed to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

And so, the new group set off!

Bellatrix led the way, rushing in like a gust of wind.

Evan, holding the Sword of Gryffindor, hurried to follow, along with Harry. Evan wasn’t sure whether Hermione and Elaine had managed to follow, but there was plenty of space around them — no wizards dared to get too close — so he didn’t have to worry about accidental bumps that might give them away.

Two goblins stood, bowing low before the inner doors, which were made of silver and which carried the poem warning of dire retribution to potential thieves.

The doors were also engraved with magical runes that could, if needed, activate protective spells to defend Gringotts. This was clearly not a skill for goblins; it must have been crafted with the help of ancient alchemists.

Everyone who passed through the doors would normally pause for a moment to admire them, but Evan had no time to pause now. He followed on Bellatrix’s heels and, within moments, was standing in Gringotts’ bright marble hall.

The long counter was manned by goblins sitting on high stools, serving the first customers of the day, the ones who had arrived before Evan, Harry, and the others. They all gazed at Bellatrix in terror; one wizard even dropped to his knees. From the fear etched on their faces, Evan judged that they were not pure-bloods — the kind of people now being “purged.”

Perhaps they simply wanted to come to Gringotts early this morning to withdraw all the money in their vaults and flee this increasingly mad country, but they found themselves face-to-face with Death Eaters.

Normally, their fate would be dire, but Bellatrix ignored them, walking straight towards an elderly goblin who was examining a thick, ancient gold coin through his glasses.

“Madam Lestrange!” the goblin exclaimed, clearly startled. He seemed only just to have noticed the group in front of him, despite the fact that Evan and Bellatrix had been locked in a rather lingering embrace at the doorway moments ago. “And the two Lord Lestranges as well! Dear me! How — how may I help you today?”