Chapter 16 - 16. diagon alley (1/2)

we meet up with the lovegoods and take a trip through the floo to the Leakey Cauldron to head for mine and Lunas school supplies.

The Leaky Cauldron has changed little over the years; it is small, dingy and welcoming, with a few bedrooms above the public bar for travellers who live a long way from London. It is the ideal spot to catch up with wizarding gossip if you happen to live a long way from the nearest magical neighbour. It was rather crowded today with the laughter of kids who just got their acceptance letters. Tom was behind the counter scrambling to fix lunches and hand out drinks he really should get a nice helper someday. we made our way to the back room where I saw it. the wall. the portal to the magical world. Dad, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.

Three up... two across... he muttered. He tapped the wall three times 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 They stepped through the archway. Ryan looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

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. He turned his 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 low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium -- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Ryan 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... it was a childhood dream come true he was it a part of the magical world now. Anime tears streamed down his eyes as he wept with joy. Meanwhile everyone around him was looking at him oddly and stepped away a bit.

Dad: *cough* Gringotts first then.

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 --

Ryan:squeeeeeee!

Ryan let out a kingly squeal of absolute joy The goblin was about a head shorter than Ryan. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Ryan noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. 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 pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware