chapter 4: Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

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"Welcome," Flitwick proclaimed, "To Diagon Alley!"

"Wow." Harry breathed as he followed Flitwick through the archway, barely noticing as it closed up behind them. "This is amazing!"

"Indeed it is." Filius confirmed as he led the way through the crowds. "And up ahead, you will see Gringotts. The white marble building."

Harry frowned. "It looks almost like it's about to fall over, with the pillars angled like that."

Filius froze as he stared at the front of the bank. "Huh. I never thought about that before… Now that you mention it…"

The duo looked at the angled pillars before Filius shook himself. "I assure you that it is safe, magical buildings are constructed with special runes that hold the frame of the building absolutely immobile. Why, I've seen tents created on a rope frame, so once the rope is magically charged, it straightens and pulls the tent up into whatever shape the owner asked for. Of course, sometimes they need sticking charms as well to stop them falling over in a high wind."

Harry smirked at the mental image of a tent rolling along as a dozen panicking wizards chased it, then he was at the doors of the bank.

"What the…" He started as the odd runes embossed on the large doors writhed into something that he could read.

"Enter, stranger, but take heed / Of what awaits the sin of greed

"For those who take, but do not earn, / 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.

"Is that a translation of what it said before it changed, or is it different in each language so that it rhymes?"

"Very good." Filius congratulated him. "If translated directly from Grikzalkr, it goes…

"The gold that lies in goblins care / safely resides

"Guarded by honor / growing for the reputation of the clans

"To betray our trust / brings the blade of death

"We guard the wealth of the arrogant walking roasts / yet if they steal, we shall feast."

"That is… a very different poem." Harry said, feeling somewhat shaken. "…walking roasts… do I want to know?"

"Just keep polite, civil and don't try to waste their time." Filius offered. "You'll do fine. Now, here's your Vault Key, Dumbledore had been holding it for you. Keep it on you at all times, unless a Goblin needs it to prove your identity or open the vault. Understand?"

Harry nodded and Filius resumed walking, Harry following him and looking round at the hall they had entered, a hall somehow slightly taller and wider than the building was from the outside.

"This way." Filius prompted and Harry followed him to a desk where a Goblin was perched on a stool, writing something in an open folder. After a moment, the Goblin put his quill down and looked at Flitwick who snarled something complex at him. For several moments, the two of them exchanged words that Harry couldn't understand, then the Goblin got off his stool and walked off.

"…erm, Uncle Fil?" Harry prompted.

"The Potters have a Financial Manager." Filius explained. "They needed one to help run their start-up company, Jasmine Potions. Your mother was a supreme Potions Mistress with an almost uncanny skill in developing new products. Before they… passed away, she had created no less than three new potions and licensed them out. Even your grandfather, Fleamont Potter, only managed one completely new potion, although he did improve five others, making them easier to brew or more effective."

Harry mentally filed away the new knowledge. "How should I behave? Any special greetings I should know or things I need to avoid?"

"Don't say anything about gold flowing unless you specify the direction." Filius warned as the Goblin who had been behind the desk re-appeared. "One muggleborn said that Goblins are Ferengi with a Klingon's love of honorable combat and after watching several episodes, I agreed. Here we go."

Harry trailed behind Filius as he marched through the door that the Goblin was holding open. Walking down the corridor (which had windowed offices on both sides), he paused at a door on which a series of runes were inscribed, runes which shifted into the name Potter as Harry looked at them. Knocking at the door, he opened it at a shout of "Enter!"

"Axefist, may your enemies run in fear of your name." He said as he walked in. The Goblin behind the large desk finished closing several folders before giving Filius a smirk.

"Wandfighter, may your fame increase. Ah, this must be Harry Potter. Welcome to Gringotts."

"Axefist." Harry replied, hiding his nervousness. "May your vaults fill with your enemies gold."

Axefist stared at him for a moment before chuckling. "So, you been training him in goblin etiquette?"

"Not me." Flitwick protested. "But that was a good greeting. How did you come up with it?"

"I've read quite a few Star Trek books in the library." Harry admitted. "When you mentioned Ferengi and Klingons…"

"He's quick." Axefist growled in admiration. "So, you've decided to come and see me about your family fortune. I'm sure you have questions, despite the quarterly statements I've sent you."

Harry froze, causing both adults to look at him with curiosity. "I… I've never received any letters from anyone in the magical world. I didn't even know it existed until Professor Flitwick came to visit me."

Axefist snarled. "Someone has been intercepting the letters, not that it would do them any good. They were security-sealed."

Seeing Harry's perplexed expression, Flitwick offered an explanation. "If they are opened by anyone other than the recipient or go unopened for over a month after arriving, they burst into flames and turn into ash, usually damaging anything around them."

Harry blinked several times. "Any idea why I didn't receive any letters?"

"Probably a Mail Ward." Filius mused. "Axefist, after this meeting, I think Harry will want to hire the services of the Cursebreakers and their medical auxiliary for a full check-up."

"I'll see to it." Axefist growled, then he opened a folder and pushed it across. "So, let's get to your assets. Vault 686 contains the items placed in storage from The Pottery as well as items collected from the cottage in Godric's Hollow. For your money, you have Vault 687 which contains as of three days ago, one-hundred and seventy-three thousand, eight hundred and forty-one Galleons, six-thousand, five-hundred and twelve sickles and seven hundred and nine knuts. If we total it up, that comes to a hundred and seventy-four thousand, two-hundred and twenty-five galleons, eight sickles and thirteen knuts. Congratulations, Mr Potter, you are quite a wealthy man, especially with the licensing payments from the potions still coming in. Should you wish, you will never have to work again for the rest of your life."

Axefist paused for a long moment to let the totals sink in, then frowned slightly at Harry's confusion.

"And how much is that in pounds?"

"At the current exchange rate, about three quarters of a million." Flitwick supplied. "However, you have to remember that living costs, including taxes, are far lower in the magical world. Our nation actually numbers less than a mid-sized town in the Muggle world, there are currently less than forty-thousand magicals in the United Kingdom, so there is less need for large amounts of money. The Malfoys have almost a million galleons, last I heard, which means they control almost a tenth of the cash in circulation."

"And they don't even let us make it work for them." Axefist growled, then he collected himself. "As for your family's assets outside Gringotts, they're on this sheet here."

"I don't see Godric's Hollow cottage listed." Filius said as he looked at the list from beside Harry.

"The Ministry claimed it as a heritage site." Axefist explained with a sneer. "They only paid one Galleon for it. They tried to claim everything inside it as well, but Mrs Bagshot raised a stink about it and insisted on moving everything to the Potter vault."

"She was a friend of your parents." Filius noted quietly.

"What was the Pottery?"

"Where your parents lived, the ancestral home of the Potters." Filius supplied. "Your grandfather Fleamont and his cousin Charlus grew up there, but after finishing Hogwarts, Charlus decided to move abroad and when Fleamont died, so did the knowledge of how to contact him. There was a report that he had died from Dragon Pox, but we were unable to get verification."

"And the house?"

"It was burned to the foundations by the followers of You-Know-Who." The Goblin stated. "Your father had already moved everything into the vault, though."

"Are there any other places my family owns… or owned?" Harry asked curiously. "I'd really like to have a place of my own to live. I don't really have much to do with the Dursleys these days, and I think all of us prefer it that way."

"No other properties are listed." Axefist declared after scanning the list.

"I'd like to see the Pottery, though." Harry decided. "Do I have enough money to have it rebuilt?"

"Oh, at least four times over." Filius laughed. "Once we do the shopping, I'll be happy to escort you there. Axefist, I need to get Mr. Potter equipped for Hogwarts, can we schedule another meeting at, say, three?"

Axefist nodded, then spat out a question in the Goblin's language. Filius looked surprised, then he grinned and replied. For a few minutes, the two of them exchanged sharp sentences, then Filius nodded.

"I will walk him through it once we've done the shopping. May your blade be whetted by the blood of your foes."

"And may your wand claim the lives of those who stand against you." Axefist replied as Filius rose from his seat, Harry quickly following suit. "And you, Mr. Potter, may you find victory in the future."

"May all your dreams, bar one, come true." Harry replied and Axeblade looked puzzled for a moment before grinning widely.

"Oh, I like that one."

"Feel free to use it." Harry smiled.

Filius chivied Harry out of the office, then looked up at him quizzically.

"All your dreams bar one?"

"It's from a story I read several years ago. If all your dreams come true, you have nothing left to reach for." Harry explained.

"How very Ravenclaw of you." Filius chortled. "Now, let's start by getting your money, then a trunk. I'd recommend a multi-compartment one with inbuilt shrinking charms… and maybe we can get a wizarding tent for you if you don't want to have to return to your relative's house… or maybe we should go for a travel-trunk…"

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"…and finally, the wand. " Filius said as he waved Harry into the dusty shop. Harry took two steps in, then turned to face the heartbeat he could hear.

"Hello?"

"How very curious." An elderly man said as he seemed to fade into view. "You are only the second person to do that to me… although given who is escorting you, I should not be surprised."

"Harry Potter, be known to Wandsmith Garrick Ollivander." Filius said formally. "Ollivander…"

"I know." Ollivander said as he stepped forwards jerkily, circling the suddenly-concerned Harry. "I remember your parents. Your mother, well, it seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Ollivander broke off and scurried to behind the counter. "Well!" He said gleefully. "Let's find out which wand will choose you. Which hand is your wand-hand?"

Harry slowly raised his right hand and a tape-measure flew out. Harry reflexively grabbed it, earning a raised eyebrow from both Ollivander and Filius.

"Good reflexes." Filius nodded. "At the very least, I'd say you have potential a a duellist."

"Yes, well, if you can let go of my tape, we can get on with it." Ollivander grumped. "Harrumph!"

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"That was… different." Harry said as they left the store. "Thanks for suggesting the wrist-holster."

"It's an invaluable tool for any duellist." Flitwick said, waving his hand so that his wand flew out of his sleeve and into his grasp, then he flexed his wrist to send the wand back into the concealed holster. "I would advise practicing with it until it becomes second nature."

"I will." Harry promised, then he frowned. "I had hoped to see where the Pottery was, but I've got a paper round to do tomorrow… which means I still need to return to Little Whinging after the afternoon's meeting."

"Well, I'm sure you can use the trunk, just remember to tap the inner lock-plate to activate the concealment charms and take the key into the trunk with you, you don't want to risk getting locked in by accident."

"Thanks, uncle Fil." Harry smiled as they turned towards Gringotts. "Well, this should be interesting."

"I expect it will." Filius smirked. "I expect it will. Now, we have just enough time to get you an owl, which you will find most useful for communication…"