Chapter 305: Blood and Vines
If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.
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30 December 1994, Durmstrang
And just like that, they went back to the ball, as if nothing had happened. No one knew that they had essentially pulled off the heist of the century. After all, the night was still young…
Harry smiled as he remembered the events of the Yule Ball. It was, by far, one of his most eventful days… He had broken into Gringotts without anyone even realizing it, had some great time with Daphne afterwards… If only he could have figured out the trick to Maria's blood, he would have achieved everything in just a single day… Still, he was making some headway with Daphne in that regard, so that was nice on that front.
He had worked with Daphne to isolate the source of strange power in Maria's blood. It was very faint and needed a lot of effort, but it was better than nothing…
They were planning on going back to the Hogwarts Express after eating their breakfast. The task was in just a few days, and they had yet to have any leads. Honestly, he had missed the announcement of the third task since he was too busy robbing a bank, but from what he had figured out, it was some kinda of retrieval of some gem, in a cave at the top of the mountain. If Harry had to guess, there had to be some kind of mountain climbing involved, probably some magical creatures that would attack the champions, nothing really exciting…
It wasn't really his problem… He was far more focused on dealing with Dumbledore. The man was bound to do something at the time…
Daphne, who was sitting next to him, hit him in the shoulder, breaking him from his musings, "What is it?"
"Look, I wanted to ignore it, but do you know why Bones and that Veela from Beauxbatons have been glaring at me for a few days?"
"Not really? I'm guessing it has to do with the ball…"
She snorted, "Of course, it has to do with the ball… What the hell did Tracy do?"
"You could just ask Susan, you know… She's a nice enough girl…"
The blonde motioned to return but coughed as she read the main headline on the newspaper that Diggory, who was sitting next to Bones, was reading.
GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN: THE GREATEST HEIST IN HISTORY
By Rita Skeeter
In an astonishing turn of events, Gringotts Wizarding Bank has fallen victim to an unprecedented robbery during the Yule celebrations. An inactive vault, which was due to revert to the Ministry of Magic after a period of inactivity, was mysteriously emptied of its contents. This incident marks the first successful breach of the bank's formidable security in its long history, casting a shadow over its once-sterling reputation.
Authorities moved swiftly and apprehended a suspect: Dolores Umbridge, the undersecretary to Minister Cornelius Fudge. The involvement of a high-ranking official in such a scandal has sent shockwaves through the wizarding community and raised serious questions about the integrity of Fudge's administration.
"The vault in question, although inactive, was set to become Ministry property, making this not just a robbery of private assets, but an audacious theft of government property," commented an Auror involved in the investigation. "The implications are severe, given the breach of Gringotts' supposedly impenetrable security."
Minister Fudge expressed his shock and dismay at the possible involvement of Madam Umbridge. "I am deeply troubled by these allegations," Fudge stated in an emergency press conference. "If true, this betrayal by someone so close to my administration is unimaginable. I vow to ensure that justice is served, no matter where it leads."
A few ministry employees also hinted at the challenges posed by the newfound influence of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), suggesting that their recent involvement might complicate the pursuit of true justice.
Upon searching Umbridge's residence, Aurors found no trace of the missing gold, leading to speculation that the witch might have been coerced into participating in the crime. "We are exploring all possibilities, including the likelihood that Umbridge was under some form of duress or manipulation," said an insider within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "It's crucial to determine whether she acted alone or was part of a larger conspiracy."
In a startling development, goblin officials have confirmed that the stolen gold was not deposited into any other vault within Gringotts. This revelation suggests that a significant fortune is currently unsecured, making the thief, or thieves, likely targets for anyone seeking to claim the stolen riches. "The absence of the gold within our vaults indicates a high risk for the perpetrators, as they now possess a vast amount of unprotected wealth," noted a senior goblin.
The robbery has significant ramifications for Gringotts, a symbol of financial security in the wizarding world. A representative from the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) expressed grave concerns about the impact on the bank's global reputation. "This incident is a heavy blow to Gringotts. For centuries, it has been viewed as the safest place for wizarding wealth. This breach undermines that trust and will require substantial measures to restore confidence," they stated.
However, some citizens are pointing fingers at the ICW itself, blaming their recent involvement in British wizarding politics for the breach. "It's only after all those mandates and bills were put in place that Gringotts was robbed for the very first time," said one concerned witch. "Gringotts has spent centuries without any incident of this kind. The ICW's interference and sudden regulations could have easily created vulnerabilities that made the robbery possible."
A ministry employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the ICW had also investigated Fudge's entire administration and had vetted Dolores Umbridge. "If she truly is guilty, this doesn't look good on the ICW either," they remarked. "Their vetting process is supposed to be thorough, and this failure could have serious implications."
Gringotts officials have remained tight-lipped, citing the ongoing investigation, but insiders hint at possible internal reviews and enhanced security protocols in response to the breach. "We are committed to ensuring that such an incident never occurs again," a spokesperson briefly commented.
The scandal has also put Minister Fudge in an uncomfortable position, with calls for transparency and accountability within his administration growing louder. "This is a dark day for the Ministry," said a senior official who wished to remain anonymous. "If Umbridge is found guilty, it raises serious concerns about our vetting processes and the overall integrity of our leadership."
As the wizarding community grapples with the shock of the robbery and its implications, all eyes are on the Ministry and Gringotts. Will justice be served, and can the bank restore its tarnished reputation? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain – this Yule will be remembered for far more than its festivities.
For more information about the robbery, view pages 2-3
For more information about Dolores Umbridge, view page 4
For more information about Gringotts' statement on the robbery, view page 5
Harry hummed… This was about as much as he expected. He honestly didn't expect the ministry to actually admit that the robbery happened, then again, Fudge was competent enough to know that hiding something like this was unrealistic. To be fair to the man, the article, while putting him under the fire, also puts the ICW's influence into question. He honestly hadn't thought the man had it in him to do something this underhanded. No one could say anything about him being responsible since he was just as criticized as the ICW was. A very clever move, especially considering that Fudge was usually as subtle as a bull in a China shop.
Daphne was visibly flabbergasted by the article, and when people finally noticed what they were staring at, they did the same… Longbottom actually choked on his orange juice when he read the headline, "Merlin's beard. How did someone manage to break into Gringotts?"
And just like that, everyone knew…
Seeing that the blonde clearly wanted to speak with him, he quickly put up some privacy charms… Daphne looked slightly pale when she finished reading the article, "Oh, thank Merlin. They weren't able to find anything…"
He gave her a smug grin, "Of course they didn't… I'm a professional, after all."
"I'm surprised they didn't say who the vault belonged to…"
"They probably don't want it known that it was one of the highest security vaults that was robbed. All of the old families in Britain would have been running to take away their gold. I'm already expecting a lot of people to do this, but not the old families. They probably think that having a dragon would help them out…"
She hummed, "That makes sense… Fudge did a good job with the article. I honestly thought that they would have tried to suppress it…"
"They probably couldn't. Since it was an inactive vault, and would have belonged to the ministry in a few decades if someone didn't claim it… Since the Lestrange brothers had no close blood ties the only way to claim it would have been the Lestrange family crest… I think Fudge was planning on using a bill to hasten the collection of inactive vaults, hoping to fund the ministry and use it to kick out the ICW… Publishing this would pressure the Wizengamot to vote on a bill like this so that gold that would serve the ministry wouldn't be stolen… But that's just me guessing."
"So, we really did it, huh?" the blonde stated, "we robbed Gringotts without anyone even suspecting us…"
Harry snorted, "We were sort of overprepared… I fully expected to screw up somewhere and end up fighting an army of Goblins. Having an alibi here would have been very helpful if my face was somehow revealed in the fighting. There's very little known about Goblin magic, but one of the fields they mastered was the removal of concealment enchantments…"
"And you didn't think to say anything to me?"
"You would have been out of the bank by the time any complication came up anyway and I didn't see the need to worry you about the worst-case scenario…"
She looked angry and Harry could see the point. She didn't like it when he kept things from her, but sometimes, separation of duties was just more efficient…
Suddenly an idea came up in Harry's head. It was absolutely brilliant. He gave Daphne a bright smile, making her blush slightly, "I think I have an idea on getting from Maria's blood…"
Daphne immediately straightened up, "Explain…"
"Let's go back to the Express first. It's getting a bit loud in here."
Harry was right, of course. In just mere minutes, everyone, including the professors, was talking about the Gringotts heist. As flattering as it was, the countless conversations that started at once were making the hall noticeably louder.
Thankfully, the walk back to the Express turned dragon was a peaceful one. He fully expected Daphne to start yelling at him for keeping things from her. Anyway, they arrived in his bedroom, and the blonde spoke up, "So, what's your brilliant plan?"
"First try to extract as much of the blood and put it into a vial… I'll explain as I go along."
He grabbed a crystal vial and carefully etched runes onto it. While doing so, he spoke up, "We were trying to figure out what the magical anomaly in her blood was, but it was diluted by the fact that Maria is dead and that the magic is probably centuries old… So, what if we separate it from the blood completely?"
"How? Life force is intrinsically tied to the blood; you can't just extract it…"
"But is it tied to the whole blood or just a fraction of it…"
Daphne looked confused and Harry continued, "Just look…"
He put the blood into the vial he just enchanted, and made sure that it was securely closed, before charming it to spin around, "What the hell are you doing?"
Harry smirked at her, "Something new… I enchanted the bottom of the vial to make anything magical gravitate towards it using a variation of the runes used to take magic from the atmosphere. And so, when it spins, the blood is physically being pulled to the bottom of the vial, the magical portion of the blood would have the strongest pull since it's both being pulled by the magic and normal gravity. And since we're trying to isolate the source of magic… Hopefully, it will work…"
He waved his hand and some of the runes started to glow now by removing the magicless liquid from the top slowly as it kept spinning… He sincerely hoped that he hadn't wasted his only lead on Dumbledore's plan... There were dozens of ways things could go wrong… The magic might be completely mixed equally with the liquid… The magical component might be so weak in the blood that it would be overwhelmed compared to the ambient magic. Hell, the theory might be completely wrong to begin with. This was barely more than a hunch that felt right for some reason…
Suddenly, the vial stopped spinning and it almost looked empty. His heart leapt into his throat at the idea of failing. That was until he noticed the faintly glowing golden liquid in the bottom. It was barely more than a droplet, but it was very pure and had enough magic to act as a focus to scry its source…
He quickly used the golden drop as a focus and channelled the power of the resurrection stone, using it as an anchor. He almost thought it wasn't enough until a shade of a blond man in Roman armour, gave him a sneering look, "Hmm… How unexpected…"
"Who are you?" Harry asked despite himself.
"You summoned me without knowing who I am?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I knew..."
"Well, you stand in the presence of Nero Claudius, fifth Emperor of Rome. Now, I wish to know the name of the man who dared to summon me from my rest…"
Harry's only response was, "What the fuck?"
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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.