Hermione Granger-Malfoy was on maternity leave when she accidentally discovered her next big project. It was the summer of 2008 and Hermione was eight months pregnant with her and Draco's first child. Whist waiting for her checkup at the St Mungo's birth center Hermione was scrolling through the parenting websites on the newly created Wizarding Wide Web, when a forum question in the sidebar caught her eye. "Help, my 4 year old still isn't showing any signs of magic, what can I do to force her magic to appear? I just don't think I can cope if she turns out to be a squib." Expecting that the answers would explain that four was young for accidental magic anyway, that it could manifest at any point up to age seven, and besides, being a squib was hardly a reason to stop loving one's child, Hermione was appalled when she saw the real answers. Out of 37 comments 35 detailed suggestions for how to force a child to show accidental magic. The suggestions ranged from somewhat disturbing to truly horrifying, outlining the lengths other mothers had gone too in attempts to scare their child into showing magic. As a muggle-born Hermione's only experience with this kind of thing had been Neville's stories, but she had naively assumed that his experience was uncommon. Now she found herself reading about children locked in rooms and told they could only eat when they escaped, taken on broom rides and being pushed off, and parents talking about how their own parents and grandparents crucio'd them when they found out they were faking accidental magic - but they "turned out totally fine".
Her blood pressure rising drastically Hermione quickly typed out a response on her Blackberry. By the time she came out of her appointment she had six notifications, all from mother's attacking her for daring to suggest that what they were doing was horifying and abusive. This was her first experience with what Muggles were calling the Mummy Wars. Inundated with accusations of being a sanctimommy, whatever that was, and claims that "it's not abuse if you do it out of love" Hermione sent a message to Neville asking to meet up.
Neville was sitting in his office marking papers when his phone beeped with Hermione's MessengerOWL text. He told her to floo to his office for lunch and went back to his papers, mildly wondering what she wanted to see him so urgently for. When he helped her out of the floo he suddenly wondered if perhaps he should run, for Hermione was very clearly wearing her 'new cause' expression. Neville had seen it too many times in seven years of school and ten years of Hermione's legal career to mistake it for anything else. Swallowing his urge he gave her a hug and gestured for her to sit in one of the arm chairs that flanked a small table laden with an assortment of lunch options courtesy of the Hogwarts elves. Hermione wasted no time in letting him know why she was there, and after reading what she had read that morning, Neville suspected that his expression matched hers. "For fuck's sake!" Neville cursed as he read through the suggestions, rage boiling up inside him. "What are you planning?"
"I thought perhaps we could start with articles in the Prophet and Witch Weekly bringing attention to the fact that these ridiculous suggestions exist. Then an awareness campaign primarily aimed at parents, then draft up some legislation to take before the Wizengamot." If anyone could get things changed in the Wizarding world it was Hermione. Two orders of Merlin (second class for her role the war, and third class for her work on Werewolf rights) an International Wizarding Convention Peace Prize, a formidable track record of 47 pieces of legislation passed by her handpicked team, two Wizengamot seats (one she earned and the malfoy family seat she inherited via her marriage) and more money than she could ever need. Neville was confident that with Hermione on the case the wizarding parenting world wasn't going to know what hit them. But he still thought carefully about her plan before responding. "What if instead of just going to the papers, we bring the papers to us? Hold a press conference."
"Will you speak?" Hermione asked?
"For this cause. Of course"