Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 278: A Worthwhile Trip

“Oh, Harry—oh, dear—you can go anywhere—”

Mrs. Weasley, panting, pulled a coat brush from her bag and began brushing the soot off Harry.

Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, tapped them with his wand, and restored them to their original condition.

Harry looked at every face; their concern was evident… none of the wizards here would resent him for getting into trouble. Sometimes he felt like his escape from Privet Drive was a dream.

“Sheen—my dear child, it’s so good to see you,”

When Mrs. Weasley turned and saw Sheehan, her eyebrows shot up.

“Let’s go, my dear children, let’s go get some Galleons.”

This was the first time she had spoken of taking Galon with such confidence.

Holding Harry's hand with her left and Sheen's hand with her right, she plunged into the crowd.

At this moment, Ron, who had been "ignored," shrugged and said to Hermione and Justin:
“Mom is always nicer to strangers. But it’s strange, I’ve never seen them so eager to go to the vault.”

……

Sheehan was dragged away; Mrs. Weasley always showed him unusual enthusiasm, asking him all the way how his summer was going.

Mr. Weasley just smiled good-naturedly and habitually agreed, until he bumped into Hermione's parents.

They stood awkwardly by the counter that spanned the entire marble hall, waiting for Hermione to return and introduce them.

"Ah, I know, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, you are Muggles!"

Mr. Weasley said happily,
“We absolutely have to go for a drink! What’s that you’re holding? Oh, you’re exchanging Muggle currency. Molly, look!”

He pointed excitedly to the ten-pound note in Mr. Granger's hand.

Soon, several fairies appeared, leading different wizards to different vaults. Sheen and the others also needed to separate for a while.

The Weasleys left with Harry, and Hermione hurried off to instruct the Grangers on how to exchange Galleons.

So only Sheen and Justin remained.

"Together, Sheehan?"

Justin said he also appeared to have come to collect the money himself.

"it is good."

Sheen did not refuse.

The little car, driven by fairies, sped along a small railway track, passing through the bank's underground passages to reach the various vaults. The feeling of speeding along was exhilarating.

After entering a cave, Justin's vault once again caught Sheehan's eye.

This place is filled with all sorts of materials, both needed and unnecessary; piles and piles of Galleons.

“My father wasn’t very supportive of the wizarding world, and neither was my mother. But fortunately, they were both very supportive of me,”

Justin said with a smile that his collar was always perfectly pressed, thanks to Mrs. Finley's ironing.
Sheen turned to look at Justin. So, his suitcase only contained a small portion of his belongings?

He remembered that there were limits on the amount of Galleons that could be exchanged for pounds sterling, meaning that they used gold or jewelry...

Well, he still can't imagine the world of the rich.

"This is--"

When Sheen came to his vault to get money, Justin's mouth was big enough to fit a goose egg.

His exceptional insight allowed him to deduce the number of Galon among them, which is why he was so surprised.

Did they rob Gringotts? Maybe not, that might be too slow.

It was at this moment that Justin slowly realized the money-making ability of a top alchemist.

After leaving Gringotts, the group headed together to Flourish and Blotts.

"I don't know where Mom and Dad got the money to buy us school supplies this year," Ron said, still somewhat incredulous.

“Besides a few old books with lots of useful notes, there are five whole sets of Lockhart’s books! And Ginny’s robes and wands are all sorted out…”

"Doesn't Mr. Weasley work at the Ministry of Magic?"

Harry was somewhat puzzled.

“Harry, you don’t know, the Ministry of Magic is not a charity.”

Ron whispered. Hermione and Justin listened curiously as well.

They were then surprised to find a large crowd gathered outside the bookstore, all wanting to get in. A large banner was stretched out from an upstairs window:

[An Exclusive Interview with Flora Olivia Terra: The Teacher of Sages]

Below is a small banner:

Gilderoy Lockhart's autobiography is available for sale with signatures.
"Me, the One with Magic";
This afternoon: 12:30-4:30

"A teacher of sages? How come I've never heard of this before?"

Hermione said, bewildered.

"Maybe it's because we don't live in the magic world?"

Justin said with a smile.

The banner at Flourish and Blotts seemed to have been up for a while, and the newspapers and magazines there had long been sold out. Occasionally, a few wizards would sigh with satisfaction.
"That alchemy sage is so young, and he's even a student at Hogwarts! Good heavens, I graduated too early."

A young witch whispered to the shy wizard beside her.

"Yes, yes, but... actually we graduated five years ago."

The wizard beside him had been holding back for a long time before finally uttering these words.

The witch glared at him and quickly left. Only then did he belatedly realize what was happening and chase after her with a mournful face.

This scene seemed to resonate deeply with Hermione:
"What a fool."

Justin chimed in, and then noticed that Harry and Ron both looked somewhat puzzled.

"You too!"

Hermione said irritably.

However, Hermione's attention was soon drawn to Gilderoy Lockhart, and the bookstore was surrounded by wizards who were just as drawn to him as Hermione.

However, most of the people in the crowd seemed to be witches of Mrs. Weasley's age.

A weary-looking wizard stood in the doorway and said:
"Ladies, be quiet...no crowds...mind the books..."

Sheen was always surrounded by people, squeezing through the crowd with everyone else.

The winding line stretched from the entrance all the way to the back of the bookstore, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing books.

Each of them grabbed a copy of "Breaking Up with the Ghost" and sneaked off to where the Weasleys and Grangers were queuing.

"Oh, you've finally arrived! That's wonderful!"

"Mrs. Weasley said. She was breathing heavily and kept patting her hair."

"It's a pity we didn't get to buy any newspapers, but we'll be able to see Mr. Lockhart soon..."

Gradually, they also came into view of Gilderoy Lockhart.

He sat behind a table, surrounded by large photographs of himself, all of which showed faces winking at the crowd and flashing dazzling white teeth.

The real Lockhart wore a robe the same blue as forget-me-nots, which perfectly complemented his blue eyes. A pointed wizard's hat was playfully tilted to one side on his wavy blond hair.

"Yes, everyone, you will definitely find this trip worthwhile. Both of today's important events are related to me—"

(End of this chapter)