The Search Is Over

Chapter 154

Chapter 154, Slytherin

Though a huge plan for literally changing the wizarding world was put on the table, nothing major happened for some time. Instead progress was slow and gradual, but Regulus felt this made the foundations it would require to succeed more stable. This meant that not only was it far more likely to happen, but it was also far more likely to actually last. He was happy to support it, to help in any way, because it was what he'd always wanted. Always he'd hoped to make the magical world a better place, only now he felt he was doing it right. That he was behind people with truly good intentions of the sort Voldemort had never had. The goblins and elves deserved to be free from the oppression of wizards just as much as wizards did from Muggles. So as Regulus saw it, it was much the same cause.

A cause he'd always believed in and would always fight for. At least now, he'd be working along side people he trusted to do the right thing. Griphook wasn't making Horcruxes, after all. Even while the foundation for a new magical society was slowly being built, it felt at once normal and surreal. The normality was found in the slow progress, and the fact that the initial steps were made among loyal and trusted friends. The surreal bit was still in that this was happening at all: that they were actually daring to do this. They began by putting out feelers, first in their immediate social group, then further. All their friends were in.

Mag and Severus, Blaise and Gellert, Wolfgang and Millicent as well as all of their parents. Kereston was certain that some of the newer Aurors at the Ministry would throw their lot in with the new regime as well. In her line of work, she had to interact with enough of them when cleaning up magical messes, so had plenty of time to subtly feel them out on their feelings concerning the current state of government. Reynaldo even agreed to go into the forest and try to win some of the other Acromantulas to their cause as long as someone came with him. It was the hope that promising the spiders such luxuries as Reynaldo had would have them interested in working wizarding jobs. Kereston was eager to see how well Acromantulas trained as Aurors. She was certain their webs would be brilliant for catching criminals, which Regulus found quite intriguing.

The goblins were all in, but were they to pull off this eventual coup, they would need an extra power boost. For such a power grab to succeed and remain over time, they would require more magical strength behind it to form that much needed stable foundation. The succeeding bit worked for government overthrows frequently enough, but the power to make it last was where such revolutions fell through over time. Everyone involved with this one was smart enough to use history as a springboard from which to learn. If they were to succeed, they'd need more powerful allies, and elves were perhaps the most powerful of beings. This new magical government needed elves to succeed, but most elves were slaves. Elf slaves could not be freed by any sort of revolution. Not when the owners had to do the freeing. The only up side was that these owners, at least most of them, would have lost their magic. Could the loss of magic serve to break the magical bonds that enslaved elves? One could hope, but one should not count on it for the upholding of a revolution. Especially if the elves weren't freed by their master's loss of magic.

There would need to be another plan. This topic alone sparked many late night meetings between Griphook, Kreacher and Kereston. Though they were the three that Griphook had decided to put in charge of this operation, the goblin welcomed input from anyone else who wanted to give it. Regulus always sat in, as he went where Kreacher went. Occasionally, Gellert and Blaise, or Mag and Severus would attend these meetings as well. In truth, Kreacher only attended because Griphook practically badgered him into it while showering him with grudging compliments. Being told that he was clearly the most powerful of elves did please Kreacher's ego, though Regulus believed the goblin to only be speaking simple truth.

"We could vampirically compel the owners to free their elves once said owners no longer have magic," Regulus suggested. "By rights that should work, though I've never heard of a bond being broken by way of compulsion."