Gringotts

Gringotts was arguably the tallest building in Diagon Alley.

Li Weide and Tom stood before the towering white building, studying it closely.

"These goblins certainly know how to put on a show," Tom said with a curl of his lip.

"I heard they control all the wealth in the Wizarding World. It's only natural for them to have an imposing front," Li Weide said thoughtfully.

Tom frowned. "I really don't understand why wizards would entrust their wealth to another kind of creature..."

"We can buy a history book later and find out. But for now..."

The two did not linger and quickly headed for the entrance.

Gringotts had two doors in total. The first was a gleaming Bronze Door.

Two goblin guards in scarlet-and-gold uniforms stood on either side of it.

This was the first time Li Weide and Tom had seen goblins...

They were very short, with large heads, a pair of long ears, pointed noses, and long limbs...

Li Weide noticed that their arms seemed longer than their legs.

As Li Weide and Tom quickly sized up the goblins, the goblins politely bowed to them.

At this point, Li Weide and Tom arrived before the second Silver Door.

A passage resembling a poem was engraved upon the Silver Door.

Enter, stranger, but beware

Of what awaits the greedy there

Take but seek to take no more

Than you deserve from our vault floor

For those who take but do not earn

Will face a punishment stern

So if you seek beneath our ground

A wealth that was never yours to be found

Thief, you have been warned

What you summon may not be treasure, but doom.

Beyond the Silver Door was a vast marble hall, where more than a hundred goblins sat busily behind long counters.

Some weighed coins on scales, some examined gemstones through eyepieces, while others received wizarding clients and hastily scribbled notes into massive ledgers...

After looking around, Li Weide walked up to the counter of a goblin who appeared relatively free.

"Excuse me."

Hearing him, the goblin set down his quill and leaned over the tall counter to look at Li Weide and Tom.

At the moment, both Li Weide and Tom were dressed in fitting, luxurious clothes, looking like young masters from Pure-blood Families.

The moment the goblin saw their attire, the impatience on his face immediately turned into a broad smile.

"Welcome. What business would the two of you like to conduct?" The goblin's voice was shrill and piercing.

Rather than taking out pounds, Li Weide directly pulled five small gold bars from his pocket. "Exchange these for some Galleons."

"Ah! Certainly! Certainly! I'll weigh them right away!"

The goblin's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the gold bars, and his tone grew even more fawning.

He placed the five small gold bars Li Weide handed him onto a small scale one by one.

"Oh my, these are all very pure! I can offer you the highest rate..."

"Hmm... Today's gold price is ten Galleons per gram. Each of your five gold bars weighs one hundred grams. So, how about I exchange them for a total of five thousand Galleons?"

Tom's eyes lit up at once. To be fair, for someone whose entire fortune currently amounted to only twenty Galleons, five thousand Galleons was already an enormous sum!

However, Li Weide shook his head. "Only ten Galleons per gram? Your handling fee is rather high. I think I'll go to another counter."

Tom could not help glancing at Li Weide. Five thousand Galleons was already a lot...

"Don't! Wait!" The goblin hurriedly stopped Li Weide as he turned to leave. "How about this... My name is Lockjaw. As long as you're willing to come to me whenever you conduct business at Gringotts in the future..."

As Lockjaw spoke, he warily looked around before lowering his voice. "I can offer twelve Galleons per gram. What do you think?"

Tom hurriedly rubbed his face as if absentmindedly, stopping his expression from giving him away and ruining Li Weide's plan...

At that moment, Li Weide began to pretend to hesitate.

"Oh! Sir, although the gold price changes every day, this is already the highest rate. If I offer any more, I won't be able to explain it to my superiors..." Lockjaw said helplessly.

"Fine, we'll do as you say..."

"Wonderful! I'll get your money right away! Oh, and... would you like to open a vault? You know, an extra vault can hold your own spending money. I guarantee your family won't find out!"

"Then open one. And help me deposit these as well." As he spoke, Li Weide took out the rest of his gold bars.

Lockjaw's eyes went wide. He had been right after all—these two young masters really were from wealthy families! Even their spending money came in gold bars!

By the time they walked out of Gringotts, their pockets were stuffed and they were wealthy men.

Tom asked in confusion, "How did you know that greedy goblin wasn't telling the truth?"

Li Weide smiled. "Goblins are greedy. How could they possibly tell the truth? Believe it or not, even twelve Galleons per gram isn't the highest rate. Lockjaw can definitely still pocket a kickback."

"Then why did you exchange with him?" Tom asked in shock.

"Tom, if you want someone to work wholeheartedly for you, you have to let them benefit a little. Especially when dealing with creatures like goblins," Li Weide said casually.

"Here, this is for you." Li Weide took a money bag from his pocket and tossed it to Tom. It contained five hundred Galleons. "We'll each take five hundred Galleons. That should be enough for now. We'll leave the rest in Gringotts."

Tom nodded and silently slipped the money bag into his pocket.

"Alright, it's time to return the clothes. Then... we'll go buy wands!" A hint of anticipation appeared on Li Weide's face.

Li Weide had always used Non-verbal Magic. Now he wanted to see what using a wand felt like, and Tom felt the same way.

After returning the clothes to Mr. Malkin and each buying the school robes they needed for enrollment, the two quickly arrived in front of Ollivanders Wand Shop.

The shop looked small and shabby. The gold lettering on the sign above the door had peeled away, but it still read: "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC."

In the shop window, a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion.

Li Weide and Tom pushed open the door and entered.

The inside of the shop was very small, with nothing but a long bench in one corner.

Thousands upon thousands of long, narrow wand boxes were piled from floor to ceiling, and a thin layer of dust covered everything.

"Welcome to Ollivanders Wand Shop! Ah... two more young wizards preparing to enroll at Hogwarts."

A young man with silvery-white pupils squeezed out from among the densely packed shelves.

"My name is Garrick Ollivander. You've certainly come to the right place to buy wands."

"With so many wands, how are we supposed to choose?" Tom asked, puzzled as he looked over the mountain of wand boxes around them.

Ollivander smiled. "Haha, in fact, it isn't the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard! Well then... which of you two will go first?"

Li Weide pushed Tom forward. "He'll go first."

Tom frowned at Li Weide. He was already beginning to suspect that Li Weide was up to something again!

However, Li Weide truly had no intention of tricking him this time.

He simply wanted to see whether Tom would still receive that fated Yew Wand.

British units are a bit troublesome, so I simply changed them back to grams. They're easier to read that way.