I Do Not Own Harry Potter.

All Characters Appearing In This Work Are Fictitious. Any Resemblance To Real Persons, Living Or Dead Is Purely Coincidental.

Before the Epilogue.

Goblin Tales

A Couple hours later

Kingsley was tired, it had been an exceedingly long day if not an exceedingly long month. What with overseeing and being involved in Organizing the Whole Order of Merlin Ceremony, not to mention convincing his peers at the ministry that it indeed was a good idea to allow muggles to set foot inside the hallowed grounds of Hogwarts was an even bigger pain in the ass. Not to mention the amount of back breaking security that went into ensuring the muggles were safe and that they were properly informed of what to expect at Hogwarts. Thankfully Percy and Audrey had been a great help in the matter by helping him navigate the waters of the great Bureaucracy known as the Ministry of Magic.

However it would seem he would have to deal with this last hurdle on his own. These were the thoughts that ran through the minister's mind as his footsteps carried him to the office of the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

A few Minutes later

Kingsley entered the Office of the Headmistress to find the Head Goblin; Ragnorok sitting across the Headmistress. After exchanging pleasantries for a few minutes, the three leaders finally got down to the main topic.

Ragnorok spoke first "Thank you for this meeting Minister, Headmistress. I know it is uncommon for me to request a meeting as such however one might say that the events of the recent past have forced many of us to rethink our decisions and principles.

In the interests of time and diplomacy I would like to keep the conversation short. In recent times after the war much like in your community, the younger generation of Goblins have decided to take a stand against common Goblin practices and certain principles of ours. They believe that we Goblins are too attached to our creations and as such it is affecting our relations with other magical races, they also believe that many of the older Goblins as they grow older they grow more prone to their Fatal Flaw of keeping a grudge."

Minerva spoke first "ah, I believe I understand the substance of this meeting, I had heard rumors that civil war had almost broken out between the Goblins. Or at least that is what many of the Goblins thought, in reality it seemed that many of the younger generation were not happy with the way that Goblins had stayed Neutral and had not participated in the Battle against the Dark Lord as such many of the younger Generation of Goblins banded together and after much tensions and a bit of bloodshed. The younger Generation managed to convince much of the older generation that they would have to change their ways if they wanted to continue living the comfortable life they were accustomed to."

Ragnorok smiled and said "you are right Headmistress, you see while much of the older Generation of Goblins have intricate knowledge about how to create Magical Gold and Goblin made jewelry and weapons, unfortunately they have passed down most of their knowledge to their students and with newer innovations in Goblin Magic that the Younger Generation have worked hard to create, the younger Generation of Goblins have a much better handle on the community and the Gold and as such are in very influential positions within the community. They used their position and influence within the community to create a vacuum of power, and as we all know Nature abhors a vacuum. Thus the younger generation have managed to fill said vacuum with their own ranks."

Kingsley smiled and said "it would seem that the students are now the masters Ragnorok, however I believe I now understand the reason you are here Ragnorok. You are in a unique position much like Dumbledore himself was a few years ago wherein you are respected by both your peers and the younger generation.

And as such in order to give the Goblins community a new face and make them more approachable, and I believe that is the reason that your brethren have agreed so readily to all our terms. However I am afraid I am still unable to understand why you have requested this meeting."

Ragnorok smiled and said "you are a very perceptive man Kingsley, you are right in your assumptions so far, and as for the reason I am here, well let's just say I am here to make you an offer you can't refuse. After much discussion, my brethren have decided that we too would like to participate in the rebuilding of the wizarding community, we have realized that if the Goblin community is to flourish we must help each other. Whether we like it or not Minister, Goblins and Wizards are opposite sides of the same Galleon."

Minerva was tiring of the roundabout way that the Goblin kept answering their questions and as was he won't. The Headmistress spoke in a commanding voice, while this is all very interesting, perhaps it would be best if you got to the point Ragnorok. We are after all very busy individuals and I am sure that you also have many matters to attend to."

Ragnorok was momentarily taken aback, however quickly recovered and he started laughing heartily "indeed you are correct Headmistress. It seems that you have the patience of a Goblin, very well I shall get to the point."

My brethren and I have decided that we would like to contribute to the recipients of the Order of Merlin as well as Hogwarts School. We the Goblins of Gringotts will award every recipient of the Order of Merlin Third Class a cash reward of Fifty Thousand Galleons that will be deposited into their account as soon as their identities and their awards have been verified. We will reward all recipient of the Order of Merlin Second Class One Hundred Thousand Galleons and all recipients of the Order of Merlin First Class will be awarded One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Galleons.

Additionally we will also donate Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Galleons to the school of Hogwarts that will be deposited into the School's official Vault which will be used as the school sees fit."

The second Gift that we Goblins would like to offer you is this: we understand that during the war many of the suits of Armor and other statues were brought to life by yourself Headmistress to defend Hogwarts from those who wished to harm it.

It has come to our attention while touring the grounds of Hogwarts that many of your suits of armor and other statues were destroyed in the war. Therefore we would like to help you in this endeavor, and as such the following proposal is what we are willing to offer.

We are willing to gift Hogwarts Castle Five Thousand suits of armor which is effectively double the amount of Suits of Armor that you lost in the war, we are also in the process of creating a special department within Gringotts that will liaison with and monitor the Muggle financial markets and banks and as such we are looking to hire approximately one Hundred new employees for this department and we are looking specifically for wizards and witches who would be interested in such a position and while the salary will be modest we will provide adequate training to those who pass the interviews and are selected for the job which would be on a contract basis. We would prefer wizards or witches who have prior experience in and are familiar with the Muggle world i.e. Muggle borns, as the learning curve would be that much shorter to overcome."

The Headmistress and the Minister were shocked into silence it was a very rare occasion when both Kingsley and Minerva were speechless, however the silence was broken by Dumbledore who seemed to be the only one not surprised at the offer. Dumbledore chuckled softy from his portrait and said "My dear Goblin I must say your kind have always had a way of putting us is in a difficult position, however something tells me that you are doing this for the betterment of the magical community."

Minerva suddenly came back to life and while her mind was still boggled with the information she had just received she managed to ask a question "and pray tell what the Goblin community wants in exchange for all their Generosity and while I appreciate the gifts you are offering to Hogwarts we are both aware that there is too much bad blood between our races that we will simply accept a gift of such magnitude without skepticism. Although I will be the first to admit that even the least talented Goblin is much more skilled in Metallurgy than even the most talented of wizards."

Kingsley also came out of his shock and also spoke "My dear Goblin, while I no doubt appreciate the Generous gesture you are making, however why do I have a feeling there is a catch to all this generosity of yours, tell me what do the Goblins of Gringotts want in return for all their generosity?

Ragnorok smiled and said "My dear minister, what we would like is very simple, you have requested us to look into both Magical and Muggle Investment schemes that will help the Magical community at large financially speaking. However at the moment, we Goblins are in a very delicate position, we are facing the wrath from both within and without, especially since the whole fiasco with the Orphanage being attacked by Goblin made Objects. While it is not that great a task to find investor friendly schemes for our patrons to invest in, winning back the trust of our Patrons is a very monumental task. Since the fall of the Dark Lord we have lost many Patrons.

The Gold is inconsequentially a trivial amount, it is an amount our Alchemists can handle with little difficulty, and however we can only invest when we have Patrons who are willing to trust us with their Gold. What we would truly like is for the recipients of the Order of Merlin awards to invest with us, particularly those whose financial positions are very weak, we will obviously create schemes customized to all our patrons of course, however we also do not wish to spend much capital on advertising when it could be put to better use in other more productive avenues.

All we want is for your Ministry to support our actions publicly, there will be no double crossing this time we will ensure all transactions are completely transparent. I am sure if certain Families such as the Longbottom, Weasley, Abbot, Macmillan and other prominent people such as the Professors of Hogwarts for example were to encourage the general public by investing their personal funds with us it would greatly help Goblin and Wizard relations in the long run. It also goes without saying that the faster we gain patrons the more we can do to help balance the economy. The only stipulation we have is that for future meetings Mr. William Weasley be the official Liaison between us two."

Kingsley was silent for a few moments before speaking "you are a very shrewd fellow Ragnorok, you are essentially asking Hogwarts and the Ministry to be your promoters and be the first to lend our support in your endeavors, and what of the gift of Goblin made armor that you wish to gift to Hogwarts? Questions will be raised of deception and duplicity, after all what is to stop the Goblins from imbibing the suits of armor with hidden magic that will allow them to record and analyze wizarding magic."

Ragnorok once again smiled and said "you are correct in your assessment minister in our actions of wanting Wizards to be our promoters, but is that so bad? After all do not forget that the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff was locked in a Gringotts Vault otherwise inaccessible if not for our brethren unlocking our enchantments, and let us not forget that the Sword of Gryffindor which is now imbibed with Basilisk venom is also of Goblin Origin, we are not blind or foolish, while we may not know the exact contents hidden within the Cup which was also forged by Goblins, the fact that it was valuable to the Dark Lord and was destroyed beyond repair raises many questions, not to mention the Locket that was awarded to our half brothers has a very similar design to the Locket of Salazar Slytherin. We Goblins have very long memories Minister and such things will create many questions, questions which I have discouraged many from asking. As I said before Minister, whether we like it or not we are both opposite sides of the same Galleon neither can survive for long without the other, at least that is what I gathered from your speech this morning or was all that bluster and hot air? We are not asking for much minister and giving much more than is reasonable, are you willing to lose all that because of such a trivial matter."

"As for the second issue while I understand your concerns Minister; however the solution to that problem already exists. As you might or might not know, Goblins and House-Elves were said to be brothers at one point in history, children of the same father but different mothers.

Both House-Elves and Goblins are bound by Ancient Magic that forbids us from dueling each other. Although brothers, the brand of Magic used by Goblins and House-Elves are as different as Oil and Water. It is the same ancient Magic that prevents Goblins and House-Elves that prevents us from being deceived by each other's magic.

Therefore after a Goblin were to create an object he would be able to disguise any kind of concealment magic from a wizard's eyes, the same magic cannot be concealed from a House-Elves eyes and vice versa. This is part of the Ancient magic that prevents Goblins and House-Elves from dueling each other. However when used together for a common purpose, the object upon which their magic is cast becomes far beyond more effective than what either magician would have been individually able to accomplish."

Kingsley spoke again and said in a serious tone "I do not appreciate threats my dear Goblin, however veiled they may be, and what you call trivial issues are not as trivial as they might seem to your kind, and I doubt you can blame me for being skeptical of your motives, after all there has been much bad blood between us, however I am a man of my word I will do all I can to repair broken friendships long lost, and what you ask for is no small feat and while I am happy to accept your offer to reward the Order of Merlin recipients, and the conditions attached to it, I am afraid your next request will take us some time before we can accept your generous gift, we will have to discuss this amongst ourselves and with the school Governors before we agree, I will also have to speak to many of the old Pureblood families and convince them that your kind can be trusted, after all it is as you said many families have large sums of Gold in Gringotts and it would be a large step backwards for both of our kind, if the old families decided not to trust your kind..."

Ragnorok nodded his head and smiled at the veiled threat in Kingsley's words and said "that is perfectly understandable and acceptable to us, we will not pressure you in any way, neither do we wish to lose the goodwill of our patrons as I stated before we have extended the hand of friendship, what happens next is up to you. As for the first request I believe it will be best if the rest of the details are discussed at the same time as the Exchange rate Meeting."

Kingsley nodded his head and stood as he shook the Goblin's hand. With the meeting over the elderly Goblin rose from his seat and after saying his goodbyes left the room and walked out the door before disappearing with a loud crack.