"Basic rights have been treaded on! I for one am astounded at the amount of racism shown towards us so called 'pure-bloods'. I was a young kid during the Battle of Hogwarts why should I have to pay for what my forefathers did? I'm not racist! If not evidence enough I've even started a foundation for smoother admittance of muggleborns into the magic world! But this has gone too far next it will be a role-reversal! Muggleborns discriminating against pure-bloods. My wife..." The radio suddenly spluttered several knobs whirled and the talk show host's voice, Eddie Marintine, died out.
"Hey!I was listening to that!" shouted Rose turning around in her armchair to look at her brother who stood in the doorway his wand still out from turning the radio off.
"Why do you listen to that rubbish?" Hugo asked squinting at his sister like she was some strange species from another planet.
"It's interesting." Rose said glaring at him. She had had a long day at work and didn't think she was tolerant enough to take his criticisms on her tastes in stride.
"It's rubbish."
"No its not..."
"Yes it is! After all they've done and they're expecting us to sympathize?"
Rose scowled, "Do you really believe that?"
"Yes I do. Muggleborns have been discriminated against for centuries, pure-bloods only two decades."
"Is that fair?"
"Yes! Yes it is."
"I...I don't," Rose frowned and paused deep in thought. "So you're saying it's okay for people to look down on, spray paint slurs on homes and abuse people like dad?"
"No. That's different he's a blood-traitor."
"I don't see how it's any different."
Hugo came into the room and sat down on the sofa, Rose gazed at him from her armchair. He bowed his head and placing his elbow on his knee gazed at her above his finger tips which were pressed together as if praying. "Dad has shown time and time again that he doesn't support pure-blood fanaticism. He fought in the War against Voldemort. There is no way he thinks he is superior."
"What about Eddie Marintine though?" Rose asked gesturing to the radio. "He's done everything he can to support muggleborns and he's been getting death threats in the mail. His wife was almost assaulted Hugo."
"He's a public figure it comes along with the job."
"Dad is a public figure!" Rose shouted.
"No he's not, he's just famous."
"He's in the public eye," Rose argued. "Enough that we get in the papers too."
"It's different."
Rose decided not to comment on how it was different and insstead said, "The worse offense Eddie Marintine has ever commited was being born to Venitici Marintine!"
"A full blown Death Eater! Don't tell me some of that hasn't rubbed off onto him."
Rose looked at her brother in disbelief. "Well then look at Scorpious."
"Don't bring him into this."
"Why not he's relevant! Look at his father, his grandfather for Merlin's sake! They were right in Voldemorts inner circle, but he is not like them at all. He's with me, the child of the blood-traitor and the muggleborn who helped defeat Voldemort. What does that tell you about his character?"
"Draco Malfoy was never really a death eater..."
"The tattoo on his wrist says differently." Rose snapped.
"You know what I mean. He wasn't really exposed to it like Eddie Marintine..."
"Fine not a good enough example? Then what about Sirius Black? From what Harry says he grew up in an absolute hell hole."
"Thats..."
"Don't tell me that's different!"
"Well he was sorted into Gryffindor wasn't he?"
"Yeah and elven years prior he was subject to constant reminders of why his family was better than others."
"We've never even met Sirius how could we possibly know what he was really..."
"Do you even hear yourself? So is it just dad then who gets the exception? Because he fought Voldemort? So did Sirius Black, for the whole of his adult life."
"But that isn't the point because pure-bloods shouldn't be whining..."
"Whining!"
Hugo continued as if uninterrupted. "about being discriminated against after all they've done to us."
"That's not..."
"They tortured our mum!" Hugo said. "Do they really expect me to forgive that?"
Rose took a deep breathe. "Bellatrix Lestrange tortured our mother. Not 'they' not 'pure-bloods' Bellatrix Lestrange. We shouldn't deal out punishment to people who are innocent."
"Innocent! Innocent! Are you kidding me Rose!"
"No, Our dad hasn't done anything, Sirius Black didn't do anything, Eddie Marintine is innocent, and so is Scorpious! Blood doesn't matter. At all. It's not pure-bloods who did all those bad things it was death eaters who used blood as a means to an end. And being racist towards anyone no matter whether they are muggleborn, half-blood or pure-blood is wrong."
"They shouldn't be acting like they're the victims! Because they are not. For hundreds of years muggleborns were called mudbloods, killed, tortured and lynched. The there is Pure-bloods who for twenty or so years have had some threats, occasional fist fights and derogatory spray paint on walls. They shouldn't be complaining."
"It's true that Muggleborns have been served a huge injustice. And its horrible and awful and should never be allowed to happen again. Letting things like this to perpetuate is just as bad. Who is to say it won't escalate to something bigger? Eddie Marintine's wife was nearly assaulted and kidnapped Hugo. How is continuing the violence in any way good? Punish the people who have done crimes not this."
"Rose they are getting what they just deserve."
Rose stared at her brother. Now it was she who was looking at him like he was a stranger. "You should probably leave now Hugo."
"Why?" The boy was clueless glancing at his sister in surprise.
"Because I don't want to strain our relationship to the point that it's irreversible."
His sister wasn't looking at him. Hugo realized that he wouldn't be able to change her mind so he got up and left the room. They didn't talk for weeks.
Though Hugo had forgotten about that particular argument between siblings long ago Rose thought back on it often. She viewed it as the advent of her political career.
It was funny as a kid she wanted nothing more than to be in Magical Law like her mother, and then she thought she wouldn't mind running the joke shop like her dad and then she thought hell why not follow after her uncle Harry's path and become an Auror. That didn't work out well. James took her very seriously when she asked him not to hold back during the duel. So she settled on a healer. Healers made decent money, Healers made a difference in people's lives and healers needed a lot of education, which she was good at.
But even Professor Longbottom (head of Gryffindor house) looked at her funny when she told him she wanted to be a healer. "Are you sure?" He had asked. She was certain at the time and took all the necessary N.E.W.T. classes to qualify. She was even into a little less than a year of training when Hugo and her had that fight. She was miserable and she didn't understand why. She was good at it. She was advancing quickly in the program. Previous patients had given her sparkling reviews. They always complimented her smile. She hated it.
During that fight Rose was wishing she could do something about the situation Eddie Marintine was talking about on the radio. It didn't quite occur to her then but Rose viewed it as the turning point in her thought process. It planted a subconscious idea in the back of her mind.
Later about a month after fight, Rose went to visit her cousin and his pregnant wife. James Potter happily invited her in and served her biscuits with her tea before saying he was sorry but he had to go to a match. He kissed his wife goodbye, told Rose not to freak out if Veelma started crying it was the hormones and disapparated to the Puddlemere United field.
They talked about her pregnancy for awhile. Veelma was certain it was a girl and said she would like to name her something that was spelled right as opposed to her mothers eccentric take on Vilma. They flickered from one subject to the next before landing on Eddie Marintine's sudden move out of the country for his wife's sake. "I think I'm going to demand that Nevdin lets me write a weekly column about it. Both the still present abhorrence of Muggles in particular and racism against pure-bloods." Veelma said while sipping her tea.
Rose sighed. "I want to, I don't know. Do something about it but I don't know what."
"Why don't you become a politician? Change the system from the inside out." Veelma shrugged. It was obviously meant as a bit of a joke. An offhand comment not meant to be taken seriously but the idea inflamed her. She thought about it for months.
It festered and bothered her as she patched up little kids with three degree burns and regrew bones. One night she even asked Scorpious as they were getting ready for bed toothbrush dangling out of her mouth, "Do you think I'd be a good politician?" She asked from the doorway to her room.
Scorpious looked at her from their bed and seeing the toothbrush in her hand rolled his eyes. "Why? Do you want to be a politician?"
Rose answered truthfully. "Maybe."
"Well I know you'd be good at arguing your point." Scorpious mumbled into his pillow.
It took some time but when she waas twenty-five she was married and part of a committee elected by the parliament to govern (in a way) a small district in London. She loved it.
"You just can't help but rebel can you," James said wryly while trying to hold desperately on to his second child, Amy, who was squirming like mad while Veelma raced after the first, Adam.
"What?" She asked bouncing their seven month old named Tanya on her knee from the sofa.
"Your parents hate Malfoys. So what do you do? You marry one. Your parents hate politicians. So what do you do? Become one."
Rose smirked, "I am quite the rebel aren't I."
"More than quite," James said before trying to keep Amy from biting his ear.
Her first and only child slowed her down a bit. Colin ("The firist Malfoy in a century with a normal name!" Scorpious had exclaimed.) was the love of her life. Scorpious came in a close second, her family despite all their antics garnered third and in fourth came politics. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed it but she managed to keep her political career and be the mother Colin deserved. Though she knew if she had not had Scorpious it would've been impossible.
It started twenty-seven odd years prior when her brother (who had since changed his opinions about pure-blood racism. His wife had really straightened him out.) provoked an argument from her. Now she was forty-seven years old and Minister of Magic elect. "Well I suppose I should be use to this by now but this is going to be absolute hell." Her husband muttered in her ear.
"Minister! Minister Malfoy!" Her campaign manager had urged her to keep her maiden name of Weasley. She promptly fired him for not understanding the message of her campaign at all.
"Scorpious," Rose whispered quickly in his ear as the camera's flashed. "It's only the beginning."
A/N: I'm a little bit...nervous about this one but hopefully you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading!
I believe racisim against pure-bloods could happen after the war, much like racisim against Germans after WWII.