The Grangers, having overheard their conversation, also turned to look at the handsome blond young man.
"Are you Hermione's classmate?"
"Yes, Mr Granger, Hermione and I are classmates." Ethan Jones smiled very nicely.
Looking at her daughter's shy smile, Mrs Granger guessed some of what she was thinking.
"Hello, Ethan. It seems you will also be enrolling at Hogwarts. I hope you can take care of each other in your new environment."
Hermione tugged at her mother's sleeve, signalling her to stop talking.
Mrs Granger smiled slightly as she looked at her daughter's face, which was so red it looked like it was about to bleed.
Ethan politely took his leave and found a goblin to take him down to the underground vault.
This time he performed better than last time; at least he didn't vomit while underground.
Under the goblin's pained gaze, as if he were robbing him of his money, he took another four hundred Galleons.
Back on the ground, he vomited for a while while hugging a pillar before entering the hall, his face pale.
He was surprised to find that Hermione's family and Professor McGonagall were all waiting for him.
"Sorry, I wasn't feeling well earlier, so I got back a little late."
Hermione looked at his pale face with concern and whispered, "Is the underground vault really that scary?"
"It's terrifying! We have to go all the way down and cross the territory of a grey-white fire dragon. To get the Galleons from the vault, we'll have to outwit and outmanoeuvre the dragon guarding the treasure. It's horrible!" Ethan teased Hermione, feigning fear.
"Ah!" She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a terrified scream: "A fire dragon! Does such a creature really exist?!"
"Ethan, don't deliberately make up lies to scare Hermione," Professor McGonagall said with a smile.
Realising she had been tricked, Hermione lightly slapped his arm and angrily hid behind her parents.
"Sorry, sorry, it was just a joke. There really is a fire dragon down there, but it's the guardian of the vault. I'm just a little carsick because the underground is so rugged." He apologised to Hermione, who was peeking at him through the gaps between her parents' bodies.
"Hmph!" Hermione snorted and pulled her parents outside.
Ethan quickly followed, telling her jokes with a grin to cheer her up.
Finally, Hermione couldn't help but laugh out loud and rolled her eyes at him.
Seeing Hermione smile, he chuckled too, slung his bag over his shoulder, and went through the purchasing process that Professor McGonagall had just led him through.
Hermione didn't buy a pet, and she didn't spend as much time choosingUpd a wand as he did, so she finished everything in just one hour and started buying the final teaching materials.
Ethan carried all the clothes he had retrieved from Madam Malkin's on his back, and took a big bite of an ice cream he had just bought from Florean Fortescue's.
He said to Hermione, who was slowly licking her ice-cream cone, "How is it? Doesn't it taste pretty good? It's a bit different from the ice cream we usually eat. It's a novel experience, isn't it?"
"Hmm." Hermione nodded slightly, glancing cautiously at her parents, who were dentists.
Ethan noticed her little gesture, turned to the Grangers and smiled brightly, revealing his pearly white teeth smeared with a little ice-cream sauce.
He had actually wanted to buy five, but Professor McGonagall refused because she didn't like sweets, and the Grangers hated food that could damage teeth, so in the end only he and Hermione each took one.
"Your teeth are in good condition." Mr Granger acknowledged Ethan's teeth.
Back at Flourish and Blotts, the first thing Sofia Jones asked when she saw Ethan was, "Why did it take you so long?"
Before he could answer, she saw Hermione beside him and Professor McGonagall and the Grangers behind him.
She stood up and gracefully performed a ladylike bow to the group.
"Mum, this is my classmate Hermione Granger, and these two are her parents."
Ethan introduced her: "This is my mother, Sofia Jones."
He glanced around and saw his father reading a book on the other side. He called out, "Here, Dad!"
He pointed to his father, who was walking towards them: "My father, Albert Jones."
The two men each began exchanging pleasantries with the Grangers, typical of adults. Soon, Professor McGonagall joined in, chatting with the two ladies about skincare.
Although one is a witch and the others are Muggles, it seems that women are all pretty much the same when it comes to pursuing beauty.
Ethan, familiar with the process, helped Hermione buy the necessary textbooks.
Seeing the five adults chatting happily in twos and threes, he didn't disturb them.
Seeing Hermione take out a book he had already bought, he stopped her, saying, "I've already bought this book. You can buy some other books, and we can exchange them during the holidays. If you're really interested, it's not too late to buy another one."
"Okay." Hermione blushed again, though she didn't know which sentence had triggered her associations.
She picked up a copy of Hogwarts: A History that Ethan hadn't bought, and then went to other bookshelves.
After browsing around, Ethan had seven more books in his hands, and Hermione had five more.
"Dad, Mum! Is there any book you want to buy? I'll pay for it all at once."
"Here he comes!" Albert left Sofia behind to continue chatting with the Grangers and Professor McGonagall, and came over carrying a pile of fairy tales and novels about the wizarding world.
"Wow, Dad, you've bought a lot of books." Ethan exclaimed in surprise, looking at the stack of books, which must have been more than twenty.
"Hey, it's not easy to come here, of course we should buy more. Son, how much money did you withdraw? Your mother wants to buy some more potions. She said what she just bought is not enough for a year, so she plans to buy some more."
"I withdrew four hundred. After I pay, I'll see how much is left. If not, I'll go get another one." He had a look of grim determination on his face.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell your mum to be careful with the money. It should be enough for about a year." Albert, feeling sorry for his son, immediately changed his mind.
"Is it really that scary?" Hermione, who had never experienced it, looked at Ethan with suspicion.
This gave him a slightly wicked idea: "Dad, no need, you two chat first. Anyway, Hermione's robe won't be ready for a while, I'll take her to try it."
"Huh?" Albert was startled. Having experienced it once before, he never wanted to go through it again. He wasn't sure if his son was joking, so he asked Hermione, "Hermione, what are your plans?"
This only fuelled her curiosity: "I want to experience it, Mr Jones."
"Well then, good luck." Albert shuddered, feeling a pang of sympathy for the suffering she was about to endure.
With his backpack on again, Ethan headed toward Gringotts for the third time.
The goblins greeting guests at the entrance all recognised him. After their usual bow, they complained, "It's you again! You've come three times today!"
Ethan chuckled, ignoring their complaints, and led Hermione inside.
He took Hermione on a free ride through the maze, and then took four hundred Galleons from the vault.
Knowing that Hermione was holding back from vomiting, he still teased her in a cheeky way: "Did you see that fire dragon? It's white and grey, and it's huge."
Although he was also pale, Ethan had gotten a little used to the rhythm after taking the underground cart six times that day, and this time he was obviously stronger than the last time.
A sentence inexplicably popped into his mind: "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger!"
Helping the somewhat weak Hermione out of Gringotts after she had vomited, they first went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to wait for a while, picked up her robe, and then returned to Flourish and Blotts.