"When you turn eleven, you will receive the most unforgettable gift of your life."
Ignoring Vernon, who was round as a ball, Rey smiled and said to Harry standing at the door.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
After chatting for so long, the scrawny Harry finally remembered to ask for Rey's name.
"Rey MacFusty. You can call me Rey."
"I'm Harry Potter."
"Get inside! Who allowed you to make friends?"
Vernon slapped Harry on the back of the head, opened the door, and shoved him inside. Then he sneered at Rey, wanting to say something, but was immediately frightened by Rey's cold expression.
At first, he felt Rey wasn't someone to mess with, so he remained silent for a while. But as an adult, he didn't expect to be scared by a child. So at this moment, he exploded, taking all his anger out on Harry.
Not daring to speak, Vernon went inside with some lingering fear and slammed the door shut with a bang.
"Truly ignorant."
Muttering in his heart and shaking his head, Rey walked away slowly.
Vernon appeared detestable on the surface, but in reality, he was just a normal person consumed by jealousy.
The magical world was something ordinary people couldn't even imagine. His jealousy might stem from wondering why his own son didn't have this ability, but Harry Potter did. Both husband and wife might have had this thought, which Rey believed was the real reason for their mistreatment of Harry.
However, such mistreatment mostly amounted to giving Harry the most ordinary living conditions; at least they raised him.
Harry should be considered doing okay here.
"Okay" here didn't refer to material things, but at least in such an environment, he maintained a kind heart and correct values.
All thanks to Dumbledore's decision to have Harry grow up in an ordinary family.
If he were placed in a wizarding family, given that he was famous in the magical world from birth, the possibility of him growing up crooked would be very high.
excessive fame is not a good thing for a child, but a very heavy burden.
Just as he walked back onto the street, Rey noticed someone peeking from the building opposite.
Looking up, he saw an old woman standing by the window.
A woman, very old, around sixty or seventy, standing where the curtain was half-open, looking at Rey.
Rey met her gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. In the dark night scene, this old woman stealing glances from the window felt like walking onto the set of a horror movie.
Indeed scary enough!
Perhaps sensing Rey's gaze, the old woman smiled and pulled the curtain shut.
Taking a deep breath, feeling he was overthinking, Rey gave a helpless self-deprecating laugh and walked back.
He had been out for a while; presumably, Willy Bruce and the other two had already discussed a detailed result.
---
Late at night, after the discussion, Rey took the Knight Bus back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Once Willy Bruce bought the property in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Rey could move out of the pub.
Living in a big villa might bring a hint of excitement, but more so, Rey was thinking about how to build his team.
Hunting vampires and other dark creatures sounded nice and simple. Ordinary people, as long as they could use magical tools and underwent intensive training, could be competent.
This idea wasn't wrong, but in reality, it wasn't that easy.
Training was a difficulty.
If it were general training to enhance personal speed and strength, Philip August was absolutely competent. However, he really didn't know much about dark creatures.
The only thing he learned might be from Martin Stemple, who transformed in front of several people tonight.
Moreover, regarding those so-called magical tools, potions, etc., how many specific types there were and what to buy, Rey had no clue.
"It's harder than imagined."
Rey sighed with mixed feelings, lying in bed and slowly falling asleep. Find some time, he might have to check out Knockturn Alley.
At noon the next day, Rey woke up.
This sleep was equally sweet; he didn't expect to sleep for such a long time.
After the experience of sleeping until two months later, Rey became very sleepy. Like a hibernating animal that hadn't fully awakened yet.
After hurriedly tidying up, Rey yawned and went downstairs, came to the back alley of the Leaky Cauldron, took out his wand, and tapped the stone bricks on the wall in order.
After tapping, the stone bricks rotated, forming an archway. The diverse and lively Diagon Alley appeared before Rey.
Approaching the start of school, there were particularly many people on the street taking children to buy school supplies.
Delicious food, fun things, flying broomsticks, various pets.
There were many shops on the street, but almost none were useful for Muggles. Rey believed that apart from potion shops, he probably couldn't find magical tools usable by Muggles.
---
Before going to the potion shop, Rey had to go to Gringotts to exchange some money.
Gringotts, the bank of the wizarding world, was also the only bank that could exchange pounds for Galleons.
The towering, crooked white building could be seen at a glance. This was indeed the largest storefront in Diagon Alley, but it gave the feeling of being in danger of collapsing.
Goblins in scarlet and gold uniforms stood on both sides of the bronze gate. When Rey walked here, they bowed and saluted.
No matter who entered, as long as they walked into the bank, they were customers, and the goblins would salute meticulously.
Although respectful, it was a fixed pattern, without a trace of a smile, and one couldn't feel any welcoming enthusiasm.
This is the goblin, the rigid goblin.
Seeing these rigid goblins, Rey couldn't help thinking that these guys seemed to have no superfluous emotions, just doing things according to the rules; they were a group of the most responsible bank employees.
Passing through the second pair of silver doors, he entered a spacious marble hall.
The hall was very bright. About a hundred goblins sat behind a long counter. Some were weighing gold on scales, and some were examining gems with magnifying glasses. More were focused on the ledgers in front of them, occasionally making thumping sounds of stamping.
Walking straight to the desk in the middle at the far end, a goblin wearing glasses, with white hair almost gone, wearing a suit, was writing something with a quill.
"Hello!" Rey came here and interrupted the goblin's action.
Hearing the sound, the goblin leaned his head forward and glanced at Rey.
Although this goblin was short, he sat very high; Rey's height only reached his high desktop.
He didn't speak, just staring at Rey like this.
"Hello, I want to exchange some pounds for Galleons."
Rey stated his purpose. The goblin didn't speak but kept looking at Rey, signaling Rey to state his purpose.
Such a bank employee's attitude could be considered quite terrible. However, Rey didn't make a fuss. After all, goblins were very rigid and stuck to rules. If he didn't give you a look, then he wouldn't be a Gringotts goblin.
---
"Excuse me, who are you?" The goblin stared at Rey in front of him and asked in confusion.
"Rey MacFusty."
"To exchange for Galleons, you must first open a vault. Do you have a key to a vault?" The goblin had no excessive expression; serious as he was, he looked like a speaking robot.
"Um, no." After a slight hesitation, Rey answered. Perhaps he thought things too simply. To exchange for Galleons, were there other requirements?
"The exchange rate is 1:5. The exchange amount cannot be less than 1 million Galleons. If you need a small exchange, there is a special window on the right side of the hall."
The goblin stated the exchange rate, then stared closely at Rey, waiting for his reply.
1 million Galleons was not a small amount, so he first asked Rey if he had his own vault. If not, he must open one at Gringotts.
"Okay, please open a vault for me. I want to exchange for 10 million Galleons."
Doing business at Gringotts, one thing could be assured: personal data information would absolutely not be revealed by the goblins.
They wouldn't ask about the source of your money. As long as you could produce that much money, he would exchange it for you in full.
"Very well, Mr. Rey MacFusty, please follow me."
The goblin paused for a moment, then nodded. He got down from the stool and walked inward. He signaled Rey to follow him; presumably, he was preparing to take him to choose a vault.