5 A Pound of Galleons

The self-constructing doorway was nothing in comparison to the street ahead of them. Bustling with the frantic shopping of wizard families preparing for the next term, Diagon Alley was an incredible sight to behold. It was truly a unique location that could only be derived from hundreds of years of wizards and witches slowly moulding it for their commercial needs.

George managed to regain his composure within a few seconds, but the same could not be said for the rest of his family. Ellie's eyes were wide open and her mouth was agape whereas Dominic and Amanda seem to have frozen in time with only their eyes darting around. Having noticed their astonished reaction, Remus gave the family some time to absorb the sites.

After a minute, he said, "I'm glad to see you're all motivated to have a good look around, but before you all get carried away... there is a small issue of money."

Dominic blinked his eyes a couple of times before asking, "is this about that wizard currency?"

Remus nodded, "exactly. For you to convert your 'muggle money' into galleons, sickles and knuts, we all need to go to Gringotts bank."

He gestured towards the large white building a few hundred yards away.

"Surely some of these shops accept pound sterling. We are still in Great Britain after all, it's not like we've walked across a border", Amanda pointed out.

"In some ways, you have", Remus pointed at some of the wizards walking by, "they, along with most of the wizard population, have never interacted with the muggle world. Just like how you hadn't interacted with theirs until today."

He explained, "due to the secrecy act three hundred years ago, the magic community had slowly become more isolated over the years. This forced us to become more self-sufficient in our economy and politics. Now, places like Diagon Alley are so far removed they operate completely independent of the outside world."

Dominic straightened his coat, "right then, I guess there is no avoiding it. Will I have to talk to one of those...?"

"Goblins, and yes you will. Regrettably, it's a necessary process", Remus answered dejectedly.

With Remus's excellent guiding skills, the Linwoods arrived outside of the easily largest building in Diagon Alley. Just before they started to ascend the shiny white marble steps up to the bank's entrance, Remus turned around with a serious look on his face.

Remus cleared his throat, "even though you might find these things I'm about to say obvious, I want to make sure we're all on the same page before we speak with the staff. The goblins inside can be rather stubborn and arrogant, and they certainly do not like being belittled. Due to this reason, I insist that you keep your talking to a minimum and allow me to arrange preparations for your exchange of currency.

And Ellie, I must ask that you refrain from pointing and talking about the goblins behind their back. They see and hear all and will not hesitate to remove you from the building if they think you're being disrespectful. I'm not going to lie to you, they generally don't have a good opinion of muggles. So let's be on our best behaviours and not give a bad first impression."

Remus waited for acknowledgement from everyone, which came in the form of a nod from Amanda and Dominic, and a "yes sir" from Ellie and George before he let them enter.

The Linwoods followed Remus up the stairs and hesitated once they saw two small figures standing on either side of the large bronze door. George along with the rest of his family hadn't noticed them at first since they were only four feet tall and stood completely still. They looked like extremely old men with bent fingers, long noses, and sharp pointy teeth. These two guards in fancy gold and crimson uniforms were none other than goblins.

Once they passed the lavish threshold flanked by the two goblins, the family reached a pair of silver doors. These doors were engraved with a little poem warning would-be thieves that death awaited them. Remus pushed the doors with their meaningless threat open and they entered the main hall.

Similar to the Leaky Cauldron, the bank's main hall had very high ceilings. However, that was pretty much where the similarities ended. From the floor to the ceiling and the pillars in between, the entire chamber was finely decorated with expertly crafted marble. No expense was spared in the furnishing of this room. Every single desk, chair and lamp was of the highest quality.

Whilst George had been appreciating the craftsmanship, his family's eyes were elsewhere. Dominic and Amanda were paying exclusive attention to the staff managing the desks, that being the finely dressed goblins who were counting gold coins and signing parchments. Ellie was watching two Goblins pulling a crate full of jewels from one side of the room to the other.

Remus muttered from under his hand while pretending to wipe his nose, "it's best if you don't stare. Just follow my lead."

After hearing Remus's suggestion, Amanda and Dominic simultaneously realise their mistake. They desperately avoided eye contact with anything that may not be considered human. However, Ellie didn't appear to be able to manage the same discretion as her parents. Her wide-open eyes were still glued on the nearest goblin picking up a ruby that fell off the crate.

Remus, George and Dominic stepped forward toward the nearest bank teller, but Amanda found herself unable to follow. Ellie was glued to the spot, her scared expression suggested she didn't want to get any closer to the goblins. Remus offered for the mother and daughter to wait in the foyer, and Amanda was quick to agree before making a hasty retreat out of the hall.

The slightly nervous men walked up to the tall desk and politely waited to be attended to. The goblin obscured behind a stack of gold coins didn't acknowledge their presence and continued to weigh a few dozen galleons. George, Dominic and Remus remained silent for almost a whole minute until a pair of beady black eyes looked down at them.

With a high-pitched huff, the goblin suddenly slid the stack of coins aside and stared down at Remus. The irritated goblin did not speak but instead waited for Remus to initiate his request.

"We wish to open a new account", Remus said with a slight waver in his voice.

The goblin didn't respond initially and instead peered at Remus in a rather disapproving way before looking at Dominic in a slightly more positive manner.

"In whose name shall this account be credited?", the goblin inquired eloquently.

Dominic stepped forward and answered the question, "Dominic and George Linwood".

The goblin looked over George's foster father one last time before reaching under his desk and pulling out a scroll covered in dust. Then he untied a knot with his bent fingers and unrolled the parchment before leaning over the table and handing it to Dominic.

"Please read the document carefully and sign your name at the bottom", the goblin explained while propping itself back on its chair.

Dominic didn't read the parchment for long, "a muggle-shared vault? What does that mean?"

The goblin returned to counting his coins while elaborating, "a muggle-shared vault is what sir is eligible for. It differs from a normal vault in three main ways. As the name implies, the vault is shared with other tenants which will remain anonymous. The shared vault is not accessible by its tenants and items can only be deposited or withdrawn by a member of staff.

The fee for securement and twenty-four-hour access is eighty galleons annually. The galleons will automatically be taken out of your savings until you're unable to cover the amount, which will result in you losing access to your shared vault. After one month, you will be stripped of your assets as compensation."

"Do you find these terms agreeable?", the goblin recited.

"What about my son? He is not a muggle. What if the vault is in his name only?", Dominic inquired.

The goblin glanced at George before saying, "purchase of a vault is only available to wizards or witches over the age of seventeen."

Dominic looked back at Remus, "did you know about this?"

Remus shook his head, "no, I didn't. I inherited my vault from my father's side of the family. I didn't know that shared vaults existed."

"May I ask again, are you happy with the terms of the agreement, or are you no longer interested in a shared vault?", the goblin questioned with a slight smirk on his smug face.

Dominic turned back to the goblin and said calmly, "of course. The terms seem quite agreeable."

Then he reached over and plucked an engraved quill from the teller's desk, "you don't mind if I sign with this, do you?"

The goblin shook his head, "no problem at all sir."

Dominic's smile widened, "good", before raising the parchment and giving it one last cursory read.

Just before the quill touched the parchment, Dominic paused and looked back up at the goblin.

"There's just one more thing I would like to clarify. If you could indulge me Mr..."

"Just Bogrod, sir. And yes, ask away", the goblin responded.

Dominic held up the parchment and pointed at a line halfway down the page, "now then, Bogrod. I've read here that I'm not able to visit my shared vault in person. Is that because other tenants' belongings are inside?"

Bogrod nodded, "yes sir. It's a security measure to ensure the safety of your fellow tenant's property as well as your own."

"As I expected. But, what if I'm the only shareholder in my particular vault? Could I visit it then?", Dominic inquired.

A confused expression formed on the goblin's face, "and why would sir ever be the only shareholder? I can guarantee that all Gringott's shared vaults are currently occupied by at least one other tenant."

Dominic tapped the quill against his chin, "well... what if my account was enough to fill an entire vault? Hypothetically speaking that is."

A golden coin fell from between Bogrods' fingers, "sir, our largest shared vault can hold over a million galleons. There shouldn't..."

"Please... indulge me", Dominic interrupted.

Bogrod gulped, "hypothetically speaking... yes, a tenant could have access if their wealth was the sole occupant of the vault. But…"

"All done, here you go", Dominic cheerfully said while handing the parchment and quill back to Bogrod.

The goblin wearily received the parchment and appeared happy to see Dominic's signature at the bottom of the paper. After a brief pause, Bogrod picked up a green stamp and slammed it down on the parchment. Then he folded the paper and placed it on one side of his desk before pulling two copper keys out of his breast pocket.

Bogrod stood back up and handed them over to Dominic, "your identity and these keys will both be necessary to have access to your assets in your shared fault. Do not lose them under any circumstances."

The goblin looked down at George, "a wand can also be used as a substitute for a key in the future if young sir was to acquire one."

"What if someone stole these keys? Would they have access to my vault as well", Dominic asked while inspecting the unusual keys.

Bogrod didn't look impressed by Dominic's bluntness, "were it so simple to steal from Gringotts Bank, then thieves would be our main clientele."

He gestured with a bent finger at the keys, "those keys are enchanted to only function whilst either a Gringotts goblin or those who share your bloodline is holding them. Only your close descendants will have access to your shared vault, I trust that won't be a problem."

Dominic pointed at George, "my son is adopted, he doesn't share my bloodline. Neither does my daughter or my wife. How will they have access in my absence?"

"They won't sir, that's the Gringotts policy. Perhaps your son should prioritise the requisition of his wand as soon as possible", Bogrod said with dwindling patience.

"Now that matter is settled, does sir desire to deposit into your new account? Items other than currency can be placed inside the vault, but there is limited space. That's unless sir has a million galleons to store, then I'm sure an exception could be made", the goblin asked snarkily while Dominic pocketed the keys.

Dominic patted his pocket, "since you asked so nicely... I wish to exchange Pound for Galleon, and I want the exchanged Galleon to be directly stored in the vault."

The goblin's face twisted in repressed anger as if he had just been rudely asked to kiss Dominic's boots.

"We do not conduct muggle money exchanges at this location. You may go to our branch at Carkitt Market for those services. I'll remind you, that if you do not deposit eighty galleons into your account within the next forty-eight-hour period, this signed agreement will be void. You will have to return both keys or risk being fined."

"If there is nothing else. Good day, sir", the goblins' patience seemed to have dried up.

After the discourteous behaviour from Bogrod, Dominic appeared to be entertained as he chuckled to himself. Then he turned to leave whilst beckoning for George and Remus to follow. Back in the foyer, the family was reunited with a mixture of nervous and confident expressions spread among them. Ellie didn't appear to have embraced the goblin race in George's absence. She was still stealing timid glances at the guards standing on either side of the silver doors.

Amanda walked up to Dominic, "is everything alright?"

Dominic pulled out a key from his jacket and handed it to his wife, "that's one of two vault keys. They said it only works with my bloodline for now but I'll change that soon."

"So you managed to open an account. Did you get any of those gold coins?"

Dominic shook his head, "not yet. We have to head to this place called Carkitt Market. Mr Lupin can show us the way. Ain't that right, Remus?"

Remus wiped a few droplets of sweat off his brow, "erh... yes, Carkitt Market. I haven't been there in a while, but I still know the way. It should only be a ten-minute walk... I think. If you could all follow after me."

Once the family followed Remus out of the bank, they were back to pushing through the busy cobbled road of Diagon Alley. After passing a large gathering of annoying children admiring a broom in a shop window, the Linwoods went down a narrow alleyway illuminated with colourful lights. It took another five minutes of walking down a winding passageway before they reached a glowing sign reading 'WELCOME TO CARKITT MARKET'.

The sheer amount of space was night and day compared to Diagon Alley, there was easily over four times as much room to walk around. The shops were generally smaller, but there were more of them to compensate. There were several colourful iron pillars scattered around the periphery of the market, which supported a massive canopy made from steel and glass panels. From this canopy hung large lanterns which would presumably turn on at night.

Remus stood still while looking around aimlessly. He didn't appear to be too familiar with his surroundings. It was Dominic who first spotted a grey building on their left labelled 'Gringotts Money Exchange'.

"There it is, just as Bogrod had said", Dominic declared whilst pointing at the building in question.

Ellie looked up at her father, "who's Bogrod?"

"Just a friendly goblin we met in the bank", Dominic answered while walking ahead of the family.

The Gringotts Money Exchange appeared a lot less flashy than Gringotts Bank. George was getting 'Scrooge and Marley' firm vibes off this building, it was the antithesis of no expense spared. Nevertheless, Dominic entered the exchange without giving the building's underwhelming exterior a second glance. The rest of the family along with Remus followed behind whilst keeping their heads on a swivel.

Just like the exterior, the interior was significantly smaller than the bank with barely enough room to fit two desks sandwiched together. Once George was inside the exchange, his attention was stolen by the two members of staff. They weren't goblins, but instead humans working on worn-out wooden desks. The two humans were both trolling through head-high piles of paperwork.

Seeing that his presence had gone unnoticed, Dominic tapped his knuckles against one of the desks. The two overworked members of staff's heads shot up in surprise. One of them appeared to be a man in his late thirties with greasy hair and a comb-over. The other was a lot younger, probably still in his teens, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Their initial expressions suggested that they weren't happy to be receiving visitors.

Dominic pulled out a key from his pocket and declared, "good afternoon, gentlemen. I am Dominic Linwood, and I would like to make a deposit. Now then, which one of you two is going to make that happen?"

Any negativity on the teller's faces vanished after hearing Dominic's request. The two men looked at each other with gleeful expressions and stood up in unison. The older of the two shimmied around his desk to greet Dominic with a big smile whilst the other lifted his pile of parchments and placed them on the ground.

"Good afternoon, my name is Roderick J Modesty and this is my assistant Benjamin Rosemary. Welcome to Gringotts Money Exchange. How may I help you today?", the older of the two asked in an overly enthusiastic manner.

Dominic responded with a smile and a firm handshake, "the pleasure is all mine. As I said, I'm Dominic Linwood and this is my family. We have just opened an account at Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley. If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to transfer some money from one of my bank accounts to my new account at Gringotts."

The level of excitement between Roderick and Benjamin went up another notch as they hurried to facilitate Dominic's exchange. Roderick clicked his fingers and his younger colleague clambered over his desk to hand him a small piece of parchment and a quill. He licked the tip of the quill before writing down what Dominic had just said.

"Dominic Linwood, right sir. And your address, if you don't mind?", Roderick enquired politely.

Dominic happily complied, "Queen Anne's Gate, Westminster, London."

With a slight tremble in his voice, Roderick explained, "the current exchange rate fee has recently increased to forty-five per cent, but it can be as low as thirty-five per cent depending on how much money is being transferred. I know this may seem like a lot, but I can ensure you that it's necessary. Your current bank must not be able to trace the money back to Gringotts for… obvious reasons."

"May I know how much money you intend on exchanging?", he asked anxiously.

Dominic didn't appear to be fazed by the high exchange fee, "no need to apologise, I understand your difficulties perfectly well. The amount I would like to exchange for is five point two million galleons".

Roderick nodded along, "absolutely sir, that'll be no problem. I will just be needing some info…"

He looked up from his notes before continuing, "I'm sorry, sir. I must of miss-heard you."

"In regards to what exactly?"

"Well... did sir just say five million galleons?", Roderick inquired in a desperate attempt to seem composed.

"Five point two million is what I have in mind", Dominic said with a nonchalant smile

Roderick's hands then started to shake, "and does sir know that the current exchange rate is four pounds and ninety-three pence to one galleon?"

Dominic looked over his shoulder at Remus, "my friend here told me it was roughly five pounds for one of your gold coins."

"Including the fee, that'll be just over thirty-five million pounds, sir. Are you sure that's correct?"

"That sounds about right. How much longer is this going to take?"

Roderick's forehead started to glisten with cold sweat as he adjusted the tiny glasses on the bridge of his nose.

He took a moment to clear his throat before saying, "no sir, not much longer now. I just need to erm... Considering it's a rather large sum of money... I will just need to get my manager."

Roderick retreated around his desk and gestured at his colleague, "I'll be just a moment. My assistant Benjamin will stay and keep you company in the meantime. Benjamin, stay here and answer any questions the good gentleman and his company may have."

Before Benjamin could even process what had just been asked of him, Roderick quickly dashed into the back room and slammed the door behind him. The poor young teenager turned back around and adjusted his fraying collar with shaking hands whilst desperately failing to maintain a confident smile. Amanda, who had been silent this entire time, decided to ask Benjamin a question.

"Mr Rosemary, would you happen to have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

Her voice was very gentle as if she was addressing a young child. Benjamin was clearly taken aback by the line of enquiry, he appeared to be at a loss for words. Amanda maintained her signature gentle smile and waited for the teenager to recover. She emanated a sense of calm and tranquillity.

The young teller relaxed a little after digesting the question, "Benjamin is fine Mrs Linwood, I'm only an intern. And yes, I did attend Hogwarts. I just graduated last year."

Amanda's smile bloomed like a flower in summer and Remus, knowing where this conversation was going, started to panic. And so began a lighthearted exchange between Amanda and Benjamin. She asked questions about Hogwarts and Benjamin quite happily answered them in great detail. The topics had a lot of consistency with Remus's talk in the car, it was obvious that she was comparing their answers.

After around ten minutes, the conversation between Amanda and Benjamin ended when the sound of muffled shouting came from the back room. One of the voices was Roderick's and the other sounded a lot like the high-pitch voice of a goblin. A moment later, the door swung open and two individuals hurried out. Roderick was back with his, presumed to be, goblin manager.

The goblin had curly thinning ginger hair and his nails were cut short and smooth. His uniform was more colourful than the suits the goblins wore in Gringotts Bank, it was a mixture of bright greens and gold. The only thing he was missing was a green top hat with a buckle. He also sported a genuine smile which George had presumed the goblin species was incapable of.

The green goblin picked up a stool and stood aloft it before saying, "good afternoon, Mr Linwood. I just want to confirm what my colleague has just informed me. You want to exchange for five point two million galleons, is that correct?"

"Yes, I do. How many more times do I have to repeat myself?", Dominic said impatiently.

Unlike Roderick and Benjamin, the goblin didn't show any evidence of surprise. He merely pulled out a stack of paperwork and a silver quill from thin air and handed it to Dominic.

"If sir can sign here, here and here, then we can start talking about exchanging your money", the goblin said while pointing at several wordy pages.

Dominic took the paperwork off the goblin, and without even looking at it, through it on Roderick's desk.

"I am going to make this crystal clear for you. You're going to find a vault big enough to hold all of my money and give it to me."

"But sir, as a muggle you are not eligible..."

Dominic held his arm out, "I read the contract at Gringotts, you don't have to repeat it. Call 'my' vault a shared vault on paper and charge me eighty galleons just like everyone else. But, none of your other clients can have access to that vault, that is unnegotiable. Also, I need another set of keys for my wife so she has access as well. Just consider her another tenant."

"You won't be getting a single penny until you've met my demands", Domonic said authoritatively.

Not a word left the goblin's mouth as it stood on that stool in furious contemplation. Its forehead bulged with veins as he considered Dominic's ultimatum, it must have been weighing up the pros and cons. Dominic didn't appear to have the patience to wait for the goblin to make up his mind. He was about to turn around and walk out of the exchange when a squeaky voice called him back.

With clenched fists, the seething goblin spat out, "I do not believe these documents I've prepared consider certain factors. Due to these… unusual circumstances, I can amend said documents to be more... accommodating to your expectations."