Serendipity // PJO

Dust is hypnotising

Annabeth would have freaked out. My heart hurt, when I thought that she wasn't allowed to be here. She would have been totally excited because of these houses, the architecture in general and especially the building we were heading to - Gringotts.

Gringotts was a bank for wizards and bunched out with its shining white front and the golden ornaments. Many strangely clothed people were entering and leaving the building, probably wizards. Because they were wearing such weird robes, Bond, who was leather-clad, and we in our camp shirts were a bit striking. However, nobody really cared for our clothing, but Bond chattered with nearly everybody.

When we finally - finally - arrived at Gringotts, Clarisse started once more to rattle like a zombie. Due to our confused looks she panted: "They are - musty tangas of Ares - they are tiny!"

I agreed with her, Hazel was very embarassed and Bond was complaining, that she shouldn't swear with her father's name. But these little, wrinkly creatures with their serious suits were so incredibly cute. Like children, who were playing with gold and gems and whispering earnestly numbers. "How lovely", I muttered in Clarisse' direction even though I was quite afraid that they would kill me because I had hurt their business sense or somthing. In this matter they were reminding me of Hermes.

"I'll quickly withdraw", Bond said and wanted to turn around, when Hazel meant: "This is really nice of you."

He knit his brows. "Why? I need it to buy some new ingredients for my potions." Hazel looked at him abashedly."Okay..?", she murmured.

I shrugged, pushed myself in front of Bond and to the counter, where I fished out a drachma of my bag and asked the sweet goblin: "Can I break this here?"

When I held the drachma under the goblin's long nose, his dark eyes started to sparkle. Behind me, Bond was facepalming. I recognised this sound, it was just so Bond-like.

"A drachma", the tiny sweetie whispered in an awestruck tone. Then his esteem turned into greed. "Where did you get this?"

"Found it on the street?"

Behind me, three demigods were hitting themselves.

~~~

In exchange of the drachma, we got a bag full of golden, silver and copper coins. Or like the cute, little moppet had said: 237 Galleons, seven Sickles and four Knuts.

Bond saw off, but before, he charmed our documents, so we could read them in Ancient Greek and Latin but they still looked like English for others. However, we were examining the list very suspiciously. Lizard's tails? Gloves out of dragon's skin? Quills?

Eventually, Clarisse shrugged and dragged us to the wand shop. From the outside, it looked like it was abandonded, dusty and with limp flowers in the shopwindow, which were lying on precious boxes. Clarisse didn't mind this und tore the door open. Wide in the back of the shop, a high ring of a bell was echoing. "Hello!", Clarisse roared. Hazel hid her face in her hands. "Somebody here?"

I hardly believed, that somebody was working here. The shop was poky, seedy and incredibly dusty. But when Clarisse' words were faded and we stood quietly crowded together, the silence and the dust, which was sparkling like the tiniest jewels of the little goblins, let the room appear a little bit dignified and strangely solemn. If I hadn't met various gods and goddnesses, I would have even dared to say "holy". The sparkling dust particles seemed to reflect the wishes and expections of the little witches and wizards, who were buying their wands here.

They were expecting power, autonomy, authority, confidence. Some of the most intense, fiercest expections and wishes to his wand came from a dark-haired boy, who had to be blessed of Aphrodite, I couldn't explain his divine looks otherwise. With his beauty he could compete just like that with a god, an aura of authority was surrounding him and despite his tender age he neither appeared to be innocent nor naive but cunning and distrustful. A passionate wish burnt in his heart, even though he was still quite suspicious about this new world: His wand should empower him and save him from any moderatness. He wanted to bunch out and be special.

Another boy, not un-pretty but of course no comparison to the pristine beauty of the other child, wished for freedom. With every fiber of his being he had longed for this moment, yearned for it. With the wand, he could free himself from the rules and principles of his family and elope with Kreacher. He would be able to stand up to everybody, no matter of father, mother or brother, he could even fight his cruel, crazy cousin.

The next picture was consisting of two, which were blurring into each other. Two light blond boys, congruent at some points, here and there different. Another arch of the brows, a longer chin, chubbier knees. But it was obvious that these two were related, but what was even more surprising was the same burning wish: They wanted their father's appreciation. And the wand would help them with this.

A curly ginger with hornrims was radiating his wish with ambition and persistance. He wanted to gain knowledge and step out of his brothers' shadow. He knew that he was special, because everybody was, but he wanted that others also understood. For this, he needed his wand.

A girl with a bushy, brown mane and long front teeth was staring with big, chocolate brown eyes on her wand like it could vanish if she wouldn't look at it anymore. She wanted to know everything about this new world and her wand would be her key for it.

A boy with a round face, who was obviously older than all of the other customers but younger than us, was examining his wand with a hopeful expression. Pure joy was filling his whole body: Finally an own wand! With it, he would make the shame, which he had brought over his family, unhappen and his grandmother would finally be proud of him. Maybe even his parents.

A little, inconspicuous movement pulled me out of my trance, in the next moment a ghostly man with moons instead of irides stood in front of us. I couldn't look somewhere different but his eyes, you couldn't describe them differently than with moons as they were from a too light blue colour and seemed to glow in the twilight of the shop.

"I have already expected you, my special guests. Do you want to buy a wand?"