Gringotts was a tall, imposing building. It was made of snow-white marble and loomed above the other shops. It had several stories and there were steps leading up to two huge bronze doors. In front of them stood two creatures - presumably goblins in scarlet and red uniforms. It was certainly an impressive image though the Doctor had seen far grander.
The Time Lords were as pompous as they were old - Gallifrey had been adorned with impressive buildings: at least until the Daleks arrived. How could the Time Lords focus on building when they were fighting a war? The Doctor didn't know how to feel about Time Lords anymore. She would forever grieve for Gallifrey - for the memories she had treasured but the Time Lords...
She had loved them (not all of them but most) and all they had done was use her - focus, Doctor! The goblins bowed to them as they pulled open the doors. They were meticulously polite but the Doctor noted that they almost seemed bored. Perhaps banking was not their interest? Why then were they here? Was Carrionite society hierarchical? If so, had they once been something other than bankers? What?
It was when the Doctor clocked that the two goblins in front of the second silver door were carrying weapons that she realised what they were - a warrior race. Contrary to popular belief, the Doctor was not against warriors. She wasn't a pacifist either - she had done her fair share of fighting. She gave people a chance and that was it. Like during the Sycorax invasion where she had been willing to let them go but Harriet bloody Jones had shot them down.
She didn't think the Prime Minister had really understood - Earth wasn't ready to introduce themselves as an universal power. They weren't. Nuclear bombs were child play to even some of the... less intelligent races such as Judoon. They would be flattened. Shaking her head as if to disperse her depressing thoughts, she returned to the present
The people that had been in the queue dispersed as soon as they saw her group. Definitely a hierarchical society then. It was the same old - we are better than you, bow before us, we won't share the same space and let's oppress them, they don't belong here! The Doctor was sick of it.
McGonagall left the twelve of them to approach the goblins by themselves. Apparently, at ten or eleven years old, they were considered old enough to manage their own finances. The Doctor approached a goblin 'teller' as they were called carefully. As a warrior race, they would probably prefer it if she was straight-forward.
"Greetings Teller. I would like to open an account in the name of Hermione Granger and trade some gems for Car-Wizarding money."