Her confidence had always been built upon her abilities. There hadn’t been a single subject at Hogwarts that she hadn’t managed to be at least decent at and in several she had excelled. Marks were what she had used as measure of her inclusion into society. It sounded so naïve from the point where she now was. But up and until the registration, she hadn’t really known more of the world. She had learnt about the magic world with eleven and then she had spent seven years at Hogwarts. She had been to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, but that was about all she had seen of the wizarding world. Hogwarts was where she lived, Hogwarts was where she interacted with other witches and wizards and where she prepared herself for becoming a witch in her own right. Or so she had thought. Of course, she had noticed that there were differences between herself and those who had been born into a magical family, but her prime impression had been that it didn’t matter. On the opposite, to be from a pureblood family seemed far more dangerous. It had been her last year at Hogwarts when this fire attack happened during the Halloween feast. Yet, she hadn’t even considered what this might mean in reverse for her. It should have been a sign of warning when the Headmistress had been killed during the summer, instead of worrying about nothing but organizing her university courses.

One year. She had studied for one year and then rushed to register right after finishing her spring-semester exams. She never got the results. After all that she had experienced, it was a trivial thing to bother her, but she couldn’t help herself. She was pretty confident that she had passed, passed with rather impressing marks — she’d never know. It didn’t matter anymore because Potionology or Alchemy no longer were a part of her life. Never would be. Her life was a broom and the streets and…

So why was she here? The little money she had, she could just as well leave it here. It wouldn’t take her away from this life. It wouldn’t change a thing. It was all pointless. She had no right to be here, she’d… but now this girl was there and helping. It wasn’t the first time someone was helping her, so she wasn’t feeling as befuddled — and it maybe was helping that she wasn’t freezing to death. But still, it was so far more than she had expected of anyone. She wasn’t panicking anymore though the thought of whether there was any point to what she was doing was there. She should stop questioning and accept things as they happened, as un-Ravenclaw as the concept was. “It’s more than you have to do,” she said, attempting to smile despite how nervous and anxious she felt standing before the goblin. “You wouldn’t have to do anything.” Glancing at the grim Goblin, she gulped. Their cart rides couldn’t kill people, right? Not when another Goblin was also sitting in it, right? Not that Goblins were known for doing wizards’ dirty work, but if she had learnt anything from the last year, then that she knew far less about the wizarding world than she had thought. “Thank good- thank you.” She sighed with relief. Knowing that Imogen would be there too was a better assurance than any reasoning she could think of.

Since Imogen had changed her outlook, she liked to see the good in a person. But of course it depended on who the person was. She had known from a young age that her father had connections to Death Eaters, while not actually being one. She was glad for that part at least, but she had since severed her relationship with him. She no longer wanted him in her life. But that hadn’t come easily. Imogen hadn't expected it to turn out the way it had but she was happier now. At least her marriage to Warren had not gone ahead and he was happier now, well, she hoped he was. Sure Kit still had to remain in hiding but he was back with her now and she was going to protect him as much as she could. Imogen couldn’t risk losing him again. She had already been through so much hurt that it wasn’t worth it happening again. She knew that she too must be on the lookout for Phineas for her own sake. She had only seen him a few times but thankfully she had not seen him since Kit had returned home. Imogen knew that he would press her for details on his whereabouts. Phineas knew that his son’s weakness was her.

Imogen was going to keep him as safe as much as she could. But she had his parents also looking out for him. Samuel and Calli had adopted him a few months ago and she had quickly seen a change in his mood and his outlook on life. She understood why he had to go on the run. It just hurt her a little that he had not communicated throughout the whole time he had been on the run but the more she had thought about it, the more she understood why he had done what he had done. It may have so caused so much hurt among the people that loved him but he was now back and somewhat safe with them. Imogen would have to see what happened where his father was concerned. If they were lucky, Phineas would meet his end in an untimely manner before he caused anymore harm to Kit. She knew that Kit was able to look after himself but she loved him and she wanted him safe.

Imogen knew that she was not obliged to help this girl. However, the old Imogen would have simply walked past Basia, she had immediately stopped when she sensed something was off. THe blonde had approached her not knowing what her dilemma was at first but she could tell who she was or at least what her blood status. But she had to hand it to the other girl, she was brave by coming here in the first place, even if she didn’t think so herself. ”Even so Basia…...I just lended a hand to you” She smiled at her as she took her hand and squeezed it before letting go. Imogen nodded as she lead Basia towards the cart and sat in it, she gave the goblin a pointed look before turning to the other girl. ”This may not help much but pretend you’re on roller coaster….at least I think what they are called” she wasn’t exactly sure, having never been on one before. But she knew that Basia may be whirred about them making it to her vault in one piece or by what they would find there, at least if she imagined it was a roller coaster, it would had even a s minute amount of fun towards it.”You may go” She said simply to the gobling driving the car after she saw the Basia was safely seated.

In a way, the unpredictability of how strangers might react to her was far more unsettling than all the misery she had experienced since the registration. No matter how hard she tried, she had never managed to tell in advance whether someone would prove a friend or a monster. As long as she just remained with her eyes on the ground, concentrating on nothing but the stones she was sweeping, not looking left or right or up. If she couldn’t see what was going on around her, she couldn’t speculate. Feet hastening past her remained disembodied things, and it was easy to ignore that somewhere above of them there was a a pair of eyes that could see her, a mind that would judge her, pity her, or condemn her. If she lifted her head, she’d see this and it would be horrifying. It had happened a couple of times on accident when she had been so lost in thought that a sudden noise or a movement to her side had her flinch and risk a glance. Nothing bad had ever come of it, but the moment of being a part of the world outside her normal, limited view would haunt her the rest of the day.

With all these impressions ingrained in her, she hardly knew how she had dared to enter Gringotts. Such impulses could kill her as they had killed others before her. There were stories told at Kolna why one or the other had not returned. They were all horrible and all impossible to verify, and therefore all the more terrifying. And usually they were more than enough to keep her from doing anything reckless. And entering here was without a doubt the most reckless thing she had ever done. When she had stepped into the apothecary, she had at least had a very concrete reason, namely fighting her way through snow for hours without proper clothes or shoes. She had felt like she was about to die, so risking torture had seemed like the lesser evil. But today? Gringotts? If this were a story she heard of someone else, she’d assume such a person had a death wish. She didn’t, though. She had accidentally looked up, seen the white marble of the bank and thought of her bank account she had opened a million years ago.

Last year.

The greater miracle was, though, that it still existed. Standing in the hall, she had become convinced that the Death Eaters had dissolved all Muggleborn accounts. But Imogen had asked. And got an answer. And she’d be allowed to go there. Some part of her still expected that the other girl’s smile would suddenly turn into a sneer, jeering at the idea that anyone would help someone like her. But she didn’t. Imogen’s hand squeezed hers, and Basia felt some of her fear lift from her chest, almost managing to smile back. She followed her through the hall, then on past a smaller door and suddenly she was in a mine. At least it looked like a mine. With how little she had been able to save, she never had went all the way down to her vault before and… she wasn’t exactly surprised, after all, Goblins were magical creatures, so why should they store money like Muggles? But she hadn’t expected something that looked like it belonged in an outmoded Polish mining village, not London. “Right… thanks,” she said, her knees wobbly as she said down next to Imogen. “It’s been years since I last was on a roller coaster, so…” It didn’t sound like a good description for how a ride into this abyss before her would be like. The goblin wasn’t just going to race this cart all the way down- Imogen spoke again, and a second later the cart started moving, Basia instinctively gripping the plank of wood she was sitting on with both hands.