Atropos → george weasley

iv. into the dark

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four

into the dark

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"Stand."

Still a bit too stunned to make a snide remark in protest, Ottilie did as told. She brushed off her hands when she was back on her feet and gazed at the street now that she could see more of it. The alley was not that long, and she could see where it ended in the distance with a building taller than any other on the street, uncharacteristically colorless and forbidding compared to the rest of Diagon Alley.

Snape looked down at her. He no longer looked exasperated, his eyes returning to their steely gaze and his lips in a line.

"I shall first take you to Gringotts to retrieve money for your school supplies," he said and began walking briskly down the street without glancing at Ottilie.

To keep up with him, Ottilie almost had to jog. As busy as the street was, it took some coordination to not slam into someone walking in the opposite direction. Some effort was also required not to stop and stare at every shopfront.

In one, floating quills wrote on parchment by themselves (Wizards couldn't possibly write with quills, right?). In front of another, children around her age gathered to ogle at a sleek broom with a dark wood handle (Flying on brooms was really a thing? No way.). She almost ran into a young family while she gawked at a street vendor wrestling with his merchandise—it was a leafy plant with a thick stalk that jumped around in its pot, reaching out with its leaves seemingly in an effort to slap its owner (There were magic plants? And what would someone even do with a plant so eager to smack them?).

Thankfully, she always caught up with Snape before he noticed she was distracted. Despite her dizzying sense of wonder and plethora of questions, she didn't want him to know that she was enjoying this trip.

They reached the intimidating building at the end of the street. However, before they could enter, something caught Ottilie's eyes.

She lingered a moment to stare at the entrance into another alley—one much darker, both in color and in the low lighting. The buildings on either side all seemed to lean towards each other as if concealing a sinister secret from the outside world.

There was a sense of magic to it completely unlike the one on the High Street. It was softer, subtler, colder—and, for an unfathomable reason, quite interesting to Ottilie.

"Don't just stand there," Snape said irritably, holding open the door to the bank (she assumed it was a bank since they were withdrawing money). She hurried up the stairs and entered the building. Inside, there was a small foyer and, in front of her, a second set of bronze doors. Standing on either side of the doors, there were two small humanoid creatures with long fingers and pointed ears. They were both wearing what seemed to be a professional uniform of scarlet and gold.

She stopped walking and took a step back in shock.

"Um?" she mumbled. They pretended not to notice her.

"Goblins," said Snape from behind her. The doors to the outside closed, cutting off the commotion from the street.

Ottilie blinked in surprise. "Goblins," she repeated.

"They don't appreciate staring." Snape moved to open the second set of doors. Ottilie followed, her feet and hands numb.

The two entered the grand hall with high ceilings and marble floors. Long counters, also of marble, ran along the hall's perimeter.