Harry stared gobsmacked down the twisting alley. The scene could have come out of a Victorian drama, complete with cobbled uneven streets and flickering lights. It took a moment for Harry to realise that the lights were actually suspended orbs, giving off a warm orange light. Shops of all kinds filled the streets, with very few alleys leading off to the sides. Most of the shops were closed, and several market stalls were covered in drapes to prevent stealing. A little down the street was an impressive white marble building, that appeared to still be open. Tom, noticing Harrys wondering eyes, coughed.
'Well, lad, I'll be 'ere once ya done. Most of the shops are shut right now, but Ollivander's and Flourish an' Blotts are still open and so's Gringotts. Head there first' Tom motioned to the giant building ahead of them. 'An' they'll 'elp ya out more than I can.' Tom winked then headed back inside the safety of his pub. Harry swallowed, and readjusted his bag. He took a deep breath, trying to contain his nerves (Is it nerves? Or excitement? Or both?) and set off, trying not to trip in the
As Harry neared the building, he could make out short figures standing guard in front of the two bronze entrance doors. As he drew closer still, Harry realised they weren't human – the short figures were wrinkled creatures, with pointed ears and long, thin hands and dark beady eyes that followed Harry's movements. Harry tried to not let his surprise show; he didn't want to offend any-being out of his ignorance. He glanced between the creatures, trying to figure out how to proceed. Eventually, he cleared his throat.
'Nice night, isn't it?' Harry tried to sound cheerful and got two identical death glares. Harry blinked and his smile faded slightly. Maybe they're just tired, Harry thought as he pushed through the bronze doors. He stepped through into a smaller hall, and was greeted by smaller, silver doors that had words carved into them. Harry drew closer to read the message, trying to not be off-put by the second set of guards. Harry read the (terrifying) inscription twice, before steeling himself and entered the building. This time, he entered a room similar to a school assembly hall, with tellers running along the side. Most were empty, but a few nearer the end of the hall were manned by the strange creatures. Seeing so many close together, Harry began to see distinctions between them: some had pointier ears, some had smaller faces and so on. Harry guessed, based on his limited knowledge, that they could be dwarves or goblins, or something along those lines. He might as well ask.
'Hello!' Harry said brightly to one of the free creatures. 'I'm new here. What sort of creature are you?' This, Harry realised, was a little rude, and the creature in question clearly thought so.
'We are of course goblins, boy, did your mother teach you no manners?' the goblin practically snarled at him.
'No, since she's dead. Anyway, I was told this is where to head to first, and I'm guessing from the inscription outside this is some sort of bank?' Harry trailed off, seeing the goblins disgruntled look.
'I see. This is indeed a bank, the best in the world in fact. We are the only magical bank that can claim to have never had a break in.' The goblin explained, with a slight grin. Harry blinked. It was very disturbing.
'I.. see. How long has this bank been running exactly?' Harry asked. The goblin's grin gew bigger, showing more pointed teeth.
'Just under a millennia.' Harry blinked again. That was impressive.
'Well, I certainly would feel secure investing money here!' Harry said in an upbeat manner to try to make up for his earlier… faux pas. The goblin remained staring at him. Harry cleared his throat. 'Well, I need Hogwarts supplies but I have no money. How would I go about getting money.' The goblin sneered at him.
'We do not concern ourselves with wizarding affairs, boy, but a witch should have explained this all to you anyway. Why are you wasting valuable Gingotts time?' The gobiln demanded. Harry opned his mouth in annoyance, then closed it again. He hadn't been visited by any witch. Perhaps they had opened an account in his name, assumed he'd know what to do?
'Well, I haven't had anything explained to me so far' Harry said to the goblin's extremely annoyed look, 'but perhaps you have an account under my name? I'm Harry Potter, who would you be?' Harry added on, seeing the goblins confused expression. However Harry was soon the one to become confused when the goblins face went pale, then became very anxious.
'Follow me, Heir Potter' the goblin commanded, and marched off to the left. Harry blinked (Did he call me 'hair?') and followed, ignoring the stares he was getting from the few other visitors. He was lead down a long corridor, with several doors without name tags, but Harry could still feel some sort of Power(Magic I can feel some sort of Magic) emanating from it. He felt a little wary as the goblin lead him further and further down the corridors, until he was shown into a room that held only a simple desk and two sets of plain chairs. 'Please wait here momentarily, Heir Potter.' The goblin said without emotion, and turned to leave. 'And my name is Griphook.' The goblin closed the door without another word, leaving Harry alone in the strange stone room. Well, that could have gone worse Harry thought.
Harry was kept waiting for 10 minutes by his best guess, when another goblin enetered. Harry rose as the door opened, and a taller, older goblin walked in holding a large folder. 'Sit down, Heir Potter.' The goblin commanded as he strode behind the desk and sat down. Harry did as he was told and watched the goblin with a curious expression. The goblin organized his papers and cleared his thoat.
'Heir Potter, my name is Urxluk, and I am the head of all your accounts. Firstly, why haven't we heard from you or your guardian for the past 10 years?' The goblin, Urxluk, asked Harry, who simply blinked in response.
'Um. Well, I've been living with my Aunt and Uncle since I was 1, after my parents died in a car crash. I don't think they know about… well magic. They think I've gone to a special boarding school for the next eleven months, and I've never received any mail. I only found out about this, er 'magical' community a week or so ago.' Harry said slowly, trying to be as concise as possible. Urxluk's nostrils flared.
'Do not lie, Heir Potter. I can tell you've had some training, your aura gives you away.' He said with a steely voice. Harry frowned.
'What would I gain by lying? I'm telling you, this is the first I've heard of magic! I used to call it 'Powers' until I got my letter! I don't know how I ended up here, I just walked around until I found this place! I even had to ask what creatures you all are, ask Griphook!' Harry said angirily. He hated being called a liar, he always tried to be honest, unless the Dursleys were involved. Then he lied like a pro. Urxluck stared at Harry for a moment before relaxing in his chair and smiling.
'I see Heir Potter. Well, to correct some beliefs first and foremost: your parents did not die in a car crash, they were powerful wizards, and were killed by a Dark Lord named … Voldemort.' Here Urxluk paused, as if to see what reaction Harry would give to the name, but his mind was still reeling from being told his parents weren't who he thought they were. 'There was a war. The Dark Lord had risen to power, and was killing mercilessly. He and his followers, the Death Eaters, had driven the wizarding population to madness. Your parents, along with their school friends, helped lead a resistance group called the Order or the Phoenix. The fabled Order was lead by a powerful man named Dumbledore.' Again, Urxluk paused but Harry continued to look down at the floor, deep in thought.
'No-one knows why exactly, but the Dark Lord targeted your family directly. All we know, is that on Samhain after your first birthday, he tried to murder your entire family. He killed your parents, but somehow he couldn't kill you. He disappeared shortly after, and the wizarding world at large now hail you as the one who killed him. Yes,' Urxluk grinned at Harry's horrified expression, 'they even call you the Boy-Who-Lived.' Harry held up his hand for a pause as he digested all this new information. His head was reeling. My parents were magic too? There was a war? What?
'Why is it so special that I didn't die? And why was there a war? Why did my parents fight? Why didn't they run away? Who's Dumbledore, and this Voldemort?' Harry asked, his voice growing desperate. Urxluk raised a brow.
'They tell the public the war was between good and evil, between dark magic and light magic. That wasn't the case. Voldemort, an incredibly powerful wizard, wanted to eradicate muggleborns – witches and wizards who haven't magical parents-' Urxluk added to answer Harry's un-spoken question, 'and was willing to kill anyone who got in his way. Your parents fought, to the best of our knowledge, because they felt it was right. Why they didn't run, I don't know they weren't inclined to tell me. Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts, and defeated a different Dark Lord, Gellert Grindewald, a few decades prior and is hailed as 'Leader of the Light', and he advocates muggleborn interaction.' Urxluk waited a moment for Harry to take this all in.
'The most extraordinary part of you living is that Voldemort used one of the three Unforgivable Curses, the three supposedly most dangerous curses that will land you in Azkaban. The one he was partial to was the killing curse, one that only the most willful and powerful can cast. None, in all of magical history, of human or creature origin, has survived this curse. None, but you.' Urxluk leveled a stare at shaking Harry who had gone very white. A bell chimed in the distance.
Happy eleventh birthday, Harry, was his last crazed thought before he passed out.
Harry woke to the crakling of a fire. He lay still for a moment, caught in that wonderful peace found between waking and sleep, when a dry voice called out.
'Awake then, Heir Potter?' Urxluk's amused voice made Harry sit up, and prompty fall off the bed. He fell with an oomph. Harry groaned as he heard Urxluk chuckle. 'I've taken the liberty to ordering breakfast. We still have much to discuss.' Harry stood up, swaying slightly, and collapsed into the waiting chair. Harry looked around the room.
'You've redecorated,' Harry remarked, glancing at the small pieces of art hung up, and the window that he was sure hadn't been there last night. Urxluk smiled slightly.
'I thought it might make you feel more comfortable, all things considering.' Harry flushed, embarrassed to have passed out the night before. In his defence, he'd had a long day with minimal food and taken a huge emotional blow. Harry notice the food on the table, and felt his mouth drop open in shock. There was more food than he'd ever seen in once place; baskets of bread, tubs of jam, platters filled with sliced meats. Urxluk watched him look over the food hungrily, before clearing his throat. 'We didn't know what to get for you, so I ordered a continental breakfast. I hope you find something to satisfy your taste.'
'No, no this is fine, more than fine.' Harry said faintly, reaching for some bread. He nibbled at it dumbly, as he went over the information from the night before. He wiped his mouth as subtly as he could and sat up straighter. 'So, Mister Urxluk, could you explain some more things for me? How… is it that I survived when no-one else has? Why does everyone know about it? Why haven't I had a magical introduction, and why did you think I have… had an introduction, that is.' Urxluk pursed his already thin lips at this.
'That's part of the mystery, Heir Potter. No-one is sure how you survived, many even claim you dueled the Dark Lord. I apologise, but I don't believe that rumour,' Urxluk continued despite Harry's slightly manic grin, 'The wiazrding world has a fairly small population, of only 800,000 wizards and witches scattered throughout England, Scotland, Wales and all of Ireland. News travels fast; gossip even faster. With little else to do in those dark and desperate times, most were prepared to pass on the next bit of information as soon as they humanely could, as it that piece of information could mean life or death. I don't wish to alarm you, Heir Potter, but that was life.' Urxluk finished eying Harry's pale face. He seemed to be gripping the chair's arms rest for all his worth. 'By all rights, you should have had a magical education. Your father was a pureblood, a wizard with two magical parents from a long line of wizards. Your mother was a powerful muggleborn witch, who would have certainly made arrangements with her friends to look after you in the event anything should have happened to her. Your guardian, Professor Dumbledore, should have definitely given you some introduction, and I assumed you have had some training as you aura has developed to the stage of a well practiced second year student.' Urxluk answered, and waited for Harry to have processed all the information and finish his fourth slice of bread and jam.
'Before you ask anymore question, I think it would be wise to call for a break. It's now 4 in the morn, and any more business can wait till more suitable hours. I would suggest you head to an inn, and buy all your school books. I have withdrawn several galleons from your vaults to pay for your day. I have also selected some books to loan you,' Urxluk motioned to a stack of book near the book, 'that should help explain your situation, recent events, and the wizarding world at large. I have other matters to attend to, so pleas emake an appointment with a teller as you leave. Good day, Heir Potter.' Urxluk looked down and began to write on some paper. Harry stared at him for a second before slowly getting up and picking up the bag of book. His head swimming, Harry walked down the long corridor and exited into the main room. There were slightly more people than before, who all glanced at him before turning back to their own matters. Harry staggered to the goblin who he had spoken to before, Griphook, and cleared his throat.
'Um I've been told, I mean I need another appointment with Mister Urxluk later on today.' Harry said faintly. Griphook glanced at him, and began flicking through a large book.
'He is free today at 22:00 hours, would that suffice for an hour long appointment?' Griphook said, in what he must have thought was a kind manner. It wasn't. Harry nodded and muttered his thanks before leaving the bank. He somehow managed to make his way back to the Leaky Cauldron without falling over, and stumbled up to the bar. Tom looked up at him in shock.
' 'Arry! I was expectin' ya back ages ago, whats… what wrong?' Tom asked kindly, but Harry just shook his head.
'I need a room, please Tom.' Tom frowned and sucked on his bottom lip. He finally nodded.
'Aright, lad, I'll give ya a room. Ya can pay me back tomorrow, or should I say later today!' tom chuckled to himself as he made his way up some stairs and down another crooked corridor. He unlocked a door at the far end. ' 'Ere ya are, 'Arry', this'll do for ya won't it?' Tom asked as Harry walked inside. Harry just nodded, and as soon as Tom closed the door, he collapsed onto the soft bed, letting out a slight groan, then fell deeply asleep. After all, it had been a really long day.
AN: It seems I add an additional 1000 words every chapter I write. once I get the hang of this, chapters should all be about 2000 words in length - but I didn't write anything yesterday, so I felt bad! I hope you enjoed this rather slow chapter, I know it's kinda boring. But it's needed. TRUST ME!
If there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes, please please tell me I'm not good at spotting them!
Hopefully, shopping and a bit more expo will happen in the next chapter. And for the record, Dumbles won't be evil, but we'll first see him through the eyes of the goblins who hate all wizards. Soooo yeah. Don't worry.
Ciao