The Debt-Collecting Couple

There's something strange about Professor Babbling.

Okay, she wasn't human to begin with, just an old vampire.

She's so beautiful, she might even have Veela blood.

People say he's not human; being a little twisted isn't such a big deal.

But, my dear grandma... since you like girls so much, could you perhaps try your luck with some single women?

For example... Trelawney, the reclusive old lady; Professor McGonagall, the gambling queen; Professor Sprout, the female version of Runtu...

At Hogwarts, aside from everything else, there are plenty of older, single professors...

William seriously doubted one of Professor Dumbledore's hiring criteria:

single.

Okay, we can't make a move on single women, at least not now.

William was worried that Babbling was having too much fun, and that she had already used his face to seduce many girls in Ilvermorny.

When he goes to United States, he will suddenly realize that his persona is: a scumbag.

The kind with dozens of ex-girlfriends.

William, of course, did not refuse Professor Babbling's request to stay overnight.

She can sleep in Hermione's room. William can sacrifice a little, Hermione can sleep in his room... It's no big deal.

Babbling was clearly just saying it casually; she couldn't possibly stay. Otherwise, things could easily go wrong with Little Tom.

Before leaving, she made another unreasonable request.

Give me Trene Sand.

"Professor, do you think I can agree to such an unreasonable request?" William refused outright.

"Don't misunderstand." Babbling stared at William with displeasure in her wine-red eyes.

She said irritably, "I need a helper."

"Isn't Newt helping you?"

"Newt... forget it. With his fame, he's almost as conspicuous as you." Babbling shook her head.

"Queenie could have helped me when she was younger, but she's too old now. I still really like that young girl."

Professor Babbling licked her bright red lips.

Queenie... Newt's sister-in-law, possesses the innate ability to Legilimency.

But William shook his head.

"Trene and I are just friends; I can't decide whether she stays or leaves."

Besides, she doesn't like doing this kind of thing.

"William, you underestimate her." Professor Babbling smiled sweetly.

"I observed her for a long time the night of the attack... She was trained to kill."

She's natural at this kind of thing... Besides, I'm just asking her to help gather intelligence, I'm not letting her get close to Tom, what are you afraid of?"

William rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

Professor Babbling left quickly.

Hermione was still looking down at a map, searching for the address Professor Babbling had provided.

"Did you find anything unusual?" William asked, looking down.

"No, there's only one village, and the most famous thing about it is probably the Wu family office building," Hermione said hesitantly.

"This little village shouldn't be anything special, right? You said the You-Know-Who's father lived near the Gaunt Shack..."

"Perhaps it's where Tom lived as a child," William guessed. "I heard Dumbledore say that Tom grew up in an orphanage."

"But there are no orphanages nearby."

"Maybe it's been demolished; that was decades ago," William said softly.

Hermione propped her head up with her arm and nodded.

William continued, "Let's talk to him when the principal returns."

"That's all we can do." Hermione nodded slightly.

Little Tom has appeared in a sea area; he must be looking for something. We'll have to let the principal investigate.

After all, he's shrewd and calculating... cough cough, he's very knowledgeable.

"What about the International Confederation of Wizards? Is it still going to be held?" Hermione asked again.

William shook his head. "It looks like it will have to be postponed again, after all, the Death Eaters attack happened."

William sighed as well; the conference had already been postponed for the second time, and if it was postponed again, it would be postponed until next year.

What a year of disasters and hardships!

Before the start of the school year, William and Hermione left home and went to Diagon Alley.

This time, I'm not actually going shopping.

As the wicked landlord and landlady, William and Hermione are tasked with collecting debts.

Hermione urged William several times, in her words:

"The money is always in debt, and if it's been owed for too long, it'll be impossible to get it back."

Before setting off, the two of them made preparations, wearing sunglasses and high-necked robes to avoid being recognized.

Given their current fame, if they were recognized... it would be an instant chase and pursuit.

William didn't eat hot pot either, to avoid being robbed by bandits again. Scratch-off lottery tickets were a lifelong source of pain for him.

Behind the long counter, Goblin sat on high stools, greeting the first customers of the day.

William and Hermione walked toward a Goblin who was examining a thick gold coin through a lens.

William strode forward and tapped on the table.

"Are you depositing or withdrawing money...?" the Goblin Griphook asked, looking up.

"Neither deposit nor withdrawal..." William grinned, taking off his sunglasses. "I'm here to collect my money!"

"Mr. Stark!" The Griphook trembled. "Oh! You—you—how can I do something for you today?"

"I need money... Your Gringotts lost 5.2 million Galleon, 13 Sickle, and 14 Knut to me."

I'll be generous and take the change. There's still 5.2 million Galleon left, you can pay that now.

"This... but..." the Griphook trembled.

"What, Gringotts, are you trying to renege on your debt?" William raised his voice, and many people looked over.

"It's not that I'm trying to renege on my debt... Please keep your voice down..." the Griphook quickly said.

"It's just... could you please grant us a few more days... we haven't collected our debts yet."

"Are there a lot of bad debts?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Yes, Miss Granger..." the Griphook said anxiously.

"The Department of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman, alone owes us 250,000 Galleon... He gave us 20,000 Galleon that day, all of them Leprechaun gold coins."

William recalled the night of the Quidditch World Cup final, when Ludo was indeed entangled by a group of Goblin, who claimed they were looking for Crouch.

He really is an old liar.

Although Gringotts is currently the bookmaker, many wizards want to renege on their bets after the attack in the finals.

There are even quite a few professional deadbeats.

If it can't be recovered, then it's a bad debt...

For Gringotts, bad debts were no big deal in the past. After all, they made more money and could collect them slowly.

But this time... William made five million Galleon in one go, making the hole much bigger.

"Could you please give us a few more days?" the Griphook pleaded in a low voice. "We're sure we'll get our money back soon."

The Griphook was almost in tears. Gringotts was always the ones chasing after debts... This was the first time they'd been blocked at the door demanding money!

What a mess!

"What does this have to do with me?" William shook his head. "Hurry up and send the money; the wizard's family is out of food."

"You're not short of money," Hermione muttered under her breath, pouting.

"We're so poor we can barely afford food. My sister Anne... can't afford textbooks, so she has to use mine, the secondhand ones."

Hermione's statement is true; Anne is indeed using Hermione's secondhand textbooks.

After all, it's filled with top students' notes, making it a valuable strategic resource.

Hermione's acting has always been superb; she started pleading poverty in the Gringotts lobby, almost to the point of shedding tears.

She wanted the "family" to argue and collect debts, so the boy would naturally have to keep a calm tone to save face; but the girl didn't need to, and would have to insist on being poor.

A two-pronged approach is needed for better results.

The Griphook completely broke.

William suddenly waved and shouted towards the door, "Malfoy, you've come at the right time! Pay up!!"

"..."

Upon seeing William, Lucius Malfoy covered his face in anguish. Why did he have to come to Diagon Alley today?!

His shoulders twitched involuntarily.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Draco asked anxiously from the side.

Malfoy really wanted to say:

You spendthrift son, don't call me dad, you are my dad.

(Please vote for this post, everyone!)

Thank you to the generous donor "Rat in the Mud" for the donation.

Thank you to the sect leader "Deep Sea Turtle" for the generous donation of 10,000 coins.

Number of updates due +10086

Thirty chapters are currently owed; I'm writing them from the comfort of my coffin.