The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

77. The New Ministry Order

Neither Luna nor Carly could sleep the following night, as they waited anxiously, for news about the attack on the Ministry.
News they didn't recieve, until several hours after the mission was over, when all the death eaters accompanied Voldemort back to the Malfoy Manor.
Voldemort's mission ended up being a success, but even though he tortured Rufus Scrimgeour to death, he still didn't learn Harry's whereabouts from the old man.
Despite this, he sent his people to the Burrow, now that the defences were down, to look for Harry.

The death eaters failed to find Harry, despite rigorously searching the property and interrogating all of the guests at the wedding.
No one had seen Harry, and no one knew where he had gone, which made Voldemort mad.
But Luna and Carly were just happy to know that there were no casualties at the wedding, so Nymphadora and Xenophilius were both definitely still alive.

Carly was shocked however, to find out that both Ted and Andromeda had been tortured that night.
For it transpired that Harry had gone there after leaving Privet Drive, before heading to the Burrow, several weeks earlier.
Andromeda and Ted were rather shaken up, but otherwise O.K.
Carly felt bad, and very guilty about the people who raised her being hurt. But she knew there was nothing she could do to protect them, as they were on opposite sides of the war to her and Luna.

Voldemort was angered further when he found out that his death eaters had come close to catching Harry later that night, but had failed once again.
Harry had said Voldemort's name, unknowingly setting off the magical taboo around it, revealing his location to the death eaters.
But despite barely being an adult, Harry managed to fend off several death eaters, and escape yet again, leaving no trace as to where he had gone.

Despite Voldemort not being in the best of moods, because of Harry's escape, both Luna and Carly were ecstatic, for their master had succeeded in overthrowing the Ministry.
Scrimgeour was dead, and he had been replaced by Pius Thicknesse, who was under the Imperius Curse.
So, Voldemort was now affectively the Minister for Magic of Great Britain.
And since the coup had gone practically unnoticed and undetected, no one would know for sure what had happened to the previous Minister and those loyal to him.

The morning after the take over, Carly and Luna sat in their pyjamas in Carly's room, huddled around the radio, waiting for the announcement that was to be broadcast across the country.
Thicknesse was about to make an announcement to his people, at the Ministry, in front of a huge crowd, and the Wireless Wizarding Network was there, to broadcast his message to all those who owned a radio.
Those without a radio would still learn of Thicknesse's speech, as it would be in all of the papers the following day, as there were several reporters and journalists at the Ministry.
The new Minister for Magic, would be announcing several new policy changes in his speech, but there was only one, that the girls were interested in hearing about.

"Good morning, people of this nation. I come to you, as your new Minister for Magic, to replace the recently resigned Rufus Scrimgeour" started Thicknesse.
"How many people will actually believe that Scrimgeour just resigned and then mysteriously disappeared?" Asked Carly.
"Shh, we'll talk after the announcement is done" hissed Luna.

"As your new Minister for Magic, there are many changes I wish to implement, to correct the failures of my predecessors, and to keep us all safe... The first thing I would like to say, is that Harry James Potter is wanted for questioning, regarding the death of Albus Dumbledore. New evidence has come to light regarding that night in the Astronomy tower of Hogwarts. And Mr Potter may not be entirely innocent, as previously thought. There is a 10,000 galleon reward for anyone who can find Mr Potter, or who has evidence on where he might be hiding. Finding him is a top priority for the Ministry" announced Thicknesse.
"My brother has never been worth that much before" mumbled Carly, causing Luna to roll her eyes.

"The second announcement I would like to make, is regarding research done by the Unspeakables, who work in the Department of Mysteries. They have discovered that magic can only be passed down through families. So, any so called Muggle-borns must have acquired their magic some other way. All Muggle-borns are to present themselves to the Ministry, for questioning, to determine where their magic came from. You have nothing to fear from us, provided you have nothing to hide" continued Thicknesse.

Luna took hold of Carly's hand and squeezed it tight, "Hey, Ted will be O.K".
"No he won't. And Aunt Andy is never going to forgive me for doing this to her husband" admitted Carly sadly.
"She made her choice, and you made yours. She chose to marry a Muggle-born, and you chose to fight for the person you love as well. Besides, I expect after this announcement a lot of Muggle-borns will go into hiding to escape the Ministry's wrath. Ted is smart, so I'm pretty sure he will do the same" reassured Luna.
"I hope you're right".

"Thirdly, I would like to undo something that has been considered a crime for so long, that society even considers these people to be criminals. Previous Ministers have used this group of people as scapegoats, to hide their own shortcomings. The Ministry used to be involved in terrible things. And it used to be a government in which only the morally corrupt could thrive. Lying, stealing, money laundering, and corruption were all common in the past. Criminals would even be let free, if they provided information on someone that the Ministry were keeping tabs on and wanted to punish. But that is not the kind of government that I wish to lead. I believe in justice, and I want my new Ministry to reflect my beliefs" revealed Scrimgeour.

"This is it" gasped Luna, who was clenching her fists so hard in anticipation of what was coming next.
"The Ministry in the past, made the world detest and fear homosexuals, who only want to love one another, openly. They accused these people of crimes, they did not commit, and placed them in Azkaban, before throwing away the key. They hoped that by making us hate these people, we would turn our heads and not see the crimes that the higher ups of the Ministry were doing. But no more! From this day forward, there will be no more discrimination towards those who experience same sex attraction. I am overturning the law that has kept people who love each other apart, for so long. Today, it is no longer illegal to be gay!" Announced Thicknesse.

Luna squealed in delight, and leapt into the air, "He did it! He did it! He did it!".
"Shhh, Thicknesse hasn't finished yet" reminded Carly, causing Luna to sigh and sit back down.
"Party pooper" mumbled Luna.
"I will be personally seeing to the release of all those accused of committing these acts of love, who are currently in prison. And I will issue them with compensation, for their time spent in Azkaban. I wish to create a world, where nobody has to hide who they are, for fear of being discriminated against. From now on, anyone who commits abusive or excluding acts towards a homosexual person, will be breaking the law. They will be fined, and may even face prison charges themselves... I wish to create a better world for us all to live in, and I know you will all come together to join me in making our country great again" continued Thicknesse.

A moment later, the radio turned off, for Thicknesse's speech had ended.
Both Carly and Luna looked at each other in shock, for neither of them could quite believe what had happened.
The thing they had been fighting for, for so many years, had finally come to pass.
The girls were now free to express themselves, without fear of retribution.

"He did it. The dark lord kept his word" beamed Carly.
"I know. This means, we are free" added Luna.
"We can come out to everyone" smiled Carly.
"We don't have to hide who we are any more"
"We can hold hands in public"
"We can kiss each other in public".
Both girls squealed and threw their arms around each other.
They began kissing, more passionately and ferociously than ever before.
In their excitement, they began pulling off each others pyjamas, as they wanted nothing more than to be in each others arms, with nothing inbetween them, holding them back anymore.