Reaching the next country was easier than I expected. We got through the border quickly by flying, and after two days of travel, we finally stopped to rest.
"We should be good; I chard the receptionist and placed down so wards. If soone cos in who isn't a muggle, we will be notified!"
"Thanks! I went ahead and brought up so food!" I answered her, watching her close the door to our little room in a tiny hotel and take off her jacket.
"Are those sausages? They did look good!"
"Hehe, I waited for you so we can try it together. It will be good to finally sleep in bed and not on a bus or train!"
"And to take a proper bath!" She moaned loudly, sitting beside as we began munching on our dinner, watching a box that the muggles called a television. Even without understanding the language, it was... fascinating.
We were already close to the border between Germany and Switzerland; tomorrow, we had to catch the last bus that would take us over, hopefully without any problems. Still, we had already prepared spells and practiced them on muggles we ca across. It mainly was to control them, so they ignored our presence.
"I still think," She began speaking after the second sausage, "that after we pass into Switzerland, we should ditch the bus and go on brooms. There is a high possibility that we are leaving a trail by using magic."
"I agree. After we get to the city, we will need to interact with the local wizarding community, so we will need to be extra cautious."
"We practiced it; it will be fine!" She winked at , leaning over and cleaning my face with a warm smile, "If anyone asks, we will say we are exchange students from Australia and stay in the city for only a few days while traveling through Europe. Easy!"
"After we get what is inside the Gringotts, we should head here..." I murmured, taking out the map and unfolding it until finding the point I marked. "It is far away from everything and in the mountains."
It was a ski resort. Going by the description and my father's words, we should have so muggle money to go there and rent out a room or a whole cabin for a more extensive period.
"Mhm. I'm fine with it. We can then sit down and think about our next move. By then, I think I will also be pretty good at casting mory charms, ahaha!"
"You do improve quickly!" I smiled, being honest, as she picked up its quirks surprisingly fast and had been charming most of the muggles we ca across.
"But before anything, it is ti for a bath!" She yawned, stretching, and after a bit of awkward silence, she stood up, heading to the bathroom. I watched her go, and when she stopped at the door, looking back, I felt my face turn redder. I saw her open her mouth to say sothing, but no words erged from between her lips.
Yet, even though she went in, the door remained slightly open, only partially closed. I felt my heartbeat increase, and after a brief hesitation, I stood up, went after her, and closed the door to the bathroom behind .
...
....
...
The next day started with an embarrassed silence between us that lasted until we boarded the bus, bringing us further along on our journey. Although that didn't happen yesterday, we still bathed together, experiencing each other's bodies more closely than ever before...
"You are blushing... you are thinking about it!" She whispered to as we sat at the back of the bus. She was poking my sides with her finger, just as blushed as .
"Ah, um... s-s-sorry!" I replied by reflex, making her pout.
"Don't say it like that! It sounds weird... we are... husband and wife, it is normal!"
"Then... we should do it again." I mumbled, not knowing where to look as we both fell into silence again, but she nodded in answer.
What ended our awkwardness was when we reached the border, and people got on the bus, checking everyone's passports. We heard about the muggles' border control, so it didn't take us by surprise, but still... it did make us nervous.
"It's clear; I sense no magic present." I whispered, using revelio to see if any mages were around us or not.
With a nod, Quincy took aim, raising her wand slightly, silently casting at the people before us. While she was literally erasing our presence from the passengers' minds, I used the sa spell on the muggle officers, making them constantly forget that we were on the bus, which was a degree harder as I had to do it every ti they looked at us. Luckily, we passed the inspection, and fifteen minutes later, we were on our way once again, now inside Switzerland.
"That was... exhausting!" I shrugged, putting my wand away while she took out a thermos we nicked, pouring hot tea into small plastic cups for both of us.
"Here! Hehe, this thing is nice; it keeps it warm, even without magic."
"True, I thought muggles were weirder, but they do have so really lovely inventions. I especially liked that TV thing."
"Um! I did, too! When we rent out our place, we should have one. We could learn about them a lot from it without asking muggles in person and making them suspicious."
"I thought the sa. We may even go and ski a little if we are already here.
"Have you ever done it before?" She asked, curious, but I just shook my head with a smile.
"No, but it can't be harder than sledding!"
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...
It was weird coming into the magical city of a different country. When we arrived, we first walked around the muggle part of Bern, looking for that feeling... that little tremble that tells you where to go if your blood is attuned to magic. In the end, we found it next to a train station. Going past an 'out-of-order' staircase, it hit us in the face: the presence of magic. Going down and tapping the locked-up chainlink fence with our wands, it opened up nicely and revealed another staircase, which led us back up, coming out into a city that looked wholly different.
The people who walked these dieval-looking streets were wizards and witches alright, wearing mostly robes and old-fashioned hats. Nobody batted an eye on us, not even when we were strolling around aimlessly, trying to find the local Gringotts. In the end, we asked for directions, and I was surprised that the old witch switched to English in a heartbeat, giving us perfect directions.
"We would be hard-pressed to speak another language..." Quincy murmured as we walked down the cobblestone street, feeling ashad.
"Well, we can speak parseltounge... that doesn't count?"
"Ahaha, idiot... you know it doesn't!"
"We will have ti; we can pick up extra languages if you feel up to it. For example, it would have helped a lot if we knew French."
"True... and I bet we should try and learn it; I don't think they would leave us alone."
"Sadly, I agree!"
When finding the big, white building of the goblins, we saw so weird, 2 or 3-ter-tall suits guarding its stairs at the base, looking majestic and mighty. Both of us could feel the power radiating from them, telling us that they were neither man nor beast but automatons made by the goblins... which also ant that they were probably also spell-resistant.
"Damn... This place is much more protected than the one in London..."
"Of course!" A voice answered as I saw a wizard walking down the steps, his back being just as crooked as a question mark. I t so old people before, but he had to be in the top 3. "This place is the most secure bank in all of Europe! Whatever you deposit here, not even Grindelwald could steal it! Although, this is not like any other Gringotts. So don't go in if you are here with so trivial things; they will beat you and throw you out."
"Thank you for the advice, Mister." I replied politely before holding Quincy's hand and walking up the stairs.
At its front door, two wizards wearing so flashy clothes stopped us, speaking in their own tongue, looking at us weirdly as to why we didn't answer.
"We really need to learn more languages..." I murmured under my breath while taking out my father's Death Will. The mont they saw it, their mood suddenly changed, and as if I used a spell, they began speaking in perfect English.
"Please co in and head to the second booth on the left."
When the door opened for us, the inside of their building was dazzling. The floor and ceiling were made out of black and white marble, while the pillars holding it up were accented with gold. It looked like a palace, a fortress, and a theater mixed together, built from the most precious tals available. Following the instructions, we arrived before a curtain that pulled away by itself, and inside, two colossal leather seats awaited us before a mahogany table filled with dozens of magical artifacts.
Walking in, I could sll the scent of wood, parchnt, and ink, reminding of Hogwarts and its library, feeling a bit sad that I would never visit it again. The mont we sat down, the lone chair opposite us at the other side of the table turned around, and I had to fight the urge to laugh as an old, no, ancient goblin was sitting on it... atop of five books just to reach our eye level.
"Welco to Gringotts. Nas?"
"..." At first, we exchanged a glance, but both of us were on the sa page that it would be futile to lie. "Conrad Anguine."
"Quincy Anguine."
As we spoke, he only watched us while a small notebook floated next to him, and a quill took notes automatically.
"We are here because of this." I raised the Death Will, placed it on the table, and observed the goblin snap his fingers, making it float into his hands.
"Authentic." After touching it and slling it like a cigar, he continued to whisper, "The original holder is no longer alive."
A mont later, a tube appeared from the table, and he put it into it, gone from view as we just sat there, waiting, saying nothing. I was about to express sothing when I heard a click, and the old goblin nodded, picking out a key from one of the drawers.
"Follow ."
Seeing him climb down from his throne was still funny, but luckily, Quincy pinched my hand so I didn't laugh out loud. We were led through a different door, descending down to an elevator that took us deep underground. The humongous chamber was filled with hundreds of massive doors on all sides when we exited it. So were so big that a giant would fit through them without leaning down. Each and every one of them had similar automaton guards standing next to it, forming a whole army of tal.
"Do not approach any door, only the one I mark for you." He said while walking before us, making think about penguins. "We are not held liable for accidental deaths. If you die, the contents of your vault will be the property of Gringotts if you are the last of your kin."
"U-understood." We answered him at the sa ti, now no longer that calm. Now that he ntioned it, those halberds, glaives, and hamrs in their hands looked weirdly nacing... and their knight-like helts were slowly turning, watching us pass by.
"Here. Vault-3-4-R. To open it, place your hand on it and speak your na clearly and confidently. You will feel a small pricking sensation, but don't pull your hand away until the door opens."
With a nod, I took a deep breath. I felt weird... as if I was trying to say goodbye to my father once again. But... it was no ti to hesitate, so I followed the goblin's instructions, watching the door slowly open before us.
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