CFB: Chapter 3

The morning of August 1st was a warm and humid one as two young girls woke at the crack of dawn. Another screech woke Carina up for the second day in a row.

'Mary!'

'Carina!'

'WE'RE GOING' both girls hollered.

The girls had to be up early because of the different time zone and neither could be deterred from the excitement of going to Diagon Alley. Carina put on a sky blue sweater and dark jeans. She then slipped on her favorite black converse and leather rucksack and ran out the door. Sadly, her room neighbor and best friend ran out at the same time and both girls crashed into each other.

'Oww…' said Mary.

'Ughh…' groaned Carina.

'What are you doing on the floor?!' yelled Ms. Campbell 'Get up and go to my office!'

Carina shot up and ran to her office, Mary trailing right behind. Ms. Campbell went in after a bit and started lighting her ancient fireplace. Carina glanced at Mary and saw that she too was confused at this. Mary turned and raised an eyebrow at her. Carina shrugged and looked at Ms. Campbell as she finished lighting the fireplace.

'Now,' said Ms. Campbell 'what you have to do is grab some of this green powder-,' she said, reaching into a small ceramic jar. '—And toss it into the fire place.' She threw it in the fire and it turned a brilliant shade of cerulean green. 'Mary, come here.' Said Ms. Campbell. Mary started moving slowly towards her and stopped right in front of the fire.

'Ms. Campbell, what are you—' began Mary

'Don't worry go in the flames; nothing will happen'

'Ok?' said Mary, hesitantly shuffling into the fire.

'Say: "Diagon Alley" loud and clear' said Ms. Campbell.

'Diagon Alley' said Mary. A bright flash of green fire and Mary was gone.

'Now you, come on now, hurry up' said Ms. Campbell.

Emboldened by Mary's success, Carina jumped into the fireplace. It was an odd feeling and when she opened her mouth—not a good idea—she inhaled a mouth full of soot. 'Diagon Alley' she coughed. A lot of images flashed in front of the old fireplace until it stopped abruptly and Carina fell out. Mary was looking at her with a smug smirk.

'Wow. I didn't even fall' she sang.

'Shut up' groaned Carina, as she got to her feet.

She brushed herself off, as Ms. Campbell appeared right behind her. 'Now girls, I don't have any money so we have to stop by Gringotts, ok?' she said.

'Um, ok?' said both girls, wondering what the hell Gringotts was.

Both girls followed Ms. Campbell warily as they gazed on their surroundings. It was the afternoon here and the sun shone bright above the colorful buildings. It was also packed with people, they saw. A harassed looking woman walked out of what looked like an apothecary saying, 'Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…' A sign nearby a bunch of cauldrons said "Cauldrons -All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self-Stirring – Collapsible"

Mary was looking everywhere as well, as they walked up to a blinding white marble building. A goblin—a real goblin! —In a red and gold uniform was in front of the bronze doors. It had a pointy chin covered in a white wispy beard. Its fingers and feet were very pointy and so were its ears. It was smaller than Carina too, a rarity. The second doors were silver and were also engraved with words. 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."

'That's scary' said Mary.

Carina nodded, agreeing with her. Ms. Campbell walked up to the long counter, where a lot more goblins sat on high stools, each doing a different thing. One was even weighing a pile of rubies the size of coals!

Ms. Campbell reached a goblin near them and said 'We've come to retrieve some money from the Campbell vault.' The goblin then asked if she had her key, and Ms. Campbell nodded, pulling out a tiny gold key.

'I will have someone take you to your vault, mam' said the goblin. 'NURKUS' yelled the goblin, making Carina jump.

Another goblin walked up to the counter where they were. The goblin named Nurkus led them into one of the many doors in the bank and they came across a narrow stone passageway. There were train tracks along the floor and many flaming torches lined the walls. A cart rolled up the tracks and Nurkus motioned for them to get in.

After getting in the cart, Carina asked 'What is going to—' She got cut off by the cart suddenly lurching forward, quick and shaky. 'We went through a maze' thought Carina as the cart went left, right, and down again. Nurkus was not steering so she knew the cart was magic—no normal cart could do this—and finally they reached a small door. Mary was the first off the cart and she threw up along the edge.

'That wa- that was awful' she said shakily.

'You're a big baby. It felt like a roller coaster.' Said Carina, rolling her eyes.

Nurkus laughed at her words—a deep croaky noise—and unlocked the vault. Inside was a shimmering of coins. There was a wall of gold, another of silver, yet another of bronze. Mounds of gold, silver, and bronze littered the stone floor, along with a couple of jewels in the gold piles.

'Wow Ms. Campbell…I didn't know you were rich!' said Mary.

'Well this is my family vault' said Ms. Campbell.

She went in and Nurkus gave her a leather pouch. She filled it with handfuls of every coin, mainly the gold ones. Carina and Mary stood outside, not wanting to move everything if they went in. After Ms. Campbell filled the bag, they went back in the cart, Mary holding on tightly.

~CFB~

Ms. Campbell took them to "Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions".

'That cart ride didn't sit well with me;' she said, 'I'm going off to the Leaky Cauldron, a bar, to get a drink. Here's some money to get your robes and I'll meet you right after alright?'

They took the money and nodded, Carina putting the money in her rucksack.

They then walked in to the store and saw Madam Malkin, a short, plump woman. She smiled at them and asked 'Hogwarts, dears?'

Carina and Mary said 'yes', and the woman waved her hand for them to follow her. They sat near where a small pale boy was being fitted. He had platinum blond hair and a pointed face. His voice was drawling as he talked with another boy. The other boy was on a stool also about to be fitted. He had messy jet-black hair and bright green eyes. He also looked like whatever the blond boy was talking about, he had no idea. Quite quickly, Madam Malkin finished pinning the blond boy's robes and he hopped off the small wooden stool. They were only able to catch the last thing he said 'Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts'.

Madam Malkin returned and had Carina stand on a stool right next to the boy with black hair.

Trying to make conversation, Carina asked 'So…are you going to Hogwarts too?'

The boy jumped and said 'Oh yes'. He looked at her quickly, scanning her face.

He then asked 'Where are you from? You have a strange accent'.

Carina raised an eyebrow and he backtracked, smacking himself on the forehead, 'Sorry, I'm Harry, Harry Potter.'

Carina smiled and said 'I'm Carina, Carina Black.' He smiled back and Madam Malkin then said 'You're all done, dear.' He waved goodbye and followed Madam Malkin to pay for his robes.

Mary took his place next to her, as soon as he left.

'So…what were you talking about, huh?' she said nudging her.

'He called my accent strange and then introduced himself' said Carina with a laugh.

Madam Malkin had returned and finished pinning Carina's robes. She began on Mary's when another girl walked in. She had brown bushy hair and warm brown eyes. Madam Malkin went to help her and they both walked back to the end of the room, where Carina and Mary were.

'Hello, my name's Hermione Granger. What's your name?' She asked, rather quickly.

'My name's Carina, and this idiot here,' pointing at Mary,' is Mary.' Said Carina smiling, dodging a smack from Mary.

'Where are you from?' she asked curiously.

'Texas' said Carina.

The girl's eyes widened, almost comically, when Madam Malkin announced she was finished. Carina said a quick goodbye and walked up to pay for the robes. Luckily, Ms. Campbell had returned from the Leaky Cauldron and helped Carina pay for the robes, as she had no idea what Galleons, Sickles, or Knuts were. Walking out with their bags, Carina asked what each coin meant.

Ms. Campbell explained 'The little bronze ones are Knuts, 29 bronze Knuts to a silver Sickle and 17 sickles to one gold Galleon.'

'That didn't seem hard to remember' thought Carina.

They then went to a store called Flourish and Blotts. Carina might've thought she'd died and gone to heaven; there were books stacked to the ceiling, if Mary hadn't nudged her to move. Some were as large as paving stones bound in leather; others as small as a stamp covered in silk. Mary bought a book for Carina named "Curses and Countercurses: Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More" by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

Afterwards, they went to get their potion making supplies. They got two sets of scales, collapsible telescopes, and pewter cauldrons. The Apothecary was very fascinating; if it hadn't been for the horrible smell of rotten eggs, Carina and Mary were very sure they could live in there, examining the various herbs/parts. There were barrels of slimy things, jars of herbs, roots, and powders, bundles of hairs and feathers, and strings of fangs and claws. They each got a set of basic potion supplies. All that remained was their wands. Carina had been looking forward to getting her wand. She knew she would finally be a real witch when she got it.

Ms. Campbell led us to an old looking store. Faded, peeling gold letters read "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." A lone wand lay on a dusty violet pillow in the dreary window. She then said 'I'll wait out here; I heard it's an interesting experience.'

Entering slowly, Carina and Mary looked around for the shop owner. Suddenly, behind a gloomy counter an old man appeared.

'Ah Ms. Black… I thought I would be seeing you soon' said Mr. Ollivander.

His wide, silvery, pale eyes scanned Carina as she stood in front of him.

'You have your fathers eyes, but you look just like your mother…' he said, trailing off.

Curious, Carina watching him mutter to himself when he asked 'Wand Arm?'

'Wand Arm? I'm left-handed, if that's what you mean' Said Carina

'Yes that's it' said Ollivander, pulling out a measuring tape.

It seemed to have a mind of its own as it measured from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Black. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another witch's wand.

Carina watched him look around his shop as he grabbed several boxes.

'That's enough' he called, and the tape measure fell to the floor. 'Now, try this one Maple and Dragon Heartstring, 12 inches, stiff' Carina didn't get a chance to ask what to do when he suddenly snatched it out of her hand. 'No, no try this one Ebony and Phoenix feather, 9 inches, springy' Again, he snatched it as soon as she held the wand. Carina started to feel a bit foolish when he went back to the piles of boxes. He came back holding only one box.

'Here we go, Rowan and Phoenix feather, 9 ¾ inches, unyielding' he said handing it to her.

Carina grabbed it and felt an odd sensation. It was like warm water flooding through her entire body streaming from the wand. She gave it a small wave and gold sparks flew from the end of it, like a firework. Mr. Ollivander smiled at her and took it back. Suddenly, she felt something horrible happening in her head. Feeling a bit light-headed, she collapsed on the dark dusty floor.