Hagrid tapped the brick three times with the tip of his umbrella. The brick trembled and shifted, then a small hole appeared. It quickly grew into a wide archway, large enough for Hagrid to walk through, revealing a winding cobblestone street that stretched into the distance.
Aldric's eyes sparkled with excitement as he took in Diagon Alley, the heart of the magical world! Both boys wished they had eight eyes so they could see every detail from every angle.
Hagrid chuckled at their amazed expressions. "Don't rush. First, we'll go to Gringotts to get some money."
"I'll give you a proper tour later, Harry," Hagrid said with a smile, then glanced over at Aldric. "And you, Aldric, don't worry, Hogwarts has already prepared all your school supplies. We just need to pick them up here at Gringotts."
Aldric nodded, clearly feeling that Hagrid treated him and Harry a bit differently. They walked together toward a tall, gleaming white building that towered above the nearby shops.
At its shining bronze doors stood a goblin in a scarlet and gold uniform, who bowed respectfully as they approached. Harry stared at the goblin with obvious curiosity. Noticing this, Hagrid leaned in close and whispered something quietly to Harry, careful not to be overheard. Even Aldric, who was standing right beside them, couldn't catch the words.
Soon, a silver door appeared before them, bearing a warning inscribed in bold letters:
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
Of finding more than treasure there.
Aldric sneered at the warning. In his previous life, he had been a bank robber, so notices like this didn't scare him one bit, even if they might intimidate innocent folks like Hagrid and Harry.
Passing through the door, they entered a grand hall. Over a hundred goblins sat behind long counters on tall stools.
Some weighed coins on copper scales, while others examined gems through magnifying lenses, jotting down notes in massive ledgers. Numerous doors led off to other parts of the building, with goblins directing visitors in and out.
Hagrid and Harry headed to one of the counters. After a brief exchange with a goblin, Hagrid turned to Aldric.
"Aldric, just give him your Hogwarts acceptance letter. He'll get your things ready. Harry and I need to go check on something in the vault."
Aldric nodded and watched as they disappeared down a hallway, escorted by a goblin. "Good day, sir," Aldric said, handing over his letter.
The goblin took it silently, inspecting it through a magnifying glass before fetching a large chest from behind the counter. Opening it, Aldric found a collection of school supplies matching the list on his letter, though everything showed signs of previous use.
The cauldron, for example, had a rough, pitted interior and a noticeably thinner base stained with large black smudges. Aldric guessed its former owner must have boiled something nasty in it, the faint, lingering smell still clinging to the metal. Closing the box, Aldric looked back at the goblin, who had already turned his attention to examining some gems.
"Can I exchange British pounds for Galleons here?" Aldric asked.
The goblin looked a bit surprised that someone who seemed so poor would even ask but answered, "Of course. It's five pounds for each Galleon, and you can exchange up to a hundred Galleons per transaction."
Aldric lowered his voice, "Keep this between us."
Then he tossed a small pouch filled with different British coins onto the counter. The goblin quickly counted the coins with impressive speed, catching Aldric off guard.
A moment later, he handed Aldric a pouch full of Galleons. "Just so you know, we have a rule: every time a Hogwarts student exchanges Muggle money for Galleons here, it has to be reported to Hogwarts."
The goblin spread his hands on the counter like he was helpless, but his smile gave away that he wasn't really bothered.
Aldric muttered under his breath, "You greedy creature," as he pulled five gold coins from his pocket and slipped them quietly into the goblin's outstretched hand.
Then he added, "Also, tell the big guy who just went in that I'm going to look around. We'll meet back at the Leaky Cauldron later."
The goblin nodded enthusiastically, as if his head might fall off from nodding so fast. "Don't worry, sir. You've never exchanged Galleons here before."
Aldric stepped out of Gringotts, still a bit confused about why the wizarding world trusted goblins with their entire banking system. But after learning more about Gringotts and the goblins themselves, he started to see the reason.
Most wizards weren't exactly great with numbers, in fact, many were pretty slow in those areas. That made them a poor fit for the precise work Gringotts required, while goblins naturally excelled at those kinds of calculations.
For example, one gold Galleon was worth 17 silver Sickles, and one silver Sickle was worth 29 bronze Knuts. These strange and complicated exchange rates could easily trip up even the most powerful wizards during transactions, leaving plenty of opportunities for profit. Shaking his head to clear these unusual thoughts, Aldric reminded himself he still had an important stop ahead.
Following his memory, Aldric arrived at a small, worn-down shop. The signboard had fallen off, and the once-bright letters had faded to dullness. It read: "Ollivander: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C."
Aldric pushed open the door, and inside, a thin, elderly man was tidying up a messy pile of wand boxes behind the counter, probably just finishing a sale.
"Welcome, young sir," Ollivander said as soon as he saw Aldric. "A new face! I'm guessing you're a Hogwarts first-year?
I remember every wand I've sold, and this is clearly your first visit. What's your name, young one?"
"Aldric. Aldric Thistlewaite, sir."
"Well then, Mr. Thistlewaite, which hand do you usually use?"
With a flick of his wand, Ollivander sent a measuring tape slithering up Aldric's arm like a snake. "My right hand," Aldric answered.
"Very well. Let's try this one: eleven inches, cherry wood with a unicorn hair core, a powerful combination."
The tape measured Aldric quickly and snapped back into Ollivander's hand. Aldric took the wand, and even before he could wave it, its tip gave off a soft, white glow. "Excellent! Hmm, no... suitable, but not quite perfect."
Ollivander took the wand back and searched behind the counter before pulling out a sleek black wand. "Thirteen inches, ebony with a dragon heartstring core. A formidable pairing, truly a warrior's wand."