Challenge Prompt: Word Prompt - Gold/Golden

Setting: Gringotts Bank, approximately 2 weeks after the defeat of Voldemort.

Hermione was nervous. The rest of the wizarding world was celebrating the downfall of Voldemort, and even Harry seemed to be getting into the swing of celebrating (though, that probably had as much to do with Ginny as it did with everything else that was going on), but she had received a very firm request for a meeting. With Gringotts. Gringotts, where she had not long ago broken in using Polyjuice, in order to enter a vault that did not belong to her, remove an item in their care, then fled using one of their dragons.

There were no details given, no extraneous information…. Just a very simple, but firm, request; Hermione pulled out the parchment to look it over one last time.

Miss Granger,

Gringotts requests that you stop by our facilities in Diagon Alley at your earliest convenience. Our records show that you are of age, and not currently employed, so your earliest convenience will certainly be Monday morning. We will expect to see you in the main lobby at 0800. Go straight to a teller and inform him that you are present for your appointment with Stonefist. Do not wait in the queue, do not be late.

Stonefist

Senior Accountant

A quick Tempus revealed that it was presently 07:59 am, so she rolled up the parchment and walked in.

Hermione looked up at a clock as she walked to the tellers seated at the far end of the entrance hall. The second hand was just about to reach the 12 again… she approached the closest teller, pointedly ignoring the dirty looks from everyone else in line as she did so, and spoke as firmly as her nerves permitted.

"Good morning, Miss Granger here for her 8 o'clock appointment with Senior Accountant Stonefist." She finished just speaking just as the second had reached 12, and the teller nodded at her.

"Right on time; follow me, if you please." He tapped a sign on the front of his counter, which promptly switched to read "Closed", then gestured for her to follow him around the desk. Hermione followed; she'd told Ron and Harry where she was going, hopefully that would be enough if the goblins decided they wanted to use her as a scapegoat.

The teller led Hermione to a back hallway with a number of wooden doors. Stopping at the third in line, the teller knocked twice, at which a rough voice called out, "Enter." The teller nodded once, then walked back out to the main floor of the bank.

'Not much for the niceties, are they?' Hermione thought to herself, before shrugging and opening the door. The office she saw was, much like the rest of the bank, decorated in very expensive looking marble and stone. Seated at a darkwood desk was an ancient looking goblin, who had not bothered to look up as the door opened. In front of the desk was a rather plain chair, the sort that was probably less comfortable than standing would be.

"Well, what are you waiting? Get in here!" As Hermione walked in and closed the door, the goblin looked up and his features softened. "Please, have a seat Miss Granger." He gestured, and the chair immediately shifted into a rather luxurious looking office chair.

This did not put Hermione at ease.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather know what is going on."

The goblin (Stonefist, presumably) chuckled. "Ah, that's to be expected. Still, I'd prefer you sit down; you have my word that no harm will befall you while you are in Gringotts today, unless you force our hand." At Hermione's expression he grinned, a very toothy grin. "Professional integrity on both points; Gringotts does not pretend to be friends with its enemies, nor do we grant anyone free license to act against us."

That…. Did actually put her at ease, a bit at least. Hermione sat down on the chair, though she didn't go so far as to relax. "Are we to be friends then? I have no objection, but given…."

The goblin cut her off. "Yes, I can see why you'd be skeptical. Well, as my letter informed you, I am Stonefist, a Senior Accountant for Gringotts, but my particular specialty is somewhat rare. You know that we… Goblins, I mean… are renowned for our skill with metal, and in particular our skill with silver?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, in fact that's... " She cut herself off, her cheeks turning red.

Stonefist grinned that too-toothy grin at her again. "In fact, that's one of the few things wizards respect us for? You're right on both counts, though if I thought you held similar views we wouldn't be having this conversation. What about our goldsmithing? How much have you heard about that?"

Hermione tipped her head as she thought. "Not much, actually… it's well known, or at least widely believed, that goblins covet gold greatly, but nobody really talks about your skills at working with it."

Stonefist nodded. "The reason for that is the same reason that there are no laws against magically transfiguring, duplicating, or conjuring gold: most believe it to be impossible for all but the goblins, and even then only a small number of us possess such talents. It's part of the reason the wizards let us control their economy; we can enchant galleons to be enduring and tamper-proof, and their magic can destroy it, but not magically alter it. They'd have to melt it down and re-forge it, and even if you could find a wizard willing to go to those lengths, the new creation would be immediately obvious as a forgery… something neither of our races takes lightly."

Hermione had gone very still during the explanation.

"So you can imagine my surprise when, in the chaos of the final battle, someone found what appeared to be a fraudulent galleon! It was brought to me for inspection, and upon touching it I immediately knew that it had never been real gold, and that it would never pass as currency. I also knew, though, that it had been duplicated from a coin that was real… and one that had been modified, if it could be duplicated. Modified by you, as it turns out."

Hermione nodded once. Most of the coins she'd made for the DA had just been artificial duplicates with no real substance, but to get them to look and feel right she'd used one of her own galleons as a base.

"Which brings us to the topic of today's discussion. Much as Gringotts as a whole is upset with you, and the boy-who-lived, for what you did to our bank, we're prepared to…. pretend it never happened. So long as you don't go telling everyone how you did it, of course. Our reputation is one of our greatest strengths." At Hermione's nod, he continued, "However, you have the ability to manipulate gold. Very few wizards or witches can, no more than one in a generation. Most never even discover they possess the ability. Because of this talent of yours, you're a grave threat to the economy. If it ever got out, if you ever decided to start making fake galleons, you might be able to make copies even we would have a hard time detecting."

Hermione had to stop herself from standing up to scream at him. "I would never do something like that! I may have done a few… questionable things with regards to Gringotts during the war, but that was an extreme situation, and even then, did we take anything that wasn't being used to keep a madman anchored to immortality?"

Stonefist shook his head. "No, you did not, which is why Gringotts is prepared to be as forgiving as it is going to be, with regards to you and Mr. Potter. However, what if someone else figured out what you can do? Most wizards would not recognize the significance of the fake galleons, but there are those who would."

Hermione felt her hand drifting toward her wand. Stonefist scowled at her as he noticed the motion. "Did I not promise you that you would be safe unless you provoked us? I didn't bring you here to threaten or kill you, I brought you here to offer you a job!"

Hermione blinked at that. "What?"

Stonefist sighed. "I said earlier that those who can manipulate gold are rare even amongst our kind… I'm the only one with the talent in Britain, and given your government's prejudice and recent events, we've been unable to find another willing to come work with us. I'm old, and won't be here forever. Gringotts must have a gold-worker in every bank, to ensure the security of the currency and to mint replacements."

Well, that was interesting. "Stonefist, I'm…. flattered, really, but I haven't decided what I want to do with my life, and…"

"And the thought of sitting around making coins doesn't appeal to you?" Hermione found herself blinking again, and Stonefist barked out a single laugh. "I did my research before contacting you, Miss Granger." He gestured to a number of parchments on his desk. "'Swot', 'know-it-all' 'brightest witch of her age', whether they flatter or insult you everyone talks about your intellect, and nobody who values knowledge as much as you so obviously do would be content to while away their lives minting currency." Stonefist leaned forward "It's the other aspects of the job you'll appreciate. Learning how to work magics no other witch or wizard can, magics that let you manipulate gold as easily as you wave a wand. Helping us, and your Ministry, track down criminals who are foolish enough to try and make copies. Plus, you'll have unfettered access to libraries of the goblins, libraries no other witch or wizard could gain access to."

Hermione felt herself about to agree, and stopped herself. This was all far too easy. "And what's the catch? You're offering me all these things that goblins never offer, and it's all very tempting, but there has to be something I'm not seeing here."

Stonefist smiled. "Good, still thinking in the face of blatant temptation. Well, it's quite simple… you're a witch. The purebloods just suffered their greatest defeat in centuries, and the hero of the wizarding world is a half-blood, who counts as his best friends a pureblood and a first-blood." Hermione tipped her head. "Goblin term. We don't care how long you've had magic, but the term is convenient for tracking lines of heredity, which track differently among magicals than they do among muggles. We can go over that later. The point is, we've always wanted better representation, and we know you're sympathetic. Bringing you in gets us closer to Mr. Potter, which puts us in a very good position to influence future legislation."

Hermione sat back and thought. 'I can't say that I like the idea of being used, but I do agree with his stated goals. It does help that he's being honest about this, instead of pretending. I have to admit, getting access to that kind of knowledge is tempting…."

Stonefist shrugged. "If bringing you in doesn't get us better treatment from the wizards, we'll still have a brand new gold-worker, and you'll still have access to all the knowledge I just described. Gringotts may have grander designs, but no matter what we come out ahead with this deal…. as do you."

Hermione was tempted, but there was another concern. "You're very worried about my... abilities being used against you. I assume that if I accept, there will be a vow involved?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. In fact, I'd like you swear a Vow before leaving regardless of your decision… though if you decide not to work with us, the Vow will only be to prevent you from making counterfeit currency or working directly against us. We can go over the wording to make sure we're both satisfied with it."

"One last question then. If I agree to work for Gringotts, how long will this arrangement last?"

"Until you find a replacement, or you die, or you can no longer physically do the work. Gringotts must have a gold-worker. We can't force you to work for us, but if you agree, the contract is binding until you have a suitable replacement or you are of no further use."

Hermione swallowed. The idea was so very tempting, but the rest of her life? If this ability was rare even among goblins, how would she ever find another with the skill?

"Your libraries, the knowledge…. Will I be permitted to share what I learn with other wizards?"

Stonefist leaned back. "That depends. The knowledge of gold-working? Absolutely not. In fact, you won't even be permitted to reveal what exactly you're doing for us, we wish to keep the fact that you can magically work with gold a secret to as many as possible. There are a few other tomes you'll be permitted to read, but not share. Most of the knowledge, we'll leave to your discretion, to share it or not as you see fit. If you feel other wizards might actually be interested, and there's no immediate danger offered by the knowledge, then you may feel free to share as you like."

Hermione tipped her head. 'It's a large sacrifice, but if nobody else can do this, how can I refuse? Besides, I want to help win better treatment for all magical creatures… and as much as I want to help the house elves, the goblins at least want to be treated better, so I won't be fighting the battle on two fronts.'

Hermione stood. "Very well, I accept your offer, conditional on our ability to work out the details of the contract and vow to our mutual satisfaction."

Stonefist grinned and stood. "Excellent. We'll discuss the details later today, for now why don't we go eat? An arrangement of this sort should be celebrated with good food and good drink, one of the few traditions we have in common! Let's see how our newest gold-worker handles goblin mead, shall we?"

Stonefist walked toward the door of his office, and as Hermione moved to follow, she couldn't help but wonder just what she had gotten herself into.