Hogwarts

Goblins. A whole horde of them. With lasers and wing-packs. And there was only one civilization in the world that had such technology.

Another laser burst was heading toward him, and there was no way he could produce a shield charm in time –

The light bounced off the shield.

Artemis jumped in shock. Had he accidentally produced a shield wandlessly, another burst of accidental magic?

"Stupefy!" And this time, another flash of red light zoomed past him, but from behind. It hit the goblin, and the creature dropped out of the air, crumpling to the ground. Artemis whirled around, only to come face to face with probably the only blond third-year in all of Hogwarts. (Seriously, those demographics were seriously skewed…)

"What in the name of Merlin are those things?" Draco yelled.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis gasped in reply. This wasn't good. If Draco saw them, then there would be an explanation owed, and the People would not be very happy now that their secrets were revealed to yet another Mud Man. Artemis considered Obliviating his friend, but then realized that Draco had just saved his life, and messing with his friend's memories probably would not be the best way to repay him.

Artemis cursed himself for finally developing a conscience. Of all the places it just had to show up...

"When I saw you run off and disappear I just had to follow you," Draco said, waving his own set of magical glasses.

Artemis swore under his breath. "D'Arvit."

Maybe the fairies would forgive him if he pointed out that he hadn't been the one to take Draco to the fairies – it had been the other way around, because it was the goblins' fault for revealing themselves. Artemis doubted it, though. The People valued their privacy too much, and it wasn't as if their relationship had been friendly to begin with. If they were lucky, maybe Artemis could persuade them to let Draco get away with a mere mind wipe. Draco, as a pureblooded wizard, simply did not know enough about technology to deal with a race as dangerous as the People. If he couldn't even understand how a cathode-ray tube television from decades ago displayed images, how could he ever deal with the biological sensors and plasma guns that the People used regularly? Simply put, he wouldn't last five minutes in Haven.

Then again, one did not have to understand how a laser gun worked to take out the goblin wielding it...

Maybe they still had a chance.

But maybe not. It wouldn't do to get his hopes up for something that might not ever come true.

Still, they had to keep a positive attitude, because there wasn't much else that could help them at this point.

Hmmm...

If worst came to worst, Artemis could simply pass off all the fairy technology as "a different kind of magic." It wouldn't be too far from the truth. Magic was a form of energy, just like electricity was, and the People simply knew how to use both…

"So, I'm asking you again…what were those things?"

Artemis gulped. "Goblins…" he muttered.

"Goblins?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Not the Gringotts ones," Artemis growled. "As much as I hate to say this, they're after our lives."

Draco nodded, knowing better than to ask why, and aimed his wand at their assailants.

Were they the same ones that had been giving the LEP so much trouble this year? It had to be. The goblins were getting even closer now. Were they just mad that he had helped cut off their supplies from the human world? Or were they acting on another's command?

Either way, he was not going down without a fight.

Artemis drew his wand and backed behind a hill, trying to get a better location for his own defense.

This had to do with Haven. Artemis was pretty sure that in a few moments, the LEP would arrive.

And not for a good reason.

An Undisclosed Location

"It took us long enough."

"Shut up, Cudgeon. Are you happy now?"

"Maybe."

"Oh, just go right now. If anyone botches this thing, it's your fault."

"Or the goblins'."

"Well, they don't count. They're as dumb as hell."

"Which is why we're using them."

"Exactly."

Northern Scotland – again

"What's the report?" Commander Root snapped at Captain Short.

"Nothing, so far. This town was just a docking bay. I think that the wizard school should be more fruitful in our search," she responded serenely. "Let's go, Commander. I don't think we'll find anything more here."

Taking to their wings, the two fairies flew north. "I smell something fishy. This isn't good," Captain Short murmured.

"I smell something, too," Root agreed. "Only, not fish, but goblins – "

"D'Arvit!" yelled Captain Short. "Those idiots! Attacking in the open!" She pointed into the distance, where fireballs and laser bursts seemed to be falling out of the air, like a deadly rain from nowhere. "And in a school, too! If there's one thing that will catch the attention of the Mud Men, it's something happening to their offspring!"

"Damned Goblins," Root muttered. "Just because they're shielded doesn't mean that they're invincible. How many people are there?"

"We have to get closer," Short said resignedly. "There's no way we can get them from this far."

"Hopefully they're not doing something stupid like attacking a crowd."

"Probably not – I can see these laser-looking bursts coming from the ground, but there's only a few – about six or seven – at a time," Short noted. "They must have caught a few unlucky kids ouside of the grounds off-guard."

"Or maybe they're the unlucky ones – those kids seem to be holding up fine," Root grumbled. "Those wizards are a lot tougher than they look. I say we just take out the rest and then mind wipe them." Indeed, the battle seemed extremely concentrated, and quiet, even. There was no pandemonium or stampeding characteristic of an inexperienced civilian crowd being attacked. The group must have been small enough that they could react quickly…or perhaps, they were expecting them.

That would not be far from possible, if the target was who they suspected he was.

Captain Short nodded, and they settled behind a hill. They took aim with the lasers, and fired – but nothing happened.

"What the - ?" Captain Short whispered incredulously. "I could have sworn I just replaced the batteries! These things are practically brand new!"

Root opened the compartment of his laser and checked it. It was perfectly in order. Root let out a long string of expletives that would have probably gotten a kindergarten teacher barred from every school in the area. "Someone down at control central must have shut down all of the laser circuits – it's the only explanation."

"But who? Foaly wouldn't do that, would he?" Captain Short said.

The Commander simply sighed. "I'm not sure what to think right now. In any event, these lasers are useless. Call Foaly. See what he can come up with."

Captain Short shrugged and reached for her communicator. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up worriedly. "He's not answering. I can't send or receive any messages on this thing, either. This isn't some stupid coincidence – it's deliberate sabotage. Someone wants to shut down the LEP."

"Goblins," Root hissed.

"But they're not smart enough, are they? They have to have some sort of contact within the central helping them."

"We find out who our rat is later. Now – take down the Goblins somehow."

"Actually, all we have to do is find the wizards and mind-wipe them," Short said, pointing up. "They've all been taken down." Indeed, it was true, for the skies were quiet again, and the (hopefully unconscious and not dead) bodies of the goblins lay strewn about.

"Unless it's Fowl," Root said. "In that case, we question him. If he's guilty, we question him and force him to say how he managed to cheat Foaly's retina scan thing. If he's not, we simply use whatever help we can get from him and deposit him wherever he's supposed to be."

"Fowl's help?" Short asked. "I'm not sure we can trust him."

"Got any better ideas? I'm at a dead end now," Root snapped. "I know that he's going to ask for payment; hopefully, he'll make it reasonable. Especially since we have him caught now."

"Excuse me?" Short asked.

"There." Root pointed at the two boys standing in the distance. The smoke had cleared, and sure enough, there was none other than Artemis Fowl. They should have expected it.

What was more concerning was the second boy standing next to him. Tall, thin, blonde, and definitely not any human they had ever come in contact with before.

"What are we going to do with him?" she asked.

Root narrowed his eyes. "Easy. Step one: punch him in the face. Step two: mind-wipe him. Step three: punch Fowl in the face. Step four: question him. Step five: mind-wipe him so hard he doesn't remember what color the sky is."

Haven City, Police Plaza, LEP Control Center, Operations Booth – approximately five minutes ago

Foaly whistled cheerfully to himself. He was a complete genius! Why hadn't he thought of this before? He had ordered a scan of the trash shuttle from chute 37 – the ones that the goblins had built. There were goblin scales all over it, but there was one that was definitely elf. It was a small, partial thumbprint, but if it belonged to someone in the LEP…He rubbed his hands, grinning.

Root would have to give him a pay raise for this. If he found the traitor…

Thousands of possible results popped up. Foaly wasn't worried. He cross-referenced it to the LEP, which narrowed things down to a few hundred, and then a few more specifics, and he'd be done!

346 subjects eliminated – 40 possibles remaining the computer beeped.

The doors behind him slid open. Cudgeon walked in with a large stack of papers in his arms.

"Oh, hey, PRIVATE Cudgeon," Foaly said cheerfully. "Got any paperwork for me? You're doing mighty fine in this job, you know. A few more years and we might be able to fix up your face."

Cudgeon hung his head. "What's up, Foaly?" he said weakly.

"Just genius, as usual," the centaur said smugly. "Computer, cross-reference all possibles with level three clearance who have access to the recycling smelters."

Cudgeon sighed. "Just some things you need to sign."

"Sorry, can't. Important business, you see," Foaly responded arrogantly. "I think I'm about to rat out the traitor in the LEP who's behind this goblin rebellion. We're looking for someone who has a grudge against the LEP who also has access to the recycling plant. What have you got there for me to sign, anyway?"

"Just an order for shuttle parts."

Foaly smiled and picked up the pen, before his brain fully processed what Cudgeon just said –

Wait – SHUTTLE PARTS?

BEEEEP. Search complete. One remaining possible. In large, yellow block letters, the screen displayed a name.

The traitor's name.

The traitor who happened to be standing right in front of Foaly. Foaly laughed nervously.

"You know, Cudgeon, all of those jibes at you, that was all in fun, you know? In fact, I think I might have some ointment that could help – "

CLICK.

Foaly found a rather menacing-looking gun pressed up against his nose. "Save your ointment, donkey boy. I have a feeling that you'll be developing some head problems of your own," Cudgeon growled.

Just moments before

"Stupefy!" The beam of red light found its way home in the middle of a goblin's face, and another one of Artemis' attackers dropped out of the air. They were just about as stupid as trolls – they clustered in large blobs, making them easy targets, and they simply charged straight at him, believing that invisibility meant invincibility.

Not true, unfortunately for them. Another well-aimed curse sent one spiraling over the field. He landed on top of a wild briar patch with a satisfying crunch.

"Get out of the way, Artemis!" Artemis jumped, startled, and could barely react before he felt Draco tackle him. They both went tumbling out of the way, and a particularly large, nasty fireball landed where he had just been standing, burning the earth black and singing the surrounding grass.

Artemis would have thanked Draco, but there was still work to be done. More goblins were coming, and they still had not completely defeated the first wave yet. In order to keep up with the stragglers still left behind, and this new horde, they would have to cast Stunning spells almost as quickly as an automated computer from an internet café in Nigeria sent out scam emails.

"So what are these goblins that apparently don't come from Gringotts?"

"They're…goblins," Artemis choked out. How eloquent, he snapped to himself. It seems like every time you improve your social skills, your mental capabilities go down yet another notch.

Draco lifted an eyebrow, though it was hard to see because a) it was getting dark, and b) his ultra-blonde hair was about the same shade as his skin, anyway. "Those things can actually fly and shoot fire out of their hands?"

"Not the Gringotts merchants. These ones are a different species. Both species have equal capabilities for cruelty and double-crossing, in my opinion, but the ones that just attacked us are as stupid as trolls, so you don't have to worry about that," Artemis explained, sending more spells at the goblins. One of them didn't even bother to get out of the way and flew straight into a blasting curse. The result was rather spectacular. "See?"

"I suppose there are more of these 'different species'?" Draco asked.

D'Arvit. He was going to have to tell Draco about the People now, wasn't he? "Later," Artemis chose to say vaguely, and kept taking down goblins. Finally, there were only three of them left. The boys lifted their wands and prepared to strike – but to their surprise, the largest of the three shot the other two in the back and took off.

"Those two are definitely dead," Artemis noted. The rest were only unconscious, though the one that had run face-first into the blasting curse was bleeding extremely heavily.

"Wait, what were those things that they were even carrying?" Draco asked, confused. He, having grown up in a completely magical environment, had absolutely no idea what guns were even used for.

"Softnose lasers," Artemis reported upon closer inspection. "I'll explain later."

"Damn straight you will," said a voice behind him.

Artemis turned around, and came face to face with two rather angry looking elves. Commander Root and Holly Short, to be exact.

"D'Arvit."