Chapter 346: The Study of Wands
Chapter 346: The Study of Wands
To be honest, Daisy completely disagreed with Albert's plan to stay elsewhere for a few days, and she was displeased that her son intended to leave her sight during the summer vacation.
However, Albert eventually succeeded in convincing the Andersons, and it was also very "coincidental" that Grandpa Luke invited Nia to stay with them for a few days.
While Sansa warmly welcomed her granddaughter, she actually harbored some dissatisfaction with Albert's decision to attend Hogwarts. In her opinion, a genius like Albert would have a brighter future attending a good Muggle school.
Nia's acceptance into a prestigious secondary school pleased Sansa greatly. In fact, not just her, but Herb and Daisy were equally pleased. Probably the only dissatisfied person in the family was Nia herself.
"Don't feed Tom too many snacks!" Albert reminded as Nia got out of the car, hugging Tom close to her.
Nia pouted, "Remember to buy me gifts."
"Okay!"
"Take care of yourself." Daisy kissed Herb's cheek and turned to Albert, admonishing him as well.
"I will," Albert assured her.
Over an hour later, they finally arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in London. Albert led Herb into the pub, and they both noticed that there were fewer patrons than usual.
Albert's gaze drifted to the wall, where wanted posters issued by the goblins of Gringotts for thieves were displayed.
In truth, the goblins had no idea who had broken into Gringotts. They could only deduce from the vault door pierced by Fiendfyre that it was the work of a Dark wizard.
This wanted poster was a sham, to say the least. While Harry Potter and Sirius Black's wanted posters offered a reward of ten thousand Galleons, the one currently on the wall in front of Albert only offered a thousand Galleons.
The Gringotts goblins were a stingy bunch.
Diagon Alley, however, was as bustling as ever. Herb and Albert planned to make a trip to Gringotts first to exchange some Galleons.
Although Albert had some Galleons on him, he didn't intend to touch his personal stash. That was his startup fund for the future.
As for pounds, once he learned crystal ball divination, he could try to see if he could make his family win the lottery or something, and then they wouldn't have to worry about pounds anymore.
Perhaps due to the recent break-in and theft by a Dark wizard, Gringotts had added several wizard security guards wielding metal rods, and they eyed the customers suspiciously. It took Herb and Albert quite some time to get inside and exchange their pounds for Galleons.
"I feel like they're treating every customer as a potential robber," Herb grumbled. He disliked the way the goblins were looking at them.
"That's actually quite possible," Albert whispered, winking. "But I think the goblins are mostly trying to salvage their reputation. I mean, if a bunch of Dark wizards can break into Gringotts and rob the place, who would dare to keep their money here?"
In Albert's opinion, the security system at Gringotts was not that secure.
The biggest trouble with Gringotts, if one were to be frank, was the terrain. The inability to Apparate was extremely detrimental to intruders. Even if one managed to steal something, it would be nearly impossible to escape the intricate caves, let alone evade the pursuit of wizards and goblins in such a complex environment. However, there was one critical loophole...
House-elves were not restricted by the anti-Apparition enchantments due to the differences in their magical makeup. This was evident at Hogwarts, where house-elves could Apparate freely.
Yet, this fact was often overlooked by most people.
As they exited Gringotts, Albert spotted the Weasley family about to enter the wizarding bank.
"This is Albert Anderson, whom we mentioned earlier."
"Fred, introducing his father to Albert, said, "This is my father, my mother, and our friend Ron, whom we mentioned before."
Albert's gaze rested on Ron, a skinny, tall boy covered in freckles, who seemed a bit clumsy.
"Nice to meet you," Albert introduced, "This is my father."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Anderson," Mr. Weasley said happily as he shook Herb's hand. "Are you a wizard?"
"No," Herb calmly shook hands with Mr. Weasley. After spending several days with the Drakuls, he had become quite accustomed to wizards. As a lawyer, Herb was skilled in handling interpersonal relationships.
Mr. Weasley insisted on taking Herb to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink, leaving the shopping and money-changing to Mrs. Weasley.
Once the adults had left, the remaining group felt much more relaxed.
"Congratulations, Percy, I heard you became a prefect," Albert said with a smile as he greeted Percy.
"Thank you!" Percy extended his hand solemnly, and Albert shook it.
Albert had to hold back his laughter at Percy's display of leadership.
"Oh, Percy, so you're a prefect now?" Fred said in a feigned tone of surprise. "You should've told us earlier. I had no idea."
"I remember him mentioning it," George said, "once or twice, maybe?"
"No, no, he's been talking about it all summer!"
Fred and George both laughed cheerfully.
"Shut up," Percy scolded.
Soon after, Mrs. Weasley returned and prepared to take Ron shopping for their supplies. Before they parted ways at Gringotts, Percy received ten Galleons from his mother, causing the others to look on enviously.
"Dear, do you need any help buying your new books?" Mrs. Weasley asked Albert.
"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Albert said as he handed her the book list along with a small bag of Galleons.
"My, that's a lot!"
Mrs. Weasley was taken aback by the long list of book titles on the parchment.
"Well, just like Percy, I plan to take all the courses offered in our third year," Albert explained casually. "Thanks for your help."
"You're welcome. Please keep an eye on these two and don't let Fred and George run amok."
"We don't need a babysitter," Fred and George complained.
"See you later!" Albert turned to the twins and said, "Let's go, I still have a bunch of things to buy."
Passing by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Albert bought three strawberry chocolate ice creams and ate as they walked along. Fred and George enthusiastically introduced Albert to interesting places in Diagon Alley. They soon turned into a shop selling Dr. Filibuster's Fireworks, and Albert bought some fireworks as gifts for Nia.
Albert went to Madam Malkin's Robes to reorder his robes, restocked on potions at the apothecary, and purchased a crystal ball at a magic shop. He then turned into an old store filled with worn-out wands, brass scales, and old cloaks.
"Don't you already have a wand?" Fred asked, puzzled, as he saw Albert rummaging through the old wands.
"Well, I have a bit of an interest in wandlore," Albert explained as he chose a wand that felt particularly comfortable in his hand, paying one Galleon for it.
"I really don't understand what you're thinking," George mumbled.
"You can never have too many wands," Albert said mysteriously. "Always have a spare, even if you never use it."
(End of Chapter)
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