"Hello, Mr. Murphy, how can I assist you today?"
At Gringotts Bank, as soon as Murphy walked into the lobby, a goblin approached him, "Do you need me to call Manager Rook for you?"
Goblin Rook had become one of the few big shots in the British Gringotts Bank, and his story of rising to prominence was already well known among the goblins.
Murphy glanced at him, "You are… Gambry?"
"Gambry is at counter ten; I am Goldclasp, sir."
"Oh, sorry, Goldclasp. Remembering your faces is quite challenging for wizards."
"Of course, sir."
"I need to withdraw some money from my vault. Could you assign someone to take me there?"
"Which vault's funds do you wish to access?"
Murphy had several vaults by now. One was the Darkholm family vault, number 1743, initially used only for the official gold exchange. Later, several more vaults were added, some for the Supreme Potion Shop, Wizarding Security Store, and other stores' bulk payments—this was an expansion suggested by Rook after becoming manager.
Gringotts charged fees for these bulk payment settlements and reconciliations, earning a significant amount of gold and increasing Rook's prestige within the bank.
"Vault 891, please."
Murphy chose a vault with an earlier number, closest to the target, vault 713.
"Right this way, sir."
Goblin Goldclasp led Murphy onto the roller coaster, heading downwards.
As soon as they boarded and descended underground, feathers began to fall from Murphy's back. In no time, hundreds of feathers had drifted down from him. When the roller coaster moved away, those feathers suddenly crackled with electric light and transformed into ravens, scattering in all directions to search for the location of vault 713 for Murphy.
After an indeterminate descent, they finally arrived at vault 891.
Looking at the seemingly bottomless abyss below, Murphy wondered if these goblins shared some ancestry with dwarves.
Goldclasp disembarked with him. Murphy took out a small key, opened his vault, and asked the goblin to wait outside.
After entering the vault and waiting a bit, Murphy received a message from a lightning raven: vault 713 had been found.
He cast a Disguise Charm on himself, then exited the vault to see Goldclasp waiting respectfully. Murphy approached from behind, raised his wand, and silently cast a Stunning Spell, knocking Goldclasp unconscious.
Murphy's original wand was damaged, and he was now using a spare, which never felt quite right. Thinking it over, he cast another Stunning Spell on the goblin before retracting his wand and picking him up.
His vision switched to that of the lightning raven, and the image of vault 713 appeared before him.
"Phantom Shift!"
These lightning ravens were extensions of himself, closely connected to him. To some extent, they could be considered his eyes and hands, allowing him to move through the ravens' vision.
Appearing in front of the vault, he had the ravens watch the surroundings. Noticing no one could see this area, Murphy internally criticized the so-called "safest place in the wizarding world" for its rudimentary security system while pulling Goldclasp's hand to press on the vault's door.
After a series of mechanical noises, the door opened.
The vault wasn't large, and Murphy could easily see everything inside.
However, as expected, an unexpected event occurred.
The small bag containing the Philosopher's Stone was not here.
What's going on? This was vault 713, and it wasn't even August yet. He remembered from the original story that Hagrid was supposed to fetch the Philosopher's Stone on the last day of July, after taking Harry shopping for school supplies, and then stopping by Gringotts to retrieve the stone.
Ah… Harry Potter was now living with Sirius Black at Weasel Mountain.
With Sirius, the legitimate godfather, Harry wouldn't need Hagrid to take him shopping.
So… Hagrid might not have needed to pick Harry up on his birthday, possibly retrieving the Philosopher's Stone from Diagon Alley earlier?
Alright.
After all, his arrival in this world and involvement in various odd affairs, even changing the Minister of Magic to Barty Crouch, creating such a butterfly effect was to be expected.
So, was the Philosopher's Stone already at Hogwarts?
Right, Quirrell would soon attempt a robbery under Voldemort's command, only to find himself empty-handed, just like Murphy, leading to an infuriated Voldemort possessing him to oversee the operation directly.
Voldemort, like Murphy, needed the Elixir of Life.
But unlike Murphy, who might need to use the Elixir of Life continuously to maintain his condition, Voldemort needed it for resurrection, possibly just once, making his need for the Philosopher's Stone as a tool likely less intense than Murphy's.
Perhaps, a collaboration with Voldemort? However, it was uncertain how much rationality Voldemort retained, and reviving him could likely become a major problem.
Murphy hesitated for a moment, then abandoned the idea.
Rather than relying on a repeatedly defeated spirit lacking in sanity and wisdom, he preferred to find a solution himself.
With that thought, Murphy returned to vault 891 and lifted the Stunning Spell from the goblin.
Rubbing his head as he woke, "What happened…?"
"You seemed to have dozed off; let's go, Goldclasp."
"Ah, yes."
Murphy spoke with an "Imperative Charm," making Goldclasp easily believe his explanation without daring to question further. They then left the underground together.
Exiting Gringotts, Murphy released a lightning raven, "Tell Lucius Malfoy to meet me at Weasel Mountain."
...
Malfoy Manor.
Perhaps hearing of the various upheavals in the British wizarding world, the Malfoys finally ended their Roman holiday, returning half a month ago.
The house-elf Binky was happily cleaning the house, feeling her life had regained purpose with her masters' return.
However, in the study, Lucius Malfoy couldn't find joy.
Previously, to avoid being caught in the crossfire between Runcorn and Murphy, he had hidden away.
This wasn't entirely an act of evasion to avoid taking sides but a deliberate decision after much thought.
He had expected Runcorn and Murphy, each with significant advantages, to struggle to defeat the other thoroughly, likely leading to negotiations after a series of probes.
At that point, Lucius Malfoy, as someone who could speak to both sides while maintaining neutrality, could act as a crucial third party at the negotiating table.
He wasn't the sort to be an unthinking pawn like some, willing to serve others.
Joining Runcorn or Murphy, losing would be a huge loss, and winning would mean merely following along. What was the point? Why should Lucius Malfoy, of all people, be subservient to anyone?
But... the situation developed far beyond his expectations.
He hadn't anticipated Murphy's strength, nor his ruthlessness.
After being attacked by werewolves, Murphy didn't show any intention of negotiating, directly eliminating eight pure-blood nobles, with Albert Runcorn's fate still unknown.
Even more unbelievably, he seemed to have used some magic to make Barty Crouch willingly serve him.
Now, with Auror Department controlled by Runcorn's die-hard supporter Rasmus Selwyn, along with the Watchers and Barty Crouch as Minister, the Ministry of Magic had essentially become Murphy's puppet government! Not to mention, the remaining pure-blood nobles had been thoroughly subdued by Murphy.
With both the temple and the gentry under Murphy's control, who in the current British Ministry of Magic, aside from the Headmaster, dared to say no to Murphy?
In such a scenario, his previous actions to avoid disaster seemed shortsighted and foolish.
At best, it was prudence; at worst, betrayal.
Given Murphy's temperament and methods, Lucius really didn't know what he might do.
What to do? Lucius paced back and forth in his study. Should he seek forgiveness? Or simply flee?
As he was gripped by anxiety, suddenly a flash of light appeared outside the window, followed by a raven appearing on the desk lamp amidst crackling electricity.
"Caw! Lucius! Lucius! Malfoy!"
To Lucius's astonishment, the raven began to speak.
"Weasel Mountain!"
"Lord Murphy! At Weasel Mountain! Waiting for you!"
"Caw! Weasel Mountain!"
The raven's black eyes reflected Lucius's pale, terrified face.
"Caw! Hurry!"
"Or else!"
"Execution!"
___________________
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