123: The Location Of The Treasury

A few days later, Dumbledore informed the Ministry of Magic about the method to break the curse.

The wizards at the Ministry were astounded by Dumbledore's knowledge and capabilities. But perhaps they were accustomed to his brilliance, as they didn't question his findings. They quickly began working to recover all the cursed gold coins and locate the cursed Muggles.

However, the Ministry encountered a significant obstacle during negotiations with Gringotts.

The goblins refused to hand over the sarcophagus and the remaining gold coins to the Ministry of Magic. Instead, they insisted that the Aurors perform the curse-breaking ritual within the secure confines of Gringotts.

This stance infuriated many Ministry officials.

'What difference does it make if the curse is removed in Gringotts or at the Ministry of Magic?' they thought. 'Why are the goblins being so unreasonable?'

In the end, it was Fudge who stepped in. Ignoring the tension between wizards and goblins, he opted to concede to the goblins' demands to avoid further delays.

Naturally, this incident caused an uproar in the wizarding community.

Reporters from The Daily Prophet, led by the ever-controversial Rita Skeeter, framed Fudge's decision as a broader issue of racial conflict between wizards and goblins.

For a time, Fudge's actions provoked widespread dissatisfaction, not only in the British wizarding world but also in the international community.

As for the outcome…

Fudge attempted to use the Aurors to suppress the domestic press and stifle the escalating controversy.

But he likely hadn't anticipated the backlash.

What had initially been an effort to quietly resolve a delicate matter backfired spectacularly. Not only did Fudge fail to restore his reputation, but it also took a significant hit.

"Damn it!" Fudge roared, slamming a copy of The Daily Prophet onto his desk. "How did those nosy dogs find out about this?"

Despite his best efforts to cover up the situation, the news had spread.

Why?

Who betrayed me? Fudge fumed internally, his frustration mounting.

"Minister Fudge," Scrimgeour said, his voice measured. "Are we really not going to retrieve the sarcophagus and the gold coins inside?"

"And how would we do that?" Fudge snapped. "The goblins are guarding them as if we're common thieves!"

Gold, antiques, and powerful magical artifacts—each of these alone was enough to pique the goblins' interest. Together, they were treasures of immense value. Any hint of the Ministry coveting these items would immediately provoke a fierce response from the goblins.

"So, we're just going to leave it as it is?" Scrimgeour pressed.

"What else can we do?" Fudge shot back, exasperated.

He had already decided the sarcophagus wasn't worth the trouble. At most, it was just a collection of valuable magical items. As long as the goblins could guarantee its security, Fudge didn't care who possessed it a week later.

After all, even if the Ministry of Magic took custody of the cursed gold coins, they wouldn't belong to him personally.

In that case, why should Fudge waste his energy worrying about them?

"But why are you so concerned about this?" Fudge asked, narrowing his eyes at Scrimgeour.

The Minister couldn't help but think of the recent scandal in The Daily Prophet. Could it have been orchestrated?

Fudge's thoughts spiraled. If something happens to me, who would be the most likely candidate for Minister?

Scrimgeour... or Amelia Bones?

They must be plotting against me!

Fudge remained calm on the surface, but in fact he had begun to guard against the two of them.

Fudge decided not to press the matter further with Scrimgeour. Instead, he curtly instructed him to focus on his own tasks and not dwell on the issue.

Negotiating with goblins was a thankless task—troublesome and ultimately unrewarding. Only a fool would willingly take it on.

...

"Just as I thought, the goblins ended up with the items," Ivan muttered to himself.

Sitting in his dormitory, Ivan's gaze was fixed on the wardrobe before him. Reflected in the mirror was an image of Gringotts.

In the image, Ivan could see goblins collecting the scattered gold coins from the Ministry of Magic.

The curse had been broken. The memories of the cursed Muggles and everyone involved had been erased or modified by the Ministry.

From a surface-level perspective, the matter seemed to have reached a satisfactory conclusion.

But for Ivan, his main task was only just beginning.

He needed to retrieve the task items and, using his existing magical knowledge, fully dismantle the curse. Only by completing this could he fulfill the system's requirements and gain the experience points he sought.

"Is this where they've placed it?" Ivan murmured, his attention on the vault visible in the mirror, where the goblins had stored the sarcophagus. He memorized the vault number.

This was where Ivan's prophetic abilities came into play—his unique ability to glean information about past events.

Unless a powerful figure, such as a Grand Magician, was actively concealing information, there was little in the world Ivan couldn't uncover.

"How deep is that vault beneath Gringotts?" he wondered aloud.

However, Ivan found that he couldn't remember the route the goblins took to the vault for a while.

There was no way, the railroad track was like a roller coaster, and the whole picture was constantly shaking left and right.

Even though Ivan had an amazing memory, he could only force himself to remember it and browse it over and over in his mind.

"Hmm, ok! The route is mapped, and the location of the gold coins is confirmed," Ivan muttered to himself.

The next steps were clear: figure out how to break into Gringotts, open the vault door, and leave safely—all without revealing his identity.

"First, there's the matter of escaping. I can use the Fenix's Flame Apparition to leave directly from the underground vault," Ivan reasoned.

Gringotts had extensive anti-Apparition enchantments both inside and outside the bank. These included barriers specifically designed to counter the magical abilities of various races capable of Apparition.

The goblins had clearly invested a great deal in safeguarding their wealth.

Unfortunately for them, none of that posed a challenge for Ivan.

No matter how meticulously the goblins prepared, they would never anticipate someone using a mythical creature like a phoenix to perform Apparition.

In fact, no anti-phoenix Apparition spell existed in the world. Such a spell had never been developed—and likely never would be.

After all, the only two known wizards in the world with phoenixes were Dumbledore and Ivan.

For those without phoenixes, studying a counter-curse to such a rare ability was impractical. And even if Dumbledore and Ivan possessed such counter-magic, they would neither share it with others nor use it against one another.

Moreover, Fawkes was unique, and so was Ivan's Fenix. Developing specific counter-magic would require extensive study of both creatures—something neither Dumbledore nor Ivan would permit.

"First, I need to determine which magic to use," Ivan thought.

He wasn't particularly concerned about Dumbledore discovering his identity. His sole goal was to break the curse.

Once the magic on the cursed gold coins and the Soul Coffin dissipated, they would revert to ordinary objects.

This meant Ivan didn't need to justify his actions—once the task was done, the items would hold no further value. Ivan wouldn't keep them or use them for any other purpose.

And Dumbledore, for all his wisdom and integrity, wasn't a strictly impartial figure.

In truth, Dumbledore was fiercely protective of his own. He was unlikely to pursue Ivan harshly, especially if the outcome benefited the greater good.

"In that case, the real challenge is avoiding suspicion from the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts."

Ivan only needs to be careful not to let them associate the invading wizard with himself, and he will be safe.

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