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Chapter 528: What Hufflepuff Told Me
Chapter 528: What Hufflepuff Told Me
After discovering the golden cup, Kyle feigned composure, turning calmly to the goblin behind him. In a tranquil tone, he addressed the goblin, "Excuse me, Mr. Griphook, could you please help me retrieve that golden cup?"
Griphook remained still, his voice sharp as he replied, "Only Mr. Black is entitled to remove items from this vault."
"Are you sure that's what Bellatrix wants?" Sirius prompted. "Make sure you get the right thing; we won't get another chance to come back here."
"Yes, this is it," Kyle confirmed. "An inexpensive item, but one of great sentimental value to Lady Bella."
"Did you hear that?" Sirius looked at Griphook. "Hurry up and get it down, then let's get out of here. This place is suffocating."
"As you wish, Mr. Black," Griphook acknowledged with a slight bow.
He snapped his fingers, and the golden cup that had been perched on the high pedestal floated steadily towards Sirius.
Sirius snatched the cup and handed it to Kyle.
The two then retreated to the open space outside, watching as Griphook resealed the vault door.
"I must remind you again, Mr. Black," Griphook said, turning after ensuring the vault door was securely closed. "From now on, you will not be able to remove anything else from this vault."
"I know, no need to tell me," Sirius muttered. "If I had my way, I'd never set foot in this place again."
"Then that's settled," Griphook said. Perhaps he was relieved that they had only taken an insignificant golden cup, for he now looked quite pleased.
The trio then returned to the cart and sped through the passageway. Finally, they emerged onto the sun-drenched street outside Gringotts, just in time for Sirius to empty his stomach.
"I don't understand why you only took that cheap trinket," Sirius said, glancing back to ensure no goblins were following them. He couldn't help but ask, "There were plenty of truly valuable items in that vault, like that crown, a masterpiece crafted by a medieval alchemist, famous and treasured by the Lestrange family. It's worth tens of thousands of galleons."
"Tens of thousands?" Kyle acknowledged. "That is indeed pricey, but..." He patted the leather bag containing the cup. "Compared to this, it's nothing."
"Huh?" Sirius was incredulous. "It's just a golden cup. How could it be worth that much?"
"It's Hufflepuff's cup," Kyle stated. "It's of the same caliber as Slytherin's locket. What do you think?"
Sirius halted abruptly, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared at Kyle.
"Hufflepuff's..." he blurted out, but quickly caught himself and clamped his mouth shut.
Moving closer to Kyle, he asked in a hushed tone, "Are you talking about Helga Hufflepuff?"
"Who else could it be?" Kyle replied matter-of-factly.
"But..."
Sirius lowered his voice further. "Why is Hufflepuff's cup in the Lestrange family's vault? And how do you know about it? You couldn't have been here before."
"Of course not," Kyle said. "I was only one year old when Bella was caught; obviously, I couldn't have come here. It was... well, Hufflepuff herself who told me. You must have heard from the other professors about my encounter with the four founders."
"That..."
Sirius's expression turned bewildered.
He had indeed heard about it, from Lupin.
But the four founders, figures from over a millennium ago, had supposedly communicated directly with Kyle? This was almost inconceivable. He had always assumed it was just a rumor and had teased Lupin about it no end.
"You really met Helga Hufflepuff?" Sirius asked again.
"Absolutely," Kyle confirmed. "Professor Dumbledore can vouch for me."
Sirius's bewilderment deepened, and he muttered, "Incredible..."
Seeing Sirius's reaction, Kyle didn't bother to explain further.
After all, he was the only person in the magical world who had encountered the four founders, and his word was law on the subject.
As for the location of the golden cup, well, Helga Hufflepuff herself had revealed that, and if anyone doubted it, they could take it up with her.
Kyle continued walking, intending to return to Hogwarts via the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron.
Sirius caught up to him. Having seen the Slytherin locket earlier, he quickly accepted the fact that Kyle had obtained the golden cup.
Besides, with all the unimaginable events that had occurred lately, this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"There's no rush to go back. We have five hours, come with me."
He led Kyle back the way they had come.
Kyle assumed he wanted to buy something else for Harry, so he didn't refuse.
It was a holiday, a day off from school, so there was no harm in spending some time outside.
Soon, the pair found themselves back at Gringotts, standing across from it at the entrance to Knockturn Alley.
"Are you going to buy something from there?" Kyle asked, puzzled.
Knockturn Alley was known for its dark magic items and dubious merchandise; he hoped Sirius wasn't planning on getting any of those for Harry.
If so, he was being far too generous.
"Oh, what are you thinking?" Sirius shook his head. "Even if I were to buy something from there, I wouldn't bring you along. This isn't a place for students... I wanted to show you that shop over there, look!"
Sirius pointed ahead.
Kyle saw a shop without a sign, its door tightly shut and its windows dusty, indicating it had been vacant for quite some time.
"What about that shop?" Kyle asked softly. "It's strange, though, right across from Gringotts, such a prime location, yet it's been empty all this time."
"That's because I was locked up." Sirius explained, "It used to be my uncle's shop, and he left it to me. I found the magical deed for this place when I went to Gringotts to retrieve some money from my vault the other day."
"I see." Kyle nodded.
That made sense; as the shop's owner, Sirius had been imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years, so of course, the shop had been vacant.
"What do you think about me opening a shop here?"
Sirius said dreamily, "I've dreamed about it countless times... that when Harry graduates, we could run a shop together. It doesn't have to be very profitable, but we could be together every day."
"That's a great idea." Kyle agreed, "So, what do you plan to sell? Potions, herbs, or magical gadgets..."
"Er... haven't thought that far yet." Sirius' expression froze, "Maybe we could open a dessert shop, selling ice cream, pudding, and the like. I noticed Harry really enjoys pudding."
"Are you sure?" Kyle instinctively glanced at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, just two shops away.
It was Diagon Alley's most famous ice cream parlor, having been in business for over a hundred years, with countless loyal customers, and was undoubtedly one of the most well-known establishments.
Wow, selling ice cream here probably wouldn't just result in slightly lower profits; to be frank, it would be less expensive to sit at home and do nothing.
"It's just an idea. Harry can choose what we sell specifically." Sirius naturally noticed Florian Fortescue's as well and scratched his hair awkwardly.
"Or you could package and sell those little trinkets you used to make... I recall your map, badges, and such were quite popular at Hogwarts."
"So, you're suggesting we sell products made at Hogwarts here?"
Kyle thought about it for a moment, "That's doable, although sales might drop after we leave school. But at the very least, we won't lose money.
And I can remake everything and send it over. You can try it out first, and if it works, we can scale up."
"No, no, no, not everything, just some of it." Sirius said, "After all, you'd want to keep some things for your own shop, right? We just want to find something fun to do. We can display some items and make a few Galleons a week."
"Why would I keep any of that stuff?" Kyle said, "I don't have a shop, so it's easier to just sell it all to you."
"No, you will." Sirius shook his head and then pointed to the equally vacant shop next door, "That place will be yours... um, my Christmas gift to you."
(End of Chapter)
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