Gringotts Deposit

"Last step. I'll take you to Gringotts."

They did not linger in the shop for long. Tonks continued on with George and brought him to Gringotts.

Gringotts was the only wizarding bank in Britain's Magic World. It was run by goblins and stood on the north side of Diagon Alley.

Aside from storing money and safeguarding valuables for wizards and witches, it could also exchange Muggle currency for magical currency.

George had now officially inherited the old wizard's estate through the Ministry of Magic, so naturally he had to come to Gringotts and turn all the money the old wizard had deposited here into his own.

So ugly!

Arriving at the entrance to Gringotts, George looked at the goblin guards in their scarlet uniforms trimmed with gold and muttered inwardly.

The goblins and elves of this world were not the beautiful creatures people imagined. On the contrary, they were extremely ugly, more or less like goblins.

Following Tonks up the white steps and through Gringotts' bronze doors, a second set of silver doors appeared before his eyes, engraved with striking words.

The gist was: do not get any wicked ideas about Gringotts' wealth, or you would die a miserable death.

Two goblin attendants stood beside the silver doors. When they saw Tonks and George, they first bowed to them, then led them into a tall marble hall.

There were roughly a hundred goblins bustling about inside, handling all kinds of business for the wizards who came in.

Tonks brought George over to an idle goblin and took out the various documents they had just processed at the Ministry of Magic, handing them over.

"Change of inheritance for an underground vault."

The goblins at Gringotts were nothing like the staff at the Ministry of Magic. They were extremely efficient. The goblin swiftly checked all the documents, confirmed there were no problems, and said to George, "This is the key to underground vault number 352. Please keep it safe. Do you need to go to the vault to withdraw money now?"

"No need. Just tell me how many Galleons are left in the vault right now."

George took the key and put it in his pocket.

There were still five hundred Galleons left in the shop after the old wizard's death, enough for him to use for now.

"Underground vault number 352 currently contains a total of thirteen thousand two hundred Galleons."

The goblin flipped through the accounts and replied.

"Looks like the potion business really is profitable. I only make a hundred Galleons a month right now, and even after I'm made permanent, it'll only be a hundred and forty Galleons."

Beside him, Tonks could not help showing an envious expression.

At her salary, it would probably take her ten years to have that many Galleons, and that was assuming she spent nothing. Otherwise, she might not be able to save that much even in twenty or thirty years.

George, who had originally furrowed his brow, instantly calmed down after hearing Tonks' words.

Originally, he had thought the old wizard would have at least over a hundred thousand Galleons in savings, so when he heard there were only just over ten thousand Galleons, he had been somewhat disappointed.

But when he thought about it carefully, it was actually quite normal.

The old wizard ran a Potions shop and dealt in the black market, so he definitely made money, probably even more than a legitimate Potions shop.

But buying this Potions shop had absolutely cost quite a bit. On top of that, researching potions, especially high-level potions, burned through money like water. The expenditure must have been enormous.

With just over ten thousand Galleons left now, it made sense.

And compared with Tonks' salary, more than ten thousand Galleons was already a great deal, enough to splurge for a long time.

Wizarding currency was divided into three kinds: gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and copper Knuts.

One Galleon equaled seventeen silver Sickles, and one silver Sickle equaled twenty-nine copper Knuts.

According to Dora's memories, a copy of the Daily Prophet cost only five copper Knuts, an ordinary meal was only about two or three silver Sickles, and most wizards' wands cost no more than ten Galleons.

"George, Hogwarts should send you another acceptance letter tomorrow morning. Study magic properly at Hogwarts. You'll definitely make lots of friends there. I'll be going now. Come see you when I have time!"

At the entrance to Gringotts, Tonks smiled and rubbed George's head again.

George's heart stirred at her words, and he then invited her with a face full of sincerity.

"Sister Tonks, if it weren't for you, there's no way I could have inherited the estate so smoothly. I want to treat you to lunch to express my gratitude. You won't refuse me, will you?"

"I..."

Tonks had originally wanted to say that she still had to return to the Ministry of Magic, but looking at George's sincere, expectant eyes, and then recalling the delicious food she had eaten that morning, she hesitated again.

"Of course I won't refuse. Then I'll trouble you."

It was already about that time anyway. She ought to eat and fill her stomach. It would not be a big deal if she returned to the Ministry of Magic a little later.

Seeing that Tonks had agreed, George inwardly let out a slight sigh of relief.

He needed Tonks to appear in his shop as often as possible. Only then could he dispel the little schemes of those dark wizards in Knockturn Alley.

At the same time, he also wanted to build as good a relationship with Tonks as possible.

If Tonks could often come sit in the shop, then he would have a chance, during the time before he went to Hogwarts, to ask Tonks for guidance and learn a few more spells.

This was extremely important for his main body.

Escaping the experimental base would not be an easy matter, and holding off the subsequent pursuit after fleeing would be even harder. Every extra spell he learned meant an extra layer of protection.

Especially since he knew that, on his main body's side, the opportunity to escape the experimental base would not be too far off.

"Good thing I'm a decent cook!"

George planned to make a proper tableful of delicious food next and see whether he could tempt Tonks into coming over more often with good meals.

As the old wizard's slave, Dora had developed fairly good cooking skills through years of practice, and George himself had also had a bit of an interest in food in his previous life.

Though he could not compare with professional chefs, his cooking had at least won unanimous approval from the friends around him.

Of course, Eastern and Western tastes in food were definitely different, but that was fine. He could make a few of the local British favorites among Eastern dishes, which would leave less room for error.

Besides, Britain itself did not really have much good food to begin with. How did that saying go?

The thinnest books in the world were Britain's cookbook and America's history book—something like that.

"What is this dish? The flavor is really special. Why have I never had it anywhere else before?"

"Sweet and Sour Pork."

"And this one? It's delicious too."

"Kung Pao Chicken."

"And this?"

"Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes."

After lunch, Tonks sat in her chair, rubbed her round, bulging belly, and sighed.

"I didn't expect you to know how to cook Chinese food."

"If Sister Tonks thinks it's good, you can come over often when you have time. I can make lots of other delicious dishes too."

George cleared away the bowls and chopsticks as he spoke with a smile.

Hearing that, Tonks waved her hand.

"How could I do that? Your sister's skin isn't that thick."

In her view, George was already pitiful enough. How could she rely on her status as an Auror to come over and take advantage of him? That was not her style.

Seeing Tonks refuse, George could roughly guess the reason, so he said seriously, "Sister Tonks, don't feel embarrassed. If you can come over often to eat, it'll actually help me a lot.

This is Knockturn Alley, after all."

By this point, there was no need to beat around the bush.

Tonks was no fool. After George gave her that reminder, she immediately caught on.

"In that case, all right. When I have time, I'll come find you and mooch a meal.

But I won't mooch off you for free. I'll buy all the ingredients. No refusing."