"It was just a dream," Greyson heard his brother say quietly in his ear. "Just a dream."
"Quiet Harry," Greyson muttered. "I'm tryin' to sleep." He curled in closer to his brother to block out the light.
"When I wake up," Harry continued. "I'll be back in my cupboard."
"We don't have a cupboard, we have a room," Greyson reminded him grumpily. "Now quit." However, his brother was not at all compliant as he sat up and caused Greyson to fall onto the floor, his heading hitting it with a thud.
"Greyson! Get up!" his brother said excitedly. "It wasn't a dream!" Greyson sat up rubbing his head.
"What wasn't?" he asked blinking as the room was brighter now that he was awake.
"Hogwarts, Hagrid, all of it!" Harry said, going over to the sleeping giant. "Hagrid get up!" Harry said, shaking the great man awake. "C'mon."
Hagrid let out a loud groan as he sat himself up. "Alri', alri', I'm up," he said and he stretched out. "Han' me my coat now Greyson." Greyson nodded and dragged the large thing to him. They watched as Hagrid made up the fire again and began pulling out a pack of large sausages and a tea kettle out of his pocket.
Soon enough they had a hot breakfast before them. Hagrid had even been wise enough to give them plates and cutlery too. While they ate, Greyson thought about the events from the night before. "Hagrid, what was that thing you called Uncle Vernon?" he asked, not quite remembering it. "A niggle?"
Hagrid let out a bark of laughter. "A niggle," he repeated shaking his head with a large grin on his face. "Never have I heard such a thing." After Hagrid collected himself he looked at Greyson. "Muggle, it's what we call non magic folks."
Greyson nodded. Harry was the next one to ask a question as Greyson had a mouthful of sausage. "Who was he?" Harry asked. "The one who, ya know, killed our parents."
Hagrid did not seem pleased with that question and had a hard time drinking his tea. Instead of answering he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a flask. He took a swig from it before he wiped his mouth off on the back of his hand. He took a deep breath. "Listen to me boys," he said looking at both of them. "I don't want te repeat this if I don't have te." Once he was sure he had their undivided attention, save for them munching on sausage or sipping on tea. "He was the worst of the lot. Went te Hogwarts to, ya know, but he was in Slytherin. Should have known he would've been a bad seed. All the worst came from there. But his name was... Vol- V-" Hagrid sighed looking defeated.
"Maybe you could spell it out?" Greyson suggested helpfully.
Hagrid shook his head. "Can't spell," he said. "Fine... it's Voldemort." Hagrid looked around as if Voldemort was going to appear from the shadows. "But don't go around sayin' it. No one likes hearin' it." They both nodded and finished breakfast so that they could get on to get their school supplies.
Harry read off the list of things they needed. "Where would we go and get wands and cauldrons?" Greyson asked frowning. "Or even a pet owl? In London of all places?"
"You'll see," Hagrid promised as they made their way through London. "You just have te know where te look." They paused outside of a place called The Leaky Cauldron. They made their way inside and the dimly lit pub.
"Hagrid!" the bartender said loudly over the other patron's. "Havin' yer usual?"
"Not today Tom," Hagrid said and placed his hands on the brothers' shoulders. "On important Hogwarts business. Taking the Potter boys to get their supplies." Everyone froze at the name Potter. Greyson felt uncomfortable with all this attention directed at them.
"My word," one of the people said. "Harry Potter, he's returned." His brother blinked at that and Greyson stepped back as people began to swarm in, especially once they saw Harry's scar.
Everyone was shaking his hand and saying how great it was to meet him and welcoming him back. Greyson however, was blissfully ignored. While he didn't mind getting the brunt of the attention when it came to the Dursleys, this was a different matter altogether. He had never seen so many people notice him without sneers or laughter. Normally, he was ignored and fortunately once they figured which of them was Harry, it remained that way.
"See Harry?" Hagrid said as they finally exited the pub. "Yer famous." They approached a brick wall and Greyson stared at it confused.
"Hagrid... it's a dead end," Greyson said.
Hagrid just smiled before counting out some bricks and then tapping them with his umbrella. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," Hagrid said.
"Woah," both boys said as they stared wide-eyed in amazement. Witches and wizards were hustling and bustling along. There was so much going on with people hollering about the price of goat spleen (15 knuts) and about how great their cauldrons were.
Him and Harry both saw the broom in the window, surrounded by a bunch of kids talking about the cool new racing broom, the Nimbus 2000. "That looks so cool," Greyson said and then stopped. "Hagrid, how are we going to pay for our school stuff?"
Harry stopped too. "Uncle Vernon said he wouldn't pay for it either," his brother added.
"Well, that's why we're goin' te Gringotts," Hagrid said. "Ye didn't think your parents left ya with nothin' did ya?" Greyson just looked down in response. That sure was how it felt.
"Come on now," Hagrid said and lifted Greyson's chin up. "Cheer up."
"I just... I never really thought much of them," he said. "After all, all we've known is each other and the Dursleys." Hagrid wrapped him in a large hug and Greyson never felt more love or protection from someone who wasn't his brother in his whole life.
"It'll be alrigh'," Hagrid said before straightening up. "Come on now, best get to Gringotts so we can get ye yer supplies." Greyson nodded and gave his brother a smile to show he was alright as he pat his shoulder comfortingly.
Soon enough they made it to a large, snowy white building. "This is Gringotts," Hagrid declared. "Safest place, 'cept for Hogwarts that is." Greyson nodded. Apparently, Hogwarts was an exceptional place, if Hagrid was anything to go by.
Greyson frowned at the grumpy, little men."What are they?" he asked, looking at them.
"Goblins, they run Gringotts," Hagrid explained. "Be crazy to steal from here. They've got tunnels running all under London and only they know where anything is. Even say there's a dragon guardin' down there."
"A real dragon?" Greyson asked. That sounded wicked. To imagine that there were tunnels stretching all over London, deeper than the underground, and there were dragons hiding down there. Greyson never would have imagined anything so wild, even in his dreams.
"That's what they say," Hagrid gruffed as they approached the counter where another goblin was. "I've always wanted me own dragon. I'd give me lef' hand fer one."
"Name?" the goblin said dryly. Greyson took this opportunity to look at the goblin up close. They kind of reminded Greyson of short, squat old men who spent too long in the sun. They're grey hair puffed around their ears and the crown of their head leaving the top quite bald. Though their fingers were long and seemed to be tipped with talons rather than nails. Not to mention their skin was like a dark grey-brown and wrinkled to be forever fixed in a scowl. Quite honestly, it intrigued Greyson more and he truly wanted to know more about them, despite their... grim appearance.
"Potter," Hagrid said.
"Key?" he asked, looking like all this was extremely dull. Greyson caught Harry looking around at everything around him, his face broken into a huge grin, making Greyson smile. Honestly, he would do anything if he could keep that smile on his brother's face.
"I know I've got it aroun' here somewhere," Hagrid said as he patted his pockets and pulling out things like moldy dog biscuits and even a beetle (much to the goblins detest) or two before finally revealing a small gold key.
"Here it is," Hagrid said proudly before shoving the random things back in his pockets. "Oh, and I have a letter from Dumbledore." He pulled a small folded letter and gave it to the goblin. Greyson looked at the letter curiously.
Goblin read the letter before nodding and tucking it away. "Griphook!" he yelled before yet another goblin appeared. "Take them to 687 and 713."
"This way," Griphook said as he led them to what appeared to be a mine cart. The four of them piled in and then the cart took off at an incredible speed. He heard Harry laughing in excitement as it seemed to be a bit like a rollercoaster ride with the cart going up and down and left and right. It even made Greyson laugh as they sped along. When they finally slowed down, Hagrid didn't look too good. "You alright?" Greyson asked as they stepped out in front of vault 687.
"Jus' a little sick in the stomach," Hagrid said. "Don't care for those carts too much." Greyson nodded as Griphook asked for a light that Hagrid held for him as the goblin opened the vault with the key.
Inside were piles and piles of glittering coins. He and Harry stared wide eyed at the sheer amount. There were gold, silver, and bronze coins. "I bet Dudley never even had this much," Harry said.
"The Dursleys wouldn't have complained so much if they knew," Greyson said as they stepped in to each fill a pouch that Hagrid helpfully supplied them.
"Those gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, and the little bronze ones are knuts," Hagrid told them helpfully. "Seventeen sickles to a galleon and twenty nine knuts to a sickle, easy enough." Greyson nodded and they got back in the cart.
"Is it possible to go a tad bit slower?" Hagrid asked.
"One speed only," Griphook said with a sharp toothed grin at Hagrid's discomfort. Soon enough they reached vault 713 and Greyson watched in amazement as Griphook only used the touch of a finger to open the vault.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin did that, they'd be trapped," Griphook told them as Hagrid grabbed a small wrapped package and stuffed it in his pocket.
"How often do you check?" Harry asked.
"About once every ten years," Griphook said with a wicked smile and Greyson felt it was fair enough. If you were stupid enough to steal from here, then you might as well be punished by the very thing you were trying to steal from.
When they returned to the top, Harry looked at Greyson grinning. "Did you see the blue fire when we were down there?" he asked excitedly. "I think it was the dragon!"
Greyson shook his head. "No, did you see it?"
Harry shook his head regretfully. "No, the cart was going too fast."
"I'm sure we'll see it eventually," Greyson said encouragingly as they walked down the white steps of the bank.
"Why don' you two go an' get yer robes," Hagrid said looking to a shop that said Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. "An I'll go an get me a drink from the Cauldron to settle me stomach."
"Alright, Hagrid," Harry said before they headed into the shop.