Hagrid's first day with Harry - Part 3

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

He glanced at Harry who looked thoroughly amazed and grinned as they set foot through the archway.

“Yeh’ can find everythin’ yeh’ need for Hogwarts here! There are stores at every corner, yeh’ be sick
of them at the end of the day!” Laughed Hagrid. “However, of one shop, I will never get bored.”

"What kind of store is that?" asked Harry.

"The Magical Menagerie. It's a magical creature shop. Once I got huge purple toads, fire crabs and
poisonous orange snails. They also have a lot of cats tha’ they sell, but i’m allergic to cats, so I don’
go in there often. I'm more inter’ larger and slightly misunderstood creatures nowadays..." replied
Hagrid.

The sun was bright and while Harry looked to marvel at his surroundings memories came flooding to
Hagrid. He had always loved magical creatures. Ever since he was a boy, he used to raise all kinds of
creatures. The more dangerous the creatures were, the more interesting they became. He remembered
when he bought his first one, a fire crab, a big turtle-like crab creature, that shot flames from its rear
end. He didn’t think about how dangerous it could be, until he got home one day and the creature had
burned half the wall of his bedroom down. Of course he got in serious trouble after that incident.
Despite the punishment, It was one of his best memories as a kid.

Amidst his daydream Hagrid saw the sign for the shop selling cauldrons.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."

Hagrid was overwhelmed to finally show Harry Diagon Alley. Hagrid could see Harry's happiness,
looking in all directions to see as much of Diagon Alley as possible. A plump woman he recognised
outside one of the Apothecary's was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen
Sickles an ounce, they're mad...."

Hagrid loves dragons, so he thought that the woman was just as crazy as she sounded. “Dragons are
the most beautiful creatures in this world, why would someone wan’ to harm them let alone take their
liver?” Hagrid mumbled under his breath.  

Several boys about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.
Hagrid knew that it was the new Nimbus Two Thousand that the kids were looking at, and that it had
piqued Harry’s interest. Hagrid had never been able to ride a broomstick in his life, but it actually
never bothered him, he had other interests. Like riding a flying motorbike. It has the same function as
a broomstick, and it fits a half-giant like Hagrid better.

"Yeh’ gonna’ be able to get everythin’ you wan’ Harry, but there’s another business we need ter take
care of firs’.” said Hagrid.

They continued their way through Diagon Alley and stopped in front of the great bank.

"Gringotts," said Hagrid looking at the Goblin standing beside the bronze doors.

“Yeah, that’s a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him.
Hagrid looked down at the goblin and bowed his head to greet him. He was four times as big as the
goblin, but he knew that they were not to mess with. If you wanted to have your money, you had to
treat them with respect.

They entered the silver doors, and as usual, Hagrid looked upon the words engraved on 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

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," Hagrid reminded to Harry, even though he knew that the
kid would never had done such a thing.

Hagrid will now enter Gringotts for perhaps his hundredth time. “Everythin’ will probably be just as
usual.” He muttered to himself. “Bitter Goblins that yeh’ have ter’ be extremely polite to, big marble
halls, and the rollercoasting lookin’ railway with the incredibly small cart that always makes me sick.”

"Morning," said Hagrid when they arrived at the counter. "We've come ter take some money outta
Mr. Harry Potter's safe."

"You have his key, Sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter,
scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled
his nose at the sight.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin narrowed his eyes while holding the key close.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out
his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have Someone take you down to both vaults.
Griphook!"

Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed
Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me.
More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook opened the door. They went down to the little railway as usual. Griphook whistled and the
small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. “Oh I’m gettin’ outta’ here as soon as possible.
Not those bloody claustrophobic carts again.” Hagrid mumbled. They climbed in -- Hagrid with some
difficulty -- and were off.

Hagrid noticed that Harry was confused and lost. Not so strange, not even Hagrid could  remember
the way to the vault. The rattling cart knew its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Hagrid felt that they were soon at Harry's vault. He was so excited to see Harry's reaction when
Griphook was going to open the vault. Just wait until he sees it all, thought Hagrid.

They plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew
from the ceiling and floor.

“I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a
stalagmite and a stalactite?"

Hagrid could only just about answer Harry’s question every part of him was fighting to not be sick.

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be
sick."

The cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall.

“Wait!” Hagrid said. “Just let me rest for a while. Me’ legs are trembling like never before.
I'm gettin’ ter’ old for these small carts”

Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped.
Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"All yours," smiled Hagrid.

"Yeh didn' think yeh're mom and dad would leave yeh without nothin', did yeh?" Said Hagrid

Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to 59 a Galleon and twenty-nine
Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the
rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we
go more slowly?"

"One speed only," said Griphook.

Hagrid hated to ride those little carts, he hated it since the first time he came here with his father when
he was a child. As a half-giant, it was not particularly nice to go on a roller coaster in a cart built for
goblins. And to share it with two other people didn't make it more comfortable for him.

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they
hurtled round tight corners. Harry was trying to lean a little too far off the edge of the cart when
Hagrid grabbed him, and gave him a warning look before the cart slowed down at its destination.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and
it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there,"
said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

Hagrid didn’t like Goblins, Gringotts or the bloody carts. He did this because it was important
Hogwarts business and Dumbledore was relying on him. He would do just about anything for Albus,
but he was glad that this matter was soon taken care of.

When the vault was open, Hagrid walked in and picked up the dirty little package of brown paper
lying on the floor. Although Hagrid knew it was an extremely powerful and secret package, he did
everything to make it look as if it was just any old, ordinary package. Hagrid knew that Harry was a
curious boy, but he had nothing to do with this package. He picked it up and stuffed it deep inside his
coat.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth
shut," said Hagrid.