The Dark Lord's Pet Princess

70. Kings And Queens

Over the following days, Voldemort began using Pius Thicknesse to do his bidding and he began to crack down on the Muggle-borns.
All Muggle-borns were forced to submit themselves to the Ministry for questioning. To escape his fate, Ted Tonks ended up fleeing and going on the run, leaving his family behind.
There was also a 10 galleon reward for anyone who handed Harry Potter over to the Ministry.
Most people theorised that Voldemort had taken over, due to the sudden change in Ministry tactics. But no one was sure who to trust anymore, as the coup had taken place without arousing any suspicion or causing an uprising.

"Why do you look so glum? You should be celebrating. Everything we have worked so hard for, has finally come to pass" announced Voldemort.
Him and Larissa were alone in the study discussing the day's events.
"To be honest, I don't feel like anything has changed. You're still not Minister for Magic, and I'm still in hiding" reminded Larissa, as she placed her book down on the table beside her.
"I have complete control over the Ministry, so you no longer have to live in fear. A lot of other death eaters are walking around freely so you can too" replied Voldemort.
"I am not everyone. And since the entire wizarding world knows I'm a death eater, I still don't feel safe to walk around outside".

"Do you need me to have Pius officially clear your name, or something like that?" Questioned Voldemort.
"That would be nice, but I don't see that it would change much. I might legally be able to do what I want, but everyone knows what I am, so will treat me accordingly" admitted Larissa.
"The people of this world will treat you with respect, because you are my queen"
"I'm not though, am I. You didn't make yourself the Minister, so if you're not the king, how can I be your queen? To everyone else I'm just another death eater, only those in your ranks know that I'm above the rest of your followers. You can't promote me to queen, unless you officially take on the role as king, in other words make yourself the Minister for Magic".

"We all agreed that it would be best if I didn't make myself the Minister. Doing so would have caused the population to rebel. Besides, Pius is under the Imperius Curse, so I am effectively the Minister. He just sits in the office and does all the paperwork for me" informed Voldemort.
"But don't you see? Not making yourself the Minister stops the two of us from being the rulers of the land. I thought you wanted everyone to see you as the leader, not the man in the shadows pulling the strings. Because there is a difference between the two" replied Larissa.

Voldemort sighed, "Would you like me to assign you a high ranking job at the Ministry? That way people will have to respect you because of your position".
"Everyone will know that I didn't earn my post, I was just placed there by you" admitted Larissa.
"Are you just being bitter because I made the Carrow's teachers at Hogwarts and not you?" Asked Voldemort.
"No, I couldn't care less who you assigned to be the new dark arts teacher. I didn't want the job, especially if it meant working with Amycus or Alecto".

"What do you want then? What can I give you, aside from making myself the Minister?" Demanded Voldemort.
"I don't know" answered Larissa.
"You're impossible to please" grumbled Voldemort.
"I guess when I imagined us taking over the Ministry, I didn't expect it to be like this. I thought we'd be able to walk down the street and have people bow their heads in respect. I thought I'd be able to actually have a life, but I'm still trapped inside this godforsaken building, without a home of my own".

"Do you wish for me to buy you a house away from here?" Questioned Voldemort.
"That would be nice" admitted Larissa.
"Perhaps you'd like one next to your cousin Andromeda?" Suggested Voldemort with a cold look in his eyes.
Larissa's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Andromeda.
She was terrified that Voldemort had used Legilimancy on her and successfully broken down the walls in her head. If that was true, she was in great danger, as he would discover that she was in contact with Harry and was trying to destroy his Horcruxes.