"Granger, a moment."
Hermione Granger's heels click across the black marble of the Ministry of Magic Atrium, but the incessant sound stopped at the deep baritone of Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice reverberating through the hallowed halls.
It was still early on this muggy July day just over a year from the fall of Voldemort and his followers, and Hermione was just preparing her 'classroom' for the SWU - Special Wizarding Unit - members.
There were two groups of them: the 'teachers' and the 'rehabs'. The SWU had one goal: rehab those who are possible, beginning with the youngest that were either recruited to Voldemort's service or were soon to be. Of the instructors, Hermione Granger was the lead and her team consisted of healers from Saint Mungo's sister location in the United States - St. Waldus Sanatarium for the Bewitched and Ensorcelled - and members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The healers mended some of the life-long abuses that the young 'rehab patients' faced, either physical or mental without the bias that Saint Mungo's healers faced. The Department of Law Enforcement used these sessions to further any currently imprisoned Death Eather's sentence and arrest those who were compliant. Junior Auror Harry Potter leads the arresting team while Percy Weasley leads the prosecuting team. All the oversight was conducted by the Minister himself, and he would have at least weekly - but more often than not, daily - briefings with each of the leads and Hermione. This was just one of the Ministry's proactive moves to unite the fractured Wizarding World.
What no one expected was all the cases that would be negated or diminished from the SWU's efforts.
Hermione spun on her designer heels, her one guilty pleasure after the war, turning away from the lifts and heading directly to the Minister's office.
Shacklebolt sat with his back turned from the door, his royal purple robes embroidered with numerous runes in gold thread. "Please have a seat, Hermione. I would like to discuss your plans going forward with the SWU program."
Sliding into the seat that was usually 'reserved' for her during their group staff meetings, Hermione looks perplexedly upon the Minister. "Sir, I don't understand."
"I don't believe I have ever heard those words escape your lips, Hermione." The Minister chuckles lowly, "You see, the program is nearing completion with this first round, I would like to see who you recommend for the second round of rehabs. You probably have the most first-hand experience on whom we shall select for this next round, based on those you see currently."
Nodding, she amends, "I just didn't see this round of rehabs coming to an end so quickly sir. I don't think I was prepared."
"Hermione, it is just something to think about. No decisions need to be made today. Just be prepared because the Wizengamot is using the SWU program as the forefront of any future former-Death Eater rehab programs." With that, the Minister turns around, shooting Hermione a wink before waving her off. "Now, go do great things."
This will be sitting in the back of her head for the remainder of the day she knows, luckily her students have an easy and fun day ahead of them - like she plans for every Friday. But before the festivities can begin, she will need to meet with Harry and Percy and the Healer on duty for the day, Libby Love-Carter.
Today would be a fun day of fizzy pop drinks, takeaway food from different parts of the world, and a game of… Monopoly. Every Friday she plans for a day of relaxation, just to celebrate the milestone that the week presented. One time, she took the ladies of the group - including the aristocrats Pansy Parkinson and Narcissa Malfoy to Westend where the women fell in love with Muggle fashion. Pansy even begged Hermione to take her and her friends to other posh shopping districts throughout London in exchange for introducing Hermione to some of her favorite wizarding designers in Paris and Milan.
Hermione is hesitant as to how the game-day would progress, many of these old families are ruthless when it comes to business and their vaults. It is why she kept Monopoly until this late in the game. She wants to see if there are any changes to their personality and any predictors on how they will act going forward. Will they retain the same ruthless characteristics that the Purebloods are known for or will their hearts melt some and compassion take over? Her lesson, before the actual game instruction, is to go over some of the famous industrialists - Carnegie, Edison, and current persons including Richard Branson and Elon Musk - and their contributions to Muggle society, without the prejudice that the Muggle world usually gets from the Purebloods that are in this class.
But now it is all turned upside down. She needs to look at who to have for her second round. She knows Narcissa and Pansy, and most likely Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, will recommend Draco Malfoy for the next round of 'students' since they have advocated for him all through this process. He is the youngest Death Eater to survive the war, and the restrictions placed on him by the Wizengamont are extreme, but he is not in Azkaban thanks to Harry. Now though, that will have to wait, she needs her own game plan as to how to incorporate suggestions for a new class to the existing - well, exiting - one. She could try and sip the idea during the gameplay, and see if the cunning former Slytherins catch on but their own inane prejudices - though breaking down - most likely will only lead them back to their own housemates.
Until then, she needs to discuss the idea with Harry and Percy and maybe introduce Percy to the game of Monopoly while she is at it; she does have a good hour or so before the class begins.
When the clock strikes nine, the classroom is full of eager minds ready to be filled. Percy and Harry are engrossed in the game that the rest of the class will challenge forthwith, and as they each took a seat at one of the tables, they examined closely what Harry and Percy were doing - a couple of them noticing the large amount of colorful paper that Percy has acquired and the large stacks of plastic-coated squares in neat color-coded stacks that Harry holds.
Hermione takes her place at the front of the room, as usual, looking around, noticing the confused looks on her students' faces as they each reach for a neatly stapled packet before them. "Today's lesson is going to be different. I created packets that I would like each of you to review over the weekend, and I would like you to come back with a small bio on who you best connect with and why. I don't want simple things like their birth, what they did during their life, but go deeper. Look into their life. Explore it. Find something that resonates, maybe they grew up nearby or had similar favorite foods. Maybe you traveled to the same places. Break the box. There is no limit, it will be on your own justification why this person is important. Now, be warned, there are no squibs or magical persons in these packets. They are all Muggles, born and raised. This lesson is to build similarities between our cultures and learn how Muggles 'make do' without magic. What I am looking for is something that breaks the line of prejudice between our cultures; similarities, not differences, something that can break the stereotypes that we both hold towards each other." She used air quotes over 'make do' because she had heard the purebloods in the room use it over and over to justify why magic was better. It was getting less and less as the time progressed and their classes learned to break their prejudices, but she needs to keep reminding them that they all have lived through a war based solely on rotten beliefs, and that it is time to find the sweetest and best fruit on the tree. "Today's gameplay is a little longer, which is why I bypassed our lesson. Today we are playing Monopoly."
Theo Nott's hand shot up in the air upon hearing the word. "I assume there are certain roles in this game," to which Hermione slowly and mechanically nods. "Can we use magic on the pieces?"
Hermione rolls her eyes, this is a weekly question out of the lazy former Slytherin. "Theo, do I need to repeat myself every week?" He looks sheepish at the admonition. "No, you may not use magic to move the pieces. No, you may not use magic to roll the dice. You need to use your hands, Theodore, you have two very good, working ones like all of us do. The board is not large. It fits on the small tables you are seated at. And now get up and move to a table with other people at it. I am not going to play with you because you think you will learn more from me than anyone else here in class."
She thinks that Theo may be trying to separate himself from the others for a myriad of reasons, and makes a note to herself to have Libby discuss this further with Theo in his afternoon therapy session. Theo grudgingly moves to a table with only two other people - the two people he was trying to avoid because of their incessant need to gossip - Pansy, and Narcissa.
"So now that this is sorted, are there any other questions of relevance?" She looks around the room, seeing none, proceeds with the instructions. Theo spends a great deal of time reviewing all the intricacies of the game, asking poignant questions, and reading the pamphlet that was supplied with the game itself. He, like Hermione would have, takes notes throughout the discussion. Some of the other class members take a less active role, but are obviously watching Theo and his train of thought on the game before them. With his questions complete, and playing referee to a near brawl over who got to use the race car, the gameplay began.
She watches the interactions between the students, watches how they approach the game as if they would approach life. They had already played the game Life and Risk - the latter nearly ending in a physical altercation between Theo and Blaise over who took the continent of Australia, which led the pair to be permanently separated for all future endeavors. This game, though, uses more business acumen and the inner Slytherin characteristics of ambition and cunning to come out differently in each player.
Some examples are: Narcissa who goes for the high-end properties, whereas Pansy buys one of almost every color and each of the railroads. That leaves Theo with no chance of getting a monopoly, yet he still holds all the utilities. By the end of the game, there is no definite winner, but they all make out quite handsomely.
At another table, Marcus Flint buys as much as he can early on in the game, but at the same time ends up bankrupt, selling out to Blaise Zabini for a higher than market price. The extra compassion that Blaise shows did not go far though, because within two rolls Marcus falls short again and resigns the game.
Hermione walks from table to table, noticing the strategies that the players use and how they interact with each other. She looks at those who have 'lowered' themselves in their previously held beliefs, but now they feel completely comfortable in her eyes. She asks mundane questions, about why they are choosing a property to purchase, what they plan to do with it, what is their ultimate goal, et cetera, to see if she understands their goals and plans of action in life going forward. Too many times, early on in the class, she heard 'just survive' from one or more of the students. Now, they are looking at each other as equals, and sometimes as the inferior and their goal is no longer to survive, but to grow and help others and their community as a whole be a better place for all.
All the tables play amicably and, other than Marcus, they all are profitable at the end of the class play. Even their lunch of takeaway foods from South America and Asian countries is successful with Marcus falling in love with each of the items from Asia.
As everyone leaves for their therapy session with Libby, Hermione asks them to think about one or two people they think would benefit from this class for the next round and why.
As Marcus leaves, he hugs Hermione, saying "Thank you for this. No one would have looked at me with any kindness if it weren't for you and this class. And I think I actually won today. I got the last of the crab rangoon." With a wink and a shake of Harry's hand, Marcus strides out of the room with his head held higher than when he entered on the first day.
"Hermione," Harry says as he wraps his arm around her, "you did well with this group. Are you really ready to take on another class or are you up for a new challenge."
"I would like to stay here a bit more, Harry," she replies pensively. "Especially if Malfoy is in the next class. Could you imagine me teaching him the Muggle way to play - say - Twister?" Her cheek did not go unnoticed by Harry. She thinks that if she can break down Malfoy's protective walls of prejudice, like she has been able to with everyone in this class, it would be a resounding success.
"Only if I can watch and video. I think that would make for a wonderful Saturday night movie night," he smirks at her as they stride out of the classroom and into their office to discuss the next willing participants of the Special Wizarding Unit and what wonders of the Muggle world they will venture into.
Author's Note:
Written for THC/The Houses Competition.
House: Slytherin
Class: HoH
Prompts: [Action] Teaching a Muggle game to a wizard
Standard
Word Count: 2360