Allen lounged lazily in a high-backed chair and dialed Harry's number.
"Your Highness?"
The Chosen One's puzzled voice came through the receiver.
Allen gave a low hum. "Yes, Harry. Want to go to Diagon Alley together?"
"What!"
Allen deftly held the receiver farther from his ear. He could just picture the Chosen One jumping up in excitement.
"I need to open a vault at Gringotts," he said. "Want to come along for some fun?"
"Brilliant!" Harry sprang up and raced toward the castle. "Wait for me, Your Highness! Stay in the study. I'll be right there!"
Allen lazily hung up and lowered his gaze toward the view outside the window.
Soon, the Chosen One knocked on the study door, panting for breath.
Allen rose, smoothed the creases from his suit, put on the wizard's cloak he had set aside earlier, and picked up the trunk enchanted with a Space Charm, already packed with pounds and gold bars.
"Good afternoon, Harry!"
Allen handed him a cloak. "Let's go."
Harry took the cloak with a cheer, threw it on haphazardly, and made ready to leave.
Allen cleared his throat softly and gave him a lingering look.
Under that gaze, the Chosen One laughed awkwardly and immediately straightened his cloak in front of the full-length mirror.
Only then did Allen nod in satisfaction.
They reached Diagon Alley with the help of the invisibility School Governor ring.
Allen found it rather novel. The people on the streets seemed completely unable to see them.
He and Harry took the Underground, then transferred to a bus.
The gazes that had always followed him everywhere were gone. Unused to it, Allen frowned, then smiled helplessly.
People really were strange creatures.
When glory and attention followed them everywhere, they grew tired of it.
Yet if those things suddenly vanished, they longed for their return.
With the relevant documents from the Ministry of Magic, Allen had no trouble opening a vault on this visit to Gringotts.
Thanks to his status as a Hogwarts School Governor, Allen secured a vault deep underground, surpassed in depth only by the top-secret vaults and those belonging to pure-blood families.
He exchanged all the cash and gold bars he had brought for Galleons, two hundred thousand in total, which formed a sizable mountain inside the vault.
Allen transferred fifty thousand of them to Hogwarts, then withdrew five thousand Galleons and exchanged some for Silver Sickles and Knuts, putting them in a small pouch provided by Gringotts.
Harry was not there. Upon hearing that they were coming to handle paperwork, he had spent the whole journey begging Allen to let him go and have fun at the broom shop.
So Allen had arranged to meet him at the ice cream shop at six that evening.
By now, someone was probably having the time of his life.
After all, it was a rare chance to have both money and free time, with no one keeping him in line.
The same was true of Allen; he simply showed a little more restraint.
With plenty of funds at his disposal, Allen headed straight for the magical equipment shop and bought Edward a pair of silver-set gemstone cufflinks.
The cufflinks cost a full eight hundred Galleons, but fortunately, their invisibility function could be activated without magical power.
He also bought five trunks with spacious interiors enchanted with Space Charms,
two to accommodate his father's occasional, childlike outings, and two to create small libraries of magical books.
The last was meant to win over the Chosen One and Dumbledore.
After that, he bought some magical items for everyday use,
such as a crystal ball that kept rooms at a comfortable temperature, a plain silver ring with protective properties, and a magical quill that could write and polish text automatically.
By the time he finished shopping, half his Galleons were already gone.
Allen headed straight for the bookshop and asked an assistant to pack two copies of every book they stocked.
The assistant stared at him in disbelief and stammered as he sought confirmation. "Young man, do you really want that many books?"
Allen smiled gently. "My father sent me. A few days ago, our family library was damaged in a fire, and many of the books we regularly use were destroyed. So..."
He gave an embarrassed smile. The assistant immediately understood and scratched his head sheepishly. "So you want an extra set as a backup!"
"Well then, young sir, please sit down and wait a moment!"
The assistant eagerly showed him to a seat upstairs and brought him ice cream and a drink. "I'll go tell the owner right away!"
The sale was clearly as good as made.
Allen picked up his ice cream glass, lowered his gaze to the bustling crowd on the ground floor, and waited quietly.
Soon, guided by the assistant, the owner strode toward the stairs-
even pure-blood families rarely bought books in such quantities. This was an opportunity not to be missed.
Sensing someone watching him, he looked up toward the second floor and met the gaze of a blond boy looking down at him.
He paused, then could not help studying Allen.
The boy sat upright, wearing an ordinary wizard's robe over his suit, and carried an unmistakable air of refinement.
His left elbow rested on the railing as he held a glass of ice cream. That expressionless gaze actually made the owner's heart quiver.
Seeing him look up, the boy offered a gentle smile. His sea-blue eyes shone with a rather commanding air.
The owner lowered his head and quickened his pace upstairs. Young as this boy was, he had a powerful presence. Clearly, he came from wealth or nobility and could not be treated lightly.
"Good afternoon, young sir."
The owner sat opposite Allen. "You'd like two copies of every title we have in the shop?"
Allen nodded lightly, set his ice cream glass on the table, and folded his hands. "Yes. I believe the gentleman just now has already explained it to you."
He took out two spatial Suitcases. "Please put one set of books in each of these cases. I'll take them with me."
"That won't be difficult." Seeing that Allen was reasonable, the owner relaxed. "As for the price, though..."
"How much?"
"Around six thousand Galleons." The owner smiled. "How would you like to... pay?"
Allen considered this, then asked, "Can you withdraw the money directly from my vault at Gringotts?"
"Certainly!"
The owner perked up. "As long as you sign our invoice, we can collect the payment directly from Gringotts."
"Then please bring me the invoice."
Allen nodded politely. Once the invoice arrived, he signed his name without hesitation and handed it back.
"Oh, and if your shop gets any new books, please remember to set aside two copies for me as well.
"Put my name on one and 'Edward Wales Windsor' on the other, and simply send them to us.
"I'll settle the bill on this date each month-hmm, the twenty-fifth."
"Wonderful!" The owner smiled so broadly that his eyes all but disappeared. He shook Allen's hand excitedly. "No problem at all! Would you like two newspaper subscriptions as well?"
Allen thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, please. Sorry for the trouble."
Delighted at having landed such a lucrative customer, the owner briskly directed his assistants to pack Allen's books, then eagerly escorted him out of the shop.
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