Wentworth stood still, watching as Carrow knelt on the ground, raising his wand in submission. He made no move to extend a hand or offer comforting words.
After all, dealing with wizards who had survived a hundred years while dueling young Aurors required neither pretense nor sentiment. Empty gestures wouldn't earn their gratitude—if anything, they might mistake it for weakness.
One truth Wentworth never forgot was this: Only a Dark Wizard can rule Dark Wizards.
With that in mind, Wentworth spoke calmly:
"Every wizard in the Alliance—especially those who followed my grandfather decades ago—is a pillar of our cause. I will not see you wasted needlessly."
With that, he ignored Carrow, still prostrated on the floor, leaving him there without another glance.
It was then that Rosier suddenly spoke up.
"Actually, it was I who summoned the Alliance's wizards here."
Wentworth froze. He had assumed Carrow had acted on his own, gathering their forces without permission. But it was Rosier?
Seeing Wentworth's confusion, Rosier quickly explained:
"Abernathy has vanished, and we still don't know whose hands he's fallen into. But whoever took him is undoubtedly hostile to our cause."
"Abernathy knows the locations of nearly all our Alliance wizards across Britain. To prevent our forces from being picked off one by one, I gathered them here as a precaution."
"Now that we are together, it won't be easy for anyone to strike at us."
Rosier paused, then added:
"And I considered another thing—Wentworth, your return to London was inevitable. If our enemies learned your location, the defenses around your residence alone would not have been enough to protect you. So I brought you here, where you would be under our protection."
Wentworth's eyes widened in realization. So that was it.
Abernathy had gathered these wizards not to wage war, but to defend themselves.
Of course, if they did find out who had captured Abernathy, this assembly of Dark Wizards could strike swiftly in retaliation.
Still, Wentworth frowned.
"Grandma Rosier," he asked, "are you saying that Grandpa Abernathy would betray us? No, I don't believe that."
Rosier glanced at him and sighed.
"Of course, I trust Abernathy wouldn't betray us. That old man once bit off his own tongue rather than reveal secrets when trying to break our master out of prison. But some truths can be taken from a mind even without words."
Wentworth's heart sank. He had almost forgotten—this was the magical world. With Legilimency and the Imperius Curse, there were too many ways to extract secrets.
A long silence fell over the room.
Finally, Wentworth, having processed Rosier's words, asked:
"Then tell me, Grandma Rosier, what have you discovered?"
Rosier shook her head.
Wentworth wasn't surprised.
But then, unexpectedly, Rosier smiled.
"We found nothing—because Abernathy vanished inside Gringotts."
"The sentries we placed outside saw no sign of disturbance. It was as if he simply ceased to exist."
She paused meaningfully, locking eyes with Wentworth.
He understood immediately.
"If no one noticed anything, then there's only one possible explanation."
Their gazes met.
At the same time, both of them spoke in unison:
"Gringotts."
And that brought them back to the original question—why had Abernathy infiltrated Gringotts in the first place?
What secret lay hidden in the depths of the goblins' vaults?
As for Abernathy himself, perhaps he had simply been caught and detained.
Or worse—perhaps the goblins had known all along, luring him in only to trap him inside.
Either way, one thing was certain: Abernathy was being held inside Gringotts.
Wentworth turned his gaze to Carrow, still kneeling before him.
"Get up," he ordered. "I have questions for you."
Carrow finally stood, bowing deeply.
Wentworth watched him for a moment, then asked:
"If I ordered you to storm Gringotts, how many men would you need? How certain would you be of success? How long would it take to seize control completely?"
Carrow's head snapped up in shock—then delight. But his expression quickly turned bitter as he answered:
"My Lord, if the goal is only to break in, we'd need no more than thirty to fifty wizards. The visible defenses of Gringotts are not particularly strong."
"After all, their main human guards are few. While goblins can wield magic without wands, their spells are weaker than ours—they wouldn't pose much of a threat."
"But to seize control? That, I cannot guarantee."
"We don't know how many hidden defenses Gringotts has in place."
"And once we engage them, the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic will arrive within minutes. Even if the Ministry would tolerate us attacking the British government itself, they would never allow us to take Gringotts."
Wentworth nodded. He had expected this answer.
But he wasn't dismissing the idea either.
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