Chapter 9- Diagon or Divinus?

In which Hermione goes shopping

[ Natasha POV ]

"Welcome to Diagon Alley"

I stand looking at their amazed faces. I see them truly coming to grips with all the information I've given them. Seeing as I'm still an American agent, I cannot tell them most things.

This kind of cold, hard, proof shows that I'm not just some random person being affected by some supernatural effect as some have been these past few years.

With people like the Hulk, the attempt being talked about reviving Captain America from the ice, to the strange power surges that have been active around the globe.

I tap on their shoulders to get them out of their stupor. Once I do I say,

"Alright. We need to get going to Gringotts. That's that large white building over there. Keep your hands in the open mind you, hidden means weapons could be drawn. All in all just give them respect, but they aren't helpless and treating them as such will get you extra fees." Now that I've warned them, I lead them into the building. I nod at the guards and Hermione almost instantly has another question.

"Hey what's that message for?" Hermione asks. With a smile I turn and answer with

"Some people try to steal. This message is a warning to thieves." Hermione's parents appear to be confused. One of then turn around and asks me about how these problems occur.

"So many of the problems in the mundane world are problems here?" Mr. Granger asks me.

"Not all of them no. But when it comes to common sense and greed, and all such feelings of the sort, the problems may be magnified. Poverty isn't really a thing anymore, seeing as we invented wizard tents. Dehydration isn't a problem because by the end of your second year in school, you know the aguamenti charm that conjures water. " I say as a way of explaining.

"Wizards are stubborn and refuse to believe that anything but their way is correct. So the main jobs in our society are government, or politics. However, there are some people that have bloomed. See Honeydukes, that's our main candy shop. Or the entirety of Diagon I suppose." With the hope I have instilled enough confidence for them to stay for now, I enter into the main hall of Gringotts

I give a nod to the main guards, as I did at the entrance. We walk over to a line of tellers.

"Hello. I am here to see the account manager of the Athens family." And the teller turns and says something in gobbledygook. I have a very rudimentary understanding of it, so I hear

"Go, lead, manager, Crystalaxe, now"

However that is all I understand. I look over to the Grangers and motion for them to follow. A different goblin shows up, and says

"Follow me" in a curt fashion. Once we do, we end up in a hallway full of doors. It has 28 doors of a smoked oak wood, corresponding to the sacred 28 families. They are all sized for an adult wizard to get into. Following those doors is what appears to be a wall. However once the goblin scratches it in a complicated fashion, part of the wall opens up and it ends up just barely fitting over Mr. Granger's head. I assume that's intentional.

Following the wall is a hallway with a different style of doors. While the doors previous had been circular in shape these doors were rectangular. While the 28 doors behind us were smoked oak, these doors were

craftsmen doors made out of mahogany. However the windows on top looked to be enchanted, preventing spying and the doors were probably loaded with enchantments.

We walked along this hallway until a door with a darker looking mahogany and silver lining was seen. We turned in here and the goblin ahead of us knocked.

"Enter" was the crisp response from inside. When we did we were greeted by the account manager for the Athens family, Crystalaxe. He was a fierce politician and an impressive investor in plenty of businesses which was another reason the Athens account flourished so well. He sometimes had an assistant but he was well-payed so he was quite content without one as it reduced his pay.

Once the other goblin had left, presumably to other duties, Crystalaxe said to the remaining people in the room

"Well this is a warmer topic than I was expecting. The Athens haven't searched for a while, however I can see why you chose her. Well let us get on with the procedure." And he turned away and into a desk. He grabbed the knife used for small cuts or one drop incisions, and a bowl. He grabbed a potion from a cabinet in the office and filled the bowl. He then turned to Hermione and said

"May I please see your hand? I need a drop of blood." Once Hermione had held out her hand, then led it over the bowl and pricked the tip of her finger. A drop or two of blood fell before the cut was healed with magic. Enchantments are impressive things are they not?

The potion didn't take too long to activate, and Crystalaxe took a dropper. He filled the dropper, lowering the contents of the bowl more than expected. He then hovered it over a blank page of parchment and unloaded said dropper. Once the page was covered in the potion Crystalaxe turned to us and said

"Now we wait for the results. Would you like any refreshments?" I said no as always, and Hermione looked ready to burst. When there was a 'no' from everyone except Hermione, she exploded with questions.

"What did you fill the bowl with? What was that paper like thing? Why did you need my blood? How is my cut already healed? What are we waiting for?" When she stopped for breath, I put a hand on her shoulder and said

"Calm down. Don't worry I'm sure Crystalaxe here will be glad to answer your questions." I turned to him after and he nodded.

"The bowl was filled with what boils down to an inheritance test. We put the potion onto what is called a parchment. It needed your blood to read your DNA and trace it back to your ancestors with magic. The knife you were pierced with has an enchantment on it with healing magic ties. It heals all wounds made with it after 2 drops fall out. It would be 1, but most potions require 2 or are improved with the extra drop. The specific potion we use is a much more efficient and accurate one, but it goes through the blood so it goes farther with more blood. And finally we are currently waiting for the potion to sink into the parchment and relay the information." Crystalaxe said. As he finished speaking, as if on queue, the parchment dried and curled a small amount on the edges as it did once it was written on.

Reading the results was exciting. Seeing all the ancestors from the Athens family was all the confirmation I needed to turn to her and say

"Well then. I think we're in the wrong alley. We're heading to Divinus."