Babbling's Invitation

Babbling gently touched the Unicorn Hair with her wand, and the messy ball of fur smoothed out, separating into individual strands that neatly arranged on the table.

The fairy clerk carefully counted. "Honorable guest, a total of 517 premium Unicorn Hair and 924 ordinary Unicorn Hair, totaling 5550 Galleon equal to 8 Sickle. Including depreciation and impurities..."

It raised its head and tentatively looked at Babbling's expression. Seeing no displeasure, it continued, "Including depreciation and wear and tear, the price is 5400 Galleon. Is that acceptable to you?"

"It's dozens of times different from the previous quote." Hermione opened her mouth in surprise, her face showing disbelief.

The fairy trembled, not daring to say anything more.

Professor Babbling nodded slightly, withdrew her fingers from the table, and looked at Loren: "This is Gringotts ' normal price. If you sell it to a shop that specializes in magical materials, the price will be even higher, but outside shops may not be able to handle such a large transaction and may not have that much money. They may settle the payment by bartering... It's up to you."

"Let's settle on this price." Loren also wanted some peace and quiet.

The fairy wiped his forehead with a sigh of relief, then realized he wasn't sweating and gave an embarrassed smile, "Are you planning to take all these Galleon? We can put the Galleons directly into your vault. If you haven't opened an underground vault in Gringotts yet, it's not too late to do so now. Gringotts a place you can trust."

"Underground vault service..." Loren fell into thought.

Although the pendant had enough space to hold all his Galleons, he didn't trust Gringotts ' secrecy. If news of him carrying a large amount of valuables got out, it could bring him unnecessary trouble.

Loren hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you open a Gringotts vault service in Diagon Alley, London, here? We're just passing through Egypt."

"Of course, please wait a moment." The fairy turned and jumped off the high stool, then walked through a door at the back of the hall.

The three Hogwarts students and their teacher finally had their own space to talk.

Loren and Hermione sized up the beautiful and mature woman. "You must be Professor Babbling from Ancient Rune, right?"

Babbling also sized up the two famous students in front of her, her eyes filled with amusement. "If Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't plan to fire me during the summer vacation, then it should be me."

"Professor, how do you know us?" Hermione blinked. "I mean, we haven't taken your class yet."

Professor Babbling smiled and said, "The famous Miss Know-It-All and Loren Morgan, believe me, all the professors at Hogwarts know you."

Hermione gave a shy smile.

Just then, the fairy clerk interrupted their reunion and reminiscing. She skipped and hopped out from a door in the lobby, holding a golden key and a Papyrus document.

With some effort, the goblin jumped onto the high stool and placed the document and golden key on the counter, showing them to Loren: "Honorable guest, this is the Gringotts Deed. Once you sign your real name here, this golden key will be yours! You will have a room exclusively for yourself Diagon Alley the Gringotts Vault in Gringotts!"

Loren picked up the document and began to read it carefully.

Contrary to Loren's expectations of greedy terms, the Treasury Contract offered unexpectedly thoughtful and comprehensive services to the living.

Wizards' treasures and wealth are stored in Gringotts, where they enjoy the most comprehensive security ever built by the goblins over hundreds of years. If a wizard suffers man-made losses such as robbery, theft, fire, or magical explosion within Gringotts, Gringotts will compensate them proportionally.

If the owner of the vault dies, it can be inherited by the owner's immediate family members.

"A treasure vault unclaimed for over two hundred years belongs to Gringotts. If the owner and their immediate family members are deceased, the wealth becomes Gringotts' property. Note: If the owner becomes a ghost after death, due to the special nature of ghosts, they do not have the right to distribute the property..."

If this treasure vault contract is considerate to the living, then it is harsh to the dead.

"Stop looking. Even this kind of contract is the result of pressure from the International Confederation of Wizards." Professor Babbling glanced at the clerk with a sidelong look. "Fairies are just such greedy creatures."

Loren looked up and glanced at the goblin with a strange expression. These contractual terms reminded him of the Sword of Gryffindor.

Sword of Gryffindor was forged a thousand years ago by the goblin king Ragnuk. When the sword was completed, Ragnuk coveted it and lied that Gryffindor had stolen it from him, sending his servant to steal it back.

Gryffindor subdued all the attackers and threw them back at Ragnuk, warning him that if he dared to steal the sword again, his throne would be in jeopardy. Forced by force, Ragnuk allowed Gryffindor to keep the sword, but Legnack harbored resentment until his death...

Therefore, greed and contracts must be fulfilled only if one has the ability to do so.

Reaching for the quill from the inkwell on the counter, Loren signed his name on the Papyrus. As the last letter fell, a golden Magic Power thread extended from the document and tied a knot around his little finger.

Loren calmed himself down and sensed it. The contract of the Trace was somewhat similar, but slightly stronger. He estimated that it could be washed away with Sorcerer's Stone in about ten seconds.

"Congratulations, distinguished guest!" The fairy happily put away the Papyrus document and handed him the golden key. "Please keep your key safe. You will need this golden key every time you open the treasure vault in the future."

After some time processing the follow-up procedures, the final result was that Loren and Hermione left Gringotts with 400 Galleons and a deposit of 5,000 Galleon.

To facilitate their conversation, Professor Babbling led them to a tavern.

"... The newly discovered Pyramid contains a massive Ancient Magic relic, constructed using complex spatial magic. It can be excavated from all directions, and many history scholars have come here, but no one has yet found the core burial chamber. Gringotts ' Curse-Breaker are experts in this field, and I've come to Gringotts to discuss cooperation."

Professor Babbling took a big gulp of her cocktail, made with whiskey and hot coffee, and let out a satisfied sigh. "Thank you, Merlin, at least this place still has Irish Coffee!"

In front of Loren and Hermione were two glasses of tasteless Violet Water, which Professor Babbling had offered them.

"Don't look so gloomy, Minerva loves this the most," Babbling teased the two little ones.

Hearing that Professor McGonagall liked it, Hermione suddenly felt that this bland drink had become high-class, and she took a sip through the straw—

Hmm, I'll recommend some other drinks to Professor McGonagall when I have time.

"Professor, is there something you need to tell us?" Loren asked tentatively.

Babbling ordered another drink, "The greedy Gringotts excavate ruins for wealth, and I don't trust them. I just happened to run into you two, the top students in your year, so I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in being my assistants to participate in the ruins' development?"

Explore Ancient Magic ruins!

Hermione's eyes widened, sparkling brightly.

After thinking for a moment, Loren said, "I heard an old man say that it's best to stay away from unexplored ruins."

Hermione's excitement faded as she recalled the strange old man's warning at Hermes Goods Shop and the sensational stories mentioned in those messy books.

Professor Babbling raised an eyebrow. "Don't underestimate your professors. I can guarantee the safety of the students."

His brief words revealed a strong sense of confidence, which didn't surprise Loren. After all, anything related to Ancient Magic was mysterious and powerful.

Professor Babbling looked at the empty glass, hesitated about whether to order another drink, and finally sighed and gave up the idea, "You can think about it for two days. If you are willing to accept this job, wait for me at the entrance of Gringotts at nine o'clock in the morning three days from now."

"I have something to do, I'll be going now!" Professor Babbling pulled her hood up over her head, got up and walked towards the tavern door.

Loren quickly spoke up, "But—"

Babbling waved without turning her head. "Although I won't cooperate with those Gringotts guys, I can still go with them for a while."

"I mean, Professor, you haven't paid your bill yet!"

Professor Babbling paused, wanting nothing Apparition to vanish in an instant, but out of a sense of duty as a professor, she sheepishly went to the counter to pay the bill, leaving only a vague muttered remark:

"It's just a few drinks, Professor, I've earned you several thousand Galleon..."

Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing, patting Loren on the shoulder. "Are you deliberately teasing the professor?!"

Loren smiled slightly as well.

After paying at the Quidditch supply store, neither of them felt like continuing their shopping spree. They found a deserted alleyway, and with a muffled sonic boom, Loren and Hermione disappeared into the wizarding district.

After dinner.

Loren lay on the sofa in his hotel suite reading a book, his even breathing coming from under the book that covered his head.

Hermione sat cross-legged beside her, engrossed in reading "A General History of Ancient Egypt Magic."

With Professor Babbling's safety guarantee, they had no more worries. The two of them reached an agreement without much hesitation and decided to participate in the excavation of the ancient ruins.

Given their limited knowledge of the specifics of the ruins, Hermione pulled Loren along to search for some books on the Sorcerer's Stone of Egypt. Some of these were prepared before they came to Egypt, while others were purchased from bookstores in the wizarding district of Hurghada.

Hearing Loren's breathing as he slept, Hermione turned to look at him, reached out and took the book off his face and placed it aside, then gently covered the man's stomach with a blanket.

The desert is very hot during the day and very cold at night, with a large temperature difference between day and night. If you don't keep warm while sleeping, you are prone to catching a cold.

However, this person doesn't sleep well. It's as if the cashmere blanket makes him uncomfortable, and he pushes it away with a flick of his hand.

Hermione remained expressionless and covered herself with the blanket again.

"Um..."

Loren, still asleep, pushed the blanket away again.

After several repetitions, the person finally got used to it and stopped pushing the blanket away.

Hermione turned back to where she had been reading; the book in her hand was about the Egypt Wizarding World during the reign of Ramesses II.

Ramesses II was the third Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. During his Egypt, a sorcerer named Moses took pity on the slaves under his rule. In order to force Ramesses II to release the slaves, Moses the Wizard cast an evil spell, causing many disasters.

In particular, in order to help the slaves escape, he used magic to part the Red Sea and open up a way to escape, but when the pursuers stepped onto this road, the seawater submerged them, causing a tragedy in which many ordinary people drowned.

This event made many Ancient Egypt sorcerers realize that using magic to help some ordinary people also meant using magic to persecute another group of ordinary people. From then on, sorcerers and magic became hidden in Ancient Egypt and no longer appeared openly.

After witnessing the calamities caused by the Moses the Wizard, Hermione heard the sound of the hotel door lock turning. She nudged Loren beside her. "They're back, wake up."

"Hmm..." Loren wiped his face, slowly regaining his composure.

He quickly pulled off the blanket, stood up, and ran towards the door in his slippers. "So, did you guys catch any fish?"

Dad's voice was filled with barely concealed excitement. "How did you know I caught a 13-pound fish? The hotel said they'd cook it for us for free, and it'll be our lunch tomorrow!"

Then came Loren's exclamation. "Are the fish here really that stupid?!"

"It's not that the fish are stupid, it's that I'm good at it. I've mastered sea fishing!"

"..."

They started chattering away about the tricks of sea fishing, about wind direction, the engine power of the yacht, and the fishing rods and lines...

Hermione smiled and turned a page of her book.

Three days later, on the morning of the Wizard Street in Hurghada.

After breakfast, Loren and Hermione went out and, taking advantage of Apparition, arrived in Wizarding District by eight o'clock.

"It's all your fault for dragging me here so early. Now we have to wait here for an hour!" Loren complained as he punched Hermione's triceps with his little fist.

Hermione looked at the person, whose tone was full of complaints, but who couldn't suppress a smile as he punched her.

With a loud "smack," Hermione slapped his hand away and scolded him irritably, "Can't we look around at the shops? Do we have to stand here like idiots and wait?"

"Oh!" Loren responded obediently.

I punched her dozens of times, but she only hit me once. I was way ahead of her.

The wizarding street was much quieter than when I last visited; some shops, such as the tavern, were not yet open.

Some shop assistants began cleaning their shops. Whizbangs of air swept out from the shop entrances, carrying plenty of sand that disappeared into the morning breeze...