Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard

Chapter 554: Chapter 552: 5,000 Galleons

Kael originally thought Lupin would be waiting for them at the Three Broomsticks, but he was clearly wrong.

As they passed by the entrance of the Three Broomsticks, Sirius didn’t stop at all and walked straight past.

The three of them continued forward, passing Scrivenshaft’s and Gladrags Wizardwear in succession, and then followed a small path a bit further to a familiar place.

The Shrieking Shack.

Lupin was standing next to the overturned fence surrounding the shack, slowly setting each piece back up.

”Professor Lupin!” Harry waved enthusiastically and ran over. ”You don’t have to do this, you know. The first time I came to Hogsmeade, they were already down, and nobody cared.”

”Hello, Harry, it’s so nice to see you again.” Lupin looked up and said, ”But you don’t need to call me Professor anymore. Just call me Lupin, or like Sirius does, Remus or Moonface.”

”Okay, Professor Lupin,” Harry blurted out.

Lupin froze for a moment. Clearly, Harry would take some time to break the habit of that address... Never mind, it might be easier this way.

He sighed and decided not to dwell on it, bending down to continue sorting the nearby fence.

Harry wanted to mention that no one in Hogsmeade cared about the state of the Shrieking Shack; in fact, most people wouldn’t even come here.

But before he could say anything, someone interrupted him.

Sirius shook his head with a smile, ”Let him be. All this will need doing eventually, anyway.”

”What do you mean?” Harry still couldn’t understand why Professor Lupin would bother fixing up a place that hardly anyone visited.

”Because I bought the Shrieking Shack,” Sirius said casually, as if he were merely talking about buying a pint of Butterbeer.

”What did you say?” Harry couldn’t help but raise his voice.

”I thought about it when I was in school, but I didn’t have that much gold back then,” Sirius said. ”And after I graduated, many things got in the way, making it possible only half a year ago.”

”How much did it cost?” Harry muttered.

”Honestly, much cheaper than I expected,” Sirius said.

”Back when I was in school, this place had already been abandoned for many years. The old wizard family that owned it had moved to Finland a long time ago.”

”During the Christmas holidays, Lupin and I specifically went over there. When we found him, he had even forgotten he still had a property in Hogsmeade.

”So when he learned I wanted to buy the Shrieking Shack, he agreed without any hesitation, even giving me a pretty generous discount.

Such a large space only cost five thousand Galleons, quite a deal, right?”

Sirius grinned at Harry, seemingly proud of the money he had saved.

Harry pursed his lips, unable to muster any words of praise.

Although he was considered wealthy himself, with piles of Galleons stored in his vault, five thousand Galleons... that number was still hard to swallow.

Mr. Weasley’s salary was only eighty Galleons, and the Triwizard Tournament’s champion prize was a thousand Galleons, meaning Sirius spent the equivalent of five championship prizes in one go.

Yet just as he was about to say something, Kael seriously nodded his head.

”Five thousand Galleons, you’ve definitely snagged a bargain.”

”Didn’t I?” Sirius said gleefully. ”It was worth the long trip.”

”Kael, why do you think it’s cheap too?” Harry asked, looking a bit exasperated.

”Of course it is,” Kael replied.

Hogsmeade is practically the only village entirely inhabited by wizards, making the land very expensive, let alone a large area like the Shrieking Shack.

With the ramshackle house aside, the area inside the fence is also part of the Shrieking Shack’s domain; otherwise, Lupin wouldn’t bother tidying it up.

Kael pondered for a moment and then explained it to Harry in simpler terms: ”This place is about ten times the space of a normal shop. Converted, it’s like buying Honeyduke’s Candy Store for five hundred Galleons. Does it still seem expensive to you?”

Harry instinctively shook his head.

While he felt it couldn’t be compared that way given the different locations, thinking about it, Hogsmeade was only so big, and what Kael said kind of made sense.

”What do you plan to do after buying this place?” Harry looked at Sirius curiously. ”Live here, or open a shop?”

”Well, I’m not sure.”

”You’re not sure?”

”Yeah,” Sirius said. ”I just wanted to buy it, but Moonface thought it was a bit wasteful.”

”It’s not just me, Padfoot,” Lupin came over, annoyed. ”That’s five thousand Galleons, enough for a normal wizard family to live for ten years. You can’t just treat it as a decoration.”

”How about letting you manage it?” Sirius suggested with a smile. ”I won’t interfere with whatever you choose to do.”

”We’ve talked about this many times,” Lupin frowned. ”I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t have to do this, Padfoot. It’s not like I can’t find work at all.

”I’ve been studying books on fire dragons lately, and perhaps next year, I can try my luck at the Romanian Fire Dragon Reserve.”

”Of course, I completely respect your decision, Moonface,” Sirius said, his gaze drifting. ”I only bought this place to fulfill a school-time dream.

Come on, Harry, let’s go inside and take a look. While we’re at it, we can tidy up the broken furniture, and I’ll buy new ones later.

Oh, by the way, you can pick a room on the second floor to stay in during the holidays.”

”Really? Can I?” Harry asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He never even dared to dream he could stay in Hogsmeade one day.

”Of course you can,” Sirius said.

Behind them, Lupin couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

He understood Sirius and knew why he wanted to buy this place, but spending five thousand Galleons on a temporary living space seemed wasteful.

Grimmauld Place was already quite sufficient. Most importantly, it was protected by the Fidelius Charm, making it very secure.

At this point, Kael suddenly asked, ”Have you really decided to go to Romania?”

”Yes,” Lupin replied. ”I’ve thought it through; it suits me well.”

”But have you considered something?” Kael continued, ”Sirius is now trying his best to play the role of a godfather. Are you at ease leaving Harry with him?”

Lupin stopped abruptly, and his expressions rapidly shifted.

That’s right, he completely forgot about this.

Sirius would certainly want Harry to live with him, no doubt about it.

Initially, Lupin hadn’t seen anything wrong with it and even thought it was appropriate. Harry’s aunt and uncle didn’t like him, so staying with Sirius was definitely better. Harry likely thought the same.

But now, Kael’s reminder suddenly brought up an important issue.

The past twelve years weren’t entirely without effect on Sirius, and now he was more impulsive and irritable than before.

Moreover, he seemed to have a sort of revengeful spending pattern, splurging money as if trying to make up for those twelve empty years.

Lupin completely understood this aspect, being confined for those twelve years; now indulging a little was relatively understandable. Hence, he rarely stopped Sirius from buying things that, in his view, were entirely unnecessary.

For instance, the Shrieking Shack.

But now, he suddenly realized that if Harry spent a long time living with him, it might influence him.

Sirius might be fine; his actions were temporary, and after some time, he’d likely revert to normal once his excitement wore off.

But Harry, being young, if he picked up such habits, it would become hard to change.

This made Lupin feel somewhat conflicted.

He felt he should stay, whether to accompany Sirius or help guide Harry; he should stay here.

However, the money he had saved from being a professor wasn’t much. Although it could last for a while, in the long run, he couldn’t keep using Sirius’s money.

Lupin didn’t want that.