Harry potter : Forgotten Lord

The upcoming war was going be short and brutal and he was looking forward to it, since it had been far too long since the Goblins and Dwarfs had last met in battle, officially at least. Truthfully they often ran into each when on expeditions worldwide, both races competing over the same resources and treasures.

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It had been over 300 years since their last official battle, when the last of the great Dwarven underground strongholds were finally destroyed within the British Isles. Then Ireland's own strongholds collapsed over the next hundred years, until they were finally driven out and exterminated.

Of course, there had been minor raids over the centuries; he had even led a few during his youth. And then there were the other Goblin clans outside Britain fighting with the dwarfs on and off over the centuries, but it had been close to 200 years since their clans had a full out war.

It was funny in many ways, most of the magical world thought that the Ra'g-Nor'-Oe'ka clan had gone soft guarding wizard treasure, that may be true to some, but another interpretation was that they had spent time securing their positions, gathering their strength, and all that time their numbers swelling.

Then there had been their own internal wars, which had been becoming more brutal as their numbers continued to grow too large; they were effectively getting boxed in their underground caverns.

And the failed negotiations with the dwarves offered just what they needed, a glorious war, a means to expand outwards, to gain resources and mountain ranges to build new underground strongholds. After all, if things kept progressing as they were, in the next twenty years civil war would break out between the clans all over the island and Ireland, as each tribe tried to eliminate the other to secure room for themselves.

They had originally planned to start a war with the Goblin clans in Norway, in retaliation for a number of raids, secure in the knowledge that the wizards of Europe wouldn't interfere if it was a purely goblin conflict ... and the Statute of Secrecy wasn't breeched. But why fight their own kind when they had an age-old enemy they could fight? Those other enemies could wait until the dwarves were slaughtered.

The lowlands were rather unsuitable for the creation of underground cities, due to the low lying land, and the continuous need to battle against water flooding their cities; this made settlement there impractical and overly costly. However, it did have several advantages and would serve as a warm up of sorts, allowing them to test their warriors in combat.

First the Silversphere Dwarves were a rather small collective group of clans, meaning the war could be won in a matter of days before other clans could come to their aid, assuming everything went well. A quick victory would also prevent the wizards from interfering in the whole affair as long as they weren't outright attacked.

It also offered them a jumping point onto the mainland for later, either to expand into France or to go north. In addition, attacking the small Kingdom of Silversphere Dwarves put them in control of a trading hub, increasing their wealth, their power and their influence throughout the region.

It would also give them the means to gain increased access to the French magical economy, which was currently going through a period of growth and expansion, and they wanted a share of that too. This had been denied to them, by both the wizards and dwarves of France.

If everything went as planned, they would gain a better position to discuss a new trade treaty more favourable to the goblin state than it currently was.

No solid plans were made in case the war turned against them though. After all, they hadn't lost a war in over a thousand years, despite what the wizards said and believed amongst themselves.

Of course, there were the inevitable factional debates on how to undertake the war, which of the 47 clans would take part, how to achieve maximum profits, which clans would run the new branches, etc ... A Goblin war was all about profit, gold and gems, and, of course, the chance to test one's skills and mettle with the axe.

They weren't wizards or muggles who went to war over morals and beliefs; their wars were simply about money and power, right and wrong didn't matter to them, just gold.

Looking over at his old battleaxe hanging proudly on the wall, it had been far too long since he had a chance to take his axe to something in proper battle. He didn't count using it on a stupid wizard or witch, there was no test of strength in that, and that had been over a decade ago anyways.

He could still fondly remember personally putting their heads on spikes and placing them outside the bank to the shock of the present customers, resulting in a toothy smile, reminding everyone that they were goblins and the bank was their dominion.

Reaching over to the silver jug on his desk and refilling his silver goblet with bloodwine, his thoughts turned back to the earlier meeting.

Naturally, some of the factions had suggested that their efforts would be better directed at the Ministry of Magic, since magical Britain was currently so weak and exposed after the civil war with Voldemort. However, that idea was quickly dismissed by their king, Ragnok, leader of the clans. This was due to a number of reasons; first, they were already in control of the magical economy and had little to gain compared to attacking the dwarves.

It ran the risk of uniting the magicals of Britain under a common banner. It also risked the rest of Europe's magicals getting involved and most likely the dwarves taking a chance to strike at them as well in the chaos.

However, if they went to war with the dwarves, then it was unlikely the wizards would get involved, simply due to it being the standard policy of the wizards to let them battle it out with each other, since it kept both parties from getting involved in 'wizard affairs'.

Even should this long-held policy be ignored, all they would have to do is bribe the right wizards and witches in government to prevent the wizards from directly getting involved too quickly, or at least delaying them until it had been already decided in one party's favour.

Of course, both sides would employ and recruit wizards to boost their ranks, since neither race could actively cast magic; one of the many reasons why they first started training their own curse-breakers. Besides getting a monopoly on warding services within Britain, smiling at the thought of how easy they had taken over the industry 300 years ago, they now controlled a powerful area of magic.

The war also came down to internal politics, many of the goblin clans were getting restless from too many years of peace, and needed a means to vent and direct their violent nature. Simply put, they needed to kill something before they started killing each other and the situation deteriorated into their own civil war like England had experienced decades earlier.

Clans would also be able to re-confirm their place in the goblin hierarchy, and prove that they deserved their position ... or die, if they had grown weak. This also gave newer factions a chance to rise to prominence, ensuring their race stayed strong and the weak were culled.

Simply put far better to make someone else bleed, than kill each other. However, this provided him with a chance to make profit, since he was one of 3 managers assigned to purchase metal materials that would be needed for their forges, by using the Potter and Peverell accounts as middle men.

It would also keep the Ministry of Magic from noticing if he was able to buy the necessary goods under several accounts. Of course, both accounts would profit from the arrangement and he, in turn, would gain a cut from both transactions.

Ultimately they would all gain, except the dwarves of course, causing another sinister smile to form, his yellow teeth stained red from the effects of the blood wine, as his thoughts turned toward the idea of glorious battle.

And he may very well get his promotion, finally! He downed some more of the potent blood wine, already looking forward to moving back up to his previous status within the bank, before Lord and Lady Potter's death. And it would also help ensure his faction stayed in control in the coming years; so much to gain, so little risk.

Of course, it would be years before they would be ready, but the thought of having his axe in hand and his dozen sons fighting by his side made him feel all warm inside, now he just had to look up a mining company or two. There was gold to be made and weapons to forge, it was truly a good day to be a Goblin.

There was a short knock at the door before a young wizard entered, not even waiting for permission to be given; he ignored this since he was in such a good mood, "Senior Account Manager Bloodmoon, Senior Account Manager Quickquill, requests your presence."

"I'll be there in a moment," he answered, "Next time knock, otherwise you find yourself demoted!" dismissing the wizard, rather annoyed at being summoned.

"Yes, Sir!" the wizard rapidly replied, only then realizing his mistake.

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