The mine cart sped through the dim tunnel, its wheels grinding against the rails with a steady, reassuring clatter. Torches embedded in the rock walls on either side formed two flickering bands of light, stretched into blurred streams by their speed. The Chilling Aura unique to the depths underground, mixed with the scent of rust, rushed toward them.
Hermione sat close beside Lynn, her initial fright long replaced by curiosity. Her eyes were wide as she tried to make out the scenery flashing past on both sides of the tunnel. At regular intervals, enormous doors embedded with heavy metal appeared in the rough rock walls, engraved with intricate symbols and numbers that gleamed coldly in the torchlight. Some were tightly shut without a crack; before others stood guards in scarlet uniforms trimmed with gold, aiming strange short wands tipped with faceted crystals at recesses in the doors. With a soft hum, the heavy doors slid silently inward, revealing either bottomless darkness or glimpses of mountains of treasure glittering in every color—golden gleams, silver flashes, even the strange brilliance of gemstones—visible for a fleeting instant before being swallowed by darkness once more.
"Those... are vaults?" Hermione asked softly, her voice filled with awe and disbelief. She imagined the wealth and secrets that might lie behind those closed doors.
"Mm," Lynn replied, his gaze following the flashes of wealth as well, though his attention was more focused on the method the guards used to open the vaults—the short wands and crystals seemed to be some kind of energy key. "The deeper the number, the older it might be, or the things stored there might be more... special." He deliberately kept his description vague, avoiding any mention of specific families or items.
The mine cart suddenly turned at a junction, and the centrifugal force made Hermione lean involuntarily toward Lynn. His arm naturally came up at her side to steady her. The instant their bodies touched, the Star Stone and Moon White Stone at their chests once again gave off a distinct warmth, like tiny furnaces driving away the cold of the underground. Hermione instinctively covered her chest, and the warmth calmed her as well. Even Lynn's touch no longer embarrassed her as it had in the rapidly descending compartment; instead, it gave her a comforting sense of reliance. She did not move away at once, merely lowering her flushed little face and whispering, "Thank you."
"Hold on tight." Lynn's voice was calm, but he did not immediately withdraw his arm, keeping it protectively beside her until the mine cart entered a narrower branch tunnel with even dimmer lighting. The vault doors on both sides were clearly much older here, their metal surfaces scarred by time, their symbols more elaborate and uncanny.
At last, the mine cart slowly stopped before an exceptionally plain bronze door. It was smaller than the ones they had seen before, dull in color and without any ornate decoration. At its center was only a shallow indentation resembling a keyhole.
Professor McGonagall stepped out first and approached the door. Rather than taking out the bronze piece she had used to open the wall into Diagon Alley, she removed a strangely shaped key from her handbag. The key itself was also bronze, but embedded at its end was a small, irregular piece of deep-blue ore, as profound as a frozen night sky. Lynn recognized it at once—the material was exactly the same as the cover of the deep-blue Starry Book in his arms! The teeth of the key were extraordinarily intricate, twisting and coiling.
Professor McGonagall inserted the key into the recess in the door. There was no short wand or crystal like those used by the guards. She simply gave it a gentle turn.
Click... hum...
After a dull mechanical sound, a low hum like a sigh from the depths of the earth followed. The heavy bronze door slid silently inward. There were no mountains of gold, silver, or jewels inside, nor any dazzling light—only profound darkness and a rush of icy air carrying the scent of dust.
Lynn's heart beat a little faster. Was this "his" vault? The inheritance left behind by the original Lynn Li?
Professor McGonagall took a small lantern from her handbag and gave it a light shake. A soft, steady white glow immediately lit up inside the transparent crystal sphere at its top. Holding the lantern, she walked in first.
Lynn and Hermione followed closely behind her into the darkness. The lantern's light only illuminated several yards ahead, revealing cold, smooth stone slabs beneath their feet. As they went deeper, the light outlined the vault's interior—it was not large, a long and narrow rectangle with polished rock walls all around. The vault was empty except for three chests of varying sizes placed against the wall at the far end.
The first chest was made of dark-brown hardwood and covered in a thin layer of dust. It had no lock and looked entirely ordinary. The second was made from some dark metal, its surface covered in fine silver patterns like creeping vines, with a small circular recess at the center of its lid. The third chest was the smallest and the most eye-catching. It was entirely crafted from translucent deep-blue crystal, within which a nebula seemed to slowly revolve. It gave off a faint glow, with no visible opening or lock.
Professor McGonagall hung the lantern on a hook in the wall, illuminating the entire vault. She walked to the first wooden chest and lifted its lid directly.
Inside were not the Gold Galleons they had expected, but neatly arranged items: several sets of folded clothes that appeared to be of good quality, clearly sized for a young boy; several pairs of shoes; some toiletries; and several thick hardbound books with no titles on their covers. On top lay a bulging money bag sewn from thick canvas, as well as a simple dark-blue hardbound notebook.
"These are Mr. Lynn Li's stored personal belongings, as well as the liquid funds in the vault under his name," Professor McGonagall said, her voice especially clear within the vault. "The money bag contains exchanged Gold Galleons, Silver Sickles, and Bronze Knuts—enough to cover your seven years of studies and living expenses at Hogwarts, including textbooks, a wand, robes, and other necessities." She took out the money bag and notebook and handed them to Lynn.
Lynn accepted the heavy money bag and notebook. The notebook's cover bore familiar deep-blue star patterns and felt icy to the touch. He understood at once. This was probably a record or diary left behind by the original owner? He did not open it immediately, instead putting it away with care.
Professor McGonagall's gaze shifted to the second metal chest. "This chest requires a matching energy imprint to open." Her eyes fell on Lynn's chest. "Mr. Li, please place the stone hanging from your neck into the recess in the lid."
Following her instructions, Lynn pulled the Star Stone pendant from inside his collar. The cold stone flowed with a deep-blue radiance in the lantern light. Carefully, he pressed the Star Stone into the circular recess.
Hum...
The silver vine patterns on the metal chest suddenly lit up as though infused with life, light racing along the lines and quickly spreading across the entire chest. Then came a series of crisp, pleasant sounds of mechanical parts locking together from within. A few seconds later, there was a soft click, and the lid silently sprang open a crack.
Lynn lifted the lid. The interior was lined with soft dark velvet, upon which lay three items: a slender quill, its body seemingly made of both wood and jade, with a deep-blue gemstone the size of a grain of rice set at its tip, constantly shifting with faint starlight; a palm-sized compass with a casing polished from some warm, dark jade, its surface etched with a precise star-track design; and a ring with an antique silver-gray setting and a deep-blue sapphire cut into a perfect octahedron, as profound as the night sky, with stars seemingly revolving slowly within it.
"The Pen of Stars, the Astrology Compass, and... the Star Core Ring." As Professor McGonagall looked at the three items, an extremely faint, unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes. "They belong to you. Keep them safe." She offered no further explanation, but Lynn could sense that the three items were extraordinary. They seemed to share some mysterious connection with the Star Stone and the deep-blue Starry Book.
Lynn carefully put away the three items. Finally, both his and Hermione's gazes turned to the third chest—the most mysterious one of all, made of deep-blue crystal.
Professor McGonagall did not move this time. She merely said calmly, "This chest requires a particular moment and... a key. The key is neither with me nor here. Until the time comes, it cannot be opened."
Lynn and Hermione were both a little disappointed, but they could only nod. The crystal chest gave off its faint glow like a silent riddle waiting for an answer in the future.
Leaving the vault took far less time than entering it. Once they were back in the mine cart and had passed through the long tunnels to return to the cold, magnificent hall, Hermione could not help letting out a long breath. The oppressive feeling of the underground was dispelled by the lofty dome overhead. Though the guards' emerald-green eyes remained cold, they had at least returned to the world above.
"Next," Professor McGonagall said as she led them out through the enormous bronze doors of the Mithril Ring—the alternate name for Gringotts—and back into the bustling sights, sounds, and mingled smells of Diagon Alley, "you will purchase your necessities. The list." She handed a sheet of parchment to each of them. "Buy your textbooks at Flourish and Blotts, have your school robes tailored at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and lastly, your wands. Meet in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in one hour." She raised a hand to indicate a colorful shop across the street with an enormous ice-cream-cone sign, then, without waiting for a response, swept into the crowd in a flutter of dark-green robes and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Holding their lists, Lynn and Hermione stood on a street in the magical world, watching the crowds flow past and the shops line the road. At last, they felt as though they had truly stepped into this world.
"Should we buy the books first?" Lynn suggested, his gaze sweeping over the long list of titles.
"Okay!" Hermione nodded vigorously, her large eyes sparkling with eager anticipation. Knowledge had always been the thing she desired most.
Flourish and Blotts was crowded and noisy, with the distinctive fragrance of ink and old paper filling the air. Towering bookshelves nearly reached the ceiling, crammed with books of every thickness and color. Some sat quietly on the shelves; others were chained with magical restraints and still wriggled restlessly. One enormous book with a fanged monster painted on its cover suddenly opened its pages as Lynn approached, letting out a low roar and spraying a small burst of ink, only to be skillfully trapped beneath a net by a well-prepared clerk.
Hermione was in her element, her little face glowing with pure delight. Comparing each title with the list, she navigated the maze-like shelves with precision, seeking out her targets: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One, A History of Magic, Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Magical Drafts and Potions... Every time she found one, she carefully brushed the dust from its cover before hugging it to her chest like a fragile treasure. Lynn, meanwhile, was responsible for carrying the increasingly heavy stack of books, while observing the enchanted volumes with great interest.
"This copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi is so thick!" Hermione stood on tiptoe, trying to reach a large volume on the upper shelf.
"I've got it." Lynn easily took it down for her. Hermione accepted the book, its weight making her little face flush, though she looked more satisfied than anything else.
"Thank you!" She tilted up her face, her smile radiant and her eyes curving into crescents. The stack of books in her arms blocked half her face, leaving only those bright, sparkling eyes brimming with a thirst for knowledge.
When it came time to pay, Hermione watched Lynn pour clinking Gold Galleons from the deep-blue canvas money bag. Hugging her own equally expensive pile of textbooks, she suddenly said in a small voice, "Lynn, these books... are expensive, aren't they?" She remembered how hard her parents worked.
"Knowledge is an invaluable investment." Lynn counted out the appropriate coins and pushed them toward the clerk, then turned and smiled at her. "And my investment looks very worthwhile." His meaning was clear as he looked at the mountain of books she could barely hold.
Hermione's face reddened even more. She mumbled, "I'll study hard," but her heart felt warm.
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