WC: 1,472
Written for:
- QLFC Round 2: Write about someone utilising their skills or knowledge of the subject (Muggle Studies) as part of their job.
Lavender scratched her neck awkwardly as she stood in front of the large, Muggle-inhabited building. This was the turning point of her new start in life. Even though she was in a world quite unlike the one she had grown to know, she felt confident. Her honey-blonde hair was stretched back into a neat bun, and she was wearing a trendy black dress suit, very much unlike the robes she was used to.
She clenched her fist around the handle of her leather briefcase, feeling her nails digging into her palm. The Wizarding World had waited a long time for there to be a proper allegiance with British Muggles, and somehow, Lavender had become the face of that allegiance.
"I can't do it," Lavender moaned as Hermione Granger carefully applied a freshly made balm to the scar on her neck. The pair had struck up an unlikely friendship after the war, but since Lavender was struggling with her own battles, and Hermione had a good knowledge about what she was going through, they became fast friends—despite Hermione's new relationship with Ron.
"You just have to stay calm," Hermione told her in her best, soothing voice. "You have to remember that we aren't that different from them."
Lavender pushed Hermione's hand away and sat upright, her blue eyes seeming to glow yellow in the candlelight. "No, Hermione," she protested. "You're not that different from them. I am! I'm a monster!" she pointed to the ugly scar on her neck and shoulder, a constant reminder of the bite that Fenrir Greyback had given her.
Hermione reached forward to hug her friend. "It's under control. You're not a monster."
Lavender met the Prime Minister and a host of other people, all dressed in smart business suits. They sat behind a long table, each with nameplates in front of them, and Lavender was permitted to sit in a high-backed chair in front of them. She smiled brightly, though she was returned with many apprehensive looks. Only the Prime Minister, who Lavender knew to be already acquainted with the Wizarding World, appeared calm.
She took a deep breath, and tried to recollect Hermione's lessons as she looked upon each of the men and women at the table.
"Before the House of Lords stands Miss. Lavender Brown," a middle-aged woman with a clipped voice announced. "Miss. Brown is going to be our direct correspondent with..." the woman paused, and Lavender saw the shadow of a sneer cross her lined face. "The 'Wizarding World' of Great Britain and Ireland."
A rumble of quiet sniggering passed across the table, and all the members covered their mouths, except the Prime Minister. He stood up from his seat and slammed his palm down on the oak table, silencing the rest of the group. "Baroness Lincoln," he addressed the woman personally, and she looked up the table questioningly. "Your position in this House requires you to remain impartial to any questionable issues that stand in front of you. Please continue to remain unbiased."
"Yes, Prime Minister," she replied nonchalantly, her clipped tone returning.
"It's a really confusing system," Hermione told Lavender as she paced back and forth in the kitchen. "Even I don't fully understand it, and both my parents are Tory supporters."
"Tory?" repeated Lavender. "Who is Tory?"
Hermione flapped her hand. "That doesn't matter. All you need to remember is that you are going to be in front of the House of Lords. That will include the Prime Minister and his fellows. Now, of course I don't know them personally, but I know what type of people they will be."
"And what type of people will they be?"
Hermione sat down, putting a finger to her chin. "Uppity. Smug. These are really noble, upper-class businessmen that will look down on you the minute you walk into the room. You just have to look past that. They're going to be old fashioned, so they will be apprehensive about magic. I wouldn't put it past them to try and challenge you. You just have to make sure to stay in control of the situation. Don't let them get under your skin."
"Don't let them get under my skin," Lavender repeated, nodding. "Got it."
For a good twenty minutes, Lavender went into extraneous detail of what she knew about the Wizarding World. She explained that Muggles were required to remain ignorant to the Wizarding World, and it was only because of recent events that the Ministry of Magic had decided that more of the Muggle part of Britain needed to be aware of their existence. She explained Hogwarts, divulging information about the subjects, the house system, its secretive location, and means of being hidden from Muggle eyes. She described how wizard-inhabited towns were generally in the countryside, where it would be easier to hide their existence from Muggles. She raised eyebrows as she discussed the many creatures that witches and wizards were expected to keep in order. Many of the table members scoffed when words like 'dragon' flew out of Lavenders mouth.
Lastly, she explained the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort, as best as she could. The Prime Minister nodded solemnly along with this, and when Lavender had finished her spiel, he quietly reminded his peers of many recent deaths and missing persons cases, all which had really pointed to Lord Voldemort.
When Lavender had finished, she took a deep breath, smiling around the table. "I suppose now would be time for a demonstration?" she said, and before anyone could challenge her, Lavender removed her wand from her pocket, and swished it silently through the air before her.
Slowly, the members of the House of Lords and their table, all floated into the air. They hovered before her for a few moments, many of them crying out in shock, or demanding to be replaced to the ground. Only the Prime Minister remained calm, sitting with his hands clasped in front of him as though nothing unusual had happened. Lavender smiled, wondering just how much the poor Prime Minister had been put through from the various Ministers of Magic who had visited him in the past.
When she had returned the table to the ground, she was met with many astonished looks. She gave them a chance to compose themselves before the clipped-toned woman who had addressed her before, opened her mouth to speak.
"Tell us," she started, as she adjusted her spectacles and shook out her tousled hair, "why did they pick you to be the voice of this new arrangement, dear? I must say, most of us were expecting the Minister himself to be present."
Lavender licked her dry lips, as a new wave of recent memories passed in front of her eyes.
"Are you sure that I am the right person for the job?" Lavender asked, feeling nervous as she addressed Minister Shacklebolt quite informally.
"Lavender, I believe you are perfect for the job," he replied in his warm, deep voice. He smiled at her and she felt a surge of confidence burst from her abdomen. "You come across as easy to approach, comfortable, normal. Anyone else—well, they might just scare the Muggles off!" he released a short laugh, and Hermione laughed along with him.
Lavender met the Minister for Magic's dark gaze. "You think I'm normal?"
Kingsley nodded solemnly. "As normal as everyone else in this crazy world. Now, get to work—Correspondent to the Muggle Prime Minister."
Lavender pushed out her chest with pride, and beamed both at the Minister and Hermione. She reached forward and wrapped her arms around her old friend. "Thanks, Hermione," she whispered into her bushy hair.
"What for?" laughed Hermione. "You did all of this yourself!"
"No, I didn't. You believed in me. You looked past...what happened to me. Hell, you looked past the diva I was during our sixth year! I didn't take Muggle Studies at Hogwarts because I was too wrapped up in the allure of Divination. But you taught me everything you know."
Hermione smiled brightly, and Lavender noticed that her large brown eyes were watering. She turned around, before Hermione could dissolve into tears—that would only cause her to start crying too, and she didn't want to ruin her make-up.
"Unfortunately, getting a job for someone like me in my world isn't all that easy," Lavender replied. "But my good friend saw the best in me and pushed me into taking this offer. And I'm glad that I did take it."
"Someone like you? What happened to you, dear?" a different person piped up, an elderly man with a thick moustache and wispy white hair.
Lavender grinned brightly, and stood up from her seat. "That's for another day, sir." She bowed in front of the House of Commons, and took her leave.
She didn't want to scare them off so soon!