HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"Robin, you work in the International Flying Network Coordination Office. If possible, we will help you become the office director, or even further, the director of the International Magical Transportation Department."

The robin straightened its back and revealed a capable smile.

“Nightingale, you teach Potions in Beauxbatons. But Madam Maxime doesn’t seem to have any plans to retire anytime soon. She’s still in great shape and has plenty of energy. I’ll talk to her about it if I get the chance.”

Nightingale nodded understandingly, then shrugged with a touch of French-style helplessness.

"Stork, you're working for the International Wizarding Federation Gazette. If you're interested and the timing is right, we'll try to get you promoted to editor-in-chief. After all, the high ground of public opinion is crucial."

Stork pushed up his glasses, a glint of shrewdness flashing behind the lenses: "Controlling the mouthpiece is exactly what I'm good at. I'll keep a close eye on the editorial department's movements."

“Ms. Snow Owl, you are deeply rooted in the Magical Creatures Guild and also have extensive connections in the African Gem Merchant Guild. If possible, we will pool our resources to help you ascend to the throne of the guild master.”

Ms. Xue Xiao nodded calmly: "I have a thorough understanding of the Chamber of Commerce's operations, and the position of president is indeed my next goal."

“Furthermore, Swift,” Sagres turned to the Gringotts unravelers, “it’s almost impossible for you to hold a high position in Gringotts. Senior unraveler or head of an unraveling team is the limit you can reach. After all, the goblins are extremely xenophobic, and they have absolute control over Gringotts, so I’m afraid I can’t be of much help in that regard.”

The swift frowned slightly, seemingly somewhat disappointed.

Then Sagres changed the subject, "However, if you can find out the details of Gringotts' core leadership... then, when the time is right, we might be able to launch a financial revolution in the wizarding world."

"What did you say?" Swift couldn't help but ask, her brows furrowed, clearly not having fully grasped the core of the matter.

"It's about dismantling Gringotts' monopoly."

An eerie silence fell over the room. The Thunderbird stroked its beard, its eyes filled with confusion; the Robin opened its beak but made no sound; the Nightingale's beautiful face was etched with question marks; the Snowy Owl and the Stork exchanged a completely bewildered look; and the Swift, as the one directly involved, had an expression that screamed, "Are you serious?"

Only the kestrel's eyes were shining, but the direction of the light was clearly wrong—

"That sounds exciting, but what exactly do we do?"

Looking at the bewildered faces around him, Sagres decisively decided to skip the theoretical introduction: "Alright, we'll talk about the details later. I can give you a simple explanation of the operating procedures."

He extended his long, slender fingers and explained each point in a calm tone:

"The first step could be to create a liquidity crisis, for example, by spreading rumors:"

Gringotts misappropriated funds from the Wizarding Treasury to invest in the Dragon Sanctuary, only to lose everything, not even a single kart... Or, to make it even more sensational, say that Gringotts' underground vault was infiltrated by a mysterious spy, and the gallon that flowed out was of insufficient purity, mixed with inferior metals..."

The first step Sagrais mentioned caused everyone's eyes to widen, as if struck by lightning. But Sagrais ignored their shock and continued:

"Then hire a group of house-elves and have them line up at Gringotts every day to withdraw money, creating an atmosphere of panic and triggering a run on the bank."

As he said this, a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth, "Then we'll use the Transfiguration Charm to counterfeit a large batch of 'Ghost Galleons' and flood the market, diluting the currency's value and causing the goblins a huge headache."

“This…this is simply…” Swift murmured, her quill unconsciously poking at the parchment, as if recording a fantastical tale.

"This is just the first step. The second step could be more radical, such as triggering the systemic risks of Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

Sagrais's voice carried an almost cruel rationality: "Find a way to replace some of Gringotts' core treasury reserves with a large number of indistinguishable 'Garonne' coins. Once this 'golden exterior but rotten interior' hole is exposed—even if it's just a rumor—the foundation of trust upon which the entire goblin trust system depends will collapse instantly."

It has to be said, it was insidious, but very effective.

"The final step is to establish a new order." His voice was very firm. "On the ruins of Gringotts, establish a new trust bank—a financial system entirely controlled by wizards."

He paused, then presented an even more advanced concept:

“Next, we can launch a decentralized magical currency, creating another cryptocurrency based on magical contracts; then establish a wizard credit system, offering low-interest loans to attract young wizards. Of course,” he added casually, “to control risk, Legilimency can be used to efficiently verify their willingness and ability to repay.”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

If these words came from someone else, they would definitely scoff at them, thinking they were just drunken ramblings.

But this person in front of me... hmm!

Moreover, he spoke so clearly and logically—even though they couldn't quite understand him.

"Where did you get all these things from...where..."

“I used to ponder these things alone in the attic…” Sagres picked up his drink and took a sip. “Of course, I mainly relied on the books and wisdom of the Muggles.”

"Muggle?"

Everyone, including Nightingale and Snow Owl who had remained relatively calm, wore expressions of disbelief.

"You should never underestimate Muggles."

Looking at the doubt written on their faces, Sagres said earnestly, "To be honest, apart from using magic, you wizards are actually inferior to Muggles in many ways."

"Ok?"

Nightingale keenly sensed something amiss in Sagrais's words. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes, which seemed to see into people's hearts, fixed on Sagrais, a playful smile on her lips, and softly corrected him, "Raven, you just said... 'you wizards'? Shouldn't it be 'we wizards'?"

Sagles's gaze met Nightingale's, and a slight pause seemed to appear on his usual composed face, but it vanished in an instant.

He then gave a gentle, even approving smile, and readily admitted:

You're right.

He nodded, as if he were merely correcting a trivial slip of the tongue, but the complex emotions that flashed across his deep eyes went unnoticed even by Nightingale.

“Finally, there’s the kestrel…” Sagreston paused, seemingly deep in thought, “…be careful when you travel!”

"Wait!" The falcon's feathers bristled instantly. "Why did it turn into this when it came to me?!"

"Because you're the only one here who does nothing all day, wandering around the world aimlessly." Thunderbird exposed him mercilessly, but more than that, he was gloating.

"Like a walking ball with legs..." Stork added insult to injury.

"I..." The falcon was speechless for a moment.

Sagles raised his hand to stop her from speaking, and smiled, "It's alright, as long as we don't cause any big trouble. You are our core technology, and we still need your guidance for the future."

The falcon, which had been sulking, brightened up when it heard "core technology" and "guiding direction." Its chin unconsciously lifted slightly, and although it was still muttering "That's more like it...", the corners of its mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.

Chapter 102 Settling the Matter

On either side of the long table, the school board members looked somber, and no one exchanged pleasantries.

Lucius Malfoy sat in the corner, tapping his snake-headed cane lightly with his fingertips, his expression indifferent, as if he had no interest in the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by the elderly Hickney Shafik, who cleared his throat and said in a hoarse voice, "Gentlemen, McNeil is dead, and the Board of Trustees needs to add new members."

Otalene Selwyn slammed his fist on the table: "That madman! He manipulated a monster to kill Rooney, right in front of Fudge! What kind of man is this? A Hogwarts professor? He's more audacious than the Dark Lord!"

Prik Travers chimed in, "We should join forces with the Ministry of Magic and expose his crimes! Let the entire wizarding world know that Hogwarts harbors a dark wizard even more dangerous than Voldemort!"

"That's right! Put pressure on the Daily Prophet to expose the truth about Sargeras controlling monsters and murdering school board members, portray him as the new Dark Lord, unite with pure-blood families, force Dumbledore to expel him, and even push for sanctions from the International Confederation of Wizards!"

Grace Foley slowly shook her head, a barely perceptible fear in her voice: "Have you all lost your minds? Have you forgotten the horrific appearance of that monster that day? Do you want it to appear on your own dinner table?"

“Sagres isn’t Voldemort. His danger lies in… he doesn’t need the support of pure-blood families. Therefore, he could turn on anyone,” she said in a low voice, filled with deep worry. “Didn’t you see that even Dumbledore… was helpless against him?”

"What's the Ministry of Magic's attitude?"

"They will most likely remain silent and try to avoid trouble!"

"That good-for-nothing Fudge..."

"Since the Ministry of Magic has chosen to remain silent and Dumbledore has not taken any action, why should the Board of Governors be the first to step forward?"

Lucius cleared his throat and finally spoke: "Gentlemen, instead of arguing about how to deal with him, let's think about this—are we really capable of dealing with him?"

Otalene Selwyn glared at Lucius: "Malfoy, are you scared? Or... do you have some kind of deal with that madman?"

Lucius sneered: "I'm just being pragmatic. If you want to die, I won't stop you, but please don't drag the entire board of trustees into it."

Prik Travers gritted his teeth: "Are we just going to let this go? Rooney died for nothing?"

Marciela Burke sighed, "It's not that we've given up, it's...we're waiting for the right opportunity."

Lucius then suggested, "I recommend postponing the by-election for the board seat."

He spoke in a calm tone, but in reality, he was trying to buy himself time to ensure that the vacant seat would eventually fall into the hands of someone he could control.

"Rooney's death?"

“Let’s announce it as a ‘sudden and serious illness.’ You should advise the members of the McNeil family that the funeral should be held in a low-key manner…”

"Why hold a funeral when the body is gone?"

……

……

Fudge had changed a lot; the Minister of Magic had never been this angry since he took office. He paced restlessly in his office, his brand-new magical prosthetic limbs making a dull "click" sound.

Although only one day had passed since the incident, the overly ornate prosthetic limb, adorned with intricate gold patterns, had already replaced his lost arm.

Every time his gaze swept over the gleaming wood and metal, Fudge's cheek muscles twitched uncontrollably: "That madman... he dared to control a monster to attack me... and Dumbledore, he must have had a better way to save me, but he just watched... no, he cut off my arm with his own hands!"

But when he recalled Sagres's cold, indifferent eyes, the bloody image suddenly pierced his mind.

A chill instantly gripped Fudge; his back was soaked with cold sweat. He forced back the roar that was rising in his throat, his voice becoming dry and trembling: "No...no...I mustn't provoke him..."

Just then, a cautious knocking sounded on the door.

Fudge whirled around, and his heavy magical prosthetic limb crashed into the silver inkwell on the desk with a bang.

The purplish-black ink, like thick, viscous blood, splashed out instantly, flowing freely across a stack of documents.

Standing at the door were Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror's chief of staff, with a solemn expression, and Barnabas Goughfe, the anxious editor of the Daily Prophet.

……

Rufus Scrimgeour frowned, his greyish-yellow eyes sharply fixed on Fudge: "Minister, the Aurors witnessed it with their own eyes—Sagres controlled monsters to kill people. This is irrefutable evidence—"

"irrefutable evidence?"

Fudge was interrupted with a shrill voice as if he had been burned. He waved his good hand excitedly, while his ink-stained prosthetic limb tapped the table unconsciously, making an annoying "thump-thump" sound.

"It is indeed irrefutable evidence, so what? Send an Auror to capture him? Do you know that the Killing Curse on that thing is like giving it a tonic!"

He leaned closer to Scrimgeour, his voice low but unable to conceal his fear: "Listen, use Section 13 of the Top Secrets Act! Make all the Aurors involved in the operation sign a silence pact to erase their memories."

At this point, his bloodshot eyes turned to Gu Fei, who stood silently to the side, "And your newspaper! Those employees who were there, keep their mouths shut! Anyone who dares to utter a single word..."

Fudge gritted his teeth. "I'll throw him into Azkaban and make him neighbors with the Dementors!"

“But Minister, the ministry needs an explanation! Procedurally…” Scrimgeour tried to maintain a semblance of rationality.

"explain?!"

Fudge rudely waved his hand, interrupting him. "Just say we've encountered an extremely dangerous, unknown riot of magical creatures! Details... details involve top-level black magic defense secrets, absolutely top secret! Not to be disclosed! Understand?!"