Chapter 154: Shopping!!
Arthur turned to Sirius and said, "Well! Now that you're officially cleared, what will you do next?"
Sirius thought carefully before replying, "I'll go to the Dursleys to take Harry and have him live with me. I think he'll be very happy about that!"
Arthur laughed. "Ha! Yes! Harry always told me he didn't like living with those people. They constantly made him hate magic and school!"
Hearing this, Sirius's anger toward the Dursleys deepened, though he didn't let it show in front of Arthur.
After a brief discussion, Arthur said, "Well, I'll take my leave, my friend. I want to tell you that I won't be in Britain this month, but I'll return before the Quidditch World Cup starts."
Sirius placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder, smiling. "Alright, farewell, my friend, and thank you for visiting me during my trial!"
Arthur then walked out of the Ministry, leaving Sirius behind.
Arthur had always been a close friend of Sirius, as both had been members of the original Order of the Phoenix founded by Dumbledore long ago. Their mission had been to oppose the Dark Arts in other words, to resist Lord Voldemort himself.
Thus, they were among the few in the Order, which accepted only strong and righteous wizards.
Meanwhile…
Albert was inside a luxurious fashion store in the Muggle world, deep in thought and clearly puzzled.
"Money isn't a problem," he muttered. "After going to the wizarding bank, I converted 400 gold Galleons into 200,000 British pounds. That means one Galleon equals 500 pounds in Muggle currency."
A maid in the shop noticed a young man dressed elegantly, clearly of high status, and ran toward him, hands gracefully clasped behind her back.
"My dear sir! What would you like to purchase?" she asked.
Albert smiled at her refined and polite manner. He knew that money could easily earn loyalty and praise from anyone.
"I'd like two dresses one for a grown woman, and the other for a fourteen-year-old girl like myself. Also, don't forget a beautiful, elegant outfit for a man. Make sure all items are of the finest quality, understood?"
The maid carefully wrote everything in her small notebook, listening intently to his requests.
Once he finished, she tucked the notebook into her pocket. "Very well, sir. Please have a seat here; we'll bring your order as quickly as possible."
"Thank you, ma'am," Albert replied.
He walked to the right and found a set of luxurious chairs, where he sat and sipped his coffee.
After ten minutes observing the Muggle world and its habits, Albert was surprised at the state of technology.
Having lived in a future era before, he had not experienced the 1990s firsthand. He hadn't expected that phones, computers, and other inventions hadn't yet appeared.
A thought began to form in his mind:
"Hmm… what if I create things that haven't appeared yet? I could make a fortune far greater than my family's wealth! I'll think about this later…"
In this era, cars still ran on expensive, resource-draining fuel that polluted the environment, making vehicles affordable only for the wealthy. Albert realized that if he could design a car accessible to everyone, cheap to purchase and fuel, he could amass immense wealth.
This principle applied not only to cars but also to communication devices, such as phones.
Minutes later, the maid returned, smiling and carrying luxurious shopping bags.
She placed the bags on the table beside Albert. "This large dress is made from snake leather the finest in our store. Naturally, our brand is famous nationwide. Both the large and small dresses have small diamonds and gold details around the collar, giving them elegance and charm."
Albert paid the 150,000 pounds for the items.
The maid was taken aback, not expecting a young man to have the full amount on hand.
"Thank you, sir! We hope you'll visit our store again. Safe travels!" she said.