A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 572 Rescuing Charles

Just as Lucius successfully broke the curse and the massive stone wall slowly opened to reveal the deep cave entrance, a sudden change occurred.

Several short figures, about the height of fairies, covered in cold, dark silver metallic shells, with golden patterns gleaming on their bodies, shot out from the shadows inside the cave without warning.

They moved swiftly, creating a sharp, piercing sound as they passed through the air.

These mechanical goblin guards were inspired by goblin records from a hundred years ago. In recent years, Gringotts has spent a fortune using top-tier goblin magic and alchemy, along with expensive materials, to create them.

They wielded not ordinary weapons, but swords and miniature spell emitters that shimmered with dangerous magical light, their attacks zigzagging and deadly, aimed straight for the vital points of the Death Eaters at the front!

Voldemort brandished his wand, using his limited magic to cast two layers of the Ironclad Charm on Lucius and Rodolphus, one for defense and the other for physical damage.

Several impacts were heard, but Lucius and Rodolphus only swayed slightly and were not injured.

Voldemort stared intently at the mechanical goblins, sensing a resemblance between them and the mechanical guards he had seen in the underground cave on Christmas night.

He couldn't help but think of that enormous magical energy, wondering if Charles's ability to sneak into the vault was related to that energy.
"Stop them!"

Bellatrix saw the mechanical goblins about to attack Voldemort and let out a piercing shriek, then stepped forward to shield the Dark Lord behind her.

Lucius and Rodolphus also launched a counterattack, their two spells sending the nearest mechanical goblins flying as they crashed against the rock face, sending shards of rock flying.

But they acted as if nothing had happened, got up from the ground, and launched another attack.

This time they bypassed the two, catching several Death Eaters in the front off guard. In their haste, they could only raise their wands to defend themselves or dodge in a sorry state.

A series of ear-piercing crashes, the explosion of spells striking the stone walls, and the Death Eaters' muffled groans of pain instantly filled the narrow cave entrance.

The mechanical fairies' attacks were like sophisticated killing machines, perfectly coordinated, and for a time they firmly thwarted the Death Eaters' advance.

Kloran sank deep into his chair, his eyes fixed on the huge crystal ball in front of him, which displayed real-time footage of the underground battle.

When the scene clearly showed the stone wall opening under Lucius Malfoy's spell, revealing the entrance to the ancient passage he thought had been sealed off with both the Oblivion Charm and physical reinforcement, his eyes widened as much as the sun in the sky.

"Do not!!!"

As if branded with a hot iron, Kloran sprang up from his chair, a piercing roar that almost tore his vocal cords from his throat, and slammed his hand, filled with boundless anger and fear, onto the oak table next to the crystal ball.

With a muffled thud, the sphere trembled violently, and the images inside twisted and shook violently.

"That cave entrance! How did they find it?!"

"How could they have cracked it?!"

His deep-set eyes, which had been as calm as a still pool, were now completely replaced by unbelievable rage and a hint of deep-seated fear.

The area that the cave leads to contains a core secret that the fairies would never allow any outsider, especially a wizard, to touch. It is a precious treasure left by the ancestors of Kloran a hundred years ago so that the fairies could stand on the earth.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash! You couldn't even stop the invaders! What use are you?!"

He roared furiously at the empty chamber, as if he wanted to unleash all his anger over the defeat at the front on the unseen guards.

Although the fight at the cave entrance was dangerous, the Death Eaters were numerous, powerful, and strong.

After paying the price of two members having their arms slashed and their trench coats and shirts torn, they finally managed to temporarily paralyze or repel the troublesome mechanical goblins with powerful binding spells, and then completely destroy them.

Voldemort coldly swept his gaze across the battlefield, glancing at a beetle on the wall without pausing for a moment.

He slightly raised his hand to signal, and the group immediately regrouped, quickly passing through the smoke-filled, magically remnant-filled entrance and entering the passage behind.

The beetle has no sweat glands, but it felt itself sweating profusely at that moment, and then followed the Death Eaters into the cave.

Meanwhile, Grindelwald received a message from Jack, removed his magical shield, and immediately fled.

Dumbledore was a little angry. In a fit of temper, he raised his wand and rammed it into the door as if the door were Grindelwald himself.

"Boom!"

The bronze gate opened with a click.

Fudge, Scrimgeour, and the wizards watching looked at Dumbledore with admiration, never expecting him to have such a trick up his sleeve.

Dumbledore was also taken aback.

In that brief moment of hesitation, a figure darted out from the side and rushed into Gringotts without hesitation, his camera clicking away incessantly.

Dumbledore, Fudge, and the others then followed them inside.

Voldemort and his companions reached the end of the passage, which resembled a huge, abandoned warehouse. The walls were lined with tightly closed metal doors, and the air was thick with the smells of rust and mildew. "Find it!"

At Voldemort's command, the Death Eaters began to open the doors one by one.

Bellatrix's crazed eyes swept across the room like searchlights, instantly locking onto a metal door, which she then opened.

Behind the door were several brand-new wooden crates, their lids askew, and the items scattered inside reflected an alluring golden luster in the dim light.

Bellatrix immediately spotted the unique Lestrange family raven emblem. The box contained some of the precious treasures that had been looted from the Lestrange family vault, including the solid gold goblet that had appeared in the Daily Prophet's photograph.

It seems the fairies tried to pack up and move the treasures after the truth came out, but they didn't have time.

Upon receiving the news, Rodolphs rushed over, his eyes blazing with fury, and gritted his teeth, saying, "It was these despicable vixens who stole from the Lestrange family's treasury!"

Voldemort stood in the doorway and said, "Bring it all out."

Bellatrix immediately laid out all the treasures from the box.

Voldemort's face darkened; the Hufflepuff Cup wasn't here.

Meanwhile, Lucius also found the Malfoy family's stolen treasures, which Voldemort had examined in their entirety but found nothing.

He wanted to continue searching, but the door next to him couldn't be opened quickly, and he could vaguely hear footsteps and the sound of a camera taking pictures coming from the direction of the cave entrance.

"He's here!"

Narcissa's cries attracted everyone's attention.

There was a hanging cage in the warehouse, and a person was curled up inside it.

He was wearing tattered prison clothes stained with dark dirt, his exposed skin covered with bruises and dried scabs, and he was in a deep coma, completely unconscious—it was Charles Smith.

On the table to the side, the 460mm long magic wand lay quietly, next to a silver box.

When Charles was taken out of the cage, the entire cage burst into flames, as if to burn him and his rescuers to ashes.

Fortunately, Lucius was prepared and cast a spell to protect Charles and Narcissa, while the iron cage itself melted into a lump of molten iron.

Just then, Dumbledore, Fudge, and others appeared at the cave entrance.

Without a word, Voldemort pressed his wand against Charles's skull.

"Step aside!"

Now is not the time to cause trouble; Voldemort only made the most basic demands.

Seeing Charles's gloomy expression, Dumbledore weighed his options for a moment and said, "As long as you don't harm Charles."

Voldemort put down his wand.

Dumbledore turned to Fudge and said, "Let them leave first."

With two things happening at the same time—the fairy incident and Charles's situation—we need to deal with one of them first. Grindelwald should be involved with Charles's side, so there's no need to worry. Let's focus on dealing with Gringotts first.

Fudge was already completely bewildered when facing Voldemort, so he naturally went along with it now.

Voldemort had Charles supported and kept close to him to prevent Dumbledore from making a move. He led the Death Eaters out, and the Aurors nervously made way for him. Only Rita Keyes' assistant stood there dumbfounded, even raising her camera to take a picture of Voldemort. Narcissa and Bellatrix, supporting Charles on either side, were also in the picture.

Lucius and Rodolphus walked at the back, stopping in front of Fudge.

Rodolphus said to Fudge, "Your Excellency, I am now reporting to the Ministry of Magic that the Gringotts goblins stole from the Lestrange family vault. The stolen goods are in the vault behind me."

Lucius continued, “Your Excellency, I have reported to the Ministry of Magic that the Gringotts goblins stole from the Malfoy family treasury. That year, all the treasures in the Malfoy family treasury were stolen by the goblins, which is why Draco did not receive the letter I sent through Gringotts to pay for the renovation of the manor. The stolen goods are in the storeroom behind my house.”

Since the Ministry of Magic couldn't possibly investigate the robbery of the manor, it would be better to conveniently pin the blame for my own embezzlement and subsequent failure to pay the construction fees on the fairies.

Fudge's face turned ashen, and he concluded, "The Ministry of Magic will investigate this matter."

There are many unspoken rules among wizards. Voldemort has taken power, but Ginny and Neville are still at Hogwarts, and Arthur and Percy are still working at the Ministry of Magic. Now that the Lestrange and Malfoy families have filed a police report, the Ministry of Magic will handle it as usual.

Voldemort and his party walked out of Gringotts, where many wizards had gathered, including representatives of various ancient wizarding families.

Many people stared in disbelief as they saw Charles being helped out, following Voldemort.

Voldemort didn't say much, and as soon as all the Death Eaters left Gringotts, they Apparated away together.

(End of this chapter)