Lucius didn’t have a deep understanding of Christmas, but she understood its importance.
Christmas in Britain seemed to be as eagerly anticipated as the Chinese Spring Festival.
Families would gather together to eat homemade turkey, stuffing its belly with various vegetables and fruits, then brushing layers of spices onto the outside of the turkey with a small brush. The aroma that wafted out after roasting was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Even in the orphanage where Lucius lived, there was a joyful and expectant festive atmosphere. The usual meals were mostly bland, and it was enough just to fill their stomachs.
Only occasional donations from kind-hearted people allowed them to have an extra meal or a new piece of clothing.
Only a major holiday like Christmas gave them something to look forward to.
“Oh! Anna, my dear, do you know? Today is truly a lucky day!” Early in the morning, Mrs. Grace exclaimed excitedly. She usually appeared strict and proper, but now her face was flushed with excitement, like a happy child.
An anonymous kind-hearted person donated a considerable sum of pounds to the orphanage. With so much money, we can buy so many things—the turkey, pudding, and pies the children have been longing for, as well as warm clothes. It’s more than enough. He is simply too generous. May God bless him!”
The children also cheered with joy. Standing among them, Lucius revealed a subtle, “hiding her achievements and fame” smile.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to exchange the one hundred gold Galleons for pounds in advance. According to the exchange rate in Harry Potter, where one Galleon equaled five pounds, she had a total of 500 pounds.
(The school subsidy was temporarily not counted.)
Lucius secretly and anonymously donated 400 pounds to the orphanage, keeping the rest for herself as a backup. She could now prepare to buy some Christmas gifts for her friends.
……..
Before returning to school in early January, Lucius decided to make a trip to Diagon Alley.
Taking the subway and transferring to several buses was a bit of a hassle, but she managed to reach her destination smoothly.
Lucius went directly to Gringotts, a towering white building. This should be her second time visiting this place. The previous time, when she exchanged the Galleons for pounds, she was too nervous to look around much and didn’t get a clear view of the interior of Gringotts.
This time, however, Lucius weighed the shiny golden key lying flat in her palm, feeling somewhat confident—like the kind of arrogance that comes with “having money makes you the boss.”
This was the golden key she had managed to get from Dumbledore!
After holding back for so long, she could finally put it to use.
Pushing open the ancient bronze door, Lucius faced the gaze of the Goblin guards. They indeed looked strange and not very pleasant, hardly living up to the enchanting name “Goblin,” but their attire was extremely dignified. All of them wore scarlet and gold uniforms, looking spirited and full of vitality.
“Miss, may I ask what business you need to conduct?” A Goblin resembling a front desk clerk stepped forward, bowing professionally with a neither humble nor arrogant attitude.
Lucius revealed the golden key in her hand. The Goblin’s eyes immediately brightened several degrees, and his attitude became almost fawning as he smiled and said, “Esteemed miss, Beckie is delighted to serve you. Will you be withdrawing or depositing money?”
“Withdraw money.” Lucius put on the airs of a haughty young lady, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. It seemed there were no other verification steps—the rumors were actually true: Gringotts recognized only the key, not the person.
Who could the original owner of this golden key be?
Dumbledore? Lucius immediately ruled him out. Although Dumbledore’s reputation in the wizarding world was resounding, he might not necessarily be wealthy. The nobler a person, the less likely they were to be tainted by profit.
Besides, he had a secret Order of the Phoenix, which consumed not only manpower and energy but also Galleons. It was unlikely he would have a private vault to spare.
Judging by the expression of the goblin named Griphook, the scale of this vault was not small.
As for Voldemort, that should also be impossible. A self-made man who rose from nothing, his startup funds were contributed by several major families. Even after his resurgence, he didn’t have a proper residence to settle in. Instead, he shamelessly occupied the Malfoy family’s manor for meetings.
“Please come this way. Griphook will take this young lady to Vault 819.”
The experience that followed needs no further description—the ride in the cart was absolutely dreadful!
Lucius felt as though her internal organs were being jostled and tangled up. For the first time in her life, she experienced the nausea of motion sickness.
Fortunately, Lucius swallowed a lemon drop to ease the discomfort slightly. After enduring it for a short while, they finally arrived at the destination.
When Griphook inserted his key, along with Lucius’s golden key, into the lock, two clicks echoed, and the vault door slowly swung open. What greeted her eyes was a small mountain of gleaming Galleons, shining so brightly it could blind anyone with its opulence.
Lucius went in alone and filled a large chest, shrinking it with a spell before tucking it into her pocket. She then familiarized herself with every corner of the vault. To her surprise, apart from the piles of Galleons, in the darkest area at the back, several exquisite silver boxes were neatly arranged—unlocked ones at that.
The contents of the boxes were extravagantly luxurious: a ruby and amethyst crown, a raw pink diamond bracelet, an emerald peacock brooch, a Josephine blue diamond necklace, a yellow gemstone wristwatch… dazzling and breathtakingly beautiful.
As a genuinely poor girl in both lifetimes, she had never seen so many precious pieces of jewelry before. Lucius was quite impressed with her own self-control for not screaming in excitement on the spot.
From today onward, she, Lusa Riddle, was a wealthy little heiress! (≧≦)/
It seemed the previous owner of the golden key must have been a pampered young lady from a wealthy family. Otherwise, how could she have such a large private vault?
Recalling the System’s meaningful words about a “new heir,” Lucius couldn’t help but feel a moment of distraction. The System’s hint was clearly not without purpose. The previous owner of the vault must have been related to her by blood, perhaps even closely so.
A wealthy witch? A pure-blood noble? One of Voldemort’s lovers, an abandoned child… Lucius connected these words and couldn’t help but make a bold speculation: she was most likely the daughter of the vault’s previous owner.
Her mysterious birth mother must have died; otherwise, this key wouldn’t have ended up in her hands, making her the new heir.
But the question remained: Who was her birth mother? How did she die? Since she was so wealthy, her family background must have been respectable. Why would she abandon her child at the doorstep of an orphanage back then?
Lucius rubbed his throbbing forehead, the more he thought about it, the less satisfying it became. He decided to stop dwelling on it altogether. After neatly packing everything from the silver box, he called for Griphook and, with a pained expression, rode the small cart back the way he came.
Once his business was concluded, Lucius once again received a warm greeting from the goblin Bick. Unimpressed, Lucius simply nodded and walked straight out of Gringotts.
But as luck would have it, he ran into a handsome man walking in through the entrance—a familiar face at that.
Lucius thought to himself: I must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving the house today! →_→