Dumbledore was feeling a headache coming on, not because he cared about his family's wealth.
As the most prestigious White Wizard in the European and American wizarding worlds, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, if Dumbledore ever wanted to amasses wealth, Fudge could embezzle for a hundred years and still not reach what Dumbledore could make in three.
Therefore, what Dumbledore cared about far more was that mark which had appeared in the sky above Diagon Alley.
Why had a Dark Mark belonging to the Death Eaters appeared?
What Dumbledore did not know was that the robbers who had raided Gringotts this time were not Death Eaters at all, but rather his own dear son, whom he, Albus Dumbledore, had raised with his own hands—Kyle Dumbledore.
In truth, Kyle had his reasons for targeting his own family vault.
If he had cleaned out the other three vaults while leaving the Dumbledore family vault untouched, wouldn't Gringotts immediately pin the blame on the Dumbledore family first thing?
So after emptying Fudge's vault, the second place Kyle targeted was his own family's vault.
Of course, these assets were separated out by Kyle individually; he couldn't possibly be foolish enough to take his own family's money to split as loot with others.
As for the Black family vault, Kyle had emptied that out as well.
Aside from clearing the Black family of suspicion, Kyle had another objective: he wanted to see if another one of Voldemort's Horcruxes was stored inside the Black family vault, just like Hufflepuff's Cup.
The result was a no.
If it wasn't in the vault, then it was likely inside the private vault of the Black residence.
Kyle planned to find a time to visit the old Black house at No. 12 Grimmauld Place and return the money to Sirius face-to-face. After all, his relationship with Harry was decent enough; holding onto his friend's godfather's money simply wouldn't do.
Kyle was thick-skinned, but not to that extent.
Furthermore, Kyle had another motive: to bring Cedric along to see if his dog-like nose could sniff out another Horcrux in the old Black house.
Listening to the noisy footsteps outside the door, Dumbledore stopped pacing around the room.
If nothing unexpected happened, it should be Kyle and his gang of Father Troubleshooters.
As the office door opened, Dumbledore's suspicion was confirmed.
"Let me guess..." Before Kyle could speak, Dumbledore held up a hand, signaling for Kyle to hold his tongue.
Any matter that caused all the Father Troubleshooters to appear together in the Headmaster's office was bound to be significant.
Moreover, the Father Troubleshooters had been quite well-behaved recently. Hadn't the twins gone an unprecedented whole week without having points deducted by professors for pranking?
Combining this with the fact that Ravenclaw's Diadem had been found by the Father Troubleshooters a while back, there was only one remaining possibility for them to come knocking at his door again.
His gaze shifted toward Cedric. "Mr. Diggory, have you found another Horcrux?"
Hearing Dumbledore's question, Cedric nodded and produced an unassuming bag from behind his back.
Turning the bag upside down, Cedric gave it a shake, and a gleaming golden cup dropped out, landing on Dumbledore's desk with a sharp clatter.
"Hufflepuff's Cup?" Dumbledore's eyes narrowed.
The appearance of the golden cup instantly confirmed the theory that the Father Troubleshooters had proposed last time.
"I must say, you have truly given me a wonderful surprise." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth curled upward uncontrollably. "If it weren't for the fact that this cannot be made public, I would certainly award a hundred points to each of you."
At the thought that—including the two already destroyed—they now had four Horcruxes in their possession, Dumbledore looked at the youths before him with increasing satisfaction.
Even that lawless Third-Generation Dark Lord suddenly looked much more pleasant in his eyes.
Wait! Lawless?
The smile at the corners of Dumbledore's mouth suddenly froze.
Something felt wrong.
Gringotts had just been attacked this morning, and by the afternoon, the Father Troubleshooters were standing in his office claiming to have found a new Horcrux...
Dumbledore lowered his head, scrutinizing the golden cup on his desk.
Unlike Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, which had grown rusty and tarnished, long years had left virtually no trace on Hufflepuff's Cup.
A golden cup like this would certainly not be discarded casually as junk in the Room of Requirement like that dilapidated diadem.
It was far more likely to be cherished and stored deep within a vault.
A vault?
The attack on Gringotts?
Dumbledore felt his vision go dark. So the mastermind behind the grand Gringotts heist was actually his own son?!
He wanted nothing more than to pull out the Elder Wand right now and blast this ungrateful son with an Avada Kedavra!
Fortunately, Dumbledore suppressed the urge. Given his rebellious son's current strength, if Kyle chose to fight back, Hogwarts Castle would most likely be leveled.
For the sake of the nearly one thousand lives in the school—students, professors, and house-elves included—he chose to exercise restraint as much as possible.
"I am quite curious: where exactly did you find this item?"
Long before coming to the Headmaster's office, the four of them had already guessed that Dumbledore would ask this question.
Naturally, they had unified their story beforehand.
"Old Man, based on Professor Snape's deduction, we all know the Black family and the Lestrange family were each keeping a Horcrux for the noseless freak, don't we?"
The smile on Kyle's face was as fake as it could possibly be. "So, taking advantage of the weekend, we went to the Lestrange manor to search for traces of the Horcrux."
Dumbledore wore an expression that clearly said: I'd have to be a fool to believe you, you little scoundrel.
The Lestrange manor was protected by the Fidelius Charm. Ever since Voldemort's fall and Bellatrix's imprisonment in Azkaban, no one had been able to locate it.
Not even Dumbledore could do so.
If even Dumbledore couldn't accomplish it, how could four wet-behind-the-ears brats like them manage it?
It was the joke of the century.
Yet Kyle put it out there flatly—believe it or not, I believe it anyway.
As for things like raiding Gringotts, killing dozens of wizards working for Gringotts, injuring countless Aurors, and finally leaving a Dark Mark above Diagon Alley to incite panic—how could they ever be stupid enough to admit to that?
Cedric, George, and Fred might be fine, but Kyle would be in deep trouble.
Dumbledore would draw the Elder Wand in a heartbeat, and then—
The Sword of Gryffindor strikes the ungrateful son!
Seventeen strikes in two seconds, every hit a critical strike!
Later, seeing the son still alive, out comes the Elder Wand!
The son sees the Elder Wand and feels instantly chilled to the core!
In short, no matter how ridiculous this excuse was, the four of them just needed to stick to this location stubbornly. After all, aside from the Lestrange manor, they couldn't think of anywhere else anyway.
With the merit of locating Voldemort's Horcrux on their side, surely Dumbledore wouldn't press further into the matter.
Seeing his old man's face turning somewhat dark, Kyle quietly opened a drawer of Dumbledore's desk, tossed the golden cup inside, and pulled the other three Father Troubleshooters along as he beat a hasty retreat without looking back.
If they didn't run now, they might not get the chance to later.
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