Standard Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything of the Harry Potter empire. Nope, nada. No money is being made here, which is solely due to sleepless nights and a disgruntled muse who has a penchant for excessive caffein. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is entirely unlikely and is unintentional if it does happen.
Timeframe: Hogwarts immediately after the Battle, with some slight time alterations of events during the battle. AU afterwards.
Warning: The aftermath of a battle is never pretty. Some nasty language, and character bashing.
Chapter 5: The New SPEW
Harry looked that the several pieces of parchment in his hand and scratched his head. "Just what the hell am I going to do with eighty elves? And thirty mansions, twenty houses and couple of hovels?"
Percy Weasley cleared his throat and commented "There are people still living in those houses. You can't just throw them out!"
Steelblade gave Percy a disgusted look, before turning to Harry. "Harry Potter, it is unwise, and very bad strategy to let your enemies live."
Percy looked shocked at the goblin's statement. "These are families. They are innocent! The Ministry won't allow that. The Wizengamot had passed laws forbidding that."
Harry grimaced at this interchange. "Percy, I gained these properties by Right of Conquest, because the people who lived, or still live, in the houses pledged everything they had to Voldemort! Everything, including their lives. Tell me, how many of the children of the top Death Eaters did Dumbledore manage to 'redeem', which was his stated reason for not expelling them from Hogwarts. I can tell you. None!. They laughed at his attempt. They had no desire to be redeemed. Most of them, as soon as they could, took the Dark Mark themselves! How many of their parents were caught and bribed their ways out of captivity with only a slap on the wrist, accompanied by large increases to the bank accounts at the Ministry."
"Auror Shacklebolt, how many of your auror colleagues were killed because the Ministry forbid using lethal spells when attacked by Death Eaters, who were under no such restrictions?"
Kingsley shook his head sadly. "Too many. Far too many. We tried to get permission, but it was always refused, either by Dumbledore or by the Ministry."
Harry nodded. "Right." Turning to Arthur Weasley, he asked "Mr. Weasley, were the Order ever allowed to use lethal spells, even when needed to save their own lives?"
Arthur shook his head. "Dumbledore refused to allow it. He said it would make us as bad as they were."
Harry nodded again. "So Dumbledore sent you all on missions putting your lives in danger without any real way to defend yourselves. Mr. Weasley, you were bitten by a venomous snake when you were guarding the Hall of Prophecies, but you weren't even allowed to kill a huge and dangerous animal. And this on Dumbledore's Orders!"
"Here at Hogwarts, my life has been in jeopardy on average at least once a year. Safest place in Britain, my foot, or other body part! And a lot of the time, it was the Defence professor who was after me. Lockhart wasn't actively seeking my death, but through his gross incompetence he might as well have been. The only decent defense teacher we had is lying dead out in the Great Hall. My time for forgiveness is passed. The Ministry and the Wizengamot had their chances, and they blew it."
"When I on trial, as an adult mind you, for using underage magic to defend my self against two dementors who had been sent by a ministry official, Umbridge, all the people who voted to find me guilty had been present at Voldemort's resurrection party! No Percy, I don't recognise that the Ministry or Wizengamot have any right to tell me what to do. I do not recognize their authority any more!
"However, I do accept the possibility that there may be a few who may not be responsible. Infants, who have not already been indoctrinated, or such."
The goblins looked at Harry in amazement. To the goblins, their position was just sound practical advice. Harry seemed to be rejecting their advice.
Then he smiled.
Harry turned to Steelblade. "Warmaster Steelblade, please spare the innocent. If you can find any." With this, he gave Percy a nasty grin.
The goblin smiled at this decision. "Harry Potter, if there are any who are truly innocent, they will be spared." He then turned to his accompanying warriors and gave a short order in their own language. The guards grinned and saluted their superior, and four of them disapparated away.
Harry expected his classmates to raise objections to this program, but as he looked over at them, he could see them and the others nodding. Sadly perhaps, but all could see the necessity.
Harry turned to Percy Weasley and made a suggestion, or maybe a demand. "Percy, you need to come along to one of the inspections of one of my new properties. In particular, the Malfoy mansion. I would like to show you the dungeons and torture chambers under the main floor which we became all too familiar with, although when Bellatrix Lestrange was torturing Hermione, she did it in the main hall so that all of Malfoy's real friends could enjoy the show too. Are you up for that? It might show you the kind of kinds of monsters we were dealing with. More, you will see what the so-called 'decent upstanding people' your precious Ministry has been kissing up to and were beholding to, were really like! Well, not so many of them are upstanding, or even standing up, anymore."
Percy wanted to come out of this meeting looking like he was at least partly in charge, so he asked "Harry, why are you trusting the goblins instead of your own people?"
Harry's face showed little surprise at Percy being Percy, but did show disgust. "My people? My people? Percy, the goblins have never lied to me. Most of the wizarding world, and in particularly the Ministry, have been lying to me and about me my entire life. Do you remember the headlines in The Prophet? One week I am their saviour and the next I am the next Dark Lord. They claimed to be refuting rumours about me one way or the other, ignoring that they were the ones spreading those self-same rumours the week before. And most of the wizarding society believed them unquestioningly!"
"Maybe I should just go to the centaurs and see if I can get a job mucking out their stables. It seems like I've been shovelling shit my entire life. That or having it shovelled on me. After all, I don't think there is much of a career available turning pincushions into hedgehogs, which seems to have been one of the few marketable skills Hogwarts taught us."
Turning to Niffle, Harry said "Now, about those elves. Can I transfer the bonds to someone else, without harming the elves involved?"
The Elf Chief thought for a moment. "If the elf agrees, and you must make sure the elf knows he or she is not being punished for anything, it can be done. This is often done when a child of a House reaches their majority, and the head of the house transfers the elf's bond to them as a present. I gather that this is a way you plan to assist Mrs. Weasley or your friend Miss Granger with their issues concerning having elves bound to them?"
Harry smiled. "Well, that was not my thought, but yes that would work too. I figured that with all the damage and orphans caused by the war, there would be a lot of people needing help with repairs, and children who need care. I was thinking of setting up a company that some of the elves I have gained could work for to provide these kinds of services. The company elves would be paid for their work, they would draw a salary, with profits left for their pensions, health care or whatever. This should also get enough work to keep the elves happy. Would that be workable?"
Turning to Goldhand, he asked "Could Gringotts help set up such a company?"
Niffle shook his head slightly. "Harry Potter, yours is a worthy plan, but an elf's bond must be to a person or their house. Now, if the company was set up to be, in effect, a new House with alliances to existing Wizarding Houses, it could work."
Goldhand nodded. "We could set up such a company, but it would have to have recognised Houses in control, usually by the Head of a House or two or more Houses, or their recognised heirs. Otherwise the Ministry would not recognise it."
Harry grimaced for a minute while the thought of 'Screw the Ministry" went through his head.
Then smiling, he turned to Neville, Susan, Arthur and Hermione. "Are you folks up to helping me do this. Arthur, you're the Head of House Weasley, I believe. Nev, you are the Heir of Longbottom. Susie, you're House Bones, and I'm House Potter and from the parchment I was handed I seem to be the head of a lot of other Houses as well. Hermione, you're kind of the inspiration for this, so can I get you on board too? I will front it, and you all with be on the board of directors, or whatever. Senior Accounts Supervisor Goldhand, I would like to get one of Gringotts' account managers involved as well, because I really know sweet tweet about this stuff. Niffle, we will need your advice as well."
The group paused in thought for a moment, and then all nodded. Harry looked at the group and said "Okay, let's do this. Senior Accounts Supervisor Goldhand, can you assign a suitable manager for us, with appropriate compensation of course, and get the parchment work started."
The goblin nodded his agreement.
Hermione raised an issue. "Harry, what do you propose to call the company?"
He smiled broadly at her, and said "I think it should be called the Syndicate of Professional Elven Workers, abbreviated SPEW. Don't you?"
Hermione grimaced and slapped her head with a groan, while her schoolmates snickered. She had known that acronym would come back to haunt her someday.
A/N: I have been reading a great story by Old-Crow, titled 'Unintended Consequences (The Great Wandout)' which also postulates a similar company for unemployed (or underemployed) elves as a means of getting away from abusive households.
Reading the latest chapter, I was somewhat taken aback that he had come up with a similar idea I was working on for the last couple months writing this drivel. He of course has done a better job of it.
I didn't steal the idea. Honest!