Some notes, and completed chapter 2 of A Little Greed.

2 files changed, 211 insertions, 54 deletions

diff --git a/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn b/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn
index abb4198..65f9f06 100644
--- a/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn
+++ b/novellas/a-little-greed/01-pragmatism.mdwn
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ clearly had no business walking around normal London, and a 30 second
 conversation about her sister who just died and "I'm to meet with the Goblins
 but need help to reach their bank" to determine that this particular freak was
 not a magic user. The second freak she identified was, and Petunia found herself
-with a willing escort into the Leaky Cauldron.
+with an escort into the Leaky Cauldron.
 
 Dark, dank, and straight out of the middle ages. Oh, she remembered this place
 well. How anyone could possibly think that magic was anything but trouble when
@@ -172,17 +172,17 @@ heir's majority, barring a will that stated otherwise. Without any way to
 acquiesce to the Dursley's demands for compensation, there was no other
 alternative; the guardianship of the boy must be changed.
 
-The contents of the will could not, legally, be read to determine a replacement
-guardian. Still, the existence of the will was not in doubt; nor that it had
-been trusted to the Goblins of Gringotts to execute. This implied that the
-Potters trusted in the judgment of Goblins to see to the care of their child.
-Ragnok acknowledged that Gringotts had already failed the Potters by bowing to
-political pressure from Dumbledore, but he would still accept the implied
-responsibility to find a proper guardian for the boy. And in any case, no-one
-else could be trusted with the task; Dumbledore had already proven that the
-Ministry of Magic was incapable of placing the child; as its representative, he
-had chosen a guardian who lasted not even 12 hours before demanding to be
-removed!
+The contents of the will could not, by the agreement with Dumbledore, be read to
+determine a replacement guardian. Still, the existence of the will was not in
+doubt; nor that it had been trusted to the Goblins of Gringotts to execute. This
+implied that the Potters trusted in the judgment of Goblins to see to the care
+of their child. Ragnok acknowledged that Gringotts had already failed the
+Potters by bowing to political pressure from Dumbledore, but he would still
+accept the implied responsibility to find a proper guardian for the boy. And in
+any case, no-one else could be trusted with the task; Dumbledore had already
+proven that the Ministry of Magic was incapable of placing the child; as its
+representative, he had chosen a guardian who lasted not even 12 hours before
+demanding to be removed!
 
 So, Ragnok ruled that guardianship of the boy was now a Goblin matter. They
 would, in good faith, find the best possible guardian for Harry Potter.
@@ -252,11 +252,11 @@ around for decades; really, this was better for everyone.
 
 A grisly smile crept across Ragnok's face. Without any further hesitation, he
 promoted Sharpaxe from Head of Potter Accounts to Head of Harry Potter Affairs.
-Harry Potter was placed in Sharpaxe's hands, and with the briefest of ceremony
+The child was placed in Sharpaxe's hands, and with the briefest of ceremony
 adopted into his clan.
 
-Harry looked up at his new father and gurgled happily. "Well," thought Sharpaxe,
-"I'll have plenty of time to work on fixing that."
+Harry looked up at his new father and gurgled happily. «Well,» thought Sharpaxe,
+«I'll have plenty of time to work on fixing that.»
 
 The child was whisked off to a Healer so the bank could be assured its asset was
 in prime condition, and Sharpaxe was dispatched back to his apartment to prepare
@@ -264,8 +264,8 @@ an appropriate living space and acquire whatever food, clothing, and any other
 essentials that were likely to be required in the immediate future.
 
 As Sharpaxe set off to notify his wife, one thought repeated in his mind:
-"Humans grow fast and tall. He will outgrow his swords quickly. I must
-requisition extra funds for additional weaponry immediately."
+«Humans grow fast and tall. He will outgrow his swords quickly. I must
+requisition extra funds for additional weaponry immediately.»
 
 <hr />
 
@@ -305,29 +305,29 @@ runner was sent to find Sharpaxe, eventually locating him sampling the wares of
 various weaponsmiths. Sharpaxe, having the situation explained by the Healer,
 immediately grasped the essential difficulty.
 
-"You can remove the horcrux, but doing so will destroy the scar?"
+«You can remove the horcrux, but doing so will destroy the scar?»
 
-"Unfortunately, yes. The two are one and the same; without the horcrux to burn
-against his soul, his own magic will heal over the scar quickly."
+«Unfortunately, yes. The two are one and the same; without the horcrux to burn
+against his soul, his own magic will heal over the scar quickly.»
 
-"But the scar is a mark of honor! Surely he will wear it as a badge of his
-glorious victory!"
+«But the scar is a mark of honor! Surely he will wear it as a badge of his
+glorious victory!»
 
-"He is too young to understand. When he is older, he will be able to embrace his
-scars. Now, they will heal."
+«He is too young to understand. When he is older, he will be able to embrace his
+scars. Now, they will heal.»
 
-"Then, we leave the horcrux until he is properly educated. Then his magic will
-recognize the scar as his own, and the horcrux can be removed."
+«Then, we leave the horcrux until he is properly educated. Then his magic will
+recognize the scar as his own, and the horcrux can be removed.»
 
-"Unacceptable," Steelgash interrupted, "Harry Potter is to be trained as a
-Goblin. Tom Riddle is not. The horcrux is a compromise, and cannot be present
-during his training."
+«Unacceptable,» Steelgash interrupted, «Harry Potter is to be trained as a
+Goblin. Tom Riddle is not. The horcrux is a security risk, and cannot be present
+during his training.»
 
-Sharpaxe scowled for a time, before presenting a compromise, "Harry deserves
+Sharpaxe scowled for a time, before presenting a compromise, «Harry deserves
 recognition of his victory. You propose to deny him natural recognition as a
 matter of bank security. I will agree, on the condition that Harry is afforded
 compensation for this loss, to include special dispensation for the unlimited
-use of a glamour that matches the scar as it is now."
+use of a glamour that matches the scar as it is now.»
 
 This was a steep price. Normally, glamours of any kind were prohibited in many
 areas of Gringotts, and scar glamours especially were heavily restricted to
@@ -335,8 +335,8 @@ areas of Gringotts, and scar glamours especially were heavily restricted to
 Harry had earned a scar which he already wore, and the bank forcing the removal
 of a genuine scar won in battle was a unique event.
 
-"Agreed. An enchanted device will be constructed to hold the glamour. I will see
-to the details."
+«Agreed. An enchanted device will be constructed to hold the glamour. I will see
+to the details.»
 
 Sharpaxe hoped this would be enough. He promised himself that he would do
 everything in his power to see Harry raised in a proper and honorable manner,
@@ -377,8 +377,8 @@ around her cramped burrow, causing little Harry to sneeze.
 With a pained moan, the Matriarch relaxed before giving an utterly terrifying
 smile. Staring eyelessly into the darkness, she delivered her reading.
 
-"This boy is four-score-times marked by prophecy. His life shall be rife with
-conflict and war. Enemies great and small await him."
+«This boy is four-score-times marked by prophecy. His life shall be rife with
+conflict and war. Enemies great and small await him.»
 
 Sharpaxe let out a relieved breath. He had worried that, as a Human, Harry might
 not be destined to be a true warrior, and that he would have to contract out for
diff --git a/novellas/a-little-greed/02-honor.mdwn b/novellas/a-little-greed/02-honor.mdwn
index 88337c9..b16f35c 100644
--- a/novellas/a-little-greed/02-honor.mdwn
+++ b/novellas/a-little-greed/02-honor.mdwn
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ more curious and inquisitive than any of his peers; he had easily risen to the
 challenge and excelled beyond any expectation.
 
 Under glamours to appear as a Goblin to the foolish wizards, he had already
-worked as a teller on the main floor of Gringotts, and spent time apprenticed
+worked as a teller on the main floor of Gringotts, and spent time apprenticed in
 several different departments. Sharpaxe held no doubt that he would make a fine
 foreman or subchief someday, responsible for millions of galleons in assets.
 With luck, and his longer lifespan, he could easily be a department Head. Harry
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Everyone knows this. But the Wizards do not trust in honor, and demand our oaths
 be contracts with magic.»
 
 This was true. Amongst the Goblins, oaths were simple and direct; a common
-farewell was «On my honor, I have not lied to you today.» But by treaty, any
+farewell was «On my honor, I have not betrayed you today.» But by treaty, any
 oaths given to wizards in Britain must be sworn on blood and magic; every
 contract was presented with the oath, "I swear on my blood that I have not
 deceived you or I shall die within the hour; so mote it be." The magic of the
@@ -163,6 +163,18 @@ some 6 years to make up in his practical education in magic, but with the theory
 already behind him, he made rapid progress. Harry was ecstatic; he would not be
 some weakling wand-waver, but could wield magic on his own power alone!
 
+For all his relative weakness, Harry had no less of the Goblin lust for battle.
+He discovered at the age of 6 that he had the talent of speaking in
+parseltongue, and less than a day later discovered that this talent was not
+sufficient to allow a 6-year-old Human to defeat a rockwyrm four times his
+height.
+
+Although his attempt to command the rockwyrm failed, he *was* able to
+communicate with it. Negotiations commenced, and after promises of meat and
+worthy battle, a bargain was struck. Harry arrived at the next month's
+underground hunt mounted on his first familiar, happily informing his father
+that the 40-meter-long rockwyrm's name was most closely translated as «Bitey».
+
 Harry was also a dutiful student of politics. He understood his role in the
 Goblin nation: assist the reputation of Gringotts with his fame, grow to be an
 asset by becoming fully-trained as both a Goblin and a Wizard, assume his
@@ -196,7 +208,12 @@ his wizarding studies early; Harry resented learning wand-magic, but was no less
 skilled for all that, and reluctantly agreed that he was a better asset knowing
 both true magic and wand-waving.
 
-Memories donated by human cursebreakers proved to be excellent teaching aides.
+Memories donated by human cursebreakers proved to be excellent teaching aides,
+both for their content of magical education and the background context of life
+at Hogwarts, where Harry would eventually attend. Harry spent his free time
+devising methods to kill each of the professors who taught there. He felt it
+unlikely to need such a thing, but contingency plans were better made and
+unneeded than unmade and needed.
 
 <hr />
 
@@ -210,21 +227,161 @@ Harry greatly enjoyed the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, which he saw many
 times. He watched Labyrinth once, and the resulting anger-induced accidental
 magic very nearly burned down the theatre.
 
+The Potter accounts were soon invested in the muggle film making industry, most
+notably Lucasfilm; investments that paid off quite well over the years. David
+Bowie received what he assumed was a very strange fan letter informing him that
+he was now banned for life from the Goblin realm.
+
+Harry's visits to muggle London also served to widen the variety of food served
+within the mines of Gringotts. Goblin delicacies were largely inedible or
+poisonous to Humans, and while it had been acceptable to instruct Human
+employees to provide for their own meals, that was not an option for Harry.
+Goblins, as it happened, found Indian cuisine an acceptable (and much less
+expensive) alternative to Basilisk meat.
+
+<hr />
+
+Gradually, a shift began in the overall business strategy of Gringotts.
+Previously, the Goblins had aggressively limited their exposure to nonmagicals;
+memories of wars from before the Statute of Secrecy did not encourage
+interaction with muggles. Petunia Dursley's blatant hatred of wizards had
+somewhat endeared muggles to Ragnok, however, and he began to look at them in a
+new light.
+
+Certainly the muggleborn wand-wavers tended to be politer and more respectful
+when in the bank. And the investments and culinary discoveries Harry had made in
+London had proved worthwhile. Perhaps some old traditions of isolation deserved
+reconsideration.
+
+The muggle economy was *enormous* in comparison to that of wizarding Britain. In
+London alone, more wealth changed hands in a day than all of Gringotts saw in a
+year. This was an opportunity for profit, and an opportunity for a degree more
+independence from the foolish wand-wavers.
+
+Gringotts made discreet inquiries towards squibs known to be working in muggle
+banking institutions, and gradually some informal partnerships were established.
+Gringotts would invest more and more heavily in the muggle world, in addition to
+providing subtle security for their partners and acting as a mining concern and
+provider of rare minerals.
+
+Approaches were made to the muggle Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. She was,
+by treaty, aware of the wizarding world, and supposedly kept up-to-date on
+wizarding affairs by the Minister of Magic. In reality, she had never even been
+introduced, and only knew Cornelius Fudge's name because of the very limited
+profile compiled by her security teams.
+
+Needless to say, she had a healthy dislike of wizards. Ragnok got along with her
+famously, and an agreement to allow the Goblins to make limited introductions
+and integrate with the muggle economic machine. In return, Gringotts was happy
+to share some of its intelligence with the muggle government, and through use of
+glamours give the occasional MI5 official a tour of wizarding Britain, or give
+the occasional dignitary a dragon ride.
+
+In less than 10 years, Gringotts was on infinitely better terms with the Queen's
+government than the Ministry of Magic.
+
+Gradually, the wealth of Gringotts was diversified. No longer would it be tied
+to magnificent piles of gold and silver; Ragnok himself was instated as the 37th
+partner of the Baillie Gifford investment firm, which immediately began a
+progressive and strategic reappraisal of Bank assets and services.
+
+By an old treaty with the Ministry of Magic, Gringotts was allowed to charge
+different rates to purebloods and non-purebloods so long as "those of the most
+noble bearing and lineage are not negatively affected." Obviously, this had been
+intended by the Wizengamot as a means to further disadvantage muggleborns and
+halfbloods. Gringotts' previous stance had been to not exercise this clause; the
+Goblins were magnanimously equal in their dislike of all wizardkind.
+
+Now, Ragnok had decided to exercise that clause. The appropriate standard for
+"most noble bearing and lineage" was chosen to be the inarguably qualified Queen
+Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Windsor
+(muggle). With a legal cause for discrimination against pureblood wizards now
+established, Gringotts began a slow and systematic process of manipulating
+exchange rates and loans to shuffle money away from the ruling oligarchy and
+towards the progressive and disenfranchised elements of wizarding society.
+
+By the time Harry Potter was to ascend to his seat in the Wizengamot, Gringotts
+expected society to be well-prepared for him to enact sweeping reforms. If
+nothing else, the deflation they were causing among the conservatives would make
+bribes easier for any progressive faction.
+
 <hr />
 
-> I'd like to add a few more things to this chapter.
->
-> * Something about Goblin food.
-> * Some mention of Goldknife the healer.
-> * Name a few Goblin peers of Harry's age.
-> * More description of the environs of the mines.
-> * Maybe introduce some of the attempts to gain more political power for Harry.
-> * Parseltongue.
-> * Another profit-making scheme of Harry's.
-> * Mention Dumbledore holding the Potter vote's proxy?
-> * Harry working as a Teller, interaction with Malfoys?
-> * Meetings with muggle-born children, to establish some sort of respect?
->
-> My goal length needs some 1500-1600 words. I suspect with these I can fill it
-> to that length; I'd like this chapter to be the complete raised-as-a-Goblin
-> chapter so I can dive straight into Hogwarts stuff with chapter 3.
+Shortly before his 9th birthday, Harry completed his education as a Goblin and
+formally underwent his Ascension to Adulthood, along with some 14 peers of his
+age group. Harry was apprenticed to Healer Goldknife, it being felt that
+experience with Human anatomy would be the most useful skill he could learn in
+his remaining time before Hogwarts.
+
+The Ascension had other ramifications. As an officially-recognized adult member
+of Goblin society, Harry was now by treaty recognized as an adult in wizarding
+society as well. He could not yet claim his seat on the Wizengamot, as that body
+was specifically limited to persons at least 18 years of age, but his
+emancipated status did allow him to assign a voting proxy.
+
+A proxy that was currently filled by Albus Dumbledore, one of the most
+conservative members.
+
+Unfortunately, as two years still remained before Harry would be revealed to the
+wizarding public as a Goblin, no attempt could be made to change the proxy
+without revealing far too much too soon. But in the mean time, preparations
+could be taken so that an adequate proxy would be ready to claim the seat as
+soon as Harry entered Hogwarts.
+
+Oaths of secrecy were sworn, payment was arranged, and training was scheduled
+for the proxy-to-be. Meetings were held with Harry, Ragnok, and representatives
+of Her Majesty's Government to ensure that everyone was on the same page as far
+as policy decisions and treaty obligations. Security would be needed, which the
+Goblin nation would happily provide. As it happened, the biggest sticking point
+would be the dress code.
+
+<hr />
+
+Wand magic was not well-regarded by the Goblins, and Harry was no exception.
+While it was certainly more powerful than the wandless art that Goblins
+themselves pursued, that power came with a dependency on some *stick*, rather
+than from discipline and self-improvement. Harry would learn it because it made
+him a better asset to the Bank, but he didn't have to enjoy it. Still, with
+power comes opportunity, and there was one opportunity afforded to wand-wavers
+that *every* Goblin envied.
+
+With a wand, you could create a horcrux. With a horcrux, you couldn't completely
+die.
+
+Harry had decided to pursue this priceless opportunity as soon as possible.
+
+With permission from Ragnok, Harry had selected Wardstone Six as his potential
+horcrux. Of all the 13 Great Wardstones which anchored Gringotts to the magical
+fabric, Harry had always felt a particular affinity towards Six; its particular
+balance of magic seemed to call to him. The Great Wardstone was the closest an
+object could be to invulnerable, and with part of Harry infused in it, the wards
+it provided for the Bank would see a massive increase in strength.
+
+To build a horcrux requires a sacrifice; something must be given up that is so
+fundamental to the wizard's soul that it strains to escape. Tom Riddle had used
+cold-blooded murder to shatter his very humanity itself. A powerful sacrifice,
+and one that had probably driven him to insanity.
+
+Harry, working with the very best of the Goblin cursebreakers, meticulously
+constructed the ritual circle he would require at the base of Wardstone Six.
+Stripping naked, Harry knelt at the center of the circle, with the glowing
+boulder of rune-covered obsidian held aloft above him by the massive currents of
+magic that pulsed through the Bank.
+
+Sharpaxe approached.
+
+«Harry Potter, as you are now an adult, the Potter accounts have been opened to
+you. How may Gringotts serve you today?»
+
+Harry paused only briefly, contemplating what he was about to do. Pushing his
+magic through his wand and into the ritual circle to complete the circuit, he
+spoke, «Donate half my assets to the British Red Cross.»
+
+A dark flash tore across Harry's body, ripping a scream from his chest as he
+doubled over in pain. Simultaneously, Wardstone Six released a blinding light
+and an intense sense of greed filled the chamber. Goldknife approached to remove
+Harry's now-unconscious body for healing, while the other Goblins prepared to
+reseal the area. Harry had successfully created his horcrux.
+
+That night, Harry cried himself to sleep. Not from the pain, but from the
+knowledge that never again would gold feel quite as sweet in his hands.