CHAPTER 12: VAULT OF DISCOVERIES
Three up, two across…tap three times. Myles decided to memorize the combination his father had used to open the brick portal into Diagon Alley. There was a twisty cobblestone street weaving its way through a great many fascinating shops. He and Beckett drank in the whole scene with their eyes, trying to absorb everything at once.
"Look at those cool pots!" Beckett tapped Myles on the shoulder and pointed.
"Cauldrons, Beckett," their father corrected.
"Can I get a golden one?" Myles asked. He loved the way those were shimmering like little suns.
"I want a big iron one!" Beckett bounced a bit on his heels. "Imagine the stuff I could do with it!"
"Maybe after you learn more about how to use them," Artemis Senior appreciated his sons' enthusiasm. "For now, your lists call for pewter cauldrons, size two. Now, let's get to Gingott's so we can get shopping sooner."
"Owls!" Beckett gawked at all the species of owl available at Eeylops Owl Emporium.
"D'you think Mom will get us owls?" Myles stared right with him.
"She knows what we like," said Beckett. "I'm hoping for a toad."
"I'm fine with anything. Now, let's go!"
"Yeah! What are you waiting for, Dad?" With that, Beckett grabbed Myles and their father both by the hand and started leading them through the throng of people in the alley. "Which way is that bank?"
"Just keep following the road, son," Artemis Senior laughed. "You can't miss it."
In almost no time at all—much sooner than expected—the father and sons made it to the front of a majestic building. It was massive compared to the others, and it was pristinely white in color. The doors appeared to be made of bronze, and strange-looking people wore uniforms of scarlet and gold.
"Wow…" Beckett breathed. "It's way cooler than other banks." The strange people bowed to them as they passed through the bronze doors, which opened to reveal a set of spotless silver doors.
"And look at that up there," Myles nodded to an engraved poem on those new doors.
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.
"What happens if you try to rob this place?" Beckett wondered aloud.
"Death, or something close to it," their dad responded with certainty.
"How d'you know?" Myles asked.
"Well, I tried it once," for the first time in their lives, the Fowl twins did a double take.
"What?" they both reacted at once. Their dad nodded nonchalantly.
"I got sucked into the vault I tried to open. Thankfully, it had been ten years since the last time they checked it for attempted robbers, so I only starved in there for a couple of days."
"But…why would you rob a bank?" Myles was trying to wrap his head around this. "Artemis went criminal because he wanted to restore our fortune—You were already rich!"
"Oh, he never told you?" Artemis Senior furrowed his brow. "I'm so sorry, but I'll have to explain later. Right now, hush. These goblins are always very suspicious."
Myles pursed his lips, and Beckett furrowed his brow. They exchanged a glance and drifted closer to each other, but otherwise stayed silent. Their father would tell them everything, after all.
As they crossed a marble floor to a goblin at a counter, they hardly noticed the hundreds of employees at work, or the vast multitude of doors. To their left, there was a very large, wild-looking man with a boy next to him talking to a different goblin than theirs.
The twins weren't listening to anything in particular, but for some reason it caught their attention when the large man said "vault seven hundred and thirteen".
Wonder if that's the vault Dad tried to rob, Myles thought sardonically. Why didn't Artemis tell us? Their brother made it sound like he was the only criminal in the family…Did he think we couldn't handle knowing it? Without realizing it, Myles was scowling. Feeling Beckett's warm hand on his shoulder, he relaxed and focused on the present moment.
"Right, then. Here's the whole pile's worth, minus one." The goblin handed them the silk pouch their dad used for carrying valuable things like gold and jewels. The bank clerk narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You seem familiar…"
"My first year at Hogwarts. I'm still grateful for the second chance Griphook gave me," Artemis Senior seemed slightly flustered. "Please tell him I did turn over a new leaf."
"Hmm…Will do," the goblin sniffed. "Next!" he announced.
"So, Dad" Myles began the interrogation as soon as they left the bank, "What didn't Artemis tell us?"
"I want to know, too," Beckett joined him.
"Well, boys, that's a bit of a long story. It's also one I'd rather keep a family secret. I'll tell you both when we're safely back at the manor. Until then…would you mind forgetting that, just a little?" Seeing the looks on their faces, their father smiled sadly at them. "I don't want this to ruin your day."
Myles and Beckett looked into each other's eyes, communicating by sheer looks. This was their 'silent twin conference', as Myles called it (Beckett preferred 'twin-power-speak'). After a while, they sighed and agreed to be happy waiting for an answer.
"But you hafta buy us ice cream," Myles demanded, like it was the only reasonable payment for a transaction of this sort. Beckett nodded vigorously. Relieved, their father promised he would.
Myles thinks of everything! He felt so lucky to have a smart twin like that!
"So, boys, what do you say we get you fitted for your uniforms?" Their dad directed their gazes to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occassions. "I suggest we get that done first, so it's out of the way."
"Pointy hats and robes, here we come," Beckett smiled impishly at Myles. He knew the 'Little Man', as their brother called him, usually like to dress up in suits.
"'S probably considered like a suit here…Right, Dad?"
But their dad only shepherded them towards the robe shop without answering. Myles frowned, while Beckett snickered.
CHAPTER TITLE: Yes, it is a Chamber of Secrets reference.
CHILDHOOD THIEVERY: Imagine a young heir to an empire of thieves. Itching to prove himself, he commits a foolish mistake in his youth.
GRIPHOOK: That's the name of the goblin who took Harry and Hagrid down to the vaults.
TEN YEARS: Griphook said that's how often they check vault 713 for poor saps who tried opening it (paraphrasing, of course). Those poor saps get sucked into the vault and trapped in it.
"Wonder if that's the vault Dad tried to steal from": Yes, that's the vault Arty the First tried to steal from.
TO THE LEFT: Yes, that was Hagrid and Harry. In the book, the goblin to their right was weighing a pile of large rubies. I made those rubies belong to the Fowls.
THE TRANSACTION: As you can tell, they exchanged the pile of rubies for wizard currency (except one ruby, which Artemis Senior kept).
WHERE'S ARTEMIS, AND HOW IS HE PAYING? Wouldn't you like to know? ;)
ROBE FITTING: By the time Harry showed up for his fitting, others from Hogwarts had already shown up, and Malfoy was in the middle of his own fitting. Thus, I made the Fowls exit the bank while Harry and Hagrid were still in the vaults. Will they see Malfoy and Potter? Maybe, maybe not.
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ARTEMIS FOWL. DON'T SEAL ME AWAY FOR TEN YEARS.