Chapter Twenty-nine

The Road Trip

Saturday September 14, 1996

Harry went to get another Orange Crush. When he sat down, Dan asked, "Were you serious about summoning treasure out of the ocean?"

Harry replied, "Yes. It seemed pretty easy in Salem. Should we go try it sometime?"

"Sure. Let's go now."

They took their adjusted portkey watches out to the beach houses. Harry brought his staff. Dan remarked, "We should be pretty precise with the angle." He brought along a protractor and marked a half arc on the beach, using small rocks to mark off the degrees in ten degree increments. He started at twenty and went to one-sixty.

"Accio sunken treasure," called Harry as he started at the twenty degree mark. They waited a minute but nothing happened. They tried again at the thirty degree mark with no success. They didn't have any luck until he was at seventy degrees, when twenty silver bars appeared.

Dan could see them hurl towards them. As they got closer, Harry moved his staff and pointed it at the ground off to the left by them. Each bar had a crest and was marked 20KG. Harry cast scourgify a few times and the bars appeared to be as clean as the day that they were cast.

Dan said, "Try again."

Harry replied, "We found these. Let's bring them home and we'll save the rest for another day."

They returned home and Hermione inquired, "How was fishing?"

Dan smirked as Harry pulled the silver bars out of his weightless bag. He remarked, "They may have come off of a sunken U-boat."

Emma replied, "Pretty cool. We're going out for Chinese food. You two moneybags can treat this time."

Harry asked, "Does that mean if we'd come up empty handed, you and Hermione would have treated?"

Laughing, she replied, "No, but it sounded better. Let's go and you two can tell us your fish story."

They did and decided to keep them.

- …

Monday September 16

Harry was sanding blocks when his phone rang. He answered, "Harry Potter."

"Hi Harry, this is Charlie Weasley. Can you hear me?"

"Just fine, Charlie. How's the dragon business?"

"Fine. Actually, that's why I called. We found a reserve in Southern Argentina that we want to trade with. Can you wait three months? They have two unrelated Ridgebacks, an Ironbelly and two unrelated fireballs that we'd like to get. We want to send them some of our older stock that is ready to process, if we can?"

Harry replied, "Getting some new blood in the reserve sounds like a fantastic idea. How can I help?"

Charlie replied, "You are helping."

Harry said, "I sold the blood and liver that you sent and used the hide to make vests for the guards. Did the broomsticks that Dobby delivered work OK?"

"They're great. Thanks Harry."

"No problem. I'll plan on three months unless I hear different. Thanks for calling."

… - ...

Harry and Hermione met with Emma for a planning session a few weeks before their trip to Marseille. They decided on a total of twelve wands - The oak and beech strand rods as well as oak and beech strand batons. All were made with strand. They also would bring a box of others in case they didn't get a fit.

Dobby and Winky joined them. Emma suggested that someone go look at the conference room to get the actual dimensions so they could make a mock-up with the furniture. Dobby was back in a minute and they tried various counter arrangements.

After a while Emma added, "I like Winky's idea of making the counter high enough so the client would stand."

Harry pointed out, "We want them to have paid their money and had their purchase card verified prior to coming into the conference room. We also want them to have selected their wand and picked out the appropriate numbered (1-12) wand selection card prior to going to the counter. Then they walk up and hand us the numbered card. We hand them the appropriate wand, they give it a wave, we nod and they walk off. We use the difference in language to our advantage, rather than using it as an opportunity to polish up our French. Hopefully they get a bunch of sparks. If not, they go to Winky's station.

Hermione asked, "How many wands would we have out at a time?" She was very mindful of the attempted robbery.

Harry suggested, "Let's start the morning with 1,000. Dobby, would it be difficult to come back to the Wand Shop and bring enough for the next day?"

"Not difficult. Maybe 2,000 would be better. Dobby and Winky bringing them back when everyone is done selling for the day. Then we bring same amount the next morning."

Hermione asked, "What about security?"

Harry replied, "The best thing we can do is bring our porkey watches. A few wands isn't worth getting hurt over."

Dobby left for a minute, came back and said, "The larger room is the same size as the Silver Room in Diagon Alley." (25 x 40 feet) Since the room was much larger than their own sales area, they revised their plan to have the demo wands at one end of the room and the counters at the other end. Dan spoke passable French and agreed to take the week off to assist with the demo wands. His other task would be keeping a supply of the numbered cards that they were having printed.

… - …

Wednesday October 2

Several days before going to France, Harry met with Redeye, Blackeye, Blindeye and Sharpeye to explain the proposed procedure. Sharpeye revised it by having the customer go to the teller to pay the money or make the vault transfer. The teller would then deposit the coins and hand Redeye or Blackeye the receipt. Redeye would collect the receipt and admit the customer into the room.

At the end of the day, they would compare the vault deposit with the quantity of receipts and numbered cards to have a three-way match.

… - ...

Sunday October 7

They had arrived on Sunday at noon and checked into their rooms at the Oceania hotel. Redeye introduced them to their counterparts at the Marseille branch of Gringotts. They toured the city for a bit and had an early dinner. Dan and Emma walked around for a bit while Harry and Hermione spent some time in his room doing a bit of exploring of their own.

As they returned to their room a few hours later, Emma thought it ironic that they would choose now to get frisky, given that he owned ten homes. Wisely, she didn't say anything to Dan, who seemed to have similar thoughts as the teens.

… - ...

Monday October 8

The two couples met that morning to have early breakfast. Meanwhile, Dobby had just finished arranging the wands at each station. The Marseille guards were anxious for them to get started as a sizable line had begun to form. Harry and the Grangers walked in, carrying large cups of coffee, or in Harry's case, several bottles of Orange Crush.

A minute later, Redeye let the first five in. Dan showed them the demonstration wands, pointed to a selection card and they had begun. Hermione nodded to the first customer, who handed a card with the number 8 on it (Beech baton 12) Hermione handed her the wand and she gave it a wave, thanked her and left. Dan invited more in as his end seemed to take a bit longer for some of the customers. Harry's first appointment was a number 2 (Oak rod 12) It worked fine. His appointment lasted 30 seconds.

By noon, they were low on oak rods, so Dobby popped back and brought more. Winky was delighted. There was no yabby-dabby. Her clients always walked away with a great fit. Sometimes, they chose poorly and she suggested a better choice.

By three, they were done with the cards and began with the stand-by customers. Emma was glad that they'd chosen to use the height-adjustable chairs, fearing that her legs and back would be impossibly sore without them.

By six, they agreed that they were done for the day. The deposit matched Redeye's count. They had fitted 1,405 clients that day. There were no suggestions to go for a moonlight stroll that evening. They were all tired.

… - …

Tuesday October 9

The next morning, Dobby brought 2,500 wands, saying "Better to be making fewer trips."

While having a quick breakfast, Dan asked, "has it always been like this?"

Emma replied, "Similar. It always felt like there were more people out there, even if the guards wouldn't let them in. In this case, we're far more organized. We sold more wands yesterday than the first four weeks that I was helping the teens. Winky easily sold as many as Hermione and I combined yesterday. Her ability to See magic and find a great fit is incredible. Your idea to keep 8-10 people in the display area at a time was excellent. I expect we'll see more people today."

He replied, "We still ran out of 12 inch oak rod cards twice but she sold a lot of her beloved batons too. Redeye told me that there was a guy outside with a cart selling dragonhide wrist holsters too. That was a good idea. Do you really think we'll be busier today?"

She replied, "As Harry would say, loads. I think that we could sell every wand that we bring today for as long as we're willing to stay at it. I'd be surprised if there weren't an extra thousand people in line when we arrive".

"There's Harry and Hermione. They look happy."

Emma thought, I expect that she spent a fair bit of time in his room after dinner, if not the entire night.

Harry said, "Dobby and Winky are already there. Shall we go?"

… - …

By the end of the day, they had sold 1,600 wands. Dobby and Winky had fitted almost 200 before they had even arrived. As they were having a late dinner, Harry observed, "We had 8,500 wands in the shop when we left. I expect that most of them will be gone Friday. Redeye said that the counts were equal."

… - ...

Wednesday October 10

Wednesday morning arrived. Again, there were two lines at the bank. Dobby and Winky were well into fitting the card line by the time that they arrived. Harry, Hermione and Emma handled the rush line, which ran all day. At noon, Dan was barely keeping up with the fitters; even though they were staggering their breaks. By 7pm they had sold 1,750.

… - …

Back at Hogwarts

Amelia admitted to herself that it was satisfying and a bit sad to see the class of young adults. The youngest would have been a classmate of Susie, the oldest appeared to he in her early twenties.

Flitwick had a natural, encouraging teaching style as he illustrated the summoning charm. She noticed that he had taken Harry's suggestion and had bought each of the students a box of table tennis balls to use for practice. It was a little thing but having enough money in the budget impacted the class in many ways.

At the break, he announced, "We have a special guest tonight. I'm pleased to introduce Amelia Bones, the Minister of Magic."

Amelia stood in front of the class and said, "Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I'm glad that you're here. I only wish that each of you had arrived when you were eleven. My niece is a sixth year here. You'd have been her classmates or a few years ahead of her and may have helped her find her way to the Great Hall for lunch when she was learning her way around the castle.

"You're all well on your way in learning how to wield magic. Whether you choose to use it to help wash the dishes or go into medicine and become a world-famous healer is up to you. There is a magical society here in Britain with some 34,000 magicals. Throughout Europe there are some 350,000 of us. Each country has magical districts such as Amsterdam, Marseille, Prague or Stockholm.

"The people in the wizarding world have every sort of job or business – manufacturing, import/export, sales, auto repair, healthcare, legal, carpenters, dragon keeper, delivery, research, to working in Her Majesty's service. There are many options to choose from and work towards.

"There is a reasonable possibility that your siblings have the ability to express magic. The magical users of Britain have had their share of heroes and villains. Just like everywhere. In recent years, a terrorist who espoused blood-lineage bigotry ran amok in Britain. My niece was orphaned as a result. Your magic was bound. I can't get my little brother or his wife back but I'm glad that we were able to help undo what was done to you as in infant or toddler." They nodded at her words.

"Out of curiosity, how many of you are attending university?"

She was relieved to see half of the class raise their hands. "By chance, are any of you education majors?"

Two of the students raised their hands.

Amelia asked the first, "What is your name?"

He replied. "Justin Stone. I'm finishing in Early Childhood, Special Education."

She replied, "Excellent. How about you?"

"Julie Parker. I just finished my student teaching and hope to find a position for Autumn term."

Amelia responded, "You're both in luck. We're opening a primary school in the autumn." She handed them each a card with Cindy Creevey's name and contact information. She asked, "What are the rest of you hoping to go into?"

One girl replied, "Home renovation."

Amelia looked up a telephone number on her cell phone, wrote in on the back of her card and replied, "You could give this guy a call. He just finished a big project on our home. Who else?"

By the time she had left, all of the students had a business contact.

… - ...

Thursday October 11

Dobby had brought the rest of the wands. They started selling at 4am. They kept the same arrangements as the day before. At 7:30 in the evening, they sold the last wand of the day to a very grateful young woman.

Having sold 1800, they had 1,945 left.

… - …

Friday October 12

Friday morning arrived, Harry said, "We have 1,945 wands left; assuming that Dobby and Winky haven't sold them all before we arrive. We should ask Sharpeye to do a card count at noon, so we keep enough for those with cards. Hopefully by three, we can all be working the rush line."

Emma said, "I'll work the yellow card line this morning, with Dobby and Winky. We can hold 25 wands until six, when the cards expire in case the count is off by a bit."

Again, the two elves had started selling early in the morning and had sold almost 400 before the others had arrived.

At four, Sharpeye proclaimed that they yellow cards had all been collected. At five, the last of the shoe boxes was empty. Winky brought the boxes back to the shop.

At dinner that evening, Emma pointed out, "We have a bit of a problem."

Harry asked, "What's that?"

"We sold all of the wands that we were supposed to ship to Norway this week."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We should do our sightseeing tomorrow then go back and start up production again."

… - …

Ragnok asked, "What is the news from the wandcrafters?"

Barchoke replied, "Sharpeye reported that they sold 8,500 wands; 3,500 more than what the Marseille branch was expecting. They did verify that no one was on the no-buy list. Our end of the sale grossed, 2,125,000G. We paid the branch office 85,000 for use of their room, the same in French taxes and paid bonus of 10,000 to each of the guards. We netted 1,915,000G."

"Excellent. It is unfortunate that Ironheal negotiated so poorly with Badreaux. He could have negotiated half from Potter's wands and they would have made good gold on the deal. He's not the leader that his father was. When is their next foreign visit?"

"The week of November 17 at the Amsterdam office. What about Krebbs?"

Ragnok replied, "Good. Have someone prepare a list of countries and estimated quantities for the Wandcrafters. We received our investment back this week. It would be nice to make a few million on this venture. We still need 300,000G to cover our cost of funding their school last year. You might suggest Sweden then Italy. They can invite the Swiss and Austrians over ten days. The Amsterdam Branch should discuss plans with the Brussels branch. They might sell eight, six and twelve thousand respectively. Inviting the others would raise the numbers to ten, ten and twelve respectively. Leave him. The wandcrafters have made significant improvements to their manufacturing process. The German is selling them for the same price as Baddeaux, who the Munich Gringotts branch sponsored."

… - …

Saturday October 12

Saturday, the wandmakers slept in a bit, and had a later breakfast. Emma asked, "What are your plans for the day?

Hermione suggested, "We could go for a bike ride along the coast. The scenery looks fantastic and we might find a place to buy."

Silence.

Finally Dan said, "You might find a few spots secluded enough to do a bit of fishing or snorkeling. Seriously, if you ever decided to look for a winter retreat, Italy or Sicily might be better choices."

… - …

Sunday October 13

When they got back to the shop, all of the blocks that had been glued or indented had been finished. Hermione vanished the transfigured glue tables and made ten new ones. Meanwhile, Harry was indenting blocks while Emma was cutting and gluing strand. By the time that the tables were finished, Dobby and Winky had set Emma's glued blocks into the newly transfigured tables.

Dobby was secretly pleased that Hermione had made more tables. They now had a total of twelve and could glue many more than before. By noon, when they had finished, Harry had 500 blocks indented. They called it a day and went out for pizza while the new parents happily spent time with their growing babies.

… - ...

Sunday October 20

A week after they returned, Amelia invited Harry and the Grangers as well as Sirius and Remus to the rebuilt Bones manor for lunch. When Harry arrived, Smidgen showed them in. Sirius and Remus were visiting with Amelia. She said, I'm glad you're all safely back in Britain. How was your trip?"

Emma replied, "Productive. We fitted wands for 8,500 witches and wizards."

Amelia simply asked, "How?"

"We had a lot of help. The Marseille Gringotts staff handled the money and were responsible for outside security. Our Gringotts group handled the paperwork. Dan manned the demonstration booth where people picked out the style that they were interested in and handed them the appropriate selection ticket. Then the customer walked up to our counter and verified that their selection worked properly. If it worked, off they went. If it didn't, Winky took care of the problem fittings. Pretty much we were fitting wands from 3am until just before 8pm. They were long days for everyone but it was doable for a week."

Amelia asked, "What were the wands going for?"

Harry said, "500G. We split the gross with Gringotts. They provided a secure facility, lodging, inside and outside security and paid the fees and taxes."

Amelia asked. "Barchoke had mentioned that they had 35,000 people eligible to receive a wand. Where are they in that process?"

Harry replied, "The wandcrafter that they sent to school and set up in business made about 2,000 wands before he ran out of materials. We'd previously sent them 7,000 wands which he resold at between 2,500 and 5,000G each. He made millions off of our work before he ran off. So all told, probably half of the French citizens now have their wands. We don't know what country 3,500 of our sales were from, nor all of his. It will be at least six months before we go back there."

Remus asked, "Why so long?"

Emma replied, "Sweden, Amsterdam, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Poland and a handful of other countries have asked for help as well so far. How's your crew doing?"

Sirius replied, "We've been busy too. We're getting through some of the smaller estates at a rate of about two a week. Most of the people who had been in Parkinson's rental properties decided to purchase their unit. Sally Daily has been working extra trying to accommodate everyone.

"Several of the other Death Eaters had similar properties. So we'll get through those sometime next year."

"I'm glad you're working through those cases. They'll grow wealth by owning a property," said Dan. He asked, "Amelia, How is your campaign going?"

She replied, "Someone talked Amos into running. It's a bit embarrassing. He's against everything – Hogwarts, the Wizengamot, wand distribution, elf rights, goblin rights, were rights and other countries. I think he's even against Tuesdays for some reason. He doesn't have any solutions or clever ideas – just complaints."

Hermione suggested, "No one would vote for the whiner party. Look at all of the positive things that have occurred."

Amelia replied, "As you previously have pointed out, everyone believed that they should have been first in line; at a minimum, the first half of the line. Having a lock in the Wizengamot isn't the same as having the popular vote."

Harry replied, "Most of Europe is still without a wand and those who have one paid between a hundred and a thousand times what people in Britain did."

She admitted, "I had nothing to do with that."

"True, but it happened on your watch. What can we do to help you?"

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd greatly appreciate endorsement letters sent to the Quibbler early this week."

Emma replied, "From who and what topics would you like covered?"

"Sirius, if you and Remus could cover some of the numbers relating to the former Death Eaters' properties and a few words about your exoneration, that would be greatly appreciated.

"Emma, if you could write a page about the improvements and plans from the education perspective, that would be excellent. I've asked Augusta to do the same.

"Harry, if you and Hermione could summarize what you just talked about regarding the European wand situation and a summary of the wand distribution in Britain. For all of these, 300-500 words is a good target length.

Hermione asked, "Who is eligible to vote?"

"Anyone with an OWL."

Emma asked, "How many people usually turn up to vote?"

"10,000 tops."

Hermione asked, "Are the elves eligible? Could they schedule Herbology or Charms OWLS in the next week? You should check the exact language that you used in your proclamation. They may already be eligible, though I think Madam Marchbanks would be delighted to come out to the new Elf Land and find out what real herbology looks like."

"What do you mean?"

"They bought a 120 acre section of meadow land and by the beach houses and in the course of a month or so are turning it into old, magical forest. It's beyond amazing."

Amelia replied, "I'll contact her and review the original proclamation. On a different subject, do you know Cindy Creevey's background?"

"Yes. She's been teaching third graders for a dozen years and was just finishing her coursework in education administration. That would legally qualify her to be Head of a nonmagical school."

"I'd like to hire her and have her find an existing school or similar building in the greater London area, have John Macmillan look it over, have the elves fix it up and open in integrated primary school next autumn term."

Dan remarked, "You'd need some sort of hook like special children – physical disabilities that plausibly could be cured over time. Some of the classes could be integrated, some would be better to be grouped as appropriate. The more you hide the school in plain sight, the better."

Harry asked, "Would it be possible to identify some low magic people; someone who may have dropped out of Hogwarts because they couldn't do the spells rather than because of lack of effort?"

Amelia said, "I'm certain that there are those out there, though they may have had their magic bound and had been obliviated. Why do you ask?"

He replied, "I've been investigating amplification magics."

Taking a surprisingly stern look, Amelia replied, "It would be my preference that you drop that pursuit and never bring that term up again. The so-called Death Stick was reported to have used that principle. Would you have wanted to have face an amplified version of Tom Riddle?"

Harry replied, "I did but I understand your point. I'll put that project away."

Understanding how quickly teens could become moody and that Harry's idea would have earned him many millions, Emma asked, "How is Anne doing?"

Amelia replied, "She's made excellent hiring decisions. The regrouping of students by age seems to have become a very popular decision. The Introduction to Magic class is progressing very well. There will be a second class for spring semester. Time will tell if the students who left Hogwarts and/or Britain will return. Thank you all; things are getting better every month."

After they had left, Amelia wondered if she had just lost Potter's support.

… - ...

Monday October 21

Regulus Moonshine walked into the Three Broomsticks early, hoping to catch Rosmerta. By chance, she wasn't busy and he said, "I'd like to order a firewhisky and have you try my new product." She agreed and poured two glasses.

"Please set up two more glasses." She did and he poured his product into them. He said, "If you would, please compare them."

She carefully examined them. The color and the bouquet was the same. She sniffed each and asked, "Did you make this?"

He nodded and replied, "I purchased the exclusive license to make Firewhiskey." He showed her the document.

She asked, "How long was this aged?"

He replied, "I distilled it 92 days ago."

She tried it and replied, "It's identical to the Ogden product. I'd buy yours but I'm sitting on 300 cases of his firewhiskey."

He replied, "If I might make a suggestion; you could sell half of the cases that you have to Dumbledore. I'll give you five cases of my Dragon's Breath Cocktail and you can run taste tests for a month."

She knew that she could have an easy sale and might sell most of it at a very decent profit. She stated, "I like the idea. Thank you."

Moonshine replied, "I'll have the cases delivered later this morning. Thank you."

… - ...

That evening, the wandcrafters and Dan took a look at the suggested on-site sales opportunities that Barchoke had suggested, along with the forecasted sales quantities.

Dobby pointed out, "With the 7/16th blocks and the twelve glue tables it is being easy to make 500 rods a day. There is much work for baton wands."

Hoping to avert an argument, Emma pointed out, "The other day, Dan had mentioned the idea of using a ½ inch handle rather than a ¾ one. It would be a bit thinner but eliminate a bunch of sanding. Maybe we could make a batch and see what people think.

Hermione nodded and said, "Sounds good. So we'll be in Amsterdam from Sunday November 17 to Sunday November 24 and we're to plan on 10,000 wands. We don't know the number of yellow permit cards vs. the rush line."

Harry suggested, "Let's front-end load the yellow cards by scheduling say 1,500 a day so we'll have more time to look around. What's there to do in Amsterdam anyway?"

Silence.

Hermione glanced at her mum for a moment. Finally Emma said, "We can look into that later. How about the Stockholm trip in December?"

Harry asked, "When do we want to go?"

Dan glanced at Emma, who suggested, "How about December 14-22?

Hermione pointed out, "That's cutting it pretty close for our Christmas."

Emma observed, "Getting a wand and having your home warm again sounds like a pretty important Christmas gift to to give to people to me."

Hermione asked, "Where's the Gringotts branch office in Italy?"

Harry replied, "Naples. It's not Palermo but the weather should be fantastic. How about the week of January 12?"

Emma checked her book for a moment and replied, "That week works. What pricing are we committing to and what was the suggested volume?"

Harry replied, "We'll stick with the same pricing (500G) and he suggested that we could sell 12,000 wands. Personally I think we should plan on 2,000 extra at each place. I'm sick of people reselling our wands and making way more on them than we are."

Emma had been waiting for this. She replied, "I completely agree. We aren't obligated to accept any new orders after we fill the ones that we've been paid for and committed to. Let's see how well the 500G price point holds. If it holds, Dan and I are more than happy to make a few more trips. If it collapses, I'm sure we're all just as happy to go home at night and watch movies."

Everyone seemed to agree so Harry said, I'll stop over and confirm the dates with Barchoke

… - …

Saturday October 26

Grishielda Marchbanks, Examination Manager, the other tester and two assistants met Harry at the wandshop at 9am that Saturday. He said, "Thank you for coming. The elves can easily be tested for OWL Herbology and Charms. Keep in mind, they don't use incantations like we do, or wands, but everything else is about the same. My friends, Dobby and Winky are ICW licensed wandcrafters. Hold on, Let's go."

He activated his portkey. They ended up just on the edge of the property between the beach houses and the new Elf Land. He said, When I purchased this land from the Estate Dispositioner this June, it was ordinary field grass." For the most part, it now resembled twenty year old forest. He showed them the Hedgerows and commented, "They made the berm and planted seedlings on it in late in July."

As they walked Harry pointed various things out until they reached the huge vinewoods. Harry said, "They moved these from my Grandfather's property in Gloucester. Over there is where the Parkinson Manor used to be. They dismantled all of the pieces and quite a few were used to rebuild Minister Bones' family estate that was burned down last December. With the guidance from licensed contractor John Macmillan, they rebuilt the home in a few weeks."

Dobby, Winky and almost all of the elves appeared.

Grishielda had seen the home. It was amazing. She asked, "Who helped with the berm?"

Two thirds of the elves raised their hand. Some said, "We made the wardstones," while others said, "We raised the berm," or "We planted and talked with the plants."

She asked one of the elves, "Can you show me how you talk to the plants?"

A younger elf said, "I'll ask these holly and box plants to grow together." She talked with them in Elvish for a minute and they were half a foot taller and had intertwined their branches.

Marchbanks asked, "Can you transplant them over there?" She pointed to a spot a few feet away.

The elf flicked her thumb and wiggled her left hand and the plants were perfectly planted four feet from where they had been a minuted ago.

She asked, "Who disassembled the Parkinson estate?"

About half of them raised their hands. Some said, "I did flooring," or "I took out the nails," or "I healed the wood from the nail holes," or "I moved the windows."

She had no doubt that they were telling the truth.

She asked,"Who can turn invisible?"

They had all vanished.

The other tester asked, "Who moved Minister Bones' belongings from the burning home to her new home?"

They all reappeared and two hundred elves raised their hand. The examiners questioned them for nearly an hour, occasionally asking for demonstrations. Winky brought a tree section from Hogwarts and set it on two sturdy saw horses.

Dobby said, "Lulu will be slicing the stump into a 24 inch rectangle." The little elf asked a question and got to work.

"Smidgen will slice a ¾ inch plank off of the top." Three flicks of her finger and she was done. It was perfectly cut and looked as if it had been sanded.

"Mindy will slice the plank into 15 inch long, ¾ inch blocks." Twenty seconds later, she was done.

The two assistants asked "Who else can do that?" They all raised their hand. The other tester didn't bother to measure the wood when Winky popped back and brought a micrometer. They were perfect.

The three examiners walked off to the side for a bit and discussed what they had seen.

One held out one roll of parchment marked Charms while the other opened a roll marked Herbology. Harry transfigured a table and took out pens.

Marchbanks said, "Please sign your names on both rolls."

… - …

Two days later, there was a large package with OWL scores for all of the elves, They had all passed the two OWL exams.

… - …

Sunday October 27

In the days prior to the election, Xeno began running the letters supporting one candidate or another. Hermione read the first one.

Diggory is the man

We need Amos Diggory. He doesn't give into fads. Amos is a traditionalist who has spent 35 years in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

He knows how things should work.

Percival Weasley

Traffic Control Officer

"Harry, look at this." She showed him the paper and suppressed a giggle.

"He found a job as a meter maid. I couldn't think of a better fit. Read the next one."

Trial by Fire

Director Bones didn't ask to be minister. She accepted the challenge and got right to work. She took the time to understand the real issues relating to the Great Wandout. Other than the day that he stopped in for a fitting, to my knowledge, Amos Diggory has never even visited the Wand Shop.

I'm voting for Amelia Bones

Emma Granger DDS

Licensed Wandcrafter

Harry remarked, "I like her letter. She made her point in fifty words.

"True but there was so much more that she could have said. She's done dozens of good things. Look at this one."

Amos Diggory Will Protect our Traditions

Traditions and our past are important. Diggory's mind is focused on the past. Floo calls have served us well for centuries. They allow us to see the people and should we choose, go visit them. The muggles can't do that. I'm confident that Amos is best for Britain.

Delmar Sleezy

Owner Winbourne Wasps

Hermione observed, "A fourth of the British wizards and wizards completely agree with that line of thinking. Of course, they felt that way two years ago. No letter is going to change their thinking, just as no letter is going to change the first generation witches and wizards. Yours needs to go after the ones in the middle. Here's another one."

Diggory is Popular Among my Clientele

Amos Diggory has been a regular at my pub for the last ten years. He always pays his tab and rarely starts fights.

Aberforth Dumbledore

Hog's Head Publican

Harry remarked, "More endorsements for Diggory like that and Amelia's a shoo-in."

Hermione kissed her boyfriend in agreement. It wasn't a very good letter of recommendation. The next one looked much better.

Amelia Bones – Fiscally Conservative, Honest and has Proven Leadership

The Great Wandout affected us all. Amelia Bones authorized some ministry employees temporary leaves of absence to help renew charms on wizarding houses and recharge wardstones for very modest rates after some wands began to become available. As a result, hundreds of families who might otherwise have gone cold were kept safe and warm last winter.

She led the effort to find a permanent replacement for headmaster Dumbledore as Minerva McGonagall bought us a year's time by accepting a herculean challenge. She led the effort to fund the new Primary School, scheduled to open next Autumn, During the crisis, she brought fiscal responsibility to the Ministry's finances.

Amelia will lead us into the 21st century

Augusta Longbottom

Regent

"I see what you mean," observed Harry. "The first paragraph wasn't her idea and the only people who will agree with her regarding the second paragraph are those who would already vote for her."

… - …

Tuesday October 29

Amelia was also reading the letters. One in particular, caught her eye.

In Support of Conservatism

Britain is a country with a proud past and many fine traditions. We've been a world leader in international commerce. There is no country that makes or grows everything that it needs – either on the wizarding or the muggle side – Britain included. It has been a tradition that holds true with respect to our magical world. We trade. We import many plants from parts of the world that can grow them better than our climate allows. In return, we export many wonderful items of our own. Wanting to preserve that way of life is not evil or immoral.

Amos Diggory is a conservative. He is committed to the cause of maintaining our proud wizarding traditions.

Magicals on average live half again as long as the muggles. As a result, we have more time to learn about the world, become educated and use our knowledge. That's not racist – it's a fact.

I encourage you to support Amos Diggory. A vote for Amos is a vote to preserve our way of life.

Tiberius Ogden

Amelia carefully read the letter. Ogden had made his points, yet the fact of the matter was Amos had no leadership experience. As Sirius had pointed out, he couldn't recognize a Death Eater who was serving him birthday cake. Amos was a decent man, but the loss of his wife had changed him – darkened his aspect. She vowed to attempt to make peace with him if he accepted defeat on Friday.

… - ...

Thursday October 31

Harry's Letter appeared in the paper. Amelia blanched as she read the title.

I don't always agree with Minister Bones

I don't always agree with Minister Bones. She didn't immediately have someone investigate the international situation relating to wands or components. No one did until it was suggested. Doing so showed us that there would be no help coming from across the Channel.

I don't always agree with her but I do respect her decision making. She listens, gathers the available information in the time that she has available and makes her decision. She is informed, acts decisively and is willing to admit and correct the occasional injustice or error – whether it was created by her, her people, or someone else. She does what she can to make it right. I respect that.

One of the first things she ever said to me was, "What can I do to help?"

She asked, I made a suggestion, she investigated the situation and corrected it. That's how the ministry is supposed to work.

I don't expect our minister to have all of the answers. I do expect them to recognize a situation, gather the available information and make a decision that they can stand behind.

I'm voting to keep Amelia Bones our minister.

Harry Potter

She let out a breath that she'd been holding and smiled. The letter sounded honest and sincere. She looked at another one.

Diggory for Minister? No Thanks

I read a letter endorsing Amos Diggory. It described how he worked in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Did he ever mention that his nine co-workers were Death Eaters? That's not speculation; I saw their masks and robes when I was cleaning out their estates in the last months.

In the years I was illegally imprisoned by Albus Dumbledore, and Barty Crouch, I heard my cousin Bellatrix Lestrange mention their names as colleagues.

If Amos Diggory can't or won't recognize a problem when he's sitting in the same room as them for years, how is he going to solve the next problem that we encounter?

I'm voting for Amelia Bones for Minister.

Sirius Black

She smiled. These were the letters that would influence those voters who were on the fence.

Then there was the other view.

Please Vote for Amos Diggory

If you care about the magical world, vote for Amos Diggory in the upcoming Minister of Magic election against the usurper Madam Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE who shamelessly seized power after the unfortunate events last spring of the Great Wandout. I've worked many years with Amos in the Ministry of Magic and I find Amos to be a staunch adherent to the grand wizarding traditions. A just and fair man in all his dealings. If you value our Wizarding traditions vote for Amos, unlike Madam Bones he will restore the ministry and Wizengamot to its former glory. Do you agree that Creatures like Goblins and Elves deserve a voice in our government? Unlike Madam Bones I'm sure Amos will not spit on the statue of magical beings in the Entrance Hall of the Ministry. The statue depicts the natural order of things with Wizards at the top and other races subservient. Who knows under Madam Bones we could see Mere People, Werewolves and Centaurs walking the halls?

When I was a quidditch superstar, I could see the natural order of life. An order that is systematically being destroyed by the goblins and Madam Bones.

Do you like the wholesale changes to our society we have experienced under Madam Bones? Putting most Ministry workers out on the street? Freeing House Elves? Changing a thousand years of tradition at Hogwarts by bringing in Squibs and Muggles to teach Muggle nonsense? Working closely with the Goblins to provide a few measly wands a week according to their agenda?

We need to return to our traditions! Not throw it all on the ash heap of history. A vote for Madam Bones is one to continue her scorched earth policy of destroying our traditional society! So vote for Amos!

Ludo Bagman

Harry read that one and commented, "No wonder the Nation hasn't issued his card. Between being overdue on his gambling debts and calling them names, he'll be a hundred before he gets a card."

Dan replied, "Quidditch Superstar? Exactly what did he win to earn that self-anointed title?"

Harry replied, "Ron told me that he'd played as a beater and they won a few times while he was on the team."

"That may be but it doesn't mean that he made or saved any goals or caught the snitch. It's a team sport."

… - …

As dinner ended that evening, Susan walked up to the head table and told Anne, "Headmistress, the sixth and seventh year students would like to go vote tomorrow at noon."

"OK. How will they be getting to the ministry to vote?"

"Two-way goblin portkeys."

"OK, please let one of the Aurors know when you leave and return. Please be certain to tell the others.

"I will. Thank you."

… - ...

Friday November 1

At 11:45, Susan handed Hannah, Ernie, Tracie, Colin and Ginny the multi-use stainless steel portkey bracelets that she'd been given. She explained the activation procedures. They left and were met by Heidi and Jim Phillips, the house parents. They each had brought five other students with them. They immediately used their portkeys to get back to Hogwarts and pick up the other 30 who wanted to go vote.

Heidi the house mum kept good counts on who had arrived and left again.

After Susan and crew had cast their votes, they took the first batch back while the second group voted. As instructed, there was no discussion about who to vote for or why.

They went back to get the others and had returned in time for their first afternoon classes. In total, 64 students voted.

… - …

Harry read the notes on the whiteboard in the break room

7500 in stock.

17-24 November - Amsterdam counting today 11 work days before we leave

14-22 December Sweden - 15 work days between Amsterdam and Sweden

12-18 January Italy

The wandcrafters met that Friday late afternoon to compare their production schedule with the sale projections. Given that they had 7,500 wands in stock, were making about 500 a day and eleven work days before their Amsterdam trip, they would have 13,000. However they only had eleven work days after their Amsterdam trip before the Sweden trip and twelve work days after that before their scheduled trip to Italy. The math didn't work.

Emma observed, "We'd be a bit closer if we worked one of the weekend days."

Dobby said, "Elves are doing elvie things on Saturdays. We will work on Sundays. Maybe Hermione can make one more glue table."

Harry said, "That's a good idea, Dobby. I'll have plenty of indents for you to glue."

Hermione said, "We can cut down the foreign shipments to 500 a month for a few months. The extra glue table should help a lot as well."

Winky suggested, "If we only make 3/8th inch rods, we could be making more than 600 a day.

Emma added, "We can make a batch of the 1/2 inch batons to bring along to have a bit of variety. If we run out, we can just say that they are sold out. They're quicker to make than the 3/4th inch ones were."

Harry added, "The other thing we could do is push the Naples Italy trip out a week."

Emma checked her schedule and said, "Dan and I have appointments the following week."

Winky suggested, "We could shorten the Stockholm trip and sell all the wands in four days." Everyone liked that idea.

Emma added, "Let's put in the extra time, limit outside deliveries, focus on the wands that are faster to make and sell what we can. The opportunity to get these prices isn't going to last forever. In the mean time, let's go vote."

… - …

A/Ns

Does Amelia deserve to be elected?

Thanks for reading.

Harry Potter and the Smallest Change by BurningFlames is quite an interesting story that has next to zero exposure. Story ID 13958111

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