Right?
8: Chapter 8: He Must Be a Hufflepuff…
Right?
Ding You have paid 7 Galleons.
After working hard for most of the day, Elavin and Dumbledore finally left Ollivanders Wand Shop.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw a young wizard led by a parent walking into the shop, followed by the familiar voice from inside.
“You will do great things, young wizard.” Elavin: “…” “See?
I told you he says that to every customer.” Dumbledore laughed heartily as well.
“Maybe that’s the real reason Ollivander’s shop has stood for thousands of years!” “Come on, now we need to go to Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.” Actually, in terms of location, it would have been more convenient to go to Flourish and Blotts first for the textbooks.
But since robes, cauldrons, and other essentials were more necessary, and the cost of textbooks was more unpredictable, Elavin decided to leave that stop for last.
Three sets of standard robes, one wizard’s hat, one pair of protective gloves, and one winter cloak cost a total of 8 Galleons and 2 Sickles.
The cauldron, potion vials, telescope, and other tools cost 12 Galleons.
A gray owl for sending letters — Elavin named her “Telf” — cost 8 Galleons.
“Adding that up, I’ve got less than 5 Galleons left.” On the way to Flourish and Blotts, Elavin recounted the coins in his pouch, then looked up at Dumbledore.
“Is that enough for second-hand books, Professor?” “I think so,” Dumbledore replied after a moment’s thought.
“But if it’s not enough, don’t worry.
I can lend you the difference.” “Hmm…
all right.” Seeing Elavin fall silent, Dumbledore spoke up.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I said ‘lend’ instead of ‘give for free’?” Elavin’s head snapped up, eyes gleaming.
“Could you?!” Dumbledore: “…” “Hahaha…” Elavin couldn’t help laughing.
“Of course I know that wouldn’t work.
The school’s financial aid is one thing.
Personal funding from the headmaster is another.
If you fund one student for free today, tomorrow there will be a second, a third, even a hundred students demanding you fund them for free.
If you fund a Knut today, tomorrow someone will want you to fund a Galleon, 10 Galleons, even a hundred Galleons.” “Those who don’t get funding will feel it’s unfair.
They’ll get jealous, envious, they’ll isolate and bully those who do get funding.
And those who get funding might feel they didn’t get enough, resenting both those who got nothing and the person who funded them.” “So, this ‘free funding’ door can never be opened.
It’s not about being cold-hearted.
It’s about cutting off the potential negative consequences at the root.
Even if you really did want to fund me for free, Professor, I wouldn’t accept it.” The more Dumbledore listened, the more shaken he felt.
Merlin’s beard!
Were these words coming from an 11-year-old?!
Had Muggle education already progressed to such a terrifying level?!
Well, now there was no need to guess which house he’d be sorted into.
With this kind of foresight, wisdom, clarity of mind, and sense of fairness, this young wizard was definitely going to be a Hufflepuff after he started school.
Dumbledore thought to himself.
Ten minutes later…
“Hufflepuff…
or Ravenclaw?” Watching Elavin burrow into the pile of used books, flipping through them eagerly, Dumbledore hesitated again.
He was certain that in all his years at Hogwarts, he had never seen a young wizard as hard to read as this boy.
It was hard to imagine that the same boy who had just delivered that speech about fairness was now absolutely delighted to get his hands on some old books.
His expression was about as joyful as Dumbledore’s own when he devoured a whole bag of Cockroach Clusters.
After buying the second-hand textbooks required for first year, Elavin quickly turned his attention to the extracurricular books.
“A Hundred Useful Household Spells?
Buy!” “Beginner’s Cooking Spells?
Buy!” “An unknown senior’s Potions notes from after graduation?
Buy!” “A Ravenclaw upperclassman’s handwritten Essentials of Defence Against the Dark Arts notebook?
Buy!” After quite a while, Elavin carried a stack of old books and scrolls to the counter.
“Boss, I’ll take this one, this one, this one, and all these.
Can you give me a discount?” “Huh?
Do you even know how to do business?
10% off for one item, 20% off for two, 30% off for three — that’s common sense!!” After a good round of haggling, Elavin and the owner of Flourish and Blotts finally settled on a price both were happy with.
When Elavin walked out of Flourish and Blotts, his 40 Galleons had been spent completely clean, not a single Knut left.
“Woohoo~ So satisfying!!” Dumbledore asked in confusion, “You’ve spent all your money, so why are you so happy?” “No, no, no…” Elavin raised one index finger and wagged it left and right, answering proudly, “The money isn’t gone.
It’s just staying with me in another form.” Good heavens!
What a novel way of putting it!
Dumbledore couldn’t tell whether this was a difference in perspective between wizards and Muggles, or simply a generation gap between an old man like himself and the youth.
“There’s still a month until school starts.
What are your plans?
Do you need me to provide you with a place to stay?” Elavin waved his hand and chuckled.
“No need, no need.
I’ll just go back to the Ritz Hotel in London.” “I’m willing to bet that what I spend on myself this month won’t even be a fraction of their monthly income.” Dumbledore: “…” Merlin’s socks!
Boy, you should quit while you’re ahead.
Even shearing sheep doesn’t work like that!
Still, Dumbledore had taken a liking to Elavin today, so he decided to turn a blind eye to whatever the boy did next.
“This is your ticket.” He pulled a ticket from his robe and handed it to Elavin.
“September 1st, King’s Cross Station, Platform 9¾.” “Just don’t forget to come to school.” … Nightfall Elavin returned to his room at the Ritz Hotel in London.
After shopping all afternoon, he was exhausted.
So the first thing he did upon returning was bathe, eat, and sleep.
At 3 in the morning, fully rested, Elavin opened his eyes and sat up.
“Time to test it out!” With a thought, a virtual panel appeared in his mind [System Interface] [Name]: Elavin Yakute [Race]: Human [Age]: 11 [Mage Summoning]: 20 days (cooldown) [Active Summons]: [Blue/Mest] [Blue/Racer] [Green/Bisca]