ILLUSION
By Chaoseternus
Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

Sarah looked confused, rereading her instructions again. Leaky Cauldron? There was no such pub here! She looked up again, blinked and sighed, she should be used to this by now, after all she had successfully navigated the Labyrinth.

Striding across the street, she opened the grubby door of the pub that had appeared before her eyes and steeped inside into another world.

The first thought she had in the Wizarding world was that she had just walked into a meeting of Fashion Victims anonymous. The second was that these were the gloomiest people she had ever seen.

"Can I help you?" the barkeep asked her, his expression a little puzzled, too old to be going to Hogwarts and yet who else would show up here in muggle clothing?

Sarah flicked through her instructions, they seemed clear enough.

"I'll be okay, thanks" she replied as she walked swiftly out the back door, tapping the bricks beyond.

Then she glanced around at Diagon Alley, blinked, shrugged and strode down towards Gringots. To someone who had seen the Goblin city, this was tame, pretty normal looking.

Sarah discarded the thought that she may have become a little jaded over the years.

"That's odd"

"Whats odd Hermione?"

"Well, that girl, she obviously hasn't been here before otherwise why the directions in her hands, she's a muggle by her clothing so not likely to have seen other wizard enclaves and yet she just shrugged off Diagon Alley"

Ron blinked, "How can she shrug off Diagon Alley?"

Harry nodded, watching the girl closely, something about her had his scar itching yet it wasn't in a Voldemort way, not quite, "Every time I come in here I still find something new to see, so what has she seen that make Diagon Alley look unimpressive?"

"She's heading for Gringots, Harry; don't you need to get some money?"

Harry smiled, "Indeed I do Hermione"

Lucius sneered at the muggle as she walked into Gringots, smirking inwardly at her beauty. She would do, they needed a little something for the Revile tonight, but first, he had to withdraw some money, the Dark Lord required some rare and expensive artefact and once again it was his turn to cough up. Not that it mattered; the Dark Lord had yet to empty even one of the safes available to him.

Lucius glanced around angrily as a high pitched voice behind him shouted, their voice laden with shock, "Vault six hundred and sixty six! Vault six hundred and sixty six!"

A rain of gold hit his feet and he whirled around in sheer shock as the Gringots Goblin who had been serving him abandoned his station, leaving his money unguarded and pouring over the floor as he raced across the room, joining all the other goblins as they stampeded across to the muggle, each and every single one of them abandoning customers and money in order to gather around this one young lady.

He stiffened; it was the muggle from earlier.

He would have to inform the master of this.

He resisted the urge as he passed to close the ghastly trio's mouths with his walking stick, it might have been funny, but not dignified enough for a Malfoy, besides if he ever got those three alone, their mouths being open would be the least of their problems.