The massive vault door creaked open.
Inside was nothing but galleons that filled the entire vault.
Piles upon piles of coins.
Stacks reaching nearly to the ceiling.
The golden glow reflected in everyone's eyes.
Fred's jaw dropped.
"George… are you seeing this?!"
George slowly stepped forward.
"Fred… is this heaven?"
Behind them, Ron and Ginny stood frozen, mouths wide open.
Alexander casually walked inside the vault and laughed.
"Come inside and get a better look!"
He pulled out one of his pouches and began scooping up galleons as if it were nothing.
Pouch after pouch was being filled.
Alexander counted how many pouches he had filled.
He then watched them with amusement.
The twins were swimming in the gold, Ron was thinking of a way to steal some, and Ginny was playing with some galleons.
Alexander suddenly had an idea.
"Since you're here, each person gets one handful."
"Take more than that, and you get nothing."
Ron didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward and grabbed a handful.
He began counting.
"…That's it?"
He frowned.
Then immediately tried again.
Ginny only picked up a few coins.
Alexander noticed and chuckled.
He grabbed an empty pouch, filled it with hundreds of galleons, and handed it to her.
"Here. Don't be shy."
Ginny froze when she received the pouch.
Alexander smiled.
"You'll need it."
"As a girl, there are always extra things you need to buy."
He glanced toward the twins.
"Your brothers are too stingy with money."
Ginny shook her head quickly.
"I—I can't take this—"
Alexander waved it off.
"Just take it."
He gestured around.
"As you can see, I'm not exactly short on money."
Ginny hesitated and shyly asked.
"…Why are you so nice to me?"
Alexander laughed lightly.
"I'm nice to everyone."
He looked at the twins.
"This is nothing compared to what the twins earned this school year."
Fred immediately shouted,
"LIES! We earned nothing!"
George nodded dramatically.
"Alex, stop lying! We're broke!"
Fred ran over to Ginny.
"If you don't want it, we'll take it!"
George also quickly ran over to.
"As your older brothers, we can manage your money for you!"
Ginny instantly hid the pouch behind her back.
"No!"
Alexander laughed.
Meanwhile—
Ron was still trying to perfect his "one handful."
After dozens of attempts, he finally stepped back proudly.
"…Fifty galleons."
He stuffed them into his pocket with a huge grin.
Everyone was watching him started to laugh.
The twins quickly scooped their share and did one final swim through the pile of gold coins.
After a few minutes, they all exited the vault.
Norm locked it and handed the key back to Alexander.
On the ride back through the tunnels, Fred suddenly asked.
"Wait! Will your parents be okay with giving us money?"
George added.
"Right, that was his parents' money!"
Alexander shrugged.
"That was just my personal vault in the UK."
The twins screamed.
"That was your vault?!:
"What do you mean in the UK?!"
Alexander smiled at them and casually said.
"I still have another vault back in the US."
"My vault in the US has more money, and I even have a collection of paintings!"
All the Weasley kids stared at him, completely stunned.
Alexander continued.
"I don't know how long I'll stay in the UK."
"So I only moved part of my money here."
The cart finally stopped, and Alexander got off first.
They quietly followed him back to the main hall.
Alexander handed Norm a pouch full of galleons.
Norm, with a big, ugly smile, handed him a small reinforced box.
"Your Thieves' Downfall water, Mr. Chen."
Then he leaned closer.
Alexander bent down slightly.
Norm whispered,
"If we acquire another dragon…"
"I'll inform you… Though the price will be very high."
Alexander smirked and whispered back.
"Money is never an issue."
"I will pay for a dragon egg if it is easier to get."
Norm's grin widened.
Alexander started to head to the exit with the Weasleys.
Norm led them to the door.
"Pleasure doing business again."
"Have a nice day, Mr. Chen."
Alexander nodded.
"Thanks again, Norm."
And they left Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Outside—
The Weasley kids finally snapped out of their shock.
Fred pointed at Alexander.
"If that's your money…"
George finished.
"How did you even earn all that?!"
Ron and Ginny looked just as curious.
Alexander chuckled.
"Over the years, I've been helping a friend of mine, Steve."
"When he takes my ideas and turns them into products, he pays me royalties."
He shrugged.
"It adds up."
"My parents usually hold onto my vault key so I don't waste my money."
Anyone hearing Alexander talk would think he was a liar, but they had just seen the vault.
They stopped walking as they arrived at Ollivanders Wand Shop.
Ron snapped out of it.
"Oi! Fred, give me the money!"
Fred laughed.
"Alex already gave you money!"
George added.
"Go buy your wand yourself!"
They started arguing.
Eventually, Ron stormed inside to buy his wand.
Outside the shop, Fred ran off.
He returned moments later holding a mug.
"Here, a Temperature-control mug."
He handed it to Alexander.
"Prove it."
Alexander flipped the mug over and pointed.
"Product made by SH&AC of Heart Corporation."
"SH is for Steve Heart."
"AC is for Alexander Chen."
He was going to talk more—
But Ginny suddenly interrupted.
"Wait… Heart Corporation?"
"The company that makes all the famous magical tools?"
Alexander nodded.
"Yep."
"Some of the magical tools were my idea."
"Heart Corporation buys my ideas, makes them, and sells them."
The twins froze.
Alexander smiled and continued happily.
"I could have made it myself, but I am only one person."
"Steve's family is more than happy to buy my ideas."
"My parents and I decided that selling it under the Heart Corporation is fine for now."
"Once I get older, I will probably start my own company."
Ginny stared at him with wide eyes.
The twins?
Still processing.
Alexander kept talking about future inventions when—
Fred suddenly snapped out of it.
"WAIT!"
"The notebooks we got for Christmas!"
George's eyes widened.
"The one that organizes notes?!"
Fred pointed.
"That was YOUR idea?!"
Alexander laughed.
"Yes, but it's still a prototype."
"We've been working on it for years."
The twins burst out laughing.
"It's brilliant!"
"We love it!"
Ginny looked confused.
"…What notebook?"
Alexander grinned.
"This notebook."
He reached into his pouch and pulled out a sleek notebook.
"Here I have a spare. For now, we are calling it Magic Notebook. I can't think of a good name yet."
Ginny carefully took it.
Alexander pulled out parchments and wrote subjects:
History of Magic
Potions
Charms
Transfiguration
Herbology
He then said to Ginny.
"Hold the notebook like this. Then you place the parchments on top of it like this."
"Now, channel your magic into it with a wand or through your hands."
Ginny, still a beginner at magic, raised her wand and focused.
A soft glow spread.
Whoosh.
The parchments were pulled inside.
Ginny gasped and flipped through it.
Alexander smiled.
"You can store up to ten pages at one time, and organize them however you want."
For the next ten minutes, he showed her how it worked.
Ginny was completely amazed.
Meanwhile—
Off to the side, Fred and George whispered intensely.
Plotting and scheming.
"…We need to work for him."
"Or with him."
"Or marry into his family."
"…We already tried that."
"…Right."