AN: I'm not sure about magic in this world. Maybe I will include it maybe I won't. I can make enough drama without it I guess. Hermione will be like she always was. Kind, just but very honest and firm in her beliefs. I hope you like it.
"Can Severus and Lucius come with me?" Minerva asked as she stood in front of the group. The group was shuffling out of the way of the two surly looking men. But Minerva wasn't impressed with their attitude.
"Ok the rest of you will be able to use this spare time to enjoy the library books that I had delivered this morning." Minerva led them outside of the room in the direction of the throne room. But before they entered the throne room, they turned right to enter a grand room at the end of the hall.
There was no one else in the room, so Minerva led them inside the room. "This will be your first task, the Queen is apparently under the impression that you will be up to the task. She wants you to be her eyes and ears in this meeting. Your thoughts and opinions will be asked after the meeting. Make sure you're not seen by anyone. Only the Queen and her most trusted advisor will know that you to are here. So make her proud."
At that moment, Queen Hermione glided in the room. "Thanks Minerva for that briefing. The rest of the council will be here in a few minutes." Minerva gave a curt nod to Hermione and showed Severus and Lucius a good spot to see the meeting.
Hermione took a seat at the head of the table. After she sat down, a guard opened the door to let in the rest of the council. The conversations stilled a bit. "Your highness, we didn't expect you here today." A councilmember softly said.
"Why Councilman Roberts? I'm now Queen and I will do my duties to my people. You have been able to take the decisions but now I will be able to have my own opinion to add in to the mix. The laws that have been passed until now will be looked at by me. This body has had the freedom to decide the laws for this beautiful country and now that there is a royal on the throne there will be a Queen who will decide the laws we need to change."
A lot of the councilmembers were mumbling about the Queen's behaviour. It was clear that they had gotten their way for too long. A silent 'Hem Hem' was heard from the back of the room. "Your highness, we have just done our best to run the land the best we could. The sickly sweet tone of that voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.
"Councilwoman Umbridge, I'm not saying that this council didn't do the best they could, I'm just stating the facts. While I trust the council, it won't be those laws alone that will be taken a closer look at but all the laws will be revised. But please, take a seat so that this meeting can begin."
Councilmembers were mumbling a little louder and looked uncomfortable. A few of them were smiling widely, there was a wind of change coming to this council and the laws of this land. Justice will be dragged into a new era.
Hermione waited until everyone was sitting down. The meeting started with a quick overview of the agenda of the last meeting and they went over a few new law proposals. Hermione was hearing them out but in her head she was really thinking how this council could possibly be so stupid.
The meeting was running it's course and Hermione used it to introduce her own agenda point. "I want to make a suggestion for a change in the laws regarding education." A lot of people were looking very uncomfortable now. "But your Highness what do you want to change about it?" A councilmember asked.
"I want to make a proposal to change this sentence. 'Every male between the age of 5 and 17 has the right to follow education. Should he not choose the offered education, he will be tested before he can enter a new apprentice ship.' That part of the law bothers me."
"Why does that bother you, your Highness?" the same councilmember asked.
"It bothers me because only the boys will be able to get an education." The councilmember tried to but in but Hermione held up her hand. "I want to turn you to Matron Pomfrey. She had the chance to get an education since she arrived in this castle. She delivered me and she has even cured most of you and your families. Why does offering young women education sound so wrong to you all? Girls need to have the same choices and opportunities that boys receive."
The councilmembers were keeping quiet but a few of them were sneering at her. Something Lucius and Severus noticed. Hermione said. "To end this meeting, I want you to really think about this problem and look at the girls and women you know. I want to offer girls the same chances. They need to have the choice to make a decision. The same rule applies for them, if they choose not to follow the offered education they need to prove that they have the knowledge needed for an apprenticeship. Even if they want to be a stay at home mom, they still have the choice to make something out of their lives as well."
The mumbling at the end of the meeting was subdued. Madam Umbridge wasn't happy. She was shooting glares at Hermione, which didn't really didn't sit well with Severus and Lucius. The meeting was adjourned so the room was slowly running empty.
Hermione waited a few minutes before she called Severs and Lucius to the table. They sat a few seats away and waited until Hermione spoke to them. Hermione cleared her throat. "Ok so tell me, my eyes and ears, what did you see?"
Severus looked at Lucius and signalled that he should begin. Lucius sighed and shook his head before clearing his throat. "Your Highness, I don't think the council was very pleased with the proposal of taking a closer look at the laws that this council passed, the recent ones and the older ones. I also think that there are a few people in the council that shouldn't really be here." Lucius stopped here. He was going to test the waters a bit. Did he overstep his boundaries or did the Queen really appreciate honesty?
Hermione slowly nodded her head. "I can't fault that logic, gentlemen. But tell me which councilmembers you both maybe had in mind? I want to clear out all the negative in this council but also in the law. I want to make sure my people are safe and happy, but the faulty and wrongdoers are punished."
Severus gave a curt nod. "I would suggest clearing out councilmember Umbridge, Yaxley and Travers as a start. They are the ones that opposed both suggestions the most." Hermione nodded and made a brief note. "That will be hard to do." Hermione mumbled.
"Why would that be your majesty?" Lucius asked. He had been an apprentice of the advisor of one of those councilmembers in the Ravenclaw Kingdom. He didn't know these three councilmembers or their significance.
"Well for starters it will be them that the others turn too, like they did before. And the other reason is that I don't have any replacements yet. I never wanted them on the council but the law states that the most influential members of society already get a seat in this council." Hermione said.
The question burned on his lips and he couldn't stop himself. "Why does that Umbridge women even have a seat? I would have expected a little cooperation from her to better her gender but even the older, bearded men were a lot more enthusiastic about it." Severus asked with a sneer thinking back at the hideous woman.
"Because she will lose her status if I do that. She has the largest girl orphanage in the kingdom. And before you protest that orphanages only cost money, she sells the girls from the age of 7. If I put on that law, she will be forced to wait until the girls are out of school because every girl there would beg for an education where they don't get traded of as sex slaves. I get sick if I even think of it. I've never gotten the chance to catch her red handed, but I know what she does. That's why I try to save as many of her girls as possible but one can only have so many space. I've tried to purchase them and give them their freedom after a few months but they get captured again and will always be a slave. That's why I think it's so important for girls to have an education." Hermione sighed before continuing her tirade. "Even the boys who are slaves have had a basic education until their 14. That's why she's so against it."
"That would explain the glares." Severus remarked dryly.
Hermione chuckled. "Yes I think that I deserved that in her eyes. Are there any more that I need to wary about or are there councilmembers that will support me more?"
Lucius gestured at a chair, which was standing three seats to the left from Hermione's one. "That older woman looked to be sympathetic to your cause. She didn't say much, that's why I don't know her name, but she had black hair and very friendly eyes. Hermione smiled. "That's Madame Marchbanks. She is a though one but education and the betterment of children will always get a yes-vote from her."
After going over additional points, Severus and Lucius were sent back to their common room before they were bombarded with questions from the others. "SILENCE! No she didn't make us work hard, she didn't make us do things we didn't want to. She just wanted extra eyes and ears in the first meeting she would be part of. She was very kind and really listened to us. I would still proceed with caution but I think she can be trusted."
In the observation room, Hermione felt like she was bursting with happiness. It's a little step in the right direction, maybe with the next two it will be a little easier now.
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