[Prof. Umbridge] Chapter 33

oops.. Had this accidentaly locked for tier 1. Sorry, all good now.

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Marina Nikolaevna had a very busy summer. Of course, compared to her previous work, there was almost no reporting, but there was still plenty to do.

“Dolores, have you firmly decided to stay in the position of High Inquisitor?” Fudge asked sadly when she arrived to give her report.

“Do you object?”

“Not exactly object, but without you, I’m lost!”

“Minister, if I could split myself in two, I’d gladly work on both fronts, but alas, that’s impossible!” Marina Nikolaevna replied sincerely. “But don’t your assistants manage their duties?”

“They manage, but they’re nothing compared to you,” he sighed. “I’ve gone through several already, and they’re as useless as... as... well, I can’t even think of a comparison!”

“Why not make Percy Weasley your first assistant?” she asked. “He’s already on your staff, and he’s not so clueless about the Ministry’s workings!”

“Dolores, but he’s a Weasley, and you know where the Weasleys' loyalties lie,” Fudge grimaced. “And second, he’s not much of an employee; he’s a talking puppet! Whatever I say, he just nods and parrots, ‘Yes, Minister, absolutely, Minister!’ If I told him that staff must start walking on their heads, he’d follow the order!”

“Minister, there’s a small nuance here…” Marina Nikolaevna drawled. “This young man may be a Weasley, but didn’t you notice that he’s cut ties with his family? He’s ambitious; he was a prefect in school and an excellent student… And he genuinely wanted to escape the poverty his father dragged his family into with his, ahem, unrestrained passion for expanding the number of heirs.”

“Yeah, it’d be better if he’d put that energy into work,” Fudge muttered. “Sorry, that slipped.”

“No problem,” she smiled. “I should note that even the older offspring of that family left home as soon as they came of age, managed to build good careers, and aren’t exactly keen on staying in touch with their relatives. Perhaps that says something about their family situation?”

“I wouldn’t be thrilled either if I had to live on top of my brothers and sisters,” Fudge grumbled.

“I suspect the twins will follow the same path as their older brothers. They’re quite inventive and plan to open their own business,” Marina Nikolaevna added. “That goal at least channels their inventive spirit in a relatively peaceful direction… It’s too early to talk about the younger ones, but I fear the situation there is bleak. Take the fact, for instance, that in his first year—other teachers told me this—Ron Weasley came to school with an old wand that barely worked, and when he broke it in his second year, he was too afraid to write home about it! How can one even study under those conditions? And they couldn’t even scrape together enough for a new robe for the youngest girl… And they’re pure-blood wizards!”

“Dolores, I seem to have lost the thread here,” Fudge frowned. “Weren’t we talking about Percy Weasley?”

“Yes, I was simply bringing up his other brothers as examples,” she explained. “Almost all of them are quite driven individuals, seeking to build their own lives and provide for themselves, not relying on inheritance or family help. As for Percy… he’s perhaps overly compliant, but that’s understandable: he’s deeply afraid of losing his job. And if that happens, what will he have left?” Marina Nikolaevna paused, then added, “He reminds me a lot of myself at that age, although he lacks the same drive.”

“Well, a career like yours is unlikely for him,” the minister chuckled and then grew serious. “Do you think, Dolores, that he deserves a chance?”

“I believe he should be given a task that would reveal whether he’s only capable of blindly following orders or if he can show some initiative. We do need people of the former kind, but they’re a dime a dozen, while the latter…”

“And what task would you propose?” Fudge asked, intrigued.

“Here,” Marina Nikolaevna took a folder from her bag. “It contains a brief outline. In short, I believe that magical society has been too quick to ignore Squibs and prefers to forget about them.”

“Dolores! What are you saying?!”

“Please, hear me out, Minister,” she said emphatically. “I won’t go into detail, but certain scholars’ research suggests that all so-called Muggle-born wizards are actually descendants of Squibs or have wizards in their ancestry. It’s difficult to determine exactly how magical abilities are passed down; we lack data, there’s no central database, so finding a pattern is impossible,” Marina Nikolaevna paused to catch her breath and continued, “There is a Society for the Support of Squibs, but its activity is limited to helping those cast out by their families to find a place in the Muggle world. This is something, but it’s not enough. However, they do keep some records, which could be a starting point.”

“A starting point for what?”

“Minister…” she hesitated. “Alright, perhaps a specific example would make it clearer… You know that my brother is a Squib, right?”

Fudge stared in surprise, making it clear he didn’t. “I didn’t even know you had a brother!” he managed to say.

“Imagine that. It was kept very quiet, as is customary… So, he’s a Squib, yet both of his daughters are witches. They’re already in the Hogwarts registry book; I checked. They carry the same last name as I do, but they’re listed as Muggle-borns. And how many others with similar last names might there be! Do you see where I’m going with this?”

“Wait, wait…” Fudge, suddenly excited, grabbed his chin, then his nose. “So… you’re suggesting that the chances of a wizard being born to two Muggles are very low? And likely, one of them is a Squib or has one in their ancestry… maybe both… and they might not even know it?!”

“Exactly, Minister. They could be descendants of a Squib from some ancient and noble family, unaware of their heritage, raised in the Muggle world, having no idea about our world, and thereby posing a risk to the current order!” she said, keeping a serious expression. “In my case, it’s not as dire; their father will tell them what they need to know. But what about those who know nothing of the magical world because they were handed over to Muggles as soon as it was clear they had no magic? Childhood memories are easy to erase, to make them believe they’ve lived a normal life! Or perhaps they’re ashamed to admit they were from a good family but were thrown out, forced to take a name like Johnson! Or maybe they took their wife’s last name…”

“Dolores, every time with your research, you open up some kind of abyss for me,” Fudge said with a shudder. “If you’re right… then most Muggle-borns are actually…”

“Yes, Minister. Take the Creevey brothers, for example: when have you ever heard of two wizards being born consecutively in a Muggle family?”

“Does Dumbledore know about this?” the minister suddenly asked, collecting himself. “If so, that would explain why he relies on Muggle-borns!”

“I doubt it,” Marina Nikolaevna sighed. “But even if he does, don’t you think we should take away this advantage of his? He says everyone is equal, both pure-bloods and Muggle-borns, but we should counter that Muggle-borns are actually distant descendants of pure-bloods! And they’re not inferior, Minister. Quite the opposite; thanks to the influx and mixing of fresh blood, they’re often more gifted than pure-bloods!”

"What on earth are you saying..."

"A simple example: in our troublesome fifth... well, now sixth year, there are two hopeless pureblood idiots in Slytherin. And there's a Muggle-born Gryffindor girl who could outperform almost any pureblood. Incidentally, she might be related to Dagworth-Granger, although she doesn’t know it herself. Judging by her talent for Potions, and other subjects too, it’s quite likely."

"And you're suggesting," Fudge flipped through the file, "that we keep Squibs in the wizarding world?"

"At the very least, we shouldn’t lose sight of them," Marina Nikolaevna replied seriously. "And we shouldn’t mistreat them. It's not their fault they were born without strong magical abilities. Nevertheless, they do have some traces of these abilities; take Hogwarts’ caretaker, Argus Filch. He may not realize it, but he uses them. He can sense the castle, knows all its nooks and crannies that not every wizard can access, and he has a bond with his familiar..."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..." The Minister jumped up and began pacing the office. "And if they aren’t expelled from society, they could perhaps find companionship with so-called Muggle-born wizards and witches, and if everything goes well, their offspring might also possess magical abilities! Did I understand your idea correctly?"

"Yes, Minister. It’s a gamble, of course, but it’s no different than when a pureblood or half-blood wizard marries a Muggle. My mother is a Muggle," she explained, noticing his puzzled look. "As a result, I’m a witch, my brother’s a Squib, and my nieces are witches. Inheritance is a very peculiar thing!"

"This is a very, very serious and... controversial undertaking," Fudge said, settling back into his chair. "There will likely be strong opposition from the purebloods... Not all of them, but many. But the Muggle-borns — let’s call them that for now — might support it. And half-bloods too."

"The main thing is to take it slow and plan everything carefully," Marina Nikolaevna interjected. "We can’t just dump this information all at once; we need to proceed gently, gradually..."

"Yes, the well-known member of the Board of Governors you’re familiar with would hardly be pleased!"

"That gentleman isn’t in much of a position to object right now," she reminded him.

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that his old Death Eater friends, who recently escaped, aren’t likely to hold him in high regard; he, unlike them, didn’t serve time in Azkaban and was living quite comfortably," Marina Nikolaevna explained. "And his son will be at Hogwarts under my careful watch..."

"Yes, indeed... And you-know-who is mostly supported by purebloods!" the Minister added, clearly thinking of something. "But there are far more Muggle-borns and half-bloods!"

"Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for over an hour!" Marina Nikolaevna couldn’t hold back. "We can’t afford to lose such a human resource! If we continue to treat Muggle-borns like third-rate citizens, Dumbledore will take them under his wing; can’t you see that?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Fudge exclaimed, suddenly excited. "On one side, you-know-who, who doesn’t even consider Muggle-borns human, on the other, kind old Dumbledore... And here, the Ministry does a complete 180 and opens its arms to Muggle-borns and Squibs! Oh, Dolores, it’s a huge risk, but... but... if it works out..."

"I think you’ll become the most famous Minister of Magic of this century, at least," she smiled. "Of course, there will be opposition, and strong opposition at that. That’s exactly why we need careful preparation and planning for the reintegration of Squibs into our society. Which brings us to Percy Weasley."

"In what way?" The Minister came back down to earth.

"Have him gather information on Squibs," Marina Nikolaevna tapped the file. "He's a very meticulous young man, used to working with information and not missing details. We need to search for the smallest hints; say, a record in the wizard registry of a child born to a certain family. But that child didn’t go to Hogwarts, and their name doesn’t appear anywhere else. Where did they go? Did they die? Are they being homeschooled? Were they sent to another school and stayed in that country? Or were they hidden away upon discovery that they were a Squib? This will be a long and painstaking task, but if Percy can find at least a dozen such cases, and if we can trace the life paths of these individuals..."

"And maybe even convince them to give an interview if they’re still alive," Fudge muttered. "Take Filch, for example. And Figg. They’re both rather solitary, but... Will the Squib Protection Society help?"

"I told you, they have some information. I think they’ll help," Marina Nikolaevna nodded. "The main thing is for Percy to behave not like a pompous fool but as a genuine person. And I can convey that to him, if you give the go-ahead... And I’ll introduce him to the Society’s representatives, of course."

"Of course, Dolores!" Fudge grabbed his quill. "Where is your proposal... Ah, here. And let them try to say the Minister doesn’t do anything! Now then. Make sure Weasley gets the message and let him get to work. If he completes the assignment, I’ll first make him my assistant and give him a raise!"

"I think," Marina Nikolaevna said, taking the order, "that’ll be the perfect motivation for him!"