Hyacinth Potter Reading the Books - edited version

Everyone then woke up from a loud shout that said "Morning time!"

Everyone then went to have breakfast and Thanatos then started to read.

DIAGON ALLEY

Hyacinth woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight.

"It was a dream," she told herself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for witches. When I open my eyes, I'll be at home in my cupboard."

Percy just listens to his soulmate talk with sympathy.

Sirius tears up, she wouldn't have that pessimistic point of view had he not gone after Pettigrew, She wouldn't have grown up in that house had he not gone after that traitorous rat.

Remus feels annoyed at himself for believing Dumbledore's words at where Hyacinth was placed, not understanding why he had believed the man in the first place.

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.

And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Hyacinth thought, her heart sinking. But she still didn't open her eyes. It had been such a good dream.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"All right," Hyacinth mumbled, "I'm getting up."

She sat up, and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off her. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

Hyacinth scrambled to her feet, so happy she felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.

"Don't do that."

Hyacinth tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at her and carried on savaging the coat.

Athena and her children appear proud of the owl, enjoying the fact that her symbol of power is involved. Sirius and Remus laugh, remembering Lily having a similar issue, most owls didn't like Lily.

"Hagrid!" said Hyacinth loudly. "There's an owl -"

"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.

"What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."

Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...finally, Hyacinth pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.

"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.

"How would she know what they are?" Athena says in response. Artemis agrees with Athena before Apollo butts in,

"For some people, learning through action and movement sticks better, and from what I've seen so far, It works well for her,"

"Knuts?"

"The little bronze ones."

Hyacinth counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Hyacinth could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then, he flew off through the open window.

Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.

"Best be off, Hyacinth, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

Hyacinth was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. She had just thought of something that made her feel as though the happy balloon inside her had got a puncture.

"Um - Hagrid?"

"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.

"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night...he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."

The wizards burst out into laughter, "Hyacinth Potter not having any money, you're having a laugh," Sirius grins.

"Poor Prongslet, even if I hadn't named you heir, you'd still have the Potter fortune." Sirius chuckles.

"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"

"But if their house was destroyed -"

"Oh my merlin! She thought we kept our gold in our houses!" Fred and George crack up.

"They didn' keep their gold in the house, girl! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."

"Wizards have banks?"

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."

Hyacinth dropped the bit of sausage she was holding.

"Goblins?"

"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Hyacinth. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts.

"Oh, Hogwarts most certainly isn't safe, especially with Hyacinth there." Draco snorts. This causes Percy, Poseidon, Sally, and many familial inclined deities to become worried.

As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff for him. Fetchin' you - getting' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see."

"Got everything? Come on, then."

Hyacinth followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now, and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.

"How did you get here?" Hyacinth asked, looking around for another boat.

"Flew," said Hagrid.

"Flew?"

"Yeah - but we'll go back with this. Not supposed ter use magic now I've got you."

"Naughty Hagrid," the Weasley twins and Sirius chortle. Remus and the Weasley brothers look at the three with amusement. Hermes begin to wonder if they actually are his children.

They settled down in the boat, Hyacinth still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.

"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Hyacinth another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"

"Of course not," said Hyacinth, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.

"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Hyacinth asked.

Remus looks horrified at the question, whereas Sirius' grin turns manic with unbidden glee.

"I wonder if she is going to rob the bank," Sirius asks with a grin that shows a little too much teeth. Remus puts his head in his hands, praying to anyone that she doesn't.

"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

Hyacinth sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Hyacinth had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult. She'd never had so many questions in her life.

"Good, keep asking those questions, child, for you won't learn otherwise," Hera says softly. Hestia, Poseidon, Remus, and Percy nod their head in rapid agreement.

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Hyacinth asked before she could stop herself.

"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, asking' fer advice."

"It's not a lie," Bill shrugs.

"Honestly, the only reason he was elected was because the Malfoys could easily bribe him," Charlie says offhandedly before turning to Draco. "No offense to you, of course Dragon," He teases.

Draco just huffs and rolls his eyes in amusement. Many of the gods that value work ethic look disgusted at the fact that the supposed minister of magic accepts bribes.

"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"Why?"

"Why? Blimey, Hyacinth, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."

"They aren't wrong. While we may have cures for many mundane illnesses, we have our own more deadly, magic related illnesses." Sirius says with the other magic raised nodding in agreement.

At this moment, the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.

Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Hyacinth couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Hyacinth? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"

"And this is why you don't send Hagrid to pick up muggle-raised children." Remus sighs in contempt.

"Hagrid," said Hyacinth, panting a bit as she ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"

"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"You'd like one?"

"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here wego."

"We know Hagrid, but at least you had one for a short while," Charlie says, causing many occupants of the room to look at him in shock.

"He had a dragon?!" The Weasley twins and Sirius shout excitedly.

"Yeah, with the help of three gremlins, we managed to smuggle her out of Hogwarts," Charlie chuckles.

"You smuggled it out of hogwarts?!" Came from Bill.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Charlie sasses.

"You are now the badass brother, sorry Bill," the Weasley twins, Draco and Luna say, causing Bill to look offended, and Remus to snort in laughter.

People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.

"Still got yer letter, Hyacinth?" he asked as he counted stitches.

Hyacinth took the parchment envelope out of her pocket.

"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything you need."

Hyacinth unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before and read:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Uniform:

First-year will require:
Three sets of work robes (black)
The plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please not that all pupils' clothes should carry name tag

Course Books:

All students should have a copy of eachof the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshhawk
A History of Magic by Barhilfa Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emer8c Switche
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Thdn by Scamander
The Dark Forces: A guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 wand
1 cauldron (pemter, slandered size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal vials
1 telescope set

1 brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THATTHE FIRST YEARS ARE NOY ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

"Can we buy all this in London?" Hyacinth wondered aloud.

"If you know where to go," said Hagrid.

"Totally not ominous at all," Percy snarks amusedly.

"True, if i hadn't seen what I did, I would have refused to go," Annabeth adds on, Grover bleats in agreement.

Hyacinth had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains were too slow.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

"Very easily Hagrid dear," Hecate chuckles, the half giant half wizard always had a place in her heart.

Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Hyacinth had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants, and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?

"Are you sure they have enough imagination for this type of prank?" Hermes teases, earning a sharp look from both Poseidon and his son Percy. Quickly throwing his hand up in surrender, he sits back down with his kids, yet again remembering the lack of his favor.

"He has a point though, from what we've seen they hate the thought of imagination and creativity, they would be too scared to do anything," Remus says in thought, causing Athena to look at him with a calculated glint in her eyes.

If Hyacinth hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, she might have thought so;

"Sass Queen," the Weasley twins cheer, fist bumping Sirius and leaning over him to fist bump Remus. Percy, Poseidon, and Sally grin proudly at the girls' response.

yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told her so far was unbelievable, Hyacinth couldn't help trusting him.

"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Hyacinth wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Hyacinth had the most peculiar feeling that only she and Hagrid could see it. Before she could mention this, Hagrid had steered her inside.

"There's magic around it to make the Muggles ignore it," Remus explains.

"Its similar to hiding something and leaving suggestions in the head diverting their attention," Sirius finishes.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"That place seems.... Warm ...?" Aphrodite says with a small grimace.

"I'm sorry, but it looks dreary and disgusting," Aphrodite then continues.

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand one Hyacinth's shoulder and making Hyacinth's knees buckle.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Hyacinth, "is this - can this be -?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"Damn, I didn't know it could be that quiet!" Sirius snickers along with Bill and Charlie, Remus just looks defeated and dead to the world.

"Padfoot, can you, for one minute, shut up," Remus sighs, annoyed.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Hyacinth Potter...what an honor."

Hyacinth tensed as he called her name. She had no idea who this man nor any of the people in the room were, and yet they knew her. The knowledge was enough to make her uncomfortable.

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Hyacinth, and seized her hand, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Miss. Potter, welcome back."

"Were they not taught not to touch a maiden without consent," Artemis sneers. Hera agreed with Artemis' words.

"They are seriously lacking in the manners department. Hecate. Is there anything you could do? Considering they're your creations." Hera saying.

Hyacinth cringed in response, fighting against her instincts to yank her hand away, not at all used to this type of contact, and with a strange unknown man at that. She had no idea of what to say or do in this situation.

Everyone was looking at her like a piece of fresh meat. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.

"Hagrid! Stop being so oblivious!" Remus shouts in despair.

"Damn moony, you're really coming to the end of your rope, aren't you?" Sirius jokes only for Remus to try and strangle him. Sirius dodges with a grin. "Gotta try better than that Moons," he teases before turning into his animagus form and running away.

"Get your furry ass back here!" Remus yells.

Sirius turns back to say, "Like you can talk about furry ass Moony," then became a dog again to hide.

Luna just giggles as the Deities become confused and shocked at how he is able to turn into a dog.

Then there was a great scraping of chairs, and the next moment, Hyacinth found herself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

She couldn't help but feel disgusted, she was clearly uncomfortable with all these people, and yet felt like they had the right to touch her, as though she were just some merchandise rather than a child. At least with the Dursleys, they treated her as a human freak. These people are treating her as though she's property.

"You know it's bad when even the abusers are better than you," Draco sneers.

"Don't worry, Drakon, they will get their dues," Luna says softly in her usual tone. At that, she sends a sharp smile to Percy, who then turns to grin at his father, a glint of retribution in their eyes.

Perhaps a freak flood could appear on a private drive... who knows.

"Doris Crockford, Miss. Potter, I can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Miss. Potter, I'm just so proud."

Proud of what? Me being an orphan? Hyacinth thought snarkily.

"She is definitely seaweed brain's soulmate," Annabeth chuckles.

Percy just grins in response.

"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."

Hyacinth had to restrain her facial features that wanted to contort to display a mixture of disgust and hatred, the woman sounded like the people that the teachers would warn us about, in the white vans with sweets.

"She just called her a pedophile!!" Many half-bloods laugh at that. Many adults in the room glare at the witch, Percy, Sirius, Remus, and Sally, deciding to remember the woman's face. A little 'warning' never hurts anybody.

"Delighted, Miss. Potter, I just can't tell you, Diggle's the name Dedalus Diggle."

"I've seen you before," Hyacinth mutters, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat falls off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." she continues awkwardly.

"She remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? She remembers me!"

"Of course she remembers you! You bowed to her you- you- you dunce!" Percy says, minding his language in front of his mother.

Hyacinth shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.

"Do none of these people have any dignity to leave this poor girl alone when she looks so uncomfortable?" Sally says, beginning to become annoyed.

"They're acting as though she hasn't got her own autonomy." Artemis and Hera say disgusted.

Her patience with these people was coming to a quick end, just wishing that all this... touch, would end.

A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Hyacinth, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Hyacinth's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."

"What is he supposed to be teaching? You need confidence to teach in the first place, confidence that this guy clearly doesn't have." Athena says.

"There's something up with this guy," Percy mutters, the half bloods agreeing with him. They have their own danger sensor that developed with being hunted by monsters.

That, and Percy has a knack for knowing things like this, they trust his gut more than anyone else.

Hyacinth was overtaken with a feeling of just pure wrong. Each time he stuttered, her brain would scream 'lie'. She decided she would be keeping her distance from the man so clearly faking his stutter.

"Good, keep careful," Percy whispers, glad that she has the same bad feeling and would be acting accordingly. It never bodes well to ignore your instincts.

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.

"How is he going to teach them when he looks like one weak wind will knock him over," Athena grimaces, her hopes are not high for him, but since he managed to become a teacher, he should be more than he seems.

"He was a terrible teacher," those that Quirrell taught say.

Hyacinth couldn't help but distrust this man. Her instincts had never steered her wrong before, not even when Uncle Vernon was one little thing away from erupting in anger.

But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Hyacinth to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.

"Is Hagrid going to finally step in?" Remus hopes with his fingers crossed.

Sadness was clear in Sirius' eyes. He hadn't wanted Hyacinth to suffer even a smidge of what he had to deal with growing up, but he failed in that as well.

Hyacinth wanted to strangle all these people with her bare hands. Do you wanna touch my hands that much? How about I strangle you with them. She inwardly seethes her lips, twisting into a bloodthirsty grin, quickly turning into a polite but meek smile on her face.

"You go, Hyacinth!" Percy cheers. People tended to forget that Percy, for all the caring camper and lovely son he is, he is a ruthless fighter and can hold a grudge for years. Though if we're being honest, people tend to forget his kindness more than they forget his rage.

"She also has the Black Family madness..." Sirius sighs mournfully.

"Lily's anger and my families generational madness have made quite a mix.

"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Hyacinth."

Doris Crockford shook Hyacinth's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

Hagrid grinned at Hyacinth.

"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

" Hagrid, why are you so oblivious...?" Remus mourns.

"It's clear that she hated it, Hagrid!" Sirius sighs, seeming done with hagrid.

"Is he always that nervous?" Hyacinth questions with a subtle underline of distaste, trying to get a feel for the teacher she has now dubbed as 'liar'.

"Good one," Percy chuckles.

"Smart move, getting to know possible enemies before they become a thorn," Artemis praises.

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience....They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject - now, where's me umbrella?"

Vampires? Hags? Hyacinth's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.

"Three up... two across..." he muttered. "Right, stand back, Hyacinth."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.

The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

He grinned at Hyacinth's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Hyacinth looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

"Holy shit that's awesome!" Leo shouts in excitement. Hephestus was in a similar state to his son. His mind wanted to figure out the mechanics of what happened.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."

Hyacinth wished she had about eight more eyes. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad...."

"Dragon liver," Leo mutters, eyes glittering in anticipation, wanting to know what it would be used for.

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Hyacinth heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Hyacinth had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

"You guys actually ride brooms?" Leo brightens, wanting to know the mechanics behind it.

"And we have a game centered around it," Sirius grins proudly.

They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Hyacinth. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and Hyacinth noticed very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside, not truly knowing what to do. Hyacinth used her common sense and bowed back to the goblin.

"That's a good introduction to the goblins," Sirius praises. Hera nods, pleased with the girls' manners.

"The amount of wizards that disrespect the goblins is ridiculous, I mean, they're the ones controlling your banking." Sirius sighs in annoyance.

Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take but do not earn,
Must pat most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure thay was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors, and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, and examining precious stones through eyeglasses There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Hyacinth made for the counter.

"An unsightly bunch, however, they are ruthless and cut throat at their jobs," Hades says in some semblance of a praise, holding his son as though he were a stuffed teddy. Will brings his hand to his mouth to cover his snickers, whereas Persephone just snickers freely.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Miss. Hyacinth Potter's safe."

"You have her key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose, not that she blamed the goblin, she probably would have a similar reaction given how clean the bank was. Hyacinth just watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big asglowing coals.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

"Why has Hagrid got her key?" Both Remus and Sirius question.

Those who weren't wizards and knew nothing of the wizarding world look upon them, confused as well.

"Only her guardian or magical guardian should have it," Sirius explains.

"Hagrid, why do you have my key?" Hyacinth asks politely.

"Dumbledore gave it to me, of course," Hagrid replies.

"Why did Dumbledore have her key?" Remus mused, sneering at the name.

That only left Hyacinth wondering why the headmaster of the school had her key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid, importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

"She's going to be curious about what's in there, isn't she," Remus dryly chuckles.

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Hyacinth followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Hyacinth asked.

"Called it," Remus continued.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. Hyacinth, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward, and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled, and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.

At first, they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Hyacinth tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way because Griphook wasn't steering.

"I mean... people don't usually remember that much, so you did good?" Bill offered up.

Hyacinth's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"There had better not be a dragon in there, Bill." Charlie says sharply, looking every inch of their mother.

"I never know," Hyacinth called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

"That doesn't really help her if it's in an exam," Athena says, gaze narrowed in question.

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Hyacinth gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"Holy shit!" The half bloods mutter in awe.

"And that doesn't include her potter family vault or Black family vault." Sirius cackles in glee.

"All yours," smiled Hagrid.

All Hyacinth's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this, or they'd have had it from her faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Hyacinth cost them to keep? And all the time, there had been a small fortune belonging to her, buried deep under London.

"Even now, she's thinking of the Dursleys," Sirius mourns, she was put with them because he couldn't get his head out of his ass long enough to think of taking care of Hyacinth over finding that rat.

Hagrid helped Hyacinth pile some of it into a bag. She couldn't help but collect more than strictly needed, inwardly planning on her own little shopping trip.

"As she should," Aphrodite and her children say, everyone agreeing as all Hyacinth had was hand me downs from Dudley.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook.

"They must really hate hagrid then," Bill chuckles, "They have more than one speed,"

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Hyacinth leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled her back by the scruff of her neck.

"Any other time, I'd say something about holding her like that, but she looks like a disobedient kitten right now," Sirius cackles at seeing his god-daughter being held at the scruff like a kitten.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook, importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers, and it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Hyacinth asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

"As I said, vicious little things, but very resourceful," Hades grins. His son draped in his arms like a loose-limbed cat.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Hyacinth was sure, and she leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Hyacinth longed to know what it was but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back. It's best if I keep my mouth shut," said Hagrid.

One wild cart ride later, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Hyacinth didn't know where to run first now that she had a bag full of money. She didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.

Sirius smiles sadly at his god-daughters thought process.

"Hagrid? Do you think that I could keep my key?" Hyacinth asked softly, putting all the childhood hope behind her question.

"Using your charms to get what you want, smart." Aphrodite praises, seeing people looking at her, she says.

"What? She's using her innocent looks as a weapon," Aphrodite defends herself.

"I dunno Hyacinth... Professor Dumbledore didn't say I couldn't... but 'e Di'nt say I could," Hagrid says hesitantly.

"Please Hagrid, it would be the only thing I have to remind me that my parents did exist and were planning to have me," She wasn't above begging, using her parents as a subtle bargaining chip.

"We can make a marauder out of you yet," Sirius cackles yet again, having the time of his life listening to this.

"A'ight, but when you use it, use it wisely," Hagrid agrees with a defeated sigh, giving her the key that she stuffs in the bag full of money, before getting back on track.

"Good tactic, won't work forever though," Remus admits.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Hyacinth, would yeh mind if I slipped off for a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Hyacinth entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

Hogwarts, dear?" she said when Hyacinth started to speak. "Got the lot here - another man being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Hyacinth on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Someone who treats her normally, thank you, madam Malkin," Sirius thanked softly.

"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Hyacinth.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to take at racing brooms. I don't see why the first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully Father into getting me one, and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

"Damn Draco, bringing bratty to another level, huh?" Fred and George tease him, placing elbows on his head.

Hyacinth was strongly reminded of Dudley.

Draco prepares himself to speak against the claim, but Luna stops him. "Drakon, you were really bratty."

"Have you got your own broom?" The boy went on.

"No," said Hyacinth.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Hyacinth said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be all the while getting bored of the boys' constant talkingand questions.

"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"Wow, you are really like your father there, little Malfoy," Sirius grins.

"No," said Hyacinth, feeling more bored by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Hyacinth, rolling her eyes at the blond boy's lack of social awareness at the fact that she didn't care for the conversation he'd started.

"Hey!" Draco says offended at Hyacinth's actions.

"But you really didn't have social awareness," Charlie says awkwardly with pity.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Hyacinth and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Hyacinth, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," said Hyacinth. He was becoming more and more irritating every second. Hagrid was her first friend and found herself sneering in distaste every time this blond 'ferret opened his mouth.

Percy wheezes at Hyacinth's description. "Ha! You got called a ferret!"

Draco just flushes in embarrassment at both his actions and his description.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds, and every now and then, he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Hyacinth coldly. This boy was now dead to her.

"Oh!~ Imagine being dead to Hyacinth! How did you get back into her good graces!" Fred and George drape themselves over Draco melodramatically while teasing him.

"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are yourparents?"

"They're dead," said Hyacinth shortly. She didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy, finding his attitude and words to be uncouth.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"Really, Draco?" George questions with an amused raised eyebrow.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Hyacinth responds, her eyes twitching in unbidden annoyance.

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same. They've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

"Really you were a mini Lucius," Remus snickers.

But before Hyacinth could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Hyacinth, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the blond ferret, hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.

Hyacinth was rather quiet as she ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought her (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," Hyacinth expertly lied.

"Draco, I have never felt more glad that Hyacinth got through to you." Luna says.

They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Hyacinth cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Hyacinth, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't me feel worse," said Hyacinth. She told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.