Chapter 527: The Lestrange Vault
Chapter 527: The Lestrange Vault
Despite the end of the ball, the students' enthusiasm remained unabated, even after returning to the Common Room. Instead of heading to bed, they continued discussing the event, their excitement palpable.
This enthusiasm carried over to the following day, resulting in a late start for everyone, including Kyle, who found the Great Hall nearly empty when he went for breakfast.
"Kyle, you're here." Sirius walked in from outside, a smile on his face. "I was just thinking of going to the Hufflepuff Common Room to look for you."
"Me?" Kyle asked, "What's the matter?"
"Did you forget..." Sirius glanced around and spoke in a voice only Kyle could hear, "About the vault key during the holidays..."
At this, Kyle couldn't help but stand up from his seat.
"So, can you go to Gringotts now?"
"I could have gone earlier," Sirius said. "But I had to attend school, and I had other matters to attend to. Now I have the time..."
"Of course, or we could wait until the end of the term if you have other plans for the holidays."
"No, now is fine," Kyle said immediately. "But there's one problem. Can I leave the castle?"
"In principle, it's not allowed," Sirius said. "Unless we can get the Headmaster's permission."
"Then what are we waiting for..." Kyle stuffed the remaining bread from his plate into his mouth in a few bites and headed to the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor with Sirius.
...
"You want to leave the school?" Dumbledore was slightly surprised by their arrival.
"Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore," Sirius said, looking at Maxime and Karkaroff in the office. He spoke in a casual tone, "I prepared a special Christmas gift, but I can't bring it to the school, so I want to take him to see it."
Dumbledore hesitated, "But this is a special time, and Kyle is participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Many eyes are on him..."
"We're going to Diagon Alley," Sirius said. "It's safe there."
"That's right," Kyle agreed.
"If it's just Diagon Alley..." Dumbledore hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Alright, I agree..."
"But how will you get there? The train left yesterday and won't return until the end of the holidays."
With a clear look of disdain on his face, Sirius said, "That thing is too slow. I've had enough of it since my school days. We plan to go to Hogsmeade and use the fireplace of the Three Broomsticks."
"If that's the case, there's no need to make an extra trip." Dumbledore extended his finger and pointed towards the fireplace in the office.
In an instant, the flames inside turned green.
"Is Hogwarts also connected to the Floo Network?" Sirius asked in surprise.
"It's usually closed, but temporarily opening it for a few hours is no problem." Dumbledore said, "How about five hours, or do you need more time?"
"That's more than enough. We can probably be back before lunch," Sirius said, leading Kyle over.
As the two of them disappeared from the office, Maxime and Karkaroff's faces underwent subtle changes.
Before the second task, Kyle, one of the champions, suddenly left Hogwarts... This unusual move seemed very abnormal to them.
Moreover, the excuse that the gift couldn't be delivered to the castle... This reason seemed a bit fake. Were they treating everyone else as fools?
"Olympe..." Karkaroff couldn't help but ask, "In Beauxbatons, can students who stay in school leave so easily?"
"Of course not," Madame Maxime said. "Unless they didn't sign the stay-in list at the beginning, even during the holidays, students are not allowed to leave school."
"Hogwarts is the same." Dumbledore smiled, "But this time is special. Kyle helped Professor Black a lot during the holidays. He probably wants to express his gratitude.
"Never mind them. Where were we? Oh, right, regarding the scoring standards for the champions in the second task, I think..."
Facing Dumbledore's deliberate attempt to change the subject, Maxime and Karkaroff became more certain that Kyle's departure was related to the Triwizard Tournament.
Thinking of this, their gazes towards Dumbledore underwent subtle changes.
Unbelievable, Hogwarts, as the host, was actually resorting to such underhanded tactics... Disgusting, truly shameless.
However, Dumbledore paid no heed and continued speaking calmly.
Meanwhile, after emerging from the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, Kyle and Sirius headed straight for the back.
It was the morning after Christmas, and the pub was empty, with only Tom serving behind the bar, cleaning a row of empty glasses.
"Little Kyle, and Black?" He greeted them with a smile. "Want a drink?"
"No, Tom, maybe next time." Sirius shook his head.
The two then made their way to Diagon Alley through the entrance, eventually reaching Gringotts.
Looking at the shiny bronze doors, Sirius asked, "Do you have the key?"
"Of course, I always carry it with me." Kyle reached into his leather bag and took out a golden key, handing it to Sirius.
Sirius took the key and walked straight into Gringotts.
In the spacious marble hall, around a hundred goblins sat behind long counters, some weighing coins on scales, while others examined gemstones with magnifying glasses.
As they approached the front, a goblin sat there, hastily recording something in a large ledger.
"Ahem..." Sirius cleared his throat and said, "We need to visit Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."
Upon hearing the commotion, the goblin across from them lifted his head and spoke in a sharp voice:
"You don't seem to be Miss Lestrange."
"I'm her... cousin." Sirius grimaced, as if he had just eaten a particularly nasty Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Bean.
"She asked me to pick something up for her."
The goblin glanced at Sirius and then seemed to recall something, "Ah, yes, you can indeed meet her.
"So... Mr. Black, do you have the key?"
"Oh, here it is." Sirius tossed the key onto the table. "She gave it to me, it should be this one."
The goblin picked up the key and examined it carefully.
"That's right..." he said, "Mr. Black, I must remind you that you can only take one item from the vault."
"I know that better than you." Sirius said impatiently, "Those trashes, I don't even want to look at them."
"Very well." he said, "I'll get someone to take you to the underground vault, Lever."
Lever was another goblin who led Sirius and Kyle through a door behind the counter, leaving the hall and entering a narrow stone corridor.
A small cart was parked nearby, and they boarded and set off.
The location of Gringotts' vaults could be described as a labyrinth. They rode the cart for about twenty minutes through winding passages.
Sirius's face grew increasingly pale, his hand covering his mouth as if he might vomit at any moment.
However, Kyle didn't seem bothered. He only felt a chill from the breeze.
As mentioned before, compared to the Phoenix's apparition, this was like a children's rocking horse, weak and pathetic.
The surroundings grew darker, and the cart sped up.
They passed through a waterfall, soaking their clothes, and the cold wind made them shiver.
But there was no other way. Without passing through the Thief-Repelling Falls, Lever wouldn't take them any further.
After about ten more minutes, Kyle heard a faint, whimpering dragon's roar.
The sound was weak, devoid of any hint of the dragon's usual arrogance.
"This is Gringotts' ultimate defense." Lever said proudly, "The dragon ensures that any thief coveting the gold here will pay the price."
Kyle looked at him calmly, his face expressionless.
At that moment, the cart finally stopped at a gorge.
A creature with a lion's body and a human head stood before them.
A Sphinx, a professional guardian among magical creatures, known for their riddles and word puzzles, was often employed by wizards to protect valuable items and secret locations.
Newt had one in his case, but since there were no precious gems or gold in the case, it set its sights on the Swooping Evil... Every time Newt went to collect the Swooping Evil's droppings, he had to spend a long time with it.
Lever was the first to step down, and after saying something to the Sphinx, it reluctantly retreated into the shadows.
"Come on." Lever waved his hand. Kyle and Sirius immediately followed.
There was only one vault at the gorge. Lever took the key, pressed it to his palm, and then placed his hand on the door.
Kyle curiously observed the goblin's actions.
"Anyone other than us goblins who does this will be sucked into the door and trapped inside, unable to escape." Lever looked over with a malicious grin.
"Can you hurry up?" Sirius said anxiously, "Stop talking nonsense."
"As you wish."
As soon as Lever finished speaking, the tightly closed vault door began to disappear bit by bit.
For a moment, Kyle thought someone had turned on the lights here, and the dazzling golden light made his eyes hurt.
He saw a mountain of gold about ten feet high, various exotic animal skins, potions in bottles, and a skull with a crown...
"Hurry up." Sirius said, "Take what you need, and let's leave."
"Okay." Kyle said, looking at Lever, "Can I go in? Are there any special protective spells inside?"
"There's a Flame Charm and a Duplication Charm." Lever said, "But with the key, these spells are temporarily disabled and will only reactivate once the door is closed. If you're worried, I can do it for you."
"No need." Kyle entered, deliberately kicking a Galleon at the edge of the vault.
The gold coin flew out and landed on another Galleon with a ding, without duplicating at all.
Only then did Kyle relax and enter. Lever followed closely behind, seemingly on guard to prevent him from taking extra items.
Kyle didn't mind. Although the gold here was tempting, he had something more important...
This vault was not small, and there were many items stored inside. Kyle wandered around for five minutes before he accidentally looked up and finally found what he wanted.
At the very top of the vault, on a protruding stone pedestal, there was a tiny golden cup with a lifelike badger engraved on it, and two handle-like ears on the side.
(End of Chapter)
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