The Racing Wind

Diagon Alley

We used the floor network to get to Diagon alley. No one wanted to apperate. Sensibly, I'd left my head girl badge at home, under a few charms to prevent people touching it. 

"come on, gringotts is this way" called Mrs Weasley, after we had all cambered out of the grate in madam malkin's. We didn't have time to look around as she and Mr Weasley hurried us along. 

We soon reached the white, marble building that was gringotts. Tge snowy white building towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was a goblin. We walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there. 

 A pair of goblins bowed us as we walked through the silver doors.  We entered a familiar, vast marble hall. Despite our escape on the Ukrainian Ironbelly, in the summer, gringotts looked exactly the same. "remember last time we were here" commented harry "we were on the back of a stolen dragon, soaking wet, clutching a stolen goblet". I laughed and a heard Ron laughing alone with me. "I was just thinking that" I replied, smiling. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses.

There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. The two oldest adult weasleys made for the counter and we all followed. “Morning,” said Mrs Weasley to a free goblin. “We’ve come to take some money out of the Weasley family safe, the potter family safe and hermione granger's safe.”

“You have the keys, sir?” asked the goblin. I drew my wand from my pocket and pointed it at the beaded bag that was sling over my shoulder. "accio gringotts vault key" I said and a small golden key flew into my hand. I slid my wand into my pocket as Mrs Weasley and Harry found their keys. "got them" said Mr Weasley, taking the keys and handing them to the goblin. 

 “Very well,” he said, handing them back to Mr Weasley, “I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Ragnork!” Ragnork was yet another goblin. Once Mr Weasley had handed harry and I back our keys, we followed ragnork toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

 Ragnork held the door open for us and we walked through. We were in an equally familar,  narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Ragnork whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward us and we all cambered in. There wasn't much room but we all managed to squeeze inside.  At first we just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages.

I threw my arms up in the air as we plummeted down a drop. The wind rushed through my hair, making it look wild and unbrushed. Once, I saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage that would of been a dragon. I turned to look but I didn't have time because we plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

The cart stopped in a deserted rock face with several wooden doors just visible along it. A lip of rock jutted out, forming a walkway. We all climbed out and Ragnork unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, I saw the contents of my vault. Inside were mounds of gold Galleons. Columns of silver Sickles. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. I scooped plenty into my bag and then we cambered back into the cart.