"You knew my father?" Harry asked curiously. Vernon and Petunia had only heard about his father a few times from his mother, so neither of them knew the man personally. This could be a good chance to learn something about his parents.
"I did indeed, bit o' a prankster in his school days. Grew up ter' be a respectable wizard though." The huge man grinned; at least Harry thought so with the way his eyes crinkled upwards.
"Are you here to take me to get my school things?" Harry asked getting a nod from the large man.
"Aye, I'm supposed te' take ye up te' Diagon Alley ter' buy yer school things." The man grinned happily. "Name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and the Grounds of Hogwarts."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Hagrid." Harry smiled back.
"I'll have him back in a few hours. Don't suppose he'll even be late fer' dinner." Hagrid nodded to Vernon getting a small nod back. With that Harry followed after Hagrid and the two made their way to the nearest bus stop. Throughout their trip towards London Harry asked Hagrid dozens of questions. Most of them were about his parents and the rest were about the hidden Magical World. Hagrid had been able to answer the majority of his questions so Harry had been mostly satisfied during the trip. When they stopped in front of a dingy pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron' Harry couldn't keep the unimpressed look off his face.
"This is the entrance to Diagon Alley?" Harry questioned Hagrid.
Hagrid chuckled at the confused tone in Harry's voice. He supposed that the Leaky Cauldron really did look a bit out of place when compared to the more modern surrounding buildings.
"Indeed it is, Harry." Hagrid nodded. "Remember what I told ye; yer quite famous in the Wizarding World. So we'll try ter' make our way through without drawing attention." Harry grimaced not sure a man of Hagrid's size could go anywhere without drawing attention. He was also a bit skeptical about this supposed fame of his, but would prefer not to cause a scene if possible. Quickly making sure his hair covered the faint scar on his forehead the two entered the Leaky Cauldron.
"Afternoon, Hagrid, the usual?" The man at the bar called as soon as Hagrid walked through the door.
"Not today, Tom, escortin' a new First Year through Diagon." Hagrid replied as he gently patted Harry's shoulder. The pat still almost sent Harry to the floor though. They were quickly able to pass through the Leaky Cauldron without incident and were soon in Diagon Alley proper. Harry had thought the brick wall that separated when certain bricks were touched was a cool trick. Diagon Alley itself featured a cobblestone road that was too narrow compared to a modern street and a variety of smallish buildings selling all sorts of strange things. It looked like something one might see in a history book about London by Harry's reckoning.
"Come along Harry, our firs' stop is Gringotts, the Wizarding bank." Hagrid whispered lowly, not wanting to give away the boy's identity.
"What are those?" Harry asked surprised as he saw a pair of obviously non-human guards while they were walking up the steps of the bank.
"Goblins, Harry." Hagrid replied. "They own and run Gringotts, their good with money, but not very fond o' wizards. Yeh'd be mad to try an' rob the place, full of spells and enchantments. It's a huge maze o' tunnels and even dragons if the stories are to be believed."
Harry almost stopped to stare at Hagrid in shock. Goblins as bankers of all things? That was quite the departure from the fantasy stereotype of stupid, smelly creatures that were found in the fantasy books at the library. They were probably more vicious though. According to Vernon's grumblings human bankers were the most cutthroat people in the world. Pairing that up with Magic and how these Goblins seemed to practically glare at everyone they saw didn't inspire confidence.
An inscription on the second set of doors caught Harry's eye and he quickly read it as they passed. 'Enter stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed. For those who take, but do not earn. Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors. A treasure that was never yours. Thief, you have been warned, beware. Of finding more than treasure there.' Well that wasn't terrifying or anything, Harry thought to himself. Groundskeeper and soon-to-be student stepped up to one of the numerous goblin tellers shortly after entering the bank proper.
"Afternoon, we've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's vault." Hagrid said. The goblin teller looked over the two of them before responding.
"Do you have the key?" The goblin asked getting Hagrid to perk up.
"Got it here somewhere." Hagrid replied digging through his many pockets. Within a minute Hagrid grinned as he held up a small golden key. The goblin took the key and looked it over carefully.
"This appears to be in order. You are aware that you may only withdraw from the trust vault, correct?" The goblin questioned getting Harry to start slightly. Trust vault? Didn't that mean there was another vault in his name?
"Yeah, I also have a letter from Albus Dumbledore about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred thirteen." Hagrid replied as he passed a letter to the teller. The goblin took the letter and began to read over it. After a short moment the teller nodded.
"I'll have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" The teller called out and another goblin came over.
"Excuse me you mentioned this was my trust vault, correct?" Harry interjected as politely as he could. "Does that mean that there is also another vault?"
"Of course, but you do not have access to it until you are of age." The goblin teller replied his tone laced with slight annoyance. Harry was much too excited by the idea of potentially learning about his Magical Family to care about that though, and pressed on with his questioning. "Would it be possible to discuss my account with the one managing it?"