"Wow, I didn't realize you were such a little tycoon."
Hagrid couldn't help but exclaim after Vault 712 was opened.
To Hagrid, who spent all his money on magical creatures, 1,000 Galleons was truly a huge sum.
Qin Yu rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed by Hagrid's comment... but it was hard to explain too much, since Qin Yu himself couldn't clarify the origin of the money.
After his exclamation, Hagrid didn't say much more, letting Qin Yu get the money himself. He took advantage of the moment to...
Quietly ask the vault keeper about the situation with the adjacent Vault 713.
After receiving replies like "impregnable and foolproof," Hagrid repeatedly said, "That's good then," and his expression looked much more relieved.
Qin Yu glanced at the vault next to them, shrugged, and thought to himself that the contents within were not something he could touch. It would be easy to bring trouble upon himself, so he should stay as far away as possible.
...
After exchanging the pounds and withdrawing some money, Qin Yu and Hagrid left Gringotts.
However, just as they stepped out of the main doors of Gringotts, someone greeted Hagrid.
"Hey, Hagrid, long time no see!" the person said enthusiastically.
"Bill Weasley? What are you doing here? I heard you went to work in Egypt," Hagrid said, looking at the person with some surprise.
"I do work in Egypt, but recently a batch of treasure that's had its curses broken was transported back to Gringotts for safekeeping, so I came along with the escort team. Hehe, and to make a trip home on the side," Bill Weasley said with a smile.
"Oh, so you're mixing business with pleasure, are you," Hagrid teased.
"Can't be helped. There's no summer vacation after you start working, so I can only take this opportunity to come back," Bill said with a helpless shrug.
"Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is Qin Yu, a new first-year student who just enrolled this year," Hagrid remembered to introduce the little fellow beside him to Bill.
"Hello, Qin Yu. I'm Bill Weasley, also a Hogwarts student, though I've already graduated for a year," Bill greeted Qin Yu.
"Hello, Senior Bill. It's a pleasure to meet you," Qin Yu replied with a smile.
Of course, Qin Yu knew him—the eldest son of the Weasley family, Ron's older brother. He should have gone to Egypt to work as a Curse-Breaker after graduating last year. Meeting him here was as much a surprise to Qin Yu as it was to Hagrid.
"What a polite junior, not like my two twin brothers who do nothing but cause trouble all day... Qin, if you run into two prank-loving twins at Hogwarts, you must report them to a teacher. I hope the teachers can discipline them properly," Bill said to Qin Yu.
Faced with this statement of placing justice above family ties, Qin Yu could only chuckle vaguely, thinking to himself, The Weasley family is truly a picture of paternal love, filial piety, and brotherly harmony.
"I have to go, I need to deliver something and then go home to see Ron, Ginny..." Bill was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He took out a small, palm-sized object and said to Qin Yu, "Junior Qin, a small gift for you. This is a miniature pyramid I made. Consider it a welcome gift."
"Ah? This looks very valuable, how can I accept..." Qin Yu said quickly.
"It's alright, it's just a little trinket I made when I was bored in Egypt. It's not worth much. My younger brother and sister each have one... I'll let you in on a little secret, I used an ancient spell I deciphered from the pyramids inside... if you put something like a cherry in it, it will stay fresh for a long time!" Bill said with a mysterious look.
To be honest, Qin Yu was quite tempted when he saw this little object... after all, he hadn't received any gifts from the magical world yet...
Even though Bill said it wasn't worth much, it was novel enough for Qin Yu.
"Go on, take it," Bill said, stuffing the miniature pyramid directly into Qin Yu's hand. Then he waved and said, "See you around, Qin! Goodbye, Hagrid!"
"Thank you, Senior Bill, see you around!" Qin Yu waved back at him.
After saying goodbye, Bill walked into Gringotts in a cheerful mood to hand over his items.
Looking at the pyramid in his hand, Qin Yu thought to himself, Well, I'll just take it. At worst, I'll just have to take extra care of my silly junior, Ron, in the future.
Yes, based on their enrollment year, Ron was indeed Qin Yu's junior.
...
After leaving Gringotts, as they passed the Eeylops Owl Emporium, Qin Yu remembered the matter of writing to Hermione.
Although he hadn't officially started school yet, he could get his messenger first!
He saw the sign at the entrance listing: Tawny Owls, Scops Owls, Barn Owls, Brown Owls, Snowy Owls...
Qin Yu thought to himself that these were all protected species in the Muggle world; using them as postal carriers was a bit of a luxury!
He walked around the shop and, without hesitation, chose a Snowy Owl. It was indeed the most beautiful one there.
However, looking at the price of 18 Galleons, Qin Yu couldn't help...
But feel a sharp pang. Calculated at the current exchange rate, that was 90 pounds!
However, on second thought, if he averaged the cost over each day, it didn't seem too expensive. He would just consider it "pre-paying for his phone plan."
Thus, Qin Yu took out 18 Galleons from his money pouch, lined them up on the counter, and then took the beautiful owl from the shopkeeper.
When Hagrid saw him with the Snowy Owl, he praised him, "That's a rather rare breed. You've got a really good eye!"
Qin Yu nodded in agreement. At this moment, the owl was perched on Qin Yu's arm, staring at him with its round eyes. Looking at the cute little fellow on his arm, he said, "From now on, your name is Trigg!"
"Hmm, a good name," Hagrid's English was so-so; he just thought the name sounded nice.
Carrying the cage with the owl, Qin Yu followed Hagrid to Flourish and Blotts to buy textbooks.
Compared to the expensive owl, the prices of these textbooks were much more reasonable. The first-year textbooks were basically 1 Galleon each...
Qin Yu only paid a dozen or so Galleons to purchase all the books on his list, including A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and so on, covering all the subjects he would study in his first year.
The items were a bit heavy, and Hagrid kindly helped Qin Yu carry them. His strength was much greater than that of a little guy like Qin Yu.
As they continued walking, Qin Yu wanted to linger in front of every shop to see what was being sold inside. The helpless Hagrid had to pat him on the shoulder and say:
"Qin, we need to hurry to Ollivanders Wand Shop. You need to buy a suitable wand. You'll never see everything in Diagon Alley. I'll bring you back another time."
"Alright, I'll definitely come back when I have the chance. I feel like this place is full of business opportunities," Qin Yu remarked.
Hearing the business opportunities mentioned by the little boy, the bearded Hagrid couldn't help but purse his lips, disagreeing in his heart. He felt that the people here were very cunning, and every time he came here, he had to spend a large sum of money, which only made his already tight finances worse.
Therefore, he had to leave quickly today and not stay too long. He was afraid that if he stayed longer, he would see some animal he wanted to buy.
"Woof—" "Woof—"
As Hagrid was walking, he suddenly heard three dog-like barks.
His eyes lit up, and he immediately stopped in his tracks, listening intently.
His intuition told him that this was the call of a rare magical creature.
Out of curiosity, he couldn't help but walk in the direction of the sound, completely forgetting the self-admonition he had just made in his mind.
"Hagrid, what do you think about me opening a shop here? Do you need a business license? By the way, Hagrid, since you have so many pets, could you possibly use... Huh? Where'd he go?"
Qin Yu was talking as he walked, but when he turned back, he found that Hagrid had disappeared.
What happened to being in a hurry? How did he just vanish?
Qin Yu was utterly exasperated.