It was a snow-white building that towered over the surrounding shops. One had to pass through two doors to reach the marble hall. Behind the gleaming bronze door and the silver second door engraved with warnings, goblins with swarthy faces, pointed beards, and long arms and legs bowed in greeting and respectfully escorted them to the Malfoy family vault.
At Gringotts, goblins used the location of the vault and the method of opening the door to define the wealth of the vault owner. High-security vaults were located deep underground, and the doors were often protected by advanced enchantments, not merely a simple key.
As one of the oldest wizarding families, the Malfoys' possessions were stored in the deepest levels—miles beneath London. As soon as the Malfoys boarded the cart, it began winding its way downward through a maze of passages, twisting and turning in the biting cold air, between giant stalactites and stalagmites, seemingly hurtling toward the bowels of the earth.
The cart slowed as it passed an enormous dragon chained to a massive stake, allowing Draco to glimpse the drowsy dragon—one of the main reasons he had come to Gringotts in his previous life to ride such a dizzying and wretched cart.
Draco had loved dragons since childhood, but observing it now, he truly could not appreciate this particular dragon.
It looked anything but magnificent. Its face was covered in horrific scars, and its loose scales were pallid instead of shiny silver-grey. Its eyes were a milky pink instead of crimson. Its hind legs were heavily shackled, and its enormous, spiked wings were folded at its sides.
The noise of the cart seemed to irritate the dragon, which turned its ugly head toward them and released a roar that shook the very stones, but it flinched at the sound of the "Clankers" in the goblins' hands—small metallic instruments that produced a loud, piercing, rattling sound.
A truly majestic dragon should be fearless. It had clearly lost its pride as a dragon under the goblins' brutal conditioning. Draco gazed at it and released a quiet sigh.
The cart finally halted at the deepest point underground. A goblin tapped gently at the ornate and ancient door, and the door gradually vanished.
Within the vault, piles of coins—gold and silver—gemstones, rare pelts, and potion ingredients towered high. Of the wealth accumulated by the Malfoy family over ten centuries, those Galleons were perhaps the most insignificant. For them, the most precious possessions were perhaps those that money could not necessarily purchase.
Lucius proudly brushed off nonexistent dust from his robes and casually waved his serpent-head cane, causing a large quantity of gold Galleons to fly automatically into several palm-sized dragonhide money pouches in Lucius's hands.
"Draco, take these and use the money wisely," Lucius handed the pouch to Draco and leisurely walked from his vault. He advised Draco, "A qualified Malfoy must learn to invest and spend money where it is needed. You will soon discover that most friends in this world can be bought with gold."
"Yes, Father," Draco replied just as he had in his previous life.
This philosophy was effective to a degree, as it had enabled the Malfoy family to maintain numerous connections within the Ministry over the past decade.
Ironically, after Lucius was imprisoned in Azkaban, those friends avoided him as much as possible and even exploited his misfortune—it was evident that a relationship maintained solely by gold was unreliable.
Malfoy family doctrine stated there were no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Naturally, interests were not limited to material possessions.
Draco pursed his lips slightly, thinking to himself. He was not about to abandon using gold to win people's allegiance. Properly utilizing others' influence could accomplish many tasks with minimal effort.
However, do not forget to remain vigilant amidst peaceful days of luxury and indulgence. Do not forget that relationships purchased with gold were mostly fragile—they could be bought with a higher price. As for the loyalty of those who could not be bought with gold, that was even more unpredictable.
"Dear Draco, I also transferred some gold to your private vault." Narcissa smiled and touched Draco's platinum head, interrupting his thoughts. She told him affectionately, "Do not let your father know."
Besides the family vault that only the head of the family could access, every member of the Malfoy family possessed their own private vault. Draco's private vault had existed since his birth, and it already contained considerable wealth.
Grandfather Abraxas had given his beloved grandson an education fund annually, and maternal grandfather Cygnus Black—because of his preference for Narcissa—would also transfer a sum of gold Galleons to his grandson each year.
Not to mention Narcissa, as one of the wealthy and influential ladies in the wizarding world, who would certainly indulge her child. She always provided her son with substantial pocket money, fearing her beloved son might lack food or clothing.
Draco looked up at his mother. Her smiling eyes revealed genuine love. His mother might not be the one who understood him best, but she was always the one who loved him deeply. She had always been present for him, protecting him and accompanying him through countless uncertain, dark, and gloomy days.
Looking back, his mother, seemingly the most delicate, had become the backbone of the family when it was about to collapse. Without her, Draco could not imagine how wretched he and his father would have become.
Even when his wand was taken by Potter, his mother had even "lent" him her own wand.
A wand was a wizard's life. By giving him her wand, she was, in effect, sacrificing her own life to protect her son. She was exposing herself to all manner of mortal dangers, leaving herself no means of defense.
Like his father, she had to face the dangerous and crude Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor unarmed. Draco could not even imagine how terrified his mother must have been in that situation.
They were merely lambs awaiting slaughter.
This time, allow me to protect you, Mother. Draco never wished to see her weary and melancholy face again, nor did he wish to see her panic-stricken expression.
In his previous life, due to his naivety, ignorance, and vanity, he had not put this wealth to proper use. By the time he finally decided to do something, that wealth had become, in a sense, a tool for the Dark Lord to win over followers. By then, the Malfoy family had fallen into dire straits, and the three of them were regarded by the Dark Lord as expendable pawns, trembling with fear and exploited at his whim. The Malfoys had tragically become the Dark Lord's "servants" and "coffers."
What a waste.
Not this time. He clutched the pouch tightly, as though clutching his own fate.
Draco raised his head and gave Narcissa, who remained radiant, an innocent smile. "Thank you, Mother."
I shall prepare thoroughly before facing all that trouble, Draco told himself.