American Comics: Starting with Muggle Wizards

"You adult wizards can't even find the entrance to Diagon Alley? You're utterly incompetent..."

......

Harvey and the others crossed the archway and entered Diagon Alley, where a bustling cobblestone street appeared before them.

The streets were bustling with people, and many adult, long-bearded wizards dressed in wizard robes were walking through them.

The houses lining the streets blend medieval and Victorian architectural styles, mostly brick and stone structures with a retro appearance.

Professor McGonagall pointed to the shops on both sides of the street and introduced them to everyone.

"Diagon Alley is the economic hub of the wizarding world, home to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Ollivanders Wand Shop, Flourish and Blotts, Fantastic Beasts Shop, Madam Malkin's Robes Shop, and many other shops."

"You all brought your admission notices, right?"

"Of course I brought it." Hermione quickly took out her college acceptance letter from her pocket.

The Grangers, like country bumpkins who had never seen the world, would often marvel at the strange and wonderful items displayed in the shop windows along the street.

To be honest, even Harvey, who was already mentally prepared, was not.

Imagine seeing magical scenes like flying brooms hovering in front of shop signs, fire-breathing salamanders in pet shop windows, and enchanting photos of restaurants.

He couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to these strange and unusual things.

Is this... the real magical world?

Professor McGonagall continued her presentation.

"When a Muggle-born wizard enters Diagon Alley, the first thing he needs to do is go to Gringotts Wizarding Bank to exchange for the currency used in the wizarding world."

“That’s right here.”

With that, Professor McGonagall led the group to a stop in front of Gringotts.

"After exchanging the currency, you can purchase everything you need in Diagon Alley according to the requirements listed in the admission notice attachment."

"You can plan your own wonderful journey from here on out. Have fun in Diagon Alley."

After saying that, Professor McGonagall turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something, stopped, turned back, and solemnly instructed:

"By the way, you absolutely must not go into Knockturn Alley, which is that dirty street entrance next to Diagon Alley."

"Knockdown Alley is a gathering place for dark wizards. You can think of it simply as a place where bad people gather. It is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic, so you should not go near there."

The Grangers nodded earnestly.

“We’ve got it. Thank you for the introduction, Professor McGonagall. We’d like to invite you to our home for a casual meal sometime.”

“No problem, if you have time.” Professor McGonagall’s tone was so calm that it was hard to tell whether she was being polite or telling the truth.

But this time she really left.

The Grangers stopped in front of Gringotts with their two children.

Please come in, stranger, but beware of the consequences of your insatiable greed...

Looking at the warning on the first bronze gate and the fairy guards stationed beside the entrance, the couple felt somewhat timid and hesitant.

"Please enter, stranger, but beware of what awaits the sin of greed. Those who constantly take and seek gain without labor will pay the harshest punishment..."

Hermione read the warning aloud, and Harvey, who was next to her, quickly tugged at her sleeve.

"Hey, don't you feel embarrassed? Reading someone else's warning message in front of a bank in the magical world!"

Hermione turned to look at Harvey, then at her parents, and found them standing there, looking embarrassed.

Her delicate face was filled with doubt. "Is it really that rude to read the warning aloud?"

This was the first time the Grangers had ever seen their daughter's cow-like appearance.

The two hideous monsters at the entrance of Gringotts were frightening to look at, let alone reciting warnings in front of them.

Granger's mother muttered to herself, "It's terrifying that a bank in the magical world uses monsters as guards!"

Wizards entered Gringotts one after another, and when they saw Harvey and the others standing at the entrance, some wizards glanced at them with puzzlement.

Harvey was getting so embarrassed he was about to have a stroke.

"Let's go in quickly. These two are fairy guards, a special race in the magic world. Although they look a bit ugly-cute, they don't have much fighting power."

Hermione agreed, saying, "I think so too. These two guards are actually quite cute..."

"Aren't they cute...?" The Grangers were speechless for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to take the two little ones into Gringotts.

A well-dressed goblin approached and, after glancing at the large family as they entered, noticed their constant looking around. He knew they must all be Muggle-born.

He then said in a rather cold tone, "Guests are here to exchange Galleons, right? Counter number three can handle currency exchange."

The Grangers were a little reserved. They politely thanked them before leading their two children toward the empty counter number three.

The fairy behind counter number three, seeing a customer arrive, introduced the product in a listless tone:

"The exchange rate for new students at Hogwarts is five pounds to one Galleon, with a maximum exchange limit of one thousand Galleons."

"Or you can exchange two ounces of gold for one Galleon. Gold can be exchanged indefinitely."

Chapter 9 Hermione and Harvey equal... two thousand Galleons?

The Grangers found the exchange rate somewhat strange.

"Two ounces of gold are worth the equivalent of five thousand pounds, so why can they only be exchanged for one Galleon?"

The goblin behind the counter replied impatiently, "That's because Hogwarts provides currency exchange subsidies for young wizards from Muggle families!"

Are you still going to exchange for Galleons?

"Exchange it! Please exchange it for one thousand Galleons." Upon hearing that it was a subsidy from the school, the Grangers immediately understood and quickly replied.

"Wait!" Harvey's shout drew everyone's attention.

"Um... I meant to ask if if there are two new students, can we exchange two thousand Galleons for pounds?"

The Grangers were also somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.

"Yes~" the fairy behind the counter replied in a lifeless tone.

So the Grangers, who were not short of money, once again offered to exchange their money for two thousand Galleons.

The fairy behind the counter poured the gold Galleons, each with an intricate embossed pattern, into a money bag.

"Ding-ling~ Clang~"

The crisp, melodious clinking of Galleons made Harvey's greedy gaze turn to the money bag.

Galleons are made of pure gold and special alloys, and each Galleon weighs approximately 0.1 pounds.

The Grangers exchanged a light wad of banknotes for two hundred pounds of Galleons.

If it hadn't been carried in a money bag with the Unseen Stretching Charm, the Grangers probably wouldn't have been able to lift so many Galleons, equivalent to the combined weight of Harvey and Hermione.

After counting the Galleons, the goblin behind the counter brought out two Hogwarts scholarship applications for Harvey and Hermione to sign.

After signing the application document, which Harvey considered to demonstrate Hogwarts' grandeur, the goblin handed the bag full of Galleons to the Grangers.

I also mentioned it casually.

"If guests need to store their Galleons in Gringotts in the future, they can do so."

Upon hearing this, the Grangers paused in their turn to leave, and asked curiously, "How much is the interest?"

The fairy behind the counter looked puzzled.

"What interest? Gringotts doesn't charge storage fees. You can just leave your Galleons with us without worry."

The Grangers were suspicious of the other party's matter-of-fact attitude.

Why don't bank deposits earn interest?

In fact, from the fairy's perspective, when a wizard deposits money into Gringotts, it is in a sense a return to its rightful owner, so there is no interest or storage fee.

For example, the Weasleys' vault didn't have much money; it only contained one Galleon and a few Silver Sickles.

If they were to charge a storage fee, their family's assets wouldn't even be enough to apply for a vault.

The Grangers ultimately didn't dare question why there was no interest. They politely said, "Thank you, we'll come back to deposit money next time," and left with their two children.

As the group walked out of Gringotts, with no "monsters" watching, Granger's mother was finally relieved from the oppressive state of not daring to speak loudly.

"Phew... I never want to come to this magical world's bank again."

Granger's father handed Hermione a purse filled with Galleons. "Honey, this is for your and Harvey's school fees. Remember not to lose it."

The Galleons they received for £10,000 were a significant asset for the Granger family.

That's why Granger's father repeatedly gave his youngest daughter these instructions.

"I remember."

Hermione obediently responded and casually stuffed the purse into her pocket.

She had little concept of money, but she cared more about the college admission notice.

After carefully examining the acceptance letter she had taken out of her pocket, Hermione tugged at her mother's clothes and urged, "Let's go to the bookstore and buy textbooks first!"

"When we came here, we saw a Flourish and Blotts bookstore!"

Hermione, who is always passionate about reading, was eager to buy books.

Harvey remained silent, but in his mind, he was already plotting how to trick Hermione out of her purse... no, how to legally transfer it.

Two thousand Galleons is a huge sum of money in the wizarding world.

Keep in mind that an Auror in the Ministry of Magic earns only 25 to 40 Galleons a month.

A simple calculation shows that these two thousand Galleons are equivalent to the wealth of an adult wizard working for three or four years!

Harvey wasn't comfortable leaving such a large sum of money with Hermione.

He also didn't want to have to report to Hermione in advance every time he wanted to buy something.

He'd had enough of those days of handing over his salary on time in his past life...

"Let's go then, let's go buy some books first." Granger's mother, now back to normal, took her daughter's hand and started walking along the street toward Flourish and Blotts.

Granger's father grabbed Harvey and immediately followed.