The Goblins’ Plot

Can anyone understand how it felt to realize you had spent se… six… five years studying on top of a bomb?!

Whether that was truly absurd was another matter. After all, everyone could see how safe Hogwarts was. What truly shocked Adam was that he had already become Hogwarts’ headmaster and still had no idea about this!

Adam even began to doubt whether what the old goblin had said was true.

Before Adam could recover from his shock, the old goblin continued speaking in the memory:

"Back then, that wizard gathered all the Ancient Magic energy and ultimately sealed it beneath Hogwarts. Our predecessor—the great Ragnok—was also killed there by him."

"Fortunately, perhaps to prevent anyone from setting their sights on Ancient Magic energy again, that wizard left no record of Ancient Magic to be passed down, so…"

The old goblin said nothing more, merely turning to look into the distance.

They seemed to be inside an active volcano, or perhaps deep underground. Adam could even see molten lava flowing below.

At the end of the old goblin’s gaze stood an enormous machine. The gigantic drill bit at its front made its primary function obvious.

"To be honest, I’m not very optimistic about this machine."

The young goblin looked over as well and said:

"Ragnok went to tremendous lengths. He gathered nearly all the goblins and harnessed Ancient Magic energy just to create a machine capable of digging beneath Hogwarts. We are nowhere near having those conditions now."

The young goblin turned to the old goblin.

"Don’t forget that Hogwarts was also built with Ancient Magic. If we fail to dig through beneath Hogwarts and instead draw the wizards’ attention, letting them discover the existence of Ancient Magic energy…"

"That is why this is only a backup plan."

The old goblin appeared to share the same concerns. As soon as the young goblin finished, he spoke quickly, then reached out and removed the bracelet from the young goblin’s hand.

"After Ragnok died, some of the equipment he created was destroyed, but some was preserved. With these, and Gringotts’ power, perhaps we can defeat those wizards without activating the backup plan."

"…Do we really have to go to war with those wizards?"

The young goblin suddenly asked this.

The old goblin fell silent. He turned to look at the other goblin and only spoke after a long while.

"It is hard to believe you would say something like that… Have you forgotten the past between goblins and wizards? Goblins and wizards may seem to coexist harmoniously now, but that was earned through war. Otherwise, we would have ended up as livestock bound in chains."

The young goblin took a deep breath.

"I’m sorry. I understand."

The old goblin nodded.

The young goblin turned, preparing to take out the mithril that had melted in the furnace and process it. At that moment, the old goblin aimed the bracelet in his hand at him.

"Boom—"

This allowed Adam to discover that this energy seemed to affect living beings differently from inanimate objects. Similar to the Killing Curse, the energy beam created a massive explosion when it hit inorganic objects. Yet when it struck the young goblin, it merely blasted him away and left a crater at the point of impact.

If such a wound had been purely physical damage, it would have been fatal but could not have immediately taken someone’s life. Yet the old goblin lowered the bracelet immediately after firing, while the young goblin showed no reaction whatsoever. Both made it clear that the young goblin’s life had already been taken by that energy.

"I’m sorry… Perhaps you truly do understand, but I cannot take that chance."

The old goblin walked forward and shoved the young goblin’s corpse into the lava. He then came to the forge where the young goblin had stood, took out the melted Goblin-made Mithril, and spoke as though addressing the young goblin—or perhaps convincing himself.

"Ragnok’s failure back then was not solely due to that wizard’s interference. A major reason was that traitors appeared among the goblins, causing the plan to be exposed ahead of time. There is not much of Ragnok’s equipment left. We only have one chance."

After leaving the memory, Adam looked silently at the old goblin, who was still unconscious.

From the goblin’s perspective, he might indeed have been striving for the goblins’ future. But unfortunately, Adam was human. He could not stand on the goblins’ side.

"The most important thing now is to go to Hogwarts and check whether that bomb beneath it truly exists. If it does…"

Adam frowned slightly. In theory, after becoming headmaster, all control over Hogwarts had been opened to him, including the staircases, secret passages, protective magic, the Stone Guardians that protected the school, ghosts, portraits, and so on…

If there really was something like that beneath Hogwarts, yet he, the headmaster, did not know about it, then the only possibility was that one headmaster—or perhaps several—had concealed the matter and used their authority to exclude everything related to that bomb from Hogwarts’ magical system.

Adam took a step and appeared in Hogwarts’ Headmaster’s Office.

"Oh, look who has come. What a rare visitor…"

Upon seeing Adam appear, one of the headmasters in the portraits could not resist making a sarcastic remark.

Adam did not even need to look to know that it had to be Professor Phineas Black. Of all the headmasters, only that old man had such a foul temper.

Adam had indeed not come to Hogwarts in a long time, having handed most of the work over to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. He did not argue with him, instead looking up at the wall full of headmasters’ portraits with a grave expression.

"Everyone, I have something to ask. Please call back those who are absent."

Though they were somewhat dissatisfied with Adam’s hands-off behavior, everyone had seen his contributions to Hogwarts. In their hearts, they recognized him as Hogwarts’ headmaster. Thus, the headmasters in the portraits all became serious.

"Wait a moment. I’ll be right back."

Professor Dilys Derwent lifted her skirts and left the frame. Before long, she returned with three professors who had been visiting elsewhere.

"Alright, everyone is here now. Adam, tell us why you summoned us."

It was Professor Dumbledore, the one most familiar with Adam, who spoke. However, he knew that he might not be able to help with this matter. Otherwise, Adam would have gone directly to him in person.

"It’s like this. Does anyone here know anything related to ‘Ancient Magic’?"

Adam’s gaze swept across the portraits. Upon hearing this, several headmasters revealed surprised expressions, but more merely looked confused.

At the same time, the Ragnok mentioned in the old goblin’s memories seemed to have lived only within the last century or two. If what the goblins had said was true, then the headmasters most likely connected to the bomb beneath Hogwarts should be those from around that period…

Adam turned his gaze toward one portrait.

"Professor Neophyte FitzGerald, perhaps you can provide me with some information?"