Gringotts

"Do you have any money?"

Professor McGonagall suddenly thought of a crucial point. Although Luke's clothes were exquisite, they were clearly a little too large for him. They had probably been left behind by an adult.

Luke nodded. "I do, but I need to withdraw it from Gringotts."

As he spoke, he took out the crest in his hand. "I need this. It belongs to our family's vault. Other than us, only the Goblins at Gringotts know about it."

Professor McGonagall nodded. It was easy to imagine that if this money had not been concealed from the other Gaunt Family, there would probably have been nothing left long ago. Whether during their prosperous years of extravagance or their final days of destitution, they would have coveted this money desperately. As for the lives of their own kin, who would care?

Professor McGonagall had encountered many pure-blood wizards. Whether they came from so-called great families or smaller ones, some wore their arrogance and malice practically on their faces. There were quite a few such fallen pure-blood wizards. Of course, many pure-bloods were also very kind, such as the Weasley Family or the Shacklebolt Family.

Yet among all these nobles, the child before her was the one who most made Professor McGonagall feel as though she were looking at a true noble's child.

"I wonder whether other families have hidden people like this."

The thought inevitably flashed through Professor McGonagall's mind, but she quickly dismissed it herself. If they truly had such outstanding talent, would it not be better to bring them out and consolidate the family's power? The Pure-blood Families were not in a good position now. Voldemort's defeat had pushed many of them out of the center of power. Some were even on the brink of collapse. At a time like this, what would be the point of hiding someone away?

Coming back to herself, Professor McGonagall said to Luke, "Follow me. Let's go to Gringotts first."

Luke followed Professor McGonagall toward a towering white building.

It was not far away, and they reached the entrance after walking for a short while. Before the bronze Great Door, two Goblin guards in scarlet-and-gold uniforms bowed to them and opened the door. Their attitude was exceedingly respectful.

Another silver door came into view, inscribed with several lines of writing. Luke gave it a quick glance and found that it was merely a warning from the Goblins to anyone intending to steal.

Luke had little interest in it. Such warnings were completely useless. Voldemort had once ordered Professor Quirrell to rob the place by force, and later Harry and the others had practically torn the whole place apart...

So these threats had no real deterrent effect.

Professor McGonagall was familiar with the place and passed straight through the silver door without stopping, entering the great hall. Luke hurried after her.

Goblins counting money lined both sides of the hall. Luke paid them no mind and headed straight for the tallest seat in the center.

A sparse-haired Goblin wearing half-moon spectacles sat there. He spotted Professor McGonagall and Luke from afar, which made him feel somewhat helpless. He had just sent off a Hogwarts Gamekeeper, and now a proper Hogwarts professor had arrived. More importantly, he knew very well that students personally guided by professors were rarely ordinary.

So this one was most likely not here to exchange pounds for Galleons.

"Luke Gaunt is here to inherit the vault left behind by Robert Gaunt." Luke stepped forward and calmly displayed the crest in his hand to the Goblin.

The Goblin sucked in a sharp breath. He had expected this little fellow to be troublesome, but not this troublesome. Damn it, he was the heir of that Gaunt Family hidden in the shadows. The Goblin had thought that family had died out after all these years.

Though he quickly regained his composure, his reaction could not escape Professor McGonagall's notice. Judging from it, the money in that vault was probably an unimaginable sum.

"Please wait."

With that, he climbed down from his high chair and entered a room.

Another Goblin immediately came forward, bowed to the two of them, and made a gesture inviting them to follow. Luke and Professor McGonagall followed him into a room. It was refined and elegant, clearly not meant for ordinary guests.

A moment later, the manager returned to Luke carrying a small box.

When he opened it, there was a snake carved from a single piece of dark green gemstone. A red gem was set into its left eye socket, but it had only one eye. Its forked tongue protruded, while its mouth remained tightly shut.

"Please drip a drop of blood onto the eye."

The Goblin's tone was calm yet stern. Too much profit was at stake here. Although Hogwarts had verified him, the Goblin still had to carry out this step. First, it was required procedure. Second, he was genuinely unwilling to accept it.

If those treasures went unclaimed for another hundred years, they could be declared ownerless and become Gringotts property...

Without the slightest hesitation, Luke immediately took out the small knife at his waist and cut his finger. A drop of blood welled from the wound and fell into the snake's right eye socket.

But the snake seemed to show no reaction.

A gleam lit up in the Goblin's eyes. Professor McGonagall frowned deeply as well. Luke, however, remained entirely unruffled. Sure enough, after about thirteen seconds, the blood in the right eye socket condensed into a gemstone. The entire snake changed from dark green to emerald green. Its mouth opened, revealing a key.

Luke calmly removed the key and smiled at the Goblin, whose face clearly showed disappointment. "Please lead the way. I need to withdraw some money to buy a few things. As you can see, I'm so destitute that I don't even have a properly fitting set of clothes."

The Goblin's professionalism was quite impressive. He nodded, his expression returning to normal. "Please follow me."

He then led the two of them toward the vaults.

Once they boarded the cart, an enormous cavern came into view, with vaults lining its edges.

This was practically where the entire British Wizarding World kept its savings. Whoever managed to loot the place clean, regardless of how much money they got away with, would almost certainly be attacked by nearly every wizard in Britain.

The cart had not gone far before it slid down a branch track. At the end, there was no vault door. Instead, there was a pitch-black cave. Professor McGonagall was actually quite surprised. Luke had shown absolutely no intention of leaving her behind. She did not believe he had overlooked the issue. It was obvious from the worried expression on his face.

Luke had been careless too. On the way here, he had suddenly remembered that today seemed to be July 31st... If he remembered correctly, this was also the day Harry and the others came to Gringotts. In other words, it was also the day Gringotts was attacked. What rotten luck. Naturally, he did not dare leave his "thigh" behind and come here alone to take a chance.

Besides, he had considerable faith in Professor McGonagall's integrity. Unless the inheritance left behind by the Gaunt Family was absurdly vast, he believed that the worldly Professor McGonagall would never be swayed by it!

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