Harry remembered many a kitchen-table discussion that his Uncle had had, on the "art of the deal." Uncle Vernon sold drills, and negotiated contracts and other dull stuff. But, through long repetition, Harry remembered some of what his uncle knew.

"You are the aggrieved party here," Harry spoke. "You should ask for sureties, for proof of good faith. Every step of the way."

"What can they give me?" the dragon asked, "I want to fly, to see the sky..."

Harry looked down at the goblin beside him, and asked, "Do you have any experts in dragon anatomy? Do you know how long it would take to restore him to full health?"

The goblin gulped. "No. With goblin gold all things seem possible... but without a conversationalist such as yourself..."

Harry shook his head, "You will obtain the best Dragon Doctor that you can?"

The goblin nodded, seeming a bit frantic, "Yes, of course! With a binding contract, we can guarantee their safety..."

Harry looks to the dragon, "They will help you reach the skies as quickly as they can, spending some of the gold you guard to help you heal."

"Is this not what they should have done in the first place?" The dragon roared.

Nearby, the goblin cowered, ducking out of the path of any dragonfire.

"I can negotiate the best food you've eaten - or haven't eaten, for that matter," Harry said.

Harry paced back and forth, "That's not enough, though..."

Harry looked up at the dragon, struck by a thought, "How good is your sense of smell?"

"Extremely." the dragon said, flaring his nostrils and revealing his very pointy teeth.

"They will give you the smell of night, of day - the coming and goings." Harry stated confidently - and then looked at the goblin, "Your first priority (after medicine, he's hurt) is going to be blowing the sky's air down here. Can you have that done within a week, even if it's temporary and you need to hire wizards for it?"

The goblin's eyes bulged. "You want? Oh, oh, the gold..." He gulped, and said, "We have master spellcasters on retainer. It would not take them a week, but do not promise less."

"Why's that?" Harry asks, leaning forward questioningly.

"The paperwork."

Harry turned back to the dragon, "A week from now, you will be able to smell the sky again. A month from now, you will be seeing glimpses of the sun."

"Why not sooner?" The dragon asked.

"I'm not an expert on dragons, but I do remember that eyes adjust, and yours will take time to remember the light of day." Harry said, and then froze. "Your limbs will take time to stretch and heal, and regain strength." He said, slowly, to cover his thoughts.

He turned to the goblin, "You need to provide proof that you're going to let him fly, as soon as you can. He'll be blinded during the day, but on a foggy or moonless night..."

The goblin nodded, "Your teeth are sharp, for a human. We will find a way, even if we need to reconfigure all the vaults."

"Within a month, you will be under the sky again - this does not mean you will be able to fly, but... you can at least see the stars." Harry said firmly.

The dragon shifted his weight, and the chains shook. "You speak well, for a child. We shall speak again. You may tell the goblins that they can earn my forgiveness. My firepower is mine own, but all dragons defend their dens."

Harry nodded at that, "We can come up with a full contract upstairs," he said to his goblin. "The dragon is willing to forgive you, if you'll do some simple things. He doesn't guarantee you'll be able to point him and shoot - sorry, Muggle metaphor - but he does say that he'll defend his den."

The goblin nodded slowly. "It is a solid deal. When you are the wronged party, you ought to fleece your counterpart... but leave him breathing to sign the next contract."

Harry grinned at that bloodthirsty proverb. Surely they weren't serious?

[a/n: Negotiations are about working with what you've got, making sure both sides get any showstoppers - otherwise, they'll just walk away, and making sure any face-loss is consensual, as it is in this case.

Elon Musk's peace plan is an example of good negotiations. "What do the Russians consider worth waging war for?" - well, if you give them that, then they'll stop spilling Ukrainian blood, and without use of nuclear weapons.

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