Chapter 238 Treasures Beyond Imagination
A thousand years ago, the magical world was different from what it is now. Back then, British society was engulfed in chaos, the territory was not unified, and the entire European continent was in the wild and darkness.
In addition to wizards, many magical creatures were also thriving.
They did not live in seclusion as they do now. On the contrary, they frequently appeared in the magical world, engaging in exchanges and transactions with wizards, even being hired by them to directly participate in the war against muggles.
Amongst the many magical creatures, goblins were particularly unique.
Due to their inherent greed and love for gold, they were closely linked to humans. They set up shops directly in wizarding societies, providing wizards with a plethora of well-crafted magical items, weapons, armor, and other services.
However, their innate pride and cunning nature prevented them from trusting humans.
In the eyes of goblins, they and human wizards were cooperating on equal terms and held the same status. Put more bluntly, it was purely about money and how to use it in their relationship.
If they were dissatisfied, they could incite a riot and create a scandal.
In this environment, many powerful wizards and pure-blood wizarding families distrusted goblins and doubted the security of Gringotts, established by the goblins.
In their view, they preferred to bury family treasures in their castles or hidden locations rather than in Gringotts, whose level of security was questionable.
This prevailed in the Middle Ages and before, and this was the main reason why many precious magical objects were discovered in later generations.
After centuries of excavation, the remnants of these magical objects had become very rare, and the remnants that had not been found or successfully excavated belonged to very powerful wizards. For instance, the Pyramids of Egypt, Gringotts, and Egyptian magical authorities had long been working together to unearth and decipher the ancient magical monument, where Ron's brother, Bill Weasley, worked as a Curse Breaker.
Thousands of years ago, the rulers of Egypt, powerful elders and wizards, placed countless powerful spells and curses in the pyramids, and their deciphering was progressing very slowly.
Similar to the pyramids, the ancient and prominent Gryffindor and Hufflepuff families did not store their wealth in Gringotts, as Slytherin and Ravenclaw did, but in places yet to be discovered.
How much wealth Godric Gryffindor possessed? Evan was not certain.
But in the history books related to magic, the description of Helga Hufflepuff was accurate: her hobby, besides cooking, was collecting gold.
With her strength, the fortune she left behind should definitely be an incredibly astronomical amount, but no one knew where she had hidden it, and the Hufflepuff family had no descendants. Evan suddenly thought, "She wouldn't hide her wealth in the Hogwarts common room! This is truly..."
What if, after facing all the difficulties he had to overcome to reach the Secret Treasures left by the founders, he found a large amount of gold left by her?
Evan smiled bitterly and quickly dismissed the idea from his mind. Although gold was good, it was of no use in defeating Voldemort. He couldn't kill Voldemort with gold.
After observing for a while, Evan discovered that besides these family emblems, there were many strange implements on the islands over the lava in the distance.
They were all made of metal, and looked as grand and spectacular as weapons left by some ancient civilization.
Evan knew that these things were not weapons, but instruments used by goblins to forge and refine magical objects.
Besides greed, goblins are also famous for being skilled in creating excellent magical equipment.
Historically, many legendary magical items had been created by them.
One of the most famous is Excalibur, made by Merlin and the goblins, which was the most famous magical sword in history. At that time, it decided the lineage of the British throne and the future direction of the magical world.
It was also since then that many non-human magical creatures gradually withdrew from the magical "public."
Of course, there is also the Sword of Gryffindor, which Godric Gryffindor bought from the goblins while he was alive. He enchanted it, and only a true Gryffindor could find it. Last semester in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry used the sword to kill the basilisk.
Evan regained his gaze, and beside him, Harry continued to look around and exclaimed, "It's amazing. How did they do it?"
"The goblins have a strong magical power, and they have their own unique magical culture," Hermione exclaimed, "If you observe closely, you will see that all these islands float above lava, but they do not melt from the magma, which requires extremely powerful magic. To tell you the truth, I don't know how the goblins built such a massive institution. In my opinion, it should be impossible to achieve all this..."
"Nothing is impossible," Griphook said proudly, "Goblins have their own special Magic, which is much more advanced than that of human wizards."
He took Sirius' key and approached the carving marked 68, which was covered with the Black family emblem. The most striking were the two black obsidian-carved dogs jumping.
There was a narrow gap above the bronze door beneath the statue, and Griphook approached and placed the key, turning it gently.
A sound resembling that of an organ was heard, followed by a loud thud on the ground.
The gate slowly opened, revealing a stone staircase in front of everyone. The Black family vault displayed its true form, with a spacious rectangular hall ahead.
Evan, Harry, and Hermione entered excitedly. They all wanted to see how the vault looked and how stunning the wealth of the Blacks was!
Merely observing the surroundings of the vault, the dangerous molten magma and the chilling emblem of the ancient pure-blood wizard family on the island, all served to heighten everyone's intrigue.
Everyone was eager to know what was in the Black vault, even though Sirius had claimed it was dull and filled with gold. However, filling an entire room with gold was, in a sense, a remarkable achievement.
Evan, Harry, and Hermione entered hastily, expecting to see mountains of gold, silver ingots, and other valuable artifacts.
But there was nothing before them. The vault was completely empty, as if it had just been plundered, with not a single piece of gold in sight.
Undoubtedly shocking, yet it was precisely the opposite of what they had anticipated.
It was not so much a vault as it was a warehouse for a malevolent dark wizard.
The shelves on both sides were filled with strange and eccentric artifacts of dark magic, whose specific use was unknown.
For instance, on the left shelf of Evan, there was a black skull with a crown.
That slightly sunken bone, with its elaborate ornamentation, exuded a sinister air that was eerie and repugnant.
In the corner of the room, a huge white skeleton of an unknown species of fire dragon was magically rearranged into an upright position. Each bone was engraved with the Black family emblem. It was unknown which ancestor from the Black family history had left such a "amusing" collection.
What was happening there? And what was truly the wealth of the Black family?!
Everyone scratched their heads and turned to look at Sirius, who had just entered, waiting for his explanation.