Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 188 Hufflepuff's Golden Cup

Bright lights illuminated the marble hall, and in front of Dobby was a long counter where hundreds of goblins stood on high stools, handling business for customers.

A copper scale weighs coins, a magnifying glass examines gems, and a quill pen scratches across the ledger. The fairies look very similar to house-elves, short in stature and with long fingers, but their work here is completely different from the housework in the manor. Each fairy wears a scarlet uniform with gold trim, and no one whips or urges them on.

Watching those dazzling movements, Dobi felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

On weekend mornings, wizards come and go in droves to conduct business, and fairies are busy inside and out. Those at the counters are responsible for receiving customers, while waiters in the corridors lead the way to the underground vault.

Melvin stood at the counter, his gaze sweeping around before settling on a relatively young fairy clerk. She had just seen off a male wizard and was now turning the scales back to upright.

Melvin stepped forward shakily: "Good morning. We need to retrieve an item from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."

The young, fairy-like teller lifted her eyelids: "Do you have her key, sir?"

Melvin was certain that the goblin was indeed young and probably hadn't experienced the era of the Death Eaters' rampage, or that he hadn't yet worked at Gringotts and didn't follow Muggle news.

The Lestrange family's vault should be a key target for Gringotts, because this pure-blood family has no heirs, and the last bloodline is serving time in Azkaban. Once they are completely wiped out, the entire vault will belong to Gringotts.

“Of course.” Melvin took out the gold key and slowly handed it over.

Melvin deliberately used body transformation techniques to adjust the skin on his hands, making them look wrinkled, and his weak and powerless arms trembled slightly. After all, he had worked on Broadway, and every detail reflected Melvin's full understanding of the character.

“This key…” The fairy teller leaned closer to examine the golden key closely. She didn’t know what kind of marking Gringotts had made, and it didn’t react when Bellatrix’s name was mentioned. But when she saw the golden key, the fairy immediately remembered the special vault that this key corresponded to, as well as the vault’s related information.

It looked up and examined the old wizard with a puzzled expression. According to the information, this family had no heir and was almost a deserted, dead vault. How could an old wizard suddenly appear and want to open it?
“Sir, I need someone to verify your identity.” The fairy thought for a moment and then said, “As far as we know, the owner of this vault is…”

"In Azkaban, right?"

Melvin was unimpressed, even somewhat impatient. "I can tell you, this has nothing to do with Bella. I have the right to open the vault, as evidenced by the Lestrange name and bloodline."

"May I ask you are?"

"Corvace Lestrange, Corvace V".

The fairy clerk couldn't make up her mind, so she turned around and made a few hand gestures inside. Soon after, a fairy manager arrived, carrying a small leather bag containing some metal pieces.

The two fairies huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at Melvin and Dobby behind them.

His aged appearance alleviated some of their doubts. Such an old wizard, speaking and handing over keys with such weakness, couldn't possibly be a bank swindler. The house-elf's face was also similar to the photo in the files; they'd thought it had died years ago, but it seemed it was still alive. His strange clothes, however, were quite fitting for a pure-blood wizard.

Forget it, Gringotts has tight security, and any ill-intentioned wizards will only make things worse for themselves.

"Yes...the records show he died in the shipwreck...he's been dead for a long time..."

"Wizards are all cunning creatures... these pure-blood families... who can say for sure?"

Dobby lowered his head, examining his new clothes, which he had cut himself. Some loose threads were still sticking out, trembling incessantly, just like his pounding heartbeat.

He suddenly realized that even a great wizard like Harry Potter could make mistakes, such as his opinion of this professor, which was completely wrong, ridiculously wrong.

Fortunately, the magical world's banks still need credibility, especially after the fairy rebellion and the war. The fairies' attitude and demeanor in doing business have become much softer. Although the manager is greedy, he still doesn't dare to make things too ugly.

"I'm sorry to have taken up your time." The fairy manager bowed slightly and apologized sincerely. "That vault hasn't been opened for a long time, and these guys are out of practice. Let me serve you."

"Hurry up," Melvin said impatiently and imperiously.

As Dobby was being led inside by the fairy manager, he was stopped at the outside by the fairy waiters. House-elves' magic is different from that of wizards, and the fairies dared not let the elves enter the underground vault, fearing that they would invite thieves into their den.

Melvin climbed onto the cart: "You greedy and stingy folks, can't you make a more comfortable carriage? I'm already 93 years old..."

The fairy manager started the cart, bowed her head apologetically, and said, "I will make a suggestion to the board of directors."

"I sensed a perfunctory attitude in your words..."

“I guarantee this in the name of the Fairy King.”

The fairy manager secretly observed him, her eyes mysterious, like flickering candlelight on either side.

Because the Lestrange family's vault was located at the deepest point underground, and there was no one else on the tracks the cart traveled on, the cart grew faster and faster as it went along the steep tracks, making a clear clattering sound that echoed in the silent, deserted underground. "I hear water. What's that waterfall up ahead?"

Melvin looked ahead at the road, the air filled with moisture; they had reached the area where the Thief-Proof Falls was located.

“The Lestrange family’s vault has been closed for too long, and no one has been there for many years. This is the only place left!” the goblin manager said. “Moreover, the Anti-Theft Waterfall is one of Gringotts’ security measures. It’s designed to protect our customers’ treasures and wash away all magic and disguises!”

"You're going to get my clothes wet!" Melvin feigned anger.

Wandering through the maze-like passageways, I crashed into the waterfall under the expectant gaze of the fairies, only to emerge from the other side, my clothes soaked but otherwise unchanged.

This was clearly beyond the fairy's expectations. It looked back at the curtain of water pouring onto the track, then at the grumbling old wizard, and this time it truly believed it.

"We're almost at the vault. To express our apologies, we're willing to offer you compensation—a generous one," the fairy reassured her.

Melvin continued to mutter curses, his gaze sweeping across the distance. Around the corner lurked an old fire dragon with cloudy eyes, sparse and loose scales, and a body covered in scars. Heavy shackles bound its wings and feet, with thick chains connecting it to stone stakes embedded deep in the ground.

At the end of the road behind the fire dragon lay several vaults at the deepest part, one of which still belonged to Melvin. However, his attention was focused on the right, where a bronze plaque was nailed to the stone wall. The plaque bore the same design as the golden key, with a fairy language symbol and a raven.

In Melvin's memory, this old dragon was relatively docile, having remained silent on the previous two visits. But now, it opened its cloudy eyes, staring intently at them. Its wings trembled, causing the shackles to tremble as well, and sparks flew from its mouth and nose, as if it were eager to try something.

"Don't worry, this fire dragon has been trained."

The fairy manager took out a metal utensil from his bag, which made a loud and crisp clanging sound when shaken, like a small iron hammer hitting an anvil, the sound was jarring. "A new Sphinx has arrived, and we don't get along very well with it, so it's been a bit restless these past few days."

Upon hearing the metallic sound, the fire dragon let out a hoarse roar and trembled as it retreated.

Melvin peered into the narrow passage in the stone wall and, sure enough, there was another giant beast, with a human face and a lion's body, also emitting painful roars and burying its head deep under its claws.

This wasn't training at all; it was just long-term abuse, instilling in the dragon a fear of clanging sounds. In other words, fairies don't have to abide by wizarding laws. If those zookeepers in Romania had used this method, they would have been prosecuted by the Ministry of Magic long ago.

"Open the vault."

Gringotts is at your service.

The fairy placed her palm on the wooden plank of the vault's outer wall, and the stone door opened with a click, revealing the vault, which had been sealed for twelve years, to the two of them.

The vast treasure trove was filled with galleons and various pure gold vessels piled up like small mountains, gleaming silver armor, all sorts of rare and exotic animal pelts, potions in exquisite jeweled bottles, and even a skull wearing a crown.

Melvin dried his robes with a whirlwind and was about to enter the treasury to find the golden cup when he was stopped by the fairy.

It reached out a finger and gently touched a golden goblet, which split in two and instantly turned red-hot: "These treasures are enchanted with fire spells and copying spells. Anything touched will be burned and copied. If you are pressed down by a copy, you may be burned to death in the mountain of gold by the high temperature."

The fairy took a glass bottle from its pouch, which was half-filled with water, and poured the water onto the treasure: "Now it's ready."

"What does that mean?" Melvin didn't understand.

"The water from the Anti-Thief Waterfall can wash away the evil curse above it." The fairy smiled smugly. "If any robbers or thieves try to sneak into the vault by avoiding the Anti-Thief Waterfall, they will only be trapped here by their greed and stupidity."

Melvin paused briefly, grunted in response, and began searching the vault.

The room was filled with gold cups of all styles: gilded openwork water glasses, coffee cups inlaid with gemstones, exquisitely carved wine glasses, and all sorts of other utensils, glittering and sparkling. Melvin was overwhelmed by the sheer variety.

Using his sense of magic, Melvin locked his sights on a row of shelves along the wall.

The shelves displayed shields, goblin-made helmets, and jewel-encrusted clocks—all luxurious and expensive collectibles. The goblin manager's eyes lit up, and a look of regret returned to his face; these things had almost belonged to Gringotts.

Melvin paid little attention to these things; his gaze lingered on the top floor, where a small, ornate gold cup gleamed.

The cup features two finely crafted solid gold handles and a symbolic, exquisite carving on its body: a charming badger.

"This is……"

The fairy manager stared at the golden cup, clearly recognizing the legendary treasure, and gaped in astonishment: "Hufflepuff's Golden Cup!?"

(End of this chapter)