Gringotts
To say Ariana is embarrassed would be an understatement. Not only had she just thrown up when traveling by something Professor Dumbledore called apparation. But Chiron had also scolded her for being extremely rude in front of the person she was rude to.
However Dumbledore seemed very calm and relaxed about everything that was happening. His eyes were twinkling with amusement.
"Do not worry Ariana it happens to the best of us when we apparate for the first time."
I nod and look around. I notice we are in the middle of a bustling road lined with shops.
"Why are we here."
"Because this is the entrance to Diagon Alley."
"In the middle of the street?"
"No of course not. We need to go to that building, the Leaky Cauldron."
I look to see where he is pointing and I see a tiny, grubby-looking pub, and if Dumbledore hadn't pointed it out I never would have noticed it. When I looked around I noticed that the people hurrying by didn't even glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact Ariana had the most peculiar feeling that only her and Dumbledore could see it. Before she could mention this, Dumbledore led her inside the Leaky Cauldron.
When she walked in she was not expecting it to be as dark and shabby as it was. A few groups of old men and women were sitting around tables drinking tiny glasses of sherry. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. When her and Dumbledore walked in the buzz of chatter stopped. Everyone seemed to know Dumbledore and; they waved and smiled at him, the bartender reached for a glass saying. "Would you like butterbeer today Albus?"
"I apologize Tom, but not today. I'm on Hogwarts business. I have to escort young Ariana here to get her supplies." Dumbledore tells the bartender.
The bartender looks at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss...?"
"Po..."
"Ariana unfortunately we need to go start retrieving your supplies if you want to make it back to camp before dinner. Farewell Tom, I will see you later." Dumbledore interrupts softly.
"Goodbye Albus."
Dumbledore steers Ariana toward the back of the building and out a door where there is a small, walled courtyard, with nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.
"Why are we back here."
"Because this is the entrance to Diagon Alley." Dumbledore says simply.
"What! How can a brick wall be an entrance."
"Magic Ms. Potter. Magic."
I watch as Dumbledore pulls a long wooden stick out of his sleeve and taps the brick wall in a weird pattern. When he touched the final brick that brick started quivering. It wriggled. In the middle of the wall, a small hole appeared. This hole kept growing wider and wider until there was an archway large enough for Chiron to walk through if he was here.
"Welcome Ariana. To Diagon Alley."
Dumbledore smiles as I stare in amazement. Dumbledore guides me through the archway and I turn around to see it close behind us. I see lots of different stores, but the first one I see is for cauldrons. I read the sign that's hanging over the shop. Cauldrons-All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver- Self Stirring- Collapsable.
"Wow."
Dumbledore chuckles. "It is rather amazing isn't it. Now come along. We have to get your money first."
"Money?"
"Yes, money. Your father certainly wouldn't leave you without anything."
"Did you know my father?"
"Yes. I was also headmaster during his time at school."
"What was he like?"
"During school I never did have the honor of teaching him, but I did hear from other teachers that he was rather fond of pranks. After school however he matured greatly and was a great father to you and your brother."
"Did he get in trouble a lot?"
"I suppose he could get rather carried away."
"What was the worst thing he did?" I asked with a little to much interest Dumbledore seemed to think.
"Well I guess you'll have to do research on that. It is a school after all." Dumbledore told me.
"Here we are."
I look up and notice we had arrived at our destination. I look behind me and notice I was to busy asking questions and not paying attention to all the shops.
"I'll have to go back later and look." I told myself.
I look back up at the building. It is a snowy white building that towered over all the little shops.
"This is where I get my money."
"Yes this is Gringotts the wizarding bank."
"Olympus is cooler."
Dumbledore chuckles. "I'm sure."
We walk into Gringotts and I notice that the workers are wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, but the weird part was that they were goblins.
The first goblin I saw had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and very long fingers and feet. When he saw me staring he glared at me, but after a moment of looking at me his face turned into one of panic and he bowed.
I look Dumbledore silently asking him what that was about.
"Even the goblins respect the gods Ms. Potter." Dumbledore tells me.
When we got to a second pair of doors I noticed words engraved on them.
'Rnete, trsgerns, ubt atke dhee'
Professor Dumbledore, as he told me to call him, noticed my eyes scrunched trying to read the sign.
"Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most 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." Dumbledore reads to me.
"That doesn't sound good."
"It is a warning for all of those that are foolish enough to even try and steal from this place. It is the second if not first most secure building in the wizarding world."
We walk through the second set of doors and see a vast marble hall. With about a hundred goblins sitting on high stools behind a long counter doing various task. There were a lot more doors leading off the hall, and more goblins were guiding people in and out of these.
Dumbledore and I walk to a counter.
"Greetings Higroot I have Ms. Andromeda Potter here, and we are trying to take money out of her vault."
"Do you have her key, sir?"
"Yes it's in my pocket somewhere."
Dumbledore digs through his pockets and takes out a tiny golden key.
"Here you go."
The goblin named Higroot looked at the key closely before deciding the key was to his standards.
"Well this seems to be in order. I will have Alegorock take you to your vault."
"Thank you." Dumbledore says.
Alegorock was also a goblin. He led us to one of the doors leading off the hall. He held the door open for us and when we entered I was shocked to see a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. This passageway sloped steeply down and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Alegorock whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward us.
After we had entered the cart started moving rather quickly. The cart seemed to know it's way around because Alegorock wasn't steering.
My eyes stung as the cold air rushed past us, but I tried to keep them wide open. I was sitting there quietly until a question popped into my mind.
"Professor."
"Yes."
"Chiron was telling me about pure bloods and muggles and all of that. What was my father?"
"Your father was a pure blood."
"Why didn't he support the pure bloods trying to be in charge of the muggles?"
"That, unfortunately, I can not answer."
"Oh....." I sit there quietly for a minute. "So what am I?"
"Pardon."
"Would I be considered pure blood, or would I still be a half blood? Since my mother is a goddess."
"I believe you would be pure blood, but you can't tell anyone that. Everyone thinks you are e child of Lily and James. It would be very hard to explain to the wizarding world that your mother is a goddess."
"That makes sense."
The cart stopped bedside a small door in the wall.
"Vault 687." Alegorock said in a squeaky voice.
Andromeda and Dumbleore get out of the cart, with the former stumbling a little bit. Alegorock unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke game slowly out and when it cleared. Andromeda's jaw dropped. Now her jaw didn't drop because of all the gold. She's been to Olympus before, now that's a lot of gold. Her jaw dropped because all of this was hers. Mounds of gold coins, columns of silver, and piles of little bronze knuts.
"This is mine?"
"Well you and your brother's technically. He comes to school next year as a matter of fact." Dumbledore tells her.
Dumbledore handed Ariana a bag. She walked over to the gold and put a ton in her bag. She then did the same with the silver and bronze coins.
She was about to ask a question but Dumbledore already started answering. "The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the bronze ones are Knuts. There are 17 silver Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knits to a Sickle."
Dumbledore turns back to Alegorock.
"I believe we are ready to go back up."
The goblin nods and walks to the entrance of the vault, they follow him out. The ride back up is a lot shorter than the ride down and when they exit Gringotts Ariana breathes in the fresh air.
"Time to go shopping."
Third Chapter up!!! What did you think of this chapter? I wanted to put the Gringotts and shopping together, but I didn't want to bore anyone with reading.
Would y'all like for Percy to be involved with Hogwarts adventures and go to school there?
Thoughts?
Questions?
Anything you think I should add.