Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.
"I really don't understand why you of all people, don't understand the value of what we're doing," Minister Crouch said as he walked through the Ministry at a brisk pace. Much to his chagrin, Dumbledore had no apparent trouble keeping up. "We're doing this to keep the wizarding world safe from men like Voldemort."
"But at a terrible price Barty," Dumbledore said, sadly shaking his head. "It is a dangerous step and not the last one we will take if we go down this path."
"It is for the safety of the Wizarding world. You saw what Voldemort-" several people winced all at once and one woman let out a slight shriek. "did to our world. If we had known what he was doing sooner-"
"If you had known, he would have simply worked around it. He could have learned wandless magic instead, or used another's wand.. I fear that would have made him more formidable, not less." Dumbledore shook his head. "Or he would have been more open, killing more freely and readily."
Crouch paused and a look of fear crossed his face, before being replaced with one of calm. He shook his head.
"We can't tell. But that's irrelevant. If we had tracked the spells he was using earlier in his career, we would have known sooner, stopped him before he became a threat. Or at least, as big a threat as he was. Most witches and wizards are not as powerful and skilled as you or him." He paused and took a deep breathe. "When I became Minister, I swore that we would never be terrorised by someone like him again." He shook his head once more. "Our world has been threatened by two dark lords in the past fifty years and we cannot count on you or luck to stop them all the time." He looked sadly at Dumbledore. "You are not invincible old friend. Surely prevention is better than cure?"
Dumbledore looked at Crouch from over his glasses.
"Do you really think that it would end there?" he asked and Crouch said nothing. "Do we sacrifice our freedoms and liberties for a false sense of safety?"
"Do you think that you will always be there to stop them?" Crouch countered, before sighing. "Dumbledore, the Ministry simply cannot sit by and do nothing in the hopes of stopping the next Voldemort. We barely survived the first time. No, the Big Brother Act will go into effect. Most of the Wizengamot see the value of what we're trying to do." He paused and looked at Dumbledore. "I wish that you could as well." He looked at his watch. "I am sorry Dumbledore, but I must be going. I have a Ministry to repair and a community to reassure."
Dumbledore watched sadly as Crouch walked away.
"I hope that you see where you are going with this as well," he said, before turning to leave.
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"It is with great pleasure that I can announce the expansion of the Big Brother Act. No longer will we have to live in fear of a new Dark Lord. The innocent will have nothing to fear. The guilty everything," Cornelius Fudge announced in front of the crowd of gathered reporters as cameras flashed. "In the four years since it was passed, the Big Brother Act has been responsible for catching many dark wizards and witches before they can become a threat. With this expansion of powers, we can catch and convict criminals faster and justice will be better served!"
"Minister, what do you say to accusations that this is a massive overstep of government boundaries?" one reporter asked and Fudge shook his head.
"I would say that only the guilty have anything to fear. I would say that we would be remiss in our duty to not do everything we can to stop another You-Know-Who arising." A collective wince rippled through the crowd. "Do we WANT to return to those days? I say NO!" He paused and smiled. "The Ministry is dedicated to protecting the Wizarding world. You have nothing to fear." He paused and smiled. "Unless you're a criminal!" He added and he let out a bark of laughter. A few other people did as well. "There is nothing to fear from the Ministry. The Ministry is there to protect you."
"Minister, do you have anything to say about the death of Minister Crouch?" another reporter asked and Cornelius Fudge shook his head.
"The death of Minister Crouch is an ongoing investigation and until it is complete, I will not be making any statements on the subject." He paused and looked away. "His death is a tragedy, the kind of tragedy that this expansion would have prevented." He slammed his hands down on the stand in front of him. "We will find the culprit and bring them to justice!. Remember, Big Brother is watching out for you."
"Minister, is it true that the recent arrest of Amelia Bones was, as some critics are calling it, politically motivated?" a young man with dark brown hair asked and the room went very silent.
Fudge laughed.
"Of course not!" he said after a few seconds. "The Ministry does not arrest people on political grounds. Amelia Bones is currently under investigation of course, that I will not deny. But not for the reasons crackpot conspiracy theorists would have you believe. We are merely investigating unfortunate rumours linking her to violent Goblin terrorist groups."
One middle-aged woman with ashy blond hair in the crowd frowned. Clearly, she had her doubts. She raised a hand.
"What's to prevent someone from just walking off with someone else's wand or someone leaving their wand behind?" she asked with a slight frown. Fudge laughed.
"My dear girl," he said in an almost condescending tone, "We are wizards. We carry wands around as easily as breathing. Why would they think to leave their wands behind?"
"But-"
"In any case, we are making wandless magic illegal for all witches and wizards who are of age." He smiled indulgently. "We're not going to start prosecuting children for accidents, but grown adults should have better control, don't you think?"
The woman continued to frown, but said nothing.
"I'm afraid that it's all the time we have for today. The Ministry has your best interests at heart. Remember that Big Brother is watching out for you!" he said and several more cameras flashed.
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"Heh hem."
Brian Hemlock looked up to see the new Minister for Magic looking down at him.
"Minister!" he said, jumping to his feet. "How may I be of assistance?"
Minister Delores Umbridge looked him, as though she was trying to assess his character.
"Some of your colleagues have expressed doubts about the new extensions we're placing on the Big Brother Act," she said after what felt like an eternity. "They seem to think that it goes too far. That it breaks the spirit of the original act."
"Minister...?"
"Do you know the names of your colleagues who are involved?" she asked and Brian frowned. "The ones who are speaking out against the changes. Do you know who they are?"
"Well, yes. Well most of them anyway. They're not a secret. They just-"
"They are determined to undermine the Ministry" Umbridge said, her voice rising on the last word. "They would have our people living in perpetual fear of another Dark Lord rising." She smiled at him. "I'm sure that you can find some...questionable links between them and...say Goblin terrorist groups? I'm sure that you can find something."
"But...what if there's nothing to find?" he asked with a slight frown and Umbridge simpered.
"I'm sure that you can 'find' something. After all, we're trying to protect witches and wizards and I'm sure that you'll agree that it will be so much easier without interference from people who clearly favour criminals. After all, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." She paused and looked at him. "It's for the greater good after all. We don't want another You-Know-Who emerging after all."
Brian felt a trickle of fear run down his spine. The Minister was right of course, but there was something...unsettling about this. Wrong almost. As though...it was nothing really. Nothing at all.
"Of course Minister," he said after what felt like an eternity. "I will have the necessary details on your desk by the end of the week."
"Thank you," she said before walking away. Brian stared at her retreating back. There were...rumours about what happened to those who crossed Delores Umbridge. Rumours that he had never really paid much attention to, but now?
He shook himself. He was being ridiculous. The Ministry was there to protect wizardkind. The idea that they could be evil was absurd. And what he was doing was just a one off occurrence, not something that was going to happen with any kind of regularity. Something to protect the innocent from the guilty.
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"I don't understand...what did I do wrong? What am I being fired for?" the shocked young wizard asked in shock. Behind the desk sat a fat, balding wizard who wasn't even looking at him.
"You criticised Big Brother Gerald," he said, not even looking up at the young wizard. Gerald looked at him in surprise.
"But...I haven't..." he began and the fat wizard waved his wand. Up came an image of a much younger Gerald, a boy of approximately fourteen years of age.
"It's such a stupid thing," the image said. "Big Brother thinks that by stopping us from practicing magic that we're not going to learn!"
"Yeah, can you imagine us meeting a Dark wizard and telling him that he can't attack us because we're good little citizens of Big Brother?" his friend said and they both laughed.
"That was you, was it not?" the fat wizard asked and Gerald nodded.
"Yes, but-"
"As a Ministry employee, you are not allowed to criticise something that has kept us safe from the likes of You-Know-Who," the fat wizard said as he picked nonchalantly at his fingernails. "The eleventh amendment to the Big Brother Act doesn't stop you from learning how to use magic. It only prevents you from learning magic that the Ministry deems unsuitable. You should know that it's a short drop from learning Defense Against the Dark Arts to practicing the Dark Arts and rebellion against the Ministry itself."
"But-but-but I wasn't an employee of the Ministry back then!" he protested and the fat wizard shook his head.
"That is irrelevant. You criticised Big Brother. Criticism is one step away from incitement to rebel. Now leave," the fat wizard said. Gerald slammed his hands on the desk.
"I demand to speak to the Minister!" he said angrily. "This is absurd. The Ministry has no say over what I say before joining!"
The fat wizard just clicked his fingers and two Dementors glided into the room. Gerald's face turned pale.
"Wh-wh-what are they doing here?" he demanded as he felt his legs turn to water. The two Dementors grabbed him by the arms and forced him to his knees.
"New Ministry policy," the fat wizard said nonchalantly. "All troublemakers inside the Ministry are to be given the Dementors kiss on the spot. You're the third person they've had to kiss this week."
"No, wait, I'll go without any trouble. Please, just-"
There was a long scream and Gerald knew no more. The fat wizard sighed and pressed a button. He looked down at the pile of memos sitting on his desk. He really should get these distributed. Two wizards in black robes walked in and removed Gerald from the office, his eyes staring blankly into nothing. He also needed to remember to place extra surveillance on his family as well. Just in case, naturally. The last thing that they wanted was to have another dissident appear after all.
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Diagon Alley was a gloomy place, Harry thought to himself as walked its streets with a Ministry Official in black robes following him. Not as magical as he had hoped or thought. The street was crowded, but people kept their eyes down and avoided looking at one another as an atmosphere of fear permeated the very air. The shop windows were dull and their wares uninspiring, at least for the shops that were open. Several were closed and boarded up with large notices that said 'Closed by order of Big Brother.' There were posters telling people that Big Brother was their only hope and others warning people that Big Brother was watching them. It felt...almost oppressive really. Suffocating even. As though the magical world was less alive, less magical than the muggle world that Harry knew.
It was kind of depressing really.
"What is...Big Brother?" Harry timidly asked the Ministry official. A frown momentarily crossed the official's face.
"Big Brother is what keeps the Wizarding world safe," he said in a monotone, lifeless voice. "Big Brother is always watching us, stopping witches and wizards from having to live in fear."
Harry said nothing. The people around him seemed to be afraid enough as it was. Was Voldemort really that bad? He didn't dare ask.
"Is...is all the Wizarding World like this?" Harry asked tenatively and the Ministry Official frowned. "I'm not...I didn't mean anything against Big Brother. I'm just...curious." He resisted the urge to swallow as he felt a lump settle in his stomach. A slight sensation of dread at even the mere possibility of crossing Big Brother.
"The Wizarding world is as safe anywhere as it is on these streets," the Ministry Official said after a few moments of silence. "We have nothing to fear with Big Brother watching over us. Big Brother keeps us safe. Big Brother will stop the rise of another dark wizard like You-Know-Who."
Harry carefully looked around the street once more. For a place that was supposed to be safe, there was a lot of fear. Nobody looking up. No conversations of any kind. The fear was palatable. Voldemort, Harry thought to himself must have been truly terrifying. For a moment he wondered if it was possible to choose to go back into the muggle world. His old school, St. Grogory's Primary School was looking much better in comparison. Stonewall High was as well, even if he turned up wearing the awful clothing Aunt Petunia had dyed for him. Something told him that it was not a good idea to ask.
"We must continue moving," the Ministry Official said, breaking into Harry's thoughts. "We need to complete getting your necessary purchases before curfew."
"Curfew?" Harry asked before he could stop himself and the Ministry Official nodded.
"Yes. All witches and wizards are required to be off the streets before nine o-clock to prevent the gathering of dangerous elements," the Ministry Official said and Harry swallowed yet more questions. Somehow it seemed like a bad idea to ask too many questions. A very bad idea.
They stepped into a sterile, austere looking building.
"This is where you will obtain your wand Mister Potter," the Ministry Official said in the same dull voice he had always used. "As a wizard, you are legally required to keep your wand in your immediate vicinity at all times. Failure to do so will result in criminal charges. Your wand can be used as evidence against you in the event that you face criminal charges."
Harry swallowed even more questions. The magical world that he was being invited into seemed a lot less magical standing here. At least in the muggle world, he could hear people laugh and cry. Even Uncle Vernon's grumbling and complaining would be an improvement. (Although the idea of Uncle Vernon being dragged off and arrested almost made him smile.)
"Do you have any further questions?" the Ministry Official asked and Harry felt like it would be a bad idea to say yes.
"No sir," Harry said, feeling slightly intimidated.
AN: Okay, again I'm running out of time, so I'll have to cut off here.