C167 Campaigning Begins

*deux*

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While Tom was hard at work studying in school, Lord Black and his other followers have been working hard as well.

When the winter break passed and the New Year arrived, the campaign for the seat of Minister of Magic began, and Lord Black wasn't the only candidate.

There are a total of 10 candidates running in this election, and Lord Black only has to worry about 2 of them.

The current Minister, Hortensia Milliphutt. She has been elected twice in a row and is currently working towards her 3rd re-election.

Although she wasn't extremely popular during her two terms as minister, she did gain a serious boost in popularity thanks to Tom's actions.

First, Tom killed the Dark Lord Grindelwald during her second term. Although she didn't contribute anything to get it done, it still happened during her reign, so to speak.

Due to the death of Grindelwald and many of his core Acolytes, She was also the sitting Minister when the war was coming to a close. Once again, she didn't do anything but will be remembered as the person in charge at the time.

Not to mention the award ceremony, where Hortensia Presented the Order of Merlin, First Class to Tom in front of the large majority of wizarding Britain's population.

Hortensia Milliphutt has gained a good amount of popularity thanks to Tom, and as long as he doesn't back another candidate, she will most likely win thanks to her association with him.

Secondly, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Lord Alphonse Potter.

Yes, that's right. The father of Tom's friend Charlus will be running for Minister of Magic.

Although he doesn't have the same popularity as the current Minister, the Potter family is well known for being very progressive and kind.

Many Potters have married muggle-borns throughout the years, and have been known to fight for the rights of muggle-borns along with sentient 'creatures'.

In fact, they were one of the first that supported Lord Blacks 'creatures' rights bill. They have been fighting in the Wizengamot for decades to help the wizarding community as a whole.

A member of the Potter family was actually the one to write and present the bill for free Hogwarts schooling. Without the Potter family, many of the poor muggle-borns, half-bloods, and even some pureblood families (Weasleys) would be forced to take loans in order to pay their way through Hogwarts.

If those loans came from Gringotts, then good luck to those families. Because Gringotts is known for their high-interest rates and brutal late terms.

Thanks to actually being a good person, Lord Alphonse Potter is a person to look out for in the coming election.

The preplanned that Tom instructed his followers to do paid off, as the second the new year arrived, signs for Lord Black's candidacy were placed everywhere.

Not just signs, but clothing as well. Every clothing store in Diagon Alley, and other places as well, were filled and advertising the merchandise.

Clothing like this was never a thing in the Wizarding world, so many asked why they would wear a shirt or hat like this.

The workers were instructed to tell these people that if they want to support their candidate, buying their clothes will contribute to their campaign monetarily. While wearing their merchandise will help advertise their candidacy to others, drawing in more votes.

Many that supported Lord Black and had the spare income to purchase the clothing flocked to the stores to show their support.

Soon, many wizards and witches could be seen wearing clothing with Lord Black's silhouette and slogan on it.

'Securing our Future'

At the same time as the clothing and signs went out, every candidate made a trip to the Ministry in order to register their candidacy.

As soon as they were finished, Lord Black held a rally in Diagon Alley. Using his connections along with his Lords, he was able to obtain permits in order to hold rallies all across Britain.

Lord Black was a hundred steps ahead of every other candidate. This is all thanks to Tom's preplanning though. Without him, Lord Black would be floundering along with the other candidates.

His first rally was advertised on the campaign signs, so many people going about their day saw them and learned of it.

Arriving at the rally, Lord Black was met with a bigger crowd than he thought he would draw. Diagon alley was packed when Lord Black arrived and took the stage.

After calming the crowd, Lord Black made a speech that was written by his Lord Tom Riddle.

It was a speech tackling the hardships of average working citizens.

How they weren't paid enough for their work. There is no such thing as minimum wage in wizarding society. Everyone's wage was different depending on their job, and only those working in places like the ministry were paid enough to live comfortably.

Lord Black offered to make a minimum wage that all employers would have to follow if he were elected.

This drew the attention and adoration of many working-class citizens, while also drawing the anger and hatred of the few business owners and employers in the country.

Next, Lord Black spoke about hospital bills. How one trip to St Mungo's could bankrupt any normal family, depending on what the trip was for.

The wizarding world doesn't have any form of medical insurance. If you want to pay your medical bills, you simply save money to pay them, which seldom works. For those that haven't saved enough, they take loans from the Goblins or a rich family that's in that sort of business.

Lord Black offered to make health care a universal right for all. The government would regulate how much medical treatment would be allowed to cost, so no one can charge 10 Galleons for a medicine that costs 3 knuts to make, and pay for all medical treatment for its citizens.

At this point, the crowd was absolutely stunned. Lord Black has offered them something that they didn't even know existed.

They never in their wildest dreams would have thought a politician would offer them anything that could help in their daily lives, yet they're witnessing it happen right now before their very eyes.

Soon, the crowd started roaring Lord Blacks name. In just a single rally, he captured the hearts of the working class citizens, who just so happen to be the large majority of the voting population.

Lord Black stood stunned on the stage as thousands of people chanted his name. He never thought his Lords speech would have this sort of outcome.