Veratia: My Money! (12,000 Words)

The consequence of the Weasley twins' actions was that their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes fireworks and many other gadgets they bought from Zonko's Joke Shop were ruthlessly confiscated by Mrs. Weasley.

For a moment, Harry felt as if the two of them had lost their color.

However, they quickly cheered up because Lee Jordan, who was in school that year, had somehow caught a giant centipede and was showing it off in a glass bottle.

"Last year he caught a bag spider, this year a giant centipede." Ron peeked into the hallway; the nearly meter-long centipede had left him with quite a psychological scar. "I really can't imagine what Lee Jordan will catch when School Opening next year—maybe a giant scorpion?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he could get his hands on a giant Silurian scorpion." Hermione's face was pale, and her large front teeth were barely concealed. "Where on earth did he catch such a huge centipede?"

"I heard it was bought from a Southeast Asian wizard," Ron replied. "You know, the insects there are generally much bigger, and the wizards there like to breed all sorts of strange insects."

"I've only heard that they like to eat centipedes over there," Hermione said, still shaken. "My God, those things look terrifying. I don't know how they can eat them."

Ron, however, was unimpressed. He casually remarked, "So what? When we brew Potions, we need ingredients far more terrifying than giant centipedes, and you still manage to drink them, don't you?"

Hermione was taken aback by Ron's words, but upon reflection, she realized they made a valid point.

After sitting in the compartment for a short while, the train started to rumble and begin to move.

The cubicle for three was quiet, and no one came to disturb them.

This time, Ron's mother didn't bring him Meiji because Harry had already prepared some snacks to share with his friends on the bus.

When it was lunchtime, Harry took out all the food he had bought and piled it on the chair.

Even Scabbers was enjoying his meal, burying his head in a cookie tin and munching away on the cookies.

"Your mouse has a huge appetite!" Hermione suddenly said. "There's a whole box of cookies, how come it hasn't finished them yet?"

"Oh, he hardly eats anything, he just plays," Ron explained, then picked up the box and shook it, and the mouse fell out along with some cookie crumbs.

Harry was completely oblivious to what was happening around him; he was still figuring out what to say to Veratia when he saw her that evening.

Should we just tell her directly, "Oh, Veratia, your brother took all your money, and besides—your brother has a boyfriend, our Headmaster, and they broke up..."

Well, Harry really can't imagine what kind of rage Veratia would have.

"Harry, Harry?" Hermione waved her hand in front of Harry's eyes. "What are you thinking about? You don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"

"No," Harry smiled, reaching for a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Nothing."

He held the candy bean, looked at it in the sunlight, and put it in his mouth.

"It tastes like cabbage."

"I think something's on your mind, Harry," Ron said with concern. "If you can, please tell us. It's good to have someone to share your burdens with."

"Yes, Harry," Hermione added.

"Hmm..." Harry thought about it and realized that made sense, so he asked Hermione, "Hermione, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Hermione said, picking up the Cauldron Cake and taking a bite.

"Well... let's say, let's say you have a younger brother," Harry tried to make his wording as friendly as possible, "You have millions of Pound Sterling in the bank, but you have to go abroad for some time, so you tell your brother he can withdraw some money if he needs it, up to a maximum of £100,000. But when he goes to withdraw the money, he takes all of it, leaving you only ten pence..."

As Harry finished speaking, he glanced at Hermione and noticed that her little fists were clenched tightly.

"Then, your brother fell in love—but with a man... Later, because of something that happened, your brother was reported by his boyfriend and imprisoned."

Harry took a deep breath and asked, "If it were you, how would you treat your brother when you come back?"

"A younger brother?" Hermione scoffed. "I don't have a younger brother... I only have enemies!"

After saying that, she suddenly turned her head and glared at Ron.

Ron was swallowing a cookie when Hermione glared at him, startling him so much that he hiccuped.

"Why... why are you looking at me like that? I'm not your brother!"

The cubicle door was suddenly opened.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The twins' leisurely voices rang out, and then they plopped down next to Harry.

"Hermione, please don't bully our Ronnie little darling like this—"

"By the way, I have a question for you," Hermione said, sitting up straight. "If, I mean, if you had two million Galleon in savings, but one day you suddenly decided to go on a trip, and entrusted the keys to Gringotts to your Ronnie little darling, telling him he could access one hundred thousand Galleon..."

"Impossible!" Fred and George exclaimed in unison, "We wouldn't let him take a single Sickle!"

"Fred! George!" Ron snapped, "I'm your own brother!"

"That won't even let him take a Knut!" the two said in unison again.

"Stop right there, I'm just hypothetical!" Hermione slammed her hand on the chair. "If your Ronnie little darling squandered all two million Galleon, fell in love with a guy, and ended up getting locked up in Azkaban by his boyfriend... how would you treat him?"

The twins exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Sorry Hermione, we don't have a brother—"

"Here, have a taste, Ronnie little darling." Fred pulled a toffee out of his pocket, stuffed it into Ron's hand, and then walked away laughing with George.

"I don't recommend you eat anything they give you, remember, anything," Hermione warned.

A moment later, Ginny also came in from outside.

"Hi, Ginny," Ron greeted her. "You don't know Hermione yet? Here, Hermione, this is my sister Ginny; Ginny, this is our good friend, Hermione Granger."

After the two got to know each other, Hermione raised the same soul question again, assuming that Ron was still the protagonist.

Ginny didn't say anything, but she gave Ron a dangerous once-over.

Ron opened his mouth, but in the end, he took the blame for everything.

Soon, the train arrived at Hogwarts Station.

Since they are upperclassmen, they don't need to go on Hagrid boat and climb the mountain with Hagrid like last year's freshmen to experience the hardships of the four founders.

Hogwarts provided them with carriages, and after the House Elf took their luggage, the students rode in the carriages to the school.

"It's so cold." Hermione rubbed her hands together. "It's September, really..."

"There's no way around it." Ron sniffed. "Let's go. When we get to the academy Great Hall, let's have some hot soup to warm ourselves up. Good heavens, I hope this year's welcome dinner is going to be lavish—at least as good as last year's."

The Great Hall was brightly lit, and four long tables representing the various colleges stretched almost from the entrance to the Teachers' Table.

Thousands of candles floated in the air above the table, illuminating the dining room, along with the flags representing the four houses— Gryffindor in gold and red, Ravenclaw in blue and white, Hufflepuff in yellow and brown, and Slytherin in silver and green.

Four long tables were set with gleaming gold platters and wine glasses. The older students were already seated there, while there were some empty seats next to them, clearly belonging to the freshmen.

At the head of the table in the restaurant, there was another long table, which was for the teachers.

Above the Great Hall was a magical night sky, with clusters of galaxies twinkling, looking quite mysterious.

Before long, Professor McGonagall led the first-year students into the Great Hall.

"Look," Ron whispered, "Look at their faces, don't they remind you of us last year—tricked by our parents into thinking we'd be fighting something during the Sorting ..."

"Isn't that right?" Harry said with a chuckle in a low voice.

Professor McGonagall walked up the steps to the High Table and took the Sorting Hat off the table.

The Sorting Hat was placed on the stool, and everyone stared intently at it. The hat did not disappoint; it soon split its mouth open and began to sing its made-up song.

It was nothing but the same old clichés from previous years, with no originality whatsoever. Harry could tell what he was going to sing almost before he even opened his mouth.

"I think we should teach him some new songs next year, so he doesn't just keep singing the same old stuff year after year," Fred and George said in unison.

After the hat finished singing, Professor McGonagall walked up to it with a list of names written on Parchment.

"Hannah Abe!" she called out.

Hannah Abe, sitting in the Hufflepuff seat, stood up in a daze. She didn't know why she was being assigned to a different department again this year, even though she had already been assigned last year.

Professor McGonagall, of course, noticed Hannah standing up. She glanced down and found that the wrong list had indeed been taken.

"Sorry, I took the wrong list." Professor McGonagall smiled apologetically and took a new list to begin sorting the Sorting.

Hannah sat down with a sigh of relief; she had thought the professor was going to reassign her to a different Sorting.

After speaking with Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall took out a new list and went to the old hat.

"Miles Bletchley!" she called out.

A brown-haired boy stepped out from the group of new students, sat down in a chair, and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head.

"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat shouted.

"Rankel Bradley!" Professor McGonagall called out again.

"Ravenclaw!"

"Colin Creevey!"

"Gryffindor!"

Harry noticed that Colin Creevey was wearing a camera around his neck.

But to his surprise, his classmate Creevey spotted him immediately and walked straight over.

"Hello, Harry? I—my name is Colin Creevey," Colin said breathlessly. Seeing that Harry didn't object, he took a hesitant step forward. "It's an honor—an honor to be sorted into Gryffindor, to the same house as you. You think... um, could I, no... um, could I take your picture?"

At this point, Colin raised his camera.

No, why are you saying no?

"We can talk about taking pictures another time, Mr. Creevey," Harry gently reminded him. "Look, so many students are looking at you. It's Sorting Time, we can't disturb them, right?"

"Oh..." Colin turned to look at his classmates and saw that they were all staring at him like he was an idiot, which made him a little embarrassed.

"Okay, I'm sorry to trouble you—may I sit next to you?"

"Sit down," Harry said helplessly.

Seeing that he was about to speak again, Hermione took on the role of the bad cop.

"Mr. Creevey! It's Sorting time! Don't do anything that will get you points deducted by the professors!"

Seeing Hermione, who looked exactly like the Gryffindor lion on the banner, Colin swallowed hard.

He lowered his head and chose to keep quiet.

Harry subtly gave Hermione a thumbs-up, while Ron gave her two.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. She just felt that someone always had to be the bad guy, otherwise, would there be no Sorting?

Soon it was Ginny's turn.

"Ginny Weasley!"

Ginny skipped over, her hat brushing against her hair, and exclaimed, "Another Weasley! Gryffindor!"

The twins and Percy warmly welcomed their sister's arrival, as did Ron, who invited his sister to sit beside him.

The Sorting Ceremony ended shortly afterward.

Dumbledore gave the same speech as last year, saying only a few words before announcing the start of the meal.

This is a fine tradition belonging to Dumbledore himself; if it were Headmaster Black, he would have to talk for an hour before stopping.

Harry looked up at the Faculty Table and saw that Professor Snape was also looking at him.

Sensing the gaze directed at him, Professor Snape snorted and turned his head away.

Harry didn't seem to think anything of it; he just shrugged and looked at Gilderoy Lockhart on the other side.

This man was as flamboyant as ever, dressed in a gorgeous light purple outfit, making it hard to believe that he was actually a Ravenclaw.

Noticing Harry's gaze, Lockhart winked at him.

I almost winked Harry's lunch out.

Ever since Harry learned about "The Mystery of Dumbledore" from Mr. LeMay, he'd always felt that his old junior was very strange.

But he never imagined that Dumbledore Lockhart because of his aesthetic sense. After all... well, Lockhart is the type of woman women like, especially middle-aged and older women.

(If I had to make a comparison, it would be Jin Dong)

When Harry turned around, he saw Hermione holding her hands to her heart, looking at Lockhart with a dreamy expression.

"She really has no taste, doesn't she?" Ron said in a low voice, trying not to let Hermione hear what he was saying.

Hermione, of course, paid no attention to Ron's words; she was now completely captivated by Lockhart's "stunning good looks" and couldn't extricate herself.

"Never mind, eating is the priority." Ron said, grabbing a chicken leg in each hand. "Have some chicken legs."

Seeing his good friend still holding two chicken legs as usual, Harry felt hungry too.

"Let's eat," he said.

After the main meal came dessert time. After finishing the dessert, Professor Dumbledore stood up again.

Meanwhile, the restaurant returned to silence.

"Oh, now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, I have a few more words to say—at the beginning of the term, I have a few things to note," Professor Dumbledore said loudly. "First-year students, please note that students are strictly prohibited from entering the woods on campus—of course, some of our older students should also remember this."

Harry knew that these words were the same as last year; they were referring to the Weasley brothers.

But the two of them seemed completely unconcerned, whispering to each other as if they were figuring out how to get into the Forbidden Forest.

Professor Dumbledore added, "I must also remind you that no magic is to be cast in the corridors—this is at the request of Mr. Filch, the caretaker."

"I know," Ron said softly, "it's Filch's rule, not the school's rule—"

The students around him sneered, not at Ron, but at Filch.

"The Quidditch player selection process will take place in the second week of this semester. Students who wish to join the college team should contact Madam Hooch."

Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry as he finished speaking.

"Another point to mention is that, due to some undisclosed reasons, Professor Quirrell had to give up teaching last year, and this semester we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, who is... Professor Lockhart Gilderoy Lockhart."

Finally, Dumbledore's introduction was announced, and the Great Hall erupted in screams and cheers—all from the female students, especially the Ravenclaw House.

After all, Ravenclaw has the most girls.

Lockhart stood up and flashed his signature smile at everyone around him—his teeth gleaming as if he had used some kind of special whitening Potions.

"It's an honor to be here at Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts," Lockhart said with a smile. "I'm also honored to share with you the interesting stories from my travels and adventures, as well as the little Charms I've used during my adventures—I hope to enrich your minds with my knowledge of adventure."

Another burst of cheers erupted in the Great Hall, this time even more enthusiastic than before.

Fortunately, the Hogwarts students were quite polite and did not boo.

Professor Dumbledore exchanged a few more words with Lockhart in private, then announced loudly, "Alright, it's time for a break— Prefect, take the freshmen back to their dormitories!"

"Gryffindor students, come with me—" Percy stood up and led the way, gesturing for everyone to head outside.

The Gryffindor Common Room is in the tower, and the Fat Lady is still guarding it this year, but the password has changed this term.

"Password," the Fat Lady asked demurely.

"A honey-eating bird," Percy replied.

The portrait of the Fat Lady swayed and moved forward, revealing a circular hole in the wall.

As the upperclassmen walked inside, Percy turned back to the new students and explained, "Everyone, please note that we need a password to enter and exit the Gryffindor Common Room —this semester's password is 'Honeybee,' which I just mentioned. If you don't remember the password, the Fat Lady won't open the door for you—and you'll be spending the night outside, understand?"

The freshmen looked serious; they all remembered what Percy had said.

After all, nobody wants to spend the whole night at the door just because they forgot the password; that would be too miserable.

Harry and his roommates returned to their dorm room chatting and laughing. He sat on his bed, put a pillow on the headboard, leaned back against it, and dangled one leg over the edge of the bed.

"If you ask me, Dumbledore really senile. He actually let someone like Lockhart be a professor," Ron said, still somewhat indignant.

"Who says otherwise?" Seamus chimed in. "I've always felt this guy is all talk and no action. He's just a novelist, what does he know about Dark Arts? What does he know about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"You're right, Seamus," Ron agreed. "Look at the way those girls look at him, tsk tsk... I really don't know what he has to admire about him."

"Maybe he's like Quirrell?" Harry suddenly said. "Like Quirrell, not very capable, just able to talk about things unrelated to the lesson, like how to encounter Ghoul, or what the garlic wrapped in his hood is for—"

"It's alright," Neville said. "I don't think the teaching level of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has much to do with us. After all, we are all members of the Dueling Club and are supposed to be taught by Harry. You know, Grandma was very happy when she found out about my performance at school, and she even took me to buy a new wand as a reward."

"Why?" Ron asked with interest. "Didn't your grandma always let you use your dad's wand?"

"Yes." Neville looked a little downcast. "Grandma told me not to forget Dad's courage—but I told her that your Charms skills had improved a lot since you changed your wand, so Grandma went to ask Mr. Ollivander. After getting a definite answer, she stopped insisting and took me to buy a new wand."

"Sorry, buddy," Ron patted Neville on the shoulder, "I'm sorry I brought up something that's bothering you again."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright, Ron." Neville patted Ron's hand and said, "That's all in the past. I need to practice my Charms hard so that I can be a useful person on the battlefield against the Death Eater and Dark Wizard in the future—at least I need to avenge my parents."

"Yes, revenge!" Ron nodded earnestly. "Burn those Dark Wizard to ashes!"

"Oh, I'm afraid that won't work," Neville suddenly said. "This will have to be done by Seamus— "

"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughed, partly because Neville suddenly had a sense of humor, and partly because of Seamus.

"What are our study plans for this year, Professor?" After laughing enough, everyone turned their attention to Harry.

Harry thought for a moment and said to them, "This year's plan for you is to learn how to fight—real combat, not just duels... Also, the Dueling Club will be welcoming a few new friends this year."

"New friends?" Everyone became interested. "Are they from Gryffindor? Who are they?"

"It's Hufflepuff," Harry said, shaking his head. "That Hufflepuff Prefect, the rather handsome Cedric Diggory, is very interested in our Dueling Club. He came to our compartment on the train before the holidays to talk about it. I think it's a good idea; after all, we need more people to study together so we can learn from each other and improve, right?"

"You're the boss, we'll all listen to you," everyone said in unison.

"Let's vote by raising hands," Harry said. "Hermione and Ron already agreed on the train, now it's up to you."

Voting by raising hands is a tradition, a rule established during Harry's time with the Order of the Order of the Phoenix.

"I have no objection," Neville said, raising his hand.

"I agree too," Seamus raised his hand as well.

"That's five to zero, a unanimous vote." Harry said with a grin, "Alright, now that we've finished the business, it's time to relax..."

As he spoke, he took out his wallet.

"I've always believed that good people deserve the best—here, this is Butterbeer." Harry pulled out five glasses of Butterbeer, a non-alcoholic beer-flavored beverage. "And some snacks I bought in France —both from the Muggle World and Magical World. Interestingly, the France Magical World also has many unique snacks that aren't available in Britain."

"For example?" Ron asked, chewing on a bag of spicy beef tripe.

"Take the tripe you're chewing on, for example," Harry said. "The France have a real knack for eating tripe—I think the House Elf at Hogwarts could learn a thing or two, and maybe we could improve our palates a bit, wouldn't you say?"

"I think it's a good idea," Seamus said with a smile. "Eating the same dishes all the time gets a bit monotonous; we should develop some new types of dishes—"

"Perhaps the House Elf at Hogwarts can make it?" Neville said. "I remember Grandma once said that Hogwarts has a secret menu—you can go into the Hogwarts Kitchen and order whatever you want, whether it's French, Italy, India, or even Mexico food, they can make it for you."

"Mexico?" Ron put down the shrimp chips in his hand. "Where is that? I only know France, Italy, and India. I have no idea where Mexico is."

"It's not far from us," Seamus said. "I've read about it in a book; it's just across the sea."

"I really want to try Mexico food," Ron said with some longing. "Listen to the pronunciation—Mike, Xi, Kou—it sounds like a very mysterious country."

"You should ask Hermione about this; after all, she's Academic Bully." Harry patted the bed. "We wizards only have a superficial understanding of the Muggle world."

Ron turned to Harry and asked, "Wait a minute, Harry, you also went to school in the Muggle world, so why don't you know where Mexico is?"

"Because I forgot," Harry answered truthfully.

Of course I forgot. It sounds like it was a year ago that he went to school in the Muggle world, but for Harry, there were still more than five years in between.

Five years is enough time for him to forget everything he learned in the Muggle world —after all, magic is much more interesting to him than knowledge from the Muggle world.

"Okay." Ron shrugged and picked up the shrimp chips again to continue eating.

We're bound to keep chatting on the first day of School Opening in the dorm, and since there are no early classes on the second day, it won't matter if we get up a little later.

They chatted until after 10 p. m., until Neville was so sleepy that his eyelids were drooping, then they said goodnight to each other and went to bed.

After all his friends had fallen asleep, Harry got out of bed easily, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and tiptoed out of Gryffindor Common Room.

It wasn't that he didn't want to take them there; after all, it was a place accessible only by those with Ancient Magic, and apart from inheritors of Ancient Magic like Harry, no one else could possibly get in.

As she walked out, the Fat Lady muttered to herself, "Someone else is going out."

However, she was just a security guard and not in charge of managing the dormitory, so she didn't make a fuss.

Since it's none of her business, why should she care?

Harry pondered the Fat Lady's words for a moment, guessing that the word "again" probably referred to the Weasley twins.

Besides those two, who else would go out at night on the first day of School Opening?

Harry went down the stairs and came to the door of the Map Chamber.

He hadn't seen Veratia for over a month, and to be honest, he missed the girl a little.

He took out his wand, stirred up the Ancient Magic, and drew an archway.

Following the archway, Harry entered the Map Chamber.

Veratia's voice rang out as soon as he entered the room.

"Harry," she said, "You're finally back."

"Yes, School Opening has started." Harry walked down the stairs. "You know, you're not allowed to stay at Hogwarts during holidays."

Harry looked at the portraits beside him. Before Professor Rackham could even utter a sound, he was dragged away by Headmaster Fitzgerald.

"What are they doing...?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Veratia chuckled and said, "Headmaster Fitzgerald thinks we young people should have some private conversations, so she didn't want to interrupt and overhear our little secrets. So she—you saw it too."

"I see." Harry nodded in understanding.

He found a place to sit down on the ground, with a miniature model of Hogwarts Castle beneath him. Under the transparent floor, countless stars twinkled.

Before entering the Map Chamber, he had a lot to say.

But once he got to the Map Chamber, he didn't know where to begin.

"Did anything fun happen during summer vacation?" Veratia asked with a smile.

"Oh, quite a lot." Harry, hearing Veratia's question, recalled some fun things that happened during the summer and began to recount, "I caught Goblin twice at the Weasley family. Those Goblin were really ugly, they looked like potatoes, and when you caught them they would make a 'Let me go' sound..."

"Aunt Molly's cooking is delicious. Once you're out, I'll definitely take you to the Weasley family for a couple of meals. Ah... Aunt Molly always refills my bowl four times a day. I'm starting to suspect that if I keep eating like this, I'll get as fat as Cousin Dudley."

Veratia smiled gently as she listened to Harry's story.

"Dudley? Dudley Dursley?" Veratia suddenly asked, "That fat guy who used to bully you?"

"Yes, but I already taught him a lesson," Harry said quickly. He knew Veratia's protectiveness, and if he didn't explain things clearly, his cousin's family would be in trouble.

His cousin's family hadn't treated him well, but Harry didn't think they deserved to die.

Veratia understood what he meant, but just chuckled softly and didn't say anything more.

"By the way, when I was at the Dursley family, I used a few spells and got a serious warning from the Ministry of Magic," Harry began to complain to Veratia. "Also, I wanted to help the Weasley family Twins expand their market in the Muggle world. The magical joke props they make are actually pretty good, but unfortunately the Ministry of Magic doesn't allow wizards to sell their stuff in the Muggle world."

"Really?" Veratia was still smiling, but she was already thinking about what she should do after she went out to break these conventions.

She was tired of living in the shadows. If they couldn't live in the sunlight, what difference was there between wizards and rats?

"Of course," Harry sighed. "Ron, after all, a good friend of mine, and I feel I should do what I can to help them without hurting their feelings."

"You're so kind, Harry," Veratia said, looking at him with gentle eyes. "What a good boy."

"Right?" Harry said happily, enjoying Veratia's praise.

"Oh, right," Harry added, "Pabbie, I went to Mr. LeMay's house. Mr. LeMay told me that Pabbie is feeling a bit unwell and needs to stay at his house to recuperate. He'll write to me when he's recovered."

"What happened to Pabbie?" Veratia asked with concern. "Is it because of what happened with Voldemort? Or is it because the curse wasn't completely cleaned up?"

"I don't know either, and Mr. LeMay didn't say either," Harry said helplessly.

Veratia paused for a moment, then said to Harry, "I hope Mr. LeMay has a way... He always does—my Angel Feather was a gift from Mr. LeMay."

"Oh, right, speaking of Angel Feather," Veratia suddenly remembered something important, "You went to Gringotts ' vault, right? Did you take out all the money and alchemical materials I had stored there?"

Harry opened his mouth, but suddenly he didn't know what to say.

To be honest, he really wanted to complain, but he was afraid of upsetting Veratia.

How should I put it? He was still wondering to himself.

"What's wrong?" Veratia instinctively noticed the strange look on Harry's face and quickly asked, "Did something happen to the vault, Harry?"

"Uh—" Harry took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth first, to tell part of it and see how Veratia reacted—if it wasn't good, he would omit part of it for now.

"Go ahead," Veratia said softly.

"Well, I did go to Gringotts." Harry organized his thoughts. "But in Gringotts —in Vault 313, there was no money—oh right, just a Knut and a silver Princess crown."

"Where's the money?" Veratia's eyes darkened. "Did the Goblin secretly move it away? Ha... truly inferior creatures. I should have—"

Harry shuddered, feeling fortunate for his quick thinking.

He quickly pulled out the copied delivery slip from his pocket. "Uh, actually it's not really, Veratia, it has little to do with the Goblin."

Upon hearing Harry's words, Veratia gave Harry a sharp glare. "Oh? Is that so? Then who does it have to do with?"

"It's Gellert —look, Veratia, this is the bill of lading from 1899." Harry unfolded the bill of lading. "It shows that the vault was emptied by Gellert Grindelwald in the summer of 1899..."

Click!

A crack suddenly appeared in Veratia's portrait.

"Veratia!" Harry cried out, "You... you calm down, please don't be angry—look, your portrait is cracked!"

"Oh." Veratia gave Harry a relaxed smile. "No, I'm not angry—it's not worth getting angry about."

"Really?" Harry asked suspiciously. He had a feeling that Veratia was lying to him, but he had no proof.

"This isn't something to be angry about, Harry." Veratia crossed her arms, her voice cold. "Very well, my foolish brother, another debt has been added to our accounts!"

Harry quickly bowed his head and silently mourned for Gellert for half a second.

My goodness, you're really brave, little brother...

You dared to steal your sister's things and even left evidence against her. Do you really think your sister won't come back?

They're so young.

Veratia seemed to have put aside the matter of her brother robbing her vault, and asked in a relaxed tone, "So you went to Mr. LeMay to ask if he had any Angel Feather?"

"Hmm..." Harry hesitated for a moment, then said to Veratia, "Mr. LeMay had some Angel Feather left over, but they're all in Professor Dumbledore's hands."

"Oh." Veratia nodded knowingly, "So it was with Headmaster Dumbledore."

"So I don't know what to do." Harry scratched his head and said, "You know, there's some conflict between Headmaster Dumbledore and Gellert. I don't know if he'll be prejudiced against you because of the surname ' Grindelwald' —but it's conceivable that this surname did cause quite a stir in the Magical World at the beginning of this century."

"So?" Veratia asked with a smile.

"So I'm worried... well, I'm just worried." Harry sighed.

"Alright, don't worry." Veratia said softly, "Don't rush, there's still plenty of time—after all, we still don't have any clues about the Basilisk Fang, and even if we find the Angel Feather, it won't bring me back immediately, so we'll just take our time and figure out a solution."

After being comforted by Veratia, Harry calmed down.

"Okay, whatever you say," he said.

He suddenly remembered Gringotts and said, "By the way, Veratia, Gringotts has also made corresponding compensation for Gellert's takeover of the goods, and promised me that as long as the Angel Feather and the Basilisk Fang are found, they will buy them in the name of Gringotts, and all expenses will be borne by Gringotts."

"Is that so?" Veratia raised an eyebrow. "That's really something. Those greedy Goblin in Gringotts always treat Galleon like their own lives. For them to bleed so much, they must be scared."

"Hahaha."

Harry suddenly laughed, pulled out his Holly Wood wand with the Phoenix core, and said to Veratia, "You wouldn't believe it, when I walked into Gringotts and pulled out this wand, I never imagined that some kind of Charms would scare the Goblin in Gringotts half to death..."

Veratia covered her lips with her hand; she knew exactly what was going on—

"Anyway, they agree to whatever I say, so I'll just use the negotiation techniques Cassandra taught me..."

Upon hearing the name, Veratia's eyelids twitched, but she didn't say anything more.

"Anyway, they finally agreed," Harry concluded, pointing the bottom of his wand at Veratia and noting the writing. "By the way, when was this 'Vivi' engraved?"

"Don't you like it?" Veratia asked softly.

"Yes, of course I like it," Harry said.

A happy smile spread across Veratia's pretty face; she was pleased that Harry had admitted his feelings.

"However... after listening to what you just said, I have a good idea," she suddenly said.

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked, looking up.

"Since you say that the Goblin of Gringotts can afford to buy Angel Feather and Basilisk Fang at any cost, and you're worried that Headmaster Dumbledore might be prejudiced against me because of my surname—why don't you pass this message on to the Goblin of Gringotts? Just say that Headmaster Mr. Dumbledore of Hogwarts has Angel Feather."

Veratia spoke softly and slowly, yet she immediately grasped Harry's thoughts.

He clapped his hands and said happily, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that?"

Harry was overjoyed; ever since he opened the Map Chamber, he felt like he had become smarter.

At the same time, he also felt a little regretful, wondering why he hadn't thought of this before.

If I had thought of it sooner, wouldn't I have avoided agonizing over it for so long?

"Yeah, how come you didn't think of that?" Veratia's eyes curved into beautiful crescent moons. "Silly Harry."

Harry made a face at her and said, "In that case, the problem with the Angel Feather should be solved—the only thing left is the Basilisk Fang. Mr. LeMay said the last time there was news of the Basilisk was during the Tsarist Russia era."

"The Tsarist Russia period?" Veratia raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why 'period'? Does it mean Tsarist Russia has disappeared?"

"How long has it been since it perished? Almost eighty years, right?" Harry said. "Actually Austro-Hungarian Empire is gone too, it only lasted a little over a year longer than Tsarist Russia..."

"Compared to this, I'm happier that Tsarist Russia is dead," Veratia said with a gloating smile.

As is well known, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had always been at odds with Tsarist Russia. In the four years before Veratia entered Slytherin Study, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Tsarist Russia had a fierce conflict in the Balkan, and relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply.

Harry didn't know how to respond, so he continued, "When I contact Gringotts, I'll urge them to find the Basilisk Fang as soon as possible."

"Okay." Veratia smiled and nodded.

After chatting for a while, Veratia urged Harry to leave quickly and go back to his dormitory to rest.

Harry was reluctant to leave, but there was nothing he could do. He could only stand up, leave the Map Chamber, and return to the Gryffindor Common Room.

After Harry left, Headmaster Fitzgerald and his two companions returned to the picture frame.

To their surprise, Veratia squatted down on the ground, staring blankly ahead.

"Hey, little girl?" Professor Rackham asked, "What's wrong?"

Veratia didn't answer, she just stared blankly ahead.

"Veratia?" Headmaster Fitzgerald asked softly, "What's wrong? Did that Potter boy say something he shouldn't have?"

"My money... my money..." Veratia murmured.

"Ah, it has lost its color," Professor Rackham suddenly said.

The three of them then noticed that Veratia's photo frame had turned black and white.

"Young lady, it's just some money, isn't it?" Professor Rackham began to comfort Veratia. "You said it yourself, it's just a small amount of money, it's gone, it's gone—by the way, did that Potter spend it all?"

Veratia looked up, and the colors returned to the frame.

"That's no small sum..." she said softly. "That's what I... saved up in the Forbidden Forest, in the villages, in the highlands, in the mountains, throughout Britain... from poacher's hideout after poacher's hideout after bandit's hideout after bandit's hideout after the Ashwinder Party's hideout after bandit's hideout, and from Goblin chest... and Gellert stole it all... that thief..."

Upon hearing Veratia's words, all three of them were startled.

It seems this amount of money is not small, otherwise this young girl wouldn't be acting this way.

What's more, she saved it up little by little.

They had long known of this girl's formidable reputation, but they never imagined that all the Dark Wizard, the Ashwinder Party, the rebellious Goblin, and the poachers who had infiltrated all of England were wiped out by this little witch herself.

"So... how much money is it exactly?" Headmaster Fitzgerald asked tentatively. "And what about Gellert, I remember he's your brother, right?"

"A total of 2,763,215 Galleon," Veratia murmured. "This money... I saved it all up, penny by penny, and Gellert just ransacked it like that..."

"Two hundred?" Professor Rackham exclaimed in shock. "Ten thousand?!"

He never imagined that the "small sum" Veratia mentioned would actually be an Astronomy figure of two million.

Merlin's beard, even if you add up all the wealth accumulated by the Luke Wood family over the generations, it wouldn't amount to two million, would it?

He groaned in his throat, "Girl... how many Dark Wizard have you killed in total..."

Based on the figure of over two million Galleon, it's definitely not a small amount...

"Since the money is already lost, let's look to the future," Headmaster Fitzgerald could only console him. "You're still young. Even when Potter rescues you, you'll only be seventeen. You'll have plenty of time to make money, won't you?"

"Yes," Professor Rackham and Professor Rackham chimed in.

They had watched this little girl grow up, just like their own daughter, and they didn't want her to suffer any major setbacks.

"But I..."

Veratia murmured.

"Among those Galleon, there are some I saved up before I was fifteen..."

"That was the only thing I could do at that time..."

"Before the age of fifteen?"

The three professors exchanged a glance.

"Yes, before I was fifteen."

Veratia gave a somewhat broken smile, tinged with sadness.

"Back then, I was Squib..."

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(The last four thousand words of this chapter include an extra chapter for the Alliance Leader, Wanren Ruhai Yishenzang.)