Shut Up! The Dark Lord Is Not Your Tool!

"You've done well this time, Pierce," Ivan said appreciatively. "You've helped me get Hufflepuff's belongings in just a week, which is a lot quicker than I thought."

"I was only acting on your orders, Sir Harls…" Pierce replied humbly, showing no signs of taking credit.

It was half flattery and half sincerity.

After all, the goblins at Gringotts were the perfect example of those who valued money over their lives.

He had spent a lot of time negotiating with Gringotts to cooperate with the Ministry in opening Bella's vault and retrieving Hufflepuff's golden cup.

To this end, Pierce went so far as to point out to them that Bella's vault contained a highly dangerous magical object that, if mishandled, could have serious consequences.

However, the goblins ignored his orders and were very aggressive, claiming that private property was sacrosanct and that they would not open the vault unless Bella herself or her appointed successor came to visit. Otherwise, the property would remain in the Gringotts forever!

Pierce could not tolerate such a challenge to the Ministry's authority, but the goblins were spread across the globe and surprisingly united. Even as Minister for Magic, he could not force them to compromise.

Thus, the two sides were in a deadlock, and it was only after receiving Ivan's "instructions" a few days ago that Pierce's opinion changed.

Just because the Ministry couldn't do it didn't mean the Dark Lord couldn't, and understanding this, Pierce went back and immediately staged an attack.

As Ivan had pointed out earlier, the goblins behaved themselves after the riot, even going so far as to request that the Ministry of Magic send Aurors to patrol Gringotts, something that would once have been impossible.

After taking care of Gringotts so easily, Pierce felt as if he had opened the door to a whole new world, if only he had planned it so that he could use the Death Eaters to get rid of some of his political enemies, or the Dark Lord's deterrent to pass important legislation to strengthen the Ministry of Magic…

Piers rattled off new ideas to Ivan, who rolled his eyes. He didn't expect Piers to have developed so many uses for the Dark Lord in just a few days…

"Things are bad enough in the wizarding world as it is, Pierce, so you'd better lay low for a while. If you start a mass panic, it could cause some wizards to leave Britain…" Ivan couldn't resist reminding him.

One could only use Lord Voldemort as a tool, not three!

Ivan did not want to be misinterpreted as a Reign of Terror by Pierce, as he was forced to do so in order to stabilize the situation in these times.

More importantly, it would be awkward if they were caught.

After giving Pierce a few pointers, Ivan then asked, "What about Dumbledore's will at Gringotts? Did you get it?"

"I've brought it!" Pierce said as he took a sealed envelope from the pocket of his wizarding robe and handed it over.

"I had someone from the Department of Mysteries examine this letter, and they found that it was enchanted, and could only be opened by pouring magic into it…"

Ivan nodded and took the envelope from her. He injected some magic into it, and the envelope tore open. An Extension Charm seemed to have been placed on the inside of the envelope, and inside were two letters and something that looked like an elaborate lighter.

Ivan was relieved to see that his magic was working. Putting aside his last worry, he took out the "lighter" and examined it carefully. It turned out to be a Deluminator.

Dumbledore's will was brief, rather than lengthy, as Ivan had expected, and in the first letter the white wizard briefly referred to the handling of some of his personal possessions after his death.

All of these personal possessions, including the private library and magical instruments, were donated to Hogwarts, with the remainder going to Aberforth.

The other three were left for Hermione, Ron, and him.

"Odd, Harry wasn't included…" Yvonne frowned, more or less puzzled, but continued to watch patiently.

First, the Deluminator was left to Hermione Granger.

Yvonne reflected that, if he wasn't mistaken, Dumbledore had secretly placed a spell on it to lead Ron back to Harry Potter and Hermione Weasley.

Now, however, Dumbledore had left it to Hermione.

Yvonne automatically picked up the compact Deluminator and checked the system inventory.

[Magical Item: Deluminator

Magic: Low

Description: This is an exquisite magical creation. By pressing a button, it can automatically absorb nearby light sources to replenish its energy. With this, you won't have to turn off the lights at night!

Remarks: Albus Dumbledore, the creator of this spell, has attached an interesting little spell to it.]

Ivan glanced at the item description, then turned to the description in the note. As he expected, Dumbledore had tampered with it, although the exact effects were not noted in the inventory.

However, Ivan was not worried at all. He was glad to know that there was a problem. With his current level of alchemy, he would be able to find something after a few days of patient research.

With that in mind, Ivan set aside the Deluminator and looked at the other folded letter.

In Dumbledore's will, the letter was addressed to Ron, and it was also protected by a protective spell that probably only Ron himself could open… which, if forcibly broken, would destroy the letter.

"What a pain in the arse!" Yvonne was frustrated. Dumbledore's will was full of twists and turns, like a riddle. Why bother?

Who were they defending against? Voldemort couldn't see…

Ivan grumbled to himself for a while, then turned his attention to the end of the letter. Dumbledore was going to give him the Sword of Gryffindor, along with a message.

[Do not attempt to pursue the intangible. The power of knowledge and belief is the foundation of a wizard's power.]