Post by fae iona cloudbreaker on Nov 20, 2021 16:58:17 GMT -7
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June 1st - June 2nd, 2026
The change of power for the Minister of Magic had happened five times since Fae became High Druid of Hy-Brasil in 2020. Three of those were due to the untimely demises of the sitting Minister, two due to election, and now there was a sixth. Six Ministers of Magic in six years. It was no wonder that there were oversight issues and criminals running amok on the mainland. She tried her best not to criticize the efforts of those actively working to keep things under control, but the most recent attack on Hogwarts had left her with an even worse opinion on Minister Krum than she already had of him. His almost useless application of the law and blatant disregard to do anything remotely within his power as Minister was disturbing at best and stupid at its very worse. The fact that she had more government experience within the Ministry than he did when he won his popularity contest was not something she wanted to be proud of. She understood that elected officials functioned in this manner and that it was ultimately up to the people to vote and bring forth who they thought was best for the job. Taking that away from them wasn’t something she was keen to do since it was their right. But they needed to get it sorted out before anything worse happened.
The destruction of Hogwarts seemed to light the fire under them that had been necessary since January - when Yrisle first appeared and nothing was done about it. Viktor Krum was ousted as Minister and a new election was held, though Fae had already given up all hope that someone capable would be put into place. The fact that the highest seat in the mainlander government was as easily removed and replaced like chalk on a rainy day was infuriating to her. It shouldn’t have taken the deaths of numerous children at a school that prided itself on its safety. Despite its failing security over the past several years, she had added it up as a problem with the Minister at the time and the lack of the educational portion of the Ministry doing what was necessary to protect their children. If they could barely provide a security detail and lodgings for the druid children, how could she think that they would do the same for their own? The wool that had initially been pulled over her eyes when she was chosen as High Druid had been lifted up and cast away years ago, and she could have told anyone within the Ministry that something like this would have happened eventually. All one had to do was read the newspaper daily and they could see it coming.
The replacement chosen for the next Minister of Magic came as quite the shock to Fae and the druids of Hy-Brasil, as it was a name that they all knew and recognized: Root. Rowena Root, an employee within the Ministry in the International Cooperation Department, and great-granddaughter to one Ronda Root, Fae’s predecessor as High Druid. The fact that someone of druid descent, albeit only a quarter druid by Fae’s own mathematics and understanding of the Root family genealogy, had now entered the highest position within the mainland government was sparking discussions amongst the Council and the community about what to expect going forward. Fae didn’t want to be the one that was the most grounded and realistic throughout these, but she had to be. Too many times she and Hy-Brasil had been burned by empty promises from the past Ministers. And it went much further beyond that too. Centuries of the same old game led up to what they had now, and while she believed more openness between the two communities would be good, there were still hard lines she had to maintain in order to keep Hy-Brasil’s autonomy. The delicate balance of it all was absolutely frustrating at times but especially so during the transference of power from one Minister to the next. Some seemed to think that Rowena would be better because she knew the druids and had visited the island plenty of times throughout her life. Fae was still hesitant.
Nonetheless, Rowena Root was named the next Minister of Magic on June 1st, 2026. Fae sent a letter of congratulations via owl immediately, post-scripting that she would be traveling to the mainland the following day to attend the numerous meetings that needed to be conducted and the likes. She hated writing about official business in messages meant for well-wishes, but it had to be done considering both of their positions. Rallying the correct people on Hy-Brasil so that she could make the trek the next day was quite easy this time around. There was a pep in the step of most of the druids due to the new appointment and the lack of oversight Fae suddenly had as she was thrusted onto the mainland on June 2nd was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It was like they suddenly felt fine with allowing her to wander around, as if one person all the way up at the top actually affected things.
And who was she to say no to all that? The afternoon and following days were going to be nonstop meetings and discussions with the applicable parties, reiterating the same sentiments she had the last four times this had been done. The fact that his was becoming an almost yearly occurrence for her now would have been irritating had it not been because of the deaths of a couple of the Ministers. Those could be forgiven of course.
With the assigned times given to her when she arrived at the Ministry, the first meeting being later that evening, Fae was told that she could either sit around in the Ministry building or come back later. It would have been easy enough to go back to Hy-Brasil and gotten work done, but this was the first time she had ever truly been given free time in the magical portion of London. Taking advantage of this newfound freedom with the bag of coins she always brought with her but never had the chance to spend was perfect. Changing into what she called her mainlander disguise (which was just normal clothes that had been given to her so that she didn’t stand out if she had to go into the muggle part of London) and leaving her lodgings, Fae struck out into Diagon Alley.
The shopping district had essentially only been viewed by her up until this point. What lay beyond the storefront displays was a complete mystery to her. Having the chance to finally slow down and take a look at each one allowed her to really see what mainlanders lived like. She sort of knew this already, but there really wasn’t as much hustle and bustle as she had seen in the past. Maybe because it was a Tuesday? There weren’t as many children about as she assumed there would be, though that had bigger connotations than she was willing to think about right now. At the very least there was the chance that Hogwarts had found a way to get work to the students, so that they could finish out the year before doing examinations. Which reminded her to scribble a note down about when the druid children would need to come over for their OWLs and NEWTs.
Much of her morning after arriving in Diagon Alley was spent popping into shops, and she went down the street one by one. Any that weren’t open yet and their names written down so that she could remember to come back later if she had the time. The apothecary, named Slug and Jiggers, was quite the store and had a wide variety of potion ingredients that she didn’t think mainlanders had even been aware of. The ridiculously large barrel of beetles had drawn her attention and she made sure to take a bag with her. Mundane ingredients like that helped cut corners quite a bit in potion making, and with the amount she purchased, it would last her quite a while at that. From there she entered a store that sold clothes and brooms for those that played the Quidditch game, and despite the employee there trying to push her to get a broom because she had accidentally let it slip that she didn’t own one, Fae escaped without forking over galleons.
Her lunch was spent at a small café that cornered what looked to be yet another alleyway full of shops, and it was at that point that Fae realized how unaware she actually had been about this area. She had always assumed that there was just Diagon Alley, but the sign pointed towards a Horizont Alley. The nice girl at the bakery seemed to find it funny at how surprised she was over this fact, and went on to explain that there was even a third one – a Knockturn Alley that was home to shops that dealt in darker, more unknown magic objects and practices. That place sounded like it wasn’t for her at all, and hearing the description made her shiver when she tried to imagine what it looked like.
From there, she only had a little bit of time left before she would have to head back to the place she was staying and get prepared for that evening’s meetings. The last stop was easily the one she had been looking forward to the most, which was why she left it for after lunch: Flourish & Blotts bookstore. Fae had passed by this storefront probably dozens of times as of late and had desperately wanted to go in and explore it. Every time she walked by there was a different display in the window, most likely showing the newest releases and always catching her interest even though she had no idea who the authors were or what their books were about. Literally any book was fine with her, and buying a few to bring home with her would more than make up for the abysmal politics that she was about to put herself through over the next couple of days. Pressing her face up against the display window, she only pulled it away when she heard the bell ring from the opening door right next to her…
fae iona cloudbreaker ● 1,729 ● Some Days by Ira Wolf
MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
