Purebloods and Nouveau Riche

"Why are your procedures so complicated?" a witch complained, clutching a piece of parchment as if she were about to lose her mind.

The Goblin on the high stool behind the counter nodded with a smile. "We will seriously discuss the issue you have raised."

Only then did the witch's anger subside a little.

Anton watched curiously from nearby as the Goblin attending him handed him a key and carried an oil lamp. "Sir, the procedures are complete. Let us go to the vault."

"?" Anton glanced curiously at the witch. "I don't need to fill out forms like she does?"

The Goblin looked at Anton's hair again and replied with sincere friendliness, "Some people have privileges."

Anton finally understood.

His vivid red hair with its platinum sheen, along with a face that looked somewhat like Ron's—could he really be related to the Weasley family?

Pureblood families?

These Goblins did not monopolize the Wizarding World's finances. Rather, they operated this bank to serve wizards. It looked much the same, but their actual status was completely different.

Especially in the eyes of those at the top of the wizarding hierarchy, these Goblins might not have been much different from House-elves.

No matter how unwilling the Goblins were, submission was still submission.

Anton raised an eyebrow. "Lead the way."

Pureblood families did not really mean much. There were no true nobles in the Wizarding World, and there were not many Pureblood families that were genuinely doing well. The Weasley family only supported a large household through the hard 996 grind of a minor civil servant.

He was not interested in what bloodline this body had.

But the title was useful!

There was no reason not to use it. The more arrogant Anton acted, the more visibly humble the Goblin became.

They passed through a narrow stone corridor, climbed into a small cart, and sped forward along the little railway tracks.

Spinning, rolling, drifting...

The miserable Roller-Coaster Transfiguration-like experience made him so nauseous he wanted to vomit.

At last, they stopped before a Fire Dragon.

"Honored Young Wizard, Ragnok has selected an excellent vault for you. It is neither too large nor too small, and is very suitable for an independent-minded Young Wizard like yourself..."

The Goblin chattered enthusiastically by his ear for a long while.

Anton, however, only stared at the enormous Fire Dragon.

Such a massive creature was curled up in the middle of the passageway. Its mountain-like body rose and trembled with every breath, inspiring a bone-deep dread.

"The Fire Dragon guards the most important vaults. Ragnok looks forward to the day when, after coming of age, the Young Wizard will also acquire a luxurious, enormous vault within." Ragnok continued chattering beside his ear.

Anton nodded and looked away.

"Then where is my vault now?"

"Second only to the most important vaults, this is the best location Ragnok could think of." The Goblin smiled as he pointed at a large door beside the Fire Dragon.

"Here, you will experience an unprecedented sense of security."

"Indeed." Anton nodded in admiration.

Ragnok smiled even more happily.

He took the key from Anton and, after a complicated series of operations, opened the door. "You may go inside and store your belongings. Without your permission, Goblins are forbidden from entering the vault. I will wait outside the door."

Compared with the Goblin's meticulous service and the enormous metal door, the inside of the vault was pitifully small.

It was less than five square meters, smaller even than the bathroom in the studio apartment Anton had rented in his previous life.

The ceiling was not high either, less than three meters.

Aside from the door, each of the other three stone walls had a few niches carved into them as shelves. It was extremely crude.

Clearly, the Goblins provided no services beyond those that brought them practical benefits.

Anton thought for a moment, then came out and told the Goblin, "I may need some time to sort things out."

The Goblin clearly did not mind. "Please, take your time."

A suitcase enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm was not permanent. Anton had once helped the Old Wizard take everything out so the Old Wizard could reinforce the spell.

But Anton did not know that spell. If the magic failed and the suitcase burst open, the bottles and jars containing potion ingredients would probably all be damaged.

Some things would spoil shortly after being exposed to the air, or even ignite.

Like an ant moving house, he gradually placed every potion ingredient onto the shelves.

The Old Wizard's lifetime of savings contained far too many superb ingredients unavailable on the market. Anton was tired, but happy.

He had to thank the Old Wizard's miserly collector's habit. Deep within the suitcase shelves were far too many things Anton did not recognize at all.

The Old Wizard's belongings fell into only two categories.

Potion ingredients.

Books and research materials.

But the Old Wizard obviously would not store the most basic magic books in the suitcase, just as a university professor would not place first-grade textbooks in his study.

Anton could not understand most of them.

Research on the 'Eye of the Wizard' potion, and the 'magical images' of various magic observed after applying the 'Eye of the Wizard.'

These two categories accounted for nearly ninety percent of everything.

Anton rummaged through it all until only the book he had first found remained: "The Apprenticeship Journey of the Great Alex Fiennes."

"..."

Anton rubbed it for a moment before finally lifting his Wizard Robe and stuffing the magic book into his crossbody bag.

After emptying the suitcase, only a broken bed and the Old Wizard's corpse remained inside.

Anton looked at the Old Wizard and pursed his lips.

The Old Wizard had not only abused him. If not for his strange constitution, he might have ended up in Lupin's current state.

No.

He might have died long ago.

Although he had seen enough to no longer fear corpses, Anton still found it deeply unpleasant.

He planned to deal with the body before selling the suitcase.

The Galleons were neatly arranged in the small niches in the wall. He only counted out one hundred Galleons.

He put them in the filthy cloth bag Hagrid had given him and weighed it in his hand. It was actually rather heavy.

He could not possibly come to Gringotts every day to withdraw money.

These coins would be enough for his immediate expenses.

"Looks like I need to buy another crossbody bag specifically for holding Galleons." Anton came out, making plans to himself.

Ragnok clearly sensed his need. After returning to the ground-floor hall, he specially brought over a bronze pendant.

"This is a Goblin Wallet, made using unique Goblin magic. You can put coins inside it without feeling their weight."

"Of course, it has limits. It can hold at most one hundred metal coins, whether they are Galleons or Knuts."

Anton accepted it and curiously took out a Galleon, placing it against the pendant.

The Galleon flashed and disappeared, while a golden Arabic numeral appeared on the bronze plate: 1.

"Isn't this just an Undetectable Extension Charm specially designed for coins?" Anton curiously shook the bronze plate and looked at Ragnok in amazement.

"No, no, no." Ragnok waved both hands in panic. "The Undetectable Extension Charm is prohibited by the Ministry of Magic. This is magic unique to us Goblins."

"I understand~" Anton drawled, shaking the bronze plate in his hand. "Then do you have small backpacks or little bags made with this kind of magic?"

Ragnok shook his head again. "Sir, because their effects are similar to the Undetectable Extension Charm, alchemical items of that kind are also forbidden from circulation. Gringotts has no way to provide them."

"Fine." Anton shrugged.

He placed Hagrid's greasy, filthy cloth bag on the table and patiently took out the Galleons one by one, placing them inside.

But then Ragnok let out a cry of surprise.

He hurriedly ran out, then returned with an elderly Goblin.

The old Goblin held a magnifying glass with many metal components and carefully examined the cloth bag, exclaiming, "Unicorn Hair, entirely handcrafted!"

Ragnok looked at Anton in shock. "My judgment was not wrong after all!"

Anton was completely bewildered.

He knew Hagrid was secretly extremely wealthy.

But to be wealthy to such an outrageous extent was simply absurd.

The old Goblin pulled out a strand that was clearly about to come loose from the tattered cloth bag and exclaimed, "Just one strand of this could be used to make a wand!"

Anton's mouth twitched as he looked at the two Goblins, who had become increasingly respectful.