In the Cupboard
In the Cupboard
By: HarryDude85
When Harry trusted his instincts and opened his first Hogwarts letter away from prying eyes, the difference this one simple act has on the future is astounding.
I don't own any of these characters.
I am trying to make everything different, but something's will be the lifted right from the books, mostly the first time Harry sees something or someone or when he gets to a new place. For instance, his description of Diagon Alley will be directly ripped from the book 95 of the time. But the important stuff, like his interactions with people will be drastically different than the book, because he's not with Hagrid, this is not his birthday, so the people are different, and he doesn't know who he is yet. As you've already seen, that scar tape has already deterred one person, and it won't be the last.
Enjoy.
The first thing Harry saw after walking a few feet was a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass Pewter, Silver – Self-stirring – Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
How Harry wished he could own a solid gold cauldron, just so he could rub it in the Dursley's faces.
He walked up the street more, and the whole time Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction he walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things inside them, the people doing their shopping. Their was a boy crying because his dad wouldn't buy him a new broomstick, his reason being, "The last time you were on a broomstick you knocked you grandmother out a window!"
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, barn, Brown, and Snowy. A boy a few years older than Harry was practically drooling at the window of a shop called Quality Quidditch Supplies. "The new Nimbus Two Thousand. Come on Dad, I have to have that. We won't lose this year with me on that thing." Too which his father said, "I'm sure you wouldn't, Oliver, but we are on a tight budget and you already have a perfectly good broomstick."
There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon, there was even a store that had a magic wand lying in its window.
There wasn't a store he didn't want to go in. Every one looked as if he could spend an eternity in them and never get bored. But in order to get his supplies, he needed to get money from Gringotts.
He didn't see any signs indicating where the bank might be, and after passing many more amazing stores, Harry was about to ask someone for help when he heard a girls voice say, "I found Gringotts, Daddy. See, it's right there."
Harry turned toward the voice and saw a girl who was probably his age, and she was with her mother, father, and what appeared to be her twin sister. Harry followed her pointing arm to a building so drastically different from the rest of the surrounding shops, he didn't know how he missed it.
It was a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was what Harry assumed was a goblin. It was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a long mustache and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet.
Harry walked behind the twin girls and their parents. The goblin bowed to the family and when Harry reached him, it bowed again. "Thank you." Harry said. For some reason, the goblin looked at him rather strangely, as if he had never heard those words, but he said nothing. Or, he did until Harry was out of earshot and muttered, "Your welcome."
Harry followed the family through a second pair of doors, reading the engraving about what would happen to thieves that was above them as he went.
As he entered the vast marble hall that must have been the main lobby, he saw about a hundred more goblins sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors too count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. There were a few lines of people along the counters trying to get or deposit money.
Following the instructions of Dumbledore's letter, Harry looked to both sides. On his right side a goblin was leaning against the wall, counting a large pile of gold. Harry approached the goblin.
"Excuse me," Harry said as politely as he could, because he learned from Uncle Vernon that people don't to be interrupted when they are working.
The goblin looked up, and said in a surprisingly rough voice for something so small, "Yes."
He didn't seem upset at being interrupted, so Harry continued with, "I'm Harry Potter, and Professor Dumbledore said that you could direct me to Bargox."
The goblin gave Harry the kind of look that that Tom the bartender had given him, including raking his forehead with his eyes.
But nothing seemed to be wrong so the goblin said, "So your Harry Potter." Again his eyes raked his forehead.
"Yes." Harry said trying to keep the annoyance out of voice, remembering what Dumbledore told him about goblins.
"If you say so," the goblin. He grabbed the gold on the floor, put it in a pouch on his belt and got up. He started walking down the hall and indicated that he wanted Harry to follow him. "But if you ask me, I'm not that impressed."
"Not impressed with what?" Harry sincerely asked.
"Modesty doesn't get you anywhere, Mr. Potter," the goblin sneered. And before Harry could respond to that odd comment, the goblin held his hand out, indicating a line of two people in front of a goblin. 'He must be Bargox,' thought Harry.
"Good day, Mr. Potter," his escort said bowing and starting to walk away, Harry presumed, back to his own counter.
"Thank you," Harry said, before the goblin could walk to far away. Harry thought he saw him falter, but the next second he was walking as normally as anyone.
The person in front of the line finished his business and left. After he moved up in line, Harry looked to his left and saw the family he followed in. The two girls seemed to be as fascinated with this place as Harry was, so maybe they were muggle-born and this was their first time here. He noticed the sign above them said muggle money exchange, and that confirmed his theory.
Deciding to be bold, this was his first day in a new world after all and that should include making new friends, Harry said to them, "Hi."
The two girls turned to him. He could see instantly that they were, in fact, twins; Identical twins, to be more accurate. Their was no way to tell them apart, at least by their faces. One was a little shorter than the other and she had a skirt on. The taller one had on jeans. They and their parents were also of Indian descent, if their brown skin was to be any indication. Harry couldn't help but think they both were very pretty as well.
"Hi," the taller girl said. "Are you going to Hogwarts too?"
"Yes," Harry said. "I'm sorry if this seems rude, but I've never met twins before. You two seem very interesting."
They both giggled and the smaller one said, "It's not rude. We get that all the time. I'm Parvati Patil, by the way," she said extending her hand. "And this, if you couldn't figure it out, is my twin sister, Padma. And those are our parents." She indicated her parents. Her mother turned around from talking to the goblin enough to smile at her daughters' new friend before going back to the conversation.
Harry shook Parvati's hand, than Padma's. "I'm Harry Potter." For the first time, Harry met someone today who didn't look at his forehead when he met them, and that made him feel very grateful, although he didn't know why.
"Nice to meet you Harry," Padma said. She looked around and Harry thought he knew what was coming. And he was right when Padma asked, "Where are you parents, Harry?"
"I don't have any. They're dead," he added to clear their confusion.
They both gasped and clasped their hands to the mouths. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry." Padma moaned. "I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't know, we just met. How could you have?" Harry said trying to calm them down.
"But still, we feel so stupid for asking," Parvati explained. "When did they – "
"Parvati!" her twin hissed trying to shut her up. Padma smiled at him and said, "I'm sorry for her, she doesn't have much control when it comes to asking personal questions."
Parvati glared at Padma, but before she could say anything, Harry interjected and said, "It's alright, you guys. It's fine. And, they died when I was one in a car crash, so I don't know much about them. Although I do know they went to Hogwarts." Harry didn't know why he was saying all of this, why he was telling practical strangers about his dead parents, but a part of him was happy not only to have someone to talk to, but something to say about his parents other than that they were dead.
"Oh, that's so sweet," Parvati squealed. "So they were like high school sweathearts or something."
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
"Well, we were going to get some ice cream after we got our money," Padma said. "We will shop afterward, but we are hungry and we saw an ice cream shop on our way here."
"Yeah, I think I saw that to," Harry said. "Fortescue's or something."
"Right, well do you want to join us?" Padma asked hopefully. Harry looked at Parvati and she too had the same look.
Harry was really, really tempted to say yes, but…
"I want to, I really do. But I don't know how long it will take me to get my money, and I'm kind of on a tight schedule." Even though he had 7 hours and 48 minutes left of his 8 hours, he wanted to get as much exploring done today as possible, because Harry didn't know when he would be able to come back after he left. "Maybe we will meet later today. And if we don't, we will see each other on the train, right."
He could tell this wasn't what they wanted to hear. Fearing he already blew his first friendship, Harry tried to backtrack when, "That's alright, Harry. We know you would if you could," said Padma.
"Yeah," her twin added. "Don't beat yourself up about it."
"You sure," Harry asked, as he was new too this whole friendship thing, he didn't know if their were any signs here he was missing.
"Of course," said Parvati. "Like you said, we might meat up later today and if not we will see each other on the train."
"And," Padma piped in, a look of sudden inspiration on her face, "I heard that in the wizarding world, people communicate by writing letters and sending them with owls. So if you or one of us buy's an owl that could work!"
"It could but I have know idea how much money I have," conceded Harry.
"And I don't think we have enough money to get an owl," Parvati said. "But we do have the telephone. Do you have one Harry?"
Harry grimaced. "I do, but I don't that would be the best idea, trust me." He pictured Uncle Vernon's reaction when he found out people from his school were calling his house and Harry shuddered.
"Why?" asked Padma, just as their parents stepped behind them.
"Hello," Mr. Patil said, holding his hand out. "I'm Padma and Parvati's father. I see you three have been getting along." Mr. Patil was a kind looking man, eyes as brown his daughters, and his black hair was combed over to give him the impression of a business man, which Harry supposed he probably was, seeing he was a muggle.
"Yes we have daddy," Parvati said, beaming at her father as Harry shook his hand. "We have just been making plans to talk the rest of the summer."
"You have, have you? That's nice." Mrs. Patil was just as kind looking as her husband. Her shoulder length black hair went well with her round face, and with eyes as dark as the rest of her family's. Looking at Mr. and Mrs. Patil, it was clear to Harry that Padma and Parvati inherited their looks from both parents.
"It's nice too meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Patil," Harry said as he shook hands with his new friend's mother. "I'm Harry Potter."
"It's nice to meet you, Harry," said Mrs. Patil. "Are you going to Hogwarts this year as well?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Harry.
"'Ma'am'!? How very polite," said an impressed Mr. Patil. "Where are your parents, Harry? I want to meet the people who raised such a nice young boy." He, like Tom in The Leaky Cauldron earlier, looked around the hall trying to find people who might have been Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"Dad," Padma hissed, and when Mr. Patil looked down at his daughter, she was shaking her head, eyes wide in warning.
"It's alright, Padme," said Harry, smiling in thanks at her for trying to protect him. He looked up at a confused Mr. and Mrs. Patil and said, "My parents are dead, sir."
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry to hear that," said Mrs. Patil. She was going to say something that was hopefully comforting, but before she could, a grumpy voice next to the group said, "Next in line."
Harry looked up in line for the first time since he started talking to Padma and Parvati. The man in front of him in line had just left, and it was Harry's turn to get money.
He turned back to his new friends and said, "Well that's me."
The two adults didn't want to have them leave like this, finding out their daughters' new friend was an orphan, but Harry made it better by saying, "I will try and buy an owl so we can keep in touch for the rest of the summer. And if I don't see you till September 1, than I guess we'll see each other on the train."
"I would like that," said Parvati.
"So would I," agreed Padma.
"Well, I'd better go," said Harry, watching the impatient scowl form on Bargox's face. "I doesn't look like he will wait much longer for me."
"It was a great pleasure meeting you, Harry," said Mr. Patil, holding his hand out, and when Harry grabbed it, he added, "I hope it won't be the last."
"I hope not as well," grinned Harry as he shook everyone else's hand. With the final good-bye and promise for the kids to meet each other on the train to school, the Patil's left the bank.
Smiling as he turned to Bargox, "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."
"Good for you," Bargox sneered, lip curled.
Smile faltering slightly, Harry continued. "Professor Dumbledore told me that you have the key to my vault. Do you?"
Grumbling about kids and spoiled celebrities, which Harry figured that applied to another costumer, Bargox began rummaging through a drawer in his desk. He must have been searching for 2 minutes before he emerged with the key. He handed it to Harry and rung a bell on his desk at the same time.
After he took the key, Harry looked to see another goblin approach.
"Sladdiff will take you to you vault, Mr. Potter. Follow him."
With another thank you, Harry followed Sladdiff too one of the doors leading off the hall. Expecting more marble on the other side of the doors the door, Harry was surprised. He was in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Sladdiff whistled and a cart came hurtiling up the tracks toward them. The climbed in and were off.
It was like a roller coaster. Sharp turns all over the place, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, all over the place they went, it seemed to Harry. Despite the cold rushing air stinging his eyes, Harry kept them open, not wanting to miss a thing. He thought he saw a burst of fire, but they were moving too fast for Harry too see in time.
"What was that?" shouted Harry over the rushing air.
"Dragon," replied Sladdiff.
"A dragon! Dragons are real!?"
"Of course." The goblin gave him an odd look.
Before Harry could say anything to that blunt statement, the cart came to a abrupt stop. Looking around, Harry saw a door to a vault. His vault.
Harry gave Sladdiff the key and unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of bronze.
"All this is mine?" a floored Harry asked.
"Yep. All of this was legally transferred to the belonging of Harry James Potter at the moment of your parent's death."
"What is all of this?" asked Harry looking at Sladdiff. When he saw the raised eyebrow Harry clarified with, "I obviously know that it's gold, silver, and bronze, but I was raised by muggles so I don't know what these are called or how much makes what or – "
"The smaller bronze ones," interrupted Sladdiff, " are called Knuts. Twenty-nine Knuts make up a Sickle, which are the bigger silver ones. And the largest ones, the gold, are Galleons, and there are seventeen Sickle's to a Galleon. Does that answer you question?"
"Yes it does. Thank you," answered Harry. "Um, do you happen to have a bag that I can scoop some of this into."
The goblin rolled his eyes, snapped his fingers, and a pouch appeared out of thin air. Harry took it and started scooping handfuls of the money in. He didn't know how much anything would cost, so he got about 8 handfuls. Their was an even amount of each color in the pouch and Harry thought that was enough. Harry figured if there was any left over, he would just keep the money on him so Dudley wouldn't be able to steal anything.
Satisfied with his money, Harry told Sladdiff he could close the door. Sladdiff gave Harry his key, the two got back in the cart, and they were off again.
When they arrived back on the hall level, Harry thanked Sladdiff, and headed toward the doors.
As he stepped outside, ready to buy his school supplies, Harry wondered if he still had time to catch the Patil's at the ice cream parlor.
The cauldron scene was taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Pg. 71
The description of Diagon Alley, with the exception of certain parts, was taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Pg. 71 and 72
The descriptions of Gringotts were taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Pg. 72-73
The ride in the Gringotts cart was taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Pg. 74
The opening of Harrys vault was taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Pg. 75
