Although the Gringotts Elder Council Chamber was still magnificent, it was no longer its former self. The conference table and chairs had been raised by at least thirty centimeters to accommodate attendees whose heights far exceeded those of the Gringotts Elders.
At this moment, the heads of Britain's families were gathered together.
Of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, except for the Lestrange (British branch), Black, and Gaunt families who could not attend, all other families were present.
Barty Crouch Sr. also appeared here because he was the patriarch of the Crouch family, and of course, the Crouches were one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Apart from these, many other families also came. They might not be as obsessed with pure blood, but their wealth and status in the wizarding world were not necessarily inferior to the Sacred Twenty-Eight, such as the Dumbledore family.
Dumbledore was not present, but Fawkes the phoenix, perched on the chandelier, represented his opinion.
At the agreed time, the inner door of the conference room opened, and a young man walked in leisurely, followed by two old wizards with gray hair.
The young man was handsome, with hair as golden as the sun, instantly illuminating the conference room.
"Greetings, everyone. Nice to meet you. I am Edmond Grindelwald, representing my boss with full authority to host this meeting."
Logically speaking, the other party's boss not attending such a major meeting was disrespectful to these family heads. However, everyone present chose to remain silent; no one stood up to express dissatisfaction.
These old fellows were all shrewd. Upon hearing Edmond's surname, they immediately imagined many things and naturally ignored the disrespect from that mysterious boss.
"Yes, as you are thinking," Edmond was so composed he didn't seem his age at all. "I am Gellert Grindelwald's grandnephew."
The conference room was in an uproar.
"But please rest assured, my great-uncle is currently vacationing just fine in Nurmengard. He has no intention of starting another revolution. Inviting everyone to gather today is merely to discuss the establishment of a wizarding bank."
People from the major families instantly quieted down.
But this silence lasted a full ten seconds.
They were thinking, weighing, and judging whether Edmond was lying.
Old Avery spoke first: "Mr. Grindelwald, I don't care what your true intentions are. I just want to know, is it true that your boss said he would compensate us with gold for Gringotts?"
Edmond nodded. "Indeed. That is precisely what my boss intends."
Another uproar.
But this time, excitement and joy could be heard amidst the noisy voices.
"Everyone, please be quiet," Edmond said. "Before the meeting begins, I would like to introduce my boss's financial strength."
Edmond snapped his fingers. Behind him, which was behind the main seat, a light screen appeared.
Images began to appear on the light screen; it was a world map.
"My boss sits on 120,000 square kilometers of land in Ukraine, and his assets in other countries are countless."
Red dots began to appear on the map, representing asset distribution. Ukraine had the most, with nearly two-fifths of the Ukrainian map turning red.
"The number of Galleons my boss possesses exceeds your imagination."
The image changed again, showing the patriarchs a huge vault.
The left half was filled with metal shelves, each over two meters high and three meters long, neatly stacked with gold bars.
The right half was a small mountain of Galleons. In a space of several hundred square meters, Galleons were piled high, almost reaching an adult's waist.
Sounds of inhaling and swallowing saliva filled the conference room.
Edmond continued, "Showing you this is not to show off, but to build trust between us." He sat down. "Yes, the money Gringotts lost is all in our hands. And under our operation, this wealth has appreciated more than ten times in a short period."
Discussions immediately erupted again.
However, no one accused Edmond's boss of causing Gringotts' collapse.
Because it was Gringotts that made them lose money, not the force represented by Edmond.
On the contrary, they were all very pragmatic. Now that they wanted to recover their losses, they were counting on the other party. How could they jump out to draw hatred at this time?
Edmond was very satisfied with the performance of these family heads and continued:
"If our boss wants to establish a new bank and a new financial order in the wizarding world, it cannot be done without the support of everyone here."
Edmond said, "We will issue a new currency, exchanged in equal amounts with our stock of Galleons. The first batch will issue about 120 billion New Magic Coins globally. As a thank you from our boss for the full support of all family heads, we will gift 100 million New Magic Coins to each family present!"
This sentence bewildered these noble lords.
According to Edmond, New Magic Coins and Galleons were exchanged one-to-one, so 100 million New Magic Coins meant 100 million Galleons!
Many families didn't even have 100 million Galleons if they added up all their assets from before!
With such a huge cake smashing onto their heads, who wouldn't be dizzy for half a day?
As for the possibility of the other party printing money crazily leading to inflation, how could wizards understand this? Although Audrey disdained doing such things anyway.
Their eyes were now only filled with glittering gold, and their brains were only thinking about how to make their families rise with this money!
"Mr. Grindelwald, your boss is truly generous!"
"Our family will be your eternal friends!"
Barty Crouch Sr. was one of the few people who knew that Audrey Astley was the boss behind Edmond. He asked very calmly:
"May I ask, if we accept this gift, what do we need to give in return?"
The family heads quickly calmed down.
Yes, there is no such thing as a free lunch!
They all looked at Edmond in unison.
Edmond smiled. "There is a prerequisite for us to provide these gifts."
He signaled the goblins to distribute the relevant materials for the bank's establishment to the family heads.
"This prerequisite is that our bank must first be able to open!"
Edmond let the family heads read the materials first. The novel investment concepts and development plans within made the family heads' eyes light up.
After everyone finished reading the materials and looked up one after another, Edmond said:
"Do you know who is hindering the establishment of our bank right now?"
"The Ministry of Magic?"
"No! The vast majority of officials and employees in the Ministry are eagerly looking forward to the new wizarding bank!"
He looked at Barty Crouch Sr. "Mr. Crouch knows this best because he has been helping us promote the establishment of the new bank within the Ministry!"
Old Barty nodded slightly, indicating that this was indeed the fact.
Edmond continued, "So now, Mr. Crouch, please tell everyone, who exactly is hindering us?"
"What Dog Doesn't Crave a Meaty Bone?"
Barty Crouch Sr. was instantly put on the roasting rack by Edmond. The smile he just had froze on his face.
He was in a dilemma, at a loss, stammering for a long time without knowing what to do.
This was forcing him to stand on the opposite side of Fudge!
At this moment, a soft, thin voice drifted into his ears, carrying a hint of seduction: "Mr. Crouch, think carefully, this is a good opportunity!"
He turned his head sharply and saw Puzzi standing against the wall, nodding slightly at him.
Opportunity?
What opportunity?
But the next moment, he seemed to figure something out.
Was he afraid of Fudge?
No, he, Barty Crouch, was not afraid! Fudge was someone who couldn't even make it to the main stage!
However, what he feared was the power represented by the Minister's position, power that could doom him eternally!
And that power was exactly what he had always pursued!
Once upon a time, he was so close to that position!
The past is unbearable to recall, but the opportunity is right before his eyes!
Opportunity!
Puzzi was right; this was indeed an opportunity!
Someone had already delivered the opportunity to bring down Fudge to his hand; how could he still be cowardly?
With that abundant financial support, him ascending to the Minister's position wasn't a dream either!!
Thinking of this, Barty Crouch shouted the words with all his strength:
"The one hindering the bank's progress is the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge!"
"It is Fudge who has been obstructing the establishment of the new wizarding bank!"
"Whoa!"
The venue instantly fell into chaos. Familiar patriarchs whispered to each other, discussing spiritedly.
Barty Crouch Sr. slumped in his chair. Those two shouts just now seemed to have used up all his strength. At this moment, he only felt numbness shooting through his limbs—
The moment he said those words, he stood on the opposite side of Fudge. If Fudge didn't fall this time, then he, Barty Crouch, would never have a day to turn over!
His fate, to a certain extent, depended on the decision of these family heads present!
Edmond stood up. "Sonorus."
"Everyone!! Please listen to me!"
"We call this meeting the Wizarding Bank Preparatory Meeting because we hope everyone can assist us in opening the new bank!"
"Our sincerity is those 100 million Galleons' worth of New Magic Coins!"
"Now, those willing to build the new wizarding bank with us, please stay; those unwilling to participate, we won't force you, feel free to leave!"
As his voice fell, the entire hall was silent.
Everyone stared at each other, but not a single person left.
"Cornelius Fudge acts perversely, ignoring the overall interests of the wizarding world. He is simply unworthy of the Minister's position!"
Lucius Malfoy spoke first. He had weighed the pros and cons for a long time and decided to be the one to stick his neck out—if he won the bet, Malfoy would soar on Hydrus's tailwinds;
Even if he lost the bet, as Hydrus's relative who stuck his neck out for her, could she possibly ignore him?
Why wouldn't he do something that offered huge returns if successful, but carried no risk if it failed?
He was an outstanding Slytherin graduate, the standard of combat power in the majestic wizarding world!
Patriarch Carrow immediately echoed, "That's right! I heard that Cornelius Fudge had power-for-money dealings with Gringotts before. He is basically a parasite using his power for personal gain!"
Edmond nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I can testify to this. We have enough witnesses and physical evidence to prove this matter."
The well-prepared goblins immediately presented Fudge's "evidence of crime."
"Outrageous, simply outrageous!"
"As the Minister for Magic, he actually sold the interests of wizards to goblins!"
"How can such a person continue to stay in that position!"
"Impeach him, we must impeach him!"
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
The last time a unanimous seconding occurred here was when the Gringotts Elders discussed how to fleece more wool from Audrey.
Puzzi was the only person present who participated in both meetings.
He shook his head secretly.
Sure enough, whether goblins or wizards, in the face of interests, they were all so vulnerable!
In this world, what dog doesn't crave a meaty bone?
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