The Gringotts cart finally came to a stop deep beneath the bank in front of Vault 714.
A massive door stood before Alistair and Vinda, its surface carved with the relief of an ouroboros, a serpent biting its own tail.
The elderly goblin accompanying them extended one long finger and tapped the serpent’s eye with his nail.
“Place a drop of blood here,” he instructed.
With Vinda’s help, a tiny bead of Alistair’s blood floated through the air and landed directly on the carved eye.
The instant it touched the stone, the serpent’s eye glowed bright crimson, and the ouroboros suddenly released its tail as the ancient lock began to open.
The vault door, which had apparently remained sealed for decades, slowly moved aside, and a dazzling golden glow spilled into the underground passage.
Alistair stared at the sight beyond it and momentarily forgot how to speak.
Mountains of Galleons filled the chamber, without a single Sickle or Knut visible among them, while rare jewelry, magical objects, ornaments, and other treasures had been stored throughout the enormous vault.
Even though Alistair had already assumed that an old wizarding family would possess considerable wealth, the reality still left him stunned.
“Is this really all the Grindelwald family’s wealth?” he finally asked.
“This is unbelievable.” Vinda barely reacted to the mountains of gold.
“This is only a portion of the Grindelwald family’s wealth.
There are other family vaults, properties, and holdings in places such as Paris, Berlin, and New York.” Alistair slowly turned toward her, then glanced back at the gold as though the amount might somehow become more reasonable if he looked twice.
“Our family might be a little too wealthy.” Vinda’s expression became nostalgic as she explained, “Back then, many of us willingly contributed large portions of our fortunes to your family and to the cause we followed.” Alistair looked around the vault again, having difficulty imagining how many people had been willing to contribute enough wealth to create something on this scale.
“Why would everyone give away so much?” he asked.
Vinda looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.
“For the Greater Good.” Alistair fell silent at the familiar phrase, while Vinda seemed perfectly satisfied with the explanation.
Whatever else could be said about the Alliance, its members had clearly taken their devotion very seriously.
By the time Alistair walked out of Gringotts, even his posture had subtly changed.
When he’d first entered Diagon Alley, he’d moved with the restraint of someone still trying to understand an unfamiliar world, but discovering that the Grindelwald family possessed enough wealth to fill multiple vaults naturally gave him a little more confidence.
Vinda noticed the change and gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval.
“Now it’s time to buy you a wand,” she said, leading him farther down the street.
Alistair’s attention immediately sharpened, because no amount of gold interested him as much as finally owning a real wand.
They hadn’t gone far when Vinda suddenly slowed.
A disturbance had formed farther along Diagon Alley, and the already busy street had become noticeably louder as several shopkeepers hurried outside carrying merchandise.
Alistair followed everyone’s attention and soon spotted a slender girl about his own age walking gracefully toward them.
She had long golden curls and striking dark-green eyes, while two serious-looking men walked closely on either side of her and kept watch over the surrounding crowd.
“Aurors from the Ministry of Magic,” Vinda quietly explained.
Alistair immediately became more curious about the girl.
Shop assistants crowded around her from every direction, enthusiastically presenting some of the most expensive merchandise their stores had to offer.
One particularly determined salesman stepped forward wearing spotless white gloves and holding a small enchanted origami crane.
“Miss Cassandra, this is one of our newest products,” he announced.
“It may look like an ordinary paper crane, but it can be used for long-distance communication through dreams.
Perhaps one day something like this could even replace owls.” Cassandra looked at the little crane for a moment before frowning.
“Do I look like the kind of little girl who spends her time playing with dolls and folding paper birds?” Without waiting for an answer, Cassandra casually flicked the crane away.
The enchanted paper bird sailed through the crowd and landed directly in Alistair’s hands, immediately causing everyone nearby to look at him.
The shop assistant’s expression collapsed.
“Miss Cassandra, you shouldn’t have thrown it!
Once it passes from your hand into someone else’s, the enchantment activates.
From now on, anything this young gentleman writes on the crane may appear in your dreams while you’re asleep.” Cassandra and Alistair stared at him in equal disbelief.
A faint blush appeared on Cassandra’s face.
“What kind of nonsense is that?
You handed it to me first, so wouldn’t that mean you and I also—” Before she could finish, the shop assistant quickly raised both hands, prominently displaying his white gloves.
“Miss Cassandra, please look carefully.
I never touched it with my bare hands.” Cassandra stared at the gloves, realized why he’d been wearing them, and became even more irritated.
“Liar!
And now you expect me to pay for your mistake?
My father works for the Ministry of Magic.
Keep trying to scam people and I’ll have you sent to Azkaban.” The shop assistant immediately looked defeated and started to leave, but Alistair called after him.
“Wait.” The man turned around hopefully as Alistair examined the crane in his hand.
“It’s actually interesting.
I’ll buy it.” The salesman brightened at once, and Alistair handed him three Galleons, allowing him to retreat before Cassandra could threaten him again.
Cassandra looked at Alistair strangely and asked, “Are you a first-year too?
Why did you help him when the mistake was his?” “I wasn’t really helping him,” Alistair replied, gently turning the paper crane between his fingers.
“I just think it’s interesting.” Cassandra gave a dismissive little huff before raising her chin proudly.
“My name is Cassandra, the future pride of Slytherin.” Alistair smiled at how confidently she’d already chosen a House before even seeing the Sorting Hat.
“Alistair Vance.
We haven’t been Sorted yet, have we?” Cassandra didn’t hesitate for even a second.
“I’ll definitely be in Slytherin.” Alistair merely shrugged, deciding there was no reason to argue with someone so certain of her future House.
As he and Vinda resumed walking, he glanced down at the enchanted crane and allowed a faint smile to appear.
Apparently, the future pride of Slytherin had accidentally given him a convenient way to send messages into her dreams.
Whether he would ever actually use it was another question entirely.
For now, the strange little magical object was interesting enough to justify three Galleons.
Their next destination was Ollivanders, the narrow wand shop Alistair had been waiting to visit since entering Diagon Alley.
As he pushed open the door, Vinda followed him inside and said casually, “Take a look around.
If nothing here suits you, choose something temporary and we’ll go to Germany later.
We can always find Gregorovitch.” Before Alistair could respond, an elderly man suddenly appeared from behind one of the towering shelves, clearly having heard every word.
“Madam,” Ollivander said, sounding mildly offended, “I don’t deny that Gregorovitch is an accomplished wandmaker, but wherever a wand is made, the same principle remains.” His pale eyes shifted away from Vinda and settled directly on Alistair.
A faint, almost mysterious smile appeared on his face as he studied the boy.
“The wizard chooses the wand, and the wand chooses the wizard.” End of Chapter 7 [Reader Event Active]