Puzi felt incredibly lucky.
Gringotts had fallen, but he had soared.
Miss Astrey had taken him in, along with some goblins willing to continue contributing to the wizarding financial world. Puzi had become their leader.
Before the new bank was officially established, he was already the chief steward of the Gringotts ruins, albeit under the guidance of Mr. Grindelwald.
What? Goblins led by wizards is shameful?
Just look at the name—Gellert Grindelwald! He had been Puzi's idol in his youth! Working under such a figure was an honor, not humiliation.
Meeting Miss Audrey Astrey was the luckiest thing in his life.
One day, Puzi sat in his office, leisurely sipping afternoon tea. Life was perfect—no work, yet the salary kept coming!
"Chief Puzi!"
A goblin came rushing in. "The Ministry is here!"
"What? Again?"
"This time, Minister Fudge himself brought them. You should go see!"
Puzi hurriedly stood up, accidentally tipping over his tea. It spilled onto the expensive carpet, but he no longer cared. He dashed out.
Fudge arrived with a group of Ministry employees, standing at the forefront with his usual kindly demeanor—looking more like a friendly uncle than the Minister of Magic.
"Are you in charge here?"
Fudge had no patience for goblins. His friendly face was reserved only for those who could benefit him. The goblins? Hehe.
"Yes, Minister. You may call me Puzi," he bowed respectfully, neither over- nor under-dramatic. "May I ask what official business brings you here?"
Fudge waved his hand, and his aide—a woman dressed in pink who suspiciously resembled a toad spirit—handed over a thick stack of documents.
"During the recent inventory of Gringotts vaults, we discovered that some Ministry officials' ancestors' vaults had been classified as unclaimed. We've come to recover the wealth that should have rightfully been inherited!"
Fudge pushed the documents toward Puzi. "Here are their identification papers and documents confirming their ancestral bloodlines."
Puzi's expression was respectful, but inside he was completely unmoved.
Miss Astrey had been right—no, now she should be called the boss. Never overestimate Fudge's principles.
Glancing at the documents, Puzi snorted. Forged.
Families long confirmed extinct suddenly had a bunch of grandchildren popping up? And conveniently, all Ministry employees?
"Minister," Puzi said smoothly, "I'm afraid the Galleons in those unclaimed vaults were removed the very day Gringotts collapsed, by the Gringotts elders themselves."
Fudge froze. Behind him, the toad spirit jumped forward sharply. "What? Taken? You lie! Do you know who you're speaking to, goblin?"
The toad seemed furious. "This is the wisest Minister of Magic in history! How dare you deceive him?"
Fudge was quite pleased with Umbridge's flattery and took note of her performance. But if she could improve her taste—her pink skirt with lotus ruffles made him a bit physically uncomfortable.
"Dolores, no need," Fudge smiled, pressing his hand down slightly. The pink toad obediently lowered her head and stepped back.
"Mr. Puzi, whatever the truth, you should at least show us the vaults, right?"
Immediately, strike teams restrained the surrounding goblins to prevent them from moving the Galleons. Even so, it seemed that, as Puzi had said, the vaults were empty—spotless as if brand new.
Could the elders really have removed the Galleons in advance?
"Impossible!"
Fudge spent half a day inspecting all the unclaimed vaults. "You must have had advance notice and emptied the vaults!"
"No, Minister," Puzi said professionally, "in this matter, our boss is the biggest victim. She spent an extra million Galleons and got nothing but empty shells."
"Since the Ministry has now confirmed that these vaults were owned, the previous transaction was illegal. Therefore, can the Ministry return the money my boss paid for these vaults?"
"After all, selling property that wasn't yours violates the Wizards' Personal Property Protection Act, making that transaction void."
Fudge froze. He had only glanced at the auction report for Gringotts' ruins, never reading carefully. He didn't realize that these unclaimed vaults had added an extra million to the sale.
As Puzi said, if the vaults were confirmed to have owners, selling them to Audrey would be fraudulent. Asking Fudge to return that million? Impossible. The proceeds from the Gringotts auction had already been divided among the pureblood families.
Yet the pureblood families were still unhappy, their losses significant.
Umbridge once again played the savior, shouting, "This must be a mistake! We should investigate the greedy villains in the Ministry—they've deceived us!"
"Minister," she continued, radiating righteousness like an actress on stage, "we must return to the Ministry. These greedy worms deserve punishment! They must be judged!"
"Indeed, Dolores, well said," Fudge turned to Puzi and smiled—for the first time. "Mr. Puzi, I believe this is a misunderstanding. Sorry for the trouble."
The Minister, outraged, added: "I was deceived by those who wanted something for nothing. These vaults are clearly unclaimed!"
Puzi bowed, echoing: "Yes, those people are despicable, with no limits. They should be sent to Azkaban, perhaps even given a Dementor's kiss."
Recalling his own experience in Azkaban, Puzi shivered, then continued:
"Under Minister Fudge's wise leadership, these people are ungrateful and troublesome! If it were me, they'd already be fired!"
Fudge twitched. Those who had helped him organize the documents were his trusted aides; firing them would leave him isolated!
He quickly waved his hand to stop Puzi's "excessive" words. "This is Ministry business. No need for you to worry, Mr. Puzi."
"All right, we'll go. Give my regards to Audrey."
Fudge tried to maintain dignity, but there was no mistaking his defeat.
"Cornelius," Umbridge whispered in his ear, "without the Galleons, next month's Ministry salaries won't be paid. Funds for excavation aren't enough to cover Ministry expenses, and the pureblood families are broke, unable to support us…"
"Don't call me Cornelius," Fudge shuddered. Umbridge slightly retreated, sensing his discomfort.
"Not all pureblood families were harmed by Gringotts. To my knowledge, the Malfoys and Lestranges weren't involved, so they are still wealthy."
Her eyes lit up. "You mean we can ask them for donations?"
"What donations? Speak clearly," Fudge rolled his eyes. "They're voluntarily contributing to the Ministry. Given their contribution, we'll award them the Third Class Order of Merlin; Second Class is possible—it depends on their sincerity."
Umbridge gasped, impressed. "Minister, your insight is extraordinary!"
As Fudge accepted the pink toad's praise, he looked into the distance, thinking coldly: Want to open a bank during my term? Astrey, you're dreaming.