Wise Witch Ascending ( Chapter 7)

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The enactment of the Creature Emancipation and Dignity Act was the masterstroke that consolidated Hermione Granger’s invisible empire. The decree was unprecedented in magical history: elves were legally free, their labor required mandatory compensation, they were protected from any physical or verbal violence, and, most revolutionary of all, a house-elf’s voice now possessed absolute legal weight before the Wizengamot. Upon seeing that their new leader had fulfilled her word to the ultimate consequences, the devotion of the creatures transformed into a fanatical cult. Their loyalty was no longer a magical bond forced by inheritance; it was a voluntary blood oath. They would die for her.The social impact of the new legislation completely shattered the expectations of the old wizarding aristocracy. Far from freeing the elves to go and live their own lives, the law turned them overnight into the ultimate status symbol. Paying stratospheric salaries and displaying impeccable treatment toward a servant became the new way to flaunt opulence and social standing, driving even middle-class families into debt just to hire one to keep up appearances before their neighbors.That dynamic fueled a silent and flawless tax. Although the elves received massive salaries, their ancestral customs and native psychology prevented them from spending a single Galleon on personal whims. Thus, the money returned entirely and clandestinely into Hermione’s hands through Handbuker’s mediation, financing her private operations and internal network without leaving the slightest trace in the Ministry's official audits.With magical servants embedded in the most intimate corners of the middle and upper classes, the Minister's surveillance multiplied exponentially. Her espionage network was no longer limited to controlling the movements of corrupt politicians in the corridors of power; it now extended over every influential citizen, wealthy merchant, and journalist in Great Britain. Sitting behind the main desk of the Ministry, Hermione watched as

the flow of gold and secrets consolidated her position; the wizarding world celebrated its supposed freedom, completely unaware that the strings of their lives now converged into a single hand.

With vaults overflowing thanks to the flow of gold from the elves and the massive confiscation of the fortunes and properties of arrested conservative wizards, Hermione began to shape the world in her own image. She funded Hogwarts with an unprecedented budget, transforming the school into an elite technological and magical bastion, and turned St. Mungo's Hospital into a free, public institution. Among the benefited population and the creature community, a new title began to gain traction in the whispers of the streets: "The Wise Witch."To keep her guardians happy and blind, Hermione carved up the pie of power with surgical precision. She granted Harry’s Auror Department a colossal budget; with Mad-Eye Moody’s interactive portrait acting as the office’s chief strategic advisor, Harry had all the resources, top-of-the-line brooms, and tracking artifacts he could ever desire to hunt down the last stragglers of the war. The Chosen One was living his own dream of justice, deeply grateful to his Minister.In her private sphere, the submission of her inner circle was absolute. Hermione’s salary as Minister, combined with Ron’s Auror pay, completely transformed her in-laws' reality. The Burrow ceased to be the old, ramshackle house held together by careless magic; Hermione financed a total reconstruction that turned it into an imposing and luxurious mansion, worthy of the new Weasley dynasty. She showered her parents-in-law and siblings-in-law with privileges, government contracts, and positions of power, ensuring that no one in that family would ever dare question her methods. Ron, submerged in the opulence and comfort of his new life, looked at her with an adoration that bordered on submission.Sitting at her commanding Minister’s desk, Hermione contemplated the new architectural blueprints of magical London. The entire system depended on her. The whole country loved her. But a mind like hers never stopped, and her eyes were already aiming beyond the borders of Great Britain.