Diagon Alley (Part 1)

"Where did you get that?" - he asked with shock. Looking at such unusual behavior, Selena suddenly felt smug like hell! She could astonish this grumpy kid to this extent. With that, she even took a moving photo.

"Bought it in an auction of magical things that usually opens in the middle of summer. It is an international event, but typically only mages of a certain level may come and receive an invitation."

"Interesting. I need to go there one day."

"Do you like it?" - her eyes sparkled with expectation.

"Yes! It is the best. Thank you, aunt Selena." - he hugged her.

"He-he." - Selena rubbed her nose, feeling happy, smug, and shy all over. She was a woman who never got used to receiving praise and thanks, and such words usually make her uncomfortable or shy. Later for Alan, former for others.

But little did she know, what she bought turned out to be an artifact that will cause tremendous waves among the wizarding society many years later.

"Okay, let's go to Diagon Valley for a shopping spree, but before that, to rob Gringotts." - Selena was cheerful and full of energy while pulling Alan after her.

Well, it wasn't a normal pull. She apparated directly in front of Leaky Cauldron.

They went in and Selena waved at the bartender with a friendly smile. Even if she is a special auror, people around seem to always be at ease and greet her with a warm attitude. Alan felt amazement over this trait of her social life. Selena is open, brave to interact with others, and dedicated to the ones she deemed as her friends.

And it can be seen on her radiant face that light up everyone's mood in no time.

"Wow, Sena, you are a mother?" - came a question from the angle no one expected.

"I... hey, Hank, let's not talk about it. What's with that pot belly of yours?" - she tried to change the topic.

"What pot belly? It is additional protection!" - Selena looked at him with a straight face as if saying something between the lines of 'aha, yeah, right!' and 'you are bullshitting me old man!'.

"As shameless as always, eh, old Hank." - came another voice of a middle-aged man. - "As for Selena, she is as stunning as one could be. Ah, back in old days all Hogwarts was at her feet."

"Pff, who doesn't know how you love your wife? Spare me with useless flattery." - Selena smiled. - "Oh Amos, that's Cedric out there? Why are you hiding from me?"

"N-No... miss Links, I don't dare..." - sounded stuttered reply from the back of man's figure. Alan nearly fell over. What is wrong with him? Selena is such a fluffy-go-cute woman. What is with such level of fear, that makes him pale from top to bottom!

Well, she changes a bit when waving a wand at some scumbags, but that is just a little detail unnecessary for the bigger picture.

"Khm... Selena, don't pressure the kids." - Amos smiled. - "And who might it be? Who is the lucky guy to have our Queen?"

"Amos." - Selena gave him a serious look, and the man stopped halfway through the joke, inspecting the youth by her side.

Pitch black hair had a strange pure platinum luster to them. Or was it a misconception? But it draws attention to itself. He traced a perfect face with his gaze and bright enchanting eyes of such a rare countenance it made him curious. Imperfect animagus transformation? Sometimes it birthed such unique mutations and traits of their beast forms.

But the boy was too young for such things. No one will even let him come close to animagus study before reaching at least forth year.

The youth looked back at him with a firm, but polite expression in his deep tranquil platinum-gold eyes. Somewhere within them hid an intangible force of stories and experiences.

He just stood there. But if you look at him once, it will be hard to not look a second time.

"Alan Salvatore, nice to meet you, sir Diggory." - with that introduction, not only conversation among the three went silent, but the entire bar grew quiet.

"So it is you, Alan. I heard lots of things about you and your parents. They were principled people no matter what the rest of the world says. I'm sorry for your loss."

Alan just nodded.

"Traitor's spawn." - someone said in the corner.

"Who said that, stand up for me!" - Selena is a righteous woman, thus she never tolerated injustice. She is a Valkyrie on short fuse in the face of evil.

"I said, so what? Am I wrong?" - it was just a regular mage with no particular distinguishing trait to him. - "That pair of aurors gone rogue and slaughtered through a dozen muggles to rob them. Disgrace to us wizards!"

'He is weaker than me, albeit being middle-aged.'

"Are you tired of living?" - Selena hissed while taking out a wand and tremendous magical pressure spread out. Her body trembled a bit in anticipation of battle.

"Wow, easy there, Selena... let's just go. Ministry interpretations might mislead many people and most of them will behave like that. Will you beat them all up? What good will it do?" - Amos stood in front of her while throwing a threatening glance at the drinkers around.

"Aunt... let's go." - she looked at Alan and felt sorry for her outburst. He was standing there clenching his fists to the point of bloody wounds and tolerating it all. Yet she went off in a bang. Sometimes she found him to stable and mature for his own good.

He held it all within and who knows when it will burst? What will happen with the boy then?

"Let's go. No time to lose for such people." - she holstered her wand and directly entered the valley.

Well, it was a crowded marketplace with lots of shops all around and people running here and there. Aside from the goods here being magical and owls flying around, Alan thought of it as a regular bazaar.

Still, it was a fascinating place in its own right.

"We will separate here, Amos." - Selena took Alan to Gringotts, and that was his first time seeing goblins. They really impressed him with the attitude. They were priceless bureaucratic assets. Give one to any bank in the muggle world and even mice will run in strict order with cloud lining up above the building.

"We are here to reclaim an account under the names of Jason Salvatore and Mila Skymorne." - the goblin nodded and opened an enormous book. Then he looked at Alan for some time and nodded, eventually giving him a card. Alan looked at it with a question.

"Do you wish to organize two vaults in one or leave them separate?"

"Two in one." - goblin nodded and pointed at Alan arm holding the card. It pricked his finger and sucked blood in. - "Identification confirmed, welcome to Gringotts, sir Alan Viol Salvatore-Skymorne. Do you wish to withdraw money or observe the vaults?"

"Aunt, what do you say?"

"I'm fine with anything." - she shrugged.

"Withdraw." - Alan sighed. He somehow didn't want to look inside. He wanted to do it when there will be no rush for time and alone. It felt more appropriate that way. Besides, what is there to see? Money?

He completely forgot what bank vaults in Gringotts are like, as if he came to regular muggle bank with no cells for rent.

"Name the amount. You can also bind all of it to the card."

"Bind all, I don't know how much is there anyway." - said Alan.

"As you wish." - goblin said with even tone as if suffering from severe insomnia. He performed the binding and gave the card back. - "Pour some mana to look at the bank balance."

"Pfff..." - Selena who just drank a juice from a bottle spat it all out. - "That's... how the hell did they do it? I can't even count it properly!"

"Is it a mistake?" - Alan asked, petrified. That number is just... sky high. Well, not like there is a reason to complain.

"Gringotts never commit mistakes." - came a strict answer. - "If you want to calculate other items in the vault, file a form 14756A and pay an additional fee of two galleons."

"There is something else?"

"We calculated only existing galleon and the gold deposit under your father's name. As for items and precious ingredients, they were in a vault under your mother's name."

"Can you give me a rough estimation?"

"Well..." - goblin looked at the card and Alan without further ado swiped it by the one in accountant's hand giving him a ten galleon tip.

'Should have done it earlier. Now, look at that burning enthusiasm enough to make a whole in me with a gaze. Goblins.'

"Sir, if only you asked me earlier I would have already..."

"I got it, just a rough estimation."

"Rough? Sir." - he pointed at the card in Alan hand. - 'That is just spare change."

"Spare change, he said." - Alan's mouth twitched. - "Okay, can you help me withdraw two things out of there? Wait... no..." - he suddenly thought of something and grew incomparably excited and expectant. He immediately changed his mind and threw all previous misgivings out in the window. - "Bring me there, quick!"