Chapter 196: Your Godson Is Richer Than You

The family dinner continued, and for the next few months, Sirius would have to endure this bittersweet torment.

Sirius Black had thought about running away more than once, but wizards had plenty of ways to track someone down.

"I suggest you stay within the bounds of the old manor. The 'Gray Knight's Decree' placed on you hasn't been lifted yet—unless you can lift it yourself, of course."

Regulus Black said this to Sirius, who had just stepped one foot out the door.

Although Sirius appeared to be free, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had suffered too many setbacks at Regulus Black's hands to take any chances. They had even explicitly stated to Sirius, "If you leave, we'll be watching."

In other words, Sirius Black was under house arrest. Regulus had barely kept a straight face when he made a solemn promise to comply.

After all, Sirius had already been officially acquitted. There was no need to oppose such minor restrictions.

Still, it became a kind of shackle for Sirius. Every time he stepped outside, it wasn't long before an Auror would suddenly drop in from the sky, asking, "Sirius, where are you going?"

"Today we're going out together. Don't be reckless like last time. If you attack another Auror and end up back in prison, you really will be beyond saving."

A carriage was parked at the door. The driver, clad in black cleric robes, sat at the reins. One look was enough to see that it was just an empty outfit holding the reins.

The spell made Muggles ignore the coachman altogether. Even if caught on camera, viewers would chalk it up to a strange angle, never realizing there was nothing under the clothes.

"Good thing carriages aren't banned in Britain yet. Let's go! We're heading to Diagon Alley to buy a rocket crossbow for Harry Potter."

The holiday had begun, and Sirius Black had been back home for a month now. Regulus Black had not only forbidden him from going out but also barred him from seeing Harry Potter. To keep Sirius home and focused on matchmaking, Regulus had promised to buy a gift for his beloved godson during the holiday.

"Rocket crossbows aren't cheap! Are you really going to just hand it over once you buy it?"

"Of course! If you hadn't stopped me, I would've gone to see Harry ages ago."

Regulus Black gave Sirius a look that said, You idiot.

"My foolish brother, a gift that valuable should be given in front of everyone. That way, it gives Harry Potter face—and gives the Black family face too."

Sirius was already used to Regulus's "my foolish brother" and nodded in agreement, impressed by the logic.

"My foolish brother, listen to me. Buy lots of small gifts and give Harry one each day. That way, he'll have a better time at his aunt's house. As for the rocket crossbow, the right time to give it is during breakfast on the second day of the new school term."

Sirius had a sudden revelation. That made perfect sense! This way, Harry Potter would definitely become the center of attention.

And so, it was settled. The two of them began scouring Diagon Alley. Candy, of course, was a must—they got one of each kind. Ice cream was tricky since it melts, but when the shop owner said it could be delivered without melting, they ordered a tub and had an owl deliver it.

Books—some interesting travelogues and stories were a good pick. As for clothes, they didn't know Harry's exact size, but Regulus estimated his height, and Sirius picked out a few sets based on that. They also chose a variety of small toys and items.

Pets—Harry already had one. All that remained was the rocket crossbow.

Last year, Harry had destroyed the Nimbus 2000 that Professor McGonagall gave him. Ever since Sirius found out, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

They were definitely buying it—but about the money…

"I've nearly used up all the cash I brought."

Regulus Black gave him a look that clearly said Figure it out yourself, then changed his expression to one that implied Well, if you ask nicely, we might be able to work something out.

"We're going to Gringotts!"

Sirius Black had brought the key to his Gringotts vault today. He couldn't quite remember how much was in there, but after asking about the price of a rocket crossbow earlier, he figured he might just barely be able to afford it.

As they stepped through the doors of Gringotts, the same calculating goblin stares greeted them. They headed straight to the final counter, where Sirius handed over his key. "I want to open my vault."

After carefully verifying the key, the goblin finally smiled. "Welcome, Mr. Sirius Black. Congratulations on your release."

"Heh... yeah, just got out."

Congratulated by the Gringotts goblin, Sirius Black couldn't even muster a response, especially under the gaze of Regulus Black beside him.

It was as if he could hear Regulus saying: "Oh, my foolish brother…"

"Lead the way! I hope there isn't too much dust in the vault."

Sirius did his best to ignore the dagger-like glare beside him and maintained a calm demeanor—something he had recently been forced to practice.

Blind dates, it turned out, were also an efficient form of personal development.

Another famous method of 'development' was the Gringotts cart ride.

Gringotts, established by goblins, was built within an abandoned mine. The environment was already complex, and the goblins had made the vault cart system even more complicated. Only under their guidance could one reach a vault safely.

After a roller-coaster-like ride, the cart finally brought two wizards and a goblin to their destination.

Each vault door here was unique, and required a goblin's key, magical verification by a Gringotts goblin, and the vault owner's key to open.

It was a highly secure system. In the deeper, more important vaults, there was even a dragon stationed as a guard.

However, in the later stages, all these security measures were broken through by Harry Potter, Hermione, and others—using force.

The dragon was freed and soared into the sky, turning Gringotts into a laughingstock.

Of course, the place had been attacked before—by Quirrell, or rather, Voldemort—but the attempt had failed.

Regulus Black rolled his eyes, and the dizziness immediately vanished.

"Aha! That's the feeling—just like my flying motorbike."

Sirius seemed much more accustomed to such turbulence. Then again, considering he once modified a flying motorbike, it wasn't surprising.

Later, that motorbike was taken by Hagrid. At the start of the original story, Harry Potter was brought to Privet Drive in its sidecar.

Regulus felt his thoughts drifting, but at that moment, the Gringotts goblin had already opened the vault door and motioned for Sirius to enter.

The vault was spotless. In the wizarding world, magic could handle many things—dust in a vault wasn't going to be an issue.

"Obviously! There's less than ten thousand Galleons here—maybe far less."

Regulus seemed to notice Sirius's disappointment and growing anxiety.

With a wave of his wand, the Galleons on the ground began jumping and rolling into neat piles: ten coins per stack, ten stacks per row, ten rows per group. Soon, sixty groups were arranged neatly in front of them, with a few stray Galleons still rolling around, looking for their place.

"6,407 Galleons. That's your entire fortune."

Regulus formally announced the amount to Sirius.

This also meant that Sirius likely couldn't afford the rocket crossbow he had his eye on—dooming the birthday gift he had planned for Harry's thirteenth birthday.

Sirius looked at Regulus in despair—he was clearly about to ask his younger brother for a loan.

"Pull yourself together, Sirius! Bowing your head to family is one thing. The real question is—can you bow your head to others?"

As he spoke, Regulus cast a spell to block the nearby goblin from eavesdropping.

"Although the rocket crossbow is said to be non-negotiable in price, its actual cost isn't nearly as high as they claim. That ten-thousand-Galleon figure is just a pricing strategy to inflate its value. If you negotiate sincerely, your 6,000 Galleons here should be enough. Are you really sure you want to buy the rocket crossbow for Harry Potter?"

Regulus's reasoning was sound and made Sirius exhale in relief.

"I've spent twelve years locked in Azkaban without giving my godson a single birthday gift. This is to make up for all of them in one go."

Though Sirius felt relieved, he also knew that he alone wouldn't be able to negotiate such a deal.

"Alright then! Since you're sincerely asking, I'll definitely help you this time. But after this, the birthday gifts don't need to be so extravagant. You have a family of your own too. Besides, your godson is actually richer than you are."

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