ᴏᴜᴛᴄᴀsᴛ - ᴅʀᴀᴄᴏ ᴍᴀʟғᴏʏ x ᴍᴀʟᴇ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

- ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ғᴏᴜʀ -

Three up, two across, Hagrid had said. I tried to burn that into my brain in case I ever wanted to come back here. And I knew I would want to. 

Because as soon as I stepped through the newly created archway, my jaw dropped. 

People with pointy hats and long robes filled the streets. What amazed me the most was that the buildings didn't seem to have any exact angles. And they seemed to lean towards the other side, as if stretching to create shade for the street. 

I heard a grinding noise, like metal scraping across pavement. Turning around, I find that the wall we had come through was solid again. As if nothing had happened. 

Reaching into my messenger bag, I take out a charcoal pencil and quickly scratch a marking onto the bricks Hagrid had tapped. And just in case, I also wrote down three up and two across in my sketchbook. 

"Alright! Where to?" I asked, turning to find no one was listening. 

Ah, curse my stupid brain, I thought. I had the tendency to get distracted quite easily. 

How had I lost someone so big??

I quickly stuffed my sketchbook and pencils back in my bag and ran down the street. I was trying to find Hagrid and Harry, but I couldn't help but stop and stare into every window of the shoppes. 

Eventually, I came up to a marble building where the road split in two. The road that kept going straight was lined with shoppes similar to those I had already passed. The road that branched off to the right was darker. Gloomier. It gave me an uneasy feeling, so I decided to stay away from it. 

To the left of me was a big marble building. Several stories tall, with big, crooked pillars that looked ready to crumble at any second. 

Outside the big doors of the marble building, I saw Hagrid's head duck inside. The streets were packed with people, all of which went different directions, making it harder to push through the crowds. 

Once I made it to the steps, I quickly leapt up them two at a time and pushed through the doors. 

Inside were a bunch of short, ugly old men. I gave one an awkward smile in greeting and ran to Hagrid.

"No running!" one of the short grandpas yelled in a crackly voice. 

"Sorry!" I yelled back, running to Hagrid. 

"Ah! (Y/N)! There yeh are!"

"Where am I exactly?"

"Gringott's Bank. We can' use muggle money 'ere."

"You have wizard money?"

"We cert'nly do!"

"So Hagrid," Harry interjected. "We, uh, we don't have any 'wizard money'."

"But yeh do! Yeh think yers mum an' dad wouldn't'ave left yeh any?" Hagrid turned to the short man in front of us and said something to him. 

I was too busy studying the man to hear anything they said. Such a wrinkly head...

I was quickly jerked out of my thoughts by Harry who grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards another door. 

We came up to a minecart and jumped in, Harry with Hagrid, me with the old man. 

"Where ar-" Before I finished asking my question, the cart lurched forward and followed a rail beneath us. 

When the cart started out, I was thrown forward, my forehead hitting the old man's wrinkly head. We were thrown this way and that, but I was too focused on the pain in my forehead and how less it would be hurting if this 'lil man didn't have a skullet and actually had hair on the top of his head to buffer it.

Once the cart jerked to a stop, my head snapped back and I groaned. Stepping out, I looked to Hagrid who didn't look any better. 

"Can I sue? That thing," I point to the cart, "is a liability. I can sue, right? Don't you have wizard lawyers? I'm pretty sure I've just been issued brain damage and whiplash. That's suable, right?"

Of course, I was only joking. Half-joking, anyway. I made a mental note to never sit behind one of the little men if I ever came here again.