Chapter 167 – Old Silver & Gold
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?"