"Last step, I'll take you to Gringotts."
Without lingering long in the shop, Tonks continued to lead George to Gringotts.
Gringotts is the only wizarding bank in the British wizarding world, run by goblins, and located on the north side of Diagon Alley.
Besides depositing money and safeguarding precious items for witches and wizards, it also allows the exchange of Muggle currency for wizarding currency.
George had now officially inherited the old wizard's legacy through the Ministry of Magic, so naturally, he had to go to Gringotts to claim all the money the old wizard had deposited.
"So ugly!"
Arriving at the entrance of Gringotts, George muttered to himself as he looked at the goblin guards dressed in scarlet and gold uniforms.
The goblins and elves of this world were not the beautiful creatures he had imagined; instead, they were very ugly, roughly similar in appearance to goblins.
Following Tonks, he walked up the white steps and into Gringotts' bronze doors. A second silver door appeared before him, engraved with very prominent words.
The general meaning was not to covet Gringotts' wealth, or one would die a terrible death.
Two goblin tellers stood beside the silver door. Upon seeing Tonks and George, they first bowed to them, then led them into a tall, grand marble hall.
There were about a hundred goblins bustling about, handling various transactions for the wizards who came in.
Tonks led George to an idle goblin and presented the various documents they had just processed at the Ministry of Magic.
"Inheritance change for the underground vault."
The goblins at Gringotts, unlike the staff at the Ministry of Magic, were extremely efficient. They quickly inspected all the documents, and after confirming everything was in order, the goblin said to George:
"This is the key to vault 352. Please keep it safe. Do you wish to withdraw money from the vault now?"
"No, just tell me how many Galleons are left in the vault."
George took the key and put it in his pocket.
There were still five hundred Galleons left in the shop after the old wizard's death, which was enough for him for now.
"Vault 352 currently has thirteen thousand two hundred Galleons remaining."
The goblin replied after checking the ledger.
"It seems the potion business really is profitable. I only earn one hundred Galleons a month right now, and only one hundred and forty after I'm confirmed."
Tonks couldn't help but show an envious expression.
At her salary, it would probably take her ten years to accumulate that many Galleons, and that's without any expenses. Otherwise, it might take twenty or thirty years to save that much.
George, who had initially frowned, instantly calmed down upon hearing Tonks's words.
He had originally thought the old wizard had at least a hundred thousand Galleons in deposits, so he was a little disappointed when he heard it was only a little over ten thousand Galleons.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
The old wizard's potion shop and black-market dealings surely made money, probably even more than legitimate potion shops.
However, buying the potion shop itself must have cost a lot, and researching potions, especially high-level ones, was a money sink, with enormous consumption.
Now, having over ten thousand Galleons left was reasonable.
Compared to Tonks's salary, over ten thousand Galleons was already a lot, enough to splurge for a good long while.
Wizarding currency is divided into three types: Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.
One Galleon is equal to seventeen Sickles, and one Sickle is equal to twenty-nine Knuts.
According to Dora's memory, a copy of the Daily Prophet cost only five Knuts, a normal meal cost about two or three Sickles, and most wizard wands did not exceed ten Galleons.
"George, Hogwarts should be sending you a new acceptance letter tomorrow morning. Study magic well at Hogwarts; you'll make many friends there. I'm off now, I'll come visit when I have time!"
At the entrance of Gringotts, Tonks smiled and ruffled George's hair again.
George's heart stirred at her words, then he sincerely invited her:
"Sister Tonks, if it weren't for you, I would never have been able to inherit this legacy so smoothly. I want to treat you to lunch to express my gratitude. You won't refuse me, will you?"
"I..."
Tonks originally wanted to say she had to return to the Ministry of Magic, but seeing George's sincere and hopeful eyes, and recalling the delicious food she had eaten that morning, she hesitated.
"Of course I won't refuse. Then I'll trouble you."
It was already this time anyway, and it was about time to eat and fill her stomach. Returning to the Ministry of Magic a little later wouldn't be a big deal.
Seeing Tonks agree, George felt slightly relieved.
He needed Tonks to appear at his shop as much as possible to deter any ill intentions from the dark wizards in Knockturn Alley.
At the same time, he also wanted to get along with Tonks as much as possible.
If Tonks could often visit the shop, he would have the opportunity to ask her to teach him a few more spells during the period before he went to Hogwarts.
This was very important for his main body.
Escaping the experimental base would not be easy, and resisting subsequent pursuits after escaping would be even harder. Every extra spell he learned would provide an additional layer of security.
Especially since he knew his main body wouldn't be long before attempting to escape the experimental base.
"Good thing my cooking is decent!"
George decided to prepare a feast and see if he could use delicious food to make Tonks visit more often.
Dora, as the old wizard's slave, had developed good cooking skills through years of practice, and George himself had a passion for food in his previous life.
Although he couldn't compare to professional chefs, his cooking skills had received consistent approval from his friends.
Of course, Eastern and Western palates for food were definitely different, but that didn't matter. He could make a few of the most popular local British versions of Eastern dishes, which would have a lower error rate.
Besides, there wasn't much good food in Britain to begin with. How did that saying go?
The thinnest books in the world are British cookbooks and American history books. Something like that.
"What is this dish? It tastes very unique. I've never had it anywhere else before."
"Sweet and sour pork."
"This one? It's also delicious."
"Kung Pao chicken."
"And this?"
"Scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
After lunch, Tonks sat in her chair, rubbing her full stomach and sighing:
"I can't believe you can cook Chinese food."
"Sister Tonks, if you think it's delicious, feel free to come over often. I can make many more delicious dishes."
George said with a smile as he cleared the dishes.
Tonks waved her hand at his words:
"How can I do that? I'm not that thick-skinned."
In her opinion, George was already pitiful enough, so how could she, relying on her Auror status, take advantage of him? That wasn't her style.
Seeing Tonks refuse, George probably guessed the reason, so he said earnestly:
"Sister Tonks, please don't feel embarrassed. Your frequent visits for meals are actually very helpful to me.
This is Knockturn Alley..."
At this point, there was no need to beat around the bush.
Tonks wasn't stupid. After George's hint, she immediately understood.
"In that case, alright. Then I'll come over to sponge off you whenever I have time.
But I won't eat for free. I'll buy all the ingredients for the dishes. You're not allowed to refuse."