Terror at Gringotts

Good things bring good moods.

Cypher released the snowy owl from his shoulder, letting it soar freely in the sky.

Seeing that it was still early, nowhere near sunset.

Iris, without a word, grabbed the sky-gazing Cypher, who seemed lost in thought, and dragged him along to continue shopping.

Passing by an ice cream shop, Iris's eyes lit up.

She quickened her pace to the counter.

"Hello! I'll take this one! Yes, yes! The blue one!"

Iris said excitedly to the young woman behind the counter.

"Deep Sea Waves! First time here, little miss? This is the most popular flavor every summer. In winter, it's Volcanic Passion—you're welcome to come and try it then."

The saleswoman skillfully prepared Iris's order, rattling off the polite small talk while sneaking in a little advertisement.

"Alright, I'll bring my friend to taste it."

Noticing the saleswoman's eyes occasionally flicking to her side, Iris remembered she had dragged Cypher here.

She quickly pulled him forward.

"Uh—"

Pushed to the front, Cypher stared at the array of flavors, at a loss.

"Give me the same as hers!"

"Alright! That'll be three Sickles!"

Cypher froze, turning to look at Iris.

Iris stuck out her tongue and slipped a Galleon from Cypher's side, handing it over.

The woman swiftly handed them their ice creams and change. Cypher struggled to make sense of it all, while Iris carelessly tossed the coins into her small satchel.

They found an empty table facing each other and sat down.

No sooner had they settled than Iris eagerly picked up her small spoon and scooped a mouthful of ice cream.

The strange texture, paired with a slight chill that tingled through her whole body.

Iris let out an exclamation of delight.

Seeing this, Cypher, despite the topping looking like some creature's eggs, steeled himself and took a bite.

Like mint-infused popping candy!

The two silently finished their ice creams.

"Cypher, I forgot to tell you. The owl right now doesn't know where your home is, because there's no magical mark there."

"So? I'll just have my owl find you when I get home, won't I?"

Looking at Iris, who was lightly tapping her cheek with one finger and frowning in slight distress, Cypher didn't understand.

"It's not that. Well, that's important too—remember, when you get home, have your owl come find me!"

"What I mean is, look at all the stuff you bought!"

With that, Iris opened her small satchel and waved her wand.

Cypher's textbooks, cauldron, wizard robe, and a mess of other things piled up, covering the entire small table.

Right, how am I supposed to take this back?

And... looking at the brand-new textbooks.

Iris must have secretly paid quite a bit for me, right?

"Come on! Let's go to Gringotts with me!"

Just as he was about to ask why, a memory surfaced in Cypher's mind.

"Gringotts is the Wizarding Bank?"

Iris glanced at him with a hint of surprise.

"Yes! But it's run by goblins, serving wizards."

With another wave of her hand, the items on the table vanished into Iris's satchel.

"Let's go!"

Gringotts stood at the center of Diagon Alley.

It was a towering white building, its walls covered in intricate patterns.

Iris dragged Cypher, who was captivated by the building's exterior, along.

They climbed flight after flight of stairs to reach Gringotts' entrance.

Gringotts' first door was a gleaming set of bronze doors, flanked by goblin guards in scarlet-and-gold uniforms, who bowed to customers as they arrived.

The second door was silver, with the following words engraved upon it:

[Enter, stranger, but take heed]

The floor and walls, thick with the weight of years, paired with bright crystal chandeliers overhead.

It truly gave a sense of steadiness, security, and trustworthiness.

Passing through the second silver door into a spacious marble hall, about a hundred or so goblins sat behind long counters, hastily scribbling into large ledgers.

Some weighed coins on scales, others inspected gems with eyepieces.

Cypher couldn't understand—why work in plain view of outsiders? Was it to show off their work ethic and attitude? Weren't they afraid of outside interference?

Iris pulled Cypher over to the service area.

A sturdy goblin sat on a high stool, head down, writing something unknown.

"I want to withdraw—"

Before Iris could finish her sentence.

The hairs on the back of Cypher's neck stood on end.

Without a second thought, he pressed Iris to the ground.

At the far end of the hall was a narrow passage.

Passing through it, one could take a cart down to the underground vaults.

But at that moment, someone was using brute force to break through the security mechanisms within.

The wall exploded, stones flying everywhere.

In that critical moment, Cypher thought of the strange spell he had devised and named "Mage Hand."

No wand needed.

As long as he supplied enough magic and held firm conviction.

The flying rubble was blocked by Cypher behind his back.

"Quick, behind the table!"

Before the explosion's dust had even settled.

The two scrambled and crawled behind a table.

"What—ugh—"

The goblins in the hall, after a brief daze, realized what was happening.

They shouted, cursing in both English and Gobbledegook.

Cypher clamped his hand over Iris's mouth.

He tried to minimize his presence, silently praying that the attacker would leave quickly.

He was far too weak now, utterly powerless to resist.

Sure enough, another explosion rang out.

The shockwave surged past both sides of the table.

In his panic, Cypher tightly hugged Iris, whose body was equally stiff.

Clack, clack—

Footsteps came from the passage.

From the sound, the newcomer was facing a goblin resisting him.

But from the goblin's labored breathing, he was already at his last gasp.

"No way? Did the Ministry of Magic really think we wouldn't know they moved this thing to Gringotts?"

"Tell your Minister Hector Fawley, his little ideas are laughable."

As the words fell, another voice came weakly.

"Gringotts—as long as one of us stands, you won't take it out!"

Hearing this, Cypher cursed the Gringotts goblins in his heart. Just send this plague away, would you? If the two of them were discovered, their lives would depend entirely on the intruder's whim.

"Forget it, I've got the goods anyway. I have to say, chaining a Fire Dragon outside your vault was something I didn't expect. It cost me some time."

"Ah! The Portkey's time is almost up. No more playing with you. Bye~"

Boom—

Another violent explosion.

Perhaps the intruder had already fled Gringotts.

At any rate, the scene fell silent, save for the crackling of flames licking at wood.

Cypher had never imagined death could be so close.

After a long while.

His trembling hand finally left Iris's mouth, yet his mind was still a blur.

Iris, too, realized she was temporarily safe, but she was still terrified.

So she turned and threw herself into Cypher's arms, unmoving for a long, long time.