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80.26% Hogwarts' White Lord / Chapter 122: 122: Plan To Steal The Coffin

Chapter 122: 122: Plan To Steal The Coffin

"Gold coins and such aren't important," Fudge said dismissively.

He had no desire to antagonize the goblins, as maintaining peaceful relations with them was crucial to his hopes of being re-elected as Minister of Magic. Stability and steady progress were Fudge's guiding principles.

"We've already reclaimed some of the gold coins," Fudge added.

With that, Dumbledore took one of the cursed gold coins and, along with Ivan, departed the Ministry of Magic to return to Hogwarts.

The officials at the Ministry didn't expect that even Dumbledore couldn't provide an immediate solution to the problem.

Fortunately, they still had time. With Dumbledore's profound magical expertise, it seemed inevitable that he would find a solution sooner or later.

...

Back at Hogwarts, Dumbledore and Ivan stepped out of the green flames of the fireplace into the headmaster's office.

Placing the cursed gold coin on his desk, Dumbledore turned to Ivan and said, "You've some ideas about it, haven't you?"

"I have some ideas," Ivan replied. "What about you, Professor?"

"Almost," Dumbledore said with a nod.

Once again, Dumbledore's unparalleled knowledge exceeded Ivan's expectations. Even with only brief exposure to the cursed gold coin, Dumbledore had analyzed the curse and deduced how to break it.

"A bloodline-based curse," Dumbledore mused. "It carries a deep hatred for greed."

"If I'm not mistaken," he continued, "to break this curse, the blood of the person who originally took the coin is required, and the coin must be returned by them personally."

"As expected of you," Ivan thought to himself, impressed.

His mind returned to the Aztec gold coins from Pirates of the Caribbean, as referenced in the system's task.

However, Dumbledore's accurate deduction was based on his vast experience and insight.

'As expected of you, Dumbledore, really' Ivan thought, inwardly marveling at the headmaster's brilliance. Then he asked, "Why didn't you tell them directly?"

"Telling them doesn't mean the matter will be resolved," Dumbledore replied calmly.

It seemed he was well aware of the shortcomings within the Ministry of Magic. He wasn't particularly worried that they wouldn't be able to break the curse—the real challenge wasn't in the curse itself but in addressing the broader situation.

"The problem," Dumbledore continued, "is not that the curse is difficult to break. It's that the cursed gold coins are now in the hands of the goblins, which complicates matters greatly."

"You mean we need to retrieve the sarcophagus and the gold coins from the goblins first?" Ivan asked.

Dumbledore nodded slightly. Ivan understood the concern. These cursed gold coins contained extraordinarily powerful magic, and such items needed to be securely sealed with equally powerful counter-magic.

As for Gringotts, its reputation for being impenetrable was dubious at best. Even someone like Quirrell, a dweeb dark wizard working for Voldemort, had managed to infiltrate it. Its security was riddled with loopholes.

"I'll ask the Ministry of Magic to locate all the individuals who originally took the gold coins," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "The sarcophagus, the gold coins, and the people who took them—all three must be brought together for the curse to be properly broken."

There was another concern as well.

Dumbledore's influence was vast, almost unparalleled. If he immediately provided the correct solution, the Ministry of Magic's own shortcomings would be laid bare.

Rather than being grateful to Dumbledore, Fudge might resent him for overshadowing the Ministry's authority and his own.

"What an asshole.."

"Ivan?"

"Ehm. I don't quite understand," Ivan said, furrowing his brow. "Why would you support someone like Fudge to become the Minister of Magic?"

"He wasn't always like this," Dumbledore said, his tone tinged with regret.

Before Fudge became Minister, there was little fault to be found in his behavior. However, once he assumed power, everything changed. Initially, Fudge frequently sought Dumbledore's counsel, but over time, he seemed to transform into an entirely different person.

It wasn't until later that Dumbledore understood the truth.

Everything Fudge had done before—his self-restraint, his demeanor—had all been an act to gain Dumbledore's favor.

He had carefully molded himself into someone Dumbledore could admire.

But once he achieved power and status, his true nature began to surface.

'If someone can pretend to be a good person for their entire life, then they are a good person,' Dumbledore thought somberly. Unfortunately, Fudge had failed this test. Confronted with the temptations of power, he indulged himself and drifted further and further from the person he had once pretended to be.

"Then should we do nothing?" Ivan asked, concerned.

"We need to prepare in advance," Dumbledore replied. "This curse has many flaws."

"Flaws?"

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "To be more precise, the method of breaking this curse is flawed."

He explained, "While the method may appear straightforward, it's riddled with potential pitfalls. There are numerous requirements to break the curse, and each one is fraught with the possibility of failure."

"For example," Dumbledore continued, "there are exactly 888 gold coins. If even one of those coins is destroyed, can the curse still be broken? And what if the person who took a coin dies and no longer has any blood to provide? What then?"

Dumbledore gestured toward the cursed gold coin on his desk. "The negative emotions imbued in these coins are extraordinarily strong."

Clearly, the caster bore deep malice toward those who picked up the gold coins, intending for them to suffer eternal torment.

The Ministry of Magic now faced two urgent tasks: locating all the cursed Muggles and gathering them in one place, and recovering the lost gold coins—along with retrieving the sarcophagus taken by the goblins.

Every single gold coin from the sarcophagus needed to be accounted for.

"The goblins wouldn't be so foolish as to take the gold coins for themselves, would they?" Ivan asked.

"Sigh.. It's not impossible," Dumbledore replied.

The goblins were notorious for their greed for magical items. Though he didn't mention it in front of Fudge to save face, Dumbledore suspected the goblins might attempt to keep the coins.

He planned to address the matter tomorrow, giving the Ministry wizards time to avoid appearing completely inept.

"What will happen to the gold coins once the curse is broken?" Ivan asked. "Will they be destroyed?"

"No, I doubt it," Dumbledore said, not catching Ivan's deeper implication. "No one would willingly destroy treasures of such value."

Even cursed items held significant worth in the magical world. Though dangerous, their value often outweighed their risks.

"Whether they end up in Gringotts or the Ministry of Magic, those are likely their final destinations," Dumbledore added.

Ivan's heart sank slightly at those words. He was beginning to understand exactly what the system's main task wanted him to accomplish.

Breaking into Gringotts or the Ministry of Magic to retrieve the cursed gold coins.

'Am I really supposed to challenge the two largest forces in Britain Wizarding world right away?'

The only small comfort Ivan could take was that neither Gringotts nor the Ministry of Magic had a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber on their side.

In terms of raw magical ability, Ivan was confident in his skills.

'But how do I go about it specifically?' he wondered. 'And what about the aftermath? I can't just storm in recklessly.'

To complicate matters, Ivan needed to avoid exposing his identity. This meant he couldn't rely on some of his more iconic abilities, which only added another layer of difficulty to the task.

'I can't act rashly. I need a proper plan.'

After some thought, Ivan decided to wait and observe the actions of the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts.

Once they made their moves, he would formulate a thorough plan and prepare adequately before attempting to complete the main task.

_________

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Chapter 123: 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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