Gringotts

Chapter 12 Gringotts

When Ian returned to the Leaky Cauldron, Old Tom had already closed up shop.

He was already used to this kind of sudden appearance at the last minute, and without even looking up, he said, "We close in a quarter of an hour. If you need anything, I suggest you come back tomorrow."

"It's me, Ian."

Old Tom, who had been busy all along, immediately looked up upon hearing this.

He said with some delight, "I was just thinking that you might be staying at Hogwarts tonight, since it's so late. Is everything settled? I left you some dinner in the kitchen, if you need it."

Ian was touched by this. He could tell from the small details that Old Tom was indeed taking very good care of him. Kindness begets kindness; this principle remains unchanged throughout history.

He was not an ungrateful person; he secretly remembered Old Tom's kindness, but he kept those words to himself and didn't need to express them.

"Of course, everything went smoothly. I need to go have dinner now; I only ate some candy all afternoon, and I'm starving."

As Ian spoke, he waved his train ticket and acceptance letter.

Tonight's dinner was quite plentiful, with bacon and sausage pizza, pumpkin porridge, mashed potatoes, and some fried cod.

After finishing his meal quickly, Ian returned to his room and leaned wearily against the bed, holding the pink petal box that Dumbledore had given him.

Upon opening it, I found a user manual inside, which thoughtfully explained how to use it to turn lead into gold.

While fiddling with the magic stone, he began to drift off into daydreams, pondering the next question.

"This is a good start. At least the biggest threat to the future of this world can be eliminated safely, and Dumbledore doesn't have to die prematurely. Judging from his condition, he should be able to hold on for several more decades. Things are finally stable here."

However, in this apocalyptic world... the vitality of these fungi is truly pathetic. It's uncertain whether "Eating Big Melon" can eradicate them at their source. Fiendfire is definitely no problem, but it's difficult to control. Historically, nine and a half out of ten wizards who wielded Fiendfire burned themselves to death.

Ian was getting more and more stressed, but he knew this wasn't something that could be resolved quickly, and he had even more to do tomorrow. He had to get everything ready before school started.

Nothing happened that night. As dawn broke, Ian got up and started washing up, as there were many things to take care of that day.

After all, Hogwarts is a full-time boarding school, which means it's easy to get in but hard to get out, so he had to make the most of this day.

Ian greeted Old Tom and declined his offer of breakfast before picking up the pound of gold he had made with the Philosopher's Stone during his last night's overtime work.

Some rushed into Diagon Alley, while Ian, already familiar with the area, headed straight for Gringotts to begin the first thing he planned for the day.

The towering white building, illuminated by the morning light, reflected streaks of silver-gray light, appearing exceptionally dazzling. The twenty-foot bronze gates exuded the extravagance of the financial oligarchs.

"It's a pity that their looks are so bad."

Ian muttered something under his breath, looking at the goblin standing in the doorway—short, with a pointed beard, exaggeratedly long fingers, and a dark face—a creature utterly devoid of beauty.

He discovered that these goblins really did discriminate based on appearance. They would bow and pay respects to wizards who looked respectable, but they would ignore wizards who were obviously slovenly and poor, or Muggles who accompanied young wizards to exchange money.

It was clear that Ian belonged to the former category. The new emerald green robe given to him by Madam Malkin, coupled with his innate noble appearance and temperament, caused the fairies on both sides of the gate to bow and pay their respects even before Ian approached.

Passing through the main gate, we arrived at the second silver door, upon which were inscribed those words that appear most frequently throughout the myriad realms: "Please enter, stranger... Those who take without giving will be severely punished..."

The spacious marble hall was flanked by rows of high tables, behind which were fairies busily engaged in various tasks. Upon seeing Ian's figure, a short figure appeared out of nowhere and silently approached him.

"Welcome, distinguished guest. I am Ark. How may I help you?"

Ian didn't waste any words. After nodding slightly, he said coldly, "I need to exchange for some Galleons."

Seeing Ian's indifferent expression, the man named Ark became even more respectful, bowing deeply once more until his pointed nose almost touched the ground. After standing up, he said, "Yes, sir, please come this way with me."

Before long, Ian had accomplished his goal, mainly because he didn't need to wait in line at all along the way.

It's worth mentioning that Ian didn't choose to open a vault for himself, but instead chose to withdraw all the money.

Looking at the money bag bearing the Gringotts logo in his hand, Ian smiled wryly and said, "1100 Galleons. Not too good, not too bad, just barely acceptable. In 1991, the price of gold was about $350 per ounce, while at this time, one pound was worth $1.50."

It was worth about 1700 Galleons in gold, but the fairies reduced it by a third. Oh well, at least this money can meet all my current needs. I'll settle this score with them later.

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(End of this chapter)