บท 12: Gold, and Slaves
"Ahhhhhhh...ugh"
Emma slid out of a hole in a stone wall that appeared somewhere in the goblin caves somewhere and fell on the wet stone ground.
It was dark everywhere, and she could barely make out the large but narrow cave around her. She was in a cave, a very large one. The bottom was smooth and wet, a creek ran through the rocks nearby. The tall stone walls were adorned with
Her psychic senses were picking a lot of minds nearby, both human and inhuman.
Just then Harry arrived, sliding out of the tunnel silently under the silencing charms and staggered.
"This is odd..", Harry frowned, drawing the attention of his companion.
"What odd?"
"There are so many humans at the front, not to mention hundreds of goblins. Wasn't the cave supposed to be deserted given there is a dragon nearby."
Harry's eyes glowed green as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
"Let's go", he said, idly waving his hand and casting invisibility charms. They fizzed a second before taking hold. Harry frowned for a second before throwing it out of his mind. He had no idea in just a moment he had burned through Gringotts entire stock of Theif's downfall.
"Ahhhh...mmff" Emma screamed before Harry quickly covered her mouth.
"I made us invisible. Now hold my hand and follow me."
Emma and Harry moved through the dark caravan, slowly and silently.
In a wide caravan towards which Harry and Emma were heading, hundreds of goblins wearing silver armor were watching over hundreds of shackled humans dressed in rugs moving gold out of dozens of huge vaults. In a corner a few goblins were banging and yelling at a humongous white Ukerarian Ironbelly, scaring the dragon into a corner.
Shackled humans were carrying either carrying large bars of gold or sacs filled with golden Gallons. Every one of them looked beaten and broken, their eyes dull in the near darkness of the cave. With every step, the shackles on their wrists and necks clanked in an eerie symphony that echoes in the hollows of the cave. The slaves moaned or grunted at times but each such discretion was awarded whips to the back.
In the center of it all stood Ragnok, the head goblin of the London branch, overseeing the entire process along with a few human guests.
"How long will it take to move all the gold?" a man garbed in black robes and a bone mask asked Ragnok.
"As long as it will take to empty all the vaults", Ragnok replied pointedly.
"Dark Lord has no patience for such..."
"Then that is for me to explain to our Lord, not you", Ragnok said. Hearing his anger, Goblins around him pointed their short spear at Death Eaters.
~TOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN~
Just then alarms went off in the entire caravan.
"What is that?", masked Death eater exclaimed.
"Intruder, we have an intruder", Ragnok barked at his guards, "Make them hurry up."
Whips started to lash, as slaves did their best to move faster. Between all the commotion, a slave couple held hands and endured the whips. Both were in their early forties with forgettable faces and equally forgettable brown hairs.
But they were someone Harry knew, someone very dear to him.
In the back, Harry was nearing the caravan, and the closer he got, the clearer he could see the situation there. Soon there reached a ledge overseeing the entire caravan floor.
"I know you said Goblins rumored to have slaves, to actually see that...What the F..?
On the side, Harry had gone quiet. He did not speak, he did not reply.
At first, it was not clear to him but now he can clearly see. Slaves, and hundreds of them. And that was just on this floor. Now he could look around, beyond the walls he could see more like them. Thousands of shackled people with aura filled with despair all over the Gringotts caves.
"But at least we found our place. This is the level I saw. Here is the Potter vault. But now what we do with the goblins, and so many..."
"I am going in, just stay here."
"What? Harry no. There are...", Emma yelled, uncaring of stealth. But Harry did not listen.
He walked into the lowest level of the caravan and dropped his invisibility, appearing back in his ministry employee guise.
Without speaking a thing, he moved towards the slaves.
"Who goes there", the goblins spotted him the moment he became visible.
"Kill Him!"
'Aghhhh'
With a guttural yell, dozens of goblins rushed towards him, moving far swifter than their small size would suggest.
"Animata", Harry whispered.
Siver spears headed towards Harry, intending to skewer him in, only to be blocked at the last second by a rock that grew out of rock.
~What?~ goblins looked in shock as the rock prutution grew more and more before turning into a very familiar shape.
"Basilisk", Ragnok muttered in shock. Before them stood a sixty-foot-long animated form of a basilisk. Coming to life, it took a deep breath and hissed, leaving even the bravest goblin quaking in his boots. Its sword-like teeth dripped with venom, and the drops falling to the ground hissed as the venom ate through the rock. Thankfully its eyes were closed.
In the low light of the cave, the giant figure of basilisk coiling protectively around Harry looked utterly monstrous.
The goblins nearest to it tried to flee but a single swipe of its tail sent them flying.
"Ahhh"
"Run"
Slaves started to scream, but their chains prevented them from doing anything more.
"Attack it", Ragnok commanded after finding back his voice.
Goblins rushed at the Basilisk coiling protectively around Harry, but even the enchanted silver barely nicked the magic reinforced scales of Basilisk. And if that was not enough, more basilisks started to rise out of the rock and started to protectively circle slaves while picking of any guard that got close.
In less than a minute, a hundred or so goblins were down, and the rest, including the Death eaters and Ragnok, had retreated to back.
"Who are you?"Ragnok yelled, watching all the gold scattered on the ground amidst the chaos.
Harry commanded Basilisk to uncoil, and he walked out towards the slaves. He did not pay the yelling goblin any mind.
"What do we do now?", One death eater spoke. They had a mission of utmost importance from the Dark Lord, they could not leave empty-handed. All the gold was being transported towards the other side.
Ragnok kept on retreating, but a sly grin appeared on his face.
Amidst everything Harry suddenly noticed the Goblins had stepped clanking irons and making noises. Right on cue, the Dragon at the end of the cave unleashed a torrent of fire from its mouth.
"Protego"
Harry extended his arm towards the fire and raised a giant magical shield covering the entire caravan, protecting the slaves.
The basilisks sensing his displeasure turned towards the goblins and opened their eyes.
And just like that, turned the standing goblins into stone statues.
Harry ran towards the slave couple, dropping down his disguise along the way.
"Harry!", the woman yelled, immediately taking him into a hug.
"What are you doing here Mrs. Granger?"
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NoodleBrain
NoodleBrain Sorry for the late update. I moved to a new house, and with the new location, College and all, it took me a long time to adjust and make enough time to write.
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