Chapter 17: The Dull Aching Scar, Sudden Changes!

Diagon Alley, Gringotts, underground vaults, Vault 687.

The bank vault of the Harry Potter family.

The cart came to a stop here.

Everyone got out of the cart. Griphook, the goblin, used that golden key to open the vault door.

A dazzling light came into view. Inside the vault, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts were piled up like mountains, which made Harry's eyes light up and he stood there stunned.

The ancestors of the Harry Potter family made their fortune from potions and medical techniques. It is said that the manufacturing techniques of the commonly used Skele - Gro and Warming Potion in modern times originated from the Harry Potter family.

Harry's grandfather even invented an extremely magical shampoo potion. The income from running the company and patent rights made him extremely wealthy. After selling the shampoo company he founded, the wealth of the Harry Potter family reached a peak.

The ability to make money, combined with a small family size, created the spectacular scene that Harry Potter witnessed at this moment.

"Load up! Harry!" After getting out of the cart, Hagrid retched twice and reminded him. "The Harry Potter family's wealth is enough for you to live a rich and comfortable life in the wizarding world."

But Harry didn't immediately reach out to take the money. Instead, he turned to Dudley and said, "Cousin, you..."

"What do you want to say? Do you think I'll be polite to you? Harry?! No matter how much money you have, you're still my cousin!"

Dudley unceremoniously reached into the vault, specifically picking Galleons and casually stuffing two large pockets to the brim.

After that, he even reminded, "Hurry up. You load up more too, Harry! It's quite troublesome to come to Gringotts!"

"Ah? Oh! Okay, cousin!"

Harry replied. He wasn't the least bit unhappy about his cousin taking money from his family's vault. Instead, he followed his cousin's instructions and quickly grabbed several handfuls of gold coins and stuffed them into various pockets of his clothes.

"What a wonderful brotherly bond!" Hagrid's eyes were moist with emotion. "I wish I had a brother too."

"Hagrid, don't make a big deal out of it. You'll have a brother. Hurry up and get in the cart. After you finish your task, Harry and I still need to go shopping!"

Dudley showed an impatient expression on his face, as if he didn't care at all about what Hagrid was going to pick up.

"Oh! Right, right, right!"

Hagrid ignored Dudley's mention of 'brother'. He thought Dudley was just joking to comfort him and obediently and clumsily climbed back into the cart.

After locking Vault 687, Griphook handed the golden key to Harry.

Then, everyone sat back in their original positions. The cart started moving again and headed deeper into the vaults.

The distance between Vault 687 and Vault 713 isn't too far.

After a while, they arrived at their destination.

The anti - theft level of the door lock of Vault 713 is much higher than that of Vault 687.

Because the key to this vault door is a goblin's finger.

"No one can rob anything from Gringotts' underground vaults!"

An unusual confidence appeared on the wrinkled face of the goblin Griphook. "If this door is touched by someone other than a goblin, then they will be sucked into the door and locked up securely!"

And generally speaking, if no one comes to pick up things, we only come to inspect once every ten years. Heh heh heh..."

As Griphook inserted his sharp right index finger into the keyhole of the Gringotts vault door, the vault door slowly turned into black smoke, revealing the space inside.

Because the thing stored in this vault was a special piece of goods, the space inside wasn't expanded very much.

Hagrid became unusually serious. After getting out of the carriage, he took big steps and quickly walked to the vault. Then he reached his big hand inside.

Standing on the side, Dudley caught a glimpse of the thing stored in the vault. It was a paper package tied up with brown paper and twine, which looked identical to the prop he had prepared beforehand!

[The Philosopher's Stone wrapped in brown paper (S - Grade)]

The System timely provided the appraisal information. Watching the paper package being carefully picked up by Hagrid and stuffed into the inner pocket of his chest, even with Dudley's mentality, he couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

Finally, it seems that things were going smoothly!

"Ack—"

Just at this most critical moment, Harry beside Dudley let out a slight groan while covering his forehead.

"Cousin, the scar on my forehead suddenly hurts like crazy..."

Seeing the inquiring look from his cousin, Harry truthfully expressed his feelings.

Dudley's expression changed slightly. He quickly grabbed Harry's hand and wrote a letter character with his finger on Harry's palm.

Harry immediately became alert. The security of Gringotts, which Hagrid and the goblin had boasted about for so long, wasn't as reliable as his cousin's signal.

"Come on! What's wrong with you? Ha..."

Hagrid, who had just retrieved the Philosopher's Stone and turned around, caught a faint glimpse of Harry's frowning and solemn expression under the dim torchlight.

But just as Hagrid uttered the syllable of 'Ha', he was interrupted by Dudley's deliberately loud laughter.

"Hahaha... Hagrid! There're still sandwich crumbs on your beard!"

Dudley joked as he pulled Harry to Hagrid's side.

"Oh, really? Hahaha..." Hagrid had a big heart and didn't notice the deeper meaning in Dudley's expression at all. He stretched out his big hand and started feeling his beard.

Dudley had expected this. After getting near Hagrid, he quickly whispered a warning: "Hagrid, there are Dark Wizards not far away. Be careful!"

"What the..." Hagrid quickly shut up. Surprised, he quickly scanned the surroundings with his round eyes.

Taking advantage of the moment when Hagrid's attention was diverted, Dudley used his most powerful trick. With his right hand, he grabbed the fake ruby paper package he had just taken out of his coat. He made a slight jump, then stretched out his hand like a venomous snake catching prey, moving so fast that it was almost a blur.

Stupefy!

Suddenly, a red beam of light flew from the darkness. Hagrid, who was on guard, quickly picked up Harry and Dudley in front of him. He spun around and used his broad back to block the spell.

The powerful Stunning Spell hit Hagrid's back, making him a little drowsy. He yawned, shook his head, and then quickly took out his umbrella wand. He turned around and fired a white beam of light in the direction where the Stunning Spell had come from.

Hagrid didn't chant the spell while casting. This was a silent Transfiguration spell.

"Idiot! That big oaf has giant blood and is resistant to spells! Use spells that affect other objects against him!"

In the darkness, Quirinus Quirrell, wrapped in a turban, wearing a robe, a hood and a black cloth mask, and reeking of garlic, submissively endured the scolding from Voldemort on the back of his head. At the same time, he used the Silencio charm and then the Protego charm to block the white light shot by Hagrid.

Confringo! Bombarda!

Quirrell, having been given a tip, immediately cast a powerful Confringo spell in Hagrid's direction.

Dusky yellow light shot out from the tip of the alder wand, and deafening explosions and loud noises immediately boomed out in the distance.

Countless stalactites fell from above. The sound of the explosion kept echoing in the vast space of the underground vaults. The ground trembled, and under the chain reaction, it was as if a major earthquake had occurred.

"Stupid fool!"

The main soul of Voldemort inhabiting the back of Quirrell's head was almost furious!

"Go and check quickly! If you blow up The Philosopher's Stone, I'll have your head!"