Professor Sprout and Harry boarded a bus to get to London, and continued to talk quietly about Hogwarts, telling Harry about the teachers and what they taught. She also told him about the wizarding world in general, and how he was famous. Harry didn't like that he was famous because his parents were dead, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it. He also learned he had a godfather.
"Your godfather's name is Sirius Black. He was put into Azkaban, the wizarding prison, for betraying your parents. I don't know why he did it. He and your father were such close friends," she explained.
Harry frowned. "How did he betray them?"
The professor began the tale of Voldemort, and how Harry's parents had hidden from him and Sirius told Voldemort where they were hidden. "You killed him that night, somehow. That's why you're famous. You bear the mark from that night on your forehead. After that, Sirius was the first to find you, apparently. He gave you to Hagrid, and went after Peter Pettigrew, one of their other friends. He then proceeded to blow up a street full of thirteen muggles and Peter, while laughing hysterically. Only a finger was found of Peter, poor lad."
Harry was silent for a few minutes, processing. He had seen many instances where blame was passed on unfairly, usually from Dudley, and this seemed, well, too perfect. "So Sirius was the only person who knew where they were? You said they were the best of friends in school. Is there any way I can see what was said at his trial? And only a finger was left from Pettigrew?"
Professor Sprout paused. "I could send an owl to Madam Bones," she finally said. "She would know what was said, and as his godson, and son of the people he betrayed, I think you have a right to know what happened."
Harry continued to think, knowing that any explosion wouldn't leave only a finger. There would also be other body parts strewn about. If he was right, this Peter Pettigrew character was able to somehow make sure that he could disappear and make it look like Sirius was guilty. "Yes," he finally said. "I would like to see what the trial uncovered." He was quiet after that, and they soon reached their stop. Professor Sprout led the way to an old bar that seemed very out of place in the busy street, and no one seemed able to see it. They went in and were greeted by the bartender who introduced himself as Tom.
"This is Harry," Professor Sprout introduced. "We're headed to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies."
Tom looked at Harry and seemed to freeze for a moment before regaining his composure. "Harry Potter?" he asked. "Here in my bar? It's an honor, sir, truly. Thank you so much for getting rid of You-Know-Who."
Harry mentally groaned. Great. Was this what it was going to be like from now on, getting randomly thanked by everyone on the street? Suddenly, it was like the entire bar came to life.
"Harry Potter? Here?"
"What an honor! To meet the Harry Potter!"
"He hasn't been seen in nearly ten years!"
Many other similar comments were made and Harry suddenly felt very trapped as the entire bar crowded him. He began backing towards the door they had come in, when Professor Sprout finally made it to his side after being shoved back by the crowd.
"Here now, back up! You're crowding the poor boy! He's only eleven! Back up I said!"
The crowd finally backed away and Harry breathed more easily. "Thanks, Professor," he said gratefully.
"No problem, dearie. These people really should know better," she said, pointedly looking towards where the crowd was still staring at Harry. "Let's get moving on then, shall we?"
Harry nodded, and the exited out the back of the bar, into a small alleyway. There was a wall at the end that Professor Sprout hurried towards. Harry quickly caught up with her and she pulled out what he assumed was a wand, tapping some bricks, seemingly at random, but he knew that it wasn't. She tapped them in a way that indicated that she had done it many times before.
As soon as she tapped the last brick, the wall seemed to melt into itself, opening a passageway into what looked like a whole other world. People bustled past in long dress like clothing, which he assumed were the robes listed on his list, going in and out of colorful shops with old looking signs. Professor Sprout quickly led him to a large white building, which she had explained was Gringotts, the wizarding bank, run by goblins, which appeared to be short humanoid creatures with long noses and fingers.
They joined a line, and shortly approached the teller. "We're here to see Mr. Potter's vault," Professor Sprout said. She held out a key and turned to Harry as the goblin inspected it. "That is your vault key. Professor Dumbledore has been holding it since your parents died, as he didn't want you to lose it. Now that you're coming to school, you can have it." The key was handed back to Professor Sprout, who immediately gave it to Harry.
"If you would follow Griphook, here, he will take you to your vault," the goblin at the desk sneered, motioning towards another goblin who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Harry and Professor Sprout obediently followed. They soon reached a deep cavern with a track going down through it and a rickety looking cart next to the ledge in front of them. Griphook got into the cart at the back, and Harry quickly followed, with the professor following more reluctantly. As soon as she was sitting, the cart took off, speeding down the track, downward into the cavern. Harry whooped in joy. He had never been on a rollercoaster before and this was the most fun he had had as far back as he could remember.
Too soon for Harry, the cart stopped in front of a door with a tiny keyhole in the middle of it. He followed the goblin out of the cart and towards the door, Professor Sprout following more slowly, obviously not having enjoyed the ride as much as Harry had. He stifled a giggle at her green face, knowing better than to openly laugh at an adult. He had learned that lesson hard and fast when he was nine. He had missed school for three whole days for that. The only reason it hadn't been longer was because it was the weekend.
When he reached the door, he grabbed his key and gave it to the goblin who had yet to say anything, but was expectantly holding out his hand. Griphook put the key in the keyhole and the door melted open. The goblin handed the key back to Harry as he stared in awe at the piles of gold inside. Professor Sprout had finally caught up to them and handed him a pouch.
"I would suggest taking about two hundred galleons. It should pay for your school supplies and a little extra," she said softly. "It's your birthday in a day or so, right? I'll buy you something small as a gift. Maybe an owl so you can send and receive letters." Seeing he was about to protest, she cut him off gently. "I insist. It's you birthday. You should get a gift, and an owl is something you can use."
Harry finally nodded, then counted out two hundred of the gold coins that she had explained about on the bus ride. They then got back into the cart and flew back up the track, Harry grinning in delight at the speed. Professor Sprout smiled softly at the pure joy on his face once she got her stomach back where it belonged.
They exited Gringotts and the professor turned to Harry. "Where do you want to start dearie? The robes will likely take the most time, except for maybe the wand, depending on how long it takes for a wand to pick you, so if you want to start there to get it over with, we could, or we could head to the other stores to get your supplies and finish at the robe shop."
Harry thought for a moment, then asked, "Is there a place where I can get something to hold all of my stuff once it's bought? I think that would be a good place to start."
Professor Sprout agreed and they headed to the first shops.