Harry Potter (fan fiction)

CHAPTER 5- Diagon Alley

Harry and Lilian woke early the next morning. Although they could tell it was daylight, Harry kept his eyes shut tight.

"It was a dream," he told Lilian firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards." Harry said. "What--I had the same exact dream"

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

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

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"All right," Lilian and Harry mumbled, "Getting up."

He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw 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 straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl stooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

"Don't do that."

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

"Hagrid!" said Harry and Lilian loudly. "There's an owl-"

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.

"What?"

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

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

"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepingly.

"Knuts?"

"The little bronze ones."

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

Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

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

Harry and Lilian 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 – Hagrid?"

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

"We hasn't got any money – and you heard Uncle Vernon last night...he won't pay for us to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh 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. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe – 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid 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.