I am aware of this question (Why did Griphook betray Harry in Deathly Hallows?) but I am being a bit more specific in what I am asking, and I was unsatisfied with the answers provided on the other question, so this question is not a duplicate. Griphook did not help the trio out of the Lestrange vault, but he left the trio and Bogrod to die in the vault, which makes little sense considering how Bogrod was also a goblin, and he was in debt to Harry, which goblins take very seriously. So why did he leave the trio to die, versus helping them out? Did he know that Harry didn't intend on giving the sword immediately?
(Please no answers from HP wiki/wikia, HP lexicon, or movie quotes/events, but answers based on Pottermore, book quotes/events, JKR tweets/interviews, and canon-based examples or even speculation are more than welcome.)
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This is hard to answer, because Harry is directly warned that Griphook is likely to have an inscrutable and unpredictable take on what he owes and is owed - and other than observing his actions, the reader is given no further insight or any means to use to clarify that inscrutability.– tbrooksideCommented Mar 15, 2021 at 17:22
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@tbrookside that is true, of course, but I at least thought Griphook would try to save one of his own kind– avaCommented Mar 15, 2021 at 18:02
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Bogrod was under the Imperius Curse; if Griphook tried to save him, Harry might have ordered Bogrod to fight Griphook or something– RighterCommented Mar 16, 2021 at 3:57
1 Answer
Well I’d say because after all, he’s still a goblin. It is in their blood to protect the treasures of their clients. No matter what the situation, it goes against their nature to break inside of someone else’s treasure, someone’s treasure they’ve sworn to protect.
So when he leaves the trio, he not only retrieves the Sword of Gryffindor (which must have been an infamous artefact among the goblin community as a treasure unfairly stolen), but also saves one his client’s vaults from being looted. Even if he hates Bellatrix, it’s still bad reputation for the bank and the goblin species if they come to know that a goblin helped in a robbery. They don’t particularly hate the Death Eaters too, because they were neutral in the war.
Griphook doesn’t double cross them as you say in the question. Because the trade was to help them get inside the vault not get them out, or leave them to die inside for that matter.
He left Bogrod, because in Griphook’s eyes, it must have been a good deal. Sword of Gryffindor and saving the bank from an embarrassing robbery for the exchange of life of one of plenty of goblins. The reason to the disregard of Bogrod’s life could be due to the fact that they all work in a single place, and there might not be need for so many goblins, leading to salary dilution. So he didn’t particularly have any love for Bogrod.
Goblins are very cunning. When the trio plot to betray Griphook, he must have found out about it pretty quickly. That’s why it’s mentioned a few times to never double cross a goblin and how risky it is to trade with them. That is also why people keep their distance from them. So Griphook would have then plotted a plan of his own to get a better deal than the one they were giving.
