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Hearing that, Kingsley immediately chimed in.
"So the Blistering Curse can be countered by a Freezing Charm?"
"Yes, but it requires an exceptionally powerful Freezing Charm. A standard one wouldn't have the slightest effect," Ragnok replied, his face darkening. "Logically speaking, only we goblins should know that..."
Annabelle pulled a magnifying glass from her robes and began inspecting the handle.
But Kingsley, feeling overly confident, started spinning his own theory aloud.
"The magical wards on the vault weren't broken, and there are no signs of forced physical entry anywhere."
"The thief knew exactly how to counter the protective enchantment on the handle."
"And the vault door can only be unlocked by a goblin's palm print. So..."
"Isn't it highly probable that this was an inside job? That one of your own people stole whatever was inside?"
Kingsley looked around at the goblins with a smug, knowing smirk. He noticed Annabelle pause and assumed she was stunned by his rapid, razor-sharp deduction. He practically puffed out his chest in pride.
He had absolutely no idea that Annabelle had just hit her absolute limit for his stupidity.
"Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!" Uth shrieked, instantly furious at the accusation.
"A Gringotts goblin would never steal from their own bank!"
The rest of the goblins glared at the two wizards, their expressions turning murderous.
Kingsley just sneered. In his eyes, the goblins' explosive reaction was just defensive panic, which only proved his point.
But just as he opened his mouth to double down, Annabelle's wand flicked up in a blur. A flash of silvery-white magic struck Kingsley right in the mouth.
Silencio.
Kingsley opened his mouth to speak, only to realize no sound was coming out.
He raised his wand, about to cast the counter-curse, but stopped cold when he caught Annabelle's lethal, warning glare.
It was then that he finally registered the shift in the cavern's atmosphere.
The goblins were staring at them with undisguised hostility. More importantly, they had subtly shifted their positions, completely blocking the wizards' path back to the cart.
If Kingsley said one more word, neither of them was walking out of this tunnel alive.
Discretion is the better part of valor.
Kingsley sheepishly lowered his wand and mimed zipping his lips shut.
Satisfied that the Auror had finally been muzzled, Annabelle turned back to Ragnok.
"Based on the residual magical signature left on the handle, it was cast by a human wizard."
"Therefore, it is highly probable the thief was human."
Unlike the others, Ragnok hadn't let anger cloud his judgment. He took the specialized magnifying glass Annabelle offered him and looked closely at the handle.
Sure enough, a faint, glowing human handprint was visible under the enchanted lens.
Ragnok handed the glass back, his brow furrowing deeply.
"If it was a human, how on earth did they get the door open?"
This exact question had been tearing the goblins apart for the past month.
The Gringotts staff had essentially split into two factions over the break-in.
One side believed there had to be a flaw in their warding system, or that some wizard had invented a highly advanced piece of dark alchemy capable of bypassing their security. This faction wanted to spend a fortune overhauling and upgrading the bank's entire defensive grid.
The other side believed exactly what Kingsley had just said: that it was an inside job, and a goblin had collaborated with an outsider. They demanded a ruthless internal purge.
(Yes, the second faction agreed with Kingsley. But they would never allow an outsider—let alone a Ministry wizard—to openly accuse them of it. Hence the near-riot.)
The two factions had spent the last month gridlocked. One side refused to endure a humiliating internal investigation, while the other refused to waste massive amounts of gold replacing wards that might not even be broken.
While they bickered, the victim of the robbery had leaked the story, bringing the Ministry crashing down on their heads.
Annabelle thought for a moment, then looked thoughtfully at Ragnok.
"Is it possible the wizard used magic to control one of your goblins and force them to open the vault?"
"For example... the Imperius Curse?"
The goblins instantly broke out in shocked mutters.
They hadn't considered that angle.
Logically, Gringotts goblins rarely left the bank. They commuted via their own subterranean network directly to their enclaves. If a wizard wanted to cast the Imperius Curse on one of them, they would have had to do it inside Gringotts.
And while goblins weren't exactly known for their physical size, their innate magic was incredibly powerful. In a one-on-one fight, even with the element of surprise, an average wizard wouldn't stand a chance against a Gringotts guard.
For a wizard to successfully mind-control a goblin right under their noses without anyone noticing... that wizard would have to be terrifyingly powerful.
But... it was the only theory that actually fit the facts.
Seeing the goblins slowly nodding in reluctant agreement, Annabelle clapped her hands together.
"We have our working theory. Until we find evidence pointing elsewhere, this is the angle we pursue."
"I ask that you continue your internal investigation. As per the treaties between the Ministry and Gringotts, we will not interfere in your internal affairs."
The tension in the cavern finally broke. Ragnok's expression softened considerably.
Annabelle's respect for their autonomy and her objective, unbiased approach had earned her a massive amount of goodwill.
(Of course, they still wanted to hex the Auror standing next to her into a giant pus-filled boil, but they were willing to let him live for now.)
"My next question: who accessed this vault around the time of the break-in, and what exactly was stored inside?"
"Griphook is the account manager for this vault. He can answer that," Ragnok said.
Annabelle turned to the goblin who had escorted them down.
Griphook stepped forward. "It was someone from Hogwarts."
"Rubeus Hagrid, accompanied by a first-year student named Harry Potter. They presented a letter of authorization from Albus Dumbledore to retrieve whatever was stored in Vault 713."
"But when I brought them down here and opened the door... the vault was already empty."
"As for what was inside? Client confidentiality agreements prevent us from knowing the contents of high-security vaults. I have no idea."
Hogwarts...
Annabelle paused, genuinely surprised. She hadn't expected Hogwarts to be tangled up in a Gringotts robbery.
Was it just a coincidence?
Wait, Richie was there right now...
A sudden flash of worry for her cute little nephew hit her, but she quickly forced it down, returning to professional mode.
"So the victim of the theft is affiliated with Hogwarts?"
"Yes. Rubeus Hagrid has been our primary point of contact."
Annabelle nodded. "In that case, I'll need to pay a visit to Hogwarts to interview the client. In the meantime, I ask that you thoroughly review your personnel logs for the days surrounding the incident."
The goblins exchanged glances and gave serious nods of agreement.
Annabelle looked back at Griphook. "Mr. Griphook, if you wouldn't mind taking us back to the surface?"
Griphook looked to Ragnok, who gave a brief nod, before gesturing toward the cart.
Kingsley practically scrambled aboard. He was hyper-aware of the fact that several goblins were still staring at him like they were deciding how to best cook him.
Time to go!
The two wizards and the goblin climbed into the cart and sped away back up the tracks.
Once they were gone, Ragnok turned to his staff.
"We begin the internal audit immediately."
"And let it be known: this audit is not to hunt for a traitor, but to find the unfortunate victim of mind control!"
"Anyone who refuses the audit will be treated as a willing accomplice to the thief!"
Annabelle's theory had given Ragnok the perfect political cover to force the internal investigation. The opposing faction, now framing it as a rescue mission rather than a witch hunt, finally backed down.
With the order given, the goblins immediately began checking each other's memories.
Mind-control spells like the Imperius Curse always leave traces on the victim's mind—usually in the form of memory gaps or jarring cognitive dissonance. Checking memories was the fastest, most absolute way to clear everyone.
Since their privacy was going to be invaded anyway, they might as well get it over with quickly and prove their innocence.
The soft hum of goblin magic began echoing through the deep caverns.
A short while later, Annabelle and Kingsley arrived back in the main hall.
The sky outside had already grown dark. Noting the time, Annabelle politely declined Kingsley's completely transparent dinner invitation, gathered her forensic team, and headed back to the Ministry.
Watching her walk away, Kingsley felt incredibly pleased with how he had handled himself today. He was already trying to figure out how to rig the duty roster so he could be her partner on her next field assignment.
Hogwarts, huh...