Harry Styles and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 5: Diagon Alley

Harry woke early in the morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.

"It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Niall came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be home in my cupboard."

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

And there's Aunt Hailey knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had such a good dream.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."

He sat up and Niall's heavy coat fell off him. The hut full of sunlight, the storm was over, Niall himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl napping on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went through to the window and jerked it open. The owl stopped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Niall, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Niall's coat.

"Don't do that."

Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.

"Niall!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl-"

"Pay him," Niall grunted into the sofa.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

Niall's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pallets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.

"Give hon five Knuts," said Niall sleepingly.

"Knuts?"

"The little bronze ones."

Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.

Niall yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, Harry, lots ter buy today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him just got punctured.

"Um - Niall?"

"Mm?" said Niall, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Justin last night...he won't pay for me to learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," said Niall, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeah think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But if their house was destroyed-"

"They didn't keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no to a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks?"

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.

"Goblins?"

"Yeh – so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world for anything yeh want ter keep safe – 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. For KJ, Hogwarts business." Niall drew himself up proudly. "He usually get me ter do some important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you – getting' things from Gringotts – knows he can trust me, see."