I was so excited I woke up before dawn the next day and was too excited to go back asleep. So I sat on the steps after my morning rituals and waited. I made sure to not waste the time so I worked on my mind. Around eight in the morning Dumbledore walked up and smiled at my eagerness. "Are you ready?" I nod after standing and dusting off my bottom. " So where are we going?" I ask as we start to walk down the street.
"About 700 years ago the wizards and witches of the time had an idea to bring together all the shops that were gathered around Britain to one place. So they bought a piece of land from the then king and moved all their shops there. The place would then be known as the alley. As time passed the alley grew and soon it became a little town. We are headed to Diagon alley. The alley that caters to students. Are there any questions you wish to ask, while we walk?"
His question made me pause, I had so many questions it was hard to choose just one to start with. My dilemma must have shown on my face because he gave a short laugh and started to tell me short stories about his various adventures around the world. Some of the things he described captured my attention and drew me into his tale while others made me hold my stomach in laughter. "...and I ran out of that house like our butts were on fire, and considering the stinging charms she was hurling they certainly felt like they were."
I didn't even realize when we entered a building that was named the Leaky Cauldron, too caught up in his stories. But when a wall opened into a busy shopping district my attention was immediately caught by the magical sight the alley offered. Smoke billowed and collected in a multicolored storm cloud above a store selling potion ingredients. The quidditch story had a field that had a pick up game going on. The pet story had some really weird animals roaming around the front windows, which also seemed to be bigger on the inside.
My head snapped back and forth trying to see as many sights as I could, each person, place or thing in the alley attracted my attention. Dumbledore didn't say anything, but made sure we were going in roughly the correct direction. We made our way to the steps of a huge marble building before I was able to draw my attention from the sights long enough to ask what we were going to do. "The first stop is to get some spending money from the orphan fund to buy your supplies."
"There is a fund that was set up during the founding of our school that gives a certain amount of money to each orphan. How they send that money is mostly up to them. It is seen as a small test for the students. As it is only the first year all students are escorted to the alley. After that a student may go alone if they prove to be responsible enough." When I heard that I knew that I would need to plan carefully if I wanted to spread that money to its fullest. I would need to buy second hand and hopefully I would have enough money to buy some extra stuff.
We made our way into the bank and made our way to one of the lines, while Dumbledore chatted with some of the people he recognized. I observed the bank around me, it was made of marble and covered with gold and jewels making up patterns that looked like veins. I tried to find an order to the patterns but I did not understand enough to even start to make guesses. So I just looked at the art for what it was and enjoyed the view. Once we reached the front of the line I was able to see the goblin that had been blocked from view before.
I was shocked that it looked nothing like the movies and instead looked more like the dwarves from lord of the rings, in a suit that would not have been out of place in a muggle bank. He had a book open on his desk and was making notes with a quill. He weighed a few of the gems left on his desk before they disappeared from the scale. He made a few more notations before closing the book then it disappeared as well. Only after he was done did he look up and address us.
"Welcome to Gringotts. Territory of the Goblins." Dumbledore returned the greeting by thumping the desk with both hands palm up. The goblin did the same, "Well meet Albus, what can Gringotts do for you today?" The goblin asks after he straightens. "I am here to withdraw funds from the orphan's fund." The goblin looks to me and then back to Dumbledore. "May the Earth Mother watch over him. Follow Earthshaper to the carts and he will guide you to the vault."
Dumbledore bows again "May your gold increase." The goblin bears his teeth and replies. "May your enemy fall." We both turn and start to walk towards the carts. "Should you have enough money left over after this trip I would recommend that you get a book on goblin customs. They can be great allies but terrifying enemies." I nodded and before I could ask why he started to speak, " For instance, the way I greeted him showed that I was not here for war as I had no weapon in my hand. Had I not done that he would have approached every interaction we had with suspicion."
We reach the cart quickly and a goblin moves toward us. "I am Earthshaper, and I will be your guide today." Dumbledore showed his hands again but gave a different greeting this time "May the earth stay firm." "May your enemy fall." The goblin replies without bearing his teeth. We all get in the cart and after a short ride we arrive at the vault. After that it is a short visit with Dumbledore grabbing a pouch and leaving.
After we exit the bank Dumbledore looks relieved. So I ask why, "Goblins are only two things warriors and crafters. The first goblin we met was a banker, and to a goblin a banker is just a warrior that fights with words. The second goblin we met was a crafter. Earthshaper was a title not his name. Goblins only give out their names to brothers or sisters of the nation, and only if they want to. Anyway, an Earthshaper is the least experienced crafter. So to be a banker you have to have respect and humble yourself for only the oldest warriors to become bankers. The level of respect given to a crafter is dependent on their title. However, you must never be rude."
I thought in silence for a while, this world was so much more complicated than I thought. This wasn't a fairy tale anymore, these are real people that each have their own goals and feelings. I was snapped out of my thoughts when we entered a shop that smelled like different kinds of wood and varnishes. Dumbledore walked up to the counter and started to talk to the man there. As he did that I walked around the store looking at the different types of trunks they had. There was every type of wood you could imagine with all kinds of features, from a library trunk that could store ten thousand books to a trunk that just expanded into a shower.
After I finished walking around Dumbledore had also finished his conversation with the man at the counter and waved me over. "I am getting you a two compartment trunk with muggle aversion charms and magical signature lock. Would you like to get anything added to that?" I shook my head as that would be plenty. I smiled and gave the man some of the money from the pouch.
The next store was the apothecary and I just got the first year set as I didn't know enough to decide if I needed more. I made sure to ask for advice but Dumbledore said I should keep it simple. The next stop was even worse as no boy ever likes shopping for clothes. It was even worse as I was a cute kid so I also got some grandmothers pinching my teeth and a few younger women tried to talk the tailor into using me as a dress up doll. I tried to plead with Dumbledore using my eyes but he just looked away leaving me to my suffering.
However it was all worth it to visit the bookstore. Dumbledore gave me two choices. We could go to the store for new books and have a little bit of money left over or we could go to the used bookstore and have a lot more. My choice was obvious, I chose the used bookstore as I wanted to have some more money so I could buy some more books of course. Even though the library at Hogwarts was sure to be huge, it wasn't mine and I wanted to get started on my own collection. After we had gotten worn but usable books for the core classes I got five other books as well. Runes for Beginners, Rituals for the Novice, Land of the Fea, A Muggleborn's Guide, Practical Potions.
After the book store we went to our last stop, Olivanders. When I saw the sign on the door it made me think how rich the history of this world would be if he had been selling wands since 382 BC. As I entered the shop I saw it with a sensation that was hard to describe, it was like I was feeling the history of the shop, its enduring nature. It was as if the shop was saying, I was here before you and I'll be here for long after you're gone. "Ah, Dumbledore, apple and unicorn hair, how is it working for you?" A voice behind us said. While I jumped and spun around Dumbledore simply smiled "Very well, however we are here for young Tom."
Their conversion snapped me out of feeling the atmosphere of the story and turned my attention to the current Ollivander. He was an old man with wispy white hair and a glint in his eye that felt as though he could see through to my very soul. "Ah yes, well let's get on with it then." He then taped a measuring tape with his wand and it flew around measuring everything about me while he started to walk out back. I waited until he came back with an armful of boxes. "How does a person choose a wand?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"The wand chooses the wizard not the other way around, otherwise most children that come in here would just choose the "coolest" looking wand." I smiled as I agreed with the sentiment. "Yes, but how does it choose?" He looked surprised that I had asked another question, "Different aspects of the wand will align with personality traits that are expressed by the user." I thought for a second before asking another question, "Does that mean certain houses are aligned with certain types of wands?" At that he just gave me a smile before turning around to collect a few wand boxes.
Then he snapped his fingers and the tape measure closed and landed to rest on the counter. He handed me the first of the wands he wanted me to try. "Let's see, let's try maple and dragon heartstring. No, no not that one" he said quickly. He was right to do so as the wand started to gush fire as soon as it touched my hand. It took fourteen wands to find the one matched to me, and we got some interesting reactions from the unmatched ones. It never seemed to get him down even as a summon a tornado that flung most of the furniture around the room. Finally we found my wand, "Fourteen and a half inches hazel with unicorn hair, very inflexible. I look forward to seeing what you will accomplish with this wand."
After that Dumbledore led me back to the orphanage "I will come pick you up September 1st at eight again. Please be packed and I will take you to the train station. And like Olivander I look forward to the type of wizard you will be. Have a nice rest of your summer, study hard, but most of all have fun." With those parting remarks he turned around and left. I took my trunk upstairs, making sure to grab a book before sliding my trunk under the bed. I wanted to start learning about the world I was going to be joining, so I grabbed the guide for muggleborns, figuring it was a good place to start.
By the time I was done I realized that this wasn't some fantasy land where everything was made of rainbows. I was entering a new culture and like any culture there was a lot of discrimination against outsiders. I was unlucky enough to be part of the minority that was discriminated against. Armed with this knowledge I thought about what I would need to do to change that, and I came up with a great idea. I was going to be a little shit to anyone that looked down at me. It was getting late so I put away my book and got ready for bed. As I was asleep I dreamt of all the adventures I was going to have in this new world.