'Rich?' Makiya was thoughtful. Combined with Professor Quirrell's behavior, he had an ominous premonition in his heart.
Walking into Gringotts, in the wide hall, countless ugly-looking goblins were hunched over counters, working.
The term 'fairy' was actually a beautified translation; the word in the original work was Goblins, transliterated as goblins—the race known for being the bane of all female class-holders.
In the Harry Potter world, the goblins, as the losing side of a war, were actually able to control the currency issuance rights of the wizarding world. It was hard to say that the author hadn't referenced the Jews of the real world when designing this race.
But one point where the goblins were better than a certain race that had wandered for a thousand years was that Makiya and Harry's parents had both been dead for many years, yet the assets preserved in Gringotts hadn't decreased by a single cent. It was simply incredible; if placed in reality, Makiya might even owe the Jews a management fee.
Hagrid led the two to the end of the hall and spoke a few words to a goblin who looked like a manager. After explaining that Makiya and Harry wanted to withdraw money, he handed over a letter.
A moment later, the goblin named Griphook led the three deep into the vaults, arriving first at the vault left by Harry's parents.
A small mountain of Galleons, taller than Harry, was piled in the center of the vault, the dazzling gold light shimmering with the glow of wealth.
In the wizarding world, 1 Galleon equals 17 Sickles, and 1 Sickle equals 29 Knuts.
This kind of unit conversion was practically anti-human, or perhaps it was a deliberate attempt by the goblins to obstruct the economic development of wizards.
In the corner of the vault were small cloth bags. Harry packed a bag of Galleons, and the group returned to the special small cart to continue deeper into the vaults. After traveling for a while, they reached the vault of Makiya's parents. Hagrid took out a key and handed it to the goblin Griphook. After opening the door, Griphook returned the key to Hagrid, but Hagrid turned around and gave it to Makiya.
"You must keep this key safe. It'll be a lot of trouble if you lose it," Hagrid said solemnly.
"Mhm, I'll keep it safe, definitely!" Makiya caught a glimpse of a vast amount of golden light from the corner of his eye and immediately gripped the key tightly, his tone serious.
If Harry's side was a small hill of Galleons, then before Makiya's eyes was a mountain of gold. Countless Galleons were stacked neatly, and the air was filled with the scent of money.
Harry's eyes widened. The excitement of suddenly becoming rich vanished instantly. Compared to Makiya, his side was completely insufficient.
But he was genuinely happy for Makiya. Having been bullied since childhood, Harry understood the importance of money very well. With money, at least he wouldn't have to look at others' faces when he wanted to eat something.
Makiya also found a cloth bag, filled it to the brim with Galleons, and stuffed it into his backpack. He planned to buy more books for self-study; knowledge in the wizarding world was very expensive.
Besides the mountain of Galleons, there was also a large stack of notes and documents in the vault.
Makiya casually picked up a document. Upon opening it, it turned out to be a thank-you letter from a certain orphanage. It was clear that the director of that orphanage was indeed grateful; the quality of the stationery and the wording of the letter were very refined.
After reading through it, Makiya summarized the content: it expressed gratitude to the famous entrepreneur and philanthropist Mr. Maki for his generous donations. The orphanage intended to use the money to renovate certain facilities, and also thanked Mr. Maki again for providing a stable income channel for the orphanage by being willing to buy the orphans' handicrafts at a high price.
Makiya's lips twitched. He quickly flipped through the stack of letters in his hand and, sure enough, found that familiar name among them.
"Wool's Orphanage"
The content of the thank-you letters was more or less the same. A picture of little Tom working a sewing machine suddenly surfaced in Makiya's mind.
High-price buybacks—not a single cent of even the highest price would reach the orphans' hands. On the contrary, the director of the orphanage might even force the orphans to work overtime to earn high profits.
Besides the pile of thank-you letters, there was also an account book and a booklet filled with drawings of cultural relics. Most of the drawings had an 'X' behind them, and only a few had a question mark or the words [Working on connections] written behind them.
Makiya threw away all the ragged clothes in his canvas bag and packed the account book, the booklet, and the thank-you letters from Wool's Orphanage into it. He then walked out of the vault and closed the door.
Hagrid still had important business to attend to. Dumbledore had asked him to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone, made by the alchemy master Nicolas Flamel, from a vault. His mysterious behavior piqued Harry's curiosity. In response to the questions, Hagrid only said that this was a secret of Hogwarts and warned the two not to mention it to anyone.
Next was the shopping spree. Makiya and Harry spent a large amount of Galleons at Flourish and Blotts. Especially Makiya, who bought many upper-year books and books outside the curriculum, causing his wallet to deflate by nearly half.
The price for first-year textbooks, such as "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," was 2 Galleons, while the upper-year "Advanced Potion-Making" cost 9 Galleons. The more advanced the knowledge, the more ridiculous the price. In contrast, the large pile of snacks Harry bought on the Hogwarts Express only cost 11 Sickles and 7 Knuts.
The shopkeeper thoughtfully tied the large stack of new books with straw rope. Hagrid, without a word, took the books of both Makiya and Harry into his hands and signaled the two to head to the next stop.
To buy a wand!
Ollivanders looked ordinary on the outside. The sign was peeling, and the door frame was small, shabby, and inconspicuous, yet it was one of the most important shops in the entire Diagon Alley.
[Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.]
The lettering on the sign was somewhat blurry, as if to prove the truth of those words.
The shop was empty. After Makiya and Harry entered, Hagrid said mysteriously to them, "Wait here for a bit. I have something to do; I'll be right back."
Having said that, he strode away quickly.
Makiya and Harry exchanged a glance. They could only stack their books by the door and look around the dim wand shop.
The area inside the shop was not large. A dim yellow hanging lamp emitted a faint light. Huge shelves occupied most of the space, with tens of thousands of wands stacked upon them. The tops of the shelves were covered in spiderwebs. There were no flashy decorations; the small shop was filled with an ancient atmosphere everywhere.
If one hadn't known beforehand, who would have thought that this cluttered storefront was the starting point for all British wizards.
"Makiya," Harry whispered, tilting his head. "Have you thought about what kind of pet you want to buy?"
Makiya shook his head. "Not yet. What about you? What kind of pet do you want to buy? A snake?"
"I want an owl." Harry smiled shyly. Just passing the pet shop, he had taken a liking to a snowy owl with a completely white body and some brown spots on its wings.
Makiya's expression was strange. Between the two of them plus Batman, the three of them couldn't even put together half a father. Who was he buying an owl to send letters to?
"What's wrong?" Harry scratched his head.
"Nothing. Let's buy a wand first. After the wand, we'll go buy pets."
Owls were still very useful. Makiya also planned to buy one. Whether for remote shopping or sending letters to friends, they would come in handy. Besides, Harry didn't need to buy his own; Hagrid was surely at the pet shop right now.
Thump!
Suddenly, a dull sound caught their attention. The white-haired Ollivander appeared among the shelves, his hazy eyes looking toward them.
"Oh, I've been wondering when I'd see you, Mr. Potter, Mr. Maki," a voice full of vigor reached their ears.
Makiya was stunned. It was fine for the old man to know Harry, but he could actually call out his surname directly. He definitely had a bit of a talent for prophecy.
Shouldn't Westerners be face-blind when looking at Easterners?
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