Reluctantly leaving the pet shop, Annie followed her newly made friend Hermione. The two of them walked down the main street of Diagon Alley, and before long they reached the middle of the Alley, near the intersection with Knockturn Alley. This was Gringotts Wizarding Bank, the largest and most unusual building in Diagon Alley, a towering structure of white marble.
Before the entrance to Gringotts, Annie blinked and furrowed her cute little brows, eyeing the strange building suspiciously. There was an aura inside that she didn't like. It seemed a lot like some creature she despised. That feeling was just awful!
Though she hated it, she still needed to go inside and exchange her money. Hermione, walking ahead of her, had already turned around several times to urge her on. Annie thought it over, then decided to go in after all. She'd just have to put up with it.
Following Hermione, Annie walked with her through the Bronze Door, then through a second, Silver Door, before entering the spacious Marble Hall. Dozens of goblins sat behind tall counters. Some were busy scribbling entries in large ledgers, others weighed coins on scales, and still others inspected jewels through eyeglasses. Several adult wizards stood in line at the counters, waiting patiently to conduct their business.
So they really were these disgusting monsters...
Annie understood as soon as she saw the creatures behind the counters. Outside the building, she'd already sensed that loathsome aura coming from them! It was the aura of insatiable greed. She'd known they would be greedy, ugly creatures! Little monsters called goblins existed on the Valoran Continent too, though the ones here seemed a little different from the ones Annie knew. Their auras were basically the same, though.
"Ugh! Why do these short monsters get to sit behind such tall counters?"
Standing before an unoccupied counter, Annie grumbled unhappily. The counters were far too tall! They must have been at least five feet high. Even adult wizards probably had to look up at those despicable goblins, didn't they? She couldn't understand why the mages here would let greedy monsters manage their money.
Annie hated these vile creatures, especially the way they looked down at her from their high seats. To her, they were nothing but filthy, despicable monsters. How dare they do this? If they were on Valoran, any ill-tempered mage would have burned one for looking down at them so arrogantly. Watching the wizards wait in line so meekly, Annie couldn't understand how they put up with the goblins.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, Annie," Hermione hurriedly whispered, gesturing for her to be quiet so the goblin above them wouldn't hear.
Having visited Gringotts many times, Hermione knew the goblins weren't particularly friendly toward wizards. Right now, she thought, it was best to exchange their Galleons quickly. There was no need to provoke them.
"I'd like to exchange one hundred and fifty pounds for Galleons, please!" After reminding Annie to keep quiet, Hermione turned and strained to reach up with a few pound notes.
But the goblin behind the counter didn't take the money right away. Instead, it lowered its head and glared down at Annie with a vicious look, staring at her for several seconds.
It had just heard what Annie said. When it saw Annie looking at it like that, she glared right back without the slightest restraint. So what if you're standing up high? You're a short monster. Jump down and I'll still be taller than you!
After a long while, the goblin finally gave up when it realized it couldn't do anything to little Annie.
Still, it let Hermione's outstretched arm tire until it was almost aching before finally turning to look at her. Then it deliberately waited a little longer before leisurely taking the notes. A moment later, it coldly pulled a small pouch of Galleons from beneath the counter and tossed it to Hermione. Its haughty, disdainful expression nearly made Annie explode with anger.
Hermione hurriedly caught the Galleons the goblin had tossed down and carefully put them in her purse. Then she gestured for Annie to take out the coins she wanted to exchange. But there were too many of them, and they were too heavy for Hermione to lift up.
Fortunately, clever Miss Granger knew the advanced Levitation Charm. She took the short wooden wand Annie had seen before from her pocket, pointed it at the large bag of coins, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The bag of coins slowly floated up and drifted all the way to the counter in front of the goblin they'd just dealt with.
Oh? Watching Hermione cast her spell, Annie found it quite fascinating!
If she hadn't misread what she'd just seen, the spell had required three things to work: gestures, an incantation, and help from a wand. But... did it really need to be so complicated?
"Sorry to trouble you. Could you exchange all these coins for Galleons as well? Thank you!"
Hermione put away her wand, looking very pleased with herself. She was quite satisfied with having cast the spell. She was only about to start her second year, yet plenty of older students couldn't cast it.
Hearing that they wanted to exchange a whole bag of coins, the goblin didn't keep them waiting this time. It quickly stood up and comically reached out with its small hands to grab the bag, which floated up to nearly its own height. When it opened the bag and looked inside, the golden gleam made its ridiculous eyes go wide and round in an instant! Then, as if it had thought of something, its eyes darted about before it quickly tied the bag shut again.
After tying the bag, it leaned forward and carefully inspected the two little girls beneath the counter. Its beady, misshapen eyes seemed to be thinking about something. At the same time, it glanced toward the crowd nearby. When it saw that hardly anyone had noticed what was happening, it thought for a little while longer.
As though it had made up its mind, it narrowed its eyes and swiftly cast a spell on the bag of coins, making it disappear completely. No one could tell where it had stashed it. Only after putting the bag away did it leisurely sit back down in its usual place behind the counter and continue writing, as if nothing had happened.
"Excuse me! Have our Galleons been exchanged yet?" After waiting for quite a while, Hermione grew impatient when she saw that the goblin was no longer paying them any attention, and spoke up.
By now, it had surely been long enough. It had taken their coins and written down plenty of things. Surely the exchange was finished? So where were their Galleons? A deposit receipt? A check would do too, if the wizarding bank offered checks.
Hearing Hermione's question, the goblin merely tilted its head and gave the two little girls a mocking look. Then it turned away again, picked up its quill, and resumed pretending to write in its large ledger.
If Annie had used her mind-reading spell on it then, she would have discovered the goblin's contemptuous thoughts: Coins? Hmph! You want coins? I haven't seen anything, and I certainly haven't seen any large bag of coins of unknown origin! What naïve little girls. Humans really are so stupid! Heh... I love idiots like these! They've brought me so many shiny treasures. I hope more foolish wizards like them come along!
"Hello, Mr. Goblin. Could you tell us where our coins are? It's been a long time. Surely you've finished exchanging them for us by now!" After waiting for quite a while longer and seeing that the goblin still showed no sign of helping them, Hermione remembered some unpleasant rumors. She quickly raised her voice a little and demanded an answer.
"Coins? What coins? Little human girl, didn't I already exchange those dozen or so Galleons for you? I saw you put them in your purse." The goblin looked at Hermione as if annoyed, then pointed at her purse with a thin, bony finger, signaling her to check.
"A dozen... a dozen or so Galleons?" Hermione instinctively followed the goblin's suggestion and felt inside her purse. It was hard and lumpy—that was the Galleons she'd just received for her one hundred and fifty pounds.
Hermione was left utterly baffled for a while. Then, when she realized what the goblin was really doing, she immediately understood! She looked up at it in disbelief.
Good heavens! Oh, Merlin! This goblin! It had actually dared to swindle them out of their coins in broad daylight! No wonder it had dragged things out for so long. It had never intended to exchange their coins honestly! Had it hidden and stolen the several thousand coins? What a shameless thief! A despicable crook!
"You! How dare you do this? You took our coins! You're a robber, a despicable goblin, a thief! A crook!" Hermione felt as though the whole world had gone wrong.
She'd just been in the wizarding bank to conduct some business, and one of the goblins had made off with a whole bag of her coins! They had to be worth at least several thousand Galleons... She couldn't let them simply disappear, so she shrieked in outrage.
Her voice immediately attracted the attention of the wizards nearby and the goblins at the other counters. Although they had no idea what had happened, they all turned to look, taking in the two little girls standing beneath the counter and the goblin employee above them, whose expression kept shifting.
Annie had been curiously looking around Gringotts, taking in the layout of the hall, when Hermione's scream made her turn around in confusion. Annie had no idea what had just happened. She hadn't been paying attention to them at all.
It was Tibbers who finally took malicious pleasure in telling her privately that the stupid, suicidal goblin had stolen her belongings. That was more or less what had happened.
Annie finally understood what was going on, but she wasn't all that angry. Confident that she could handle things, she didn't rush to act.
She wasn't particularly concerned about money or coins. She was just a little puzzled. Did they really think she was that easy to bully? Or had she been born with a face that screamed "pushover"? Ha! This was interesting. Very interesting!
Then she looked at the short, ugly goblin standing there with its nose in the air, and she grew even more annoyed. Since when had any lowlife like this dared to bully her for fun? It seemed she'd always had good reason to hate these creatures.
"Watch your words, little girl! Some things shouldn't be said carelessly. Otherwise, there'll be serious consequences!" The goblin pretended to be displeased as it stood up and walked to the edge of the counter. Leaning down, it warned Hermione in a low, menacing voice. It hoped she'd have the sense to behave. Otherwise, heh heh!
"You did! You took our coins and didn't exchange them for Galleons! You're a thief! A crook! A robber!" Seeing that the goblin was still trying to deny it, Hermione shouted furiously.
She'd only come to the Gringotts wizarding bank to take care of some business. She'd never imagined the bank would rob her instead! No one would believe her if she told them what had happened, would they? But it really had happened, right before Hermione Granger's eyes.
"Guards, guards! Come here! Take them away and turn them over to the Ministry of Magic. The charge: causing a disturbance at Gringotts. Make sure they're dealt with severely!" The goblin didn't want to argue any further and risk unnecessary trouble. Seeing that its warning hadn't worked, it snapped its fingers and summoned the bank guards.
The two guards on duty by the edge of the hall, dressed in Crimson-and-Gold Uniforms, came over at once. One was a tall human wizard who stepped in front of Annie and Hermione, blocking their view and looming over them. The other, a goblin guard, stood behind the girls, trapping them between the two guards.
Most human guards like these were adult wizards whom the goblins had hired at high salaries. They were every bit as powerful as ordinary Aurors. They had strong reserves of magic and quick reflexes, making them capable of handling basic security and helping the goblins deal with disputes between wizards and the bank. There were plenty of guards like them at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
"Ladies, please cooperate with us." The human guard standing in front of them stared expressionlessly at Hermione. He ignored Annie, who was even smaller. He didn't think the little girl could cause much trouble, while the older girl, who looked like a student in her early teens, was worth keeping an eye on. She might know quite a few spells.
"You... you still dare to do this?" Hermione was so angry she could barely speak.
At just twelve years old, still inexperienced in the ways of the world, she'd just learned a harsh lesson about reality! Blinded by anger, she was about to pull out her wand and teach that awful goblin a lesson.
Seeing Hermione reach for something, the two guards exchanged a glance. The human guard in front quickly stepped forward and firmly grabbed Hermione's hand. Behind them, the goblin guard immediately pressed a hand to Annie's shoulder. They intended to forcibly take the two little girls away. They were only children, after all, and the guards didn't plan to use their wands just yet.
"Little girl, this is your final warning! Come with us to the Ministry of Magic willingly, or we'll use spells." After grabbing Hermione's hand, the human guard stared coldly into the frightened girl's eyes. With his other hand, he swiftly pulled a wand from her pocket—the wand Hermione had just been about to take out.
The goblin guard didn't bother being so careful. Goblins weren't friendly toward humans. It put its strength into its grip and tried to shove Annie down onto the floor, intending to tie her up and take her away. Maybe it could add another charge against the two human girls now: attempting to use a wand inside Gringotts Wizarding Bank, with malicious intent!
"Waaah!!"
The goblin guard had just started pushing down on Annie's shoulder when the flames that suddenly erupted around her caught its entire hand alight. The fire, no longer in contact with Annie, immediately spread toward its shoulder like Fiendfyre.
It shrieked in agony and stumbled back several steps before collapsing onto the ground and rolling around. It seemed to be trying to put out the terrible flames on its body that way.
"You... filthy... monsters! You actually... dared... to steal... my money?!" Annie raised her head, her little face tight, and spoke one word at a time. More importantly, that goblin behind her had dared to put its filthy hand on her shoulder.
As soon as she finished speaking, red flames blazed around Annie. Her eyes had turned bright with heat, glowing fiery red like molten rock as she swept her gaze over the goblins at the counters.
Annie had never liked those nasty goblins in the first place! And now they'd given her the perfect chance to lose her temper. Ha ha! Come on, then! Let's see how you like standing up high and stealing my money!
"You're asking for death!!!"
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