Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

It was a lovely morning when the delegation of the goblins arrived. The sun was out, and we were greeting them under the clear winter sky, letting its rays land on the fresh snow and dazzle all of us because of it. We bowed towards them according to their tradition, followed their protocol, and used their own language to say 'welcome' and invite them inside. Did I nailed it? Probably not, but Old Silver's expression was at least a bit more surprised than he would be comfortable admitting.

Of course, he didn't come alone but was accompanied by a dozen goblins, half of them family members if I had to guess, while the other half were guards, wearing goblin-made armor under their clothes. It was easy to tell because their movements were stiff, even for a goblin. Watching them get out from the multiple miniature versions of old muggle cars was undoubtedly a funny sight to behold... But… I couldn't allow myself to laugh. Not even to smile at them so as not to offend them before we struck a deal.

"Please, follow us in, Lord Silver Hammerstrike." I exclaimed in Gobbledegook, leading him into our home while Quincy was holding onto my arm, walking alongside us. We were both dressed in an elegant, obsidian wizarding robe with a deep, purple accent at its seams and a basilisk's head sowed onto its back, something that was the next iteration of my family's old crest. I decided that I am upgrading it from a viper to the king of the snakes, something that may one day find its way into the history books. Who knows… Without a firm conviction and believing in our goal, why even try?

"It seems," Old Silver grunted, coming with us, looking at the Professors and Grindelwald, who remained silent, letting me do the talking from the get-go, "That I underestimated you the last time, Conrad Anguine."

"My age is the cause, and I have yet to make a name for myself. That little fact is maybe my biggest hurdle to beat..."

"I don't know about the latter!" He chortled, showing his sharp, yellow teeth while we entered the conference room, sitting down and watching as Professor Lockhart played the role of a butler, bringing refreshments for us. Grindelwald emphasized to us that we are not to use magic while the goblins are here and that we do everything manually. They could be... fidgety, and we want to make this work. They would feel threatened if one of us took our wand out and began waving it around, which I could understand.

"I hope it is not only bad that you heard about us!" I joked, making him shake his head.

"I looked into your history. It is interesting for a wizard, and with what you did for us, I am now paying attention to you, which is rare."

"There are stronger beings than me, running amok the wizarding lands, no? Are you not worried about them?"

"Worried? No. Do we keep tabs on them? Yes, but their conflict is something for the wizards to solve; it barely affects us. We could even say that it is good for business. There is always a greater need for resources, security, and information in times of war, and when both sides come to you for it… You can guess the rest, Young Conrad. Our only issue is that a prolonged conflict like this sooner or later reaches a plateau and then begins turning from profitable to net-neutral. And I hate to think of letting it go into the negatives..."

"What about the banks?" Quincy asked, curious, reaching for her cup and sipping on the wine we served for the goblins.

"Do you think we would let them own it?" He laughed sincerely, copying her and smacking his lips after taking a big gulp from his glass. "Good wine." He mumbled, glancing at Grindelwald, already knowing it was his choice because he was the only one who would know he liked this blend. Indeed, he chose it, something that was made only in the 17th century, at the base of the Carpathian mountains. "Even if they take over Gringotts physically in their country, we are a global organization, Ms. Anguine. We can move our most important assets from one bank to another before any of your kind could put their grubby hands on our vaults. Not to mention our defenses! They were built by sorcerers who were also troubled by the thought that another of their brethren would swindle away their wealth."

"That is a relief. As a customer of Gringotts, it fills me with safety that my belongings would be secure in your vaults!" She sighed, smiling from ear to ear.

"Breaking into it is only possible if you have help from the goblins working there. And no matter what others say... Goblins and Wizard can rarely achieve it." He nodded, almost making me laugh, but I held it back at the last moment.

"I received your letter," I began, wanting to move our discourse to its main purpose, knowing that they were here to deal with business and not to chit-chat with humans. "But I am still not sure about why you are here." I could see the appreciation in his eyes while he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a piece of rock. No, that was not a rock.

"Hm...?" I leaned forward, watching it, and after he nodded, I reached out and picked it up to examine it in detail.

It was a piece of lustrous metal, and while I was holding it, I was surprised to find it light, almost as if I had nothing in my hands. It had a silvery-blue sheen that seemed to shimmer with an inner light as if reflecting the clear sky even within the room we were in.

"That's Aetherium." Herpo spoke in my mind, "It is the Silver of Ugnok."

"Wait... This is silver? Didn't you turn him into a statue and break him?"

"Yeah. Aetherium is when you intentionally transfigure a living being into a precious metal. It is an unholy act because you turn a living being into its complete opposite, into something lifeless."

"We turn rats into cups at school. I saw multiple furry mugs and keychains that bite your finger."

"Don't be stupid. That is reversible transfiguration. Why do you think sometimes the cups have tails and the plates grow legs to run away with your food? When you are serious about it, then the transfiguration is irreversible, even for your Dumbledores and Voldemorts. It is worse than dying because the Wizard has the intention to transfigure the very soul of the living thing that gets transmuted; that is, the shining you see inside of it. You not only change its body, you take its soul and transfigure it, melding body and spirit while changing something that lives into an inanimate thing. It is not as simple as killing someone; it is much more deliberate and insidious."

"You were really dark..."

"Yes, I know. We called it Aetherium in my days, and it is an unnatural metal. Because of its process of creation, it is durable and impervious to all but the most powerful magical enchantments. Yet, despite its toughness, it is as malleable as soft gold when forged by a skilled blacksmith, like a goblin. It allows for the creation of intricate designs that are naturally resistant to all types of magic, except really strong ones. Now you see why the goblins carve it so much! Against us, it is their best bet to use for protection. Of course, they don't know how to make it, and I am curious if there is lore amongst wizards about how to do it, surviving until today."

"I bet there were some who accidentally made it." I mumbled within my mind, "Not knowing its value, throwing it out as a failed transfiguration."

"Could be... But it to be true, authentic Aetherium, you intentionally need to transfigure the soul. Otherwise, it will be worthless. I told you, this is dark magic because it denies true death from someone, damning their soul to be destroyed. You won't bring them back to chat, not even with your fancy stone."

"You are a sick fuck..."

"Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment." Closing my eyes for a moment, I put the 'rock' back onto the table, looking at Old Silver with a slight smile. "I am glad you found a piece of the silver."

"So am I." He nodded, taking it back and pocketing it. "But so did my rivals. We are at an impasse once again. They are sure that they will find clues from their pieces and all the other ruined fragments of that temple that we dug up and brought back... We are doing the same, and I can see why he believes that."

"I don't want to be rude," I said, fixing my sitting position, "But why are you here then?"

"Because I am willing to trade for an advantage. Give us all the information you have, and we can strike up a deal over it."

"Would you really believe me? A wizard?" I pressed, leaning forward, looking intensely into his eyes.

"After this? Yes. Of course, you can swindle me, but both of us know the consequence of such an action."

"Yeah, we do. Hmmm... I have only a little more information for you, and I can't guarantee their validity! We are talking about ancient rumors here, things that predate us by thousands of years."

"So you know more!" he exclaimed, sitting up straight and maintaining eye contact. with me. "What do you want? Goblin Silver...?"

"No." I cut in, surprising him, "I want something that you should have ample of; hell, I don't mind if you steal it from my enemies; you do own their vaults."

"..."

"I want gold."

"How much?" He asked, only thinking about it for a brief moment.

"All of it." I answered with a smirk, making him flash his teeth back at me.

"Let's talk numbers then... I am sure we can come to an agreement."