THE OTHER WORLD
After James had finally stopped spinning endlessly, he crashed to a halt on the cold, hard stone floor of a tavern as the battered wheel rolled away from him, spun on the spot, and then lay quite still on the ground. Landing opposite across from him was Nick, clearly as dazed as he was. James struggled to get up, scrabbling at the brick wall in front of him, and heaving himself to his feet. Looking around weakly, he saw Willie was standing, quite calmly, in front of the brick wall as well. Now completely and thoroughly convinced that this was not a bad dream, James managed to ask weakly, "What's Hogwarts?"
"Blimey, I forgot how little yeh' know 'bout our world," said Willie with a bemused sort of expression. "Ders lotsa' stuffs yeh' gotta catch up on, aye?"
Nick attempted to get up, but slipped on the floor and collapsed again, still shaking uncontrollably. James would have laughed if his feet didn't feel like jelly as well. "Hogwarts." Willie said gruffly, "Is me home. And it'll be yeh' home an' yeh' school. Best place in the world, s'matter o' fact." Pulling out his rake, Willie started to tap the bricks on the wall carefully, one on the left, one on the right, top right hand corner, bottom left hand corner, middle -
The entire brick wall scattered, pulling apart as if a pair of great big invisible hands had started to wrench it apart. As the brick wall faded away, Willie gestured to the busy streets within and grunted once. "Welcome, yeh' two, t' Obsidian Harbor."
Colorful stores and long, winding cobbled paths hit James's eyes like a series of overdone fireworks. There were great big stores that were stacked so tall he wondered why it hadn't fallen over. Crooked cottages sitting side by side, puffing out rings of smoke that changed color from pink, to black, to yellow and then to pink again. The strangest-looking people wearing the weirdest clothing James had ever seen were walking about the place in crowds. Displayed on rigorously-polished shop windows were all sorts of items, there were heavy books, broomsticks, owls hooting noisily, foul-smelling chemicals that bubbled sluggishly, and James even thought he saw a little deformed man scuttling past, muttering under it's breath, "Powder of unicorn horn, lionfish, crushed beetles, oh no, I must have lost count, oh dear, oh dear, what would Master say...?"
"House Elf." Willie growled as he caught sight of James and Nick staring. "Funny lil' creatures, gots good heart, mind." Willie squinted in the distance, and then clapped the two of them on the back again. James wished he would stop doing that, he felt like his spine was going to disconnect. "Der' we go boys, we'll drop ye' off at Gringotts firs', and den we'll uh, go getcha stuff." Nick blinked as short creatures with gnarled features stepped aside and opened the huge doors of the gleaming building marked 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank'. Etched on the door was a series of glittering words; James squinted at them as he tried to keep up with Willie.
Enter, stranger,
But take heed,
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take and do not earn,
Must pay most dearly their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors,
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware,
Of finding more than treasure there.
Shivering as he read it, James hurried on after Willie. Under his voice, Nick asked hurriedly as he stole a glance at the gnarled, short little creatures, "What are they?"
Willie waved an airy hand the size of a dustbin lid. "Goblins. Smart lil' fellas. Yeh'd be crazy to rob Gringotts." As Willie lumbered over to the end of the hallway, Nick and James hurried after him. It was difficult to keep up with the giant of a man, but he easily parted the way, looking ever more intimidating standing in a building full of creatures not half his height. James spotted a goblin examining rubies the size of his fists, and another was measuring glittering diamonds on a scale. Nick, clearly, was equally awed, and was forgetting whatever enmity he previously had with James.
Finally, the three of them reached a free counter, where the idle goblin was tapping his long fingers on the table. "Yes? How can I help you?" The goblin asked smartly, pushing his monocle up with one of his long fingers. "We're 'ere to see the vaults o' Nicholas Locke and James Killard." The goblin wrinkled his nose as he observed them, "And you have the keys?"
"Got 'em here somewheres..." Willie muttered, reaching into his pockets. Once again, Nick and James stood and watched nervously as Willie pulled out an assortment of items, including turnips, a mouldy newspaper marked 'The Daily Prophet', something that looked like cat litter, and finally, the set of ancient keys James had seen him take out back at the orphanage. "Ah, 'ere we are." Willie exclaimed as he handed them over, beaming at the goblin, who looked at the keys with an appraising eye. After a moment, the goblin nodded curtly and said, "All seems to be in order. I'll have someone take you down to your vaults ... 356 and 359 then? Nasera!"
Immediately, a stout-looking goblin pushed open the doors at the far end of the hall, which seemed to lead down to some kind of dungeon. Nasera waddled over, flexing his fingers a he paused abruptly at the counter, "Which vaults will these gentlemen go to, then?"
"Vaults 356 and 359." The goblin at the counter said, sniffing as Willie put away the turnips.
Nasera nodded, waving at the three of them. "This way, gentlemen." Turning, the goblin hurried down the dungeon with an air that he had been here many times before. Now that he was inside, James found himself in a dungeon illuminated by flickering torches, surrounded by railroad tracks with dozens of little carts waiting by the pavement. Nasera hopped into one of the carts, and beckoned for them to follow him. James and Nick hastily went into the cart with Nasera, while Willie followed with some difficulty due to his bulk ("Ruddy goblin-sized vehicles," Willie muttered). After they finally got on the cart, Nasera rapped on it smartly and announced in a loud voice, "Floor Three, Vaults 350-360."
Like a rocket, the cart lurched off suddenly, throwing Nick and James face-first into Willie, who looked like he was going to be sick. The cart raced around and around in a near-insane fashion, and Willie bellowed over the rushing wind, "How much longer?!" Nasera looked smug as he sat calmly in the cart while it raced around violently. "Not much longer now, gentlemen."
James and Nick both let out screams as the cart slipped off the raidroad tracks and soared into the air, only to land heavily on the other end and continue racing down the tracks. Once, James thought he saw a jet of flame and a great roar shake the dungeons. He was about to ask Willie what it was, but the giant looked so sick James thought it was best he left him where he was. "And here we are." Nasera exclaimed as the cart came to a sudden halt, throwing Willie, James, and Nick out of the vehicle and onto the pavement. "Well then, vault 356 first ... I say, what are you all doing on the floor?"
As the goblin hopped off the cart, Nick groaned and muttered under his breath, "I never want to sit on one of those things ever again." Apparently, goblins had very sharp ears, because Nasera turned to him and said nastily, "There's still the return journey."
Willie waved limply to Nasera as he dragged himself over to lean on a wall. "Yeh' take 'em to go on to their vaults, m' gonna rest 'ere first." Nasera looked miffed, but simply walked on, jangling the set of ancient keys as he said, "Well, if you insist."
They came to a stop in front of a large doorway with the golden letters, '356'. Nasera held up the keys, and then said importantly, "Stand back." Raising the set of keys, he inserted one key into a series of keyholes upon the door. Once he had finished, he took a step back and slid his lengthy fingers down the doorway. Immmediately, the doors melted away and the three of them walked into the vault. James was stunned; there were mounds and mounds of golden coins, great big heaps of silver, and mountainous piles of small bronze ones. "Vault 356. Previous owner, Tyrael Killard." The goblin announced, turning to James with something of a sympathetic smile. "It's yours, now."
"My - My father owned ... all
this?" James managed to say, while Nick continued to look stunned.
The goblin looked impatient as he thrust a leather money bag in his face. "Yes, yes he did. Now I advise you get some gold into the bag, or we'd have come here for nothing. Chop chop!"
James had the unpleasant task of heaping the gold coins into his bag while watched by a very jealous Nick and an indifferent Nasera, who made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Once his leather bag had been filled to the brim with gold, as well as some silver and knuts for good measure, for James did not know which was which, the goblin led them out again. They turned around a bend before they came to a halt once more. Once again, the goblin inserted the keys one by one into the keyholes by the side, and slid his long fingers down the front of the vault door, this time it was marked '359'.
As this door slid open, if Nick had felt jealous, he needn't feel jealous anymore. In this vault there were towers of gold stacked neatly into rows, with minimal amounts of bronze knuts scattered here and there, and what looked like a river of silver coins streaked across the ground. "This - ... This is mine?" Nick stuttered, unable to believe his eyes. The goblin glanced at the vault before replying, "Yes, this once belonged to Edward Locke. I must say, he did have a penchant for gold, didn't much like silver or bronze did he? Funny chap."
Once Nick had filled his leather bag with gold, James and Nick dragged their heavy leather bags filled with money back onto the carts, where they were met by a sick-looking Willie. As the cart lurched off again, Willie let out a moan. James glanced at the goblin, who looked supremely bored. "Uh - Excuse me-"
"What?" The goblin said curtly, glaring at him as if he was very much offended by the interuption. "Er - I was wondering what the gold ones and the silver ones - What the difference is?"
The goblin looked surprised for a moment, and then launched into a lengthy explanation. "Wizarding currency is very simple, actually - The bronze ones, those are knuts. Twenty-nine knuts make a sickle - Those are the silver ones. And seventeen sickles to a galleon - that's the golden ones. That means four hundred and nine knuts in a galleon." Nasera paused, for both of them looked completely confused. "Well, you'll get it eventually." He said curtly, barely able to conceal a smug grin.
One wild, manic cart-ride later and they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts, trying to get used to the glare of brightness now that they are out of the dark dungeon floors. James didn't know where to run to now that he had a bag full of wizarding money, and was sorely tempted to go running to the first store he could see and buy something just so he knew this money was valid. In the Bloomsfield orphanage, you weren't allowed any form of pocket-money. Indeed, the most James had at any one given time was a dollar and twenty cents. As of now he didn't have to know how many dollars there were to a galleon to understand that he now held more money than he ever had in his entire life. Even Nick, who was doted on selfishly by the Matron, was never given more than five dollars.
"Yeh' might as well getcha stuff." Willie nodded towards the stores clustered together by the harborfront. "Lissen' boys, you wouldn' mind if I went and got a pick-me-up wouldcha? I hate 'em goblin-sized carts. Yeh' gotcha shoppin' lists with you, don'tcha?" Willie did look like he was going to fall over any moment; in fact, his face was a delicate shade of green, so James and Nick consented, or rather, nodded weakly. "Great." The massive giant of a man sighed, "I'll meet you two at the wand shoppe, yeh' need some form o' supervision to getcha' wands."
As Willie lumbered off, James and Nick looked at each other, and then at the heavy money bags they had, which were weighted down with wizarding gold. Once enemies, they found themselves united with a common cause: They had no idea where they were supposed to go. "Well, uh." James said first, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Why don't we go to uh, buy our clothes - Uh- (He stole a glance at the shopping list) - Robes, first."
Nick, for all his bravado, nodded weakly. James thought he looked strangely diminished without Fatty and Snip by his side. As they entered a shop named Gladrags Wizardwear, with robes of all colors on display.
The shop assistant was a cheerful-looking girl with long, straight blond hair and pale green eyes.
"Hogwarts, you guys?" she said, before James even had the chance to speak. "Most of you lot start shopping at this time of year - I'm Hogwarts too, you know. Arisa Havishmen, we haven't met, so you're probably first years?"
As James opened his mouth to speak, he was silenced once again as Arisa started to talk about the robes selection. "We've got all sorts right now - Some muggle clothing too, for casual wear, you know - The newest mauve robes are in, they clash horribly with my hair, but it'd look quite nice on your hair; but I suppose you want the black ones for your school robes? Well, come this way then!"
Nick blinked, and turned to look at James, who merely shrugged. As they trailed after Arisa who was skipping cheerfully across the store. In the back of the shop, several boys were looking either extremely stiff or very nervous as they stood on footstools while various witches hurried around and pinned up their long black school robes. "Hullo, Arisa dear." The elderly shopkeeper said as she hurried over, "Are they hogwarts, too?"
"Yep." Arisa replied happily.
The shopkeeper nodded at her and hurried them along, "Alright, we'll take care of this lot, thank you Arisa-"
"-You're welcome!"
"Now come along you two, just stand on those footstools-"
James and Nick joined the series of young boys standing stiffly on the footstools, not daring to move in case one of the witches doing the fitting pricked them by accident. Nick, who had been silent this whole time, finally managed to say, "This is insane."
"Yeah." James croaked.
After another long pause, Nick finally spoke up again, "That girl at the counter was really pretty."
"I suppose." James croaked a second time.
More silence while a witch bustled about, slipped a long robe over James's head, and begun to pin it to the right length.
Nick shuffled, and then blurted out, "Well - Say something!" James started ("Now don't move, dearie." The witch soothed) and turned to Nick, "Say - what?"
"I dunno - Anything! - We're in this together - Aren't we?" Nick said nervously.
James realised that this boy, the boy who had bullied him, made life horrible for him, and otherwise had everything he did not - was now in the same sort of situation he was in. For one, fleeting moment, James felt Nick didn't deserve it; but that thought was washed away by the knowledge Nick was probably was nervous as he was. "Well. I suppose ... Yeah. I guess." James murmured.
Nick appeared to want to say something, but at that moment, a tall boy with straw-colored hair craned his neck and said to them in a shaky sort of voice, "Hey - You guys - You guys going to Hogwarts too?"
Albeit annoyed at being interupted, Nick said snappishly, "Yes we are. Or at least, we think we are."
The boy looked relieved. "Thank goodness - Me ma's just gone to get my books. I've never been to Obsidian Harbor before. Only to Surrey. I've got nearly everything, I just don't know what pet I'm getting. I think maybe an owl, they're dead useful from what I hear."
James was content to let the boy keep talking and just listen, hoping to grasp any tips. The boy was now in an animated conversation with Nick, who were discussing what kind of pets were the best.
"Personally I think the toad's been out of fashion for awhile." The boy was saying, "Although I wonder why they don't allow dogs? I mean I know there's the issue of housetraining them, but if you allow cats, why not dogs?"
"I dunno, but how do the owls get along with cats?" Nick asked curiously.
The boy paused, and then replied, "Oh no, they don't - the owls are kept in the Owlery, and the cats get free roam in the Common Rooms. Any idea what house you're going to be in, by the way? I just hope I'm not put in Slytherin, I hear they're a rough lot."
"Slytherin?" James interupted, looking blank.
"Oh!" The boy exclaimed, "You don't know what houses there are then? I don't really mind which house I'm getting into - I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw, though. And I suppose Hufflepuff couldn't be too bad. What are your names, by the way? I'm Daniel, Daniel Fletcher. You can call me Dan."
"Nicholas," said Nick.
James hastily said, "I'm James."
"Are you two brothers, then? You don't look like it." Dan pointed out.
Nick seemed to have gained his senses back, and quickly said coolly, "No, we're just from the same orphanage."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Dan said apologetically, sounding genuinely sorry.
"Less chatter, dearies." A witch exclaimed as she bustled towards Tony and started to take his measurements. "Hold this, dear." The witch added, handing Tony a measuring tape that started measuring his sleeves on its own.
"Well this is pretty odd - Where were we again?" said Dan, "Oh yes - I never knew my father that well; my magical blood's from my ma's side. So it's sort of the same, isn't it? I'm - Whoops, sorry!" At that moment Dan had dropped the measuring tape, which he hastily bent over to pick up, only to prick himself with the pins holding his robes in place. The witch hurriedly exclaimed, "No, no, don't move dearie!"
Dan was apologising profusely, "Sorry! I can't seem to get a grip on anything I hold-"
"Typical. You can only get things done half-right, I suppose, being a mixed blood?" Sneered a pale boy with a pointed face who had been eavesdropping.
Miffed, Dan craned his head to look at him. "Who are you, then?"
"I don't think you
need to know, or
deserve to know my name." The pale boy said, smirking at him.
Just as Dan was about to retort, one of the assistants hurried in again, removed his robes, and handed them to him. "There you go dearie, you can go get anything else you need from Arisa at the counter, and pay there too..."
As Dan and most of the other boys was ushered away, he muttered under his breath so that Nick and James could hear, "There's a Slytherin if I ever saw one."
This left the pale boy standing on the footstool with Nick and James, who were both feeling very uncomfortable. To James's surprise, it was the pale boy who first spoke up, in a haughty, bored sort of voice. "What about you two? Are you like him, then?"
"Dunno." Nick muttered.
The pale boy blinked. "What? Speak up, I can't hear you."
"My dad was a wizard, and I think my mum was too, if that's what you mean." James replied, albeit snappishly.
"Oh. Good. I don't think they should let the other sort in, the ones who don't know they have any magic blood in them till they get the letter. You know what I mean?"
"Er-"
"Personally, I think it's a waste of time trying to teach those muggleborns."
James felt increasingly uncomfortable, as he appeared to be the exact person that this pale boy was describing.
"What's your name anyway? I should know. I know most of the pure-blooded wizarding families. Father has many contacts."
James had never felt more grateful, for at this moment the witch bustled in again and started to lead them out of the shop while removing their completed measurements. After James and Nick paid up, they hurried towards the wand store. It was not hard to spot; it was in the center of one of the roads, all by itself, with a single battered wand on display, and the signboard reading:
Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC
They met up with Willie who was looking much better outside of the Owl Emporium near Ollivander's, where he was looking at several venomous serpents; as they walked towards the wand store's entrance, James blurted out, "What's Slytherique and Huffletuff?" Willie looked blank, and then he appeared to realise what they were asking and chuckled to himself as he rapped the side of his own head. "Ah, I forget yeh' don't know much, aye? There's four 'ouses in Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Dey' all have their own values an' such, everyone says Hufflepuffs a load o' softies, but-"
"Bet I'll be in Hufflepuff." James said gloomily.
"Nah yeh' won't, I see a bit o' my own house in yeh'. Gryffindor, yeh' know - the brave an' strong, people say."
James could very much picture Willie in Gryffindor, but was unable to comprehend himself in a house described as such.
Willie stopped outside of the store, and he waved them in cheerfully. "I'll wait outside, its albeit too smallish in der' for me." As James and Nick entered the narrow and rather shabby store, a stooped old man came out of the back and adjusted his spectacles. "Edward?" The old man said uncertainly, but his sharp eyes recognised Nick at once. "Ah ... No ... You'll be his son then? I remember it as if it were yesterday. Yes, your father bought his wand from here as well." Ollivander said kindly to Nick. "And you'll be Killard." Ollivander's voice was suddenly very stern. "Your father was a rascal, he was, I remember him still."
James nodded stiffly, unable to help himself fidgeting. The whole place looked exceedingly old; when he looked over the counter, his heart did a couple of backflips. Rows upon rows of dusty cases were stacked upon each other, and this was what he had been looking forward to ever since he read the sign: A true, magical wand.
"We'll be able to help you find yours yet ... Come, sit down." Ollivander was saying, waving them to a single dusty chair in the middle of the room. "One of you sit - The other one, come to the counter."
Bewildered, James decided to go first, standing in front of the counter, feeling very small as Ollivander fixed his appraising eye upon his small stature. He nervously brushed a bit of dust off his shoulder. "Raise your wand arm."
"My what-?"
"Your wand arm, boy - the dominant arm."
Raising his right arm uncertainly, he watched Ollivander nod knowledgeably as he searched through the cases, and then removed an old case from the shelves and handed it to him. "Willow, rather springy, core of Dragon heartstring. Give it a go." Ollivander opened the case and held out the slender wand to him. Grasping hold of it, and feeling very foolish, James flicked the wand casually at the roof.
Immediately, Ollivander snatched it out of his arm and handed him another one. "No, no, no! No good at all, here - Try this. Holly; bendy, Unicorn's tail hair as the core - nearly kicked me senseless, that one."
No sooner had James taken hold of it, Ollivander snatched it away from him again. This went on for some time, with James growing more and more nervous as the pile of rejected wands grew higher and higher. At last, Ollivander appeared to pause, and removed a particular wand case carefully. Sliding the wand out, he handed it to Harry, who took it slowly, feeling a sudden warmth rush through his body. Ollivander was looking at him carefully now. "Ebony, very firm, core of a Thestral's tail-hairs. Give it a wave." Waving the wand, feeling a sudden surge of confidence, James himself was as surprised as Nick when a series of golden and crimson sparks shot out of the end of this wand.
"Oho! Bravo!" Ollivander exclaimed, as Willie, who was watching from outside, did a little jig. "Yes, yes ... Bravo, indeed. And I wonder, if this young man..." As Nick stepped up nervously, Ollivander held out a ready wand to him. As Nick reached out for it, Ollivander snatched it away suddenly. "Wait ... No ... Let's try this first. Made out of vinewood, very sturdy, core of Phoenix tail feather." Even as Nick grasped this wand instead, Ollivander took it out of his grip and handed over the original wand he had prepared. "No ... It seems fate plays a fool on us all. Try this instead - Brittle, made of Yew, core of a Thestral's hair tails."
When Nick took hold of the wand and gave it a little wave, it released a shower of blue and silver sparks, and James took it upon himself to applaud alongside Willie (Accidentally releasing a stream of golden sparks again, as he was still holding the wand). "Yes ... Brilliant. How curious," Ollivander was saying, as James and Nick paid the galleons required for the wands. "Excuse me sir - What's curious?" James asked uncertainly.
"Curious ... The wand chooses the owner you know; it's curious that these two wands, brothers of the same core, have chosen you two, when your fathers... " Ollivander fell silent as he turned his misty eyes on them. "Curious indeed."
"You knew my father?" James couldn't help asking as Nick started to leave the shop happily with his wand in hand.
Ollivander smiled wistfully, "I wish I did, young James. I wish I did."
Before James could ask how the old man knew his name, Ollivander had already turned and started walking towards the back. Feeling it would be rude to call out to the wizened wandmaker, James gave a little shaky wave goodbye, and exited the store with Nick, slightly unnerved.
As Ollivander watched the three leave, he closed his eyes and disappeared into the back of the store, whispering under his breath, "How very curious indeed..."
THE 8TH FLOOR