I'd like to thank fredfred, InquisitorCOC and Brian1972 for beta-reading.
Chapter 2: New Allies
London, Ministry of Magic, August 21st, 1998
"...and times have changed. The war shook up the entire country. Voldemort managed to take over the Ministry and control the Wizengamot in less than a week. He perverted the laws and traditions of our country without anyone able to stop him until Harry Potter faced him at Hogwarts - after he, Ron Weasley and myself had managed to render Voldemort mortal."
He had done his part too, Neville thought as he watched Hermione deliver her speech, then felt petty for it. But also disappointed. He did destroy the last Horcrux, after all.
"But Voldemort didn't just show how weak the Ministry and the Wizengamot were without Dumbledore's protection - the ease with which the Ministry fell in line with the Death Eaters' goals, and the sheer number of people who worked to hunt down muggleborns and anyone who disagreed with Voldemort's stated goals, has robbed the Ministry and the Wizengamot of their legitimacy. If one wizard can corrupt the country's institutions so easily, despite all their traditions and customs, why should the people put their trust in those institutions?"
At that point, the constant murmuring which had accompanied Hermione's speech grew louder. But Neville could see that she wasn't impressed.
"Moreover, the Ministry, for all that it was corrupted by Voldemort, didn't fall apart even though the Wizengamot, which was still nominally the highest authority in the country, was functionally defunct during the Death Eater regime, as most members either collaborated and rubber-stamped whatever proposals were put before them - when Voldemort bothered to consult them at all - or else went into hiding until the war was over and the Ministry had been retaken."
That caused even louder outrage. Hermione's sneer didn't help, of course. Neville lost every doubt he had harboured about his planned course of action.
"The only way for the people to regain their trust in this institution is to reform it from the ground up. The Wizengamot needs to regain the trust of the people to lead the country. And the only way to do so now is to legitimise this assembly through a democratic election."
Neville winced when the comments and yells grew so loud that even Hermione's amplified voice couldn't be heard until the Chief Warlock managed to calm tempers down. And he winced as well when he heard more than one member ask their peers what a democratic election was.
Hermione continued, seemingly unfazed, as soon as the noise dimmed somewhat. "Only with a mandate from the majority of the people - purebloods, half-bloods and muggleborns - can the trust needed to guide and lead this country be restored. The old order has proven itself wanting. When the country needed leadership most, it failed. The country wasn't saved by the Wizengamot. It wasn't saved by the Old Families. It was saved by the common people banding together. By students raising their wands. Purebloods, half-bloods and muggleborns fought and defeated Voldemort's forces - and only one of those now among us, other than myself, fought with the people while a number of former members of the Wizengamot fought against them. That, more than anything else, demonstrates that change, drastic change, is needed. The people saved this country, and they have earned the right to have a say in who governs them. And only a democratically elected Wizengamot will give them that."
She sat down, head held high, as dozens of members raised their wands, eager to condemn Hermione's proposal. Though there was even faint applause from the audience - barely audible over all the outrage voiced by the members.
Neville, though, didn't raise his wand - he stood up instead. It was against all custom, but he had to do this - Doge would never pick him to speak first, and he had to speak first. He cast an Amplifying Charm and started speaking.
"I beg my esteemed colleagues' pardon, but as the only member other than herself who has, according to my esteemed colleague Madam Granger, fought against Voldemort, I will refute her claims." He ignored the murmurs that this caused and went on: "She said that Voldemort wasn't defeated by the members of the Wizengamot. I cannot deny the truth of this claim."
He had to raise his voice as the murmurs rose in volume even more - almost as loud as during Hermione's speech. "However, I do vehemently deny that the ability to fight is, in any shape or form, a measure of how well a wizard or witch can lead and guide a country. In fact, if it were so, we should all be following Voldemort's orders - he was, after all, the most powerful fighter we know. But I think it is obvious that the ability to fight does not legitimise someone's rule." He suppressed a smile as the murmurs died down - and changed into approving comments.
"We do not duel to decide who will lead the country, and we shouldn't. It takes different skills and talents to lead than to fight. Indeed, the last war was a dark time for our country. Many died fighting the Death Eaters - every one of us has lost family, friends or acquaintances. But the Death Eaters didn't just kill wizards and witches in the war - they tried to destroy our traditions, customs and laws. Madam Granger said that the Wizengamot failed the country and that the common people saved it. I say that that is not the case. Just as those who raised their wands to fight the Death Eaters didn't do so at once, but bided their time and gathered their forces until the time came to do battle, so did the members of this body hide and preserve our traditions until the time was right to restore them."
He smiled at the "Hear, hear" he heard from several of his colleagues.
"Yes, without the people who fought - myself among them - that would have been fruitless. But what if it hadn't been done? What kind of victory would it have been if we had defeated the Death Eaters, only to stand in the ashes and ruins of our country? What hollow victory would it have been if we had lost our legacies, our traditions, our history? What dark times would we have faced if we had to rebuild the entire country, all its laws and customs, instead?"
He shook his head.
"The Wizengamot hasn't failed the people. We have preserved our laws, customs and traditions. We have restored the country Voldemort tried to destroy. We have undone all his attempts to ruin us. That isn't a failure - that is a victory."
Neville, just as Hermione before him, had to wait until the Chief Warlock restored order before he could continue. He glanced at Hermione. She was sitting there expressionless. But she had brought this upon herself. If she had listened… He scoffed.
"So, the argument that the Wizengamot has failed and that the people have earned the right to elect a new Wizengamot is wrong. Everyone, the Wizengamot and the common people, as Madam Granger calls them, did their part in the war - just as should happen in peace as well."
He took a deep breath.
"And the Wizengamot has been doing its part for centuries. Even if it had failed, which it hasn't, a single failure would be no reason to replace it - just imagine how often the Ministry would have to replace its employees if they followed that example. But enough of this. Let us now take a look at the manner that Madam Granger thinks should be used to select the members of the Wizengamot. A democratic election."
He withstood the urge to scoff.
"It is a muggle invention. Everyone of age gets to vote for the person they think should represent them in 'Parliament' - the muggle Wizengamot. Those with the most votes form the parliament."
He shook his head. "Everyone, no matter their experience, wisdom or intelligence, has the same vote. The village fool's opinion counts for as much as that of the wisest sage. Does this sound like a good idea?"
He shook his head as his colleagues voiced their disapproval.
"And anyone can get elected - no matter how inexperienced or stupid they are. Do we want to choose teachers who have no experience? Who have no idea about their subject? Do we want to hire Healers at St Mungo's who do not know anything about Healing? Then why would anyone think that it is a good idea to choose people to rule us who not only have no experience of doing so, but who were also never taught anything about ruling?"
He saw Hermione press her lips together as laughter filled the chamber.
"Almost everyone here has been taught by their family about the duties of a member of the Wizengamot. We do not stumble into this ignorant of our customs and traditions. We enter it prepared and educated. Not all of us might have a lot of experience - yet - but we could and can rely on the experience of those who taught us."
He made a point of looking up at Gran, who was smiling at him from the audience.
"And when we do not know something, we have been taught to research it. I have researched the muggle views of democracy since the muggles are the ones who invented it. And I was shocked by how little they think of it. 'The rule of the mob' was among the kindest descriptions I found. Time and again, the muggles voted for the worst kind of men to rule and lead them and ruined their countries as a result. The greatest muggle leader in history said that it was 'the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried'. And there are dozens of examples where it has failed and was replaced by another form of government."
He looked straight at Hermione.
"Our system has worked for centuries, and Madam Granger wants to replace it with a system that not even muggles consider a good idea? We're wizards, not muggles. They might not know a better way, but we do. I call on my esteemed colleagues to dismiss this proposal, and beg, once more, their pardon for speaking out of turn."
Judging by the loud applause that rose as Neville sat down, his peers had already forgiven his breach of the Wizengamot's etiquette.
"Great speech!" Mr Greengrass told him, beaming at him. "You certainly taught her!"
"Thank you." He had, hadn't he?
Hermione raised her wand to defend her proposal, but she had to wait until a dozen members had taken their turn. And all of them condemned her proposal, often referring to Neville's speech. Anyone with any amount of sense would have realised that she was beaten, but Hermione was Hermione. She raised her chin when it was finally her turn again and spoke.
"My esteemed colleague Mr Longbottom claimed that democracy was the worst form of government and that the muggles don't know of a better one. What he failed to mention - or was ignorant of - is that muggles know about hereditary rulership. And they have discarded it for democracy."
"We're wizards, not muggles!" Mr Rosier yelled.
Hermione ignored him, staring at Neville. He met her eyes. They had done so a few decades ago - after centuries of hereditary rule. And muggle Britain still had a hereditary ruler.
"If democracy is so bad, then why do we, the members of the Wizengamot, democratically elect the Minister for Magic? Shouldn't that become a hereditary position as well, where the new Minister is taught by their family and predecessors how to hold the office?"
She shook her head, her bushy hair obscuring her face for a moment.
"I don't think so - since that would mean the Wizengamot would lose their power over the Minister. My esteemed colleague Mr Longbottom talked a lot about how wise and educated the members of the Wizengamot are - and yet, where was their wisdom when Dumbledore warned of Voldemort's return? Where was their wisdom when Harry Potter, who, by that point, had already defeated Voldemort several times, was called delusional for supporting Dumbledore? Where was it when the Ministry launched its smear campaign against them? Where were their experience and wisdom when Minister Scrimgeour threw innocents into prison so he could be seen to be 'doing something'?"
She scoffed.
"This isn't about wisdom and experience, this is about power. You think you deserve the power to rule our country just because you were born to the right parents. And you think that anyone who was born to the wrong parents doesn't deserve that power."
Her lips twisted into a sneer aimed at Neville.
"We all know who else thought that being born to the right or wrong parents determined a wizard or witch's worth - until he was defeated by the Boy-Who-Lived."
She sat down, head held high, as the members of the Wizengamot loudly voiced their outrage at the comparison.
And Neville shook his head. She hadn't learned anything at all since her ridiculous campaign to free the house-elves.
London, Diagon Alley, August 22nd, 1998
"You gave such a great speech! You absolutely taught her! Did you see her face when you took her arguments apart? Oh, I loved that!"
Neville had no doubt that Daphne loved seeing Hermione 'taught'. Especially after years of being outperformed by her. But the adoring flattery was getting a little too much. It was one thing to be praised by experienced colleagues in the Wizengamot - people who had known and respected Gran for years - but by a witch your own age, who was sitting a little too close to you at the table? Especially since it was only her, him and her father at a large table? She was so close, he had a little trouble cutting his excellent filets de perche meunière - a speciality of 'Le Canard Vert' - without pushing his elbow into her side. Though she might not mind, given how she was fawning over him.
He shrugged. "Anyone who did the research could have done it."
"But no one else did," Mr Greengrass said. "I dare say that the majority of our colleagues hadn't even read her proposal in advance."
Neville thought the same. Otherwise, they would have been outraged even before Hermione had started her speech. "I wouldn't presume to think my colleagues were neglecting their duties," he said.
Mr Greengrass laughed again. "In any case, you've made your mark. I don't think any new member has made a better impression in the Wizengamot since Dumbledore. And everyone will know it."
Neville winced. "The Daily Prophet exaggerated things." As it usually did.
"Only a little," Daphne said. "They printed your speech verbatim!"
"They also printed Hermione's speech," Neville pointed out.
He noticed Daphne frowning before she sniffed. "Only to contrast it with yours and show everyone how embarrassingly she's acting."
"Indeed. There's been talk about possibly retracting her Order of Merlin due to her absolutely disgraceful behaviour in the Wizengamot," Mr Greengrass said.
Neville gasped. "What?"
Daphne smiled, then looked confused. "Wouldn't that stop the problems she's causing?"
Neville shook his head. "What do you think Harry will do if that happens? At the very least, he'll denounce the Wizengamot. He might even return his own Order of Merlin. Ron, too."
Daphne still looked confused, but Mr Greengrass seemed to have realised the danger that might create. "Are you certain that Potter will side with her?"
Neville nodded. "He knew about her proposal in advance."
That made Mr Greengrass wince. "I see. Losing the support of the Boy-Who-Lived would be bad enough at this point. Earning his enmity?" He shook his head. "I will have to talk to a few of our colleagues."
"I don't understand. So Potter might quit the Ministry in protest - but the Dark Lord's dead and the Death Eaters are in Azkaban. What's the problem?"
Apparently, Daphne hadn't been as thoroughly prepared as her father's eventual successor as she should have been.
Neville used the opportunity to eat his meal as Daphne leaned towards her father, who explained to her just how badly the Ministry was in need of skilled Aurors, and how many of them might quit if Harry did.
"Have a good afternoon, Miss Greengrass, Mr Greengrass," Neville said as they reached the Leaky Cauldron. "I have to make a few purchases in Diagon Alley." And he had to pay a visit to Cousin Edward, whose shop had been damaged in the war and who had recently rebuilt it with some help from Neville's family.
"To you as well," Mr Greengrass replied.
"Oh, what a coincidence - I had planned to a little shopping myself," Daphne said with a wide smile. "But father has urgent business." Like keeping his colleagues from ousting Hermione and angering Harry.
Neville forced himself to smile. Anything other than offering to accompany her would be a faux pas - or a slight. And he had been raised better than that. Even if he would have liked to do his shopping by himself.
A few minutes later, they were walking down Diagon Alley, towards Flourish and Blotts - Neville needed more books to study. Just in case. He was about to ask what kind of shopping Daphne planned to do when he noticed a group of wizards and witches glaring at him. And muttering.
He frowned - they didn't look like the usual relatives of Death Eater sympathisers that harboured a grudge over their relatives' imprisonment. Or deaths. In fact, they looked more like half-bloods or muggleborns, with their mix of muggle clothes and robes.
He surreptitiously drew his wand as he and Daphne were about to pass them - just in case. But when he heard what they were saying, he almost hexed them.
"Look at the traitor!"
"Strutting around with a Slytherin!"
"No wonder he betrayed us."
"He's a disgrace to Gryffindor!"
"Bloody parasite."
If not for Daphne on his arm, he would have confronted them. How dare they say such things about him! But he couldn't risk Daphne getting hurt in his company. And the way she was clinging to his left arm, obviously nervous, would make it a tad hard to defend himself as well.
Fortunately, none of them raised their wands at him, and they reached the bookshop without trouble.
But the clerk there, who had been so helpful when Neville had purchased the books for his research, sniffed and pointedly looked away when he saw them enter, then took his time folding up the Daily Prophet he had been reading before greeting them. Rather curtly, too.
Neville didn't understand - until he realised that the man had been reading the article covering his speech in the Wizengamot.
"Is something wrong?" Daphne asked, looking around nervously. She must have realised how tense he was.
"You might say that," he replied. "It appears that we might have slightly misjudged the impact of the Daily Prophet's coverage."
And he was certain that Hermione hadn't.
Kent, Greengrass Manor, August 23rd, 1998
Being a member of the Wizengamot changed your life, Neville thought as he snatched another drink from one of the trays the Greengrasses' house-elf was carrying. Before he had taken his seat, he would have joined Zacharias, Ernie and the Greengrass sisters over by the fountain in the garden. Instead, he was on his way to his peers, who had gathered at the gazebo in the centre. He didn't mind, of course - nor that Daphne wouldn't be joining him; for all that she was attractive, the witch could be rather clingy.
He nodded at Mr Greengrass's assembled guests. "Good afternoon, Madam Smith. Mr Macmillan. Madam Fawley. Mr Rosier."
They returned the greeting and made polite chit-chat until Mr Greengrass joined them once he had finished welcoming the other guests.
"I presume everyone is aware of what is happening in our country," Neville's host said.
Madam Smith scowled. "Riff-raff stirring up trouble! Accosting their betters in plain daylight! Even the denizens of Knockturn Alley wouldn't dare."
Neville wondered privately if the tale of his encounter with the muggleborns hadn't grown a little too much in the telling - Daphne had already made it sound as if he had saved her life and virtue when she had informed her father, though Neville had corrected that. And from what he had heard about Knockturn Alley, the criminals and creatures haunting the shadows there would do far more than insult you.
But the others nodded in agreement. "If a wizard or witch of good breeding cannot walk down Diagon Alley without risking life and limb…" Mr Rosier shook his head. "The Aurors need to do something about this!"
Mr Greengrass sighed. "Unfortunately, both the Auror Corps and the Hit-Wizards are currently very much understrength, as the Minister told me when I requested more patrols in the Alley."
"So we hire more!" Mr Macmillan blurted out. "That can't be too expensive - they only need to be able to cast a Shield Charm and a Stunner to deal with the rabble! Isn't that why we passed Shacklebolt's proposal to grant experienced people exemptions from the usual standards?"
Neville cleared his throat. "I am afraid that this might not be that easy," he said. "The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has been doing all they can to recruit people, but without much success." He hesitated a moment, then decided that his peers needed to know. "And, personally, I have some doubts with regards to the loyalty of our current Aurors."
"What?" Everyone but Mr Greengrass seemed to say the same thing as they stared at him.
He winced. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were the most prominent new Aurors that took advantage of the exemptions granted to veterans of the war, but they weren't the only ones - a number of other former students followed their example."
Mr Macmillan pressed his lips together. He understood what Neville meant. "Shacklebolt didn't say anything about that."
Neville inclined his head. "While I would not dare to call the character of my two fellow Gryffindors into question, I do not think that they would be overly eager to attack muggleborns unless those muggleborns raised their wands first. And neither, I think, would their friends."
"This is what happens when you recruit too many muggleborns!" Mr Rosier snapped.
"I don't think that they did, actually," Neville corrected him. "I haven't seen many of my former classmates in the Ministry." Which, in hindsight, was a little worrying.
"I can't believe it!" Madam Smith shook her head. "Will it take the death of a good witch or wizard before the Aurors and Hit-Wizards who are supposed to protect us will act?"
"Things aren't that bad," Mr Greengrass said. He was smiling, but Neville clearly heard the 'yet' their host hadn't said.
"We should have never awarded the Order of Merlin to that muggleborn!" Mr Rosier said with a scowl. "It's all her fault!"
It wasn't, Neville knew. But Hermione certainly had contributed to their current troubles. Quite considerably.
"Are you certain that we can't retract the Order?" Madam Smith asked.
Mr Greengrass nodded. "Unfortunately, her support among the Aurors is far too great to risk such a measure. For now, at least."
Neville nodded. If Hermione continued her current course, she would alienate so many people that she would lose her Order of Merlin. He could only hope that when that happened, her arrogance, ignorance and rudeness would have eroded her support in the Auror Corps.
He stayed listening for a few more minutes to the older people complaining before excusing himself to chat with his former classmates.
He ignored Mr Greengrass's knowing smile - Daphne had probably embellished more than just the tale of their encounter with the muggleborn ruffians. But it would be rude to point that out.
He wished Hannah Abbott were here. But she was from a cadet branch of the Abbott family and wouldn't be invited to such a gathering. On the other hand, he could be certain that none of the guests sympathised with Hermione and her plans.
Neville really wasn't in the mood for another debate.
London, Diagon Alley, September 6th, 1998
Wearing muggle clothes felt wrong - they were far more constricting than was comfortable; far tighter, too - but Neville didn't want to risk wearing his usual tailored robes. Not when he was visiting a 'Rally for Democracy', as Hermione called her gathering in one of the wider parts of Diagon Alley. Or a rabble-rousing that frightened decent folks away from the Alley, as most of his peers referred to it.
Few wore robes here, and most of those who did were witches, he noticed as he joined the crowd - in the back, of course. While he didn't think Hermione would try to hurt him should she recognise him, he wasn't entirely certain that she would make a great effort to stop others from hurting him.
Of course, he had taken steps to prevent people from recognising him by using a hair-styling charm and a Beard-Growing Potion. And wearing the uncomfortable muggle clothes. The beard made him appear older as well, but not too old - just enough that neither his former classmates nor the older Gryffindor students would find it amiss that they didn't recognise him. Every witch and wizard in Britain might attend Hogwarts, but that didn't mean that everyone knew everyone, of course - most stuck to their years and houses.
Something else Hermione lacked, he knew - she had never made contacts among the other years and houses. Apart from the DA, of course. Whose members probably didn't count him among their ranks any more.
He scoffed at the thought. A friendship wrought in war, so callously discarded because people lusted for power. He had fought, bled and almost died at the side of the wizards and witches greeting Hermione as she stepped on to the conjured stage in the corner.
"Good afternoon, everyone!"
Hermione waved as her amplified voice filled the Alley - and probably the houses next to the crowd. "I'm glad to see so many people gathered here. So many people who haven't forgotten what we fought for. So many willing to continue our struggle until we have finally earned what should have been ours from the beginning: equal rights for everyone!"
Applause and cheering greeted her words, and Neville almost flinched at the volume. These people had no restraint. And they looked far too belligerent in his opinion. Hermione launched into a speech he had heard several times before. The same arguments he had refuted already, the same claims the Wizengamot had rejected - just like her speeches in the Wizengamot, it was always the same drivel. At least she was consistent - she talked to the people gathered here as if she were in the Wizengamot…
He blinked. How had he missed this? She wasn't addressing the Wizengamot with her proposals and speeches in the Chamber - the real audience for her speeches were these people here! And, he saw, as he looked at the wizards and witches surrounding him, they were hanging on her lips.
"The Wizengamot claims that we are too stupid to have a say in how our country is run. That we are too ignorant to make decisions about our own future. That only those born in manors and raised by slaves waiting on them hand and foot are fit to rule Wizarding Britain. In their eyes, all we are good for is to do as we are told - and to die for them when their corruption and ineptitude results in a dark wizard launching a coup!"
Boos and hisses filled the area as she paused for a moment - not unlike in the Wizengamot, Neville noticed. But unlike there, the people here condemned the Wizengamot, not Hermione.
"But we aren't ignorant or stupid! We aren't the ones raised in manors, far removed from the daily lives of the people. We aren't the ones who mindlessly parrot lies while they fill their days with petty plots and their coffers with stolen gold! We know better!"
The cheering grew louder. Neville flinched and rubbed his ear when the wizard next to him whistled particularly loudly. Not that the lout even noticed his distress.
"We know that every wizard and witch has the same inalienable rights! We know that every wizard or witch is equal before the law! We know our rights, and we will fight for them! One wand, one vote!"
"One wand, one vote! One wand, one vote! One wand, one vote!" the crowd shouted and yelled.
"Democracy now!" a witch yelled to Neville's right.
Once more, the crowd took up the cry. "Democracy now! Democracy now! Democracy now!"
It took a while for the excitement to die down so Hermione could continue. And the crowd was still worked up.
"We will be heard! We might be ignored in the Wizengamot, but they can't ignore us in the streets! We won't let them silence us! We won't let them ignore us! We'll show them our numbers and our strength! We'll light the way to democracy! Lumos!"
The tip of Hermione's wand glowed brightly as she raised it in the air. And all around Neville, wizards and witches followed her example.
"Lumos!"
"Lumos!"
"Lumos! Lumos! Lumos!"
The Wand-Lighting Charm was a First Year spell - easy to learn, simple to cast. It was one of the first spells you learned at Hogwarts and completely harmless. And yet, as he saw dozens of wands raised and lit, Neville shuddered.
London, Ministry of Magic, September 14th, 1998
"Something has to be done about this outrage! You can't walk down Diagon Alley without some ruffians waving their glowing wands at you!" Mr Rosier looked very upset as he gestured with his own wand. "We cannot let the riff-raff rule the street and intimidate good citizens everywhere! The Aurors need to stop them!"
He had a point, Neville thought. The week since that rally he had observed had been disturbing - far too many wizards and witches had taken up lighting their wands as they walked around. A sign of solidarity, he had heard it called.
"Are you afraid of a humble Wand-Lighting Charm?" Hermione's voice dripped with scorn. "It must be very nice to have lived such a sheltered life that you feel intimidated by such a harmless spell! Or can't you stand the thought that there are many wizards and witches who don't think they should bow and scrape as you pass them, grateful for your wise guidance?"
"Madam Granger, you're speaking out of turn," Elphias Doge admonished her.
"I'm sorry, Chief Warlock." Hermione bowed her head towards the old wizard.
He nodded at her - with a smile, Neville noted. "Please don't do it again."
Neville pressed his lips together. The Chief Warlock was responsible for upholding order in the Chamber, and, by all accounts, he was just doing that - admonishing Hermione for breaking the Wizengamot's etiquette. But the way he smiled at her, and never did anything other than admonish her, no matter how often she broke the rules…
Neville shook his head. Doge was the oldest serving member of the Wizengamot. He had been one of Dumbledore's oldest and closest friends. To see him treating Hermione like that, and neglecting his duties - in spirit, if not according to the rules - was disturbing. What would Dumbledore think about this, were he still alive?
Mr Rosier scowled even more. "I propose ordering the DMLE to send Aurors to patrol Diagon Alley and arrest everyone who casts spells to upset the public!" He huffed as he sat down.
Neville raised his wand, and he wasn't the only one. Doge, though, chose Hermione to speak. It wasn't wrong - by custom, the Chief Warlock would try to alternate between opposing views so there would be a debate, not an echo chamber - but to do so right after she had spoken out of turn? It wasn't as if Hermione rarely got to speak; quite the contrary!
And there she went again. Neville rolled his eyes as she sneered at Mr Rosier.
"Those people aren't doing anything wrong! They are merely voicing their opinion and showing their solidarity with the plight of the disenfranchised - in a completely harmless way. It is quite telling that you feel threatened by such a peaceful form of protest. Telling, but not surprising, seeing as you have already shown that you have great difficulty in tolerating differing opinions, even when they are those of a fellow member of the Wizengamot. I propose we reject this proposal, lest the Wizengamot loses even its last shred of legitimacy and is exposed as an assembly of brutal tyrants in the vein of Voldemort himself!"
Neville jumped to his feet, waving his wand. How dare she compare them to Voldemort! He had fought and bled in the Battle of Hogwarts! He had faced Voldemort himself! He clenched his teeth, glaring at the witch as, all around him, others expressed their outrage.
It took Doge a few minutes to calm the assembly down enough so people could be heard. And then he didn't give the floor to a member of the Wizengamot, but to the Minister himself - not an extraordinary event, but still not overly common.
Shacklebolt looked quite impressive, clad in blue robes - the latest fashion, Neville thought; he had seen similar robes when Daphne had dragged him into Madam Malkin's - as he stood. And he looked outraged as well.
For a moment, Neville hoped that Shacklebolt would slap down Hermione and remind her to behave as befitted her position. It would be a breach of etiquette, but Neville didn't think any of his peers would mind.
But then the Minister started to speak. "I am appalled at this proposal! To try to order the Aurors to arrest people for casting a Wand-Lighting Charm? Did the Wizengamot outlaw a first year charm and forgot to file the bill?" He shook his head. "As long as I am Minister for Magic, no Ministry employees will use force against a peaceful protest! And if a protest should turn violent, we will investigate thoroughly to ensure it wasn't caused by agents provocateurs - we all are familiar with how people were forced to commit crimes under Voldemort."
Neville gasped. First Doge, and now Shacklebolt? The two highest offices in Wizarding Britain, held by supporters of Hermione? How could this be? What was going on? He looked to his left at Mr Greengrass.
The wizard looked as shocked as Neville felt. "Can we do something about this?" Neville asked in a whisper. They could vote the Minister out of office, couldn't they? It wasn't actually done, of course - the Minister usually stepped down when he lost the trust of the Wizengamot without suffering the embarrassment of being voted out of office.
Mr Greengrass shook his head. "We can't. He's too popular in the Ministry."
"And a friend of Harry's," Neville added. And, apparently, of Hermione.
"Yes. I should have realised that when he pushed for the exemption to recruit Potter. And now we're stuck with him." Mr Greengrass muttered something under his breath Neville didn't catch. But he had a good idea what it was - he would have said the same if Gran hadn't taught him better.
Neville rolled his eyes as Hermione rose to speak in support of her latest proposal. Which was, basically, the same proposal she had filed every damn week since her first one. And which she always supported with the same stupid arguments.
"Everyone is equal… Everyone deserves a say in how their country is run… The old system failed… The system isn't working… The Wizengamot has lost the trust of the people… The Wizengamot lacks any accountability and therefore is too easy to corrupt"...? Neville hadn't heard that last argument before. But he could deal with it.
He went over his notes, adding a few lines, as Hermione wound through the same convoluted speech that seemed to grow longer with every passing week, and by the time she had finally finished, he was ready to refute her arguments. If they could be called such.
It was late in the afternoon; Doge had at least shown enough presence of mind to schedule Hermione's proposals at the end of a session so they could pass bills that were actually important before she wasted their time. Neville raised his wand, and, as usual, Doge granted him the floor.
"My esteemed colleague Madam Granger has spoken at length in support of her proposal, with which we are now all intimately familiar. I don't see the need to once again refute, in detail, her claims that the Wizengamot has lost the trust of the people and that the only way to regain their trust, and the legitimacy needed to govern our country, are general elections. We all know that that isn't true and that there are better ways to choose our leaders than the muggle ways; we're wizards, not muggles. What those unfortunate enough to lack magic have to do to rule themselves in an efficient manner doesn't matter to us. I already covered all this last week." And the weeks before that.
He ignored Hermione's snort.
"However, she has now claimed that the Wizengamot lacks accountability and therefore is easy to corrupt. That is an absurd claim, born out of either ignorance or malice. We, the members of this assembly, are doing our duty in the knowledge that we are held accountable by our peers, by our families and by our personal honour. It might not be apparent to someone who wasn't raised like we were, but these things - duty and honour - matter. Numerous times in the past, members who failed in either regard, or in both, have resigned when faced with the disapproval of their peers."
He glanced at Hermione. She smirked at him - she clearly understood what he was hinting at. He scoffed.
"The system is working and has been working for centuries. Muggles might need the threat of not being re-elected to fulfil their duties, but we aren't muggles. We were raised differently."
"Hear, hear!" Greengrass said next to him. He wasn't the only one.
"However, contrary to Madam Granger's claims, the muggle democracy would, if installed in our country, be far more susceptible to corruption. That is not only proven by countless examples of new democracies in the muggle world succumbing to it, but is also readily apparent as soon as you consider the situation. When you are only accountable to your voters, you only need to care about them. They will not care what you do to others as long as they aren't negatively affected. Given the right circumstances, a democracy can easily turn into the tyranny of the majority, where minorities are neglected and exploited without any way to redress their situation. When the people who make the laws of a country only answer to their voters, no law is safe from being altered according to the whim of the mob. Whereas in our system, our peers keep an eye out for proposals that are harmful to the people or obvious attempts to manipulate the law for selfish gains, that is impossible in a democracy since the only legitimacy people have to care about is the approval of the voters. And I think we all know how easily the public can be manipulated; the previous administration demonstrated that on numerous occasions."
Two could liken their opponent to Voldemort.
"This fundamental flaw is further exaggerated by the fact that not only are votes and voters easily manipulated by magic, unlike this assembly, which is protected by the strongest wards outside of Hogwarts, but also that most wizards and witches lack the education needed to understand politics."
He ignored the commotion in the audience; the guards on duty would keep visitors from disrupting the session.
"We aren't muggles. We are wizards and witches. What the muggles study is merely one subject at Hogwarts; the vast majority of our time at school is taken up by the privilege of learning and mastering magic. As anyone who has attended Hogwarts, especially for their seventh year, knows, few have the time to waste on subjects that will not benefit them. When a single mistake made while casting a spell can see you crushed under a buffalo, you cannot afford that luxury."
He shook his head gravely.
"Politics, even if it were a subject at Hogwarts, is useless for the majority of the students. Even if we had a democracy, only a tiny minority - those elected - would be able to use their knowledge of politics. Everyone else would have wasted their time at Hogwarts to learn something that would not benefit them in their life at all. And those who haven't studied politics - an entirely sensible decision for most wizards and witches - would be easily led astray by the empty promises of demagogues."
Hermione was glaring at him; he must have touched a sore spot with his choice of muggle words. Smiling, Neville went on.
"That's not the only reason, though, why democracy is unsuitable for our country. No, the sheer difference in scale is another. Wizarding Britain is small, far smaller than muggle Britain. Personal relations have far more weight in our society than among the anonymous masses of muggle Britain. Uneducated people would vote out of spite instead of after rationally considering what would be in their best interests. Just imagine how fractured our society would be if people continued house feuds for decades after they left Hogwarts!"
He shook his head and sighed.
"That is no basis for a stable government. We're not muggles, we're wizards. We're different. What might work for muggles won't work for us."
He nodded at Doge as he sat down, then smiled at Hermione, who was already rising from her seat. She looked livid, too. Good.
"My esteemed colleague Mr Longbottom has spoken at great length about the supposed differences between muggles and wizards and witches. That he should labour so earnestly, yet so fruitlessly, is unsurprising given his complete lack of any meaningful experience with actual muggles. As a muggleborn, I have lived in both worlds for years, and, therefore, I am far better qualified to compare muggles and wizards and witches than someone so ignorant that he thinks Muggle Studies covers what muggles study in school."
She scoffed.
"In my considerable experience - something I share with every other muggleborn - wizards and muggles are very much alike in their desires and habits. Whether you have magic or not doesn't change that you care about your family and friends and want the best for your children. And magic doesn't keep those who have power without accountability from being easily led astray by greed and bribes and petty plots. Mr Longbottom mentioned 'countless examples' of new muggle democracies 'succumbing to corruption'. He would be well-advised to look closer to his home for a well-known example of a corrupt system. Those of us who haven't forgotten our struggles against the Death Eaters remember very well just how much Malfoy's gold influenced Minister Fudge during his term."
Neville clenched his teeth at the low blow.
"But he is also wrong about school and education. The average wizard or witch can easily afford to get a solid grounding in politics during their time at Hogwarts - students are forced to learn Astronomy, after all, which has no practical use at all outside a limited field of academics, as well as Potions, even though few will ever brew any but the simplest potions after leaving school. If seven years at Hogwarts aren't enough for someone to learn what they need to be a full member of society, able to perform the duties of a member of this assembly, then you should focus on fixing the education provided, not on preventing muggleborns from having equal rights."
"You are criticising Hogwarts? How dare you!"
"Mr Macmillan, you are out of order."
"Out of order? She is out of order! She is besmirching the legacy of Albus Dumbledore himself!"
"Madam Smith, you are out of order."
"Hogwarts has been the best magical school in the entire world since its founding! To claim otherwise is showing an appalling lack of both respect and knowledge!"
"Madam Fawley, you are out of order."
As things degenerated further, Neville couldn't tell whether or not Hermione had planned to cause such a ruckus. But either way, she had lowered his peers' opinions of her even further - something Neville wouldn't have thought possible.
