Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly. He slowly picked up the newspaper that Severus had photographed, the one with only a stationary black-and-white picture on the second page, and brought it close, carefully reading the article.
Severus continued speaking.
"Moreover, we all understand what kind of people those die-hard followers loyal to Voldemort are. Individuals like Barty Crouch Jr., Bellatrix Lestrange... they are not like Lucius, who acts primarily for personal gain. They genuinely believe in the theory of pure-blood supremacy."
"This makes them more extreme, fanatical, and it also means they never bother to learn anything about Muggles."
"And that is our greatest advantage."
Severus looked at Dumbledore.
"As long as we keep this matter secret, ensure only the two of us know, and we can even proactively erase memories related to this afterwards, then anyone trying to find Voldemort will absolutely not know where he is."
"But whenever they look up at the night sky, they will see, among the vast sea of stars, the one who occupies their thoughts and dreams."
As he said this, he deliberately lowered his voice, which agitated the portraits of the headmasters on the wall.
They were already confused, having no idea what Severus and Dumbledore were discussing, and now, they couldn't even hear the words clearly.
After carefully and completely reading the report in the newspaper, the light in Dumbledore's eyes was noticeably brighter than before.
He could sense that Severus's plan was feasible and reliable!
"But this thing wasn't created by the British side… it's a German and..."
"Initially, it was West Germany and the United States working together, but the project was delayed for 7 years due to excessive costs." Severus had clearly already figured out all the intricacies.
"Recently, they finally completed all the preparatory work."
Dumbledore looked grave.
"Is it certain to succeed?"
Severus held up four fingers.
"It will definitely succeed. It will take four months to pass Venus, six years to reach its destination, and finally, after fourteen years, its power will be completely exhausted, and it will crash into its target."
Dumbledore was somewhat surprised that Severus could make such precise predictions, but he was willing to believe that what Severus said was true.
Because from the beginning until now, he had never been wrong.
However, Dumbledore, having experienced a century of turmoil in the Wizarding World, clearly wasn't very knowledgeable about the situation on the Muggle side either.
The existence of the Statute of Secrecy both protects wizards from being discovered by Muggles and also causes the vast majority of wizards to be severely lacking in common knowledge related to Muggles.
"Then how do we hitch a ride on this... vehicle? Does the Ministry of Magic need to approach the British Prime Minister for help?"
Dumbledore's fingers kept tapping on the back of his other hand as he asked seriously.
But Severus shook his head decisively.
"First, this matter must absolutely not be known by the Ministry. Even if they don't know why we want them to contact the Prime Minister and then communicate with the American side about what exactly we want to send, in the future, if anyone with ulterior motives investigates our actions during this period, they might follow the clues and find out what we are doing."
"Secondly, even if we really approach the British Prime Minister, he likely couldn't help us with this matter. Sending a cup onto such a thing is no small matter, and there's no such thing as 'doing it as a favor'. The Americans would one hundred percent not agree. If they did agree, it would be because they are curious about the cup itself and want to study why Britain is making such a request."
Dumbledore frowned.
"So what should we do?"
Severus tapped the desk, his tone certain.
"We need to break wizarding law, cast spells on Muggles."
"Whether it's the Confundus Charm, Memory Charm, Legilimency, or even the Imperius Curse, all can be useful in this matter. But using these spells on Muggles violates Wizarding Law."
Having said this, Severus looked at Dumbledore and blinked.
"I wonder what the Chairman of the International Confederation of Wizards thinks?"
Dumbledore's expression was calm.
"I have never been a pedantic person. Whether the use of magic is illegal depends on the specific purpose. Besides, the spells you just mentioned are all magic that doesn't cause much harm to people, aren't they?"
Severus wasn't surprised by Dumbledore's answer. He smiled and stood up from his chair.
"Since you have no objections, after we deal with the rest of Voldemort's Horcruxes, I'll take the cup to America."
However, what Severus didn't expect was that Dumbledore suddenly spoke up.
"Let me do it."
This made Severus turn back to look at him in surprise.
Dumbledore met Severus's gaze and said softly,
"Such a matter, no matter what, is better done by me. You are still young, after all. After we finish the matters in Britain, you come with me, we'll go to America together."
"You know I've never been a good man. Something like this isn't much of a stain on me," Severus tried to persuade.
"But the you of the past and the you of now are different, right?" Dumbledore just looked at him with a slight smile. "No matter what, I hope you can always remain this clean, this clear, Severus. This is my hope, and my wish."
"Besides, didn't you already agree with me this morning? Leave this matter to me to handle."
Faced with Dumbledore's words, Ghost Snape fell silent, and Severus was also silent for a few seconds before nodding.
"Alright."
"This is an official decree issued by the Ministry of Magic."
At Gringotts, old Nott, who had taken over Lucius's task, coldly pushed a piece of parchment signed by the current Minister for Magic, Millicent Bagnold, towards the goblin in front of him.
"I think there's no need for further words. The stance within the wizarding community has been made very clear. That vault belongs to the Lestrange Family, not to Rodolphus Lestrange personally!"
"You must now transfer the ownership of the vault to Horst Lestrange. If you find any more excuses to refuse, the person who comes to talk to you next won't be me."
"The Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Rosier, Carrow, Malfoy, and 13 other families will sever all trading cooperation with Gringotts UK. The Ministry will also send Aurors to hold you accountable for why the goblins are not complying with the decree."
Old Nott leaned back in his chair, his tone sounding quite relaxed.
"You should weigh the gains and losses yourselves."
The three goblin managers responsible for Gringotts UK vault matters sitting opposite him exchanged glances. Finally, one of them spoke.
"Our job is only to guard their vaults for wizards while receiving legal compensation, and also under circumstances that comply with Wizarding Law. Now that the Ministry acknowledges that Rodolphus's vault does not belong to him personally but to the entire Lestrange Family, we will naturally abide by the law."
Saying this, he waved his hand. Soon, Griphook, who had been waiting outside the door, respectfully entered.
The goblin manager pointed a slender finger lightly at a wooden cabinet nearby. One of the drawers slid open, and a brass key flew out.
"Go to the Thief's Downfall chamber, retrieve the key, then escort this gentleman and the designated vault heir, Mr. Horst Lestrange. Remember to cancel the Gemino and Flagrante Curses on the contents before introducing the vault's holdings to them."
He muttered.
"We have enough trouble already. If Nott and Lestrange people get injured here again, they'll tear the roof off."
Old Nott showed a satisfied smile at his arrangement and reaction.
"Excellent. Gringotts remains our best friend and loyal partner."
He seemed much more pleased than before.
Since Lucius was assigned the task of obtaining unicorn blood within a week, he didn't have much energy to handle the matter of the cup.
Thus, this matter fell to old Nott, who himself had connections with some officials in the Ministry.
And by this, old Nott could also share a portion of the credit, which naturally made him very motivated to act!
Soon, Griphook led old Nott away.
"These wizards are truly troublesome. They only know how to threaten us with these things. It was like this two hundred years ago, and it's still like this two hundred years later."
"Forget it, let them do as they please."
"What if one day, Rodolphus Lestrange is released from prison and comes to us demanding his vault?"
"Show him this decree and tell him to go to the Ministry!"
The three goblins grumbled and muttered, clearly not wanting to get involved in this mess.
As for what they thought, old Nott certainly didn't care.
Led by Griphook, he first found an elderly goblin named Bogrod. After presenting the brass key given by the manager, the two goblins went to the Thief's Downfall chamber, as if to cancel some curse within.
Then they returned, took old Nott and the young Lestrange, and got into a small cart on the underground track.
They passed through the Thief's Downfall, passed the aged, blind dragon guard, and finally arrived at the location of the deepest vaults in Gringotts.
"Lestrange Family..." Bogrod muttered, finally steering the cart to stop in front of a vault. He double-checked all the procedures one last time, confirmed there were no issues, and then placed his hand on the stone wall of the vault door.
The next moment, the vault door vanished, revealing an opening.
The cave was packed from floor to ceiling with gold coins and goblets, silver armor, pelts of strange animals covered in spines or with drooping wings, potions in sealed bottles, and a skull still wearing a crown.
The young Lestrange was extremely excited at the sight.
Originally, none of this had anything to do with him. But now, from this day on, this vault belonged to him!
Griphook and Bogrod, of course, had no right to enter the vault. They just reminded old Nott and the others that the protective curses inside the vault had been canceled, then waited outside the door for them to come out.
"According to our agreement, half of the things here belong to me and the others who worked together on this matter." Old Nott also showed a smile.
Hearing this, the young Lestrange's face clearly showed a reluctant expression, but he quickly gritted his teeth and hid it well.
"Of course, that's only right, Uncle Nott! Without you, I wouldn't be qualified to be the owner of this vault at all. You can take whatever you want from here!"
Old Nott paid no attention to his insincerity. Once inside the vault, he began searching carefully through the mountain of treasure with a clear target in mind.
According to the description Severus gave them, the cup was small, made of gold, with a badger engraved on it, and had two handles...
However, after searching for a long time, old Nott couldn't find his target.
Just as he was growing impatient, wondering if Severus had described the features wrong and it looked different, he happened to look up.
Suddenly, among the layers of shelves reaching the ceiling, he saw a small, pure gold cup!
At that moment, old Nott's breath caught for an instant.
Anyone seeing this object for the first time could tell it was no ordinary treasure!
But at this moment, old Nott felt not a hint of greed. He understood very clearly that this was his Master's object, and now, all he had to do was take it down from there.
Spells couldn't affect the treasure inside the vault. Soon, the young Lestrange ran out and found Griphook, getting a ladder from the goblin.
Using the ladder, old Nott finally succeeded in retrieving the golden cup!
"I'll take this first."
He restrained his inner joy and said arrogantly to Lestrange.
"As for the later division of half the vault, we'll deal with that after this busy period is over."
"Of course, as you wish." Lestrange said with a forced smile.
Old Nott didn't look at him again. After returning from the vault to Gringotts, he immediately stored the cup safely in a suitcase, then returned to one of the Nott Family's shops in Diagon Alley. He wrote a letter and sent it out by owl.
After waiting anxiously for about five minutes, the tall, black-cloaked figure with a ponytail appeared before him.
"Have you completed the task assigned by Master?" Severus asked, staring at him.
Old Nott didn't hesitate. He opened the suitcase in front of Severus.
"Is this what Master wants?!"
Seeing the golden cup inside the case, Severus smiled.
"You have rendered a great service, Nott."