Found it?
Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at the goblin waving the sheet of paper.
He didn't stand up immediately, instead giving the opportunity to Bodrig.
Sure enough, the one most anxious upon hearing the news was none other than Bodrig himself.
Bodrig rushed forward and took the document.
He then held it with both hands and respectfully presented it to Harry.
Harry was quite satisfied with how properly the Chairman of the Goblin Brotherhood was behaving.
He took the paper and read it. His expression darkened instantly.
The document stated that in August 1899, Gellert Grindelwald had come to Gringotts in Britain, presented Vilettia Grindelwald's token, and emptied the entire vault. He had taken every last Galleon, all the antiques and treasures, and every single alchemical material.
Seriously, Gellert? Are you a Niffler?
Harry's eyebrow twitched. He was genuinely curious what Vivi's reaction would be when she learned about this.
"If I'm not mistaken, isn't the token this wand?" Harry said, reaching into his robes to pull it out.
"No!" all the goblins present shouted in unison. "Mr. Potter, no! Please do not take out that wand!"
Harry paused and lowered his hand.
"The records show that Miss Grindelwald set up two tokens for the vault," the Gringotts manager read from the magically signed document. "One is permanent—the wand currently in Mr. Potter's possession. The other was one-time use: the Grindelwald family crest. However, Miss Grindelwald had authorized him to withdraw only up to one hundred thousand Galleons. Due to the passage of so much time, we do not know why he was ultimately allowed to empty the vault completely."
The manager then handed the paper to Harry.
"Mr. Potter, please verify whether the magical signature belongs to Miss Vilettia Grindelwald."
Harry lightly touched the signature and confirmed it was indeed left by Vivi herself.
That explained everything.
*Ha!*
So after all this, it was you, you little Niffler, who cleaned out everything your sister had left behind!
Harry decided he needed to have a serious talk with Vivi about this matter.
And when he saw Gellert again, he would definitely grab him by the leg and shake him until every last Galleon fell out of his pockets!
"I understand," Harry said, returning the document to the Gringotts manager. "Make a copy of this withdrawal record for me."
Upon hearing his request, the goblins in the room let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Of course, esteemed Mr. Potter."
Some of the younger goblins even muttered to themselves that the oral traditions passed down among goblins for the past century had been far too exaggerated. *This Mr. Potter seems quite kind and approachable. He's nothing like the terrifying figure from the legends!*
The goblins worked quickly, and Harry soon received a copy of the withdrawal record.
He tucked it away carefully, satisfied. Once he returned to the Map Room, he would make sure Vivi took a good look at exactly what her dear little brother had done.
"However," Harry continued, "this was also a clear oversight on your part. I believe Gringotts should compensate both me and my Vivi, correct?"
"It is only right, Mr. Potter!" the Gringotts manager said immediately, thumping his chest.
"I expect your compensation to be satisfactory. You have one night to prepare a proposal—" Harry stood up. "It's getting late. I'll take my leave."
"Please go safely," the manager said with a deep bow.
After leaving Gringotts, Harry activated the Portkey and returned to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
At the same time, the effects of the Ageing Potion wore off. He snapped his fingers, and his clothes instantly resized to fit him properly.
When he stepped back into the Leaky Cauldron, Old Tom looked a bit puzzled and scratched his head, wondering when Harry Potter had left. Still, he greeted the boy and returned to polishing glasses without thinking too much of it.
Harry's day had gone quite well, but things were different for Draco.
At Malfoy Manor, Draco still wore a troubled expression.
"Dragon?" his mother, Narcissa, asked gently. "What's wrong? If something is bothering you, you must tell your father and me."
"I… uh…"
Draco opened his mouth.
He wanted to spill everything, like beans from a jar.
But the words died on his lips.
After all, he had secretly taken a Dark magic artifact from home that his father had strictly forbidden him from touching, brought it to school, and caused such a massive incident…
Not to mention the mark now branded on his arm—one that was obviously Dark magic…
And its hideous design made it all too easy to associate with a curse.
Thinking about it, Draco hesitated again.
If he confessed, he might receive a "loving lecture" from his father, and that would be the end of him.
"Go on, Draco," Lucius said, sitting in his chair and sipping tea leisurely.
"It's nothing, really," Draco said, swallowing his words. "I'm just a bit down because we lost the House Cup."
The House Cup?
Lucius and Narcissa exchanged glances and both visibly relaxed.
"It's only the House Cup, Draco," Lucius said, looking up. "Don't act like a child who didn't get a new broom."
Narcissa reached out and ruffled her son's hair. She still felt like Draco was hiding something, but if he didn't want to talk, she wouldn't force him. In the end, the one who would suffer most would be the child.
She decided to wait until he was ready to speak.
After dinner, Draco went to the bathroom with a heavy heart.
He had a house-elf draw his bath, then tested the water and snapped irritably, "Lally! The water's too hot!"
"I'm sorry, young master."
A small, timid female voice replied. The elf appeared, revealing her frail body, and quickly adjusted the bathwater.
"That's enough. Get out! You're so clumsy," Draco said, waving his hand impatiently.
"Bad Lally! Bad Lally!" the elf cried, banging her head against the bathtub in distress.
House-elves were always like this—punishing themselves harshly over the smallest mistakes.
"Enough, Lally," Draco sighed. He reached out with his left hand and stopped the elf from hitting the tub again. "You're used to serving Mother, so it's normal you don't know my preferences. Just go. Don't bother me anymore."
"Young master…" Lally whimpered. "Young master is so kind and good-hearted…"
Draco waved his hand dismissively and sank into the bathtub.
Lally looked up with teary eyes. When her gaze fell on Draco's left arm, her eyes suddenly widened.
She let out a piercing scream.
"Tch." Draco clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had no patience to deal with Lally; his mind was entirely occupied with worrying about the curse on his arm.
Then he realized something.
Did Lally scream because of my arm?
He quickly turned to her. "Lally! I order you! You are absolutely forbidden from telling anyone about my arm! Do you understand?"
Lally let out a sob and vanished from the bathroom.
Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He knew house-elves were bound by their loyalty and would never betray their masters.
What he failed to consider, however…
Lally had been brought from the Black family by his mother. Narcissa was Lally's true mistress…
Sure enough, after leaving Draco's bathroom, Lally appeared in the living room.
Narcissa and Lucius were drinking tea and discussing why their son had been so downcast again that day.
When Lally suddenly appeared, Lucius frowned.
But since Lally belonged to Narcissa, he said nothing. He had to give his wife some face.
"Lally?" Narcissa, knowing her husband disliked being disturbed during tea, put on a stern expression. "What is it?"
"Bad Lally! Bad Lally!" The elf picked up a book from the table and began hitting herself with it. "Lally's eyes should not exist! She saw young master's secret! Bad Lally! Bad Lally!"
Young master's secret?
Lucius, who had been mildly annoyed, suddenly raised his voice.
"You mean Draco? What happened to him?"
The Malfoys had only one son. Though Lucius usually played the role of strict father, Draco was still his only child—the apple of his eye.
If Draco had a "secret," especially one that was being discovered and seemed unsavory, Lucius had to take it seriously.
"Bad Lally! Bad Lally!" The elf continued hitting herself.
"Lally!" Narcissa said sternly. "I order you to stop hurting yourself!"
Lally stopped, tears streaming down her face, and looked up at Narcissa pitifully.
"Mistress is kind and won't let Lally punish herself, but Lally knows she is bad! Lally should not have seen young master's secret!"
"What exactly happened to Dragon? Tell us now," Narcissa said urgently.
This concerned her son; she couldn't remain calm.
"Young master ordered Lally not to tell. If Lally speaks, he will punish her!" Lally sobbed.
Narcissa snorted. "Lally! In Malfoy Manor, there is only one mistress—you answer to me! I now order you to reveal Draco's secret!"
Lally let out a sob. She looked up pleadingly, then quickly lowered her head.
She could not disobey her mistress, even though she liked Draco very much and got along with him well.
"Lally… Lally was helping young master with his bath and drew the water," she recounted obediently. "Lally made it too hot. Young master scolded Lally and told her to fix it. Lally wanted to punish herself, but kind young master stopped her and told her to leave."
"But then Lally saw a mark on young master's left arm—a very, very evil mark—" Lally began hitting herself again.
"What kind of mark?" Narcissa grabbed the elf's thin arm. "Lally! I order you not to punish yourself!"
Lally lowered her hands pitifully and described it. "It was a black skull with a large serpent coming out of its mouth like a tongue. It frightened Lally so much… Lally thinks she has seen something like it somewhere before…"
The moment Lally finished her description, both Narcissa and Lucius knew exactly what it was.
The room seemed to spin. Narcissa's legs gave out and she collapsed onto the sofa.
"The… the Dark Mark?!" Lucius exclaimed.
Everyone else might not recognize it, but Lucius certainly did.
It was the mark Voldemort had given to his Death Eaters…
Through it, the Dark Lord could summon, control, and even torture his followers…
More importantly, its presence was irrefutable proof of being a Death Eater. Now that Voldemort had fallen from power, who would willingly bear the Dark Mark?
At the height of his power, he had attracted many false followers. At his lowest, only the truly loyal remained. Many pure-blood families who had once been devoted to him now refused to acknowledge their Death Eater past.
Except for a few die-hards—like Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix.
"Lu—Lucius…" Narcissa clutched her leg, trying not to tremble. "Where could Dragon have gotten the Dark Mark?!"
"Don't panic, my dear," Lucius said, forcing himself to stay calm so his voice wouldn't crack. "We haven't seen it yet. We can't be sure it's the Dark Mark… We need to see him."
"Yes!" Narcissa nodded firmly.
The couple hurried upstairs and stopped outside the bathroom door.
"Dragon?" Narcissa knocked. "Are you still bathing?"
"I'm still in the bath, Mother!" Draco's voice called out.
"Um… come out for a moment. I need to talk to you about something—about the Greengrass child—"
Draco, who had been fearing the worst inside the bathroom, suddenly stood up when he heard his mother mention the Greengrasses.
"Alright, Mother. I'm coming out."
He quickly dried himself and dressed, then opened the door…
Only to meet his father's stern, cold gaze.
"Draco," Lucius said expressionlessly. "Come with us."
Draco's heart sank. He knew exactly what this was about!
Lally had sold him out!
At that thought, Draco gritted his teeth in fury.
Traitor! Your two-faced nature doesn't surprise me at all!
He could only follow his parents downstairs with a heavy heart, all the way to his bedroom.
"Show us your arm," Lucius said, looking at him.
Draco hesitated. He didn't want to reveal the Dark magic mark to his father.
"Show us your arm!" Lucius's expression grew severe.
Seeing his father's stern face, Draco swallowed hard.
He had no choice. He didn't dare defy his father, or the consequences would be dire…
Reluctantly, he extended his arm and rolled up his sleeve.
As the fabric slid upward, the grotesque black skull was revealed to the Malfoy couple.
Upon seeing the familiar Dark Mark, Lucius's pupils contracted violently!
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