Chapter 2 Hermione's Turn

Professor Minerva McGonagall was having a frustrating day. She had only been in the young girl's company a half an hour and she was already sporting a headache. She had taken many muggleborns their letter in the past, but this girl was the most inquisitive, and still somewhat disbelieving.

Right now, they were standing outside the Leaky Caldron. It was an old building and looked like it was about fall in disrepair. The wood that made the front of the building was cracked and pitted. The paint was pealing and the sign that hung over the door was on its last leg. A good wind might make it fall, as it creaked on rusted chains.

"Professor," the bushy-haired girl said, "why are we standing outside a dirty pub? I mean, I know you said it was the entrance to Diagon Alley but is this really the first thing you want people new to your world to see? It doesn't make a good impression," she finished with a wrinkle of her nose.

Minerva started, that was the first time someone had said that. Now that she thought about it, most of her new charges did seem to be let down at the sight of the dingy building.

"It is that way to keep…" she started, then changed her mind. "I will be sure to mention to the owner, perhaps he can clean it up a bit. Still, it has been the entrance for many years, so I doubt anything will come to it. Hurry along," she added, moving forward towards the door.

"Yes, Professor," the girl sighed. It had been this way since she met the professor. All her questions were diverted, or she was told half answers. Then there was the ever present, 'You'll understand when you're older.' Hermione hated that answer.

They went into the pub; it too was dark and dingy. It was only lit by candlelight and gas torches. The windows were covered with heavy curtains. The tables were scuffed and pitted, with worn strips of what once must have been gold colored tablecloths across the middle. There were many strange, to Hermione, people sitting about. Eating, drinking, reading, or quietly talking.

Now that Hermione's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked around, and she could see the clientele matched the outside of the pub. Most of the patrons were dressed shabbily, in worn or well used robes and hats. There were even a few very scary looking people in the dark corners. She couldn't see them well, but they looked like crones from fairytales. There was even a man in a dark robe, with his hood pulled over his face, which reminded her of a picture of Death. She shuddered and moved closer to Professor McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall," the wrinkled old man behind the bar called out, "another newbie?" he asked, swishing his wand to clean the glasses in front of him.

"Yes, Tom," she answered briskly, with a small nod of her head. "We're in a bit of a hurry." She walked towards the back of the pub, taking no notice to the patrons.

"Well then, don't let me keep you," he said, winking at Hermione, who was unsure as to how to take that. She simply smiled and nodded her head a bit and hurried after the older woman.

The small square alley that she was led into was worse than the pub behind it. Wind blew bits of trash around in a tight circle and there were smelly rubbish bins along the back wall.

"Right this way, Miss Granger," Minerva stated, tapping her wand in a pattern on the bricks on the back wall. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," she said, waving her hand through the opening that had just appeared.

Hermione quickly darted through. She was so anxious to see what the magic world held, that she didn't even wait for the professor. Her head whipped around, taking in everything. Now this, was what she had been hoping for. There was magic everywhere. You could feel in the air and practically see the waves of it floating around.

People had bags float behind them, store clerks calling merchandise to them from the back with just a flick of their wands. Things were shrinking and expanding everywhere. Owls hooted from one shop. Cauldrons were bubbling at a stand that was selling remedies. There were even people appearing out of nowhere at a spot near the middle of the street. No one even startled at them. They just moved out of the way and went about their business.

"Come along, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, walking past her. "We need to go to Gringotts and get your money exchanged."

"Professor, tell me again why my parents couldn't come," she all but pleaded. She really wanted her mum and dad to see the wonders she was seeing. They would have been tickled pink and might have better understood what she was about. This was just something you had to see to believe.

"It is tradition for muggleborns to be introduced to your new world by a professor," came another half answer.

Hermione huffed. "I'll just bring them by later," she mumbled as she followed the older woman.

Up ahead was the most beautiful building she had ever seen. It was huge, and made of white marble, that seemed to glisten in the sunlight. At the large golden doors of the building were small creatures standing guard on either side. If she remembered her Tolkien right, these could be goblins. She surely hoped they were better tempered than those of Tolkien's world. They seemed to be calmer, so she would wait to see if they were nicer.

McGonagall noticed where her charge's attention was. She stopped for a moment to explain to the girl. "Those are goblins," she said, with a curt nod of her head in their direction. "They oversee all the money in the wizarding world. You would do best not to anger them," she added, then started to move forward again.

Hermione frowned, 'In charge of all the money?' she questioned in her head. 'Does that mean they have a monopoly? I thought that was against the law,' she wondered as she followed the professor. 'Perhaps they have different laws here,' she mused, thinking of all the reading she would have to do get a grip on what she was seeing and hearing.

The goblin at the right of the doors, nodded his head at the two. McGonagall gave a curt nod back, while Hermione gave a small curtsy. The goblin grinned and winked.

"You do not have to curtsy," McGonagall stated as she hustled the girl past the second set of goblins. "They are only goblins. So, there is no need to put on airs."

Hermione frowned again and wrinkled her nose. She would have to do some research, though she wasn't sure how bias it would be. Looking at the disdainful and distasteful looks of the patrons of the bank, she was very worried about that. Maybe, she could ask the goblins to recommend some reading material. With that thought she nodded her head in determination, that's just what she'd do.

They stood in line at the exchange counter and waited their turn. When they got to the front of the line, the goblin the tiredly waved them forward.

"We need to exchange some muggle money," McGonagall stated as if that wasn't the line, they were standing in.

"Hello, Mr. Goblin, can you tell me the current exchange rate? Do you go by the weight of gold or is there some limit to what you can charge? Is there a fee for the exchange, or is it part of the transaction? Do you have a credit card, or debit card? Can I open a vault? Do I need my parents for that? Is there any way to see if I am related to a wizarding family? I mean, I must get my magic from somewhere. I don't think it just pops up out of nowhere. Can we check that, please?" Hermione rambled on, speaking the whole thing in one breath.

The goblin smiled. His tiredness vanished. It was quite refreshing to get the inquisitive ones. They rarely converted to being bigoted later.

"My name is Swifttooth, not Mr. Goblin," he said gently, pointing to his nameplate. "There is no fee for the exchange, it is paid for by the Ministry. We have a limit to what we can exchange, which is set by the Ministry. It is one galleon to five pounds. Don't fret," he said quickly seeing her frown, "prices are much lower here than in the muggle world. We don't have a credit or debit card, the Ministry won't let us start them, but we are working on it. You can open a vault, but you must have the starting fee of one hundred galleons. You do not need your parent's permission if they're muggles."

That caused Hermione to frown again. She opened her mouth to ask, but he just put up his hand and continued.

"However, we will give you some paperwork to take to them, and you can bring them to validate it. We can do an inheritance test, free of charge. It is not a complete family tree, but it will tell you who you are most closely related to," he answered smugly.

He was a bit relieved she asked because they can't do the test without being asked first. If vaults go dormant too long, the Ministry will confiscate them. So, it was much better for them to be claimed by family. And most of the time that family was from muggleborn. If this girl was smart, she would tell others and more vaults would open. It would work for a few years, then peter out again.

"Oh," came the slightly startled reply. Hermione wasn't used to anyone answering her as fast as she asked questions. She smiled brilliantly, lighting up her whole face. "Then let's get started," she said, reaching into her inner pocket on her coat, and pulling out the huge wad of money she got from her dad. "There's six hundred pounds here, that's enough to start a vault, correct?" She handed the money to the teller and he counted it out.

"Prefect," he said, putting it aside, and pulling out a pile of parchment and a few sheets of paper. "Read these and sign where needed, they will create a temporary vault to hold one hundred galleons. Then you can take the copies to your parents for them to sign to make it permanent. Since you have six hundred pounds, and I only need five, I will exchange the rest to galleons for you here and that should cover the cost for most of you school things. When you come back, with your parents and the filled-out papers, I will give you a key to your vault and you can retrieve more." He went about doing just that, while the girl read the papers.

"Miss Granger, we are pressed for time," McGonagall said sharply, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Professor, I am sure you understand that my parents don't want me to carry around a large amount of money. Especially if it is gold. They asked me to inquire about this and were extremely nervous at giving me that much to begin with. The only reason they did, was because I have a hidden pocket. So, forgive me, but I am only doing what my parents want. I am sure you understand," she said with a tight grin. Then she turned back to the paperwork and quickly read it. She comprehended most of it and signed where there were little arrows. She then handed them back to Swifttooth.

He looked them over and waved his hand over them. They doubled, and the new copies were rolled up and put in a mustard yellow cloth bag, that appeared to hold more than it should. He handed that to Hermione. He then handed her the exchanged money in a different bag. This one was black with a Gringotts emblem on the front.

"Now, we will see if you are indeed related to a magical person," he said, pulling out a very thick piece of parchment and laying it on the counter in front of him. He then reached for something else under the counter.

"Shouldn't we have done that before I opened a vault?" the bushy-haired girl asked, a bit confused.

"Since it is only a temporary vault, it can be combined with an older one without a fee. If you have one."

"Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense," she said, still frowning a bit.

"Miss Granger, we do not have the time for you to be lollygagging," the professor once more tried to get the girl to move along. It wasn't that she didn't want the girl to see if she was related to anyone, but she could have come back and done this on her own time. As it was, they were going to have to rush through the Alley, and she hated doing that. There was so much that could be missed if one didn't take the proper time.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione said, a bit bashfully, "I'm sure Swifttooth will do this concisely."

"It will only take a moment," the teller assured the impatient woman.

"Very well," McGonagall sighed.

"Take this pin and prick your finger," Swifttooth said, handing a hat pin to the girl. "Smear the blood on the line at the top."

Hermione all but grabbed the pin and quickly pricked her finger, flinching at the slight pain, and did as the goblin said. The blood seemed to glow, and it was soon replaced with words Dagworth-Granger.

"Well, it looks like there is a relative." She basked in the knowledge that she was right.

"Well done, Miss Granger," McGonagall stated, looking at the name. "Dagworth-Granger was the founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers. You will do well to look that up. That line has been dormant for many years." She was happy that this was not the waste of time she thought it would be.

"I will request the ledger for this vault be sent to you. It will arrive at your home, via owl. Please take the time to look it over and come back to us, with your parents, to let us know what you want done with it. Now, was there anything else I can do for you today?" the excited goblin asked. The bank loved it when money was yanked away from the greedy Ministry.

Hemione was ecstatic. She was as happy as she had ever been. She turned to the professor and smiled a million-watt smile. "Can you take me to the bookstore, and then home, please?"

"I'm not sure that is a good idea, Miss Granger. There is much I have to go over with you," McGonagall stated, wrinkling her forehead in thought.

"You can give me a list of books to read, while I wait for the post from here. Then I can come back with my parents and do my shopping. Now that I know I have roots here; I think they will be as excited as I am and would want to participate in my exploration of this new world. We can see if we can find out how I'm related to Dagworth-Granger. Oh, this will be so exciting. I wonder if my parents know our family tree." She turned back around and pointed to the parchment that had her heritage on it. "Can I have a copy of that?" she asked.

A quick wave of the goblin's hand and there was a copy for her. She smiled and shoved it in the yellow bag he had given her earlier.

"Anything else?" Swifttooth asked again.

"Yes, can you give me a list of books that you recommend for muggleborns, to learn about your culture? I want to make sure I am reading the correct ones," she inquired, with a slight wink.

He grinned at her and took out a prepared list for those that asked just that and handed it to her.

"Thank you ever so much for taking the time to answer my questions, and helping me," she said with a small curtsy. "I will be back as soon as I can, with my parents."

Then she turned quickly, bushy hair flying everywhere. She waited for the professor to move towards the entrance and waved and smiled at everyone they passed. Her head held high and there was a new determination in her steps. She was going to learn everything as quickly as she could.

"Miss Granger, I would prefer if you let me help you do your shopping. Muggles tend to get lost and confused when they first come to the Alley," McGonagall said, trying one last time to change the girl's mind.

"Thank you for helping me discover where my family comes from, Professor, but I really want my parents to be by my side," Hermione said firmly. "First I need some books. Then, I would like to go home. Please," she reiterated.

McGonagall sighed and led the way to Flourish & Blotts. She would let the inquisitive girl buy the books she asked about and then take her home. She would just have to hope that Miss Granger would read them well. Perhaps, she could tell the child to owl her with questions. She would point out the Owl Post Office.

They passed a giant man and a small boy who were talking about how goblins should be treated, to which Hermione completely agreed with. And if she wasn't so determined to get her research and go home, she would have stopped and discussed it with them. However, she felt an overwhelming need to see her mum and dad.

This was the start of a whole new adventure and she'd be damned if she was going to leave her loved ones behind.