章 635: Chapter 635: There's a Problem with the Galleons! (Edited)
Once Tom agreed, Scrimgeour had to follow him to count the Lestrange vault deposit.
"Bring a bag of Galleons." Seeing that both the representatives of wizards and the Dementors were determined to continue, the goblin in front of Tom also sprang into action. He ordered a younger goblin to bring him a well-filled leather bag.
After receiving the bag of Galleons, he waited a few more minutes until an older goblin who looked a bit tired arrived.
"I am Bogrod, one of the thirteen directors of Gringotts. Today, I will take both of you with Ragnok to the Lestrange family vault. Please, follow me." He gave a slight bow and led Tom and Scrimgeour to a door in the atrium.
Ragnok, the goblin with the list, also bowed to the two before following his boss. At the same time, a group of younger goblins joined the expedition. They would be the main team to count the items in the vault.
Scrimgeour signaled and had two Aurors follow them. Tom thought for a moment and ordered some Dementors to follow them at a distance to provide support if needed.
Following Bogrod, the group traversed a rough stone passage and reached a steep incline. At the foot of the slope, there was a small train track and several carts stopped on the track.
Bogrod, Ragnok, Tom, and Scrimgeour boarded the first cart together, while the other goblins and Aurors positioned themselves in the carts behind them. The Dementors were also at the rear of the group.
Once everyone was ready, the cart started descending rapidly and rushed into the underground at high speed. During the journey, the wind howled, and the noise of the cart combined with the wind nearly rendered Tom deaf, unable to hear anything.
The Lestrange vault was in the deepest depths, and the train track wound through like a maze. Tom felt fortunate that the goblins were guiding them because without them, it would have taken several days to find the vault.
After the cart descended to a certain location, it sharply turned, and a waterfall appeared in front of the cart.
"Anti-Theft Cascade." Ragnok barely had time to tell Tom the name of the cascade before the cart passed through, drenching Tom and Scrimgeour.
"Blah, blah, blah!" Startled, Scrimgeour swallowed some water and struggled to clear his throat.
Ragnok looked a bit embarrassed as he explained that this was one of Gringotts' defenses and could dispel all false spells and enchantments. What he didn't tell them was that normally, the cascade wasn't open, but the Gringotts goblins were not pleased with the unexpected Ministry of Magic inspection, so they decided to play a little trick on the wizards.
The fact that the Anti-Theft Cascade appeared indicated they weren't far from their destination. Indeed, after the cart turned a corner, they encountered a massive Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon in front of them.
It was the largest dragon in the world, and it was tethered to the ground, guarding the deepest vaults. Its pale skin and cloudy gaze indicated it had been confined underground for too long.
Although the underground space seemed large, it was too small for a dragon of that size. If it spread its wings, it would easily fill the entire underground chamber. The cramped space made it even more irritable. As soon as it heard a noise, it turned its head and breathed fire.
Bogrod quickly pulled out a pouch and took out a small metal tool, which he shook rapidly. The tool emitted a sharp and clear sound that reverberated between the walls.
The dragon trembled and retreated, leaving the path to the vault door clear.
"Conditioned Reflex," Tom muttered, observing how the goblins opened the vault door and then removed the fire and duplication spells from the treasures inside.
"I don't understand the Lestranges' reasoning, they have so much money, and yet they always cause trouble." Scrimgeour looked at the enormous pile of gold and silver treasures, sighing.
"If I had that much money, I'd find a place to enjoy life," one of the Aurors Scrimgeour had brought responded.
Meanwhile, Tom took advantage of the vault door's disappearance to search for traces of Helga Hufflepuff's Cup. However, he didn't find it, but he did discover an interesting little issue within the vault.
"Is there any significance to the sequence of numbers next to the Galleons?" Tom asked Ragnok, who was standing beside him.
"Uhm..." Although the question was rather abrupt, Ragnok answered honestly, "The serial number represents the goblin who minted this gold coin and the minting date."
"Oh, I see... Can you give me an example?" Tom randomly grabbed a gold coin scattered near the door.
"Of course." Ragnok took the coin and didn't notice that Bogrod, who was next to him, suddenly turned pale.
"This is a gold Galleon minted with the name Gernot, minted in March 1990..." Ragnok abruptly stopped and closed his mouth.
Tom grinned broadly.
"Could you explain why there's a coin minted in 1990 in this vault?" Tom took the coin from Ragnok's hand and showed the numbers on the edge to the Aurors.
Scrimgeour and the other two also noticed the issue and took the coin to examine the symbols on the edge.
As they looked, their expressions grew increasingly serious. Though they didn't understand the meaning of the inscriptions on the Galleons, they could comprehend the numbers on them: 1990-03-07, which clearly indicated March 7, 1990.
A coin minted in 1990 appeared in a vault that should have been closed for over ten years.
"Do you have any explanation? Is it possible there was a mistake in the minting date?" Scrimgeour spoke coldly, looking at the goblins in the vault with a displeased expression. At the same time, to prevent any sudden moves by the goblins, he kept his wand in his hand.
Bogrod was sweating profusely as he dryly explained, "It's because... because we transferred the dividends of the assets entrusted to us by the Lestrange family to the vault..."
However, by this point, Scrimgeour no longer believed what the goblins were saying. A chain of suspicion between both parties had already formed.
"I need to report to the Minister." He spoke as if he were an emotionless machine. At that moment, the only idea in Scrimgeour's mind was to go to his own vault to count the amount of money deposited there. And once he finished, he planned to withdraw all the money, leaving not a single Knut behind.
While Scrimgeour and Bogrod were in a standoff, Tom didn't just stand idly by. He entered the vault and searched everywhere, trying to find the cup with the badger emblem.
Finally, he spotted it on a shelf, the small golden cup.
"You, come here." Tom called over a nearby Dementor. "Fetch it for me!"
Being cautious, Tom didn't directly touch the cup; instead, he let the Dementor handle it.
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