Chapter 1 Part 3
- Location
- not here
Chapter 1 part 3
For the people of London Charring Cross Road was, to put it bluntly, just another road in the centre of London. There were tall, aged buildings, store fronts, bus stations. Ordinary, every-day stuff. There was nothing interesting to look at, and certainly nothing to feel excited about.
To young Harry Potter the place seemed far more interesting. The crowds and noise were not something you got to experience living in the quiet neighbourhood of Little Whinging. And thus when Harry first stepped out of the car he felt a bit overwhelmed with it all.
Thankfully the experience didn't last long, thanks in big part to professor Snape walking briskly a few steps ahead. There was just something about the man, that made people step out of his way, creating a little bauble of space around him and Harry.
If he was to place his bet he would say it was the scowl. And as if because of that thought, the man's eyes suddenly snapped to him and his brow furrowed. Harry quickly cast his eyes down, not wanting to provoke another talk. Honestly. If not for the circumstances he was quite sure he would hate Snape with a passion by now.
The first thing, and he meant the very first thing Snape did after stopping in a free spot down the street, before even turning the engine down or unbuckling his belts, was to turn and glare at him. What followed was harsh and long lecture about 'regulations on muggle interactions' whatever that meant. The lecture somehow did not cover that part. What it covered instead was how he would behave and keep quiet, if he wanted to avoid the legal consequences. And then it covered how he didn't really need to worry about the legal issues because if he did anything, and Snape meant absolutely anything to step out of line, Snape would personally turn him into a rat and drown in the nearest drainage pit.
And it really didn't sound as if he was joking. That scowl of him could be really scary. Then again he got to practice a lot. Harry didn't think he would seen the man wear any other expression since he met him. So were the circumstances any different he would probably hate him with a passion by now.
But as it was, the man was only a little bit more condescending than uncle Vernon, and a great deal scarier. Plus he was a honest-to-god professor of alchemy at a real school of magic. And if that wasn't enough, he was now taking Harry towards the hidden entrance to the magical district of London.
As a result Harry was too busy brimming with excitement to really pay attention to what Snape did and did not do. His head kept tuning every which way, frantically looking for anything that looked like it might be a secret hidden entrance, but nothing really struck him as unusual. Not that he really knew what was usual and unusual in a place like this, but that just added to a challenge.
It was probably part of reason that, when Snape suddenly stopped in front of a nondescript door, Harry didn't, and walked right into him. It was like walking straight into a lamp post. The man didn't seem to follow the laws of physics, or maybe he just decided that they were only general suggestions, and didn't really garner more than a passing notice.
So when Harry stumbled back confusedly, Snape stood on unmoved and only glared at him sharply.
"Pay attention Potter. We are here."
Harry was about to ask where was here exactly, but before he could as much as open his mouth, professor Snape was already pushing the door and stepping inside.
And the inside was... not what Harry would expect from a secret entrance. Well, he wasn't really sure what it was he expected the hidden entrance to look like, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't... what looked like a perfectly ordinary eating place. The interior was smallish, with wooden floor, panelled walls, and ordinary furnishings, if perhaps a little dated in appearance. At the tables perfectly ordinary people were drinking what looked like perfectly ordinary beverages, or eating perfectly ordinary food. From perfectly ordinary speakers, came perfectly ordinary music. It just screamed plain and boring, and distinctly lacked anything that would so much as hint of 'magic'.
By that point he really wanted to voice his disappointment, but of course his guardian didn't bother to pause and wait for his opinion. He was already stalking towards the back of the room and only turned slightly to send him another warning look. With a twitch of annoyance, Harry followed sullenly behind.
He didn't even notice the patrons looking at them curiously, or whispering among themselves. He just followed Snape, as the man passed the bar without second glance, and then went into a small back room filled with boxes and barrels to the point of being cramped. Only once they went through the next door, and into a small, empty backyard, did Harry stop and blink in confusion.
Because there was nothing there. And he didn't mean nothing interesting. Just plain nothing. Only the ground and bare concrete walls with no other path in sight, save from the one they used to enter.
Harry paused unsure. Professor Snape did not. He stepped forward with his usual confident stride, until he was in the middle of the small yard.
"Recludo." he spoke, and Harry jumped startled.
Suddenly the ground under their feet shone with a brilliant circular design, like one of those magic circles that he saw in fantasy games they sometimes played with Dudley. But before he could take a closer look, it faded, and Harry was left blinking away the afterimage.
When he looked up, there was an open doorway in front of them, where previously there was none. And was it just him, or were the walls different than before...
"We don't have all day, Potter." the harsh voice of Professor Snape almost made him jump again. He was already going through.
What followed was like stepping into a fairy-tale. If what he saw in Leaky Cauldron was less than what he expected then Diagon Alley was more. So much more.
Harry was watching everything with wide eyes, snapping his head back and forth, trying and failing to absorb it all at once.
There was a statue of a woman in billowing robes holding a glowing staff.
There was a store-front shaped like an dragon maw, with a display of skins, and what looked like horns, only the size of his leg.
There was a display window full of brooms, but sleek and painted in all sorts of colours.
And there were people. Some in robes, some dressed like from a costume drama, and some in ordinary business suits. Some were holding staffs, or using canes. Some even had swords at their hips or backs. And he could have sworn he'd seen a woman with oversized cat ears sticking out the sides of her head.
And throughout It all, Snape was stalking in a swift stride, and people were still moving out of his way. There was just something about the man when he stalked that spelled danger. It spoke to the primal, subconscious part of your mind. A few times Harry wanted to call him, to ask him to stop for a moment, but each time something stopped him, seemingly screaming 'bad idea!'. So he followed after Snape, running every few steps not be left behind, and just doing his best to look in all directions at once, trying not to miss anything.
When they finally stopped it was at the steps of what looked to Harry like one of those ancient Roman structures, only in the peak of its glory. All marble walls, and pristine white pillars, and the doorway of heavy gold trimmed wood, that must have been like ten feet tall with how it towered over him. And on each side of the gates, stood an even taller statue, both holding what looked like spears, only twice as large. Harry had a distinct feeling that the statues were alive, and observing him, even though their heads showed only clear, blank surfaces where there should have been faces.
"Potter" his guardians voice brought him back, and he realised he had been staring, with his eyes and mouth wide open. His mouth clicked shut audibly and he turned to listen. "We are about to step into Gringotts, and goblins do not like anyone who disturbs the order. You will not dawdle, you will not wander around, and you will not gape like a lunatic. You will follow me and stay quiet. I will not have this turn into a spectacle. Am I understood?"
Harry only nodded mutely. It wasn't like he could do nothing else. For all the constant nagging was annoying, opposing Snape just seemed like a plain bad idea.
"Good, let's go."
The interior of the bank was very much what you would expect from seeing the outside. Most of the space was a large, mostly empty hall, about fifteen feet tall flanked by rows of pillars. Opposite the door there was a wide staircase which led to a decorative cloister going along the three walls. In each corner of the hall stood one of the spear-wielding statues. Harry felt overwhelmed by sheer scale of it all.
His feet moved without conscious thought, following Professor Snape, as he strode forward without pause. They were moving towards the left wall, where under the gallery there was a row of cubicles and desks all manned by elegantly dressed man and woman. It looked suspiciously like what you would expect to see in any other bank or office, with flat computer screens, stacks of papers, and everything. It also looked completely incongruous with the rest of the great hall, as if someone cut floor from some random customer service floor, and without changing the furnishing style, dropped it straight into ancient fantasy setting.
Harry thought he should have been more surprised, but at this point, it barely gave him a pause. He supposed there was a limit to how much new and strange things you could see before your brain abandoned its expectations and just accepted the strange as the new norm.
A moment later he was sitting down in the customer chair at one of the previously free service desks, to the left of similarly seated Severus Snape. A woman behind the desks looked up from the screen and smiled at them warmly.
"Welcome to Gringotts, how may I help you?"
"I have a withdrawal to make from the account of Mr. Potter here."
"Okay, that will be just..." the woman started to say and type something on the keyboard, when her fingers stopped mid-stroke. She blinked, and looked back to Snape, and then slowly turned towards Harry. "Ah, P-Potter... as in the..." she started.
"Yes." the word was spoken with so much venom that it could drop an elephant. Or possibly drown it.
It was more than enough, that the woman immediately snapped at attention, eyes wide and staring. It took her a moment, but she visibly took control of herself, and sheepishly looked back to the screen.
"Of course, one moment please..." she muttered, and Harry may have imagined it, but her cheeks seemed to flush a bit. But even as she began to type something frantically, Harry caught her eyes glimpsing towards himself. What followed was a very awkward moment, as the woman was trying to work, even though she was obviously distracted, professor Snape was glowering between her and him, and Harry himself had wanted to ask what It was all about, but didn't quite dare, what with the man already angry as it was.
"D- Do you have the key?" the woman spoke, what seemed a hundred years later, but must have only been a minute.
Without a word Professor Snape reached towards an inner pocket on his jacket and pulled out the key. It was perhaps the strangest key Harry has ever seen in his life, all made of golden wire, twisting into an elaborate handle, and an even more elaborate head, that looked like a contemporary art take on the rear end of a broom.
The clerk took it from his hand, and in a smooth motion put it into a strange box placed on the desk, and twisted. A second later a small chime sounded, and a green diode lit at the edge of the box.
"The operation is authorised." the woman announced, her voice less shaky. "How much would you like to withdraw."
"One hundred drachmae."
"Right away."
She kicked of and rolled on her office char towards a small safe at the wall behind her, which clicked open. A moment later she was back, and handing Professor Snape a small pouch. The woman smiled hesitantly, casting another covert look at Harry.
"Will there be something else?"
"Indeed." said Snape, and his voice sounded positively menacing.
~•~
"What was that?" Harry asked, the moment the giant doorway closed behind them, the question simply exploding out of his lips, without stopping it.
"Not your business, Potter" Snape replied with scathing voice. He was already moving ahead, without pausing, and Harry followed too preoccupied to even notice they were moving.
"No, not that that. I meant the giant, horned thing."
"Ah. That." there was a pause. Then in a much calmer tone came the answer. "Just a dragon, Potter."
"That was a dragon?" Harry asked in incredulity. It didn't look anything like Harry would imagine a dragon. Sure it was a lizard. Well lizard-ish, and big as a train. But it was closer to a worm or a snake, well, if there were worms or snakes made out of few tones of stone. No, what it resembled the most was an oversized thread of beads, only instead of beads there were rough, moss-covered boulders as wide, as he was tall. If not wider.
"A cavewyrm. One of the prominent types of earth dragons."
"Oh." said Harry smartly. He still had trouble wrapping his head around it. Well, he had trouble wrapping his head around anything at that moment, it was still spinning from all he had seen.
When he was entering Gringotts, he thought naively that he would seen everything, and that his disbelief was finally out of the window and done with. When Snape declared that they needed to extract an item from secure deposit, Harry's imagination hopefully provided an image of a big safe, only sturdier, and much, much bigger.
Instead there was a long ride in a futuristic elevator, an even longer ride in a crazy cross between a magnet train and a roller coaster, and passing three increasingly bigger and more impenetrable gates. Also more of the strange armed statues. Only bigger. And of course the... cave worm... or wyrm. Harry almost screamed when he saw it, even from half a mile away.
And all that to withdraw a tiny parcel that comfortably fit inside Snape's pocket. Harry had no idea what it could have been, but it must have been important, with all that security.
And throughout it all, Harry was careful not to step out of line, or ask to many questions. It helped that most of the time he was too busy staring to think about asking questions. But he didn't really want to find out what goblins did to trespassers. From what he had learned from fantasy books and games, goblins were universally cruel and evil. Actually come to think of it...
"What about goblins?" he decided to ask.
"What of them?"
"You said something about goblins, when we were going in." Harry supplied with some irritation. Couldn't Snape give a single simple answer? "We didn't see any."
"There isn't a goblin community outside of Mundus Magicus, Potter."
"But you said..."
"What I said," interrupted Snape in a caustic tone. "is that Gringotts is run by goblins. The same way that Samsung is run by Koreans, and Volkswagen by Germans. There are perhaps a dozen goblins overseeing the British branch of Gringotts, and they would hardly deign to occupy themselves with customer service."
Harry opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but was interrupted by another starting discovery.
"Wait, didn't we already pass that shop?" he asked pointing towards the unmistakable dragon-head-like exterior, some way ahead of them. This one looked much more like a proper fantasy dragon.
"Yes, Potter. How very observant." Snape's tone positively dripped with sarcasm.
"Bu- But, we came from that side!" he exclaimed pointing behind them."
"Be quiet, Potter. I told you, the Diagon Alley does not end. It loops."
Harry stared at him incomprehensibly.
"It means that it's end meets with it's beginning." Snape added impatiently.
"Wait, you can do that?!"
Notes
1. Yeah, so I would like to say I will be updating more regularly from now on. Except I don't know if I will, so let's settle for 'I'll do my best'.
2. It's magic.
3. Also dragons. And cat-girls. Or at least one cat-girl (there is actually a reason for only one being there, honest).
4. So my try for a Negima-esque Diagon Alley. Let me know if you liked it. Or hated it. Or spaghetti. I can try to add more crazy
For the people of London Charring Cross Road was, to put it bluntly, just another road in the centre of London. There were tall, aged buildings, store fronts, bus stations. Ordinary, every-day stuff. There was nothing interesting to look at, and certainly nothing to feel excited about.
To young Harry Potter the place seemed far more interesting. The crowds and noise were not something you got to experience living in the quiet neighbourhood of Little Whinging. And thus when Harry first stepped out of the car he felt a bit overwhelmed with it all.
Thankfully the experience didn't last long, thanks in big part to professor Snape walking briskly a few steps ahead. There was just something about the man, that made people step out of his way, creating a little bauble of space around him and Harry.
If he was to place his bet he would say it was the scowl. And as if because of that thought, the man's eyes suddenly snapped to him and his brow furrowed. Harry quickly cast his eyes down, not wanting to provoke another talk. Honestly. If not for the circumstances he was quite sure he would hate Snape with a passion by now.
The first thing, and he meant the very first thing Snape did after stopping in a free spot down the street, before even turning the engine down or unbuckling his belts, was to turn and glare at him. What followed was harsh and long lecture about 'regulations on muggle interactions' whatever that meant. The lecture somehow did not cover that part. What it covered instead was how he would behave and keep quiet, if he wanted to avoid the legal consequences. And then it covered how he didn't really need to worry about the legal issues because if he did anything, and Snape meant absolutely anything to step out of line, Snape would personally turn him into a rat and drown in the nearest drainage pit.
And it really didn't sound as if he was joking. That scowl of him could be really scary. Then again he got to practice a lot. Harry didn't think he would seen the man wear any other expression since he met him. So were the circumstances any different he would probably hate him with a passion by now.
But as it was, the man was only a little bit more condescending than uncle Vernon, and a great deal scarier. Plus he was a honest-to-god professor of alchemy at a real school of magic. And if that wasn't enough, he was now taking Harry towards the hidden entrance to the magical district of London.
As a result Harry was too busy brimming with excitement to really pay attention to what Snape did and did not do. His head kept tuning every which way, frantically looking for anything that looked like it might be a secret hidden entrance, but nothing really struck him as unusual. Not that he really knew what was usual and unusual in a place like this, but that just added to a challenge.
It was probably part of reason that, when Snape suddenly stopped in front of a nondescript door, Harry didn't, and walked right into him. It was like walking straight into a lamp post. The man didn't seem to follow the laws of physics, or maybe he just decided that they were only general suggestions, and didn't really garner more than a passing notice.
So when Harry stumbled back confusedly, Snape stood on unmoved and only glared at him sharply.
"Pay attention Potter. We are here."
Harry was about to ask where was here exactly, but before he could as much as open his mouth, professor Snape was already pushing the door and stepping inside.
And the inside was... not what Harry would expect from a secret entrance. Well, he wasn't really sure what it was he expected the hidden entrance to look like, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't... what looked like a perfectly ordinary eating place. The interior was smallish, with wooden floor, panelled walls, and ordinary furnishings, if perhaps a little dated in appearance. At the tables perfectly ordinary people were drinking what looked like perfectly ordinary beverages, or eating perfectly ordinary food. From perfectly ordinary speakers, came perfectly ordinary music. It just screamed plain and boring, and distinctly lacked anything that would so much as hint of 'magic'.
By that point he really wanted to voice his disappointment, but of course his guardian didn't bother to pause and wait for his opinion. He was already stalking towards the back of the room and only turned slightly to send him another warning look. With a twitch of annoyance, Harry followed sullenly behind.
He didn't even notice the patrons looking at them curiously, or whispering among themselves. He just followed Snape, as the man passed the bar without second glance, and then went into a small back room filled with boxes and barrels to the point of being cramped. Only once they went through the next door, and into a small, empty backyard, did Harry stop and blink in confusion.
Because there was nothing there. And he didn't mean nothing interesting. Just plain nothing. Only the ground and bare concrete walls with no other path in sight, save from the one they used to enter.
Harry paused unsure. Professor Snape did not. He stepped forward with his usual confident stride, until he was in the middle of the small yard.
"Recludo." he spoke, and Harry jumped startled.
Suddenly the ground under their feet shone with a brilliant circular design, like one of those magic circles that he saw in fantasy games they sometimes played with Dudley. But before he could take a closer look, it faded, and Harry was left blinking away the afterimage.
When he looked up, there was an open doorway in front of them, where previously there was none. And was it just him, or were the walls different than before...
"We don't have all day, Potter." the harsh voice of Professor Snape almost made him jump again. He was already going through.
What followed was like stepping into a fairy-tale. If what he saw in Leaky Cauldron was less than what he expected then Diagon Alley was more. So much more.
Harry was watching everything with wide eyes, snapping his head back and forth, trying and failing to absorb it all at once.
There was a statue of a woman in billowing robes holding a glowing staff.
There was a store-front shaped like an dragon maw, with a display of skins, and what looked like horns, only the size of his leg.
There was a display window full of brooms, but sleek and painted in all sorts of colours.
And there were people. Some in robes, some dressed like from a costume drama, and some in ordinary business suits. Some were holding staffs, or using canes. Some even had swords at their hips or backs. And he could have sworn he'd seen a woman with oversized cat ears sticking out the sides of her head.
And throughout It all, Snape was stalking in a swift stride, and people were still moving out of his way. There was just something about the man when he stalked that spelled danger. It spoke to the primal, subconscious part of your mind. A few times Harry wanted to call him, to ask him to stop for a moment, but each time something stopped him, seemingly screaming 'bad idea!'. So he followed after Snape, running every few steps not be left behind, and just doing his best to look in all directions at once, trying not to miss anything.
When they finally stopped it was at the steps of what looked to Harry like one of those ancient Roman structures, only in the peak of its glory. All marble walls, and pristine white pillars, and the doorway of heavy gold trimmed wood, that must have been like ten feet tall with how it towered over him. And on each side of the gates, stood an even taller statue, both holding what looked like spears, only twice as large. Harry had a distinct feeling that the statues were alive, and observing him, even though their heads showed only clear, blank surfaces where there should have been faces.
"Potter" his guardians voice brought him back, and he realised he had been staring, with his eyes and mouth wide open. His mouth clicked shut audibly and he turned to listen. "We are about to step into Gringotts, and goblins do not like anyone who disturbs the order. You will not dawdle, you will not wander around, and you will not gape like a lunatic. You will follow me and stay quiet. I will not have this turn into a spectacle. Am I understood?"
Harry only nodded mutely. It wasn't like he could do nothing else. For all the constant nagging was annoying, opposing Snape just seemed like a plain bad idea.
"Good, let's go."
The interior of the bank was very much what you would expect from seeing the outside. Most of the space was a large, mostly empty hall, about fifteen feet tall flanked by rows of pillars. Opposite the door there was a wide staircase which led to a decorative cloister going along the three walls. In each corner of the hall stood one of the spear-wielding statues. Harry felt overwhelmed by sheer scale of it all.
His feet moved without conscious thought, following Professor Snape, as he strode forward without pause. They were moving towards the left wall, where under the gallery there was a row of cubicles and desks all manned by elegantly dressed man and woman. It looked suspiciously like what you would expect to see in any other bank or office, with flat computer screens, stacks of papers, and everything. It also looked completely incongruous with the rest of the great hall, as if someone cut floor from some random customer service floor, and without changing the furnishing style, dropped it straight into ancient fantasy setting.
Harry thought he should have been more surprised, but at this point, it barely gave him a pause. He supposed there was a limit to how much new and strange things you could see before your brain abandoned its expectations and just accepted the strange as the new norm.
A moment later he was sitting down in the customer chair at one of the previously free service desks, to the left of similarly seated Severus Snape. A woman behind the desks looked up from the screen and smiled at them warmly.
"Welcome to Gringotts, how may I help you?"
"I have a withdrawal to make from the account of Mr. Potter here."
"Okay, that will be just..." the woman started to say and type something on the keyboard, when her fingers stopped mid-stroke. She blinked, and looked back to Snape, and then slowly turned towards Harry. "Ah, P-Potter... as in the..." she started.
"Yes." the word was spoken with so much venom that it could drop an elephant. Or possibly drown it.
It was more than enough, that the woman immediately snapped at attention, eyes wide and staring. It took her a moment, but she visibly took control of herself, and sheepishly looked back to the screen.
"Of course, one moment please..." she muttered, and Harry may have imagined it, but her cheeks seemed to flush a bit. But even as she began to type something frantically, Harry caught her eyes glimpsing towards himself. What followed was a very awkward moment, as the woman was trying to work, even though she was obviously distracted, professor Snape was glowering between her and him, and Harry himself had wanted to ask what It was all about, but didn't quite dare, what with the man already angry as it was.
"D- Do you have the key?" the woman spoke, what seemed a hundred years later, but must have only been a minute.
Without a word Professor Snape reached towards an inner pocket on his jacket and pulled out the key. It was perhaps the strangest key Harry has ever seen in his life, all made of golden wire, twisting into an elaborate handle, and an even more elaborate head, that looked like a contemporary art take on the rear end of a broom.
The clerk took it from his hand, and in a smooth motion put it into a strange box placed on the desk, and twisted. A second later a small chime sounded, and a green diode lit at the edge of the box.
"The operation is authorised." the woman announced, her voice less shaky. "How much would you like to withdraw."
"One hundred drachmae."
"Right away."
She kicked of and rolled on her office char towards a small safe at the wall behind her, which clicked open. A moment later she was back, and handing Professor Snape a small pouch. The woman smiled hesitantly, casting another covert look at Harry.
"Will there be something else?"
"Indeed." said Snape, and his voice sounded positively menacing.
~•~
"What was that?" Harry asked, the moment the giant doorway closed behind them, the question simply exploding out of his lips, without stopping it.
"Not your business, Potter" Snape replied with scathing voice. He was already moving ahead, without pausing, and Harry followed too preoccupied to even notice they were moving.
"No, not that that. I meant the giant, horned thing."
"Ah. That." there was a pause. Then in a much calmer tone came the answer. "Just a dragon, Potter."
"That was a dragon?" Harry asked in incredulity. It didn't look anything like Harry would imagine a dragon. Sure it was a lizard. Well lizard-ish, and big as a train. But it was closer to a worm or a snake, well, if there were worms or snakes made out of few tones of stone. No, what it resembled the most was an oversized thread of beads, only instead of beads there were rough, moss-covered boulders as wide, as he was tall. If not wider.
"A cavewyrm. One of the prominent types of earth dragons."
"Oh." said Harry smartly. He still had trouble wrapping his head around it. Well, he had trouble wrapping his head around anything at that moment, it was still spinning from all he had seen.
When he was entering Gringotts, he thought naively that he would seen everything, and that his disbelief was finally out of the window and done with. When Snape declared that they needed to extract an item from secure deposit, Harry's imagination hopefully provided an image of a big safe, only sturdier, and much, much bigger.
Instead there was a long ride in a futuristic elevator, an even longer ride in a crazy cross between a magnet train and a roller coaster, and passing three increasingly bigger and more impenetrable gates. Also more of the strange armed statues. Only bigger. And of course the... cave worm... or wyrm. Harry almost screamed when he saw it, even from half a mile away.
And all that to withdraw a tiny parcel that comfortably fit inside Snape's pocket. Harry had no idea what it could have been, but it must have been important, with all that security.
And throughout it all, Harry was careful not to step out of line, or ask to many questions. It helped that most of the time he was too busy staring to think about asking questions. But he didn't really want to find out what goblins did to trespassers. From what he had learned from fantasy books and games, goblins were universally cruel and evil. Actually come to think of it...
"What about goblins?" he decided to ask.
"What of them?"
"You said something about goblins, when we were going in." Harry supplied with some irritation. Couldn't Snape give a single simple answer? "We didn't see any."
"There isn't a goblin community outside of Mundus Magicus, Potter."
"But you said..."
"What I said," interrupted Snape in a caustic tone. "is that Gringotts is run by goblins. The same way that Samsung is run by Koreans, and Volkswagen by Germans. There are perhaps a dozen goblins overseeing the British branch of Gringotts, and they would hardly deign to occupy themselves with customer service."
Harry opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but was interrupted by another starting discovery.
"Wait, didn't we already pass that shop?" he asked pointing towards the unmistakable dragon-head-like exterior, some way ahead of them. This one looked much more like a proper fantasy dragon.
"Yes, Potter. How very observant." Snape's tone positively dripped with sarcasm.
"Bu- But, we came from that side!" he exclaimed pointing behind them."
"Be quiet, Potter. I told you, the Diagon Alley does not end. It loops."
Harry stared at him incomprehensibly.
"It means that it's end meets with it's beginning." Snape added impatiently.
"Wait, you can do that?!"
Notes
1. Yeah, so I would like to say I will be updating more regularly from now on. Except I don't know if I will, so let's settle for 'I'll do my best'.
2. It's magic.
3. Also dragons. And cat-girls. Or at least one cat-girl (there is actually a reason for only one being there, honest).
4. So my try for a Negima-esque Diagon Alley. Let me know if you liked it. Or hated it. Or spaghetti. I can try to add more crazy
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