Douglas looked at Bill, that familiar nickname carrying a hint of mischief.
"That's where I need your help, SB."
"Me?" Bill froze.
"Exactly. Gringotts is a neutral financial institution, isn't it?"
Douglas's mind raced, mapping out every route in an instant.
"Together with Dumbledore, I'll submit an application to the Egyptian side for academic cooperation and protection of the ruins through the British Ministry of Magic. And you, as Gringotts' finest Curse-Breaker, will be responsible for producing a professional assessment report."
Douglas's calculations clicked away, every word landing precisely on a crucial point.
"The report's central finding will be this: there's no gold or silver here, only extremely dangerous ancient curses that cannot be appraised and are prohibitively expensive to deal with. The only value lies in academic research, and upkeep is costly. That way, the goblins will lose interest completely."
"At the same time..." He tipped his chin at the ring on Bill's hand.
"You'll use your new consultant there to find information on a few small ancient tombs within Egypt that history has forgotten, but that contain actual wealth."
"As a technical exchange, casually leak that information to the Egyptian Ministry of Magic through Gringotts' channels."
"I think they'll be delighted to trade a troublesome hot potato with no economic value for a few chests of solid Galleons."
"To save face, at most they'll bring in Africa's Uagadou School of Magic for a three-way partnership, making themselves look open and generous."
Bill was utterly dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at Douglas, his mind empty.
In just a few minutes, Douglas had devised a complete plan combining academia, diplomacy, commerce, and intelligence, neatly arranging Hogwarts, the British Ministry of Magic, the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, the goblins of Gringotts, and even Uagadou so that everyone got what they needed.
He