[Add this to library. Increase the collection. If this reaches 2,000 collection before 50 chapters. i will directly mass release 50 chapters]
The alley before them was bustling with people, filled with many young witches and wizards and their parents, just like Fel’s group.
The road was rather narrow, only about three or four meters wide by Fel’s estimate, and was paved with uneven stone blocks.
Strange looking shops lined both sides of the street, though most of them looked quite old and carried a strong sense of history.
Hermione took out the shopping list and read it carefully.
“Three sets of plain work robes, one wand, one pair of dragon hide gloves, one standard size 2 pewter cauldron…”
There were also first year textbooks, a telescope, and many other items.
The list was surprisingly long.
“The last part says each student may bring one owl, cat, or toad as a pet, and first year students are not allowed to bring their own broomsticks.”
Hermione frowned slightly.
“We can even bring pets? But first year students will have so much to learn. Looking after a pet might take time away from studying.”
Fel nodded in agreement.
“Let’s wait until later. Studying comes first.”
Professor McGonagall then led everyone to a massive three story building.
Four white marble columns supported the entrance, making the building look especially magnificent.
The sign above the entrance read “Gringotts Wizarding Bank.”
“Gringotts is run by goblins. It is the only bank in the wizarding world, and besides Hogwarts, it is the safest place there is.”
Professor McGonagall’s pride in Hogwarts was so strong that she never missed a chance to praise it.
After entering the grand hall, they saw a row of desks on each side, each equipped with brass scales and brightly polished lamps.
Dozens of short, ugly creatures with long pointed ears and noses were busy working.
Other than Fel, everyone seeing such creatures for the first time felt somewhat intimidated.
“These are goblins. They are obsessed with money and treasure, and they truly enjoy the complicated bookkeeping required by the bank.”
“However, they are very friendly toward humans, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Fel found it rather difficult to keep a straight face.
That explanation was only meant to reassure Hermione and the Grangers.
Goblins were hardly very friendly toward wizards.
Greedy and cunning were the words that described them best.
Goblins were nowhere near as obedient as house elves.
During the ancient magical wars, humans had completely conquered house elves, but they had clearly never completely conquered the goblins.
Fel felt they simply had not been beaten hard enough back then.
Allowing a group of goblins to control the wizarding bank was not a good thing, even if they truly did their jobs well.
Walking up to one of the goblins, Professor McGonagall calmly said, “These are Hogwarts’ new students, here to exchange Muggle currency for wizarding money.”
The goblin did not show any displeasure about exchanging valuable Galleons for what it considered useless pounds.
After all, this was a bank, and Professor McGonagall was standing right there.
There was no way it would dare provide poor service.
Goblins were small, not stupid.
“According to the rules, each new student may exchange a maximum of fifty Galleons.”
Mr.
Granger opened his backpack and took out several stacks of pounds along with a few gold bars.
The moment the goblin saw the gold, its expressionless face immediately twisted into an ugly smile as it stretched out its bark like hand.
“Oh, there is no exchange limit for gold!”
Everything had happened so suddenly that although Mr.
Granger wanted to prepare more money for Fel and Hermione, he simply had not been able to obtain much gold in such a short time.
Besides, Professor McGonagall had repeatedly assured him that fifty Galleons was more than enough.
While Mr.
Granger was haggling with the goblin, Professor McGonagall explained the wizarding currency system to Fel and Hermione.
Wizarding currency was based on three metals, gold, silver, and bronze.
Gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts.
One Galleon equaled seventeen Sickles, one Sickle equaled twenty nine Knuts, making one Galleon equal to four hundred and ninety three Knuts.
That meant a Galleon actually had considerable purchasing power.
Fel rubbed his forehead.
“This exchange system is so strange. Couldn’t they have made the numbers simpler?”
Professor McGonagall completely agreed, but changing an entire monetary system was obviously no easy task, especially when the existing one worked well enough.
…
After leaving Gringotts, the group began their grand shopping trip.
Professor McGonagall first took them to buy two trunks enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
From the outside they appeared to be only about one foot in length and width, but the space inside was actually three times larger.
The Undetectable Extension Charm was normally illegal for private use, but luggage trunks and family tents were perfectly legal exceptions.
Next they visited Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions to purchase their school robes.
Madam Malkin was a short, plump witch dressed in purple with a cheerful smile.
As she measured Hermione for her robes, she enthusiastically promoted her newest clothing designs, explaining how wonderful the materials were and how clever the tailoring was.
She almost convinced Mrs.
Granger to buy one as well, but since there was really nowhere to wear such traditional clothing in the Muggle world, she reluctantly gave up.
“No, thank you, Madam. We’re new students, and we still have many things on the shopping list to buy. Perhaps we’ll come back for clothes another time.”
Hermione had little interest in dressing up.
Right now, she simply wanted to finish buying all these miscellaneous items so they could hurry to the bookstore and the wand shop.
After quite a bit of running around, the Granger family finally finished buying almost everything.
Only the most important things remained, the books and the wand.
Flourish and Blotts was actually right beside Madam Malkin’s shop, but Professor McGonagall had deliberately saved it for later.
The bookshelves inside were packed with books that stretched all the way to the ceiling.
Some were enormous leather bound volumes as large as paving stones, others were tiny silver covered books no bigger than postage stamps, while some were covered with countless strange symbols.
The shopkeeper casually pointed toward a table where several neatly bundled sets of books had already been prepared.
“Several complete sets of first year textbooks are already packed. Just pick whichever bundle you like. Thirteen Galleons.”
Fel and Hermione exchanged a glance before each stepping forward to choose a bundle.
Fel untied the strap and checked the books against the first year reading list.
“The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch…”
Fel only gave them a quick inspection to make sure everything was included.
Hermione, on the other hand, excitedly spoke with the shopkeeper because she wanted to buy several additional books.
Everything about the wizarding world fascinated her, but it also made her uneasy.
“Fel, children from wizarding families must have already learned lots of magic.”
“Our grades might end up at the bottom of the class, so we have to study even harder.”
Fel wanted to tell her that she was thinking far too much.
Based on the story from his memories, Hermione’s grades would leave everyone else far behind.
It would be strange if she didn’t come first.
Fel tried to analyze the reason.
First, a young wizard’s magic was unstable before reaching school age, so learning spells could be dangerous.
Second, young witches and wizards viewed magic the same way Muggle children viewed ordinary tools.
It was something they had always possessed, so they naturally failed to appreciate how precious it truly was.
Just as everyone knew that studying was important, yet Muggle schools still had plenty of poor students, magical schools were naturally no different.
Compared with studying spells, young witches and wizards preferred playing Wizard Chess or collecting Chocolate Frog cards.
Human nature had far more in common than the difference between Muggles and wizards.
After thinking for a moment, Fel said, “Hermione, we don’t need to buy two copies of every extracurricular book. Each of us can buy different ones, and we can share them.”
Hermione nodded happily before running off to choose more books.
“Hogwarts: A History. I definitely have to read this one…”
When Fel walked out of Flourish and Blotts, he wore the brightest smile he had shown all day.
At last, it was time to choose a wand!