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[Enter, stranger, but take heed]
[Of what awaits the sin of greed,]
[For those who take, but do not earn,]
[Must pay most dearly in their turn.]
[So if you seek beneath our floors]
[A treasure that was never yours,]
[Thief, you have been warned, beware]
[Of finding more than treasure there.]
Sherlock withdrew his gaze from these lines.
Clearly, this wizarding bank was very confident in its security measures.
How should one put it?
Every bank thinks so, right before an incident occurs.
Sherlock pondered while observing the grand marble hall before him.
After just a brief consideration, he had already identified several vulnerabilities.
Without magic, given one night, he could definitely get this bank onto the news.
Shocking! Bank Funds Vanish Without a Trace, Mysterious Figure Bypasses Security and Escapes Casually
This wasn't uncommon, like the financial bond theft in London just a year ago.
The Bank of England's response at the time was classic.
Phase one: Claim nothing happened.
Phase two: Say maybe something happened, but we shouldn't act.
Phase three: Say maybe we should act, but we can't do anything.
Phase four: Maybe we could have done something back then, but it's too late now.
The wizarding bank could certainly take notes.
However, Sherlock now knew magic existed in this world.
Until he fully understood this unfamiliar concept, it was best not to act rashly.
Upon reaching the counter, an available goblin was summoned by the one who had led them, handling the exchange transaction for the trio.
The Galleon-to-Pound exchange rate wasn't fixed; today it was 1:5.
This was somewhat surprising.
Keep in mind, it was 1991, and the British Pound was still very strong.
For the Galleon to be worth five times the Pound under these circumstances was quite impressive.
Fortunately, Mrs. Holmes' worries did not materialize.
Because they had brought plenty of money.
Enough to exchange for nearly a thousand Galleons.
However, an unexpected issue arose just as they were about to exchange.
There was a limit on exchanging Pounds for magical currency!
Sherlock was initially surprised by this news but quickly accepted it.
In the non-magical world, there were also limits on exchanging domestic currency for foreign currency.
Mainly to prevent excessive capital flow.
Excessive capital flow, especially large influxes of short-term capital, could cause severe fluctuations in financial markets.
Particularly under certain economic conditions, such as an economic downturn or increased financial market volatility, the absence of foreign exchange controls could lead to massive capital flight.
This, in turn, could cause currency depreciation, financial market chaos, and a series of other problems. In severe cases, it might even trigger a financial crisis.
Therefore, for reasons such as maintaining foreign exchange reserves, protecting the domestic economy, and preserving financial market order, countries impose limits on the amount of foreign currency ordinary citizens can exchange annually.
Once this limit is exceeded, no further foreign currency can be exchanged that year.
Since the magical world had its own independent monetary system, having a limit on exchanging magical currency was understandable... what utter nonsense!
If the limit applied to everyone, it might be justifiable.
But according to the goblin, wizards from non-wizarding families could exchange a maximum of 128 Galleons per year.
As for the limit for pure-blood wizarding families, although the goblin didn't specify, Sherlock could tell just by observation that the amount was far above 128 Galleons.
One could even boldly assume there was no limit for wizarding families exchanging Galleons.
What else could he say?
It was just blatant discrimination!
However, leveraging his meticulous observation skills, Sherlock still spotted other avenues on the goblin's transaction forms.
The 128 Galleon limit seemed to apply only to Pounds Sterling.
So he inquired further.
Indeed, Gringotts also acquired gold, jewelry, antiques, etc.
Meaning, although one could only exchange a maximum of 128 Galleons using Pounds, valuable items like gold could still be exchanged for more.
Sherlock's eyes instantly lit up.
He suddenly realized he had found a brand-new route for London's criminals to launder their ill-gotten gains.
Gringotts, the money laundering haven!
Provided they could get here, of course.
Although the goblin being questioned looked impatient, under Sherlock's persistent questioning, it did provide one piece of information:
128 Galleons was more than enough to purchase all the necessary items for a first-year wizard.
After all, besides these supplies, attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was purely compulsory education—room and board included, no tuition fees required.
This aspect, at least, was consistent with the non-magical world.
In the UK, students begin compulsory education at age five in kindergarten and continue until they finish secondary education at seventeen.
During this period, school-age children must attend, and all parents must send their children to school.
Students enjoy full state benefits, with the state covering necessary tuition fees, books, and essential supplies.
Eleven years old was precisely the stage of transitioning from primary to secondary education.
So, apart from this shopping expense before the start of each school year, theoretically, no additional spending was needed.
Ultimately, after exchanging the maximum amount of Galleons for 640 Pounds, Sherlock and his parents left Gringotts.
For a long time after leaving Gringotts, Mrs. Holmes seemed rather downcast.
Deeply influenced by the idea of being well-prepared financially when traveling far from home ('poor at home, rich on the road'), she even began considering whether to return home first, bring gold items here to exchange for Galleons, lest her son suffer hardship in distant Scotland.
Sherlock promptly dissuaded her from this idea.
"Let's do the shopping first. If the money truly isn't enough, we can resort to that method then."
Mrs. Holmes agreed to Sherlock's proposal.
Next came the shopping spree phase.
Following the school list requirements, Sherlock purchased a large pile of textbooks, as well as cauldrons, scales, a telescope, and other items for magic lessons.
At this point, Sherlock found the Gringotts goblin's words somewhat exaggerated.
128 Galleons to buy everything on the list was merely adequate, definitely not 'more than enough'.
Judging by the prices of items he had already bought, three sets of plain work robes cost 20 Galleons, a telescope cost 10 Galleons, and even a quill for writing cost 1 Galleon.
The most outrageous thing was that a brand-new textbook cost a staggering 9 Galleons.
Was knowledge in the magical world really so expensive?
This realization made the already unhappy Mrs. Holmes feel even worse.
Consequently, she firmly rejected Sherlock's idea of buying second-hand textbooks.
Sherlock couldn't help feeling a bit helpless about this.
He was a typical pragmatist.
In his view, there was essentially no difference between second-hand and new textbooks, yet the price was only a third of the latter.
Wasn't that a steal?
If it were up to him, he would definitely choose second-hand books.
Unfortunately, his dear mother disagreed.
Besides the required booklist, Sherlock also purchased a few extra books.
For example, 'Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts', which could help him further understand the magical world.
And a bestseller by an author named Bear Grylls—'The Wilderness Survival Handbook'.
(End of Chapter)