The Collapse
Harry had to admit, he never though Ron's most useful attribute would be the squid accountant he was related to. Not that Ron wasn't a stand up guy, but after dealing with the corruption of the ministry, and having exhausted all other avenues (including brute force,) Hermione had suggested they look outside of spell books and dueling manuals, and try something new. Something outside of the box.
Ron mentioned his uncle, or was it his cousin? Anyways, he was someone who was familiar with the wizarding world, while at the same time, lived apart from it, separated from their long established though processes and traditions. They quickly met up with him. He proved to be a willing ear to their problems, and had a distance from the situation that everyone else lacked. After hearing their issues and a brief listing of what they did have. He sat there, pondering his response.
He gathered his thoughts, and what followed after they explained their problems was a crash course of economics and money theory. At first, it seemed pointless and boring, but after the initial explanation, he went into detail how they could use it to achieve their ends. Harry's eyes lit up with sadistic glee, as a means to overcome the red tape and corruption of the ministry finally presented itself to him.
That night, they quietly discussed their newly hatched plan. They drew on every source they could to ensure that there was nothing that could ruin it. Ron proved an invaluable resource, having a deep engrained understanding of the ancient houses and their methods, while Hermione was able to point out gaps in logic and quickly read through heavy law books to make sure there was nothing explicitly illegal. They even contacted Bill, to get a better understanding of the banking system. Once they checked the exact amount of money Harry had available, they knew their plan was ready.
Harry spent most of the next week at Gringotts, constantly exchanging pounds for galleons, then taking those into a muggle currency exchange office, where he traded them for their value as gold. The process repeated over and over, forcing Hermione to locate more locations for exchanges to avoid drawing too much attention. Eventually, they reached a bottleneck where the goblins simply did not have enough coins minted to give him the full value. He loaded up on sickles and knuts, then started taking futures for whenever the next batch were minted. The goblins watched him suspiciously, but he hadn't broken any laws, and stockpiling such vast amounts of money only meant that
Then, it was time. Harry divided his money between himself, Hermione, and Ron, and they went on a shopping spree.
Ron raided the broomstick store, purchasing a Firebolt for every family member, and leaving a generous tip besides. He then moved towards the most expensive restaurant he could find, and started the most epic feast in his life by ordering one of everything. Once
Hermione proved to be a bit more practical, commissioning her own personal library, before filling it will two copies of every book she could find in Diagon and Knockturn Alley. She resisted the urge to go read them all, instead moving on to the creation of a potions lab, stocking it with all the ingredients. As each step was completed, she moved on to some new project to augment or expand, quickly creating a castle that would surpass events Hogwarts in size.
Harry simply walked the streets, buying whatever item caught his eye. There was no pattern to it. He would buy a singing statue, then move on to the next store for a color changing apple. Some his discarded immediately, other items were used or consumed, and a few were sent to his newly purchased mansion or summer home.
Day after day, they spent the vast sums of money Harry had accrued. They quickly burned through the galleons, sickles, and knuts, and were making solid progress on the futures the goblins had given them.
Money flooded the wizarding economy, and was further fueled by Harry's continuous use and abuse of the banking system, which was reinvigorated by sudden deposits of cash. For a very short period, people reveled in the generosity and prosperity of the Boy-Who-Lived, and how he shared it among the people. Those in the ministry saw this as a means of swaying public support, assuming he would use it to get the freedom he so deeply desired. So sure of this, they remained completely unaware of the insidious nature of his true plan, confident in their assessment.
As money flooded into the system, prices began to rise. At first, only a few knuts or sickles, perhaps a few galleons on the more expensive items, but as Harry and his friends spent more and more, they began to rise faster and faster, until it cascaded out of control.
All too soon, a simple ice cream cone costs hundreds of galleons, while more expensive and useful items were well into the thousands or millions. Knuts and sickles had become completely worthless, and the galleon only persisted because there was no higher denomination. The only ones spared the devastation of the economy were those few who Harry and his friend had shared their plan with.
The wizarding economy was in ruins, the ministry collapsing under its inability to pay its employees and the rampant protests and riots that were becoming omnipresent through the wizarding communities of Britain. They could no longer spare the resources to harass Harry, and soon enough, the Ministry would completely collapse, leaving wizarding Britain in anarchy. Harry, having stocked up on the basic necessities that had now become so scarce, would have almost complete control over what would take its place.
As for the old pure blooded families that had formed the core of Voldemort's followers, their fortunes were almost worthless now, and with that, the majority of their power was stripped away. They no longer had the financial or political power to oppose Harry and his friends, quietly ending the threat they posed outside of physical force, which, in the rapidly declining climate of wizarding Britain, was something that each and every wizard and witch would likely be just as willing to use as they were.
The old world was gone, and soon, a new one would rise up in its place.
All thanks to Jon Weasley, the Certified, Public Accountant.
Harry had to admit, he never though Ron's most useful attribute would be the squid accountant he was related to. Not that Ron wasn't a stand up guy, but after dealing with the corruption of the ministry, and having exhausted all other avenues (including brute force,) Hermione had suggested they look outside of spell books and dueling manuals, and try something new. Something outside of the box.
Ron mentioned his uncle, or was it his cousin? Anyways, he was someone who was familiar with the wizarding world, while at the same time, lived apart from it, separated from their long established though processes and traditions. They quickly met up with him. He proved to be a willing ear to their problems, and had a distance from the situation that everyone else lacked. After hearing their issues and a brief listing of what they did have. He sat there, pondering his response.
He gathered his thoughts, and what followed after they explained their problems was a crash course of economics and money theory. At first, it seemed pointless and boring, but after the initial explanation, he went into detail how they could use it to achieve their ends. Harry's eyes lit up with sadistic glee, as a means to overcome the red tape and corruption of the ministry finally presented itself to him.
That night, they quietly discussed their newly hatched plan. They drew on every source they could to ensure that there was nothing that could ruin it. Ron proved an invaluable resource, having a deep engrained understanding of the ancient houses and their methods, while Hermione was able to point out gaps in logic and quickly read through heavy law books to make sure there was nothing explicitly illegal. They even contacted Bill, to get a better understanding of the banking system. Once they checked the exact amount of money Harry had available, they knew their plan was ready.
Harry spent most of the next week at Gringotts, constantly exchanging pounds for galleons, then taking those into a muggle currency exchange office, where he traded them for their value as gold. The process repeated over and over, forcing Hermione to locate more locations for exchanges to avoid drawing too much attention. Eventually, they reached a bottleneck where the goblins simply did not have enough coins minted to give him the full value. He loaded up on sickles and knuts, then started taking futures for whenever the next batch were minted. The goblins watched him suspiciously, but he hadn't broken any laws, and stockpiling such vast amounts of money only meant that
Then, it was time. Harry divided his money between himself, Hermione, and Ron, and they went on a shopping spree.
Ron raided the broomstick store, purchasing a Firebolt for every family member, and leaving a generous tip besides. He then moved towards the most expensive restaurant he could find, and started the most epic feast in his life by ordering one of everything. Once
Hermione proved to be a bit more practical, commissioning her own personal library, before filling it will two copies of every book she could find in Diagon and Knockturn Alley. She resisted the urge to go read them all, instead moving on to the creation of a potions lab, stocking it with all the ingredients. As each step was completed, she moved on to some new project to augment or expand, quickly creating a castle that would surpass events Hogwarts in size.
Harry simply walked the streets, buying whatever item caught his eye. There was no pattern to it. He would buy a singing statue, then move on to the next store for a color changing apple. Some his discarded immediately, other items were used or consumed, and a few were sent to his newly purchased mansion or summer home.
Day after day, they spent the vast sums of money Harry had accrued. They quickly burned through the galleons, sickles, and knuts, and were making solid progress on the futures the goblins had given them.
Money flooded the wizarding economy, and was further fueled by Harry's continuous use and abuse of the banking system, which was reinvigorated by sudden deposits of cash. For a very short period, people reveled in the generosity and prosperity of the Boy-Who-Lived, and how he shared it among the people. Those in the ministry saw this as a means of swaying public support, assuming he would use it to get the freedom he so deeply desired. So sure of this, they remained completely unaware of the insidious nature of his true plan, confident in their assessment.
As money flooded into the system, prices began to rise. At first, only a few knuts or sickles, perhaps a few galleons on the more expensive items, but as Harry and his friends spent more and more, they began to rise faster and faster, until it cascaded out of control.
All too soon, a simple ice cream cone costs hundreds of galleons, while more expensive and useful items were well into the thousands or millions. Knuts and sickles had become completely worthless, and the galleon only persisted because there was no higher denomination. The only ones spared the devastation of the economy were those few who Harry and his friend had shared their plan with.
The wizarding economy was in ruins, the ministry collapsing under its inability to pay its employees and the rampant protests and riots that were becoming omnipresent through the wizarding communities of Britain. They could no longer spare the resources to harass Harry, and soon enough, the Ministry would completely collapse, leaving wizarding Britain in anarchy. Harry, having stocked up on the basic necessities that had now become so scarce, would have almost complete control over what would take its place.
As for the old pure blooded families that had formed the core of Voldemort's followers, their fortunes were almost worthless now, and with that, the majority of their power was stripped away. They no longer had the financial or political power to oppose Harry and his friends, quietly ending the threat they posed outside of physical force, which, in the rapidly declining climate of wizarding Britain, was something that each and every wizard and witch would likely be just as willing to use as they were.
The old world was gone, and soon, a new one would rise up in its place.
All thanks to Jon Weasley, the Certified, Public Accountant.
