Chapter 3

The Ministry Strikes

The weather in November was the usual cloudy with a light drizzle that wasn't heavy enough to deter Quidditch practices nor keep the students from venturing outside, especially when patches of bright blue broke through the grey. However on Monday, the clouds dissipated, and a clear, crisp morning could be seen from the windows of the castle and on the ceiling of the Great Hall. Hermione laughed at Ginny as she bemoaned being stuck in the dungeons for a double Potions lesson on such a beautiful morning. "Why on Merlin's green Earth didn't I take Care of Magical Creatures instead of Potions? I'd be outside enjoying this," she said, holding up her hand to the gorgeous sky filling the Hall.

"Because you know what types of Creatures Professor Hagrid considers appropriate for third-years," Hermione said with a chuckle, "and we both knew after O.W.L.s that if Hagrid thought Hippogriffs and Blast-ended Skrewts...well, can you imagine what he'd think would be appropriate for a seventh-year!"

"I shudder to think," Ginny said, grimacing at the thought. "Let's see, Hagrid basically introduced us to Hippogriffs his first year of teaching, and he sent Harry and Ron into the forest to face Acromantulas, but that was before he started teach. So that doesn't count, does it? He did take Harry to see dragons his fourth year...okay, not directly, but he did introduce you, Harry, and my brother to a giant your fifth year, and to centaurs..."

"See, Hagrid uses the Ministry of Magic's classification system to determine what is appropriate for each year level: one X for first-years, two X's for second, three X's for third-year, and so on," Hermione teased, nudging Ginny in the shoulder. "You know that!"

"Oh, my gods! If that's the case, you'd be studying five X creatures in fifth-year!" Sheila gasped. "What classification are Blast-Ended Skrewts, do you suppose?"

"At least a four!" Ginny stated.

"Just think, the Ministry doesn't have a six X or seven X category!" Bernice exclaimed softly, making all the girls laugh.

When they entered the Entrance Hall, Hermione spotted Draco and Goyle walking with a few of the other Slytherins. Draco looked up and nodded in her direction in greeting. Goyle lifted his hand, then quickly looked away. Hermione smiled, laughing to herself at how much that gesture meant considering that only a few months ago, he'd have glared at her and crunched his knuckles menacingly.

At the Gryffindor table, Shelia and Valerie sat across from Bernice, Hermione, and Ginny, still joking about which creatures or monsters Hagrid might have requested from the Headmistress. "Graphorns...they aren' all tha' bad, or a Quintaped! Can I hav' one of them? They're nice fuzzy creatures! Greatly misunderstood beasts, used to be people, see," Ginny said, doing her best Hagrid imitation.

"Personally, I'll stick with my crup, puffskeins, and my moke, and leave it at that," Valerie said, reaching for the eggs.

When the mail owls arrived, Hermione and Shelia both received their Daily Prophets, Hermione her Quibbler, and Shelia her Sorcerer's Sun as Valerie unwrapped her Witch Weekly.

Hermione unfurled her Daily Prophet and read the article on the front page that announced Charles Polister as Dolores Umbridge's replacement in the Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, which was now being called the Head of the Muggle-born Liaison Commission. "Oh, my gosh, are you reading this?" she asked, looking up at Shelia.

Shelia nodded, her eyes huge as she read the article in her own copy of the paper. "Does this mean that the lists of Muggle-borns that the war-time Registration Committee comprised were not destroyed?" she asked.

"It seems so, or why make such an announcement that the office was reopened under a new title?" Hermione asked, then read a bit of the article aloud, "'... but used to enact new programs designed to assist Muggle-borns. The first legislative act by Barbara Sterling, newly appointed head of the Political Correctness Committee was announced last Friday...' I don't remember seeing anything about that in last Friday's paper."

Shelia picked up the Sun. "Yes, here it is, '... in the Daily Prophet the first week of October, the New Ministry of Magic's newspaper...' They reiterate the same thing; Charles Polister is the Head of the new Muggle-born Liaison Commission, which is replacing Dolores Umbridge's Muggle-born Registration Commission. 'This was followed by the announcement of the Muggle-born Protection Act,'" she read, looked up, and handed the paper over to Hermione. "Here, you better read this."

Hermione read the article and the supplementary article on the next page that described the Muggle-born Liaison Commission and the Muggle-born Protection Act that on the surface read like the Ministry was trying to guarantee equal rights to Muggle-borns and non-discriminatory practices regarding one's heritage. "Sounds like a type of affirmative action to ensure equality."

"But why?" Ginny asked. "There are loads of Muggle-borns and half-bloods working in the Ministry. The Ministry has always had fair hiring practices, well, not last year, mind, but normally."

"It's like a big swing of a pendulum, Ginny," Hermione said, reading the interview with Barbara Sterling about the plans and goals of the Political Correctness Committee. "From one extreme to another. You know after Fudge's denial that You-Know-Who returned, and Umbridge's taking over Hogwarts, this is just the swing in the opposite direction."

"If that's the case...I hate to think how far the pendulum might go," Shelia said, putting down the Sun to eat a sausage.

The four other girls all looked at Shelia, and then Shelia, Valerie, and Bernice turned to look at Hermione. "If that's the case, Merlin help us!" Valerie said as Ginny, who had been looking at Professor McGonagall, turned to look at Hermione too.

"I agree completely, Valerie. Merlin help us. Because who knows if any of our professors are capable of taking on the Ministry when even Dumbledore hadn't been able to."

Hermione nearly choked on her pumpkin juice. "Oh, my...no."

Over at the Slytherin table, the Slytherins were opening up their copies of the Daily Prophet. Almost immediately, their outcries and sneering could be heard from across the room.

"No way!"

"Dragon's dung!"

"They got it anyway! Why do this?"

"As if those blighters needed protection...they won, for an augury's wail!"

"Bugger! That's barmy!"

"What in Merlin's name do they need protection for?"

"Precious Mudblood tarts, all of them!"

Draco read the article carefully, reading between the lines just as his father had always encouraged him to do.

Goyle's hands dropped to the table, making his paper bend just in front of his plate. "I don't get it. What's the Registration Liaison Commission thing supposed to do? I thought that the Ministry was full of Mudbloods now," he said with distain.

Draco silently scoffed at Goyle. "You didn't get it?" he asked.

Goyle's eyebrows rose and he looked dumbfounded. Well, more than the usual. "Well, some of it, yeah...but not all of it."

Draco set his paper down, turning to face him, noting that a few of the others at the table were either blatantly listening or slyly trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. Well, that's fine...let them. "You do remember all the laws and regulations that Dolores Umbridge passed as Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, right? The Muggle-born and Heritage Registration Regulations... the lists of Undesirables and blood-traitors that she had compiled... the list she used to arrest Muggle-borns and those with Muggle blood, remember? Well, apparently this Charles Polister has reopened her office doors only this time calling it the Muggle-born Liaison Commission, to enact new programs designed to assist Muggle-borns."

"So, this Charles Polister is Dolores Umbridge's replacement in the Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, right?" Benders asked, and Draco exhaled a snort in derision.

"Possibly. Yes, it would appear so. Only they are calling it the Muggle-born Liaison Commission so that it sounds nicer and more politically forward with the times," Draco said, smirking.

"So, that means that the Commissions list of Muggle-borns was not destroyed," Goyle said, finally cottoning on.

"That's my guess, yes," Draco said. Ripples of what was just said rolled down the table as the other Slytherins passed on the information of Draco's assessment of the Daily Prophet's announcement. Draco smirked as he turned his attention back to his paper. It reminded him of the owl game that was popular among kids when he was growing up. One person made up a fact and whispered to the person sitting next to him, and then they told it to the person on their other side, and so on. The goal was to see if the original message would come out the same. If the circle contained Slytherins, it generally did, or remained fairly close to the original statement; if there were Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors in the circle, it didn't. It amused him to think that was what was happening right now, the owl game, and he'd started the fact being passed. It made Draco laugh softly.

"What's so funny?" Goyle asked.

Draco leaned over and whispered his comparison to Goyle, who chuckled himself. "Astoria is down there, I'll ask her later and see if it's changed," Goyle suggested.

"Nah, I want to," Draco said and smiled when Goyle looked put out. "But you can come, too, and hear what she says."

That made him smile. Draco smirked at how easy it was to manipulate Goyle's expressions and feelings. He really should stop doing it, manipulating his friend like that, but old habits were hard to break. He turned back to his paper and nearly spewed his pumpkin juice all over the page.

"What is it now?" Goyle asked, setting down his fork.

Draco read bits of the article to him, "'The first legislative act by Barbara Sterling, newly appointed Head of the Political Correctness Committee ... the Muggle-born Protection Act...to guarantee equal rights and non-discriminatory practices to all Muggle-borns'...oh, as if they didn't have them now anyway!"

"Wha' is that for? They gots all the rights already, don't they?" Goyle asked.

Once again, Benders and his friends became quiet as Benders tried to listen.

"It means that the Ministry is going to make laws that are aimed at us...the pure-bloods...and to make us, and those who were Loyalists, toe some kind of line. This Barbara Sterling, she might turn out to be another Umbridge, only one that favors Muggle-borns rather than pure-bloods. That's what."

Once again, the whispers and murmurs rippled down the length of the Slytherin table going in both directions from where Draco sat.

In his cell, Lucius received a letter from Draco along with three copies of the Daily Prophet. There were small, nearly indiscernible marks on the paper next to several of the articles, as well as a few smears that appeared to be little more than finger smudges. Unless one knew what the smudges meant between father and son. There were also perforations on the margins, as if Draco had been tapping the paper with his quill when he'd been reading it, that was, in fact, a message in code. Old Morrison's code in fact, something Severus Snape had taught Lucius, and he'd passed on to Draco. The code came in quite handy over the years, allowing father and son to pass information without the Azkaban guards knowing about it.

Unfortunately, Lucius had no sharp object to use to answer his son back. He was observed by a guard whenever he wanted to write anything to anyone, and the guards hated the tapping noise when he marked his letter with similar perforations. As it was, all his post was opened and inspected, and then given to him opened, just so he'd know he had no privacy.

As the troll passed and walked to the far end of the cellblock, Rabastan hissed from across the corridor. "What's Draco got to say?" he whispered loudly enough for Lucius to hear.

Lucius wondered if Paulina was awake. The werewolf wasn't; he could hear the beast snoring. He wondered if he dare try the Ventriloquist Charm with the tracing bands on his wrist and decided to chance it. The troll was on guard, and not an Auror. He just needed to place his fingers to his throat to activate the spell, then concentrate his wandless ability there in his vocal cords. It was harder to do it this way. Lucius and Severus had succeeded learning the spell, both with a wand concealed in a sleeve or wandless, so they could whisper to each other in Death Eater gatherings, but it was much easier to do with a wand.

'Dolores Umbridge was replaced by a Charles Polister. The Muggle-born Registration Commission is now called the Muggle-born Liaison Commission. Barbara Sterling is under Polister as the Head of the Political Correctness Committee, which has enacted the Muggle-born Protection Act. Mostly, to ensure fair treatment of those with Muggle parentage,' he sent his voice across to Rab. Lucius waited to see what might happen, if his tracing device would activate somehow. The device vibrated somewhat painfully the whole time, but so far, that seemed to be all.

"I know this Barbara Sterling...she's a piece of work, that one," Rab hissed back.

After several seconds, Lucius tried again, reading a few lines from the Daily Prophet. It was risky, but worth the effort. Doing the spell this way for so long without a wand would give him a pounding migraine. After reading only six parts of the paper, his throat became too scratchy and his head began to throb, so he had to stop.

"Thanks, mate," Rab hissed.

"You're welcome," Lucius tried to whisper back, but his vocal cords were strained so that his voice was only a scratchy, throaty whisper, barely audible even to himself. He walked back to his cot and lay down, covered his eyes with his arm, and tried to shut out all the sounds around him. His head hurt, so he knew he'd not find sleep easily, and there was no point asking the troll to get him a Headache Potion.

Hermione walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast with Ginny and Shelia, talking animatedly about the upcoming game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. As the owls flew in, Hermione noticed that a large number of them were carrying rolled up newspapers in their talons. She herself was now subscribing to both the Daily Prophet and the Sorcerer's Sun, and she was still receiving Luna's gift subscription of The Quibbler. Hermione chose to open the Sun first this morning and nearly gagged on her pumpkin juice as she read what was on the second page.

Political Correctness Committee of the Muggle-born Liaison Commission introduces

the Compliance of Bias and Sensitivity Guidelines

In a bold move forward in assuring a cooperative environment for everyone, the Political Correctness Committee of the Muggle-born Liaison Commission passed the necessary legislation for reinitiating the Ministry's use of the Word Association Tracking Charm on the word Mudblood this last Monday. This is to ensure that the negative feelings associated with the term will no longer be tolerated as it is offensive to individuals with Muggle parentage, grand-parentage or great-grand-parentage. As of today, any and all individuals who utilize this vulgar word will receive a warning as to the illegality of its usage. Further usage of the word will result in a fine of three Galleons per offense, and continual usage may result in detainment in the Azkaban Detention Facility. The goal of the Political Correctness Committee is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid or to bring unconscious biases into awareness, allowing us to make a more informed choice about our language and making us aware of things different people might find offensive. The Ministry of Magic is now issuing a standard of "equalization" ensuring that everyone is being fair by being sensitive to specific ethnic, cultural, and other differences. Please contact the Wizengamot Administration Services if you'd like to receive the Compliance of Bias and Sensitivity Guidelines as set forth by the committee.

She quickly set down the Sun and unfurled the Daily Prophet, which carried the article as well, but unlike the Sun, the Prophet made the reactivation of the Word Association Tracking Charm seem totally benign and didn't mention anything about the fines or possible arrest for saying Mudblood, Death Eater, or Dark Lord. The article continued on page four.

On page four was another article that made Hermione's blood run cold. Hermione picked up the Sun to see if they carried a version of the article. The article in the Sun explained it far more bluntly and directly than the version in the Prophet and once again had information that the Prophet didn't report.

The Muggle-born Liaison Commission Tightens Enforcement of the Muggle-born Protection Act

The Ministry of Magic has implemented an interdisciplinary Program Against Muggle baiting, Muggle-born slander and any prejudicial or acts of hate against anyone half-blood or less. Individuals who commit such offences of Muggle-born slander or any unlawful act against a Muggle or Muggle-born will receive a three Galleon fine for each offense. Further offense will result in a fine of twenty Galleons per offense, and continual participation may result in detainment in the Azkaban Detention Facility.

Hermione finished reading the articles in the Sorcerer's Sun as she ate her breakfast. According to Warren Brent, special correspondent for the Sun, the Ministry's attempts at creating a viable Muggle Protection Act was causing more problems in the Ministry and in the magical community than the original intent was meant to solve. Hermione was not the least bit surprised.

She set her paper down, and Ginny looked up at her expectantly having read the articles in the Prophet. Hermione handed Ginny her copy of the Sun, pointing out the three articles she should read first, and then picked up her copy of The Quibbler. From nearly every table in the Great Hall, there were murmurs and angry retorts from the students and professors as they all read up on the Ministry's newest changes of policy and law.

Three weeks later, the girls all sat in their favorite chairs by the fire Saturday morning, discussing the current events going on outside the castle walls. Hermione sat on the end of the sofa, one leg curled up under her as Shelia grumbled about the latest fiasco the Muggle-born Liaison Commission contrived. "Oh, and the Muggle-born Big Wizard...Adopt A Grandparent Program! That was another brilliant idea. I thought that it was supposed to give Muggle parents of magical children a witch or wizard they could turn to for answers, help, and babysitting. But nooo! Somewhere in the process of 'fine tuning the details,' the adopted part was turned around, allowing the grandparent or the 'Big Wizard' to take the kids for adoption instead."

"I thought that program was shelved for further review," Ginny said, curled up at the other end of the sofa and sipping on a mug of hot cocoa.

"But the Muggle families of magical children are still being assigned a magical grandparent, much to the child's parents' confusion," Hermione argued. "It hasn't stopped the program at all...only the adoptions. According to the Sun, the adoptions are all pending the review of the Wizengamot as to what would be in the child's best interest."

"What does the Prophet say?" Bernice asked from the floor between Valerie's and Hermione's knees. She was still finishing up her Charms essay at the coffee table.

"That the program is a huge success!" Hermione said in a huff. "Of course!"

"NO!" Bernice and Ginny both exclaimed in unison.

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed sarcastically. She sipped her hot cocoa, then looked up to explain. "They say that the Muggle-born Adopt A Grandparent Program works! There was nothing about the adopted part being turned around to allowing the childless couples to be able to adopt the children from their natural families. Since most Muggles didn't know about the Ministry, they didn't know how to find the Ministry or the Wizengamot...the parents had no legal recourse...because they didn't show up for the case hearings! Or if they did know, they were not informed about the hearings in a timely manner, so they didn't show up for the hearings and therefore lost their cases."

"And the Ministry supports the program! So I bet the families are Oblivated or something," Ginny sneered. "I bet Dad's having a fit, although he hasn't said anything yet."

Valerie turned around to look at Hermione. "That's an outrage. How do they find these grandparents and wizarding families?"

"So, what's being done about it?" Bernice asked, holding her mug of tea tightly in her hands and staring into the golden brown liquid. "Don't the parents report the adoptions to the authorities? I'd think they'd do something about it?"

"A letter champagne, mostly," Shelia snorted and sighed heavily. "Thanks to my father's connections, Hermione and I got a hold of the proposal, and with Luna's help, we submitted the articles to The Quibbler. My father sent a copy of it to a reporter for Ireland's Sorcerer's Sun, and they will ran it as well. So for now, we've been able to help expose the fraudulent intent of the program and it was shelved for further review."

"Won't your dad get into trouble sending articles to the other papers?" Ginny asked, over the rim of her mug.

"Well, yes, but both Xeno Lovegood, of The Quibbler, and Kieran Rooney, editor in chief of the Sorcerer's Sun, have offered my dad a place on their staff. If things go bad, Dad will go work for the Sun."

"That's too bad," Hermione uttered and then placed her hand on Shelia's knee when she glared at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... No, what I meant is that with your dad on staff at the Prophet, he's getting a lot of this first hand...even if he has to change the facts around to appease his editor. I hope he doesn't lose his job."

"Sorry, I'm really edgy right now," Shelia said in way of apology.

"I bet. I'd be worried, too, if my father's job depended on appeasing the Ministry of Magic right now," Hermione said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure your dad is capable of doing both, and if it helps any, have him send stuff to you and you and I will write it up for The Quibbler. Luna already told me that her dad is more than happy to print our articles for us. He even offered us pin money."

Down in the dungeons, in the Slytherin common room several of the guys lounged around the fire and laughed about the latest development in the Daily Prophet. Aaron Danes had received his copy of the Sorcerer's Sun and had read it aloud to the guffs and chuckles of his housemates. Seventh-years Aaron Danes, Charles Harper, Thomas Knightly, and Cecil Benders had joined Draco, Goyle, Adam Davis, and Blaise Zabini for drinks of Ogden's spiced pumpkin juice in brandy sniffers, the Ogden's having been smuggled in by Knightly for his birthday.

"Can you believe this nonsense, families wanting the Mudbloods?" Danes said over the top of his weekend edition of the Sun.

"Careful, mate, you'll be fined for saying that," Harper warned him, holding his sniffer casually in his hand on the armrest of his chair.

"Well, since we can't drown the brats...might as well bring them up properly," Blaise scoffed and took a sip of his spiked juice.

Davis chuckled as he watched the juice swirl in his glass. "But to have to raise them as your own kids...really, whoever these grandparents are...they must be desperate."

"I know the Kinleys are; they have three of them now," Knightly said, turning away from the girls to look at his dorm mate. "Mrs. Kinley can't have any so this was the only way for them to have kids."

"It's not the same, in my book," Harper said, his jaw set tightly so that a tick showed in his cheek. "Besides, who's to say that they are going to grow up knowing what they are supposed to, eh? None of the right families are stooping so low."

"What is the world coming to when your blood is no good unless you are tainted with dirty blood?" Goyle said, cracking his knuckles of his right hand and took a drink of his juice.

"Cheers to that, mate," Blaise said, raising his glass and then taking a drink.

Benders scowled as he pointed two fingers of his hand at Harper. "I tell you one thing, I ain't worried about no Tracing Tracking Charm neither, telling me what I can and can't say," he said defiantly.

"You should be. Dregden's father was carted off to Azkaban," Danes warned him, looking up to watch appreciatively as Daphne walked across the common room.

"Well, I ain't worried," Benders sneered, his attention half on Daphne as she approached a ring of girls not far away. "They have to prove it first."

"Don't need any proof, it's a tracing spell, just like saying the Dar-k," Draco caught himself in time, or so he secretly hoped. "You know, Him. He used the same spell on his name last year. It works, believe me."

"My brother was released last month...finally cleared his name and now he's back in Azkaban for calling a girl a Mud...you know, whore," Knightly said, catching his slip and sneering as he changed the insult to whore.

"So get this," Danes said, drawing everyone's attention. "'The Emancipation Commission for Fair Marriage Contracts, provides for a couple in which one applicant is of legal age of seventeen to marry without parental permission. This will allow witches, age sixteen, who are pregnant or who want to get married and have a child, to get married without parental consent or interference, although any union arranged with an underage witch, a person sixteen years of age or less, will require court approval of the Wizengamot under the Marriage Law and Proper Unions Act. Any and all pure-blood witches and wizards applying for a marriage license will have to provide significant proof that the marriage partners do not belong to the same descent group.'"

"Shite," Draco said, reaching for the paper. "Give me that!" He couldn't believe that he'd missed that article. "That wasn't in the Prophet." He was certain of it; he'd read the paper thoroughly.

Danes handed him the Sun with a smirk. "I suppose the Prophet isn't reporting all the facts."

"What a shocker," Knightly said. "Even that rag, The Quibbler, is printing stuff the Prophet isn't."

"What are they doin'?" Benders sneered.

Draco finished reading the article aloud.

"Damn," Goyle said as Benders snarled, "Before you know it, this Muggle Registration Liaison Commission will be telllin' us who we should be marryin'! It's an outrage!"