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CHAPTER NINE: Field Trip to Diagon Alley
"Kate are you sure you want to go shopping with me for supplies? You don't even have your list yet." Cassie asked as she and Kate made their way through muggle London the next day.
The streets were swamped with people, mostly sharply dressed men and women walking from business to business. The area of London that the girls were walking in was known for being the home to many higher-class shops.
"Yes, I want to see what it's like in the past. I'll just come back with my list later. Plus, you know that you'll forget something and have to come back," Kate said dismissively, holding the door to the Leaky Cauldron open for Cassie to walk through.
"Also, why didn't we just floo to the Leaky Cauldron? It would have been so much faster."
"How was I to know it would still be called the Leaky Cauldron? What if we said the address wrong? Who knows where we would have ended up."
"When does anything in the Wizarding world change? Never, unless it's from the actions of a Dark Lord."
Diagon Alley bustled with masses of people moving from shop to shop as the girls walked through the brick entryway. The entire street seemed to pulsate with life. Colors and smells cascading over them in a magical waterfall.
Kate dashed from stand to stand, admiring every little thing. Similarly, to a squirrel on cocaine, she zipped from the window at Flourish & Blotts, gazing at their book display that lined a great, rounded archway, to a stand before Madam Malkin's where robes of all colors floated as if on invisible mannequins.
Cassie followed behind, like a reserved mother following her sugar dosed child.
However, as they traveled farther down the Alley, Kate slowed and eventually came to a stop before Gringotts Bank. Her excited demeanor bleeding away as she stood, now solemnly staring up at the massive marble building.
"Hey Cassie, how are we going to pay for all of this? I mean, it's not like we have any 'family money'."
"The goblins weren't happy, but I cleared out my vault before we left. Prices are a lot cheaper now than they are in the future, so what I had saved will be more than enough for now. We'll be fine, this I did plan for."
"So, if you have money, do we even need to go into the bank? The goblins always give me the heebie-jeebies." Kate said with a shudder.
"You don't have to, but I need to set up a few things for when we are in the Marauders era. If you prefer, I don't mind meeting with the goblins by myself? Perhaps while you wait, you can do some window shopping and see if the layout of the alley is the same?" Cassie suggested while climbing a few steps up to the bank. She turned back to look at Kate with a questioning look.
"Yeah, that seems like a great idea. How long do you think it will take to get everything figured out?"
"It's around nine o'clock now. How about we meet back here around noon? That should give us plenty of time."
"Sure, no problem! Meet you back here at noon." Kate said before disappearing into the crowds.
LINE BREAK
Entering Gringotts always made Cassie think of a stockbrokers room. People furiously calculating numbers to ensure the highest payout but with goblins.
She liked coming here in the morning. It was never too crowded, and she could be helped and, on her way, faster. While Cassie didn't have the same aversion to goblins as Kate did, she still preferred to minimize her interactions as much as possible with the greedy creatures.
Looking around the cavernous room, she located a teller that wasn't helping anyone.
Swiftly walking up to the counter, she said, "Greetings, I am here to open an account. Could you please direct me to a person suitable in helping me complete this task?"
The goblin gave her a cursory look before nodding his head.
"Wait here." He said curtly and turned to call out to a messenger goblin waiting by a corridor that led deeper into the halls of Gringotts.
"Of course, thank you."
When the goblin from the hall reached the counter, the teller barked out a command in rapid gobbledygook.
The messenger goblin nodded and turned to address her, "Follow me, please."
The goblin then started to walk down the corridor, unbothered to see if Cassie was following. Not wanting to be left behind, she quickly stepped to catch up to it.
They continued down the hallway for a minute or two. The walls were sparsely decorated with paintings depicting the various goblin wars that had happened in the past. Cassie assumed they were there to help deter ambitious thieves and wandering fingers.
As they reached the end of the hall, the messenger goblin stopped before a door with a golden name-plate attached.
"Account Manager Lurknas will see you now." He said as he turned to make his way back down the hall to the teller room without waiting for a response.
Reminding herself that goblins are always this curt, she brushed off his actions and knocked on the door.
"Come in." A voice said from behind the door.
Cassie opened the door and walked in to see an older looking goblin sitting behind a solid desk. The room was similar to the hallway, except there was a rather disturbing number of weapons hanging along the walls and resting in corners.
"Greetings Account Manager Lurknas, my name is Cassandra Trelawney and I am here to discuss opening an account." She said, as she took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
Lurknas looked up from the paper he was reading to give her a piercing look. "A new account you say? Would you like to take money from a pre-existing account?"
"No, I don't have a pre-existing account with Gringotts."
Lurknas looked at me as if he was contemplating something deeply. He appeared to have come to a conclusion because he reached into a drawer of his desk, fiddled with something, and pulled a stack of paper out.
"Very well. You will need to pay a deposit fee of 100 galleons and sign a contract that states you have been made aware of the rules and regulations of accounting with Gringotts. There will be more paperwork regarding the account itself that will need to be signed."
"Excellent, I will be depositing more than the required amount, and after the papers have been signed, I would like to discuss some investing opportunities." She said.
The next few minutes were spent going over the contents of the contract and signing in all of the required places. When the paperwork had been finished, Cassie handed over all of the money she had removed from her future vault except for enough to buy her school supplies.
"Now, was there anything else you require from Gringotts today?" Lurknas asked.
"Yes, I wa…"
Knock, knock.
Cassie turned to look at the door while Lurknas called out, "Come in."
The door opened to reveal an older woman. She was someone who clearly had money, what with the way she was dressed and how she held herself. The woman walked to stand in front of Cassie, simply looking at her without saying a word. Her gaze weirdly fond.
After a moment or two, Cassie began to feel slightly unnerved. Who was this woman to come here and stare at her? Why wasn't she saying anything? Why was Lurknas just letting her do this in his office? Cassie didn't know but before she could start demanding answers, Lurknas addressed the woman.
"Madame Trelawney, thank you so much for the haste in your arrival. I have called you here because this woman is trying to proclaim that she is you, or at least that she possesses the same name as you. As you are aware, we take line theft very seriously here at Gringotts."
The woman, now declared to be the real Madame Cassandra Trelawney, continued to look at Cassie for a few more seconds.
"Account Manager Lurknas, I thank you for your worry. However, there is no need. This young lady is indeed named Cassandra Trelawney, the same as I. But it would appear as if it is a mere coincidence." She said to the goblin.
Lurknas was taken aback, and Cassie would go as far as to say minutely disappointed. That was not the answer he was expecting.
"I see. Then there is no need for you to be here today, Madame Trelawney. My apologies."
"Keep your apologies, there are not necessary. If when you two are done discussing business I could commandeer your office for a few minutes? I would like to talk to her." She asked.
"Of course, I will let you know when we are done, Madame."
The older Cassandra Trelawney nodded her head in acknowledgment as she then left the room. Cassie watched her leave the room in astonishment.
"Was there anything else I could do for you today?" Lurknas asked, drawing Cassie's attention back to the purpose of her visit.
"Yes, I would like to discuss some investment opportunities and set up a will."
The goblin's face transformed into a sinister expression at the word investments.
"Investing you say…"
LINE BREAK
"Thank you so much for all your help Account Manager Lurknas." Cassie said as she shook hands with the goblin standing behind the desk.
"It was my pleasure, Miss Trelawney. I see much gold in our futures." Lurknas said grinning. "I will send in Madame Trelawney to talk with you as I leave."
Cassie paled a little as she was reminded of the conversation she was about the have.
"Yes, thank you." She said, sitting back down into her seat.
Lurknas left the room then, and shortly after Madame Trelawney entered. She made her way to sit in the seat beside Cassie.
"My dear, it is so wonderful to finally meet you." She said taking Cassie's hands into hers.
"What? You know who I am?" Cassie asked, in shock at meeting her great-grandmother.
"Of course, my dear! I always knew I would meet you someday and how important you are going to be."
"You had a vision of me? But I grew up a muggle, do you know happens?"
"I had a vision when I was pregnant with your grandfather. I saw he would be a squib and what would happen to the world if he grew up surrounded by magic. My son needed to grow up in the muggle world because you needed to grow up as a muggle. It was a hard decision to make. I didn't want to give away my son, regardless if he had magic or not. But you and your friend affect such great change in the world and if you never had the life you did, that change wouldn't happen."
Cassie listened to her grandmother in shock. What could she say in response to that?
"I… I don't know what to say, grandma."
"The knowledge of your existence and what a wonderful person you are helps to make my actions towards my son bearable. It warms my heart to finally meet you in real life. You are more beautiful a person than the fates portrayed you to be. I shouldn't really be talking to you about this, but you are going to be just fine my dear. The path before you and your friend Kate is not easy. You will face troubles and hardships. Problems will occur, and you will have to find another solution, but don't despair. It will all work out in the end."
"What do you mean? What isn't going to work?" Cassie asked. She was becoming flustered at the idea of the plan not going as smoothly as it has so far.
"It is not my place to tell you that, my dear. Just know I love you and you are going to be just fine. Remember it will work out." She said as she stood from her chair to leave.
Cassie quickly rose from her chair to rush after her grandmother. "You can't just say that and not tell me anything else!"
Her grandmother wrapped Cassie into a tight hug and said, "I love you and I have said what I needed, now I must be going."
She squeezed her tight one last time and then swiftly left the room. Cassie ran to follow her out, but when she entered the hallway her grandmother was gone. Lurknas was the only living being in the hallway.
"If you are done in my office, I would like to get back to work Miss Trelawney." He said frowning.
Cassie looked dumbly at the goblin before walking out to sit in front of Gringotts to wait for Kate.
LINE BREAK
Kate weaved through the crowds, her smaller stature making it easy to move around the bustling people. However, she simply couldn't keep up with the sheer velocity of witches and wizards traveling down the alley. Acting fast, Kate veered towards a side alley, narrowly escaping the onslaught.
As she caught her breath in the shadowed enclave, the noises of Diagon Alley faded. Her calm was, all at once, disturbed by a clatter from the darkened end of the side alley.
Kate changed into her cat form, now a smaller calico kitten, and curiously headed down the narrow connecting walkway towards the sound. Light on her paws and hugging the brick wall, she neared the corner by the top of uneven stairs that led downward, sloping sharply.
Kate slid her head around the corner, and seeing nothing, continued down the steps.
At the base of the stairs, the path turned again to reveal a dark, dredged, and fog covered street.
Moving silently, she traveled through the mist, which quickly revealed a shop with rounded windows. The sign "Borgin & Burkes" hung from one chain, the other long broken with the wood molded and worn to the point of rot.
The shop was known to Kate, as were its contents. However, she continued past it going deeper into Knockturn Alley.
While in later years this street would be littered with dark wizards, many of whom were Voldemort sympathizers and Pure Blood supremacists, the alley of the late 1800s was all but deserted. The witches and wizards on Diagon Alley were the dangerous ones.
However, the calliope music traveling through the fog caught Kate's attention.
The alley opened to a large square. In the center set a striped tent with people funneling into its entrance. Not wanting to get involved, Kate began to back out when she noticed something at the base of the tent.
She struggled to withhold a yowl as Josie disappeared beneath the canvas.
While there are no wizards or spells designed to understand the language of cats, the series of sound Kate made could be understood as…
"FUCKING GODDAMN DEMIGUISE... FUCKING SHIT TIME TRAVELING PAST BULLSHIT. WHY THE FUCKING HORSE... SON OF... DID THIS SHIT... THE FUCK?! GODDAMN SON OF A FUN NAMED GOAT... THE FUCK WHY? ONLY IN THE MOTHERFUCKING PAST WOULD THIS SHITTY ASS MOTHERFUCKING CRAP HAPPEN!"
LINE BREAK
Across the Multiverse, Narcissa shuddered violently, spilling her tea.
LINE BREAK
Kate dashed towards the tent, finding cover where she could to avoid being seen, and ducked beneath the tent.
The area underneath the stands around a central arena was littered with boxes of every shape and size. She paid no mind to the people or show and moved towards the backstage area.
Once there, Kate changed back into her human form. The cages and crates around her providing lots of cover.
Suddenly, she felt a pull to her hand. Looking down and seeing her missing Demiguise, Josie pulled her towards the back to a large square cage with chain link panels along its sides.
Within the cage, a large mass of brown fur lay huddled in one corner of the enclosure, its tail swinging back and forth. As Kate came closer, she realized it must be the body of a large lion. However, as she reached out and touched the chains, the creature sprung to life. Claws lashed forward at her as she jumped backward.
Josie screeched and disappeared into thin air.
Kate, catching her breath, realized that this was no lion after all. It was instead a much different thing indeed.
The Sphinx eyed the girl carefully as if sensing that she was more than she appeared.
Kate approached slowly, so as not to frighten the ancient creature.
As their eyes met, the cats communicated silently to each other in a way only cats could.
Kate decided that she simply couldn't leave things like this. She drew her wand and cast an Alohomora on the cage.
All at once the massive cage burst open. In the blast, the illusion of the circus faded to reveal the Sphinx sitting alone on the cobblestones.
"Answer" the Sphinx demanded of Kate, "Or I shall have an early lunch."
Kate gulped and nodded, ready for the question.
"I turn polar bears white
And I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
And girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
And normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
And make your champagne bubble.
If you squeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Can you answer this riddle?"
Kate pondered for a long time, trying to figure out the answer. However, no answer came. She began to shake as the reality of the situation hit her. She was going to fail. Everything was fucked, and she was going to fail to answer!
The Sphinx growled, crouched low, and readied itself to pounce.
All at once, the creature shot forward, its claws slashed at Kate and caught her arm. Kate jumped away, holding her now bleeding arm, and shouted: "I DON'T KNOW!".
The creature stopped and studied the child. It bent down and with its breath healed the girl's arm. "You have much to learn, little one."
The Sphinx quickly disappeared into the dark of the alley, leaving behind a letter that floated down and into Kate's hands.
Dear Miss Addams,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Durmstrang Academy of Witches and Wizards.
LINE BREAK
Cassie was sitting with her head in her hands on the steps that lead up to Gringotts entrance when Kate came sprinting up to her.
Startled by the loud panting coming from her, Cassie quickly looked up and asked, "What's wrong?! Are you okay?"
"Yeah…give me… a minute." Kate gasped trying to catch her breath. Her hand resting on her knees. Cassie continued to sit there waiting for Kate to explain herself.
"Sorry, I just... ran all the way here... from the bowels of Knockturn Alley. I got lost and then there was a circus tent and riddles and it was a mess!" The words came rushing out of Kate's mouth in a jumble.
Cassie held up her hands and said calmly, "You were in Knockturn? What do you mean there was a circus tent and riddles? Kate, you need to calm down, gather yourself, and tell me what has you so ruffled."
"I went to explore the Alley as you said, but the crowds were too large. I had to go down a back alley to escape and it led me to Knockturn Alley. I found a circus tent there but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the Sphinx that was trapped in a cage inside of the tent. I didn't know it was a sphinx until I let it free. You know me and my sympathies for other felines. But it gave me a riddle that I couldn't answer, and when I said I didn't know the answer it just left. And then my acceptance letter to Durmstrang was just sitting there on the ground!" Kate explained.
"Well, that is quite the adventure, Kate," Cassie said trying to wrap her mind around everything she was being told. "You got your letter?"
"Yeah! So now I can get my supplies with you!" She said excitedly.
"That's wonderful, and it will save us some time. How about you tell me what happened in greater detail while we shop? I can also tell you about what happened in the bank?"
"Sure, let's go!" Kate said as the two of them headed off into the crowds of people visiting the alley.
LINE BREAK
Kate walked down the docks with Cassie in silence. The mist hanging off the early morning waves creating a ghoulish effect. No wind or sound could be heard as if every living thing had fled from the edge of the water.
"It feels like you're leaving so quickly. You just got your letter yesterday. Are you going to be ok?" Cassie asked, pulling her cloak closer around herself against the cold.
Just before Kate could answer a loud boom shot through the still air. The mist erupted bring forth, from the depths, a massive sea serpent. Its teeth bared towards the sky. As the creature dropped back down to the water, the fog relented. The massive ship slunk through the fog as if it were flying instead of sailing.
Cassie's mouth dropped open in awe at the sight.
Kate was trying very hard to resist her 'fight or flight' reflexes.
The girls turned towards each other, embracing. "Don't forget to write, ok?" Cassie whispered.
"Ya," Kate whispered back, "I'll be sure to write all about the pretty flowers, dueling practice, and...o ya! Trying to stop the creation of mass murder! Should be fun."
Kate pulled away from her friend, turned, and headed down the dock. As she boarded the ship, which looked quite nice onboard, she turned and waved to Cassie. Soon the ship pulled away from the dock, turning towards home.
Kate took one last look towards the disappearing shore before heading down below the decks.
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