-WOW!-Harry exclaimed.
Leandra looked at her brother, wondering how he could show so much emotion at all times. It must be exhausting to always be showing himself to people.
-This is where you'll buy your supplies for school- said uncle Severus.
-But I don't have any money- said Harry, his excitement clearly dropping.
-Neither do I- Leandra agreed, mentally slapping herself for not having asked her parents for some help.
Hagrid openly laughed at their worries. Uncle Severus smiled politely.
-You thought your parents would leave you with nothing?!- Hagrid asked, still barking out laughs.
-They were doing quite well in life- Uncle Severus stated- And you two have every right to use the money they left you for your needs.
-Come on! Let's go to the bank!- urged Hagrid, making a show of wiping his eyes.
-There's a bank just for wizards?- Leandra asked.
-Yes- uncle Severus conffirmed- Gringotts, the bank of the Wizarding World. You'll probably notice the building as soon as you see it.
Uncle Severus was right. Even from a distance, the magnificent tall building, sculpted out of white marble, with gold inscriptions Leandra could not understand stood out in the middle of the mostly wooden shops around it.
The entrance to the bank, she realized once she was up close, consisted of two enormous wooden doors that swung open for the four newcomers.
-Stay by our side- Hagrid advised- The goblins may be very wise but they're not the friendliest of creatures.
-Goblins?- Harry asked, scrunching his eyebrows and wrinkling his nose.
-Magical creatures that run the bank- uncle Severus stated matter-of-factly- They are not a pretty sight to the eye, but other than that, if handled correctly, are essentially harmless.
They stepped into the huge building, both the twins bracing themselves for the impact the creatures would have on them. The goblins looked rather old and none of them was smiling. Leandra wondered briefly if they would look prettier if they smiled. They strode all the way up to the furthest one from the entrance and Hagrid prepared to speak up.
-Hmm- he cleared his throat.
The goblin looked up from what he was doing, not giving away his feelings to the costumer. To the on looker, he looked almost bored to have been perturbed.
-Mister and Miss Potter would like to make a survey on their vault-Hagrid said.
-And do they have the key, Sir?- asked the goblin, his voice mirroring his face.
-I think I've got it here somewhere- Hagrid muttered as he searched through his pockets for the key.
While he was doing that, uncle Severus casually slipped a hand into his robes, producing a key from their interior. Maintaining his poise and politeness, he handed it to the waiting goblin.
-Here it is.
Leandra smiled at her godfather, and shook her head at Hagrid. She looked at Harry hoping to share a silent laugh over the giant's clumsiness. But instead of controlling his laughter, like she had expected her oh-so-emotional sibling to be doing, he was glaring at their uncle with disgust written all over his face. He noticed Leandra smiling and raised an eyebrow at her. Leandra simply shrugged her shoulders.
When they looked up again, Hagrid was muttering something to the goblin and handing him a piece of paper.
-Let's go- said the creature descending from his chair.
Once out of his chair, Leandra learned the goblin was a tiny thing, three quarters of her height at most! He guided them to a cart, even further from the entrance, which they rode to Leandra and Harry's vault. The ride was... well, in Leandra's opinion, like having to go through that magical thing she still didn't know the name of. From what she could evaluate of Harry's reaction, in the other hand, the ride was exhilarating. *What is wrong with him?* she thought while grounding her stomach *Who in their right mind would find a trip in a decaying cart through trails that would let you fall into certain death if you angle yourself wrong exciting?* It seemed Hagrid agreed with her.
-Next time- the giant looked greenish- We're not using the cart.
The goblin stifled a laugh as he opened Leandra and Harry's vault. As soon as the doors were opened, not even Leandra, the one of the duo who had obviously more experience in hiding her feelings, could contain her reaction. Tons of little coins, scattered all over the incredibly large vault, almost filling it up, shone in the dim light of the cave. She could recognize some gold ones, and she was pretty sure there were silver ones as well.
-This is all ours?!-exclaimed Leandra, suddenly feeling a lot less nauseous.
-Yep- said Hagrid as he took deep breaths to steady himself.
-Take just what you need - Snape advised her - The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones, Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts. There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. I had a little bag arranged that links itself here for you to have a little allowance while in Hogwarts.
-How do I know how much I need?- asked Leandra still looking at the piles of coins.
Uncle Severus handed her a black purse with some drawings embroidered into them, a snake being the biggest of them all. Behind her, she could hear Hagrid muttering obscenities about the "damned snakes", things both her and her godfather chose to ignore.
-Fill this with mostly Galleons and Sickles- he said- It should be enough.
While Harry was stuffing his own bag offered by Hagrid with any kind of coins, (mostly Galleons though, Leandra noticed *maybe he isn't such a dunderhead after all*) Leandra avoided the Knuts (which she would soon find out were mostly used as change), looking for Sickles and Galleons. Once she had filled her bag, she exited the vault. Harry, Hagrid and uncle Severus were already waiting for her in the cart. The goblin started the cart as soon as she was seated. She lost herself in her own head trying to control the nausea. Vaguely, she heard Harry screaming "Yahhuuhh" at some point.
As they reached the next vault, number 713, Leandra noticed that there was no lock. The goblin exited the cart with Hagrid, again, rather greenish, following behind. As she watched closely, eyes narrowing, how the goblin was going to open the door, uncle Severus watched her.
*She looks so much like her mother* he thought. He missed Lily so much. If he could do anything for her to be alive, he would. He watched as Leandra leaned forward when the goblin placed his hand on the door to the highly protected vault, opening it using a magic permission. As he was a goblin, he had permission to open every single vault in that bank.
He may not be able to bring Lily back from the dead but he could at least help raising her daughter. Something he had lost 10 years of because of Dumbledore, "She has to grow up away from all the crowds that would want to to congratulate her brother through her. She is too young to have all that attention. Not even directed at her, on top of it. She would become bitter of her brother. She would go dark. She has to stay away from the wizarding world until it's time for her to come to Hogwarts." He frowned remembering the Headmaster's words. As much as he admired the man, Albus did have the weirdest notions. Severus still had no idea how he had allowed him to give Lily's daughter away to a foster family. He didn't want her staying with the Dursley's, having heard McGonagall's comment when they were delivering the babies. He even defended sending Harry away from them. But the boy's fate was not on his hands. So Albus gave Harry to the Dursley's as he continually tried to convince the man to let him keep the girl. The Headmaster eventually gave in to her being sent to a foster family, away from the Dursley's.
Leandra watched carefully as Hagrid stepped into the vault and took the only thing that was placed there: a small box. Her face, although not as explicitly as her brother, dropped a bit. All that security for a small box. Severus smiled internally at the twins' differences. Whereas Leandra was closed, practically unreadable to the Gryffindor onlooker, Harry was like watching theater, all his emotions sprawled on his face ten-fold, for all the audience to see perfectly. If he had his way, Leandra would make a great addition to the House of Slytherin, whereas her brother was incredibly fit for Gryffindor, like his father before him.
-That's it? Just a small box?- Harry asked, his face proving Severus's inner rantings.
-Don't judge it for its size- advised Hagrid- This is a very important thing that Dumbledore wanted me to come an' get.
-Isn't Dumbledore the Headmaster of Hogwarts?- asked Leandra - There was something mentioned in the head of the school's letter.
-Ten points to Slytherin- Severus muttered to himself.
Hagrid glared at him.
-No Potter shall be a Slytherin, professor - he then turned his full attention to Leandra - You'll be a good Gryffindor like your mum. And yes, he is.
The rest of the ride (which, thankfully, wasn't that long) was quiet except for the occasional "Yahhuhh" at some turns. As they exited Gringotts, Leandra couldn't help but wonder what the men had meant with Slytherin and Gryffindor. Surely there was no problem with either of them, right?