Emma Potter

4: Diagon Alley

My brother is a sleepy head. And, it has never infuriated me more.

"Get up sleepy head" I said shaking him "I-" I stopped short and owl. a real live owl was in front of me. "Harry" i whisper shaking him harder " Harry...." But of course my brother will not wake up. why should he? "Dream.. he mumbeled "It was all a dream........." "Get up" "Emma....please lemme sleep" "GET UP" "NO"

"HARRY JAMES POTTER"

"WHAT EMMA?"

"GET UP"

"NOOOO" he said voice muffled. rolled over and I shook him harder "Get up you idiot" I said "there's an owl"

This jerked him up. "where?" he demanded and did a classic double take when he saw the eagle owl "Bloody hell" he whispered 

I scrambled to my feet, so happy I felt as though fireworks were bursting inside him. I went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

"Don't do that."

Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.

"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl--"

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.

"What?" I asked

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.

"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.

"Knuts?" I ask

"The little bronze ones."

I counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.

Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, guys, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

I was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them.I had just thought of something that made me feel as though the happy fireworks inside me suddenly stopped

"Um -- Hagrid?"

"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"we haven't got any money -- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night... he won't pay for us to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But if their house was destroyed--"

"They didn' keep their gold in the house! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold -- an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks ?"

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.

"Goblins ?"

"Yeah -- so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe -- 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you -- gettin' things from Gringotts -- knows he can trust me, see."