Old Tom left, and almost every shop in Diagon Alley was frantically moving things out.
At an extreme distance, a Hogwarts Express train stopped at the station in Diagon Alley was rising into the densely smoke-filled sky in the noon sun.
"Everyone has seen the situation where Professor Brain and the black witch competed against each other in the previous Quidditch World Cup Final--"
A few people stood in front of the Frostbite Ice Cream shop window, watching the chaos in Diagon Alley. Percy said solemnly,
"The Ministry announced to the wizarding world that Voldemort has returned, and the prisoners who escaped from Azkaban were all notorious Death Eaters. People believe that Voldemort cannot endure this insult and will definitely choose to retaliate. If Voldemort and Professor Brain were to go to war in Diagon Alley, there would certainly be heavy losses!"
A dawning clarity appeared in Harry's eyes as he finally understood why these people were in such a rush to leave.
Objectively speaking, these people are not overreacting.
When Harry was at the Quidditch World Cup, he was present at the scene when Professor Brain fought against Cleopatra. The scene of the earth being silent still deeply impressed on Harry's mind to this day.
If Professor Brain and Voldemort really fought in Diagon Alley.
There's no doubt; this place would be burned to the ground.
"Professor Brain, haven't you considered the possibility of this?"
The ominous sense of impending doom in the air made George, one of the twins, unable to joke anymore. He looked nervously at the shops being thrown away.
"If Diagon Alley is destroyed, where will the wizards do their business? Hogsmeade can't compare to this place."
Percy appeared much more composed than before after undergoing some refinement.
"Some shop owners have already gone to the Ministry to complain after hearing about it, but I think Professor Brain will not change his mind because of their opposition."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged a glance, all silent and grave.
Among the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts, they are familiar with Professor Brain. Once he has made up his mind, he will not easily change.
But what George said was not wrong. If Diagon Alley was destroyed, where would they go to buy textbooks and various magical supplies for learning magic?
Where would the new students go to purchase wands?
"The Ministry's decision."
Mrs. Weasley said with concern,
"It's not very safe, of course, dealing with Voldemort is no problem."
Mrs. Weasley said with concern, "It's not very safe, of course, dealing with Voldemort is no problem." Even Remus is thinking about this.
If Diagon Alley is destroyed in the war, first of all, how should the loss of these shops be calculated? Secondly, what will happen to the lives of ordinary people?
"What are those people doing?"
The group of people who are worried about the fate of Diagon Alley remain silent, and Ron looks towards the towering white building in the distance, where wizards are lined up in queues like ants migrating, and he asks puzzled.
"I guess they're trying to withdraw the gold they have at Gringotts."
Remus only needed to look at it and knew what was going on in his heart.
Are they afraid their gold will be affected?
"It's more than that, Harry--"
Remus shook his head slightly, with a very serious tone of voice.
"You know, the punishment of fine is not rare, the Ministry has been using it for a long time?"
Harry nodded.
He certainly knew it, he was supposed to go to the Ministry this afternoon to pay the fine.
"But, the seizure of personal assets of criminals, as far as I know, has no precedent."
Remus said.
"What does it mean?"
Ron asked puzzled.
"This represents--"
Hermione's eyes were filled with reverence.
"You can't own your money completely any more."
If you get into trouble, Ron, and the Ministry decides that the severity of your crime warrants seizing all your personal assets, then they can take your gold from Gringotts directly, without going through you and declare it public property!
Before Ron could even make a sound, Hermione bit her lip, staring at the long queue in front of Gringotts, with brown eyes filled with uncertainty.
"But I can't understand it. Why are the goblins willing to cooperate with the Ministry's decision? This is extremely damaging to their reputation, isn't it?"
Harry blinked his eyes, then understood what Hermione was puzzled about.
Harry remembered that many years ago, when he first came to Diagon Alley with Hagrid for the first time, Hagrid introduced Gringotts as the safest place outside Hogwarts to hide something.
At Gringotts, private property is inviolable.
The goblins will only allow the original owner or inheritor of the property to take the wealth in the vault, and their orders from the Ministry are of no use to them.
Now, they are even willing to cooperate with the Ministry's punishment and hand over the gold that they have been keeping for the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban.
This undoubtedly makes many people believe that Gringotts is no longer neutral, no longer as safe as they thought.
This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the goblins' banking business!
The goblins must have received more benefits from Armasta and the Ministry.
Remus' eyes twinkled.
Otherwise, the goblins' character would never allow them to destroy their own business.
But Remus didn't say this to Harry and the others.
"I'm not very in favor of the Ministry's actions."
Looking at the anxious wizards waiting in line to do business, Percy's tone was serious.
"Ms. Bone's acting as Minister is too hasty, many people are in favor of it. And the Ministry's decision will further stimulate a large number of people to voice their opposition, which is not wise."
"I disagree with you, Percy--"
Remus shook his head instead.
"The Ministry is currently in turmoil due to Voldemort's return, and now is the time when the order is weakest. Many wizards who have always followed the rules may also take advantage of this opportunity and start thinking about cheating."
At this time, Armasta helping the Ministry to gain this right from the goblins serves as a very strict deterrence for those who are wavering. This will help reduce crime, as those people don't want their gold to be seized by the Ministry either.
"But those people can just take the gold home, can't they?"
Harry asked,
"Just like these people aren't giving their gold to the goblins to keep, right?"
"The situation is chaotic, Harry, keeping a large sum of gold at home is not a rational choice either--"
Remus said casually.
"In comparison, the goblins are undoubtedly more professional at keeping wealth. Besides, if you have no intention of doing anything dishonest, there's nothing to fear, is there?"
Harry remained silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
They went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, as expected, it was closed.
Through the transparent glass window of the shop, Harry saw that Mrs. Malkin had moved all the fabrics inside, leaving only some dimly lit unsold garments hanging on the shelves.
Although it was for dealing with Voldemort and his followers, everything in front of Harry weighed heavily on his heart.
It seemed that overnight, the magical world had descended from tranquility and harmony into endless turmoil.
This unease even made Harry feel a bit nostalgic for Fudge.
At least, he was quite good at maintaining order and stability.
However, Harry immediately dismissed this stupid idea from his mind.
Even though he felt that there was no need for Professor Brain's vigorous response, he should not have the slightest sense of agreement with Fudge, especially since this person almost caused him and Ron and Hermione to go to Azkaban.
They wandered around Diagon Alley for a while, but they could hardly find a shop that was operating normally.
After all, people may not care about their money, but they will always value their own lives.
Three days later in the morning, the Ministry will transport away the wealth of those Death Eaters. By then, Voldemort may be concerned about Professor Brain and Dumbledore, but he will at least send out his Death Eaters.
This is something that anyone can see through.
"Let's go to Gringotts--"
Mrs. Weasley said to the group of disappointed children,
"I've never had the chance to deposit Ron's prize money into the vault. I think now, going to Gringotts to deposit money doesn't need to be in a queue."
