Right now, Qin Yu had two sums of money. One was the 1,000 Galleon "student grant" awarded by the system, and the other was the 500 pounds sponsored by Mr. Granger.
It had to be said that Mr. Granger was quite generous; 500 pounds was a considerable sum at the time...
For an ordinary middle school student, it was already very generous, but he didn't know if it was convenient to exchange Muggle money for Galleons.
The money awarded by the system was stored in the wizarding bank. Qin Yu only had a vault key, and the vault number was 712.
After leaving the Granger family, Hagrid took Qin Yu onto a tram.
On the tram, Qin Yu asked, "Are we going to get supplies in a bit? I might need to go to the wizarding bank first. I have some pounds, and also..."
Hagrid was very surprised and said, "You seem to know a lot. We are indeed going to Diagon Alley to buy some necessary things. I'll take you to Gringotts first. It's a bank run by goblins. Muggle money can be exchanged there for a certain ratio of Galleons...
However, there are many restrictions on the exchange. Fortunately, you're a first-year student. With your admission letter, they'll give you a certain Exchange Quota."
Qin Yu nodded, then asked curiously, "I heard that goblins can perform Goblin Magic. Who is more powerful, them or wizards?"
"Yes, Goblin Magic is an ancient form of magic, and they have a certain talent for it! However, in front of some powerful wizards, goblins are still very weak," Hagrid said, a hint of indignation in his tone.
"Oh, I see."
"Of course, Gringotts, guarded by the goblins, is quite safe. You don't have to worry about your money and valuables being stolen if you deposit them there," Hagrid added.
Little did he know, he had just unwittingly set a flag for Gringotts that could fall at any moment.
The two chatted on the tram, and Qin Yu learned more about the wizarding world and what kind of school supplies to buy.
...
After the tram stopped at a certain station, Hagrid led Qin Yu off the vehicle and, after many twists and turns, arrived at a place that looked very dirty and messy.
Hagrid pointed ahead and said, "This is The Leaky Cauldron. We'll go from here to Diagon Alley in a moment, where you can buy everything you need."
Qin Yu looked at this inconspicuous place, thinking, This is too narrow, how can it be a pub? And can Hagrid's large body even fit inside?
Only wizards could see this place; it seemed that the Muggles passing by couldn't see it at all. Before he could say anything, Hagrid pushed him in.
As soon as he walked in, Qin Yu felt his head suddenly buzz, because it was really too noisy here.
Everyone was chattering away. A group of people was pontificating, saying that the wizarding world really had no one left, that even Cornelius Fudge could become the Minister for Magic. Another person said mysteriously that it was only because Dumbledore had no interest in power and just wanted to stay at Hogwarts teaching children how to brew potions.
Qin Yu wanted to hear what they would say next, but Hagrid had no intention of stopping and strode forward.
The pub owner, upon seeing them, greeted Hagrid enthusiastically, ready to pour him a drink. Hagrid waved his hand and said, "I have things to do, I'll drink another day!"
Hagrid felt that taking a young wizard to buy things, especially a task assigned by Dumbledore, gave him an inexplicable sense of mission! He actually really wanted to have a couple of drinks at the side, but business came first!
After nodding, Hagrid led Qin Yu towards the bar. After going around it, they came to a place that resembled a dead end.
Qin Yu, of course, knew this famous scene.
Sure enough, Hagrid took out his umbrella, tapped a brick on the wall with its tip, and muttered something like an incantation. The bricks on the wall suddenly rearranged themselves, revealing an arched doorway. On the other side of the doorway, a road appeared, and on both sides of the road were various small shops with signs.
"Hurry up, little fella, we don't have much time," Hagrid urged.
Then, Qin Yu, somewhat excitedly, followed Hagrid through the door and into the legendary "Diagon Alley."
And after they went in, the doorway closed automatically.
...
Besides the school of magic, the place Qin Yu most wanted to visit was Diagon Alley. There were many novelties here, much more interesting than in Muggle shops. As they walked down the street, Qin Yu wished he could grow eight more eyes. He looked around everywhere; all the shops, the objects in front of the shops, and the shoppers were very similar to what he had seen in the movies, yet also very different.
The unique atmosphere of the wizarding world left Qin Yu momentarily mesmerized.
"This is Gringotts Wizarding Bank!" Hagrid's voice brought Qin Yu back to his senses.
Qin Yu looked up and saw that they had arrived in front of a white building. This building was much taller than the surrounding shops, standing out like a crane among chickens.
At the entrance stood a goblin doorman, who was a bit shorter than Qin Yu at his current age, with a pointed beard and long fingers and feet.
When Qin Yu and Hagrid walked in, the goblin bowed to them.
"Hi!" Qin Yu waved and greeted him subconsciously.
Arriving at the second door, Qin Yu marveled inwardly that no matter where you were, banks were always the most magnificent buildings. The doors here were even made of silver...
But the words carved on this door were quite interesting. It said: Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed...
The last part was probably something like "Don't mess with me, I'm super fierce."
After walking in, Qin Yu looked at the goblin employees sitting on both sides and muttered, "There are really a lot of employees here!"
Behind the counter were dozens, perhaps hundreds, of goblins, all looking very focused, ignoring any irrelevant people!
"The ones who manage money really have a different air about them!"
Hagrid said from the side, "Alright, I just asked. The counter at the very front is where you exchange Galleons!"
Qin Yu followed his gaze and saw an elderly goblin sitting at the innermost counter. He was wearing a well-tailored suit, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his pointed nose. His eyes held a hint of majesty, staring straight at people as if he could see through your thoughts at a glance.
Qin Yu had already taken the money out of his pocket. Although he didn't find these goblins very likable, he had to follow the rules here!
Perhaps because the goblins themselves were short, the counter was far too high for Qin Yu. He had no choice but to hand the money to Hagrid and let him handle it.
The goblin sitting above asked, "What do you want?"
Hagrid said, "We're here to exchange for Galleons. This is Mr. Qin Yu, who is about to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The goblin sized up Qin Yu, then carefully examined his admission letter before saying in a largely emotionless tone, "You have an Exchange Quota of fifty Galleons."
"Huh? That's it?" Qin Yu was a little surprised.
Hagrid had just told him that the current exchange rate between pounds and Galleons was 5:1. Didn't that mean he could only exchange 250 pounds?
"Young wizard, you must understand that finance is a very dangerous thing. We cannot allow the currency of the Muggle world to excessively influence the wizarding world, and vice versa," the goblin explained in a cold tone.
"Is there any way to increase the exchange quota?" Qin Yu pressed.
"Of course. For example, if you have an account at Gringotts with a certain amount of funds or items... we can increase your exchange quota by 10% of the total value of those assets," the goblin said slowly.
Hearing this, Qin Yu took out his Gringotts Key and handed it over on his tiptoes.