A great heap of gold coins sat on the table, gleaming so brightly in the sunlight that they dazzled the eyes.
Silan had withdrawn 5,000 Galleons in total. Buying the Firebolt had cost just over 2,000, leaving nearly 3,000 Galleons.
"These are for me?"
"Please, you must accept them," Sirius said earnestly. "You risked your life to help me, and your father once protected me and my friends. Besides, I'm your elder. Whichever way you look at it, I ought to show my gratitude."
"And Harry..." At this, Sirius gave an embarrassed smile. "This is also an apology on Harry's behalf. I hope what happened before won't affect your friendship."
"The circumstances were unusual. He may have overreacted under stress. I hope you can forgive him," Sirius said sincerely.
"I don't mind." Silan shook his head, adding silently, For the money's sake, I can forgive Harry's recklessness.
"That's good." Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. "Take the money. You deserve it."
Having lost a dear friend himself, Sirius wanted more than anyone for Harry not to hurt his friends through a moment of stupidity.
Silan stopped refusing and put the money away.
This was easily the largest sum he had received to date.
Together with his modest savings, Silan now had roughly 3,500 Galleons.
Converted into pounds, that would easily exceed ten thousand. He was carrying a small fortune.
Still, there was no such thing as too much money.
This is much faster than working hard to earn it myself, Silan thought. No wonder all the quickest ways to make money are listed in the criminal code.
George strode across the courtyard, asking as he went, "Are you sure Silan's here, Fred?"
"Of course." Fred nodded. "When I came over from that side, George said he'd seen Silan coming