Authors note: I do not own any of it. This is more of a bridge chapter (I would say I was back up to date with myself, but I've written chapter 9 and 10 in the mean time eep!)
The Talk
It had been a struggle to maintain order within the ranks as everyone was sat down in the training hall, even more so when Snape stood up on the podium. He held his hands up to demand silence, glaring at the few Slytherin who dared to whisper between themselves, he'd have expected it from Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws, and down right was amazed that no Gryffindor dared interrupt him, but his own house, unthinkable.
"Quiet" the word hissed out, and the boys went a deathly pale, they'd pay for the indiscretion later on.
It took almost five hours to inform the people on the situation, Draco was to be told separately by Lucius. As it was, it was difficult enough to control the surge of violence that fell upon the room, those who had formerly been Slytherin knew full well about the Riddle situation, but many of the others had happily believed the Voldemort hype.
However when Tom had been brought on stage, clearly not quite with the real world any more, looking a little like the Muggle Santa Claus, and waving to some of the men he recognised in the crowd, it was clear to all that they had been deceived, though he was still dosed with Veritaserum to make sure he wasn't just pretending to be harmless.
It took two pain relieving potions to get through the announcements of the new order, it was amazing how many people would just say no for, what Snape was sure of, the very reason for saying no.
"Molly Weasley will be in charge of rationing of food,"
There were cries of "No," and dissent amongst the ranks, of which he was sure the whole reason was to irritate him.
"Perhaps you are all mistaken this isn't a question, it's a statement, or perhaps you'd rather I rationed out food?" Well it had dealt with that issue fairly easily.
"Charlie Weasley will be overseeing the Dragon enclosure, and will require a team of twelve to assist him with this, you will see him after the conclusion of this meeting to apply for the position. Please be reminded – Will you stop moving, I am not finished and that was not a request for you all to stand, sit! As I was saying, a small reminder that everyone will have their own part too play, the house elves will no longer be with us once we make the shift, so we must not get in a situation where we can not operate without them."
"Now we need qualified Mediwizards, so all those with the correct qualifications please make yourself known to me after – AFTER – the meeting has been concluded! There is a need for those qualified as cooks and kitchen hands, but only and I stress this, only if you are able to cook for a large number of people. At this point I would like to say that as we are going to be living in a time of rationing all cooking will be done in the kitchens, and everyone will eat together, any one caught preparing illicit meals, or stealing will be punished. However please feel free to petition Mrs Weasley for special occasions."
"You will all be aware that there are that there have been several new settlements on the grounds, actually I tell a lie. You will be aware of this. The reason for this is simple, we do not have enough food to last us the length of time it will take, so we will have to create our own. To do this you'll be glad to know that there is a wealth of livestock frozen, however like everything it will run out in time. The solution to this was to acquire several working farms with large stocks, which we will work to ensure we never run out.
"There will also be people required to work the crops, as well as at harvest time everyone will be involved in ensuring the complete intake and storage. I am sure that you will not complain so bitterly when you are allowed to eat the fruits of your labour. As these are muggle farms you will be under the instruction of the farm owners, and working alongside Muggle labourers. You will treat everyone fairly, remember this is not just happening to us, and unfortunately unlike ourselves they have themselves alone. You will integrate and anyone causing unrest will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
"We will also require other skilled workers, people to build homes, it would be unwise to use magic to do so at this time, and when in the new world it would be drastically unwise, so if you have any skill whatsoever in creating without magic please step forward and see Sirius Black. Those who have the skill to sew I suggest you make yourselves know to Lucius. Arthur Weasley is in charge of Muggle tools as he has studied them.
"Whilst there may seem as if there isn't enough jobs for the amount of people, I fear there aren't enough to fill them. We will all work hard, we will be rewarded for such work, there will be no room for shirkers of responsibility, for troublemakers, these first few years will be the hardest of them all.
"It is unfair I know, but life is unfair. We all understand what you are feeling now, and we are sympathetic, we are also going through the same situation, but as it hasn't killed us it will make us stronger. Feel free to approach any of us, or to make reasonable comments. We are fallible, and any situations you believe to be going un noticed please inform us, for that is what got us into this situation in the first place.
"There will be no nobility, no lords and ladies, no rich and poor, there will only be workers. I suggest any with illusions of grandeur to loose them, quickly. I will not tolerate parasites.
"If you find yourself in a role where you have no competence, or where your skills are wasted please approach one of us again and we will do our best to get you resorted into a more appropriate position. No one job is more important than the others, no one person is more important than another. I suggest however that people give their jobs a try at least and do their best, this way we will be more inclined to switch you.
"There will be shifts, however this will be worked out once everyone is assigned a role. By the end of this week you should all be equipped, and the training will begin.
"As you will have noticed, the vast majority of you are wizard plus other, while I understand the need for territory during the full moon, you will find the wolfsbane will cure you of that, it will be distributed to you all, and any fights for dominance after it has been taken will be dealt with accordingly. Those of veela blood I would encourage you to keep your charms to yourselves, those who are unable to then there is a potion that will aid you, please make yourselves known for this to happen.
"You will all be encouraged to continue to pursue your educations, every single one of you. While I know some believe learning to be secondary after the age of 18, you will find it helps you to keep your mind agile, and if you chose to learn different skills it will aid you to switch. Saying this, I would also advise you to chose wisely what you do with your spare time.
"We can not stop you from trading things made in your spare time, however things will be monitored at some level, to stop anyone creating a monopoly. For the time being money is not in use as it is not needed, however it will be up to us all to decide when or if we bring it back into use when we are settled and stabilised in the new world.
"Lastly, I would ask for you all to be patient with each other, with us, and with yourselves. No one expects miracles, and we have margins of error for mistakes we will make. The House Elves have kindly prepared a meal for us, and afterwards you will find yourselves with a location for your temporary rooms. Temporary until we construct a new building to house us all. For the time being please leave the Great Hall alone, I will inform you when it is back in use. Please remember to see the relevant people after the meal. Enjoy."
They'd finally gotten through it all, and thankfully without blood vessels bursting. Remus had said he managed to inject the right amount of sympathy into his voice, Lucius however said that the threat of being dealt accordingly by a Potions Master and a known Dark Arts Master was a master stroke, while Sirius just grinned at him. Like he did it to impress the mutt, just because he remembered the gorgeous desk he'd constructed for him.
Authors note: If any one is interested I have come to a quandary, at this point I've written an alternative to this all ready, I also have another alternative dotting about in my mind, so there might even be a new alternative before I hit chapter 6. Anyway I hope it's enjoyable.