A Heap of Gold Coins

There was another door inside, bearing words as mysterious as a prophecy. Anyway, as Harry saw it, they meant this: Foolish humans, want my treasure? Then come rob Gringotts. But let me warn you: if you court death, you will die!

The two Goblins led them into a tall marble hall. His first impression was "magnificent." It was not only extremely spacious, but also overall golden in color. The decor was extravagantly luxurious.

Harry was very envious of this kind of flaunting wealth... No, he was very disdainful of it.

Along one side of the hall stood a row of long counters, with nearly a hundred Goblins sitting on high stools at work. Facing the center of the hall, some weighed coins on scales, some examined small piles of rubies with microscopes, and some recorded bills. It was nothing but blatant displays of wealth everywhere.

Say, you guys were so arrogant. Did your parents know about it? Harry did his best to make his gaze look as though he regarded money as dirt.

Harry shouted inwardly, "Wealth cannot sway my heart! Begone, evil forces! Taishang Laojun, by your decree, act at once!"

What the hell was that?

Though they were arrogant, they were damn impressive.

Goblins were not only born able to wield magic, but who knew how many fire dragons were hidden underground, relying on spit to attack their enemies?

So just as the words on the door said, aside from idiots who loved courting death, no one really dared to rob this place.

There were many doors in the hall, with Goblins and wizards constantly coming and going.

Hagrid and Harry walked toward a counter.

"Hello, we need to visit Mr. Harry Potter's vault," Hagrid said, lowering his head toward a Goblin.

The Goblin had to crane his neck hard before he could see Hagrid's head.

"Did you bring the key?"

"Of course." Hagrid began pulling things out of his enormous pockets.

One thing...

Then another...

A creature...

A lump of... uh...

A bag...

A handful...

The Goblin's face grew darker and darker, while Hagrid kept rummaging and muttering, "Where is it? That key is really too small. Ah, though I suppose it suits you Goblins pretty well."

Goblin: Don't stop me...

Companion: We're not stopping you. Hurry up and get him.

Goblin: ...

Watching Hagrid constantly court death, Harry rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Brother, I'm impressed."

Then he quietly moved away from Hagrid. Too dangerous.

I really don't know him. Hurry up and humanely destroy him.

At last, Hagrid pulled a tiny golden key from his pocket, glittering so brightly it nearly blinded everyone.

Harry seemed to see an expression of salvation appear on the Goblin's face.

The Goblin took the key and examined it carefully, carefully, and then carefully again, over and over.

Hagrid shouted angrily, "Why are you taking so long?"

The Goblin smiled faintly. "We must be responsible for wizards' wealth." He looked utterly righteous.

But even an idiot could tell he was saying, I'm just getting revenge on you. What, don't like it? Bite me.

Sigh, funny Goblins truly brought endless joy.

The Goblin wanted to inspect it over and over again, but when he saw Hagrid's clenched fist, which was as big as three of his heads, he coughed twice and said shrilly, "Mm, no problem."

Hagrid snorted, then said softly and solemnly, "I also have a letter from Professor Dumbledore, concerning the item in Vault 713."

This time, the Goblin did not dare mess with Hagrid again. Dumbledore could be said to be the foremost figure in the wizarding world today, so he naturally had to be shown the proper respect.

The Goblin carefully read the letter Hagrid had brought.

"Very well, I understand."

The Goblin called over a Goblin named Griphook and told him, "Take them to Harry Potter's vault and Vault 713."

They followed Griphook and opened one of the doors in the hall.

It was like two different worlds. Outside the door was magnificent splendor; inside was gloomy darkness. Beyond the door was not a room, but an enormous cavern, with crisscrossing tracks below and torches mounted on the cave walls.

They climbed into a cart. Harry guessed it normally would not be crowded, except today.

The passage through the cavern was long, winding, twisting, swerving left and right like a roller coaster. The scenery flashed past rapidly, and Harry felt the beef buns he had eaten today developing a powerful urge to see daylight again!

Just as he was about to throw up, the cart stopped. There were stalactites and stalagmites all around them.

Harry took a deep breath before he felt better.

"Can't you improve this underground railway?" Harry asked Griphook.

"No!" Griphook answered bluntly.

"Why? Would construction cause the underground caves to collapse?"

"We don't have the funding..." Griphook said expressionlessly.

Heh... heh...

Harry flashed a brilliant smile and said to Griphook, "I bought a watch last year."

As Griphook pondered Harry's words, he opened the Stone Door.

A cloud of thick smoke poured out. Once it dispersed, everything inside the stone vault was revealed.

"This..." Harry involuntarily gasped, his mouth wide enough to fit a fist.

Only when Harry saw what was inside did he realize how childish his earlier thoughts had been. He was utterly stunned.

I'm rich. Really rich. That was the only thought in Harry's mind.

Inside were piles of gold coins, silver bars, and mountains of bronze Knuts.

So this was what it felt like to suddenly possess an immense fortune!

It was all his!!!

Harry suddenly felt jealous of himself. Was it really okay for him to be so rich? (Luo Bei: Do you all know what a shameless bastard looks like? Just look at Harry.)

"I thought I was someone who regarded money as dirt. I never expected that, in the face of wealth, I would be so weak!" Harry was deeply disappointed in himself.

"But... I'm willing. Let me become even weaker."

Hagrid took out a bag and began filling it with money.

"Gold coins are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles make one Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts make one Sickle. Simple enough, right? All right, this is enough for two terms."

Harry silently calculated in his heart. Then one Galleon equals 493, nearly five hundred bronze Knuts, and there's a small mountain of Galleons here!

Harry grew excited again.

Harry put away a pocketful of gold coins and climbed back into that accursed cart.

After another utterly agonizing ride, Harry found that they had reached the lowest level, where there were very few Stone Doors.

Griphook walked to one door. There was no key; he merely tapped it with a finger, and the door slowly vanished.

Damn, was that fingerprint unlocking? So high-tech.

Hagrid went inside and bent down. Through the gap, Harry saw only a worn, yellowish-brown little package on the ground.

Harry stared at the package, then muttered, "So ugly!!!"

Harry, was it really okay to treat the Philosopher's Stone like that?

Hagrid put the little package into his pocket and climbed into the cart with an ugly expression.

A philosophical wizard once said: Life was like a box of Every Flavor Beans. Even if you knew the next one tasted like boogers, you still had to eat it. (Luo Bei: Uh, that's seriously disgusting.)

Then, after being tossed left and right and jolted up and down, the cart finally returned to the hall.

Harry's face was pale, and his head spun. He and Hagrid walked out of Gringotts and saw warm sunlight once more.

Places with sunlight were still more comfortable.

Harry and Hagrid leaned against the entrance to Gringotts for a while. Only after their bodies had recovered did they head toward the shops on the street.

Shopping had begun!!!