The Ministry's Truths

Harry's mind was stuck on thoughts of You-Know-Who and ghosts who gave advice, but most of all on London and a hospital he'd never visited and a godfather he couldn't remember. Hermione's voice, however, was demanding that all the Gryffindors she could see should go into the family room for a private class. "Gryffindors only."

Percy Weasley was her partner in crime in this. After all, Percy had arranged for his own father to speak.

Harry went along. He liked Mr. Weasley well enough and he could think of London if the class was tedious.

The nervous man stood at the front of the room as Harry found a seat near the back. He earned himself a glare from Hermione who was seated in the front row. Harry wasn't going to sleep, of course.

"Good, good. A lot of you turned up, even all of my own children. I didn't know there was so much interest in the Ministry inside Gryffindor. I expect my son Bill will draw a bigger crowd when he comes back some day to talk about the life of a cursebreaker..."

Now Harry promised himself he would attend that class.

"We're underrepresented in the Ministry as a House, you see. I know a few Aurors, magical police, and a few members of the Wizengamot. Few others. It's not exciting enough to stamp papers to start a new Floo or negotiate a treaty with the Dutch on the thickness of imported cauldrons, perhaps? Well, let me tell you about the work I do for a few minutes before we get to questions. My brief was to tell you things about the Ministry that you are unlikely to read in a book or hear about from school gossip. Well, I know a few things. I even wrote myself some notes..." He smiled.

Harry smiled back and the rest of the room seemed pleased. This wouldn't be some dry talk given in monotone by a ghost.

"While I do have an office in the Ministry where I collect reports about magical items turning up in muggle hands, most of my time is spent in the field. I find these enchanted items, undo whatever damage they have caused, and issue fines or recommend prison sentences. Now I don't have the greatest rapport with the Wizengamot. Anything to do with muggles draws little sympathy there, but I enjoy the work. I protect people. I stop malicious enchantments from harming people who are defenseless against them. I suppose I am rather excitable about the work I do, but it is as noble a job as there is inside the Ministry."

Which said quite a lot for the Ministry or at least Mr. Weasley's view of it.

Harry found himself very interested indeed in what Mr. Weasley had to say. Not that he saw himself working for the Ministry. He could read between the lines of what Mr. Weasley said. The Ministry disapproved of Mr. Weasley's work even as it paid him to do it.

Harry wondered if he could convince Mr. Weasley to speak more on that during questions. If not, perhaps when Harry visited Ron in the future.

The more Mr. Weasley talked about his work, and the overall purpose of the Ministry, the more Harry realized he had underestimated the man. No wonder his son had become a cursebreaker. Mr. Weasley might be the most experienced person in curses and enchantments outside Gringotts or the independent cursebreakers. This Bill, his oldest son, must have had quite an education at his father's side.

Harry hadn't talked to Ron's dad much when he stayed at the Burrow, save for that day when he handed in that very troublesome diary. That had been a mistake. If he had the chance in the future, Harry would chat with Mr. Weasley.

Hermione had picked their first teacher well. The students in the room were waking up to quite a bit about their world even as Mr. Weasley said nothing overtly disparaging about the Ministry. He just hinted, alluded, and told little stories that were at odds with how the world was supposed to work.

Harry stood for questions. Mr. Weasley called on him first. Perhaps being famous, and a former Weasley houseguest, was good for something.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. That was fascinating. But I suppose if I were in your position, I would become very discouraged and unhappy if my superiors did not support the work I did. Can you explain why you stay and even recommend the job to students?"

Mr. Weasley smiled. Perhaps he was glad someone had learned the lesson he had really come to teach. "It's complicated, Harry. My work is called for in various international treaties and several Wizengamot laws and precedents. You're right that the Wizengamot doesn't punish those who break these treaties and laws. The harder I work, in fact, the more gets carved out of my budget. Starvation method, I'm told it's called. That might be my fault. I'm hardly a politician to go begging or negotiate the release of Lord Cruelsmile so I might get to add another staffer to my office in the next year."

So that was the cost of honesty, Harry decided.

No, the Ministry was no place for him. But he couldn't ignore it. In fact, it had to be something he would begin to study. If the Slytherins had their alumni down in the dungeons giving classes on how to get what they wanted, and the Gryffindors had almost no representation inside the Ministry, then how...

"Follow up?" Harry asked.

Mr. Weasley nodded.

"If we cannot condone what your Lord Cruelsmile does nor take his bribes, what do you suggest we do?"

"I may have painted an overly dire picture, Harry. Not every department is so poorly regarded. But we do not cooperate. Each department protects itself from the others they regard as outsiders. Some of that is the Hufflepuff domination of some entire floors of the Ministry. To be clear, they cooperate with each other, but not with departments like mine. They also have little representation in the Wizengamot to help make changes. We're all at war with everyone else. Not fun..."

Harry was puzzling over this. It sounded impossible to resolve.

Someone else stood. "So, you recommend some kind of pact? A cooperation pact between the few Gryffindors and the many Hufflepuffs?"

That was Percy Weasley's voice. He sounded positively shocked to have heard his father speak like this. Wise and sneaky and, well, smart.

Mr. Weasley had probably spent his entire life being underestimated, even among his own children.

"I doubt I could say such a thing, as a department head of the Ministry. However, I suppose you can see how useful it might be with honest people finding the violators and stern people hearing those trials. Such a pact, however much I cannot propose it, would make it hard for a Lord Cruelsmile to get his way or buy it or bully it. Just a thought, an experiment of the mind."

.....

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