Thank you again for the reviews, follows and favourites! Somewhat longer gap between updates: Apologies but my workload just increased and I don't want to risk running out of chapters.

CHAPTER THREE: Changing the World

It was absolutely typical that Harry's first day included a class of second year Gryffindors and Slytherins, his daughter and step-granddaughter among them. He would have preferred a chance to concentrate and to think about whatever Ron might be about to spring on them. But at least he had planned things out in advance. At his direction, all the desks and chairs had been moved to the side of the classroom, leaving a large open space. Then, he had ordered the class to pair up.

"The most common form of defence in a duel, as I hope you remember from last year, is a Shield Charm,"he noted. "So let's have a refresher. One of your pair is going to cast a Shield Charm. The other is going to cast a Full Body-Bind Curse at them. If you've learned anything, your shield should repel it."

Nymphadora had paired with Gemini. "I'll cast the shield first,"she told her. "Protego."

"Petrificus totalus!"Gemini returned once the shield was up. The curse dissipated off the shield and she gave a nod of congratulations.

Nymphadora waited until Gemini had cast her own shield before firing the curse back at her. "Do you have any idea what this announcement's about?"she asked.

Gemini shook her head. "No, Grandad hasn't said anything to me. I'm not even sure if Mum and Dad know."

"Okay!"Harry called out. "We're going to mix things up a bit! This time, I don't want you to cast the shield before your partner fires the curse. Let's test your reactions."

Nymphadora shrugged. "You want to cast at me first?"

"Okay." Gemini held her wand ready. "It's a shame we can't watch it together. Instead, I have to watch it with Verity." She nodded towards Verity Higgs, one of the girls in Slytherin. "Petrificus totalus."

"Protego." Nymphadora deflected the curse. "Well, I guess we'll all have to talk about it afterwards. Petrificus totalus!"

This time Gemini wasn't ready. The curse caught her full on and she froze before toppling backwards. Nymphadora gave her an apologetic shrug.

Parvati stood in the doorway of Ron's office. "It's time."

Ron nodded awkwardly before getting to his feet. "Well, I could be about to beat Pius Thicknesse as the most unpopular Minister of all time. And Thicknesse set up slave camps."

Parvati smiled reassuringly. "It's a solid policy and I'm sure you'll explain it well."

"Some of the purebloods won't be happy. Come to think of it, some of just about every group won't be happy. I'm half expecting the Ministry to revolt."

Parvati patted him on the shoulder and steered him towards the exit. "Come on, Minister. Your public awaits."

The staff of Hogwarts were filing dutifully into the staff room. Harry and Hermione exchanged greetings with Samuel Ramos, the Astronomy Professor and Head of Ravenclaw. Rubeus Hagrid, still a resident of the castle grounds despite no longer being an official member of staff, had joined the rest of them and gave his old friends bone-crushing hugs. Harry sidled over to Neville "Have you been given a preview of this?"

"No, I was wondering if you had."

"You're the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"You're the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."

"I owled Rose earlier,"Hermione noted. Her daughter worked at the Ministry. "But I haven't had a reply."

Ernie shrugged. "Guess it will be a surprise for all of us."

Nymphadora was sitting with Beverley in the Gryffindor common room. It had been set out with rows of chairs, since the usual sofas could only accommodate a small number of students. "Is this usual?" Beverley asked quietly. Despite having completed a year in Hogwarts, she still wasn't quite used to the intricacies of the Wizarding world.

Nymphadora shrugged. "Well, the Minister making announcements is usual. Uncle Ron's still a politician. But I haven't heard of Hogwarts being asked to make sure everyone hears it before."

Massai Lens, one of the seventh year Gryffindor prefects, cleared his throat. "The Minister's on." He gestured to the image hovering above the fireplace: A black and white image of Ron stood in the Ministry atrium. It was being relayed to them from the cameras of the press.

David Barrett, the Gryffindor quidditch captain, gave Massai a funny luck. "Yeah, we never noticed that."

The image was being relayed to the rest of the castle as well: To Gemini in the Slytherin common room, to Bradley and his friend Flavia Lupin, the daughter of Harry's godson Teddy and his wife Victoire, in the Hufflepuff common room, and to Harry and Hermione in the staff room. They all saw Ron begin to make his address. "There has been much criticism of this administration and previous ones for our inability to manage prisoner incarceration. The use of Dementors at Azkaban, as guards and as a means of limiting the magical abilities of the prisoners, was banned a long time ago as too barbaric. But so far no-one has suggested a viable alternative. Until now. It is perhaps not widely know that twelve years ago, a group of former Death Eaters unearthed what they called the Purification Device."

Hermione felt Harry tense next to her as the image briefly changed to show the Purification Device. She understood. Together, they and other members of the Order had only just stopped Lucius Malfoy exposing the entire world to its effects. Ron reappeared and went on.

"The device was developed by Salazar Slytherin himself as a last defence against a rebellion by those who did not come from wizarding families. It would permanently strip the magic of anyone who was not a pureblood. When it was used in modern times, it quickly became clear that no modern wizard or witch could pass the strict definition of pureblood of the founders' time. If it ran unchecked, all magic would cease. Until now. The Ministry have studied the device and where once it was permanent, the effects now are indefinite but temporary. All prisoners at Azkaban will have their magic removed by the Purification Device. Only the device can return their powers and they will only be returned when their sentence is served. With this, we hope to prevent the escape of any Dark Wizard and to leave any who do manage to escape powerless. This new policy will be implemented by the end of the month."

Ron's image faded. There was silence. Then Harry spoke. "He has got to be joking."