章節 59: 59. Happy’s Greed > Goblin’s Greed
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"I won't be going anywhere with you guys this year." Happy declared as he arrived at the train station to see Harry off. "Last year, we nearly died in that plane crash. It's better if you rest at home. But remember to use my name to scare the Dursleys. Throw a stash of cash on their faces and tell them not to bother you. If they do, Happy Lestrange will come and turn them into rats."
Harry strongly nodded. "I will, Happy. You take care of yourself. Write a letter to all of us, especially Hermione and Ron."
Happy then watched as Harry entered the train. There weren't many students on the train anyway, as most had returned home earlier.
'Alright, back to work then.'
Happy returned to the school and diligently packed his bags. Today, he was headed to Gringotts to finally confront the goblins. They had dared to come after him, use his blood and betray the trust between wizards and goblins in financial matters. There had to be some repercussions.
Pop!
"Master." Marcus, the most normal elf in Happy's service, appeared inside the school in his empty dorm room.
"Bring me to Diagon Alley, Marcus. Near the Gringotts bank, to be precise." Happy requested while donning his usual wizard attire. The wizards were rather old-fashioned, so even regular trousers and shirts were to be complemented by robes. Regular sweaters were too muggle-like.
Finally, he picked up a small leather bag and took hold of Marcus' hand. "Let's go."
Pop!
Having grown accustomed to the twists and turns of magical apparitions, he soon found himself standing in a dark, deserted alley between several shops. He tucked in his clothes again to look neat and walked out, with Marcus following closely behind.
"Lestrange?"
"Is that the boy?"
"He's taller than I expected."
"Looks normal."
The murmurs of the people were clear once he emerged into the open. The article he had Rita write in the Daily Prophet had spread like wildfire. There were three types of people that reacted to his interview. Firstly, the half-bloods or muggle-born, who enjoyed the verbal thrashing pure-bloods received. Then there were pure-bloods who agreed with Happy's observation, and finally, the purebloods who seethed with anger at his open criticism. Of course, the last bunch was in the minority, as most were imprisoned in Azkaban.
Paying no mind to them, he entered the bank and went straight to the teller. "I'm Happy Lestrange, and I wish to meet with your bank manager."
The teller looked down from his high seat. Naturally, he was inclined to refuse, but certainly not in the current situation, as Happy was not just any random customer. Those with the greatest wealth and the most secure vaults received the finest service.
"Go left to the private rooms," the teller informed.
Happy nodded and left without much reaction. Once in the room, a new goblin soon joined him. While most of them looked the same, the Manager was wearing a better suit compared to the others and had neatly combed hair on his head and glasses on his eyes.
Instead of acting repulsed by humans, the goblin was very respectful. "Greetings, Mr. Lestrange. I am Borhog, the manager. How may I assist you?"
Slam!
Happy placed the old copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. It contained an article about his blood status. "It took me time, but I managed to find the source of this. Do you have any idea how many problems this has caused me? I came to Gringotts with trust, and I completed the blood relationship test, but this is how you repay my trust? By stealing my blood from the test paper and revealing its fake properties to the world?"
"W-What? What are you saying, Mr. Lestrange? We had no knowledge of this."
Happy scoffed. "Don't lie to me. Only you had access to my blood. I know it was you who attacked me that night on the plane. I'm afraid you outplayed your own greed. Now, if you don't accept your fault and agree to compensate me, I will have no choice but to spread the truth about you goblins to the world."
"I will have to investigate this matter first, Mr. Lestrange. If we did such a thing, I would like—"
"Stop. I don't want to hear any apologies. The damage has been done, and unless you show your sincerity by giving me something, I won't let this matter slide. I want several vaults to be transferred to my name with absolute authority. These include the vaults of extinct families, Peverell and Gaunt. Furthermore, I want the vaults belonging to the French branch of the Lestrange family since they are now extinct." Happy demanded.
"That is impossible!" Borhog jumped from his chair. "They may be extinct, but we can't do such a thing."
Happy scoffed and proceeded to leave. "I don't care what your rules are. You broke them already and tried to ruin my life. Now it's time to pay me back. Deny, and face the consequences—see how all the wizarding families will take out their wealth from your vaults."
"But…"
Happy didn't wait and left with big strides. In no time, he returned to the school and sent a letter to a certain slav…employee of his.
…
The morning came, and the newest edition of the Daily Prophet arrived on dining tables across wizarding Britain. The front page that day consisted of a giant portrait of Gringotts's entrance with a few goblins moving in front of it.
The headline read loud and provocatively. "Gringotts Cannot Be Trusted?"
[The banking establishment, the most respected and trusted Gringotts, seems to not be as safe as once believed. From my sources, the latest news we have received tells the story of Gringotts Goblins securing the blood of wizards used in relationship tests.
Furthermore, my sources revealed that it was Gringotts that initially spread the rumors about the heir to the ancient Lestrange Family, Happy Lestrange. Out of their greed, and anger, for not being able to seize the wealth of an almost extinct family, they carried their personal vendetta to force a young pureblood child to give up the hard-earned wealth of his family.
Beware, wizardkind, a new greedy hog has appeared, and it may just be after your money next…]
Rita Skeeter never pulled back her words. Heck, she appeared to be enjoying the task from Happy.
The article worked just as Happy wanted. Since there were no laws for slander or defamation, Gringotts could do nothing but face the consequences. Hoards of wizards came running in to take their money out. Even a few noble families came just to shame the goblins since they had nothing better to do.
…
Happy waited until evening to go to the bank. He donned his wizard clothes again and called Marcus. Repeating the exact same things again, they arrived in the secluded alley, and then the bank.
As expected, the bank was still crowded with wizards demanding answers. Some were definitely worried about their blood being misused. Unfortunately for Gringotts, there was no possible way for the Goblins to prove they would not do it.
Happy went to the private room and sat down as before. As expected, Manager Borhog came running, panting almost as he climbed onto the chair to sit. He was well aware that Happy was the cause of the storm.
"Mr. Lestrange, why did you do this? We could have discussed the matter later."
Happy smiled, "It was just a little tease. No harm in that, right? Now, please tell me what you decided. I need to be back in…an hour."
"Of course." Borhog was quick and placed a few keys on the table. "The Peverell vaults, you can have them. There are three vaults belonging to each of the brothers. As compensation, we will also grant you the Gaunt vault. As for the Lestrange vault in France, we believe there won't be any issues since you are the last remaining heir."
Happy frowned and sneered. "You seem to have the wrong idea. This was my offer yesterday. Now, I have an additional demand—I want the Black family vault as well. I do hold a claim on it, after all."
"But…" Borhog felt like crying. "The first right belongs to the closest relative. In this case, it would be the children of the Black sisters. However, you are indeed in the line of succession."
Happy stood up to leave again. "If you've made up your mind, then we have nothing to talk about."
"Wait! The vault has not been claimed by anyone…If you claim it, we can transfer it," Borhog nearly pleaded with him to accept the deal.
But how could Happy be the pureblooded lucky boy if he didn't take advantage? "Fine, but that was the offer from a minute ago. Now, I need you to add a goblin-made sword equal to the Sword of Gryffindor as well. I know you have a lot of them."
"NO! This is something we can never do!"
"Hold it," Happy raised his palm to silence him. "The sword will return to Gringotts if my bloodline is to vanish in the future."
"..."
At that precise moment, Borhog felt as though he had been exploited. All the requests seemed well-planned and thought out.
"Then…Can you stop the rumors? If we agree?" Borhog asked.
Happy smiled and gave a thumbs-up. "I can…Ah, another minute is supposed to pass…"
"ACCEPTED!... WE ACCEPT! Please stop now!" Borhog roared at the top of his lungs.
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