The Vault, the Cup; Shopping

The Christmas holidays at Hogwarts were not long, only about three weeks, from mid-December to early January.

Will stayed at Lestrange Manor for three days. On December 29, Roy took him and Sylvia to Diagon Alley. Will needed to buy ingredients for potion brewing, while Sylvia wanted to make up for not having gone shopping at Christmas.

First, however, Roy took Will to Gringotts.

The goblins clearly recognized Roy, and their service could even be described as deferential. Will could not help remembering the first time he had exchanged pounds for Galleons, when these goblins' attitude could only be called awful.

They boarded a little goblin mine cart with no speed control and headed underground.

Sylvia straightened her disheveled hair while glaring at the goblin guiding them. The excessive speed had completely ruined the hair she had so carefully styled that morning.

The goblin avoided the young lady's gaze and gestured for them to proceed.

"1982 was the last time we had contact with Lord Vincent. He removed the magic from the Lestrange Vault and deposited all those things in this vault," Roy explained quietly in Will's ear. "Lord Vincent said there were some dangerous objects among them, but his descendant would certainly be able to avoid those dangerous things."

Will took out the key Roy had given him and opened the vault that now belonged to him. He had already guessed what the dangerous object was-one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Hufflepuff's Cup.

Beyond the vault door were piles of gold Galleons and silver Sickles. Will frowned slightly at the heaps of gold coins. Although there was certainly considerable wealth here, it was noticeably less than the mountain of treasure he remembered.

Still, the Lestrange family vault had been divided into three, after all, and this third was already quite substantial.

Will swept his gaze over the contents. On the innermost pile of Galleons sat a gleaming golden cup.

Will had guessed correctly. The cup really had fallen into his hands.

He did not pay it much attention, though. It was Voldemort's Horcrux, after all, and he would at least need a basilisk fang to destroy it.

Will had only come to withdraw Galleons this time.

A quarter of an hour later, Will and Sylvia began browsing Diagon Alley, while Roy went into a large shop. Will saw him warmly greet another old man with white hair and a large belly.

"My grandfather always likes playing Wizard's Chess with old Piers," Sylvia muttered. "Sometimes those two old men play for an entire day."

Sylvia dragged Will toward the other end of Diagon Alley, and they stopped outside Ollivanders.

"Are you buying a wand?" Will asked, somewhat puzzled. Sylvia did not seem to need a new wand.

"Of course not. I'm buying a wand care kit." Sylvia pushed open the shop door.

"There's such a thing?"

Sylvia looked at Will in surprise, seemingly astonished that the usually knowledgeable Will did not know there were care kits for wands. It was not really his fault, though. The night before his previous shopping trip to Diagon Alley, he had read late into the night, and choosing a wand the next day had taken so long that he had nearly fallen asleep.

"Don't tell me you've never maintained your wand?" Sylvia remembered that Will's wand was always clean and tidy. It certainly did not look as though it had never been cared for.

"I usually wipe it down every other day."

The two entered Ollivanders as they talked. It was a small, dark shop, and the temperature was low, perhaps to keep the wand wood from being affected by heat. Thousands of cardboard boxes were stacked to the ceiling, many coated in a layer of dust.

Sylvia unconsciously lowered her voice.

A rather thin, wizened old man had appeared beside the counter at some point, his large, pale eyes fixed on Will and Sylvia.

"Good morning, Miss Lestrange. Black walnut, dragon heartstring, twelve inches long. Quite beautiful, isn't it?" Ollivander recited the materials of Sylvia's wand accurately.

Sylvia smiled. "Yes, Mr. Ollivander."

"Ah, Mr. Behrens. Acacia wood, phoenix feather, twelve and a quarter inches. An exceedingly particular customer, chosen by a temperamental wand." Ollivander stared at Will. "You were rather tired that day."

"An impressive memory, sir." Will was actually a little envious of Ollivander's memory.

"Now then, young wizards, what do you need here?" Ollivander smiled. Customers were most likely here to spend money.

"Mr. Ollivander, I'd like two of your best wand care kits." Sylvia's words made Ollivander smile even more broadly. The best wand care kits cost several Sickles each.

Over the next few minutes, Ollivander carefully explained how to use the care kits to Will and Sylvia. Will soon realized, however, that these so-called wand care kits were merely a few items for maintaining a wand's temperature and moisture levels and cleaning it quickly. Ollivander had simply arranged them very attractively.

Several silver Sickles for a few items with no enchantments on them—no wonder so few people bought them. In the end, however, Sylvia still bought two sets. She could certainly spare those few Sickles.

And that was not all.

Sylvia bought Will an entire potion protection set, including a protective robe made of dragon hide and dragonhide gloves, and even a set of test tubes ground from crystal. (He had previously used a glass set.)

"I probably don't need such thorough protection yet." Will held the packed carrying case. This gift was by no means inexpensive.

"Consider it a belated Christmas present." Sylvia blinked her bright eyes. "I originally wanted to buy you a set of books for Christmas, but you bought them yourself that day, so I had to get you something else instead. You said in your letter that you'd be studying second-year potions after school started. I hope you'll take proper precautions.

"Last time Potter had detention, his fingers swelled up like ten carrots, and apparently they hurt and itched.

"You're leaving tomorrow, so I can only give it to you today."

Will could hear the clear concern in Sylvia's voice. He remembered that incident too. Snape had made Harry extract nectar from agapi flowers for several days in a row.

"Thank you." Will accepted the protective gear.

As the two bought the ingredients Will needed, the staff at Diagon Alley's ingredient shops and the Herb Shop were delighted.

Big customers like Will were rare. Potions Masters all had their own special sources for ingredients, to say nothing of the apothecaries at St. Mungo's. These little shops catered to Hogwarts students and ordinary wizards.

With such a large order from Will, the Herb Shop's manager even gave him a twenty-percent discount and had everything delivered straight to Hogwarts by owl.

Will watched the departing owls, packages of all sizes dangling beneath them, and hoped the little creatures would not die of exhaustion halfway there.