5 5 Welcome to Diagonal Alley
Hagrid:"Ok. Now that we finished the gloomy talk, how about we talk about something more happy, shall we? Like the purchase (AUTOR NOTE: pouch-ease? is that where the word came from? a contraction?) of your school suplies, including your first wand."
My eyes sparkle.
Hagrid:"I imagined you would like it. That's why we will ask your breakfast to be a take-out, so you can eat on the way."
Hagrid then moved out of the room, me following him.
Me:"Now that I think about it. Where are we?"
Hagrid: "We are at the Leaky Caulderon. It is a pub that also offer some rooms for hire. You will be sleeping here for the time beeing. Like hell we are leting the Durslays near you ever again."
Me:"Never geting them near me ever again!? I think I will faint from happiness."
Hagrid:"*chuckles* The pub owner is a man named Tom, I'll present him to you."
We arrive at the main area of the pub, and I gotta say. It is quite the run down pub.
Hagrid when to the counter and started talking to the bartender.
???:" Ah. Hagrid. I see that the boy finaly woke up. Nice to meet you kid."
Hagrid:"Harry, this is Tom, Tom, this is Harry. Harry, if you need anything here on the Leaky Caulderon, just ask Tom."
Tom:"I supose it is a bit late, but welcome to the pub."
Me:"Thank you."
Hagrid then ordered a breakfast for me, that Tom wraped on a take-out package for me.
Tom:"Don't worry about the bill. Professor Dumbledore paid in advance for quite a while."
Me:"Thanks. Wait-"
I look at Hagrid, suddently aware of a glaring problem.
Me:"Hagrid, I don't have any money. How will I pay for my school stuff?!"
Hagrid:" Not to worry young man. Your parents left you with some cash on Gringots bank. That will be our first stop."
I sigh in relief and started eating my food.
Hagrid then guides me through the pub and out into a small, walled courtyard. He takes out his umbrella and tap it's tip trice on one of the bricks in the wall.
The wall started changing, starting from the brick that Hagrid taped. After a few seconds, we see ourselves in front of an archway that leads to a cobbled street.
Hagrid:"Welcome to Diagonal Alley."
Hagrid turned to see me, his face then quickly got a hint of disapointment.
Hagrid:"I expected you to have more of a reaction."
I (still nibing on my food like nothing hapened) just shruged.
Me:"I just learned about magic. Most of my common sense is in the garbage can now."'Plus this is not that weird considering the s*it I saw in my shinigami life.'
Hagrid:"I supose that is true."
Hagrid akwardly scratched his head before going through the archway, me following.
Diagonal Alley seems to be a comercial district. There are shops no matter where I look at. There are shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon....
Hagrid:"There we are."
We've reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was-.
Hagrid:"Yes, he's a goblin."
The goblin was about a head shorter than me. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as we walked inside, and I gave a short bow back. Now we were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
.
[Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, what they've not earned,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.]
.
Me:"Ominous."
Hagrid:"Gringots is the only bank in the entire wizarding world. They get the job done so well, that another one was never needed. And they prize their security the most. You'd have to be mad to try and rob it, the few who tryed did not came out alive."
We passed through the silver doors and found ourselves in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and I went for the counter.
Hagrid:"Morning. We've come to withdrow some money from Mr. Harry Potter's safe."
Bank Teller:"You have his key, Sir?"
Hagrid:"Got it here somewhere."
Hagrid then started searshing his pockets again, until he found a tiny golden key and handed it to the teller.
The teller looked at it closely for a few seconds before returning it.
Bank Teller:"That seems to be in order."
Hagrid:"Oh. I've almost forgot! I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore, It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The teller read the letter Hagrid gave him very carefully.
Bank Teller:"Very well, I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. We followed him toward one of the doors leading off the hall.
Me:"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?"
Hagrid:"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Very secret Hogwarts' business that Dumbledore entrusted me."
I nod in understanding.
Griphook held the door open for us. After it, there was a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward us. We climbed in (Hagrid with some difficulty) and were off.
We hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.
The cold air rushed past us. Once, I thought I saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but it was too late. We continued to plunge deeper and deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
Hagrid looked very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, He got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. Aparently, the big guy suffers from motion sickness.
Griphook asked Hagrid for the key and then proceded to unlock the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, I saw inside mountains of gold, silver and bronze coins.
A tic mark apered on my forehead.
Me:"My parents left me with 'some' cash?"
Hagrid:"Hehehehe."
Me:"How much money is in here?"
Hagrid:"We can ask the tellers, but there is no doubt that you are on the top 5 ranking of richest people in London."
Me:"My parents sure were well off..."
Hagrid: "Yeah, they've left you quite a lot. *sigh* A pity that their imense wealth diden't help at all when You-Know-Who came for them. There are things that money simply can't buy. Anyway..."
We steped into the vault.
Hagrid:"The gold ones are Galleons, 17 silver Sickles to a Galleon and 29 bronze Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough."
Hagrid helped me put some money into a money bag. I got a bit carried away.
Hagrid:"Right, this should be enough to last you for a couple of terms *chuckles*, Gringots will keep the rest safe for you. You can acess your vault whenever you need."
Hagrid then passed me the gold key to my vault. I made sure to put it away safely.
Hagrid then turned to Griphook.
Hagrid:"Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"
Griphook:"I'm afraid it is a one-speed-only device. It was designed this way to keep potential robbers from having time to memorize their way through the maze and trow them off." said Griphook.
Hagrid released a defeated sigh and hopped back on the cart.
...
We arrived at vault seven hundred and thirteen and the thing that drew my atention the most was the fact that the door had no keyhole.
Griphook simply slid his finger across the door and it melted away.
Me:"That is one cool way to open a door. Any chance I can put that melting away effect on my bedroom's?"
Griphook and Hagrid both chuckled.
Hey! That does not answer my question!
I then stoped admirering the doorway and take a look inside. The vault was completly empty, with the only exeption beeing a small object on the floor. It was about the size of a computer mouse and was wraped in some old looking paper.
Hagrid picked the object and shoved it deep into one of his pockets, before turning arround and exiting the vault.
One cart ride later, and we were back to the surface.
Now that I had money, I didn't know what store to run into first.
Hagrid:"*chuckles* Check your letter Harry. Your shoping list is there."
I did as I was told, and soon started to read it.
.
[HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that ALL of the students clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
1. The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
2. A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
3. Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
4. A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
5. One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
6. Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
8. The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1. One wand
2. One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
3. One set of glass OR crystal phials
4. One telescope set
5. One set of brass scales
Students may also bring ONE pet, such as an owl OR a cat OR a toad, should they desire
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS]
.
Hagrid:"Might as well start with the uniform"
Me:"Ok."
Hagrid took me to a shop called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions', and stoped before going in.
Hagrid:"Listen, Harry, would you mind if I slipped off for a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate those Gringotts carts."
He did still look a bit sick, so I assured him that it was ok and entered Madam Malkin's shop alone.
Madam Malkin was a small, smiling witch dressed all in fancy clothes.
Madam Malkin:"Hogwarts, dear?"
She said, when I was about to start to speak. So I just nodded instead.
Madam Malkin:"Got the lot here, have another young man being fitted up for Hogwarts right now, in fact. "
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood me on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over my head, and began to pin it to the right length.
Boy:"Hello, Hogwarts, too?"
He seems nice.
Me:"Yes."
Boy:"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands. After this I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
...Oooor not.
Boy:"Have you got your own broom?"
The boy went on.
Me:"No."
Boy:"Play Quidditch at all?"
Me:"No." 'What the hell is that word suppose to even mean!?'
Boy:"I do. Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
Me:"No." 'Seriously dude!? Can't you see that I'm not interested!?'
Boy:"Well, no one really knows for sure until they get there, do they? But I know I'll be in Slytherin, all my family have been. Imagine ending up in Hufflepuff! I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
Me:'Man! This guy's face look so punchable!'
Boy:"I say-. Wow! Look at that man!"
The boy suddenly nodded toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at me and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.
Me:"His name is Hagrid, He works at Hogwarts."
Boy:"Oh! I think I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"
Me:"Dude! I don't know if that was your intention, but you are beeing quite rude now!"
Boy:"Well, I've heard he's a sort of savage. Lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."
I direct my spiritual pressure and a bit of killing intent to the boy. It hit him like a hammer, trowing him at the ground face-first with enought force to break it, causing him to faint.
Me:"Much better."
I say enjoying the scilence.
The staff of the store stop for a second and look at me.
Me:"What? He was pi*sing me off."
The staff continued on their duties, some of them after a nod. I was clearly not the only one that wanted to shut the boy up.
After a few more minutes, I exited the store with my new clothes on a bag and meet back with Hagrid.
After eating some icecream with him, we went back to shoping.
