The summer month after camp had been a bit boring for Donald, truth be told. He'd been living back at home with his entirely Muggle family. It was no comparison to Hogwarts and its magic. Days turned to hours as it seemed to never want to end. Another of these eternal days was threatening to never end when an owl swooped in to deliver a letter for the boy.

𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔯 ℌ𝔬𝔤𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔰 𝔖𝔱𝔲𝔡𝔢𝔫𝔱,

ℑ 𝔞𝔪 𝔴𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔰 𝔅𝔞𝔫𝔨 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔞 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔠𝔦𝔞𝔩 𝔬𝔣𝔣𝔢𝔯. ℑ𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔬𝔭𝔢𝔫 𝔞 𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔳𝔞𝔲𝔩𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔲𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔴, 𝔴𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔠𝔯𝔢𝔡𝔦𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 20 𝔤𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔰 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔦𝔱 𝔞𝔰 𝔞 𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔫𝔲𝔰! 𝔑𝔢𝔴 𝔳𝔞𝔲𝔩𝔱𝔰 𝔬𝔫𝔩𝔶 𝔠𝔬𝔰𝔱 10 𝔤𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔰, 𝔰𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔞 𝔤𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔡𝔢𝔞𝔩 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔶𝔬𝔲. 𝔓𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔞𝔰𝔨 𝔣𝔬𝔯 "𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔱".

𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔲𝔩𝔶,
𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔊𝔬𝔟𝔩𝔦𝔫

That did feel too good to be true... but Donald didn't care. It was almost time for school anyway, and this was the excuse he needed to get out. Maybe he'd get some free coin out of it too. His parents did always lecture him about preparing for the future and to save money. Though Donald was unsure if that was as true for Wizards who could just... magic stuff into being and so forth.

"Now to convince mum I need to leave for school early.. get a train ticket to London..." Donald said to himself as he stuffed the letter into his pocket. He had already packed for school and simply grabbed his things when he went out the door.

---

A few days later, Donald Fish arrived at Gringotts Bank. He'd bought a room at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple of nights to stay until it was time to head back to school, so all of his school robes, supplies, and random junk were there. For this little adventure to go shopping and see the bank, Donald was wearing one of his basic school robes to helps how he was indeed a Hogwarts student. His pocket had the letter and in the other he carried his wand.

The entrance to the bank was massive and magical. Donald had not really been in here before, as he had no reason. A muggle-born wizard had little reason to go here as a child. There was no generational wealth or benefit for him... until now it seemed. The boy was nervous and stood in the entrance, gawking all around, not yet looking for this Goblin who sent the owl.


@Clark Baird @Dorion Anderson @Opeila Winters @Duvessa Ember

He had only recently found himself spending another day in his cousin's house. He wanted scrambled eggs, sausage patties and gravy, but he didn't bother to ask for it to be made nor would he have made it himself. As he got dressed, his shirt was of a long sleeve type, but had three colors on it, well, four technically. Tan, white, and red with a black line in between each color to separate them and for his pants, well, it was green with red buttons on it and a suspender attaching the pants and going over his shoulders. And as for his shoes, they were light brown and leathery. Kind of like dress shoes. [Reference Image of Outfit]

Did he look superb, maybe not to others, but to him, he definitely looked amazing.

And then as he was looking in the mirror, he had a slight grin on his face as he heard his name called. He figured it would have been breakfast. Or maybe his dad would've allowed him to finally have coffee!

He went down the stairs, past his two cousins, the younger brothers of dratted Logan Baird, and looked saw his father holding up a letter. As he read it, he began to feel excited. "MONEY! Dad! I want to go to Diagon Alley. Me thinks we need to withdraw some more money to buy some books and for you to get your materials for your classes."

---
He looked around the building and saw golden things everywhere. It was like you were walking into a fancy jewelry store. There were goblins on all sides, and he laughed at himself.

He was in paradise! A goblin paradise!

His dad went off to other stores in Diagon to buy class materials and other things, but he decided to let Clark explore Gringotts. Surely he couldn't get in any trouble.

Clark had his wand on him, but he did not have his hogwarts robe.

Instead, he was wearing his eyesore of an outfit.

He approached the kid, realizing it was someone he dueled alongside with. "Who the fuck are you? Oh, uh, what's your name?" He started, his head trying to process the names.

After numerous destructions and spellbinding attempts to cast snakes without success- since he never got taught how, he ended up forgetting some names.

"Are you here to get money? I'm sure I can manipulate them into letting us have one thousand galleons as a welcome bonus!"

Abilities: Perfectionist & Terrible Presence

There was something suspicious about that letter, ranging from the sign off to the vault. And, pray tell, why was Duvessa singled out of the major school? The dark haired Slytherin held the letter in her hands, trembling slightly. Was it cursed? Was it a prank?

Much to her reluctance, she had to go and ask D - Rosella about it. There was no one left, apart from Mrs Grimwood but she wouldn't rather face a stern adult. Duvessa presented the letter to her older cousin, a mirror black haired and dark eye face. SHe didn't take the letter jokily, judging by the frown on her face.
"Don't go, child, you're too young. What if you get into a fight with an adult wizard. And, little girl, do you know what "Mort" means?" Rosella commanded, perhaps rather enjoying to keep Duvessa waiting. However, Duvessa glared ferociously.
"You can't mean that. I'm not a little girl." She said, annoyed and with a bitter tone, and refering to the mort comment "Please enlighten me."
"It means death."
"So you're not curious about it?"
"No, on the whole I'm not. So are you going to go demanding to speak to death?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. Arguing with her cousin was impossible, especially that she would loose. So she tried not too look defeated as she slumped out of the room.

That day she thought of a way she could go, because who wouldn't? So she requested Rosella to go down a little early to "meet up with friends". She was on the whole, rather surprised that Rosella didn't contradict. The Gringotts Wizarding Bank sign shone and she stepped in, unaware that Rosella was watching her with a pained expression across the street.

It was busy with goblins, and she noticed two students. Her trusty rat, Little B was perching on her shoulder, probably snoozing. So she was here. What was she meant to do next?

Another student he knew showed up in the entryway. It was that boy he partnered with for the duel last year, for practice. It had not been an official duel, but it did help pave the way for Donald to hit the duelling club team for this next year. As the boy spoke to him, a small smile came to Donald's face as he listened to the greeting.

"Hey again. Name is Donald. Not sure we really introduced ourselves well at that duel.. no worry." His tone was pretty mellow, and then he held up the note for Clark to see. "There's a promotion going on, so... came to see about it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Donald spotted another student he recognized from school. He wasn't sure he knew her name well, as he wasn't always amazing at names of students in passing. She was for sure someone he'd seen at Camp recently as well. She had a gnome in the race, that had to be it. Donald spotted the rat on her shoulder and seemed to wince slightly before smiling and waving to her.

"Hey, are you also here for the promotion before school?" he asked her, beckoning her to join the group just as he was interrupted by a goblin approaching him.

"Ah, students. Are you here for the new vault promotion?" The raspy little thing said to the pair, or trio if Duvessa made it over. "Follow me, I have some vaults set aside I can show you."

A smile came to Donald's face and he gave a firm nod as he began fishing out the Galleons to make sure he had them ready. The goblin waved his hands towards the back as he began to stroll over to the carts. Donald would follow and sit in the back.

"Never been here before, never had a vault and my family is muggle..." he mused to whoever would listen as he examined the odd contraption that would take them to some vaults.

Once the students had all boarded the cart, the goblin would press the lever forwards and a rush of wind would be near instant as it accelerated unnaturally quickly into the dark. Donald felt sick as it twisted and dove to make its way in what could not possibly be an efficient path. Once the cart jerked to a firm stop, a vault door was to their left and they began to pile out.

Would it be weird to kiss the ground? Ok I won't.. he thought to himself as he silently blessed being on solid ground.

"Vault 7338, an example of what you would get... yours would be empty, of course." He drones on, ignoring any issues the students may have with the cart ride. "Go inside, take a look. I left it unlocked for you."

If the students went inside right away, they would see:

As the enchanted Gringotts door creaked open, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd stepped into a cozy, subterranean office rather than a bank vault. The natural stone walls, magically smoothed and moisture-resistant, framed a room imbued with the warm glow of a magical lamp perched on a sturdy wooden desk. Quills, inkpots, and parchment were neatly arranged on its surface, awaiting their next use. A plush chair, covered in an inviting fabric, sat behind the desk, while a small couch and a pair of armchairs invited guests to sit across from it. Wooden shelves, as if growing organically from the stone itself, cradled a collection of books, family photos, and small magical artifacts. A splash of green caught your eye; a potted Bouncing Bulb and a tamed mini Devil's Snare added a touch of life to the space. A side door led to a smaller room, its walls adorned with artwork featuring magical landscapes and creatures. This secondary space functioned as a storage area, complete with a tiny pantry and a warded safe embedded in the wall. Spells subtly woven into the fabric of the room maintained a comfortable temperature and ensured utter privacy, the soundproofing so effective that not even a whisper would escape. It was a vault, yes, but it was also a sanctuary; a loved and lived-in space deep in the bowels of Gringotts, where one could retreat from the world above and find a moment of peace.*

Donald gave a nod and went to inspect the area. It seemed like the door was sturdy with a lock, but he didn't spot any obvious security measures beyond that. Though he'd heard Gringotts was famously extremely protected so he wouldn't doubt if there was more to it. He found a comfy chair inside and plopped into it, gazing around the room. It's like a personal home to hide in! Though... probably a bit lonely and lacking amenities. This one felt like the furniture was meant for smaller beings like children, or perhaps a goblin owned this space.

OOC Notes:
@Clark Baird @Dorion Anderson @Opeila Winters @Duvessa Ember

If you've not posted yet, feel free to jump into a cart with us any way to make it down, or be already here, or show up just after us. Whatever works! As we cast spells, inspect things, etc. We should do rolls on discord mentioning what the roll is for and if we can succeed, etc. I will roll as DM as well as for Donald, including Mort, environment things, other beings we might meet, etc. If you want to have a reaction be in your post for something simple, just DM/Owl me what it is so I can roll/give the response to it. It doesn't have to be too strict, but it will help keep things on track.

*generated by ChatGPT AI.

Following Donald, he hopped into the cart, but thought it would be fine to just begin chattering. The sooner he could eradicate people from the cart, the more money he would get to himself. Right? That was how it worked, wasn't it? Annoy the hell out of people and steal from them?

Even if it wasn't, it was part of Clark's life motto that he did not need his dad hearing. Otherwise he would just be in trouble all the time, especially when it wasn't his first time being in trouble. It got a bit annoying to sit in a corner, staring at a hideous blot of extra paint. "Hi Donnie." He said, not quite remembering the hufflepuff's name. Oh, the goblin talked. Lovely. He didn't get to be as much of a chatterbox as he wanted to be. Cool. As he entered the room, he was reminded of how much he wanted to spray a can of '70s decor' all over. Yuck.

He decided he would just take a seat on the floor in front of Donald. Every single bit of possible annoyance would be royally helpful in Clark's case. "So I didn't get to talk as much earlier, but would like you to-" He began but something else caught his eye, but he didn't know what his eye was catching, probably nothing.