Diagon Alley

Tom the barman stood behind the bar of the Leaky Cauldron polishing glasses with a filthy rag. It was unusually quiet this evening. He only had in three of his regulars. He supposed the death of Albus was still sending shockwaves throughout the land. Sighing to himself, he refilled Martella's glass for the twelfth time. Counting how many drinks he was serving to the regulars wasn't a usual habit, but it was hard not too when it was so quiet. The door of the bar burst open as several robed figures in death eater masks came marching in.

"Don't cause any trouble and we'll let you live" said a female voice ominously.

Martella withdrew her wand and started to fire towards the death eaters but in her inebriated state, none of her spells were even close to being on target.

"AVADA KEDAVRA" shouted the female voice and Martella crashed to the floor, breaking a bar stool on the way down.

"Now let that be an example and let us pass" the female threatened.

Tom nodded his head meekly and counted thirty-five death eaters marching into the back room where the entrance to Diagon Alley was located. As soon as the last one was gone from the bar, Tom ran to the fireplace to make a floo call to the aurors. He didn't notice the same female death eater in the shadows.

"I did give you warning. Avada Kedavra" she said barely above a whisper.

Tom lay dead on the floor with a shocked expression still etched upon his face.

Garrick Ollivander looked at his wristwatch again. It had only been fifteen minutes since he last looked. He groaned inwardly. He loved creating and selling wands, but it was lonely. Not many witches or wizards were interested in the knowledge of wand lore. As long as they could wave a wand around and make something happen, that's all they were really interested in. The only one who cared to listen to his ramblings was Albus Dumbledore. It was a pity that they would no longer have extensive chats about the sentience, power and prowess that wands possess. When he had sold Severus Snape his wand so many years ago, he could never have imagined that it would be used to kill, arguably, one of the most powerful wizards to have ever existed. He sometimes felt guilty in the knowledge that he had sold many wands that had went on to maim, torture and murder. The wand chooses the wizard was his prime motto. Albus and himself had talked for hours about the possibility of wands being evil. Did wands know when they choose a wizard that they would be used for dark purposes? Are certain wands attracted to dark wizards because they want to be used for dark magic? Likewise, are wands attracted to powerful wizards who would go on to accomplish great things? Did wands have enough sentience to have goals or aspirations throughout their usage? Why did the only two brother phoenix tail core wands that he had created align themselves with such drastically different wizards? He panged knowing that finding someone who would talk about these musings with him as enthusiastically as Albus did would be highly unlikely.

He was sharply thrust from his contemplation as the bell above his shop door tingled.

"Garrick, quick. The death eaters are attacking the alley" cried the voice of Maurice Bansheel who owned the café next door.

Garrick started to move his wand around with extreme speed setting pre-determined wards to protect the shop. The numerous wands started to shrink down one-by-one and enter a chest placed upon the shop counter. Once every single wand was in the chest, Garrick waved his wand in a figure of eight pattern placing wards that not even Grindelwald could get through if he tried. He then banished the chest to a place that he knew wouldn't be disturbed. Even if he was forced to reveal the location under veritaserum, the potential looters still wouldn't get past the wards he had placed.

Garrick exited the shop with Maurice and sealed the shop to only allow entry to those who had pure intent. He looked up and down the alley to see Flourish and Blotts, Florean Fortesque's ice cream parlour, Weasley Wizard Wheezes and Quality Quidditch Supplies burning brightly. All around, death eaters were engaged in battle with shop owners and residents of the alley. Garrick fondled his wand and decided to work right to left. He slashed his wand through the air with such ferocity and power that a few death eaters blanched at his spell work. He stopped a curse from hitting the owner of Flourish and Blotts with a powerful shield and then took down the death eater with a sickening crunch. Witches and Wizards were only supposed to use wands to channel their magic, but some wands were so powerful and sentient that they start to guide their caster. Garrick knew when his father placed this wand into his hands that it was very powerful. Now with all his years of experience, he knew that it was one of the most powerful wands currently in existence. He continued to let the wand guide his efforts. A death eater fell to a stunner, another to a bludgeoning hex, another to a cutting curse. Three fell to a bombarda cast at the ground beneath their feet. A powerful shield erupted in front of him to protect him from spells cast his way by three different death eaters. One of them fell to a killing curse cast by the owner of Quality Quidditch supplies. The other fell to stunners cast by Nymphadora Tonks.

"Hello Mr. Ollivander" she called as she waved to him.

"Hello there Nympha…I mean Tonks" he replied sheepishly.

He remembered the last time he called her by her given name. She had just purchased her wand and he was thanking her for her business and made the mistake of calling her by her first name after she had asked him not to. In one of the greatest feats of unintentional magic he had ever witnessed, she had made every wand in his shop fall out of its box and create a pile in the middle of the floor. It took him three days to organise them again. He was always careful around her after that.

"Any more of them sir?" Tonks asked.

"Yes, there are at least twenty of them heading towards Gringotts" Garrick replied.

"In that case, let the goblins deal with them" said Tonks with an evil glint in her eye.

"Yes, I'd like to see the death eaters try" said the deep bellowing voice of Marcus who was the owner of Flourish and Blotts.

"What now then?" asked the timid voice of Marjorie who owned the tilted teacup café.

"I think its time I talked to Minerva McGonagall about a couple of things. I'm going to Hogwarts" replied Garrick.

"I'll see you there after I'm finished here" said Tonks and she watched as Ollivander apparated directly from the alley.

She heard several pops as witches and wizards exited the alley to safety. She took in a deep breath to steady herself and trotted off towards Gringotts to see what she could do to help.

Griphook sat in the weekly meeting of the accounts managers or Gringotts. As usual, the meeting was being chaired by Pontak who was the oldest and wisest goblin alive. Therefore, it was only correct that he was the leader of all operations undertaken at Gringotts. Griphook was bored. It was always the same things being talked about. He was getting increasingly tired of the superiority complex that goblins seemed to have over all other beings. Throughout his life, he had been annoyed to find that under no circumstances would goblins interfere in the affairs of wizards beyond providing them with the services of the bank. It sickened him that they would still provide dark witches and wizards with the same courtesy as the rest. Why should they protect the wealth of the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange? Why should their work ensure that her vault gained more interest? He knew that the likes of the Lestranges looked down upon the goblins and that they would not hesitate to kill any and every goblin in sight.

"GRIPHOOK" shouted Pontak "ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir. I'm not feeling myself sir" replied Griphook hoping that the lie would save him from the wrath of the elder goblin.

"I was saying that as the manager for the Potter accounts, you will have to speak to the young Mr. Potter very soon about inheriting the rest of his fortunes when he comes of age" instructed Pontak.

"Yes sir, I understand sir" replied Griphook.

"Good. Now, Tarak, I am promoting you to head of the….."

Pontak was cut off from his speech as the bank shook.

"Goblins of Gringotts, prepare to defend the bank and get ready to lock this place down. Inner circle of Gringotts, I need you to stay and provide me with support. Bansheel, go and lead the warriors and stop this madness" ordered Pontak.

Griphook dutifully took up his place at the round warding stone with five other goblins and Pontak. It was Griphook's father that was in the inner circle but after his death, Griphook had been bestowed the honour of taking his father's place. All of the goblins grasped hands and started to channel their magic towards Pontak. Griphook watched as Pontak accepted a knife from Lintreel and sliced open his left palm, allowing the blood to drip freely onto the ward stone. Griphook proceeded to join in the warding chants in what he knew to be ancient gobbledegook. The language reserved for the most ancient of spells and only used openly by the monarchs of goblin society. Vast amounts of power thrust from the stone strengthening the wards ten-fold. Any witch or wizard that was there to cause them harm would be reduced to dust in mere seconds. The goblins stopped chanting and Griphook felt his magic rush back into his body. Pontak collapsed to the floor from exhaustion.

"Get me Bansheel" ordered Pontak weakly.

"I'm already here sir" said Bansheel from the doorway already making his way over to assist Pontak to stand.

"Report Bansheel" instructed Pontak.

"Six death eaters dead from the hands of the door guards with help from auror Tonks. Fourteen death eaters managed to enter the bank. They slaughtered twelve goblins. The warriors took down another six before the warding stone turned them all to ashes. The bank is secure. No one can get in or out until you deem it so sir" reported Bansheel.

"Twelve goblins dead. This changes things. I am going to have to take this to King Ramshird. If he wishes to avenge these deaths then that means goblins will be at war with the so called death eaters and their leader" declared Pontak.

Griphook watched this with interest. Perhaps the goblins would be able to help in the current war of wizardkind after all.