Puzzi took Hydrus on the cart.
The tunnels of the Gringotts underground vaults were twisty and winding, but the cart was as steady as could be, with no bumping or spinning the entire way. Aside from the seat being a bit hard, it deserved a five-star rating.
811, 812...
830, 831, 832, 833!
The cart moved at flying speed, but Hydrus's magic-infused eyes had incredibly strong dynamic vision.
She clearly memorized the location of the Gray family's vault.
About ten seconds later, the cart turned downward, stopping in front of vault 870.
Just as Puzzi had said, this vault was directly beneath the Grays' vault!
Hydrus visually estimated it; they were separated by about five or six meters, top to bottom.
"Please give me the key."
Hydrus rolled her eyes. 'If a Gringotts banker had to open the door anyway, why give her the key beforehand? Wouldn't it be better to just give it to her all at once after opening the door? This blasted sense of ritual!'
Puzzi took the key and went to the large door.
Hydrus followed.
It had to be said, although this vault was hundreds of years old, its intricate design and excellent craftsmanship were admirable.
He turned the key, and the vault's locks opened automatically, one layer after another. Just opening the lock took more than ten seconds.
The door finally swung open. Puzzi made a "please" gesture, and Hydrus stepped inside.
The originally dark vault immediately brightened upon her entry.
Hydrus noticed that there was a conical magic wall lamp on each of the four walls.
Hydrus dumped all the Golden Galleons out of her sachet, and they spilled onto the floor with a clatter.
"Mr. Puzzi, I'm going to start counting my money now," she made a door-closing gesture. "I believe I have the right to protect my privacy. Could you please close the door and wait outside?"
"Of course, Miss Astley," Puzzi gulped, looking at the glittering gold on the floor. This was a major client; he absolutely had to suck up to her.
"This is your vault; you have the right to do anything. There is a pull-ring behind the door. If you want to come out, just give it a gentle pull, and I'll open the door for you!"
Hydrus nodded in satisfaction, watching the vault door slowly close.
'Count money? What's there to count?
Six thousand nine hundred forty-four Galleons plus one thousand Galleons... isn't that just seven thousand nine hundred forty-four?'
'If I'm going to count money, I'm going to count the money upstairs!'
'Switch constitution!'
'House-elf, activate!'
'Look up, estimate the distance, and go!'
When she reappeared, Hydrus was already inside vault 833, her head only three or four inches from the ceiling.
She stuck out her tongue; that was a bit risky.
If the travel distance had been just a tiny bit further, her head would have been stuck in the stone.
The vault was about four meters high. Hydrus did a free-fall, letting her body drop.
She landed lightly on the ground, and the magic lamps in the vault lit up on their own.
"Tsk," Hydrus frowned as she looked at the vault's contents. "Why is there so little!"
In the Grays' vault, there was a large pile of Golden Galleons, along with a scattering of silver Sickles and bronze Knuts.
Other than that, two leather-bound books lay quietly in a corner.
It wasn't that there weren't many Galleons, but the amount was far less than Hydrus had expected. By her estimation, the Grays' savings should definitely be more than this.
'But none of that matters anymore. Whatever the amount, I'll take it all!'
Hydrus's eyes crinkled in pleasure as she began to stuff Galleons into her sachet.
'Joy!
This is simply too joyous!'
Her hands danced as she grabbed the Galleons, moving so fast they left afterimages.
In just one short minute, she had emptied the entire vault.
Her sachet only had one cubic meter of space, but it was more than enough to hold less than ten thousand Galleons.
She thought it would take several trips to empty it, but now it seemed the Gray family's vault was rather unimpressive.
Returning to her own vault, Hydrus poured out all her spoils.
She had truly emptied out the Grays, not leaving them so much as a Sickle or Knut.
'Now,
this is the real time for counting money!'
Half an hour later, Hydrus had a clear concept of her assets.
In total: sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty-one Golden Galleons, six hundred twenty-two silver Sickles, and one thousand three hundred nineteen bronze Knuts.
She put the two strange books away, storing them with her potions.
She hummed a little song and pulled the ring on the back of the door.
Clank, clank, clank...
The sound of the lock opening seemed to harmonize with her singing, as if keeping rhythm for her.
The door opened. Puzzi stood outside, his face respectful. His gaze swept over the pile of coins in the vault, and his heart skipped a beat.
'So, Miss Astley hadn't taken all her money out earlier!'
'This pile of Galleons... by my estimate, it must be nearly twenty thousand! More than enough to buy the highest-tier vault. What an excellent client!'
"Miss Astley, your singing voice is so beautiful! If your songs were played on the Wizarding Wireless Network, I would certainly be your number one fan!"
"Thank you, Puzzi," Hydrus took the key from the goblin banker and stored it away again. "Let's go up first. The air down here is truly awful."
"As you wish, Miss!"
Puzzi escorted her all the way, looking reluctant to see her go even after she had exited Gringotts.
Only when Hydrus had walked into Twilfitt and Tatting's did Puzzi sigh with regret, turn around, and go back to work.
...
Twilfitt and Tatting's was considered a high-end clothing store in the wizarding world, with a very different clientele from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Hydrus entered the shop, and an assistant immediately came up to greet her.
"Hello, Miss. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Hydrus asked, "Do you have any clothes here that can change their appearance at will?"
The assistant clapped her hands. "You've certainly come to the right place! You could search the entire British wizarding world and never find such clothes! But as it happens, our shop has them!"
She led Hydrus to a corner of the shop where a plain white dress was displayed, all alone.
The assistant began her enthusiastic introduction: "This was our boss's creation from last year, but because the materials used are too precious and the design too complex, the selling price is a bit high, so..."
Hydrus asked, "How high?"
"Let's not talk about the price just yet. First, let me introduce this outfit to you," the assistant, knowing she had misspoken, immediately glossed it over, speaking at a rapid pace,
"This dress is enchanted with a Permanent Transfiguration Charm; it can change into any style you desire! Of course, it can also grow larger or smaller to fit any woman's figure, so it's always a perfect fit! It's wind-proof, water-proof, and fire-proof—Fiendfyre excluded! It comes with a self-cleaning charm and a mending charm, so it's indestructible and never needs washing! And after buying it, you will become a premium customer of Twilfitt and Tatting's, entitled to enjoy..."
Hydrus cut her off impatiently, "I said! How much?"
The assistant stopped awkwardly. "Um, four hundred and fifty Galleons," she glanced at Hydrus's face, then continued, "Although it's a bit expensive, it's absolutely worth the price. Believe me, you won't regret buying it. It's one-of-a-kind in our shop..."
"Be quiet!"
Hydrus took out a money pouch. Puzzi had given it to her; he had given her four in total, each capable of holding exactly five hundred Galleons.
Tossing the pouch to the assistant, Hydrus said, "Here are five hundred Galleons. Count out fifty and give them back to me. I'm going in to change."
With that, Hydrus took the white dress right off the display and disappeared into the changing room.
The assistant, holding the heavy money pouch, was speechless.
'If you're this rich, you should have said so earlier! Even though I'm just a rookie fresh out of school, talking that much is exhausting!'
...
Leaving Twilfitt and Tatting's, Hydrus's body was once again adorned in the outfit she'd worn upon entering Diagon Alley—that cute, pretty little dress.
Only now, the back of the dress no longer bore the mark of the spell's scorch. The assistant at Twilfitt's was right; this dress was a rather impressive alchemical item. Hydrus felt extremely comfortable wearing it.
Her skirt swayed as she skipped forward on the historic cobblestones of Diagon Alley.
Her light steps made it clear to everyone that she was in an excellent mood.
She still needed to buy a pet, and also some Hogwarts textbooks. Although she didn't want to attend classes at Hogwarts, being a "magical illiterate" was indeed quite embarrassing.
When she switched to her house-elf constitution, she could cast magic. Although the casting method was completely different from a wizard's, all roads led to the same destination.
She almost forgot, she now had her goblin constitution to use as well.
For that, she had Puzzi to thank.
Before she left, the goblin banker had been extremely enthusiastic, insisting on shaking her hand! This had allowed her to snag the goblin constitution for free.
It was another constitution that could use magic, and the goblin constitution's greatest feature was—super-strong talent for alchemy.
This was an unexpected bonus.
'A pet, books...
What else to buy...
Right! I need to buy some snacks for Rick!
Chocolate Frogs would be a bit too shocking for a Muggle. Maybe I'll just get him some ice cream!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]