Well, my workload has increased if anything but I had a funny schedule today so I managed to get a chapter ready. Thank you again for reviews, follows and favourites!

CHAPTER FOUR: Reaction

Harry and Hermione had retired to their quarters after the announcement. Harry was storming back and forth angrily. "How could he ever think that was all right?"

"I don't know what Ron thinks he's doing,"Hermione agreed.

"He's undoing everything we've fought for. Several times we've fought for. I didn't think it was possible to get a Minister as out of touch as Fudge but he's doing a good job."

There was a knock at the door. Hermione looked at Harry but it was clear that the outside world wasn't making much of an impression on him. She went to answer it and found her stepson, James, standing there. Giving him a welcoming but slightly awkward smile, she stepped aside to let him in.

James coughed uneasily. "Dad. Hermione. You, er, left in a bit of a hurry."

Hermione glanced at Harry. "I thought what your dad was going to say might be best said in private."

"And what was that, Dad?"

Harry glared at his son. "I've never wanted to lead the Ministry but right now I'd happily knock your uncle off his perch."

"Is it really that bad?"

Harry was flabberghasted. "You're not seriously in favour of the Ministry using the Purification Device, are you? You helped stop it back when you were a student here."

"It was designed to put an end to muggleborns and half-bloods using magic,"Hermione reminded them. "Which, in case you've forgotten, includes us."

"But Uncle Ron isn't going to use it for that,"James pointed out. "Maybe the Ministry have tested it and made it safe."

Harry shook his head. "That thing would never be safe. And if Ron's planning to use it, then I'm going to make sure he's stopped."

The next day, breakfast in the Great Hall was filled with mutterings. There wasn't a student or teacher present who hadn't seen Ron's announcement and most of them seemed to have an opinion about it. Bradley and Gemini had gone to join Nymphadora, Beverley and Maxwell on the Gryffindor table when they entered. "What are people saying?"Beverley asked them.

"The Hufflepuffs are taking it pretty mildly,"Bradley noted. "They think the Minister's doing what he thinks best and they're willing to see how it works out."

"Things are pretty mixed in Slytherin,"Gemini admitted. "Some of the hardcore purebloods aren't bothered, they know the legends and they still think the Device won't affect them. Others are really against it though, they think Grandad's trying to use it to get rid of all the purebloods. I tried telling them he's a pureblood himself but they wouldn't listen. Aaron Fletcher, the new Head Boy, was saying it's a violation of wizards' basic rights."

Maxwell glanced towards the teachers' table before nudging Nymphadora. "Your dad looks angry."

Nymphadora shot an anxious look at Harry. "I haven't had a chance to speak to him or Mum since yesterday. But when he gets angry, he really gets angry."

Ron had an uncomfortable feeling of being lynched. The Ministry had agreed to let a small group of journalists into their press room to interview him about his announcement. His heart had sank upon seeing that the Daily Prophet had sent Jacqui Langer and Zara Mills, a pair in the Rita Skeeter mode who he remembered being his daughter Rose's nemeses at school. He had brightened up slightly on seeing Luna Lovegood, Neville's wife and an old friend, representing the Quibbler, but her questioning was turning out to be as harsh as everyone else's. "I'm very disappointed to see you becoming a Dark Wizard, Ronald," she remarked mildly, a comment which every other journalist present seemed in a hurry to transcribe.

"I am not a Dark Wizard!"Ron protested, more strongly than he intended, struggling to control himself. "The Purification Device is not dark magic. It was created for defensive purposes and those purposes were perverted by dark wizards for their own ends. This is using it to protect the law-abiding public."

"How do you respond to claims that this policy is against the rights of the wizarding world?"Jacqui asked. "That it violates the Freedom of Magic legislation that you yourself drafted?"

"The Freedom of Magic laws prevent discrimination on the grounds of birth and medical status,"Ron replied. "It isn't protection for those who break the law. We have laws against underage magic, we confisgate the wands of those accused or convicted of a crime. This is just an extension of that."

"How can you be sure the effect is only temporary?"asked Leonard Strachan, the representative of Transfiguration Today. "Have you tested it on a live subject?"

"No. We have run simulated tests and analysed the magic it produces."

"So if it doesn't work the way you intended, that's just bad luck to the first subjects?"Zara enquired scornfully.

"We are doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Scorpius Malfoy, who had been standing by the door, cleared his throat loudly. "That's all the Minister has time for at the moment. If you have any further enquiries, please contact the Ministry press office."

"Thanks,"Ron told his son-in-law as they joined Parvati and Rose in the corridor. "I was half expecting them to draw their wands next."

"You should have known it would be controversial,"Rose pointed out.

"The research team are asking to speak with you,"Parvati added.

"Not yet,"Ron told her. "There's something I need to do first."

Emily Potter was surprised when her husband arrived home. It was normal for James to stay at Hogwarts during the working day. "No more Muggle Studies classes today?"

"I'm back after lunch,"James admitted. "Just needed a bit of a breather. Things are a bit tense after Uncle Ron's announcement."

Emily nodded. "Is your dad feeling any better about it?"

"Doesn't look like it. He's keeping a lid on things but only just. The students are bound to pick up on it and some of them still look up to him."

"What about my dad? I guess as headmaster…"

"He's keeping it close to his chest. I guess he doesn't want to be seen to be taking sides."

"You can see your dad's point though. I mean, when I think about everything we went through with Lucius Malfoy…"

"Uncle Ron is not another Lucius Malfoy. He might be wrong but he's not the bad guy. I just wish Dad could see that. As it is, I'm worried about what he's going to do."

To Ron, the walk back to the Burrow felt unusually long. He'd apparated into the surrounding field so he could get the feel of coming home. But everything that was going on at the moment meant it had lost its welcoming air.

Percy greeted him at the door with a curt nod. "Ron."

"Percy,"he responded.

"Saw your speech last night."

Ron looked at him challengingly. "Got any thoughts?"

"I thought you made some good points."

Ron nodded. It was the closest thing he was going to get to a compliment from Percy, who still hadn't quite worked out how his youngest brother was the family member to rise highest in the Ministry. "I'm going up."

He took the long walk up to his parents' bedroom slowly, then knocked on the door before pushing it open. His father, Arthur, sat beside the bed, smiled at him welcomingly. His mother, Molly, lying in the bed, only managed to look at him weakly. The last few months, she had seemed weaker every time Ron had visited, looking every minute of her eighty-five years. She had lost so many people in her life, people she had expected to be at her own graveside: Her son Fred killed fighting Voldemort's Death Eaters, her only daughter Ginny and eldest son Bill killed during Rodolphus Lestrange's uprising, and then her grandson Albus. It was as if she wanted to make sure she went before anyone else.

"You're doing the right thing, Ron,"she said softly. "We can't allow this to happen again."

"How are the press taking it?"Arthur asked.

Ron gave his father a despairing look, but made sure the smile was back on his face before Molly could see. "They know what needs to be done."

At that moment, George came hurrying in. "Ron, you really need to see this."

Neville pushed his way through the crowd of students and staff in the entrance hall. He could see Ernie and his wife Angela, the school's flying instructor, at the front of the group and made his way over to them. "What's going on?"

Ernie gestured to the open front door. "Harry set it up. By the time anyone knew what he was doing, it was too late."

It was then that Neville realised what was happening. Harry was standing addressing a group of reporters. Their cameras were no doubt relaying his image all over the wizarding world, just as they had Ron's the previous night.

"The Purification Device was born out of hatred and fear,"Harry was telling them. "And it was people motivated by hatred and fear who tried to use it, to deprive those they considered unworthy of their magic. Twelve years ago, Minister Weasley and I fought together to prevent that from happening. But now the Ministry is choosing to go down the same path as those who once followed Voldemort. They are choosing a group that they consider no longer worthy to have magic and they are taking it from them. No good can come from something this dark. As the head of the House of Potter and as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, guardians of the light side, I publicly declare my opposition to this policy and call on all good witches and wizards to do the same."

Neville looked at Ernie, stricken. "I think all hell just broke loose."