Gringotts

Dumbledore walked ahead, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Brook was, after all, still a child.

In his view, robbing a bank was not some unforgivable crime.

As long as he had not actively attacked or harmed anyone, it was not too serious a wrongdoing.

Letting him off was fine.

Of course, all of that depended on Brook passing his test.

If he failed it...

Dumbledore would not mind letting Brook spend the rest of his life in Azkaban.

After all, the Second Generation Demon King was about to rise from the ashes. If a Third Generation Demon King appeared at a time like this...

He could forget about peacefully moving on to his next stop.

As for why he had not demanded that Brook return the stolen items...

The reason was simple.

That gold had belonged to Brook's family in the first place.

Stealing money from his own family.

Should he tell Brook about that now?

Just thinking about it was interesting.

But never mind. He had already promised the other party, so he would wait for them to say it themselves.

Today also happened to be the day Hogwarts acceptance letters arrived.

So he took the opportunity to get in touch with Brook.

Now, it seemed...

Brook was a smart yet mischievous little fellow.

More importantly, the little fellow would always, without realizing it, stand half a step in front of Hermione.

Subtly protecting Hermione.

What a wonderful word "love" was!

There was still some time before the school term began.

Diagon Alley was unusually deserted, with barely anyone visible on the streets.

Dumbledore led them to the Wizarding World's bank.

"This is Gringotts, guarded by Goblins."

Dumbledore said as he looked at the towering white building ahead.

"The Gate of Sighs, forged by Goblins. It is said that when the greedy touch it, they hear the wails of every thief who died here."

"Would you like to try it?"

Brook rolled his eyes.

Dumbledore continued, "All the vaults are hundreds of meters underground, and there are spells that restrain space. Therefore, using Space Magic to steal is impossible."

Brook: (╬◣д◢)

You old geezer.

Enough already!

Who are you taking shots at?

They then entered the bank.

The Goblin guards bowed to Dumbledore.

As for Brook and Hermione, they looked down their noses at them, their faces full of arrogance.

"These Goblins look really interesting, just like in fairy tales."

Hermione whispered into Brook's ear.

Brook: !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ

This little girl's taste in aesthetics seemed a little unusual.

They arrived in a spacious marble-floored hall.

Around a hundred Goblins sat behind long counters.

Some were weighing coins, while others were examining gemstones.

Dumbledore found a very old Goblin.

The wrinkles on his face looked deep enough to crush flies.

"Laf, help these new students exchange some Gold Galleons."

"Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore."

When Laf saw that it was Dumbledore, he hurriedly put down the magnifying glass in his hand, his face blooming like a chrysanthemum.

"Take out your money!"

Back at the Granger house, Dumbledore had already told them.

Every Muggle-born young wizard could exchange up to 100 Gold Galleons before the start of each school year.

The exchange rate between Pound Sterling and Gold Galleons was five to one, so both Brook and Hermione had prepared 500 pounds.

"Let me ask something. Does Gringotts offer Gold Galleon-to-Muggle-currency exchange services?" Brook suddenly asked.

Laf had not wanted to answer, but after glancing at Dumbledore beside him, he replied impatiently.

"Gringotts does not provide that service."

Brook shrugged. It seemed that learning from some big shot and using the collapse of the Great Bear and mortgaging Hogwarts to blow up Gringotts's financial system was out of the question.

Laf moved quickly.

After taking the Pound Sterling, he did not even count it before setting it aside.

Then he took out two small pouches that had already been prepared from beneath the counter and handed one each to Brook and Hermione.

Hermione curiously opened her pouch and found golden metal coins inside.

"Is this real gold?"

"Of course it's real gold! Goblins would never use fakes to make Gold Galleons!"

As if he had been insulted, Laf immediately shouted back, startling Hermione.

Like a frightened little rabbit, she hid behind Brook. っﾟДﾟ)っ

"Sorry, I just..."

Brook narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, completely shielding Hermione.

This little girl could be rather annoying sometimes, but she had also brought him plenty of amusement.

He could bully her, but no one else could.

"Laf."

Dumbledore's voice was quiet, yet it immediately calmed Laf down.

Looking somewhat fearful of Dumbledore, he said, "I was overly agitated."

He deeply bowed to Hermione.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

"I-It's... fine."

Hermione looked even more flustered.

Brook quietly withdrew his hand.

He had originally intended to touch Laf and plant a space marker.

Then, when nobody was around, he would secretly knock him out from behind.

Since the other party had apologized, how could he possibly just let it go?

Still, there would be plenty of time later.

He weighed the small pouch in his hand and estimated it to be at least 300 grams.

If these gold coins truly were made of pure gold, as the Goblin had claimed...

Then, according to current market prices...

One ounce of gold was worth around 220 pounds.

Five hundred pounds could buy roughly 70 grams of gold.

Yet here, 500 pounds could be exchanged for 100 Gold Galleons—300 grams of gold.

That was a profit margin of four times!

Who did business like that?

(⊙o⊙)

"Wizards have no use for Muggle currency. Although we have you exchange Pound Sterling, it is not actually an exchange.

"It is a subsidy Hogwarts provides to Muggle-born young wizards.

"Hogwarts pays for it in full."

Brook discreetly looked toward Dumbledore.

He had not asked that question just now, yet Dumbledore had offered an explanation.

Was it a coincidence, or...

Brook did not dare look at Dumbledore again.

Dumbledore's azure eyes seemed increasingly profound.

This little fellow was meticulous in thought.

He was nothing like an eleven-year-old boy.

What Dumbledore had said just now was deliberately meant for Brook to hear.

It was both to observe Brook's reaction and to remind him.

In the Wizarding World, many wizards liked to pry into other people's thoughts.

Brook's thoughts were far too unguarded.

If he was not careful, he could easily bring unnecessary trouble upon himself.

"Oh, right." Dumbledore seemed to ask casually.

"If you have gold, you can also use it to exchange for Gold Galleons. Do you need to exchange any?"

He looked at Brook with an expectant expression.

Brook had his head lowered, pondering whether Dumbledore could read minds, and paid no attention to his teasing.

Hermione did not react either.

Since Hogwarts had set a limit of 100 Gold Galleons, that meant it was already enough for young wizards.

She had no need to exchange any more.

"Now that you have both exchanged your money, let us begin enjoying a pleasant shopping trip."

As Dumbledore spoke, he once again strode outside.

Hermione hurried after him, only to see Brook still standing where he was.

She ran back and pulled Brook along with her.

"The headmaster has already gone outside. We need to catch up quickly."

Dumbledore led them toward the next shop.

At the same time, he told them all sorts of things about Hogwarts.

He introduced the unique characteristics of the four houses in detail.

"You two probably will not enter Slytherin," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"That house has very high requirements regarding bloodline, and neither of you meets that standard."

"Bloodline?" Hermione asked curiously. "What does Hogwarts use to sort students into houses?"

"Hmm, well, we have arrived at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." Dumbledore changed the subject.

Brook and Hermione each bought three plain black robes.

Brook narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore.

"Headmaster, is this the only clothing store in Diagon Alley?"

"There are two others, as well as one shop specializing in secondhand clothing. Are this shop's robes not to your liking?"

"Do they only sell robes and formal wear too?"

"Yes." Dumbledore looked somewhat puzzled.

Was there a problem with that?

Brook stared fixedly into Dumbledore's azure eyes without saying another word.

Instead, he complained furiously in his mind.

What about underwear?

Did wizards all go commando?

Dumbledore's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.

The clothing shops indeed did not provide underwear, and wizards usually sewed those private garments themselves.

Muggle-born young wizards bought them in the Muggle world.

He had never considered that issue.

The reason his expression had changed slightly was that he truly was not wearing any...

Brook noticed the change in Dumbledore's expression and withdrew his gaze as well.

(╯-＿-)╯╧╧

This old geezer really did possess magic similar to mind-reading.

And he had been peeking into Brook's thoughts all along.

He needed to find a solution as soon as possible.

Dumbledore also realized that Brook had been testing him and smiled helplessly.

Quite good.

The topic just was not very good.

(Non-Omniscient Text: The protagonist only remembered a small portion of the plot, and much of it was trigger-based.)

(For the nitpickers: Every fanfic adds its own settings on top of the original work. Little Author did not want to go down the financial system route, so that is the setting!)

(Because many people have asked, here is an explanation. The Door-Door Fruit is not restricted by Space Magic, which is why Brook can later open Space Gates anywhere. But Brook does not know that! Should he go to school, or gamble on escaping from under Dumbledore's nose? Anyone whose head is not that hard should know which to choose. So this is merely a difference in understanding, not an attempt to forcibly restrict the Door-Door Fruit.)