Gringotts

"Thank you, Mr. Tom."

"Ho ho, I wish you magical fortune and prosperity." Old Tom chuckled and patted Su Er's shoulder. "I heard that from an Eastern guest, and I thought it was rather nice."

"Goodbye."

The archway began to narrow, reverting into solid walls once the seven of them completely stepped out of it.

Hermione hurriedly pulled the freshman shopping list attached to her acceptance letter out of her cross-body bag and began to mutter under her breath.

"We need to buy three sets of plain black wizard robes, a pointy hat, a pair of dragonhide gloves, and a winter cloak..."

"Before that, we need to exchange some money." Su Er patted Hermione to stop her. Hermione had memorized this entire list before they came, and she was taking it out now just to refresh her memory.

The four adults looked at everything on the street with wide eyes, letting Su Er lead them further down the lane.

"Big brother, I want to eat that." Angel broke free of Hermione's hand and trotted over to tug at the hem of Su Er's shirt.

She was pointing at the ice cream next to Eeylops Owl Emporium not far away, where a young wizard had just walked out holding a cone with four scoops.

"Alright, Angel, we'll buy you one after we get our money, okay?" Su Er said gently.

The little girl nodded obediently, but she still clutched Su Er's hem, following closely behind him as they walked inward.

True to Tom's word, the end of the street featured a towering, snow-white building.

Standing beside the gleaming brass doors was a figure wearing a scarlet uniform trimmed with gold. Mrs. Ellison merely glanced at it before not daring to look again; it truly looked-rather odd.

It was short, standing about a head shorter than Su Er, with a pitch-black face. Cunning lights gleamed in the eyes set within that face, its beard was pointed, and its hands hung down to its knees.

It bowed in greeting as the seven of them passed.

Mr. Granger wanted to return the bow, but Mrs. Granger pulled him back because she noticed that the others passing by did not return it either.

When entering an unfamiliar environment, the best choice was to follow the crowd.

Beyond the brass doors lay a pair of silver doors, guarded by two more goblins dressed in scarlet uniforms.

"Is this pure silver?" Mr. Ellison muttered quietly. As they drew close, he reached out to stroke it on a whim and smacked his lips.

Although he certainly possessed considerable wealth, he was not extravagant enough to forge doors out of pure silver.

"Yes, sir, these doors are made entirely of solid silver," one of the goblins suddenly spoke up, casting a sidelong glance at the inscriptions on the door.

"My dad was just curious," Su Er piped up.

"Every Muggle who comes to Gringotts is like that," the goblin stated. "Visitors must be vigilant; greediness never comes to a good end."

"Clearly, you don't know the first thing about courtesy." Irritated by the goblin's tone, Su Er said coldly.

Hermione tugged on Su Er's clothes from behind.

"Apologies, sir, it just started working here," another goblin stepped forward to say. "It meant no offense. Gringotts welcomes all visitors, whether they be wizards or... Muggles."

As the goblin spoke, it even bowed in apology to them.

"Hmph." Su Er let out a cold snort and continued walking inward. That goblin did not straighten its back until after they had entered the main hall.

"Just a Muggle-born wizard, after all," the goblin mocked by Su Er muttered under its breath.

"Silence! Have you forgotten what got you reassigned to guard the entrance?" the other goblin reprimanded sharply. "If you still cannot mend your ways, your next assignment will be down below, feeding the dragons!"

"Besides, are you truly certain he is Muggle-born? The aura of a Pure-blood cannot be faked."

The goblin fell silent, trembling all over at the thought of what would happen if it were sent down to be responsible for feeding the dragons-only one out of ten goblins ever returned alive from that task.

The temper of the things down below was far from pleasant.

Passing through the unpleasant silver doors, Su Er and his party entered Gringotts' vast marble reception hall. Towering vaulted ceilings supported massive crystal chandeliers that cast a soft glow, making the surrounding pillars gleam gold.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mr. and Mrs. Ellison gasped in unison.

Over a hundred goblins sat behind wooden-railed counters; some were weighing coins on brass scales, others were examining gemstones through long monoculars, and still others were scratching away with quill pens on ledgers.

Top-hatted wizards bustled back and forth across the hall, making Su Er's group look rather out of place in their modern attire.

Soon, a goblin strode forward to meet them, a name tag hanging on its chest that read-Dori.

"Sir," it bowed and greeted, "how may I help you today?"

"We are Hogwarts first-years, here to exchange some money," Su Er said.

"Then, do you have your acceptance letters with you?" the goblin Dori asked.

Su Er looked at Hermione, who nodded back at him and patted her cross-body bag to indicate she had brought them.

"Then please, follow me." The goblin Dori gestured with a hand, leading the group all the way to a counter.

"Muggle currency exchange for wizarding coin," Dori said to the clerk inside, then bowed to the group and left.

"Acceptance letters?" A different goblin wearing gold-rimmed spectacles sat behind the counter, leaning forward lazily to ask.

Hermione pulled two acceptance letters from her bag and handed them over.

"Two young wizards?" It peered out to check, confirmed it, and then said indifferently, "You may exchange a hundred Galleons. The exchange rate is five pounds to one Galleon."

Mr. Granger and Mr. Ellison each produced an envelope, handing them to Su Er to pass up.

While the goblin was counting the currency, Su Er noticed a wizard at a neighboring window taking a key, after which a goblin led him through a small door beside the counter.

He suddenly remembered the key Dumbledore gave him, so he took the key in his hand and asked,

"Excuse me, what about this key?"

The goblin glanced at it somewhat impatiently, and its attitude changed instantly.

"Oh, yes, respected customer, this is a Gringotts vault key. Will you be entering to retrieve items today?"

"No need." Su Er thought about it and shook his head; with four adults present now, not to mention a little girl tugging at his hem waiting to go buy ice cream, it was not quite appropriate to go check the vault to see what his biological parents had left behind.

The goblin's attitude shifted completely after Su Er produced the key, respectfully placing the two hundred Galleons into a pouch and pushing it out on a serving tray.

"If you ever need to withdraw items, you may look for me at any time."

"Thank you." Su Er took the bag and casually handed it to Hermione, then said,

"Let's go buy our things."

Hermione carefully placed the cloth bag into her side satchel-this was a fortune worth a thousand pounds.

"Buy ice cream." Angel tugged at Su Er's hem; she still remembered that tempting ice cream topped with several scoops.

"Alright, let's go buy ice cream for the little angel first." Su Er flashed her a warm smile.