We were walking down London streets looking for this place called the Diagon Alley. Well, at least I was.
Mcgonagall had been taking me there.
I was still slightly spiteful about the previous situation we'd been in but I was beginning to get over it.
Mostly because she'd bought me breakfast at a cafe today morning.
Though she did ask me to pay for it (With her money of course, but I had to pay it because apparently, she didn't quite understand 'muggle money' as she'd termed it).
We were headed for Diagon Alley because it was, according to Mcgonagall, the best place to go shopping when looking for wizarding goods.
She'd told me that Hogwarts had no tuition fees or fees for facilities as the Ministry of Magic paid for all magical tuitions.
She then proceeded to explain that the Ministry of Magic was basically the magical government.
This left me with only needing to fund the school materials.
There was a list of things I needed to get in the envelope.
Thinking about it made me instinctively open it to glance through it again.
It read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for daywear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
1) The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
2) A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
3) Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
4) A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
5) One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
6) Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
7) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
8) The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand
cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
My pocket money was a total of 200 pounds.
I supposed this was enough for the supplies.
I'd have to figure something out for the next year but for right now this was good.
We were currently walking through a street full of shops.
There was a cafe, a perfume store, a bakery, and a food stall all standing together their smells mixing to form the perfect advertisement for all of them together.
Just a little ahead there was a record store its glittering glass window displaying all the records in such a way that even they seemed mesmerizingly beautiful.
We were walking in its direction and I was excited to walk by the window to get a better look at the records but strange enough we stopped right before we reached it.
I turned looking for McGonagall only to see her looking to our left where all the shops were lined up. We were currently next to a pub of sorts.
It was called the leaky cauldron.
Seeing it felt strange because I could have sworn there was nothing here a minute ago.
Now that I thought about it as people walked by their eyes seemed to glide over it skipping straight to the record store.
It felt as though this place was almost invisible to anyone who wasn't looking for it.
We walk into the store only to see the silent exterior was a fraud as the inside is alive with the buzz of gossip.
It was a dull and dark place but it wasn't strict.
It didn't feel constricting or rule-bearing like Aurora or Mcgonagoll.
It was obvious there was something people were interested in but McGonagall ignored everything and guided me straight to the back of the store.
We move so quickly that I was unable to understand what the buzz was about and to be honest that was a little disappointing.
All I hear is something to do with a handshake with someone and that leads me to think that someone famous was probably here earlier.
We exit to a small, walled courtyard with only a trash can in the corner.
I was beyond confused now.
Why would we enter a store just to leave immediately?
By now I'd learned that McGonagall wasn't the type to waste time on practical jokes.
There had to be a reason for us to be here.
I then turn to her only to see that she seemed to be drawing something in the air.
She then takes a few steps forward and taps a brick on the wall three times.
I was about to question her when suddenly the brick then begins to shake.
I nearly jumped at the sight of it.
The brick then stops shaking and a small hole appears.
The hole grows and grows until within seconds it's no longer a hole but an archway into a beautiful line of stores filled with colorful and glowing yet mysterious and interesting things.
I gasp in shock.
It was absolutely beautiful.
I'd never seen anything like it.
The street wasn't made for any vehicle rather it was a twisting and winding wide footpath-like street with stores on both sides arranged in a beautiful mess.
People wearing a similar style of clothes to Mcgonagall from all ages roamed the streets not paying attention to the beauty that was the alley.
With all of these things competing for my attention, you'd think I'd struggle to find something to focus on but if I were honest, the most amazing thing about this place was its aura.
It felt freeing almost familiar, but it couldn't have been recent.
It was somewhat like how I'd felt on the fair day but it was a thousand times stronger.
I basked in it grinning wider than I had in years.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Said McGonagall smiling with pride as I grinned at the alley.
We entered the alley, Mcgonagall holding my hand to keep me from getting lost in the crowds of people or at least that was what we'd say if we were asked.
In honesty though we both agreed that it was to keep me from running up to every store to gush over everything I was witnessing.
"We have to first go convert your muggle money to galleons." She said leading me through the streets.
"Before you ask.
Galleons are the wizarding currency.
We are gonna convert it at Gringotts which is the wizarding bank.
It's built in such a way that even with magic it's impossible to rob from it." She continued clearly done with my mischief.
Although if you squinted hard enough you would have been able to notice the small smile on her face that suggested that she may not have found me as much of a bother.
"Sure," I say clearly more invested in my surroundings than her words.
She then takes out three coins from a pouch hidden under her cloak and stops us from walking to show them to me.
"The gold one is a galleon, the silver one's a sickle and the bronze one's a k-nut. 29 k-nuts are a sickle and 17 sickle are a galleon. Any questions?" She asked turning to me and giving me a better look at the coins.
I stare at her in shock.
1) I refuse to spell K-nut the way it's spelled on the engraving on the coin.
It will forever be K-nut to me instead of Knut.
2) I don't see a math book on the list...
Do they have a math spell?
Or maybe a math potion.
I could imagine an advertisement already.
JUST ONE SIP AND YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO COUNT AGAIN!!!
If that wasn't it then these people need a new government or something because mathing must be such a pain...
She puts away the coins and looks away from me now sure I have no questions and begins leading again.
I simply follow, silenced by the horror of needing to learn 29 tables.
Soon we reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops.
It had burnished bronze doors that stood out against the white background.
Next to the door was a creature of about my height.
It looked old and wise but not happy.
I couldn't tell if it was mad or sad or something else entirely but what I could tell was that it was not happy.
I looked up to Mcgonagoll about to ask her about the creature but before I asked her, almost as if she read my mind, she responded, "That's a goblin. They're the creatures that run Gringotts."
I nodded and we continued to move.
As we walked inside the goblin bowed almost respectfully but not necessarily.
Inside was a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved on them, it read:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the 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.
It was scary but intriguing and strangely it had the opposite effect of its intent.
It's meant to scare but all it did was intrigue and provoke.
Of course, I wasn't stupid, I wasn't about to go in there and steal something.
But that didn't mean I didn't want to.
Just to prove it was possible at the very least.
A pair of goblins bowed as we passed through the silver doors.
Inside was a beautiful and vast marble hall.
Just like the outside the place was a stark pearly white.
About a hundred or more goblins sat on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, and examining precious stones through eyeglasses.
There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.
McGonagall led us to a free goblin scribbling something on his ledger.
"Good morning. We would like to make a few conversions and to open a vault." She announced to the goblin.
He looked at her and then at me and nodded.
"First the conversion. If you weren't already aware we only convert from cash. We will require you to answer a few questions before conversion." The goblin says to which we both respond with nods.
"Alright then. What currency are you converting from and to what?" The goblin began.
"We will be converting from British pound sterling to galleons," I stated in a loud and clear voice.
In doing so not only did I get stared at by both the goblin but also by McGonagall.
Both of them looked at me questioningly and curiously.
Why?
Because I was the kid here and common etiquette stated that the adult handled money.
Always. But I felt uncomfortable letting McGonagall, a woman I'd only properly met a week ago, handle my money.
It felt wrong and so I butted in.
The goblin then moved on from his daze.
He wrote something in his ledger and then looked back to us.
"Can you please place your cash on the counter so I may inspect it and exchange it for galleons?" He said looking at us with a straight face.
I responded by taking out my money from my bag and placing it on the counter. He looked at my measly 200 pounds and nodded.
After flipping through the fairly small stack multiple times He put the money somewhere behind the counter.
He then began scribbling on his ledger and then looked at us again.
"The total conversion would be 40 Galleons." He said.
I was suddenly extremely worried.
40 Was most definitely not going to be enough unless it happened to be extremely cheap supplies which I doubt.
I look up to McGonagall extremely worried.
She asked to open an account but how do you do that without being able to store anything in there?
Before could say anything though Mcgonagall began to speak.
"Put 20 galleons in the newly opened vault please," McGonagall said.
I was baffled.
Were things that cheap in this world?
Would I have to buy second-hand things?
Did she do this to spare our dignity?
What was going on?
"What name will the vault be under?"The goblin asked.
"Y/N L/N" I responded almost immediately.
The goblin nodded and scribbled some more on his ledger. He then looked back at us and spoke.
"Wait a moment. I will have someone set up your vault and bring you your 20 galleons" He said.
"Griphook!" It called.
Griphook seemed to be yet another goblin who worked at Gringotts.
He came out of a large stone doorway followed by a large man and a child who looked to be about my age.
The man looked slightly sick while the kid, in oversized clothes, looked just as excited as I must have when I first entered the alley.
McGonagall turned to me with a slight urgency of sorts as if to ask me if I could handle waiting on my own and I of course wanting to see where this lead, nodded.
She then began walking over to the pair who'd nearly gotten across the room now.
She then began talking to them.
I'd been so engrossed in trying to lip read them, and miserably failing but we'll ignore that part, that I'd forgotten the reason I wasn't allowed to just walk over to them and eavesdrop (pretend this word is cut through -Author) overhear their conversation.
Griphook then came back and quite literally yelled to gain my attention.
After which he handed me a small drawstring bag and a key. The key was my pass to my vault while the bag contained my 20 galleons.
"Thank you," I say too shocked to be bitter about the ringing in my ears.
Why was I shocked you ask?
Well, it was mostly because of the weight of the bag.
It was much much MUCH heavier than I'd expected.
I took out a galleon and holding it in my hand I knew for a fact that it had to be made of pure gold.
That would then mean it was worth a lot more than I got it for because there was no way a coin as big as my palm made of pure gold is worth just 5 pounds.
I just hoped that the logic and value of gold in the 'muggle world' was the same as in the wizarding world.
I then looked up again looking for McGonagall.
Only to see her on her way back to me with the man and kid heading outside.
I put the key in my pocket and then took the lace of the bag and tied it around my waist letting the bag hang off the side of my waist.
I made the mistake of not bringing my backpack only leaving with the cash and list both stored in my pocket.
"Got everything?" McGonagall asks.
To which I respond with a simple head nod.
Author's Note:
So you see I ended up writing a lot more about the shopping than I thought I would so um have this and the next extremely long chapters?
Enjoy <333333
Word count: 2515
~Author <333