A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 576 The Debt-Collecting Couple

Chapter 576 The Debt-Collecting Couple (Thanks to the generous donation of 10,000 coins from "Deep Sea Turtle"!)

There's something wrong with Professor Babuling.

Okay, she wasn't human to begin with, just an old vampire.

She's so beautiful, she might even have Veela blood.

People say he's not human, so being a little twisted isn't a big deal.

But, my dear grandma... since you like girls so much, can't you make a move on those single women?

For example... Trelawney, the reclusive old lady; Professor McGonagall, the gambling queen; Professor Sprout, the female version of Runtou...

At Hogwarts, aside from everything else, there are plenty of older, single professors...

William seriously doubted one of Professor Dumbledore's hiring criteria:

single.

Okay, we can't make a move on single women, at least not now.

William was worried that Babling was having too much fun and had already used his face to seduce many girls in Ifamoni.

When he goes to America, he will suddenly realize that his persona is that of a scumbag.

The kind with dozens of ex-girlfriends.

William, of course, did not refuse Professor Barbling's request to stay overnight.

She can sleep in Hermione's room. William can sacrifice a little so Hermione can sleep in his room... It's no big deal.

Babling was clearly just saying it casually; she couldn't possibly stay. Otherwise, things could easily go wrong with Little Tom.

Before leaving, she made another unreasonable request.

"Give me Teresa Shad."

"Professor, do you think I can agree to such an unreasonable request?" William refused directly.

"Don't misunderstand." Barbling stared at William with displeasure in her wine-red eyes.

She said irritably, "I need a helper."

"Isn't Newt helping you?"

"Newt... forget it. With his fame, he's almost as conspicuous as you." Barbling shook her head.

"Queenie could have helped me when she was younger, but she's too old now. I still really like that young girl."

Professor Babling licked her bright red lips.

Queenie... Newt's sister-in-law, possesses the innate ability to legume.

But William shook his head.

"Trenny and I are just friends, and I can't decide whether she stays or leaves."

Besides, she doesn't like doing this kind of thing.

"William, you underestimate her." Professor Barbling smiled.

"I observed her for a long time on the night of the attack... She was trained to kill people."

She's got it all figured out... Besides, I'm just asking her to help gather intelligence, I'm not letting her get close to Tom, what are you afraid of?"

William rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

Professor Babling left quickly.

Hermione was still looking down at a map, searching for the address Professor Babling had provided.

"Did you notice anything unusual?" William asked, looking down.

"No, there's only one village, and the most famous thing about it is probably the Wu family office building," Hermione said hesitantly.

"This little village shouldn't be anything special, right? You said the mysterious man's father lived near the old Gaunt house..."

"Perhaps it's where Tom lived as a child," William guessed. "I heard from Dumbledore that Tom grew up in an orphanage."

"But there are no orphanages around here."

"Maybe it's been demolished; that was decades ago," William said softly.

Hermione rested her head on her arm and nodded.

William continued, "Let's talk to him when the principal returns."

"That's all we can do." Hermione nodded slightly.

Little Tom has appeared in a sea area; he must be looking for something. We'll have to let the principal investigate.

After all, he's shrewd and calculating... cough cough, he's very knowledgeable.

"What about the International Wizarding Union Conference? Will it still be held?" Hermione asked again.

William shook his head: "It looks like it will have to be postponed again, after all, the Death Eater attack happened."

William also sighed, "The conference has already been postponed for the second time. If it is postponed again, it will be postponed until next year."

What a year of disasters and hardships!

……

Before the start of the school year, William and Hermione left home and went to Diagon Alley.

This time, I'm not actually going shopping.

As the wicked landlord and landlady, William and Hermione are tasked with collecting debts.

Hermione urged William several times, in her words:

"The money is always in debt, and if it's been in debt for too long, you'll never get it back."

Before setting off, the two of them made preparations, wearing sunglasses and high-necked robes to avoid being recognized.

Given their current fame, if they were recognized... it would be an instant chase and pursuit.

William didn't eat hot pot either, to avoid being robbed by bandits again. Scratch-off lottery tickets were a lifelong source of regret for him.

Behind the long counter, fairies sat on high stools, greeting the first customers of the day.

William and Hermione walked toward a goblin who was examining a thick gold coin through a lens.

William strode forward and tapped on the table.

"Do you want to deposit or withdraw money...?" the fairy pull ring asked, looking up.

"Neither deposit nor withdrawal..." William grinned, removing his sunglasses. "I'm here to collect my money!"

"Mr. Stark!" The pull ring trembled. "Oh dear! You—you—what can I do for you today?"

"I need money... Your Gringotts lost 520 million Galleons, 13 Sickles, and 14 Nat to me."

I'll be generous and take the change. There's still 520 million Galleons left, I can give it to you.

"This...but..." the pull ring trembled.

"What, are you Gringotts trying to renege on your debt?" William raised his voice, and many people looked over.

"It's not that I'm trying to renege on my debt... Please keep your voice down..." the pull ring quickly said.

"Well... could you please grant us a few more days... we haven't collected our debts yet."

"Are there a lot of bad debts?" Hermione asked, puzzled.

"Yes, Miss Granger..." the pull ring said anxiously.

"The Director of the Sports Department alone, Ludo Bagman, owes us 250,000 Galleons... He gave us 20,000 Galleons that day, all of them were Goblin gold coins."

William recalled the night of the World Cup final, when Ludo was indeed entangled by a group of goblins, who claimed they were looking for Crouch.

He really is an old liar.

Although Gringotts is currently the bookmaker, many wizards want to renege on their bets after the attack in the finals.

There are even quite a few professional deadbeats.

If it can't be recovered, then it's a bad debt...

For Gringotts, bad debts were never a big deal in the past. After all, they made more money and could collect them slowly.

But this time... William made five million Galleons in one go, which made the hole much bigger.

"Could you please grant us a few more days?" the pull ring pleaded in a low voice. "We'll definitely get our money back soon."

The pull ring was almost in tears. Gringotts was always the ones chasing after debts… This was the first time they'd been confronted at their door demanding money!

What a mess!

"What does this have to do with me?" William shook his head. "Hurry up and send the money; the wizard's family is out of food."

"You're not short of money," Hermione muttered under her breath, pouting.

"We're so poor we can barely afford food. My sister Annie... can't afford textbooks, so she has to use mine, the secondhand ones."

Hermione's words are true; Anne is indeed using Hermione's secondhand textbooks.

After all, it's filled with notes from top students, making it a valuable strategic resource.

Hermione's acting has always been superb; she started pleading poverty in the Gringotts lobby, almost to the point of shedding tears.

She wanted the "family" to argue and collect debts, so the boy naturally had to keep a calm tone to save face; but the girl didn't have to, and had to insist on being poor.

A two-pronged approach is needed for better results.

The pull tab completely broke.

William suddenly waved and shouted towards the door, "Malfoy, you've come at the right time! Pay up!!"

"..."

Upon seeing William, Lucius Malfoy covered his face in anguish. Why did he have to come to Diagon Alley today?!

His shoulders twitched involuntarily.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Draco asked anxiously from the side.

Malfoy really wanted to say:

You spendthrift, don't call me dad, you are my dad.

……

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