Chapter Fifty-Three – Professor Hermione Granger

We were up early the next morning for the trip to the Ministry, finishing breakfast before even the early rising Professor McGonagall put in an appearance. Harry left a note saying we had gone to the Ministry, so that Professor McGonagall didn't have to worry that we had been abducted by stray Death Eaters.

As early as we arrived at Harry's office, Percy and Shacklebolt were waiting for us. "Should we leave you alone, so you can meet with Harry?" I asked.

"Percy will give Harry, you, and Ron the daily update. I came primarily to meet with Hermione on the Elf bill. The Minister wants to move it this afternoon, and I've made some suggested changes. Before Harry departs, let me just thank him for his efforts to improve yesterday's deal. I can live with the final deal. I would have hated to retire before getting the Auror Corps totally whipped back into shape. Now that we've Montaigne behind us, I also want to remind Harry to talk to Arthur about 10101. Paper-based research is well and good, but I want to start exploring sooner rather than later."

We went into Harry's office along with Bill and Barb. Percy got right to the briefing. "The Wizengamot will resume sitting in forty minutes. Last night's deal has been reduced to writing and the former Lord Montaigne, the Minister, Madam Bones, and the Goblin King have signed it. You'll be asked to attend a press event later this morning to voice your support. The Lucius Malfoy agreement has also been reduced to writing and signed. The Wizengamot will take that up as soon as they finish with Montaigne. All of the unbreakable vows should be taken by lunchtime. Madam Bones and Director Shacklebolt will supervise that and the transfers of the Montaignes to a secret house in Godric's Hollow.

"He didn't say anything, but from his mood I think the Minister is secretly pleased that you opposed the initial deal, yesterday. The Goblin King is very close to agreeing terms on the charter extension, and the present form is almost unchanged from what we reviewed yesterday. Gwenog Jones's appointment as Minister of Sports goes before the Wizengamot this afternoon. You also will be finalizing a major land purchase this afternoon.

"Tomorrow morning, all of you, including Cissy, have a meeting with the Goblin King at Gringotts. That is at 9:00 A.M. and I gather that you will be staying for lunch. Unless you have any questions, you had best be headed down to the courtroom. I have your passes here. One last thing: the dragon was delivered to Gringotts yesterday afternoon, so your obligation to the bank is fully settled. I have a certificate from the bank attesting to that. Here is your copy."

The remainder of the hearing was uneventful. We waited in our seats for nearly an hour before the action began in earnest. Then Madam Bones read the proposed agreement, Lord Montaigne said he concurred, the Goblin King and Dad said the same. The Wizengamot recessed for forty minutes to discuss the proposal in private and then came back and voted to accept the deal, with about three quarters voting yes. I noticed that the same thin, old gray-haired Wizard who had been voting against us on everything, voted no again. No sooner had the former Lord Montaigne and his lawyer left the courtroom, than Lucius Malfoy and his attorney entered.

Lucius pled guilty to use of prohibited curses and associating with persons who conspired to overthrow the government. Madam Bones dropped all other charges and declared that in return for the guilty plea, she had a recommendation on sentencing. Lucius would receive a sentence of ten years in prison, which would be suspended other than time already served, would make the same unbreakable vow as the Montaignes, and promise to refrain from future criminal or political activity. If he failed to meet the terms of the agreement, he would be returned to prison. Surprisingly, Lucius proved less popular than the former Lord Montaigne - - not much more than half of the Wizengamot approved the deal. The vote was close enough that Dad had to count hands.

I asked Harry, "who is that really old, gray-haired Wizard in the funny robes, who always votes against our position"

"That's Gowan Frakes. He used to be the most famous Wizard lawyer until he retired over a decade ago, but he's still very sharp, and determined to keep his Wizengamot seat until he dies. There is no suggestion that he took any role in the Voldemort wars. He is a very traditionalist Great Family member and the leader of the most conservative faction in the Wizengamot. He's a bit of an oddity, because he is not a pureblood, but is more traditionalist than the purebloods. His mother was a Parkinson and his father was a Muggle ship owner. He gets along with all the Great Families, except the Parkinsons, because he feels they mistreated his mother. I asked about him after Bruce's trial. Percy says he is a hundred and fifty-five years old and that he was Grindelwald's lawyer, when Grindelwald was palling around with Dumbledore, and before he was retired he was Lord Montaigne's lawyer. He lives in a big, antique townhouse in Edinborough. He is certainly not going to support the Elven Rights bill or most anything that our administration proposes."

"And do you know exactly where this antique townhouse is located," I asked Harry.

Harry slapped his forehead and pleaded rush of so much business causing him to lose his edge. "Please check it out with Hermione. He's just the sort of Wizard to have a long-term holding in the 10101 crescent. I can't believe I missed that."

The members of the Wizengamot seemed a little surprised when Dad announced that he was distributing copies of the Elven Rights bill for their consideration. He also informed them that he hoped to have a bill to extend the Gringotts charter in their hands in the very near future. As the courtroom emptied, we headed back to the Minister's Conference Room for our meeting with the press.

It was a sort of lame press meeting, without much information being provided beyond what the reporters had already been able to learn by watching the Wizengamot proceedings. In the courtroom, the location of the Montaignes incarceration had only been identified as 'an unidentified fairly standard Wizard house in a location which for security reasons must remain undisclosed, and which may change at some future time as security requirements dictate.' Naturally the first question from the Daily Prophet reporter, who was not Ernie, was "where are the Montaignes going to be detained and can you guarantee our readers that they are not going to simply be allowed to live in their own luxury castle?"

Madam Bones responded "I cannot give you the location, other than to categorically deny that they will be staying in Montaigne castle. As you should know from today's proceedings, the location is being kept secret for security reasons, but I can categorically state that they are not going to Montaigne Castle. Cissy will be staying in the castle when not at Hogwarts, and the agreement severely limits contact between either the former Lord Montaigne or Bruce with Cissy."

"Why is the government insisting upon limiting contact?"

"Firstly, because we don't want the former Lord Montaigne or his son remotely controlling Gringotts through Cissy, or directing her actions as a trainee Keeper. Secondly, because Cissy has stated that her brother groped her prior to her first school term. The agreed restriction protects her and the Wizard community."

"This one's for Harry Potter - are you really willing to support this deal?"

"Yes. Given the circumstances, which I am not allowed to get into, I am convinced that this deal serves the best interests of all parties and prevents the Montaignes from engaging in future mischief, at least for the next twenty-six years."

"Again for Harry, don't you think that allowing the Montaignes to live together in a semi-normal setting is an overly soft sentence?"

"They will be strictly supervised by the Auror Corps, and their movements severely limited. Frankly, I think they deserve each other's company."

"This is for Director Shacklebolt: what is your reaction to these two villains avoiding jail after embarrassing your Auror Corps with bombings in Diagon Alley and a threat to destroy Hogwarts and magic in most of Britain - a threat that your aurors failed to detect?"

"I'm satisfied with the deal. Both Montaignes will be incarcerated for a long time. Azkaban is currently not a viable option in any case. I'm not embarrassed at all about the aurors' performance. I led a team of aurors who captured the former Lord Montaigne. Bruce was caught fairly quickly after he started his bombing campaign, and my aurors participated in his capture."

"Follow-up question: it seems to me that Harry Potter and the other Hogwarts students took the lead on both of these captures."

"The Minister assigned the Deputy Minister to conduct an independent investigation of these threats. I participated in all of these delegation decisions and was fully informed of the efforts of the Deputy Minister and his associates."

"Back to Harry: Don't you think the aurors should have provided more help to you?"

"The aurors were very helpful. They captured the French usurper Minister LeDoux when we led him into a trap at Hogwarts. They participated in Bruce's capture and they captured the former Lord Montaigne. They provided us with the information that we needed to continue our investigations. This is in stark contrast to the obstruction of our efforts to chase down Voldemort by the aurors and Ministry or prior administrations. Most of our efforts were conducted either on the Continent or in subterranean areas that only a trainee or assistant Keeper could access."

"Again to Harry: shouldn't our aurors have access to the Reception Hall and tunnels to prevent just this sort of problem?"

"That's not the way that is set up under the Covenant. The Goblins have primary control over much of that area. As co-Keeper and Deputy Minister, I certainly plan to discuss with the Goblin King possible ways to increase security of these areas."

"This is for the Minister: would you agree that this lenient sentence makes your administration look weak? Doesn't the lenient treatment of Lucius Malfoy do the same? It would seem that both of these defendants are somehow blackmailing you."

"I can assure you that I have done nothing to open myself to blackmail. I indicated during the campaign that I would focus upon reconciliation, rather than retribution. Any other factors relating to the deal are state secrets that I cannot reveal. I would not call the sentences of the Montaignes super-lenient. Bruce will be incarcerated for his entire life. That he shares his confinement with his father for the first twenty-six years doesn't significantly change that. For his father, that is quite a long sentence. For the Wizarding community, stripping the former Lord Montaigne of his authority increases their security and opens up bank loans to permit progress and improved economic conditions."

Wood jumped up to announce, "I'll have to cut off the press conference at one more question. The Minister has to move on to his next meeting."

"To the Minister: what is so important that you have to cut off our questions?"

"As you should know, that is not a question that I normally am able to answer. I don't see any problem telling you that I need to work on the agreement for extension of the Gringotts Bank charter. I'm anxious to start loans flowing to Wizards. I'm also working on setting up a second entity that would make loans available to recent Hogwarts graduates who wish to start businesses. These are the Wizards who need work and can provide fresh energy, but would likely be viewed as unsuitable loan risks by Gringotts. Thank you for attending this conference, but we really have to leave."

Everyone, including Dad, headed back to Harry's office to get away from the reporters. Dad gave an update on negotiations with the Goblins. "The biggest remaining issue on the Gringotts' extension is reducing the exclusivity to permit the alternate lending mechanism for young Wizards. King Goblanze still needs some convincing and then there is the question of how we will finance that agency."

"My mother, Harry, and I are willing to invest part of our restitution settlements into the new agency," Hermione offered, "but to avoid any conflict of interest questions, I think we should be the backstop source of funds, with priority given to however much Ministry money the Wizengamot is willing to commit, and then how much other Wizards want to invest."

"That's a reasonable approach. A problem in dealing with the King on this is what interest rates will be charged to borrowers and paid to investors. These loans will naturally be a little riskier than the loans the bank will be making. The Gringotts loans will charge 3% interest and they will pay those who deposit for the purpose of loans a guaranteed 1%. I was thinking the new agency would pay 1-1/2% interest and charge 4%. At least that is what I'd like to propose, realizing that the Wizengamot will likely want to tinker with the numbers. If Harry can spare Percy, he and Wood could start drafting the language of the bill to set up the agency."

"That's fine," Harry replied. "I think we'll head back to Hogwarts as soon as I get the land transfer finished. Has Lord Montaigne taken his vows yet?"

"Madam Bones and Montaigne's lawyer will meet you here when that's finished. Then you, Bill, and Shacklebolt are off to a Muggle lawyers' office to complete the land purchase. You have the restitution funds in the Bank of England account that the Muggle Treasury explained as your share of the inheritance that Petunia and Dudley also received. Here they come now, off you go!"

"I have another issue to raise," Hermione importuned Dad. Getting a look that said 'alright, but be quick about it', she proceeded, "I'm disappointed that there hasn't yet been a bill before the Wizengamot to expand the number of eligible voters, especially the half of Witches who aren't eligible to vote, now."

"Believe me, I'm still strongly committed to doing that," Dad answered her, "but there is a maximum speed at which the public and especially the opposition will permit me to push what we would call progress. For the immediate future, you'll have to choose between expanded voter rolls or Elven rights."

"It seems unfair for Witches to have to wait for their rights, but I realize that abolishing the slavery of intelligent beings has to take precedence over more Witches being able to vote. I hope you realize how galling it is to have to make that choice. I certainly am not going to be happy delaying for long."

"Neither am I, but I'm sure the opposition will insist upon stalling this until after the Wizengamot election. That's on the Spring Equinox, by the way.

The rest of us had to return to Hogwarts for Hermione's rescheduled lecture, prior to Harry's return. Harry wandered in after Hermione had covered the first third of her material, and sat behind the rest of us. Harry knew all of that, anyway. Harry hadn't missed anything he didn't already know, but soon after he arrived, Hermione began discussing the written agreement among the Hogwarts founders.

"The agreement was written midway through the construction of Hogwarts and signed by Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Peverell. They state that the agreement focuses on the operating principles of the school, apart from the older agreements that provided for the school's founding. They pledge to rotate the headmaster position among themselves, every two years. They commit to the shared purpose of educating 'both Witches and Wizards, whether pureblood or born to Muggle, in the ways of the positive magicks, Wizard history, the fine and useful arts, and all else necessary for these youth to successfully take their place in the Wizard world. Hogwarts is to be a place of refuge and healing, apart from the conflicts of the larger world, where all students are seen as equal and nurtured by a faculty chosen from among the most highly educated Witches and Wizards of proven good character'. Later they speak of Hogwarts as the 'storehouse of the accumulated knowledge of the Wizarding world and the future source of improved magicks that may be of benefit to the community as well as arts to grace the existence of all magical creatures'.

"Then something went seriously wrong and the Muggle-born Wizards were consigned to the stables at the insistence of Slytherin and the then Lord Montaigne. That satisfied Lord Montaigne, but not Slytherin. I found a note from Helga Hufflepuff stating that Slytherin found it 'increasingly dangerous to share the secrets of Wizard power with the lesser Muggle-born, who will inevitably use this knowledge to help their Muggle brethren destroy us. It is beyond foolish to arm your future foes. I intend to banish from Hogwarts those whose loyalty must be suspect, as they were not born into our world. Ours is a harsh existence and we cannot trust the continued loyalty of those who have known an easier journey.' That's when the other founders decided that Slytherin could not be permitted his turn as headmaster. He viewed this rebuke as a harsh betrayal and became even more embittered. There is a note from Slytherin to Lord Montaigne, in which Slytherin declares 'you know that I view keeping the Muggle-born in the stables and limiting their education to be a very inadequate defense of our world. Granting that I prefer you to the idiot Hufflepuff, I still see you as a traitor to our kind.' So, the Muggles stayed in the stables and their situation became even more horrible. I've brought these drawings and paintings of what the stables looked like, with the dorm on top of them. Soon, the Muggle-born Gryffindors were reduced to the status of slaves, as Lord Montaigne edged ever closer to Slytherin's thinking. In May 1469, Thomas Boot led his fellow Gryffindors is a desperate escape to freedom. He left this note".

When Hermione finished reading, there were a lot of teary faces in the room. "Percy and I checked the old Ministry records and visited Muggle libraries to learn the fate of the escapees. Thomas Boot and twelve others of the thirty-nine Gryffindors who escaped made it to safety in Wales. The Gryffindors were weak from poor feeding at Hogwarts, and a dozen died during their flight before they could set up a permanent settlement. The other fifteen escapees were caught by the Muggle police, on Lord Montaigne's charge that they were horse thieves. They were all hanged, but did not give away the secret of the Wizard world. I've been surprised to learn just how dark Hogwarts past has been.

"This slave revolt led to four of the original founders deciding to combine Gryffindor, Peverell, and Ravenclaw houses into the present Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I'll read Hufflepuff justifications for these changes". There was general amazement as Hermione read the note we had discovered. But there were more strange things to come. "Only eight years later, the obsession of Slytherin and Lord Montaigne with the Peverell Hallows required that all things Peverell be hidden away. We have Mycroft White's account of that". Hermione read her copy of the manuscript that we had found. "That's all that I have on Peverell and Gryffindor Houses. Are there any questions?"

I was surprised to see Pansy ask the best question - "you said that Hogwarts was set up to teach the arts as well as magic. You even showed us paintings that the students made, but Hogwarts doesn't teach art. What happened?"

"The Lords Montaigne struck again. I'll read you two parchments that were left to us in 1611 and 1612, when Lord Montaigne decreed that the arts and writing were of no use to the future that he saw for Hogwarts students. I can read them to you, but perhaps it's best that I show you the secret Hogwarts art museum that the last art professor left, in the hopes that art would once again be welcome at a future Hogwarts. Some of us have seen it, but others of you have not." Hermione led the way back to Gryffindor and the museum. Percy seemed most surprised by the museum and the room of Peverell artefacts. "I was a Gryffindor prefect, and I had no idea any of this was here." Cissy, Narcissa, and the Slytherins were also suitable amazed and impressed."

"Thank you, Hermione," Professor McGonagall concluded, that has been a most interesting and enlightening lecture and show and tell. You certainly incorporated a lot of original historical research. I think you'll make a fine Hogwarts professor, some day. I'm sure we can look forward to as fine a presentation from Mr. Malfoy next week."