𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏 | Metanoia | HP 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘰

4 | The Alley of Opportunity (2/2)

"I was once a child with innocent eyes."

~~~

Shiyo walked through Diagon alley, passing all sorts of shops. He did his best to get out of the crowded areas of the path, nervously looking around. He'd gotten a few skeptical stares but other than that things were going smoothly.

Putting the pen in his mouth, since his other hand held his trunk, he used his main hand to hold up the notepad and see what was first- Gringotts & take out hundred galleons. Shouldn't be too hard- all he had to do was find Gringotts.

He stowed the pen and notepad away in his jeans pocket, gripped his trunk handle and walked briskly. He looked around- it was interesting to see all the different shops and hear the sales people yelling their offers. He passed a dark shop with a sign reading 'Eeylops Owl Emporium' followed by a list of owl types, he supposed that's where people got owls to deliver messages- and they kept them as pets. Would be nice to have an owl, he mused. But he knew there was no room for having pets- John wouldn't allow it and it would be a waste of money, his words- minus the expletives.

As if he had money to waste anyways.

There were shops selling robes, telescopes, books, globes of planets, and so many other things he couldn't recognize. Soon enough he saw Gringotts- A snowy-white building that practically loomed over the little shops. It was beautiful and radiated with an elegant energy, complete with burnished bronze doors.

He climbed the white stone steps, his eyes widened as he saw what looked like a gremlin- or was it a goblin? He'd go with goblin since his mother told him goblins ran the place.  It was a head shorter than him, and wearing a regal scarlet uniform. As he nervously walked inside the goblin bowed deeply- he bowed his head in return as a form of respect, to which the goblin looked pleasantly surprised, though he wasn't sure- and he continued, a set of silver doors facing him.

There were words engraved upon the doors;

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.

The poem filled Shiyo with a strange sense of security, he found himself placing more trust in a bank than any human he'd ever met. He longed to write down the whole poem for some reason but decided against it, he needed to book that room in the Leaky Cauldron quickly. He didn't want to be sleeping in the streets by nightfall.

We'd know a lot about that, wouldn't we. Fresh start, yes?

Another pair of goblins bowed, he bowed his head back in respect, as he entered. He found himself in a vast, wealthy looking marble hall. He couldn't help but look around while walking- it was the most beautiful and elegant place he'd ever been to. Shiyo felt alien in this place- with the clothes he wore and his entire self. He wondered what wizard libraries looked like. There must've been about a hundred goblins sitting behind a long counter, doing various actions such as weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses and so on.

Some goblins were showing people in an out of the doors leading off the hall. Shiyo inhaled, mentally preparing himself for his first interaction with a person of magic origin- or even his first interaction with a goblin.