Women on Top

Women on Top

Chapter Two: The Hand That Holds the Galleons Rules the World.

Back out into the world, it was time to get things sorted out. First stop: Gringotts.

Lucius thought this was the moment he would be able to impress the ladies and prove his usefulness. He was very disappointed when the goblins were more interested in attending Granger than him. Apparently, knowledge of Arithmancy and Muggle economy had made Hermione rich enough to impress even the goblins. He had to admit that he was impressed, too, but that didn't prevent him from sulking. Severus was useful because he was a Potions master, and he was now reduced to be a pretty toy. Life wasn't fair.

And he must have said that out loud because Severus was looking very smug and grinned.

Money acquired, the second step was finding a new house. Malfoy Manor was in the hands of the Ministry, and Spinner's End was too dingy, so those were not an option. And neither Hermione nor Bella had a place to their name, so a new house was bought, a very big house with lots of space for the four of them to enjoy.

The house had a great ball room for Lucius, a very big library for Hermione, a full Potions Lab in the dungeons for Severus, and bedrooms with closets with so much space for shoes not even Bella could fill out.

They also had an office each because they had very different parts to play in this little plot Hermione and Bella had developed while in Azkaban: to get back at the Ministry for all they had done to them. And the list of deeds wasn't short.

The first few months were a bit chaotic. Hermione was the one in charge of calculating the best way each of them could better their finances, and soon enough she had arranged for one goblin to dedicate himself to handle their accounts.

Everyone and their mother came knocking at their door, including Skeeter, who didn't want to be left out. She was soon convinced to work in creating a good public image for the four of them through her writing at The Quibbler. Luna wasn't as weird as her father, and now that she was running the publication, it was a bit less dodgy these days. There was no threat, begging, or bribe big enough to stop Skeeter to use a nickname for them. After all, she was behind the "Boy Who Lived", "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" and "Chosen One", and very proud of it. So, soon, they were known as "the Quartet".

The first sod who dared to shout at Hermione about her choice of new friends was Ron. He appeared one day at their house, demanding an explanation from her, and saying she had gone mad in Azkaban. Hermione was outraged and one step from hexing him, but it was Severus who asked him 'politely' to go away while Lucius poked him in the ribs with his wand. Even Ron could see that he had little choice but to calm down, and Hermione told him with a nasty sneer that now that he was shagging Draco, he couldn't be one to talk about taste. Her affirmation made Lucius wince, and Ron almost faint. She also pointed out that as friendships went, Ron hadn't been exactly a good friend either because he hadn't yet been at St. Mungo's visiting Harry, who was still in a coma. None of the Quartet dared to point out that Hermione hadn't gone either in weeks. But she had a good point to justify her absence; she still blamed Harry for not listening to her. Hermione was sure that he could have avoided that fate if only he had listened to her.

After Ron's visit, Lucius sulked for some days. "A Weasley... If my son was to discover he is a homosexual, at least he could have chosen Potter, who is rich and famous, not the stupid sidekick."

Ginny had visited, too. She explained to Hermione that she had done her best to contribute to their release by way of giving Skeeter inside information about the Minister and his associates, courtesy of the bad habit of Percy the Prat of leaving vital information scattered on his desk. After the journalist confirmed this, Hermione had to give in and welcome Ginny into her house and her plans.

Tonks was a different thing. She had done nothing to help them, but she had done nothing to help the Ministry either. At least, she had arrived using the face they knew, which Hermione had no remorse of marking with her handprint as a way of greeting. Her Slytherin partners had pointed out that the Auror had done nothing wrong. Saving her own skin was commendable, and Severus had to admit he was a bit jealous he hadn't thought of that plan of getting away from jail himself. So, after some time and nagging, Hermione had reluctantly accepted her back.

With two ex-members of the Slug Club living in the house, it wasn't a surprise that Horace Slughorn paid a visit. Hermione and Lucius had been favourites of his during their years at Hogwarts. And even if he, at one time, had tried to get away from the Death Eaters and ex-Azkaban prisoners, he could smell power from kilometres away. And these four were particularly interesting to have in his network. If they were to succeed, whatever the success was, he wanted to be there. Crystallized pineapple or not, they merited his personal attention, and he'd even be willing to help them by means of his connexions. He might not have a grudge against the Ministry, but he wasn't a fervent follower of anyone but himself either, so helping them wasn't against his nature.

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The plan that Hermione and Bella had devised was easy. Since the Ministry had proven that it was useless, they wanted to replace it. They wanted to be the ones ruling the Wizarding world.

The way of making the plan succeed wasn't that easy, however. And according to Hermione's Arithmancy charts, it would take some years to be completed. But they would advance step by step, using each of their own strengths.

In this first stage of their plan, Hermione was solely dedicated to the finances. Furthering their wealth was essential if they wanted to succeed without relying on external forces.

Lucius was in charge of convincing the purebloods that they wanted to support the ladies' new ideas. Smooth talk, and enough food and drinks to warm them up, was all Lucius needed to sway the masses. And so the Season of Parties began.

Bella had recruited her former associates, at least the ones who were so used to her being in command that they didn't complain about the change of targets. She was indoctrinating them to be faithful minions. That included: a) Restraint. No need to use Unforgivables and end up in Azkaban when a lot of other less powerful and less illegal hexes achieved the same result. Not to mention that she doubted even a third of them had what was needed to cast the Cruciatus. And b) Treating women the way they deserved. Hermione had said that they should teach the new generations how to behave properly, but Bella thought that there was nothing wrong with making sure the message was also passed on to this generation. And had the lot of them picking up after themselves in no time.

The Ministry had always had a policy of not hiring ex-convicts, so when all the political prisoners left Azkaban, the Minister refused to re-hire his former employees. It didn't matter that it was because of him that they had been imprisoned; it was against the rules and that was his last word.

All of them had gone to Hermione then, hoping for a solution. Most of them wouldn't be able to eat, much less have a home if they didn't find another job soon.

So now the Quartet's house looked like an employment agency.

There were some of them who could easily find their own jobs. Kingsley Shacklebolt, for example, was accepted back in his former work-place as a secretary for the Muggle Prime Minister. Kingsley had enjoyed the job the first time and was very good at it. The Prime Minister not only trusted him but was also eager to find out exactly what was going on in the Wizarding world. According to his words, the Minister of Magic was looking twitchier every time he saw him, and something sounded very fishy indeed.

Others, like Arthur Weasley, didn't seem to find anything they could do well enough to interest someone to hire them. Those like him found a place among Bella's minions or started to form Hermione's group of researchers. Hermione had decided to find experts in several branches of magic to work on various projects she had. She hoped that with time she would be able to run her own version of the Unspeakables. Arthur Weasley was in the last group and was very pleased to be paid to dismantle appliances to figure out how they work.

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Inspiration had struck Severus.

Or better said, Hermione had been inspired by Remus' visit, and she struck Severus with some hexes until he agreed with her. He was one of the few masters who could brew the Wolfsbane Potion. If it weren't for him, all British werewolves would have had to rely on St. Mungo's poorly made stuff. So brewing the potion and giving it to the werewolves for almost nothing would guarantee their loyalty. Even more, if Remus put a good word in for them it was a sure thing.

But there's no such thing as a free potion, Hermione said, and soon they had part-time employees to do the menial work for them. Apparently Hermione, who still insisted that she didn't want house-elves, didn't have the same qualms with hiring werewolves.

Wolfsbane Potion was the first step, but Severus had bigger plans. Werewolves weren't the only half-breeds who needed potions and had trouble with the Ministry. Being on good terms with vampires could also be considered as a good idea.

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The new Headmaster of Hogwarts, Filius Flitwick, had yet again received a negative response from Severus. He needed a Potions professor, but nothing he'd offered had interested his former colleague, although this time the letter implied Severus was starting a business in Potions. It wasn't an open invitation to tempt him to consider him to be the new provider for the school, but if you knew how to translate from Snape to English, it meant "If you offer, I may be willing to accept". And so, after some exchange of owls to finagle the arrangement, Severus became the Potions supplier for the school, leaving the Ministry-appointed Potions master without his job. Now Severus was in the awful position of hiring assistants to help him get all the work done.

Filius was more than willing to help with that and put the files of all the students at Severus' disposal. He could get his pick among the best present and past students of Hogwarts, as he didn't need for them to send him their curriculum. And this way he knew they weren't lying about their abilities. He could even catch the best ones before they thought of applying for a job at the Ministry, leaving only the worst to go to that official institution. The rest of the Quartet had also bargained access to the students' files, and the best of the best in every field was soon recruited.

With so many potions to brew and deliver, assistants weren't the only thing needed in quantity and quality. Potions ingredients were a necessity as well. Having to rely on the Apothecary's stock was a risk Severus wasn't happy to take. They needed to deal directly with the greenhouses, even better they should own their own one or at least have them in a contract to work only with them. That would assure they would have better quality without allowing others to profit from it themselves.

Severus groaned when he found out whom they had to deal with.

Neville Longbottom had apprenticed with the most renowned herbologist. The old man didn't have family, so he left all his assets and his business to Neville, the only person he knew could maintain the prestige of it. It was not a surprise that in less than a week after the old man's demise, Hermione visited Neville with a contract proposition. Neville was more than a bit hesitant to work for the person who had destroyed his family, Bellatrix, but Hermione could be very persistent when she wanted something, and after promising not only to give him all the money to pay all his debts but also enough to expand the greenhouses to twice their actual extent, he had no choice but to accept. The best products were acquired. The next step of Severus' expanding enterprise was looking very promising.

The next step involved Charlie Weasley's ability to provide dragon-related ingredients. They contacted him through Ginny, at the dragon colony in Romania, and he was happy to help. He would also act as their contact when dealing with other animal-related suppliers, as he was more knowledgeable in that area.

No one ever questioned the old herbologist's death, a fact that Bella was feeling very smug about until Lucius was forced to short-sheet her bed to retaliate. No one should feel so good while he was pouting.

It wasn't that convincing the purebloods to side with them was difficult; he enjoyed the challenge, but he still felt that prancing around the house looking good was expected and not a real effort on his part. The others were doing a lot more, and he still couldn't stop thinking about Hermione having more money than him. It didn't matter that he had more than enough to pay the foreign debt of a small country with his pocket change. Even his status as pretty toy was in question, as he had not managed to make the ladies look at him twice. They were too busy plotting, and he was getting bored. Maybe he needed a bit of plotting of his own. If only there was a country to dominate; surely the other three hadn't covered all the angles already...

And so it was that Lucius found himself back on the Board of Governors and helping further the friction between Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Ministry of Magic, to the delight of Filius (and the former Headmasters if he was to believe the cheer that greeted him from the portraits) and the misfortune of the Ministerial bureaucrats.

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The day the Ministry closed The Quibbler as revenge after the stories published there, Hermione decided to open The Hogsmeade Herald in order to have a media vehicle to reach the masses. In the mean time, Lucius' associates financed Luna Lovegood's new campaign against the Minister. The Slytherins had pointed out that opening several options for them was not only accepted behaviour but also expected of them. Hermione bowed to their knowledge this time because it really sounded like a sensible solution, and she was nothing if not a sensible woman.

And just in case they wanted to close the newspaper, Hermione had made a deal with Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop and Scribbulus Everchanging Inks so the Ministry wouldn't get the idea of cutting their supply of paper or ink to force them to close. Which they tried anyway, unsuccessfully, of course.

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There really weren't too many people who didn't have their own grudges against the Ministry, so the Quartet's quick acceptance from the public eye shouldn't have surprised anyone. Still, Ministry officials were at their wits' end and couldn't fathom what was wrong with the Wizarding population.

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Children were never too young to start learning in Hermione's opinion, and she had been always wary of a society that didn't bother giving a proper education to them.

Of course she didn't have too much experience with little children and didn't plan to have it any time soon. Fortunately for her, Ginny had inherited Molly's ability to deal with kids but also was a lot more sensible than her mother. So the Quartet gave Ginny the land, the building, and the funds to start a kindergarten and primary school for wizards and witches.

Even the Ministry couldn't deny that they had less complaints from the Muggle authorities since they were able to pluck the children from the Muggle schools and send them there as soon as they presented the first sparks of magic. The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes had even sent them their gratitude, in particular those in the Obliviator Headquarters and in the Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee in charge of dealing with the young children's misadventures in their quest to control their own recently discovered magic.

There were some tutors that purebloods used for their children, but there weren't proper teachers available. So tutors were joined by Muggle-borns' parents with degrees on education in teaching at the new school, DuSaQ Nursery and Primary School.

The Ministry was livid that the Quartet had set up a way of having Muggles prancing around Wizarding areas. Hermione refused to speak with Madam Edgecombe (she was still angry at Marietta's betrayal), but Bella was more than happy to take care of the Floo connection permit. An apartment was bought in Muggle London, and its fireplace was connected to the Floo Network. A Squib was responsible for opening the door to the Muggles and providing them with the necessary Floo powder. It was a great success, and soon a few Muggle parents with children at Hogwarts also asked permission to use this gate to their offspring's world, so they could visit on Hogsmeade weekends.

The Ministry couldn't find something illegal in all this activity as the fireplace was legally owned by a wizard and had to be content with watching helplessly yet another advance of the great benefactors of the Wizarding world.

Since children weren't legally declared Squibs until the age of 11, they were also allowed to study at DuSaQ Nursery and Primary School. And because they wouldn't be admitted to Hogwarts, the Quartet designed a program for them to learn either how to insert themselves in the Muggle world or how to have a trade in the magical community.

Not every job needed magic to be performed. For example, more than half the tending to the greenhouses was done manually. Not to mention most of the breeding and care of magical creatures. And with all the new jobs available thanks to the Quartet's flourishing enterprises, the Wizarding world had become a more welcoming place for them.

The purebloods weren't very happy with this latest turn of events. Muggles weren't something they were willing to tolerate lightly. But they weren't openly opposing them either.

In reality, speaking of purebloods as a homogeneous group was making a misinformed generalisation.

One had to remember that there are four different types of purebloods and that they behave very differently.

Hufflepuff purebloods loved to see hardworking people triumph. It didn't matter their blood, just that they were willing to work hard. Struggling for success was something they held in high esteem.

They saw in the Quartet two ex-Death Eaters trying to change their ways and views by helping society, an ex-professor trying to better his life by working hard in his business, and a Muggle-born trying to find her place in the Wizarding world. And in the Squibs and Muggles they brought, they saw people struggling to fit in. So they embraced this new era with the jolliness only Hufflepuffs and Santa Claus are able to produce.

Ravenclaw purebloods had their noses in a book or their heads in the clouds. They didn't care much for the world around themselves if it didn't disrupt their musings. Their only reaction to this new school was a mild clapping and nods of approval, and then they went back to their own lives without uttering a word.

Gryffindor purebloods were distrustful of the three ex-Death Eaters just by principle. But they were loyal to their own, so if Hermione wanted something, Hermione would get it. If it wasn't for her own merit, then for her being the best friend of The-Boy-Who-Was-Still-In-A-Coma.

Slytherins, and here you don't only count the purebloods but also the ones who aspired to be considered one, were the hardest to convince. But they weren't stupid, and they were usually good at spotting who was most likely to be the one with all the power, be it as a Dark Lord or a Minister. And once assured that the bet was a sure thing, they would flock that way, trying to be sure to not be the last one... Dark Lords and Ministers alike tended to remember the reluctant ones, and punishment was never far for them.

Convincing them that you were the one who would win was the tough part. They didn't want to be the first ones to join either. Rushing into what you thought was the best option was more a Gryffindor trait. They wanted to weigh every option and see for themselves that you were actually on the winning side. But once they followed a particular side, it was a sure thing they'd do their best to help that side be the winning party.

Those were the unhappy bunch...

They had to admit that Hermione was in control of the money. There wasn't any doubt that if she were to retire all her funds from Gringotts, the goblins would be in great trouble, if not broke.

Lucius had preached the importance of embracing the new ideas or be left behind and alone, and they were quick to get the tiny threat in that comment. There was also Bella, who was more than willing to zap the more thick ones until she got the point across. And no one wanted to be considered stupid, and even less to be considered Bella's punching ball. Not to mention, Severus' ability to brew undetectable poisons unnerved more than half of them.

It also happened that DuSaQ Nursery and Primary School had hired the more sought out tutors. And sending your children there was trendy. So they might be an unhappy bunch of purebloods, but one who was paying to send their children to study there anyway. Public image was everything, and being in the good graces of the new overlords even more.

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A new school meant the need of new textbooks that covered the curriculum. There weren't any in existence which covered the Muggle and the Wizarding education the children would receive. And so the writing of said manuals was commissioned.

Their first goal had always been to not depend on anyone else. They didn't want anyone who wanted to stop them to have the power to do it, and the only way this time was creating their own publishing house. Once the establishment was running, stopping at merely a bunch of textbooks was unthinkable. Hermione wanted to publish only serious books for scholarly pursuits. On the other hand, Lucius was adamant that they should publish books that sold, and if it meant publishing tripe, they should. Good selling tripe, mind you. On what they did agree was that not one of them would be willing to publish something written by Lockhart, no matter if the fool was able to write longhand these days.

An argument had arisen and neither part wanted to lose the battle. Bella had to stop them before they injured each other, and after applying a full Body-Bind on each, she presented them with the most logical solution. Hermione would get her dream of a very selective publishing house while Lucius could publish all the books for the entertainment of housewives he wanted using another branch (with a different name) of the publishing house.

Hermione hired Remus to be in charge of New Moon Publications since he was the only person, apart from herself, that she could trust to choose what was good.

Lucius had asked a restless Skeeter to step out of her career in journalism, before she got too bored for everyone's sake, and gave her almost free rein to select what to publish under B-Witching Editions. Skeeter would still write articles from time to time, but she was going to be too busy to get really creative in her writing. And unless the Quartet was trying to discredit someone in particular, there was no need for her skills.

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Bella's minions were more than slightly reformed Death Eaters and not only because there were several ex-Order members working among them. With the help of Tonks, Bella had created a group capable of sneaking around to be the eyes and ears of the organisation. They also were good at infiltrating the ranks of the commoners to whisper suggestions in their ears that would sway their minds in their favour.

Bella was very proud of her niece. She had always been very worried of how she would turn out after being raised by a Muggle-born father... but she had to admit that wizards and witches with Muggle blood had a lot of advantages over stuffy purebloods, and if you kept in mind that not only Tonks, but also Hermione and Severus had turned out so well, it really was a misconception. Idiots could be born into Muggle families as much as into pure-blooded ones, and she had the intention of straightening out that fact at all cost.

Hermione took to calling Bella's minions "The Irregulars of Baker Street" to the great amusement of Severus and the confusion of Lucius and Bella.

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Augustus Pye was the first person Hermione found whom she didn't have to convince to work with them. Actually, the former Trainee Healer who had tried to stitch up Arthur's snake bite some years ago had knocked on their door to ask for Hermione's help.

Through some former classmates of Miss Granger, Healer Pye had found that Hermione's parents were Muggle Healers of some sort. Something related to teeth if the information was correct. He had been interested in complementary medicine for years, and he saw the opportunity for both, asking for funds for his research and getting in contact with Muggle Healers who already knew about the Wizarding world and therefore secrecy wasn't an issue.

Hermione was excited. She hadn't had yet any idea of how to get into St. Mungo's, much less a way to influence their work. Pye had formed a research group of similarly interested young Healers, so Hermione's parents became the providers of Muggle biology and medical books, and she gave monetary support to the group as long as the Quartet was informed of any progress made.

Following that first step, the other people in the Quartet's organisation decided to fund research and treatments at St. Mungo's, too. After all, they had several personal interests in some of their departments.

Remus donated to the Creature-Induced Injuries department, adding to Hermione's, for them to improve the treatment of werewolves and to join efforts with Severus' own team in the finding of a cure for lycanthopy.

Severus donated to the Potion and Plant Poisoning section. After all, between his and Longbottom's employees and testers, he sent a lot of people to be treated there.

Neville for his part joined Bella in supporting the Spell Damage Healers, in special the ones working in the Janus Thickey Ward. No one could say that Bella didn't feel bad about the two Aurors still there because of her. Neither could it be said that Luna hadn't donated enough for the Spell Damage department herself on behalf of her mother.

Arthur, Fred and George Weasley for their part had done more than enough for the Artifact Accidents section.

Lucius had pouted prettily while complaining that they all chose the most interesting departments of St. Mungo's to sponsor, and the only one left for him was the Magical Bugs one. At that point, Severus reminded him that his own father, Abraxas, had died of dragon pox, so it was only appropriate to have the donations made in his name. If Luna could manage to have a ward named after her mother, he surely could have a Contagious Maladies Abraxas Malfoy Ward.