DISTURBING NEWS
Angela Simpson had been Canada's Minister of Magic for nearly 18 years. Her tenure had been up to this point a relatively quiet one, save for the very beginning, when Canadian magical society had been on edge about a certain dark wizard in England. There had certainly been a few interesting incidents over the years, but nothing that was really pressing.
She was by no means prepared for what was waiting for her, as she stepped into her office on June 25, 2007. She found Christine Thompson, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, waiting in her office.
"Good morning, Chris. Although something tells me it's not going to be such a good morning, me finding you in my office." Angela said, with apprehension.
"I'm afraid not." Christine began, standing, "I've been in a floo call with Amelia Bones, my English counterpart. There has been a disturbing incident at the English Ministry last Thursday."
"Go on." Angela said, setting her satchel on floor beside her desk. She glanced at the desk, noting the small pile of parchment that had collected over the weekend that required her attention. That would have to wait.
"In a nutshell, Voldemort is back." Christine stated, matter-of-factly. Angela felt her heart skip a beat; this was most definitely not the kind of news she wanted to hear. Just then, a house elf appeared with a slight POP. "Iram is greeting Madam Minister a good morning… Would yous like tea or coffee?"
"A cup of tea, please. Chris?"
"The same."
"Iram will be right back, madams!" He vanished with another POP, only to return seconds later, with a tray, on which was a tea service for two. He set the tray on the desk. "If yous be needing anything else, call me." The house elf once again popped away.
"Cornelius officially declared him back on Thursday, apparently. The details of exactly what happened seem a bit sketchy; their department of mysteries is none too happy." Christine continued, as she poured herself a cup of tea, "From what Madam Bones discerned, Death Eaters attempted to steal a prophecy. Six students from Hogwarts actually fought them to a draw, resulting in their capture."
"Did anyone actually SEE Voldemort, though?" Angela questioned, as she herself made up her tea, and at last took a seat behind her desk.
"Cornelius himself. He witnessed a duel between Voldemort and Hogwarts' headmaster. He also witnessed the dark wizard's attack on a student, Harry Potter." Christine answered. The Minister nodded. Of course she knew who Harry Potter was. As a member of the International Confederation of Wizards, the story of the boy-who-lived was well known to Canadian magical society.
"I'll call an emergency session of the Wizengamot, I'll need you to make a report before the body, so we can take steps." Angela decided, "We will not be caught with our pants down, as the saying goes."
"I will also be holding an Auror meeting to discuss this turn of events. It will do no good to anyone to pretend it is not our fight."
"I couldn't agree more. I will propose we make our Aurors available to our English counterpart to combat this threat."
"You and I both know, what an idiot Fudge is, though. He'll most likely just wave off such an offer."
"Yet, it's only proper we make the offer. Who knows, maybe the man will actually grow some sense."
"Unlikely," Christine snorted, "More than likely he'll be bounced out of office for this… I've heard rumblings for the past few months that Voldemort might be back. You do remember the incident last June?"
"And the summer before, yes." Angela answered, "The Death Eater attack at the 2006 Quidditch World Cup should have been an indicator." She took a sip of her tea, thinking carefully of what she had been just told. "I will also propose we bolster the number of Aurors, in the event trouble decides to cross the pond."
"My Aurors will appreciate that." Christine said, finishing her tea. "I'll be calling that meeting now."
"Thank you for your information, Chris." The Minister said, and watched, as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement left the office. This was most definitely not the news she wanted or needed. Now, how to react?
Angela remembered all too well the reports from England, both in the muggle and wizard papers. Voldemort and his Death Eaters unleashed a reign of unholy terror on both wizard and muggle society. Disappearances, killings, torture, all in the name of cleansing the magical world of impure blood. In her books, it was all rubbish.
In the 2 centuries Canadian wizarding society had existed, they had few problems with dark wizards. Choosing to evolve, and pay closer attention to the muggle world, much of the pureblood beliefs had been long since abandoned. That resulted in magical society for the most part blending in with the muggle world, rather than sequestering itself.
Voldemort had most certainly tried to assert a presence in North America, but the distance proved to be a strong deterrent, and only a few Death Eaters had ever ventured onto Canada's soil. They were captured soon after, as the Magical Transportation Monitoring Office was able to spot the illegal use of an international port key.
Now, Angela sat back and sighed. Everything that occurred 15, almost 16 years ago, was about to rear its ugly head once again. She knew England was by no means prepared to deal with it. Could Canada?
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Alright, my first one-shot of at least a couple, dealing with wizarding society in Canada, and their reaction to the threat of Voldemort. I should also point out, the time line of Harry Potter's world has been pushed forward by 11 years, and I have a few reasons for doing so. The largest, being, having access to current technology. Some of the things we use so often now, weren't in use even 10 years ago.
I am a Canadian, and I notice that, there aren't many fictions that deal with the wizard world here in Canada. I would only assume that we would have, and most likely, we would have modelled our Ministry of Magic after that of England, with a few changes to suit.
"Canadian Intervention" will paint a bit of a picture of Canadian wizarding society, and a certain raven-haired young man will be forced to make a decision. Stay tuned.