Chapter Four: Spending Some Hard Earned Cash

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I turned and walked to the door of his office, thoughts swirling around my head as all that I had learnt on this most informative afternoon sank in. Life was about to get a lot more enjoyable.

I left Canton's office and walked the short walk back through the double doors to main hall. I took the slip Canton had given me over to the teller I had spoken to earlier, but this time instead of having to wait for the goblin to finish writing to speak to him the moment I stepped forward he laid down his pen and looked up expectantly. Evidently the news that the Potter heir had reappeared and reclaimed his position had already spread through Gringotts. This worried me somewhat, as I had expressed my wish to Canton that my presence in the Wizarding World remain secret. But, I had no choice but to trust the goblins, and to anger my only allies in the Wizarding World at that time wold not be wise. I was going to need all the help I could get. Plus, it had improved the customer service drastically so it wasn't all bad.

I looked the goblin in the eye.

"Canton gave this to me". I told him and passed over the piece of parchment. He took it in his long fingers and studied it much like he had my key earlier. "It's in regards to getting an access card for my vault".

"Of course Sir. Straight away". The goblin picked up what looked like a heavy black paper weight, with a slit in the top underneath a protruding handle and what looked like a removable base. He placed the slip of paper into the slit and opened the base in order to position a wedge of what looked like black plastic. Once satisfied that everything was in order the goblin pressed his thumb into the top of the handle. He held his thumb there for a moment and then the paper weight thing started glowing. The light wasn't very bright but was gold and seemed to be leaking out of the base. It glowed for about a minute, and then the light suddenly cut off. The goblin removed the base and pulled out the slip of black plastic. What had before been just a flat black surface was now imprinted in gold with my details, including my full name, birthday and vault number. It looked exactly like a real credit card, it even had the card reading strip on the back. "This card will work in both muggle and magical shops. In muggle shops it will act just like a normal credit, all one has to do is scan it and the cost will converted and deducted directly from your bank account, the first pin code you use will be set as the passcode. The cost will converted and sent directly to the shop in your name. In a magical shop it will do the same thing but the shop owners will be using a different way of scanning the card but the result will be the same. If you wish Sir, since you are aiming for discretion I can place a small enchantment on the card for you. Instead of showing your actual details we can fit it with an alias. This will cover your name, birth date and vault number but the actual transaction will show up correctly on our end. In case you need to prove your identity all you can apply the counter enchantment onto the card and it will revert to its true form. It will automatically reapply itself after 120 seconds but if you wish to permanently cancel the spell you simply need to return here and we can do it for you".

"That would be fantastic if you don't mind". I returned the card to the goblin,

"Do you have any particular name in mind Sir?" the perfect name occurred to me almost immediately.

"Would 'Oliver Twist' be okay?"

"Of course Sir". The goblin muttered a few words and the card glowed gold again for a moment. As I watched, the words on the cards shimmered, and the name and vault number changed, becoming 'Oliver Twist' and '198' respectively.

I turned to leave but then a thought occurred to me. A way that might help me garner even more support in the goblin community. "I'm sorry but, I didn't catch your name. What was it?" The goblin looked surprised at my question. Startled even.

"My name Sir? My name is Griphook".

"Thank you. I'll let Canton know how helpful you've been. Have a good day". I turned and walked away, not stopping to see the reaction my question had made. I know it sounds like a rather calculating move for an eight year old but I was stepping into a mainly unknown world, and if anything the books my parents had left me highlighted just how much backstabbing the Ancient families were prone to. The book "The Ancient and Noble Houses of Britain" contained detailed accounts of just how vicious the power struggles were and I was already starting on the back foot. I needed allies, and the Goblin Nation was a powerful one.

I walked into the centre of Diagon Alley and took out the folded shopping list I had written the night before. It listed all of the thimgs I could think of that I might need.

An owl.

Any/all interesting books.

Parchment + writing quill.

Magical clothing.

Potions essentials.

Wand.

Muggle clothing.

Furniture.

I wouldn't be able to get the muggle clothing here, but everything else was easily available. The furniture was for my room. Since I'd read up on the books I'd been given one the spells mentioned had been an enlargement spell, and I figured that I could hire someone to turn the spare guest room that I planned on moving into into a full scale apartment. The spare room wasn't technically mine to enlarge at that time but I figured that with a little "persuasion" I could convince the Dursleys to let me move in there, thereby still remaining in their household as I was legally required to but also making life a lot more pleasant for me. It was a win-win.

I decided to start at the furniture shop as with any luck I could buy some form of baggage that would allow me to carry all my other purchases around. I spotted a shop called "Marcelo's Quality Furniture" and headed over to it. I stepped in and found it to be mostly deserted. The shop itself was actually very small, there were no actual products on the premises funnily enough, just rows upon rows of magical photographs of the items the shop sold. There was a category for beds, book shelves, desks, even bathroom items. The pictures all moved, and depicted the items from various different angles which was in my opinion a very smart marketing choice. I walked over the main desk and rang the small brass bell resting on its surface as I could see no employees. The small door behind the desk opened a moment later and a short, round looking man walked out. His clothes were quite new looking but covered in wood shavings, giving him the impression of a carpenter. A pair of lopsided glasses were perched on his nose, and the majority of his face was hidden behind a pair of very impressive bushy black eyebrows and a matching beard. To finish the ensemble the gentleman was wearing a large hat, also covered in wood shavings.

"Can I help?" he asked after looking up. He seemed surprised to see an eight year old shopping for furniture but appeared to be willing to go with it.

"Maybe. Do you do construction?"

"Construction? Yeah, I know a guy who can do that sort of thing".

"Can he do enlargement?" I asked. The guy, Marcelo I assumed, looked surprised for a moment but seemed to think.

"Enlargement? Do you mean making a room bigger?"

"Well, I was thinking of turning it into several but yes, that sort of thing. Can you help?" Marcelo nodded and grinned. Apparently he could help me, and from the grin he would be making a lot of money too.

"My friend would certainly be able to do that for you. What do you have in mind?"

"I want a kitchen and bathroom installed, as well as a living area, study and training room. I want the entire place warded, anti-scrying, anti-portkey, anti-apparition. The training room will also need to have magic wards. To prevent any damage from stray spells". Marcelo's smile grew, and he started jotting all these down.

"I have no doubt my friend can do all of that for you, I take it you will be needing furnishings as well?"

"Yes, I will need every room furnished. Will you be able to help me with that?"

"I think I can. Do have you particular theme in mind?"

"I haven't got any style in mind. Do you have any guides or brochures I could look at?" Marcelo moved round his desk excitedly, carrying a large photo album which looked like it appeared from nowhere.

"This contains all of the different styles I can offer you". He started flicking through the album. "I do old fashions, modern, couple themed home or just one person. If you wish, you can pick one style and then we shall refurbish the entire apartment in that theme. This includes wall paints, floor coverings and furniture. Does this sound like something you might be interested in?" I thought about it for a moment, and decided the full refurbishment deal would ideal for me, as it would make the entire process of what was effectively house building so much easier.

"Yes, that sounds ideal. May I see the album?" Marcelo smiled and handed it over.

"Once you have made your decision just ring the bell, I have work to do in the back but do not hesitate to call if have any questions".

"I will. Thank you Marcelo". He did a sort of half-bow and then headed into the back of the shop, shutting the door behind him. I sat down on the only piece of furniture in the room, a very comfy leather chair. I settled down and started flicking through the book. Marcelo hadn't been lying, there were a lot of styles in there, and it took me about half an hour to find one I liked. I eventually settled on an old fashioned manor house style. It consisted of dark wood panel floors and walls, intermixed with cream, dark blue and dark green paint. The furnishing were also made with dark wood, things like wooden bookshelves with glass doors and a long glass and wood dining table. The bathroom had a grey stone floor, with grey stone walls but completely modern conveniences. The same went for the kitchen. Stone floor and walls but state of the art kitchen devices, including an oven, fridge, freezer, and dish washer. The counters were made of wood but had large stone slabs on the top to work off. All in all, it was exactly what I was looking for. It was completely up to date but still refined and elegant. It would perfect until I could move out into my own place.

I stood up from the chair and rang the brass bell again. Almost immediately Marcelo popped out from the back of his shop.

"Have you made a decision?" He looked eager, evidently excited about the possibility of a big purchase.

"Yes I have. This one", I pointed to the page describing the style I had liked, "can you do this?" Marcelo took the book and studied the pages.

"And this is for a full apartment? One bedroom with on-suite bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living area as well as a study and training room?"

"Yes, that sounds like everything. Can you give me a price range?"

Marcelo made a few notes on his parchment and appeared to do some calculations.

"Well Sir, including all security measure, enchantments for windows and the like and furnishings that comes to 73,689 galleons and 47 knuts.

"That's sounds most agreeable. What time can you get this done?"

"I will need the address of the location for the work and your payment confirmation. Then, all have to do is contact my friend and we can have the entire process completed in a day".

"That sounds brilliant. Exactly what I need. If I could borrow a quill I'll write down my information and you can owl me with the details". I wrote down the same name as I had on my card, as I had decided that for the time being 'Oliver Twist' would be my alias in the Wizarding World.

"Well Mr… Twist. It has been a pleasure and I look forward to fulfilling your requests. All that remains is the payment…" I pulled my card out from my pocket and handed it to Marcelo. He placed the card face down on what looked like one of those old fashioned credit card swiping machines. Marcelo placed a piece of paper on top and then took out his wand and said a quiet incantation. The paper on top of my card seemed to press down, and black ink appeared spelling out all of the details on my card. The entire process only took about 30 seconds, and once completed there was an imprint of my card on the slip of paper next to a small box labelled 'amount'. Marcelo picked up the piece of paper and wrote the cost into the little box. "If you could sign here Mr Twist". I wrote my name down underneath the box and Marcelo pocketed the paper.

"It's been a pleasure Sir". I shook Marcelo's hand.

"Likewise". I then walked out of the shop, ticking 'furniture' off my list. After a quick glance around I saw a shop that looked like it sold clothing called "Twilfitt and Tatting's" so I started off towards there. It looked like quite a fancy clothing shop but was hopefully good quality too. I walked in and headed straight to the back where an old woman was sitting. She looked up as I approached and winkled her nose at my disheveled appearance.

"I need a full wardrobe. Everyday robes, evening robes, two pairs of robes for special occasions, shirts, trousers, shoes and jumpers. Can you help?" She looked me up and down in disbelief.

"I'm not sure what we offer is quite in your price range. All of our clothes are made from the finest quality materials we can offer. Acromantula silk, dragonhide. The best we can buy, and I'm afraid that these materials don't come cheap". I signed internally but plastered a smile on my face as I pulled out my card. Her eyes widened when she saw it. Apparently these black credit cards were not given to just anyone.

"I think I can afford it so I'll ask again, can you help me? Or do I need to take my business elsewhere?" The old woman stood up so quickly she almost tripped.

"No Sir, of course not. I didn't realise. Do you have any particular colours in mind?" I then spent the next hour trying on various different colours and clothing options, and after having so many different colours fabric thrust in my face I could list every single variation of the colour green. In case you were wondering, there's a hell of a lot. Eventually we came to the conclusion that my best colours were darker ones, with the exception of silver in small quantities. I ended up purchasing two plain robes for everyday use, one in black and the other in midnight blue and a black robe with silver embroidery for special occasions. There were also five long sleeved button up shirts, one emerald coloured, one dark blue, one black and three white. The three coloured shirts were made of silk while the three white ones were made of cotton. For trousers I purchased two pairs of slacks, both black and for shoes I bought one pair of shiny dress shoes and one pair of everyday brown dragonhide boots. Alongside all of those items I bought a black travelling cloak with a thick lining, three jumpers, two without sleeves and one with and a selection of ties. The final thing I bought was a charmed comb that the woman assured me would be more than capable of taming my hair. The final cost was impressive, but the woman assured me that all these items were worth it. They all came with built in protection charms, durability charms and growth charms so I wouldn't grow out of them. I went through the same process of paying as I had with Marcelo, and once done I had the old woman to shrink all of my purchases down so I could fit them into one bag.

My next stop was "Slug & Jiggers Apothecary" where I purchased a basic potions kit. It included a foldable cauldron, as well as unbreakable crystal phials, a silver weighing scale and a large supply of basic potions ingredients. It was all stored in a handy little box the size of a book, which once opened folded outwards with little levels for all of the items. It was a lot deeper on the inside that the outside.

I then went to "Scribbulus Writing Implements", a shop that appeared to sell parchment and the like. While there I purchased a leather notebook that I figured I could use for notes and to list things I had to do. I also put in an order for a stack of high quality parchment that would be imprinted with the Potter family crest that I could use for important letters. The other thing I bought was a black and gold fountain pen. It had a small sliding wheel imbedded in the side that could be used to change the colour of the ink. It was quite expensive but looked like a good quality purchase that I could hopefully keep for years, and would save me money on buying ink as the pen was charmed never to run out. After buying these items just as I was leaving the shop I saw a small display of bags and money pouches. I ended up buying a black money bag with a silver cord that could only be opened by the owner which I also slipped inside the bag I had been given by the clothes shop woman.

I checked my list and saw I only had three more items to buy before I was done. I decided to buy an owl first and so went to "Eeylops Owl Emporium", the shop I had seen earlier with all the owls. It was quite a high ceilinged shop with owls perched on the beams supporting the roof. There were owl cages everywhere, containing numerous different breeds of owls including what I thought were screech, barn, tawny, brown, and snowy owls. Eventually I settled on a very young looking female snowy owl with large amber eyes. I couldn't decide on a name, but at the urging of the clerk told the owl to go to my bedroom at the Dursleys. I wasn't actually expecting the bird to go there, but after a quick affectionate nip on my ear the owl flew straight out the door. I looked to the clerk incredulously.

"Did she actually understand me or was I just ditched by a bird?" The clerk smiled.

"No Sir, magical owls are all very well bred. As long as you gave her the right address she'll be there".

"If you say so. Is there anything else I need to buy?" The clerk nodded and started moving around the shop collecting stuff. I ending up buying a cage, water and food bowls, and owl food, as well as a roll of red string for attaching letters.

"Is that all?" The clerk nodded so I paid and left, all the while hoping that the owl hadn't just ripped me off. But, there had been a certain amount of intelligence in her eyes, which gave me hope that she would turn up.

My second last stop was a book shop called 'Flourish and Blotts'. The place was stacked full of books, literally to the ceiling, and would have been impossible to find anything in if they hadn't been in alphabetical order. I decided to go with the logical approach, and started at 'A'. It took me about an hour to go through the shop and I ended up buying what could probably from a small library. I didn't stick to any particular topic, I bought whatever books took my fancy or looked like they contained useful information. I bought more detailed starter books on all of the topics Hogwarts offered, as well as the books for the first three years of curriculum. I also purchased books on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy as they looked like interesting topics, as well as books on healing and offensive and defensive magic and tactics. I also found a three book set on magical creatures and plants, including their weaknesses, habitats and uses as potions ingredients. The other books I purchased included a guide to learning apparition, a book on writing neatly, a four book set on the history of magic from all over the world including Britain and a guide to how wands worked to name just a few. I had the clerk shrink all of these books down into a little box and left and slipping it into the clothes bag.

I checked the time on a large clock I saw hanging of a wall and saw it was almost six o'clock. Just enough time to buy a wand. I headed a little way back up the street to a small dusty shop called 'Ollivander's'. Inside the place looked even worse, with long thin dusty boxes piled up everywhere and old man sleeping in an old spindly chair in the corner. I was concerned I would be faced with the uncomfortable task of waking him up, but was spared from that fate by a bell ringing as I opened the door. The old man, Ollivander I assumed, stood up so quickly I had to stifle a small shriek. He was rather spooky to look at, with huge silvery eyes and small wisps of white hair.

"Can I help you?" Ollivander asked. He had a quiet raspy voice and I had to strain just to hear him. I took a deep breath before answering him.

"I need a wand". Ollivander looked me up and down with his creepy eyes and I felt strangely violated. The guy gave me the creeps.

"You don't look old enough boy".

"I'm the heir to an Ancient and Noble House therefore am allowed a wand". I wasn't entirely sure he would buy it, but he nodded once and started searching the stacks.

"What wand hand do you use?" I looked at him blankly. He sighed. "What hand do you write with?"

"Oh, sorry. I write with my right hand". Ollivander nodded. He pulled out a stack of wand boxes and placed all but one on his chair. We tried all of these wands, and then the next six after that but none of them worked. By the end of it I had knocked over six stacks of wands and blown out the lights four times. Eventually Ollivander gave in and looked to be on the verge of defeat. Suddenly however he clicked his fingers and grinned. It was a very disconcerting sight.

"I don't have a suitable wand on the premises, but I could custom make one. I don't do this often, but it seems to be the best course of action". I thought about it and agreed, following Ollivander to the back of the shop and through a small dusty looking wooden door. The room I entered was dark, and contained two work benches. The first bench had numerous pieces of wood piled on it, all approximately the same size but each of them looked to be from different trees. The other bench had several rows of small glass jars on it all labelled neatly with some very unusual names. One apparently contained 'unicorn hair', another 'dragon heart string'. I looked at Ollivander.

"What now?" I asked him.

"Now you have to choose what materials for you wand. You do this by sense, not by sight. You must close your eyes and feel what materials call to you. Once you know please tell me". I nodded and stepped to the first bench. I closed my eyes and placed my hands out and ran my fingers over each piece of wood. Some felt warm to my touch, some felt cold but as I was nearing the end of the bench there was one piece of wood that felt far hotter than the others. I opened my eyes and saw that I was touching a dark black piece of wood. I looked up at Ollivander.

"This one". He nodded and stepped forward to pick up the piece of wood. He examined it in his hands.

"This is ebony. A very strong wood, very good at binding powerful cores together". I nodded and walked over to the second bench.

"Same process?"

"If you would". I closed my eyes and started moving my hands over the glass jars. This time I felt nothing from any of the jars, they all felt to be the same temperature until I reached the end of the bench. I placed my hands on the last two jars at the same time and was startled by the change. One felt freezing cold, the other searing hot.

"These two". Ollivander stepped forward again and picked up the two jars.

"These are thestral tail hair and unicorn tail hair. Two very contrasting cores Mr…?"

"Oliver. You can call me Oliver".

"Well Oliver this wand will take a few days to craft. The two cores are quite volatile when mixed together but with the powerful binding magic of the ebony wood and a few protective runes you will have an immensely powerful wand. Shall I owl it to you?" Since I wasn't keen on spending any more time with Mr Creepy I agreed and paid Ollivander the 27 galleons my wand would cost and gave him my address.

I left the shop quickly and headed down to the gate out of Diagon Alley. Since I had no wand I had to wait for someone to open the gate for me. Eventually it was opened by an old man and I headed out onto the street and called for the Knight Bus. Next stop, the Dursleys. What a fun conversation that would be.