Alone, but not lonely

It was around this time, that Ares managed to visit Diagon and Knockturn Alley during the night. She had found the street entrance through following the traces of sparks which belonged to others. The first time she had gone there she had been blinded by all the sparks, the swirls she knew how to tune down, but the sparks where normally not so many around her, so it was harder to tune them. But with her brotherheart switching sight with her every other moment, she was confident in finding her way around this hidden street. So, the next time her brother was sent to his cupboard for a long while, they went to Diagon Alley.

It was amazing. Ares had gone by night, because there would be less people and therefore less swirls.

The first time they had only stroll around the empty street, then after Ares had already been on her way home, she remembered where she had seen Gringotts before. Her godfather had taken her and shown her all the different passwords he had made to protect his vault. Number 617. She still wore the key around a chain every day, he had made it specially for her, if something happened to him, she would still be able to get money to care for herself. She didn’t remember how many of those protection she needed to fulfil to get entrance, so she practised with the encouragement of her brother the ones she knew. Her brother didn’t practise with her. She had shut him down. He needed all his energy to heal and stay alive, he shouldn’t deplete himself on practising the password spell. He still practised the poem with her and learned the theory of the spell. She had the key and her godfather had added her signature and blood as well, though she wasn’t sure if it would still hold, as she had changed a lot over the years. Because of that those were only ‘if necessary’ options. The spell didn’t work very well for her. Her sparks seemed to not want to do it. Her brother had sent a few of his sparks over to her, and it had worked, but it had depleted him, so that option was a maybe, but only if her brother was healthy enough to send some sparks, because there would always be a pause between him sending the sparks and her sending sparks back. If she sent sparks right away, she wouldn’t be able to use his sparks.

He had of course asked how she even remembered all those protections. So, she had explained the swirls were memories and thoughts that had already passed. The ones most notable were the ones that just happened, but if she looked closer and concentrated, she could decipher them. When she read a person they felt it, like needles traveling through they’re swirls. That’s why she had practiced in the park or in streets with lots of people, so that no one realised she was doing it. The surface swirls she could read without someone realising. Except they touched her. When someone touched her, they felt the needles as well. It was the main reason people throw her out or send her back, because they felt the needles and didn’t like it. She had tried to stop doing it, but it had apparently always been like this. Anne had said so, it was just the way she was.

Now, a week after they’re first visit, they went to Diagon Alley again. This time early in the morning. Ares wasn’t ready to chance a full alley yet, there would be way too many sparks and she also wanted to be able to buy something interesting, if it worked with the bank.

Harry was already up as well, he had to make breakfast. School would start at 9, so breakfast needed to be done by 8. If he was careful, he might get something at the evening. He hadn’t gotten anything but a glass of water and a small piece of old bread during his time in the cupboard. The only good thing, according to Ares, was that they found out their sparks were complimenting. Harry’s sparks could heal injuries and keep him alive, while Ares sparks could change water into milk and make the bread fresh again with honey on top. She was already working on juice and marmalade; it would still take a while though. As Aunt Petunia wouldn’t watch Harry eat, he hadn’t been punished for the added freakiness.

It was much easier than they had thought. Ares just put the key on the desk of the goblin in the back, waited for the goblin to ask “Password, spell, blood or magical signature?” Ares answered “Password.”

Then she was led into a side room and spoke the poem into the orb, making sure to pronounce it like her godfather had and then she was already on the way to the vault.

Once they arrived Ares put the key in the keyhole, while keeping Harry close. He wanted to see if it was enough money and Ares only remembered, what the coins had looked like in her godfather’s swirls. Her sight hadn’t been very good back then. So, with Harry close, they saw the mountains of coins. Harry had to concentrate back on his own world, so Ares went to one of the coin mountains which had the same kind of several of the other mountains, which were also higher then the other three piles and started counting one hundred into the purse of her backpack.

One of her previous temporary guardian had wanted to buy her a backpack. She had chosen the one with the most pockets. Later she had started adding protection, lightening and a few more pockets, as well as magical space to the pockets, but in a way, no one would realise the bag was not ordinary. The purse had originally only one pocket, now it had five. After counting one hundred coins of each kind, Ares went to the goblin who had been waiting by the door and asked what the exchange rate into pounds was (one Knut = one penny). And if the goblin could take the sum for 100 £ from the vault and exchange them for her (100 £ = 10,000 Knuts or 20 Galleons 4 Sickles 4 Knuts).

After they finished the exchange, which apparently had to be done upstairs at the desk, Ares put the 100 pound in 10 bill notes into the fifth space and the key into the fourth.

Then she spoke the goblin farewell “May you’re gold always flow, Knight Farechild” The way she had seen in the swirls between the goblin’s as well as on the letter’s some of them had been writing to others (which was why Ares thought it to be the goblin’s farewell in the first place), but she must have said it wrong because the goblin at the desked ended up very confused. If she had been able to see, she would’ve seen him stare at her with open mouth. She could only see the swirls and sparks though, and because she had seen the swirls of other goblin’s being annoyed about wixen, who do not know the meaning of time is money, she decided that a small smile and nod might save whatever mistake she had made and then turned around and left.

It was when the doors behind her closed that the Goblin by the name Farechild finally came out of his state and answered “And may you’re vaults always stay full” in perfect Gobbledough, the same way the girl had done. Then he realised she had already left, but because Farechild was an honorary Goblin he did not go back to work like nothing had happened. No, he immediately made his way to King Odin, the king of the Goblin nation and prince of the British branch of Gringotts and informed him about the girl, who could say the Goblin farewell in fluent Gobbledough, and that he had to send her a letter to apologise for not answering, before she had parted.

The problem was, only friends of the Goblin Nation and Goblin by blood were allowed to learn Gobbledough and the last of those had died centuries ago. Then she had entered a high security vault and though Farechild was allowed to share the vault information, he didn’t seem to be able to do so. A healer was called, and they found an alliteration to the fidellius ward, which seemed to protect personal information instead of a place. And while Farechild did know the vault she had opened; he couldn’t believe that the girl had been the 'Dark' Lord Voldemort. Her magic was way to light. He was able to look further into the vault’s history and found out, that there were two keys and an allowance for the goddaughter. She must have been the one to enter. There was no name or address though, it only said Heiress Slytherin goddaughter of Tom Marvolo Riddle, and while the owl might have been able to find her while she had still been close, she had left hours ago by the time Farechild found the information. So, he merely made a request with the vault information, to be informed if a girl would return, and hoped he could apologise in person.