Chapter 7: Everybody Wants To Rule the World
"How are you taking over the Ministry by tomorrow morning," Bellatrix asked.
"With a bit of goblin assistance and a lot of organization and planning," Kereston replied. "There is a goblin potioneer, a nephew of Griphook's, and he's even better than Severus, if you can imagine that."
Bellatrix shrugged. "He's alright, but he isn't a potions god," she drawled.
"Can any of you come close to matching his skills," Kereston asked, then smirked when none of them spoke up. "As I was saying, Griphook's nephew is even better... He has come up with a potion that can strip any person or creature with magic, of said magic."
"You trust that?" Rabastan demanded. "That shit is dangerous! Do you know what the little buggers could do with that?"
"We're about to see it in action tomorrow morning," Kereston said. "It is dangerous, but it's also useful, especially right now. He has an antidote as well, so eventually everyone who loses their magic, or at least most of them, will have it restored."
"Who is losing their magic?" Rodolphus demanded, and Kereston shrugged slender shoulders.
"Around eighty percent of the magical population, at least," she replied casually.
"Why," Bellatrix asked.
"Because it's the only way we'll be able to take over the Ministry and form a better one...a more equal one for all magical folk, not just wizards. That's the goal, because right now we need all the help we can get and many magical folk are more powerful than wizards."
"So it's a good idea to give them power while stripping wizards of theirs?" Rodolphus demanded, voice rising slightly.
"The other magical folk are willing to do what needs to be done...to take the new magical threat calling herself Delphini seriously while many wizards are not. So, yes, we are casting our lot with those willing to take action," Kereston told him.
"What if the goblins and elves just take over and strip the remaining twenty percent of wizards of their magic as well? Then no humans would have magic. I'm sure the goblins would adore that arrangement." Rod speculated.
Kereston sighed. "Not when we're perfectly happy to work with them. Besides, goblins would have to run everything magical then, and, trust me, they don't want to bother with all that. Besides, Griphook was the one to approach me on the matter of becoming Minister. It wasn't as if he wanted to do it. We plan to restore magic to everyone willing to help sooner than later. We just want to allow people to see that everyone with magic can and should work well together. Eventually most of the wizards who lose their magic will have it restored."
"And you don't think they'll be angry with you for stripping them of it in the first place," Rabastan asked and Kereston gave a short laugh.
"Oh, we won't be telling them that we took it. We're going to call it a wizarding plague. Wizarding because it acts by stripping wizards of their magic while giving them flu symptoms."
"That's rather brilliant," Bellatrix murmured, both horrified and impressed. "I suppose we're honored that you trust us with this... We owe Kreacher and Regulus a thank you, certainly, but what do you want from us, because it's got to be something." She gave the little blonde a knowing look, before raising her glass to take another sip.
"We want you to use your skills to help in the fight in any way necessary and to run Azkaban. That last bit was all my idea," she added, looking pleased. "Just consider the implications... Anyone will think more than twice about committing a crime that will land them in Azkaban if they know the Lestranges are now in charge of it with free rein to torture prisoners when they get bored ."
"Wait, we get to torture prisoners," Rabastan asked and Kereston nodded.
"I consider it you doing your bit to repay society for your crimes, and it also serves to keep you in line. It is my hope that you'll be less likely to snap and torture Muggles if you know you have prisoners on whom to take out your aggression."
Bellatrix laughed. "I may be starting to like you. You're a little hardass. No mercy for the prisoners from you."
"They shouldn't have done whatever put them in there," Kereston said, a firm set to her small chin. "I want to be fair, but only to those who deserve it. Soft leaders rule a crumbling kingdom in the end. On the other hand, tyrants get themselves killed eventually, and I'm trying to be in the middle while remaining tough enough to do what needs to be done for the best and safest outcome for the world at large."
Bellatrix shrugged, still amused. "Well, it will be very interesting to see how it all plays out. As for us paying our debts to society...we aren't going to pretend to be sorry. We don't care about those idiots."
Kereston nodded. "I am aware. It's why I don't particularly trust you, and why you'll be giving me an Unbreakable. It's only because of Regulus and Kreacher that we don't strip your magic along with the Malfoys."
Bellatrix opened her mouth in shock, then shut it again. Her sister was going to lose her magic... but what could she do about it? If things progressed smoothly, they were all likely to have their magic restored anyway, and Cissy would survive without it for a while.
"How is that going to happen anyway," Rabastan asked. "Stripping magic?"
"Through the water and drinks supply," Kereston said. "It can sink into the skin when people wash or be ingested when they drink. It occurred to Kreacher that there are a few nasty people who don't bathe enough and that don't like to drink water, so the magic stripper potion is also being Apparated into all the Butterbeer and milk in any wizarding shops."
"Brilliant," Rabastan said with a grin. "And how do the twenty percent of wizards who get to keep their magic avoid catching this wizarding plague?"
"By being given an antidote in advance," Kereston said. Reaching into a shoulder bag in the shape of a spell book, she produced three green glass bottles. "Just like the famous Dr. Jekyll's potion...the red will strip the magic, and the green will restore it or, if taken in advance, prevent one from losing it."
"Wait, Jekyll knew how to strip magic," Rabastan asked and Kereston shook her head.
"No. I meant the colors work as his did. Red kept him inhibited, and green freed him not to be, if you recall." She chuckled. "It's amusing how Muggles misunderstand the concept of Jekyll and Hyde."
"Not really, because they're all stupid," Bellatrix sneered. "Their brains are lacking. They are little better than animals and at times worse than some."
"True enough in many cases, I suppose," Kereston said with a sigh. "So are you all in?"
The three exchanged a look and Rabastan laughed. "Sure."
"That's right," Rodolphus said. "We're always down for being on the winning team."
Kereston smiled. "Good. Then may I offer you all a drink?"
Of course none of them were thrilled by the prospect of working with goblins and elves, but nor were they interested in losing their magic or playing ball for this Delphini person when they had no idea what her game was. If Kreacher and Regulus were involved in this... Well, they were family, and when they shared some of the same values, family of their sort stuck together. If Delphini did have anything to do with their former Dark Lord, they'd found out enough disturbing things about him in the end to remain thoroughly disillusioned.
The Dark Lord was now nothing more than a painful memory, a reminder of all that the three of them had wasted of their own lives in his service. Service for which he'd never really been grateful. The worst part of it was that he'd been nothing but a sham. He'd never truly cared about their pureblood values, and he'd twisted himself into something unrecognizable with all those Horcruxes which Regulus had told them of in the end. They'd woken up far too late, but at least the Ministry had seen their potential and allowed them to use it.
In a way, as Bellatrix saw it, they were still serving the original pact with the Ministry now. They were helping to take down someone who needed to be stopped, someone that the current Ministry couldn't handle alone. So they were, in fact, still doing the exact job they had been asked to do.
Rodolphus reached out and took all three bottles, passing two to Bellatrix and Rabastan before opening the third for himself. Bellatrix opened hers and tossed it down as if it were a shot. It was like water, utterly tasteless. "If the stripper is red, won't people notice a color change in their drinks," she asked.
"Oh, it's only red when on its own," Kereston replied. "When mixed it becomes colorless. Griphook's nephew is quite clever."
No sooner had the three downed the contents of their bottles than a knock sounded at the door.
"Harold will get it," Bellatrix said.
Harold was their house elf. They'd killed his former owner for the Ministry in around two thousand, and he'd come to work for them. Bellatrix rather liked the little shit. He was quiet and efficient, and, best of all, grateful. His former master had worked him tirelessly, and the Lestranges asked little of him.
Not only that, they had even made him fashionable. One night in two thousand and two around a week before Halloween, when all three of them were high on Merlin's Cap magical mushrooms, Bellatrix decided that Harold should dress as a plague doctor rather than wearing the elf sack. It gave him character, and, though the elf never commented, she thought he rather liked the look. He wore a long black velvet robe topped with a cloak, hat, and raven's beak plague mask, complete with round glass goggles. It kept him expressionless, which Bellatrix liked, and made him appear more frightening to outsiders. To Kereston's credit, her eyes only widened slightly when he entered the room.
"There is an Auror here to see all three of you, and he has three others with him. A goblin, and two wizards, but those are not dressed as Aurors. Should Harold show them in?"
Bellatrix stiffened until she remembered that the Ministry was sending a Healer around to attend to whatever was done to their minds in the late seventies. Rodolphus nodded. "Yes, show them in and offer them tea."
The elf departed and Kereston asked, "Harold? That seems rather an ordinary name for an elf."
"I changed it after we killed his former master," Bellatrix said. "I kept forgetting whatever his original name was...it was something foreign or gibberish... It just wasn't sticking in the mind, and I kept wanting to call him Harold so I ended up telling him he was going to bloody well answer to Harold." She chuckled. "He doesn't seem to mind." Not that she would've cared if he minded, but the point was that he didn't seem to.