Seeing Flitwick quietly draw his wand and prepare for a duel, the goblin seemed to realize the situation and glanced around. Noticing the puzzled glances of the other goblins, he quickly waved his hand to indicate it was all right.
Then...
"Da!"
He softly snapped his fingers—and Ryan noticed the noises around him had quieted down considerably. the goblin lowered his voice, but his shrill tone still hinted at his excitement.
"Mr. Elias? Is that right?" He suddenly became very polite. "I've heard of you—in fact, you might not know... you don't even need to exchange Muggle currency for Galleons. You have a vault all to yourself at Gringotts."
"Vault!?"
Not only Ryan, but even Flitwick's voice became noticeably higher. As the wizarding world's only wizarding bank, the vaults within Gringotts hold considerable symbolic significance.
The key to owning a vault at Gringotts is simple, if a wizard's items stored at Gringotts exceed a certain value, they receive a vault of their own, which they and their descendants will keep forever. However, given the goblin's greed, this 'value' is clearly quite high. It would typically take two or more generations of wizards to amass such wealth. Therefore, Gringotts vaults are almost always owned by families.
For example, Flitwick's own vault 124 at Gringotts belongs to his family, the Flitwicks.
Of course, individuals have also obtained vaults at Gringotts. For example, Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster and the greatest White Wizard of our time—as far as Flitwick knows, he maintains his own personal vault at Gringotts, where he stores his trinkets.
Now, the goblin claimed that Ryan had his own vault within Gringotts, which naturally led Flitwick to make some assumptions. He certainly didn't expect a young Muggle wizard like Ryan to have his own personal vault.
So...
"Ryan, you might be a descendant of a wizarding family." Though Flitwick racked his brains and couldn't think of a wizarding family matching the surname Elias, it was clearly the only possibility.
While rare, such cases are certainly not uncommon. Most wizarding families have few descendants, especially those who adhere to pureblood doctrines and abhor intermarriage with Muggles. Many pure-blood families have died out throughout history. However, this doesn't mean their bloodline has ceased to exist. Take, for example, Squibs, who were born without inherited magical abilities.
They aren't considered part of the family, but they still carry the family bloodline.
These Squibs continue to reproduce, and perhaps within a generation, new wizards will emerge.
In Flitwick's view, Ryan might be just such a 'throwback' wizard.
"So—perhaps Lion could inherit his ancestors' wealth in the vault?" Flitwick asked excitedly, a sentiment that warmed Lion's heart. He could sense that Professor Flitwick was genuinely happy for him.
"Of course, I can take Mr. Elias to his vault right now," The goblin remained polite, but at the end, he looked at Flitwick. "But please understand, the founder of the vault has set a rule—only his heir may access it, so..." He blinked, his words clear.
"Oh, that..." Flitwick was taken aback at first. But he didn't find it strange—in fact, the rules for guarding Gringotts' vaults were complex. Most vaults only required a key, but some required special credentials, and some even required the goblins' physical touch.
So, Flitwick simply looked at Lion.
"Professor, I can go by myself," Lion nodded. In fact, he was also curious. As an orphan at the Silver Lime Tree Orphanage, he wasn't sure if he was truly descended from a wizarding family.
"Please follow me!" After Ryan agreed, the goblin hurriedly jumped down from the stool. He gracefully performed a formal ceremony, then led Ryan through a tall door in the hall and into a stone corridor. Under the corridor lay a railway track, leading to a deep tunnel, the depth of which was unknown.
"Mr. Goblin..." Ryan, visiting this place for the first time, naturally looked around and asked questions.
"Neil, Mr. Elias." The goblin's attitude was almost humble: "Just call me Neil."
"Okay, Mr. Neil—where are we going next?" But Ryan was no child. He remembered the goblin's initial disdain. That was clearly his true nature. So, he didn't take Neil's humbleness seriously and continued to ask cautiously.
But just as he finished his words, a slightly shabby train approached from the other end of the track. The goblin, Neil, had somehow pulled out a large flashlight and hung it around his neck. He leaped aboard first, then turned and motioned for Ryan to join him. Once Ryan was aboard, he snapped his fingers, and the train started.
Then, accompanied by the whistling wind and the crisp creaking of the rails, Ryan soon saw the location of Gringotts' vault. It was a vast space beneath Gringotts. Stalactites and stalagmites, shaped by the might of time over millions of years, acted like magnificent lamps within this space. The sprawling railway stretched across the rock face, like giant snakes snaking their way. Below, a vast underground lake lay, its surface reflecting a rainbow of colors.
Along the way, Ryan was even washed by a waterfall cascading from the top of a rock pillar.
"Thief-proof waterfall!"
But Ryan wasn't angry; instead, he felt a sense of familiarity. This unique goblin defense device reminded him of the time he and one of his teachers, Godric Gryffindor, had gone to the Goblin Kingdom to "reason with each other."
A faint smile even tugged at his lips.
Even harder to conceal his smile was the goblin, Neil. He was well aware of the Anti-Thief Waterfall's effectiveness—it could wash away all spells and magical artifacts, while also detecting the identity of the person entering. If it were a poor outsider without a vault within Gringotts, the train would simply overturn.
But Ryan was still on board—which only made one thing clearer...
"He's definitely the owner of that vault!" After confirming this, Neil's tone became even more enthusiastic. Noticing Ryan's curiosity about the surroundings, he took the initiative to explain. "Each vault here has its own level. You're passing through the first level, secured by a key and a thief-proof waterfall specially crafted by us goblins! Further down is the second level, also secured by a key and a thief-proof waterfall. Furthermore, a goblin must personally lead the way and touch the vault door before it can be opened!"
"Further down is the third level. In addition to the three types of security measures mentioned above, there are also some special defenses..."
As Ryan listened to the explanation, he could already vaguely see the vast space at the bottom of the cave below. And faintly visible, some enormous creatures entrenched within it.
"Sphinxes and fire dragons..." Neil didn't need to give any further explanation; Ryan naturally understood the most critical security measures of the third level vault. So, he had only one question, "What level is my vault on?"
"Oh, your vault is special—all the goblins know about it," Neil's enthusiastic voice grew even more excited. "It's said that it existed long before Gringotts was founded... or rather, it was for this vault that the great Ragnark I commissioned the goblins, the Gringotts, to build Gringotts."
"The owner of that vault left no name, only the surname of its future owner..." He didn't elaborate, but Ryan knew—that surname must be Elias. "All goblins are bound by a magical contract, forbidding the existence of that vault to be revealed to anyone except you. It's Gringotts' greatest secret."
"Vault 000, the most special of all... its security level is—Level 4!"
As he spoke, Ryan saw the tracks in front of Neil and the train they were riding suddenly twist and point downward! As Ryan screamed in surprise, the train crashed directly into the colorful underground lake at the very bottom of the space.
BOOM!
Amidst the splashing water, the icy water constantly stimulated Ryan's senses. But after a brief moment of panic, he quickly calmed down. When faced with danger, panic is the most useless emotion. This was something his four teachers rarely agreed on, something they all taught him.
After calming down, Ryan soon discovered that the icy water didn't drown him. Quite the opposite... his breathing was incredibly smooth, as if he were walking on a prairie. Near him, the goblin Neil and the train had vanished. He couldn't even look up to see the surface of the lake. It was as if he wasn't in the lake at all, but rather the deepest part of a vast ocean. "Is it a magical teleportation device? A portkey or something else?" Ryan wondered, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted.
Before him, in the dark waters of the lake, a door rose from the depths. Four symbols were etched on the door—a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake. And within them, a name.
[Ryan Elias]
And below, a line of words.
[Remember what we told you on that moonlit night?]
[This is the key.]
And so, Ryan understood the owner of the vault. And his mind couldn't help but recall that night.
It was the night he was formally accepted as an apprentice by the four wizards.
He could recall the bonfire, the song of ravens, the flowers on the ground, the bright stars, and the laughter that echoed through the valley. That night, even the most aloof Slytherin smiled a rare smile. It was also that night that he first heard the four wizards' wishes—their desire to travel, and their hopes for Ryan. Their voices seemed to still echo in Ryan's ears.
"Per aspera ad astra (Follow this arduous journey, straight to the stars)."
And so...
BOOM!
With a loud, dull sound, the door to the vault opened before Ryan.