Gringotts

A few mornings later, just before leaving the house, Snape watched Eileen pry up a loose floorboard in the living room and use magic to dig a deep pit underneath.

"Not this one..." she muttered, poking at the dirt and rubble on the floor with her wand. "Repair."

She repeated this process seven times before finding a small, slightly tarnished golden key beneath the floorboards. After a quick clean, she tucked it into her robes.

Seeing this, Snape no longer held any expectations for this vault.

"Let's go, we're leaving."

After being Apparated to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron by Eileen's escort, Snape gasped for air, taking a while to recover.

"Are you alright?" Eileen asked, looking down at him with concern. "It takes time to get used to that feeling."

"I'm fine," Snape said, patting his ears. "Let's go inside."

Then, they passed through the pub and entered Diagon Alley.

This was Snape's first time entering the snow-white building that towered above the other shops on Diagon Alley.

Reaching the long counter, Eileen tapped the surface and said to a goblin who was free, "Hello, we're here to retrieve something from the Prince Family vault."

After carefully and thoroughly examining the small golden key Eileen handed over, the goblin nodded.

"No problem, I'll find someone to take you to this underground vault. Ragnok!"

Ragnok?

What a coincidence?

Snape couldn't help but stare intently at a dark-skinned goblin with long, slender fingers walking towards them.

"Wizard, I don't like your stare."

Ragnok looked at Snape with dissatisfaction from his slanted black eyes.

Snape quickly averted his gaze.

He didn't recall this goblin having a generous disposition. There was no need to annoy Ragnok before seeing the vault and coming out from underground.

Ragnok led the two of them out of the hall, through a thick iron door, and into a narrow stone corridor.

"Whee--"

Ragnok blew a crisp whistle.

A small cart rumbled towards them along a track.

After they all climbed onto the cart, Ragnok pushed a handle forward, and the cart immediately started.

A cold current of air whistled past them.

Soon, they followed the winding passage deep underground.

After leaving behind the underground lake with its massive stalactites and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, a while later, the cart finally slowed down and stopped in front of a door.

Ragnok got off, inserted the key into the lock, and then pressed his hand against the door.

The vault door disappeared, revealing an opening.

Snape poked his head inside.

The sight made him gasp:

Mountains of gold coins were piled inside.

On shelves in the corners, there were also potions in decorative bottles, dried herbs, thick books, and some parchment scrolls.

"You call this 'there should be some gold inside'?"

Snape turned to Eileen, gesturing for her to look too.

The scene had clearly exceeded Eileen's expectations as well. Her mouth hung slightly open, and she blinked hard without making a sound.

Snape let out a long breath.

"I think we'll never need to work again."

After filling two large bags with Galleons, they rode the cart back to the surface at full speed.

"Next, let's go buy some things."

Eileen glanced at the wrist peeking out of Snape's robe cuff and the old sneakers that couldn't be hidden by the hem of his robes.

"You need some new robes, and you can also buy next semester's books in advance."

"It's fine, let's wait until the O.W.L. results are out. Besides, there's nothing wrong with old textbooks; I've made quite a few notes in some of them."

Before stepping out of Gringotts, Snape hesitated and said, "Wait... let's exchange some Muggle currency... um... I want to buy some Muggle-made clothes and some daily necessities."

"Daily necessities?" Eileen asked, a little confused.

"Like shampoo..."

Snape knew his answer sounded strange, as wizards had far better options.

As expected, Eileen raised her own question.

"Then why don't you buy Sleekeazy's?"

"I don't like the smell," Snape replied stiffly, then added, "It makes me a bit nauseous."

"Then buy some for me too."

Eileen said, shoving a bag into Snape's hand.

"If there's anything you want, you can go buy it yourself."

After buying new robes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, they each held an ice cream cone from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and strolled slowly to the outside of the almost crowded Quidditch Supplies shop.

Peeking over the heads of a group of children, Snape spotted a exquisite and grand flying broomstick in the shop window.

Next to the flying broomstick, a sign in beautiful script read: "Nimbus 1500—Experience the thrill of high-speed flight! Aerodynamic design, premium birch handle, pure magic polish, balancing speed and precision. Accelerates from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in ten seconds, with a top speed of 107 miles per hour. Your best companion on the field!"

"No, I don't want this." Noticing Eileen's questioning gaze, Snape quickly swallowed a mouthful of ice cream. "I don't play Quidditch."

When they returned home, Snape rummaged through his luggage and found the old set of Gobstones, bringing it downstairs and placing it on the wooden table.

"Want to play a few rounds? I remember reading in the Daily Prophet at the Hogwarts library that you used to be the captain of the school's Gobstones team."

"I haven't touched this in a long time."

Eileen's hand unconsciously rose, her rough fingertips brushing against a small, round Gobstones pebble.

"Come on, we've got nothing else to do."

Snape sat down on the other side of the table.

"Why are there so many things in the Prince vault?"

One of the stones he flicked missed, trembling fearfully on the playing board.

"This doesn't seem like something Uncle Charon could have saved up..."

Eileen accurately hit the trembling stone. Her stone triumphantly sprayed a foul-smelling liquid towards Snape's face.

"Maybe our ancestors were rich."

"Ptooey—Ptooey! What is this smell!"

Snape wiped the slime from his face.

"But it's truly surprising. Thinking back to the old days, I always feel like I've suffered hardships for no reason."

In a short while, he reeked from head to toe.

He helplessly raised his hands.

"Let's call it a day. I concede."

After cleaning up and returning to the living room, Snape suddenly realized that Eileen didn't seem to need to live here anymore.

"Mom, why don't you find a new place to live?

"Tinworth in Cornwall, Upper Flagley in Yorkshire, Ottery St Catchpole in Devon... anywhere. How about moving to a place where wizards live together?"

"Hmm... I suppose so," Eileen said after a moment's hesitation. "I'll take a look around for suitable land or houses after a while."

"Okay, just write and tell me when you've moved," Snape said, then rushed out the door again. "I'm going to buy you an owl!"

"But how will you get there—"

"The Knight Bus!"