A few mornings later, before they left, Snape watched Eileen pry up a loose floorboard in the living room and use magic to excavate a deep hole underneath.
"Not this one..." she muttered to herself, prodding the dirt and rubble with her wand, "Reparo."
This process was repeated no less than seven times before she finally unearthed a slightly dull golden key from beneath the floorboard, which she cleaned briefly and tucked into her pocket.
Witnessing this, Snape didn't have high hopes for the vault.
"Alright, let's go."
After Eileen side-along Apparated them to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, Snape gasped for air, taking a good while to compose himself.
"Are you alright?" Eileen asked, looking down at him with concern. "You'll get used to it."
"I'm fine," Snape said, patting his ears. "Let's go in."
They then walked through the pub and entered Diagon Alley.
This was Snape's first time stepping inside the snow-white building that towered above the other shops in Diagon Alley.
Upon reaching the long counter, Eileen tapped the surface and addressed an idle goblin.
"Hello, we'd like to retrieve something from the Prince family vault."
After carefully examining the small golden key Eileen handed over, the goblin nodded.
"No problem, I'll find someone to take you to this underground vault. Griphook!"
Griphook?
What a coincidence!
Snape couldn't help but stare intently at the dark-skinned goblin with long, thin fingers approaching them.
"Wizard, I don't like your gaze."
Griphook looked at Snape with displeasure, his slanted black eyes narrowed.
"Sorry."
Snape quickly averted his gaze.
He didn't recall this goblin having a generous temperament. There was no need to irritate Griphook before seeing the vault and emerging from underground.
Griphook led them out of the main hall, through a thick iron door, and into a narrow stone corridor.
"Whoosh—"
Griphook let out a sharp whistle.
A small cart rumbled fiercely towards them along the tracks.
Once they had all climbed aboard, Griphook pushed a lever forward, and the cart immediately sped off.
A cold current of air whistled past their faces.
Soon, they travelled along winding passages, deep into the earth.
After they passed the underground lake, adorned with giant stalactites and stalagmites, it was a while longer before the cart finally slowed down and stopped in front of a door.
Griphook got out, inserted the key into the lock, and then pressed his hand against the door.
The vault door vanished, revealing an opening.
Snape poked his head in and peered inside.
One look made him gasp sharply:
Inside the door was a mountain of gold coins.
On shelves in the four corners were also various potions in vials, dried herbs, thick books, and some parchment scrolls.
"You call this 'there should be some gold in there'?"
Snape turned to Eileen, gesturing for her to take a look as well.
This sight clearly surprised Eileen too; her mouth was slightly agape, and she blinked hard, but no sound came out.
Snape let out a long breath.
"I think we won't need to work for the rest of our lives."
After filling two full bags with Galleons, they took the cart and sped back to the surface.
"Next, we should buy some things," Eileen said, looking at Snape's wrist peeking out from his robe cuff and his old trainers that couldn't be covered by the hem.
"You need a few new robes, and we can buy some of next term's books in advance."
"It's fine, let's wait until the O.W.L. results come out. Besides, there's nothing wrong with old textbooks; I've even made a lot of notes in some of them."
Before stepping out of Gringotts, Snape hesitated, then said, "Wait... let's exchange some Muggle money... um... I want to buy some Muggle clothes and toiletries."
"Toiletries?" Eileen asked, somewhat confused.
"Like shampoo..."
Snape knew this answer sounded strange, as wizards had much better options.
As expected, Eileen voiced her doubt.
"Then why not buy 'Sleekeazy's Hair Potion'?"
"I don't like its smell," Snape replied stiffly, then added, "It makes me a bit nauseous."
"Then buy some for me too," Eileen said, stuffing a bag into Snape's hand.
"If there's anything you want, just go buy it yourself."
After buying new robes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, they each held an ice cream scoop from Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and slowly strolled past the nearly crowded Quality Quidditch Supplies.
Peering over the heads of a group of children, Snape saw a magnificent and impressive broomstick in the shop window.
A sign next to the broomstick read in beautiful lettering: "Nimbus 1500—Experience the thrill of high-speed flight! Aerodynamic design, premium birch handle, pure magic polished, balancing speed and precision. Accelerates from 0 to 60 miles per hour in ten seconds, top speed up to 107 miles per hour, your best partner on the field!"
"No, I don't want this." Noticing Eileen's inquiring gaze, Snape quickly swallowed a mouthful of ice cream. "I don't play Quidditch."
Back home, Snape rummaged through his trunk, found his old Gobstones set, and brought it downstairs to the wooden table.
"Want to play a few rounds? I remember seeing in *The Daily Prophet* in the Hogwarts library that you used to be the captain of the school's Gobstones team."
"I haven't touched this in a long time."
Eileen's hand unconsciously rose, her rough fingertips caressing a small, round Gobstone.
"Come on, we're just sitting around anyway."
Snape sat down on the other side of the table.
"Why were there so many things in the Prince vault?"
A stone he flicked missed, trembling fearfully on the board.
"This shouldn't be what Uncle Charlene could have saved..."
Eileen accurately hit the trembling stone. Her stone triumphantly sprayed a foul-smelling liquid onto Snape's face.
"Perhaps our ancestors were wealthy."
"Blech—Blech! What is that smell!"
Snape wiped the slimy liquid from his face.
"But it's truly surprising. Looking back at the past, I always feel like I suffered unnecessarily."
Before long, he was covered in a foul odor.
He helplessly raised his hands.
"That's enough for today, I surrender."
After cleaning himself and returning to the living room, Snape suddenly realized that there seemed to be no need for Eileen to continue living here.
"Mum, why don't you move somewhere else?
"Dingworth in Cornwall, Upper Flagley in Yorkshire, Ottery St Catchpole in Devon... anywhere. How about moving to a place where wizarding families live together?"
"Hmm... perhaps," Eileen said hesitantly. "In a while, I'll go see if there's any suitable land or house."
"Good, just write and let me know after you move," Snape said, then rushed out the door again, "I'll go buy you an owl!"
"But how will you get there—"
"The Knight Bus!"
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