Most Disclaimer, Notes and Warnings available on the prologue.
Repercussions
Chapter Six
Battina felt the conference room was much too hot. However, anytime she suggested they cut down on the heating charms a bit she was told she was just imaging it. She knew it was possible she was old and often felt warmer or colder than everyone else but it made sitting threw the monthly department head meetings with Minister Shacklebot an extremely trying time.
She was grateful when the minister asked if anyone had anything to add before they adjourned. She groaned when Patsy Abraham the head of the press liaison office raised her hand. Battina ignored the dirty look the woman shot her. "I keep getting pestered by the prophet asking if the ministry is going to do anything about Percy Weasley or not."
Kingsley sighed audibly. "I've told you to inform them that as long as our employees are not breaking the law we don't care what they do in their private lives." Battina was pleased to see most of the staff nodded at that but Patsy looked put out.
"But Minister something needs to be done we can't have his type in the ministry." A few people looked aside well aware of people like him in their own departments. Battina knew however that Patsy spent all her time looking outward trying to gage how the news would affect the ministry.
"And why not Patsy there have been his type in the ministry for as long as I've worked here." She said serenely causing everyone to turn to look at her. "I've been here more than ninety years and I see things." She enjoyed watching the guilty looks that went around the room everyone forgot about her Old Batty Blaggersmith they called her behind her back but none of them ever realized exactly how much she saw.
"I don't want to work in the ministry with any of his type." Patsy said. "The Ministry should change the law and clean house if Battina is right and there are others." She looked down. "We will have a list soon enough since Rita says she isn't done outing degenerates."
Battina felt her blood boil she was rather fond of that boy and she still mourned Elliot the best assistant she'd ever had. "Patsy, I think the ministry would be better off with one thousand of his kind and none of yours." She said darkly.
"Enough." The Minister said before Patsy could retaliate. "If you cannot work here with Weasley Patsy then I'll accept your resignation otherwise deal with it and tell the press what I told you to tell them." She looked as if she was about to argue then quieted down. Everyone was staring at Shacklebot it wasn't the first time he'd told someone they could leave if they didn't like the way he was doing business. He'd had to once before based on the fact he'd approved and supported Hermione Weasley's werewolf anti discrimination law which had been the subject of some heated arguments.
As Battina left the meeting hall she was shocked to find Patsy following her. "Would you like to continue our exchange from before?" She asked wondering if she'd end up having to hex the woman.
"I was wondering how your search for a replacement is going?" Patsy said serenely. "I've had my department run ads in the prophet has there been any satisfactory response?" Battina read the implication clearly Patsy couldn't wait for her to retire.
"There are a few promising potentials but it takes anywhere form one to seven years depending on talent to complete the transformation." She smiled serenely at the woman. "In fact I've got an interview later this afternoon with someone very interested in the post." She smiled at her. "I would suggest you could try but as I recall you failed you didn't attempt a transfiguration NEWT and sadly to be allowed to attempt the process requires at least an E in NEWT." She left the woman simmering in anger. She made a note to tell Percy about it once he got back to work from his personal business.
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Oliver Wood felt extremely out of place standing for the photographer with his arms around Percy. Sure they'd stood like this plenty of times but the interviewers and photographers looking on made it seem way too posed and Percy was stiff as a board and not in the good way. He needed to get Percy to relax or they'd look ridicules so throwing caution to the wind he leaned in and kissed him. He vaguely heard the camera snapping but ignored it as he pulled back he saw Percy staring at him with a relaxed look until the flash of a camera startled him. "There's our cover shot." The witch doing the photography said. "Unless I can convince you boys to pose with your shirts off?"
"Not likely." Percy said tersely obviously a bit annoyed with her. The reporter a Derrick Morgan called for them to come with him while the film was developed. Oliver knew Percy was anxious to get this over with.
"Thanks for letting us take a few shots for the article." He said cheerfully. "Now we should get the interview started." He looked at his clip board as he set up a quill on a roll of parchment. "I suppose the first question is how long have the two of you been involved?"
"Nearly three years now." Oliver said deciding it would be easier if he answered first. "We were best friends in school and got reacquainted after the battle of Hogwarts." He saw the interviewer's eyes widen.
"So you both to use the muggle term are homosexual?" Oliver noticed he pronounced it as if he had only recently learned the word. So Derrick was most likely a pure blood.
Percy beat him to answering. "Oliver is, I would be known by the muggle term Bisexual though." Oliver noticed the reporter looking at his notes in fear. "If you don't know that means I am attracted to both men and women physically."
"So you could have had a normal relationship?" Morgan asked in shock. "I was under the impression it was a one way or the other thing." Oliver was furious but Percy got there ahead of him.
"Oliver and I consider our relationship perfectly normal." Oliver looked at Percy knowing he'd have said it a lot differently. "I love Oliver and if it was a choice between a loveless relationship with a witch or him I'd take him every time."
After that comment Morgan seemed to get a better hang of things and his questions turned out to be very good with only a few groan inducing moments like when he asked which one of them was the witch in the relationship. He actually enjoyed giving his answers to questions about if they had told their families and how he felt about others being forcibly outed. He was also glad plenty of the interview was also about quidditch and he was amused that Percy joined in. The Interviewer seemed to especially enjoy asking Percy about how it felt when the Hollyhead Harpies played Puddlemire since his sister played for the harpies.
Once they had finished and were leaving he had a sudden thought. "You're not going to get in trouble at work for giving that interview are you?" He felt a bit stupid that he hadn't thought of that possibility before.
"Not if they follow their own rules." Percy said dryly. "I'm not allowed to discuss my work or give opinions on Ministry policy to the press without permission but nothing in that interview is very near either of those." He smiled. "It's why I suggested we use your quidditch magazine for our interview." He smirked. "You're the focus here, but if we'd gone with the prophet they'd have been asking a lot more about me."
"So you picked a venue where I'd get all the attention." Oliver said frowning. "That's rather low Percy." He then smiled. "You'll owe me for that later." Percy just smiled and they headed out. "I guess you have to head back to the ministry?"
"I should I do have a lot of work to do today." Percy said dryly. "I suppose you've got the rest of the day free to goof off?" Oliver noticed Percy looked a bit jealous of that.
"Yeah, I'll probably just relax around the flat for once." Oliver said cheerfully. "I'll see you when you get off work then." Percy nodded and they apparated their separate ways.
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Malinda Donaldson had never expected to be sitting in Batty Blaggersmith's office applying for a job. Her life hadn't turned out the way she expected it to and she freely admitted it was mostly her own fault. She had gotten involved with Adam Burke of her own free will and paid the price of becoming pregnant just before he was killed. She was grateful he'd never learned about her pregnancy knew he'd probably have killed her over it a half blood was good enough to screw but not good enough to have kids with not for a pure blood like him. "Why exactly are you applying to become my eventual replacement?" She was snapped out of her thoughts by the question.
"Ms. Blaggersmith I have a son to support and there is no other department in the ministry that will hire me because of the circumstances of how I left." She felt it was best to be honest. "I know your department is a dead end job but still it pays a decent ministry salary and that's what I need now." She wouldn't go into how her inheritance had nearly been used up living abroad the last two and a half years waiting for the scandal to die down.
"You'll have to become a registered animagus." She saw the old woman shake her head. "It's an old out dated regulation going back to the creation of the registry but it's too much hassle to change." The old woman frowned as she looked at her. "I have checked and you do have the necessary transfiguration NEWT but I have to warn you it's a lot of work."
"I really need this job and am willing to put in the necessary work." She said to the old woman who nodded then got up motioning for her to as well. She wondered what the old woman had in mind as she led her down the hall toward another office. It had been a while since she'd been in the ministry but she recognized that they were heading to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "Where are we going?"
"To get you checked out by security." Battina said dryly. "All new hires at the ministry have to have complete background checks and even though you worked her before policy is policy." She was truthfully surprised to get the job, as far as she recalled Battina had never liked her. "Why hire me?"
"You're the best applicant for the job and there haven't been many." Battina said plainly. "Besides I have a soft spot for screw ups who need second chances." Malinda was a bit floored to be described that way. "Anyway here we are just go in there and answer the questions they ask." Malinda nodded and headed in amazed that she'd managed to get a job back at the ministry.
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"What are you reading?" Battina asked him staring over his shoulder. Percy placed a book mark before closing the huge volume to turn toward her.
"The Books of Agathe, a collection of surviving extracts from Agathe's numerous works." Percy said. "According to legend she lived for nearly two hundred years studying magic and writing more than fifty books of magic." He laughed. "Unfortunately her work didn't survive to modern times, and this book of surviving pages gathered by an eighth century wizard are all that's left of her work." He knew Battina really wasn't interested in the book but giving lectures on obscure witches and wizards was a habit he'd picked up in the department. "What can I do for you Battina?"
"Oh I'm just waiting for Security to clear my eventual replacement." Battina said cheerfully. "I believe you knew her when she worked here before Malinda Donaldson." Percy frowned, he hadn't seen Malinda since she decided to confide in him about her situation before leaving the country. "I wonder how long it'll take her to master the transformation." She looked over at Percy. "It took you nearly a year and you were highly motivated, and the fact you had an outstanding on your transfiguration NEWT helped."
Percy ignored the comment about his grades he had long since given up being surprised at how much information the apparently senile old woman had about nearly everyone in the ministry. "I really should be back to work Battina."
"I just have a few things to tell you about Patsy Abraham." Battina's jovial mood seemed to be fading. "She really doesn't like you very much."
"I've already heard about her comments at the meeting." Percy said dryly. "Word spreads fast around here as you know." Battina nodded and seemed to relax. "I believe here comes your new assistant now." He said pointing past her to where Malinda was approaching warily. "Hello Malinda it's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you again too, Percy." Malinda said with a slightly forced air. "I'm done being checked out by security they said to inform you I passed." Percy could tell she wasn't overjoyed at her new job.
"Excellent we can begin teaching you the basics of the transformation as soon as you fill out the necessary forms in my office." Battina said brightly. "Follow me Malinda, and I'll see you later Percy." He nodded and after they departed turned back to his work after a quick look at the rest of the department who had watched their conversation with interest. He knew the entire ministry would soon know that Malinda was back and she'd be replacing Battina when she finally retired. He also knew his former relationship with her would once again be part of the gossip.
To be continued...
