Here We Go Again

Prologue

Harry had never seen a goblin before, and he had certainly not been prepared for it.

The goblin was unlike any other creature he had ever dreamed of — with its pointy nose and ears, long fingers and slanted eyes — and yet Harry's mother seemed perfectly oblivious to its strangeness. She had, in fact, showed no sign of surprise or bewilderment to any of the fantastic sightings which had awed Harry on their way to the bank; instead, she prompted herself to the nearest vacant counter and smiled sweetly, as she always did.

"Hello, there!" she said cheerfully.

On the opposite side, the creature scribbled on a piece of parchment that seemed bigger than Harry himself.

"Yes?" a grave voice muttered back.

"I have some muggle money that I would like exchanged, please."

"Are you registered at Gringotts, ma'am?"

She frowned. "Why, uh... Yes, I believe so."

"Do you have a key?"

"No, sir, I don't."

"Name?"

"Lily Evans."

Harry noticed his mum had started fidgeting with her fingers while the goblin consulted a leathered book. An older woman had just positioned herself in line behind them, looking a bit impatient with her two identical sons, who had not stood still for a single second since arriving.

"I'm afraid I would need your key, ma'am", the goblin declared at last. "It is an obligatory requirement for any wizard or witch who wishes to utilise the bank's services."

"But I'm not trying to enter my vault", Lily protested. "I only wish to exchange the currency..."

"Yes, ma'am, you've said that already. It is still the bank's policy to request that you present your key..."

"I don't have it. I... I must have lost it years ago! It's been over a decade since I last came here."

"Unfortunately, miss..."

"Is there an issue here?" the older woman took a step towards them. She looked at Lily, concerned. "Are you alright, dear?"

"Yes, thank you", Lily answered. "I only need to exchange my muggle money, but I don't have my old key with me, and it seems I can't do anything without it, and..."

The woman nodded and headed towards the counter. As she started speaking to the goblin, Harry noticed her two sons had stopped playing with whatever object they kept passing to one another and were now staring at him with funny looks. He suddenly felt very much aware of his messy, uncombed hair and his knobbly knees, accentuated by the baggy summer shorts he was wearing.

There were now two goblins assisting the first, and mum and the older woman both had frowned brows.

"Oh, this is going to take a while, isn't it?" the woman mumbled. Then she smiled and cleared her throat. "Fred, George!"

The twin boys rushed to her side, grinning from ear to ear.

"How about you take young, uh..."

"Harry."

"How about you take young Harry to the quidditch store, huh? His mum and I are likely to stay here for a while, and I'm sure Harry must be very eager to see that new broom model you were telling me about..."

The twins were already halfway out the door.

"Come, Harry!" they called.

Harry glanced at his mum nervously.