As Harry set down the empty goblets he was carrying, Bill pulled the door behind him

Closed, shutting out the still-voluble voices of the others, who were continuing to

celebrate even in Lupin's absence.

"I wanted a private word, actually, Harry. It hasn't been easy to get an opportunity with

the cottage this full of people."

Bill hesitated.

"Harry, you're planning something with Griphook."

It was a statement, not a question, and Harry did not bother to deny it. He merely looked

At Bill, waiting.

"I know goblins," said Bill. "I've worked for Gringotts ever since I left Hogwarts. As far

As there can be friendship between wizards and goblins, I have goblin friends -- or, at

least, goblins I know well, and like." Again, Bill hesitated.

"Harry, what do you want from Griphook, and what have you promised him in return?"

"I can't tell you that," said Harry. "Sorry, Bill."

The kitchen door opened behind them; Fleur was trying to bring through more empty

Goblets.

"Wait," Bill told her, "Just a moment."

She backed out and he closed the door again.

"Then I have to say this," Bill went on. "If you have struck any kind of bargain with

Griphook, and most particularly if that bargain involves treasure, you must be

Exceptionally careful. Goblin notions of ownership, payment, and repayment are not the

same as human ones."

Harry felt a slight squirm of discomfort, as though a small snake had stirred inside him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"We are talking about a different breed of being," said Bill. "Dealings between wizards

and goblins have been fraught for centuries -- but you'll know all that from History of

Magic. There has been fault on both sides, I would never claim that wizards have been

Innocent. However, there is a belief among some goblins, and those at Gringotts are

Perhaps most prone to it, that wizards cannot be trusted in matters of gold and treasure,

that they have no respect for goblin ownership."

"I respect --" Harry began, but Bill shook his head.

"You don't understand, Harry, nobody could understand unless they have lived with

Goblins. To a goblin, the rightful and true master of any object is the maker, not the

purchaser. All goblin made objects are, in goblin eyes, rightfully theirs."

"But it was bought --"

"-- then they would consider it rented by the one who had paid the money. They have,

However, great difficulty with the idea of goblin-made objects passing from wizard to

wizard. You saw Griphook's face when the tiara passed under his eyes. He disapproves. I

Believe he thinks, as do the fiercest of his kind, that it ought to have been returned to the

Goblins once the original purchaser died. They consider our habit of keeping goblin-made

Objects, passing them from wizard to wizard without further payment, little more than

theft."

Harry had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill guessed more than he was

Letting on.

"All I am saying," said Bill, setting his hand on the door back into the sitting room, "is to

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 768