Finding the Magic (a Clexa hogwarts au)

Diagon Alley

Soon, the bricks began to shift and shudder. In almost no time at all, the wall had turned into an open entrance. Inviting smells entered Clarke's nostrils, and the sounds of excited children and adults alike penetrated her ears. A rush of excitement jolted through her, and she turned to her mother.

"Where to first?" Clarke could barely contain herself.

"Gringotts. The wizarding bank. You can't expect to be able to buy anything here with our muggle money," Abby laughed, and Clarke realized that was the word Abby had spoken inside The Leaky Cauldron earlier.

"Well, what are we waiting for then, Mom?" Clarke bounced on the balls of her feet and pushed her mother forward gently, encouraging her to lead the way. Abby walked forward briskly, Clarke only a half step behind.

After a few minutes of dodging people clothed in ankle-length robes of various colors and children of all ages whooping and roughhousing around the narrow street, Clarke noticed a giant white building looming above the rest of the small shops. Clarke could tell almost immediately that it was Gringotts, and rushed ahead to go inside.

Once she entered the building, Clarke stopped dead in her tracks. Abby bumped into her from behind. "Goblins," Abby told her immediately, sensing Clarke's question. "Creepy, I know. But they keep our money safe. Now come on."

Abby strode ahead, leaving Clarke stumbling behind her while gazing at the arching ceiling and hundreds of Goblins sitting at high desks counting coins. The walls were elaborate and decorated with swords, jewellery, paintings, and hundreds of other things that were clearly quite expensive. Abby stopped in front of the desk at the end of the row and spoke to the goblin sitting there.

"My name is Abby Griffin, wife of Jake Griffin. I would like to enter the family vault to extract money for our daughter, Clarke. She will be purchasing school supplies for her first year at Hogwarts." Abby held up a tarnished silver key.

The goblin took the key and led them through a door. Clarke shivered as a draft suddenly hit her. Despite the size of the bank, Clarke sensed that most of it was underground. He led Abby and Clarke to what resembled a mine cart. They all clambered inside and it started moving on its own. Magic. After a few minutes of the cart moving forwards at a steady decline, turning on occasion, the machine shuddered to a halt. The goblin climbed out, and the Griffins assumed they should do the same.

In front of them stood a large, ornate door. It was covered in dust and cobwebs. The goblin inserted the key and the door creaked open. Well, creak would be an understatement. The massive door could not possibly have let out any sound softer than an earthquake. Spiders fell from the high ceiling, raining into the crevice that the three were standing next to. Clarke shivered again, not because of the cold.

Clarke peered into what she expected to be a dark room. Instead, it glowed brilliantly from the reflected light of thousands of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Towards the back of the cavernous room were suits of armor, jewel encrusted objects, and what looked to be a king sized bed. Clarke filed that away as something to ask her mother about on another day.

Smiling, Abby passed Clarke as she entered the room. She scooped some of the coins into a pouch, not even making a dent in the plethora of wealth that surrounded her.

"This is all... Ours?" Clarke asked incredulously.

"Well... Yes and no," Abby replied. "It is ours, but we won't abuse it. We will take only what we need. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Mom," Clarke rolled her eyes. She wasn't the type of person to just blow all of their money in one go, she was smarter than that.

Clarke could tell her mother wanted to tell her not to get sassy in front of her, but just let it go, most likely because there was a goblin standing in behind them.