Chapter 2
{Thursday 20/9/1990}{08:00}{Diagon Alley}
It was a break in routine for the Granger’s. Since getting her letter yesterday, Hermione had been desperate to retrieve the items on her list, or at the very least, some of them. She had begged and begged her parents yesterday, and they had given in; meaning that, instead of being in school, Mr and Mrs Granger were introducing Hermione to Diagon Alley.
“Oh wow.” Hermione whispered when they stepped through the archway from the Leaky Cauldron.
“Now, remember Hermione, we’re here today only to introduce you to the Wizarding bank and to get you some history books. Possibly a trip to the ice cream parlour too.” Mr Granger said, not so subtly whispering the last part to Hermione, making Mrs Granger roll her eyes.
Wanting to keep to a schedule, the Granger’s made their way to the wizarding bank, Gringotts. Hermione was amazed when she stepped inside; the entryway was full of people, rushing in one direction or the other; the building itself was made top to toe from marble, with the exception of the few doors she saw.
“Ah, good morning, we have an appointment with the account manager for the Black accounts.” Mrs Granger spoke, once she had led a dazed Hermione over to one of the counters.
“Name?” the creature at the counter asked them.
“Jean Granger, with Hermione Black.” She replied, causing the creature to pause and look curiously at Hermione.
“Good morning.” Hermione said, not sure what else to do.
“Follow me.” The creature said, jumping down from his seat behind the counter and leading them to a room, further back from the entryway “Your account manager will be with you shortly.” He announced, leaving the three Granger’s in the room alone.
“Do the creatures have a name?” Hermione asked her parents, once she was sure she wouldn’t be heard.
“Yes, they’re called Goblins dear. You never want to be on the wrong side of a goblin, always be respectful towards them.”
They waited in silence after that. After about ten minutes, they were joined by a different Goblin, this time dressed in a less formal attire but still business appropriate. “Good morning, my name is Goreclaw, and I have been handling the Black accounts in absence of a head of house.”
“Wonderful to meet you sir.” Hermione said quietly, hoping to stay on the Goblins good side, like her mother had said.
“Yes, yes. Now, let’s get down to business. I require three drops of your blood please young lady.” Goreclaw said, producing a needle out of nowhere for Hermione to prick her finger with. She did so straight away, not one to cause a fuss, and let three drops of her blood fall onto a piece of parchment. It took only seconds before a long name was spelt out on the parchment; it took Hermione even less time to realise that the name on the parchment was her name.
Hermione Arabella Aurora Black
Heiress to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
“Ah, wonderful. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Black.” Goreclaw started “Now, given your age, it is in everyone’s best interest that we here at Gringotts manage your accounts. However, with this key, you will have access to your accounts whenever you would like.” He said, handing over a large rusty key “Alongside your accounts, you have an estate – this means you have many different properties here and in France. You can access these whenever you would like, seeing as you now have this, your Heiress ring. A word of warning, it would not be wise to enter your properties without a trusted Witch or Wizard at your side, as I cannot guarantee that these houses are entirely safe. If any of these properties are occupied, do not enter them and please alert us to the situation.”
Hermione, although slightly overwhelmed, was doing well with all the information she was being given.
“Only a couple more things to explain. Firstly, this pouch will contain one hundred Galleons, each time you use any of the money, it will automatically refill itself out of your vault. Lastly, your Heiress ring; once you put on this ring, your appearance will alter. I can feel from here that you are covered in glamours and spells to change your looks, this ring will counteract them all and you will be left with your natural looks. I suggest that you do not put this on until you are ready.” Goreclaw finished, sliding over a midnight blue ring box and a matching money pouch.
“Do you have any questions?”
“Just one. Could I please know how much is in my account?” Hermione asked, innocently wanting to know how many books she could get away with buying.
“As the only current member not disowned from the House of Black, your accounts currently contain approximately five hundred million Galleons.” Goreclaw replied as if he was reading his morning newspaper.
“Thank you.” Hermione replied, gobsmacked, as Goreclaw left the room.
With the conversation being over, Mr Granger stood up.
“Right then, let’s do some shopping.” He said, leading the way out of the office and bank.
Once they were back out into Diagon Alley, Mr and Mrs Granger decided that there was only one book shop they could take Hermione to for her first experience.
Flourish and Blotts.
“Now, Hermione, we’re here for you to learn about Wizarding History. So, we have a few book we think you’ll need but we’re happy for you to stay as long as you want.” Mr Granger said, a smile on his face at the look of excitement from his daughter “Right, off you go, we’ll get the important books.”
Mr Granger hadn’t even finished his sentence before Hermione had rushed off up the stairs to find as many books as she could carry.
She was amazed, there were books of all different sizes! There were books the size of her, books the size of an apple, some looked like they were alive, others completely ordinary. The one that really caught her eye was one with a moving picture on the front of it.
They spent most of the day in the bookshop, Mr and Mrs Granger happy to let Hermione browse and read as much as she wanted. Eventually, Hermione had picked out some books on the history of magic and a few others she had managed to sneak past her parents, and paid for them, insisting that she wanted to buy them herself. Soon after, as promised, they went to Florene Fortesque’s for an ice cream.
As they sat and ate their ice cream, Hermione was mesmerised by the different fashions in the Wizarding world; some completely modern and just like her, others wore robes that fell all the way to the floor and pointy hats.
After their ice cream, Mr and Mrs Granger decided that it was probably best that they make their way home; one so that they could make a start on dinner and two, Hermione was dying to read her new books.
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{16:23}{The Granger Residence}
“Mum! Did you know that Hogwarts was founded in the Tenth Century, and it’s been rebuilt multiple times?!” Hermione asked, getting a laugh back from her mum, not that she noticed as she dived straight back into her book, ignoring the world around her.
Over dinner, the Granger’s spoke about what would happen the next school year. As Hermione was in year six, she would be moving to a different school anyway, so Mr and Mrs Granger would document that Hermione was going to a boarding school in Scotland, as the letter said to do, if they ran into any trouble.
Hermione was excited, she had never had many friends at school, which means that she never had a party for her birthday as she didn’t want to be disappointed when nobody turned up. Maybe she would have some new friends at this school. Would she have family there? She didn’t look too closely at her family tree earlier but maybe she should find out.
They ended the day watching Hermione’s favourite film, Matilda, whilst eating birthday cake. When the film ended, Hermione excused herself to her room to continue reading her new books.
What she really wanted to do was try on her ring. She didn’t want to do it in front of her parents in case it upset them and reminded them that she had other parents. Pushing her worries away for now, Hermione opened the midnight blue ring box and gazed in awe at the ring that sat inside. It was small, a thin black band with a small raven on top, encircled with Iris’. After a few minutes, she slipped the ring onto her right ring finger. She could feel the slight change; turning to look in the mirror, Hermione noticed that her hair had changed. It was now black with streaks of blonde running through it, almost artfully, and her eyes. Her eyes were now a dark grey. It was almost frightening, how different she looked to this morning.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about her parents seeing her like this.
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