"It's just a little joke by some incredibly bored people," said Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, to the Ministry officials.
For someone like Fudge, keeping his position as Minister of Magic was the most important thing; whether it was truly the Lestranges causing havoc at Gringotts was of little concern to him. After all, there was a pair of Lestranges serving their sentence in Azkaban, and he could have anyone questioning it verify for themselves by visiting their cell in Azkaban.
It wasn't until the next day that Dumbledore and the others returned to the school.
With such a significant event occurring, Dumbledore, as the Chief Great Mage of the Wizengamot and President of the International Wizarding Union, couldn't remain indifferent. He naturally needed to inquire further at the Ministry of Magic.
"I really didn't expect it," Dumbledore said, rubbing his chest as he spoke to Vivi. "You two actually chose to cause such an uproar at Gringotts, prompting the Aurors to attack you... I hope next time, if you do something like this, you'll inform us in advance. An old man like me really can't withstand such shocks anymore."
He was indeed taken aback. When the Aurors were blown away by the Thunder Explosion, Dumbledore thought for sure some Dark Wizard had come to raid Gringotts. Who would have expected that his dear Grindelwald's student had a penchant for dramatics and wanted to play out the scene for real?
"It was Vivi who got too into the role." Harry didn't hesitate to report his good friend. "I wanted her to leave immediately, but she wanted to see the whole incident through to the end..."
"I'm really surprised; I would have thought the Prophet Daily would publish such an explosive headline, leading the Ministry to end up closing down the press," Cassandra said, somewhat disappointed that she hadn't seen the news in the Prophet Daily's headlines.
"It's not surprising. We wizards are democratic too," Vivi said with a smile to Cassandra. "Banishing things is a method from a hundred years ago. Nowadays, we decide not to publish based on procedure."
"What about the Minister of Magic?" Cassandra frowned, looking at Dumbledore. "Surely the current Minister of Magic wouldn't let such a thing happen? I mean, like Azkaban escapees attacking Aurors?"
"Well," Dumbledore tapped the table, beginning to critique his old colleague, "I know Cornelius well. He's more concerned with his position as Minister of Magic than his principles. At the sign of trouble, he's always the first to run away."
Hearing Dumbledore's evaluation, Cassandra's frown deepened.
Letting someone like that be Minister of Magic, can the British Magic World really be fine?
Harry added, "He's increased the average age of the Ministry of Magic but lowered its average intelligence."
Hearing Harry's comment, Vivi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Isn't it a bit much to criticize our Minister of Magic like this?" Newt looked up to ask.
"But we gained joy from it," Harry replied to him.
Newt thought about it and also started to laugh.
Mocking Fudge behind his back indeed brought quite a bit of joy.
"Let's talk business," Dumbledore said, sitting behind the desk in the Headmaster's Office. "What did you find in the Lestrange Clan's vault? Did you see an image of Omnius Gaunt or Marvolo Gaunt's ring?"
"We didn't," Harry answered honestly, "but we did find some other items, including a sword belonging to Godric Gryffindor and a cup belonging to Helga Hufflepuff..."
Saying this, Vivi took out a small pouch, shaking out Gryffindor's Holy Sword and Hufflepuff's Golden Cup onto the floor.
"This shouldn't be Godric's sword," the Sorting Hat said loudly. "Ever since Godric died, his sword has been in the belly of the Old Hat; it's impossible for it to be missing. Come over here, kid with the scar on your head."
This "kid with the scar on your head" clearly referred to Harry.
Seeing Harry not moving, the Sorting Hat raised its body slightly, lifting its brim and said, "Come on, kid with the scar on your head — take out the real Gryffindor Holy Sword, you are a true Gryffindor!"
Harry stepped forward, reaching into the Old Hat.
"Oh, so you were talking about me."
"Who else did you think the 'kid with the scar on your head' was?" the Sorting Hat said indignantly. "Heavens, you really have no self-awareness, do you?"
Harry pulled Gryffindor's Holy Sword from the Old Hat's bosom, then returned to his seat, placing the sword on Dumbledore's desk.
He wasn't about to quarrel with a hat, and being mentioned a couple of times didn't really bother him.
Besides, he was indeed the boy with a scar on his head...
"See, I've always kept Godric's sword safe," the Old Hat said proudly. "Only the Old Hat can feel which one belongs to Godric's sword..."
Upon finishing, Harry stepped beside the fake Holy Sword, blocking the Old Hat's view, mixing the two swords together, and asked, "Then let me test you — which one is the true Gryffindor Holy Sword?"
"The one in your right hand, kid with the scar on your head," the Sorting Hat said lazily.
Harry truly hadn't expected that the Old Hat could distinguish which was the real Gryffindor Holy Sword.