Disclaimer: I don't own a darn thing, including Harry Potter & Company. Nothing is in my name, so it drives the tax man nuts when he tries to collect money and I tell him that he can just go pound sand.
A/N: I know I said I was not going to update these until I got out of the hospital and recovered, but I wanted to go just a bit farther on these two stories. Enjoy!
He Did it His Way
Chapter 28
The Mudblood Revolution
Chapter 5
Merlin's Oath
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ministry Announces Amnesty for Death Eaters!
Diggory Claims Ability to Remove Dark Mark!
Exclusive to The Daily Prophet
Staff Writer Ulysses Ben Scroud
In a shocking reversal of policy, the Ministry of Magic has announced that marked followers of Lord Whatshisname who want to leave his ranks will be given the opportunity to rejoin decent wizarding society and escape Azkaban prison. All Death Eaters who have repented of their activities in this war can surrender themselves to the Ministry and have their Mark of Loyalty (the Dark Mark) removed. They would not be required to fight for the Light, they would just be required to take a binding oath of neutrality. Any crimes they had been involved in up to that point would be pardoned.
This reporter asked Minister Diggory how he could free repentant Death Eaters from Lord Thingy's service. He had this to say; "It has been known for quite some time that the Mark Lord Whosis brands his followers with has been irremovable and, in the event of their master's death, fatal. He uses it to maintain their complete obedience as well as an instrument of torture. A crack team of researchers has discovered a way to break the hold of the Dark Mark and remove it without any permanent aftereffects. I have seen the proof; Potions Master Severus Snape, a courageous fighter for the Light in the last war, took the Mark at the behest of Albus Dumbledore in order to spy for the Light. The Dark Whatsits discovered his role and tortured him for a long time through the Mark. The research team used their findings to remove this instrument of torture from Mr. Snape.; he volunteered to be a test subject. Severus Snape is now free from the power that the False Lord once held over him. By the way, for his courage and tireless service for the Light, I am also announcing that Severus Snape is to be awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class, along with a monetary award of 10,000 galleons."
Minister Diggory also announced that several Mark removal stations would be set up throughout Britain and the surrounding countries of France, Belgium, and Spain.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Folkstone, UK
Calais Tour Company
The service technician looked at the readings on his meter once again, shook his head, and called for his supervisor. "Guv'nr, I'm not sure what to make of this. I've gone through this bus at least five times and I can't figure out what's wrong. All the electronics on the bus went wonky half way through the Chunnel. We had to tow the bus in; everything is reading all right, but it acts as if every electronic circuit is completely fried."
"Where is the driver? He might be able to tell what happened."
"He continued on with the tour group on the new bus. Odd looking lot they were; I knew the French were strange, but this bunch took the cake."
At that moment, the supervisor's phone rang. He went over to answer it, listened for a few moments, then returned.
"You'll need to go out with the tow lorry; the driver from this bus just called, and from a pay telephone. He is saying that the new bus broke down the same way, and even his radio and cell phone quit working. His tour group, all but the man who booked the charter, just got off the bus and disappeared. He says the client acted like he just woke up and began demanding to know why he was on a bus in England, says he has no idea of what has happened the last six hours. Bloody fool, I'm sure he just wants to get out of paying the charter; doesn't realize that with all of the mechanical problems that the company would be refunding him anyway."
"What if I can't find out what is wrong with the other bus?"
The supervisor shrugged his shoulders. "Since it is the same driver on both busses and the same problem, we can chalk it up to driver error. He'll get sacked and we'll be covered.'
"Poor sap."
"Hey, that's life"
0o0o0o0o0o0
Diagon Alley
Later that day
Pierre Lafort, a recent French recruit to Voldemort's Death Eaters, sat down heavily in the booth at the Leaky Cauldron. He ordered a cup of tea when he could not get coffee, then opened the copy of the Daily Prophet his Master had instructed him to buy. The Dark Lord wanted to catch up on news in Britain before he made his next plans. Pierre was now regretting having joined the Dark Lord's service, the past few weeks, because of his natural curiosity and a clumsiness that Nymphadora Tonks would sympathize with; he asked too many questions and stumbled a few too many times, he had been a frequent target of Voldemort's and Umbridge's 'discipline'. After several bouts of the Cruciatus curse and Mark torture, he was beginning to wonder just what he had gotten himself into. Glancing at the front page of the Prophet, he stiffened in shock. He read the article, wondering if it could possibly be a ruse to draw out Death Eaters for prison and/or execution. After reading the article, he thought back to a scene he had stumbled upon the previous week.
Voldemort and Umbridge had been speaking to each other, not expecting to be overheard. Voldemort had been complaining to Umbridge that he was not able to sense Severus Snape through his mark anymore, therefore could not give him his proper punishment for being a spy. It was at that point that Pierre had tripped, bringing the pair's attention to him. After a brutal Legilimency probe and some good old fashioned Cruciatus curses for his nosiness, Pierre had been sent on his way with a warning to never eavesdrop on his Master again.
Gathering his courage, Pierre folded his paper and walked over to Tom's Floo connection. He put a sickle in the jar, took a pinch of powder and threw it in.
"Ministry of Magic!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ministry of Magic
London
The well dressed, haughty looking French wizard appeared in the fireplace, stepped out gracefully, then tripped and fell flat on his face. He was helped up by a pink haired young lady who, when she had assisted him, also tripped and fell to the floor, carrying the wizard down with her. The guard at the wand weighing station catcalled out.
"Hey Tonks, a relative of yours?"
Both wizard and witch scrambled up and dusted themselves off while shooting death glares at the guard. Pierre was the first to speak.
"Mademoiselle," he said, taking the newspaper and opening it to the article, "Can jou tell me where I would go to … how jou zay eet, take advantage of zees?"
"You have the Dark Mark?" she asked stiffly.
"Oui, much to my shame."
She smiled. "First let's get your visitor badge." She led him over to the reception counter and told the receptionist, "This is Mr…." She looked at him
"Lafort, Pierre Lafort."
"Yes, he will be a visitor to the DMLE," Tonks said.
The receptionist popped her gum, then waved her wand at a small box. A nametag popped out and she handed it to Pierre. The tag read: Lafort Pierre Lafort, Visitor DMLE. Tonks shook her head as they turned away. "Sometimes she takes things a bit too literally. Come on over to the wand weighing station."
The two walked over to the wand weighing station where Pierre handed his wand to the guard. He put it on a scale, and a small piece of parchment came out.
"Weeping Willow, 13 inches, with a Veela hair, been in use for 13 years?"
"Oui."
Tonks reached over and took the wand, stowing it in her robe pocket. "I'm sure you're a nice guy, but since you are the first to take advantage of this new policy, we have to make sure that you have not been sent here by You-Know-Who to cause havoc." She took his elbow and led him over to the lift, looking for all the world as if he were a friend out for a stroll, in reality controlling his movements as any good Auror should.
Arriving at the DMLE office, Tonks bade Pierre to have a seat while she retrieved Madam Bones. A few seconds later, the steely haired head of the DMLE came into the waiting room and smilingly shook hands with Lafort.
"If you will just come this way, we need to debrief you before you have your mark removed. The mark removal station was just set up in an office down the hall, but we have to summon the team of Healers from St. Mungos and the charms masters from the Department of Mysteries to perform the removal. Have a seat and I'll explain what is going to happen." Pierre sat and she continued.
"Now Mr. Lafort, in order to make sure that you have a complete pardon, we have to know of any crimes you may have committed while in service to You-Know-Who. In order to do this, I will be questioning you under Veritaserum with a witness present to take your statement. Any additional information you can give us about the Dark Lord's movements or plans will be very much appreciated. I will have Auror Tonks witness your statement."
"Zat beautiful young lady is one of your Aurors?" Pierre asked in shock.
Amelia smiled. "Don't be fooled by her looks and youth, she was trained by Mad-Eye Moody and can be as deadly as an enraged lion."
"Merci for zee warning, I vas planning to ask her for a date. She might be too dangerous for me zo."
"Probably not a good idea, she has a tame werewolf she is seeing right now."
"Oui, any woman who can tame a werewolf eez probably too dangerous for me. I am a lover, not a fighter."
"Considering your last playmates, I find that a bit hard to believe."
"Eez ze truth, zee Seigneur Foncé, eh, Dark Lord, made eet zound like eet vould be a, how jou zay eet, lark. Ve vould be zee new nobility of zees country."
"I assume that you found his actions and his words to be somewhat in conflict," Amelia said dryly.
"Oui."
At that point, Tonks came in with the sealed vial of Veritaserum. Madam Bones took the parchment for the statement, noted the batch number on it, then set the quill for auto-dictate. Tonks broke the seal on the vial and administered the mandatory three drops onto Pierre's tongue. Amelia began the questioning.
"What is your name?"
"Pierre Lafort."
"Are you a marked Death Eater?"
"Oui"
"Have you been sent here on orders from the Dark Lord or any of his underlings"
"Non"
"Are you, of your own free will, here to renounce your association with the Dark Lord and his plans to overthrow wizarding society?"
"Oui"
"Are you willing to assist us with information that could help us track the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, along with any plans you might know of?"
"Oui"
After a grueling twenty minute session, where Pierre gave up the present location of Voldemort (on a muggle farm where he had the owners under the Imperius), the story of how he was recruited, and other sundry information such as the names of other recruits as well as Voldemort's inner circle, Pierre was given the antidote and swore an oath to renounce Voldemort and return to France. He was then taken to the removal station where he underwent the painful procedure to remove the mark. Amelia then took his picture for propaganda purposes, had his pardon signed by the Minister, and gave him an authorization for a Ministry funded international portkey which would return him to France. All in all, they had not had much to pardon, he was basically a pretty nice guy who had been caught up in Voldemort's manipulations and had not even cast any Unforgivables.
As Tonks was leaving her boss' office, she remarked, "He was pretty cute, if I wasn't involved with Remus, I might give him a whirl."
"He thought you were a bit of a 'belle fille' yourself, but when I told him who trained you and that you had a tame werewolf, he decided you were much too dangerous for him."
Tonks' coworkers wondered at the smile she wore the rest of the day.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Buckingham Palace
Hermione Granger was just finishing a session with Her Majesty's protocol team, planning for Harry's wedding, when suddenly the team stiffened and came to attention. Hermione glanced behind herself, gasped and quickly stood and bowed her head to her Sovereign.
"Please sit down. Might you be Miss Granger, Lord Hufflepuff's protocol representative?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Miss Granger, please follow me, We would speak with you about your world. Other than occasional reports with little information from the Prime Minister, I know little about this group of my subjects." The Queen led Hermione into an adjoining sitting room and ordered refreshments from a gentleman in a pinstriped suit who seemed to act as her batman. Once the tea and biscuits had been served, she waved her shadow away, leaving them in privacy.
"Tell me, Miss Granger, of your background. Your surname is not one I have associated with the wizarding world. Were you born to a mundane family?"
"Yes ma'am." The two spent a pleasurable hour and a half, quite a lot of time for a busy monarch, speaking of Hermione's background, her invitation to attend Hogwarts, and all of her adventures at the school. They also spent a bit of time talking about the state of the wizarding world in general, the bias against the muggleborn and half-bloods, and the fact that there was an education drain with other countries benefitting from the racial prejudice that was the norm in Britain. Although she hid it well, the Queen was seething over the mistreatment of so many of her subjects. She asked pointed questions about Merlin's Oath, then rang her shadow and gave him explicit instructions on researching the archives for anything dealing with the Oath. He gave her a strange look, but acquiesced.
"I really did not want him to become aware of your world at this time, however it was unavoidable. I rely on him so much sometimes. I suppose when his assignment is over, I will have to contact your Ministry through the PM and have that part of his memory altered, along with any of the archive staff. I really do not like to do things like that, but the secrecy must be maintained, I suppose. This is too large of a secret for even the Official Secrets Act.
"Ma'am, have you ever thought of putting muggleborn or squibs in charge of the archives dealing with the magical world?"
"No, but that seems to be a capital idea. Please write a proposal with any names you can think of for people who might fit that career."
"Yes ma'am." With an assignment given to her from the Queen herself, Hermione would be a driven woman until she could complete it to perfection. To be sure, one of the names she would put forward would be her own; she could almost feel her fingers on rare and ancient manuscripts.
With more small talk about Harry, Ron, and her adventures, the Queen seemed to be taking measurement of her guest, then suddenly spoke.
"Miss Granger, I really must hurry off to another appointment, however I would like to meet your friends and your parents. They should be proud to have raised such an intelligent and courageous daughter. I would like you, Lord Hufflepuff, young Mr. Weasley and your parents to come here to the palace next week, say Wednesday evening. I will have a driver pick all of you up at your parent's home."
"Yes ma'am, we will be there." After all, when the Queen gives an order like that, what is there to say but yes?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The Granger House
Oxford
Dan Granger checked his tie for the forty seventh time while making sure his hair was in perfect order. He was a fervent monarchist, having pledged his service in the Regiment many years before. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever even dreamed of meeting Her Majesty, and the fact that his seventeen year old daughter had delivered the Queen's invitation made it seem that much more surreal. He turned from the mirror and observed the crowd of people in his living room. The invitations for each person had included who they could bring along as guests, and the group had quite an eclectic mix. Ron Weasley had his parents, Mrs. Weasley exchanging recipes in the kitchen while Arthur Weasley was bent down in fascination studying, of all things, the extension cord connecting his telly and VCR. Harry Potter was pointing out various differences in his normal home versus a wizarding home to his two future wives. TWO! Dan knew that there was no way he could ever tell his wife Jane that he needed another wife, no matter what the circumstances. Not only would any sane person not want more than one wife at a time, but even if he had two, Jane would make sure that the purpose for having two wives would remain unfulfilled. A sympathy pain in his groin made him wince. That Potter kid had no idea what he was in for, but Dan had to give him points for bravery. Or stupidity, whichever the case. The girls looked around the room at the various appliances and fixtures with interest. Hermione brought her boyfriend, Terry Boot, a boy she seemed to be very interested in. He smiled, as much as she had written about Harry and Ron those first few years, he was glad that she had found someone who could give her the intellectual stimulation she so needed. It was a sure thing that Ron would not have been able to do it, and he didn't want his little girl to be part of some harem.
Dan wondered what the drivers of the cars would think of the odd dress of the magicals in the party. All of the wizards and witches, with the exception of Hermione, wore dress robes with embroidered crests on the breasts. The Weasleys had the Gryffindor family crest, Arthur with a gold chevron denoting Head of House, Ron with silver showing that he was Heir. Daphne had the Greengrass crest with gold, along with the Black crest and a pip showing that she was betrothed to the Head. Jennifer had the Dumbledore and Potter crests, while Harry had the Hufflepuff, Potter, and Black crests, all with gold chevrons. Terry Boot, another muggleborn, had a small patch showing that he was affiliated with Hogwarts Ravenclaw house, as well as the Hogwarts crest. A knock on the door signaled the arrival of the cars and an end to Dan's musing.
Dan's question about the driver's reaction was answered when he opened the door for the driver. He did not bat an eye at the odd dress of his passengers. He led the group to the curb where three stretch limousines awaited. The group split into family groups, the Grangers and Terry in the first car, Weasleys in the second, and Harry and his young ladies in the third. Throughout the ride, the question in his mind was 'why?'. It broke every 'rule' in Dan's thinking about not only the Queen, but also the magical world. He never thought that the Queen would even have contact with magicals.
Sooner than he thought possible, the cars slid through the gates of Buckingham Palace and pulled up to the entrance. They were quickly ushered into a cozy room with rows of chairs facing front. On the floor in front was a small red pillow. Once the group was seated, a page announced Her Majesty, causing the group to rise for her entrance. She strode in, motioned everyone to take their seats, then began to speak.
"For many years, two societies, the magical and mundane in Britain have, by necessity, lived apart with little to no contact. The reasons for this separation are many, with grievous cause. Magicals were targeted because of ignorance and malice, mundanes were fearful of the powers of their magical neighbors. The upshot of this has been two groups, dependant upon each other without knowledge or recognition, and values which, for the most part, are very different. This has caused, in many cases, friction between our worlds, with both sides suffering."
"Although secrecy must continue to be maintained, there are heroes and deeds which must be acknowledged in both worlds. Even though the magical people of Britain live, for the most part, separate from their mundane neighbors, all are still subjects of the Crown, with all rights and responsibilities associated with that status. Tonight we shall address an issue of importance to both our societies."
"Since 1970, there is one who claims Lordship over people in the magical world, a lordship neither earned nor legally granted. This false lord is a product of both our worlds, and a shame to both. He was born Tom Riddle, the product of an insane magical and a neglectful mundane. Raised in an orphanage, neglected and abused, he entered the magical world and was trained, as are most magicals, at the respected school of Hogwarts. He did not use this training responsibly, as the vast majority of magicals do, but rather to obtain power and subjugate the magical world, and to punish and control the mundane world."
"Take note of my words! Tom Riddle is not a lord, he is a terrorist! Good men and women, as well as children of both worlds have felt his evil. He made the magical world so fearful of him that they are afraid to say even his made up name. That evil was abruptly halted in 1981 by prophesy and the actions of a loving mother, a woman born in the mundane world but adopted by the magical. Her love and sacrifice stayed the hand of Tom Riddle for thirteen years, and saved the life of her child, as well as children across Great Britain. Harry Potter, Lord Hufflepuff, please come forward."
Harry, stunned, went forward and bowed to the Queen. "Mr. Potter, in recognition of your mother, Lily Rose Evans Potter, and her service to the Crown and the magical world, this day, April 2, 1996, I, Elizabeth II, reigning monarch of Great Britain, hereby posthumously induct Lily Rose Evans Potter into the Order of the British Empire and confer upon her the rank of Dame Commander. Please accept, on her behalf, this medal and our sincere appreciation for DBE Lily Potter and our condolences on your loss of your mother and her nurturing."
Harry, caught off guard, and emotions showing nakedly on his face, choked out, "Thank you, Your Highness. I am proud to accept in the name of my mother." He bowed and returned to his seat while the others in the group clapped, many while daubing the tears from their eyes.
The Queen continued: "While Dame Potter's sacrifice brought peace to the land for the next ten years, her son for whom she gave her life was shunted aside into the neglect and abuse of uncaring relatives until the day he received his Hogwarts letter. During his trip to school for the first time, he met two other exceptional children, one born in the mundane world, one from an old pureblood family. They were sorted into the same house, that of Godric Gryffindor, a Lord by right and a knight of the British Empire. It is justly known as the House of the Brave. In their first year, they foiled a plot by Tom Riddle, working through a possessed professor to come back from the dead. With logic, skills, and bravery far exceeding their age, they took it upon themselves to take action when even the school professors ignored them. In their second year, a shade of Tom Riddle possessed a young girl and loosed a monster on the school. He would have been reborn and people killed if not for the actions of these three children. They stopped Riddle and his monster, almost paying with their own lives. In the third year, they assisted an innocent man, one who had been imprisoned without trial, to attempt to clear his name while risking their lives once again to dark creatures that would steal their very souls. Unfortunately, Sirius Black died before his name was cleared, but he lost his life while battling the agents of Riddle, protecting his Godson. Lord Sirius Black did have two years of freedom from prison, even though on the run, he fought for the very world which condemned him. Lord Hufflepuff, would you please come forward?"
Harry was stunned, but went forward with numbed legs. He once again bowed and the Queen spoke.
"Lord Hufflepuff, as the heir of Lord Sirius Black and the new Lord Black, I ask you to receive the thanks of a grateful Sovereign and Nation. By my authority as Elizabeth II, reigning Monarch of Great Britain, I hereby posthumously induct Lord Sirius Black into the Order of the British Empire at the rank of Knight Commander and dub him Sir Black. Please accept this token of his office and Our condolences."
At this point, Harry was a wreck. He choked out his thanks to the Queen, took the medal and returned to his seat. Elizabeth continued.
"The next year, traitorous agents of Riddle schemed once again to bring him back. They forced a fourteen year old into a life threatening tournament meant for adults. The fourteen year old triumphed over the adults, but in a show of school solidarity, shared his victory with the designated co champion of his school. It was a fatal decision. His schoolmate was murdered by Riddle's agent, the fourteen year old's blood was forcibly taken to resurrect Riddle. He was chosen because he was considered a threat and an enemy to Riddle. This schoolchild dueled Riddle to a draw, and in the finest fighting tradition of the British Empire, recovered his friend's body while under fire, returning the body to his friend's family. His two friends assisted him once again during his ordeal, giving him logistical and moral support. He returned to warn the magical world of Riddle's return."
"Last year, he was ridiculed and slandered by a government and media that did not want to face the fact that Riddle had returned. A corrupt Minister and his Undersecretary used every tactic they could to shut him up, including torture and attempted murder. He was also tortured by Riddle through his cursed scar connection. In the midst of this, he and his friends did the job of the teachers, supplementing the Ministry's insufficient training by starting an underground defense society, then culminating the year with a raid on the very government building which should have been protected by their society's guardians, to prevent Riddle from capturing a weapon that could have overthrown the government. This is when Sir Black was murdered by his own cousin, an agent of Riddle and traitor to Great Britain. Six children fought twelve terrorists, besting them and capturing many of them."
"This year, they foiled a plot by a so-called Leader of the Light, one which would have cost the life of one of the three and given the magical world over to one who was almost as bad. It has been requested that this person not be named, since he was a hero to many and redeemed himself in the end at the cost of his own life. We shall let the matter drop. I would like Miss Hermione Granger, Mr. Ronald Weasley, and Lord Hufflepuff to come forward."
The room broke out into a buzz. The three teens came forward, standing before Elizabeth. The person that Hermione had dubbed 'the Queen's shadow' came forward, holding a sword. "Miss Granger, please kneel." Suddenly the pillow on the floor made sense.
"Hermione Granger. For your brilliance, perseverance, and courage in service to both the magical and mundane societies of the British Empire, I, Elizabeth II, reigning Monarch of Great Britain and the Magical British Empire, induct you into the Order of the British Empire with the rank of Dame Commander and dub thee Dame Hermione Granger. Please rise." Elizabeth placed a medallion around Hermione's neck, and with a very unqueenly show of affection, gave her a quick hug. Hermione stepped back, eyes glistening.
"Ronald Weasley, please kneel." Ron did so. "Ronald Bulius Weasley, For your courage and loyalty under fire, and for your service in foiling the plots of the terrorist Tom Riddle and his agents, I, Elizabeth II, reigning Monarch of Great Britain and the Magical British Empire, induct you into the Order of Great Britain with the rank of Knight Commander, and dub thee Sir Ronald Weasley. Please rise, on second thought, you are so tall you may remain kneeling for a second more." To the chuckles of many in the room, Elizabeth reached over and placed the medallion around Ron's neck. "You may now rise."
"Lord Harry Potter-Black- Hufflepuff, please kneel. For your untiring courage under fire in the war against the terrorist Tom Riddle, and for your actions in foiling his plots against both magical and mundane Britain, at the risk of your own life, I, Elizabeth II, reigning monarch of Great Britain and the Magical British Empire, hereby induct you into the Order of Great Britain with the rank of Knight Grand Cross and dub thee Sir Harry Potter-Black. Please rise." Harry stood, and being much shorter than Ron, bowed his head to receive his medallion of office. The Queen dismissed them to their seats, then dropped another bombshell.
"We have heard of the discrimination against mundane-born subjects of ours in the magical world," Elizabeth's voice and visage became steely. The purebloods in the room began looking nervous and some gave audible gulps. "We are very unhappy about this situation, and will now act to rectify it. This also will address the discrimination against Our subjects suffering from incurable disease such as lycanthropy. Far too long have we unknowingly allowed this injustice to continue. EVERY British subject is entitled to fair and impartial treatment at the hands of their government and fellow subjects. I require from every magical person here a binding magical oath of silence on this next subject. You shall not speak of it until June first, when it shall come into force."
Every magical in the room felt a compulsion to bring out their wands, and without knowing why, give an Oath of Silence to Elizabeth in regards to this subject. As eight wands glowed in response, she looked over at the Grangers. "Doctors Granger, this is to be covered, in your case, by the Official Secrets Act." Elizabeth held out her hand and her shadow handed her a rolled parchment.
"It is proclaimed on this second day of April, in the year of our Lord 1996, I, Elizabeth II, reigning Monarch of Great Britain and the Magical British Empire, and by authority of Merlin's Oath," There were gasps in the room as every magical felt the power of the Oath. "that the magical government of Britain shall be dissolved on the first day of June, 1996. It shall be governed at the pleasure of Her Majesty Elizabeth II through her Royal Governor to the magical world, Lord Gryffindor, Arthur Weasley, until a new government can be formed. The new government shall consist of a House of Lords, made up of the members of the former Wizengamot, a House of Commons elected by all citizens of magical Britain, regardless of blood status or medical condition. The House of Commons shall consist of any citizen, regardless of blood status or physical ailment, with 12 seats apportioned to the Goblin Nation. Goblins, although technically not subjects of the Crown, are still citizens of magical Britain, with all rights and responsibilities that entails. Should any goblin, or the Goblin Nation as a whole, swear an oath of fealty to the Crown, they would become self governing subjects of the Crown with all rights and responsibilities assigned to all subjects. The Minister of Magic shall be elected from the ranks of the House of Commons, much as the Prime Minister of Great Britain is elected."
"Be it also proclaimed, although slavery is abhorrent to the Crown, it is known that House Elves have a genetic condition that will kill them or rob them of their power if they are not bonded. This condition however, does not give humans the right to enslave them should they want freedom, nor allow for mistreatment. Therefore the Crown imposes on all magical Britain, under the authority of Merlin's Oath, a Elvin Bill of Rights conferring the right to liberty should they desire and the right to fair treatment and wages. Any House Elf that desires may break their bondage and swear fealty to the Crown. This will bind them as subjects of the Crown and confer upon them the status of subject of the Crown, with all the attendant rights and responsibilities. They will also become full citizens of the Magical British Empire. Should they desire this, it would allow them to live with all of their magic intact."
"It is also proclaimed that magicals with lycanthropy shall no longer be considered creatures, but rather as British Magical subjects, with full rights. This also applies to human hybrids such as veela and giants. The Royal Governor shall, until such time as he is replaced by the new government, research the existing laws and regulations in the Magical British Empire, and void any law or regulation that violates the basic human rights enjoyed by all British subjects."
"One last matter is the irresponsibility of the magical press. It is proclaimed that the media of the Magical British Empire shall be subject to the same laws of slander and libel that apply to the media in mundane Great Britain. Other laws dealing with copyrights and patents shall also be imposed during the Governor's term of office. Lord Gryffindor, please come forward."
Arthur went to the front of the room and gave a bow. "Lord Gryffindor, Arthur Weasley at your service and command, Your Highness."
"Lord Gryffindor," Elizabeth said, handing him a rolled up set of parchments, "here is your commission to the Office of Governor to the Magical British Empire along with your charter and responsibilities."
Turning to the audience, the Queen declared, "This ceremony is over; please join us in the next room for dinner and social conversation. I would like to meet each and every one of you. Thank you." The audience stood and followed her out of the room.
Later that evening during cocktails, Hermione managed to get Elizabeth's attention. "Your Majesty, I am curious about one thing; why did you delay the enactment of the proclamation until June first?"
Elizabeth just smiled. "I wanted to make sure that Harry would be back from his honeymoon."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A/N: I really wanted to finish it up including the wedding, but there is just too much stuff to cover. I will write Merlin's Oath, Part 3 as soon as I can!