Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 222 Lucius and Arthur
England, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, the goblins' VIP reception room.

Gringotts' unraveler, the goblin Gripper, was looking at the VIP guest sitting in front of him with a strange expression.

"Although I don't understand why you're so insistent on letting your distant nephew inherit the Lestrange family's fortune, I must remind you once again, Mr. Malfoy."

"The Gringotts Treasury can only be inherited by its descendants if its owner is deceased. And now, the heads of House Lestrange are not dead; they are merely..."

Lucius impatiently interrupted Rapunzel, knowing what he was going to say, something he was already tired of hearing.

"They've been locked up in a dungeon full of Dementors, and they'll never get out! It's no different from being dead, but whether they live or die doesn't matter; someone has to take over the Lestrange family's wealth."

"Do you think I came here to covet that wealth? It was the Lestrange family who approached me, wanting me to help them inherit that vault through legal channels!"

He pulled out the parchment, which had several lines of beautiful cursive script and a signature on it.

"Those imprisoned are Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Rabastan Lestrange. They are the rightful heirs of the Lestrange family, but are now permanently imprisoned in Azkaban, with no possibility of ever being released, and they have no children outside."

“According to Gringotts’ Treasury inheritance rules, Rodolph’s only cousin is the first in line to inherit the Treasury. This is his power of attorney, entrusting me with full authority to handle the inheritance of the Treasury.”

As Lucius spoke, his gaze toward the pull ring became scrutinizing and dangerous. Having spent years mingling in high society, he certainly knew how to deal with such a person.

"You keep refusing to do this with various excuses, which makes me very suspicious that Gringotts may have secretly done something to that vault."

Upon hearing this, the pull ring's expression immediately became extremely serious and solemn.

"This is an insult to the reputation of the fairies and an unfounded accusation against Gringotts, sir. Even if you are a VIP, you should publicly apologize if you spread such things outside."

"Apologize? You're hogging the Lestrange family's coffers, why should I apologize?"

Lucius merely tapped the armrest of the armchair with his fingertips, looking at the pull ring with amusement.

"Even if this gets out and is reported by the Daily Prophet, you'll still be in the wrong. Why can't the treasury be inherited according to the rules?"

The pull ring looked somewhat helpless, and he could only explain once more.

"Because the owners of the vault, Mr. Rodolphus Lestrange and Mrs. Bellatrix Lestrange, are still alive."

“What difference is there between them and the dead?” Lucius shouted. “The Dementors on that island drove them mad long ago, and now they’re just barely clinging to life like mangy dogs!”

"If they just sit in prison for twenty, thirty, or even a hundred years and still don't die, then the Lestrange family's vault will remain unclaimed forever!"

Lucius's expression turned sarcastic.

"You just keep waiting for the rest of the Lestrange family to starve to death without any source of income, and for the entire family to die out, so that you can legally and comfortably take over that vault, right?"

“This is a very serious accusation against Gringotts, Mr. Malfoy.”

Pulling the ring, his hands kept crossing over, showing that he had already lost ground under Lucius's relentless verbal barrage.

“Perhaps we can choose a compromise. The Lestranges are in Azkaban, right? You can take your client, their cousin, to the Ministry of Magic to apply for a prison visit. After obtaining the vault key and their permission, Gringotts will immediately transfer ownership of the vault!”

Lucius, however, simply stared at him with icy eyes.

Are you kidding me?

Pull-ring was somewhat taken aback; he felt he had already made a significant concession within his authority.

"I, of course I'm not joking."

"Then what do you think two lunatics who have been imprisoned by Azkaban for eight years and are already mentally unstable could possibly have anything to talk about? They wish the whole world would go to hell with them, so how could they possibly allow their treasury to be inherited by someone else?"

Pull-ring was somewhat at a loss, and his already ugly face, which looked like a rotten orange, became even more wrinkled.

"If that's the case, Gringotts has never transferred the vault to an heir while the person in question is still alive, let alone the so-called heir you're talking about who doesn't even have the key to the vault."

Lucius showed no anger at the reply, as if the pull ring's words were exactly what he expected.

"Gringotts' business in the UK relies heavily on the support of prominent British families such as the Malfoys, Carlows, Notts, Perkins, Selwyns, and Greengrass, to operate, right?"

He stared into the fairy's eyes.

"It's not just about the treasury deposit business. This fairy bank relies on us for many things. Oh, and it also relies on the Ministry of Magic, and we have quite a bit of influence in the Ministry. And for families like ours, the biggest concern is the continuation of our family wealth."

"Do you think I'm only here to discuss this with you on behalf of the Malfoy family? If the Lestrange family's treasury problem isn't handled well, what will the other families think? Will they be disappointed in Gringotts?"

The pull tab became somewhat restless.

If we go back in time, to a hundred or two hundred years ago, no matter how powerful Lucius and the others were, the goblins wouldn't even give them a second glance, and might even spit on them.

However, things are different now. After the rebellion was defeated, the goblins had their wands confiscated. Although they still seem to have absolute control over Gringotts, they are no longer able to be completely independent.

They need to be mindful of the whims of these united pure-blood families, and even more so, they need to consider the Ministry of Magic.

However, Lucius's request to inherit the treasury was unprecedented. If such a request were granted and problems arose afterward, Gringotts' reputation, built up over hundreds of years, would be severely damaged!
Lucius also saw the difficulty of the pull tab, and he snorted coldly, looking very impatient.

“Forget it, let’s take another step back. It’s impossible to go to Azkaban to get the vault key and access transfer from those two lunatics, but we can go to the Ministry of Magic and have them show us that the Lestranges have lost their minds and are incapable of handling family affairs, and that the Lestrange family assets can be distributed through inheritance.”

Without waiting for the pull ring to answer, Lucius had already stood up from his chair.

“This is the final bottom line. No matter what, the treasury managed by Gringotts still belongs to the wizards, and the Ministry of Magic’s laws will certainly grant Gringotts’ own rules.” Gripping’s face showed struggle, but he simply said.

"My authority does not allow me to make any promises to you; I need to consult with my superiors about such matters."

At this moment, Lucius strode towards the door of the VIP room.

"Then let those of you who can make the decision prepare as soon as possible whether to continue to stick to the so-called Gringotts rules or to follow the Ministry of Magic's arrangements."

Watching Lucius's departing figure, Griphook hurriedly left the VIP room as well. He quickly walked up the stairs to Gringotts. This matter was not something that someone of his level could decide, nor was it something that any single goblin could decide.

In front of Gringotts gate.

After leaving the fairy bank, Lucius's face no longer showed the impatience and indifference he had displayed before; instead, a sinister smile appeared on his face.

Perhaps he is not as skilled in magic as the top magicians, perhaps he is not loyal to anyone and only cares about the interests of his family, or perhaps he is two-faced and not someone who can be trusted.

But when it comes to scheming and manipulating power, there are very few people in the entire magical world who can rival him.

Before leaving England with Draco, Severus made two requests to Lucius and his group of swingmen.

One is money, and the other is the golden cup in the Lestrange family's vault!

Money is no problem. With the wealth accumulated by these pure-blood families, even if Severus lay on a Galleon and kept spending money, he would never be able to spend it all in his lifetime.

As for the Lestrange family's vault, that's a bit more troublesome.

Indeed, for Lucius and his ilk, this was only a minor inconvenience.

This would have been a very difficult situation had Bella, Rodolfos, and even Rodolfos's brother Rabastan not been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.

But now, these three die-hard Death Eaters of the Lestrange family, who are also the main heirs to the family fortune, have been confirmed by the Ministry of Magic to be imprisoned in that jail for the rest of their lives.

This gives Lucius and his team much more room to maneuver.

They don't need to resort to mindless, violent, and rude methods like trespassing in Gringotts. They can legally and compliantly transfer ownership of the vault under the existing system.

Thus, Lucius is now putting pressure on Gringotts.

For them, obtaining permission from the Ministry of Magic would be a piece of cake. With the connections these pure-blood families had cultivated among the Ministry's officials, and given that the matter itself was perfectly reasonable and not a big deal, as long as Lucius stepped in, he could produce the Ministry of Magic's permission certificate for Gringotts in less than three days.

At that point, the goblins of Gringotts will have no chance of objecting.

Because Lucius knew that they truly had no intention of embezzling the wizard's treasury, nor did they have the guts to do so.

Just as he was relaxing and wondering where Severus had taken his son, who hadn't written back for several days, several red-haired figures suddenly entered his field of vision.

“Hold this pot tight, Ron! If you’re going to drop it and make me lose face and have to go back and get it fixed again, you’ll be cleaning my vegetable garden for a week!”

"I know, Mom, it won't fall!"

“Arthur, we need to buy some good food for Scabbers. Before George and the others went to Hogwarts, they suspected that this rat was malnourished and that's why it was so lethargic and slept so much every day. It's quite old, so we need to give it some nourishment.”

"Ah, don't worry, darling. Severus told me before he left that Scabbers' current state is just a side effect of the medicine. It needs to rest for so long every day to recuperate. It won't stay like this for long."

"If you don't have money to buy rat food, maybe you can go to the Magic Zoo and find some leftovers from the rats."

The sarcastic and mocking words made the Weasleys, who were walking down the street in Diagon Alley and preparing to go home, turn around.

Upon seeing Lucius's forced smile, Arthur's expression immediately darkened.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Malfoy, but I think it's best if we leave it to you to worry about how to take care of our own pets."

"Is the Ministry of Magic so rich that it can be wasted so easily?" Lucius looked Arthur up and down. He had never thought much of this family of pure-blood traitors. "Today is not a day off."

“I submitted my leave request in accordance with the law and received Mr. Webster’s approval,” Arthur said indifferently. “If you are interested in this process, you can check it out at the Ministry of Magic at any time, if you are qualified.”

Lucius simply shrugged with a cold laugh and walked out of Gringotts.

"I will go to the Ministry of Magic to check your work."

Watching him leave, Ron, clutching a cauldron, curled his lip.

"He's so annoying! Our family has absolutely no connection with him, right? But he always has to say bad things about us for no reason! If George and the others were still here, they could definitely give him a piece of their mind!"

Arthur simply patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"We don't need to care what others say, we just need to do our best."

Just as they were about to walk along the road toward the Leaky Cauldron and then return to the Burrow through its fireplace, an owl spotted the Weasleys precisely in the crowds of Diagon Alley, and a letter was delivered to Arthur.

"Who sent it?" Molly asked, puzzled. "Did the department cancel your leave for work?"

Arthur didn't answer immediately. He simply opened the envelope, looked at the contents of the letter, and then a genuine smile appeared on his face.

"Severus said he has returned to England and will be visiting the Burrow tomorrow night, bringing some of his friends with him!"

(End of this chapter)