Playing With Magic

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Chapter 38: Helga Hufflepuff's Cup

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Gringotts Wizarding Bank - Diagon Alley, London

Jonathan Grey

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It was way laughably easy to leave Hogwarts. I knew I was powerful and had several ways to leave Hogwarts without alerting people, but the fact that there weren't any [Wards] covering the secret tunnels was concerning. Making my way through the secret passageway hidden by Gregory the Smarmy Statue, I emerged at the fountain in Hogsmeade and apparated from there. Not only was I using [Invisibility] and [Muffled] spells, but I made sure to add the [Odourless] as well. Just in case the goblins figure out I'm there with enhanced senses.

Arriving outside the bank without even the tiniest sounds, I summoned [The Invisibility Cloak] from the [Hoard] directly over my body to add the [+Decrease magical presence by 90%] perk as an extra layer of concealment. While I was at it, I reigned in my magic to the utmost, removing the possibility of having my presence being picked up even further. It might be excessive, but the Goblins and their [Wards] wouldn't stand a chance.

Casually making my way through the grand entrance with the goblins manning the doors being none the wiser, I immediately noticed the lack of goblin staff, but the fact that there were actually a few customers here had me tilting my head in confusion. Maybe because I was so used to banks closing at the end of the work day in my last world, but I didn't think there would be around over two dozen Witches and Wizards conducting their transactions so late at night.

Ignoring the Goblin version of a graveyard shift, I soundlessly moved towards the entrance that led to the underground vaults, effortlessly slipping past a few more Goblins. Once I made my way through the passage to a small, Minecraft-esk cart, I chose to finally use the [Tactile Telekinesis] I learned from Snape, lifting his body off the ground with fine magical control. With it being so easy to control, willing myself to glide in any direction was child's play. If it weren't for the cloak and spells I was using, I would imagine I looked a lot like a Halloween ghost right now.

I then took out a compass I made just to find Riddle's whereabouts from the [Hoard]. At first, I wanted to just add the extra ability to the [Dragon's Map] and leave it at that, but I just couldn't help myself once the reminder of Jack Sparrow popped into my head.

[Riddle Soul Compass - Magical Object]

[Description - Using his magical expertise in Enchantment and soul-related magic, the Riddle Soul Compass was created by Johnathan Grey to find Tom Marvolo Riddle anywhere in the world. The compass was inspired by the Pirate Captain Jack Sparrow's Compass and points towards the closest piece of Voldemort's Soul at all times.]

[+Enchanted to Self-Repair.]

[+Enchanted to Self-Clean.]

Using my [Riddle Soul Compass], I glided my way further and further down Bank with the air becoming colder and more stagnant as I did so. I made sure to have the compass also tilt up and down slightly to guide whoever was using it better after I imagined myself walking around in circles like a dog only to realise I should be digging for something.

Soon enough, I found myself staring at the large Lestrange vault doors engraved with a large raven, the family emblem, staring back at me and the words 'Corvus oculum corvi non eruit' written underneath it. Having already learned multiple languages, I knew it meant 'A crow will not pull out the eye of another crow'.

If only the Nights Watch followed those words.

Shaking my head, I continued to use [Tactile Telekinesis] to keep me suspended in the air as I sent the thinnest layer of magic forward and started studying the vault's impressive amount of runes and enchantments. With the information I already obtained from the [Resurrection Stone], I was already prepared for all the Enchantments placed on the vaults. So, the first thing I did was place a layered [Ward] around the vault's own [Alert Wards] that were supposed to inform the Goblins of tampering. 

It wouldn't last forever, only a few minutes, an hour at most, because it needs to constantly use the magic it's made of to negate the [Alert Ward] function. Once I leave and no longer supply magic to my [Ward] it would simply disappear after it runs out of magic to fuel it. But without a magical signature to go off, it actually makes it easier for a thief to escape Aurors.

After dealing with the [Alert Ward], I then started what I liked to call 'magical lock' picking, systematically taking down all the [Wards] and [Enchantments], one by one, while also taking all the things that seemed to work well to add to mine at a later date and discarding what doesn't.

Once all the [Wards] were down, I placed a [Ward] that would show an Illusion of the doors being closed unless someone walked past the [Ward] line. It wouldn't stop a person from sensing a ward was placed there, but having applied the magical signatures of the [Wards] I had just broken through, people would easily mistake them for the original ones placed there.

After a few minutes of meticulous work, I was done and already opening the vault doors. I was met with a high arched ceiling held up by torch-lined stone walls. Though the walls, floor and ceiling seemed clean and tidy, the same couldn't be said about its actual contents.

Mountains of galleons, sickles, and knuts were stacked haphazardly across the floor, reflecting the torchlight. In the centre of the vault stood a number of enchanted chests and cabinets, locked with complex spells. On the side, there were some worn, leather-bound books haphazardly laid closed on a few pedestals like someone had read through them and no longer cared enough about them to place them there correctly. And, of course, they were cursed. Because, why not? 

Next to the pedestal of Tomes stood some others with Enchanted artefacts, jewellery, weapons and armour. I was always planning to clean out this vault for all it's worth and sort the contents out later. Either selling the ones I don't want or giving them to people as gifts once I have removed the curses. So, with that in mind, I slowly started making my way through while pulling everything towards me with [Telekinesis] and placing them in the hoard.

As for the cursed objects, I was sure to place them in one of the expanded briefcases I had already set aside for this particular extrusion. They seemed touch and bloodline-based, so it was only good practice not to touch, even with gloves. At least not yet.

Soon enough, my impersonation of a human-sized magnet came to an end with only one object left to take, humming with a familiar magical signature.

It was a deceptively simple thing at first glance when compared to all the jewels I had just repossessed. Golden, small, with runic inscriptions along the rim, the handles, and down the stem and on the base. The 3D, finely detailed badger emblem of Hufflepuff house was placed on the cup's face at 12 and 6 O'Clock, letting anyone who laid eyes on it know its origins. Masterfully crafted, if one overlooked the taint that was Riddle.

[Helga Hufflepuff's Cup - Magical Item]

[Description: A magical item Enchanted by Helga Hufflepuff to obtain water from the air and enhance the liquid placed in it with magic to provide better nutrients to the drinker while poisons are slowly nullified.]

[+A Horcrux of Tom Riddle, contains a piece of his soul that constantly tries to corrupt the holder.]

[+Infectious, touch-based, Gemino (Doubling) Curse.]

At least Tom got better with the curses on this one, adding the Genimo curse to it. But I never actually needed to touch it to solve the snake problem. [Telekinetically] lifting the Cup, I used the usual [Superior Wound], [Soul Trap], and [Magicka Drain] to grip the soul and drain it of its life force. And, like the others, it let out a painful scream as it ceased its existence. 

[Destroyed another one of Tom Riddle's Horcrux +25,000 SP]

[Current SP: 65,882]

Ah, so it id does increase by 5 thousand for every additional Horcrux. So, I can look forward to 75 thousand points from Slytherin's Locket and Harry's scar. And that's not even including whatever extra I'll be getting from Tom's death. But, knowing myself well enough, I knew my stingy-ass wouldn't spend it unless I had to or if I really wanted something that I couldn't get on my own with time.

With the contents of the vault safely in the [Hoard], I swiftly glided my Oceans Eleven ass back the way I came, still wrapped in the [The Invisibility Cloak] and my extra stealth spells. As I was leaving, I thought about emptying the Malfoy and Umbridge vault. But knowing Malfoy, his lawyers will probably be good enough to get the Goblins to cough up the amount that was stolen in exchange for keeping quiet about the whole thing, and that's if they chose not to just replace the funds before he found out.

As for the toad…she was probably broke anyway.

As I passed through the grand hall, where the goblins continued their work with what I categorised as 'possibly shady' wizards, I slipped through the entrance the same way I arrived, undetected by the goblin guards at the door. 

Once I was at the same place I Dis-apparated, there was a sudden pulse in the Bank's wards, right about the time the [Ward] I placed on the Lestrange fault was going to wither. Glancing back just in time, I was met with the massive Enchanted doors of Gringotts slamming shut with an echoing thud. The windows around the bank were rapidly shuttered as well, metal Enchanted barriers slamming down to cover them, sealing the building entirely. 

The goblins still outside quickly barred entry to 2 hooded wizards who had been attempting to enter by crossing their spears. When they tried asking what was going on, the Goblins didn't even answer. The wizards outside the bank exchanged a look, murmuring to themselves something that I didn't care to listen into. 

Realising they wouldn't be getting any of their Gringott's errands done with whatever was happening, they chose to leave.

With an uncaring shrug, I silently [Apparated], reappearing in Hogsmeade without a sound and making my way through the fountains passage back into Hogwarts and into bed to sleep like a baby.

The benefits of Aparating in such a public place, even when there aren't many people about, your magical signature is naturally masked by the sheer amount of magic in the wall, floor, and even in the air. And if they did follow my apparition, it would just lead to Hogsmeade, and then they would have the same problem.

There was also the possibility that the Goblins would just keep their mouths shut, seeing that the vault's owners were supposed to die in Azkaban.

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Gringotts Wizarding Bank - Diagon Alley, London

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Inside the now-sealed Gringotts, the customers were in an uneasy panic because of the sudden lockdown while the Goblins at the tellers grew angry—or rather angrier— at the Wizards there. Each Goblin's sharp, calculating, and almost predatory eyes moved purposefully around the room, sweeping over every customer.

"By order of Gringotts," The head teller, Grimnash, spoke with a voice that seemed to carry over the entire hall despite his small stature and the fact that he was standing at the far end of the hall, gaining the customer's attention. "No one is to leave this bank until further notice. Any attempts to do so will be met with the harshest of consequences. Make no mistake—Gringotts will not be lenient."

The words hit the crowd like a shockwave, causing murmurs of panic. Several customers, some hooded and standing off to the side, drew their wands in response.

"You'll let us out now," One of the hooded figures demanded, wand trained on the Head Teller. The fact that they weren't just throwing spells at the door was enough to tell the Grimnash that the men were aware of the ward and Enchantments were good enough for whatever they had in their arsenal. "We're not here to play your little games, creature. Some of us have things to do and places to be."

A few others, emboldened by the speaker, raised their wands as well, elevation they had a chance to get out of whatever was going on if they banded together. Especially seeing that none of the Goblins had wands of their own.

Grimnash didn't so much as flinch. Instead, he gave them a cold, emotionless stare, as if just witnessing suicidal levels of stupidity and internally enjoying it. "The moment you cast a single spell, the security wards will detect it. And when they do, the wards will act accordingly. So, please cast a spell so I have a reason to order your death."

The hall fell silent as Grimnash continued with a chilling certainty as a cold smirk made it's way to his face. "You will be disarmed. And when you are at our mercy—goblin mercy—we will ensure that your final moments in this world are a living hell….in self-defence and the protection of the Goblin Nation, of course."

The words were spoken with such quiet malice that the wand-wielding customers hesitated. Their eyes flicked around the hall, noticing for the first time the rows upon rows of goblins that had been to march in from the side doors. The goblins moved with military precision, their weapons and armour glinting as they took their positions in formation around the room. The clanking of their armour and the rhythmic march of their boots filled the hall, leaving no doubt that they were prepared to carry out the Head Teller's threat without hesitation.

The sight of the armed goblins, combined with the knowledge of the security wards surrounding them was enough for the wand-holders to falter. After a tense moment, one by one, they began to lower their wands. Some were thinking it was some kind of Auror operation to catch them, but it was better to see who they were after than trying to escape, risking potential death only to be met with groups of Aurors as soon as they got out.

 "Smart decision." Grimnash gave a sharp nod, but looked dissatisfied they chose not to fight. He turned his attention back to the rest of the hall. "Gringotts will complete its investigation. Until then, you will remain where you are. Should you be searched, I would advise you to comply. Any resistance will be met with force. Remember that."

With that, the tension in the hall settled into an uneasy silence. The customers stood still, watching the goblins as they went about their business, searching each and every one of them. Those who drew their wands and threatened the goblins now kept their wands lowered and allowed the search, settling with glaring at the Goblins.

"Begin the sweep!" Grimnash, still standing tall at the end of the hall, issued orders in the language of Goblins to the goblins standing beside him once the customers had been searched. "Every vault, hallway, everything. No stone unturned. I want the perpetrator found yesterday."

Without hesitation, the teller goblins moved in perfect synchrony. Pulling out Enchanted items designed to search for intruders from under their desks, some began combing through the bank, searching for any sign of tampering or unauthorised access. Others, heavily armed, marched toward the vault passageways to secure the vaults, ensuring no further breaches could occur. While the rest stayed in the Hall to make sure the customers didn't try anything.

While the Goblins continued their search, the customers shifted uneasily back in the hall and started to whisper among themselves as to what they thought was going on. The hooded customers who had raised their wands earlier exchanged relieved glances but kept quiet, fully aware they weren't the real problem. As the minutes passed, goblins with more finely tuned magical detection equipment arrived, moving through the crowd as they scanned for traces of magic. Every face was examined, every presence scrutinised. But they found nothing.

Down in the depths of the vaults, Grimnash walked toward the now-opened and barren vault of House Lestrange, having let himself out of the cart. 

"We've found no evidence of a breach," One of the senior goblins, Braknar, said in a low, gruff, grim voice as he walked over to the head teller. "The vault was accessed, cleaned out and the Alert wards seemed to have been delayed. It is pointing towards being an inside job."

There were a few seconds of silence as the Grimnash's face went through a plethora of emotion, watching his fellow Goblins at work but coming up with nothing.

"What about the Dwarves?" Grimnash asked sharply. "With how they have been behaving recently, I wouldn't put this past them. It could be a method to discredit the Nation."

Braknar hesitated for a moment before he answered. "We're still assessing the vault for anything we can use, but initial reports don't seem to have evidence we can use. They weren't even able to find proof of anyone stepping foot on the floor, let alone hairs, fingerprints, or magical residue. As much as I want a reason to go after mongrels, we have nothing to go off."

The head teller's expression darkened as his shoulder sagged while he slowly started to undo his tie. "So, the culprit is a ghost?"

Braknar shook his head. "Whoever did this left no trace, at least not one that our methods could find. We…might have to ask or Wizard help on this." The Grimnash's head snapped to the senior goblin and gave him a dangerous look, but the senior goblin continued, ignoring the look. "We could say the contents were moved to another vault and ask them to check this one as some kind of test to see if they find the method used."

The Grimnash's jaw clenched. "Double the search. No one leaves until daybreak when their ministry starts their workday and they send actually competent staff to have their people released. Turn away the ones that will most likely arrive soon. We don't have time for that."

There was a small stall in the conversation while they both looked towards the empty vault before Braknar asked, "When do you plan to tell the king?"

When he didn't get a response, Braknar glanced at Grimnash only to see the grown Goblin that had fought in the fighting pits with tears running freely down his face. Shaking his head, Braknar simply walked away like he hadn't seem a fully grown Goblin cry like a baby.

Sometimes, it was best not to be the one in charge.

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"The safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe – 'cept maybe Hogwarts"

—Hagrid, talking about Gringotts

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Autor Here

Another one bites the dust.

Also, I've finished the first 3 chapters of a new Naruto fic. It should be up soon, so keep an eye out for it. It's obviously manga-based though, so if it's not for you then that's OK. The fact that you were willing to read this one was already enough.

Happy Holidays!

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