A Story of Mortality

Chapter 5

A few weeks had passed since the incident, and Harry was feeling a lot more in control of the political situation. He had been working hard with his followers, particularly in Britain, to help overturn a bill that was being proposed by Dumbledore which involved the restriction of libraries holding books for Dark magic. The Wizengamot was very divided over the issue, as it often was these days. Many feared Dark magic and were concerned with the rise of Dark, and so supported the bill, but also many moderates and some Lights were arguing for the rights to possess such books, that often have been in family libraries for centuries. It was a tricky political battle, but they were making sure progress to win over some of the moderates.

A short meeting was being held the morning before the annual Ministry Ball, to assign small tasks for the evening and to establish where they stood as a group. The attendees were sat in a lounge area, being served tea and coffee to keep them awake and alert, all facing Harry as he sat for a moment with his drink, contemplating.

"I want you split into your divisions, I think" he finally announced, looking for the approval of his followers. "Of course, first and foremost I do want you all to have an enjoyable time this evening; it is a well-earned down time, and I most certainly do not want you feeling that you have to work all night. It is easier, then, if we split the responsibility. Small groups only should send small messages to other small groups who will be present at the ball. The falcon division, Matté do we have your attention?"

"Yes, my Lord," responded the man with a small bow of the head.

"Good, good. The falcon division, being best associated with European politics, will continue to encourage the idea of a united fight for a united magic. There are many Light supremacists still around in Europe and I want you to focus on changing that, and removing sympathy towards those groups."

"Understood, my Lord."

"Do we have Mayberry of the panther division?" Harry asked into the room once again.

"Here, my Lord," the woman responded.

"Your focus is to be again on public opinion, make your ties with public sector workers. They're having a rough time themselves by the hands of the Wizengamot, with wage cuts in favour of putting the money into bribing the goblins. He wants them to put up with the rules that the Minister is setting out for them in the coming years, and so the public sector is once again an ignored victim. Use this against them, talk about how much we respect public sector workers, and how disappointed we are that we even have to bribe the goblins, and how the use of bribery must be an indication of how unfair the rules for the goblins are going to be. Quickly revise your knowledge of the different jobs within the sector, and tackle the importance of what they work on specifically. If we play it well, we can get quite a bit of support from the moderates who just want a better wage for themselves."

"Yes, my lord," Mayberry bowed her head.

"The viper division, Lin?"

"Ready to receive instruction, my Lord," Harry's ex-tutor responded, a hint of mirth in his eyes from the formalities.

"You know what you have to do. Your people will be specifically tackling Dumbledore's bill and finding out just why people support it, and contradict their beliefs if necessary."

"Yes, my Lord."

"And we must all remember where we stand as an organisation. In the subject of Voldemort, I ask that you avoid this topic with the guests of the ball, as it is a tricky line to tread, but if unavoidable we will not openly oppose him, nor will we openly accept his methods. Our main priorities are the rights of dark creatures and dark wizards alike, around the globe, and fighting for the equality and balance of magic. We are opposed to the dominance of light, and opposed to the totalitarianism of some dark leaders globally. We want isolation from muggles in order to protect our own, and we want respect for all living beings.