The Gates to the Truth
Chapter 8: The Gates to the Truth
Cassia had seen Harry Potter in the papers before.
Famous. The Boy Who Lived. The golden child of the wizarding world.
But as she walked beside him through the bustling crowds of Diagon Alley, she realized just how much the world had gotten wrong.
This boy wasn’t famous.
This boy was lost.
She kept her pace steady, matching his, but she observed him closely out of the corner of her eye. He flinched when people moved too fast near him. He hunched slightly, as if trying to make himself smaller, as if he was used to people overlooking or shoving past him. When they had walked into Diagon Alley, his eyes had darted everywhere, taking everything in—not with wonder, but with wariness.
Cassia clenched her jaw. She had suspected the Dursleys had treated him poorly, but now she was sure of it.
He doesn’t even know how to exist in his own world.
It made her furious.
Harry had been stolen from the life he was supposed to have, shoved into a world that had only ever been cruel to him. And yet… he wasn’t broken. He wasn’t cowering.
No. He was taking it in.
He wasn’t used to freedom, but now that he had a taste of it, she could see it—the shift happening within him.
He wasn’t going back.
Cassia inhaled deeply, steadying herself as they neared the massive white building at the end of the street.
Gringotts.
Harry’s Hesitation
The towering marble structure loomed over them, its polished steps leading up to great bronze doors guarded by two goblins. They stood motionless, their sharp, black eyes scanning every person who passed.
Harry stopped at the base of the steps.
Cassia paused beside him, glancing at him carefully.
"You alright?"
Harry exhaled. "Yeah. Just… a bit nervous."
Cassia nodded. "Good. You should be."
Harry blinked at her, startled, and she smirked.
"Gringotts isn’t like the rest of the wizarding world," she explained. "Goblins don’t care about blood status or fame. They care about power, and most importantly, they care about debt. If someone has wronged them, they never forget. And if someone tries to steal from them…" She tilted her head toward a nearby poster on the wall.
Harry followed her gaze. His stomach twisted.
The warning sign was engraved in dark letters:
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.
Harry swallowed hard. "That’s… intense."
Cassia shrugged. "Gringotts doesn’t play games."
She turned to him fully, her expression serious. "But that’s why we’re here. If Dumbledore’s been meddling with your inheritance, the goblins will know. And they don’t take kindly to meddlers."
Harry met her gaze.
She was right. He had to do this.
With a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and took the first step up the marble stairs.
Cassia followed beside him, a small smirk tugging at her lips.
Maybe this boy wasn’t as lost as he thought he was.