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Al remained at the Burrow for the remainder of the holidays, but not once did George stop by to say hello. They conversed in letters, but Al wouldn't get to see him until they got to Diagon Alley, which is why Al was particularly excited when the Hogwarts letters came the day after Harry's birthday. The Saturday they were due to go, Bill informed them that it was taking five hours to withdraw money from Gringotts. "But I need to open a vault!" Al protested, "At the very least exchange some muggle money."
Bill checked his watch, "Well, if we go now it won't be any more than a two hour wait." Al stood up and hurried to leave the room and grab her cloak and bag but Mrs Weasley stopped her.
"Hold on," she said, "I don't want to be separated."
"I can handle myself, Mrs Weasley," Al assured her, thinking about the battle.
"You can say that again," Ginny mumbled, and Al grinned at her.
"Well, yes, but all the same-" Mrs Weasley began.
"I'll be fine," Al assured her, "Shall I meet you all in Flourish and Blotts at eleven?" That gave her plenty of time to be served in Gringotts, and sort everything out.
"Alright," Mrs Weasley said, "But no later than eleven."
Al hurried off upstairs and grabbed her bag, cloak and wand, before meeting Bill downstairs and heading out into the yard. "Best keep that in reach," Bill said, indicating her wand, before she took his arm, and they apparated to the steps of Gringotts.
There were five queues of people, all having their bags searched, their wands examined and being scanned with golden sticks that pinged when they found something. The fifth queue moved the fastest, but had a sign above it saying staff only. She saw that there were no bag searches or wand examinations. Every now and then, the person at the front of the queue would go in through the glass doors, two pieces of paper clutched in their hands.
Al joined one of the first four with Bill, who had promised Mrs Weasley he'd see her in, submitting to a bag search. The queue moved very slowly, and Al was stood there for a good thirty minutes until she reached the front. The wizard rifled through her bag, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Al only had a few wads of muggle money, her old charms book, and her book list in there. Then the wizard put her wand on a set of scales, and a piece of paper printed from the bottom. "Twelve and a half inches, black walnut wood, dragon heartstring, slightly springy flexibility, been in use five years," the wizard read out, "Is this correct?"
"Yep," Al said lightly.
"Name?" the wizard asked.
"Alexandra Rosalind Dursley," Al said, and the wizard scribbled it down on the back.
"Right," he said, tearing a piece of paper off another machine, "You're number fifty three. Follow through the doors and wait for your number." Al bid goodbye to Bill who joined his queue and went into the main hall of Gringotts, taking a seat around the edge. She opened her book and read for an hour and a half before her number was called out.
Al followed a goblin to a counter where another goblin was sat. "Name," the goblin demanded.
"Alexandra Rosalind Dursley," Al said politely.
"And your business?"
"I'd like to open a vault and exchange some muggle money, and then make a deposit," Al said.
"Very well," the goblin said, "Do you have your wand and paper?" Al presented her wand and handed the paper over to the goblin, the latter of which he kept. He fished in a drawer underneath his desk and pulled out a key, placing it on his desk. "This is the key to vault two-zero-three-nine, under the name of Alexandra Rosalind Dursley. Do you have the muggle money?" Al placed the three wads of cash onto the desk. She'd withdrawn her entire savings for that and it had come to just over two thousand pounds.
The goblin counted it, taking ages. "This is four hundred and fifty six galleons, ten sickles, and ten knuts, which I can deposit into your vault now. How much of that would you like depositing?"
"Four hundred and twenty six galleons, please," Al said, still trying to be nice to the grumpy goblin. He handed her thirty galleons, ten sickles and ten knuts, which she placed into her bag, and then he took a sack from under the desk, counted twenty six galleons into it, and called another goblin, handing him the sack, the key, and a slip of paper.
"Follow me please," the goblin said, and Al followed him through a door that had a stone carved tunnel with a track running along the ground. The goblin whistled and a cart came trundling along. Al got in obediently and they couldn't have been travelling for more than a minute when they reached her vault. Al did not get out and remained in the cart while the goblin deposited her money and less than five minutes later she was on the steps of Gringotts once more, her bag considerably heavier.
Al had half an hour until the Weasleys arrived, so decided she better invest in a money bag. She ignored the various people selling phoney goods and scurried along the street, wanting to get inside as soon as possible. The once bustling and bright Diagon Alley seemed serenely dangerous at the minute.
She found a place that sold one and then moved into Flourish and Blotts. She had five minutes until the Weasleys arrived, so she may as well begin shopping. Al looked down at her equipment list, where she had circled the ones she needed for her intended subjects.
Alchemy: requires grades O in Potions and Transfiguration, A General Guide to Alchemy by Bob Watkins, dragon-hide gloves
Arithmancy: requires grade E, Higher Level Arithmancer Theorems by Alistair Carolineus
Charms: requires grade E, Standard Book of Spells, Grade six by Miranda Goshawk
Magical Theory: requires grades E in Charms and Transfiguration and O in Arithmancy, Magical Theoretics by Adalbert Waffling
Potions: requires grade E, Advanced Potion Making by Libateus Borage, size three pewter cauldron, expansive collection of ingredients
Transfiguration: requires grade E, The Collective Elemental Laws of Transfiguration by Silvanus Amon and the Standard Book of Spells, Grade six by Miranda Goshawk
Al had only picked up the first two when the large group of seven squeezed their way into the uncrowded shop, and she was surprised to see that Hagrid was among them. "I'm here, all sorted at Gringotts."
"Oh good," Mrs Weasley said, relieved, "Right, Ginny you've got all your books already, so Ron and Harry, Arthur can go with you and Hermione, Ginny and Al, you can stick with me."
They wandered around the shop and Hermione asked Al what subjects she was taking. "Arithmancy, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Alchemy and Magical theory," Al listed.
"Wow," Hermione said, "I was thinking of doing more electives for NEWT students, but I'm already doing seven and Professor McGonagall says we aren't allowed to do any more than that."
They'd finally reached the spellwork section and Al picked up her Transfiguration and Charms books, before they headed to the counter and paid for it all. They met the group of boys by the door. "Who needs robes?" Mrs Weasley asked and Al, Ron, Hermione and Harry all said they did.
"Well, it doesn't make sense for everyone to go to Madame Malkin's," Mr Weasley said, "How about you four go with Hagrid, and we'll go to the apothecary next door. Do you have lists?" Al and Hermione handed over their Potions ingredients lists and the money needed for them.
They stepped inside the robes shop, with Hagrid waiting outside, and heard a familiar complaining voice. Draco Malfoy was there.