Chapter 50

Goblins, House-Elves and Centaurs Protected Under New Law

On May 2nd 2002 — four years after the defeat of You-Know-Who — the Magical Being Protection Act was agreed upon by the Wizengamot. As of midnight, intelligent magical beings including goblins, house-elves and centaurs have been granted rights that are on par to witches and wizards across Britain.

Goblins, who have long managed the only wizarding bank, Gringotts, are now able to work, be paid and are protected under wizarding law to the same level and standard of any wizard in an equal job.

The House-Elf Protection Act was mandated by Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and a Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures employee shortly after the end of the war, which greatly limited the freedoms wizarding families had with their house-elves and ensured that enslavement was entirely eradicated and made illegal.

Now, on a new high for the house-elves, this new law protects the creatures from any form of forced employment. House-elves are no longer bound to a family, whether they are paid or not, and are free to accept and reject offers of employment as they see fit. This new law prohibits any past 'owner' of a house-elf who is known for their ill treatment towards them from being allowed to even offer employment. In the case where a house-elf wishes to work in the house of one of these people, it will be a matter decided upon by the Wizengamot and will look at the benefits towards the house-elf above the witch or wizard.

Centaurs, who have never quite considered themselves managed under wizarding law, declined to comment much on the matter of this new Act; however, in a short speech made by Firenze, a centaur dwelling in the Forbidden Forest on the Hogwarts school grounds and former professor of Divination, he said he was pleased humans were beginning to acknowledge they are "no smarter, or no more intelligent, than other life forms."

The matter of this Act is said to have been debated within the Wizengamot over a few months before a decision was made, indicating there is still some resistance amongst wizarding folk in acknowledging the new order that is gradually being established at the Ministry of Magic.

Thanks to Minister Shacklebolt, significant changes to the way things work have been gradually introduced over the past four years, which include a higher employment rate of Muggleborns and promoting them when applicable to positions of power within the Ministry. Minister Shacklebolt has also increased wages for Ministry employees, as well as making the notoriously difficult Auror training program more accessible for those who might be interested in joining.

It is well known that two war heroes, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, are working as junior Aurors in the office currently, and several sources say that they are two of the finest Aurors the Ministry has ever seen. We, the public, have yet to see either of them in action, the young men choosing to keep a low profile these days in all aspects of their lives.

Another war hero, Hermione Granger, who was previously mentioned for her strong stance on house-elf protection, is said to be the one behind this new Act. It is believed that all three of the above mentioned are playing a significant role in these changes we are all seeing take place within the Ministry's walls.

"We still have a long way to go," Minister Shacklebolt said in a short statement made to the press last night, "but small steps are being taken to ensure that all beings who are part of our magical world are treated equally and fairly. I have a fantastic team of great wizards behind me, assisting me in these reformations we are slowly making."

This is the largest change the wizarding world has seen in four years, and for most, it is a welcome change that has been a long time coming.

However, the more traditional families, most known for poor house-elf enslavement throughout the generations, have had a more difficult time in accepting these new laws.

"We are losing a sense of ourselves, as wizards," Horatio Nott, member of the Wizengamot, said last night. "I, of course, fully support the Minister in his decision to employ more Muggleborns, but this is taking it a little far, don't you think? Goblins are not wizards. They have their own laws, so I don't see why they must be a part of ours."

Of course, Mr Nott, was outvoted in his decision and the law is in effect as of today. Killing, harming, or drawing a wand on any house-elf, centaur or goblin will be punishable to the extent that a wizard would be punished for doing the same to a fellow wizard.

Kingsley placed the evening's copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk and looked up at Ron, Harry and Hermione opposite him. He had a wide, toothy grin plastered across his face.

"Well done, Hermione!" he said proudly.

Hermione flushed with pleasure as Ron patted her knee and Harry patted her back.

"You're amazing," Ron said, feeling his own pride swell inside of him. She had been working so hard on that law for the past few months — staying up until all hours of the morning, reading her proposal to Ron each night over the dinner table, stressing over the wording, ensuring that she had included everything needed to take it to the Wizengamot.

It had been a really stressful time for her, and Ron, who had learnt from his past mistakes, did his best to be as supportive as he could, knowing that it was only temporary. It had been tough, and he'd missed her presence immensely, but seeing the sheer delight on her face at hearing the words of the law being passed made it all worth it.

"Truly amazing," Harry said, also grinning. "I can't believe you managed to convince them. I mean, I can, but…"

"Amazing," Ron said again, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Thank you," Hermione breathed, her eyes flickering between Ron and Harry, and then across to Kingsley. "Thank you for your support, Kingsley. In the whole process…"

"No, thank you, Hermione. I have never had someone so capable, so hard-working, and so damn good at what they do, working on such 'boring' things. You're a godsend, truly."

Hermione flushed again, and Ron squeezed her hand once more.

"You are," he said.

"However," Kingsley said, pushing the newspaper aside and clasping his hands together on his desk, "this is not the only reason I've asked you into my office at a time where I'm sure you'd much rather be at home."

They all stared at him, Ron feeling a momentary sense of uncertainty creep over him. He didn't know why, because in his experience, he'd only been in Kingsley's office for good reasons, but he was still the Minister.

Kingsley chuckled. "Don't all look at me like that. Though, I do fear you may not like what I have to say."

Ron felt Hermione's hand tighten against his. He glanced sideways to her; she'd become slightly pale in the last few seconds, her flushed cheeks gone. She'd worked so bloody hard on that law and it had been a huge success for her to get it passed. Ron really hoped that this had nothing to do with that — he'd have to have words with Kingsley if it did. Minister for Magic be damned.

"I have further tasks for all of you."

"What kind of tasks?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Ron's mind went to the mountain of paperwork sitting on each of their desks. Along with helping and supporting Hermione in achieving the biggest thing in her own career, he'd been trying to work his way through his own stuff. He and Harry simply weren't as efficient as Hermione was at staying on top of things.

"The three of you, along with others, have done a great job at suggesting and implementing small changes into the Ministry, which have been successful over the years. But with Hermione's new law being passed, it is an indication that things need to continue to progress in bigger ways."

"How so?" Hermione asked quietly.

Kingsley smiled. "I'm talking about the Wizengamot."

They all stared at him, not speaking.

"It is an old system — one that has been in place for many, many centuries. As you all witnessed in the passing of this law, there is still a heavy amount of resistance when it comes to change, and that stems from the old fashioned views of the wizarding community in Britain."

"Some things don't need to change, though, do they?" Ron asked. "I mean…" He glanced again to Hermione, whose colour had returned. "I mean, the Wizengamot is a good thing, right? A fair system?"

"Hardly," Harry muttered, and Kingsley nodded in agreement with him.

"The Wizengamot functions on a system that the more powerful you are, the more respected you are, the more your opinion matters. I had to really force my power in there over the last week to convince those sitting on the fence. There was no fair judgement and very little looking at things in an objective manner. Those who were still annoyed at the first house-elf law Hermione put forward a few years back, were never going to be convinced. They would lose too much and they still have big voices in their seats."

"So, get rid of them," Ron said. "Honestly, Kingsley, I don't know why you kept some who were known Death Eaters to begin with."

Kingsley shook his head. "I kept no one directly linked to Voldemort," he said. "I only kept those who were rumoured, however not proven to be guilty."

Ron indicated the paper. "Nott is a name known."

"Horatio, however, has never been found guilty of any wrongdoings apart from having a strong pureblood stance on most things."

"That's enough to sack him if you ask me," Ron said.

Kingsley smiled. "We were unfortunately very limited in our choices immediately following the downfall of Voldemort. A large number of the Wizengamot were either killed or imprisoned. I had to keep who I could, particularly with so many trials and testimonies coming up." He glanced at Harry, who nodded.

"I remember Nott from Draco's trial. He was very much for sentencing Lucius."

"Yeah, because the Malfoys were an embarrassment, even to You-Kno-Who himself," Ron protested. "Everyone wanted them gone."

Harry shrugged.

"My point is," Kingsley said, redirecting their attention back to him, "that I believe things do need to change in there."

"How?" Harry asked. "Introducing a new law is one thing, but changing the one thing that enforces the laws is another. You'd have a lot of resistance to something like that."

"I know," Kingsley said, "which is why I'm asking the three of you to put your heads together and see what you can come up with."

This response was followed with silence as they all watched him, waiting for him to continue.

Kingsley smiled again. "I've been doing some research into such matters myself, and — Hermione, you might know a bit about this — the Muggle judicial system seems a lot fairer in my opinion."

"How?" Ron asked. He knew nothing about how Muggles governed their laws and criminals, but he personally couldn't see how that could work in the wizarding world.

"Well, for one, there is the belief of innocent until proven guilty, which I like. And they have what they call lawyers — people trained to personally represent others and fight for them. I like that. Also, a jury in the big cases are people who are unrelated to the victim or the culprit."

"The Muggle population is vastly bigger than ours, Kingsley," Ron reminded him. "Most purebloods and halfbloods are related in one way or another, or have a connection somehow."

Kingsley nodded again. "I know that, Ron, which is why I am asking you all to do some thinking. Ron, you and Harry are working in the Magical Law department, and Hermione now has immense experience in writing new laws. I'm asking the three of you to propose some suggestions of the way things can change in the Wizengamot."

There was another moment of silence.

Then Hermione said, "Okay. We can do that. But Kingsley, abolishing the Wizengamot all together… that is a big ask."

"I'm not suggesting we abolish it. I'm suggesting we make changes to it to make it a much fairer system. That law of yours, Hermione, it should not have taken as long as it did to get through. And now with goblins, house-elves and centaurs earning the right to be trialled fairly within a wizarding court of law, we will need to have these adjustments for them. The way it is now, it would not be fair."

Ron had to concede that Kingsley was right. The Wizengamot was a rubbish system when it came to the crunch, but he knew no other way, which was making it difficult for him to even contemplate an answer to Kingsley's proposal. It was all he had known, and fair or not, it was how the wizarding world had been run long before he was born.

But, then again, wasn't that the point of this? Things needed to be different, and it was an honour to be included in making these changes.

He looked over at Hermione and Harry sitting on the other side of her. They both seemed to be thinking along the same lines. They'd come this far already and they all knew more needed to be done.

"I take your silence as an acceptance of my request?" Kingsley said.

"When would you like our proposals by?" Hermione asked.

"It is a big task, not to mention your own jobs with plenty of work to keep you busy," Kingsley said. "Let's say in two months."

They all nodded and stood. They made their way to the door, Hermione stopping at the last moment to turn back to face the Minister.

"Thank you, Kingsley," she said. "For believing in us — trusting that we can make a difference."

Kingsley smiled kindly. "Honestly, Hermione, I trust the three of you to make good decisions more than I trust people who have been working here for years, including myself. You're a breath of fresh air in this place, all of the young people who are coming in. You all have the experience behind you, but with better ideas." He smiled again. "I look forward to hearing from you in two months."

The three of them left, walking silently away from the Minister for Magic's office. The corridors were now empty, being well after the usual finishing time for most employees. They all headed for the fireplaces.

"Maybe we should get started tonight," Hermione said. "It's going to be a big job coming up with a way to change how the whole wizarding legal system functions — especially if we have to submit a proposal to the very thing we are trying to change." She looked at Harry. "Do you want dinner at ours again?"

Harry shrugged and then nodded. It had become a habit of his to come to their place when Ginny was away playing Quidditch. She was often away for a few days at a time before returning home and Ron suspected Harry got lonely being in the house all by himself.

It had started with him just showing up at random intervals to their place, until Ron and Hermione had worked it out and started inviting him over if they weren't already planning to head to the Burrow for dinner.

Harry seemed to appreciate the company, and it reminded Ron of old times when it had just been the three of them. He liked his alone time with Hermione too, but it wasn't like Harry was over every night. Just when he was on his own.

It was kind of the best of both worlds.

"I'll just go and get changed out of these robes and be at yours in half an hour," Harry said. "Thanks."

"Our pleasure," Hermione said, beaming at him. They each headed to different fire grates in the atrium, Ron landing in his living room a moment later.

When Hermione arrived just behind him, he grabbed her and engulfed her in a hug. "I really am proud of you," he said, placing a kiss on her temple. "You're truly amazing, and you're going to do even more great things before your time's up with the Ministry."

Hermione flushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Ron," she gushed. "I'm just glad it's over…"

"So you can take up this new task?" Ron asked her.

"I enjoy the challenge," Hermione said and they made their way from the living room and into the hall towards the stairs.

"I know you do. I just hope I can contribute to this."

"You know the most about the history of the wizarding world," Hermione said. "And you've had the longest connection to the Ministry through your dad. I think your contribution will be really valuable."

"Yeah, but writing a proposal…"

"I can do that part," Hermione said as they ascended the stairs to their room. "We just need three heads working on this. I have absolutely no idea what Kingsley wants us to do. The Wizengamot is…"

"Rubbish," Ron said.

"But so ancient, I'm not sure how it could be changed."

"So were house-elf enslavement laws until you got involved," Ron reminded her. He sat on their bed and kicked off his shoes. "We'll come up with something. We have two months to do it. That's a fair amount of time."

Hermione smiled at him, shrugging off her work robes and putting on something much more casual. "Hopefully we can."

"We will," Ron assured her, returning her smile. "With you, it can be done. Have I ever told you that you are the most amazing person on this planet? It'll be done within the week if you're involved."

"Oh, Ron…" Hermione said.

"I love you," Ron said, and he grinned at her.

…

Half an hour later Ron, Hermione and Harry sat around their dining table. Hermione had brought out a large pile of blank parchment Ron hadn't even known they had in the house, along with some quills and ink.

Before Harry had arrived, she'd already written headings on a few so that they were able to organise their suggestions and ideas for this task.

Ron had gone to buy something from one of the local food joints in Nottingham city, and now at the other end of the table were two large pizza boxes.

There were some things Ron missed about living a complete wizarding lifestyle, but he'd become rather accustomed to Muggle delicacies during his time living here. Using Muggle money still confused him, though. He'd just found ways to get around his confusion when it came to paying. If he gave something he knew was too much, they'd just give him change and he wouldn't leave the place feeling like an idiot.

That was what Hermione had told him to do and it had worked thus far.

Now, with food in front of them, they were ready to get sucked into this whole Wizengamot issue.

They all looked at one another, and seeing Hermione's eyes looking back at him with no ideas, Ron felt defeated already. If she had nothing, then it was highly unlikely that he or Harry would come up with something valuable.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione picked up a quill and dragged a piece of parchment towards her. "Maybe we should write down what is good about the Wizengamot."

But that seemed relatively pointless, for there was another silence between them all as they tried to think about all the good things the Wizengamot had done. To Ron's surprise, he seemed to be the first one with an idea.

"Well, I mean, it has been in place for a very long time. It's a pretty stable thing in our world. And it did put a lot of Death Eaters away."

Hermione nodded, writing it down. They both looked at Harry. He'd had the most personal experience with it amongst the three of them.

He hesitated. "I guess you could say there is an element of fairness to it. I mean, if Fudge, when he was Minister, was in complete control, I would have been expelled. But there were enough people there whose opinion outweighed the Minister."

Hermione wrote that down too. "And, it is a legal system," she added. "It's better than not having one at all." She wrote that down as well, and they spent the next few minutes going through the pros of the Wizengamot. There weren't many.

"Now, I guess… the cons," Hermione said, dragging a second piece of parchment towards her.

This was a lot easier to suggest ideas for.

"The people involved have been put there based on their status in society and not their ability to govern a wizarding community," Ron said, thinking about all the discussions he'd overheard his parents have about such matters. "How much money you can offer the Ministry can sometimes ensure your spot on the council."

"It's old," Hermione said. "So many of its policies are outdated and reflect a time that we are no longer living in."

"More and more people are marrying Muggles or —" Harry waved a hand around their dining room, "— integrating into Muggle society these days. More and more are learning about things that laws are now irrelevant to."

Ron saw Hermione scribble down the words outdated laws around Muggle protection and couldn't help but wonder just what was now going through her mind. Changing laws for magical creatures didn't seem to be enough for her. He smiled to himself.

"I was just thinking about what Kingsley said back in his office," Hermione said. "About the representation of individuals facing a trial."

Ron and Harry both looked at her, waiting for her to go on. Ron knew nothing of such matters and Harry probably very little.

"Well, he made a point about how we don't have that here," Hermione continued.

"Dumbledore represented me," Harry reminded her.

"Yes, but that's not really a common thing, Harry," Hermione said. "He did that because he knew you were a minor. And you were innocent, and he knew that the Ministry was trying to set you up. The Wizengamot has witnesses, of course, but not a lot of representation for individuals when being placed on trial."

"So, you mean… like lawyers?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "It's really beneficial for Muggles, and I think wizards, or house-elves, or goblins or whoever, could really benefit from such people — or creatures — representing them in such a way." She wrote lawyers? down on the parchment.

"We definitely need a better selection process on who to put in there," Ron said.

"Okay, now we're getting to suggestions," Hermione said, switching to a third parchment. "Keep going, Ron. Any ideas on how to do that?"

"Well, for one, character assessments on people," Ron continued. "And not that Kingsley would, but accepting bribes to have a bigger influence on how things pan out, blackmailing… it all needs to go."

"That comes down to the individual, not the Ministry," Hermione said.

"Which is why I said a character assessment," Ron said. "Interviews, even, not just sending out job offers based on their NEWT results."

Hermione gave him a funny look at that, but he looked back at her just as pointedly. "Hermione, Harry and I wouldn't be Aurors if our marks depended on it. Nor would Neville, but we're pretty good at the job."

"Yes, but I don't think completely taking away —"

"You said on our honeymoon that your views had changed —"

"Can we get back on topic?" Harry interjected, and Hermione flushed, scribbling down interviews.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"A rotation on a five year basis," Harry said.

Hermione and Ron looked at him.

"Currently, the same people have been there for decades, and their views and ideals have not changed in that time. Every five years, we bring in new people to sit in the seats."

"That would put a lot of people out of work after five years," Hermione said thoughtfully. "And Kingsley wants greater employment, not less…" She paused, staring down at the parchment. "But the idea is there — a rotation based approach. I also think the Minister should not be involved at all in the decision-making. And I think Kingsley would agree. It should be left strictly to people trained in that area. Just like Aurors."

"So… like specific people with skills to make fair judgements?" Ron asked.

Hermione nodded. "Muggles have a judge who makes the final decision. It's not just anyone who works in the courtroom."

"That seems fair," Ron reasoned.

They spent the next little while discussing suggestions they could potentially put in place to make the Wizengamot a better system for everyone involved. Eventually, as the ideas dried up, their conversation drifted to other things, particularly them reflecting on moments in the war that had led to Kingsley being appointed as Minister, until Hermione said, "Are either of you ever surprised at how… well we all coped after the war?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, and Ron wondered if he was thinking how he didn't cope at all.

"Well, we're not insane, are we?" Hermione said. "And we're living relatively normal lives despite everything that happened to us. I often think about it, sometimes wondering just when it's all going to collapse. Sometimes I even feel guilty for not feeling extremely traumatised by it all."

"It's because of you," Ron said, looking at Hermione, and she turned to him curiously. "I'm not just saying that. I mean, it's because of you I'm not completely crazy. I had you from the moment the war ended, and amongst everything else — losing my brother, friends, seeing so much death and destruction, seeing my mum not cope — you were some kind of happiness I could hang on to. And I did. For all that it was worth, I clung to you so much during that first year. We were incredibly dependent on one another, which probably isn't great, looking back now, but it helped at the time. I could feel happy, I could feel love, in a time where I probably shouldn't have. And I think that was a really powerful thing."

Ron didn't know where that spiel had come from. It wasn't something he'd dwelled too hard on before, but he knew it was right as it left his mouth. The happiness he'd felt with Hermione had been the reason he wasn't a complete mess even now.

Hermione gave him an affectionate smile, then said, "I think you're right. We had things — all of us —" she looked at Harry, "— to look forward to, and I think that helped a lot. Keeping busy, going back to Hogwarts… that also helped, too."

"We're doing alright, aren't we?" Ron said. "I mean, considering what happened…"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I think so." He smiled, glancing down at his watch. Ron did the same. It was nearing ten o'clock.

"I should probably go," he said. "Go back home…" he didn't sound enthused by the thought.

They all got up from where they sat, following Harry into the living room to the fireplace. Ron placed an arm across Hermione's shoulder, drawing her closer towards him.

Harry turned to look back at them. "Thanks for having me over… again."

"Come over as much as you like," Ron said.

"Harry, are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?" Hermione asked. It wasn't the first time she'd offered it.

Harry looked at her, smiling. "I'm good," he assured her. "Besides, you don't want me intruding on your lives anymore than I already am at the moment." He watched them for a moment, Ron's arm around Hermione, her head against his shoulder…

Ron felt suddenly guilty and he let go of her. Hermione stepped a little away from him, her mind apparently on the same track.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Harry said. "Don't feel like you have to… not do things because of me. You're married… and this is your house. I'm fine. Honestly."

"Are you and Ginny okay?" Hermione asked after a moment.

Harry contemplated his answer for a moment. "Do you mean, are we still happy together? Are we still wanting to be married? Of course! We're fine."

He sounded sincere — genuine — like he wasn't lying to them.

"But if you mean are we coping with this whole being apart thing? Then… not really. It's tough, but short of following her around all over the country and Europe… what can I do? Ask her to not go? Ask her to stay with me for a week instead of going off after only being home for three days?"

"You could," Hermione said. "I'm sure she would."

Harry stared at her for a moment. "Are you suggesting she does that, Hermione?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"Ron and I almost broke up once because we weren't spending enough time together between our jobs — or my job. It is hard, and I've kind of learnt how to better balance it since then. But it did take Ron telling me to make me realise."

"Our situation is a bit more complicated than that, though," Harry said. "It's more difficult for her to make changes when she doesn't set them… besides, Ginny is aware. She knows. She hates it too, but she loves playing and it's just something we have to deal with."

Hermione didn't look convinced, but she said nothing more.

Harry moved to the fireplace. "See you guys," he said.

"See you, mate," Ron replied. "Take care. And remember, come over whenever you want."

Once Harry had gone, Hermione turned to Ron with a slightly worried look. "I do hope they're okay," she said.

Ron pulled her towards him again. "They'll be fine," he assured her. "You heard him… they're fine."

"Until they're not," Hermione said.

Ron shrugged. "They'll figure it out." He kissed her. "Just like we did."

Hermione smiled up at him and then wrapped her arms around him. As much as Ron loved Harry and having him over, he found that these moments alone with Hermione were his absolute favourite.

Chapter 50! Sorry it's nothing overly special haha, but this is where it fell on the timeline.

Also, fanfiction seems to have completely given up trying to fix notifications, so I guess just keep checking back at some point on Saturday to find the update!