[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

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  Although Harry hadn't ied much with Hagrid, he could tell that Hagrid had a deep sense of belonging to the school where he worked, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that he loved it dearly.

  It must be a great pce if the staff are so fond of it. Harry thought to himself. He vividly remembered how Vernon Dursley pined about his presence every single day.

  Beyond the silver door, two goblins greeted them again ahem into a grand hall paved with marble. Around a hundred goblins sat on high stools behind a row e ters oher side. Some were weighing gold and silver s oal scales, while others carefully examined gemstohrough magnifying lenses. A few were rec transas in massive ledgers that seemed disproportionately rge pared to their small frames.

  Some goblins were esc people in and out of those doors, and the pce seemed incredibly busy.

  Hagrid led Harry to a ter where a goblin was seated.

  "Good m!" Hagrid said. "We o withdraw some money from Harry Potter's vault!" As he spoke, he nudged Harry forward.

  "Very well, Mr. Potter. Do you have your key with you?" the goblin behind the ter asked, looking Harry up and down.

  His voice was sharp, somewhat like Auunia’s, only harsher. But Harry found the goblin fasating. There was no doubt about his gender, given his appearance.

  "Ah, yes! I brought it, I brought it, I brought it!"

  Beside him, Hagrid patted his forehead with his massive hand, then rubbed his arms for a moment.

  He rummaged through his enormous coat, pulling out an assortment of objects. Most of them looked like junk to Harry, but to his astonishment, he spotted a live owl among them!

  Luckily, there were no cockroaches or lizards, otherwise, Harry might have been too wary to let this giant man touch him iure. Not that he articurly afraid of is.

  Just as Harry started w that kied but slightly scatterbrained Hagrid might have fotten t his key, Hagrid finally fished out a small golden key.

  However, instead of handing it to the goblin, he gave it to Harry. "Harry, this is the key to your vault! You must keep it safe! Of course, you'll be getting a wand soon. Once you've registered it, you’ll be able to use it to prove your identity."

  Harry smacked his lips. By now, Hagrid had mentiohe wand quite a few times. Yet, he hadn’t seen one. Hagrid himself wasn’t carrying a wand.

  Harry’s eyes shifted to the small red umbrel clutched in Hagrid’s arms.

  Nodding to himself, Harry took the key and exami. The weight of it made him wonder if it was actually made of gold. Then, he ha over to the goblin.

  The goblin ied it carefully and nodded approvingly. "Looks good.”

  "ht!" Hagrid suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled a letter from another pocket. "I also have a letter from Professor Dumbledore. About the object, in the safe you know whie!" As he spoke, he hahe letter over.

  The goblin took it, read it carefully, aated before saying, "So soon? I thought it would be ter."

  "Well, yes, that’s what Dumbledore arranged." Hagrid looked slightly embarrassed but still tried to appear posed.

  The goblin said nothing but gave a nod and called out, "Griphook! Take them.”

  A goblin named Griphook led Harry and Hagrid through a door behind the ter. Harry gnced around curiously, only to find that behind the door was a narrow stone passage with a steep dest, a rather dull sight.

  Finding it uing, Harry, recalling what Hagrid had just said, whispered, "Hagrid, what's ihe Vault?"

  "Ah, well, that’s... I 't tell you!" Hagrid shook his head. "It's a Hogwarts secret. Dumbledore entrusted me with it because he trusts me! This is a highly fidential task, and it’s really not something I share with you!"

  Harry shrugged and didn’t press further.

  Ahead of them, Griphook led the way down the passage. Below them, a set of tracks extended into unknowhs underground.

  What followed was the most thrilling roller coaster ride of Harry’s life! He silently swore to himself that he would ake that ride again unless absolutely necessary.

  ————————————

  As Harry stepped out otts, his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

  There was no way to hide his smile!

  Although Hagrid had told him that his te father had left him a siderable fortune, actually seeing hundreds of thousands of gold Galleons piled before him had made Harry’s heart race with shock.

  The Dursleys had never been particurly generous with him, and he had rarely had money of his own to spend.

  Of course, Dudley hadly been showered with cash either, so Harry had never felt particurly resentful about it.

  Even so, wheuffed over a hundred gold s into his pocket, an unfamiliar yet exhirating joy surged through him.

  The only downside was that, despite being only slightly rger than buttons, the sheer number of gold s made them surprisingly heavy! His trousers kept slipping down, f him to tug them up repeatedly, until Hagrid noticed and handed him a small pouch made of some unknowher.

  Harry found the little bag fasating!

  Although it didn’t seem very rge, it held far more than it appeared to from the outside. More importantly, even after stuffing in hundreds of s, it didn’t gain a at all!

  "That was made by two funny little blokes from the academy. Well, you’ll meet them when you get to Hogwarts. They’re troublemakers, but very talented!" Hagrid said with a grin wheiced how ied Harry was in the pouch.

  Harry nodded eagerly, his excitement about studying magic at Hrowing even stronger. He was also curious about something else, his gaze drifted to Hagrid’s thick coat, where, in an inner pocket, the half-giant had tucked away a small bag retrieved from Vault. Harry couldn’t help but wonder what was inside.

  After that, Hagrid took Harry to buy his school supplies. Harry had asked Hagrid in adva to mention his name, so this time there were no awkward handshaking is.

  First, they bought books, followed by cauldrons, gss phials, telescopes, and scales.

  The eight books were all thid heavy, but Hagrid casually tied them together with a rope and carried them with ease, as if they weighed no more than a bottle of water.

  "Now, let’s get your robes." Hagrid didn’t remember the entire shopping list, but Harry had memorized it and was able to remind him. He poio Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions just a short distance away, hesitated for a moment, and said:

  "Harry, would you mind going in on your own? I want to stop by the Leaky Cauldron for a drink. That cart ride made me feel awful."

  Hagrid had already shown his disfort with roller coasters ba Gringotts. Harry had felt queasy as well, though not as obviously as Hagrid. After all, he and Dudley had goo amusement parks a few times a year, and roller coasters had always been a must, though this one had been at least a huimes more intense.

  Hearing Hagrid’s request, Harry immediately nodded and fshed a big smile. "No problem, I ha."

  "Alright, I’ll drop this off in your room first." Hagrid beamed.

  Even though he had said he was fine, Harry still felt a little nervous as he stepped into the shop alone.

  Fortunately, Madam Malkin was very friendly, and she mistook Harry firl.

  Although he had pyed along with this mix-up tless times before, it still amused him, and he found himself rexing quite a bit.

  What relieved Harry even more was that the woman didn’t reize him. He decided not to reveal his identity until it was absolutely necessary.

  Of course, in the end, he would have to put his name on the robe’s bel anyway.

  Madam Malkin called over a young witch to take Harry’s measurements. A moment ter, anirl ehe shop.

  She wasn’t very tall, about the same height as Harry, with long, thick brown hair and very fair skin, which made the freckles on her face stand out even more. She had rge eyes, a small nose and mouth.

  Madam Malki over to greet the newer.

  "My dear, are you a first-year student? Do you need a -fitted robe?" she asked warmly.

  "Good m, ma’am," the girl replied with a polite smile. "I’m irely sure about the process, but yes, I do need a fitted robe."

  Despite admitting her uainty, her tone and posture remained remarkably posed, almost proud, even.

  Madam Malkin’s smile grew even more weling. She seated the girl o Harry and instructed another assistant to take her measurements.

  "Hello? First year?" the girl asked, gng at Harry.

  "Yes," Harry replied, deliberately l his voice. He was curious to see the girl’s rea when she realized he was actually a boy. Given how fident and slightly arrogant she had seemed when she walked in, her surprise would surely be amusing.

  To his surprise, the girl simply nodded before tilting her head slightly and saying, "You do realize, don’t you? You look quite a bit, well, not just a bit, but a lot, like a girl. Why do you keep your hair long? It’s easy to be mistaken."

  Harry blinked in shock. "Wait… You knew I was a boy from the start?"

  "Of course!" the girl replied as if it were obvious. Then she pointed first at her chest, then at Harry’s Adam’s apple. "It’s not that hard to tell, is it?"

  Harry: “…”

  This girl had an incredible eye for detail.

  At eleven or twelve, many girls had already started developing, but plenty hadn’t. Oher hand, unless a boy articurly ht, his Adam’s apple was usually visible.

  Yet before now, everyone had been fooled by Harry’s face. She was the first person to notice Adam's apple right away.

  "I’m Granger, Hermione Granger," the girl introduced herself proudly. "You’re a first-year at Hogwarts tht?"

  "Um, yeah..."

  Harry hesitated. He still wasn’t keen on revealing his name, fearing it would cause unnecessary reas. But if he refused to introduce himself now, it would seem rude. He had no choice but to say, "I’m Harry. Harry Potter."

  "o meet you," Hermione hen, nothing.

  That surprised Harry again. This girl was very strange.

  However, while Hermione didn’t react, the assistant measuring their robes suddenly froze. Almost at the same moment, several witches in the shop gasped.

  "Harry Potter?" they excimed in unison.

  And so, under Hermione’s puzzled gaze, Harry once again found himself shaking hands with every single person in Madam Malkin’s.

  "Are you famous?" Hermione asked, frowning slightly. "Are you, uh, what’s it called? Quidditch, right? The son of a Quidditch star?"

  "I suppose...?" Harry said uainty.

  He had no idea what Quidditch was, nor whether he was really the son of a famous wizarding athlete.

  But then again, if a famous person's son walked dowreet in the wizarding world and got mobbed with handshakes, that wouldn’t seem particurly reasoher.

  At that moment, the assistant fiaking Harry’s measurements, and just in time, Hagrid appeared in the shop doorway, holding two enormous ice cream es and grinning at Harry.

  "Wow." Hermione’s already rge eyes widened even further as she stared up at Hagrid, who was several sizes bigger than a normal person.

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