Gringotts' Astronomical Compensation
Scrimgeour arrived, and all the Auror obeyed his orders and stood guard.
"Rufus, have you caught that damned Death Eaters yet?" Fudge asked.
"No, he's very fast and can fly; we can't catch him at all," Scrimgeour shook his head regretfully.
"Is it that bad?" Fudge frowned and paced around anxiously a few times.
He caught another glimpse of Umbridge, who had slammed into the wall and passed out, and his anger flared up again.
But Scrimgeour quickly pulled Fudge towards a corner and told him that William had defeated the Death Eaters.
Fudge was extremely shocked after hearing this.
"What should we do then?" Fudge, somewhat troubled.
Attacking Auror would certainly land an ordinary person in Azkaban.
But the other party is the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin, and has just fought against the Death Eaters... Arresting such a wizard would definitely draw criticism from public opinion.
Furthermore, William was Dumbledore's favorite student, and the two had a close relationship!
However, Fudge quickly forgot about that, as Scrimgeour told him that a group of reporters had gathered outside Gringotts.
"These despicable bastards should all be taken to Azkaban!"
Fudge had no time to deal with Umbridge; his mind was preoccupied with how to handle the reporters and the impending media storm.
Today is the Order of Merlin award ceremony, and this evening, the youngest recipient of the medal was attacked, Gringotts was nearly robbed, and the Dark Mark appeared... What a scandal!
Fudge felt completely overwhelmed. He had only been in office for a little over a year, how could he have encountered so many problems?
It's so hard for him!
Fudge paced back and forth in the cave, pondering how to deal with the situation.
His first thought was to hide it, but it was impossible to hide.
Without the Dark Mark, a simple statement like "Gringotts was robbed, but there was no loss" would suffice.
But now that the Dark Mark has appeared, and two Death Eaters were captured in just a few months, people are starting to question the Ministry of Magic's capabilities.
"Minister, I must leave now with this child; he needs to rest." Nicolas Flamel approached.
Fudge stared at the old man in the Givenchy shirt for a long time before he recognized him.
"Ah, Mr. Flamel. Nicolas Lemaître, what brings you here? Aren't you in Devon?"
"Yes, I just happened to be here, but I have to leave with this child now."
"What, you know William?" Fudge was startled.
"Yes, we corresponded for a long time during the summer vacation," Nicolas said with a smile.
"Oh, well... then you can go now," Fudge stammered.
"Sir, I can't leave now," William said, fighting off his drowsiness. "I need an explanation."
"What do you mean?" Fudge became irritated again. "You just attacked an official from the Ministry of Magic, but I've already dropped the matter."
"It's not Umbridge... it's Gringotts ' version," William said coldly.
"My family and I came to Gringotts to deposit money, but we were attacked. Where were the Gringotts guards while I was fighting?"
Fudge turned and glared at an Goblin behind him, demanding, "Yes, where are the Gringotts guards? Our Ministry of Magic didn't receive any alerts, and we didn't capture the black-robed wizard. It's all your fault!"
Fudge grasped at a straw, turning his back on the responsibility without hesitation.
The Goblin's eyes darted around, and she stammered, refusing to speak.
William chuckled; he could probably figure out what the other person was thinking.
The reason for not immediately sending reinforcements was that they discovered the black-robed wizard was very powerful and did not want to lose strength needlessly, so they wanted William and that man to fight each other.
As for the Ministry of Magic... we can't notify them either. If Ministry of Magic come, it will give them an excuse to investigate Gringotts.
Without the Ministry of Magic's intervention, this matter could have been covered up, allowing Gringotts to maintain its ancient reputation.
But they didn't expect it to escalate so much; before leaving, the wizard even delivered a Dark Mark.
"We are willing to compensate," the Goblin said with a slight bow.
William smiled.
That's exactly what he wanted to hear.
Gringotts wronged them first, and William couldn't possibly commit such a bloody purge of Gringotts because of this; he's not a dark wizard, nor does he have that power.
But I have to rip off Gringotts off badly once to ease my mind.
William pointed to the dead fire dragon.
"I want it!"
Fudge's eyelids twitched. He had thought that William would only ask for a few thousand Galleon at most, but he hadn't expected Merlin to ask for such a huge sum.
"That's impossible!" the Goblin exclaimed angrily. "The fire dragon is Gringotts ' private property and cannot be given to anyone, not even the dead."
A fire dragon is a treasure from head to toe, and its price is astronomical. Most importantly, it is very difficult to buy.
Gringotts has its own dragon farm in Africa, but they are unwilling to give away a complete fire dragon carcass as compensation.
"If you don't send it, I will tell the Daily Prophet the whole thing," William said, his voice trailing off like Professor Snape's.
"I think journalists will be very interested, and readers will be even more curious about how Gringotts disregarded the lives of its customers and how it allowed Death Eaters to enter and escape."
"You...!" The Goblin trembled with rage, pointing angrily at William.
William continued, "Of course, I don't want this fire dragon at all."
One-sixth of the dragon's wealth will be donated to the Ministry of Magic; one-sixth to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; one-sixth to Mr. Flamel. Nicolas Flamel; one-sixth to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries; and the remaining one-third will be donated entirely to Ravenclaw House.
Fudge's breathing quickened slightly. William didn't want any of it; he donated it all. What a generous gesture!
The carcass of a fire dragon can fetch at least hundreds of thousands of Galleon, and even a sixth of that is a considerable sum.
He can secretly make a lot of money!
What he didn't realize was that while William seemed to want nothing for himself, what difference was there between donating to Hogwarts and Ravenclaw House and using it for himself?
With Dumbledore and Professor Flitwick around, William could freely use the blood or nerves of dragons for research.
That's where William's cleverness lies. No one would agree to him swallowing the dragon whole, but he's quite adept at using a big name to intimidate others.
Sure enough... Fudge pondered for a moment, then said loudly, "This matter is settled. Someone, take the dragon back to the Ministry of Magic."
Dozens of Auror rushed forward, giving the Goblin no chance to object.
He glared angrily at the robbers, but there was nothing he could do!
Fudge said, "Let's go, we still have to deal with those damn reporters."
After everyone left, William breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Flamel, please help me alter my parents' memories."
"Okay, I will," the old man said.
Sleepiness washed over him like a tide, and William finally fell asleep with Fawkes in his arms.
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