40 — Rita Stirs Things Up

Anne studied the Saturday Daily Prophet quite carefully every morning. She always received the very first finished copy off the press. She wasn't so much interested in the reporting, per se, as much as the tone of what was written.

Did it read as authoritative? Did it present the details needed in a story to be accurate and truthful? Were the details actually accurate and truthful? Did it present the facts without undue colouring of those facts? Were any insinuations plausible, given the facts?

Were opinions clearly stated as such, with a disclaimer below the headline and before the author's name? Or should it be on the Opinions Page?

She had been surprised at how quickly the staff had jumped behind her instructions to stick to the facts. Removing the salacious libel and opinions that had formerly graced the front pages, with the authors frequently substituting their opinions for fact, had been a quite a change in outlook for most of the reporters.

It had taken a few weeks for them to understand where that line was that separated their opinions from just presenting the facts and letting the readers form their own opinions.

Running stories that stuck to the facts seemed to be what the readers really wanted. Especially when the readers realized those facts were not being dictated to the Prophet by the Ministry! Readership had grown immensely since the summer. Surprisingly, they now had a substantial number of issues going to the continent and colonies.

Helping matters was the new section for the "Society" types — almost entirely pure-bloods — labelled "About Town." This was where they posted pictures and stories of the pure-bloods and what they were up to in public . . . and sometimes private if the story was juicy enough and they had facts to back up what was written.

One successful new feature was the "Secrecy" page. In it, The Daily Prophet now printed stories about wizards and witches getting into trouble and drawing attention from the muggles. The stories were always humorously written, but the underlying moral of the danger of not being properly prepared when venturing out of the wizarding enclaves was plain to see.

The hilarious pictures of what some wizards and witches thought was appropriate attire was a big draw for many of muggle-borns and half-bloods. The number of pure-bloods who didn't get it was appalling, but they disliked the thought of being a laughingstock after their pictures were printed. With time, though, The Daily Prophet would educate them on what to wear. And they would wear it, if only to avoid the public attention an error would mean once the next day's Prophet came out.

In order to survive as a society, the wizards had to take care in not being noticed right now. The ponies were going a long way in changing the non-magical publics' perception of magic by renaming it "special technology." Later, in a few decades, the magicals might be able to come out of hiding. Maybe they could say that travelling to Equestria had fostered an apparent latent talent?

In the meantime, the magicals had a long way to go in getting their attitudes changed.

When it happened, she intended to be a major player in ruling the masses. It would take work, and the selective application of magic, but she would make sure everyone was treated equally under the law — and friends could stay friends and not be separated.

That she would be rich was secondary. Nice, but secondary.

Most surprising had been Rita Skeeter's changes. Anne had expected her to kick up the most fuss. But she hadn't. She had readily dropped her "quick-quotes" pen for a more normal dicta-quill. Or maybe that little nudge she had given the reporter last year had been more effective than she had thought. She shrugged her shoulders. It didn't matter, did it? As long as Rita followed her rules, who cared why?

This morning's edition had had her pursing her lips, though, at first.

Anne shook her head wryly. That witch certainly knew how to ferret out interesting stories. Anne had nothing against Potter, he was just another person to her. Well, that wasn't entirely true. If not for him, she wouldn't be here. She would still be on her vendetta against Princess Twilight, and who knows how that would have gone!

She shuddered. One of the books she had discovered here had described, in nauseating detail, how badly time travel could go. One little slip and she might have erased herself from history instead of the purple know-it-all. Or, avoiding that fate, might have succeeded in getting rid of the alicorn, but ended up killing herself at the same time. Or, worse, ended up in a Changeling pod because purple hadn't been there to stop the Royal Wedding with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, and Canterlot had fallen.

Today's Prophet was one reason why Rita was flourishing.

Anne made a special trip to the paper, before breakfast, after reading her copy. Sirius had told her a lot about wizarding society, but there were still nuances she missed.

She had a luncheon date with the wizard today where she would defend the Prophet from his righteous wrath at seeing his god-son's life dragged into the limelight. No, she suspected, he wouldn't be happy.

However, he would be a mine of information about how to expect the pure-bloods to react. He could guess quite accurately at the tactics they might throw-up to block any plans she had for future political manoeuvring. Forewarned is four-armed, as the human saying went. Although why they needed four arms, she wasn't sure.

As she had hoped, the reporter had had all her papers properly laid out. Nothing she had printed had been fabricated. She had copious notes from her times in Equestria, backing up every detail. She had played by the rules set out, and won big.

Anne felt sorry for Potter, as she would have for any foal, child, caught up in politics. But she wasn't going to kick up a fuss at the paper. It wasn't their fault the boy's treatment prior to escaping to Equestria was unconscionable. Nor theirs that the ponies took such good care of their foals.

The information Rita had found was publicly available on both sides of the portal. That each didn't know the details the other side had was irrelevant. Anyone could have dug this information up. That it caused complications and problems for Princess Purple was all good in her book. That it would erode White Beard's support was even better. Every supporter he lost, she intended to snap up.

The Sunday edition would have several articles about how dangerous muggles could be, if roused. There would be warnings to the public about "loose wands" causing trouble for everyone. It would emphasise that the last thing they needed was a series of investigations from the ICW for violations of the Statute of Secrecy.

The English were better than that!

That edition would also see the start of a new page, one devoted to pointing out information about muggles that the wizards and witches didn't know. Such as being out-numbered by a thousand-to-one and what that meant. That, while they had portkeys for instant transport, traveling a great distance in the world was always a trial of bureaucracy. Muggles, on the other hand, had planes — effectively giant railcars with wings — that could fly across the world with ease. A witch who wanted to go somewhere new to them, where there wasn't a floo, had to either apparate (limited to a few hundred miles for most), take a portkey, or fly a broom. None of which were pleasant experiences.

Muggles could take a plane, then hop in a car and drive there in comfort and style. It took longer, but it was far less stressful and unpleasant.

Several of the workers at the Prophet had been amazed at the stories of what the muggles could do when the muggle-born reporter had started several weeks ago.

She might be the majority owner, but it was strictly hooves-off as far as she was concerned. As long as the rules were followed, her personal opinions had nothing to do with the stories that were or were not run.

Plus, she didn't have the temperament of an editor who could decide which stories were worth printing, which ones needed more detail, which ones had the potential to attract more readers, or which ones seemed important, but weren't.

Sirius might not like that, but all she had to do was point out that that hiding the truth was the way the Ministry had operated the paper. Did he want her to start doing that? Where would he draw the line? Should stories about his friends be ignored, especially when they did wrong things or broke the law? Just like Minister Fudge had protected Malfoy? Should she start accepting "inducements" to push one story while dropping another, as the previous management had considered acceptable?

She didn't think he would agree with her taking bribes.

Besides, she wasn't involved with the day-to-day operations of the Prophet, that was the editor. She would explain that the Editor selected the stories to run, and when. He never consulted her.

So, as long as the stories were accurate and truthful, she had no objections to them seeing the light of day. Particularly the stories on corrupt officials. Or certain old wizards who thought they knew the way the world should run, but were woefully out-of-date. The old system of pure-bloods in control was passe. A new system, a fairer one for everyone, was on the way. A few nudges from her along the way would smooth things out admirably.

As long as their objectives aligned, she would work with Dumbledore. From behind the scenes, of course. By the time he realized he had lost control, it would be far too late.

It was just beginning to start.

The articles Rita had shown, and planned for the next week were definitely going to profit the Prophet. Not to mention, light a firestorm of protest about the wizarding world's treatment of their boy-hero and question how the pure-bloods, who controlled the Ministry, could have allowed that to happen!

Which should put quite a few more cracks in the veneer of infallibility that old wizard liked to project.

۸-_-۸

The first thing Harry noticed when he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast was that Susan Bone's aunt was seated with her. Director Amelia Bones was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That she was here was a surprise. Parents rarely were present for any of the meals.

In view of Elly's warning and Lockhart's "special class", maybe he should have expected that. On the other hoof, he could relax a little with her here. She was, he knew, a competent witch, unlike many others.

He settled into place at the table and started adding food to his own plate.

Neville's gasp at the breakfast table drew Harry's attention. The owl parliament had arrived only moments before, arriving at the time they usually did, midway through the meal. Neville had just opened his daily subscription to The Daily Prophet. "Oh, wow," he said, eyes wide in surprise at what he was reading. There were several other gasps from across the hall, as other subscribers, usually the more astute students, opened their copies.

"Oh, wow," was a phrase Neville repeated a couple of times — in between stares at Harry and the article. Others were staring at Harry, too. Finally, he said, "Harry, is this true?" and turned the paper around so he could see the headline.

"The Boy Who Lived is The Boy Who Left!" it blared across the top of the page in two lines. Harry dropped his head down. He felt like pounding it on the table, but his breakfast was in the way.

Already, he could feel the hostile stares coming his way.

Grabbing the newsparchment, he began skimming the article. It was, surprisingly, rather accurate. The author, Rita Skeeter whom he had met the previous year, pointed out that he had a dual-citizenship in Equestria and England. That was, she conceded, entirely legal. However, she also mentioned that he had been adopted by Princess Twilight, a member of the royal family in Equestrian Princessdom. Which meant he was also a member of the Royal family, Prince Harry Sparkle, as everypony over there called him. "Notice," Rita said in the article, "that the Equestrians do not call Harry by his parents' name, Potter."

Harry sighed. No, he was Harry Sparkle-Potter, not just Sparkle. Although it was true that he preferred everyone use Harry Sparkle. She could be somewhat forgiven, he decided, for assuming that was his official name in Equestria, and getting it wrong.

He would have to send a letter, himself, to the Prophet explaining how his name in Equestria was Sparkle-Potter, and in England it was Potter-Sparkle. Neither of which would affect his link to the Potter family magic.

Amazing, Harry couldn't help but think, she was one reporter who didn't once refer to them as Atlanteans!

She was not shy about supplying numerous quotes from Ponyville residents about the many ways that Harry preferred Equestria to England. Including, that there it was legal to have more than one wife!

The students at Hogwarts, of course, knew how the three fillies and two witches were always with him. They had heard rumours from the pony Firsties that polygamy was allowed. But it had a different impact to read in the news that that bit of rumour was actually true!

She further explained that he had been telling ponies since the summer before his first year that he was only attending Hogwarts because the Royal sisters had requested he do so. A request he read as a command — a reasonable reaction considering it was made by the rulers of Equestria! She even had one source who came right out and said that Harry would have stayed in Equestria, if the Sisters hadn't asked him to attend Hogwarts.

Then she delved into the reasons why he preferred Equestria over England — the Dursleys. She didn't go into many details, to his intense relief. But the ones she included were bad enough, in his opinion.

Regrettably, from his point of view, she promised a more complete recital of his difficulties with the family in future editions of the newsparchment. She heavily implied that it was magic, itself, fed up with their treatment of the Saviour of Wizarding World, that had finally provided him an escape to Equestria, the Portal adjacent to the new Equestrian Embassy in the muggle world, located not far from where he used to live.

Then she went into some of Harry's and the CMC's adventures in and around Ponyville. She quite bluntly said that two specific books about Harry's adventures in Equestria were, for the most part and with little exaggeration, the complete truth. She had heard some of the stories in Equestria before discovering the books in England. She named them both, and the author, and pointed out that the fillies were more than happy to sign them, if asked.

She ended by asking, given the few details she had provided so far, would any of them have been eager to return to England?

He sighed heavily, and wagged his head side-to-side. "Mostly," he said the Neville, then explained the parts she got wrong. Then he looked further into the parchment, pointing out the other things she got wrong.

There were other, shorter articles inside asking questions and delving into tangential matters. One such was the Potter Wizengamot seat. There was the very legitimate question of whether Harry, as a foreign prince, could actually hold the seat. And, if so, should something be done about it? Plus, given his disillusionment with wizarding England, could they really leave it undecided? If they did take the seat away from House Potter, weren't they justifying his disdain and indifference to them? Not to mention the question that it then engendered: if a Wizengamot member married an important foreign citizen, did that mean that he, too, would be stripped of his seat in the government?

His mum had told him that as far as she and the wizarding solicitors could determine, having a dual citizenship did not, in any manner, disqualify him from holding that seat. All that mattered was that he be a natural citizen of England.

Then there was his adoption by the Equestrian Royalty. Was it even legal? Should they say that Equestria had no right to interfere in the custody of Harry Potter? Was Sirius Black, as the legitimate guardian of the boy, according to the Potter will, going to acknowledge this usurpation of his obligations? What would be Harry's reaction if they tried to claim his adoption was illegal? Wouldn't that, too, justify his disdain and indifference to them?

Harry shrunk down a bit further. Once more, he was under constant scrutiny. He had a feeling Lockhart's upcoming class, and the rest of the day — no, week — were not going to be much fun for him.

۸-_-۸

Castor could see that Jackson knew he was in for a struggle that morning when he walked into the meeting room and saw one person and three ponies seated at the table, but he didn't show that. The man just smiled and nodded companionably.

William Jackson, a tall, dark-haired man with brown eyes, was one of the top negotiators for The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers — USDAW, for short.

Castor stood. "Thank you for coming. I am Lieutenant Castor James Searle, and I am the . . . translator today." He leaned over the table and shook his hand.

William gave him a curious look.

Castor smiled. "Yes, the Equestrians speak English quite well, however there are many nuances to British culture with which they are unfamiliar. I have been assigned by Her Majesty's government to explain anything they might find confusing. Head off problems of miscommunication, you might say."

William nodded. "I see," he said softly.

Castor turned to his left pointed to the middle of the three ponies. "This is, as I am sure you recognise from photos, is her Royal Highness, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Mistress of Magic, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Saviour of Equestria, Biggest Egghead Ever." He paused. "And yes, that is her official title."

Twilight was grimacing.

William carefully kept his expression blank.

"On her far side is Lady of the Realm, Applejack," Castor continued.

Applejack leaned across . . . well no, she got up and walked across the table and held out her hoof. "Howdy," she declared cheerfully.

The union representative looked confused, and he glanced at Castor. Castor leaned back to get out of Applejack's eyesight. He made fists of his hands and pantomimed bumping them together.

William flicked his eyes back to Applejack, smiled, and fist-bumped her. "The pleasure is all mine," he said.

"And on this is Lemony Gem, she will be in-charge of the facility" Castor finished, as Applejack returned to her pillowed seat. He pointed to the yellow unicorn with two shades of cornflower blue colouring her mane and tail. She was also wearing a pink set of saddlebags and lighter-coloured pink skirt.

She, too, hopped up on the table and repeated Applejack's hoof-bump. "Nice to meet you," she said.

William smiled, nodded, and murmured a polite, "Nice to meet you, too."

Castor saw his eyes briefly scan across the three folders on the table, one in front of each pony. He pulled out his chair and sat. He opened his briefcase, took out a pad of paper and a pen, and looked inquisitively at Twilight.

If the man was fazed by meeting royalty, or aliens, he hid it well.

Princess Twilight leaned forward slightly. "I'm sure you've heard the stories about the portal that we're setting up here, in Blackpool. Unlike the portal at the Embassy, this one is for cargo, only. No beings, animals, or living creatures will travel through it."

"Yes, the newspapers have been quite excited about the employment prospects," William acknowledged.

Twilight nodded. "The buildings are complete, now, and we're beginning to move in the equipment necessary to support the transport of large amounts of material through the portal. The railroad spur and roadway alterations are nearly complete — ahead of schedule, actually," she gave a pleased smile.

"Now, then, we expect to employ a significant number of people here, and want things to proceed as smoothly as possible. Which is why I've asked for you to meet with us today."

There wasn't much he could say to that.

"I've been doing a little reading on the trade unions in Britain . . .,"

Applejack rolled her eyes and murmured, "only if you call a stack of books that reaches the library ceiling, little." She shook her head as she said that.

Castor saw Williams raise his eyebrows slightly.

"And I must say I am impressed with what they have accomplished." She shook her head. "I don't understand, though, why the companies that employed the workers were so against what the workers were asking. I mean . . . it's just common sense, right?" She turned and looked Castor.

All he could do was shrug.

"In Equestria, workers and employers work closely with each other. Workers bring any problems to management that the management might have overlooked, or weren't aware that an issue had come up." She paused and looked at the man.

He had a pleasant and slightly curious air as he returned her gaze.

She sighed. "Anyway," she continued. "Given your union's reputation for handling problems without disrupting business, I think having The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers onboard when we start hiring would be an excellent idea. As the largest trade union, it'll give us a unique opportunity to improve conditions in all of England!"

Both of William's eyebrows arched up.

"Improve? Improve for whom?" he said suspiciously.

Twilight blinked at him, surprised at the question. "Why, everyone, of course!" She shuffled some papers in the folder in front of her. "For example, according to law, eligible employees can receive maternity pay of about ninety percent for up to thirty-nine weeks, about nine months."

Applejack interrupted, "Yeah, I don't understand that. I mean when Ma had Apple Bloom, she was back to bucking trees a week later."

William frowned at the orange pony.

"Ah, allow me to explain," interjected Castor. "That's a physical difference, Applejack. Unlike Apple Bloom, human babies don't start walking their first day. Human babies usually start walking anywhere between nine and sixteen months, and become verbal at two years, not two months."

Applejack stared at him. "Yer jokin', right?" she said, appalled.

Both Twilight and Castor shook their heads.

The union man was giving him an incredulous look.

Applejack opened her folder and began reading, frowning heavily.

Castor looked over to William. "Pony babies, foals, are capable of walking and running moments after birth, and begin saying individual words at one month."

The man nodded slowly, and made notes on his pad.

Twilight cleared her throat and nodded. "In Equestria, giving a pony thirty-nine weeks off wouldn't work. The ponies would just come in anyway, after a month or two." She shuffled her papers. "Besides, the company's play area for the babies gives them excellent supervision and the mothers can visit any time, anyway. Which is what we planned to do here, too, by the way.

"However, here, on this side of the portal, it is obvious that . . . babies need far more time with their mothers, so I can easily see them staying out the entire time." She got a pensive look. "Although Mrs Cake did mention that having work to go to was such a relief while her husband took the twins, so maybe not."

"Anyway, I think we need to make it clear to the employees that maternity leave is at their discretion. If they don't want the full time, they don't have to take it."

The union negotiator gave her an incredulous look.

She shook her head sadly. "This pay, though . . . ninety percent? That has to go."

William looked ready to speak, but she continued before he could say anything.

"It should be one-hundred percent. To make up the difference, I'll petition Parliament to excuse part of the payroll taxes an employer would pay, or reduce the total revenue tax by that amount."

He leaned back; surprise evident in his expression.

"I think there should be an exception on taking the maternity leave early. It should start at a doctor's discretion. Some mares have extremely difficult pregnancies months before the due date."

Castor and William were giving Twilight surprised looks. William was making almost continuous notes, now.

"Next, paternity leave. What you have is simply right out."

Again, William looked ready to object.

"It should be at least two weeks before and four weeks after, that's what it usually is in Equestria. The mother needs the father's support, after all." She paused and looked at her folder. "Especially considering how dependent the babies are, here. I've been told having foals is extremely stressful. It certainly looks like it's uncomfortable in the extreme." She gave William a stern look. "And no, it won't be voluntary. He has to take that time off. Also, antenatal appointments with the doctors will be covered for both parents."

William slowly nodded.

"Sick leave." She shook her head. "With the new 'special technology' the government is rolling out in the hospitals, I don't see that being much of an issue." She smiled happily. "Even if you lose a leg, somehow, you can grow a new one in a few days. As for cancer and other aliments? Cures for most of those are in the works."

William was writing furiously.

"So, full pay for any illness or accident for the week they'll miss work should be adequate." She smiled, again. "We learned a long time ago that it is more efficient for workers to visit a doctor when they feel sick rather than go to work and make everyone else sick, too. You think you have the flu? Go to the doctor to get treatment instead of to work where you'll spread whatever it is you have to others."

"Next," she continued, "There's time an employee takes off to look after a dependant, or sick relative. Again, with the new techniques coming out, I can't see that as a real issue, so maybe a week again. We'll have to wait and see how that works out."

She sighed. "Which brings us to time off for an employee following the death of a loved one. I suggest two weeks, although taking it should be at the discretion of the employee. Many ponies claim they would rather be at work rather than moping at home. I don't know how it is here, so I'm open to suggestions." She paused and bit her lip, obviously thinking. Applejack was staring at one of the paintings on the opposite wall.

Twilight took a deep breath. "Finally, there are the yearly holidays. The government here mandates workers to five weeks and three days — twenty-eight work-days a year, including the UK's eight bank holidays." She shook her head. "I have nothing to say about that." She looked at William. "During the summer holidays, we will need the facility in operation, so any suggestions on how to do that would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps some employees would like their vacations at times other than the summer and they could work the summer hours?" She waggled her head. "I don't know how that works here."

She ruffled her wings. "So, that's what we're thinking right now. As I said, I'd prefer your union for all our employees, so if you could get back to us next week with a proposed contract, that would be very helpful. We also need some idea of what the union wages and dues will be. You've got far more experience with what works here than we do."

William looked rather shell-shocked as he left, although he tried to hide it. Castor grinned as the man left the room. He'd probably never heard of a negotiation where the employer not only wasn't crying foul, but was actually trying to top what the Trade Union would normally demand.

Audrey Wise, the current president of the union, was going to be shocked when William reported what had happened in the meeting.**

This was going to be a sea-change in the landscape of businesses and unions in the U.K.

۸-_-۸

Author's Notes: * Sir Chaos Omega is responsible for pointing out that the Rita would pounce on Harry's adoption and apparent disregard for wizarding England.

** Peter, who suggested this, is right in thinking the Labour Unions wouldn't let the ponies set up a major distribution centre without being represented.