A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 568 The Strongest Indignation and Formal Protest
The next morning, as Grindelwald drank coffee and read the Daily Prophet, he nodded and said, "Charles is behaving really well; it doesn't seem like he's acting."

Jack: "Heh."

Today's Daily Prophet's front page features a huge, bold headline that explodes like thunder: "Hogwarts student Charles Smith secretly imprisoned by Gringotts! Tortured! Fate unknown!" Below it is a photo of Charles jumping in pain from being scalded by boiling water, with other photos appearing on later pages.

Rita's report was extremely inflammatory, detailing how Charles was captured by a fairy and subjected to inhuman torture in order to extract the secrets of the vault. Every word was heart-wrenching and every sentence was an accusation!
When Cornelius Fudge saw the newspaper, his face turned deathly pale, and his obese body trembled violently with shock and anger.

“Charles… was… captured by a fairy?! And… was…”

He jumped to his feet and roared outside, "Call Scrimgeour! All able-bodied Aurors, assemble immediately! To Gringotts!!"

In the Hogwarts infirmary, Professor McGonagall wakes up, staring at the familiar ceiling, recalling how she fainted while reading the Daily Prophet after breakfast.

Just then, Mrs. Pomfrey's voice rang out from beside her: "You're awake?"

Professor McGonagall sat up abruptly, about to leave, but was stopped by Mrs. Pomfrey.

"Don't worry, Dumbledore has already gone to Gringotts."

Dumbledore said, "You should rest here today. All Transfiguration classes will be changed to pop quizzes."

"By the way, the fourth-year students in Gryffindor have Potions class all day today."

The atmosphere in front of Gringotts was more tense than ever before.

A large number of Aurors, wielding wands and with grim expressions, blocked off the street.

Fudge stood at the front, his face ashen, trying to straighten his back and project an air of authority.

His slightly trembling hands betrayed his underlying fear and unease, which completely vanished after Dumbledore arrived.

Dumbledore stood beside him, his expression seemingly calm, but the invisible pressure emanating from him made the air seem to freeze.

Pull-ring lost the draw and, with a heavy heart, led a group of equally shocked and angry fairy guards to block the snow-white marble steps.

"Minister Fudge! Headmaster Dumbledore! What are you doing?!" Gripping Ring's voice was sharp and metallic. "Surrounding Gringotts with so many Aurors?!"

Fudge brandished the Daily Prophet and roared, “Hand him over! Pull-Buck! Hand over Charles Smith immediately! Look at your atrocities! How dare you imprison and torture a Hogwarts student! This is a trampling on the bottom line of the wizarding world!”

Dumbledore didn't speak, but his deep blue eyes calmly gazed at the pull ring, as if they could penetrate his soul.

Pull-ring and the fairies behind him were completely dumbfounded when they saw the photos in the newspaper!
They looked at each other, their eyes filled with genuine confusion and disbelief.

"Imprisoned and tortured Charles Smith?" Gripping's voice rose in utter absurdity. "We didn't! Gringotts never imprisoned him! These photos are fake! Slander! Utter slander!"

"Bullshit!" Fudge shouted angrily. "The evidence is conclusive! Let us in and search immediately!"

“Impossible!” Gripping refused outright. “Gringotts’ vault is sacred and inviolable! No one may enter without a warrant! We haven’t arrested anyone; this is utter nonsense!”

Dumbledore said slowly, "Gringotts wants a search warrant, right? A search warrant from the British Ministry of Magic, or a search warrant from the International Confederation of Wizards? I'll write it down for you now."

Pull-Ring wished he could slap himself. In the past, using search warrants as a shield when dealing with wizarding disputes was naturally effective, but now that the heads of the British Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards were here, search warrants could be written on an ice cream wrapper.

He stopped speaking and responded with silence.

The two sides faced off fiercely in front of Gringotts' main gate, with tensions running high.

The Aurors gripped their wands, and the goblin guards raised their weapons.

The scene is about to explode.

Just then, a few people approached. Dumbledore was somewhat surprised, and Fudge greeted the old wizard leading the group, "Mr. Mantz, what brings you here?"

Mr. Mantz said, "I am here on behalf of the French Ministry of Magic."

The assistant produced a letter, which Mr. Mantz politely handed to Rapunzel, stating sternly: "The French Ministry of Magic hereby expresses its strongest indignation and formal diplomatic protest to Gringotts regarding the serious incident that has recently occurred and has been preliminarily verified by our side. Based on multiple reliable sources and an urgent investigation, the French Ministry of Magic has determined that Gringotts, without presenting any legal grounds, has unilaterally carried out a secret arrest of Mr. Charles Smith. What shocks and deeply disturbs our government even more is that, during his secret detention, Mr. Charles Smith is believed to have suffered far more severe treatment than necessary, violating basic conscience and civilized norms. Mr. Charles Smith, as a wizard with exceptional magical skills and innovative vision, is a legally protected partner authorized by the French Ministry of Magic. Your illegal actions against Mr. Smith have not only caused irreparable harm to his person and spirit but have also substantially interrupted the progress of a strategically significant cooperative project between Mr. Smith and our Ministry of Magic, causing significant and incalculable damage to the legitimate rights, anticipated interests, and international reputation of the French Ministry of Magic."

"Based on the aforementioned irrefutable facts, the French Ministry of Magic makes the following solemn demands of Gringotts:"

"Immediately, unconditionally, and safely release Mr. Charles Smith and transfer him to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's designated representative or a neutral observer of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"A completely independent, impartial, and transparent investigation team, led by the International Federation of Wizards and including observers appointed by the French Ministry of Magic, is permitted to immediately intervene and thoroughly investigate the entire process, decision-making chain, and responsible parties involved in this illegal detention and abuse incident."

……

Pull-ring was sweating profusely. He hadn't expected Charles to have such international influence, and he realized that this was a big problem.

Fudge and Dumbledore quickly realized that one of Charles's employees, a man named Mantz, was likely the one who facilitated the cooperation with the French Ministry of Magic and this diplomatic protest. Just as Mr. Mantz finished speaking, the representative from the Spanish Ministry of Magic arrived.

These two were just the beginning; more and more countries sent representatives to Gringotts to lodge diplomatic protests.

The magic ministries of these countries either had collaborations with Charles in areas such as communication notebooks, or their leaders were dissatisfied because the Dancing Grass restaurant had been vandalized by British fairies.

I've become numb to the pull tabs; I'm thinking of quitting my job.

At Gringotts, in Crowland's secret chamber.

Kloran, the true mastermind behind Gringotts, has deeper wrinkles than ordinary goblins and a pair of cold, cunning eyes like a deep pool.

He held today's Daily Prophet in his hand, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.

“Fool!” he muttered, his voice like the hiss of a viper, not directed at the newspaper, but at the possible truth.

"Who, which presumptuous, greedy, and stupid idiot did this behind my back?!"

"Charles Smith...we need to see him alive or dead!"

"His secrets are priceless. Imprisoning him is one thing, but to let the photos leak out?!"

He absolutely refused to believe this was an official Gringotts action, but the background of the photo appeared to be an abandoned vault area, which made him suspect that there was a traitor within the organization and that a radical faction was acting behind his back.

"Immediately!" Kloran ordered a goblin guard who stood like a statue in the shadows. "Secretly investigate all goblins who have been in contact with that abandoned area, all radicals who have acted strangely recently. I need to know who did it within 12 hours. Find Charles Smith, dead or alive!"

After the fairy disappeared, Kloran sat in his chair and sighed wearily.

First, their search for the magical power mentioned by their ancestors last Christmas failed, with all the fairies they sent out being wiped out; their attempt to take advantage of rising food prices to control the wizards also failed to achieve the desired effect; and their previous operation against Charles suffered heavy losses...

He shook his head, deciding to deal with the immediate issue first.

The stalemate continues at the entrance to Gringotts.

After weighing the pros and cons, Cloland gave instructions to the pull ring.

Upon receiving the instruction, Gripping's expression shifted. Forcing himself to stay alert, he shouted to Fudge and Dumbledore, "Gringotts guarantees that Charles Smith is not in our hands! This is clearly a despicable frame-up against Gringotts!"

“However,” he changed the subject, his tone tinged with humiliation and a barely perceptible weariness, “in order to clear up the misunderstanding and calm the situation, I, on behalf of Gringotts, promise: within 24 hours! We will find out the truth and hand over Charles Smith’s whereabouts, or… those responsible, to the Ministry of Magic!”

Fudge was about to say something when Dumbledore gently raised his hand to stop him.

The old headmaster's deep gaze swept over the pull ring and Gringotts behind him, and he said calmly, "We will wait 24 hours and hope that Gringotts can give a convincing answer."

After saying that, he turned and gestured for Fudge and the Aurors to leave.

Fudge glared at the pull ring resentfully, but had no choice but to lead his team away in a huff.

Back at the Ministry of Magic, Fudge asked Dumbledore, unwilling to give up, "Do you really believe the goblins will hand over Charles in 24 hours?"

Dumbledore said wearily, "I fear that if I push too hard, all I'll get in the end is a corpse."

Fudge paused for a moment, then nodded.

Late that night, at the Daily Prophet's office building, the ox-and-horse wizards, who still had to work that night, were hunched over their desks.

Suddenly, several windows of the building shattered simultaneously, and several dark figures rushed in amidst thick smoke.

They moved swiftly and with a clear objective, heading straight for the office where the original photographs and Rita's manuscript archives were kept.

Almost at the same time, Rita Skeeter's residence was also attacked!
Her front door was violently blasted open, and several dark figures rushed in, ignoring her screams, and headed towards the room where photos, manuscripts, and related items were stored.

The Daily Prophet's office building and Rita Skeeter's residence both purchased Charles's security system, and the puppets were deployed to fight the intruders to the death.

The Aurors arrived quickly after receiving the alarm, forcing the attackers to flee and leaving behind a scene of devastation.

Several abandoned weapons were found at the crime scene: a few strangely shaped poisoned daggers with a distinct fairy forging style, a heavy mace engraved with ancient fairy runes, and several fairy silver coins with sharp, knife-like edges.

These were all carefully collected by the Aurors as evidence in tonight's case.

Meanwhile, Jack is on the move.

(End of this chapter)