Harry Potter reluctantly removed his hands that had been busy caressing Hermione Granger and Daphne Greengrass. He sat up straight and turned towards Bill Weasley who had been talking with Fleur. Neville Longbottom had been talking with Tracey Davis about some plants that Professor Sprout used against the Death Eaters. The change in his posture was a signal to Daphne and Hermione who realized that it was back to business now. Daphne's expression turned stoic and Hermione folded her hands on her lap. They both fixed their posture.

"Bill?" Hearing his name called, Bill turned towards Harry.

"I have decided it would be better if I followed your instructions. These two rightfully pointed out that your experience with Goblins is unquestionable and most importantly, I trust your judgment."

Bill smiled at my decision. He pecked Fleur on the cheek and murmured something in her ear. She smiled and nodded at his words. Then turned and went towards others to talk with them.

"Okay Harry, the first thing, I want you to understand is that under no circumstances you should act humbly with them. I am not saying to act like an arrogant ponce and order them around, but instead, keep your head high as if what you did was something to be praised. You need to understand Harry, that what you had done may have been illegal but it was still brave. You need to project an image where you are proud of the feat which you achieved."

Harry was surprised to hear what Bill said, he could see the same expression on everyone's faces. Hermione looked like she wanted to go on a rant but was visibly restraining herself.

Bill wasn't daunted at their expressions, "Like I had said, Wizards don't understand Goblin culture. To them, trying to learn something that does not fit into their worldview must be wrong. They have a martial culture, which simply means feats of bravery, strength, and daring are considered supreme to them. And what you did was all of the above. So, if you acted humbly, then it would seem that you feel that achieving something like this is easy. And it has gone to your head."

Seeing their understanding expression, he continued, "On the other hand, if you act arrogant. Then they would assume that you are like any other Pureblood wizard. It wouldn't negate any existing opinion they have of you, because to them you are just a child who has reached maturity. So, it is expected of you. But as you don't want to project such an image, so act with confidence and give respect to them."

"The second thing, tell them about the Horcruxes. All the magical beings and creatures abhor such magic. The soul is considered sacred to all magical, tearing off one for achieving immortality is going against the cycle of life and death. They wouldn't have done anything to the one present in the vault, but the Lestrange and Dark Lord would have drawn their ire just by association. They would not have attacked directly but assisting anyone against them would have been possible."

He continued, "Do not under any circumstances act guilty for their loss, and promise them something for it. You could compensate them on your own accord but do not give them the choice. As I said, it would appear as if you are an idiot for giving them such an opportunity. They view everyone as their enemy to defeat, providing such an opening to an enemy would make you look like an idiot."

All of them were surprised by the complex nature of Goblin culture. Harry felt relieved that he had asked Bill, otherwise he would have bungled up the meeting. He might even have given them an inordinate compensation from Black Vault in his misguided sense of guilt. The most surprised were Tracey, Neville, and Daphne because their family had been dealing with Goblins for centuries but none of them knew about all of this. It was not really that they never knew, but that no one tried to know. As Bill had said, Wizards always thought they knew the best.

Harry turned to Hermione, and said, "Love, you should especially learn this lesson. Your crusade in helping House Elves and SPEW had a similar problem. I can understand that you don't want them to suffer, and obviously, slavery is wrong. But you had never once tried to understand their culture. You would not get any knowledge about their culture from any book. If you are serious about their welfare, then you would need to sit down and talk with them."

Hermione turned red in shame, Harry rubbed his hand on her back to provide comfort, "I know you are a passionate person, Hermione. And I love that about you, but we are not teenagers anymore. We would be playing a different ball game now. Rushing in and acting on emotions alone would achieve nothing. Research House Elves, and create a goal while making checkpoints. If the end goal is freeing them, then it cannot be the first step. We have to go slowly and enact changes that are easier to digest. I love your sense of justice and stubbornness, and I know you will achieve whatever you have set your mind to. But we have to be smart in our approach."

Harry pecked her cheek to dull the sting of his words and murmured, "Talk with Daphne about it, she is a Slytherin. This kind of approach comes easily to them. I would also like the two of you to get along. Both of you are very dear to me, so it would make me happy."

Daphne also overheard what Harry murmured to Hermione. She looked at Hermione who had turned towards her, their eyes met and both of them blushed at his words. Bill, Tracey, and Neville could see that Daphne and Hermione were sporting small smiles and blushes on their faces.

"Okay, lovebirds. Let's get back to the topic. Harry, I was curious about something."

The blushes deepened on the girls' faces. While Harry gave an unrepentant grin to Bill, "What were you curious about?"

"When you were telling others about Horcruxes, why didn't you get into any detail about them? You didn't even mention that normal murder would not work for Horcrux creation."

"I know what the gruesome process entails just to create a Horcrux. It is not just the murder of an innocent, someone who has no antagonistic feelings for you. But you would also need to pluck their heart to perform the ritual."

Everyone went pale upon hearing the details, Harry continued, "There were two reasons why I didn't go into detail. First, they may have been leaders of various important bodies in the Wizarding world but I don't trust them. Their past actions have not assured me about their mentality. But because they are the people with the highest authority, I knew that I would have to tell them. The second reason was the portraits present in the Headmistress' office. They are only answerable to the headmasters of Hogwarts, and I don't want some future headmasters to figure out Horcruxes through them."

"Surely any Headmaster of Hogwarts would not be a Dark Wizard, Harry?" questioned Tracey. Neville and Hermione nodded to Tracey's question, showing their agreement.

"I don't know much about past Headmasters but I do know some whose character I don't trust. Phineas Black. Phineas, I think everyone here can understand why. A blood purist headmaster of a family famous for their Dark magic. Also, the knowledge could be ripped out from the minds of any headmaster through mind arts or even through Imperio. It is better to be safe than sorry."

All of them were mollified by his reasons. They agreed that the information should only be shared on a need-to-know basis. Harry called for Kreacher to bring him a parchment and quill to write on. He composed a letter requesting to meet with the Goblin with the highest authority available and to clarify his reason for the break-in. He then sent the letter through Kreacher to any available owl for sending.

"I am going to Madam Pomfrey for a check-up on my injuries. Does anyone want to come with me?" Harry inquired.

Hermione agreed to come with him because she also needed a check-up while Daphne came to provide company. They waved to others and left for the infirmary.