Dark Lady|| Venus Potter

Chapter III

The rays of the sun were playing cheerfully in the gold cauldrons placed in front of the store with the signboard: Boilers - all sizes - copper, brass, tin, silver - self-mixing - folding, folding winking at wizards passing by. The whole street was boiling from the bustle of conversations and laughter as if these people were cut off from the grey, gloomy reality of London life.

Standing at the foot of the winding, wide street Diagonally Venus, she had the impression that she went to another dimension, walking along the stone pavement and watching everything with wide eyes, trying not to miss anything.

Silver instruments were spinning, buzzing and bouncing on the display window of the nearest store, next to the plump salesman in a long, notched robe wiping cloth with a ball of light attached to the globe. A stall with fresh bat spleens was placed in front of the pharmacy (Only twelve shekels per item! - wrote on the carton next to it), which became the object of interest of a group of older ladies with pointed tiaras sprinkled with sophisticated feathers in different colors. In turn, the ice cream parlor was occupied by a group of teenagers eating ice-cream desserts that changed color.

Finally, the girl's gaze found a tall, stately building with whitewashed walls. An ominous nursery engraved on the high gates that threatened the thieves with death.

Only then, in front of the great Gringott bank, all the splendors seen so far by Venus faded, while her stomach squeezed in a knot. The reasons for this were simple - although Dumbledore asserted the existence of a small fund for school needs, she couldn't believe it. It still seemed too good a dream to be true, especially the fragment about money. She was so used to poverty that having even modest savings sounded like a dream of a beheaded head to her.

She forced herself to enter, and they're - a long hall, with doors crammed into intricately carved walls, and sat at the counters...

They must have been the goblins Dumbledore had mentioned, but they didn't resemble the old man's description. They were to be little creatures, which immediately reminded the girl of happy creatures, maybe even with fur.

And she got it - looking like a Z-horror character, with a face wrinkled like a plum in the marinade and terrifying black eyes the size of small buttons, also, dressed in festive, rust-golden livery.

She overcame her fears with difficulty, approaching the nearest counter. The goblin sitting behind him had a serious, more pointed face than any other, and in his hideously outspread, spider-like hand he held a pigeon feather with which he scraped the book open in front of him.

- I'm sorry... I would like to withdraw money from my safe. - Venus said as soon as his dry gaze met her.

- Does the lady have a key? - the monster asked, dragging the syllables a bit and eyeing her suspiciously from behind the little goggles resting on his lumpy nose.

- Y-Yes. - she stammered, somewhat distracted by his dry sound. She quickly pulled the gold key out of her pocket, handing it to the goblin. He carefully examined it, rubbed it, and gave it back to the owner with a slight distortion.

- Looks good, let the lady wait here, someone is coming. Griphook!

Gryriff was also a goblin, as she suspected. He was a little rounder than his friend, giving a more friendly impression. He led her through one of the doors in the walls into a narrow, low corridor that ran sharply down. There were wagons at their height, so Venus and Gryfek took their place in one of them. Then the monster pulled the lever on the side, and the girl clenched her eyes as if she expected the beginning as in a Muggle roller coaster.

Nothing happened, however; they jerked slightly, then started down the rails. She breathed a sigh of relief... To early. With every second the car accelerated, and accelerated, and accelerated... Until all the bends they traversed merged into one, and Venus just tried to stop from screaming.