Hogwarts Homecoming

Ernie wasn't the only classmate they met in Diagon Alley.

Many young wizards from Hogwarts came here to shop with their parents on the weekend before school started.

In addition to those they didn't know, they also met here their roommate Seamus and the twins' good friend Lee Jordan.

After Harry said hello to Hufflepuff's Finlay, he turned his head and saw Cho Chang walking into the Owl Shop accompanied by an elegant man with an Asian face.

He subconsciously shrank his neck and turned his head, and in a blink of an eye, he found Ginny and Hermione looking at him with contempt in their eyes.

In any case, Gringotts' building is the most majestic building in Diagon Alley. Even if it is replaced by a tent, it is still the largest one among the tents.

Instead of a warning, a notice was posted at the entrance to the tent.

"Due to the Battle of Diagon Alley, there were many cracks in the underground vault, which are currently being repaired. For the safety of our valued customers:

All customers who wish to withdraw money will have Gringotts staff go to the underground vault to withdraw money on their behalf.

Gringotts will continue to protect the wealth of our valued users. Thank you for your cooperation! "

Hermione whispered the sentence on the notice.

"It saves trouble, doesn't it?"

Ron shrugged fearlessly,

"I'd rather eat Bibi's flavored beans that taste like boogers than ride in a Gringotts trolley."

"Oh, you're so disgusting, Ron!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at Ron.

In any case, it is still difficult to move the majestic and solemn hall of Gringotts into a tent.

Although the overall shape is similar, the space is still quite cramped.

They followed the team and squirmed hard. Ginny, who was squeezed into Harry's arms, blushed all the way to her neck. She felt the softness rubbing against his chest and the hair floating under his nose like a tease. Haha. Lee felt like he was under some black magic, and blood rushed to his head one after another.

Even Cho Chang's gentle face, which he had just seen briefly, became insignificant in Harry's mind.

"--Speak of it, Harry."

Ron, who was just behind Harry, didn't notice the strange expression on Harry's face. He looked at the counter in front of him.

A wizard was haggling with the goblin over several pieces of rubies that were as bright as charcoal. Finally, both parties reached an agreement. The goblin took out a delicate wooden box from under the counter. When he opened it, he saw a pile of Galleons inside that fell to the ground. on the table.

Ron looked at the wizard who was checking the quality of the gold coins with envy.

"I never knew how much gold your parents left you?"

Hermione looked surprised, she rubbed Ron's back,

"That's Harry's privacy, Ron, you shouldn't ask that!"

"Oh, it's okay, Hermione -"

gasped Harry, recalling the size of his treasury,

"To be honest, I don't know for sure. Ron, I've never counted it. It's probably tens of thousands?"

Not to mention Ron, even Fred and George had envy in their eyes.

In order to make it easier for the wizard to withdraw money, the goblins moved several large boxes of gold into the small room behind the hall, and used the method of paying first for accounting.

Therefore, Harry quickly got enough gold for him to use for one school year.

It’s always a pleasure to hold a heavy bag of gold in your hands. During the two months I spent in Grimmauld Place, apart from a trip to the Ministry of Magic for a trial, a trip to St. Mungo’s to see Mr. Weasley and a quick trip to the Outside Corner Alley.

Harry spent this summer vacation just wandering around the square near his old house.

He can't wait to go out and spend money.

However, Mrs. Weasley encountered a bit of controversy when withdrawing the money.

"Judging from the book list sent by Hogwarts, you don't need to buy any new books, which can save a fortune. Oh, but you all need to change your robes and buy some materials. Ginny's cauldron can no longer be used. I need to buy a new one.”

Mrs. Weasley counted on her fingers.

"I can buy it myself, Mom——"

Ginny said thoughtfully,

“I haven’t spent much of the winnings I got from the competition!”

"Oh, dear, that's your own money, you can use it in other places. It's my and your father's obligation to buy you school supplies-"

Mrs. Weasley looked at Ginny with loving eyes and rubbed her thick red hair.

Seeing this scene, Ron was "indignant". When Mrs. Weasley was negotiating with the goblins, he turned his head and wrinkled his nose and complained to Hermione, who raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"Oh, then why do I have to spend my own gold to buy a broom? And I have to apply in advance!"

"It's easy, little fool--"

George also followed Mrs. Weasley's example, ruffled Ron's hair, and said with a smile,

"Because dad and mom don't have that much gold in their treasury for you to squander."

Surprisingly, Hermione withdrew a full thousand Galleons from her account. To do this, she had to spend an extra dozen Galleons to buy a special money bag from the goblin to carry the gold. .

"What are you going to do, Hermione?"

Harry looked at Hermione who was weighing her money bag in surprise.

"Are you going to clear out the inventory at Flourish and Blotts?"

"Oh. This is my privacy, Harry, don't ask any more questions."

Hermione said slightly rudely.

A trip to Madam Malkin's Robe Shop to buy robes was their last group activity.

Seemingly knowing that the door of this group of adolescent boys and girls was broken at home, Mrs. Weasley generously allowed Harry and his friends to move freely, while she took Ginny to buy a cauldron.

Fred and George ran away in a flash.

Hermione was not very interested in Ron buying a broom. As Harry expected, when she found the tent of Flourish and Blotts, she went in and ignored them.

"Let's go--"

Ron anxiously pulled Harry to the Quidditch boutique,

"We've wasted too much time. Ernie must have been waiting for me!"

They spent much longer in the Quidditch boutique than expected.

Harry only spent a little time to refill some consumables in his broom maintenance box. However, Ron hesitated between the two series of Sweep and Comet, so he had to help Ernie with ideas.

By the time Ron walked out of the Quidditch boutique with his first real Quidditch broom in his life, the sun had risen above their heads.

After that, Ernie parted ways with them.

Ron suggested that while everyone was away, the two of them went to the tent of the Leaky Cauldron to drink a glass of butterbeer, just to celebrate his first broom.

Harry certainly had no objection, and they searched for a while in the pile of tents before finding the tent of the Leaky Cauldron.

Like most shops, the Leaky Cauldron was built on the original site, but the portal connecting to the Muggle world was destroyed.

"How is business, Tom?"

Harry was also an acquaintance of the owner of the Leaky Cauldron. He had lived on the second floor of his bar for almost a month.

"Oh, Mr. Potter, is that you?"

There were indeed some guests in the tent, which was brighter than the original bar, but basically they were parents and children eating lunch. The original "beautiful" scenery of the Leaky Cauldron was gone.

Tom was wiping his glasses boredly behind the bar. The sunlight that followed Harry and Ron into the bar made Old Tom squint his eyes.

When he saw Harry's face clearly, Old Tom immediately walked out from behind the bar and came to them.

"Oh, as you can see, business has plummeted--"

After greeting, Old Tom's face immediately fell. He pointed at the food ordered by the guests with his eyes, and looked dejected.

"In this terrible world, most people are not very willing to stay outside for a long time.

So, now no one comes to drink here. Those who come here at most eat something and then leave in a hurry. To be honest, I really miss my old bar, but the Ministry of Magic said that it will take at least half a year to return the original Diagon Alley to us--"

"That's fast enough--"

Ron said,

"Think about the Quidditch field last year. It took hundreds of employees of the Ministry of Magic half a year to build that field. Now they definitely can't spare so many people--"

"The key is--"

Harry is more concerned about this issue because it involves Professor Brain. He looked at Old Tom with concern.

"Does the Ministry have any compensation for your losses?" (End of this chapter)