Homecoming from Hogwarts

Old Tom left, and almost every store in Diagon Alley was frantically moving things out.

In the far distance, a train of the Hogwarts Express stopped at the Diagon Alley station and was rising thick white smoke into the clear sky under the daylight.

"Everyone has seen the fight between Professor Brain and the dark witch in the Quidditch World Cup final before—"

Several people stood in front of the window of Fox Ice Cream Shop, looking at the chaos in Diagon Alley. Percy said in a heavy tone,
"The Ministry announced to the wizarding world that You-Know-Who has been resurrected, and the prisoners who escaped from Azkaban were all notorious Death Eaters. People believe that You-Know-Who will not tolerate this, and he will definitely choose revenge. If You-Know-Who and Professor Brain start a war in Diagon Alley, there will be heavy losses here!"

Harry's eyes lit up with enlightenment, and he finally understood why these people were in a hurry to move out.

Objectively speaking, these people are not being overly concerned.

During the Quidditch World Cup, Harry appeared at the scene. When Professor Blaine was fighting with Cliona, the scene of the destruction of heaven and earth is still deeply engraved in Harry's mind.

If Professor Blaine and Voldemort really fought in Diagon Alley.

There is no doubt that this place will be burned down.

"Hasn't Professor Brain ever considered this possibility?"

The sense of urgency in the air made George, the twin, no longer able to joke. He looked at the abandoned shops in panic.
"If Diagon Alley is destroyed, where will wizards go to do business in the future? Hogsmeade can't compare to this place."

After going through this ordeal, Percy seemed much calmer than before.

"Some shop owners have already gone to the Ministry to complain after hearing about this, but I don't think Professor Braine will be swayed by their opposition."

Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other and remained silent.

Among the young wizards at Hogwarts, they knew Professor Blaine well. Once he made up his mind, he would not be easily shaken.

But there was nothing wrong with what George said. If Diagon Alley was destroyed, where would they buy textbooks and various props for learning magic?

Where can freshmen buy their wands?

"This decision of Amosta and the Ministry."

Mrs. Weasley said worriedly,
"Isn't it a little unsafe? Of course, it's no problem to fight against the mysterious man."

Not to mention Mrs. Weasley, even Remus was thinking about this question.

If Diagon Alley were destroyed in a war, firstly, how would the losses of these shops be calculated, and secondly, what would happen to the lives of the people?
"What are those people doing?"

The group of people who were worried about the fate of Diagon Alley remained silent. Ron looked at the long queue of wizards like migrating ants in front of the majestic white building not far away, and asked in confusion.

"I'm afraid he wants to take out the gold he has stored in Gringotts."

Remus only took a glance and knew what was going on.

"Are they afraid their gold will be affected?"

"I'm afraid there's more to it than that, Harry—"

Remus shook his head slightly, his tone very serious.

"You know that fines as a form of punishment are not uncommon and are used all the time by the Ministry?"

Harry nodded.

How could he not know? Originally, he was supposed to go to the department to pay the fine this afternoon.

"But, as far as I know, there is no precedent for confiscating the personal assets of criminals."

Remus said.

"What does this mean?"

Ron asked in confusion.

"This means—"

Hermione's eyes were filled with awe.

"Your money no longer belongs entirely to you.
If you commit a crime, Ron, and the Ministry decides it's serious enough to warrant the confiscation of all your personal assets, then the Ministry can just take your gold from Gringotts and confiscate it without having to go through you!"

Before Ron could exclaim, Hermione bit her lip as she stared at the long queue in front of Gringotts, with doubt in her brown eyes.

"But I can't understand why the goblins are willing to cooperate with the Ministry's decision. Isn't this extremely damaging to their reputation?" Harry blinked, and then he understood what Hermione was wondering about.

Harry still remembered that when he first came to Diagon Alley with Hagrid many years ago, Hagrid's introduction to Gringotts was that if you wanted to hide something, Gringotts was the safest place outside of Hogwarts.

In Gringotts, private property is inviolable.

The goblins will only allow the original owners or heirs of the property to take the wealth in the vault, and the orders of the Ministry of Magic are of no use to them.

And now, they are actively cooperating with the Ministry's punishment and are willing to hand over the gold that was kept by the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban.

This will undoubtedly lead many people to believe that Gringotts is no longer neutral and no longer infallible.

This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the goblins' banking business!
The goblins must have gotten greater benefits from Amosta and the Ministry.

Remus' eyes sparkled.

Otherwise, given the goblins' character, they would never destroy their own wealth.

However, Remus did not tell Harry and the others these words.

"I don't quite agree with the Ministry's approach."

Looking at the wizards who were anxiously waiting to handle their business, Percy spoke in a serious tone.
"Ms. Bones's appointment as acting minister was too hasty, and many people are opposed to it. This decision by the ministry will further trigger a large number of people to voice their opposition, which is unwise."

"I don't see it the same way as you, Percy—"

Remus shook his head.

"The Ministry of Magic is currently in turmoil due to the return of Voldemort. Now is the time when order is at its weakest. Many wizards who used to follow the rules may also have evil thoughts because of this.

At this time, Amosta helped the Ministry to obtain this right from the goblins, which was a very severe deterrent to those who were wavering. This would help reduce crime if those people did not want their gold to be confiscated by the Ministry. "

"But those people could have taken the gold home, couldn't they?"

Harry asked,
"Like these people don't give their gold to goblins for safekeeping?"

"These are turbulent times, and keeping a large sum of gold at home is not a wise choice either, Harry -"

Remus said calmly,

"Comparatively speaking, fairies are undoubtedly more professional in the matter of keeping wealth. Moreover, if you have no intention of committing a crime, there is nothing to be afraid of, right?"

Harry was silent, then nodded.

They went to Madam Malkin's robe shop, but as expected, it was also closed.

Through the transparent glass window of the shop, Harry saw that all the fabrics in the shop had been moved away by Madam Malkin, leaving only some gray, unsold ready-made clothes hanging on the shelves.

Although the purpose was to deal with Voldemort and his minions, everything in front of him still made Harry feel extremely heavy.

It seemed that overnight, the wizarding world went from peace and tranquility to endless turmoil.

This feeling of uneasiness even made Harry miss Fudge a little.

At least, he did a pretty good job in covering up the truth.

However, Harry immediately put this stupid idea out of his mind.

Even if he wondered whether Professor Braine's drastic response was necessary, he should not have any sense of identification with Fudge, especially since this man almost got him, Ron, and Hermione sent to Azkaban.

They wandered around Diagon Alley for a while and could hardly find a shop that was open normally.

After all, even if people don't value money, they will value their lives.

Three days from now, the Ministry will transport the Death Eaters' wealth away in the morning. By then, the You-Know-Who may be concerned about Blaine and Dumbledore, but he will at least send out his Death Eaters.

This is something that anyone with a discerning eye can see through.

"Let's go to Gringotts—"

Mrs. Weasley said to the disappointed children,
"I've never been able to find a chance to deposit Ron's winnings into the vault. I guess now I can deposit money at Gringotts without having to queue up." (End of this chapter)