Chapter 5: Shop ‘Til You Drop

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“Welcome, stranger, but beware.”
“Greed will lead to ruin.”
“Those who take without effort or merit”
“shall face the harshest punishment.”
“Therefore, if you seek to claim from our underground vault”
“wealth that was never yours,”
“thief, consider yourself warned.”
“Beware that what you attract may not be treasure, but retribution.”

Sherlock withdrew his gaze from these lines. It was clear that this wizarding bank had great confidence in its security measures. How to put it? Every bank believes so—until disaster strikes.

While pondering, Sherlock surveyed the towering marble hall before him. With only a moment’s reflection, he had already identified several vulnerabilities. Without magic, given a single night, he could certainly make headlines by robbing this bank.

“Shocking! Bank funds mysteriously vanish as an unknown figure bypasses security and escapes unharmed.”

Such incidents were not unprecedented—take, for example, the financial bond theft in London a year ago. The response of the Bank of England was classic:

First, deny any incident occurred.
Second, admit something might have happened but refuse to act.
Third, acknowledge action may be necessary but claim helplessness.
Fourth, concede that perhaps action could have been taken, but now it’s too late.

The wizarding bank could easily follow this script. But Sherlock now knew magic existed in this world. Until he fully understood this unfamiliar concept, it was wiser not to act rashly.

At the counter, an idle goblin was summoned by the guide goblin to assist the three with currency exchange. The exchange rate between Galleons and British pounds was not fixed; today it was one to five. This was surprising. In 1991, the pound remained strong, so for a Galleon to be worth five pounds was quite remarkable.

Fortunately, Mrs. Holmes’s worries did not materialize, as they had brought enough money—enough to exchange for nearly a thousand Galleons.

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However, just as they prepared to exchange, they encountered an unexpected obstacle: there was a limit on exchanging British pounds for wizarding currency. Sherlock was initially surprised but soon accepted it. In the non-magical world, there are also limits on exchanging domestic currency for foreign currency, mainly to prevent excessive capital flow.

Excessive capital movement, especially large inflows of short-term capital, can cause severe volatility in financial markets. In certain economic situations—such as downturns or heightened market fluctuations—lack of foreign exchange controls can lead to massive capital flight, resulting in currency devaluation and market chaos, potentially triggering financial crises.

Therefore, to maintain foreign exchange reserves, protect the domestic economy, and uphold financial order, countries limit the amount of foreign currency ordinary citizens can exchange annually. Once the limit is reached, no more foreign exchange is allowed for that year.

Given that the wizarding world has its own independent currency system, it makes some sense to impose exchange limits... or does it?

If the limit applied to everyone, it might be understandable. But according to the goblin, wizards not from pure wizarding families can exchange up to 128 Galleons per year. For pure wizarding families, the goblin did not specify the limit, but Sherlock’s observations told him it was far above 128 Galleons—perhaps unlimited.

What else could this be but discrimination?

Still, Sherlock’s keen eye found another route on the goblin’s business sheet: the 128-Galleon limit applied only to British pounds. He inquired further and learned that Gringotts also purchased gold, jewelry, antiques, and other valuables.

In other words, while only 128 Galleons could be obtained via pounds, precious items could be exchanged for more. Sherlock’s eyes lit up as he realized he had inadvertently uncovered a new channel for London criminals to launder money—Gringotts, a haven for money laundering! Provided, of course, they could get there.

Though the goblin was impatient, under Sherlock’s pressing questions, he revealed that 128 Galleons were more than sufficient to purchase all the necessary items for a new wizard’s schooling. After all, beyond these supplies, attending Hogwarts was purely compulsory education—room and board included, with no tuition fees.

This aligned with the non-magical world’s system. In Britain, children begin compulsory education at age five, starting with kindergarten and continuing through secondary school until age seventeen.

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During this period, all school-age children must enroll, and parents are obligated to send their children to school. Students enjoy fully free state benefits, including tuition, books, and essential supplies.

At eleven, students transition from primary to secondary education. Therefore, aside from the one-time pre-term shopping costs, no additional expenses are theoretically necessary.

Ultimately, after exchanging 640 pounds for the maximum amount of Galleons, Sherlock and his parents left Gringotts. For some time afterward, Mrs. Holmes remained somewhat gloomy. Influenced by a mindset of “poor family, rich road,” she even considered returning home early to convert their money into Galleons, fearing her son would suffer far away in Scotland.

Sherlock promptly dissuaded her. “Let’s shop first. If we run out of money, then we can consider that option.”

Mrs. Holmes agreed, and the shopping phase began. According to the enrollment list, Sherlock purchased a large number of textbooks and items for magical courses—cauldrons, scales, telescopes, and more.

At this point, Sherlock realized the goblin had exaggerated: 128 Galleons was barely enough, far from plentiful. Judging by prices, three sets of plain work robes cost 20 Galleons, a telescope 10 Galleons, and a quill for writing 1 Galleon. The most absurd was a brand-new textbook, priced at 9 Galleons.

Was magical knowledge really so expensive?

This realization worsened Mrs. Holmes’s mood. Consequently, she firmly rejected Sherlock’s suggestion to buy second-hand textbooks. Sherlock felt somewhat helpless. He was a pragmatist, convinced that second-hand books were just as good and cost only a third of new ones—a great bargain.

If it were up to him, he would have chosen used books, but his mother would not allow it.

Besides the required textbooks, Sherlock bought several additional books, such as “Significant Magical Events of the Twentieth Century” and “The Rise and Fall of Dark Magic.” He also picked up a bestseller by an author named Bear Grylls, titled “The Survival Handbook.”