There must be some wicked peasants trying to harm this old man

"Oh! Merlin's beard! Can someone tell me what in the name of heaven has happened here?" An old man with a long white beard, wearing a brown robe and a pointed wizard's hat, pushed open the heavy doors of Gringotts with a look of urgency, then stepped inside cautiously.

The current Gringotts lobby no longer bore any trace of its former prosperous and solemn atmosphere. Instead, it was littered with marks of a struggle everywhere—broken tables and chairs, shattered and toppled marble pillars.

The wall near the ceiling on the left, along with the floor-to-ceiling window, had been smashed into a massive hole. Piles of broken bricks and shattered glass shards lay scattered on the floor! And the air was thick with a scent that felt familiar and pleasant to Dumbledore, though he couldn't quite place where he had smelled it before.

A large group of Gringotts goblin employees, who should have been hard at work, were moaning softly, each with one foot bound by a flame-red magical rope, hanging upside down in midair within the bank's lobby. None dared to struggle, and none attempted to undo the magical ropes around their ankles.

As for the other Gringotts guards and the dozens of Ministry Aurors, they were grimy and disheveled, bound by the same red magical ropes to the few marble pillars that remained intact. Some had already passed out, unconscious, while others hung their heads in humiliation, not daring to move an inch.

Dumbledore also noticed a few oddly posed human statues on the floor on the other side. He certainly didn't recall Gringotts Wizarding Bank's lobby having such statues. Could it be that the tasteless goblins had just added them?

The only one not tied up was Minister of Magic Fudge, who stood trembling like a frightened chicken, his head bowed low. He was now standing obediently to one side, utterly dejected, not daring to utter a single word. His oversized wizard hat covered his face, and Dumbledore didn't even recognize him at first glance.

At the far end of the lobby, the entrance to Gringotts' vaults was also a complete mess!

The floor there was likewise covered in bricks and other unidentified debris, as if something enormous had burst out from inside, breaking through. In the back corner of the lobby lay a... huh? Was that a dragon skeleton still burning? And what in the world was that Flame Giant Bear sitting on the dragon's skull?

Seeing the still-burning dragon skeleton, Dumbledore finally snapped to realization. He remembered what that strong, familiar scent he'd smelled upon entering was—it was the smell of roasted dragon meat! That was it! That was the flavor! That familiar burnt smell!

Headmaster Dumbledore had quite fond memories of that scent! Back in the day, he had slaughtered several dragons under the pretense of researching the various uses of dragon blood. He had skinned them, pulled their tendons, and broken their bones, not only making a tidy profit but also eating quite a bit of dragon meat.

Thinking back now, he really missed it... No wonder he'd felt that scent was so familiar the moment he walked in—so that was it! But, ahem, let's not dwell on those old days now. It was just youthful recklessness. Slaughtering dragons and such—Dumbledore had long since washed his hands of it. He was a man of status now; how could he possibly do such things anymore?

That was the scene that greeted Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, widely regarded as the greatest wizard of the modern age, First Class recipient of the Order of Merlin, founder and Secret Keeper of the Order of the Phoenix, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, as he stepped into Gringotts Bank.

Albus Dumbledore hadn't originally planned to visit Gringotts today. In his original schedule, he might have needed to come to the bank in a few days to withdraw some money and deposit a few important little items, but definitely not today!

However, just as he was about to enjoy his afternoon tea, he received an urgent message saying that something major had happened at Gringotts Wizarding Bank and that they needed him, the acknowledged most powerful white wizard, to help! So, reluctantly, he had to disrupt his schedule, quickly Apparated to Diagon Alley, and came to see what was going on.

But who would have thought that after pushing open the door, he would witness such a scene?

The first glance at the scene gave him such a start that he nearly thought that Voldemort, little Tom Riddle, had been resurrected again! But he knew that was unlikely, because at the end of last semester, that rebellious little Tom was still just a pitiful ghost. How could he have resurrected so quickly? Even if he had a hundred Philosopher's Stones, it wouldn't be that fast! Rebirth wasn't like molding a toy; the procedures and potions required were incredibly complex.

"So it's you! Fudge? You're here too? Then tell me quickly, what on earth happened here?" Unable to make sense of the situation, Dumbledore finally noticed Minister of Magic Fudge, who was trembling with his head down by the door. For a Minister of Magic, how had he ended up looking like a wronged little wife? Dumbledore had almost failed to recognize him.

Minister Fudge also noticed Dumbledore at that moment, but didn't dare answer his question directly. Instead, he timidly lifted his head to glance at the little girl in the middle of the lobby. Fudge had been terrified earlier; that little girl's strength was truly horrifying! Fudge couldn't even imagine that such a person could exist in the world!

Thinking back to earlier, when he first received Gringotts' distress signal, Fudge had naively assumed that at most, a few dark wizards had nothing better to do and had lost their minds enough to attack Gringotts Bank. Those lunatics who attacked the bank with unstable minds were probably just trying to make a quick pile of gold. He hadn't taken it seriously at all! In his view, Gringotts wasn't so easy to mess with!

But following the principle of handling matters by the book, since such a major incident had occurred at Gringotts Wizarding Bank and the goblins had sent a distress signal to the Ministry, Fudge, as Minister of Magic, had to take it seriously, both in reason and in sentiment. So, he immediately led several dozen Aurors who happened to be on duty at the Ministry and Apparated to the scene.

But who would have thought... Sigh! Thinking back now, Fudge was full of tears! Just a moment ago, when they arrived and assessed the situation, his dozens of Aurors launched a fierce attack on the little girl simultaneously. At the same time, Gringotts released its ultimate weapon: the Ancient White Dragon guarding the vaults! And then? And then it was over! There was no "and then"!

The Ancient White Dragon barely had time to roar before it was knocked over by a magical creature the little girl had summoned. In just a few moves, it was sliced to pieces! Then, it was slowly burned into the skeleton before his eyes by flames on that magical creature that were even more terrifying than Fiendfyre. That magical creature was still sitting on the dragon's skull, watching the show! That was the ferocious Flame Giant Bear over there. Otherwise, did he think the lingering smell of roasted meat still filling the Gringotts lobby came from? It was the Flame Giant Bear's handiwork! So brutal... Before they could even hear a sound, an ancient dragon was gone, just like that!

As for the Ministry's Aurors, they were even worse. They had just drawn their wands from their holsters and assumed a stance for a fierce attack when, inexplicably, they were all disarmed. Then, like toothless tigers, they were bound to the marble pillars one by one by those red magical ropes that appeared out of nowhere. They hadn't even managed to cast a single spell before they were completely defeated!

Merlin! That was dozens of powerful Aurors! Plus a mighty Ancient White Dragon! With such a powerful combination, they couldn't even hold out for three seconds? Even at the peak of the Dark Lord's power and arrogance, he probably wasn't half as brutal as this little girl, right?

Forget the dragon for a moment—just consider the Aurors!

If the Dark Lord were arrogant enough to try to single-handedly take on dozens of Aurors, Fudge would teach him a lesson in no time! No one could single-handedly defeat dozens of Aurors—not Dumbledore, not the Dark Lord! None of them had that kind of power! But now? Here was this seemingly harmless little girl, and she had done it, and done it with ease! So, could Fudge afford not to be scared?

Following Fudge's terrified gaze, Dumbledore finally noticed the two little girls standing in the middle of the lobby. One of the smaller girls was holding a strange piece of meat, roasting it over a crackling fire. He recognized what that meat was at a glance—he was very familiar with it! And what was that the little girl was throwing into the fire, one by one? Hiss! That looked very familiar? Could those sticks be a pile of wands? What a wasteful girl! How many Galleons was that?

Then, Dumbledore focused his magical perception on the little girl and was completely stunned!

Because, in that instant, he sensed an extraordinarily vast surge of magical power from the blonde little girl. In that moment, the well-traveled Dumbledore even thought he was looking at the God of Magic!

Dumbledore had never imagined that any wizard could possess such a level of magical power. The wizarding world absolutely did not! Even if Merlin were reborn, he couldn't reach such a level! Let alone Dumbledore himself, or that rebellious little Tom Riddle.

After clearly recognizing the terror of the little girl before him, Dumbledore's first thought was: Some villain must be plotting to harm this old man! How could he possibly deal with this little girl?

Who could it be? Who wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill? Could it be that ungrateful wolf Fudge? He probably didn't have the guts, did he? Or perhaps the remnants of that rebellious little Tom's Death Eaters? That was somewhat possible. Right! Who had sent the message to lure him here? Dumbledore felt that after this was over, he would have to investigate thoroughly.

Dumbledore adjusted his reading glasses, quietly wiped a cold sweat, and at the same time released his grip on the Elder Wand, which he had been clutching tightly in his sleeve. He no longer had any intention of fighting, nor did he dare to have such thoughts! Perhaps he shouldn't have come here today? This wasn't something he could easily meddle in. If he wasn't careful, he might lose his old life! If he pretended he had walked into the wrong door now, he wondered if it was still too late?

Wiping another cold sweat, Dumbledore finally had the presence of mind to shift his gaze to the other, slightly taller girl. Oh! Good, good! This taller girl was more normal—her magical power fluctuation was about the same as any ordinary person her age. Hmm? Why did she look so familiar? He quickly adjusted his reading glasses again for a closer look.

"Miss Hermione Granger! Is that you? What are you doing here?" After recognizing that the girl beside the little girl was his own student, Dumbledore finally breathed a sigh of relief.

An acquaintance! An acquaintance was good! An acquaintance meant there was still room for negotiation!

For Dumbledore, no matter how bad the situation was, he wasn't too afraid. What he feared was having no acquaintances! If he didn't know anyone on the other side, there might not even be a chance for negotiation or discussion. That would be what truly cost him his old life!

But now, things were clearly much easier. Because the cunning old fox Dumbledore noticed that his student seemed quite familiar with that little girl? They were standing together; they couldn't not know each other. That made things simple. He had already thought of a way to resolve today's mess.

"D-Dumbledore, Professor?" Hearing someone call her name, Hermione finally snapped out of her dazed and numb state.

The events of today had been far too tumultuous. Until just now, she had still been in a state of shock. But Hermione knew she must have gotten herself into big trouble!

Thinking of this, and seeing her familiar Headmaster Dumbledore, Hermione's voice turned tearful, and she was on the verge of crying out loud! You have to understand, she was just a twelve-year-old girl! Today, she had burned goblins, captured Aurors, and smashed Gringotts Wizarding Bank to pieces. How was this going to end?

"Alright, alright! Miss Granger! Don't cry yet. Can you explain in detail what happened here? And who is this beside you?" Dumbledore reached out and gently patted Hermione's shoulder to comfort her.

When he noticed Annie frowning and staring at him with suspicion, Dumbledore was so startled that he nearly pulled his hand back and fled in panic! He really wanted to shout: This has nothing to do with this old man! I'm just passing by and thought I'd come in to mediate. If you don't listen and still want to fight, I won't say another word—I'll turn around and leave immediately! Anyway, I'm not that familiar with them!

"Wah~! O-okay, Professor!" Hermione sobbed for a while, then wiped the tears from her cheeks haphazardly before roughly recounting the whole story...

"So that's how it was... I understand." After Hermione had carefully explained the entire sequence of events from beginning to end, Dumbledore finally calmed down considerably.

Dumbledore felt that once he had characterized the matter, it would be much easier to handle. He also roughly sorted through the chain of events in his mind, reconstructing what had happened: The little girl Annie had come to Gringotts Wizarding Bank to exchange ancient gold coins. The goblin employees, tempted by the sight of wealth, had embezzled the little girl's hard-earned money! Then, the conflict had erupted. The key point was: These goblins' fists weren't as hard as the little girl's, and in the end, she had burned one goblin guard to death, one goblin employee—the ringleader—to ashes, one Ancient White Dragon to a skeleton, damaged various property and structures, and broken... burned several wands. Yes, that was roughly how it had gone.

Excellent! He, Dumbledore, had immediately sorted out the course of events. In his view, from start to finish: The little girl's actions were entirely lawful and justified self-defense, and she bore absolutely no responsibility! The Gringotts Wizarding Bank employees, tempted by wealth, bore primary responsibility! And the Ministry of Magic, which had acted without investigating the truth, bore only secondary responsibility!

Yes, that was how it should be handled. This was his solution—perfect! Dumbledore nodded to himself in approval of his own decision. If anyone had objections, they could go argue with the little girl themselves. Don't come to this old man! Did they think he had nothing better to do? He had a mountain of work to get through!

"Then it's settled!" Dumbledore raised his Elder Wand with satisfaction and waved it at a certain goblin hanging in the air of the lobby, freeing Bogrod, the head goblin of Gringotts. As for the other goblins still hanging? What did he care? Let them keep hanging! It wasn't like they would die! If hanging too long caused a cerebral hemorrhage or something, they could just take more medicine, right?

"Bogrod, you heard Miss Granger's words just now, didn't you?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly, signaling the goblin chieftain with his gaze, meaning for it to take responsibility and admit its mistake quickly! Otherwise, he, Dumbledore, would wash his hands of the matter.

"I—I heard it clearly. This matter—we were in the wrong! On behalf of Gringotts, I extend our sincere apologies to Miss Annie here, and... our Gringotts Wizarding Bank is willing to compensate your losses tenfold—no! A hundredfold!" With his own fists not big enough, the helpers he'd found unreliable, and the fault on his side, the already exhausted Bogrod finally caved and surrendered.

As for the dignity of Gringotts and the goblins, it had long been tossed into some unknown corner. Dignity or his own life? That was an easy choice for Bogrod. Now that someone had finally come to mediate, he'd better save his own skin first.

This whole mess, from start to finish, was that damned Griphook's fault! Good thing he died early—otherwise, after this, Bogrod would have ground his bones to dust! That bastard couldn't keep his hands clean, and now he was dragging Bogrod down to take the blame?

"So, you're Annie, right? You can call me Albus Dumbledore. Pleased to meet you. Ah, I almost forgot to ask—how many ancient gold coins did they swindle from you?" Seeing a perfect solution at hand, Dumbledore felt deeply relieved! It seemed his old face still carried some weight, opening doors wherever he went.

"Oh! About this many!" Annie saw that the white-bearded old man seemed to know Sister Hermione, and she didn't want to keep fighting endlessly either—it was boring! So she went along with it and let the matter drop, but compensation was still a must, so she held up a tender little palm.

"Oh? Only fifty gold coins? That's not much! Simple enough." Fifty coins being stolen? These Gringotts goblins were really sinking lower and lower. They probably thought those two little girls were easy pickings at first, right? And the result? Hah! Dumbledore suddenly felt the goblins deserved the beating—his own casual appearance fee was probably higher than fifty gold coins!

The goblin chieftain, Bogrod, slumped on the floor, heard it was only fifty gold coins and finally let out a breath of relief! Just fifty ancient gold coins—even at a one-to-three exchange rate for Galleons, a hundredfold compensation would be at most fifteen thousand Galleons. To the deep-pocketed Gringotts, that was pocket change, a drizzle!

Bogrod figured this little sum probably wouldn't even cover the repair costs for Gringotts afterward! All that damned Griphook's fault! For a mere fifty gold coins, he'd cost Gringotts so much? If you added in that dragon, the loss would be astronomical!

"No! That's not right, Professor! Not fifty—at least five thousand! Maybe more! Because there was a bag that big! And the pet shop owner can vouch for it—she was the one who suggested we come to Gringotts to exchange them." Hearing Dumbledore say only fifty, Hermione immediately panicked, shouting to stop him, and gestured with both hands to show the bag's size.

She couldn't afford not to panic—if they really settled for fifty coins, little Annie might end up fighting the goblins again! Hermione had had enough for one day; she never wanted to stay here in fear again! She just wanted to get out, find her irresponsible father, and go home as fast as possible! Oh, and before that, she had to pick up that big-faced cat—even now, Hermione didn't want to break her promise to it.

"H—how many? Five thousand?! That many?" Dumbledore was a little taken aback by the number!

If that was the case, it made sense.

No wonder that suicidal goblin had dared to make a move—Dumbledore thought that even he might be a bit tempted in that situation! How much was his annual salary? A few hundred Galleons? Probably under a thousand? Tsk! A little girl had more money than him... But what did that have to do with him? It wasn't his money to pay!

"Bogrod? You heard that, didn't you? Any objections? Speak up now if you have them." Dumbledore began to gloat, looking at the goblin chieftain slumped on the floor, mentally calculating—if it was over five thousand, how much would Gringotts have to pay?

"N—no objections!" The goblin chieftain bowed his head deeply.

Bloody Merlin! If that was the case, Gringotts would have to pay a full one million five hundred thousand Galleons! Bogrod felt like he could hear his heart shatter—one million five hundred thousand Galleons... That damned, cursed Griphook! Even though he'd been burned to ash, Bogrod still felt the urge to find his soul and torment it for ten thousand years.

"And you, Fudge!" Dumbledore suddenly turned to the Minister of Magic, who was still in a daze. "This matter is settled now. Everything today ends here. I trust the Ministry of Magic has no objections?"

"Objections? No, none at all! I second that! I agree!" Hearing Dumbledore's words, Fudge snapped out of it and immediately raised his hand in agreement. He'd wanted to leave this damned place for ages—couldn't stand another moment!

He'd thought coming here was just to catch a few thugs, earn some merit, get his face in the papers. But now? He'd gone for wool and come home shorn—not only had he gained no credit, but he'd also gotten covered in filth and lost a lot of face!

And on top of that, the Aurors had lost dozens of high-performance wands! That was a huge expense too!

They couldn't let the Ministry foot that bill. Fudge decided that once this was over, he'd send someone to have a serious talk with that damned goblin chieftain—make them bleed too, compensating the Ministry's losses and throwing in some mental distress damages for himself! Oh, and for the Aurors too—as Minister, he couldn't hog it all.

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