A Chance Encounter with Professor Babbling at Gringotts

After hearing the two men's purpose, the old man nodded, his expression ambiguous, it was unclear how much he believed.

He hunched over as he walked to the counter and pulled a parchment scroll from a box underneath. "Here's a free map for you, marking some buildings in the Hurghada district, as well as the newly discovered Pyramid. For the sake of Alchemy, young man, my advice is to stay away from those unexplored Pyramid."

"I read about it in a book," Hermione said mysteriously. "In 1916, a England knight opened the tomb of Tutankhamun of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. It was rumored that they were cursed, and the 20 people who entered the Pyramid died one after another within five years."

The old man smiled and said, "They weren't killed by a curse."

Loren's heart skipped a beat, and he said seriously, "Our purpose is to visit the Wizard Street here, and we will not enter the ruins rashly."

The old man didn't say anything more. He placed the parchment map on the counter, slowly sat back in the corner, and his figure gradually became transparent.

"Disillusionment Charm?" Hermione's voice was very soft.

"It's a bit different from the Disillusionment Charm, but the principle is similar." Loren clearly saw the trajectory of the Magic Power. "Let's go."

Taking the parchment map from the counter, they tiptoed out of the shop.

"I always felt that the atmosphere in that shop was a bit oppressive, making people afraid to speak loudly." Hermione seemed relieved. "I thought there would be a magical portal to the wizarding district, like the Leaky Cauldron or Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

"Perhaps there is indeed a hidden magic door, but we are not allowed to enter."

Loren looked back, and in his vision, the "Hermes Goods Shop" still shone with dazzling Magic Power brilliance.

Half an hour later, following the map, the two walked along the Red Sea Branch toward the entrance to the Wizard District.

To the left was an endless sea of sand, and to the right was a gently flowing river. The two were clearly separated, with no weeds or vegetation growing in between. The traces of industrial civilization were gradually disappearing, and the road signs were becoming fewer and fewer. I don't know how long I walked, but in the end, only a desolate path remained.

After walking countless steps, they quickly lost their sense of distance, feeling as if they had walked a great distance, yet also as if they had been standing still.

Just as Loren was checking the map again, an Obelisk suddenly appeared in front of him, standing between the sand and the water.

The Obelisk on the sand and their Obelisk in the water form a gate, with the entrance between the two Obelisk. Half of the gate is submerged in the water, swaying with the shimmering waves.

Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with delight. They walked towards the hidden doorway of the Obelisk, a shadow sweeping across them, a cool, refreshing breeze washing over them.

Suddenly, a breathtaking view opened up before them: a winding, seemingly endless street paved with limestone, its earthy yellow color mirroring that of the Pyramid. This was a street brimming with Egypt charm, where the shops on both sides were decorated primarily in gold, their style rugged and bold.

Looking back, the door they had entered through slowly closed, transforming into an ordinary Obelisk.

The nearest shop was selling magical materials. A plump, dark-skinned woman stood outside, shouting at them in broken English, "Fire Lizard Tail, ten Sickle an ounce! Wyvern Tongue, sixteen Sickle an ounce! Come and take a look!"

Hermione craned her neck, wanting to see more, but Loren reached out and pulled her away. "Sixteen Sickle an ounce, are they crazy?"

"Hmm? Is there a problem?" Hermione looked confused, which was kind of cute. She wasn't sensitive to the price of magical materials.

"Even Fire Dragon Liver only costs this much."

Hermione's gaze turned wary as she looked around the shops, but it was quickly dispelled by the dazzling array of exotic colors.

The place was even more bustling than they had imagined, with vendors hawking their wares, customers blushing as they tried to lower prices, and even the clatter of camel hooves on the stone slabs and the jingling of bells hanging around their necks.

People dressed in all sorts of strange costumes walked the streets, including ordinary wizards in robes; people shrouded in cloaks who did not want to reveal their faces; mysterious Witch wearing sun hats and using scarves from the brim of their hats to represent their faces; noisy dwarves, goblins, House-elf...

The most eye-catching figures are the local Egypt sorcerers, who are shirtless and wear white tunics. Their wands are unique in design, with segments of gold rings inlaid on the surface, somewhat similar to the Pharaoh's scepter in the museum.

"How amazing! It's completely different from Diagon Alley." Hermione looked around at the magical street in front of her, her eyes filled with curiosity.

A piercing scream came from a shabby shop. Hermione craned her neck, squinted, and stared for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what the Egypt on the sign meant.

Looking inside from the doorway, the shop is quite simple. The stone-built house has many wooden beams, with various birdcages hanging below—black-headed ibis, crested ibis, black ibis, falcon, and vulture.

The vulture flapped its wings and let out another round of ear-piercing squawks, which made Hermione shrink back in fright.

As they continued walking, once they were further away, the little Witch became bolder again, and with a professorial air, she explained to Loren, "Owls are not adapted to the desert climate. The shamans here use ibises and falcons to deliver messages, and occasionally vultures. Long, long ago, the Egypt saw shamans using Sacred Ibis and falcons to deliver messages, so they believed that these birds were messengers of the gods, and these birds were added to the objects of their sacrifices. They even derived the falcon-headed, human-bodied god Horus from this."

"Professor Granger is truly learned."

Several local-looking boys pressed their noses against the shop window, which displayed flying broomsticks. Posters for new flying broomsticks were plastered on the shop's exterior wall, with product descriptions in several languages.

This latest high-speed flying broom features a streamlined design, a premium ash wood handle, diamond-polished finish, and a hand-engraved registration number. Each carefully selected birch branch at the broom's tail is sculpted into a streamlined shape, giving the broom unparalleled balance and exquisite accuracy. The Firebolt can accelerate from a standstill to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds and exhibits Magic Power braking properties. Price negotiable.

English was rarely seen here. Hermione carefully read through the product description, then turned and said, "Let's prepare Harry's birthday present here, since he likes flying brooms anyway."

"Birthday present..."

It's true that Harry's summer vacation is just around the corner.

Loren glanced at the other flying brooms in the window with clearly marked prices, pointing to those with three-digit or higher prices and the currency being Galleon. "Are you sure?"

"Of course not a flying broom!" Hermione pulled him into the shop. "They also sell broom care products here. Let's pick out something with Egypt characteristics to give him."

"But..." Loren thought for a moment, "The Weasley family also traveled to Egypt, wouldn't they buy Egypt specialties too?"

"Huh?!" Hermione slapped her forehead. "I forgot about that! But... Ron probably won't have bought the same thing as us, right?"

In the end, Hermione picked out a flying broomstick care kit for Harry and a retired Bludger autographed by Lawya Zaghlul, the Seeker the Egypt Quidditch team, for Ron.

When they reached the counter to pay, Hermione finally remembered that they didn't have enough Galleons. They had almost used up the Galleon they had exchanged last semester, and they hadn't gone to Gringotts to exchange any more this semester.

Fortunately, the shop assistants behind the counter were very friendly, smiling at them even though they couldn't pay. This was probably due to the language barrier.

She blinked at the selected items for a long time, then sighed mournfully, "Why doesn't Gringotts offer cheques?"

Loren couldn't help but chuckle. He had thought of this problem as soon as he entered the store. Let alone a flying broom with a three-digit price tag, they couldn't even afford a single hair on a broom.

Moreover, they were in Egypt, where Gringotts had not reached an agreement with the Britain Ministry of Ministry of Magic to exchange Muggle currency for Hogwarts students.

But it wasn't entirely hopeless. His pendant contained many valuable materials: Unicorn Hair, Basilisk Scale, Basilisk Fang, and even finished Potions. These Sickle be sold to Gringotts. Those greedy goblins would buy anything of value.

"Let's go to Gringotts first, exchange some money, and then come back to shop," Loren comforted him.

"But this is Egypt, can we exchange it for Galleon?"

"Don't ask any more questions, I have a way." Loren smiled and nodded to the shop assistant, then turned and left the Broom Shop with Hermione, heading towards Gringotts at the end of the street.

Among the many shops dominated by gold, the snow-white Gringotts building stands out, almost identical to the Gringotts in Diagon Alley Gringotts. It boasts Winky Bronze Door and goblin waiters in scarlet, gold-trimmed uniforms. The only slight difference is that the warning signs on the Silver Door are written in Arabic.

As they approached, two fairy attendants bowed and led them into the grand Marble Trading Hall. Behind rows of long counters, on high stools, numerous fairies were conducting transactions with all sorts of customers...

After two years of currency trading, the two were familiar with Gringotts and headed straight for the counter.

"Hello," he said to an idle elf. "I have some things I'd like to sell."

"Hello, sir!" the fairy greeted him warmly. "Whether it's gemstones, precious metals, or any other treasure, Gringotts will offer a fair price."

Do you buy Unicorn Hair?

During his first year, Loren didn't use many of the impure Unicorn Hair Hagrid gave him. Later, out of gratitude, the Unicorn gave him better and higher-quality hairs, leaving the inferior ones behind.

Keeping them would just leave them gathering dust, so Loren decided to exchange them for Galleon.

"Unicorn Hair! Oh!" The fairy's gaze intensified, her smile widening. "Of course we need it, esteemed guest..."

"But," it rubbed its hands together, as if embarrassed, "I need to take a look at it first before I can offer a price based on its condition."

"Of course." Loren reached into his collar and pulled out a large wad of Unicorn Hair, placing it on the counter.

To be honest, it didn't look very appealing. It was dirty, covered in sawdust and mold, and its original white color had turned grayish. There was also a faint smell of saliva from the Fang.

The fairy wrinkled her nose, carefully pulled a strand out of the fur ball, and examined it closely with a magnifying glass.

"It is indeed Unicorn Hair." The fairy put down the hair, wiped her slender hand on the rag next to her, her attitude no longer as enthusiastic as before, and even a little disgusted. "Sir, according to market price, if it is Unicorn Mane Hair, we can give it 10 Galleon per hair."

"Ten Galleon each!" Hermione looked up in surprise. There were probably hundreds or even thousands of them in this messy clump, which meant nearly ten thousand Galleon.

"However..." the fairy flicked the ball of fur with her fingernail, "The Unicorn Hair in your possession is just ordinary fur, and it's been several years, so it's lost some of its vitality. All together, I can offer—three hundred Galleon!"

Before Loren could even haggle, an elegant female voice rang out:

Has Gringotts become so shameless?

A woman dressed in a black wizard's robe with her hood pulled up sat down in the seat next to her. When she lowered the hood, her beautiful face, exuding elegance and maturity, and her curvaceous figure made Hermione take a few more glances.

The observant little Witch quickly noticed the badge on the right arm of her robe: a lion, a snake, a badger, and an eagle surrounding the letter "H"—the emblem of Hogwarts.

Before Loren could say anything, Hermione stopped him and shook her head at him.

The transaction was suddenly interrupted, and the fairy panicked a little. "Guest, if you have any needs, you can find an empty counter. Please don't interfere with my normal work."

The beautiful noblewoman in a wizard's robe quietly watched the fairy, her slender fingers tapping on the counter, her nails painted with bright red nail polish. "I'll give you one chance to bid. Think it over before you speak."

The Gobbledegook hardened. "Guest, you cannot interfere with other guests' transactions."

"She's our elder, she can represent us in completing the transaction!" Hermione said decisively.

What a clever girl... Bathsheda Babbling smiled with delight, her fingernails tapping on the wooden counter with an even crisper sound.

Loren noticed that her fingernails weren't tapping randomly; if you connected the points where the nails struck, you could vaguely make up a simple Runes —representing the gaze of a lion, the intimidation of a predator.

He couldn't help but show a hint of surprise. To cast the Rune that affected the soul so effortlessly and without leaving a trace required exquisite control and a deep understanding of the Rune.

Loren slowly moved a few steps and saw the Hogwarts crest on his sleeve.

This is the Ancient Rune professor, Bathsheda Babbling?

He somewhat regretted not choosing to study Ancient Rune.

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, esteemed guest." Sweat beaded on the goblin's forehead, his speech no longer as crisp as before. He frantically combed through the tangled ball of fur, tallying its value. "According to market prices, Unicorn Mane Hair and fine tail hair are 10 Galleon per hair, and the rest are 7 Sickle per hair. The total here is... the total is..."

In its panic, it lost count of the clumps of fur, and its body began to tremble slowly.