Author's Note: Hello, thank you so much to everyone who is reading. I see two, possibly three chapters left to this story. I'm working as best as I can, but life is beyond hectic for me. Thank you for everyone who reads and those who are reviewing. Deep thanks to my beta, Arnel, who keeps me going. MNF
Chapter 43:
The Things You Said
Monday 5 August 1996
"What do you mean you're not sending out the letters?" Chief Warlock Daniel Greengrass asked Minerva McGonagall, who recently had returned to being the Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmistress.
"Our new Headmaster has wisely chosen to make sure the school is safe before returning the students. After the tour of a local non-magical college, I saw how far our safety standards have fallen. We hope to have the school open in October." A new headmaster was coming in from France, a graduate of Beauxbatons who was born in Britany to one English parent and one French, and fully bilingual. Minerva was happy to turn over the job. The responsibilities of the deputy were being split between Filius Flitwick and herself, as there were extra jobs with the new headmaster.
In the area for Ancient and Noble Houses, Harry shared a look with Hermione and then Neville. At least Ron's death wouldn't be in vain. He couldn't help but wonder what other changes would be made.
"What do you mean you toured a Muggle college? What is that? Why are you comparing our superior education to that of Muggles?" One of the old, grumpy men asked. Harry couldn't remember his last name, but he remembered Sirius telling him that his lack of the tattoo shouldn't mean he wasn't a follower of Voldemort; he just escaped it somehow. Probably by whoring out his wife or a daughter as a possible carrier of Voldemort's child during the first war. As far as anyone was aware, no such child existed. It also meant he escaped death a year ago.
"We had a student die and as Mr Potter kindly pointed out, a fume hood would have saved that boy's life," Minerva said tersely. "I stepped down because I knew I wasn't the witch for the job of modernizing the school. Our new Headmaster, Henri Dubois, is a first-generation wizard who also completed his non-magical education to become a teacher. He took further classes in school administration and has taught at Beauxbatons for fifteen years in the areas of non-magical life and history."
"Ugh," the same man groaned theatrically. "He's not only Muggle-born, but he's French."
"The Chief Warlock reminds Mister Macmillan that he is using language which has been disavowed by the Wizengamot. Further use of such terms will have him thrown from today's meeting." Macmillan grumbled but didn't complain. Sirius looked at the man and wondered how he could be related to his kind grandmother, Melania. Chief Greengrass looked to Minerva to continue.
"We are also updating the wards on the school, so we don't have another incident like the one at the holidays when several Acromantulas were able to leave the Forbidden Forest and attempt to enter the kitchens," she said quickly. "Additionally, the headmaster has ordered the forest be cleared of all dangerous animals." There were several looks among members of 'the old guard', but none spoke up. "Our former groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, has been offered a post in the Welsh Green breeding grounds." Harry and Hermione smiled; it was something Hagrid would love. "The new Care of Magical Creatures professor will be limited to live demonstrations with creatures from the approved list.
"Finally, all Quidditch players are going to be fitted with protective gear, such as helmets and chest protection for the children's safety."
"About time," Hermione said, and Harry looked at her. "You falling from the sky in our first year was enough to make me think some protection was in order."
"Quidditch doesn't have protective wear!" someone yelled out.
"These are students, and they should be protected from falls. Just ask Mr Potter about his numerous Quidditch-based accidents. Some protective gear would have prevented the numerous concussions he sustained," Minerva bit back.
"Oh, well, if it is about Mr Potter, then it must be imperative!" The elderly woman yelled out.
"Madame Westwood, please keep your tone civil," the Chief Warlock reminded her. With some effort she stood.
"While I accept that young Mister Potter has saved our society twice from Voldemort, he has also created a fair bit of chaos as well. Just because he said something does not make it so," Madame Westwood said. "We are straying away from our traditional values. The non-magical do not have the answers to everything."
Sirius stood, his perfectly tailored robes falling gracefully around him. "I would ask everyone to keep my son out of the discussion, unless he specifically is adding to the conversation, which at this time he has not. As for our straying away from our traditional values, I would remind this esteemed body that it is our traditional values which have landed us in the situation we are in. Our blessed traditional values," he said with near contempt, "let a madman nearly decimate us. Twice. His followers had already started the campaign, whispers, bribes to the correct pockets, open harassment, and discrimination. That is how it begins. As a step-guardian for a Hogwarts student, I know the school was a breeding ground for the type of hate that Tom Riddle and his tattooed gang of miscreants only a few years ago; much like it was when I was a student there."
"You are not innocent in making Hogwarts a place for bullying in the seventies," a woman who Sirius only knew as Liandra said. He thought he might have snogged her at a party or something his third year.
"And I take responsibility for my actions at the time," Sirius said with a slight bow of his head. "Getting back to the point Deputy Headmistress McGonagall was trying to make, how many of you have ventured out into the non-magical world in the last fourteen months?"
A few hands shot right up, while others looked around before they raised theirs. Daniel Greengrass, who's business was in a non-magical building with only the top floors without electricity so that his family could reside there as an emergency measure, looked pointedly at several members who he had housed in his building so they'd raise their hands. "How many of you noticed the surveillance cameras?" Few hands, mostly those who were first or second generation magical were raised this time.
"I spent a fair bit of time in the non-magical world as of late, and you haven't a clue how close we are to outing ourselves." Sirius stated, waiting for the commotion to begin. He was rewarded with a cacophony of raised voices, some in rather belligerent tones.
"Order! I will have order!" Daniel Greengrass yelled, but the volume in the room was too loud to be heard. His two Canon Blast Charms made the room settle down. "If we are in such danger, as Lord Black implies, then I believe we should listen to him." Daniel knew Sirius was going to bring this up today, and he was prepared for what was to come. Daniel had doubted when Sirius said he had no specific plan to bring his demonstration before the Wizengamot. Instead, he said he'd wait for the opportunity. Not surprisingly, one presented itself. "Lord Black?"
"As I was saying, we are perilously close to exposing ourselves to the non-magical world. The non-magical have made strides in photography, including being able to record people moving." A comment of "our magical cameras have done that for years' was heard, but Sirius chose not to address it. "The difference is that it can be beamed directly to monitors so law enforcement can watch as people commit infractions against the Statute of Secrecy live. These devices also save recorded information forever. The city of London is blanketed with these cameras, and it is the job of eight full-time DMLE technicians to monitor and remove the video just for London. There are two people in several other large cities, but we do not have enough of a DMLE technician department to cover everywhere in Great Britain.
"With the help of my son, his best friend and girlfriend, I have prepared a demonstration. Lady Black approved of this demonstration, and it was done in a specified area so that once the video – as the non-magicals call it – was created it could be destroyed. Lady Black if you please?"
Amy lifted her wand and dimmed the lights and then had the large, projecting Pensive lift from the floor. She dumped the memories, taken from her technician, into the bowl and pressed the appropriate rune to begin the loop. First was Harry in a very busy corner, only three blocks away from Leaky Cauldron. He was wearing a fine set of blue robes with the Potter and Black crests on it. Several people gave him strange looks and two children even pointed at him, one had the courage to approach and ask a question. Harry waved at the camera in question, then threw his father's cloak over himself. He then stuck out a disembodied hand, then a foot. While this elicited sniggers and giggles from some of the older generation, the younger ones were aghast. There were non-magicals questioning one another and one person went so far as to wave over a PC.
"If Harry had stuck around for a few minutes, he might have had to explain himself, his strange clothing, and his Invisibility Cloak. The little boy who spoke to him, asked him what story book he was dressing up for."
"It was a video game, Pater," Harry corrected him. Sirius tipped his head, recognizing the error he'd made.
"What is a video game?" Madame Westwood asked.
"Imagine Wizards Chess but with moving backgrounds, bright colours, flashing lights and music," Neville answered. "We enjoy them very much."
"Next, we are going to move to a city park, a place where any one of us might take a child for some play or a walk with someone special. The witch you see on the camera is Hermione Granger.
Hermione came into the park that was only a few blocks from her parents' home, somewhere she'd played as a child, and waved to the camera at the entrance, then near the swings, finally near a clustering of benches. She then walked to the middle of the park and levitated herself into a tree. There were shocked noises throughout the Wizengamot.
"The Statute for Underage Magic should have been enacted!" Madame Westwood yelled out.
"Well, for the DMLE to know about the magic which occurred, we'd need our tracking board repaired; something which the Wizengamot has not seen to provide us money for. We have no way of knowing where large discharges of magic occur, or where underage witches and wizards are experiencing accidental magic," Amy explained. While she'd done what she could when Minister, there were too many other areas that needed money compared to the DMLE Big Board. She'd been petitioning the Wizengamot to visit the budget for the DMLE, which Fudge had been de-funding for years before the Wandout.
It didn't take long before some children noticed Hermione, in her Hogwarts robes, in the tree. She then floated herself down. This elicited another round of murmurings.
"Now, the only people who saw her were these small children, who I understand are at an age prone to tell fantastical tales. We are trusting that their adults won't believe them. The video recording of these moments has been destroyed as well.
"Finally, we admit – and Mr Longbottom agreed to participate – we set Neville up to make a magical mistake in this situation. I believe it's one that has happened multiple times in the last fourteen months. Neville is shopping in a Muggle store, this one is a Marks and Spenser."
The camera was from inside the store, which Harry wasn't sure how they'd gained access to it, but he wasn't asking either. He hoped it had something to do with some of what the Obliviators had reported once they had their wands.
Upon entering the store, Neville was gobsmacked and had to be gently pushed out of the way by the next customers wanting to enter. He had told Harry that he'd been overwhelmed to see everything that it took many stores of Diagon Alley to sell all gathered in one place. He watched others and followed their lead by taking a cart and moving forward into the store. Sirius and Harry had given him a list of six things that were needed around the house: butter, salt, fresh cut roses, a pack of white tee-shirts, six white taper candles and a packet of spicy almonds. They watched as Neville started down the centre aisle, confused. He found the butter quickly, and the roses weren't too far from that, so it all worked out. From there though, it took another five minutes to find the salt and then the replay went into fast forward, as it took poor Neville another fifteen minutes to find the tee-shirts – and they were children's not ones to fit himself. Finally, after nearly an hour in the store, Neville went into a corner and checked there wasn't anyone there before he raised his wand and summoned the almonds to him. It was a can that sailed into his hand, but he figured it was close enough.
When it came time to check out, Neville didn't know about non-magical money, so he took it all out of his pocket and handed it to the cashier and asked him to pull out what was needed. The chequer gave himself a twenty-dollar tip, which was only pointed out at home. Neville looked at the floor when the lights came up. He knew it was going to be played; nonetheless, no one likes looking like a fool.
"Now, how many of you have done something like this in the last year?" Sheepishly many raised their hand. "This is why we need a more balanced education. Our younger generations are liable to live closer to non-magicals, enter their world more frequently and we have more and more children who are either first generation magical, or from mixed households. They already know the non-magical world. I support the educational changes that the new headmaster is proposing."
"Of course, you would," the member of the Smith family said. "You have always been fascinated with the Mug, er, non-magical world. That flying bike of yours was a menace to the Statute of Secrecy."
"I was a menace at twenty-one, I am not twenty-one anymore; my years in Azkaban ensured that," Sirius said with a harsh tone.
The discussion continued on the merits of training those solely raised as magical in non-magical ways. Harry's name was bandied about so many times, he considered leaving the meeting, but Remus and Augusta convinced him to stay put. No decisions were made, and while the Wizengamot did not support the late start to the school year, they also didn't demand it return to September one.
Later that night, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Susan met with Sirius, Amy, Remus, and Augusta. The only parent who wasn't there was Xenophilius, as he was off searching for something in the Amazon and had signed his guardianship over to Sirius. While the move had made Luna sad, it had also allowed her to live in the manor with her friends and work on her Magical Creatures project with Remus.
"Pater, I don't see this getting better. Hogwarts might improve, but it will be until my generation is really in control before, we see any substantiative change. We can't wait that long. I can't live as someone who floats between being a darling and a pariah of our society," Harry said succinctly.
"Well, then, we're a family," Sirius said after putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's take a vote." It was unanimous. They'd follow Harry and Neville's plan.