Hades vault was even larger than the Di Angelo family's. I cant even see the edges. The entire room is filled with rows of shelves like a library. The bottom row of each shelf was occupied by fifty gallon barrels filled with coins or jewels. The upper shelves were stocked with artifacts from every period of time from Greece to modern day. Plus old and rare books and every kind of weapon and armor you could imagine. There aren't numbers large enough to express how rich Hades is, but I think its safe to assume that all the other vaults in Gringots combined couldn't afford the contents of the rich one's vault.
I walk over to the nearest shelf and examine its contents. I scoop a dozen handfuls of drachmas out of the barrel. I grab a handful of Roman denarius too, just in case. Then I turn my eyes to the upper shelves. Most of it is jewelry and the like. Incredibly valuable I'm sure, but not useful. But my eyes land on a bronze Rolex. I pick it up and examine closely. I wonder, I mutter to myself. I tap the watch face and sure enough it expands into a full body round shield. But not just any shield. Unmistakeable, and very famous. It's celestial bronze intricately decorated with concentric circles showing designs of cities, farms, and people. This is the shield that Hephaestus made for Achilles. The shield has been lost for centuries. But of course it was just like my dad to have it hidden away some where. I tap the shield and it shrinks again. I slip the watch on my wrist. Next I grab a pouch of Persephone's pomegranate seeds and slip them in my pocket. I seriously consider taking the solid gold chariot parked in the aisle next to the shelf, but I decide I probably won't have anywhere to store it. Finally i grab a simple silver flask which will always be full of nectar. I take one more once over of the nearest few shelves. Then walk back out. And silently reenter the cart followed by Hagrid, Harry, and our goblin. Then we speed back to the surface.
The rest of our shopping is easy enough. Thanks to my dyslexia I couldn't read my supplies list. Much less the product labels. But Professor Hagrid told me I should just buy the same stuff as Harry. So I did. First the apothecary. Then the bookstore. In the robe shop some shabby brat of a weasel started talking to Harry about blood lines and the like. I ignore them both. It seems my earlier gambit was successful since Harry didn't ask me anything else about my family. It was true enough after all. There were reasons my father couldn't take me shopping. Not to mention it wasn't really any of Harry's business. "Well", Hagrid booms when we walk back to him, "all you two still be needing is your wands and your pets. We'll do the wands first I suppose." He then leads us to a shop which as best as I can tell says divas enroll maker of efin dawns since 382 Bc. I chuckle and follow Harry and Hagrid inside assuming the sign actually says something about wands. The shop keeper who appears to be a couple years older than Chiron, introduces himself as Ollivander and begins handing Harry wand after wand each causing increasing levels of destruction until finally settling on 11 inches, holly with a Phoenix tail feather. "It is curious that you should be destined for that wand Mr. potter", Ollivander muses. "When its brother gave you that scar." That snaps me to attention and I focus on Harry, then his scar, then his wand. In my short time at camp I did learn the three cardinal rules for demigods.
1. Never use anything electronic unless you have a death wish.
2. Heed all warnings, no matter how random and nonsensical they are.
And most importantly.
3.There is no such thing as a coincidence.
I shrug. I have too many problems of my own to worry about Harry freaking Potter's. All the same, between his wands history and his souls totally screwed up aura. I think I should at least keep an eye on him. Now Ollivander turns his eyes to me. "I'll be honest Mr. Di Angelo", he says. "I haven't the foggiest idea what to do with you." I smirk. "Just the way I like it." I respond. He smiles. "Well well", he says. "Perhaps that is just the bit of info I needed." He rushes to the very back of the store and when he comes back he's holding a box that looks like its ready to turn to dust. He gingerly opens it and pulls out a long narrow wand made of a deep rich brown wood. The handle is molded to fit the shape of a hand like a sword would be and the shaft is twisted in a double helix so it looks like a strand of DNA. And it absolutely Radiates power. "This is the oldest wand in my store", Ollivander practically whispers. "It was made by my great great grandfather's, great great grandfather's, great great grandfather in the year 43 A.D. the very same year the Roman legions first set foot on this isle. It has been tried by all the greatest wizards of the last two millennia and refused to produce even the slightest measure of magic for any." He hands me the wand. The reaction is instantaneous. The temperature drops 50 degrees. The room darkens. And the earth trembles. Everyone is silent for several seconds. "I think it suits you", announces Ollivander.
"Hmm?" He muses to himself as he wraps up the two wands. "What?" I ask. "Your wand is eighteen inches. Wands of that length usually indicate some physical abnormality. Acacia wood is poorly suited to flashy or extravagant magic but is wholly unmatched in terms of substance. Dragon heartstring core is extremely powerful but very temperamental. Easy to lose control and disastrous when it does. However hardly bendy at all. Indicating an owner who is hard pressed to change his ways." He looks at me wonderingly. "I suspect that all makes a great deal more sense to you than me." I don't respond and Ollivander takes the hint. He hands me and Harry our wands and we pay him seven galleon each. Then leave the store. I can feel Harrys eyes on me as we walk to the pet store. He at least had enough sense not to say anything. As soon as we step into the store all the animals go wild and the owner hardly manages to calm them down. Hagrid buys Harry a snow owl as a birthday present. I decide I'm not going to buy a pet when suddenly I feel something scratching at my leg. I look down to see a fluffy cat with large pointy ears and fur as black as my sword. I nudge it away but it climbs up my leg and back and settles on my shoulder. "He likes you." The shop keeper says. "Kneazles are very intelligent you know. Excellent judges of characters." I scratch behind his ear and he purs. "How much?" I ask.
YOU ARE READING
When Nico's not at camp (book the first)
FanfictionNico is shaken to his core after the battle of the labyrinth. He's even less sure where he belongs now. He needed to clear his head and reset. And his father had just the plan. He sends Nico to a school of magic. But Nico's first year is only the b...
