The Call Of The Snakes

4 - Diagon Alley Adventures

Lillian looked down and her paper, and thought. She widened her eyes as she got an idea, that she thought was brilliant. "Wait, since we're kind of rich, we can buy proper stuff now! And Vulpex, you're sixteen soon, which means we can live with you!" She said, clearly excited as she looked up from her paper again. 

Jack's eyes lighted up with stars at that. "We can!" He looked over at Griphook, and cleared his throat, before politely asking, "Where is Avalon currently located, and how do we enter?" Griphook glared at Jack, clearly not liking that he asked such question of him, even if they were asked politely. 

"Somewhere in the British Isles, only an heir of Morgana can enter." He muttered, still glaring. Jack nodded, and turned back to his siblings. "We're going to be free of the orphanage!"He announced, and Harry and Lillian cheered.

Lillian turned to Griphook. "Can we go to our vaults now?" She carefully asked, not wanting to make the goblin more angry. Griphook nodded even though the thought didn't seem to be well received.

Lillian smiled widely, and nodded. She wondered which vault they would go to first, but decided to wait and see. Griphook gestured for them to follow him, and they did. They were lead back into the hall, and through some doors at the far end of it. 

The three children got into the cart, looking around with interest. None of them had actually been to Gringotts before, so this was an interesting experience for all of them. The cart began to move, and did so quickly. It was impossible to remember when they went left, and when they went right, or the doors of the vaults they passed. The cart seemed to know where it was going, because Griphook wasn't steering it. 

Jack and Lillian seemed as interested in the bank as Harry, and were looking around too. Jack spotted a burst of fire, and turned to see if it was a dragon, but the cart had already passed it. 

They stopped in front of a vault. This one, had a creature that Jack recognised as a Sphinx laying in front of it. The doors behind it were of black marble, with a crest of a bird on it, along with an M. "Morgana." Jack whispered, but his siblings had figured it out too.

The sphinx opened her eyes, and looked at the children, before she sat up properly. "I will speak a riddle, for my lady. If you choose to stay silent, you will leave unscathered. If you speak the wrong answer, then you will die. But if you speak the right answer, you will be let through. Do you accept my riddle?" Jack nodded nervously. He had never been good at riddles, but he wanted to see his vault. 

"What word in the English language does the following: the first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire word signifies a great woman. What is the word?" The sphinx asked, and Jack sighed. If he spoke, he would die, so it was better for him to remain silent. But, Lillian decided not to keep her mouth shut.

"Oh oh! I know this! The two first letters is he, then the three would be her. Something great could be a hero, but for it to be a woman, it would be heroine!" She piped up, and the sphinx nodded. "Correct." She said, and stepped away from the entrance to the vault. 

Jack walked close to the fault, and noticed there was no keyhole. No anything. Just black marble, and the silver crest. 

He ran his hand over the crest, which was low enough for him to touch. His fingers soon ran over something sharp, that pricked through his skin, and made him bleed. He muttered a few curses, and took away his hand, staring at the blood running down his finger.

He then looked back at the vault, wondering what had stung him. He widened his eyes when he saw that his blood was spreading across the crest, making it shine like the moon. The doors slowly began opening, and revealed piles of gold and silver, reaching up to the ceiling of the room. Gems and jewelry was laying on the piles, along with silverware, and expensive stuff.