CHAPTER FOUR. The White Heat Of Technology.
Like Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny many other less hidebound modern young witches and wizards could now see that in some things muggle technology could even beat magic, for instance no successful magical expedition had yet been to the moon, although it was rumoured that the Americans were planning one soon. Even some older witches and wizards could see a place for technology too. Ron's father Arthur Weasley for instance had long since been an admirer of muggle science and technology, even if he didn't understand it much. It was however becoming obvious to many that where the muggle machines could do a better and more efficient job they were rapidly coming into use.
Even the Ministry's new and enlightened administration were coming round to this view. They had authorised alongside the American wizarding authorities and those of several other countries the setting up of the World Wide Wizarding Web. Also a computer network was being installed at the Ministry to take over from the slow, wasteful and clumsy 'flying paper' type internal memos and old fashioned enchanted filing cabinets that still at that time were in use in the building. Once fully operational this network would facilitate faster inter-departmental communications, as well as being used to store and retrieve information more efficiently. It would also be used to let the Ministry more swiftly and surely communicate to the wider world, both muggle and magical. For instance the Minister for Magic would soon no longer have to floo into No. 10 Downing Street to speak with the muggle Prime Minister, in the near future they could simply email each other or hold a teleconference.
A large part of Hermione's new job at the Ministry in fact was helping set up electronic records and an online library for the building. The only unusual problem which the technology had encountered in the building so far was a tendency to 'crash' or fail to 'boot up' in the first place in areas of high magical usage. Indeed it had initially not been rare for a machine to catch fire when too overstressed by a dense 'magical field', but shielding methods had been improved and the 'bug' now seemed fixed.
In the case of individual wizarding households the interaction between domestic levels of magic usage and electronics was rarely a problem. Unless of course someone was silly enough to apparate right next to a working computer. That would still tend to result in expensive burning smells coming out of the circuitry. But most younger wizards and witches were wise enough to learn this was a bad idea.
Even the hallowed halls of Hogwarts itself were soon to get electric lighting and the students and staff would also be able to 'go online' via a dedicated satellite uplink dish, the connection to which was arranged with the co-operation of the muggle government. This was now vitally needed as the new Senior Faculty would soon become a world centre of wizarding excellence and their server would house the world's most comprehensive database and online library of magical information. Appropriately enough the satellite uplink dish itself was fitted to the top of the Astronomy Tower and was needed because no phone lines or mobile phone towers yet existed in the Hogsmeade area. The operating costs of this new communication link would be shared by the residents of Hogsmeade, who also would have internet access by using it. This made the old commercial boast of having branches in London, Paris, New York and Hogsmeade more of a viable reality and guaranteed a great future for the villager's businesses.
The principle modernisation work and cabling to the castle and village had already largely been done during the rebuilding work following the battle and the final few tasks of fitting out the installation would soon be finished. The power itself would be derived from a small, fully automatic and magically disguised hydro electric station in the nearby mountains, producing completely 'green' electricity for the castle and village. To any hikers etc. 'off the beaten track' it would simply look like a normal, if pretty, waterfall. The 'big switch on' and testing phase would be carried out whilst the students were on their summer holidays to avoid further academic disruption.
Hopefully by the next term there would be no need for so many oil lamps, gas lights or candles in the castle or Hogsmeade. With them would go their associated fire hazards, smoke and pollution, old fashioned fossil fuelled lighting would largely be phased out, other than for occasional decorative purposes, making Hogwarts and it's environs a far healthier and safer place.
The rebuilding and improvements at Hogwarts and The Ministry had been funded by the seizure of large amounts of money and assets from deceased Death Eaters, including the discovery of Voldermort's vast hidden fortune, which his career of terror, murder and torture had gained him. Though true to say that Voldermort's primary interest had always been the acquisition of power, not wealth as such, nonetheless because he had killed so may wizards and witches in his rise to power he had also often been able to gain access to their financial assets and had therefore died a very rich man. He had a huge amount of money hidden in many of Gringotts' vaults under various proxy accounts, as a thorough Ministry led audit after his death had revealed.
At the beginning of the investigation the Gringotts goblins claimed they knew nothing of these illegal transactions, but it was well known that most goblins held no great love towards wizards. Indeed it seemed that several of them did not particularly care whether they were dealing with honest wizarding folk or Death Eaters, so long as they were able to profit from the deal. However, as Voldermort had gained control even the goblins of Gringotts had eventually become oppressed by his evil regime and several senior goblins had now decided to help the Ministry investigation in rooting out the most dishonest individuals and helping the bank 'clean up it's act'.
The seizure of the illicit wealth, plus heavy fines and asset confiscation imposed on surviving convicted Death Eaters had not only been able to finance the rebuilding of Hogwarts but also had allowed the setting up of a compensation scheme in the form of the Memorial Fund. This was not only intended to aid the wizarding families of Voldermort's victims, but also those of the huge numbers of muggles that his final terror campaign had killed and injured. Much had been changing in the wizarding world in a very short time, the shattering events of recent years had acted as a catalyst for this change. It had been realised that even the previously 'set in stone' International Statute of Secrecy needed to be reviewed, given how many muggles had died at the hands of dark wizards in the recent tumultuous events and also given the large and steadily increasing incidence of muggleborns that there had been over the last few decades.
For witches and wizards to hide so thoroughly from their fellow humans seemed to be becoming both far harder, less necessary and also morally more difficult to defend. The wind of change was blowing towards a more open future for wizarding kind. Indeed a discrete media free, secret international conference had been organised at the UN to reformulate the magical community's approach to muggle relations and this time not just wizards and witches, but also representatives of the muggle Governments themselves would be participating, giving their opinions and helping forge the new approach for the future.