Disclaimer: This is a fan-fiction work. The events depicted herein did not happen and will not happen in real life. The Author of this work does not claim to own the Harry Potter Universe or the copyright of the same. Any character that appears in this work that may resemble a real person, living or dead, is not intended to represent such person, and any and all resemblance to such person is purely coincidental. Please note that some of the actions depicted in this work may be illegal and should not be imitated in real life.
KINGDOM OF RUINS
NINE
Abandoned Resistance Supply Base, Grand Canyon
Arizona, Former United States of America
The silence that descended inside the cavern was as deafening as the sound that would have been produced by a thousand humans screaming at the same time and at the top of their voice, but even if that was the case, it was still not enough for Harry to be distracted as he focused his attention upon the remaining goblins in front of him. There was a part of him that was rather pleased to see that they had also kept their attention upon him, and that same part was made happier by the fact that when the goblins turned to look at him, even if most of them are wearing open-faced helmets that made it difficult, he could see an expression of fear so clearly written upon their visages.
A faint smile appeared on the face of Harry as his thoughts turned toward the obvious expression of fear that the goblins are wearing. If he was being honest, the boy-who-lived and who had found himself in the situation that he had found himself in now would have to admit that he actually has no idea where the fear that the goblins are showing him are coming from, yet even if that was the case, he was more than happy to take advantage of that look of fear.
The dark-haired young man used his peripheral vision to confirm that Natalie was actually by his side, and that she was also gripping her wand. He was able to see just how tightly she was gripping her wand and that was all that Harry needed to see in order to know she was tense. He did not even need to turn his attention toward her pretty face in order to know that she looked ready to curse, but then again, that was understandable given everything that Natalie had already told him about the goblins.
Indeed, if he was being honest, Harry would have to admit that he was actually rather surprised at the fact that Natalie had not yet began to curse, as it is obvious that she has no intention of being taken alive by these creatures. Any woman, however, would rather not fall in the hands of the goblins, if the stories that Natalie had told him are true, and at that moment, Harry realized that he had no reason to doubt the stories that Natalie had told him.
Even if Natalie looked ready to curse, when Harry returned his full attention back toward the direction of the goblins, he was able to confirm that the goblins had not even realized that. The reason for that lies in the fact that all of the goblins that are near them have turned their full attention toward him, and from the distorted and fearful expressions on their faces, Harry could tell that they would not turn their attention away from him, even if Natalie were to actually attack them.
Indeed, at that moment, the boy-who-lived could not help but think that they would not even turn their attention toward Natalie even if the pretty blonde were to flee at that moment, and that was saying something considering how much the goblins wanted her – or any woman for that matter.
'Just like that time in the Berlin Zoo,' Harry thought, and at the same time that that particular thought entered his mind, he could not help but allow the smile that was on his face to widen even as he momentarily closed his eyes and allowed his memories to flash before the forefront of his mind.
At that moment, the dark-haired young man could see a ten feet long, four feet high square aquarium filled with goblins. None of the goblins were actually complaining because none of them were alive, and as he turned his attention toward the bottom of the square aquarium, the smile that was on the face of Harry widened even more as he noted that the first two feet of the interior of the aquarium was submerged in the blood of the goblins.
'We can use that blood for the sword later,' he thought at the same time that he reminded himself that goblin-made steel tends to absorb anything that would make it stronger, and goblin blood is one of the most powerful magical catalyst known to the magical world, almost at par with dragon blood in terms of strengthening.
Harry blinked at the same time that that thought entered the forefront of his mind, and he opened his eyes at the same time that he forced himself to return to the present. While he kept his attention focused upon the goblins that are now in front of him, he was still able to ask himself where the things that he had seen had come from.
As far as he can remember, he had never been to Berlin before, yet at the same time that that thought entered the forefront of his mind, a part of it claimed otherwise. There was a part of him that was sure that he had been in Berlin before, and at the same time, that same part of his mind assured him that the vision that he had seen – the aquarium full of the bodies of dead goblins and their blood forming a relatively small pool – was something that he had not only seen, but was also something that he was responsible for.
Indeed, that same part of her mind reminded him that he had used that pool of blood exactly as he had claimed he would use it, submerging a dozen goblin-made blades in them, though try as he might at that moment, Harry could not remember what had happened to those blades.
The musings on the part of the boy-who-lived was interrupted a few moments later as he was forced to return to the present. This time, the reason why he returned to the present was because of a miniscule movement on the part of one of the goblins that was positioned slightly to the side of Natalie. Rather than turn his attention toward the offending goblin, however, Harry kept only his peripheral vision upon him, and he did not actually need to ask the goblin what he was doing in order for the boy-who-lived to understand what the objective of that particular goblin would be.
It would appear that, even if they are now forced to confront Harry, the goblins still intend to take Natalie back to their lair. As that thought, however, entered the forefront of the mind of the boy-who-lived, the unmistakable feeling of anger welled up inside of Harry.
The fact that he was being ignored by these creatures and they acted as if preserving their legacy in the form of more wombs for them to use in order to perpetuate their race caused the boy-who-lived to see red, and though there was a part of him that wondered where the anger that he was feeling at that moment was coming from, that part of him was ignored as he felt his left hand – which was not holding his wand – rise toward the direction of the goblin that had unknowingly offended him.
At the same time that he lifted his left hand, some of the goblins that are in front of him tensed as well, and the dark-haired young man could see that those who looked as if they are the ones who are supposed to confront of him tightened their grip upon the weapons that they are carrying. Those blades looked sharper than anything that Harry had ever seen before, yet even if that was the case, he was supremely confident that they could not do anything to him.
No words escaped from the lips of Harry at the same time that he pointed his left index finger toward the direction of the goblin that was moving to the side and looked as if he was ready to wrestle Natalie into the ground. Even if no words escaped from the mouth of Harry, however, it was obvious that he cast a spell, and exactly what that spell that he cast was is also something that was rather easy to see, because the white jet of light that erupted from the tip of his fingertip was exactly the same as the white jet of light that erupted from the business end of his wand just a few minutes ago.
In any case, the effect on the goblin – who did not even realize that the spell was heading for him until the last possible moment, and he turned his attention toward the direction of the spell – made it obvious what the spell that Harry cast was. Of course, the fact that the goblin was able to turn his attention toward the direction of Harry meant that he saw the spell coming toward him, and the shocked expression on his face told anyone that he recognized the spell.
That same shocked expression would remain on his face, however, as the said goblin did not have the time to change the expression on his face to something else before the dark cutting curse severed his head from the rest of his body.
As the head of the unfortunate goblin rolled off of the rest of his body, almost every pair of eyes in the cavern toward the direction of the goblin, though Harry was the exemption to that rule as he did not turn his attention toward the direction of the goblin that he had just killed. It was a signal of some sort for the other goblins, however, to begin their offensive, and with a great roar – which pretty much told Harry that they do not intend to surprise him – the first four goblins charged him, wielding their blades high above their heads and in such a way that told Harry that they intend to cut his own head off with those blades.
The boy-who-lived was not sure if the goblins had adopted that measure because they want some form of revenge for the death of their comrades, but at the end of the day, Harry did not actually care. He turned his complete attention toward the direction of the goblins that were attacking him, and though at first glance, he can see that they are in complete synchronization, that was actually far from the case as one of the goblins was ahead of his comrades by a few seconds.
It was that particular goblin that Harry turned his complete attention toward, and even before the goblin could come within two feet of Harry – which would have been the range with which the goblin could use the pole-axe that he was carrying – a spell erupted from the tip of the wand of Harry.
The goblin in question saw the spell and turned to evade, something that he was actually successful in doing, yet at the same time that he evaded the first spell, he actually signed his own death warrant, because Harry had expected him to evade, and because of that, the dark-haired wizard had already sent another spell hurling toward the direction where he predicted the goblin would evade.
It was ironic because had the goblin taken the first spell – which was an almost innocuous bat-bogey hex – he would probably still be alive. The fact that he threw himself to the side, however, meant that he caught the jet of white light that escaped from the tip of the wand of Harry full on in his face, though he was still rather different from the other goblin because instead of a shocked expression, his head rolled off of the rest of his body with a determined expression.
Even that, however, was something that Harry did not watch. It was not because the boy-who-lived felt contempt for his adversary – if he was being honest, he felt nothing – but rather, it was because he was busy with dealing with other things at that moment, and one of those things would be the three other goblins that are now attacking him.
In less than ten seconds, the number of goblins attacking Harry more than doubled as the remaining goblins now joined in, attacking toward the direction of Harry at the same time that great roars of rage and aggression escaped from their mouths. If they had intended for those roars that escaped from their mouths to incapacitate Harry – even if momentarily – however, then they were sadly mistaken, because the only thing that those roars accomplished was to make Harry turn their attention toward them.
Even that was dangerous for the goblins, because the moment that Harry turned their attention toward them, the dark-haired wizard sent a flurry of spells – almost all of them non-lethal but irritating nonetheless – hurling toward the direction of the charging goblins.
Most of the goblins managed to evade the spells, but Harry was also expecting that. As the second wave of goblins were so busy trying to evade the relatively non-lethal spells that Harry had sent them, it gave him an opportunity to focus his attention on the other three members of the first wave that had attacked him, and with a simple thought, Harry conjured a gust of wind that he sent toward the direction of the two goblins.
The gust of wind that he had conjured was powerful enough that the two goblins that they were directed toward found themselves carried off of their stubby feet and toward the direction of the wall of the cavern. Even as that was happening, however, the boy-who-lived turned his attention toward the direction of the last remaining goblin in that group, and again, with a simple thought, he pulled the goblin toward his direction.
A surprised scream escaped from the mouth of that goblin, though that scream was cut-off a few moments later when a spike shot up from the direction of the floor, intercepting the body of the goblin at the same time that it was flying toward the direction of where Harry stood. The spike was made of earth, but it was sharp enough that it might actually be labeled as a stake, and as it intercepted the body of the flying goblin, it pierced through not only the leathery skin of the goblin, but also through the metal armor that the creature was wearing.
By the time that that had happened, however, Harry had already turned his attention away from that goblin, refocusing it toward the other two that he had sent flying with that gust of wind, and this time, he summoned one of them toward his direction. Again, however, a stake shot out from the direction of the floor, intercepting the goblin that Harry had summoned, killing the goblin.
As for the third – and last member of the first wave to attack Harry – his fate was the same as the other three, less than ten seconds after Harry had deterred the second wave of goblins from attacking him with that flurry of relatively non-lethal spells, three more goblins have been killed, though he supposed that those three were relatively lucky considering that their heads did not roll off of their bodies.
After he had dealt with all of the members of the first wave, Harry turned his attention toward the direction of Natalie, and he could not help but feel a slight bit of disappointment for her considering that she just stood there, and while she still had the fingers of her right hand gripping the handle of her wand, the business end of her focus was pointed toward the ground. There was no way she would be able to defend herself, but then again, perhaps there was no need for her to do so as the goblins are now focusing their attention upon Harry.
The boy-who-lived returned his attention toward the other goblins at that moment, and it would appear that at least one of them was able to summon reinforcements as he could see another two dozen approaching from the direction of where Harry had sensed the hidden door. These approaching goblins were wearing armor that was far more extensive than the first two dozen, and indeed, the approaching reinforcements were wearing helms that completely covered their faces except for holes through which they could breathe and see.
Harry actually smiled when he saw the approaching reinforcements, and he could not help but wonder if the goblins had thought that he would be overawed by the sight of armor-clad goblin warriors enough that he would retreat. It had no effect on him, of course, and a few moments later, that smile that was on the face of Harry widened even more as he thought of something that would ensure that the goblins would never make the mistake of placing their warriors in armor like that again.
The boy-who-lived summoned his magic and allowed it to escape his body in the form of a wave that was actually quite visible. As he had sent the wave toward a single direction, the remaining goblins who are not wearing the full armor did not have to duck in order to evade the wave that Harry had sent. As for the approaching two dozen goblins wearing their full armor, Harry may not be able to see the expression on their faces, but the fact that they did not even try to duck – they could not evade it even if they wanted to – was the only thing that Harry needed to see in order to conclude that they feel confident about the armor that they are wearing.
Had they known, however, that it was precisely the steel in the armor that they are wearing that Harry was aiming for, then they probably would not have only ducked, they probably would have rushed to remove the armor as well.
As the wave that Harry had sent hit the approaching goblin warriors, they suddenly stopped. He was quite sure that it was not because they wanted to stop. Harry had no doubt that the goblins inside the armor would have continued to run toward his direction, but at that moment, the armor that they are wearing became not only too heavy for their body to carry, it had also started to shrink, and the rate with which it was shrinking steadily increased until a few moments later when the goblin bodies inside the armor were fully crushed by the same steel that they are expecting would protect them from the wrath of Harry.
By the time that the spell had ran its course, the goblin-sized armor had been reduced in size akin to that of a marble, and within that marble would be the remains of the goblins that had been wearing the same armor. Needless to say, those goblins are dead, and though the rate with which the armor had shrunk was fast, there was no doubt that it was not that fast enough to instantly kill the goblins wearing the armor.
Goblins, Harry knew, are taught not to show fear, and the fact that these goblins have ran toward his direction without a second thought told him that even though these goblins are different from the ones that he could remember from his past, they are also taught the exact same thing as those goblins.
Even if that was the case, however, when Harry turned his attention toward the remaining goblins, he could see that a lot of them already have fearful expressions on their faces. He turned his attention toward them, and was only the slightest bit disappointed when he saw that they actually held their ground. In the end, however, it did not matter to Harry as he had already made his decision. He would not allow a single one of them to return home.
Harry cast a silent summoning charm toward the direction of the sword of one of the fallen goblins, and as the bladed weapon flew toward his outstretched hand, he used his peripheral vision to watch the remaining goblins. There was a part of Harry that could not help but wonder why he summoned the sword, but as he felt his fingers wrap itself around the handle of the weapon, Harry could not deny the familiarity that he had with a sword.
The boy-who-lived knew that he could use the sword, and that was even if the only time that he could remember using a sword was when he killed the basilisk at the age of twelve. Even when they destroyed the locket horcrux, that was not really Harry using a sword.
At the same time as those thoughts entered the forefront of the mind of Harry, a third wave of reinforcements from the goblins made itself known to Harry, and it would appear that they had learned not to wear their armor anymore. They still held bladed weapons, but at least they are no longer wearing the heavy steel armor.
In the end, however, it did not actually make that much difference, and Harry instantly shifted his target from the few remaining goblins that had been part of the first group to confront Harry to this rapidly arriving reinforcement group, and at the same time that he did that, he cast a wordless spell on the soles of the shoes that he was wearing before he started to run toward the direction of the approaching wave, the sword that he had summoned on his right hand.
The fact that these goblins are not wearing their armor meant that Harry was able to see the surprised expression on their faces, and again, he did not need to be able to read their minds in order for him to know that these creatures are asking themselves if he was crazy. He supposed that that was a valid question, after all, here he was, throwing himself toward the direction of two dozen goblins carrying bladed weapons, and it was obvious that his intention was to use the sword that he had summoned in order to cut down a few more goblins.
Perhaps it was because they are so surprised at what Harry was doing that the goblins were not able to react in time. Harry slashed through two goblins – cleaving them in half by separating their lower bodies from their upper bodies – before they even realized that they had to defend themselves. Indeed, if he was being honest, Harry would have to admit that he was actually rather disappointed with the way that the goblins had reacted.
To Harry, it seemed as if they are underestimating him, and that served only to make the boy-who-lived want to teach them a lesson. In battle, even if one has all the advantages, it would not be good to underestimate the adversary, and in an attempt to instill upon these goblins that lesson, Harry decided to combined both his skill with the blade and his magic.
At the same time that he threw himself headlong toward the side of another goblin, he gathered his magic before sending it hurling toward the direction that he was aiming toward. His spells reached the goblins first, but it would appear that they are now starting to learn their lessons, as they blocked the spells that Harry had sent with their swords. He was pleased to note, however, that his magic was powerful enough – or probably incompatible enough – that the goblin-forged steel that the swords were made of broke into a thousand tiny pieces after making contact with the spells that Harry had used.
"Ah!" a loud scream from one of the goblins forced Harry to return to the present, and he turned his attention toward the direction where the scream had come from, only for him to realize that the reason for the scream that had distracted him was actually himself. That was because the goblin who had screamed had done so after Harry had buried – to the hilt – the goblin sword that he was carrying in the stomach of the goblin.
Blood began to spill from the wound that Harry had delivered, but at the same time, he knew that there was no way that he could remove the sword that was now buried in the stomach of the goblin, so he removed his grip from the sword instead. With so many goblins in the area, it was easy for Harry to find a replacement weapon, and with another wordless summoning charm, he was able to replace the sword that he had buried in the stomach of the goblin easily enough.
The boy-who-lived turned his attention toward the remaining goblins, and he only had to look at them once in order for him to conclude that they are moving into formation. They are not wearing armor, but they are still forming a wall of some sort, and that caused a smile to form on the face of Harry even as he summoned his magic. Without warning, a stake shot from the wall beside the goblin that anchored the formation, and it shot horizontally in such a way that a few moments later, twelve goblins were pierced on their side by the stake, with each of the twelve goblins having an entry wound and an exit wound, forming a sort of goblin kebab.
That turned out to be the last straw, however, because the surviving goblins – including some who had been part of the first group that had confronted Harry – broke after what they had just seen. Most of them gave up any sort of pretense that they intend to oppose Harry, dropping their swords even as they raised their hands, though rather than just staying there – and waiting for Harry to turn his attention toward them – they started to run back toward the direction where they came from.
It was not something that Harry could blame them for, however, considering that he probably would have killed them even if they had already surrendered, though a few moments later, the fact that they had made the wrong choice when they ran back toward the direction where they came from was made evident by the screams that escaped from that direction.
Harry turned his attention toward that direction just in time to watch as half a dozen of the mechanical-biological constructs – the same ones that had abducted Amanda – came into view. The boy-who-lived recognized them as the ones who had taken Amanda, but they helped him make that conclusion because one of them was actually carrying the pretty medi-witch, and as his eyes turned toward her, they narrowed even as Harry felt his anger returning.
The reason for his anger was obvious, because while he could see that Amanda was fine – she was, however, unconscious – her appearance told him that the goblins had already started the process to turn her into an artificial womb of sorts. The clothes that she was wearing was torn, with one of her breasts actually exposed, and he could see that there are dried tears streaking through her pretty face. It was not that hard for him to imagine her screaming and crying as she begged her captors to be spared from the fate that they had in store for her.
Harry was about to attack the goblins with the intention of freeing Amanda when he was forced to pause a few moments later as a goblin walked into view. He was not wearing armor, and Harry had to stare at him for a few moments before he realized that this goblin was different from the one that he had been slaughtering because of one simple fact. This goblin has the appearance of a goblin from the memories of Harry, and that meant that this one is a full blooded goblin, unlike the goblin-human hybrids that Harry had been slaughtering.
"Hail, Butcher of Berlin," the goblin said, and the way that he had spoken made Harry pause. It took him just a few moments to realize that this goblin was not used to speaking the human tongue, and it was obvious why that is the case. They never had the need to speak the human tongue before as there are no humans in their caverns that are worth speaking with.
The only humans in their caverns are those whom they experiment on, and Harry had no doubt that they do not even bother to tell those unfortunates anything.
Indeed, as the full-blooded goblin walked toward their direction, the eyes of Harry narrowed even more. The way that the goblin walked told him that this one is not actually used to walking. He silently asked himself why that is the case, but then he paused as a voice at the back of his head reminded him, 'full blood goblins are practically royalty in goblin society, so they have their slaves carry them on cushions made from human skin and bones.'
As that thought entered the forefront of the mind of Harry, he had to fight himself from lashing out there and then, and at the same time that he thought about that, the boy-who-lived asked himself where he was getting the information that was now at the forefront of his mind.
The musings of Harry was interrupted at that moment by a noise that escaped from the mouth of one of the goblins that had tried to flee from Harry. The boy-who-lived may not have been able to recognize the language that the said goblin was uttering, but it was obvious to Harry that the goblin was groveling. That image was further reinforced a few moments later when the goblin that was groveling screamed in pain, though the reason for that was because one of the biological machines that accompanied the full blooded goblin chopped the head off of the groveling goblin.
"We do not suffer cowards in the horde," the full-blooded goblin said. The fact that he had said that in a langue that Harry could understand told the boy-who-lived that the message was intended for him, and indeed, when the full blood goblin spoke, he had his attention turned toward the direction of Harry.
"There is nothing cowardly, however, with treating with a superior foe," the goblin added.
Those words caused a sigh to escape from the lips of Harry, and after that sigh had escaped from his lips, he turned his attention toward the direction of the goblin before asking, "And I suppose that that is your way of telling me that you want to parlay?"
The goblin that he was speaking with did not even hesitate, "Yes," the goblin replied. Despite the single word that escaped from his mouth, however, Harry could tell that, had they been given the chance, the goblins probably would not have tried to make arrangements. It was just that there was no way that they could resist the power of Harry, and they realized that they needed to come into some sort of arrangement with him.
"What do you have in mind?" Harry asked.
The look of relief on the face of the goblin was all that Harry needed to see in order to know that some part of this goblin did not think that Harry was willing to treat with them. Of course, before Harry could follow up with that line of thought, he was forced to return to the present as the goblin continued to speak, "We would return your companion to you, and in exchange, we respectfully ask that you refrain from journeying deeper into this tunnel," the goblin said.
There was a look of hesitation on the face of the goblin, but before Harry could point that out with his own words, the goblin continued, "We are well aware that you have taken refuge here because of the guards at the entrance to the tunnel, but they have already started to evacuate and you now have a clear way to return to the reservations of your kind."
Harry could not deny that he was curious as to the reason why the soldiers that were pursuing them had started to evacuate, and he parted his lips with the intention of asking the goblin what he thought about that. Before the boy-who-lived could push the question out of his lips, however, he was cut off by Natalie who asked, "What about the others?"
The expression on the face of the goblin told Harry that he would rather not treat with Natalie, yet at the same time, the expression on his face told Harry that the goblin was of the belief that since Natalie is the companion of Harry, he should, at least, acknowledge the question.
"Unfortunately," the goblin began, and the way that the goblin spoke gave Harry the impression that it was grinding its teeth against each other, "We cannot allow them to leave."
Those words told Harry that his blonde companion was asking about the other humans that the goblins had captured. He turned his attention toward the direction of Natalie, and the expression on her face was all that Harry needed to see in order to know that she looked ready to argue. Of course, before Natalie could say anything, Harry cut her off.
"You will provide us with escorts to ensure that this parley is observed?" he asked.
Before the goblin could say anything, Natalie injected herself into the conversation, forcing everyone to turn their attention toward her, even if the words that escaped from her lips were directed only toward Harry, "We cannot just leave the others that they have captured."
The boy-who-lived turned his complete attention toward the pretty blonde, "Even if we convince the goblins to release them, we have no way of bringing all of them out of this cavern," he said. He could see the eyes of Natalie narrowing, and he just knew that she was ready to argue, though again, before she could say anything, Harry added, "And I doubt that they would be able to survive apart from this horde now."
"Indeed," the goblin said. It was the first time since they had started speaking with this creature that Harry detected the faintest hint of amusement and triumph from the way that he was speaking, but Harry did not bother to delve deeply into the reason for that, not when the goblin continued to speak, "Most of your fellow humans that have been under our care would not last an hour after being cut off from the nutrients that now feed their bodies," he paused for a moment before adding, "And we are the only ones who can make those nutrients."
Harry turned his complete attention toward the direction of the goblin, and he knew that the expression that now wore on his face promised the goblin that he would someday return and cut his head off, and he would not be the only goblin that would suffer that fate. Indeed, there was a part of Harry that was telling him that he could do that right now, yet at the same time that that thought entered the forefront of his mind, he turned his attention toward the direction of the unconscious Amanda.
No one had said anything, of course, but it was obvious that she is the incentive that the goblins are providing Harry in order to ensure that he would do as he had promised. The boy-who-lived did not have a hard time imagining that the biological machine that was holding Amanda at that moment would have a hard time ripping the body of the unconscious medi-witch if it was told to do that.
He could return in the future and destroy this goblin horde, and when he do return, he would make sure that he was alone. Right now, because the goblins have a hostage, there was nothing that Harry could do despite the power that he could call upon.
"Do we have terms, Butcher of Berlin?" the goblin suddenly asked, and as he spoke, Harry was forced out of his reverie.
It was not the deal that Harry wanted, if he was being honest, yet at the same time, he knew that it was the only deal that he would get from the goblins. He could probably wrangle a bit more concessions, but in the end, it would not matter, so he turned his attention toward the direction of the goblin and was about to give his nod of ascent before he suddenly paused.
"Why do you call me that?" he suddenly asked.
The look of confusion on the face of the goblin that he had been treating with was rather obvious to Harry, and he did not need to ask the goblin what the reason behind that expression was. Of course, the expression turned to a neutral look a few moments later, and the goblin shook his head slightly. To Harry, it seemed as if the goblin was trying his best not to show to Harry that he shook his head, and thus, the fact that Harry saw him do that meant that he did not entirely succeed in that.
"Aside from those that we have captured while they are trespassing in our territory, we goblins, have not treated with humans in a long time," the goblin suddenly said, "And we tend to forget that humans are short-lived creatures."
"Is that an insult, goblin?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. The boy-who-lived wanted to add a few more choice words, but before he could do so, he was forced to pause as the goblin shook his head, and Harry told himself that, perhaps, it would be better for him to first listen to what the goblin was going to say.
"Around fifty years ago, there was a goblin uprising in the city of Berlin in Europe, and it was nearly successful," the goblin said. He did not give a chance for either Harry or Natalie to say anything before he continued, "but it was put down by a boy wizard who looked remarkably like you, if the description in the stories are to be believed, and indeed, there are stories that that wizard had a signature spell, a jet of white light that would cause thousands of cursed cuts to appear on the body of the goblin that the spell would hit."
Harry found himself staring at the goblin for a few moments even as his mind worked overtime. The spell that the goblin was describing was the same spell that Harry had used earlier, and it was precisely the use of that spell that made the first wave of goblins – all of them are now dead, of course, with some of them actually being executed by their own side – refer to him by that moniker, 'the Butcher of Berlin'.
"Of course," the goblin began, breaking through the silence, and because he continued to speak, Harry did not get the chance to say anything before the goblin added, "That was many years ago, so it cannot possibly be you."
PROJECT 20A518C OPERATION HERMIONE Page 15