"Now then, let's get goin', shall we?" Hagrid said as he unfolded the supply list that came with my letter. "I guess we'll 'ave ter go ter Gringotts firs' ter convert yer money."
Walking through the crowded alley was surprisingly easy with Hagrid. The crowd parted for the giant man, and all I had to do was stick close behind him. As we walked, I kept looking around, trying to take everything in at once.
"Here we are! Gringotts Wizarding Bank!" We stopped in front of an imposing multi-story white marble building. It towered over all of the other neighbouring shops. As we ascended the white flight of stairs, Hagrid whispered to me.
"Be careful in there. Yeh see, Gringotts is run by goblins. They're clever, all right. But not exactly the friendliest." I nodded and we reached the top of the stairs. There was a strange looking creature, which I took to be a goblin, guarding the doors. The goblin was short and had dark skin, with very long fingers and feet. He wore a scarlet and gold uniform and had dark slanted eyes. We pushed open the burnished bronze doors and found ourselves in a small entrance hall with another set of doors. These doors were silver, had another goblin guard, and engraved on them were the words:
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.
I shivered, and Hagrid pushed them open and we entered a huge marble hall. There was a long counter that stretched the length of the wall on each side, and a desk at the end. As we walked down the long hallway, some of the goblins who were working at the counters looked at us with their eyes narrowed, while the others ignored us completely. When we reached the desk at the end of the hall, the goblin working there ignored us. Hagrid cleared his throat and the goblin slowly looked up.
"Hello... can I help you?" He said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes. I'd like ter make a money exchange." Hagrid said carefully.
"Very well. For how much?"
"Um... let's see..." He took out my mum's wallet and stared at the money unfamiliarly. He took a medium sized wad and handed it over. The goblin pulled out a medium-sized safe and took the wad and placed it inside. Then, he took out a small bag that seemed to be filled with some coins of some sort. Hagrid took it and put it away in his pockets, along with my mum's wallet.
"Thank yeh very much." The goblin dipped his head slightly before returning to his work. As Hagrid and I walked back down the hall we both stared straight ahead and neither of us spoke until we were outside.
"Aright, now tha' tha's taken care o', let's get back to the rest o' yer shoppin', eh?" Hagrid smiled. I smiled back.
"Okay!" I said excitedly.