Gringotts was the tallest building in Diagon Alley.
Wade and Tom stood in front of the towering white structure, carefully examining it.
"These goblins really know how to show off," Tom said with a sneer.
"I've heard they control all the wealth in the wizarding world. Having an impressive façade is only natural," Wade remarked with a touch of admiration.
Tom furrowed his brows. "I really don't understand why wizards would entrust their wealth to another species..."
"We'll figure that out later when we get a history book," Wade said. "But for now..."
The two didn't delay further and quickly walked toward the large doors.
Gringotts had two large doors. The first door was a shiny bronze one.
On either side of the door stood two goblin guards dressed in crimson and gold-trimd uniforms.
This was the first ti Wade and Tom had seen goblins...
They were very short, with large heads, long ears, sharp noses, and long limbs... Hmm
Wade noticed that their arms seed to be longer than their legs.
As Wade and Tom quickly examined the goblins, the goblins were politely bowing to them. Probably because they had rented expensive clothes.
At this mont, Wade and Tom reached the second large silver door.
The silver door was engraved with a passage that resembled a poem:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Behind the silver door was a wide marble hall, where over a hundred goblins were busy behind large counters.
So were using scales to weigh coins, so were using magnifying glasses to inspect gems, while others were attending to wizard custors and hastily jotting things down in large ledgers...
After looking around, Wade walked up to a relatively idle goblin's counter.
"Excuse ."
The goblin, hearing the voice, put down the quill in its hand and leaned forward over the tall counter to look at Wade and Tom.
At this mont, both Wade and Tom were dressed in elegant and exquisite clothing, looking like young masters from pure-blood families.
The goblin, seeing their attire, imdiately broke into a broad smile, which replaced the impatience it had previously shown.
"Welco! What can I do for you, gentlen?" The goblin's voice was sharp and piercing.
Wade didn't take out any pounds; instead, he directly pulled out five small gold bars from his pocket. "Exchange so Galleons."
"Ah! Of course! Of course! I'll weigh them for you right away!"
The goblin's eyes brightened upon seeing the gold bars, and its tone beca even more ingratiating.
It placed the five gold bars Wade handed over onto the small scale to weigh.
"Oh! The purity of this gold is very high! I can offer the highest price... Hmm... the current gold rate is 10 Galleons per gram. Each of these 5 gold bars weighs 100 grams, so I'll offer you 5,000 Galleons for the lot. How does that sound?"
Tom's eyes lit up at this. Honestly, for soone like him, who only had 20 Galleons to his na, 5,000 Galleons was a small fortune!
However, Wade shook his head. "10 Galleons per gram? That's a bit too high of a fee. I think I'll go to another counter."
Tom couldn't help but glance at Wade. 5,000 Galleons was already a lot...
"Ah, wait! Please!" The goblin quickly stopped Wade, who was turning to leave. "How about this... My na is Lasso. If you agree to co back for your future business at Gringotts, I can offer you 12 Galleons per gram. What do you think?"
Lasso glanced around warily, then lowered his voice and continued, "How does that sound?"
Tom quickly rubbed his face nonchalantly, making sure his expression didn't betray him and ruin Wade's plan.
At this point, Wade pretended to hesitate.
"Well, sir, although the price of gold changes daily, this is the best I can offer. If I go any higher, I won't be able to explain it to my superiors..." Lasso said with a helpless tone.
"Alright, let's go with what you said," Wade finally agreed.
"Great! I'll get the money for you right away! By the way... would you like to open a personal vault? You know, with an extra vault, you can store your own pocket money. I guarantee your family won't find out!"
"Go ahead and open one. Also, help deposit the rest of these," Wade said, pulling out the remaining gold bars.
Lasso's eyes widened at the sight. He had indeed been right—these young masters were rich! Even their pocket money was in the form of top-notch gold bars!
...
By the ti they exited Gringotts, their wallets were bulging with money.
Tom, still puzzled, asked, "How did you know that greedy goblin wasn't telling the truth?"
Wade chuckled. "Greedy goblins, Tom. How could they ever tell the truth? Do you believe that 12 Galleons per gram was really the highest price? Lasso surely has a cut that he's pocketing."
"Then why did you still deal with him?" Tom asked, shocked.
"Tom, if you want soone to work hard for you, you've got to give them sothing in return. Especially when dealing with goblins," Wade said casually.
"Here, this is for you." Wade pulled a pouch from his pocket and tossed it to Tom. It contained 500 Galleons. "We'll each take 500 Galleons for now. It should be enough for a while. We'll leave the rest in the vault."
Tom nodded silently and placed the pouch in his pocket.
"Alright, we should return the clothes now. Then... let's go buy a wand!" Wade's face showed a hint of excitent.
Wade had always used wandless magic, and now he was curious to see what it felt like to use a wand. Tom felt the sa way.
After returning the clothes to Mr. Mogein Malkin and purchasing the required school robes, they quickly arrived in front of Ollivanders Wand Shop.
The shop looked small and shabby, with the golden sign on the door peeling off. It read: "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C."
In the shop window, on a faded purple cushion, sat a lone wand.
Wade and Tom pushed open the door and entered.
The inside of the shop was cramped, and apart from a long bench in the corner, there was nothing else.
Thousands of narrow paper boxes containing wands were piled from the floor to the ceiling, with a thin layer of dust covering everything.
"Welco to Ollivanders Wand Shop! Ah... two more young wizards preparing to attend Hogwarts," said a young man with silver-white eyes, erging from among the crowded shelves.
"My na is Garrick Ollivander. You've co to the right place to buy a wand," the young man said with a smile.
"With so many wands, how do we choose?" Tom looked around, puzzled, at the piles of wand boxes surrounding them.
Ollivander laughed. "Ha ha, in fact, it's not the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard! Now... which one of you will go first?"
Wade pushed Tom forward. "He goes first."
Tom frowned and glanced at Wade. He was beginning to suspect that Wade had sothing devious in mind again! However, this ti, Wade truly had no intention of tricking him.
He simply wanted to see if Tom would end up with that fated wand, the one made of yew and affixed with a phoenix feather core.
(Note: In British asurent units, it's a bit more complicated, so I just switched back to "grams," as it looks more convenient.)
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