52

She rose the next morning with a great sense of anticipation welling up inside her stomach. She owled Gringotts in advance to inform them of her plans before she even had eaten breakfast, finally remembering the bacon sandwich and coffee the House Elves had sent when she began to read the morning edition of the Prophet. It was then that she began to get dressed; showering and spending an inordinate amount of time on her hair to make sure that it was just so. The whole point of this was to make her presence felt and she couldn't do that with her hair looking like she had just got out of bed. She twisted it loosely around a long silver pin set with a large emerald so it sat at the nape of her neck and then set about picking her outfit.

She had learned a long time ago that what you wore could make all the difference to the way people saw you. She was not, for example, going to show up in her usual jeans and top. Nor was she going to appear in her best gown. She did not want to settle for the easy option of black because then she would go relatively unnoticed. The whole point of this was to be noticed, like he had told her, she couldn't let them forget her. Frustrated, she turned to what used to be his wife's wardrobe. Surprisingly, all her clothes were still there; immaculate rows of all the outfits you could ever think of. Some were far to lavish for her to even consider wearing in public and others were just too old for her.

She turned back to her own clothes and finally found a compromise in a floaty, cream chiffon dress that ended just above her knees. It had no sleeves and a piece of the fabric was wrapped horizontally around her midriff; giving it an almost corseted look. She wrapped a fur stole, dyed dark blue, about her shoulders, before slipping her feet into an impossibly high pair of satin covered blue heels, with peep-toes and platform soles, to match her shrug. As a finishing touch, she set the diamond necklace he had bought her for her birthday around her neck and slipped her wand into a blue clutch.

She swept out of the room and down into the entrance hall, her heels and the tip of the cane tapping on the floor. Everything was as she had requested it. The familiar, sleek black car was waiting outside when she descended the front steps and, as soon as she closed the door, it glided quietly down the drive and out the gates. They sped towards London, the car ignoring most of the Muggle road laws as Wizarding cars wee prone to do. This, of course, meant that they reached the street in front of the Leaky Cauldron in record time.

She knew that the main thoroughfare in Diagon Alley was mainly a pedestrian zone, but she had seen cars and carriages go down every so often. Come to think of it, she was sure it had been this car she had seen. Fudge had said that she was to keep as low a profile as possible. As if reading her mind, the driver moved on and turned into the little alley behind the pub. At first, all she could see was a brick wall and a few large rubbish bins; but then the bricks began to shift and form an archway, not unlike the one through which you accessed Diagon Alley when you came on foot.

The car edged slowly forwards, waiting for people who were milling around to get out of the way. They looked surprised, as if a car in Diagon Alley was a rare thing. She was very glad for the darkened windows, as she was sure that her presence in the car would cause more excitement than the car itself. People had no doubt recognised the crest on the grille at the front, judging by the way they were staring and pointing. She sank lower in her seat and, for the first time, wondered if she was doing the right thing. Memories of what they had done to her the last time she went to Diagon Alley flared in her mind and she gripped the serpent headed cane a little tighter. She had two wands on her, but she had never used his before so she couldn't be sure if it would work as well as her own wand. She had little time to think, however, as the huge white façade of Gringotts Bank came into view.

Up in the Daily Prophet's offices, Harry, Ron and Hermione were shut up in the editor's stuffy office; trying to explain how Voldemort had been defeated without actually telling the man anything. Thankfully they had first been asked for general information in order to build up a profile for the readers. They had been at this for over an hour, and there was no sign of him relenting in his questions. Harry was busy thinking about how much this office resembled Professor Trelawney's classroom back at Hogwarts when a harried looking, young reporter wearing jeans and a baggy Weird Sisters T-shirt burst into the room.

"Roper!" the editor yelled. "Can't you see I'm busy?" he gestured at the three of them seated before him.

"Sorry sir," the young wizard panted, "but I thought you'd like to know that the Malfoy car has just pulled into Diagon Alley." He finished, still gasping for breath.

"What!" the editor bellowed. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"Sorry sir," the wizard panted, leaning against the doorframe, "ran all the way from Madame Malkin's." The editor stood and dashed to the small window, checking to see if the car was anywhere near.

"By Merlin, you're right!" he exclaimed loudly as Harry, Ron and Hermione crowded at the other window. "He can't have bought himself out already." He muttered darkly. "The gall of the man." He obviously thought that the car contained Lucius Malfoy, but Harry was sure that it was another person entirely. After all, no one else knew that his sister was now occupying Malfoy Manor.

"He's heading for Gringotts!" the editor exclaimed, not caring where the people in the room were interested or not. "Probably going to get the gold that he needs to fill Fudge's coffers."

"Would you like me to send someone out there sir?" the wizard, still panting, asked.

"No, I'll go myself." The editor puffed out his chest importantly.

"Would you like us to come back another time then?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Certainly," the editor put on his silkiest voice, "any time is convenient." he gave them a small bow as they hurriedly exited the room.

"What is she doing coming back here?" Hermione hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. "After what happened last time?"

"Well I doubt that Fudge let Malfoy out." Ron said as they spilled out onto the street. "We'd have heard about it before now of he was."

"I wonder what she's up to." Harry could see the car now, pulling to a halt at the front steps of Gringotts. He was sure that, through the tinted windows, he could make out the familiar black hair that was his sister.

Inside the car, Kathryn was well aware of the onlookers who were watching their progress towards Gringotts. Of course, this was exactly what she had wanted to happen. People would be drawn to the car by the current furore surrounding the man that usually travelled in it. She found it funny that she had almost choreographed this entire thing in her mind.

"Well, here goes." She whispered to herself as her driver opened the car door.

She let the silver tip of the cane precede her, settling on the pavement with a sharp click before her legs followed and she slid gracefully out of the car. There were several gasps as the door slammed shut and she drew herself up to her full height. She ignored these and headed up the white marble steps, her dress swishing about her knees. She heard the muttered comments but brushed them off with a small smile; this was exactly the effect she had wanted to achieve. People would remember that she still existed and, more importantly, people might begin to call for his trial to be brought forward.

She paused just as she came to the set of bronze doors, twirling around to look back at the crowd behind her. She spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione fighting their way through. It was then that she gave the small group of gathered photographers the image that would be gracing the morning's front covers. Framed by the open doorway, she gave the assembled crowd an appraising look before tipping the cane to Harry and giving him a small wink. Without another glance, she swept through the bronze doors and then the silver ones that followed before arriving in the expansive white marble room that was Gringotts main foyer.

"Miss Potter." The goblin at one of the free desks greeted her. "What may I do for you?"

"I trust you received my letter."

"We did."

"Then you will understand my change in circumstances and the reasons for my visit." She told him, noting the few people giving her wary looks as they entered the bank.

"Certainly."

"I will also need a summary of all regular standing orders or regular recipients of money from the Malfoy vault. I do not want money going places I do not wish."

"Certainly, we will have that ready for you as soon as you return. Griphook will show you to the vault." The goblin appeared beside her and led her away to the waiting carts that would take them deep beneath Diagon Alley.

It was an exhilarating ride, a thing that Hagrid detested, but something that set her pulse racing a lot like it did when she flew. The cart took her deeper than she had ever been, following a complex, twisting track that no one could even hope to remember. She was thankful for her stole as the temperature dropped rapidly, pulling it tighter about her shoulders.

The vault they reached was one of the most ornate she had ever seen. The Malfoy crest was carved in the stone above the door. The door itself was carved with snakes and was framed by two stone pillars with snakes coiled around them. There was no lock, but then she saw the now familiar ring-shaped hole carved out into the metal. Griphook ran one finger down the centre of the door and she heard the many hundreds of complex locks release.

"Your key?" Griphook motioned to the hole in the door. Obligingly, Kathryn stepped forwards and slipped the ring in. It turned a quarter clockwise and then a half turn anti clockwise before releasing her finger. With a series of clicks, the last few locks were released and the door swung silently forwards on its hinges.

It was possibly the largest vault she had ever seen and she actually had to shield her eyes for a moment from the dazzling glare of the vault's contents. Blinking, she stepped into the vault; about the same size as the entire ground floor and garden of the Dursley's house at number four Privet Drive. She had known that Lucius was rich, but this was obscene. Shining stacks of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts were piled up everywhere but there was more to the Malfoy fortune than just money. On tables there were boxes of jewels and delicate, valuable instruments whilst several works of art were stood against the walls. The many treasures were impossible to count at once and she kept on spotting new things as she walked through.

"How much is here?" she asked Griphook in a slightly shaky voice.

"Just over five hundred million Galleons." The goblin told her quickly. She felt her knees shake a little as she digested that figure. If Lucius Malfoy did anything for a living, it was money farming. "That is only the gold; the value of other things depends on current market values." He continued helpfully.

"What's that in Muggle pounds?" she asked tentatively to get a better idea of how much she was looking at were she a Muggle.

"Just under two and a half billion Muggle pounds; around five billion Muggle dollars." Griphook added for greater clarity.

"Ok. We can go now; this is all I needed to do." She stepped back outside the vault, taking two diamonds and two emeralds with her; stowing them safely in her bag before stepping back into the cart.

Her eyes were again dazzled as she stepped into the white marble hall and returned to the same desk she had gone to upon arrival.

"I take it everything is in order?" the goblin asked, handing her a sheet of parchment. "Here is the list you requested."

"Yes, everything was fine." Her eyes quickly scanned the parchment and she made some quick decisions. "Double the monthly contribution to St Mungo's." She told the goblin who quickly scribbled down a note. "A thousand Galleons a month is perfectly affordable." Her eyes moved further down the list. "I see that Minister Fudge has benefited well from this vault, however indirectly." She pursed her lips, noting the many payments to various Ministry departments and trying to decide what to do. "No further payments are to be made to the Ministry from this vault." The goblin took another note.

"Anything else Miss Potter?"

"I want to be informed of any attempt to withdraw money from the vault and nothing can be taken without mine, or Mr Malfoy's, signature." The goblin nodded again and added a further note as she tucked the parchment he had given her into her bag. "That's everything. Thank you."

"It was a pleasure to be of service." The goblin gave her a small bow. "Good day Miss Potter." She gave him a curt nod before sweeping out of the bank's doors to where the car was still waiting.

The crowd seemed to have dispersed, their interest apparently satisfied. Only Harry, Ron and Hermione stood waiting for her.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked incredulously as soon as she bean to descend the steps.

"Business, I do recall Fudge saying that I could go about my business as long as I did so quietly." The car door was opened for her as she approached.

"That was anything but quiet." Harry retorted. "I'm surprised they didn't start hexing you again."

"It was quiet; I said nothing and did nothing offensive." Kathryn corrected him. "It was the rest of them that decided to make something of my visit." Even Harry could not argue with that.

"But what was the point?"

"To remind them that I'm still here." She gave the three of them a nod before sinking back into the plush interior of the car. "You can come over tomorrow if you like; we still have that last passage to check out." She added before she closed the door. "After all, I've nowhere to go." With that, the door banged shut and the car glided away.