Riddle And Grindelwald (Book 3)

36. Being Feared

Having a job was something that took Genevieve a while to get used to.
She hadn't worked anywhere since she was 18 years old, so to suddenly have a place to be every single day was a bit of a shock.
Every morning before she left home, Genevieve made sure to magically lock Peter in a room, so that he didn't trash the place while she was out all day. As Niffler's could be pretty destructive when left to their own devices.
Even though Genevieve was not the highest ranking person at the Ministry, she was often treated as if she were the Minister for Magic.
Disrespecting any other Ministry official was one thing, but everyone seemed to know that saying anything bad about Genevieve would get them and their families killed.

As Genevieve walked down hallways or wizarding streets, everyone stepped out of her way, or let her step in front of them.
They didn't know that Tom was out of the country searching for the Elder Wand.
So, they were terrified that not showing Genevieve a certain amount of respect, would make Lord Voldemort appear out of thin air, to punish them.
The only ones brave enough to talk to Genevieve, were the death eaters, or those loyal to Tom before he took over the Ministry.
This meant that Genevieve had to spend a lot of time with pure-bloods she didn't like, talking about work that she hated doing; punishing Muggle-borns.

Due to the crack down on Muggle-borns, everyone was pretending to be a pure-blood.
But since Genevieve had spent many years studying different wizarding family trees, she knew who was pretending to be something they were not.
One such a person was Dolores Umbridge, who claimed to be a pure-blood, but was actually a half-blood.
Despite the secretary's anti-Muggle-born beliefs, Genevieve knew that her mother was a Muggle and her brother was a Squib.
Genevieve didn't get along with this woman, because she hated people who lied about who they were, and picked on people who were actually like them.
Dolores Umbridge also had a habit of wearing the most atrocious shades of pink, which was a huge contrast to the black robes that most people at the Ministry wore.

After arriving at work one morning, Genevieve walked past the Magic is Might statue in the centre of the Atrium, and as usual she cringed when she saw it.
The statue was of a witch and a wizard sitting in thrones, and it was based off a portrait of her and Tom.
What she hated about it was that the thrones were made out of tiny humans, that were supposed to represent Muggles.

Genevieve's office was on the same floor as the Minister and the other high ranking Ministry officials.
And when she got to her office that morning she found Dolores standing outside, holding a clipboard.
"Good morning, Dolores" said Genevieve, as she unlocked her office door.
"Greetings, Genevieve" replied Dolores.
The Minister's secretary was one of those annoying people who called their colleagues by their first names, in an attempt to undermine them. Which is why Genevieve always called her Dolores in return.
Everyone else at the Ministry called Genevieve, Madam Slytherin, including the death eaters.

Genevieve sat behind her desk, and gestured for Dolores to sit down in the seat in front of her.
"So, what can I do for you, this early in the morning?" Asked Genevieve, as Dolores sat down opposite her.
"I have a list of Muggle-borns who have not presented themselves for questioning. I wanted to know if you could cross reference them with the witches and wizards you know have left the country" replied Dolores.
"There are many people who have left the country to escape the changes we are making at the Ministry. It is some people in my departments job to locate those who have fled to escape justice, and bring them back to Britain, to face up for their crimes. But these Muggle-borns have not committed a crime by leaving, so they do not need to be tracked down. As long as they aren't in our country, I don't care where they are" admitted Genevieve.

Dolores frowned, "I was led to believe that arresting Muggle-borns was a top priority".
"Identifying Muggle-borns and throwing them in Azkaban before they can leave the country, is your job. My job is to stop the other countries from attacking us, which they will do if they think we are oppressing Muggle-borns. I have to try and prove to the other countries that we are merely questioning Muggle-borns on how they came to possess their power. You are making my job a lot harder, by arresting every single Muggle-born who you place on trial" informed Genevieve coldly.
"These Muggle-borns have committed a crime by stealing magic from real witches and wizards. Which is why they need to be tracked down" insisted Dolores.

"You and I both know that it is impossible for a Muggle to steal magic from anyone. If it was possible, we wouldn't have Squibs" reminded Genevieve.
Dolores knew that Genevieve was taking a dig at her, but she was also aware that she couldn't call her out on it, without facing serious consequences.
"It is the Ministry's job to investigate all cases where we believe magic has been stolen. Which is why I need you to check this list, to see if any of these Muggle-borns have fled the country" announced Dolores.

Genevieve sighed, "Many Muggle-borns are fleeing on false passports, to make it difficult to find them. Others are using apparation or illegal Portkeys to escape Britain, both of which make it impossible to know if they have left the country".
"Well, if you could do your best to find them, it would be a great help" replied Dolores.
"I will add their names to the list of missing people I have already got. But I can't send teams into foreign countries to extract people, unless they have committed serious crimes. If Muggle-borns are seeking sanctuary in other countries, then there isn't much I can do to bring them back here, without creating an international incident" admitted Genevieve.

"Here is a copy of the list of Muggle-borns who failed to present themselves for questioning. Not all of them have left the country, but we just need to know which ones have" informed Dolores, as she handed Genevieve her clipboard.
"There are a lot of names on here" sighed Genevieve, as she began to flick through the pages attached to the clipboard.
"I know. I expect many are still in the country, but just refused to come to the Ministry to prove their blood status. I am sending teams out to visit the homes of those on the list today. If they will not come in of their own free will, then we will drag them here by force" announced Dolores.

Genevieve raised a sceptical eyebrow, "You are planning on arresting everyone on this list, today?".
"No, that would take far too many teams. But over the coming weeks, we plan on finding everyone on that list" answered Dolores.
"Well, I will pass the list onto those in my department who deal with runaways, and maybe they will be able to locate some of your missing Muggle-borns who have fled to other countries" replied Genevieve.
"Thank you for your help. Hopefully, with us working together, we can eradicate Muggle-borns from this world".

"Yep, that is the goal of this new Ministry..." Genevieve faltered as one name on the list of Muggle-borns, caught her eye.
Hannah Rose.
Genevieve's heart skipped a beat as she re-read Mathilde's girlfriend's name.
"Is something wrong?" Questioned Dolores.
"Nope. Nothing is wrong... You said that everyone on this list will be called in for questioning soon. Is there an order to that questioning? Are you doing it in alphabetical order?" Asked Genevieve.
"Yes, that is the fastest and most decisive way of making sure we don't miss anyone out. My department sent teams out first thing this morning. I already have several Muggle-borns in the court rooms downstairs, awaiting my arrival, so that their trials can begin".

"And will any of these Muggle-borns ever see the light of day again?" Quizzed Genevieve.
"If they can prove that there have been those with magic, in their family tree, then they will be allowed to return home" replied Dolores.
"And if they can't prove that they are related to a witch or wizard?" Questioned Genevieve.
Dolores smiled cruelly, "Well, let's just say that the cells in Azkaban are going to get filled up pretty quickly".