24 — One Speed Only
The string slowly made their way down the Alley, following in Professor McGonagall’s wake. The mares were no less amazed at what they saw than the fillies and colt. The shopfronts were all slightly odd looking, their proportions off just a little from what they expected — the straight sections were ever so slightly crooked and the curved sections seemed to stick out farther than they should. “Ah wonder if Discord visited this place?” Applejack said. “Everything has that ‘not quite normal’ feel to it.”
“Yes, dear,” said Rarity, “It does at that.”
“But not nearly as in-your-face as Discord seems to like,” added Dash.
“Hmm, yes,” Twilight said thoughtfully.
Pinkie, on the other hand was darting back and forth across the Alley. Nothing seemed to escape her attention as she popped up behind barrels and disappeared behind crates. Disappearing on one side of the street and reappearing on the other without apparently crossing the space between. Professor McGonagall occasionally would glance at Twilight, who would just shrug.
After their experience in The Leaky Cauldron, the fillies made sure to surround Harry at all times. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were at his sides, each holding one of his hands, and Scootaloo trailed behind.
Rainbow Dash’s and Pinkie Pie’s strange hair colouring garnered them much attention, especially Dash’s rainbow tresses. The comments Harry could overhear seemed split between delighted surprise at the colours and disgust at such brazen attempts at garnering attention, with many disparaging remarks about muggles.
Harry could see the mares twitching their heads slightly as they heard comments that the speakers clearly didn't expect them to hear. Being Equestrian did give one better hearing, it seemed.
The casual displays of magic were not unusual to the ponies turned human, unlike the Grangers, but the items they saw for sale in the shops certainly were. There were cauldrons, telescopes and strange silver instruments, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels’ eyes (both of which appalled the ponies), tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of paper, potion bottles, globes of the moon, and lots of other items. Unlike Ponyville and Canterlot, though, both of which were quite expansive, the street and buildings were crowded close, with merchandise stacked outside the shops and reducing walking room even farther.
The commotion of the young boys at the broom shop left them puzzled. What could possibly be exciting about brooms?
They almost lost Twilight when they reached a bookstore by the name of Flourish and Blotts, but quick action by Applejack kept her with them, grabbing her arm and saying “Twilight, you can examine the bookstore later, if not today then another day. First we have to get to the bank.”
“But, books!” Twilight complained as she reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged away, staring longingly at the shop as they left it behind.
Harry noticed that the Granger girl likewise had to be redirected by her parents, although with far less pouting. He saw the girl and Twilight exchange a dismayed look, then both sighed dramatically at the unfairness of life. A human version of Twilight? He chuckled at the thought, then blanched as he considered just what that meant. He edged slightly farther away from her. She was too busy gawking at their surroundings to notice.
The big alabaster building with its odd lines drew their attention the moment they saw it. Applejack muttered, “Discord,” and shook her head. The strange creatures, Goblins, Professor McGonagall called them, standing at the doors caught their interest, as did the warning carved into the marble over their heads. Again, Applejack had to restrain Twilight. “They don’t look that friendly, dear, but I’m sure there are books about them in the bookstore,” she said consolingly as she once again dragged the pouting pony-turned-human away from the objects of her interest.
Professor McGonagall, noticing the Equestrians’ interest in both the carving above the doors and the Goblins to either side, said, “Gringotts is probably the safest place anywhere in England for whatever you hold valuable. The only place safer than Gringotts is, naturally, Hogwarts.” She gave a quick glance to the adults. “There’s no safer place than Hogwarts for your children.” The Equestrian all nodded. That was what they would expect of a school that taught magic. The Grangers, on the other hand, didn’t look nearly as confident.
The expansive, luxurious marble interior was astonishing in comparison to the drab colours and shabby appearances in the rest of the Alley. The lobby wasn’t too crowded this early in the morning, but there were a fair number of wizards at the tellers’ windows, including one giant of wizard who was almost twice as tall and three times as wide as a normal man. Harry wondered what he was up to, as he kept taking furtive nervous glances around the lobby.
Harry looked back at the doors. Yes, he decided, the inside was bigger than the outside. He wondered if such a spell could be applied to smaller things, such as bags. He could imagine Applejack spelling her wagon to carry many times its normal load to save trips — if she could pull it, that is. On the other hand, Big Mac had no difficulty moving their cart as it was. Even if they only increased its capacity by half, it would still be a massive timesaver for them.
Harry had never seen such an impressive building. He noticed, though, that the mares did not seem impressed at all with the building. Not surprising, consider how often they visited Canterlot. The mares found the Goblins hurrying around much more intriguing. Fluttershy, however, seemed to be cowering behind Dash. The many swords and knives the Goblins wore apparently intimidated her.
Harry was relieved to see several Goblins working at assessing or counting jewels. Maybe the few they had dug up might give them a bit of spending money of their own. Buying ice cream or other treats when they wanted instead of having to beg their relatives for a few bits would be soo nice. With any luck what they had dug up yesterday would last them the year.
The professor led them to an unoccupied teller’s window, the same one the really big wizard had just left, heading off to the rear of the bank and following a Goblin.
The Goblin at the window wasn’t idle, but writing in something. “Yes,” he growled as she stopped in front of him. His countertop was well above Harry’s and the fillies’ line of sight. Even standing back from the teller’s window still only let them see the Goblin’s face.
“Mr. Granger, here,” she indicated the man, “would like to exchange pounds for galleons.” She turned to the muggles and said, “We’ll meet you at the front doors when everyone else is finished.” She then led the others to a new window, where she received the same surly greeting.
“These witches would like to exchange gold and jewels for galleons.” She indicated the mares. The Goblin gave them a long searching look, lingering on their hair colours, especially Rainbow Dash’s.
“And here is Mr. Potter’s key to his vault,” she continued. The Goblin took the key. He examined it closely, and even went so far as to lick it.
“I will conduct Mr. Potter down to his vault so that he may withdraw sufficient funds for the coming school year,” she explained to the group.
Twilight and the other mares exchanged uncertain looks, as did the three fillies. They clearly had reservations about letting Harry away from their sight. Finally, Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll go with him, too.” A relieved looking Twilight nodded her head thankfully.
Meanwhile, Harry could see the fillies wanted to go with him. But if they did that then they wouldn’t get their gems traded for whatever bits they could get. “I’ll be fine,” he said to them in an undertone, slipping off his rucksack. “You take care of the gems.” He pulled the bag of gems from his rucksack and handed them to Sweetie Belle. He shrugged his rucksack back in place.
“Griphook!” called out the teller.
A Goblin came hurrying up.
“They require access to this vault,” the teller said, tossing the key to the new Goblin.
Griphook snatched the key out of the air and hurried towards the back of the bank. Professor McGonagall followed quickly. With a startled look at each other, Harry and Dash rushed after them. These Goblins did not wait on ceremony, apparently. After walking down a hallway that became a tunnel, they arrived at a triangular cart and three-rail track. The cart had a seat in the front for the Goblin to steer and a larger seat in the back that could fit three.
Harry took the middle seat after Professor McGongall got in, and then Dash followed him. With a lurch, the cart started moving slowly, but rapidly increased speed. Then the cart plunged down a slope. Harry had heard about roller coasters from Dudley, and this one fit his description perfectly.
“YAAAHOOO!” yelled Dash as they shot down the twisting and turning track. Harry soon echoed her enthusiasm. At one point Harry thought he caught a glimpse of a dragon. When they finally rolled to a stopped in front of a large metal door Rainbow Dash and Harry were both laughing and grinning like maniacs. The professor was much more staid, but she still sported a bit of a smile.
“THAT WAS AWESOME!” yelled Dash, thrusting her hands into the air. She suddenly turned to Goblin, “Does it go faster?” she demanded staring at him intently. Her windblown hair gave her the appearance of a mad woman.
Taken aback at her reaction, he grumbled, “One speed only.” He turned away from her, walked to the vault door, and used Harry’s key to open it.
Scowling, Dash shook her head and ran her hands through her hair. Amazingly, her technicolour hair straightened and fell into long waves that once again reached her waist. It didn’t look as carefully brushed and combed as Rarity’s or the other mares’ hair, but it would pass as acceptable. Harry was used to such things from the ponies, so he said nothing. The professor stared, then shook her head.
To say Harry and Dash were surprised at the contents of Harry’s vault would be an understatement. Harry reflected that he and fillies hadn't really needed to go gem hunting, after all. And that it was a good thing his Uncle had never known about this vault.
Harry took off his rucksack. Rarity had made a few alterations to his pony saddlebags by adding a few extra straps and buckles that reshaped the bag to accommodate his human form. When he returned to Equestria all he had to do was rearrange the straps and he had his saddlebags back. He quickly started scooping handfuls of the gold coins into the rucksack, ignoring the others.
Dash had already lost interest and was looking up and down the tracks outside the vault for something interesting.
“Mr. Potter,” the professor called from the entrance. “Do be cautious, those galleons have to last you through all seven years at Hogwarts, and perhaps a year or so afterwards until you are gainfully employed. Don’t take too much.”
Harry stopped, frowned, and then sighed. He dumped the galleons onto the floor. He stood quietly for a moment, thinking. He could move the coins with levitation, he knew, but trying to heft that many was beyond his current abilities. However . . . he smiled. He stared intently at the massive pile of coins. Slowly at first, but then faster and faster, the coins slid, one by one, to the back of the vault and started forming eight piles. At first, Harry moved the coins all the way, but he quickly realized that all he had to do was give each coin a hard push and it would fly the rest of the way. The coins became a blur as they shot from the big stack. After a moment he changed his aim and they started to fly up to hit the back wall and drop back onto their respective piles.
He heard a gong sound in the distance.
Harry was sweating by the time he finished, but there were eight piles of gold coins. He looked back at his professor, proud of his achievement. He couldn’t heft many things at one, but he had stamina! She was clearly surprised at his magical skill. He smirked to himself as he walked to the closest golden pile and started scooping coins into the bag. The pile was almost gone by the time he filled the small backpack — and he could barely lift it. He estimated he had between two hundred and three hundred coins. That should be more than enough, given the average wizard only earned about a hundred galleons a year, according to the Professor.
“How much is in here?” he asked as he turned to the Goblin. Surprisingly, there were now two Goblins standing at the door, hands on their knives. One watched Rainbow Dash outside the vault while the other intently watched the two of them inside.
The Goblin didn’t answer except to scowl as he pointed up with one long finger.
Above the door on the inside was written, “3,000G.”
Harry did the math quickly. Three thousand divided by eight gave him three hundred and seventy-five, divided by twelve was thirty one galleons, which was six thousand two hundred pounds! He couldn’t imagine spending over ten pounds a month, never mind six thousand two hundred, while living at a remote boarding school where all living expenses were covered!
Stupid adults. He rolled his eyes, don’t take too much today, indeed! Seems like only the ponies were smart. Naive, but smart.
Staggering slightly under the weight, he headed for the cart.
The Goblin closed the door behind him, hurried around them to hop into the cart, and then glowered at the slower moving humans. That Dash was already in her seat somewhat spoiled the effect he wanted. The other stood outside their closed vault and watched.
“Let me fix that for you, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said. She looked at the Goblin. “Do I have permission to cast a featherweight spell on Mr. Potter’s backpack?”
At his nod, she touched her wand to his backpack and mumbled something Harry missed. Instantly, it felt as if his backpack had become empty. He took it off and looked inside. Sure enough, it was packed with gold coins.
“Thank you, Professor,” he said relieved that he wouldn’t be lugging that weight all day in the Alley. He also made a mental note to learn that particular spell. Before putting the backpack back on, though, he took out three galleons.
The professor was waiting for him before getting in herself. “Hurry up, Harry,” called Dash, rocking back and forth in the cart and obviously hoping the return trip would be as much fun as the trip down. Grinning as he got in, he held up the three coins. He dropped one into the Goblin’s hand and said, “All three are yours, if the trip back is faster.”
The Goblin grinned evilly as he said, “One speed only.” Professor McGonagall started to look worried. Dash, on the other hand, was grinning widely.
As they slid to stop, Harry, laughing excitedly, handed the Goblin his reward. The Goblin said in a low voice that only Harry could hear, “For certain definitions of one, indeed, the carts have only one speed!”
Harry and Dash were still chuckling as they entered the bank’s main lobby. They looked around and headed for the front doors to meet up with the Grangers and the rest of the string. Neither noticed the almost empty lobby and the tense atmosphere around them, nor the increased number of Goblin soldiers with their hands on their knives and swords while nervous wizards and witches hurried to complete their business. Wizards and witches entering the bank took one look, and turned around to leave.
Harry saw Professor McGonagall looking around and nervously fingering her wand in its holster and wondered why.
Still smiling from the wonderful rollercoaster ride, Harry remembered to ask an important question. “Excuse me, Professor McGonagall, but could I have my vault key, please?”
The professor shook her head and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Potter, but until you reach your majority, seventeen in the magical world, your key will remain in the hands of your guardian.”
Harry laughed ruefully, “If my Uncle gets hold of that key, the vault will be empty before lunch.”
“Oh, no, Mr. Potter,” said the witch, “I’m referring to your magical guardian, not your muggle guardians.”
Harry frowned. “As far as I know,” he said, “I don’t have a magical guardian.” He looked up at her.
“Ah, well,” she said, “In your case, your magical guardian is Albus Dumbledore. He was appointed by the ministry back when your parents died. He’s responsible for you and your actions while you are in the magical world.”
Harry nodded slowly. “Could I switch to Twilight as my magical guardian?”
“No, I’m afraid not, Mr. Potter,” she said, shaking her head. “While she is a witch, she isn’t part of the British Wizarding community and as such has no legal standing.”
Harry nodded again. Clearly, he needed to get a wizarding solicitor to find out what his options were in this magical world.
Rainbow crossed her arms and started pacing back and forth. “What’s the hold up with the others? I thought everypony else was still in the lobby here.” She rolled her shoulders, “Celestia, I wish I could fly here!” She turned to the Grangers. “Excuse me, do you know where the others went? Was there a problem?”
“Well, I saw them headed for the back of the bank following a Goblin, but I don’t know why,” Mr. Granger said. He nodded to his wife, “We were discussing the charges on changing pounds into galleons, and whether or not having an account here would help.” He frowned. “They don’t have any interest-bearing accounts, and the vaults all have monthly fees.”
Hermione piped up, “I think it was something the girls brought up. It looked like they were finished when Sweetie Belle, I think, handed a bag to the Goblin. He took a look then called over another Goblin.”
Harry said, “Oh. That must have to do with the gems we dug up on Friday.” Dash nodded in understanding but the other adults all looked puzzled.
“But,” Harry asked, “why were our gems different from the ones that Prince Blueblood said Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave us?” He looked over at the Grangers. “Applejack did give both briefcases to the teller, didn’t she?”
Hermione nodded. The boy noticed Mr. Granger in the background, with raised eyebrows, mouthing ‘Princesses’ to his wife. Oops.
He considered what he knew. The difference must be in the sizes. He knew that the ponies all favoured small gems that could easily be sewn into clothes and added to armour — Rarity’s favourites were barely bigger than grains of rice, although she did have a couple of necklaces and gowns made with bigger gems.
And he remembered how huge the gems had looked in Equestria and how much smaller they appeared here. In fact, now that he thought about it, based on how small his rucksack was and how big his saddlebags were, the size difference was almost double, even if the weight was the same.
What was throwing him off, he realized, was that ponies were quadrupeds while the humans were bipeds. For the same weight, quadrupeds appear much smaller, just as a two-hundred pound dog appears smaller than a two-hundred pound human simply because the animal is not bipedal. Perspective changes everything. A standard rucksack would drag on the ground if tied to a pony’s barrel.
The gems they had collected were all considered too large and gaudy for most ponies — only good for Spike to eat — but maybe the Goblins liked the big gaudy gems?
۸- ̰ -۸
The fillies watched as Applejack hefted the briefcase with the gold onto the teller’s countertop, followed immediately by the other briefcase with its gems.
The Goblin opened the first and took out a gold ingot. He placed it carefully on the scale beside him and placed various weights on it until it balanced, then removed the rest of the ingots, stacking and counting them quickly. When he finished he gave Applejack a speculative look. He was impressed. She had placed a briefcase weighing seventy-five pounds on his counter as if it were no more than a ten-pound weight. “One thousand, one hundred-fifty galleons,” he stated firmly.
Twilight looked surprised, “But there are twelve hundred ingots,” she said.
He shrugged, “Cost of converting muggle gold ingots into galleons.”
Applejack nudged her and nodded.
Reluctantly, Twilight said, “Alright.”
He folded his hands together and leaned forward, looking her intently in the eyes. “Do you wish to open a vault? For a slight monthly fee we offer a wallet that lets you directly access your galleons without having to carry around the heavy coinage or worrying about having sufficient funds while you are shopping. Or being robbed for carrying so much gold at once.”
After considering her options, Twilight nodded.
The Goblin again reached below his counter and pulled up a dragon-hide wallet. All five mares stepped back, noses wrinkling up at the offensive leathery smell. He looked at them curiously. Twilight took a breath and stepped closer. “Is that wallet the only option? Do you have anything that is not . . . someone’s flesh?”
He studied her carefully, noting the looks of revulsion on the other witches faces. “For a small fee we can enchant a wallet made of Acromantula silk,” he sneered.
Relieved, Twilight said, “Yes, please.”
The Goblin pulled out a paper, wrote something on it, folded it in half, wrote some more, and then dropped the paper into a slot in the counter. He quickly refilled the briefcase and, with difficulty, moved it behind his window. He turned back to Twilight and held up a golden key.
“This is the key to your vault, do not lose it. Anyone who has this key has access to your vault.” He placed a knife on the counter top. “Put a drop of your blood on that key.”
Hesitantly, Twilight took the knife. Grimacing, she made a small cut on a finger, then smeared the blood that welled up onto the key. As she handed the knife back to the Goblin, she noticed the cut had already completely healed. Impressed, she asked, “How does that work?” holding up her cut-free finger.
The Goblin ignored her as he put away the knife and then opened the other briefcase. He studied the gems for a moment. He put on a pair of eyeglasses, removed one gem, and examined it closely. “Are these all about this size?” Sneering seemed the normal facial expression for this Goblin. He dug a hand into the briefcase and let some the gems cascade back inside.
Rarity said, “That size is the easiest for us to work with.”
The Goblin grunted. “We will have to assess these and owl you our offer.”
Twilight nodded agreeably.
“Your address?”
“Number Eleven Magnolia Road, Little Whinging, Surrey.”
“A muggle neighbourhood?” he said, the level of sneering increasing markedly.
“Yes.”
“There is a slight charge for delivery to muggle neighbourhoods.”
Twilight frowned, but nodded, nonetheless.
“Wait over there,” the Goblin waved his hand dismissively in the air, “your wallet will be brought out to you.”
The mares turned to leave when Sweetie Belle spoke up, “Excuse me, sir?”
Scowling at the interruption, the Goblin leaned forward to look over the edge of his counter. He said nothing, just stared at the girl, her two friends pressed up beside her.
She held up a small bag and, voice shaking, said, “We’d like to sell these to you.”
The Goblin rolled his eyes, but reached down and rudely snatched the bag from her hand. He sat back and opened the bag, taking a swift look inside. It was clear to the mares that he was ready to dismiss her out-of-hoof, and Rarity stepped closer, getting ready to say a few words in reprimand to his uncouth behaviour regarding a filly. She could handle the ill-mannered Goblin’s attitude towards her, but to treat fillies that way was another story.
Instead, he stared into the bag and then slowly set it down. Carefully, he reached inside and took out a perfectly square red gem with bevelled edges that was double the size of his thumb. He inspected the stone closely with his eyeglasses. He carefully set the stone back into the bag.
“Stoneface,” he called. While he waited for the other Goblin to arrive, he wrote a quick message on paper and dropped it into the same slot as the previous paper. Then he folded his hands and leaned forward again, and simply looked with a blank expression at the three girls as Stoneface arrived.
“Take these customers to Master Facet.” He handed the bag of gems to the Goblin. He pulled out whatever he had had before and went back to work.
“Umm,” Twilight said uncertainly, “Our wallet?”
Without looking up and in a bored tone, but no longer sneering, the teller said, “It will find you.”
Stoneface had already started for the back of the bank and the group had to hurry to catch up.
۸-_-۸
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Admittedly I don't think the key ever comes up again in the books but since Harry was able to withdraw money from his account to pay for supplies in book 2 it's safe to say he always had access to his vault so he probably kept the key.
Regardless the idea that he would need to take out 7 years worth of money right there is silly since in the books he just withdraws what he needs each year.
Aaah, fascinating reading as usual! Looking forward to next week!
I enjoyed the chapter, but the author note at the end was nice. I always like a bit information like that.
9036770
That or the headmaster made sure he had all his books.
9036770
More to prevent him from accidentally taking more in the beginning and accidentally not having enough left by the time he reaches seventh year. And, no, Molly had his key in the other years. He was never given access to it.
9036773
I find that including those bits in a story sometimes reduces the number of questions, and defuses arguments before they start.
I'm always bemused by British currency; the wizarding world's currency being just as mystifying as the normal conversion rates. Denominations of 10, are, in my experience, the way to go.
Fluttershy: Did he mean the wallet can walk on its own?
Applejack: Ah start to think Discord had something to do with it.
Rarity: I just hope it does not come with polka-dot pattern.
9036796
Did anything ever state this? Like I said I don't think the book ever mentions the key again and while Molly did access the vault in book 4 there are any number of explanations that could be given for that such as Harry allowing her to access it because he trusts the Weasleys. I was always under the impression that Harry had control over the vault because it belonged to him and nothing in the books seemed to state otherwise.
9036826
It would seem you are correct! HA! And all these years I've thought wrong. Oh, well, I suppose maybe Hagrid made a mistake, eh? That's what I think I'll go with.
9036819
*Scene* Late at night, in a darkened room, the Mane six are huddled together. Twilight is helfting a very large book in her magic, Rarity has a big baseball bat festooned with gems and tastefully painted in colours that match her coat and mane.
SPOOKY MUSIC IS PLAYING
"Do you think it's coming?" says Rarity calmly as Fluttershy hides behind a determined Applejack.
"Shhh!" whispers Twilight, "I think I heard it!"
FAINT SOUND OF SOMETHING RUSTLING
Uncertainly, Dash says, "That sounds close."
SLIGHTLY LOUDER SOUND OF RUSTLING
Pinkie Pie says, "Ya know, that sounds like it's coming from there." She points to a corner of the room.
SLIGHTLY LOUDER SOUND OF RUSTLING
"EEEK" screams Fluttershy barely above a whisper.
"AHHHH" they all scream.
They're on the lawn at Eleven Magnolia Road, the house is burning in front of them. The top half of Rarity's bat is gone. Twilight is holding a the cover to a very large book with many scorch marks. The others are panting from their hard fight.
"Is . . . is it gone?" whispers Applejack.
FAINT SOUND OF SOMETHING RUSTLING BEHIND THEM
9036815
Yes, I always thought that she'd written the wizarding world currency explicitly as a parody of the old British currency.
9036796
What about Third Year, when the Weasleys were in Egypt? He'd already gotten all of his supplies by the time they showed up on the last day of the summer Holliday.
9036745
Of course if they took offense to it they are only a memory charm away from having their mind changed, and most know that. Magical people are scary to non magical people precisely because they have little rights in comparison since sanctity of mind isn't respected in order to keep the peace.
Honestly it appears that the goblins are hitting them up as much as they can...the 'muggle' institutions gave them better rates I think
9036919
That was Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry was by himself in the Alley. As I quoted, the book specifically says Harry went to his Vault. So, Harry has his key. My theory is that Hagrid gave him the key in first year. Having the key in hand, I don't know why he stayed with the Dursleys in fourth year. He could have escaped to the Alley at any time.
9036942
Of course the Goblins do that. They have the Wizards by the short-hairs and they KNOW it! The goblins could ruin the Wizard economy any time they want just by closing the bank.
The suspense is killing me!
9036953
If memory serves, goblins believe that all gold belongs to them and any that wizards have were 'loaned' out.
9036940
Obliviators only come into play when a muggle comes into direct contact with the wizard world such as if a muggle witnesses a dragon, comes into contact with a magical artifact or in the case of Wormtail's fight with Sirius are made to believe any deaths were caused by more mundane means like a gun. The rest of the time no action is taken because most muggles will deny they ever saw magic or they won't say anything for fear of being viewed as crazy. Outside of the government most wizards know better than to abuse the charm because constantly erasing memories would arouse suspicion.
9036950
Harry was still a minor and the Dursley's were his legal guardians. Harry probably didn't feel it was worth going through the trouble to get legally separated from the Dursley's once he started attending Hogwarts. He was only there for a few months at a time and he was used to dealing with them.
9036984
Like the wizards cared about such thing! So, if you could spend your days in a place like Diagnon Alley, with food, books, and companionship with others who do not hate the sight of you, and then return home at night to sleep, where would you spend your time? Or would you even bother returning to an abusive home?
Almost every child I have known in such an environment would boogy out at the first sign of daylight after getting back home after the train ride.
9036993
Harry's life with the Dursley's in the books wasn't bad enough to warrant such an extreme response. Harry wasn't fragile and he wasn't afraid of the Dursley's so there was no reason to risk living on the streets when he had a warm place to sleep available to him even if he didn't care much for the people he lived with.
Also who says wizards don't care, considering how important children are to wizards, based on there smaller population, it's safe to say they would have similar laws to protect them.
9036993
One wizard in particular would actually care: Albus Dumbledore. He makes it clear to Harry, I believe in Philosopher's Stone, that he has to stay with the Dursleys over the summer due to the protection granted by Lily's blood sacrifice. So long as he stays with them, evil can't find him.
The fact that said protections expire on his 17th birthday is a bit more difficult to swallow. One of many reasons why I tend to ignore the last three books from my headcanon.
9036940
I was always of the impression that the term 'muggle' was used for non magical humans because of the incantation(Repello Muggletum) for the charm that repels them.
9037008
He has access to vault of money, he can easily afford to rent a room. How is that "living on the streets"? He is also old enough to get a job, if he was worried about spending too much money. Heck, he could probably sell his autograph and make money! And, as I said, why didn't he just spend the days at the Alley in a welcoming atmosphere and sleep at the Dursleys? Like I said, if you had the choice, isn't that what you would do? Or trust adults that, in almost all cases, have lied and ignored you, in the faint hope that maybe this time they aren't lying?
9037014
Was he told about that in book 1? I honestly wasn't sure so I didn't bring it up but if he was aware then that would be a good enough reason to stay with the Dursley's especially after nearly getting killed by Voldemort. As bad as the Dursley's are they at least never wanted him dead.
9037040
Like I said there are probably laws that kept him from doing that, The Dursley's also kept all his wizard stuff locked up so he wouldn't be able to get to the alley. And as mentioned above Harry had nearly been killed by Voldemort I doubt he was jumping at the opportunity to be walking around alone in the open, he was still a kid after all.
With all of the fics I've read in or around the "smart Harry" constellation over on fanfiction.net, I'm surprised nobody has ever thought of this. Bravo!
9037008
Given how they willingly let their children return to Hogwarts? One of the most dangerous places in Brittain? Or how their favourite sport would be banned from now until eternity for the lack of safety regulations in our muggle world? And have you seen their public transportation?
Wizards tend to have a really warped idea of what is or isn't considered 'safe.'
9037055
I'm not sure that is true. There are plenty of stories that have author notes stating they were featured on such-and-such a day, yet I see them on the update list and not the Featured list. Unless their time on the featured list was only seconds.
The FAQ page says: "Slots 8-10 -Recently updated stories that are well rated"
And I guess well-rated means a sufficiently high like:dislike ratio?
Perhaps I'll just switch to twice a week. If Monday is one, what should the other be?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the vault Harry accessed in the books his trust vault. Specifically meant for his expenses before he was of age. Or is that another fandom invention?
And I honestly hope that when Harry tells the ponies, about not being allowed to have any say in where his vault key is kept and who has access to it, at least some of them see the red flags on how controlling that is. Rarity runs her own rather successful business so she would most likely realise that as an issue.
Another red flag I hope the ponies see is when they find that Dumbledore is Harry's magical guardian but has done nothing about Harry living conditions or even just checked up on him. That should make them suspect something is wrong.
awww, the best part and you cut it...
9037090
It's never mentioned as anything but the vault left to him by his parents. Nothing is ever mentioned about there possibly being more. Most people believe, at the very least, that he would also own property as his grandparents were called wealthy.
9037096
Ok. I wasn't sure since it has been somewhere around a decade since I last read the first books and even then none of them were in English.
I still hope that the ponies manage to kick up a fuss on Dumbledore's blatant neglect. After all they have medical records to prove their case and if Dumbledore then refers to his monitoring tools they should be competent enough to demand details and when the protections Dumbledore has told McGonagall are not enough to explain the disparity, there should be some pointed questions on what other protections are there. At least someone should be able to figure out the logical flaw in the protections.
And if Dumbledore tries to avoid answering, there is the possibility of Equestria putting some international (or would that be inter-dimensional) heat on him. After all Harry is known and at least somewhat liked by Equestrian royalty.
Sorry for the rant and questioning, I don't mean to disrespect you or your plans, but I always hope to see someone in these Harry Potter crossovers to prove themselves at least halfway competent and I'm sadly disappointed far too often.
You know, now that I know "magical guardian" isn't a real thing I've grown to dislike it cause it only seems to exist to shovel more blame onto Dumbledore when in the books he didn't have nearly as much control over Harry's life as some people seem to believe. Outside of having Harry stay with the Dursleys I don't think he made any major decisions for Harry, only advise him.
9037083
Hogwarts isn't that dangerous, remember Harry had a target on his back and constantly snuck into places he wasn't supposed to go. You're average student wouldn't have even one life threatening experience let alone however many Harry went through.
Wizards have a different definition of safe because magic can fix any mundane malady. Broke a leg? Magic will have back on your feat that same day. Lost a limb? Magic will reattach it right there. Wizards aren't nearly as cautious as muggles because they really don't have to be.
9037083
Well, wizards seem to be physically tougher than muggles. And they can certainly fix ordinary physical injuries with speed and no side effects.
Looking at Quiddich, I can't help but think wizards view 30 foot falls like we view falling from a bicycle. Not a papercut, but not serious either.
9037120
Under the law, however, there is thing called "in loco parentis" which is a fancy way of saying that when you are in school (or even just away from your parents, such as with a friend's family), the adults/teachers watching over you have the right of the parent in controlling you -- they are your legal guardian in the absence of your parents. Thus, ALL the under-age children at Hogwarts are considered to under the control of the teachers, as if the teachers were their parents. Which makes Snape's attitude all that more horrid. He knows he's the adult in charge, that it is his responsibility to care for ALL the children int eh castle, yet he seeks out and discriminates against many students.
However, this does support the idea of a "magical guardian," that is, the magical adults have the supervision rights over the students who do not have magical parents.
So, in a roundabout way, there are magical guardian, they just aren't called that in the books.
9037120
They've got trees that can bludgeon people to death on school grounds, have punishments that involve going into the forbidden forest with deadly creatures, are barely aware of half of what kind of secrets Hogwarts has or can do, have students to handle lethal ingredients (mandragora screams kill people, and the kids had to handle these in first year) and that's before we go into these forbidden areas that have no business being in a school because, well, it's a school. The word 'forbidden' might as well say 'I dare you' to a building filled with teenagers.
The words "Hogwarts is the safest place" really should be followed by muggle-born going "if this is safe, I don't think I want to know what you wizards consider dangerous..."
9037142
Yeah, but the ponies are TOUGH! The crashes you see in the Harry Potter books wouldn't even warrant a second look for the ponies. Just look at the crates left by Dash! She gets up and walks away, while the Wizard kid Neville breaks his wrist from a pansy fall of only twenty feet!
9037142
to be fair you can bippity boppity bullshit most injuries away with magic up to and including turning your bones into wet gravel and a near terminal case of exit wound face.
9037177
That makes no sense, Hermione's parents are still around so clearly non-magical parents still have guardianship over magical kids. The only reason the Dursleys don't use their control over Harry to keep him out of school is because that would require them to get involved with the magic world and they would never do that, at least not for Harry.
In loco parentis would only apply while he's a student it wouldn't give Dumbledore more control than the Dursleys outside of school.
9037182
Most schools have dangers beyond their control. Hogwart's dangers are just more exciting. Also they only handle baby Madragoras in first year whose screams only knock you out it's meant to impress to the students how dangerous these things can be so they don't make a mistake while handling a full grown one.
Here's a fun fact: Knuts are actually pronounced like K'nuts, because the Wizarding World separated from the Muggle World before people completely stopped pronouncing the K in words like knife and knee.
9037184
Also quickly healing. The one time Dash crashed hard enough to break a wing, she took only a day or so to heal.
9037204
Most 'school dangers beyond control' tend to be limited to students being idiots on stairs, stages or playgrounds, not deadly creatures or other magical doodads capable of doing severe harm.
9036796 QUESTION! Why didn't Twilight & Co ask HOW MUCH the fees were? Didn't want to get into the math? Because while Twilight might not be the most money conscious (judging on the fact that her parents are minor nobility and she works for a member of the Diarchy I don't think Twilight has ever actually had to worry about money, ever) both AJ and Rarity WOULD be. (As both are small business owners they're almost certainly aware of how much such things as 'minor fees' matter, they've had to work for every bit they've ever had) While I can agree with not wanting to get into the gritty details over the exact financial process of the bank, it does seem odd neither AJ nor Rarity at least would at least want to make sure that 'minor fees' aren't adding up quickly.
9037196
True, but it doesn't take any imagination to think that the Wizards, corrupt as they are, wouldn't extend that control because muggles are so clearly inferior.
9037214
No it's the same thing, they make it clear to the students not to go into the forest unless they want to die. Outside of Harry and his friends, who only go into these places because they believe they have to, nobody seems to ignore the warnings of impending death.
9037219
ugg... a different culture that doesn't conform to our own doesn't make wizards corrupt. Whatever issues the government has doesn't always apply to the people. If they were as corrupt as you say they wouldn't allow non-magical family members to be involved at all.
9037221
Well yeah, because the plot is focused on Harry. But again: this is a school. It is filled with teenagers. In a setting where the other students are real children rather than saints, the word forbidden is just a stopgap for 'deadly accident waiting to happen.'
Not to say that this story has to do that, but Hogwarts is not a safe place by muggle standards. Wizzards just have very, very different views on safety.
9037226
Um, Death Eaters trying to take over the Ministry to kick muggle-borns out of Hogwarts? Almost won in 1981? Ring any bells?
9037236
Muggles have terrorists and extremists too. Doesn't make them corrupt.
I think it is hilarious that at the rate we're going we will soon have more comments than viewers!