Capítulo 64: Ch64. Two... no, make that three
"As entertaining as that was, angering Mr. Malfoy was not very wise. He holds significant influence in the Wizarding World." Sharpmaw calmly said as they entered his office while he headed towards his table and seated himself on his elevated chair.
'Having size problems must be tough.' Tom distractedly thought.
Only Natasha's gentle poke into his side woke him up from his musings while giving him an unamused look. His girl knew him too much to not notice he was thinking something rude.
Tom helplessly shrugged and led Natasha towards the chairs in front of Sharpmaw's table. There were three of them so it was obvious the goblin prepared before their meeting.
Seating himself, Tom pleasantly smiled at the goblin. This one seemed more courteous and reasonable so Tom didn't mind showing him the courtesy of being polite.
"I am Thomas Prest. I'd like to believe I am one of the more accomplished Magicians out there." He playfully introduced himself, only getting an eye-roll from Sharpmaw.
Goblins really only paid attention to the big magician families and even then only every ten or so years so Tom was a complete unknown to them. Of course, they would try to investigate him the second he left Gringotts.
Tom then gestured at Natasha and Hermione, "This is Natasha Romanova, my assistant, and Hermione Granger, my cousin. Nice to meet you Mr. Sharpmaw. Feel free to call me Tom."
"I see. I am Sharpmaw, a manager here at Gringotts." Sharpmaw amiably returned the introduction despite them already knowing his name.
He was chosen to meet with Tom because he was one of the more mild-mannered goblins and had the experience of working with wealthy wizarding families for quite a long time. He was the goblin sent to the proverbial wolves when somebody dangerous comes to the bank and they need someone who won't just snarl and insult the client.
In short, his life was bothersome but at least he was getting nicely paid for his efforts.
"Lucius Malfoy is one of the richest men in the Wizarding World, no?" Tom light-heartedly started, his tone conveying he had seemingly no care in the world.
Sharpmaw looked at him strangely for a second. This information was well-known but... The goblin was suddenly reminded that his guests were definitely from the supernatural world but they were not native to the Wizarding World. They probably didn't know the in-depth politics of the Wizarding World.
'Bothersome.' Sharpmaw inwardly sighed, feeling a strong need for some alcoholic beverage.
Despite everything, goblins had a massive interest in keeping the Wizarding World separated and ignorant of the wider Supernatural World. They were hiding in it so the longer it stayed isolated from the outer world, the better for them.
Having someone from the wider Supernatural World visiting the Wizarding World was incredibly bothersome because it could either reveal the state of the real world to the wizards or worse, a conflict could arise.
Sharpmaw didn't even want to think about that kind of a clusterfuck. The biggest problem with the wider Supernatural World was that everyone had connections to somebody else. Seldom was a strong individual also a complete loner. That went doubly for goddamned Magicians who thrived in their networking much like the wizards did, just on a much bigger scale since they didn't limit themselves to a thoroughly inbred community.
Even if Tom was a complete weakling. What if his death would cause some strong beings to retaliate? Even one high-rank entity could cause irreparable damage to the Wizarding Community. The most recent Dark Lord was the prime example. He had reached beyond his inborn inbred potential and managed to get to the very beginning of the high-rank.
And the entire Wizarding World was turned upside down because of it.
Sharpmaw didn't want to even imagine how easy it would have been for an Ultimate-rank being to just erase the British Wizarding World out of existence. Especially when the mid-ranked cannon fodder the wizards were, were so inherently arrogant and prejudiced against anything that wasn't them.
Merlin help the Wizarding World because this Thomas Prest definitely looked like somebody who liked to meddle and enjoyed watching some good old-fashioned conflict. Sharpmaw could respect that but that didn't mean he had to like it.
Slowly nodding, Sharpmaw spoke, "Yes. He is one of the most influential men in this country. Even goblins must show him at least basic courtesy." His tone revealed his disgust at that.
He saw no need to hide it in front of Tom and his family. Obviously, from the little verbal clash, neither of them was a fan of Mr. Malfoy.
"So, let me guess. His wealth is around one to ten million Galleons, no?" Tom curiously asked but Sharpmaw grimaced.
"I can't reveal confidential-" He tried to get out of answering but...
"Come on. This is hardly confidential. I am not some wide-eyed naive Hogwarts graduate that knows nothing of the world." Hermione threw Tom a nasty look at that but he just chuckled and ignored her glare in favor of speaking with Sharpmaw, "The range I proposed is purposefully wide enough that no magic could possibly deem you breaking an agreement if you said yes or no. So? Which is it?"
Sharpmaw helplessly smiled, "Yes. He is in that range. You are well-informed on how contractual magic works." He said, inwardly sweating bullets.
The only way for Tom to be so aware of these things was if he regularly made deals with the devils. And if he was on good terms with a devil... Sharpmaw's throat suddenly went dry at the implications.
Even connections with other Magician Families were troublesome but the devils? The sole race where every noble devil is practically born to be a powerhouse?
The need to not piss off Tom suddenly rose from four to a whole eight in Sharpmaw's range from one to ten. The only way to get higher would be if he showed he was the high or the ultimate rank himself. But, that couldn't be true, right? ... Right?
Sharpmaw surely hoped not.
Hearing Sharpmaw's answer, Tom turned to Hermione and gave her an amiable smile, "That's five to fifty million pounds for your information."
Something in his smile rubbed Hermione the wrong way. He sounded and looked as if he was mocking her. As if he was saying she was unable to do the conversion herself!
"I can do my math!" Hermione indignantly exclaimed, affronted at the very thought that she couldn't convert it.
"Good for you." Tom casually praised, "You are certainly one of the better cases among witches when it comes to math. I am sure of it."
That irritated Hermione even more but... she had no comeback for that so she just sullenly crossed her arms on her chest and petulantly turned her head to the side with a pout.
'So what if my kind was not focusing on math studies. Stupid Tom!' Hermione inwardly complained but... deep down, she couldn't help but mock some wizards too. Tom had just stated what she always thought out loud. And that was the real source of her current indignation.
Even Sharpmaw couldn't help it and involuntarily snorted when he heard what Tom said. He worked with wizards, the wealthy wizards at that, on a regular basis. Some families like Crabbes and Goyles... better to not talk about it.
"Well, I can't really be beaten by such a ponce, can I?" Tom rhetorically asked and pointed at himself while turning towards Natasha as if trying to gain confirmation.
Natasha rolled her eyes but she sported a smile on her face, "No. That would certainly not be your style."
Tom nodded in satisfaction and turned towards Sharpmaw, "You heard the lady. Prepare a transfer for two... no, make that three hundred million pounds to this bank." He casually said, making Sharpmaw's maw fall on his table.
With a gleeful horror, the goblin realized that he was totally right. This human definitely enjoyed causing chaos. He just hoped it would be the good type of chaos for the goblin race.
Well, who cared anyway? Three hundred million... How much pure gold was that again!?
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