We were greeted with a neatly kept chamber as the door opened, parting in the middle and siding away, disappearing into the walls. The inside of the vault, on both sides, was filled with differently sized drawers, going from the bottom to the ceiling, so I had to tiptoe to reach the highest one.
Most of them were filled with different kinds of bundles I now recognized as muggle money. I couldn't tell what their worth was, but we may need it, so we began putting all of it into our holding bags. Reaching the highest-placed drawers, we also got ourselves gold. And I mean solid gold bars.
"Why?" I murmured, trying to figure it out, and our goblin escort answered, standing in the doorway, not stepping in, probably because of some kind of rule they had.
"Every country has different currencies. Muggle money is easy to keep around as it's paper and has multiple, high-tiered values. Wizarding money is different. Thus, gold bars are the perfect choice. We can exchange them for the local currency if you wish to do so."
"Thank you... but so far, we think it is fine." I answered with a smile and noticed a slight grimace on the goblin's face, but only for a moment. I knew they were greedy, so I am not surprised he would be happy to take our gold.
"He really thought about you, about us..." Quincy murmured as the amount of wealth we were putting into our bags was astronomical. Even I could realize that the muggle money alone must be worth a fortune as those banknotes had way too many stacks, no matter their country of origin. "We could go anywhere with this, especially in the muggle's world."
"Yeah... I know..." I answered with a sad smile, feeling my heart being squeezed.
"Conrad... look!" She exclaimed when opening the drawers on the opposite side, "What's this?"
Looking at the goblin, this time, he remained silent. That one refusal was enough to make him antagonistic against us, so I could no longer expect any help from him... typical. Taking it out of Quincy's hands, examining it, it was some... document.
"A deed?" I asked as she looked for more and found multiple similar ones with official-looking stamps.
"A few have magical seals, but many of them are muggle-looking. Wait... these are deeds for..."
"Properties!" We said simultaneously, realizing what they were.
My Father not only left us money but also made us inherit multiple homes around the world, including some muggle businesses. Moreover, the ones with magical deeds were purchased with fake aliases, going by these documents. If this is all true, and I had no reason to doubt it, we were set for life.
Emptying our vault made us rich beyond our beliefs... yet if I could, I would trade it all in a heartbeat to see my Father, even if just for one more time. All this gold and money didn't make me feel good, not at all... I wanted to cry instead. The more we found, the more I felt what he wanted to tell us... leave everything behind, go, live a muggle life, a happy life, and forget about everything. Still, I... I just couldn't.
I think Quincy noticed it, too, as we were awfully silent while emptying the drawers, stashing everything in our holding bags. Heading out of the bank, we did so by ourselves as the cranky goblin no longer showed any courtesy towards us besides what was minimally expected from someone in his position. Not that I mind it. Greedy bastard.
"Where do you want to go?" Quincy asked after we were out, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Gringotts's building.
"I don't think we should wait around too much. We may be far away from England right now, but this is still a wizarding city. Who says they can't just apparate here? Let's go; it is best if we merge into the muggle world; it is much safer."
"To the ski resort then?" She smiled at me, holding my hand and making me nod.
"I hope Squeaky managed to escape in time." I murmured, and just then, with a pop, she appeared next to us, looking a bit dizzy.
"Ah, Master! Mistress! How good to see you! Squeaky is very happy to be finally summoned!"
"Squeaky!" We cried out, hugging her, which surprised the elf just as much as her appearance stunned us.
"Old Master told Squeaky to go away until I am called again! Squeaky was hiding until now, but Master finally called! I will be happy to be of service again!"
"Good... It is good that you are okay!" I whispered, rubbing her head, feeling the tears well up in my eyes.
"Ah, Master, don't cry! Squeaky will do her job well!" She panicked, not knowing what to do, although I was sure she knew full well what had happened in the past few days. She wasn't stupid.
"Squeaky, we will go into muggle territory... will you be okay?"
"Oh, don't worry, Mistress!" She nodded rapidly, letting her big ears flap around, "Squeaky is very good at avoiding the eyes of muggles! They won't notice Squeaky, and they won't cause trouble for you! Promise!"
"Worst thing worst," I chuckled, wiping my eyes, "We can obliviate them."
"Eh... yeah, that is true." Quincy nodded, looking back and forth between me and Squeaky. "Well... let's go then! It is pointless to stand around!"
"Most certainly!" Squeaky agreed, and after we told her where we were going, she saluted at once. "Squeaky will go ahead and scout it for Master!"
"Wait!" But she was already gone. "Haahhh... I do hope she is truly good at not being seen."
...
....
......
It was a sunny day; the sky was clear, free of clouds, and the bright rays of the sun reflected off the white blankets covering the mountainside. It was early spring and the first week of spring break that a group of youngsters aimed to enjoy to its fullest.
"Are you ready yet?" One of the girls shouted, looking up the stairs from the lobby of their log cabins. She was already dressed up wholly, ready to go skiing, her bushy auburn hair sticking out from under her thick hat.
"Relax, relax! We are coming! Geez, this muggle thing is so hard to get right..."
"You said you wanted to come with me when I told you I would go skiing! You can't complain by now!"
"It sounded fun, and we never did it. But doing it, carrying all this stuff without magic... ugh!" The same voice added as its owner began waddling down from upstairs.
"Well, don't cry!" A different voice added as two young girls walked down, still somewhat struggling with their clothes and equipment. "It is a good thing to do something new, and we can take it as training on how to remain unseen within muggles."
"Just follow me and do what I say; you will be all fine, Elodie, Brigitte!" The first girl smiled, leading them out of their cabin, ready to head towards the ski lift and teach them how to do it properly.
"I have to say, your French has improved a lot, Hermione!" The second, tallest girl of the three, Brigitte expressed, making her friend chuckle.
"I agree! I remember when you first attended school, you were struggling to keep up!" Elodie added.
"I am a quick learner!" She said, proudly grinning, "It was a surprise for sure... My parents didn't know what to do when we were thrown into a sudden regime after my magic had awoken. Honestly speaking, it was frightening!"
"Bet!" They answered her, both trying to sound encouraging, "You were lucky to escape ahead of time. At least with us, you can learn proper magic and be free!"
"Yeah, the Beauxbatons are just as good as Hogwarts, if not better!"
"I do like it here, yes." Hermione nodded, smiling at the friends she had made while attending the academy in the past three years. "I even got used to attending a boarding school, which certainly helped me learn a second language! Hehe~!"
"What about your parents? Are they safe?"
"Yeah, they are fine as they are muggles. Not all is bad, you see. The people who discovered me kept it hushed, and I was offered to attend your school like many others from my country!"
"Speaking of that, did you hear the news? What happened at the Triwizard Tournament?"
"They are just rumors!" Elodia shrugged, but Brigitte quickly continued in a hushed voice. While talking, they were nearing the lifts that would take them up the mountain and beginning to enter the crowd of muggles.
"Nu-uh! They are not! Fewer students came back than what was left! Why do you think the Headmaster didn't hold any explanation? I heard Fleur left school on a private assignment, too! Not to mention, didn't you all see the newspapers?"
"I did." Hermione nodded, remembering it because it was something big. It described that during the Triwizard Tournament, a separatist wing of the Death Eaters tried to initiate a coup but failed in the end. For a few days, it was believed that Lord Voldemort himself was killed in the battle, but then again, a week later, there was not only news about how he was fine but photos of him giving a speech, vowing that everybody responsible would be found and killed. The papers even included two pictures of two kids who couldn't be older than her, wanted everywhere on the continent. What felt strange to her was that not only did Lord Voldemort's side want them, but even the French authorities warned its people to be careful and contact them if anyone noticed the pair.
"Even if Voldemort wasn't killed, the way he looks in those pictures is baaaaaad! His face is sunken in, looking like someone who just returned from death's bed... brr! For sure, he was close to death, maybe hit by some nasty, forbidden spell that is still affecting him!"
"I think that's enough!" Hermione shrugged, warning her friends, "We are too young to know enough, and we are here to relax, no? I took you two here to have a little fun and not deal with politics!"
"Sorry, sorry!" They laughed, smiling at her, letting Hermione buy the tickets and follow her towards the lifts.
As they walked along, she couldn't help but snap her head towards two voices as they were speaking English... and their words were weird.
"Let's go back, it's getting crowded."
"Mhm, I agree. We can do it later when there are fewer muggles around! Let's go and get something hot to drink; what do you say?"
"I'm in! Snowboarding is not bad, but... it can't hold a candle to brooms."
"Hermione!" Brigitte exclaimed, snapping her friend back to reality, "Come, it's our turn!"
"Ah, yes, yes!" She flinched as they boarded the lift that began ascending while she was watching the crowd, wanting to see who said those words, but it was impossible to pinpoint it. She was sure she heard it right... those two had to be wizards! But... what were they doing here?
Corty This time, I did not go for french text as it would be too much. So, it remained in English. Also, yes, this is that Hermione :)
We were greeted with a neatly kept chamber as the door opened, parting in the middle and siding away, disappearing into the walls. The inside of the vault, on both sides, was filled with differently sized drawers, going from the bottom to the ceiling, so I had to tiptoe to reach the highest one.
Most of them were filled with different kinds of bundles I now recognized as muggle money. I couldn't tell what their worth was, but we may need it, so we began putting all of it into our holding bags. Reaching the highest-placed drawers, we also got ourselves gold. And I mean solid gold bars.
"Why?" I murmured, trying to figure it out, and our goblin escort answered, standing in the doorway, not stepping in, probably because of some kind of rule they had.
"Every country has different currencies. Muggle money is easy to keep around as it's paper and has multiple, high-tiered values. Wizarding money is different. Thus, gold bars are the perfect choice. We can exchange them for the local currency if you wish to do so."
"Thank you... but so far, we think it is fine." I answered with a smile and noticed a slight grimace on the goblin's face, but only for a moment. I knew they were greedy, so I am not surprised he would be happy to take our gold.
"He really thought about you, about us..." Quincy murmured as the amount of wealth we were putting into our bags was astronomical. Even I could realize that the muggle money alone must be worth a fortune as those banknotes had way too many stacks, no matter their country of origin. "We could go anywhere with this, especially in the muggle's world."
"Yeah... I know..." I answered with a sad smile, feeling my heart being squeezed.
"Conrad... look!" She exclaimed when opening the drawers on the opposite side, "What's this?"
Looking at the goblin, this time, he remained silent. That one refusal was enough to make him antagonistic against us, so I could no longer expect any help from him... typical. Taking it out of Quincy's hands, examining it, it was some... document.
"A deed?" I asked as she looked for more and found multiple similar ones with official-looking stamps.
"A few have magical seals, but many of them are muggle-looking. Wait... these are deeds for..."
"Properties!" We said simultaneously, realizing what they were.
My Father not only left us money but also made us inherit multiple homes around the world, including some muggle businesses. Moreover, the ones with magical deeds were purchased with fake aliases, going by these documents. If this is all true, and I had no reason to doubt it, we were set for life.
Emptying our vault made us rich beyond our beliefs... yet if I could, I would trade it all in a heartbeat to see my Father, even if just for one more time. All this gold and money didn't make me feel good, not at all... I wanted to cry instead. The more we found, the more I felt what he wanted to tell us... leave everything behind, go, live a muggle life, a happy life, and forget about everything. Still, I... I just couldn't.
I think Quincy noticed it, too, as we were awfully silent while emptying the drawers, stashing everything in our holding bags. Heading out of the bank, we did so by ourselves as the cranky goblin no longer showed any courtesy towards us besides what was minimally expected from someone in his position. Not that I mind it. Greedy bastard.
"Where do you want to go?" Quincy asked after we were out, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Gringotts's building.
"I don't think we should wait around too much. We may be far away from England right now, but this is still a wizarding city. Who says they can't just apparate here? Let's go; it is best if we merge into the muggle world; it is much safer."
"To the ski resort then?" She smiled at me, holding my hand and making me nod.
"I hope Squeaky managed to escape in time." I murmured, and just then, with a pop, she appeared next to us, looking a bit dizzy.
"Ah, Master! Mistress! How good to see you! Squeaky is very happy to be finally summoned!"
"Squeaky!" We cried out, hugging her, which surprised the elf just as much as her appearance stunned us.
"Old Master told Squeaky to go away until I am called again! Squeaky was hiding until now, but Master finally called! I will be happy to be of service again!"
"Good... It is good that you are okay!" I whispered, rubbing her head, feeling the tears well up in my eyes.
"Ah, Master, don't cry! Squeaky will do her job well!" She panicked, not knowing what to do, although I was sure she knew full well what had happened in the past few days. She wasn't stupid.
"Squeaky, we will go into muggle territory... will you be okay?"
"Oh, don't worry, Mistress!" She nodded rapidly, letting her big ears flap around, "Squeaky is very good at avoiding the eyes of muggles! They won't notice Squeaky, and they won't cause trouble for you! Promise!"
"Worst thing worst," I chuckled, wiping my eyes, "We can obliviate them."
"Eh... yeah, that is true." Quincy nodded, looking back and forth between me and Squeaky. "Well... let's go then! It is pointless to stand around!"
"Most certainly!" Squeaky agreed, and after we told her where we were going, she saluted at once. "Squeaky will go ahead and scout it for Master!"
"Wait!" But she was already gone. "Haahhh... I do hope she is truly good at not being seen."
...
....
......
It was a sunny day; the sky was clear, free of clouds, and the bright rays of the sun reflected off the white blankets covering the mountainside. It was early spring and the first week of spring break that a group of youngsters aimed to enjoy to its fullest.
"Are you ready yet?" One of the girls shouted, looking up the stairs from the lobby of their log cabins. She was already dressed up wholly, ready to go skiing, her bushy auburn hair sticking out from under her thick hat.
"Relax, relax! We are coming! Geez, this muggle thing is so hard to get right..."
"You said you wanted to come with me when I told you I would go skiing! You can't complain by now!"
"It sounded fun, and we never did it. But doing it, carrying all this stuff without magic... ugh!" The same voice added as its owner began waddling down from upstairs.
"Well, don't cry!" A different voice added as two young girls walked down, still somewhat struggling with their clothes and equipment. "It is a good thing to do something new, and we can take it as training on how to remain unseen within muggles."
"Just follow me and do what I say; you will be all fine, Elodie, Brigitte!" The first girl smiled, leading them out of their cabin, ready to head towards the ski lift and teach them how to do it properly.
"I have to say, your French has improved a lot, Hermione!" The second, tallest girl of the three, Brigitte expressed, making her friend chuckle.
"I agree! I remember when you first attended school, you were struggling to keep up!" Elodie added.
"I am a quick learner!" She said, proudly grinning, "It was a surprise for sure... My parents didn't know what to do when we were thrown into a sudden regime after my magic had awoken. Honestly speaking, it was frightening!"
"Bet!" They answered her, both trying to sound encouraging, "You were lucky to escape ahead of time. At least with us, you can learn proper magic and be free!"
"Yeah, the Beauxbatons are just as good as Hogwarts, if not better!"
"I do like it here, yes." Hermione nodded, smiling at the friends she had made while attending the academy in the past three years. "I even got used to attending a boarding school, which certainly helped me learn a second language! Hehe~!"
"What about your parents? Are they safe?"
"Yeah, they are fine as they are muggles. Not all is bad, you see. The people who discovered me kept it hushed, and I was offered to attend your school like many others from my country!"
"Speaking of that, did you hear the news? What happened at the Triwizard Tournament?"
"They are just rumors!" Elodia shrugged, but Brigitte quickly continued in a hushed voice. While talking, they were nearing the lifts that would take them up the mountain and beginning to enter the crowd of muggles.
"Nu-uh! They are not! Fewer students came back than what was left! Why do you think the Headmaster didn't hold any explanation? I heard Fleur left school on a private assignment, too! Not to mention, didn't you all see the newspapers?"
"I did." Hermione nodded, remembering it because it was something big. It described that during the Triwizard Tournament, a separatist wing of the Death Eaters tried to initiate a coup but failed in the end. For a few days, it was believed that Lord Voldemort himself was killed in the battle, but then again, a week later, there was not only news about how he was fine but photos of him giving a speech, vowing that everybody responsible would be found and killed. The papers even included two pictures of two kids who couldn't be older than her, wanted everywhere on the continent. What felt strange to her was that not only did Lord Voldemort's side want them, but even the French authorities warned its people to be careful and contact them if anyone noticed the pair.
"Even if Voldemort wasn't killed, the way he looks in those pictures is baaaaaad! His face is sunken in, looking like someone who just returned from death's bed... brr! For sure, he was close to death, maybe hit by some nasty, forbidden spell that is still affecting him!"
"I think that's enough!" Hermione shrugged, warning her friends, "We are too young to know enough, and we are here to relax, no? I took you two here to have a little fun and not deal with politics!"
"Sorry, sorry!" They laughed, smiling at her, letting Hermione buy the tickets and follow her towards the lifts.
As they walked along, she couldn't help but snap her head towards two voices as they were speaking English... and their words were weird.
"Let's go back, it's getting crowded."
"Mhm, I agree. We can do it later when there are fewer muggles around! Let's go and get something hot to drink; what do you say?"
"I'm in! Snowboarding is not bad, but... it can't hold a candle to brooms."
"Hermione!" Brigitte exclaimed, snapping her friend back to reality, "Come, it's our turn!"
"Ah, yes, yes!" She flinched as they boarded the lift that began ascending while she was watching the crowd, wanting to see who said those words, but it was impossible to pinpoint it. She was sure she heard it right... those two had to be wizards! But... what were they doing here?
Corty This time, I did not go for french text as it would be too much. So, it remained in English. Also, yes, this is that Hermione :)
