Chapter 524 Fairy Meeting

Sebastian certainly understood Akinbad's thoughts and was aware of the other party's dilemma, but he chose to remain silent and did not say much.

The interests within the International Wizarding Association are complicated, and no country is willing to place another emperor above its head, even if this person can fight against the mysterious man.

However, Sebastian must get the position of President of the International Confederation of Wizards. This position is of vital strategic significance for him to overthrow the Statute of Secrecy and reshape the order of the wizarding world in the future.

But he was not going to take the initiative to grab that position. He wanted other countries to willingly agree to his arbitrary demands, and then beg him to be the president of the International Confederation of Wizards, and they had to refuse the position three times.

The reason why no one agrees now is simply because they are not anxious enough, think the current situation is not tense enough, and even have a fluke mentality, thinking that the existing system can still be maintained.

This kind of luck is only temporary. When the situation gets out of control and danger is imminent, wizards from all countries will realize that only by finding a strong enough backer can they stabilize the situation, and that backer must be him.

Sebastian believed that it would not be too late.

Of course, passive waiting is not his style. He decided to take the initiative, put some pressure on these countries, and give Lao Fu a surprise.

..................

The second Friday after Dumbledore's funeral, Diagon Alley, London.

A dark and cloudy sky enveloped Diagon Alley. The gray sky seemed to have cast a sad undertone on the entire street. The once bustling street now seemed extremely empty and lonely.

The shops along the street have long lost their former vitality. Many shops have closed their doors, their windows are covered with dust, and some even have notices saying "Closed" or "Shop for Rent".

The signs that once attracted countless wizards have now become dim and dilapidated, and some are even crumbling, as if telling of the decline of this neighborhood.

Most businesses have already chosen to move to the new city of Hogsmeade, and only a few shops are still operating. Most of those who remain here are pure-blood families that have some connection with Voldemort.

Their windows were covered with signs saying "Special Sale" or "Clearance Sale" to attract customers, but even though they were open, almost no one stopped in the stores.

Occasionally, a few wizards could be seen passing by on the street. Most of them wore dark hoods, had serious expressions, and walked hurriedly, as if they were afraid of being recognized. Even if they passed by others, they would deliberately lower their heads to avoid any eye contact.

The only place that still retained some life was Gringotts Bank at the end of the street. The white marble door was still as bright and clean as new, and the towering dome exuded a cold luster under the dark clouds, with wizards coming in and out from time to time.

Two goblins were guarding the door, their eyes sharp and vigilant, staring closely at every wizard entering and leaving the bank.

There is an extremely luxurious conference room in Gringotts. The ceiling of the conference room is inlaid with hundreds of sparkling magic lights, shrouding the entire room in a soft golden light.

The walls were carved from thick rock and covered with intricate goblin writing and countless glittering gems.

In the center of the conference room is a huge circular stone table. The tabletop is made of a whole piece of obsidian. The surface is so smooth that it can reflect the shrewd eyes of the goblins.

Today, this conference room is filled with goblins from almost all over the UK. There are hundreds of them, filling the entire conference room.

Such scenes are extremely rare, and only important matters are worthy of such a large-scale gathering. And the topic of today's meeting is the notice sent by the Ministry of Magic.

Sitting at the main seat at the circular stone table was an old goblin. He was thinner than ordinary goblins, with long white eyebrows hanging down to his cheeks, and the wrinkles on his forehead were as deep as rock cracks.

His name is Gransack, the supreme elder of Gringotts. He has a noble status and enjoys extremely high prestige in the goblin society.

Gransak knocked on the stone table, and his steady voice echoed throughout the conference room: "Except for our compatriots who are maintaining basic business at the counter, everyone is basically here. Let's officially start today's topic."

"Everyone should be aware of the Ministry of Magic's attempt to persuade us to move Gringotts to the new city of Hogsmeade. Now, please speak freely and all goblins may express their opinions."

For a moment, the entire conference room exploded, and the goblins spoke one after another, expressing their opinions.

"What is there to say? Is that persuasion? It's clearly notifying us to move to the new city within a limited time!" An elf waved his arms angrily, and the wrinkles on his face were distorted with indignation.

"Yes! They said that the Aurors are unable to maintain law and order in Diagon Alley, and only the New Town can guarantee our safety - how can this be called protection? This is clearly a veiled threat to us!" Another goblin sneered, crossing his arms across his chest, his eyes full of vigilance.

"Moving? What a joke! Gringotts is not just a building on the ground, our main structure is all underground!" A goblin in a red robe knocked on the table and analyzed rationally.

"How much resources would it take to relocate Gringotts as a whole? How much time would it take? It would be an extremely large project, and it would be a complete waste of time."

Many fairies nodded. Apparently, this reason was one of the main reasons why they opposed the relocation.

"Didn't the Ministry of Magic say that if we need to move, they will send Ministry employees to help. Even Swan will come in person to ensure that it can be done within two days."

"Don't be stupid! They are trying to take this opportunity to reach into Gringotts and learn about its secrets."

"Yes, and there's Swan. With such a large business, he never puts any Galleons into Gringotts, saying that he wants to ensure a healthy cash flow. How ridiculous! Does putting Galleons in Gringotts mean that cash flow cannot be guaranteed?!"

"Well said. If he could make gold Galleons, I suspect that Swan would even open his own wizard bank to replace Gringotts."

For a moment, the crowd was outraged and the fairies joined in condemning Sebastian.

In their view, holding a large number of gold Galleons without storing them in Gringotts is pure theft and an infringement on the interests and power of the goblins.

Seeing that the meeting was going in a direction that was becoming increasingly off-topic, Gransak knocked on the stone table again.

"Don't deviate from the topic of the meeting. Swann is a shameful robber who has seized the goblins' gold galleons. There is no doubt about that. There is no need to waste time discussing it further."

"Please focus on the notice from the Ministry of Magic. The meeting continues!"