Chapter 247 Chaos
The entire British wizarding community was in chaos.
The news that Gringotts in Diagon Alley exploded in public and a fire dragon flew out quickly spread to every corner of the wizarding world.
"Breaking news!" Gringotts exploded, and a large number of gold Galleons disappeared! 》
[Our reporter brings you the report:
Today, an explosion occurred in Gringotts in Diagon Alley, injuring more than 20 wizards and goblins and leaving one underage wizard missing.
It is reported that this round of explosions was caused by a fire dragon that broke free from control. A large number of vaults were damaged, causing a large amount of property to be destroyed in the fire.
At the time of the incident, Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts who was nearby, quickly rushed to the scene to help put out the fire.
At present, the fire has been put out and Gringotts is calculating the losses caused by the accident.
But the underage wizard who disappeared in the dragon attack has not been found yet.
The Ministry of Magic is closely monitoring the situation and urges the public to be cautious when going to Gringotts in the near future. 】
The entire front page of the Daily Prophet was dominated by this news, with a picture of a broken bank sign leaning to one side and a picture of the Gringotts building, which was mostly destroyed and emitting black smoke, covering the entire page.
This made the officials of the Ministry of Magic, especially Minister Fudge, extremely anxious.
"What should we do?" He threw a manuscript that defamed Dumbledore on the table. "What did Dirk Cresswell from the Goblin Liaison Office say?"
After being shocked by the explosion at Gringotts, Fudge had realized that this manuscript could not be sent out at all and would not make any splash:
"This totally messes up the plan - isn't Gringotts the safest place? Those goblins -"
The door to his office was flung open.
Deke, with a haggard face, stood at the door, followed by Director Amelia Bones, who had been against Fudge in recent days:
"Mr. Minister, public opinion is out of control!" Dirk shouted, "The goblins strongly demand that the Ministry of Magic continue to send people to maintain order!"
Bones' face was as serious as ever. She placed a stack of newspapers from different newspaper companies in front of Fudge:
"Look at the reports, Connelly, people are panicking, more needs to be done."
Fudge's face was as black as coal. He picked up the first newspaper between two fingers and began to read.
Gringotts, the safest bank or a goblin conspiracy? 》
[It was reported that a major explosion occurred recently at Gringotts Bank, which has been operated by goblins for centuries.
In addition to causing serious personal injuries, a large amount of property was damaged in the accident, and the goblins' credibility and reputation among wizards plummeted.
"We put our treasures in Gringotts out of trust," one injured witch told the newspaper, "but they betrayed our trust and abandoned the safety of customers and treasures."
The victimized wizards rushed to Gringotts to demand an inventory and take out their belongings. The scene was chaotic and many conflicts occurred.
Experts say the damage caused by the accident is "immeasurable," with a large number of cultural relics burned and the goblins may soon face astronomical claims.
However, when this newspaper traced the history of Gringotts' construction, it discovered new problems.
Gringotts' monopoly on British wizarding banking means that wizards have no choice but to send their belongings into goblin hands.
And this bank is not as safe as the goblins claim. As early as 1991, an attempted theft occurred in Gringotts.
Are the goblins suspected of embezzlement? Can the wizards' property be truly protected?
Our reporter will continue to observe for you. 】
"Conflict... is this going to provoke a goblin rebellion?" Fudge's hands could barely hold the newspaper. "At this juncture?"
"Goblins have never submitted to wizards." Bones said in a loud voice, "So if you continue to deny the return of the Dark Lord, when the internal fighting among wizards is over, it is very likely that what awaits us is a goblin rebellion that will take advantage of the situation."
"You must be too tired from work, Amelia." Fudge crumpled up the newspaper and threw it into the trash can.
His eyes fell involuntarily on the second newspaper, which read:
《Relevant departments and organizations protest against abuse of fire dragons》
Officials from the Ministry of Magic's Dragon Research and Restriction Bureau and the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary have questioned the goblins' use of dragons to protect the vault.
According to an anonymous wizard, the goblins tortured the dragon in a cruel and inhumane manner, causing it to associate the sound of jingle bells with torture, in order to protect the vault from being broken into.
"Dragons cannot be tamed," dragon trainer Charlie Weasley told the newspaper. "Any dragon is dangerous and destructive."
However, this round of explosions was caused by an angry, long-abused dragon, and the goblins' failure to ensure the dragon's welfare has caused widespread controversy.
"Keeping a dragon in a small underground vault is like locking a human in a 4m3 aquarium. The dragon will be more irritable and more likely to cause damage," Newt Scamander, a well-known magical animal scientist, told the newspaper. "This practice is cruel, inhumane, and lacks awareness of the protection of magical animals."
Our reporter will continue to follow the development of the incident for you. 】
The door of his office was pushed open again, and outside stood Dumbledore, who was so anxious that his lips were blistered.
He looked more haggard than anyone else, and he had already searched Gringotts' underground vault 37 times.
Although his intuition told him that the child was fine, his panic due to biological instinct still made him rush to the Ministry of Magic:
"Cornelly, the order in Gringotts has been completely disrupted. You must come up with countermeasures as soon as possible."
"Let the Aurors maintain order and avoid conflict. The most urgent task is to send people to use the Tracking Thread to find the missing child!"
Fudge sneered and said in a hypocritical voice:
"Of course, I will send Aurors to stabilize the wizards--"
"But I heard that the missing little wizard is the child you adopted - the famous Jade Jane, the legendary dragon tamer."
"I have every reason to believe that this accident was caused by her attempt to tame the dragon and caused a riot—"
"Cornelly Fudge!" Dumbledore was so angry that he called him by his full name. "Your greed has blinded your heart!"
"The dragon tamer is just an exaggeration. No one in history has ever tamed a fire dragon." Bones said in a loud voice, "Rather than believing those absurd rumors, it is better to be down-to-earth. Minister, the sooner the missing people are found, the sooner public opinion can be calmed down!"
But Fudge was determined to go against them:
"Since she has such a close relationship with the dragon, I'm sure it won't hurt her."
"Now is the time to use people. Our Aurors are busy serving Miss Bones's personal affairs and have to take care of Gringotts... They don't have time to find a little girl who can protect herself."
"I trust you will not continue to occupy public resources, Dumbledore?"
While he was spreading rumors, he ordered everyone present to leave, which made everyone's faces turn livid.
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