DISCLAIMER! This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy. New Movie is coming in April! Hurrah! Yeah, for Fanfiction – a great place to stretch your imagination and enjoy someone else's creativity too! The is the sequel to The Potter Cartouche.

Author's Note: I pray for peace in Europe. Whatever your nationality, religion, or political affiliation, war is a waste of human life, potential, and resources. The war in Europe scares the bejesus out of me because of the threat of escalation. When the Iron Curtain fell, I hoped that the USA and Russia wouldn't face off again with the threat of weapons in the background that could end civilisation. People in the USA don't understand Russian history, and Russia isn't going to accept the chance of another invasion like the ones that occurred in the last century. Anyway, pray for peace, pray for our leaders, and shut up about $5 per gallon for gasoline (petrol). No one is shelling our towns and villages.

Chapter 26 Masters of Runes and Goblin War

Few students and only two staff members noticed the short article about the Winter Solstice Ball held by the survivors at the Ptolemaic School of Sorcery in Alexandria. As the host school, they were forced to provide a suitable venue, refreshments, entertainment, and accommodations for the contestants from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang who remained in Alexandria after the fiasco of the First Task. The Daily Prophet reported the school moved the ball to a large tent placed among the three great pyramids outside Cairo. The single photograph of the two surviving champions and their escorts showed a beautiful young woman on the arm of some wizard and a Quidditch star from Bulgaria with a local witch on his arm.

Professor Flitwick threw down his copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Headmaster Emeritus Dumbledore. The paper was opened to the article on the Solstice Ball that concluded with information on the revised number of the dead and the cost of the dragon's rampage. The half-goblin asked, "So Albus, think the tournament would have been good for Hogwarts? They're going to close Ptolemaic School because the Egyptian Magical Government has no money left."

Ron Weasley talked about the great seeker from Bulgaria, and Lavender Brown spoke to all the young witches about the beautiful tragedy of holding a ball while everyone remembered the dragon fire. Luckily, Harry Potter never learned of the article or the comments by his dorm mates. The tournament was forgotten again while the students and staff at Hogwarts focused on classes as the winter term began.

CHANGE SCENE: Masters of Runes

In February, Harry received a series of letters from Professor Tofty and Professor Smithers that several detailed articles were appearing in newspapers and professional journals on the continent about the miraculous arrays created at Hogwarts. The secrecy surrounding these arrays quickly turned into whispers of dark magic and worse – muggle devices – being used. Tofty and Smithers were both Masters of Runes, and the articles also suggested they were not being truthful and were participating in a scam.

Harry kept Lady Longbottom and Professor Carter informed of each letter, and the two adults discussed the correspondence with Headmaster Bennet. Headmaster Emeritus Dumbledore attempted to insert himself back into Harry's life by suggesting that he should be made guardian once again to guide the young Master of Runes. Longbottom and Carter ignored the old wizard and didn't share that information with Harry, who would have been insulted by the idea. Tofty and Smithers hoped to arrange a conference in London where Harry could 'demonstrate' his new runic arrays to another group of masters and get accurate articles written in the professional journals.

The secrecy requirements for the four witnesses from the autumn demonstrations remained in place, and new ones would be used with any additional Masters of Runes who would be shown the magic. The British Ministry for Magic began negotiating with the various groups of Masters of Runes for a practical demonstration (without consulting with Headmaster Bennet, Lady Longbottom, or Harry). Minister Diggory gave an interview to the Daily Prophet where he guaranteed the ministry would cooperate with the Masters of Runes during the winter.

When Harry read the article in the Daily Prophet, he laughed and showed it to Neville before explaining, "They're going to have a hard time demonstrating something when I'm in class."

Lady Longbottom, Professor Carter, and Headmaster Bennet got the lawyers and goblins involved with Minister Diggory's announcements and negotiations with Professor Tofty and Professor Smithers. Diggory was disturbed after every meeting with Andromeda Tonks, where she simply stared at the minister while her husband did the talking. Tonks met with Diggory twice before beginning to negotiate. The first meeting was merely Andromeda staring at the minister. At the same time, Ted reminded the man about the penalties that magic itself might impose on violating a family's grimoire and their magical secrets.

Ted began the second conversation by asking, "How dare you think you could order our client to appear and perform like a lion in a circus?"

Diggory explained, "Britain is the…will be the preeminent magical nation again with this discovery documented and accepted in the world.

"Our client, Harry Potter – Heir Potter – will be the preeminent wizard in the world," Ted said. "Not Magical Britain that can't find its bum hole in the dark…or the light."

"But…we have to present Britain in the best light," Diggory said.

"There is no 'we', Diggory," Andromeda said. "You and Madam Griselda Marchbanks shook my belief in Magical Britain when you considered line-theft an appropriate behaviour for a pureblood matriarch. Potter and his allies will not support the ministry so openly."

Ted and Andromeda knew that the Masters of Runes would continue to interfere and demand Harry Potter demonstrate his breakthrough runic array again and again. The lawyers would require confidentiality, and the Masters of Runes would die when they violated the Grimoire's protections. The couple turned to Diggory and stated, "Approach the goblins in Gringotts to host the meeting. The only place that our client will meet with any Masters of Runes is behind the walls of Gringotts London."

"The goblins? They're almost impossible to deal with," Diggory argued, but Ted and Andromeda remained silent despite the minister's questions and demands. Eventually, Diggory agreed to tell the Masters of Runes to arrange the meeting in Gringotts.

CHANGE SCENE: Hogwarts Classroom

Harry was reading the latest letter from Ted Tonks for the third time when Dobby asked, "What does Mr Harry Potter be thinking?"

After a moment, Harry replied, "Less Evil is right about Gringotts being the safest place for the meeting, but the Masters of Runes know that too. The masters pushed to have the meetings at the ministry knowing my advisors would not agree to that."

Thinking about his previous experiences with 'old wizards', Harry turned to Dobby and said, "I need a list of all the people the Masters of Runes intend to bring to the meeting. Please ask Less Evil to get a list."

SCENE CHANGE: Negotiations

More letters appeared in the ministry for Diggory, Tofty, and Smithers and at the office for Andromeda and Ted Tonks. A few owls attempted to deliver letters at Hogwarts, but the wards diverted all letters addressed to Harry Potter into a room where elves and the headmaster had to test them for compulsions and charms. Professor Babbling received one cursed letter from a Master of Runes in Germany that took the healers an hour to reverse. Tofty filed a protest with the Guild of Masters of Runes about the letter, but no one expected any action. Professor Flitwick promised to challenge the Sturrdel to an honour duel next summer.

When Ted forwarded a list of names to Harry, the young wizard grew concerned when he read 'and suitable advisors from Norway'; this vague statement proved unacceptable to the young wizard. In discussion with Professor Flitwick, Harry learned that many Masters of Runes lived in Spain, Italy, and Norway.

"I'm not surprised to see the list of people from those three countries."

"Spain and Italy, I understand…but does Norway have lots of wizards?"

"Wizards live in every country in the world. Scandinavia has long, cold winters and the people there are forced to stay inside for many days at a time. Carving runes…just carving cartouches on plates, is one way to earn galleons when the snow is deep. And the goblins and wizards in Norway work together much better than here in Britain. They have very little business outside of carving runes for wizards and goblins. The ones who don't carve runes get hired out as mercenary goblins and hit wizards."

Harry sat down and asked, "Do you think the wizards and goblins in Norway are still Vikings who are itching for the chance to raid and pillage?"

Flitwick paused and went to look in his journals for recent conflicts between the different goblin tribes. Harry wrote to Bloodhook mentioning the vague statement, and his goblin vault manager agreed it was unsettling. Now that Gringotts was contracted to host the meeting the next week, the goblins insisted on a complete list of attendees. Still, the Norwegian wizards continued to provide only a partial listing.

CHANGE SCENE: Gathering Storm

In Bloodhook's following letter, the goblin admitted he was agitated by the idea of snobby, jabbering wizards and unfamiliar goblins using one of the underground caverns to test Freshgold's runic arrays. He wrote that he hoped they tried the killing curse on each other, and the shield failed. But the vault manager had no additional information on the list of attendees.

"What's bothering Bloodhook?" Harry asked Dobby, who acted as a courier between the young wizard and his vault manager.

"Dobby think Mr Bloodhook not happy that Masters of Runes from Norways coming with goblins to see the runes. Norway wizards and goblins are named Vikings and kill lots of wizards and muggles and goblins long ago that seems like yesterday to goblins," the elf explained.

Harry nodded and added, "Professor Flitwick says lots of wizards from Norway are hit wizards for hire, and their goblins hire out as mercenaries. I remember stories in history class about Vikings invading England a thousand years ago."

"Nowadays, goblins have small bank in Oslos and Narrvicks that does storage for other banks and works with Norway wizards to carve many runes for houses, doors, lights, warm houses – gets very cold in Norway south and north," Dobby explained.

When he saw the look on Mr Harry Potter's face, the elf added, "Dobby asked goblins many questions."

"Storage? What kind of storage?"

"Big vaults to hide dark things and frozen people."

"Frozen people?" Harry asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Dobby nodded and explained, "Wizards in Germanys and Russias put prisoners into iceballs for ten or hundred years as punishment for crimes. Need cold place to keep them for years and years."

Harry wrote a note to Bloodhook asking about these punishments and received back a message that said, "Don't ever commit crime east of France! Iceballs never recover completely and are never warm again. Many never recover their minds."

"Azkaban and Iceballs! Dobby, I think wizards are stupid and mean," Harry said, wadding the note up and throwing it away. Dobby recovered the paper, cleaned it, and filed it with the rest of Harry's correspondence with Gringotts. Harry spent the rest of that day and the next working on his regular homework, helping Neville in the greenhouses, and reading history about the Viking invasions that once wreaked havoc in England. His projects in the workroom lay forgotten for a couple of days while he imagined problems in Gringotts.

SCENE CHANGE: Voices Raised in Conversations

Headmaster Bennet called Professor Carter to bring Mr Potter to his office on Wednesday. With Deputy Headmistress Longbottom and Professor Babbling present, the four adults informed the teenager that a formal request from the British Ministry for Magic involved him. Headmaster Bennet had an 'invitation' from The Department of Magical Examinations invited Harry Potter, Heir Potter to come to Gringotts London on Friday morning and remain there until Sunday evening. The purpose of the three-day meeting was for representatives from the guild of masters of runes to observe Mr Potter demonstrate his magic for creating the multi-layer plates and his other breakthroughs in runic arrays. If they were satisfied at the end of the three days, the visitors would endorse Tofty and Smithers's certification of Heir Potter's techniques and acknowledge his rights to exclusive use of the magical spells.

Babbling said, "The hubbub of voices started when that Master of Runes appeared in Italy, and his apprentices had brother four-layer plates for their mastery examinations. When Tofty and Smithers published their paper, the voices became a roar."

"Tofty and Smithers are pushing for this demonstration too soon," Carter said. "I thought we were going to wait at least a year."

Augusta admitted, "The Daily Prophet reported that one of your runic arrays protected Heir Black and contributed to the death of Heir Malfoy. His mother's lamentation was printed in the Daily Prophet and scared a lot of purebloods that Harry's power was growing too fast. They fear that you'll supplant Dumbledore and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named before finishing your seventh year at Hogwarts".

Carter scowled and added, "Marchbanks screamed about dark magic when she lost everything in court. In the case she lost for attacking the Creevey home, Andromeda Tonks admitted there was a runic array that protected the Creeveys from the witch and her muscle when they attempted to abduct Dennis Creevey."

"Tonks compelled the Wizengamot to hand over the Marchbanks fortune and took the family's seat in the Wizengamot for attempted line theft."

"Wow!" Harry said, reminding the adults of his presence. "Why was Great Evil so hard on the witch and her family?"

Augusta narrowed her eyes as she thought about her answer and decided that the truth was best, "I believe that Mrs Tonks wanted to prove to everyone – every noble house or meddlesome bureaucrat – that the Black family's power was restored, and everyone should leave the family alone. Sirius is safe in the background, Mr Colin Creevey is the heir with a spare brother and two sisters to make alliances, and she is regent. She controls six…no seven votes in the Wizengamot now."

Babbling added, "Tonks could have pressed for criminal charges of line theft and sent Griselda and the Aurors who helped her and all their families through the veil or gotten them kissed. They're alive and can rebuild."

"So, three days in the caverns under Gringotts," Professor Carter said, turning to Harry. "Think you can stay out of trouble?"

Harry nodded and promised to do his best to stay problem-free while visiting with Bloodhook and dealing with cranky old wizards and witches from other nations.

"He'll be safe…who's going to invade Gringotts?" asked Bennet.

SCENE CHANGE: Dobby's Ideas

On Tuesday, Dobby noticed that his wizard remained distracted by the 'conference' that would occur over the upcoming weekend at Gringotts. Harry had several runic arrays planned – creating plates for drawing runes, creating bowls filled with water, and blasting stone walls to enlarge caverns.

"What be clogging up Mr Harry Potter's mind?" Dobby asked, glancing at the simple arrays his wizard planned. "Plates, water, and blast rocks be all you want to show?"

Harry's face told Dobby that his wizard was distracted and wondering if anything could go wrong. The elf sat down beside his wizard and said, "Mr Harry Potter can't be killing masters of runes in Gringotts if they be evil and stupid together, but he can do somethings to them."

"I don't want to kill anyone…too many people die in Magical Britain all the time," Harry said.

"Magical Britain be a wild west movie every day," Dobby nodded and noticed his wizard grinned a little.

"What do you know about wild west movies, Dobby?" asked Harry, leading the two magical friends to talk about western and gangster movies. When Harry mentioned Star Wars and the character Yoda who resembled a house-elf, Dobby became excited and begged for the chance to see the movie.

The elf asked with great excitement, "Be there movie star who looks like Dobby?"

Indulging his friend, Harry spoke about Yoda. When the young wizard described how the character dressed in the movie, Dobby popped away and then reappeared wearing a robe and carrying a walking stick that resembled the one in the film.

"Dobby say Mr Harry Potter must think like Yodas."

"What do you mean?"

"Mr Harry Potter be prepared for evil wizards who hide among other wizards," Dobby said.

"Ill-intent…that's what I need to prepare for," Harry said. "And I know 'ill-intent' works in an array. What do you think I should do to them?"

With a firm tone, Dobby said, "Turn into stone figurines."

"That takes another array to reverse," Harry said. "How about I put them to sleep?"

"Deep, deep, sleep snooze," Dobby said, nodding in approval.

And that afternoon, Harry made an ankle bracelet that would put anyone with ill-intent around him to sleep. And he decided to wear his ring with his shield, boulders, silver knives, and mind protections at will. He would carry paper, stones, and pieces of gold in his pockets. Then he decided to make another ankle bracelet that would hide his pockets from anyone. Dobby could see them, but no one else could.

CHANGE SCENE: Rumbles of Thunder

On Friday morning, Professor Flitwick volunteered to escort Mr Potter from Hogwarts to Gringotts. As they approached the floo, Flitwick said, "Now, being absent from classes today and tomorrow doesn't excuse you from any homework assigned by your professors."

"Yes, professor," Harry replied. "Professor Grayson gave me the assignment yesterday during her office hours. And in my magical studies class, Professor Vector gave me a special assignment – I have to write a paper and present it to the class on goblin customs that are important to know for everyone with a vault."

"That is an excellent idea," Flitwick said. "My assignment for you since you will miss my seminar on Saturday is to write a report on goblin fighting techniques. I doubt you see anything much this weekend, but perhaps Bloodhook and demonstrate swinging a battle-axe a couple of times."

Harry grinned and said, "And Professor Carter wants me to keep working with Neville on potion ingredients from the greenhouses since I'll miss potions review Saturday."

Flitwick nodded and asked, "Are you nervous? These old wizard Masters of Runes are going to be harsh and probably scared by your magic, but Bloodhook and the king will protect you."

Harry's grin grew even wider when he whispered, "You forget Professor Flitwick, I've been dealing with Professor Dumbledore, fought a basilisk, and created a whole new way to do runes. Besides, I've got the best elf in the world keeping an eye on me."

Dobby popped into Professor Flitwick's office in his new Yoda costume that set Flitwick to snickering, but the elf simply said, "Dobby watches Mr Harry Freshgolds Potter close all weekend."

Flitwick calmed himself to prevent mispronouncing 'Gringotts Receiving Room' and threw floo powder into the flames. The half-human stepped through the fire, followed by Harry Potter though Dobby popped out of Hogwarts and reappeared in the bank receiving room just as his wizard stepped through the flames.

Bloodhook arrived and grinned, displaying the golden tips he wore on his teeth today to impress the visitors with his wealth and status.

"Greetings Filius Flitwick, cousin. Greetings Freshgold and Dobby Elf," the vault manager roared to identify the visitors to every goblin guard in the room.

"Greetings Bloodhook, son of Ironstream, cousin. I bring my student Harry Potter and leave him in your care for three days."

"He shall be treated like my brother and kept safe," Bloodhook promised.

Turning around, Flitwick said, "I shall return Sunday at three in the afternoon to retrieve you, Harry. Knock the socks off the masters of runes!"

Then the half-human threw floo powder into the fire and stepped into the flames again. Dobby asked, "Mr Freshgold knocking off socks? Can Dobby have socks that get knocked off?"

Bloodhook nodded and said, "Any socks that get knocked off will be yours, Dobby Elf!"

"Dobby likes socks. Mr Harry Freshgold, does Yoda wear socks?"

The strange trio left the floo room under the gaze of the guards, who had already received ten wizards from Spain and Italy. And they expected another two dozen wizards from Norway this morning, along with several goblin guards. Every goblin was armed with axes, knives, and sharp, golden tips on their teeth.

Dobby popped out to check the meeting rooms and the guest room where he and Harry would sleep at night while Bloodhook walked with Harry toward the royal cavern to allow Freshgold to greet King Ragnock.

"The wizards from Italy and Spain arrived earlier, and they wait in the royal cavern for King Ragnock's welcome. The ones from Norway are to be here any minute now."

As they walked along, Bloodhook provided the final guest list to Freshgold, and as Harry looked over the paper, he immediately asked, "Why are all these wizards and goblins coming here?"

"They are Masters of Runes and want to question you closely."

"Okay, but there's twice as many coming from Norway." Harry looked on the back of the paper and exclaimed, "Bloodhook, there are ten times as many wizards coming from Norway than Spain and Italy combined. And lots of goblins!"

Bloodhook looked up and asked, "Really, I didn't…why didn't I notice that?"

With his knife in his hand, Bloodhook cast a spell that revealed a mild confusion spell on the paper that would affect the goblins at Gringotts.

CHANGE SCENE: Attack

Dobby popped into the hallway and screamed, "HARRY! Vikings be attacking Gringotts! They be in receiving room. Norway goblins and hit wizards killing Gringotts goblins!"

Bloodhook bellowed a war cry but stared at Harry. "I can't leave you here."

Harry said, "Go. I can become invisible and hide. Dobby will protect me."

"Go to my den. They won't get into the family tunnels."

Taking his battle-axe from his back, Bloodhook joined the goblins rushing up the hallway toward the receiving room where the sounds of battle echoed along the stone walls.

"Mr Harry Potter, turn invisible! Now!" commanded Dobby.

"Yes sir," Harry replied as he picked up Dobby before vanishing from sight, scent, and hearing. "Can you lead me to the family den?"

"Yes, Dobby know the way but can't pop while like this," Dobby whispered.

"Not to worry, I can run," the young wizard replied and did make his way along the hallways, dodging Gringotts goblins headed toward the fighting. Too soon, the invisible pair found that the hit wizards had broken through the defenders and were battling their way toward the family tunnels.

"We're going to defend the families," Harry declared as he placed himself in front of the tunnel and turned visible. The hit wizards laughed to see a youth standing in front of them for a second, but then the boy vanished behind an impossibly powerful shield. And worse, hundreds of silver knives flew through the shield at impossibly high velocities. The invading goblins and hit wizards found that silver knives were effective weapons embedded in their arms, chests and heads.

"Stop knives, Mr Harry Potters," Dobby said, growing angry now that his wizard was safe behind his powerful shield. "Hits wizards and Viking goblins in stupid hats be on ground or pinned to walls."

From behind Harry, more goblins armed with axes and spears ran forward and paused, seeing the shield over the front of the tunnel, but Dobby waved the warriors forward and shouted, "Shield protects youse families. Run through and kill mangy hit wizards and wormy Viking goblins!"

A large group of goblin wives appeared with knives in their hands but remained behind Harry. He asked one wife who came to his side, "Is there any other way into this tunnel?"

"None that humans or Sturrdel goblins can see," she replied.

"Good, then I'll defend this spot until Bloodhook or Ironstream tell me to lower the shield."

With a moment to think, Harry asked, "Dobby, why didn't my runes put them to sleep?"

The elf asked his wizard about all the rings he wore and then said, "Dobby think ring with 'at will' overrides, be first instead of 'ill-intent'. Youse must think to activate the 'ill-intent'."

Kicking himself for not testing this ring and ankle bracelet combination, Harry willed the ill-tent runic array to activate. While they watched through the shield, a handful of hit wizards ran down the hall and collapsed into a deep sleep on top of the wounded and dead goblins and hit wizards hit by a thousand silver knives.

CHANGE SCENE: Surrender and Sleep

Ironstream led a group of goblins down the hall toward the shield. From his father's side, Bloodhook shouted, "Freshgold! He defended our dens!"

The goblins checked the unconscious enemy warriors and laughed at the hit-wizards who were asleep and wouldn't wake up.

"Drop the shield, Freshgold! Gringotts London is secure," shouted Bloodhook. It took only a moment for the shield to drop, and Harry leaned back against the wall as the tension left his shoulders. Ironstream nodded his thanks before finding his wife among the goblins waiting with their knives. More of the wives rushed forward to look for their husbands in the tunnels of Gringotts. Harry grinned when one of the wives hugged and then fussed at Bloodhook, walking around him, and commenting on the tears in his clothing before she grabbed him in a tight hug and began to cry for only a moment.

"Come along wife and greet my client, Freshgold Harry Potter, Heir Potter and Master of Runes," Bloodhook said, leading the young female goblin to Harry. The young female did have a lovely face that would please any human until she smiled, revealing sharp pointed teeth. Bloodhook grinned, and Harry noticed his vault manager had lost a few of the golden points on his sharp teeth.

Harry bowed and greeted the young bride, who blushed to be honoured by her husband's client and her father's favourite wizard.

"Now, let's walk to the royal cavern," Bloodhook said to his wife and client. "The king will want to see that both of you are well. And Freshgold can meet the old wizards come to test his magic."

SCENE CHANGE: Sleeping Dogs

It took almost two hours for complete order to be restored in Gringotts' lower halls and caverns. Ragnock and his guards stalked the hallways with bloody axes in their hands to reassure the vault managers, their wives and pups that Gringotts London was secure.

When Harry walked into the royal cavern where the masters of runes waited behind a strong guard of goblin warriors, all but six of them dropped to the floor in a deep sleep that nothing could reverse.

"What happened?" demanded Professor Tofty. He, Professor Smithers, two Italians and two Spaniards were the only ones who remained awake while eight others slept in uncomfortable positions on the floor.

Harry whispered, "The ones who fell asleep all have ill-intent in meeting me this weekend. I won't talk with them."

"Ill-intent? How did you get that to work?" asked Smithers.

While things were settling around the bank, Bloodhook heard of two places where pockets of hit wizards and Viking goblins held out. The battle-scarred goblin and Dobby took Harry into the area, and the attackers all fell asleep instantly. The invaders were easily tied up, disarmed, and dumped into secure cells.

When they returned to the royal cavern, Harry became queasy when he discovered the king's trophies. The heads of a dozen hit wizards and Viking goblins from Norway were placed on pikes in the king's royal cavern. The heads of two goblins and one hit wizard still bore the silver knives that had laid them low.

Goblins with battle-axes and spears stood guard over the piles of sleeping goblins and wizards secured with plastic ties, items borrowed from the British army. All of the Masters of Runes from Norway remained asleep.

The young wizard and his house-elf waited with the other Masters of Runes who remained awake. (Goblins have excellent translation spells.) One wizard from Italy asked, "What spell made them fall asleep?"

"A runic array I made for my protection," replied Harry. "It's effective and selective, isn't it?"

The other Italian objected and asked, "What runes did this? There aren't any…uh…sequence or combinations of runes that do that!"

"Florentine wizard must accept confidentiality before Mr Harry Potters, Heir Potter tells you!" Dobby insisted. The wizard frowned at the infuriating little creature in his hooded robe, but the magic displayed by the house-elf made the wizard back down. Tofty and Smithers returned from the ministry, and while Harry assured them that the sleeping wizards were well, they remained concerned that the visitors still slept.

Harry shrugged, "If they woke and still have ill-intent toward me, they'd just fall asleep again."

Suddenly understanding, the two British wizards smirked, and Tofty asked, "One of your runic arrays?"

"Yes sir," Potter replied.

Looking toward the four visitors who remained awake, Smithers approached them. "Gentle wizards, magic judges you to be here to learn. If you agree to keep Mr Potter's secrets, you can be shown this great milestone in the development of magic."

"But how are we to use this new development if we can't tell anyone about it? You can't just show and not expect us to duplicate it in our nations."

Tofty replied, "Smithers and I need your learned opinions if this magic will work for another wizard or witch. Heir Potter might be the only wizard who can do this magic."

"Because of his family name? Because he put into his grimoire?"

"Possibly or because he has more power than any other wizard living at the moment," Smithers replied. "We're hopeful of an explanation this weekend."

"He's a fourteen-year-old! How much power can he have?" demanded a Spanish wizard.

Ignoring the wizards, Harry stared at the pile of sleeping goblins and wizards, who had their hands and feet secured with the plastic twist ties used by the British muggle army.

Turning to Bloodhook, who remained on guard to protect Freshgold, Harry asked, "Did they come from Oslo?"

"These sleeping wizards are from Madrid and Florence. The invaders are all dead or captive," replied Bloodhook. "The ones from Norway came through the floo firing spells from their wands and they all died! For these wizards, the king is considering if he should just chop off their heads while they're sleeping."

The four visitors who were awake protested, as did Tofty and Smithers. Harry agreed with the wizards, "If Gringotts London executes those wizards, then all the wizards of Europe will turn against all goblins."

"What about the goblins?" asked Bloodhook, just to gauge the opinions of the wizards. None of the Italians, Spanish or British wizards cared about the goblins.

But Harry protested, "Their king or leaders sent them here. If you can't cut off the leader's head, you shouldn't kill them."

Ragnok entered the royal cavern, his guards ready to challenge any new attacker. The king casually kicked a sleeping goblin and then a sleeping wizard before he growled at the ones who were awake, "Tell me what you know of this invasion, now!"

When it was evident that the other visitors knew nothing about the attack from Norway, Ragnock hefted his battle-axe and smashed a table into kindling in frustration.

"My blood lust demands I spill the blood of these Sturrdel-gryhiglzehwe today!" the king roared. "But if I attack Oslo, the Sturrdel-gryhiglzehwe will have defensive forces in place and defeat my warriors!"

Remembering a conversation from the past summer, Harry glanced at Dobby and then back to Bloodhook and the king. He went to one knee and said, "Your majesty, Freshgold requests the opportunity to speak without the visitors present."

"Shall I chop off their heads?" asked Ragnock with a growl that scared the visitors again.

"Please don't, sire. That will only create more wars."

"Very well," snarled the king, who turned and walked toward the far corner of the cavern where his family remained. He motioned for Harry to follow him, and the young wizard felt several wards fall into place as he walked into the corner.

SCENERY CHANGE: Harry's Invasion Plan

"What is your speech?" asked Ragnock, impatient about his war plans but willing to listen to his ally.

"Last summer, after I sent that tonne of gold to Gringotts at one time, it made all your goblins slobber and dance for the rest of the day. No one was able to stop your goblins from celebrating for a full day. When we talked about it later, Dobby suggested that you could use that much fresh gold to drug your enemies and take over another goblin tribe's caverns."

"With those bubbles around the heads of my goblins, yes," Ragnock agreed. "But goblins can't get that human magic to work for us. Bubblehead is a wizard's spell that goblins can't cast. It fits around the neck, and our heads are too big for our necks."

Harry grinned and said, "What if I make the bubbles with my runes?"

Thinking, Ragnock asked, "How do we deliver the gold without contaminating the air here at Gringotts London?"

Bloodhook said, "We seal off an empty vault and give permission in the wards for Dobby Elf to pop Freshgold into the vault to make the gold. Then our elves dump the gold into Oslo's receiving room, and in three minutes, all the Viking dwarves begin slobbering. We rush through the floo's as more and more Oslo goblins rush into the room under the spell of the fresh gold, and we slaughter the Sturrdel."

"Do your elves know where the receiving room for deliveries is in Oslo?" asked Harry, a little squeamish about the amount of blood that was going to be spilt this afternoon.

"Yes, and it will be open even if they are at war. Every bank has to remain open for wizards and their deposits," Bloodhook said.

Instantly accepting the notion that Freshgold could accomplish the task, Ragnock looked at Ironstream and asked, "How many of my warriors will I need to invade and secure Gringotts Oslo while the local goblins slobber and dance?"

"Two thousand soldiers to deal with the hit wizards that take control of the bank. We can leave a single teller and cart runner in the lobby with six guards and extra wards. London wizards will complain about the queue, but who cares?" asked Bloodhook's father. "That will leave a rear-guard of a thousand goblins to handle any more hit wizards who show up here."

"Every vault manager will insist on going through the floo to fight," added Bloodhook, though he kept his eyes on the visitors.

"There won't be much of a fight. If the scent of my fresh gold fills the air, there'll be nothing but slobbering and dancing," Harry said.

"The hit wizards will have to be dealt with. The Sturrdel-gryhiglzehwe won't be affected by the smell," said Ironstream.

"And our axes will drip with their blood!" declared Bloodhook.

Ragnok turned to Freshgold and asked, "How long will it take to make the gold and bubblehead charms?"

"Five minutes to make the gold. I just need a pile of rocks," explained Harry while the goblin king snorted to hear the time needed to construct a fortune in gold with magic.

"Make the bubblehead charm arrays first," Bloodhook said. "That might take a couple of tries."

Harry added, "And I need to test the bubble on a goblin before I make enough for the army."

"It is my honour to be the test elf for Freshgold," Bloodhook said.

"Let's speak with the wizards again," Ragnock ordered. "But no one – goblin, wizard, or elf – says or hints anything about gold."

"Yes, your majesty," everyone replied.

"Now, Freshgold, come with me," Ragnock said as he walked across the floor of his royal cavern until he came to the six wizards who remained awake.

"Gentlemen, Gringotts London will launch an invasion of Gringotts Oslo this afternoon, and before midnight, I shall be king of that goblin tribe, or they'll all be dragon food."

"What? How? A war?" all the wizards asked at once.

"The gryhiglzehwe in Oslo started the war by sending Viking goblins and hit wizards through the floo to attack my bank this morning pretending to be part of this conference. Gringotts London will finish the war," the king said as though that settled every question the wizards might have.

"Now, you came here to see the new magic created by the wizard I named Freshgold. He is going to use his new magic to manufacture something in a few minutes – something impossible – and it will give my soldiers the advantage they need in the attack."

Ragnock sneered and said, "Do you want to see it? Sign the confidentiality agreements, and you shall be amazed by what you see."

The wizards from Spain declined to see the new magic, but the two from Florence signed the agreement. The Spanish wizards were taken to a secure room where they would have food and drink but could not communicate with anyone until the battles were settled. Other goblins carried the sleeping wizards and goblins to secure cells where they would sleep and wake naturally (without their weapons, knives, and wands). The Italian wizards had seen the blue four-layer brother plates that Mr Potter had 'created'. With professor Tofty and Smithers, the Italian wizards heard Bloodhook explain that the goblin army needed the human bubblehead charm before this battle.

"That charm doesn't work for goblins," Smithers said while the other three wizards agreed.

"Your body doesn't allow the charm to fit or stay in place," one of the Italians insisted.

"Yes, and Freshgold – Mr Potter – will make a runic array that gives a goblin a bubblehead charm."

The two Italian wizards scoffed but fell silent when Harry pulled out a sheet of muggle paper, a muggle pen, a piece of gold and a bit of limestone. The young wizard folded the paper and drew a cartouche on two panels, and then wrote words on the paper.

"What is this madness?"

"Just wait," urged Tofty. "I didn't believe it either."

Turning to the king, Harry asked for permission to use his wand, which the king granted. Then Harry pressed his wand against the paper, and with a small flash of light, the gold vanished, and the limestone turned into a golden bracelet with white stones. The wizard handed it to Bloodhook, who fastened the bracelet around his wrist and invoked the charm.

A slight glitter in the air appeared around the goblin, who began moving about the cavern to determine that the charm remained secure about his head. At Ragnock's insistence, Bloodhook and three goblin guards were surrounded by wards, and one Italian wizard was allowed to pull his wand and cast a spell to create a toxic gas within the wards. Nervously, the wizard cast the spell, and the observers watched as the three guards without the charm became violently ill and were incapacitated. But Bloodhook remained unaffected.

Dispersing his spell and putting away his wand, the wizard joined the other three in examining the bubblehead charm around the goblin's head and the bracelet on his wrist. Healers came to help the three incapacitated guards who grumbled but returned to duty.

The second Italian asked, "How long does the charm last?"

Harry replied, "As long as the goblin wants it to last."

"What?" asked all the wizards while Ragnock continued giving orders to his advisors and vault managers. More and more goblins ran through the cavern in armour carrying their battle-axes.

"The charm becomes ineffective after an hour…maximum," said Smithers.

"I have discovered that I can use qualifiers to control the spells. I have successfully used 'ill-intent', 'at-will', and 'as-needed'," Harry explained.

Tofty said, "Was 'ill-intent' the qualifier that put all the hit wizards and goblins to sleep?"

There followed a discussion about the level of magic necessary for anyone to keep a spell active for an extended time (squib level they eventually agreed) but then questioned the amount of power Mr Potter used to create the runic array.

After this first conversation, Tofty, Smithers and the Italians asked for another demonstration. Harry retrieved another sheet of paper, folded it and prepared the panels with the exact words as before, but rather than creating a bubblehead charm, he handed the paper to Tofty, who went with the other wizards into another corner and discussed the 'runes'.

"They'll be yelling in about three minutes," Bloodhook said when he noticed that Dobby kept his eyes on the wizards while Harry examined the charm around his vault manager's head. Ironstream returned to the room, a bloody bandage on his arm that Harry hadn't noticed earlier. The advisor spoke quietly with his king while a healer dealt with the wound.

"My father bled in defence of Gringotts London!" Bloodhook crowed. "My mother will dance for joy and reward him with her love and affection."

At the end of an hour, the goblins cast several spells that proved the charm had not weakened during that time.

MORE SCENERY: Logistics and Attack

"Good," Ragnock declared. The king turned to Harry and commanded, "Freshgold, make the runic arrays for my warriors."

Bloodhook escorted the wizards back to the presence of the king and Freshgold to listen to the conversation. Harry asked, "How many bracelets do you need?"

Without hesitation, Ragnock replied, "Three thousand. I'll rotate all my warriors and account managers through Oslo and Narvik in the next 48 hours."

Holding out his hand for the sheet of paper he'd handed over, Professor Tofty reluctantly returned it. Harry checked both panels, added the number 3000, and said, "I need a pile of rocks."

Dobby popped into the cavern with a pile of captured armour and helmets from the arrested and dead attackers. Harry looked at the trophies for a minute but then shook his head, "Sorry, Dobby. There's too much magic in some of these artefacts. I need plain rocks."

The elf snapped his fingers, and the trophies returned the pile in another room while the elf retrieved stones that had been blasted from the walls and ceilings in Gringotts during the attack. Using one golden nugget and a chip of limestone, Harry turned to Ragnock once again and asked for permission to use his wand.

"This is getting tiresome for you to ask permission every time you act in defence of Gringotts, Freshgold," Ragnock said. Pulling a knife from the sheath worn on his belt and holding the blade, King Ragnock handed the knife hilt first to the young wizard.

"Freshgold, you saved defended Gringotts London this morning, and you create the weapons that will give me victory this afternoon. I give you a goblin's magical focus and the right to use it freely in Gringotts London at any time."

Bloodhook laughed and danced around the room. The goblin guards shuffled their feet in simple dances. Dobby smiled with tears falling down his face, and the four wizards stared silently. Harry grinned and said, "Thanks, Your Majesty. I'll dance when your battles are over. Now, let's make some bubblehead charms."

Harry instantly realised the knife felt good in his left hand when using it as a wand. So, holding it firmly, he pressed the tip against the paper aimed at the pile of rocks. The flash of light was just a bit brighter and longer, but the paper and gold disappeared, and the pile of rocks became three thousand bracelets of gold with white stones.

Ironstream commanded goblins who gathered the bracelets to disperse among the warriors. Harry took one from the pile and laid it across his wrist as he presented it to the king of the goblins. "Your majesty, you gave me your knife. Allow me the privilege of presenting you with a bracelet for your battle. I pray your enemies lay bleeding at your feet tonight."

Ragnock held out his wrist and allowed Freshgold to fasten it before he activated the charm, then the king laughed and danced from the room, his guards following. The four wizards remained silent though guards escorted them to another room, with comfortable chairs and refreshments to rest and talk until the battle was decided. Bloodhook hurried to accompany Freshgold to another part of the bank, where the young wizard and his elf were shown a pile of stones in an empty vault.

"Now, come out of the cavern, and I'll seal the door. Dobby Elf can pop you inside, you make the gold, and then the elves will deliver it to Oslo."

"Will Ragnock win?" asked Harry.

Bloodhook grinned and said, "Of course, King Ragnock will win!"

Once the door was sealed, Dobby popped Harry back into the vault. The wizard took a sheet of paper soaked in magic, folded it once, and drew two cartouches, the one on the bottom for making gold and the one on the top to magnify the spell. He pulled out a gold nugget to spark the runic array, placed the items to make the fresh gold and pointed the paper at the large pile of rocks for the target. Then he pressed his new goblin knife against the paper.

Dobby popped his Mr Harry Potter out of the sealed room, and Bloodhook smiled, the bubblehead charm still in place. The goblin cast several spells at Harry to remove the smell of the fresh gold while they walked toward the floo room. There Harry saw King Ragnock with his advisors and warriors. Bloodhook left Harry's side to take his place at the front of the goblins who would throw themselves through the flames in a few minutes.

"You can do this, Dobby," Harry told his elf, bending down and hugging the little fellow who nodded his head solemnly.

"Raise bubblehead charms!" commanded Bloodhook, and Harry saw the shimmer appear around the head of every goblin in the room.

"Dobby Elf, deliver my gift to Gringotts Oslo!" commanded Ragnock, and Harry watched his elf vanish with a loud pop. Three minutes later, Dobby returned and lifted his thumb to indicate success in delivering the bags of fresh gold into the bank in Oslo.

"Kill the Phvyhgs-Sturrdel-gryhiglzehwe!" shouted Bloodhook, and without hesitation, Harry's vault manager plunged through the flames, followed by a horde of shouting goblins.

King Ragnock was supposed to wait five minutes before he leapt through the flames, but after only two minutes and angry pacing, the goblin raised his battle-axe raised and shouted, "Kill the gryhiglzehwe!"

Watching the goblin king plunge through the flames, Harry thought, 'I shall never make the goblins angry with me. And I'll never leave an open floo in any house where I live.'

Next Chapter: Saturday Morning Aftermath END OF CHAPTER