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alt_billDad, Mum and I all made our appearances at the Ministry festivities last night. Dad and I met this morning over breakfast to compare notes and wanted to pass along our observations.
Mum picked up on something I hadn't particularly noticed: lots of new pregnancies. She ended up chatting for awhile with Dominic Selwyn's wife Chloe, who is just starting, as Mum says, 'to show'--and who casually imparted a story about crucioing her mudblood for leaving the Selwyn's young daughter unattended for ten minutes. Apparently, mudblood nannies are so careless. Mum managed to just smile and exchange pleasantries with her about her daughter's artwork and tips about handling morning sickness. Ursula Avery is also pregnant, and nervous about it. Their only other child is seventeen, and Mum guesses that there have been several miscarriages along the way. Mum said the other big topic among the women is the initiative moving through the Ministry to require village school attendance (similar to Hogwarts attendance) for all the pre-Hogwarts-age children. There are vouchers one can get for qualified tutors at home, of course (if you're really high up), but the word is that starting next autumn everyone will have to send their kids to the village schools. I guess that it's been figured out that indoctrination is best begun early.
I noticed that Bellatrix Lestrange arrived with her husband, but they spent the entire evening apart and didn't even glance at one another. Bellatrix looked a little tense and distracted, I thought, staring off into space at a couple of points before being buttonholed by synchophants.
Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy held court--there's no other term for it--in the center of the party, obviously much in demand. They arrived with the Scrimgeours and they left with Fudge, Thickness and others partway through, for a private dinner with upper Ministry eschelon--I believe that Dunstan and Warrington were headed there, too. Lucius chatted with many people, mostly department heads, but he concentrated a good deal of time with MLE and with the International Wizardry folks and a couple of the Department of Mystery Unspeakables (notably Rookwood).
Dad noticed Barty Crouch, Senior hovering on the outskirts of one circle, trying to catch Fudge's ear. Fudge looked less than pleased about it. Dad also noticed Crouch's son, Barty Jr, watching his father balefully as a basilisk through the entire party, although he did go over and greet his mother reasonably pleasantly enough. Dad thinks that the Senior Crouch is rather an embarrassment to his son. Certainly his position in the department is wretched enough: he was the lead Interrogator for the Wizengamot before Voldemort's rise, but now he has the lowest standing of anyone in the department (new hires come in above his rank). He is only ever assigned as a Defender and only ever gets hopeless cases. His biggest assignments are show trials that inevitably lead to catastrophic sentences against his clients. One of my analysts gave me a tip that apparently he's hoping to participate in the trials of Snape and Macnair once they're caught, this time with the prosecution. I suppose he hopes he can sidle his way back in with the new powers that be. Judging from the look on Fudge's face, I'd say his odds are slim.
Let's see, what else. Lana Sandoval arrived with Ned Pennifold and the two of them spoke to quite a few people. I suppose their family connections serve them well. I ambled up to her and spoke with her for a few moments, playing the former Head Boy speaking to former Head Girl angle. I suspect she wasn't quite sure who I was at the beginning of the conversation, but she was reasonably polite.
Dad, do you remember anything else?
Mum picked up on something I hadn't particularly noticed: lots of new pregnancies. She ended up chatting for awhile with Dominic Selwyn's wife Chloe, who is just starting, as Mum says, 'to show'--and who casually imparted a story about crucioing her mudblood for leaving the Selwyn's young daughter unattended for ten minutes. Apparently, mudblood nannies are so careless. Mum managed to just smile and exchange pleasantries with her about her daughter's artwork and tips about handling morning sickness. Ursula Avery is also pregnant, and nervous about it. Their only other child is seventeen, and Mum guesses that there have been several miscarriages along the way. Mum said the other big topic among the women is the initiative moving through the Ministry to require village school attendance (similar to Hogwarts attendance) for all the pre-Hogwarts-age children. There are vouchers one can get for qualified tutors at home, of course (if you're really high up), but the word is that starting next autumn everyone will have to send their kids to the village schools. I guess that it's been figured out that indoctrination is best begun early.
I noticed that Bellatrix Lestrange arrived with her husband, but they spent the entire evening apart and didn't even glance at one another. Bellatrix looked a little tense and distracted, I thought, staring off into space at a couple of points before being buttonholed by synchophants.
Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy held court--there's no other term for it--in the center of the party, obviously much in demand. They arrived with the Scrimgeours and they left with Fudge, Thickness and others partway through, for a private dinner with upper Ministry eschelon--I believe that Dunstan and Warrington were headed there, too. Lucius chatted with many people, mostly department heads, but he concentrated a good deal of time with MLE and with the International Wizardry folks and a couple of the Department of Mystery Unspeakables (notably Rookwood).
Dad noticed Barty Crouch, Senior hovering on the outskirts of one circle, trying to catch Fudge's ear. Fudge looked less than pleased about it. Dad also noticed Crouch's son, Barty Jr, watching his father balefully as a basilisk through the entire party, although he did go over and greet his mother reasonably pleasantly enough. Dad thinks that the Senior Crouch is rather an embarrassment to his son. Certainly his position in the department is wretched enough: he was the lead Interrogator for the Wizengamot before Voldemort's rise, but now he has the lowest standing of anyone in the department (new hires come in above his rank). He is only ever assigned as a Defender and only ever gets hopeless cases. His biggest assignments are show trials that inevitably lead to catastrophic sentences against his clients. One of my analysts gave me a tip that apparently he's hoping to participate in the trials of Snape and Macnair once they're caught, this time with the prosecution. I suppose he hopes he can sidle his way back in with the new powers that be. Judging from the look on Fudge's face, I'd say his odds are slim.
Let's see, what else. Lana Sandoval arrived with Ned Pennifold and the two of them spoke to quite a few people. I suppose their family connections serve them well. I ambled up to her and spoke with her for a few moments, playing the former Head Boy speaking to former Head Girl angle. I suspect she wasn't quite sure who I was at the beginning of the conversation, but she was reasonably polite.
Dad, do you remember anything else?
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Date: 2010-12-15 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-15 08:33 pm (UTC)We didn't want to say anything until we were sure things would be okay. You know what it's like, I'm sure. We're due in May.