章 4: Chapter 04: Inside The Vault

"Shouldn't there be a dragon guarding this?"

Professor McGonagall asked, peering into the darkness ahead with a hint of confusion.

As far as she knew, vaults in Gringotts that contained truly valuable items were typically guarded by dragons. Given the Gaunt family's heritage, their vault was certainly no ordinary one.

What's more, this vault was suspiciously close to the entrance—Gringotts' mine carts were notoriously unpleasant, and everyone knew it took much longer to reach the deeper vaults.

Yet this time, the ride was barely half a minute, as if they were being led to an inconspicuous spot. If not for this occasion, Professor McGonagall would never have thought there would be a vault here at all.

The goblin guiding them glanced at Professor McGonagall, his expression not hostile but certainly not friendly.

"No need, These vaults require no protection from us. Anyone entering without family lineage wouldn't make it out alive."

The goblin's response was casual, though he clearly couldn't say much more.

Professor McGonagall picked up on the strangeness here. That Gringotts would simply allow vault owners such freedom suggested some kind of unknown arrangement.

Luke, however, didn't seem too concerned. He knew his bloodline was pure, and as for the vault's contents, he honestly had no idea.

Who knew how much his ancestors had taken or left behind over the generations?

Thinking of the fine furniture and artwork in his cottage, Luke felt a bit wary, hoping there was enough left in the vault to at least cover some basic necessities.

He had his own ways of earning money, but a secure stash would be reassuring.

Each absorbed in their own thoughts, they continued deeper into the cave.

After a while, after winding through numerous turns, a light suddenly appeared ahead. Adjusting to the dark, their eyes momentarily stung as they caught sight of a massive door. As their eyes adjusted, they saw the grand vault door in full.

It stood at least six or seven meters tall, ornately carved, and adorned with the faces of prominent Gaunt ancestors, including Slytherin. Each face had closed eyes. At the center was a prominent keyhole, surrounded by a serpent carved from jade biting its own tail.

To be honest, both Luke and Professor McGonagall were astonished upon seeing the door. Whatever lay beyond it was still a mystery, but the door itself was clearly of significant value based on its materials alone. Luke's confidence in the vault's contents grew substantially.

The goblin stopped and gestured to Luke, saying, "Please use your key to open the door."

With that, he turned and left without hesitation. This was, after all, part of the ancient arrangement with the family. As long as the vault belonged to them, goblins would not approach while it was open. Besides, he knew this vault hadn't been opened for centuries—after all, the family was incredibly wealthy even without its vault holdings.

(T/N: for anyone confused as it was said before that after 100 years, the goblins could claim it, that was after extinction of the Gaunt's but Tom and his mother' side of family was alive, though not having a way to access the vault without the crest)

The goblin had always known about the Gaunt family's separation. He didn't know the reasons behind it, nor did he care. He only knew that if the family's heir didn't claim it, the vault's fortune would one day belong to Gringotts.

Professor McGonagall, seeing the goblin leave, asked, "Luke, do you need me to step aside?"

Luke looked back at her and, seeing the sincerity on her face, shook his head firmly. "No need, Professor, I trust you."

Without waiting for a response, he inserted the key into the lock and turned it.

The tail-eating serpent (Ouroboros, which represents eternal rebirth) surrounding the keyhole began to spin, and the ancestors' eyes slowly opened, each revealing a large green gemstone. In an instant, all the "eyes" fixed on Luke, emitting a cold green glow.

At the sight of the green light, Professor McGonagall instinctively took a few steps back, sensing it wouldn't be wise to touch it.

But in the next moment, she stopped, even moving forward slightly to observe Luke carefully for any signs of danger, her hand gripping her wand in case she needed to act.

Luke, however, felt an unexpected warmth, as though he'd returned home. The glow, though cold on the surface, felt like a caring touch, as if elders were gently reassuring and advising him.

The green light faded shortly after, and the door slowly opened, revealing the vault's contents.

"Wow…" they both gasped.

Luke recalled being stunned and envious when he'd seen Harry's mountain of Galleons in the movies, thinking Harry was born into such wealth.

Of course, he later learned the Potters had essentially monopolized the wizarding shampoo market, making them wealthy for generations.

But now, seeing a towering pile of gold at least six meters high and as wide as several people's reach, Luke finally understood what it meant to be a real ancient family.

And this was only at first glance—more treasures awaited them as they entered.

Luke felt a slight weakness in his legs as he realized the weight of it all.

Thankfully, his composure held, thanks to a system of restraint he had, that kept him from losing his cool over the years.

Professor McGonagall wasn't unused to seeing wealth. On the contrary, As deputy headmistress, much of her work involved managing Hogwarts' finances.

Yet here, even she felt a pang of humility. And everyone knew that in a wizarding vault, money was often the least valuable item, meant to mislead petty thieves.

Standing side by side, they took a moment to process it all. Luke recovered first and asked, "Professor, would you like to come inside?"

She instinctively wanted to refuse, feeling that this place wasn't meant for her as an outsider.

But before she could speak, Luke continued, "I'm serious, Professor. If you hadn't led me here, I'd have never even reached the vault."

"It's my duty, Luke, and I'm not the only one who could have done it," she replied, regaining her composure. If wealth had mattered to her, she could have left Hogwarts long ago.

As a transfiguration master and excellent wizard, she had many ways to make money.

"But you're the one here today. That's fate" he said with a smile.

"At the very least, come in with me and have a look around. And please keep an eye out for anything unusual—I don't know much about this vault myself. I'd rather not stumble into anything dangerous in there."

At this point, she could hardly refuse, and nodded, following him inside.

Once inside, the treasures dazzled them again—valuable gems, magical materials, and shelves filled with magical grimoires whose worth exceeded that of any currency.

Luke looked around, feeling a bit disinterested.

Magical tomes were precious, but at his current level, they were beyond his reach. It would be like teaching quantum physics to a student who'd just learned basic mechanics. Instead of benefiting, they might cause him harm.

The magical materials too, were impressive—dragon hearts, unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers—but with his limited 3-point talent in Potions, they were likely to end up as gifts to bribe Snape for some leniency.

But Unicorn hairs?, Hagrid had blankets full of them everywhere...

And as for the gemstones and artifacts, they were essentially just more money. The mound of Galleons alone would take him a lifetime to spend.

He glanced at Professor McGonagall, who was engrossed in a magical manuscript, occasionally nodding and frowning thoughtfully.

Luke couldn't help but smile.

Ah! Finally something good.