NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Chapter 12 - Diagon Alley
"Myra, are you sure we didn't come to the wrong place? This doesn't exactly look like a door to the magical community now does it?"
"It doesn't look like much, Jon, but for some bizarre reason those wizards and witches thought that it would be a good idea to have their entrance in a bar out of all of the places they could have transformed into an entrance."
While their parents were talking about the entrance, Irina held her friend's hand, dragging Thomas towards the door. A few seconds later, the kids enter the bar, making every single person inside turn their heads toward them.
"You didn't lie to me when you said this place is dirty and full of funny-looking old people."
"Told you! Now come on."
Before any of the old people could say or do something, Myra, Jon, and Kara walked inside, closely behind their kids. One quick look at Myra made everyone wary of her, mostly because they didn't want to be hunted down by the Church if one of them somehow hurts an exorcist or the child of one. The last time one mad witch kidnap and killed an exorcist was in the 1600s which ended up in a complete victory for the Church with more than ten thousand wizards and witches captured and killed in retaliation. Ever since that day, the magical community of Europa had decided to be on neutral or even friendly terms with the Church so that something like that would never happen again.
"Mrs. Shidou, a pleasure meeting you again. What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you and your entourage?"
"It's nice to see you too Tom. I'm here to help some of my family friends get some supplies for their son."
"Ah, a young wizard from a muggle family huh? Well, since you already know the way, there's no need for me to explain how to get inside the Diagon Alley, though the little wizard is not eleven years old yet right? Do you have a pass for him and his family?"
"We have that cover, Tom."
"Very well then. I hope you folks have a pleasant day."
"You too, Tom."
After saying their goodbyes to the bartender, Myra led the group to the backyard of the bar where there was only a brick wall, a trashcan, and a few empty wine barrels. Thomas and his family looked at Myra trying to see if the woman had somehow taken them to the wrong place when they saw her smile.
"Usually, this is Tom's job to teach muggle wizards how to get inside, but since I had already been there a few times, there was no need for him to bother. See this trashcan, this is always empty and will always be here, mostly to make it easier for wizards and witches to remember the path. You need to count three pieces on top, and then two pieces in the horizontal direction, and voila."
Normally a wizard or a witch would use their wands, but Myra was neither one of them so she simply use their pass to tap on the brick three times before turning toward the Graysons.
"When you have your own wand Thomas, you will be able to open the entrance to Diagon Alley by yourself. I'm more than sure that someone from that school of magic would teach you, but remember that you have to use your wand on that brick three times in a row."
Meanwhile, the brick knocked began to tremble, and the brick wall moved on its own. At first, only a small hole appeared in the middle then the opening became bigger and bigger until a clear path appeared in front of them.
Taking a closer look behind what was once a wall, Thomas and his family saw a cobblestone street that stretched as far as his eyes could see, with many shops on each side of the street, as well as a lot of people and stall all over the street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, the only place in the whole UK where you can shop whatever your heart desire."
[Myra, would our normal money work here? Or would we need their currency?]
"While some shops accept the British currency, it would be better for us to go to Gringotts and exchange your pounds for galleons."
As they were walking down the street, Thomas, still holding Irina's hand was looking around at all of the various shops and stalls trying to see if someplace would catch his attention, but all of those shops look antic as if this side of the world hadn't changed in centuries.
"Everything is so old."
"No? That is how I felt the first time my mom and boss brought me here. It feels like we went back in time." "I always thought that this would look more magical than this."
"Now, Thomas, while this place doesn't exactly look like a fairytale, most of the areas where supernatural beings live don't exactly look all that different from the normal world. Not even the Vatican is different, but I have to agree with you here, this place does need someone to bring the street to modern standards."
It didn't take them long to reach the huge white building that stood at the end of the street where a short creature stood guard alongside a few wizards. Once the small creature saw that a group of people was approaching the establishment, he walked forward stopping just short of them. As soon as she saw the creature, Irina quickly hide behind Thomas fearing that she might be eaten by the goblin. Thomas on the other hand ignored his friend's attics and looked at the goblin. He wasn't all that tall for a nine-year-old, but the goblin was shorter than him, with a sharp beard, slender hands and toes, and a dark face. Thought for some reason his whole felt as if he was standing in front of a dangerous creature, one that could end him in an instant. Nevertheless, the goblin bows to them before signaling them to follow him into the bank. Just as they were about to enter the bank, a sign caught Jon's and Kate's attention, making the couple stay behind and read the warning.
{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 here.}
"Bloody hell, just how many idiots tried to rob the bank for those fellows to put a sign at the entrance? Is this the world our little boy is going to live in the future?"
[Myra and Touji did say that some of the wizards and witches have an old mentality, and this sign does prove that. Anyways let's go dear, our Thomas is waiting for us inside.]
The couple then quickly follow behind the rest of their group until the goblin that had greeted them at the entrance left them with the two other goblins which then led them into a tall marble hall. Until they reach the nearest available counter where a goblin was waiting for them. Once he saw Myra, his eyes shine in excitement.
"What do we owe the pleasure of having someone from the Church in our humble establishment?"
"Right to point, Knuth?"
"Mrs. Shidou, I've said this before and I will continue to say it: a member of the church would always be a friend of our race. Unlike those wand lovers, we do not forget the good deeds of our allies. So back to my earlier question, what can I do for you today?"
"Actually, I'm not here for myself. Instead, I came here to help some family friends buy some things for their son."
As soon as he heard Myra's words, Knuth turns his head towards Thomas, looking at the young boy with a surprised look in his eyes. A second later, a devilish smile ghosted over his lips as if he found something interesting.
"A pleasure meeting you, young man. Name's Knuth, what can I do for you today?"
"Well, sir…we want to exchange our pounds for gallons if that's possible."
"Certainly, young man."
Before he continues doing business with the young boy, Knuth turns towards the boy's parents.
"You two should be the parents... I take it Mrs. Shidou hadn't told you the exchange rate, right?"
"No, Myra hadn't told us that yet, not that we asked her."
"It's not a problem, since it is my job to help a customer when they need help. One gallon is equal to 5 pounds which are equal to 17 sickles which are equal to 29 knuts. So, how many pounds would you sir exchange today?"
"How much would it cost to buy some basic supplies for a young wizard?"
"That my good sir depends on what quality you desire. The bare minimum is around 15 to 25 gallons, and while I'm no wizard, I can tell you that the price could go up to 1000 gallons for some of the more exotic stuff, not that that stuff would be better than something that cost ten times less."
"My god in heaven, do people pay so much money for things nowadays?"
"You have no idea, sir, what the old families have in their vaults and how much money are they willing to throw for some things. Anyways, how much are you intended to exchange today?"
"A thousand pounds, also would it be possible for us to somehow send monthly some funds into an account for our son?"
"Certainly, we have a branch that deals with this kind of practice. We can open a vault for the small of 50 gallons and link it to your muggle bank account, then we would find an appropriate sum to be sent to your vault every month. Would you like to make the documents for this arrangement?"
"Sure thing, Mr. Knuth."
"Splendid. I have to warn you though sir. It would take a while to make all of the documents and the key for the vault, so would you like me to give the money now so that your son and wife could go shopping while we finish the procedures?"
"That would be for the best."
"Very well, wait for a minute, sir. I'll come back."
Exactly one minute later, Knuth came back with a pouch before handing it to Jonathan. Once he got the pouch, Jon hand it to his wife, telling her to go and buy the things needed for their son while he would stay behind and finish the arrangement for their vault.
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