Luke Wood was taken back to the Ministry of Magic and, without much treatment, was quickly interrogated.
Separated by a glass wall, Dumbledore and Moody knew that it would be difficult to get him to talk.
Kingsley was in charge of the interrogation, and he immediately launched into a standard routine of coercion and enticement.
"Look at your injuries, you certainly don't want to die here, do you?"
Luke Wood finally reacted, spitting at Kingsley with all his might.
Although he missed, his good days are over.
He's in the Ministry of Magic; there are plenty of ways to get him to talk.
To deal with Death Eaters, you have to be ruthless. A large bottle of Veritaserum was poured down Luke Wood's throat, leaving him completely dazed.
He has a strong will, but that's just a way to buy time.
On the other side,
Vincent and Hermione were sitting in the Minister's Office explaining the whole story.
Fudge was quite pleased with the destruction of the Goblins Hall, but he forced a smile and put on a heartbroken face.
"The deceased are gone, and we will handle the Goblin's funeral arrangements properly."
It's about properly handling the legacy they left behind.
Such a clandestine organization was already too big for the Goblins Brotherhood to even think about inheriting its legacy, so its confiscation by the Ministry of Magic was essentially a death sentence for Fudge.
Vincent rolled his eyes inwardly. "Mr. Fudge, after that we went back to school. We got hungry in the early hours of the morning, so we met up with some classmates at the kitchen."
Fudge smiled and waved his hand. "Is that so? Don't worry, neither Albus Dumbledore nor I will pursue the matter of you violating school rules."
Next, Fred and George placed bets with Bagman last summer, Fudge laughed it off again, his mind clearly on the Goblin's inheritance.
Vincent gave a general account of what happened, Hermione added some minor details.
"Okay, I understand everything." Fudge suddenly changed his tune. "Mr. Wayne, Miss Granger, have you thought about your jobs after graduation?"
Vincent immediately became alert. "I think I'll continue running Wayne Enterprises."
Hermione seemed to sense something too. "Mr. Fudge, work is too far away for me right now. I think I need to think about it carefully."
Fudge nodded. "Yes, it definitely needs serious consideration."
He met Vincent's calm eyes. "Mr. Wayne, I've watched you grow up. If Lord Flamel knew of your achievements today, he would be very pleased."
Playing the emotional card seems to be more than just trying to shut them up.
Fudge paused, then sighed deeply, "Ah—if only all the young people in the department were like you."
Vincent didn't respond, and took a slightly awkward sip of his black tea.
Hermione followed suit, and the atmosphere suddenly became strange.
Fudge also took a sip of black tea. "Have either of you considered working for the Ministry of Magic?"
Vincent frowned slightly. "I'm used to being lazy, I don't have any grand ambitions in life, and I don't want to be bound by rules and regulations."
Fudge with some regret, "Is that so? Where is Miss Granger?"
Hermione clenched her fists nervously.
She certainly wanted to work for the Ministry of Magic, but the reason she wanted to was because the Ministry of Magic was rotten to the core and she wanted to change it from within.
"Mr. Fudge, I am well aware of my shortcomings, and I am afraid that joining the Ministry of Magic would cause me to mess up a lot of things."
She essentially declined.
Fudge wasn't annoyed. "Let's not talk about this anymore. You two should both understand how serious what happened tonight is. For the sake of the stability and unity of the Wizarding World, I hope you two will not reveal any information to the outside world."
They're testing the waters first before getting down to business; it seems they're really keeping an eye on the two of them.
Vincent and Hermione solemnly agreed.
Since Fudge was determined to cover up the whole thing, even Dumbledore couldn't stop him.
People blinded by lust for power will do everything in their power to hold onto what they have, and it is clearly irrational to go against such people.
But this doesn't mean compromise; it just means it's not time to turn against each other yet.
Fudge is very good at interpersonal relationships; even Vincent and Hermione did not accept the olive branch he personally extended.
"Mr. Wayne and Miss Granger, in recognition of your outstanding contributions to the fight against the Death Eaters, you will be awarded the Medal of Honor for Dark Magic by the Ministry of Magic."
Issuing it internally means it won't be made public, but this amount of hush money seems far too stingy.
Vincent and Hermione agreed with smiles, but Fudge keenly sensed their barely concealed dissatisfaction.
His expression changed again, becoming extremely serious. "The ministry has never failed to reward every wizard who has contributed to the Wizarding World. Mr. Wayne, I heard that you have recently developed Flying Boots that are more convenient to carry and have better performance than flying brooms?"
They haven't even received the Goblins Hall's inheritance yet, and they're already thinking about how to spend it?
I should have taken everything I could with me when I left. It's really frustrating to think that the Ministry of Magic got all that benefit for no reason.
Vincent readily acknowledged and introduced the many advantages of the Flying Boots.
"Mr. Wayne, the department is about to replace a batch of brooms. Since your Flying Boots are so excellent, let's order a batch of custom-made ones from you."
"Well..." Vincent pretended to be troubled, "Actually, the cost of the boots has been difficult to reduce, and it will be a long time before mass production."
Fudge waved his hand and said, "That's not a problem. As long as the boots are as good as you say, a higher price is fine."
Accio his windfall with gusto, Vincent and Hermione were taken aback by his extravagant display.
If we don't rip them off badly, we'll be letting them down after all their hard work tonight.
Now that I've received the hush money, it's time to go back to school.
Fudge escorted the two to the Entrance Hall, where they happened to run into Dumbledore and Moody, who were coming up from the second basement level in the elevator.
"Albus Dumbledore, Alastor, are you going back?"
Moody made no attempt to hide the disdain on his face, while Dumbledore glanced at Vincent and Hermione with a smile, "I'm too old for this kind of all-nighter like young people these days."
Fudge pretended not to see Moody's look. "Albus Dumbledore, you're joking again."
Ordinary wizards can easily live to be over 150 years old without illness or disaster, and wizards with high magical power like Dumbledore can live even longer.
"Cornelius, I'm not joking." Dumbledore looked at Vincent and Hermione meaningfully. "The future belongs to the young. We old folks will have to retire sooner or later."
Fudge sensed the underlying meaning in his words.
However, he is not yet 60 years old this year and is in his prime.
After exchanging a few polite words, Fudge watched the four leave the Ministry of Magic.
He turned and walked toward the elevator, his expression gradually darkening.
The matter has been largely resolved; only the interrogation of Luke Wood remains.