Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 267, Section 266: The Fairy Shaman and the Depths of Gringotts
In her final moments, Bellatrix's gaze even slid from the Longbottoms to Lucius Malfoy—her brother-in-law—who had been standing silently at the back from the beginning.

Lucius stood there expressionless, his gaze deep, and then all that awaited Bella was darkness, until her soul returned to this world.

Harry... he's channeling.

Well, in essence, what he's doing now is no different from those dark shamans: no longer treating all spirits or souls equally, but instead using coercive means to get everything he wants from them.

Harry clairvoyed with Bellatrix's spirit and learned from this dark spirit what Voldemort had bestowed upon her and where she had kept those treasures.

It was an unexpected place, not even a secret vault built by a pure-blood family, but Gringotts, the territory of the goblins.

The Lestrange family's vault.

Bellatrix was indeed Voldemort's most trusted servant... at least a servant who went a step further than the average Death Eater. But even so, Bellatrix did not know that Voldemort had bestowed his Horcruxes upon her. She only remembered that she had kept everything Voldemort had given her perfectly safe in the safest place—Gringotts.

To be honest, Harry was quite curious as to why all wizards, even extremist wizards like the Death Eaters, felt Gringotts was safe, considering that the last goblin rebellion hadn't even been a hundred years ago.

But now, or for a long time to come, probably no wizard will feel that Gringotts is safe anymore... because Harry and Dumbledore have arrived at Gringotts.

He took Polyjuice Potion and transformed himself into an ordinary British Muggle, even using a secondhand wand that no longer had its original owner.

Clearly, when Harry and Dumbledore appeared in Gringotts in this form, it was no longer a safe place.

The two men are currently sitting in a separate drawing room drinking tea. They have arrived in Gringotts as guests from Egypt, and their first words are to discuss a big business deal with the goblins.

After briefly showing the fairies the jewelry in their bags, the fairies excitedly led them into a small reception room.

"Let me interview you," Harry said, taking a sip of hot tea. Suddenly, he turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Carl, how are you feeling right now?"

“Oh, Bruce, you know what? That’s actually the question I wanted to ask you too,” Dumbledore laughed.

Carl Kent, this is the alias Dumbledore is currently using. He is probably in his thirties, an American wizard who made a fortune in Egypt and now wants to cash in on his wealth in England. Every year, a large number of wizards, mostly Americans, go to Egypt to explore tombs. Those who make a fortune usually sell their valuable items through Gringotts, because these wizards have a very large business in Egypt.

Harry's name is Bruce Wayne, and he's Kent's good friend; the two of them made their fortune together.

The goblins couldn't possibly be unaware that the two men's identities were questionable, but they didn't care—because the jewelry and antiques Harry showed them were all genuine, and if they were genuine, then they were Gringotts' most distinguished guests.

As long as the fairies still intend to acquire those treasures from the outside world that are not exactly honorable through this method, they will not choose to double-cross the fairies at this time, giving those wizards in the gray area an unreliable impression.

“Me?” Harry thought for a moment. “Pretty ordinary, nothing special… Come to think of it, I think I’ve done something like this before, disguise myself and enter someone’s castle or fortress, then assassinate, well, maybe it doesn’t count as assassination? Anyway, just kill anyone who is our enemy.”

“Oh, that sounds really exciting,” Dumbledore shrugged. “As for me, I just find it fascinating—you know, Bruce, when I was younger, I did fantasize about robbing Gringotts—I might not actually do it, but every boy has probably fantasized about being that awesome.”

"Impressive?" Harry's expression was a little strange. He hadn't expected Dumbledore to actually have thought about such a thing.

"Yes, of course it's impressive," he affirmed without question. "Remember those words at the Gringotts entrance? 'Come in, stranger, but beware, what will happen to those who are greedy...'"

“…Be careful, or you might attract bad karma instead of treasure,” Harry continued. “It sounds like these words have not served as a warning to you at all, but rather as an invitation.”

“Well, I’m reluctant to admit it, but I have to say that young people are always bolder, aren’t they?” Dumbledore blinked.

“You’re right,” Harry said with a smile. “Now, you have the chance to fulfill your childhood dream.”

"Ahem, let me correct you. It can't be called a dream, it should be called a... whimsical idea."

"Then let's come up with some brilliant ideas."

Just as the two were chatting, the door to the reception room suddenly opened, and an old-looking demon strode in, followed by several smaller demons.

"I apologize for keeping you two distinguished guests waiting. My name is Bogrod," the old fox said with a beaming smile. "According to procedure, I need to double-check the...treasures you two wish to store in Gringotts, so?"

“No problem, it’s all here.” Harry stood up, thought for a moment, and then simply turned the bag, which had been enchanted with the Unseen Stretching Charm, over and dumped all its contents onto the table.

The crisp sound of gold and jewels colliding made the eyes of the fairies widen. Bogrod pounced on the table greedily, tapping each piece of gold and jewel with his fingers.

“Very good, they are all genuine.” After a long silence, Bogrod buried his head among the jewelry, took a deep breath, and said, “To confirm again, do you two intend to entrust these gold and jewels to Gringotts for sale?”

"Only a portion," Dumbledore said, shaking his head slightly, already familiar with the habits of fairies. "Leave a third of the contents in the vault—can we trust Gringotts' vault to be safe?"

“Of course! You two can certainly trust Gringotts’ security!” Bogrod said without hesitation. “In that case, let’s hurry over there… I’ll personally take you there. I hope you’ll be satisfied. Um, if you need goods of this quality again in the future, please continue to contact Gringotts. Those wild goblins outside are not to be trusted.”

“No problem,” Harry readily agreed. “Isn’t that why we came here? Gringotts has a very good reputation in this regard.”

“Of course!” Bogrod looked even happier. Following the old goblin, Harry and Dumbledore began their journey toward Gringotts’ underground vault. They passed through a spacious marble hall where about a hundred goblins sat behind tables, constantly attending to customers. Some were weighing coins on scales, while others were examining gems in their hands.

Harry even saw Lupin and several young goblin shamans dressed in costumes quite different from other goblins, adorned with animal fur and skulls, arguing with the elements around them.

"...Why not?! We paid for your services!"

"That's right! We've gotten all the elemental cores you wanted, for all of them. We even have a contract!"

"According to the contract, you should help us eliminate those business competitors!"

"Kill them!!"

Two goblin shamans were raising their voices so loudly that almost everyone in the hall could hear them, while the two elementals opposite them were muttering their own defenses. And then there was Lupin—Harry didn't know why Lupin was here again, since he shouldn't be in charge of goblin affairs anymore.

"That's because they're incapable of eliminating your competitors!!" Lupin clutched his forehead, looking like he was about to faint from anger. "I told you all this time! You are shamans! Shamans who are meant to maintain world peace, protect the world, and maintain the balance of the elements! The elements are not your killers!"

“But we signed a contract!” a fairy shaman argued. “And they’re not going to kill any wizards, they’re going to kill fairies!!”

“Not even fairies!” Lupin took a deep breath. “Whether they are fairies or elementals, they must abide by the laws of the wizarding world! Do you understand?! Never let elementals kill your rivals! Not even business rivals!”

"Damn it! You could have just pretended not to know! Elemental life forms haven't been officially recognized as magical races yet! They're still unrestricted!"

"I don't care about any of that! Rope! I'm not your teacher anymore! Understand?! I'm a professor at Hogwarts now! I'm only here to help you because of our—brief friendship! Don't force me to go to the Ministry of Magic to call someone! Don't cause trouble for the shaman profession!"

Lupin… well, this was the first time Harry had ever seen his werewolf uncle so angry.

“Ignore them,” Borgrod said, not even glancing in their direction, continuing his brisk walk. “Young people these days always have to do all this fancy stuff. Back in the day… ha!”

Gringotts vaults are located hundreds of kilometers underground in London. Passing through the main hall, you enter a narrow stone corridor and a small railway. The goblins used these enchanted trolleys to transport passengers to each vault.

However, the security level of each vault is different. The Lestrange family's vault is located in the deepest part and is one of the most heavily guarded vaults. Without a certain status, it is impossible to open a vault here simply by having money.

To keep this operation as discreet as possible, Dumbledore likely used some of his retirement savings... at least to have the goblins place their vaults in a very back location, number 693.

After navigating a maze of winding passageways and passing an underground lake adorned with enormous stalactites and stalagmites, the old goblin skillfully drove the vehicle. They were now deep within Gringotts, a place Harry had never been before.

“We’ve arrived, you two.” The cart suddenly stopped, and Boglerod tried to stand up and go to the platform. “Vault 693, yes, this way. It’s very secure. Gringotts can accurately meet the needs of different customers, no matter what their requirements are, and understand their difficulties…”

"Are we there?" Dumbledore asked. "Why do I feel like we're not there yet?"

"Huh?" Bogrod turned his head blankly and glanced at the number on the top of the vault, number 693, before nodding. "It's not there yet... I'm sorry, I haven't handled such a big deal myself for many years. It's my fault. Please sit down, we have to move on."

When the stroller started moving again, Harry gently nudged Dumbledore's shoulder from the back seat.

"A Soul-Stealing Curse?"

"No, it's just a Confusion Charm—sorry, we'll talk about it later, Harry, I'm not feeling well right now." Dumbledore put down his wand, gripping the armrest tightly with one hand, his face extremely pale.

When the trolley stopped again, Dumbledore quickly leaned his head out of the trolley as if he were about to vomit.

"Are we there?" Harry looked around and saw only a huge fire dragon guarding the road ahead, and further away, the doors of several vaults.

"Not yet, Your Excellencies, we need to go through the fire dragon." Bogrod shook his head slightly, took out some small metal tools from his side, and raised his hand to shake them.

A loud and clear clanging sound, like a hammer striking an iron ingot, was clearly etched in the mind of the fire dragon. It writhed in pain, roared, and retreated a few steps to make way.

"We've arrived at the Lestrange family's vault, distinguished gentlemen," Bougred bowed deeply. "It's been a long time since anyone from the Lestrange family has been here. This is truly..."

"Open the door, no more questions." Harry stepped out of the trolley and reached out to help Dumbledore up. "Are you alright?"

“I… am fine,” Dumbledore took a deep breath. “My goodness, goblins’ mode of transport is really not friendly to the elderly, is it?”

The compound decoction didn't actually make Dumbledore younger... well, although many young people probably couldn't handle the speed and turbulence.

“Luckily we only used it this once,” Harry said with a smile. “Even without the Elder Wand, your spells are still incredibly powerful.”

Dumbledore's Confusion Curse was almost as effective as the Imperius Curse. Even now, the old goblin still thought he was at the door of Vault 693, and didn't even realize something was wrong when he called out the surname Lestrange.

(End of this chapter)