Author's Note: Thank you for the review, I have ammended this (being in Australia, the school year starts in Feb and ends in Dec, I forgot that the Northern Hemisphere schools go from September one year to June the next hence the incorrect date.
Hope some of you are reading, would appreciate some more reviews!
Chapter 3 – A Friend
The Wizarding bank of Gringotts was much larger and taller than the other buildings squashed in around it, and blindingly white and clean. Several witches and wizards were going in and out, and two security wizards stood at the door, long thin wands in their hands and grim expressions on their faces. They sized Sydelle and her mother up as they approached. She felt uncomfortable under their scrutiny. Surely they didn't think she and her mother were about to rob the place!
"Stand still, please." One said briskly, "Security." He slowly moved the wand over them, and then seeming satisfied nodded them up the stairs and through the large bronze doors before stopping the next person behind them.
They stepped into through the doors and were faced with a second pair, silver this time. There were words engraved upon them and Sydelle read quickly.
Enter stranger, but take heed,
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly for their return,
O if you seek below our floors
For Treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware,
Of finding more than treasure there
Before she knew it they had entered a huge marble hall, that looked simply too massive to be contained in the building judging from its outer appearance. Many doors led off the main hall and large dusty chandeliers hung from the ceiling, providing light to the large area.
There was a long counter at the far end with a couple of people queued to see what she supposed were tellers. She gasped in wonderment, as the people behind the counter weren't people at all. They were odd looking beings with large heads, pointed ears and long fingers. Their expressions were grim and foreboding, and each seemed to be exceptionally busy. Those that weren't speaking to customers were leading people along to some of the many doors, or else weighing gem stones or coins, and some were closely examining objects that at a glance – although she had no idea what they might be – looked valuable.
They took their place in the queue behind a wizard with a long red pony tail. Gradually the queue moved up and the strange creature ahead of them addressed the wizard with red hair.
"Ah, Mr. Weasley and what do we owe this pleasure?"
"I'd like to visit my vault, please Griphook."
"Are you not supposed to be on holidays and preparing for marriage?"
"Yes," the wizard chuckled, "I am actually shopping for a wedding gift for Fleur, first time I've been able to get out of the house alone."
"Certainly," Griphook nodded, he called over another of the odd creatures to lead the wizard away and as he turned Sydelle shrank back, his face was covered with the most dreadful scars which made him look frightening. But he hadn't noticed and went on his way, leaving the creature Griphook to address Sydelle's mother. "May I help you?" he asked in a gravelly voice.
Sydelle's mother stepped up hesitantly, obviously unnerved by meeting a non human for the first time and within a few moments, had not only opened Sydelle her own account but exchanged money to not only pay for Sydelle's school fees directly into the Hogwarts vault, but also to buy her books and robes, give her some pocket-money to take with her and also to put some extra into Sydelle's new vault for safe keeping.
"A wise decision," the creature commented, "Gringotts has a proud history of providing security to the wizarding world's riches for centuries. It will be very safe here."
Before long they were hurrying back out of the hall and Mrs Reid was taking out her school list. Across the road, a dingy shop front with the words "Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC" it seemed deserted.
They pushed at the shop door and it opened with a tinkle. Sydelle's heart-rate wound up a notch. She was about to buy a real magic wand. Before she could look around or speculate, a sour faced witch with iron grey hair and square spectacles approached them, dusting off her hands.
"Well?" she snapped, "Hogwarts?"
"Yes." Was all Mrs Reid managed.
"Come along then." The witch answered, turning on her heel and leading them to the counter. She vanished into the back of the shop among hundreds of shelves containing little boxes muttering to herself about cataloguing and her brother's sudden absence causing all manner of disruption for her.
She came back with half a dozen wands under her arm. She drew one out and handed it to Sydelle who looked at her expectantly.
"Go on girl, give it a wave, then!" the witch snapped impatiently. Sydelle did so and nothing happened. The wand was plucked out of her hands and re-boxed and she was given another, and then another. After half a dozen tries Sydelle began to feel stupid, perhaps there was a mistake and she wasn't magical at all?
The witch vanished once more among the shelves and returned with several more boxes. Sydelle repeated the process again and again, feeling more foolish each time. And then, when a warm reddish wand was placed in her hand she felt a tingle. She waved it, and coloured light, much like a miniature rainbow erupted from the end along with a string of beautiful birdsong.
"Hmmm, interesting." The witch stated. "The wand chooses the wizard, or witch in this case." She said before returning the others to the shelves. Sydelle's mother stepped forward to pay for the wand as the witch carried on with her monologue.
"Jarrah wand, new wood from Australia would you believe, ten inches precisely and with Pegasus mane hair. Very rare wand, one of my brother's new experiments before he just upped and vanished. You take care of that wand, young lady. I am sure he'll be interested to know how it serves you. When he gets back, of course." She wiped dampness from her eyes at this point, before straightening up and ushering them out of the shop, thanking them for their custom but telling them she did have so much work to do cleaning up the mess.
In a daze, Sydelle followed her mother into the book shop and there they bought her school books. Another shop got her a pewter cauldron and a smart wooden case which was divided into sections, each containing a jar of various ingredients for her potions classes. Next they bought her hat, robes and shoes and finally they entered All Sundry & Stationary for her parchment, quills and other various odds and ends. Most of the shops were quiet, and the staff looked wary and tired. The children they did meet were mostly older than she, updating their books or topping up supplies for the new school year.
This shop was quite full with people and many children of various ages although she did spot both Ben and Patton from the Governor's Office waiting room. The tall imperious girl was also there and she and her mother currently commanded the attention of the cashier.
Sydelle followed her mother among the shelves as they checked her list and selected several items. Three quills, each of a different feather. A stack of parchment for taking notes, folders and files, inks of three different colours and a ruler. Sydelle was just examining a set of self-sharpening coloured pencils when a voice rang out catching their attention.
"I beg your pardon! You would do well to remember who we are, woman!"
Sydelle peeped over the top of the shelf to see Guinevere Bulstrode and her mother standing at the counter. Mrs Bulstrode was giving the poor shop assistant a real tongue lashing.
"I will not pay a knut over five galleons for this, it's downright outrageous!" she was saying in a loud voice. The flustered assistant cowered under the woman's stare, her eyes sliding to her arm but quickly back again as the movement did not go unnoticed. "Wouldn't you like to know." the woman hissed cruelly. "You'd do well to treat your customers with the respect that they deserve, else you find yourself hauled before the ministry. Or have you forgotten the new laws so quickly?"
"Come, Guinevere. I feel we will not shop here any longer, we will take our custom elsewhere. The standards here have really dropped." she said, shooting a look of distain and loathing toward Sydelle and her mother, dressed in normal clothing and the only ones in the shop wearing this.
The assistant quickly accepted the price and wrapped their purchases with a muttered apology, bobbing her head respectfully and glancing around with frightened eyes almost as though she expected somebody to come bursting in at any moment. Soon, mother and daughter were striding from the shop, Guinevere with an air of indifference and her mother with a frown. The shop assistant heaved a huge sigh of relief when they had gone.
As Sydelle added the pencils to the pile of purchases, Delilah appeared at her side, beaming.
"Hello again." She said cheerfully, "I see you got in, then."
"Yes. We're almost finished getting all my school things." Sydelle answered. "What was that all about?" she asked, guesturing to the trembling assistant. "Not here," Delilah dropped her voice. "I'll tell you another time." Sydelle was merely more confused however nodded in reply. Delilah followed them to the next set of shelves where she too began selecting various items. "You should come to lunch with us." Delilah was saying, "Daddy won't mind, we're staying at The Leaky at the moment until we have everything."
"Oh," Sydelle was taken aback by this sudden friendly offer. "Uh, I'll ask Mum."
Within a short space of time, Sydelle, Mrs Reid, Delilah and Mr Perkins left together, the adults already chatting easily. They made their way over to Eelops Owl Imporium.
"I'm getting my own Owl!" Delilah informed them with excitement.
"Yes, you can go in and choose, darling." Her father said. "Owl's are very useful and highly intelligent pets, these ones are trained to carry post to anyone anywhere. Rarely does an Eelops Owl fail a delivery." He informed them.
"Dad's mad on Owls, he used to train them back in Scotland." Delilah told Sydelle before tugging at her. "Come on, help me choose." She said and towed her into the darkened shop.
The first thing Sydelle noticed was the eyes. Glittering eyes in cages from floor to ceiling stared at them. Feathers rustled, owls hooted and the smell was strong. A young witch in dark green robes was walking from cage to cage with a bucket of dead mice, cleaning the cages with a sweep of her wand and levitating mice up to the owls so each was getting a good lunch of their own. Feeling slightly sick, she turned away and stared hard at some snowy barn owls.
"I've always loved them." Delilah told her, indicating the barn owls, "But Im not sure. What do you think?"
"I don't know." Sydelle rotated on the spot, taking in the hundreds of different hues and breeds of owls. Her eyes rested on a particularly quiet owl that was watching her unblinkingly. It was tiny, compared to the other larger ones around it, it had reddish-brown plumage and white flecks all the way through. She turned to Delilah to suggest the owl but the girl was already meeting a larger brown and white owl which hopped onto her arm and nibbled at her finger affectionately. Sydelle decided not to mention the owl she had spotted, it was clear Delilah was in love.
"Good choice, Delilah," her father had entered the store followed by Sydelle's mother. "A Collared Scops Owl, they're exceptionally good at locating their masters anywhere at any time. And a female I see, loyal to their owners and very intelligent." Mr Perkins enthused. Delilah was thrilled with her new pet as she hopped obediently into her new travel-cage.
"Would you like one?" Sydelle's mother asked her quietly. Sydelle knew her mother was trying to make amends for the shock revelation about her father. She nodded and pointed out the tiny owl she'd seen before.
"I like him." She said. The shop assistant, sensing another sale hurried over to bring the owl out of his cage.
"Athene Noctua, or the Little Owl." She said, "This fellow is quite young but passed his training with flying colours." She held the owl out on the end of her arm and Sydelle offered her shoulder. The tiny Owl hopped onto her forearm and quickly climbed up to her shoulder and nibbled at her hair.
"He is very sweet." Sydelle smiled.
"We'll take him." Her mother confirmed and went to pay. She was coerced into also purchasing a travel cage, a large cage for their home which she assured would be home delivered, some Owl toys and a perch but drew the line at a bucket of dead mice, insisting he'd have to hunt for himself.
"He's so cute!" Delilah crooned. "What will you call him?"
Sydelle didn't know. What do you call an owl, she wondered. "I'll have to think about it." She said.
Soon the four of them were hurrying back up Diagon Alley to The Leaky Cauldron.
"It doesn't pay to hang around in the current climate." Mr Perkins muttered to them, chivvying the girls up the road. "A lot of Ministry Policy has changed of late." But he refused to say anything further.
Lunch was a pleasant affair, they had a booth to themselves and Nigel spent his time trying to feed the owls his soggy chips. Much discussion was on the wizarding world and how it differed to the muggle one and several things were explained. Mr Perkins however did not say anything about the ripple of fear and gloom hanging over the pub and Diagon Alley and Sydelle guessed it was not something one spoke of openly.
Soon they were once again on their way home. Sydelle reflected on the events of the day. Delilah had waved them off with a cheery "See you on the train!" and the girl smiled to herself. At last she had a friend. Exhausted, both children were asleep in the car long before they reached home.