Chapter 42 - Parley
Harry lost track of time until he felt a larger firmer hand gently grasp his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Harry," said Professor Dumbledore. "I was aware of how much she meant to you."
Harry lifted his head and looked up, acknowledging the words silently.
"There's nothing that can be done here, but there are matters to be addressed with the goblins downstairs. Are you up to it?"
"Headmaster!" scolded Hermione, in a tone that surprised even herself. "His leg is crushed, his shoulder's got a deep wound, his hand has been slashed to the bone and he's just lost someone he loves – how can you ask more of him!"
"If there were any other alternative, Miss Granger, I would be happy to spare him any pain, physical or emotional," replied Dumbledore, in a tone that bespoke his total agreement with the outrageousness of the request, "but the goblins are understandably enraged to the point of actual rebellion over the events of this morning. We must calm them and no one carries more weight with the goblins right now than Harry – they value their comrades in battle, particularly those who could have chosen not to participate."
"It's okay, Hermione, but please stay with me," said Harry. "I'm strong enough, if I don't have to move my leg. Emotionally - I've been replaying the deaths of loved ones in my mind since Sirius died. At this point, I'm rather numb, or rather, not numb, I've had such a range of emotions today, they've become blurred. I can move on. I'll grieve later," said Harry. "What happened at the Ministry?"
"A few escaped, a few others were captured. We'll deal with those details later," replied Professor Dumbledore.
"Shacklebolt was here. He was a traitor."
"I was afraid of that when he did not show up at the Ministry even though the call had gone out to all aurors."
"Aren't you afraid to be near me, that Voldemort will try to possess me?"
"What does your scar tell you?"
"That with the intensity of emotions I am feeling now, he wouldn't be able to bear even looking into my mind, much less occupying it," answered Harry.
"And that's what I expected," said Dumbledore with a faint smile.
Dumbledore splinted Harry's leg so it would not hurt so much and gave Harry a dose of blood restorer. He also had with him Flitwick and several members of the Wizengamot: Madam Bones, Madam Marchbanks, and a few others whom Harry could not name. He was relieved that he did not see Madam Edgecombe. Before leaving Harry retrieved Marietta's wand: he wanted to return it to her parents, though it was broken in two. Dumbledore insisted that Harry apparate to the seventh level, so as to avoid further damage to Harry's wounds.
Harry watched as Dumbledore and Hermione went into the lobby and found several goblins involved in the clean-up who agreed to take them all down to the seventh level. Before apparating below, he looked around at the debris and the bustle of the clean-up, as Ministry witches and wizards bound and removed Fudge's army while the older DA members stood guard. The younger DA members made their way back toward Weasley Wizard Wheezes, from which he assumed they would take the Floo network back to Hogwarts. They were laughing and congratulating each other, celebrating their fine performance in battle. Their first taste of battle was very limited and well-protected, and Harry was grateful for that. He was off to the side and still seated, so very few of them noticed him at all as they headed off the opposite direction. Those that did notice him waved and smiled and gave the thumbs-up; a few noticed his bloody chest and made a gesture of concern and with a gesture in return Harry waved them on and reassured them that he would be fine.
When Harry arrived on the bottom level of Gringotts, he found Dobby there already with Grishnack. Dobby squeaked with joy and threw his arms around Harry's waist seeing Harry was not harmed any more than he was.
"Harry Potter! You are alive. And I have been told you saved Melony. Dobby is ever so glad!"
"How is she, Dobby?" asked Harry.
"Very weak, but she will be well, thanks to you," said Dobby.
"I don't know what I did, but if anything I did helped, it's my pleasure," said Harry.
Dumbledore and Hermione were just arriving in a cart from above. The other Wizengamot members were in carts behind them. Dumbledore smiled at Grishnack and asked if they might talk.
"You and I, or the Ministry and the glamdrings?"
"All the glamdrings, if you could," said Dumbledore gently.
"I'll get them here – we have much to sort out, I think."
While all the glamdrings assembled, Dumbledore conjured Harry an easy chair with a large soft ottoman to cradle his leg. Hermione found a goblin healer and got bandages so she could at least cover Harry's open wounds and stop the bleeding. Hundreds of other goblins gathered as well to hear the parley.
Grishnack began. "We know you want our support, but your Minister leading an army against us is hardly the way to make friends."
Dumbledore nodded. "I couldn't agree more. But can we sort out all of what happened, and then we'll see where fault lies?"
Grishnack then described the initial attack and the progress of the graphorns, the arrival of Shacklebolt, then Dobby and Harry, and then Harry and Dobby's defeat of the graphorns. He described discovering Harry's injuries and freeing his leg, and leaving him with Melony and Shacklebolt. He told of the counterattack, with several other glamdrings inserting various details – making sure to point out plenty of credit for the members of their various hullabaloos - and then the driving of Fudge's army into the crossfire of the DA.
Harry verified the earlier parts of the story, described how he was hit with a stunner but partly protected by the murtlap, how the graphorn crushed his leg, and then Fudge tried to kill him but Dobby intervened. When he got to Dobby's part, he looked over at Dobby and saw a fierce pride in his eyes. Harry made sure that it was known that Fudge was under the Imperius curse and that it was Shacklebolt who had done it. Then he described all that occurred when it was just he and Melony and Shacklebolt. Together he and Grishnack related the story of Melony's injuries and rescue, and Grishnack acknowledged that Melony had told him enough to confirm what Harry said about Shacklebolt. Harry preferred not to tell about Marietta.
"Excellent, then," said Dumbledore, "Shacklebolt admitted that he was working for Voldemort and that Fudge was under the Imperius curse. Can we at least accept that this was not an action of the Ministry, but rather another attempt by Voldemort to hurt and divide magical beings?"
"That much is clear," said Grishnack, "but it is also clear that you wizards have tolerated persons in high position who have been our enemies."
Madam Bones spoke up. "That is certainly true, and it is a shameful thing. Fudge was in his position on the basis of other qualities, but we needed to have looked at the bigger picture. Many of us have had misgivings about his policies, and I believe you could see that in our rejection of the Anti-Apparation bill."
Grishnack nodded. "You want alliance. That requires trust. Dumbledore has our trust. Potter here has even more – he has not only our trust but our undying loyalty. He has faced great danger on our behalf. He has spilled blood to protect our homes when he need not have come at all. He has shed tears over the life of a goblin. From here on out, an attack on Potter is an attack on goblins, and we will come to his aid, sunlight permitting. But how can we have trust in the Ministry?"
Harry spoke up. "Grishnack, one problem I have noticed is that even though the goblins are considered equal magical beings under our laws, they have no members of the Wizengamot. May I suggest a reasonable number of seats be made available to representatives of the hullabaloos?"
"That can be done," said Madam Bones.
"That is a good step. We goblins have kept to ourselves, but it is clear that we must be involved in the larger magical world," said Grishnack, and the other glamdrings murmured their approval. "But another thing is critical – your Minister of Magic has a great deal of power. We understand that the Minister will be a wizard or witch, due to your much greater numbers, but we must insist on the right to veto any choice of Minister, to ensure that he or she will be a goblin friend."
"That is appropriate," said Madam Marchbanks, "and we will be acting to select someone immediately. We want to work with you on this. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well, our first choice would be Dumbledore," said Grishnack.
"Ours, too," said Madam Bones smiling, "but he always turns us down."
"Oh, I am much too old for such duties," Dumbledore said disingenuously. "Besides, I have other more pressing concerns." He smiled and winked at Harry.
"I know of others who have spoken well of goblins," said Grishnack, "but that would include Shacklebolt. I am afraid we may not understand the duplicities of the wizard mind. We goblins can deal sharply and we will hew to terms of deals closely, but we are straightforward. What say you, Potter, you have been observant of such matters. Who should we trust to treat us fairly?"
"Well, of course, there's Professor Dumbledore …" Harry thought, and then realized who he would most trust besides Dumbledore.
"Grishnack, I know someone whose good heart, kind manner, and energetic opposition to dark sorcery is exceeded only by his acceptance ofand affection for other beings; someone who knows the Ministry very well because he worked in it most of his adult life. That employment only ended when he was fired for protesting the recent anti-goblin laws. He helped us write the article for The Quibbler protesting the Apparation Charm bill and rather than just letting it be signed by a bunch of children, put his own name on it as well. And when Gringotts came under attack, he violated every rule of his position as a professor of Hogwarts to lead an army of students into battle against other wizards to help rescue the goblins. His own son was among the first on the scene with him. And not only that, but I know that he would at all times seek and heed the counsel of Professor Dumbledore. Could you accept Professor Arthur Weasley as Minister of Magic?"
"Harry," said Arthur, who had been getting ever more of a trout-out-of-water look as he realized who Harry had in mind, "I don't know about that, I was just a lower level bureaucrat. I doubt that the Wizengamot would accept me."
"And he's humble, too," said Harry.
Madam Bones smiled. "Oh, you needn't worry, Arthur, the few of us who wouldn't welcome you in the position will resign over having goblins around anyway. You were only kept down by the very qualities Potter describes, and I think we would all agree they are qualities we would value in the position."
Grishnack conferred with the other glamdrings, and then said, "He meets most of our requirements. We are also well familiar with his sons Bill, Fred and George – they work with us and respect us as equals, and we believe that reflects their upbringing. There is just one thing more. For reasons that are known to most of you, we are extremely averse to those slaves you call elves. We have never seen Arthur Weasley leave an elf at the entrance. Does that mean, Weasley, that you keep no slaves?"
Arthur looked very apologetic as he spoke. "We never had before. That was always something for the better established families. But just this past week, we have been informed that our application has been approved by the Department of House Elf Placement, and we now do have a house elf by the name of Winky."
The grumbling among the goblins was sudden and intense. Then Dobby stepped forward.
"Beg pardon, may I speak?"
The other goblins were unwilling to allow an elf to speak, but Grishnack silenced them with a stern wave of his knobby hand. "Without this being, who chooses to be free, none of us would now be alive. He has come to our aid and he has fought for us – we can at least listen to him."
"Dobby just wants to say that he knows this elf that's been placed. He has been friends with her since before she was given clothes by her former master. And unlike Dobby, she does not like being free. She has been very miserable. She wants a family. She needs a family. All you goblins has your hullabaloos – you too would be lost without your families. That's how she was. She has been ever so happy since the Weasleys agreed to adopt her – and that is how they call it too: adopted, not acquired. I has even seen the set of clothes that Mrs. Weasley has for Winky – they are in a box on a low shelf at their home. Winky can have them if she ever wants freedom, but she doesn't: what she wants is a family. Elves are like goblins in that they needs families, but they are different in that they wants human families You want wizards to respect you in your differences. Can you not respect elves in their differences?"
Grishnack and the other glamdrings conferred again for several minutes, with much guttural grumbling and gesticulation. Then Grishnack faced Arthur.
"Weasley, we ask you, then – will you give your elf clothes so that you may become Minister of Magic?"
