After paying a consultation fee of two fifty-pound notes, Elena's process of exchanging Galleons turned out smoother than expected.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the house-elf Serkins completed a series of tedious tasks for Elena, including information registration, account opening, currency exchange, and more, presenting a pouch filled with coins before the silver-haired young witch.
By the way, apart from most Galleons, Serkins considerately arranged a certain proportion of Sickles and Knuts for Elena, making her shopping journey more convenient.
"So, this is a Galleon, huh? Surprisingly well-crafted," Elena curiously picked up a coin and examined it closely. In terms of size, it wasn't too large, just a bit larger than a yuan coin from her previous life.
The front of the coin bore an abstract representation of a fire-breathing dragon, with a series of numbers around the edge, engraved by the goblins of Gringotts—both a coin and goblin identification.
"However, the weight and texture... seem a bit off?" With a gentle flick, Elena lightly scratched the surface of the seemingly weightless coin with her nail—its sheen remained, devoid of any dents or scratches.
Raising an eyebrow, Elena was certain that this shimmering Galleon in her hand couldn't possibly be a coin made directly from natural gold.
As a Harry Potter series fan and a master's student in economics in her past life, Elena had explored an intriguing question in a discussion group labeled [862-074-819] "Hogwarts on the Tip of the Tongue" with several others.
As the first country to implement the gold standard, even after transitioning into a credit-based (paper money) currency system, gold still held significant sway over the British economy.
And the wizarding world's Galleon was undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the entirely new credit-based currency.
The issue was, if a Galleon, stripped of its currency attributes, possessed an intrinsic value higher than its exchange value, it would spell disaster for both worlds—a catastrophic economic collapse.
In the 1991 setting Elena found herself in, the price of an ounce of gold was 360.75 US dollars, roughly 8.68 pounds per gram.
Consider this: a steel-core nickel-plated one-yuan coin weighed approximately 6 grams, while the weight of pure gold of the same volume was roughly 15.7 grams, valued at 136 pounds.
However, the exchange rate used by the Gringotts goblins was: one Galleon equaled five pounds!
To put it more straightforwardly, if a Galleon, when melted into gold, could be sold at a price far higher than the currency paid for its exchange, the wizarding world's gold reserve would plummet sharply, followed by a blockade of currency exchange, eventually leading to the complete closure of all channels between the magical and Muggle worlds.
(For those still confused, please click to see footnotes.)
In essence, constrained by purchasing power and exchange rates, if the goblins and the wizarding world wished to maintain a normal financial system, the only conclusion was massive circulation of inferior coins.
Therefore, the current "Galleons" were not "gold coins" but rather a magical currency forged from a blend of a small amount of gold and cheap metals.
This explanation also perfectly clarified why in the original "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the then-Minister of Magic, Fudge, handed Harry Potter a reward of a thousand Galleons—a mind-boggling weight of nearly 80 kilograms!
"Excuse me... Miss Elena, is there a problem with this Galleon?" Andy Serkins asked somewhat nervously.
Ever since the generous young human girl received the Galleons, she had been examining the single coin for almost five minutes, behaving almost as obsessively as the most avid wealth-loving elf would.
"Oh, nothing. Just suddenly thought of something else." Elena shook her head upon coming to her senses, not answering directly. With a deft flick of her fingers, she skillfully tucked the Galleon into a small pouch at her waist, then turned to Dumbledore and asked, "So, Professor Dumbledore, where to next?"
"Well... next is to gather all the necessary school supplies in Diagon Alley. Let me see." Dumbledore took out a piece of parchment stained with ink from his robes, pushed his glasses up, carefully perusing the listed items. He softly recited, "Uniforms, books, wands, class materials, and aside from these, a student may also bring along a... ahem, I've got a general idea."
As the old wizard read through the list, he suddenly coughed in a peculiar manner, hastily folding the list and tucking it back into his robes before Elena could decipher the contents.
"Let's start by getting your uniform. From a personal perspective, I'd recommend Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions." Dumbledore smiled warmly, seizing Elena's hand and heading towards the Gringotts' gate without further ado.
For some reason, Dumbledore had a sudden ominous feeling moments ago, as if continuing to stay at Gringotts with Elena might lead to some rather troublesome occurrences.
"Wait a minute, Professor Dumbledore, did you intentionally omit something?" Standing under the bright sun outside Gringotts, Elena glared slightly at Dumbledore.
If her memory served her right, the last item on the required school supply list for each new student should distinctly state: "Students may bring a pet—either an owl, a cat, or a toad."
"Is there? You might have misheard. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, I'm certain, Elena, that these are the necessary supplies for you," Dumbledore blinked in confusion, earnestly explaining to the silver-haired young girl. If Elena hadn't read the original series at least ten times, she might've been easily deceived by him.
"Pets! Every wizard can bring a pet into Hogwarts! I saw it specifically mentioned in a note attached to the second page at Father Benedictus's last night. Professor Dumbledore, how could you!" Elena puffed up her cheeks, angrily releasing Dumbledore's hand. She wasn't some dark force; did she really need to fight for the chance to have a small pet?
"Oh... is that so? I see, the ink blot just happened to obscure the content behind it. By the way, what flavor ice cream do you fancy?" Dumbledore wore a surprised expression as he pulled out the parchment again, pretended to open it, and showed a sudden realization. Then abruptly changed the topic, stiffly.
Here we go again.
Rolling her eyes at the white-haired old wizard's antics, Elena ignored Dumbledore and walked into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions on the street side.
Dealing with this shameless old wizard who didn't even make proper excuses, Elena had half a mind to yank out his beard if it weren't for the vast difference in their abilities.
From the swaying gap of the clothing store's door, the girl's voice drifted out.
"...chocolate flavor, and strawberry too. Preferably with some chopped nuts on top."