The Misadventures of the Marauders

Who is your favorite our of the 'Golden Trio'?

Our first stop was the wizarding bank, Gringotts. We climbed the white stairs up to the polished bronze doors. Next to the door sat a little creature I had read a lot about, called a goblin. They had a rather bloody history when it came to wizards. We entered the bronze doors into a little entrance hall with silver doors. Engraved on the silver was a warning:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed.

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay 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.

Ominous much? Whatever, from what I’ve seen at the Potter Manor, and from what James has told me, the Potters’ are pretty loaded. Charlus told us that their parents left a small fortune for mum when they died.

I wasn’t really paying attention to what happened after we entered the silver doors of caution, until I was told to sit in a rickety little cart. Seriously, you want me to travel to the depths of your terrifying bank filled with magical things in what is fundamentally a large, wooden laundry basket?

I stepped in, realizing that there was probably magic holding it together. And I saw seatbelts, so I figured I was good. I buckled up, just as James sat next to me. He looked over at me with a mischievous smile as the cart started racing down into the darkness.

Suddenly, James leapt out of the cart. For no reason at all. He just threw himself over the edge. I heard him laugh, and all I can think it ‘wow. He spent so much time with me that I drove him to madness’. Charlus, Dorea, and mum are laughing, but my dad is doing the same thing as me, peering over the edge with a terrified look on his face. The goblin looked indifferent, as though kids hurled themselves into what appeared to be never ending darkness every day.

After about ten seconds, ten long seconds, mind you, a loud, resounding pop echoed of the cavern walls. I looked over next to me, and saw my cousin, looking windswept and exhilarated.

“Lemme guess. Magic?” I asked, angry that I hadn’t realized that the bank would have allowed people to die.

James just nodded, and as he did, I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbed his arm, and dived out of the cart.

James laughed again, and I laughed along with him. The wind rushed around me, and my hair flew out of my pony tail and flapped wildly in the wind. I heard the sound of rushing water over our loud laughs, and suddenly a massive underground river came into view. And when I say massive, I mean this thing was monstrous. Both sides were barely visible, and it was moving very quickly. It was a dark, clear blue color that shifted mesmerizingly with each splash and wave. Right before we came into contact with the water, I lift a certain lightness pervade my entire body right before I seemed to turn into air, and popped back into the cart. It had only been ten seconds, but it felt like an entire lifetime.

I looked over at James, mirroring his glee and exhilaration. I heard a quiet clicking noise, and when we looked over, Dorea had pulled out her camera, and was snapping photos of us.

We shuddered to a stop in front of a stone door with intricate locks on the front. Charlus handed the goblin that had accompanied us the key, and when he opened it, I was completely stunned. My jaw probably touched the bottom of the cart. I distantly noticed my mum gathering some galleons, sickles, and knuts into a magical moleskin bag that could only be opened by someone she gave access to.

The journey back up was remarkably boring. We jumped off one more time, though. Still thrilling. When we stepped out, blinking in the sudden bright sunlight, I glanced around at the people more. Some were wearing robes, but since it was still really hot out, there was a lot of kids wearing muggle shorts and Quidditch shirts.

I had grown to love Quidditch, and flying in general. When we played, I played a good Keeper, but I was decent in most of the other positions, except Seeker. Man, I sucked at finding that puny little ball. I couldn’t be in Quidditch, because I was a first year, but, unless there was already an excellent Keeper, I was going to try out for my house team in second year.

We got all of our stuff, and it wasn’t too exciting. I had been living in the magic environment for almost two months by now, so I too wasn’t surprised. Until we got to Ollivander’s.

Ollivander’s Wand Shop was extremely quick compared to the loud hustle and bustle outside, and it was rather dark. It had the unmistakable aura of mystery and magic.

“Hello?” I called out into the echoing silence.

“Hello, Hogwarts, I presume?” A man called back as he wandered out from behind a shelf. The man had wide, pale, gleaming eyes that shone through the dust and gloom of the shop. He stared at James and me questioningly with his silvery eyes.

“Yes, sir,” I replied. He was a bit creepy, with his unblinking eyes.

“Alright, then. You first, Miss?” He asked, already walking in between the shelves without an answer.

“Hmm. How about this? ” Ollivander asked, more to himself, I think. “Unicorn hair, slightly springy, 12 inches, from the wood of an Ash tree,” He was walking towards me, holding out a wand box. The wand with extremely dark, almost black, with leaves engraved on the entire thing. I pulled out the wand, and looked up at him. “Well, go ahead, give it a flick.”

So, I did what he said, and flicked it. I so should not have done that. I ended up pulling thousands of wand boxes out of one side of a shelf. Oops.

“I think we’re just going to be leaving now. How about we meet you at the ice cream parlor? Have fun, kids!” My mum and dad called as our parents left us here.

“That’s not it.” Ollivander replied shortly. He swished his wand, and all of the boxes rose up and settled back onto the shelf. “Maybe this? Dragon heartstring, 10 inches, unyielding, made of Aspen,” He held out another wand, though this one was white with delicate swirls carved on the handle.

I flicked it, now knowing that any damage could be repaired. This time, the windows all shattered. This must be an everyday thing, because no one batted an eye. James threw himself onto a chair in a huff and slouched down completely. I stuck out my tongue at him, and he returned the action. Ollivander repaired the window and walked back into the shelves with a concentrated look on his face.

This may take a while.