SECOND CHAPTER
Now I know that there wasn't much a difference, but as things move along, I promise I'll get better! Don't hurt me! I skipped a whole mess of stuff and we'll b starting in diagon alley kk?
It was amazing! The entire street was full of the most exotic things. By exotic I mean completely weird and unnatural.
I looked around at everything, following in Hagrid's wake. I turned my head to see owls in cages, hooting, and screeching to one another above the babble of noise. On the other side I spotted the Nimbus Two Thousand, receiving more attention from the boys who were gazing at it than anything else on the crowded street. It was sleek and smooth.
The next thing I knew, we were in front of a gigantic marble building; Gringotts, the wizard bank. So cool! Oh! Damn!
"Hagrid, I know we kinda already discussed Harry's money issue, but what about mine?" I wasn't an orphan, my parents were in another country, and I have no idea how to transfer money.
"That'll on'y take a sec." Said Hagrid waving his hand as though brushing away the topic.
"Oh, okay then," I whispered feeling sort of embarrassed.
Harry fell behind into step with me.
"This is all insane!" He whispered excitedly. "I mean, until you two showed up…I mean I would never have guessed…Wow." He said shaking his head.
"Ya, I know what you mean."
"Are you're parents wizards too?"
"Nope, as far as I know, I'm the only one in the family." Then I added, "My brother might end up being one though, he's only eight so we don't know."
Harry nodded, "I wish I had a brother,"
"No you don't." I said laughing, "He wouldn't be as bad as Dudley, but he'd find other ways of torturing you. Trust me."
Harry laughed as we began to climb the stairs to the bank.
The message on the doors disturbed me a little bit, and I reminded myself to never befriend a thief. The goblins were short, nasty looking creatures and my first thoughts were look out Bagman… I looked around watching them do their work. Over by one counter I spotted a young man with a short-ish red ponytail. Huh, I thought he was supposed to be in Egypt…No earring yet I see…when will you acquire that? I smiled remembering book four. Bill Weasley was in fact quite good looking.
We arrived at our counter.
"Morning, I would like to create an account," said Hagrid.
"Who will be the owner of the account?" replied the goblin, taking out a quill and a scroll.
"Kailey Macauley," answered Hagrid.
"Why does she need an account? She looks far too young." Sneered the goblin.
"She is a muggle-born, sir, her parents don't have an account."
"Oh, so sorry," he didn't look sorry at all. "In that case, where shall we be making the transfer from?"
"America,"
The goblin sighed, "Why exactly did you have to come to this Gringotts, sir?"
"She'll be attending Hogwarts,"
"An American? Why?"
"Can't rightly say why, sir, you'll have to ask Professor Dumbledore that."
Harry looked at me, "You're American?" he whispered.
"Yes. Why? Does it really matter?" I whispered back. He shook his head still staring at me.
"It just explains you're accent I guess."
"Alright, your transition is complete. Here is the key to her vault. Anything else?" Wow, that was really fast. (A/n—actually I've got no idea how to explain a transition, do you?)
"Yes, sir, Mr. Harry Potter wishes to make a with drawl, as well."
"Very well, where is his key?"
"Oh, umm….wait, I've got it here somewhere…"
After covering the counter with moldy dog biscuits, Hagrid found the key.
"And Professor Dumbledore gave me this."
The goblin took the letter with lacy writing and read it. "Very well, let me find someone to take you down to the vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook led us threw the doors at the very back of the room. We were suddenly inside what looked like a mine. The torches on the walls cast eerie shadows on all of the walls and the floor. It was like walking towards the Chamber of Secrets two years early.
We came to some tracks and Griphook whistled for the cart that came whizzing toward us. Harry looked at me.
"Don't you dare say 'ladies first'." I threatened. He nodded climbing into the cart and I followed.
Hagrid squished in after us. I had absolutely no fear of falling out of the cart; we were crammed in good. And off we went. I couldn't look strait ahead; I thought I'd get sick if I did. Every time we dropped deeper, a strange sensation went through my stomach.
"I never know, what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" Harry shouted.
"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it, an' don' ask questions righ' now, I think I'm gonna be sick," said Hagrid, before I could answer.
"Actually," I shouted, "The ones on top are the stalactites!" I could barely hear myself over the roar of the cart.
We stopped at Harry's vault first.
"Lamp, please," the goblin said, as Harry handed him the lamp. "Key, please!" Griphook seemed impatient as he said, "Wrong key, I'd like the other one please."
Okay, so we stopped at mine first. All the doors look the same, and I don't know what number we were at!
He unlocked the door, and stood back. Did they transfer the right person? Was it really possible that my parents had saved that much for my college funds? It wasn't mountainous, more like mini foothills.
"How is that possible?" I wondered aloud.
"Its how the money transfers," explained Griphook. "American muggle money is worth more to goblins, than is the British muggle money."
"Whys that? I thought it'd be the other way around." Interjected Harry.
The goblin smiled with his little pointy teeth and said, "Why do you care so much, little wizard?"
In one motion, Harry and I had both stepped into Hagrid's wake. The goblin's smile was really unnerving. Suspicious little beast…
After we took some money out and put it in a small leather pouch, we were back in the cart rattling along to Harry's vault. This time it really was his vault that we stopped at.
If I had looked surprised, it was nothing to Harry's pure shock.
"Didn' think yer parents would leave yeh with nuthin' did yeh?"
"Man, you're rich!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself. The room was bigger than my vault and was certainly a lot fuller. Mountainous mounds of gold, silver, and bronze.
"All right you two," said Hagrid as he scooped up some of Harry's money. "The gold ones are called Galleons, seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, its easy enough."
"So how many Knuts to a Galleon then?" I asked. I'm not so good at math and stuff.
"Four Hundred and Ninety-three," The goblin supplied. "Not many people do change for a Galleon in Knuts." I could never have guessed…
"Vault 713 now please," said Hagrid. "And could we go a little more slowly?"
"One speed," grinned Griphook.
He lied. We were going faster as we plummeted towards the bottomless pit of darkness. Okay, so it wasn't completely dark, there were torches along the walls, but they were only like little balls of light that we sped past.
When we finally got there, there was no key hole. Griphook ordered us all to stand back, and he stroked the door. As the door melted away, I craned my neck looking for a tiny package. Harry craned his neck too, only I think he was looking for something more…impressive than what we saw.
"If anybody but a Gringotts Goblin tried that, they'd be sucked inside the vault."
"How often do you check?"
"Hmm…about once every ten years." That smile was really starting to bug me.
Hagrid went in and picked up the package choosing to not explain anything to us and to tell us to keep this visit to ourselves, which I'd be more than happy to do, maybe.
We piled back into the cart and made our way out of the bank. We stood in the sunlight for a few moments before Hagrid said, "Best get yer uniforms."
We started down the street.
"Listen, guys, do yeh mind if I head fer the Leaky Cauldron for a pick-me-up? On'y those Gringotts carts…"
"Go ahead Hagrid, we'll be fine." I said smiling.
We entered Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The Madam was a short, plump lady, with a welcoming smile.
"Hogwarts, dears?"
"Yes,"
"Got the lot here – there's another young man being fitted now, in fact" She lead us to the back room, where on a stool stood none other than Draco Malfoy, of course I wasn't supposed to know this at the time so I didn't say anything. Not just then anyway.
She called for another witch to help me with my robes and they began pinning us to the fabric.
"Hello, Hogwarts too?"
"Yes," Harry and I chorused.
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands."
"You aren't going to get your wand yourself?" I asked. After all, doesn't the wand choose the wizard?
"No," Malfoy stared at me, looking at me with one eyebrow cocked. "Anyway, then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years aren't allowed to play. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
"You want to get into trouble the first day?" I asked, my turn to cock an eyebrow.
He glared at me, "Was I talking to you?"
"I don't know, where you?"
He continued to glare as he asked Harry, and not me, "Have you got your own broom?"
"No," he answered.
"Either of you play Quidditch?"
"Nope,"
"No,"
"I do and Father says it's a crime if they don't pick me for house team, and I must say that I agree." He paused for a glance at his robes, "Know what house you'll be in?"
"No," said Harry. Poor Harry, he had no idea what was going on.
"I hope that I'm in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." I said, "Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad either." I added as an after thought.
"Hufflepuff? Why in the world would you want to be in that house? I know that I'll be in Slytherin."
"Funny, why in the world would you want to be in Slytherin?"
Ignored again.
"Look at that man!" Malfoy said suddenly.
Hagrid was at the window holding three ice-creams.
"That's Hagrid," said Harry. "He works at Hogwarts."
"Oh, he's a sort of servant. Isn't he? I've heard of him."
"He's the gamekeeper."
"Exactly. I heard he's sort of savage, lives in a hut by the forest and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."
"I think he's brilliant,"
"Yeah, and he's really nice,"
"You think so? Why? Where are your parents?"
"Mine are across the ocean."
"They're dead," said Harry, staring into space for a moment.
"Oh, sorry," No your not, you evil little… "But they were our kind right? Not the other sort."
"They were a witch and wizard if that's what you mean."
Well, now we're just heading for a danger zone.
I opened my mouth but Malfoy interrupted, "I really don't think that they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same. They've never been brought up to know our ways. Some have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter. Imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding--"
"Shut up." I said, "What do you know of us? Huh? Sure it won't be easy for us, but you haven't really had much of a head start have you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm a muggle-born, you evil little--"
"Alright you two are both done."
Of course.
Okay that's all I've got for Chapter two! I hope you liked it! I'll keep writing for as long as i can! kk thnx for reading, suggestions are appreciated, as well as general comments!
