Five Thousand Galleons

Kyle had assumed Lupin would be waiting for them with Three Broomsticks, but he was clearly wrong.

Sirius didn't stop at all when he passed by the door of the Three Broomsticks; he walked straight past it.

The three of them continued forward, passing by the Scribbulus Writing Implements and the Gladrags Wizardwear, and then followed a small path for a while until they arrived at a familiar place.

Shrieking Shack

Lupin was standing next to the overturned fence surrounding the shed, helping it up one by one.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry waved enthusiastically as he ran over. "You don't need to do any of this. They were upside down when I first came to Hogsmeade, and nobody cared about that."

"Hello, Harry, it's great to see you again." Lupin looked up and said, "But you don't need to call me Professor anymore, just call me Lupin, or like Sirius, Remus or Moony."

"Yes, Professor Lupin," Harry blurted out.

Lupin's expression froze. Clearly, Harry would have a hard time changing that nickname anytime soon... Oh well, let it be.

He sighed, stopped dwelling on the problem, and continued bending down to tidy up the fence beside him.

Harry wanted to say that nobody in Hogsmeade cared about the Shrieking Shack, and they wouldn't even come here.

But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted.

Sirius smiled and shook his head. "Let him keep busy. These things will have to be done eventually anyway."

"What do you mean?" Harry still didn't quite understand why Professor Lupin would go to the trouble of tidying up a place that hardly anyone came to.

"Because I bought the Shrieking Shack," Sirius said casually, as if it were nothing more than buying a Butterbeer.

"What did you say?" Harry couldn't help but raise his voice.

"I had this idea when I was in school, but I didn't have that much gold back then," Sirius said. "After I graduated, various things delayed me until I finally had the opportunity about six months ago."

"How much will this cost?" Harry muttered to himself.

"To be honest, it's much cheaper than I expected," Sirius said.

"When I was in school, this place had already been abandoned for many years. The old wizard family that owned this place moved to Finland a long time ago."

"During the Christmas holidays, Lupin and I made a special trip there. When we found him, he had even forgotten that he still owned a property in Hogsmeade."

"So when he learned that I wanted to buy the Shrieking Shack, he agreed without hesitation and even gave me a very good discount."

Such a large area, and it only cost five thousand Galleon! Pretty good deal, right?

Sirius looked at Harry with a grin, seemingly pleased with himself for having saved a large sum of money.

Harry pursed his lips, unable to utter a single word of praise.

Although he was considered a wealthy man, with piles of Galleon in his vault, five thousand Galleon... that number was still somewhat difficult for him to accept.

Mr. Weasley's salary was only eighty Galleon, plus the Triwizard Tournament champion's prize money of one thousand Galleon. In other words, Sirius spent five championships with a single stroke of his pen.

However, just as he was about to say something, Kyle next to him nodded seriously.

"Five thousand Galleon, you really got a great deal."

"Right?" Sirius said cheerfully, "At least the long trip wasn't for nothing."

"Kyle, do you also think it's cheap?" Harry asked, looking speechless.

"That's for sure," Kyle said.

Hogsmeade is arguably the only village entirely inhabited by wizards, making land extremely expensive, especially for a place as large as the Shrieking Shack.

After all, apart from that dilapidated house, the area inside the fence also falls under the category of the Shrieking Shack, otherwise Lupin wouldn't have gone to the trouble of cleaning it up.

Kyle for a moment, then said to Harry in a simpler way, "This is about ten times the price of a normal shop. That's equivalent to buying Honeydukes for 500 Galleon. Do you still think it's expensive?"

Harry shook his head instinctively.

Although he felt that this calculation was inaccurate, given the different locations of the two places, upon closer reflection, Hogsmeade was only so big, and Kyle's statement didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"What do you plan to do with this place?" Harry looked at Sirius and asked curiously, "Live here, or open a shop as well?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"You do not know?"

"Yes," Sirius said, "I just wanted to buy this place, but Moony thought it was a bit of a waste."

"It's not just me, Padfoot," Lupin said angrily as he walked over. "That's five thousand Galleon, enough for a normal wizarding family to live on for ten years. You can't treat it like a decoration."

"How about I leave it to you to manage?" Sirius said with a smile. "I won't interfere with whatever you do."

"We've talked about this many times." Lupin frowned. "I know what you're thinking, but you don't need to do this, Padfoot. It's not like I can't find a job at all."

"I've been reading books about Dragon lately, and I hope to try my luck at the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania next year."

"Of course, I completely respect your opinion, Moony." Sirius said with a wandering gaze, "I bought this place simply to fulfill a wish I had during my student days."

Let's go in, Harry, and take a look. While we're at it, let's help tidy up the broken furniture. I'll buy new furniture later.

Oh, by the way, you can choose a room on the second floor and stay here during your holidays."

"Really? Can I?" Harry asked, his eyes shining.

He never dared to imagine that he would one day be living in Hogsmeade.

"Of course," Sirius said.

Behind the two, Lupin couldn't help but rub his forehead.

He understood Sirius and knew why he wanted to buy the place, but spending five thousand Galleon for a temporary place to live was still a bit too wasteful.

12 Grimmauld Place is already quite good; most importantly, it's protected by the Fidelius Charm, making it safe enough.

At that moment, Kyle suddenly asked, "Are you really determined to go to Romania?"

"That's right," Lupin said. "I've thought about it, and it's a good fit for me."

"Have you considered this?" Kyle continued, "Sirius is currently trying his best to fulfill his role as a godfather. Are you comfortable leaving Harry in his care?"

Lupin, who was walking, suddenly stopped, and the expression on his face began to change rapidly at a visible speed.

Yes, how could he have forgotten that?

Sirius will definitely bring Harry to live with him; there's no doubt about that.

Lupin didn't think anything of it at first, and even took it for granted. Harry's aunt and uncle didn't like him, and it was better for him to stay with Sirius. Harry himself must have thought so too.

But now, reminded by Kyle, he suddenly thought of a very important question.

The past twelve years have not been entirely without impact on Sirius; he is now more impulsive and irritable than before.

It also implies a kind of revenge spending, where people spend money extravagantly, as if they want to make up for the past twelve years of missed opportunities.

Lupin fully understood this; after being trapped for twelve years, it was understandable for him to indulge a little now. So, under normal circumstances, he rarely stopped Sirius from buying things that he considered completely useless.

For example, this Shrieking Shack.

But now he suddenly wondered if Harry would be affected if he lived with him for an extended period of time.

Sirius is fine; his condition is only temporary. As time goes by, once the excitement wears off, he'll gradually return to normal.

But Harry is still young, and if he develops this habit, it will be difficult to change it.

This inevitably left Lupin somewhat conflicted.

He felt he should stay, whether to keep Sirius company or to help teach Harry; he should stay.

However, the money he had saved as a professor was running out. It could last him a while, but what about the future? He couldn't keep using Sirius forever.

Lupin didn't want this to happen.