Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 328 Stepping in
Holidays are undoubtedly a joyful thing. Even after experiencing so many sad and shocking things, the next morning when everyone took their luggage and boarded the return Hogwarts Express, most of them had smiles on their faces.

of course there are exceptions.

Harry Potter.

He seemed a little depressed sitting in the carriage, which was not surprising, as the series of events that happened some time ago were really a huge blow to him.

First, there was Krum's death, then his good friend Hagrid was seriously injured and almost died, Voldemort who killed his parents came back to life, and finally a little physical discomfort made him look so depressed now.

Everyone thought so, even his best friends Hermione and Ron.

But what others don’t know is that the reason why he was frowning today was entirely because he saw someone.

Autumn Zhang.

And the ring that Qiu Zhang wore on the ring finger of his right hand.

The ring was extremely beautiful, with a large diamond inlaid on it, which reflected a gorgeous rainbow-like glow under the sunlight.

Harry had never seen a diamond before, so he had no idea whether the glow was the natural color of the diamond or due to magic.

But the moment he saw the ring, Mike remembered that Cedric had privately asked Mike to prepare a pair of rings for him, and said that he wanted to use that ring to get engaged to Qiu Zhang.

'Cedric, has this been successful?'

Harry kept asking himself this question in his mind.

Although it was not a good thing to indulge in love at such a critical moment when Voldemort returned, Harry still couldn't control himself from thinking about Cho Zhang.

This made him very uncomfortable.

He really wanted to find someone to talk to, but this matter was too embarrassing, so embarrassing that he didn't dare to talk to Hermione and Ron.

The only person he felt he could talk to was Mike.

Harry felt that after the night of the Trifinals, the relationship between him and Mike had been sublimated. He would never forget the joy and gratitude in his heart when Mike stretched out his hand and said he would take him home.

It's a pity that Mike has no intention of helping the little kid solve his emotional problems now.

At this moment, he and other Freemasons were sitting in a carriage separated from the members of the mutual aid society, discussing the tasks of each member during the holiday.

The first is Penelope.

She has officially graduated from Hogwarts, although due to various reasons, she did not perform very well in the final wizarding exam.

But none of this matters anymore, because she is about to join the Los Santos Group and serve as the secretary of the group's boss, Mike.

The first task her boss assigned her was to issue a bounty for the Slytherin pendant. The bounty amount was: 1000 gold Galleons for anyone who provided information, and 10000 gold Galleons for anyone who directly submitted the pendant.

Mike believed that unless the pendant box had already fallen into the hands of a wealthy pure-blood noble, as long as the owner of the pendant box saw the reward, he would definitely rush over to give the pendant box to him.

After all, the money he gave was really too much, enough to support a person's expenses for most of his life.

On the other hand, Benjamin, Franklin and others were also assigned a task by Mike, which was to accompany him to Gringotts to scout the area.

Although Gringotts' defense system is not as impeccable as others boast, Mike, as a professional robber, knows that even a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. They must be perfect in their preparations, because the preparations they make now may very likely save their lives when the operation is carried out.

This was what an old friend of his who was in a wheelchair warned him in his previous life.

That old friend was the think tank of their team and almost all the actions were planned by him, so Mike always believed in what he said.

When Mike finished arranging all the characters, the train finally arrived at the station.

The people in the carriage left the carriage one after another, deliberately dispersed and mixed in with the crowd getting off the train and walked towards the platform.

Around them were crowded students who were anxious to go home and parents who came to pick up their children, and the platform was in chaos.

But even in such a chaotic place, the Freemasons seemed to have telepathy with each other and looked towards the young man who was slowly walking down from the train door.

The blond boy seemed to have noticed their smiles and nodded at them.

The Freemasons also had smiles on their faces and walked out of the station in all directions along the platform without hesitation.

They all knew that the first major mission since the founding of Freemasonry had begun!

……

The next day, Mike took Benjamin and Franklin, who had just spent a night reunited with their family, to Gringotts.

This time, their task was to record everything they saw in Gringotts.

Therefore, Franklin and Benjamin both wore a pair of black-framed glasses on their noses. This was Victor's latest research work. Its mirror surface was engraved with dense ancient magic runes, which gave it the ability to record images.

It is said that the reason why Victor studied such a prop was entirely due to the influence of 007 movies.

Of course, this is all irrelevant.

Mike walked in the front, while Franklin and Benjamin followed him half a step behind, and walked into the tall white building in the center of Diagon Alley.

The first thing that caught everyone's eye was the famous bronze door and the warning words on it to warn anyone who had any intention of spying on Gringotts.

Franklin and Benjamin looked at each other and laughed in unison. The scene before them was indeed quite funny. They came here just to prepare to rob Gringotts.

Two goblin guards wearing scarlet uniforms inlaid with gold stood by the bronze door. They took a look at the group of three and their eyes suddenly lit up.

Today Mike visited Gringotts as the president of Los Santos Group, so he was dressed formally.

Franklin and Benjamin are now Mike's assistants, so today they are both dressed in suits and look like decent people.

Benjamin even combed his hair back, which made him look a lot more mature and indeed like a social elite.

But Benjamin's hairstyle today made Franklin very unhappy.

He originally wanted to have a nice hairstyle, but unfortunately, Nig's hair quality was really bad. Franklin was the worst of the worst. He had already become almost bald at a young age, so he could only shave his head.

Franklin and Benjamin followed behind Mike, one on each side, making Mike look like a rich young man with bodyguards and butlers!

That's right, the two goblin guards regarded Benjamin and Franklin as butlers and bodyguards. They really couldn't be blamed for this. In the wizarding world, there was no concept of business elites at all. The most common ones were families.

So even though Benjamin dressed himself like an elite white-collar worker, in the eyes of the guards, the identity that best matched his temperament was that of a butler.

As for Franklin, with his muscular body that made his entire suit bulge out and his ferocious and serious face, it was impossible not to mistake him for a gangster or a bodyguard.

"Dear guest! Are you here to handle business at Gringotts?"

An elf guard asked the leading Mike with a flattering smile, while the slightly taller guard behind him had a look of annoyance on his face, as if he was wondering why he was overtaken by his companion.

“I’ll save the money.”

Mike had a serious expression and spoke briefly, and his attitude could be said to be quite bad.

However, the goblin guard did not feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, the flattery on his face became even stronger.

"Please follow me, dear sir!"

After saying that, the goblin guard hurriedly opened the door for Mike and led a few people inside.

The scene in the hall of Gringotts had not changed much from the last time Mike came. There were many counters densely distributed in the spacious hall. Among them were counters specializing in the identification of gems and antiques, as well as counters for pawning or redeeming pawned items. Of course, the counters for depositing and withdrawing gold Galleons were the most numerous.

Since Hogwarts had just closed for the holiday, many people came to Gringotts to withdraw money to spend in Diagon Alley, so at this time Gringotts was very crowded and bustling with customers everywhere who came to handle business. Some counters even had long queues.

However, those queuing were all common people, so a distinguished guest like Mike naturally didn't have to endure such a long wait.

"Dear guest, may I ask your name?"

"Mike, Mike Townley."

The goblin guard's eyes rolled around a few times, and finally his multicolored pupils shrank suddenly, and he screamed:
"Are you Mr. Townley? The CEO of Los Santos Corporation?"

Mike nodded expressionlessly.

Mike was not surprised at all that the goblin knew his name. The Triwizard Tournament had brought him huge fame, and the Los Santos Group had also been expanding at an astonishing rate in the past two years.

If he were a normal person, the reputation of the Triwizard Tournament champion might be even more resounding, but for greedy creatures like goblins, reputation is worthless. They only care about gold galleons.

"Oh! Please forgive me for my poor eyesight and bringing you here, Mr. Townley! Please follow me, this is the VIP counter!"

The goblin was hunched over, as if he was kneeling on the ground.

Mike's mouth curled up slightly when he heard that, and with a flick of his wrist, a shining gold Galleon shot towards it.

"For your reward."

The gold coin was thrown a little far away by Mike. Seeing this, the fairy flew over without hesitation and grabbed the gold coin in his hand. His action was so fast that even Mike was a little stunned.

"Thank you, my generous guest! You are the kindest person in the world!"

The goblin continued to offer compliments, seemingly hoping for more.

Unfortunately, Mike didn't intend to waste time on it and simply waved to let it lead the way.

A hint of disappointment flashed across the goblin's face, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he took Mike to a huge counter.

This counter is really huge. The tall counter is nearly two meters high, which makes the fairy teller sitting inside look a little superior.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

An old goblin wearing gold-rimmed glasses at the counter asked with a smile.

"My name is Mike Townley. I'm going to my vault to deposit some money." Mike still had a blank expression on his face. He pointed at Benjamin and Franklin behind him and said, "These two are my secretaries. They will come here to deposit and withdraw gold Galleons on my behalf in the future."

The old goblin squinted his eyes and looked at Benjamin and Franklin, which made Franklin and Benjamin very nervous.

Fortunately, the old goblin's gaze did not linger on the two of them for too long. After looking at the three of them for a few times, he began to mutter Mike's name while flipping through an incredibly thick account book.

"Aha, I found it. Mr. Townley, you are the VIP of the second-level vault, right?" The old goblin saw Mike nod, and the corners of his mouth opened, revealing his ferocious fangs. "Given your current status and wealth, I strongly recommend that you upgrade the vault to the first level!"

Mike smiled when he heard that.

Gringotts' vaults are divided into four categories: levels one to three and the public vault.

The public vault, as the name suggests, is a vault that provides storage services to ordinary customers, while levels one to three are private vaults with professional security.

Not only are there a large number of magical restrictions in the first-level vault, but it is also located right next to the fire dragon guards, so the defense can be said to be seamless.

The defense of the second-level and third-level vaults is much weaker. Like the second-level vault Mike had before, there were actually not too many magical restrictions attached to it, and it was also quite a distance away from the nests guarded by the fire dragon and the Sphinx.

At this time, the old goblin on the opposite side obviously recognized Mike's identity as the president of Saint City, so he wanted Mike to upgrade the vault.

The purpose of Mike and others coming to Gringotts this time was to scout the place. They were originally worried about not being able to enter the first-level vault, but unexpectedly, someone brought them a pillow when they fell sleepy.

"That's the best. To be honest, I'm a little worried about keeping so much money in a secondary vault."

After hearing what Mike said, the smile on the old goblin's face became even brighter.

It just snapped its fingers, and then the tall counter came down.

"Because the authentication system of the first-level vault is more complicated than that of the second-level vault, we need to collect your identity information, wand and token again." The old goblin said, and then cast his eyes on Benjamin and Franklin behind Mike. "And since you said before that you would let your secretary help you manage your belongings, your two secretaries also need to register their wands and identity information. Only after registration can they enter the vault with your token."

Mike nodded and handed over his wand and token as the old goblin requested. Franklin and Benjamin also followed Mike's example and handed over their wands.

After taking the wand, the old goblin changed his previous attitude and became extremely serious.

Only after the registration was completed and the items were returned to everyone did a smile appear on its face again.

"Confirmed, Mr. Townley." The old goblin waved his hand and said, "Now, let our staff take you to the vault."

After saying that, a fairy with a strange appearance came out and bowed deeply to Mike and others.

"Dear guests, please follow me."

(End of this chapter)