The Slytherin Prince

⁰³| Goblins of Gringotts Wizard Bank

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The Slytherin Prince

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"Thoughts"

Letter

^Parseltongue^

~~~ August 1, 1990. 00:00 ~~~

*** Harry's POV ***

I awoke to the soft knocking of my door.

My Aunt stepped in with some milk and biscuits. "Harry it's a few minutes after midnight, have these for a little refresher and you'll be off". I just nodded mutely, not knowing what to say. A random bird flies in with a letter about Bank Vaults, Wizards and Goblins and my perfectly 'normal' Aunt seems to think that all of it is real.

I just finish eating and pick up the letter. "Harry, make sure you hold onto your things really well. Goodbye, Harry", she says with tears in her eyes and walks out the door, unable to hold back her tears.

I hold the handle of the suitcase and shoulder my backpack and tighten my hold on the letter, and speak the magic words. A tug at my naval alerted me to the start of the 'portkey'. It felt like my lungs were on fire as if the air got sucked out of my lungs, and I couldn't draw in another breath.

It felt like my body was being squished through a narrow tube and I couldn't release my grip on the paper, or my luggage, as if I was glued to them.

All of a sudden, the pain vanished, along with the uncomfortable feeling. When I opened my eyes I was in front of a huge marble building with gleaming Bronze Doors the size of an apartment building four-stories tall.

They were creatures that looked like short people armed with weapons and devilish grins, I couldn't choose which of them was more wicked.

I didn't know what to do, so I gave them a small bow and entered the double-doors, I thought that they looked surprised, but they hid it well. It was obvious this is Gringotts from the much larger version of their seal of a Wyvern and their motto

Inside was another pair of doors, much smaller, but worth so much more. Gleaming Silver doors with enchanting Greek-like designs of Goblins fighting monsters. These were much shorter but much more impressive than the previous set of doors. The detailing in the art itself should make it cost at least a few million British Pounds, that's if I was still in the British Isles.

This door was guarded by more guards with even deadlier weapons, which looked sharp enough to cut people into pieces. I bowed lower to these guards. They looked even more surprised than the ones before at me bowing to them. I didn't understand why so I just walked through this set of doors, dragging my suitcase behind me, and was met with one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

Beautiful glowing Gold double-doors a few metres shorter than the previous pair. Etched with designs of flora and fauna that looked magical, literally. Designs of mythical creatures like Dragons, Centaurs and Unicorns adorned the edges of the doors. But the main attraction was the poem carved in meticulous detail, in beautiful calligraphy.

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.

These set of doors gave a whole new definition to 'deadly beauty' and made me think coming here was a bad idea. The word 'Bank' does not even begin to describe the magnificence of this place. In an ADHD part of my mind, I wondered how the interiors would be if the doors were this majestic. I had a hard time picking my jaw off the floor, due to the utter brilliance of the whole experience. Once I regained my posture I nodded to the guards, as the previous ones seemed too surprised by my bowing.

But this act seemed to surprise them too. What sort of uncultured swine walk these halls normally, which makes the guards surprised by just a regular bow of the head.

But once through the double doors, I felt the breath was knocked out of me again. Extravagant marble floors, inlaid with veins of gold and silver sparkled from the light of what was unmistakably Diamond chandeliers with other precious gems intermixed in an enthralling design. No matter how well other stones are cut, none shine brighter or are more mesmerising than diamonds, which makes them so expensive and all the ladies swoon.

I walked up to the largest counter, which looked like the most important one, which means I had to walk past at least fifty tellers who scrutinised me with their unblinking stares. I kept my back shoulders back and stood up as straight as possible and put a calm and collected mask on my face, even if my mind was racing with innumerable thoughts at two-hundred kilometres per hour.

I walked up to the main teller and handed him the letter mutely, still with the calm mask on. The teller's eyes widened slightly at the letter, but he hid it well. "Well Mr Potter, it seems you have an unlimited appointment with the Director. Please follow Griphook" he said in a scratchy voice and handed the letter back to me. The other Goblins' eyebrows rose at my name but no one spoke.

A goblin came from a side entrance and let me through a golden gate engraved with an ornate 'G' at the very back of the hall. He led me past twisting hallways and many doors, which became more and more extravagant the farther we walked, with names etched on them. Like 'Weasley' which was one of the first doors, looked like a normal wooden door. But doors like 'Fawley' and 'Prewett' were more ornate. 'Malfoy' looked very elegant and portrayed wealth like none before.

The last two doors were facing each other. 'Potter' and 'Black'. These doors were more lavish than all the rest combined, but it was hard to tell which one was higher than the other, as there was a clear hierarchy at work here.

Past these doors was a circular room with Golden gates which were heavily locked with just as exorbitant locks as the doors themselves.

But what I couldn't wrap my mind around was why my name was etched on one of the doors. "Maybe a long lost relative worked here?", I thought to myself.

Then it hit me like a train. These were private rooms for different families. The richer the family the farther away the door is, and the grandeur of the door and hallway signified your family's wealth and power.

But what I couldn't understand was why my family's name was one of the very last. Was I rich? That's when my Aunts words came back to me, "Harry, where you'll be going, I'm not sure you'll need it". So my Aunt knew about my family's wealth. But I'm surprised my Uncle didn't try to steal it all from me. It must be possible for a guardian to use their ward's money right? I hope my Aunt explains in her letter.

The Goblin named Griphook let me into the room named 'Potter' without knocking. They obviously had a way of communicating with each other without physically meeting, something like a telephone perhaps?

The office was as extravagant as the door and tastefully furnished with Mahagony furniture stained black. The couch and seats were either velvet or satin, creating a pleasant mixture of matte and shimmer.

There were also paintings of half-lion half-bird creatures with six wings and two tails. To put it simply, they were magnificent. There were also paintings of unicorns and centaurs. There were also mermaids, which let me tell you, look nothing like the new Disney film 'My Little Mermaid' released last year. Most importantly all the portraits were moving.

That's when the Goblin sitting on the winged armchair stood up.

"Well met, Mr Potter, we have a lot to talk about," he said with a wicked grin.