Chapter 8: Three Visits to Gringotts
The Grangers, having overheard their conversation, also turned to look at the handsome blond young man.
"Are you Hermione's classmate?"
"Yes, Mr. Granger. Hermione and I are classmates." Ethan smiled warmly.
Seeing her daughter's shy smile, Mrs. Granger guessed what she was thinking.
"Hello, Ethan. It seems you'll also be attending Hogwarts. I hope you two can look out for each other in your new environment."
Hermione tugged at her mother's sleeve, signaling her to stop talking.
Mrs. Granger smiled slightly as she looked at her daughter's face, which had turned so red she looked about to burst.
Ethan politely excused himself and found a goblin to take him down to the underground vault.
This time he fared better than before. At least he hadn't vomited while underground.
The goblin watched Ethan withdraw another four hundred Galleons with a pained expression, as if Ethan were robbing him personally.
Back above ground, he hugged a pillar and vomited for a while before entering the hall, pale-faced.
He was surprised to find that Hermione's family and Professor McGonagall were all waiting for him.
"Sorry, I wasn't feeling well earlier, so I got back a little late."
Hermione looked at his pale face with concern and whispered, "Is the underground vault really that scary?"
"It's terrifying! We have to go all the way down and cross through a grayish-white dragon's territory. To get the Galleons from the vault, we have to outwit and outmaneuver the dragon guarding the treasure. It's horrible!" Ethan teased, feigning fear.
She clapped a hand over her mouth with a terrified gasp. "A fire dragon! Does such a creature really exist?!"
"Ethan, don't make up stories to scare Hermione," Professor McGonagall said with a smile.
Realizing she'd been tricked, Hermione swatted his arm and retreated behind her parents in a huff.
"Sorry, sorry, it was just a joke. There really is a fire dragon down there, but it's the guardian of the vault. I'm just a little carsick because the ride is so bumpy," he apologized to Hermione, who was peeking at him from between her parents.
"Hmph!" Hermione snorted and pulled her parents outside.
Ethan quickly followed, telling her jokes with a grin to cheer her up.
At last, Hermione burst out laughing and rolled her eyes at him.
Seeing her smile, he chuckled and slung his bag over his shoulder before finishing the checkout process, which Professor McGonagall had walked him through earlier.
Hermione hadn't bought a pet, and she hadn't spent as long choosing a wand as he had, so she finished her shopping in just an hour and moved on to the last of her school supplies.
Ethan had the robes he'd picked up at Madam Malkin's slung over his shoulder and took a big bite of the ice cream he'd just bought from Florean Fortescue's.
He turned to Hermione, who was slowly licking her ice cream cone. "How is it? Pretty good, right? It's different from the ice cream we usually eat. A totally new experience."
"Mmm." Hermione nodded, casting a cautious glance at her parents, the dentists.
Ethan caught the look, turned to the Grangers, and flashed a bright smile, revealing pearly white teeth flecked with ice cream.
He'd actually wanted to buy five, but Professor McGonagall had declined since she didn't like sweets, and the Grangers avoided anything that might damage teeth. In the end, only he and Hermione got one each.
"Your teeth are in excellent condition," Mr. Granger observed, nodding at Ethan's smile.
When they returned to Flourish and Blotts, the first thing Sofia asked was, "What took you so long?"
Before he could answer, she spotted Hermione beside him, with Professor McGonagall and the Grangers following behind.
She stood and gave a graceful, ladylike bow to the group.
"Mom, this is my classmate Hermione Granger, and these are her parents." Ethan turned to Hermione. "And this is my mother, Sofia Jones."
He glanced around and spotted his father reading nearby. "Dad! Over here!"
He pointed as his father walked over. "And my father, Albert Jones."
The two men exchanged pleasantries with the Grangers, as adults do.
Soon, Professor McGonagall joined them, chatting with the two women about skincare.
Witch or Muggle, it seemed women were pretty much the same when it came to skincare.
Having done this before, Ethan helped Hermione gather the necessary textbooks.
Seeing the five adults happily chatting in small groups, he didn't interrupt.
When he saw Hermione reach for a book he'd already bought, he reached out to stop her. "I already have that one. You should get something else, and we can swap over the summer. If you really want your own copy, you can always buy it later."
"Okay." Hermione blushed again, though she couldn't say why.
She picked up a copy of Hogwarts: A History that Ethan didn't have, then moved on to the other shelves.
After browsing around, Ethan had picked out seven more books, and Hermione had five.
"Dad, Mom! Are there any other books you want? I'll pay for everything at once."
"Here he comes!" Albert left Sofia to continue chatting with the Grangers and Professor McGonagall and walked over carrying a stack of fairy tales and novels about the wizarding world.
"Wow, Dad, you bought a lot," Ethan exclaimed, eyeing the stack of more than twenty books.
"Well, we don't come here often, so we might as well stock up. Son, how much money did you withdraw? Your mother wants to buy some more potions. She said what she just bought wouldn't last a year, so she plans to get a few more."
"I withdrew four hundred. After I pay, I'll see how much is left. If it's not enough, I'll get more." His expression turned grimly determined.
"All right, all right, I'll tell your mom to be careful with the money. It should be enough for about a year." Albert, taking pity on his son, immediately changed his mind.
Was it really that scary? Hermione, who had never experienced it, looked at Ethan with suspicion.
This gave him a slightly mischievous idea. "Dad, don't worry about it. You two chat for a bit. Hermione's robe won't be ready for a while anyway, so I'll take her to try hers on."
"Huh?" Albert was startled. Having been through it once himself, he never wanted to experience it again. He wasn't sure if his son was joking, so he asked Hermione, "Hermione, what would you like to do?"
This only fueled her curiosity. "I'd like to experience it, Mr. Jones."
"Well then, good luck." Albert shuddered, feeling a twinge of sympathy for what she was about to go through.
Shouldering his backpack again, Ethan headed toward Gringotts for the third time.
The goblins at the entrance all recognized him. After their customary bow, they complained, "You again! That's three times today!"
Ethan chuckled, ignoring their complaints, and led Hermione inside.
He took Hermione for a ride through the maze and withdrew four hundred Galleons from his vault.
Even though he could see Hermione fighting nausea, he couldn't resist teasing her. "Did you see that fire dragon? It's white and gray, and huge."
Although he was also pale, Ethan had developed some tolerance after six cart rides that day, and he was clearly handling it better than before.
A phrase suddenly popped into his head. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger!
After helping a shaky Hermione out of Gringotts once she'd stopped vomiting, they stopped at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to wait a while, then picked up her robe, and then returned to Flourish and Blotts.