The Mysterious Person

The two of them arrived at the end of Diagon Alley, where a white building that clashed starkly with its surroundings stood.

The entire building was constructed from white marble. Its exterior was simple and elegant, and much cleaner as well.

Hagrid pointed at the building and explained to Harry:

"Come on, Harry. Your money's in there. Gringotts is the Wizarding World's bank—nowhere is safer than that, except Hogwarts!"

They climbed the white stone steps and passed through the bronze doors before Gringotts, only to find another set of doors before them.

The doors gleamed silver, with the following words engraved upon them:

"Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the greedy,

For those who take but do not earn

Will face the harshest penalty.

So if you seek beneath our halls

A treasure never yours to claim,

Thief, you have been warned already:

What you find may not be gold, but doom."

"Like I said, anyone who tries to rob this bank has to be mad. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of spells cast within it. Even Dumbledore would have to deal with it carefully," Hagrid said.

Two Goblins in scarlet uniforms bowed to them from behind the doors and led them into a lofty marble hall.

At that moment, Hagrid suddenly noticed how calm Harry was upon seeing all this, as though it were nothing unusual. This made him somewhat curious.

"Harry, aren't you curious? You shouldn't have seen creatures like Goblins before, right?"

Harry was still curiously observing his surroundings. After hearing Hagrid's question, he gave a casual laugh.

"Well, I am curious. I just didn't show it."

In truth, he was not curious about the scene before him at all. The Supreme Mage had once taken him to the Nexus of Realities to trade with mages from other dimensions.

The Nexus of Realities was a special dimension, specifically a crossroads from which one could find paths to any dimension, even dimensions within dimensions.

As such, mages from countless different dimensions had tacitly agreed to trade there. It had now become an important marketplace in the multiverse.

Compared to that, Gringotts was nothing much.

The two came to a counter, where Hagrid spoke to an idle Goblin.

"We'd like to withdraw some money from Harry Potter's vault."

"Do you have his key, sir?"

"Of course. Here you go." Hagrid took out the key.

The Goblin accepted the key, put on a magnifying glass, and examined it carefully.

"There shouldn't be a problem."

Just as he was about to lead Harry and Hagrid to the vault, Hagrid solemnly took out a letter.

"I also have a letter from Professor Dumbledore. He told me it concerns that thing in Vault 713."

From Hagrid's solemn manner, Harry judged that that thing must be very important—perhaps some precious treasure.

However, Harry had no interest in it at all. He had once come into contact with legendary treasures such as the Time Stone, and he did not think that thing could be more valuable than the Time Stone.

The Goblin took the letter and inspected it carefully. After confirming that everything was in order, he nodded.

"Very good. Please wait a moment, gentlemen. Someone will take you there right away... Griphook!"

The Goblin named Griphook came over to them and gave a slight bow.

"Come, gentlemen. Please follow me."

Griphook led them deeper into Gringotts. When he pushed open a door, there was unexpectedly a narrow stone passage beyond it.

The three rode a small cart at the center of the passage, traveling along maze-like tracks that twisted and turned. The underground wind was rather strong, but for Harry, whose body could be strengthened with magic power, it felt just right.

Soon, accompanied by a piercing screech of metal grinding, the cart stopped before a small iron door.

Griphook said in a shrill voice:

"Vault 687. Please follow me."

Griphook took the key from Hagrid. When he opened the vault, a glittering golden radiance fell upon Harry's face. Even he was shocked by the mountain-like piles of gold coins, silver bars, and bronze coins inside.

Even though Harry did not know how much purchasing power this money had in the Wizarding World, he could still guess that this was an enormous inheritance!

Hagrid lowered his head to look at Harry and spoke as gently as he could.

"Ha ha, Harry, surprised? You didn't think your parents left you nothing, did you?

"Look, those gold coins are Galleons, the silver coins are Sickles, and the bronze coins are Knuts.

"You're richer now than some fallen wizarding families!

"Take out some money. This is enough for two terms, and leave the rest here. Gringotts will keep it safe for you.

"Come on, we should head to Vault 713. Mr. Griphook, please drive a little slower. The wind in the passage is too strong."

"Sorry, there's only one speed," Griphook said, spreading his hands with a formulaic apologetic smile.

As they rode the cart toward Vault 713, Harry remained silent.

His father and mother had left him a vast inheritance, and his friend cared about him from the bottom of his heart. All of this was something he had never experienced in this world—at least, not with the Dursley family.

According to Hagrid, his father and mother had both been wonderful people. His mother in particular had been gentle and kind, beautiful and knowledgeable, and she had loved him dearly.

If they had not been killed by the Dark Wizard, perhaps he would have had a wonderful childhood and lived happily from a young age.

But all of it had been destroyed by that damned Dark Wizard!

A faint scarlet glow emerged in Harry's pupils. It was a sign that his magic power was becoming restless.

"Hagrid, who killed my parents?"

At Harry's question, Hagrid shuddered. His beard trembled as well, as though he were deeply afraid of that name.

"The Mysterious Person killed them..."

"The Mysterious Person?" Harry was somewhat confused. That did not sound like a name.

Hagrid shook his head and warned him with utmost seriousness.

"Harry, word has spread throughout the Wizarding World that that person's name is cursed. When someone speaks it, he can sense it. That's why no one is willing to say his name, and everyone uses The Mysterious Person instead.

"Unless there's absolutely no choice, even if you know that person's name, don't mention it."

Harry fell into thought. Magic that cursed a name? It seemed the Book of Vishanti contained many spells that could break such curses.

Sensing that Hagrid truly feared the Mysterious Person, Harry stopped asking about him.

Since everyone in the Wizarding World knew of the Mysterious Person, there had to be extensive records about him. Harry could investigate on his own.

Harry clenched his fists. He would definitely kill the Mysterious Person, even if his strength surpassed that of the Supreme Mage!

After pausing to calm his complicated emotions, Harry asked again:

"Hagrid, what kind of people were my parents?"