"Bill?!"
"My dear boy, why are you back?" Mrs. Weasley watched the person walking out of the fireplace and happily stepped forward to give her son a firm hug.
Bill also smiled and hugged his mother, only beginning to explain his sudden return after letting go.
"Just now, Gringotts in Y Country was suddenly broken into, so Gringotts decided to transfer me back as an Investigator. I'm responsible for helping Gringotts investigate the matter and also for communicating and coordinating with the Ministry of Magic."
"Since I'm back to work in Y Country anyway, I decided to come home first."
Hearing Bill explain the reason for his return, Ron was stunned, Mrs. Weasley was stunned, and Ginny was also stunned.
The three of them stood there, their expressions looking somewhat... awkward. "Mom? Ron? Ginny? What's wrong with you all?" Bill frowned in confusion; why did his mother and siblings have such expressions?
"Ah, no, it's nothing, Bill. Welcome back," Ron was the first to snap out of it, saying with a forced smile.
"Yes, Bill, it's good to see you," Ginny followed up immediately.
There's definitely something going on, right? Bill raised an eyebrow and turned to look at his mother. "Mom?"
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and spread her hands. "There's no need to investigate. Your brother was the one who broke into Gringotts."
"What??"
Bill's eyes widened in shock, and he looked at Ron with an expression of disbelief.
When did his brother become so bold? Breaking into Gringotts?
Wait, that's not right. Even if he were bold enough, he shouldn't have the ability.
According to the information given to him, the Gringotts on the Y Country side didn't even have its front doors anymore; they had been blown to smithereens by a single spell.
All the Goblins were injured by the same spell, and the vault doors were easily destroyed. This wasn't the kind of commotion his brother could cause.
"Ah, it wasn't just me."
Ron shrugged as he spoke. "There were also Amanda, Harry, and Hermione. The four of us disguised ourselves as Death Eaters and broke in together to destroy one of You-Know-Who's Horcruxes."
"That makes sense." Bill nodded. If Miss Amanda was there, then the aforementioned events weren't hard to understand.
One could even say that the fact Gringotts hadn't been dug up entirely from underground was already a result of Miss Amanda's restraint.
Raising a hand to scratch his hair, Bill said without hesitation, "In that case, this incident must have been done by Death Eaters."
The Death Eaters were definitely taking the fall for this. He would certainly cooperate with the Ministry of Magic to find out exactly which Death Eaters committed the crime.
Having said that, Bill was no longer in a hurry. He leisurely accompanied his mother and siblings for lunch before unhurriedly "rushing" to Gringotts.
As soon as he arrived at Gringotts, the Aurors investigating there almost laughed when they saw Bill arrive.
The Aurors basically knew exactly who had done it. For Gringotts to send Bill to investigate now... it was truly like trying to slap your right palm with your right palm; you'd be lucky if you could hit it.
Originally, they were wondering how they should fool Gringotts' Investigator, but now it was fine—they didn't need to fool him at all.
They only needed to trick those Goblins like they were fools, and that would be enough.
Moreover, this step wasn't difficult either, because the Goblin in charge of the Y Country branch of Gringotts was already drenched in sweat at the Ministry of Magic.
He had absolutely no spare energy to truly focus on solving the case.
"So, Gringotts does not have great capabilities, nor has it put enough energy into protecting the property of Wizards."
Hermione's slender fingers lightly tapped her desk, her scrutinizing gaze making the Goblin Representative sitting opposite her feel uneasy.
Sitting next to Hermione, Amanda's equally indifferent gaze made him feel as if he were about to leave this beautiful world at any moment.
"You can't say that, Minister Granger." Although suppressed by the aura of the two, the Goblin Representative still forced himself to say those words.
"In the past, we at Gringotts have always done a very good job of protecting the wealth of Wizards."
"Is that so?" Amanda raised an eyebrow, her indifferent gaze fixed on the Goblin Representative.
"Do I need to remind you that your Gringotts was broken into just five years ago? And you still haven't found the real perpetrator to this day."
Of course, they wouldn't find them anyway. After all, Professor Quirrell was dead, and Voldemort would certainly not come out and admit he had once ordered Quirrell to rob Gringotts. Since that was the case, this matter could only become a permanent cold case and a handle for them to use against Gringotts.
At the time, it was thought to be a Dark Wizard's conspiracy, but they never expected that this conspiracy would one day become an opportunity for them to exploit.
"This..." The Goblin Representative was indeed unable to say anything more.
"And according to my understanding, compared to Muggle banks in similar conditions, Gringotts is far behind in terms of service attitude and service business for Wizards."
"Every aspect is filled with perfunctoriness."
"Our Gringotts is naturally different from those Muggle banks. How can we Goblins be compared to those Muggles!"
"You mean your Goblins are superior to Muggles."
Hermione narrowed her eyes dangerously. Without Amanda even needing to act, a dangerous aura of magic emanated from her, immediately reminding the Goblin Representative that he was not just facing the Minister for Magic of Y Country.
She was also the prime minister of the Y Country Muggle World and a promoter of equality between Wizards and Muggles. As a Goblin, how did he dare say such words in front of her!
Thinking back on his actions after his head cleared, the Goblin Representative had to tell himself he was truly brave—brave to the point of being brainless.
"Hmph," Amanda snorted coldly, her eyes filled with a grim meaning as she looked at the Goblin Representative. "I advise you not to forget that Goblins once had wars with Wizards and lost."
"Only Hermione is working hard to promote equality and peaceful communication between various intelligent species, and yet you Goblins are now showing signs of discriminating against Muggles."
"What? Do Muggles also need to fight a battle with you Goblins to prove they deserve your respect?!"
"No, no, no, of course not," the Goblin Representative felt as if he were raining sweat now. "Just now, I was just momentarily confused and said the wrong thing."
"Please, Minister Granger, Miss Amanda, do not take it to heart."
The Goblin Representative bowed deeply to Amanda and Hermione. Merlin knew he was supposed to represent Gringotts in urging the Ministry of Magic to handle the results.
Why was he suddenly being asked by the Ministry of Magic to explain their security issues and service attitude? This was completely different from the Ministry led by Fudge before.
"As expected, any industry without competition will become lazy," Hermione picked up a document beside her, signed her name with a flourish, and stamped it. "I have now authorized the first wizard-run bank in the British Wizarding World to begin operations. From now on, Gringotts can compete with the banks opened by Wizards."
"What? Wizards opening a bank? Minister Granger, this..."
Before he could finish, Amanda interrupted him directly. "Does Gringotts have any objections to this?"
"No, of course not." The Goblin Representative hurriedly stopped himself and shook his head sincerely.
"I just wanted to say that if the Wizards running the bank need any help, we would be very willing."
"Then thank you," Hermione nodded with satisfaction.
Amanda looked at the Goblin Representative and spoke again. "You Goblins don't need to harbor resentment over this, or think we intend to weaken your position in the British Wizarding World or are preparing to start another war between Wizards and Goblins."
"As I said before, Hermione advocates for friendly, equal, and peaceful coexistence between all intelligent creatures."
"Exactly," Hermione echoed from the side, "this view of mine will never change."
"So as long as the Goblins maintain this mindset, we will not act against you."
As Amanda spoke, the indifference and coldness in her eyes slowly faded. "Moreover, our allowing Wizards to build their own banks managed by humans is also for the good of you Goblins."
"The minting, issuance, and storage of currency in the British Wizarding World are all managed by Goblins. Do you know how many Wizards are dissatisfied with this?"
"Do you know how many Wizards advocate for taking back these powers?"
"Their intention is not to take these powers back peacefully," Amanda's lips curled slightly as she looked playfully at the Goblin Representative, who was once again drenched in sweat. "If a war starts, how many Goblins would you need to mobilize to withstand just Headmaster Dumbledore and me?"
Withstand her and Albus Dumbledore???
The Goblin Representative looked up in disbelief at Amanda, who was speaking.
Miss Amanda wasn't joking, was she? With her and Albus Dumbledore's strength, let alone withstanding them, even if they gathered the entire power of Gringotts, it might not be enough for the two of them to fight.
With those two around, if these Goblins had a chance to cast a single spell, it would be something worth bragging about.
"So," Amanda clasped her hands, continuing to speak with a smile, "peacefully accepting banks opened by Wizards and forming healthy competition with them is the path Gringotts should take, and the only path Gringotts can take. What do you say?"
"Yes, Miss Amanda and Minister Granger are quite right." The Goblin Representative nodded sincerely.
"On behalf of Gringotts, I congratulate the establishment of the wizard-run bank, and I sincerely hope that in the years to come, we can form healthy competition and provide better services for the Wizards of the Wizarding World."
"That's more like it," Hermione stood up, walked around the desk, and extended her right hand to the Goblin Representative. "Happy cooperating. I hope there will always be peace between us."
"Happy cooperating. I hope there will always be peace between us." The Goblin Representative grasped Hermione's hand with both of his, his tone more sincere than ever before.
The Goblins had lost the previous wars with Wizards. If a war happened again now, there was no doubt the Goblins would lose again.
And they would lose even more miserably, very miserably.
Therefore, it was best for Wizards and Goblins to remain at peace, and to stay at peace forever.
The Gringotts matter had more or less come to an end here. Next, the Aurors worked together with Bill to lead the Goblins around in circles.
They cooperated with each other to prove with various "evidence" that the incident was indeed done by four Death Eaters. It was even claimed that the person who burned Bellatrix Lestrange's vault was she herself!
"We suspect there was something involving You-Know-Who's secrets inside, which is why Bellatrix Lestrange had to destroy it."
Bill reported solemnly to the high-level officials of Gringotts. The high-level Goblins nodded with full conviction and immediately turned around to submit this investigation report to the Ministry of Magic.
Looking at the final investigation reports sent by the Auror Office and Gringotts, Hermione's face almost cramped from holding back her laughter.
Bellatrix Lestrange burning her own vault... this was a bit too outrageous. The key was that those Goblins actually believed it. Merlin's boxers!
"Laugh if you want to, Hermione. There's no one else here now."
Sitting next to Hermione, Amanda, who was reading the letter Harry had sent, put down the letter and reached out to hug Hermione's waist.
"Hahaha..." Hermione laughed as she leaned into Amanda's embrace, kissing the side of her neck several times.
"I just... I just find it very comical to see this Bellatrix burning her own vault."
Hermione's tone was full of laughter. "A Death Eater burning her own vault, and the most crucial part is, the Goblins believed it."
"It seems that besides being shrewd when it comes to money, they are quite muddled in other areas," Amanda said, her voice slightly raspy as she narrowed her eyes and enjoyed Hermione's kisses.
"Mm-hmm," Hermione kissed Amanda's neck again and again. "What did Harry say in his letter?"
"Well..." Amanda pursed her lips and adjusted her breathing. "Harry said that after Headmaster Dumbledore picked him up from the Dursley family last night, he took him to visit someone named Slughorn and invited him to teach at Hogwarts."
"Slughorn?" Hermione stopped her kissing, raising her head to look at Amanda in confusion. "Do you know anything about this person, Amanda?"
"Yes," Amanda nodded certainly. "Like Professor Snape, he is also a Potions Master, and he has cooperated with some of the potion shops under my command."
"I see." Hermione nodded understandingly and lowered her head to resume her kissing.
"Whew..." Amanda took a deep breath, feeling the tingling sensation from her neck, trying hard to steady her voice and breathing. "If he goes to Hogwarts, he should... should be there to be the Potions Professor."
"So... Professor Snape will very likely become this year's defense against the dark arts professor."
"Mhm." Hermione gave a soft hum, her lips applying a bit of pressure.
"Mmm..." A muffled groan escaped from Amanda's throat, and a small red mark immediately appeared on her neck.
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