Scars Of White

"Alright now, stick together please. Fred and George keep an eye on Ginny and Ron."

"Alright." They both lazily replied, affirming out of obligation rather than any concern.

"Dearie, you come with me. We need to make a visit to Gringotts. Arthur, make sure you watch those two troublemakers."

"Aye, aye. ma'am." She really is like a drill sergeant.

"Come dear, we need to get your things after this as well."

I assume Gringotts is a bank, but what exactly are we going to do there? Get a loan? I can't imagine the Weasleys have the excess to pay for me. I suppose he might've done something. Surely, he could've just left the Weasleys with the money though...

A marble white building sits at the edge of the street with large imposing doors at the front. This must be it. Pushing open the door, which required less effort than it should've revealed a hall filled with many small people. Their visage was rather grotesque, saggy skin and shrivelled features with rather large pointy ears.

"Goblins. They're a rather proud race so watch your tone. They handle Gringotts, all wealth in the wizarding world is handled through the Gringotts' company." All of the wizarding world depends on goblins for their economy. There must be several advantages to this, or it'd never stick. Perhaps they have traits or specific magics that are suited to the role?

At the end of the hallway lay a lectern where one goblin sat above the rest, currently reading through a scroll of parchment and writing using a quill. It certainly feels magical, but isn't it a bit outdated? I can't imagine how much of a mess logistics would be without electronics.

Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat twice to get the attention of the goblin residing above us.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would like to make a withdrawal from his vault."

"I see... And does he have his key?" The goblin peered over his parchment getting a good look at the both of us.

"Yes, I have it here." Presenting a small bronze key from her pocket.

"And a letter of recognition from his guardian?"

"Yes. He has been left in my care for the time being." Mrs. Weasley finished whilst also handing a sealed envelope over to the goblin. The front addressed Gringotts and had a sender of Albus Dumbledore, my current guardian.

"Very well. See them to the vault."

"Understood." Another goblin came at the behest of the overseer, snapping quickly to the left and opening dual wooden doors and descending down the steps. Mrs. Weasley and I trot along, matching our pace to the goblin's.

At the end of the pathway lay a minecart sort of contraption, albeit slightly more complicated. It was enclosed and looked more like a theme park ride.

"Please board the cart."

We set foot into the cart first and settled, after which the goblin also joined and closed the hatch loudly proclaiming, "Vault section HP Number 401".

"HP. Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Hogwarts Program, sir. Due to your specific circumstances this is the vault you'll be using."

I'm guessing due to the lack of a family registry or the like in this country. Does this mean I have full control of the account? I suppose it doesn't matter seeing as I don't have any money for now, but that might be a concern in the future.

The minecart shot off at a shocking speed, I haven't felt the thrill of a theme park ride before, this is the closest I can imagine to it. It was rather liberating, if not a bit frightening. Leaving my mortality in the hands of an unknown contraption isn't exactly reassuring.

The hatch opened and the goblin stepped out followed by Mrs. Weasley and me.

"Lamp and key please." Mrs. Weasley and I handed the respective items over to the goblin who then inspected the vault; touching various surfaces and eventually plunging the key into its rightful place.

The vault doors slowly opened themselves and lay bare the meager confines. Well, I say meager but this is physical precious metal so maybe this is actually quite a lot?

There were several stacks of different metals all assorted by their properties, they were similar and may in fact be bronze, silver and gold respectively. I imagine the worth of each is ascending in that order. The gold pile, or well single golden coin rest up above on a cupboard away from all others.

"What's the conversion of these currencies?"

"The bronze are called knuts, dear. 100 of them to every sickle- the silver coins, and 100 of those sickles to every galleon. The golden coin sat over there." That's a rather simple conversion, judging by the pile here I still can't tell whether that's a lot or not. Still there are more than enough silver and bronze to make at least one more galleon, I suppose it is much easier to utilize the smaller currencies for change, strange, nonetheless.

"...And what's the conversion rate to muggle money? British Pounds specifically." I pointed this question to the goblin. 

"Currently 1 knut is roughly 10 pence, within recent years thanks to the advent of relations between the muggles and magicals the economy was also reshuffled."

Is he saying they arbitrarily altered currency conversions? I suppose that would be possible if all the wealth concentrated into a single place, like Gringotts... There'd still need to be some magic at play to do something so grand scale. There would also need to be diplomacy between the muggles for this to even occur. In fact, wouldn't they be able to... 

Even given all those beneficial circumstances is something like that possible?

"...Is this the first time that's been done?"

"Hmm. No, every so often Gringotts will repurpose currency to reflect the state of the world. Even with complicated conversions, Arithmancy has always been a tool close kept by our kind. Although, this is the first time it was spread to muggles as well."

Even though magical it seems some resources are finite, does this mean magic also adheres to physical laws? Arithmancy? The magic of calculation, interesting. To think even magic has study steeped in fact and statistical reasoning, I assumed most of it would be trial and error or complete fantasy without explanation.

"Has anything ever been stolen from here?"

"...Why do you ask boy?" The plain face of the goblin in question immediately shown a trace of ire towards the idea.

"I'll likely be using the Gringotts's service myself, thus I'd like to know of its security history."

"...We've had attempts. But that's all they are. Every one of them is thwarted in the end. No exceptions. In fact, just recently there was an attempt, which resulted in the same conclusion."

"How exactly did that occur? Did they ever lay a hand on the merchandise?"

"Pfft. Such a typical human child. The most anyone could ever manage is laying a hand on the merchandise. Even if they were to escape a vault's confines, they would never resurface at the ground floor. In fact, that incident was just the same. The vault in question was emptied before the incident even occurred. It's more likely the managers were testing security given the timeliness of it all."

I see... That is a strange time occurrence, but why would they even bother emptying it beforehand? If they truly were testing security, wouldn't it make more sense to leave the contents and confidently drive back the intruder? The fact he presumes it was the bank itself also assumes that no perpetrator was caught... Something more is going on here, but is it important? I could always just keep my own finances in check outside of the school system, after all compression and expansion charms clearly exist and money can easily be stored if conveniently exchanged. I might just be worrying about this unnecessarily. 

"Well then, we have the list so we should be needing roughly 100 sickles. That should cover everything with some change. You can just keep the leftover as pocket money, dearie. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind." Does she really have the authority to decide that? The goblin accompanying us didn't show any sign of disagreement so maybe this was decided beforehand.

100 sickles- roughly £1000 by the given conversion rates. That should be more than enough to get equipment, still I have no idea as to how expensive wizarding equipment could possibly be.

"C'mon dear, let's get to the other stores. Still need to get you looking the part." A gentle smile enveloped Mrs. Weasley's face as she gestured to the cart.

Looking the part?

I have a feeling this is going to be tiresome...

---

I wasn't wrong about that statement.

Although the people, shops and items were all interesting, standing in line and waiting for service was soul-crushing. Plenty of aspiring students and their families come and go between the busy shops, most of which on this street are essential for continuing students.

The last 2 or 3 hours consisted of waiting in line to buy textbooks a trunk for storage and equipment for alchemy. All of which was snugly packed into the trunk with several extension or compression charms imbedded inside. Very convenient and confusing. How is the space managed? I thought magic followed physical laws, yet space itself is distorted? What could be the explanation- different dimensions, teleportation, etc. etc. My intrigue was spiked by a few different items, silently compelling my continued withstanding of the otherwise mind-numbing boredom.

Eventually we came to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Presumably the school uniform and dress robes needed for attendance would be sold here.

The door chimed a little thanks to the bell placed above, slowly we walked onto the shop floor. 

"How may I help you two today?" The woman approached and said with an element of grace and poise. This might be the supposed Madam Malkin.

I turned to look at Mrs. Weasley, my acting guardian to explain.

"Hello Madam, we'd like him measured for a Hogwarts school uniform, two dress robes, a cloak and the assorted duelling outfit and shoes."

"The whole package then, right we'll get you sorted young man. And what might your name be?"

"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Madam." I bowed slightly when saying such. Etiquette wasn't lost on me, I just didn't always see it as necessity.

"Please stand atop this box and spread your arms by each side. Don't worry you're in good hands here Mr. Ayanokouji." I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't say being called that pleases me.

I complied with Madam Malkin's instructions as she took detailed measurements of my body to ascribe the tailored outfits.

Following this several robes were placed over my shoulders and the fit scrutinized by my caretaker and Madam Malkin herself. Eventually settling on a set of brown and some dark blue robes, It's not too dissimilar to a gown. I found it to be rather natural within a short time wearing it. The travelling cloak was a simple black and sleek design. The school uniform was, as any uniform is, conformed to a certain standard. It was actually more modern than I would've imagined. Simple trousers, a button up white dress shirt and assorted layers such as a jersey. The robes were then lay atop these for the completed look. At least the weather here is subtle compared to the heats back home, I just hope I don't develop heatstroke wearing so many layers.

"Well here comes the fun part."

"What do you mean?"

"Dueling apparel is special. Eventually the witches and wizards may become famous figures in the future. In this case we take special requests and individual specifications for the combat gear. As an opportunity to spread the glory of their names." As well as free marketing I assume.

"...Is this purely cosmetic or can this include functionable changes?"

"Cosmetic for the most part. Embedding charms or wards resisting spells would become completely unfair in a duel and would simply make the sport an act of investment."

"That being said. Cosmetic changes can often have an effect on combat ability. Loose, flowy fabric can become a detriment in certain circumstance, yet in others it can be a perfectly placed diversion for the enemy."

"What's the standard attire?"

"A padded and guarded tailor fit t-shirt with an individual design, a designed robe, combat pants, combat boots and assorted accessories such as capes or jewellery." That all seems rather modern for wizards. That goblin earlier did say that relations had increased between wizards and non-magicals, perhaps that's the reason.

"...I see. Can changes be made later in the future?"

"Of course. It would require a separate payment depending on the request, though. Do you have any ideas for the time being?"

Without knowledge of the battlegrounds specifically or even what is possible with magic makes it rather cumbersome to decide.

"Not that I can think of at the moment..."

"No problem, dear, I may have sprung it on you out of the blue."

"Would you mind taking my recommendation instead? You could change the design later, just tell me if anything isn't to your liking."

"That would be preferred."

Saying as such the woman circles me a few times muttering my name under her breath, whilst overlooking my figure. Apparently trying to find some sort of inspiration.

"What are the definitions of your name?"

"Ayanokouji is composed of the characters for design and alley. Kiyotaka by the characters for pure and noble or prosperous." What a presumptuous name.

"...Hm. Are there any animals or creatures which share a similar name?"

"Another meaning for Taka would be the hawk."

"The noble hawk... prosperous by design. Pure and unfettered... Okay, I have an idea now."

The madam rushed over as graciously as humanly possible to an empty parchment and begun to draw a design of the proposed uniform.

The results were as expected of a professional. Within a few minutes she had completed her design and brought it into my view.

"This is what I propose."

Hmm. A bit gaudy, showy if I were being generous. Not exactly my type, still I could see the use of such equipment.

"That suffices. My only request is to make those detachable." Pointing to the desired elements of the attire.

"...Certainly, that wouldn't be against any duelling regulations. Other competitors also use some accessories similarly. You might just be a duellist yet. I look forward to what you bring to the stage."

...To think I would don white for combat. Certainly not a colour suited to fighting, purity isn't synonymous with such conflict. Although, the prospect of magical duelling tickles my heart. I wonder if it could be accomplished on that stage...