Chapter 698: Dragon Roar at Gringotts
At the Future World headquarters, Felix, Sirius, and Lupin were scattered in three corners of the office. Felix reclined on the sofa, flipping through a newspaper, while Sirius continuously tossed a ball of yarn, leaning against the door frame. Lupin sat behind the desk, facing a stack of thick files.
"She said that?" Felix read from a newspaper dated a fortnight ago, featuring a eulogy by Elphias Doge. His finger paused midway through the article.
"You were her inspiration," Sirius said absentmindedly, his gaze fixed on the window. "Her public appearance made Amelia realize the potential of students in the cause. She thought she could give it a try—last time, with a group of Aurors, the Goblins nearly released the dragon from the vaults."
"Is the situation that serious?" Lupin asked with a serious expression.
"I don't think they dare, but the appearance of the Goblin Brotherhood complicates matters," Sirius said gloomily, recalling his involvement in the negotiations. "Their spokesperson—someone called Bodrick the Beady—demanded the drafting of a new 'Goblins Rights Act' and waxed lyrical about the great history of the Goblin Kingdom during negotiations, citing some king who gave wizards a tough time..."
The Goblin Kingdom? Felix pondered for a moment. It was essentially a term found only in textbooks and exam papers.
The Goblins, with their distinct appearance from humans, had appeared in groups earlier than wizards, in fact. Though called a kingdom, it was not much different from centaur tribes or merpeople communities; in ancient times, there might have been a dozen Goblin kingdoms.
But unlike other magical races, Goblins were more ambitious. They developed their own language, magical system, and even appeared as skilled metalworkers, interacting with wizards, learning, and imitating their best qualities.
The wizards' dominance in the magical world hadn't always been smooth sailing; they had faced challenges from many races, some of which had disappeared into the depths of history. Among them, Goblins had resisted the longest, even sparking rebellions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries before quieting down in recent decades.So, overall, wizards had enjoyed their absolute advantage over Goblins for a relatively short time, and it was closely related to the non-magical world— with the improvement of productivity, ordinary people had experienced several population explosions in the past few centuries, naturally leading to a surge in the number of wizards.
"...There are quite a few organizations like this in the magical world, and many of them are established by wizards," Lupin said calmly. "For example, a witch named Heliotrope Willis came by, peddling her giant creature security services. She's also a leader of a giant creature rights organization."
"Giant creature rights organization?" Felix asked curiously. "Can they understand the organization's charter?"
"Obviously, that woman does the work," Sirius chuckled sarcastically. "The giants just need to stand behind her with a club."
"Or behind the Goblins," Lupin added, "I declined her offer. We have our own defense system. She hinted at going to Gringotts for cooperation next."
"Good luck to her," Felix said, raising the newspaper. His light blue, penetrating gaze shifted in the direction of Gringotts, where they were separated by several streets. Inside the bank, on the opposite side of the Sword Tower, Madam Bones and several students sat on one side of a long table, while twelve suit-wearing goblins sat on the other.
One of the goblins was carefully examining a quaint, rough dish with a magnifying glass.
Madam Bones remained calm, with Hermione seated to her left. Her hand trembled slightly under the table due to nervousness, and her gaze constantly shifted between the goblins and the thick files in front of her. On her right was Harry, and surprisingly, Draco Malfoy was seated two spots away from him. Madam Bones had insisted on his inclusion against much opposition.
Her reasoning was that Malfoy's ancestors had facilitated negotiations between Goblins and wizards, and Lucius Malfoy knew many secrets that might come in handy.
They had their backs to what should have been windows, now empty spaces. Outside, it was pitch black, and a low growl could be faintly heard from the depths, sending shivers down one's spine.
"Poor craftsmanship, utterly lacking in aesthetic sense," the goblin with the magnifying glass kept finding fault. "And it's incomparable to our carefully crafted silverware— but without a doubt, this is a vintage artifact, and the clay used seems to be somewhat special... Gringotts is willing to purchase it for fifty Galleons."
"This is not for sale."
Madam Bones breathed a sigh of relief, then realized something. The dish was real, and so were the wizard relics. Countless courage filled her heart.
"...Odd, I can't discern its origin," the goblin said, puzzled. "Internally, we have records of soil from all over the world, but the soil used in this pottery contains certain special ingredients whose effects in forging are still uncertain—where did you get this from?"
Madam Bones smiled faintly. "You're right, Nagnok. This was brought back by Felix Harp from the moon. He luckily discovered the remains of ancient wizards."
Nagnok stared at her. "Are you saying this thing is from the moon?"
Madam Bones nodded solemnly.
The goblins began to murmur among themselves.
A goblin with beady eyes spoke with a displeased expression, "I don't believe it! Let me check again!" He jumped out of his chair, and though short in stature, his fingers were unusually long. Just as his nail touched the dish, Harry, seated across from him, suddenly reached out, moving the dish away from the goblin.
"Bodrick, stop causing trouble!" scolded another goblin angrily.
Bodrick grumbled and sat back in his chair, dissatisfied.
"Mr. Harry Potter," greeted the goblin who had intervened moments ago, his tone cold. "Your first visit to Gringotts seems like it was just yesterday."
Harry carefully examined the goblin's face. To him, all goblins looked alike, differing only in their beards and hair. They resembled the unfinished dolls sold at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes— well, without the hair attached...
Since this goblin mentioned his first visit to Gringotts—"Mr. Ragin?" Harry racked his brain, tentatively speaking.
Ragin nodded.
Madam Bones ignored the recent commotion and calmly said, "We can proceed to business now. You should know my intentions. Though goblins and wizards belong to different races and occasionally have conflicts, in truth, both are interdependent parts of the magical world."
"Hmph! Who knows if you've come up with new deceits?" interjected Broderick.
"It's not entirely out of the question," replied the central goblin, who seemed to be the eldest among them. Among goblins, age denoted greater craftsmanship and higher status—a system inherited from their kingdom.
"But we demand that wizards recognize goblin rights. This includes absolute equality for goblins in all circumstances, the right for goblins to carry and use wands, as well as settlement rights and participation in upcoming Muggle negotiations..." The elder goblin spoke for a full ten minutes before stopping.
"Oh, and the abolition of that ridiculous Goblin Liaison Office!"
Madam Bones raised an eyebrow.
"I was unaware you had added a dozen more demands, and I thought you were satisfied with Dirk Cresswell's work." Dirk Cresswell was the head of the Goblin Liaison Office, responsible for communication with goblins, and had handled the last negotiation.
"Goblins do not need wizards meddling in their economy," the goblin stated matter-of-factly.
Draco Malfoy emitted a loud scoff.
"Kid, I couldn't care less about your Malfoy," Broderick with the rooster-like eyes immediately threatened, "Watch out, or I'll feed you to a dragon."
Draco's face paled. He squinted his eyes, dragging out his words deliberately, "My dad once said that Gringotts holds a blind Ukrainian Ironbelly... but you wouldn't dare release it."
"I'm waiting for you to say something," the goblin taunted.
"Sitting across from you is the Minister of Magic, and if you do this, it means war between wizards and goblins," Draco Malfoy's face contorted into a sinister smile. "I hope you do, I guarantee that within an hour, the goblins here will become history."
The goblins erupted in anger, several pointing fingers at Draco. His face grew even paler, and Harry recalled the way the house-elf Dobby would prepare to cast a spell. He swiftly drew his wand, ready for spellcasting.
Though he hadn't been assigned a specific task upon arrival, he positioned himself as a negotiator's guard.
Hermione had spent the morning at the Ministry of Magic reviewing heaps of collected data and had discussed all the way with Madam Bones. Harry's involvement in the negotiation's specifics was minimal— he was well aware, judging from his score on the History of Magic O.W.L.s, that he had mostly answered wrong on goblin-related questions.
Thus, Harry was quite surprised that the usually timid Draco Malfoy dared to provoke at this occasion. He stood up, approaching the speaking goblin with an air of confidence. But the next moment, Harry understood.
"Felix Harp," Draco uttered a name.
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