https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1765-A-War-Without-Victors-Two-Hundred-and-Fifteen-/12946914/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1767-A-War-Without-a-Victor-Two-Hundred-and-Seventeen-/12946916/
Chapter 1766: A War with No Victor (216)
Chapter 1766: A War with No Victor (216)
As Harry stepped into the Auror Office, before he could even catch his breath, he was summoned by his colleagues to Gavin Robards' office for a meeting, and the reason, of course, was the morning's meeting with the Sprites.
In truth, even without Gavin Robards explicitly stating it, everyone knew what this was about.
From the outset, the Ministry of Magic had never trusted the Sprites, and sending Rodney Pock, the representative from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, to meet and negotiate with the Sprites in Chippenclay (a small English town) was primarily to demonstrate the Ministry's commitment to peace to the British Wizarding World. They wanted everyone to know that the Ministry cherished peace and yearned to quell the chaos and disputes between Sprites and Wizards.
Yes, yes, that's right, it was all so hypocritical.
Even if the Ministry never intended to easily end the dispute with the Sprites, they couldn't appear too harsh on the surface. Doing so would only push potential allies to their opposition.
Kingsley's subsequent plans were indeed a bit 'shocking', so they couldn't be too harsh from the start, and they absolutely couldn't make the Ministry look bad.
Whether it was Kingsley or the Ministry, they both needed to save face.
The best option was to make it seem like the Ministry was forced to take action against the Sprites, and as for Kingsley's intended goal, they could privately reach an agreement after thoroughly subduing the Sprites.
Even if many would find this approach hypocritical, at least on the surface, everyone could get by.
This was crucial, especially for a government institution like the Ministry of Magic. It was important!
"Harry, you're in charge of leading the team this time. Is that alright?"
After a brief overview of the situation, Gavin Robards suddenly turned to Harry and said something that most Aurors weren't entirely surprised by.
Although Harry was among the least experienced Aurors, none of them dared to underestimate his capabilities.
His position now was solidified by one successful mission after another.
In fact, many Aurors could see that Gavin Robards was intentionally grooming Harry, even planning to have him succeed as the Director of the Auror Office.
No one objected because, indeed, no one was more suitable for this position than Harry. What the young Savior lacked most at present was experience and seniority, but everyone believed that in a few years, Harry would have accumulated enough, and the British Ministry of Magic would then have the youngest Director of the Auror Office in its history.
At least, Harry could guess some of Kingsley and Robards' little thoughts. After all, having the "Savior" lead the team personally was a signal to the outside world that the Ministry had Potter's support or that their actions were 'just'.
He didn't deny the Ministry's 'good intentions,' not because of Kingsley and Gavin Robards' 'private promises,' but because he hadn't thought it through himself. He was merely rigidly following the Ministry's orders, accumulating Auror experience along the way, and that was all.
However, it was undeniable that the heavy tasks had indeed accelerated Harry's growth. Whether in experience or other aspects, he was now a competent Auror, capable of leading a small team on external missions.
So, when the Director of the Auror Office mentioned sending them to prevent unnecessary accidents during the negotiation, Harry already realized that this negotiation was very likely to encounter unexpected events.
When Gavin Robards asked about Harry, he readily shared the well-prepared statement from the previous night, his clear thoughts and definite purpose being one of the means by which Harry impressed the surrounding Aurors.
After listening to Harry's thoughts, Robards was completely reassured and entrusted the matter to Harry.
Except for Delius, who had to accompany Rodney Pock as his bodyguard, the other two teams had to arrive in Chippenclay early to scout the surrounding environment and prepare contingency plans in case of conflict.
As for finding a way to completely curb potential conflicts?
Not only was it impossible, but Harry wouldn't do something that was both difficult and unappreciated. After all, there hadn't been a single successful negotiation between wizards and goblins, and this time was no exception. Harry's task was to control the impact of the situation within manageable limits after the negotiations fell through.
To ensure a smooth meeting and negotiation, Rodney Pock was unaware of the Aurors' arrangements. He only knew that the Ministry had sent an Auror to protect his safety, and due to the previous unfriendly negotiations, Rodney didn't see any problem with this.
The goblins' situation was similar.
As expected, the negotiation between wizards and goblins took an unexpected turn. After half an hour of "friendly" communication, the goblins who had come to negotiate didn't take the initiative to attack, or rather, they didn't move at all.
Just after the wizard-goblin negotiation broke down, a group of goblins appeared out of nowhere, holding wands and launching a surprise attack on Rodney Pock and his group.
Who knows where these goblins illegally obtained their wands, as they directly used Malicious Transformation Charms to transform the poor Rodney Pock into a Flobberworm, nearly squishing him flat. Fortunately, Delius was also an experienced Auror. After being attacked by the goblins, he immediately reacted and shielded Rodney Pock, preventing him from being brutally killed under the goblins' feet.
But Delius himself suffered. Several wand-wielding goblins attacked him, and he narrowly escaped being crushed like a bug by the goblins.
Fortunately, Delius's struggle bought Harry enough time to react.
Harry and his team arrived just in time to stop the goblins' cruel actions, and a direct skirmish broke out.
Harry's team had the advantage of numbers and surprise, and they quickly suppressed the goblins from the Goblin Brotherhood. The area where they negotiated had been secured by the Aurors using Muggle-Repelling Charms, preventing large-scale chaos from the skirmish.
The goblins realized that the situation was not in their favor and began to create chaos to escape. Trash cans and mailboxes were transformed into Hippogriffs, rampaging through the village, and sheds and bushes exploded violently, drawing the attention of the residents of Chippenclay.
Amid a string of curses, Harry had to dispatch a team to clean up the mess and capture the goblins who hadn't escaped, bringing them back to the Ministry.
Unfortunately, some goblins took advantage of the chaos and fled. Aside from the few goblins who were knocked down, only the goblins they had negotiated with remained, and these guys wore expressions as if they had nothing to do with the matter.
Of course, everyone knew the truth, and because of this attack, the relationship between goblins and wizards reached an all-time low.
(End of Chapter)
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