The days at Hogwarts

"It's just," it rubbed its hands, as if it was embarrassed, "I need to see it first before I can bid based on its condition."

"Of course." Loren reached into his collar and pulled out a large ball of unicorn hair and placed it on the counter.

To be honest, it didn't look very good. It was dirty, stained with dirt from sawdust and mold. The originally pure white color was stained a little gray, and there was a faint stink of saliva.

The goblin wrinkled his nose, carefully pulled out a piece of hair, and took a magnifying glass to look at it carefully.

"It is indeed unicorn hair." The fairy put down the hair and rubbed it on the rag beside him with his pointed hands. His attitude was no longer as enthusiastic as before, and he even looked a little disgusted. "Sir, according to the market price, if it is the mane of a unicorn, we can give you 10 Galleons for each hair."

"Ten Galleons for one!" Hermione looked up in surprise. There were probably hundreds or thousands of them in this mess, which meant nearly ten thousand Galleons.

"It's just that..." The fairy used her fingernails to move the hair ball, "The unicorn hair of the guest is just ordinary hair, and it's been several years, so it has lost some of its vitality. Add it all together, and I can pay - 300 Galleons!"

Before Loren could bargain, an elegant female voice spoke first:

"Has Gringotts become so shameless?"

A woman wearing a black wizard robe with a hood on her head sat in the seat next to her. She put her hood down, and her beautiful face with elegance and maturity, as well as her curvy figure, made Hermione unable to help but take a few more glances.

The observant little witch soon noticed the badge on the right arm of the robe. It showed the letter "H" surrounded by four animals: a lion, a snake, a badger and an eagle. That was the school emblem of Hogwarts.

Loren wanted to say something, but Hermione stopped him in time and shook her head at him.

The transaction was suddenly interrupted, and the goblin panicked: "Guest, if you have any needs, you can find a free counter and don't interfere with my normal work."

The beautiful lady in wizard robes looked at the goblin quietly, tapping her slender fingers on the counter, which were painted with bright red nail polish: "I'll give you one chance to make an offer, think it over before you speak."

The fairy's tone became tough: "Guest, you can't interfere with other guests' transactions."

"She is our elder and can complete the transaction on our behalf!" Hermione said simply.

What a smart girl... Bathsaida Barbling showed a happy smile on her face, and her nails tapped on the wooden counter, making the sound even crisper.

Loren noticed that her nails were not tapping randomly. If one connected the points where the nails landed, one could vaguely form a simple rune - representing the gaze of a lion, the deterrence of a predator.

He couldn't help showing a hint of surprise. To be able to perform the magic runes that affected the soul so lightly and yet without leaving any trace required delicate control and a deep understanding of the magic runes.

Loren slowly took a few steps and saw the Hogwarts emblem on his sleeve.

Is this the Professor of Ancient Runes, Bathsheda Babling?

He somewhat regretted not taking the ancient runes course.

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, dear guest." The goblin's forehead was covered with sweat, and he was no longer as fluent as before. He was busy combing the messy ball of hair and counting the value of the hair. "According to the market price, the mane on the top of the unicorn's head and the high-quality tail hair are 10 galleons each, and the hair from the rest of the body is 7 Sickles each. Here are a total of... a total of..."

In panic, it couldn't count the balls of hair and its body began to tremble slowly.

Chapter 269 Babelling's Invitation

Babel tapped the unicorn's hair lightly with her magic wand, and the messy ball of hair stretched out smoothly, dispersing into strands and laying neatly on the table.

The fairy teller counted carefully: "Dear guest, there are 517 high-quality unicorn hairs and 924 ordinary unicorn hairs in total, with a total price of 5550 Galleons, or 8 Sickles. Taking into account depreciation and impurity loss..."

It raised its head and looked at Babel's face tentatively. Seeing no displeasure, it continued, "Taking into account depreciation and loss, the price is 5400 Galleons. Is that okay with you?"

"It's dozens of times different from the previous offer." Hermione opened her mouth in surprise, with a look of disbelief on her face.

The goblin's body trembled and she didn't dare to say anything more.

Professor Babel nodded slightly, retracted her fingers that had been tapping on the table, and looked at Loren: "This is the normal price of Gringotts. If it is sold to a store specializing in magic materials, the price will be higher. But the stores outside may not be able to handle such a large transaction and cannot afford so much money. They may use barter to settle the payment... It's up to you to decide."

"Let's make the deal at this price." Loren also wanted to have some peace and quiet.

The goblin wiped his forehead with a sigh of relief, then realized that he was not sweating. He smiled awkwardly, "Excuse me, are you going to take all these Galleons? We can put the gold Galleons directly into your safe. If you haven't opened an underground vault in Gringotts yet, it's not too late to open it now. Gringotts is worthy of your trust."

"Underground vault service..." Loren fell into thought.

Although the space on the pendant was large enough to hold all the gold Galleons, he did not trust Gringotts' confidentiality. If the news that he was carrying a large amount of valuables leaked out, it might bring him unnecessary trouble.

Loren pondered for a moment and asked, "Can we open the Gringotts safe deposit service in Diagon Alley, London? We are just passing through Egypt."

"Of course, please wait a moment." The goblin turned around, jumped off the stool, and walked into a door at the back of the hall.

The three teachers and students from Hogwarts finally had their own space to talk.

Loren and Hermione looked at this beautiful and mature lady: "You are Professor Babel of Ancient Runes, right?"

Babel also looked at the two famous students in front of her with an interesting look in her eyes: "If Headmaster Dumbledore doesn't plan to fire me during the summer vacation, then it should be me."

"Professor, how do you know us?" Hermione blinked, "I mean, we haven't taken your class yet."

Professor Babel smiled and said, "The famous Miss Know-It-All and Loren Morgan, believe me, all the professors at Hogwarts know you."

Hermione smiled shyly.

At this moment, the goblin teller interrupted their recognition and reminiscence. It jumped out of a door in the hall, holding a golden key and a papyrus document in its hand.

After some effort, the goblin jumped onto the stool and placed the documents and golden key on the counter, showing them to Loren: "Dear guest, this is the contract for Gringotts' treasure house. Just sign your real name here, and this golden key will be yours! There will be a room exclusively for you in Gringotts' underground treasure house in Diagon Alley!"

Loren picked up the document and read it carefully.

Unlike the greedy terms that Loren had expected, this treasure contract was unexpectedly thoughtful and complete in its services to living people.

Wizards' treasures and wealth are stored in Gringotts, enjoying free of charge the most complete security built by the goblins over hundreds of years. If there are man-made losses such as robbery, theft, fire, magical explosion, etc. in Gringotts, Gringotts is responsible for paying compensation in proportion.

If the owner of the treasure house dies, it can be inherited by the owner's immediate family members.

"For a treasure trove that has not been claimed for more than two hundred years, the wealth in it will belong to Gringotts. If the owner and his direct blood relatives are dead, the wealth will be taken over by Gringotts. Note: If the owner turns into a ghost after death, due to the special personality of the ghost, he does not have the right to distribute the property..."

If this treasure house contract provides good service to the living, then it is very harsh to the dead.

"Don't look at it. Even this kind of contract is the result of pressure from the International Confederation of Wizards." Professor Babel glanced at the teller with a slanted eyebrow. "Fairies are such greedy creatures."

Loren raised his head and looked at the goblin with a strange expression. The terms of the contract reminded him of the sword of Gryffindor.

The sword of Gryffindor was made by the Goblin King Ragnark a thousand years ago. When the sword was completed, Ragnark coveted it very much, so he lied that Gryffindor stole the sword from him and sent his servants to steal it back.

Gryffindor knocked down all the attackers and threw them back to Ragnack, warning him that if he tried to steal the sword again, his position as king would be unstable. Under the pressure of force, Ragnack let Gryffindor keep the sword, and he was resentful until his death...

Therefore, greed and contracts must also be able to be realized.

Reaching out to take the quill from the ink bottle on the counter, Loren signed his name on the papyrus. When the last letter fell, a golden magic thread extended from the document on the paper and tied a knot around his little finger.

Loren calmed down and felt it. The contract of the tracking silk was a bit similar, but slightly stronger. He estimated that it could be washed away by flushing with the magic stone for more than ten seconds.

"Congratulations, distinguished guest!" The fairy happily put away the papyrus document and handed him the golden key. "Please keep your key. You must use this golden key every time you activate the treasure house in the future."

It took some time to handle the follow-up procedures, and in the end, Loren and Hermione walked out of Gringotts with 400 gold Galleons and a deposit of 5000 Galleons.

To facilitate the conversation, Professor Babel took them to a pub.

"...Giant ancient magic relics were found in the latest pyramid. Complex space magic was used to excavate it from all directions. Many scholars related to history have come here, but no one has found the core tomb. Gringotts's curse breakers are experts in this area. I came to Gringotts to discuss cooperation."

Professor Babel took a big sip of a cocktail made of whiskey and hot coffee and sighed with satisfaction, "Thank Merlin, at least this place has Irish coffee!"

In front of Loren and Hermione were two glasses of tasteless violet water, which Professor Babel offered them to drink.

"Don't look so sad, Minerva loves this drink the most." Babel teased the two little ones.

Hearing that Professor McGonagall liked this, Hermione suddenly felt that this bland drink had become high-end, and took a sip through the straw -

Well, I'll recommend some other drinks to Professor McGonagall when I have time.

"Professor, is there something you want to tell us?" Loren asked tentatively.

Babel ordered another glass of wine. "The greedy Gringotts goblins are excavating the ruins for wealth. I don't trust them. I happened to meet you two top students in the grade, so I want to ask you if you are interested in being my assistants and participating in the development of the ruins?"

Develop ancient magical ruins!

Hermione's eyes widened and sparkled.

Loren thought for a while and then said, "I heard from an old man that it is best to stay away from undiscovered ruins."

The excitement on Hermione's face faded, and she also remembered the reminder from the weird old man in the Hermes Store, as well as the sensational things mentioned in those messy books.

Professor Babel raised her eyebrows and said, "Don't underestimate your professor. I can still guarantee the safety of the students."

There was a strong confidence revealed in the brief words, which did not surprise Loren. After all, those who were related to ancient magic were all mysterious and powerful.

Professor Babel looked at the empty glass and hesitated whether to order another one. Finally, she sighed and gave up the idea: "You can think about it for two days. If you are willing to accept this job, wait for me at the door of Gringotts at nine o'clock in the morning three days later."

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first!" Professor Babel put her hood on her head, stood up and walked out of the tavern.

Loren quickly said: "But——"

Babel waved her hand without even turning her head. "Although I won't cooperate with those guys at Gringotts, I can still walk with them for a while."

"I mean, Professor, you haven't paid the bill yet!"

Professor Babel paused. She just wanted to Apparate and disappear from here, but out of her sense of responsibility as a professor, she still went to the counter to pay the bill, leaving only vague mutterings:

"It's just a few glasses of wine, Professor, I helped you earn thousands of Galleons..."

Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing and patted Loren on the shoulder: "Are you teasing the professor on purpose?"

Loren also smiled softly.

After paying at the Quidditch supplies store, neither of them wanted to continue shopping. They found an empty alley, and with a dull sound of gas explosion, Loren and Hermione disappeared in this wizarding district.

……

after dinner.

Loren was lying on the sofa in the hotel suite, reading a book, his even breathing coming from under the book covering his head.

Hermione sat cross-legged beside him, holding a book called "A General History of Ancient Egyptian Magic-lll", reading it with great interest.

With Professor Babel's safety guarantee, they had no worries. The two reached an agreement without much hesitation and decided to participate in the excavation of the ancient ruins.

Since they didn't know much about the specific details of the ruins, Hermione dragged Lorenzo to look for some books about Egypt and the Philosopher's Stone. Some of them were prepared before coming to Egypt, and some were bought at the bookstore in the wizarding district of Hurghada.

Hearing Loren's breathing as he fell asleep, Hermione turned her head to look at him, reached out to take the book off his face and put it aside, then gently covered the man's stomach with the blanket.

It is very hot in the desert during the day and very cold at night. The temperature difference between day and night is large, and it is easy to catch a cold if you don’t keep warm when sleeping.

But this person was also restless when he slept. The cashmere blanket seemed to make him uncomfortable, and he pushed it away with his hand.

Hermione remained expressionless and covered herself with the blanket again.

"Um……"

Loren pushed back the blanket again in his sleep.

After repeating this several times, the person finally adapted and stopped pushing the blanket away.

Hermione turned back and continued reading from where she had been. The book in her hand was about the Egyptian magic world during the reign of Ramses II.

Ramses II was the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. During his reign in Egypt, a wizard named Moses took pity on the slaves under his rule. In order to force Ramses II to release the slaves, the wizard Moses released evil magic, causing many disasters.

In particular, in order to help slaves escape, he used magic to split the Red Sea and created an escape route, but when the pursuers set foot on this route, the sea water submerged them, resulting in the tragedy of many ordinary people being drowned.

It was also this incident that made many ancient Egyptian wizards realize that using magic to help some ordinary people also meant using magic to persecute another group of ordinary people. From then on, wizards and magic became hidden in ancient Egypt and no longer appeared openly.

After watching the disaster caused by wizard Moses, Hermione heard the sound of the hotel door lock turning. She pushed Loren beside her and said, "They are back, wake up."

"Hmm..." Loren wiped his face and slowly became alert.

He quickly pulled off the blanket and stood up, running towards the door in his slippers. "How's it going? Did you catch any fish?"

Dad's voice was filled with excitement and excitement: "How did you know that I caught a 13-pound fish? The hotel said they can process it for us for free. It will be our lunch tomorrow!"

Then Loren exclaimed: "The fish here are really so stupid!"

"It's not that the fish are stupid, it's that my skills are good. I have mastered sea fishing!"

"..."

They chattered about the tips of sea fishing, about the wind direction, about the engine power of the yacht, about the fishing rods and lines...

A smile appeared on Hermione's lips as she turned the page of the book in her hand.

……

Three days later, in the morning, on the wizard streets of Hurghada.

After breakfast, Loren and Hermione went out. Relying on the convenience of Apparition, they arrived at the wizarding district at eight o'clock.

"It's all your fault. You dragged me here so early and now we have to wait here for an hour!" Loren complained while punching Hermione's triceps with his little fist.

Hermione looked at this man. Although her tone was full of complaints, she couldn't suppress a smile on her face when she hit her.

With a loud "smack", Hermione slapped his hand away and said angrily, "Can't we go shopping in the surrounding shops? Why do we have to stand here and wait like idiots?"

"Oh!" Loren responded obediently.

I punched her dozens of times, and she only hit me once. I was far ahead of her.