Chapter 3
He sat at the table and grabbed a sandwich. Most of the occupants of the table were involved in a discussion about something called Quidditch that apparently involved flying. Alex waited for a pause in the conversation before he asked his question. “Do you turn into birds or something to fly?”
The wild man, Remus Lupin if memory served, turned to look at him while the other occupants of the table ignored him to continue their discussion. “Some wizards can turn into animals. They are called Animagi, and the process of finding and then transforming into your animal is long and complicated. It took Sirius nearly two years, I think, to find his form. Once you transform successfully, you are supposed to register it with the Ministry. The flying that they are talking about happens on brooms.”
“Brooms? Really? Huh. Is it just the one animal, or can Animagi transform into multiple creatures? Why do they have to register with the Ministry?” Alex asked.
“I think you have to register to prevent spying or something. Maybe in case a criminal is an Animagus the Aurors can better fight or contain him?” Remus answered, not actually certain about that answer. “Animagi can only transform into that one form, which is usually a land animal, and the animal form can’t be a magical one either. I think magical animals cause a struggle between the wizard’s and the animal’s mind, so the process and our magic doesn’t allow us to potentially lose ourselves and become animals forever. So, we fly on brooms instead.”
Alex lapsed back into silence, thinking about the new information he’d been given. It was good to note that this people could only transform into one animal, and could only do so after a long period of study. It was even better to note that magical animals were apparently impossible to transform into. He knew from personal experience that sometimes the minds of animals were hard to battle with, especially true when he’d shifted into his dragon form for the first time, so Alex would have to be careful about transforming into any animal and assuming his dragon form. He assumed that anything like trees or the wind was also not supposed to be possible to transform into. If he wanted to be sure not to cause alarm, he’d have to avoid transforming into other creatures altogether. Alex was unsure what would happen if he transformed into his dragon form other than the very real possibility of being attacked.
Lunch ended with Alex still contemplating the different measures he could take to ensure other people didn’t find out about his transformation ability and the table at large, Sirius included, discussing the chances of a Quidditch team called the Chudley Cannons. Sirius had apparently already gotten over his grief. There was something seriously wrong with the man beyond the crack in his magic. Who knows what the man would do without a full emotional range? Attempt to kill someone as a joke? Hopefully not, but Alex didn’t know him. The bleached aura indicated a lack of emotions, or the control of them, and the sheer paleness of it meant that that personality trait had likely been present for all of the man’s life, not appearing when he went to prison, though prison had likely worsened it. Hopefully if something like an attempted killing did occur, he’d at least be punished for it. Alex wasn’t even sure of that, and he hated that this world seemed to take some of the worst qualities in people and normalize them.
Once everyone had finished eating, Molly waved her wand to send the dishes to the sink and stood up, clapping to get everyone’s attention. “It’s time for Alex to do his school shopping! I think Hermione and Ron will come with me. Harry, dear, I’m sorry that you can’t come with us, but the headmaster thinks it wouldn’t be safe so soon after your trial.” She turned to leave the room, beckoning the others to come with her. She ignored Ginny’s and Harry’s protests (“Because it was so safe before my trial”), only calling out an order for the two to tackle the doxy nests in the living room curtains.
Alex, not pleased that an adult was completely ignoring everyone else in the room while decreeing what should be done, added this instance onto things he didn’t particularly like about the adults in the Wizarding World. He followed after a moment though, not certain that his introduction to the magical society was going quite as intended, as he certainly didn’t have rose colored glasses where their society was concerned. Alex resigned himself as Molly grabbed his arm and did the tube-pulling thing. These wizards really needed to learn not to just grab him without his permission, or they might get a dagger at their throats for the effort, and that was only if he didn’t set them on fire first, dragon instincts and all that.
They landed in a dingy alleyway facing a brick wall. Ron and Hermione had apparently been waiting for him, and Alex heard a muttered ‘finally’ come from one of the two. Alex could sense the power behind the wall and the magic in the wall itself, but he figured it was only polite to wait. Molly walked up to the wall, pulled out her wand, and tapped a specific pattern on the bricks. They rumbled and shifted for a moment before pulling back to form a large brick archway, revealing a busy alleyway full of oddly dressed people rushing about and stores with moving signs above them.
“Welcome to Diagon Alley,” Molly said. A moment later, she pulled out a letter and handed it to Alex. “Here’s your letter to Hogwarts. Included is your fifth year book list. We’ll get all of your supplies, but we need to get to Gringotts first before we can buy anything.”
People stared at Alex as he walked by, though he had a feeling that was more due to his companions than anything strange about him personally. He hadn’t quite realized what power the name Harry Potter had in this new place, though hearing whispers about and seeing glances at Harry’s two best friends put that into perspective for him. The uncomfortable feeling of being watched only increased as Alex walked up the stairs to the bank.
The doors held a warning inscription, and Alex subtly double checked the creatures standing to the sides of the entrance. They looked like goblins, but surely they couldn’t be, not standing here so easily in the daylight while wearing full plate armor. The sense of unreality only increased as the doors swung open to reveal an ornately crafted hall filled with wizarding customers and high desks behind which the not-goblins perched. As soon as Alex took his first on the solid marble floors, every single goblin stopped what they were doing to look at him. Though the pause only lasted for half of a second and was quickly dismissed by those around him, Alex immediately knew he’d made a mistake in stepping into the hall.
“Destroyer of Fist,” one of the goblins said from beside Alex. The two armored goblins behind him leveled their spears at him. Alex slowly raised his hands and knelt on the floor. He would not attempt magic here and risk questions from the people around him or, more seriously, enraging the goblins further. The last thing Alex saw before everything went black was the flat of a spearhead swinging directly towards his temple.
Molly was all the way up to the tallest desk at the end of the hall, the one holding the floor manager, before she realized one of her charges wasn’t shadowing her. She was certain the boy had walked up the staircase with them because she’d heard a low whistle directly behind her at the sheer extravagance that neither Ron nor Hermione could have produced from their places slightly behind her shoulders, but she didn’t know for sure if he’d entered the hall with them. The boy must have wandered off or been distracted before actually entering Gringotts. Yes, that was it, Molly was sure. She’d have to talk to the boy about the dangers of wandering off. She was so deep into her thoughts about specific words and phrases that she stopped noticing her surroundings until she was at the base of the steps.
Ron and Hermione, on their parts, had noticed the hush that had occurred shortly after they’d walked through the door. The two had glanced at each other confirming that it wasn’t just their imagination before hurrying to catch up with Ron’s mum. Both of them had been on the wrong side of her wrath before and did not want to risk a talking to. As the trio swiftly turned around and walked out of the entrance to Gringotts, Hermione nudged Ron at the sight of blood on the floor that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t a large amount, but Alex was nowhere to be seen. Even if Mrs. Weasley insisted that he’d just run off, Ron and Hermione were certain that something bad had happened to their new schoolmate because of the blood on the floor, most likely a kidnapping by a fellow wizard. Even goblins wouldn’t attack without provocation.
Molly grew more and more frantic as time went on. Alexander was nowhere to be found, and it had been nearly an hour. What if he’d been taken by Dark wizards for some ritual? What if he’d wandered off into the wrong side of town? Either way, wherever Alexander had ended up was not with her. Albus would never forgive her. If Molly hadn’t brushed off her son’s attempt to tell her about the suspicious blood on the floor of Gringotts about half an hour into the search, she might have known at least what had happened to him.
Alex jolted back into consciousness with a cold bucket of water to his face. His knees were already beginning to ache from kneeling on the cold floor, and his arms were stretched just within the safe range by two wrist shackles, the chains of which disappeared into the darkness. The side of his head hurt where the goblins had apparently managed to cut his face with a lack of care on how the spear had hit him. He looked up to see the goblin that had thrown the water on him sneering at him with an empty bucket in hand before the creature moved to the side, disappearing into the darkness. A small semicircle of goblins stood on the fringes of the light, the one in the middle crowned with heavy metal while the ones on either side carried staffs. If he could have gulped without showing weakness, he would have.
“Why have you entered our land, Destroyer of Fist?” the crowned one snarled.
Alex took a moment to consider his situation. He was chained somewhere far below the ground and surrounded by a people from the known lands that knew at least one of his accomplishments, though he hadn’t expected to be targeted for the actions he’d taken to save his companions on the way to retrieve the Horn of Moran. The dragon within him roared fiercely at the forced confinement. His bag was still wrapped around his body, but it did him no good without the use of his arms. However, going by the fact that these goblins were not actually a part of the horde in the known lands, they had likely defected at some point in time. From the limited knowledge he held on goblins, that was completely unacceptable and a death sentence if one such deserter was ever caught. “I did not know these were your lands, Betrayer of Kind,” Alex finally responded, taking a chance on his manner of address. If he’d chosen wrong, they would probably kill him, or at least take a limb.
The crowned goblin stared at him in shock for a moment. Just when Alex thought he’d miscalculated, a twisted smile crossed the creature’s face. “So you are at least someone worthy of bearing the title you carry. Free yourself from the chains, and you shall be free to carry on business with our bank. In fact, we might even have something to discuss, should you manage it.”
Alex decided silence was his best bet at not making the goblins more angry with him, so he nodded and turned his head to look at the shackle around his right wrist. The runes carved deep into the metal caught his eye, and Alex squinted to make out the details. His eyes widened in shock. These shackles had been carved to make magic within them impossible and to keep those imprisoned in them forever. He could still feel his magic within him and knew he could access it. After Gaylan’s prison cell modeled after the Orion stones, these manacles were nothing. If he did that, however, it would reveal his magical strength to the goblins in a way that might make them decide to kill him. For the same reason, he wouldn’t transform into his dragon self or the in-between form to escape.
“Just as I thought,” the crowned goblin sneered. “Too weak to escape that pair of shackles.” The lackeys comprising the rest of the semicircle cackled. “Well, enjoy your stay!” The group began walking into the darkness, the circle of light fading as they moved away. However, they had severely miscalculated. Alex was no mere wizard in the way that they had become accustomed to dealing with in the bank, nor was he a regular true wizard even in the known world. The sound of clanking behind them alerted the group to something happening, and the goblins turned back around.
Alex had wrapped his hands around the chains at the expense of his shoulders. He pulled sharply, ignoring the pain, and they popped back into place with the subtle help of his magic. He pulled again, and the lines of chain gained enough slack for his arms to hang at his sides. Alex pulled one last time, smashing the shackles against each other as he got to his feet. They fell to the ground, mangled beyond salvaging, and Alex took the barest hint of a moment to get the blood back into his feet before striding straight towards the group of goblins, ignoring the pins and needles tingling sharply through his limbs and pulling Moon Slayer out as he went. He held it just under the crowned goblin’s head with a nasty smile. Alex might not be able to show the dragon on the surface, but he could strengthen his muscles with his dragon power without anyone being the wiser.
“Your move, Betrayer of Kind.”
The goblins just stared at him in fear for a long moment. It was their turn to stay silent out of fear of reprisal, and Alex so enjoyed the reversal of situations. That no one would be imprisoned in those shackles again was an added bonus.
“I do believe you mentioned business and a conversation for us to have? I’d hate to create my own exit to the bank.”
The goblins collectively gulped again, obviously not used to being threatened by a being that could actually carry out that threat with apparent ease, if the way he’d broken out of the inescapable shackles was any indication. “Y-Yes. Right this way, Honored Customer,” the crowned goblin finally stammered.
Alex followed silently behind him as the dark, unpolished caverns gradually gave way to regulated hallways of marble and expensive trimmings. The goblins with staffs broke away from the group at the sight of a pair of ornate gold doors engraved with scenes of battle. Alex carried on through the now open doors and sat on the chair offered to him. He stared in silence at the creature across the desk from him.
The crowned goblin broke their staring contest first, looking down at the heavy wooden desk. “You will be instated as the highest rank of customer this bank services on the same level as the oldest of pureblood families. We shall provide funds for your needs in apology and in return for a promise of assisting us from time to time with necessary matters. Should you choose to enter any of our other branches, you may be assured that we shall not attack you again.”
“How often would this assistance occur?” Alex asked suspiciously.
“Perhaps once or twice a year, once a month at most.”
Alex considered his options. He could say no to the offer of funding and rely on someone else to get money from the bank for him. That option did not appeal to him, as it created unnecessary work for both himself and the person running his errands, in addition to a reliance and trust on said person and their continued goodwill. He could accept the offer and expect to be called in exactly once a month to consult on whatever the goblins required, likely something based off of tasks requiring heavy lifting, as he had demonstrated his strength so starkly earlier. The money also came with being placated into forgiving the goblins and may even extend into being allies, in which case he could be expected to fight for them if they called.
The offer was a good one, but Alex needed to clarify some points before he would accept. “This assistance will happen for no longer than four hours at a time, and will occur at a maximum of once a month. Should I be tasked with something I cannot or will not accomplish both within the timeline and in general, the agreement will not become void. I will see if I can work with your people before deciding whether or not to enter into a partnership with you. I reserve the right to refuse to fight or otherwise assist if I don’t wish to, and will not attack your people within the walls of this bank unless provoked. This promise of non-aggression will extend to the other banks if they prove to be similarly trustworthy.”
The sound of grinding teeth alerted Alex that he’d caught the exploitable loopholes in the creature’s offer. If he hadn’t insisted on a time limit, for example, they could have called on him once and kept him working for an entire month or longer. “Very well,” the crowned goblin ground out angrily. “Should we wish to summon you, this ring will heat up. It will activate at the word ‘Gringotts’ and bring you here.” The creature held a gold ring with an ornate ‘G’ carved onto the top out to Alex. He took it, placed it on a chain he’d summoned from his bag, and slipped the jewelry around his neck.
The goblin held a little coin purse out to Alex next, who placed it into the treasure room of his bag. “That will provide you with the promised money. Simply place your fingers into the pouch and think of the amount of Galleons you wish to withdraw. When you remove your hand and place it on a flat surface such as a counter, the gold will appear next to your hand if it is too large a sum to be held in your hand. The gold will otherwise appear in your hand as you take it out of the bag. Place your change into the bag, whether that be in Galleons, Sickles, of Knuts. Whatever change you have in there will be available for your use after that time.”
Alex nodded in thanks before standing to leave. “I do believe my absence has traumatized my watcher quite enough.”
“Very well. Should you fail to answer our summons within 10 minutes, the coin purse will cease to work. We would prefer that you wear your ring openly once we call upon you for the first time. If you continuously take three right turns followed by an immediate left, you will make your way back to the main hall without any trouble.”
The goblin pushed Alex out of the ornate doors and shut them before he had a chance to ask any questions or protest at the very limited amount of time to respond to the summons. The goblins were going to do their very best to ruin his life with that rule, he was sure. He’d just have to do his best not to let that happen. Alex considered the ring with suspicion as well. If the goblins wanted him to wear it on his finger, there might be enchantments on it that necessitated that level of ensuring no protest. He’d need to examine it in further detail before wearing it.
Alex took in the halls as he walked, noting the patterns engraved on them that eventually repeated. After longer than was probably necessary due to the path he took, Alex arrived at the great hall of Gringotts. He walked past the desks and out of the door, deciding to wait by the base of the steps under the reasoning that Molly, Hermione, and Ron would eventually return to where they lost him. He sat on the steps and settled in to wait, pulling out the book he’d started but not finished before lunch and his stack of questions, studiously ignoring the cut on his temple from the spearhead. He couldn’t show magical talent in this society, not until he knew it better, even if that left his head aching. Now that he knew where this Diagon Alley was, he could explore it later himself without the famous escort to truly get a taste of this new community.
Frazzled and desperate, Molly wondered if the boy had perhaps gone back to Gringotts after getting lost. She’d already checked there twice, but checking again wouldn’t cost her anything. The plainclothes Auror she’d tried to talk to had looked at her as if she was the crazy one when she’d tried to insist he go find the missing boy. Apparently, she couldn’t insist on a search for someone that wasn’t her child, especially when she didn’t know the boy well and he’d only been gone for about an hour. The man had the audacity to suggest that Alexander might have slipped away to go look in a store or get some butterbeer. She’d almost lost her temper with the man, but one of her Ronald’s ambitions was to be an Auror. Molly would not be the cause of that dream failing, even if she wanted to yell at the stupid man for treating her like an idiotic child.
Hermione and Ron followed behind Molly, growing increasingly more worried and amused, on Ron’s part. He thought that Alexander had maybe gotten a paper cut and gone to ask for a bandaid or something. He’d decided that that small amount of blood really wasn’t much cause for concern. Hermione had tried to quietly reason with him, but the stubborn boy wouldn’t budge. After all, Ron had reasoned, it wasn’t like this was Harry with his disastrous Potter ‘Luck’. They were heading back to Gringotts for a third time, Hermione alternating between ignoring Ron completely and shooting furious glares at him for his lively commentary on the passerby or the contents of store windows.
Alex looked up from his reading when he heard a distinctly Molly-sounding shriek. He’d ignored all the sideways glances his wet hair and clothes, not to mention the cut on his temple, had garnered. Luckily, the water had washed away most of the blood, but it was slow to dry out in the cloudy autumn air. The trio that had lost him had now apparently found him and looked both worried and furious. Alex saw the levity in Ron’s expression fading away. Molly stampeded over to him and began fussing over him, casting drying, cleaning, and wound closing and cleansing spells at him. Behind them, Hermione and Ron were having an energetic whispered discussion by the look of their magic, though he would have appreciated being asked if he was okay with her doing that and being informed about what she was doing to him while pointing a weapon at his face. Alex distinctly heard the phrase “I told you so!” from Hermione four different times while Ron tried to convince her that it wasn’t that big of a deal, since he’d been found safe and mostly unharmed. Hermione threw her hands up finally and ignored Ron the best she could, effectively pausing that argument.
“Now dear, stay close to me this time. We still need to get money from Gringotts for you, and do all of your school shopping. Luckily, Ron has all of the books that you need to have read, so you can borrow them from him for the next couple of weeks,” Molly said, already walking back up the stairs into Gringotts.
Alex stood from where he was sitting but did not follow her. The goblins had said nothing of protecting his secret, and he did not trust them to not take advantage of any loophole he’d left in the contract. “Molly,” he called, politely but firmly. The woman hadn’t shown much concern about him other than having lost him, no matter that he was still fully damp and had a cut on his temple. The weather was just cold enough that the wet clothes could have caused him to catch something. “I already got money from Gringotts. I would also prefer to get my own copies of books so that I can mark them up and refer to them if I get confused about a piece of theory.”
Molly turned around. “Are you sure dear? It would be no hardship to have Ron lend you his books.”
“I’m sure. What do we need to buy first?”
“I think it would be best to start with robes. Madame Malkin can finish them while we do the rest of our shopping, and we can swing by to pick them up after we’re done,” Molly said. She bustled off down the street, not checking to see if they were following. Alex thought she would have been more cautious after the whole losing him thing, but apparently she just expected them to follow her without questions. If everyone in this world behaved like this and followed others without question so easily, it was no wonder they had some guy jumped up on self-esteem and a power trip running around killing people. It also no longer shocked him that these people preferred to ignore their problems than face them head-on, or at least acknowledge their existence to make a plan for and deal with later.