GREEN AND SILVER » discontinued

five

AS HERMIONE LOOKED AROUND, she couldn't hide her gasp. It was filled with little creatures. Attending to people at desks, scurrying around with small, bulging brown bags, dragging wheelbarrows filled with large, gold coins, smaller, silver ones and very small bronze ones across the large open space. "What are they?" Hermione asked Professor Fleming curiously. "They're goblins. They run the bank" she raised an eyebrow, a little skeptical "Can we trust them with our money? They seem quite sneaky"

"They're relatively obedient, considering they're paid for their job" Hermione nodded, a little more reassured. "So, where should we go to exchange this money?" Professor Fleming showed to her to a desk that had a small sign hanging over it, saying 'Exchanges'

The goblin had a discussion with Professor Fleming and then handed her one of the small brown bags Hermione had seen a Goblin carrying around before. Professor Fleming then handed it to Hermione and she attached it to my belt. It was a very convenient spot. Hermione felt even more powerful with this money, because it was heavier than the notes she got from my dad, even if she technically had less money.

They stepped out of Gringotts, and Hermione blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the sunlight again. Even if they weren't there for very long, it was still quite dark in Gringotts. They started to wander down the street, with Professor Fleming pointing out any shops that we needed to enter to buy any equipment of Hermione's. The 2 things she was looking most forward to were getting her wand (of course) and getting her school books. Hermione couldn't wait to learn more about the magical world.

They went and got all the other things before my books and wand. She got all of my uniform (Hermione secretly thoguth she looked very smart in it), and all of her potion ingredients and her cauldron. Even though the potion ingredients weren't on the equipment list, Hermione assumed that because Professor Fleming was a witch, she knew what Hermione would need for her year at Hogwarts. Luckily she was being savvy about my money, because it looked like overall, the books and wand would be the most expensive part.

Hermione stepped into the bookshop, inhaled the smell of new books and couldn't control the smile spreading across her face. She looked around, and felt as if she was right in my element. Hermione whipped out her list and collected all the required books, with some extras for good measure, including Hogwarts: A History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. Hermione couldn't wait to get home and learn more about the wizarding world. Her plan was to memorise all the books and be ready for the school year.

The next stop was her wand. Hermione hoped they wouldn't be there too long, she was eager to go home and tell her parents all about what happened in Diagon Alley. They arrived a small, dusty shop, with faded lettering reading 'Ollivanders; Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'. They walked inside and a bell jingled, alerting a man with unnaturally large eyes to their presence. Professor Fleming sat down on a spindly chair in one corner of the shop, as Mr Ollivander introduced himself and greeted Hermione. He then snapped his fingers and a tape measure started measuring her, as Mr Ollivander flitted around the shelves, collecting long, thin, boxes here and there. He then snapped his fingers again, and the tape measure crumpled in a heap at my feet, and walked over to Hermione, depositing the boxes at the counter on the way. He ushered her over to the counter and she began what she assumed would be a long and tedious process of finding a wand.

Hermione was totally wrong. Mr Ollivander opened a box, took out the wand and handed it to me. "Here, 11" long, made of holly, with a phoenix feather core" he said. Hermione grasped the wand tightly. She felt powerful with the thin stick of wood in my hand, though it felt like something wasn't right. Hermione waved it around, but nothing happened and Mr Ollivander snatched it away, almost immediately. "Here try this one. 10 ¾", made of vine wood with a dragon heartstring core" He said again, handing her the wand. Hermione grabbed a hold of it and felt an uncomfortable tingling feeling spreading from my fingers all through my body. She flicked the wand and made one of the many empty boxes around the room float around the room. It seemed that this was my wand, though even if Hermione did produce magic with it, it didn't feel quite...right.

Mr Ollivander packed it up into its box and Hermione paid her 7 galleons for it. We transferred all of her purchases into inconspicuous, brown bags, so that they wouldn't be out of the ordinary on the London Underground, which was the way Hermione was getting home. Professor Fleming escorted me home and she spent the rest of my night telling her mother and father about what she did in Diagon Alley, and poring over her schoolbooks. Even if Hermione's wand didn't feel right, she was determined to make it feel right, by learning magic before she got to Hogwarts. She couldn't wait for September 1st!

A/N: Bonjour, my young pigeons (that's something CreativeUsername01 says all the time, and I'm stealing it from them XD)

Anyway, I'm probably going to be starting to do an author's note at least every 2 or 3 chapters.

I was just wondering what everyone thought of the story so far. Hermione will be going to Hogwarts very soon, and since she will be in a completely different house, I will be able to change a lot around, so if anyone has ideas for what they want to see happen, as well as any suggestions for how to improve my writing, or anything like that, don't hesitate to comment them!

Did anyone notice my easter egg in this chapter and the last one? I know that 2460One noticed the one in the last chapter, but what about anyone else?