A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 698 Gringotts' Dragon Roar

At the Futureworld Corporation headquarters, Felix, Sirius, and Lupin were scattered in three corners of the office. Felix was reclining on the sofa reading a newspaper, Sirius was leaning against the door frame and tossing a ball of yarn around, and Lupin was sitting behind his desk, facing a thick stack of documents.

"That's what she said?" Felix read a newspaper article from a dozen days ago, which contained an obituary written by Ephias Dorji, his finger pausing in the middle.

"You gave her the inspiration," Sirius said absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on the window. "That public appearance made Amelia realize the role of students, and she thought it was worth a try—last time, when she brought a group of Aurors, the goblins almost released the dragons from the vault's basement."

"Is the situation that serious?" Lupin looked up and asked seriously.

"I judged they wouldn't dare, but the appearance of the Fairy Brotherhood has complicated things," Sirius said with a gloomy expression. He had participated in the last round of negotiations, during which the two sides were at loggerheads. "Their spokesperson—that guy named Cross-Eyes Bod something—demanded a new Fairy Rights Act and went on to talk at length about the great history of the Fairy Kingdom, how a certain king had utterly defeated the wizards..."

Fairy Kingdom? Felix thought for a moment; it was basically a term that only existed in books and exam papers.

Because of their different appearance from humans, fairies actually appeared in groups earlier than wizards. Although they were called kingdoms, they were not much different from centaur tribes and mermaid tribes. In ancient times, there may have been more than a dozen fairy kingdoms at the same time.

Unlike other magical races, fairies are more ambitious. They not only developed their own language and magical system, but also appeared as skilled metalworkers, exchanging knowledge with wizards and learning from and imitating their strengths.

Wizards' current dominant position in the magical world has not been without its challenges. They have faced challenges from various races, some of which have even disappeared forever. Among them, fairies resisted the longest, with rebellions erupting as late as the 17th and 18th centuries, only subsiding in the last century.

Therefore, in general, the period during which wizards held an absolute advantage over fairies was not long, and it was closely related to the non-magical world—with the increase in productivity, ordinary people have experienced several population booms in the last few hundred years, and the number of wizards has naturally increased as well.

……

"...There are quite a few organizations like this in the magical world, many of which are founded by wizards," Lupin said calmly. "For example, a witch named Heliotop Willis came to us, trying to sell her troll security service. She is also the leader of a troll rights organization."

"The Troll Rights Organization?" Felix asked curiously. "Can they even read its bylaws?"

"Obviously, that woman did it," Sirius scoffed, his laughter like a dog's bark. "The trolls just had to stand behind her with their clubs."

"Or stand behind the goblins," Lupin chimed in. "I rejected her. We have our own defense system. She mentioned that her next step is to talk to Gringotts about cooperation."

"I wish her good luck," Felix said, holding up the newspaper and shifting his penetrating, pale blue gaze toward Gringotts. His eyes seemed to be the same color as the sky.

A few streets away from them, in Gringotts, which faces Sword Castle, Ms. Burns and several students sat on one side of a long table, while on the other side sat twelve goblins in suits and ties.

One of the fairies was examining a simple, crudely shaped plate closely with a magnifying glass.

Ms. Burns' expression was flat. Hermione sat to her left, her hand trembling slightly under the table from nervousness. Her gaze kept shifting between the goblins and the thick stack of documents in front of her. To Ms. Burns' right was Harry, and one seat away was Draco Malfoy, whom Ms. Burns had chosen against all odds when she came to school that morning.

Her reasoning was that Malfoy's ancestors had facilitated negotiations between fairies and wizards, and that Lucius Malfoy knew many secrets that might come in handy.

They were facing away from an area that resembled a window, but the place where there should have been a window was now empty, and it was pitch black outside. Faint growls could be heard rising from the ground, sending chills down their spines.

"The workmanship is terrible, there's not a shred of beauty in it," the fairy with the magnifying glass kept finding fault with it. "It can't even compare to our carefully crafted silverware—but there's no doubt that this is a very old antique, and the clay used seems to be quite special... Gringotts is willing to pay fifty Galleons to buy it."

"This is not for sale."

Ms. Burns breathed a sigh of relief, then realized something: the disc was real, the wizard's relics were real. A surge of courage welled up within her.

"...Strange, I can't discern its origin," the fairy said疑惑地. "The fairy realm keeps records of soil from all over the world, but the soil used for this pottery dish contains certain special components, the role of which in its forging is currently unknown—where did you obtain it?"

Ms. Burns smiled slightly. "You're quite right, Nagnock. This was brought back from the moon by Felix Heap; he was lucky enough to discover the remains of an ancient wizard."

The fairy Nagnok stared at her. "You mean this thing comes from the moon?"

Ms. Burns nodded demurely.

The fairies whispered among themselves.

A cross-eyed goblin said with a grim expression, "I don't believe you! Let me check again!" He jumped up from his chair. Although the goblin was short, his fingers were unusually long. Just as his fingernails touched the plate, Harry, sitting opposite him, suddenly reached out and moved the plate away from the goblin.

"Bodrick, stop causing trouble!" a fairy scolded angrily.

Bodrick, who was cross-eyed, caught nothing but air and reluctantly sat back down in his chair.

"Mr. Harry Potter," the goblin who had just spoken up to stop him greeted him coldly, "it feels like just yesterday that you first came to Gringotts."

Harry scrutinized the goblin's face. To him, goblins all looked pretty much the same, differing only in their beards and hair. It resembled the dolls sold at the Weasley Studios of Wizardry—well, unfinished products without hair attached…

Since the goblin had mentioned his first visit to Gringotts—"Mr. Grip?" Harry racked his brains and tentatively asked.

The pull ring nodded.

Ms. Burns ignored what had just happened and calmly said, "We can get down to business now. You should know why I'm here. Although fairies and wizards belong to different races and sometimes have conflicts, they are actually interdependent and are both part of the magical world."

"Hmph! Who knows if you've come up with some new tricks to deceive us?" Bodrick shouted.

"It's not impossible," said the fairy sitting in the center. He seemed to be the oldest. For fairies, the older they were, the stronger their forging ability and the higher their status—this was probably one of the few systems that fairies inherited from the fairy kingdom.

"But we demand that wizards recognize the rights of fairies. This includes fairies being absolutely equal to wizards in all circumstances, fairies having the right to carry and use wands, the right to settle down, and the right to participate in the upcoming Muggle negotiations..." The old fairy spoke for a full ten minutes before stopping.

"Oh, and we should also shut down that stupid fairy liaison office!"

Ms. Burns raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't know you had added a dozen or so new requirements, and I thought you were satisfied with Dirk Claysway's work." Dirk Claysway is the director of the Fairy Liaison Office, responsible for communicating with fairies. He was in charge of the last negotiation.

"Fairies don't need wizards to interfere in their economic affairs," the fairy said matter-of-factly.

Draco Malfoy let out a loud "hiss".

"Kid, I don't care about Malfoys," the cross-eyed Bodrick immediately threatened, "watch out or I'll feed you to the dragon."

Draco's face paled. He squinted and said slowly, drawing out his words, "My father once said that a blind Ukrainian iron belly is locked beneath Gringotts... but you would never dare to release it."

"I'm waiting for you to say something," the fairy said provocatively.

"Sitting across from you is the Minister of Magic. If you do this, it means wizards and goblins are at war," Draco Malfoy said with a sinister smile. "I wish you would. I guarantee that within an hour, the goblins here will be history."

The goblins roared angrily, and several of them pointed their fingers at Draco, making him even paler. Harry, recalling the goblins' actions, remembered how Dobby the house-elf was about to cast a spell. He drew his wand with a "whoosh," ready to unleash the spell.

Although he was not assigned any tasks when he arrived, he saw himself as a protector in the negotiations.

Hermione spent the morning at the Ministry of Magic reviewing a large amount of collected materials and talking with Madam Burns the entire way. Harry hardly needed to get involved in the specific details of the negotiations—he was well aware of his limitations; judging from his OWL exam results in History of Magic, he had answered almost all the questions related to goblins incorrectly.

Harry was quite surprised that the usually timid and cowardly Malfoy dared to provoke the goblin in this situation. Malfoy stood up and approached the goblin who was speaking, looking completely unconcerned. But the next second, Harry suddenly realized what was going on.

"Felix Heap," Draco uttered a name.

The name seemed to possess a magical power; the light on the goblins' slender fingers dimmed slightly. Seeing this, Draco's face broke into a triumphant smile. He had bet right; his father was right! These arrogant, long-eared goblins were afraid of the professor.

To others, Professor Hyp is an extremely eccentric figure; he rose to prominence like a comet, but few truly understand him.

The roar of a dragon could still be faintly heard coming from the broken windows behind them, but it no longer moved them. Draco's words seemed to have created a magical chemical reaction.

Ms. Burns suppressed the smile that was about to appear on her face. She had long disliked the angels' arrogant attitude, but she had to tolerate it for the sake of the bigger picture. Who knew that these angels would take advantage of her humility and use it as a bargaining chip, as evidenced by the dozen or so additional demands they made.

“Mr. Heap has many things to attend to,” Ms. Burns said gently. “I won’t bother him with these trivial matters unless absolutely necessary. As you’ve said, negotiations are imminent, and we don’t have much time left.”

She turned to look at Hermione.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Gentlemen—um—Mr. Goblins, why don't you listen to the Pan-Magical Alliance's charter? While it outlines the obligations of each party, it focuses more on their rights. Once the alliance is established, the magical world's power will be united, strengthening cooperation. Furthermore, if the wizards successfully negotiate with the Muggle governments, the goblins will enjoy a range of benefits. Oh, and I have reliable sources; goblin-crafted silverware is quite popular even outside the magical world…"

The fairies exchanged glances.

The negotiations continued, and for the next two hours, Hermione spoke at length about the benefits the Pan-Magical Alliance would bring to the goblins, causing some of the goblins to soften their stance. Hermione took a breath and continued:

"The fairies haven't lost anything. This unprecedented crisis has instead become an opportunity, giving wizards and fairies a reason to talk. At this critical juncture, no one wants any accidents to happen, so both sides will inevitably show their utmost sincerity. But if someone, or a fairy, is stubborn and refuses to compromise even a little bit for their own interests," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow and a stern attitude, "fairies are not afraid of war, and wizards are even less afraid of war."

"Does the wizard want to destroy his own economic system?" a fairy asked with a grim expression.

Hermione glanced at Ms. Burns, who was leaning back in her chair, not showing any intention of speaking. So Hermione said seriously, "The wizarding world may be in chaos for a while, but the trouble will be resolved soon. For example, Futureworld has more than two thousand employees around the world, and they can replace Gringotts at any time."

"Not to mention, the fairy's proud currency forging and anti-counterfeiting technologies—it's only a matter of time before a true archmage can crack them."

The fairies shouted at her.

"Fairies are not on par with wizards as slaves!" another fairy exclaimed.

But Ms. Burns was not surprised but rather pleased, which meant that the negotiations had entered a substantive stage.

“House-elves are not slaves,” Hermione said. “At least not legally for a long time. The house-elves of the future world and Hogwarts have agreed to join the Pan-Magical Alliance. The next step is for the Ministry of Magic to gradually clear out the house-elves from the hands of the ancient families. They will be freed from heavy and tedious housework and unfair treatment, and will be able to do more meaningful things.”

"Are those families willing to hand over their servants?" a goblin cried, looking at Draco.

"All the fools who don't know their place are in Azkaban," Draco sneered. "Their fate will be the same as their master Voldemort's." Yes, the Malfoy family must separate themselves from the Death Eaters. He practiced for quite a while before he could fluently pronounce the Dark Lord's name.

"What if a house-elves doesn't want to be free?" the fairies asked, as they had some understanding of the state of house-elves.

"The Ministry of Magic won't take a blanket approach; they'll make exceptions for friendly families," Hermione said. "But at least newborn house-elves will be under the protection of the Pan-Magical League."

The fairies whispered among themselves, realizing that the wizard's will to reform was very firm. The wizard had given up a large portion of his profits, although these profits were still retained in the magical world. The fact that he was taking food from the mouths of ancient families still shocked the fairies.

At that moment, Draco stepped on Harry under the table. Harry turned his head, and Draco gestured with his lip toward an empty seat opposite him.

"Where has that goblin with the strange name gone?" Harry wondered. He had also seen the cross-eyed Bodrick leave halfway through, but hadn't thought anything of it. However, Draco Malfoy reminded him.

The cold wind behind him made his hair stand on end.

Harry crept closer to Mrs. Burns, his lips moving slightly, "A goblin has disappeared."

Ms. Burns nodded carefully.

Suddenly, a deafening dragon's roar echoed from the ground, plunging the room into silence. Harry stared intently at the goblins' faces; they seemed oblivious to what was happening. Then the table began to tremble, the rumbling of collapsing pillars mingling with the dragon's roar, creating a chilling atmosphere.

Harry was the first to react, jumping up to grab the container from the table, which Hermione then stuffed into her beaded pouch. They quickly retreated to a corner, with Harry standing on the outer edge to create a magical barrier.

A sharp, grating crunch. Harry's gaze swept past the chair he had been sitting in and fell upon a murky pink eye. "Dragon, dragon, dragon..." Draco stammered, as greyish-white scales and spiked wings slid past their eyes, the walls distorted by the pressure, and dust billowed high into the air.

From afar came the frantic screams of fairies.

The goblins in the room ran outside, and Harry and his friends followed closely behind, arriving at Gringotts Hall. They were stunned by what they saw—a huge hole had been torn in the high, exquisite ceiling, and through the opening, they could see a massive gray dragon flapping its wings, kicking off half of the ceiling with a powerful stomp, and then, without pausing, letting out an extremely excited roar, spreading its wings and soaring into the pale blue sky.

Some broken bricks and glass fell down.

The fairies lay scattered about, like potatoes laid out carelessly on a table. A dozen sharp fairy daggers were stuck in the ground, sharp enough to pierce through the dragon's defenses.

A goblin was shouting in some strange language, and Harry realized it was goblin language.

"What's going on?" one of the fairies involved in the negotiations asked in a garbled voice.

"Boderick broke into the lowest level of the vault and took the jingle that controlled the dragon, intending to loosen some of its restraints. But he was careless; the dragon rushed over and swallowed him whole. Then the dragon broke free of its remaining chains and flew away," a goblin reported.

The fairy elder's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He instantly realized that the cross-eyed Bodrick intended to use the dragon to sabotage the peace talks. Bodrick certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to let the dragon attack the Minister of Magic, but creating a disturbance, interrupting and delaying the negotiations was entirely possible.

At least on the surface, the wizards can't afford to waste any more time. The longer they delay, the more advantageous it is for the fairies.

"Why did the dragon suddenly go mad? And how could it possibly break free of the chains forged by the fairies?" Ms. Burns asked loudly.

No one answered. Gringotts had even closed its banking services today to receive people from the Ministry of Magic, and the doors were completely sealed, effectively ruling out any possibility of infiltration. The goblin elder found himself in an incredibly troublesome situation.

Fighting is impossible, and there's no way to fight back; the previous threats are still fresh in our minds. Telling the truth would be an utterly foolish thing to do; fairies don't do stupid things.

Ms. Burns, with a similarly somber expression, stood in the hall, rapidly calculating.

"If I'm not mistaken—" she took a deep breath, "that fairy planned to use a dragon against us, but the dragon went out of control and suffered the consequences?"

"That's not true!" the fairy elder categorically denied.

"Otherwise, how did the chains break? Can't you control the guards protecting the vault? How can we trust you to protect the wizard's property?" Ms. Burns pressed on.

"That dragon is old, and we're planning to replace it with another creature, which may have led to some neglect in its management," the goblin elder said immediately. "But Gringotts remains the safest bank in the world."

"This argument is completely insincere."

"...At least it won't affect the upcoming negotiations," the fairy elder said, staring at the crowd that had gathered from the street, pointing and whispering.

……

Felix put down his newspaper, stood up from the sofa, and said, "I'm leaving."

"Amelia hasn't come out yet," Sirius said in surprise.

"There's been an accident at Gringotts, but I don't think it'll affect the negotiations," Felix said, glancing at Sirius and Lupin. "Give me a hand, Severus's coming to Sword Keep in a couple of days to oversee the potion simplification project, and I don't want to hear any of you fighting."

"You can't just say that to us!" Sirius cried out.

Felix shrugged, by which time the commotion outside had reached inside Sword Castle.

"Should I just put 'No Fighting' signs on the back of every door?"

(End of this chapter)