Teaser 2
Unfogging the Future 🔮 When Magic and Muggle Collide 🔮 CompleteMinutes
August 11, 2018
The Response
"It's unprecedented."
"That's the fifteenth time you've said that, and I swear it's less helpful every time." Harry growls, and Hermione sighs, recognizing the tone for what it is. But this time there isn't anything Harry can point his wand at to fix the problem - this is going to take administration, and a lot of it, something she knows her best friend isn't particularly good at.
Of course something like this happens less than six months into her tenure as Minister for Magic, and it is, as the Head of the Department of Transportation has repeatedly pointed out, entirely unprecedented. Frustrating as it is, Percy has a point.
"He's right Harry." She sighs. "There's nothing in the rulebook that would adequately cover this. The Statute is utterly blown. Even if we could Obliviate all of England there's the entire rest of the world to consider."
"And we don't have the capacity for that sort of large-scale Obliviation anyway. In larger countries it wouldn't even be a question." The Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes confirms with a lazy flick of his wand.
Arnold Peasegood, former Obliviator, Head for five years now so he'd know better than anyone. Hermione reminds herself. Indeed, other than herself and Harry everyone in the room is more experienced than they are, even her Senior Undersecretary, whom she had retained from Kingsley's tenure as Minister.
"Speaking of other countries, do we have any word on how they're trying to handle things?" She asks, looking over to the Head of the Department of International Cooperation - Edward Scot - and the representative from the International Confederation of Wizards whose name she's already forgotten in the twenty minutes they've all been in the room.
Edward shrugs helplessly. "It was yesterday Minister Granger, I imagine they're all in meetings like this one now. I'll arrange a group Floo call with other Cooperation heads afterwards and swap notes, but that's all I can do for ya at the moment."
The Confederation Representative nods. "We had an emergency meeting yesterday but it was haphazard at best. One of the big problems really is the retaliation made by witches and wizards protecting the Muggles." The woman wrinkles her nose slightly. "Some of the older chair holders were more annoyed by that than the attack itself, which is disgusting." She adds.
Misra. Hermione finally remembers. Her name is Misra and she's the youngest person on the council, which is rather unfortunate considering she's in her fourties - the new Minister can only imagine how closed-minded and stubborn Misra's colleagues must be.
"Seriously? Ew." Scot declares. "Anyway, Potter you got anything on the attack itself?"
Hermione bites down on her irritation - Scot is in his right to ask the question, even if she's supposed to be leading the meeting.
Harry glances over at her, and she nods for him to respond. He clears his throat.
"Well I only got to skim the report placed on my desk this morning before coming here, but we do have a possible name of the person who orchestrated the attack. It's been attested to by the person who led the international Deatheater hunt twenty years ago - Abeni Akingbade. I worked with her a few times, and she knew the profile of every single missing Deatheater backwards and forwards, so if she says it's Yurina Nakayashi then I'm inclined to agree."
Hermione nods, and then realizes that something about the room suddenly feels off. It takes a moment, but she finally notices that her Senior Undersecretary, who has been taking notes on the meeting, has stopped writing.
"Audrey? Is everything alright?" She prompts lightly.
Audrey Weasley glances over at her husband, and Percy shrugs though he also looks rather pale. Looking around, Hermione realizes that most of the Heads are looking suddenly ill, as well as the Wizengamot representative Willow Kiddell (her Hermione remembers, they'd gotten Rose and Hugo's wands from her sister).
"Well," Audrey starts, "It's just that Yurina Nakayashi is pretty well known to those of us who worked in the Ministry back during the war. If she's behind this, then it's not over. Not by a long shot."
Percy nods. "I'd wager that she probably intended things to go the way they did. Voldemort always wanted to get rid of the Statute." He says darkly.
"Okay, Potter and Misra would you two see about coordinating a task force to track down this Yurina Nakayashi then? I'd like to include as many of our allies in this as we can." Hermione says briskly, a plan starting to finally come together in her mind.
Scot looks put out. "If you need our allies why can't I help?" He asks, a bit petulantly.
Hermione sighs. "Because if this is part of Nakayashi's plan, then we need to get in front of it. We have to control the narrative here, which means I need you to work with Mrs. Kiddell and my Senior Undersecretary to create a new, temporary team under your Department's jurisdiction."
Scot tilts his head, and both Willow and Audrey look at her as well. Hermione takes a breath, giving herself time to formulate how to phrase this properly.
"Mr. Weasley has a point - this is unprecedented, and it's universal to boot. We need a group to put together new legislation in light of this new reality. A team that will keep in contact with other countries to stay appraised of how they are managing the situation. A team who will be in charge, essentially, of bringing our world into the Muggle one with hopefully as little chafing as possible."
Misra is grinning. "A muggle integration initiative then?" She asks, and Hermione finally smiles.
"I think I like that name." She decides. "So yes, Ms. Misra, precisely that. A Muggle Integration Initiative. And I want it off the ground by the time the Hogwarts Express leaves Platform Nine and Three Quarters."
A/N ; And there you have it! There are a lot of H:aH and CtF cameos in here but again any characters that end up important will be properly reintroduced during the main body of the story~ This teaser is just to show the start of the creation of the Initiative and elaborate that there were basically a bunch of wizard fights all over the world (no Muggles were killed, thankfully!)
Comments