As Snape, who'd been eating slowest, put his utensils crossed on his plate, the old female goblin suddenly stood tall. Snape's gaze rose with her, and Hermione's breath caught.
She was the Leader of the Goblins.
It was part of her implaccable bearing and confidence. "Attend me, children of men. My honor guard may remain by the fire." One young goblin made the mistake of grumbling. She strode straight up to him, and said, "Unless you think I'm no match for one grown wizard and three kits?" The young goblin deflated, shaking his head warily. She grabbed him by the chin, forcing his eyes up to hers. "That's right. You must always remember, you take orders before you give them."
The tunnels looked as grand as the Moscow Metro, Hermione found, gold and mosaics with cobalt tiles, evoking the sky with alabaster clouds. The next tunnel had obsidian as the main inlay, with gold glinting around the edges. They turned down hallway after hallway, each one drawing intricate, infinite pictures around them. It was both wonderful and majestic.
She opened the metal door to her office, and it swung on silent hinges, "I rarely need to use this office. My bones dislike the cold, so you'd best speak quickly."
The goblin was shorter than any of them, even Harry, who was the smallest in his year. But she sat on a chair that was higher than Flitwick's, and the piles of paperwork reached the whole way up to her neck around her. It looked like McGonagall's office, if her paperwork had quadrupled suddenly.
Quickly, the goblin tossed a letter opener at "Ronald Weasley."
Draco made a valiant attempt to catch the flipping object, but it slid out of his hands. He was not used to Ron's longer arms, and so his hands crossed, and the letter opener flew straight between them.
"Two Gryffindors, a Slytherin, and a Slytherin in Gryffindor clothing," the old goblin bit off. "Why did you try such a transparent deception? Do you think us that ignorant?"
Draco strode forward, no longer flanking Potter. "It is not safe for me to appear as myself in Diagon Alley. My deception was intended to trick only human eyes."
"Introduce yourself, then, coward." The goblin said.
Draco Malfoy blinked, a bit baffled by her bluntness. He bowed (the one motion he'd practiced in Ron's body, no doubt), "Draco Malfoy."
"Impressive." the goblin said, "Is your father not on the current Dark Lord's side?"
"Yes, of course he is," Draco Malfoy said sternly, "Hence the need for deception in Wizarding London."
"You would hide yourself even against your own kin?" The goblin sounded disapproving.
"Yes. He would not harm me, if there was a choice. The Dark Lord does not give choices, so I give him the choice of ignorance." Draco Malfoy's voice drawled this out, but Hermione could see the tenseness of him.
"And you? The female Gryffindor?" the goblin was looking at Hermione.
"Muggleborn." Hermione said, her chin tilting up a bit, "For fact-checking purposes. Measure twice, cut once."
The goblin nodded, rejecting her from further consideration. Which, as that was just what Hermione had wanted, made her quite pleased. She tried not to show it though.
"And the tall one in the back?" The goblin asked.
"Severus Snape, Potions Master and Professor at Hogwarts," Snape's voice, for once, did not hold even a trace of sneer or condescension.
"Happy to be the guard dog for all of these children?" the goblin asked, her pointy teeth flashing.
"Thrilled." Snape said, in a voice dry as ice. Hermione could feel his cold gaze on her back.
"Does Potter speak for Wizarding England?" the goblin asked.
"He shall, should he win." Snape intoned.
"Then you three will remain here, touching nothing." the goblin said, opening a smaller door behind her chair. "We have matters to discuss... privately."
[a/n: I think I'll do a quick "what the hell?" reaction from the humans, and then plough on into what Harry's 'interview' entails.]