Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ McGill ❯ Ch-Ch-Changes ( Chapter 13 )

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Ch-Ch-Changes

September 15, 1991
Minister of Magic's office
9:27 a.m.

Carmus entered the office of the Minister of Magic and let his eyes flicker over the men and women seated around a meeting table. Lucius Malfoy, likely there as an advisor. Sebastian Cuffe, head editor of the Daily Prophet. Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Dolores Umbridge, again probably for advice. Xeno Lovegood, Editor and Owner of the Quibbler. Robert Smithe. Nodding his head, he took his seat at the table.

"Well, well, glad we are all here." Fudge said, straightening his tie. "Let's begin. Now the reason I've called you here is because of Dumbledore and the impact this is having to the Wizarding world."

Carmus nodded again, "Yes, right now we need to back off on Dumbledore." Carmus held up his hand at the shocked looks and outraged sounds. "I, above all, have a reason to see him fall, but right now, if we attack again, we risk the public becoming jaded. If they become jaded, then each new atrocity that is revealed becomes merely another story. We must allow the public to assimilate what they know he has done already. We must let them become used to the level of depravity they think he has. Eventually they will start making excuses because they can't understand how he could be evil. Then we will knock out their underpinnings with everything else he's done."

Dolores smiled and nodded, "Yes, I see. And… what else might you have?"

"More than I shall say at the moment, Umbridge."

"The Minister deserves to know. You wouldn't want to… defy the Ministry would you?"

Lucius rolled his eyes at her simpering baby voice. Carmus stared at her. "Umbitch, I didn't want you want here. I came today to talk to the minister about a way to save some face in light of what's been going on. You aren't needed. Sit down and shut up."

"Why, I ne-" she squawked.

"Mr. McGill!" Fudge exclaimed.

"If I had the choice, you wouldn't even be alive. So be quiet! Now, Minister, Lucius and I have two ideas that may help you recover some of your popularity. Lucius?" Carmus said quietly.

Lucius Malfoy bowed his head towards McGill. "Yes, first is what we are going to do about those Dumbledore cheated out of their rightful inheritance. Our suggestion is simple: we retroactively admit them to the Wizagamot. Naturally, since they are Muggleborns, they will be Small Lords. Also, we can't allow them to just join our ruling body with no preparation. Therefore, admittance will be granted only after they have completed, to satisfaction of a governing body, a course in Wizarding Culture and Wizarding Politics. This course will only be open to those Muggleborns who wish to live in the Wizarding World and have graduated Hogwarts in the past fifteen years."

Amelia Bones nodded, "That's actually a good idea. It would bring strong blood back into our world. Malfoy, how will the other purebloods handle this? It's a big strike against their popular platform."

"Most of the purebloods are offended by the way we were all manipulated by Dumbledore. We are willing to give the Muggleborns a chance to prove that they deserve to be a part of the Wizarding Culture."

Fudge nodded, "Good, good. This will be perfect for Dolores. In fact, Dolores, I think that we can put it under your depar-"

The others jumped as Carmus slammed a hand down on the table. "Wrong. Wrong again, Fudge. Under no circumstances is she allowed anywhere near our initiatives. We want them to be considered as serious endeavors."

Fudge reddened, "Now listen here, McGill. I don't know what you have against our Dolores, but this is-"

"Your Dolores, not ours, and what do I have against her? Do you remember my ward? Do you remember how I rescued him?"

Bones frowned, "Your seer friend left you information."

"He did more than that, Minister Bones. He left books. Books, detailed books, about my ward's life if I did nothing, and they were horrid. Horrible crosses, my Harry had to bear. One of the worst was his fifth year. Voldemort was back, but it started out terribly. A Dementor attacked Harry and his cousin. He threw a Patronus and had to defend himself in a trial, a trial by the entire Wizagamot. Worse, Fudge installed a High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. She decided to force Harry to recant his claim that Voldemort was back, but he would not. So she makes him write lines: 'I must not tell lies.' Day after day, night after night, detention after detention. Her name? Dolores Umbridge. She refuses to allow the children to practice in Defense of Dark Arts. She spews hatred about other magical beings such as werewolves and centaurs. I hate her. Now lines may not be a reason to hate someone, but when they steal a bloodquill and use it on my Harry, it is."

Umbridge shrank back into her chair. Amelia Bones eyes were widened in horror.

"Of course, when she dumped a vial of what she believed was Veritaserum and attempted to cast Crucio on him, that's when I decided I needed to find out more about her. What I have found… De…lor…es.

Bones turned to face the woman, "Crucio on a child? Veritaserum? Who do you think you are?! You are an undersecretary, not an Auror or a Minister! I feared that I could not take you in based on what you would have done, but now I know what type of person you are, I will do my best to make sure you never-and I do mean never-are allowed anywhere near power!"

"Too late. She already has the ability to order the Dementors about. However, Amelia, I have something for you. Delores, for some perverse reason, acts as she does because she worships the Minister. She fails to realize that not only is the Minister just a man like any other man, but this is an elected office. He can be unelected. Knowing as I did about those future abuses made me look for current ones. I have found no less than eighteen separate cases where she abuses, intimidates, implies, or in other ways coerces people into doing as the Minister wants." Carmus reached down and pulled out a file, "Very interesting reading, and Minister, that whole Henry the Second thing is ridiculous. Take responsibility!"

Bones smirked. "Henry the Second?"

"Muggle king of England in 1170. He was fighting his best friend over a girl, but some claim they were lovers. Henry wanted the woman away because she was tempting his friend from his side. Others say Thomas deserted his friend for Christianity and became a power threat. In any case, he made his friend, Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. They were fighting, and Henry got drunk and morose. He said something stupid. He said, 'Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?' So four of his knights, who were also drunk, got on their horses, rode to Thomas's house and cut of his head. They were bringing it back when they sobered up. Henry wasn't happy. Henry did penance but claimed he didn't intend to do it. Minister Fudge does the same thing. He carefully drops the fact that he is upset because someone is doing something while his Delores is around. That person then suffers.

"Now, once, you may not know. Twice is possible, but after the third, fifth, twelfth time, please Minister. You knew and you let her get her hands dirty. We all know what type of person you are. Let us not lie. Now let's get on to the second program that may allow you to retain your position for another year.

Fudge sat back; his face pale and pasty. Perspiration beaded his wrinkled forehead. Lucius coughed delicately, "Minister, please forgive him. Mr. McGill is rather… direct in his manner. One can hardly believe he is a member of good standing in Slytherin. However, let us continue with the purpose for this meeting.

"The second program is also addressed towards the Muggleborns. Rather than those already in our world or having left it, we seek those who are entering our world. We propose that the Muggleborn children be informed no later than May 1st but no earlier than December 1st. The families will be placed under a magical binding to keep them from speaking about the Wizarding World unless they are alone with others who know of it. The children will be given books from directly from the Muggle Rights and Responsibilities Office. Dumbledore has usurped their place and left the Muggles dangerously undereducated."

The people around the table nodded. Carmus sighed, "As for Dumbledore, I have more on him, but first I need to ask you, Xeno? Did you find anything?"

Xenophilius Lovegood tiled his head to the side before nodding, "Yes, but it's not enough. I may have to go to the Continent or even hop the pond."

"Very well. Then if we are done for now, I have other things to deal with." Carmus stood up. He could see Delores Umbridge staring at him with hatred in her eyes. "Delores, you should thank me. The information in that file will keep you in the black books for a very long time. The end result of your term at Hogwarts results in you ending up in St. Mungos, a victim of a Centaur Revel after you so unadvisedly called them 'half breed monstrosities.' Good day all!"

Lucius stood up as well, making his goodbyes. As they left, they could hear Robert Smithe speaking, "As Head of the MRRO, I thank you, Minister Fudge, for this opportunity. I have already selected which teams will be covering each-"

Lucius closed the door and turned to McGill, "Quite a Slytherin. Tell me, my dear ally, how soon might we sign the paperwork?

"The Yule is most traditional, is it not?"

"True, very well. 'Til then."

Carmus sighed, it was for the best wasn't it?

McGillis House
Kingston-upon-Thames
Dudley's Room
11:07 a.m.

McGill opened the door to stare at Dudley. He was still portly but the potions were doing their job. Gently, he allowed his magic to flow over the child, checking his health to make sure there were no problems with his heart. Dudley shuddered as he felt the magic move over him. Carmus frowned but rearranged his face before stepping into the room.

"Dudley, Dayn tells me you have been obedient lately. I know that the past nine days have been hard but it was necessary. As bad as you think I have been, have I been one-tenth as bad as your father? I did not confine you in a supposed room, one too small for you even to stand up in. I did not deprive you of food. I limited your choice of food. However, you were allowed as much porridge as you wished. I have not verbally nor physically assaulted you. If Harry had done what you had done at your school, what would your parents have done to him? Just think about it."

Dudley hadn't turned around but his shoulders tightened as Carmus spoke, "Yeah, but he's different!"

"How? He is a boy like any other. Tell me, why did you never help him when your father broke his ribs or broke his arm?"

"He always got back up the next day. He was fine!" Dudley's neck started to redden.

"No, he didn't. The first break was probably when he was six or seven. He didn't get right back up. In fact, his magic did fix his bones to prevent further abuse by your father. However, it takes systematic abuse before that happens, so that means that he didn't get up the next day the first time, or the second, or the fifth. He was in pain and agony for days several times until his magic realized he wasn't getting any care and fixed his bones itself. So he didn't get back up the next day. What are you is wrong with you such that you can't feel anything for your cousin?"

"I'm not supposed to! He's a freak, a stupid freak! He's not normal. He's disgustingly ABNORMAL!"

"Neither are you. Your weight isn't normal. Your lack of academic achievement isn't normal! Abusing people isn't normal! There is no NORMAL. There are averages, but there is no real normal. You must understand Dudley." Carmus walked over and knelt beside the boy's chair, "Normal is relative. What that means is that what's normal for you is not for me and what's normal for me is not normal for others. Yes, there are societal norms; a thing that society agrees is acceptable. However, a norm for this society is not the same as a norm for another society. I'm afraid that what you were taught in that house was not a norm for this or any other society that I'd want to live in. Now, get up. We have someplace to be, okay? A present for you."

Carmus sighed, got up, and left the room. He went down the stairs to wait for Dudley. At the foot of the stairs, he called for Dayn, "You can start returning some of his privileges. Slowly. If he backslides, then you can remove them again."

"Yes, sir!" Dayn popped out as Dudley came down the steps.

Dudley was dressed in light brown slacks, a light brown sweater vest pullover with red and gold piping, over a pale yellow collared shirt. He wore trainers on his feet.

"Very nice, Dudley. You look well. Now come put on your jacket and we'll go."

Dudley frowned but went to the closet and got out a white jacket. Still silent, he put it on. Carmus stepped up and straightened the jacket.

"Hold the right collar and say 'Proxima'."

Dudley frowned. Shrugging, he did as Carmus asked. Slowly the jacket darkened until it matched the color of the pullover.

"Well come along," Carmus opened the door, and they walked down the street until they came to an alleyway. McGill ducked down the alley and tugged Dudley after him. Stopping, he looked left and right.

"Sorry about this, it's going to be uncomfortable." Suddenly, he grabbed Dudley. A second later, the alley was empty.

East Fork
London
11:23 a.m.

Dudley retched as they appeared in another alley. Carmus stooped beside him, rubbing his back gently.

"Sorry. It's Side-Along Apparition. Apparition is horrid but Side Along is twice as bad! Yet, apparition is still less detectible than Portkey travel. I didn't think you wanted everyone to know every place you go."

Dudley coughed a few more times and stood up. Carmus stood and offered him a flask. Dudley took it and gulped greedily. Turning, he spat the water out. He handed it back to the man.

"So where are we?"

"East Fork. Come along." Carmus wrapped one arm around Dudley's shoulders and walked him out the alley. They headed down the small hill. At the foot was large grey building. Even from the top, he could read the wrought iron letter. East Fork Women's Prison.

"I thought you might want to see your mother; maybe your aunt as well?"

Dudley nodded. Together they walked down the hill to the prison.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Front Lawn
10:41 a.m.

Simon smiled as Hermione bossed the Weasley twins around. The Ravenclaws had somehow, though he really didn't want to know how, managed to find the perfect way to spread out the blankets for maximum coverage. They had even gotten together with the Hufflepuffs and managed to charm all the radios to synch together as well as spreading the radios to achieve maximum clarity. Turning, he waved to Draco, who was leading the Slytherins out of the castle. Each of them was bearing a platter or a cooler. Slipping down the wet grass, he skidded next to Draco.

"Hey. Looks like it's going to rain!"

"Seriously McGill… rain repelling charm?" Draco shook his head. "One would think you weren't a wizard!"

"Yeah, yeah! Now, Draco, you have to admit; it's good seeing the entire school get together."

Draco shook his head, "They're only here to see what the Queen is going to do to Dumbledore."

"Strange, in the Muggle world, the Queen is the Queen, but she is just a figurehead. The Prime Minister is the one with the power."

Draco shook his head. "That's odd. I guess it's because Lordships still means something to us. The people of the Malfoy lands owe personal fealty to my father. Remember, most wizards aren't powerful, they can't ward their own homes. They can't ward their businesses. They can't do most healing charms. Most of them don't even have their own wands. They have their parents' or grandparents' wands. That's why our Lordships are based on Magical Power."

Hermione spoke from behind them. "That just seems so wrong to me, actually, to most Muggleborns. We don't want to rule anyone."

Draco sighed. "Fine, don't rule anyone. You have all this power to protect a person's home from fire, their business from floods. You can heal them, but since it might inconvenience you, forget it! Look, Granger, it's not about whether or not it would make you uncomfortable! It's about the fact that you have this ability. In return for doing the right thing and helping other wizards, you get privileges. Now some people have forgotten their duties, but we haven't."

Simon rolled his eyes, "She didn't mean it like that. Out there in the Muggle world, we're taught to be individuals. We don't have the right to control anyone else or even impose ourselves on them. It's the whole Muggle vs. Wizarding raised thing again."

"That makes no sense! You impose on others every time you help someone or tell them when they make a mistake."

"But Malfoy, no one helps you in the Muggle world, and you don't help anyone. It's too dangerous. You stop to help someone with a flat, only for them to rape and kill you. You pull over to help someone with directions and they shoot you. No one helps anyone anymore. You can be a nurse or doctor, like a mediwizard, and see someone choking or having trouble breathing but you don't go help them. You can't. If you do and you press to hard and bruise them, they sue you." Angel said sadly.

Draco stared at them. "For saving their life? And you wonder why we despise Muggle Culture?"

Draco walked away, up the slight rise to where the blankets were spread out.

Simon sighed, "Draco! It's … just you're on your own out there! No helps you, and no one expects help! You do it on your own or you sink! You don't expect help out there; half the time your own family doesn't help you out there!"

"We're not out there; we're in the Wizarding World. If that's the Muggle World, why do you go back there?" Blaise asked quietly.

"It's our world, Zabini! No matter how bad it get, we can't abandon it! It's…"

Zabini nodded. "Yeah, but that's just it. You are loyal to this idea that you can't abandon your culture, but when we say, we can't abandon the weaker wizards then you get all huffy. Most of them are so busy working and striving to live and do things, whereas we who are up for our Lord and Ladyships are needed for other things. When the Wizarding World is threatened by a rampaging dragon, it's not them who die. It's us. It's our job. When a magical plague erupts, it's we who burn out our magical cores simply to heal them. We aren't parasites. We have duties. Just as they owe us loyalty, we owe them duty as well. Being a Lord or Lady means more than just a title."

Hermione whimpered. Simon shrugged. Running up the rise, he wrapped Draco in a one-armed hug from behind, leaning into to whisper, "And that's what the Muggleborns have to learn. Even me. Although my dad is a pureblood, I was raised in a mostly Muggle area. He's had me for a while and I've learned quite a bit, but there are things you are going have to take time to explain to me Draco, please?"

Draco stood silently.

"Please?"

"Argh, stop hanging on me McGill, at least try to act like a pureblood!" Draco tried to snarl.

"Please?"

Draco sighed, "Fine, now let go of me?"

Simon grinned, squeezed him tightly again and let him go, "That still doesn't explain why the speech from the Queen is such a big deal."

The others sat down on the blankets. A fifth year Muggleborn from Hufflepuff sat down abruptly. "Exactly. On the Muggle side, the Queen… we look on her with affection. If we take an oath of office or in the military, we still take it to Queen and Country. However, the Queen part is mostly a matter of honor. The oath to country is more important. Well, not more important, more they expect us to obey that... The idea is that since we have a constitutional monarchy, the Queen will never violate the will of the state, so really, the State and the Prime Minister is what matters."

A sixth year Slytherin nodded and sat next to the small group. "Ahhh, but we still have a working feudal system with modified vassalage system. While they have much more rights than they would have to have, since they are magical, we never were signatories to the Constitution. Your Muggle Prime Minister means nothing to us save the fact that the Prime Minister is a discreet messenger. Our Minister of Magic speaks to your Minister because in the late 1700's, almost a quarter century before the post was created, the Witch Trials were picking up again. We decided to separate from the Muggles; we decided on a Statute of Secrecy. We, at the time, knew that the King at the time, George III, would attempt to destroy us if we went our own way totally. So we gave him personal fealty: fealty to the Throne, Crown, and Scepter. Only the wielder of those could command us. Right now, the only wielder of those items is Her Majesty, Elizabeth II. So while she's a symbol to the Muggles, she is and remains our Queen and Mistress."

Hermione bit her lip, "I see. No offense, I am trying to understand…"

Simon nodded, "We understand, and Draco, here, will keep his snarky comments to himself."

Draco turned towards his friend and gave a sniff, "I am a Malfoy, we aren't 'snarky'."

A round of laughter floated through the area,

Hermione smiled, "Most of us, we are taught that democracy is the best system, that we… ummm, evolved from the primitive forms of government, which include monarchy. So this, to us, seems almost backsliding. It doesn't help that, well, we go to school in a castle, with torches, fireplace, dungeons. It's all very… disconcerting to us who have never had to worry about heating or cooling because we have central air. We have lights that come on and off with a switch or a snap; we have microwaves that cook or heat our food in less than five minutes. In fact, the only magical thing about Hogwarts is the ghosts and house elves!"

Blaise frowned, "Granger, do you think that our houses are like Hogwarts, remnants of castles and such?"

Hermione shrugged, "How do I know? Probably. Diagon Alley wouldn't be out of place in a historical drama from the two hundred years ago. Hogsmeade? The only piece we see of it shows it to be a small rustic town that probably hasn't changed in as long."

Chang, a fifth year Ravenclaw frowned. He nodded, "I understand what you mean, Granger, but Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are deliberately kept 'rustic' to preserve the Muggle sense that it's magic. Not just Muggles but for Wizard children too. It's almost as if you travel back in time to the Great Ages. I guess they are like Historical Villages."

Sanderson, a second year Muggleborn from Gryffindor, threw up his hands. "Well how are we supposed to know? If we ask, people smirk or laugh. If we don't ask, we don't get an answer. So basically, they could show us something more magical and inspiring but choose to preserve cold wet dungeons, drafty rooms, and stone floors out of some twisted and vacuous desire to preserve historical value over health?"

Blaise looked at the boy and started to laugh. All around them Slytherins started to laugh. Even Draco was laughing and leaning against his godbrother. Granger turned over and lay on her stomach, waiting for them to settle down.

"Sorry, Sanderson is it? Ummm, that's one of the reasons we, the Slytherin families, think Dumbledore is bonkers! The dungeon, at least our part of the dungeons, is at all cold or as Granger would say 'backwards'. In our bedrooms we have lights that react to voice or hand commands; we can even use them like lanterns except they don't get hot. Our bedrooms are not stone, or the stone is covered with a foam-like layer over which is a wood floor. And as for something spectacular, there is a room that has a piece of spell glass. It 'eats' a portion of all the magic done down there to maintain itself. It separates the room from the lake. We can watch the lake down there. Is that impressive enough?"

Sanderson nodded, "Ummm, could we… come see it? I bet it'd be bloody wonderful!"

Draco shrugged, "Ask Professor Snape."

Sanderson groaned, "He hates us!"

Simon frowned, "No, he hates what Gryffindors represent. Anyway, this is getting heavy. Let's save it for the next time we meet. Isn't her Majesty's speech starting?

Suddenly the radios got louder, and the students got quieter. "Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the British Wizarding World, I give you our Queen, Elizabeth the Second."

Land of Hope and Glory started to play.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Faculty Room
11:23 a.m.

Severus Snape sat in the faculty room where his fellows were clustered around a radio. The diminutive head of Ravenclaw sat, trying to concentrate on a game of chess… and failing. Severus swirled the liquor around in the rounded glass slowly before sipping. Finely aged scotch. A fanfare played from the speaker grill suddenly, and a light voice floated through the air.

"Welcome to all the Wizarding World. I am Erinya Eris, before we get to the main address today. The Minister of Magic has a few words. Now, I present to you, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

"Ahem… for the first time in the past sixty years, the Queen of Great Britain, our Queen will be speaking with us. This is a momentous time and I urge everyone to listen. What she says will change many things. Thank you."

The woman came back on the air, "Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the British Wizarding World, I give you our Queen, Elizabeth the Second.

East Fork Women's Prison
Room 13
11:20 am

Petunia sat in a prison orange plastic molded chair, her arms pulled close to her body. Her face was pale and her hair was held back with a cloth band. Carmus smiled genially as he entered and sat across the table from her. He nodded gratefully as the guard who had escorted the both of them in placed a radio next to them. His eyes flew to Marge Dursley who had lost quite a bit of weight but whose eyes still gleamed with maliciousness.

Petunia hadn't stood up to hug her son. Dudley sat at the table quietly.

"Are you feeling okay? What has that freak done to you? You look so small. Did he use his… freakishness on you?"

Dudley shook his head. "Umm, he's done nothing, Mum. Really. He makes, or rather his ummm…"

"House elf. A small creature with big ears, nimble fingers, large eyes, and small stature who agree to take care of a home and family in return for care and living space. Basically what you had Harry for except he didn't receive the care. If he had, he wouldn't be so small. Instead of growing, his body had to convert all his energy into magic to heal his bones and cuts." Carmus gave her a flat stare before turning his face to the wall.

Petunia shrunk back as if she had been burned. Dudley blanched before he turned back to his mother, "Yeah, they have me on a diet. It's okay though… it's not so bad. I have to exercise every day and I go to a private day school. It's… different. The people there aren't wizards or witches, they are squibs. They were born to those families but don't have any m-magic."

Carmus turned and smiled, "No, they have magic, but like your mother, it's so small it's not worth training. Think of… the Richter scale, the whole earthquake thing. Each number is 10 times the number before it. Well, think of scale like that but one to 50. Harry is ranked maybe forty-three. Dumbledore was ranked forty-seven before Grindelwald. He hasn't submitted himself for testing in a while. Lily was in the upper 30's…maybe even forty or so. While 15 to 25 is normal for most magical folk. Under ten, you would be a squib, which means you are likely maybe a twelve. Dursely actually ranks high for a squib, based off him and Marge here. So given that, Dudley should be magical," Carmus stared at the woman, whose face had drained of blood while her eyes widened.

Dudley was looking between them. He frowned, "But I'm not like you… or Harry. I can't do that."

"No, you can't. You should be though. Your mother is a witch; your father a high powered Muggle. It's one of the reasons that he's so large. Same with Marge. How do you think Wizards do magic?"

Marge snuffled, "It's unnatural, probably some demonic pact!"

Carmus laughed, "No… magic is in its simplest form is manipulating energy. If I want to move this table, I say a spell. That spell really means nothing. It's a memory device that I use to cause my magic, my ability to move energy, to focus on the table and move it as I want. Like anything else, it takes energy. We get energy from food. You store energy in your fat cells. Thus, energy is used. That's why at the school, they are fed until they are huge. They must be to expend so much energy. Of course, what happens if they don't?"

Dudley frowned, "Well, if we don't use it, it gets stored as fat."

"Right, so if you saw a witch or wizard who was fat, then…"

"They don't do a lot of magic!" Dudley sounded surprised.

"Exactly, Dudley, good job on the logic. It's also why Harry is so small and thin. His magic was eating up all his energy to fix his body. After a while, there was no energy left. So rather than kill him, it left him just energy to live."

Dudley looked gray as he whispered, "But I can't do… magic."

Carmus shrugged, "True… which is troubling, isn't it Petunia?"

Petunia Dursley drew herself up tightly. "I don't what you mean."

"I think you do, Petunia. I really do. And I will find out. Don't you worry. Now… isn't it time for the Queen?"

12:00 noon
Wizarding Wireless Network

"My beloved and most magical subjects, you have rarely heard from me and with good reason. I… though a Queen, am not a Witch and cannot truly understand how you live. That does not mean I did not care about you nor concern myself with you. You are my people. Beholden to me and I am honor bound and proud to serve you as not only your Queen but your Lady.

"Many have asked, if I cared so much why I have done so little. I did, as per tradition, harbor a great deal of trust in the office of the Minister of Magic. I depended on the honor of the personal integrity of those who hold the office to communicate to me your will. Recently, I have found that this trust has not only been misplaced but in fact thoroughly abused.

"Many children born to those of non-magical parentage were neglected, abused, or simply ignored. The sheer number of those, as they are called Muggleborns, who have been disenfranchised through trickery and deceit is horrendous. The Wizarding population has been plummeting. Before 1945, our entrance in the Second World War and the Wizarding World war with Grindlewald, there were no less than 1.9 million magical humans. The wars killed many. Families that had four or more children lost many of them and the population fell to less than a million. Since then, Mundane Britain has done nothing but grow in population. Our population since the war has grown to more than ten times. Magical Britain, however, has not recovered.

"Right now, the population, as of last census, stands at 475,322 people. This is less than half of the post-war population, one quarter of the pre-war population. The data, which shall be made available to you, suggests that prior to 1950, more Muggleborns stayed in Magical world. Over 97% of Muggleborns stayed and with them came new blood into this world. By 1960, less than 40% stayed, and today it is less than ten percent.

"Many of you have heard of the accusations against Albus Dumbledore who it is claimed has manufactured this disenfranchisement of so many Witches and Wizards. Some may say, this cannot be for how could he do this? With the death of so many of the noble class, the one class that had the highest influx of Muggle raised children, we stopped welcoming them. The number of children born to the noble class decreased sharply. This is a problem because the only Muggleborns now accepted are not allowed entry into enough of the positions of power.

"This is where Magical Britain stands now. On the verge of systemic collapse. Tell me, what new innovations have Magical Britain come up with? Radios? We have had radios for over a hundred years. Have you improved on the radio? Do your radios now allow people to view the broadcasters? Perhaps they are in some ways better than our radios? Or television? Are they?

"Did not think so. How long has Magical innovation been delayed, destroyed, denied, and retarded because of this puerile belief in pureblood superiority. What do you know of a Muggleborn named Richard Pawlenty? Thirty-five years ago, he tried to interest people in his idea of using Garhel Poppies and Trawn seeds in developing a cure for Dragonpox. He was turned away at every place he went to because of the ridiculous belief of how dare a Muggleborn try to come up with something. Nine years ago, a cure for Dragonpox was discovered and awarded to Targee Podmore; his cure uses Garhel Poppies and Trawn seeds.

"Twenty six years passed between Pawlenty and Podmore… How many people died of the Dragonpox in those twenty six years? Do any of you know? I do… In Magical Britain over the past twenty six years, no less than twelve thousand have died from Dragonpox… and of those who survived, there are no less than thirty thousand rendered sterile. That is forty-two thousand people. That is one tenth of the present population.

"Now, I wish for all of you to count out groups of ten people. Of those ten people, one is dead of Dragon pox; have them sit down. Another is a Muggleborn, they will leave this world; have them sit down. Now two of those remaining will chose not to have children. Please have them sit down. You likely have three couples now. One of those three either will not or cannot have children. Please sit down. Now there are two couples left… your responsibility is to have children to replace yourself and your fellows. So you must each have five children. Except most won't. Most only have two or three… so, forty percent of people are lost every generation. How long until there are no children? Let us not forget that among those who protect the Wizarding World, among those who attend Hogwarts and are the elite, the child rate is smaller, and the consanguinity is higher.

"What does this mean? It means those who can protect you are dying out. Those who are the weaker witches and wizards are also dying out, slower but still dying out. Within two hundred years, the number of Wizards in Magical Britain will fit in the town of Hogsmeade or perhaps they will choose to live along Diagon Alley.

"This is unacceptable. I will not fail my children, and you are my children like this! I am your Queen and I will not allow Magical Britain to die! I am your Queen and I am here for you!"

The Queen waited for a moment, her breathes coming deeply.

"To this end, we have and there will be several detailed articles tomorrow, we are starting a new program in an effort to integrate Muggleborns into Magicial Britain. This year is too late but starting next summer, the first year Muggleborn students as well as the incoming second years will participate in a Wizarding Studies program. Before they enter our world, we will have the Muggle Rights and Relations Office, headed by our own dear Mr. Robert Smithe, contact the families no later than May 1st and no earlier than December 1st to explain what will be happening with their child as well as to allow the children to go to classes to learn about the Wizarding Culture. It will be administered by several Pureblood wizards of different classes.

"Our next program is for those already in Wizarding schools. All Wizardborn children will have no less than five years mandatory Muggle Studies taught by someone who has been raised in the Muggle world. All Muggleborn children will take five years of mandatory Wizarding Studies taught by someone who has been raised in Wizarding world.

"Our last program is certainly not the least, but it the most interesting. The older Muggleborns, if they wish to reclaim their seats in the Wizagamot, may do so; however, they too have to pass a class in Wizarding Culture and Wizarding Politics. This can only be open to those who have graduated from a Magical school within the past fifteen years and only to those who chose to live in the Wizarding World.

"This is merely the beginning. Hopefully the beginning of a renaissance for our world. This is not the end. One doesn't announce programs and think that will solve things, but it is a step in the right direction. I will be with you every step of the way. Now, I wish to introduce someone, Mr. Roland Bannerson. He will be my eyes and ears among the Wizarding Britain."

Bannerson stepped up to the mike, "Thank you, Your Majesty. My name is Roland Bannerson, I am a dedicated member of her Majesty's Private Guard and a Squib. I have been raised with several of my own family being both Magical and Muggle and I…"