Neville Longbottom (braveatheart) wrote in afic, @ 2011-03-21 10:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | !completed, !solo, character: neville longbottom, x player: ali |
Who: Neville Longbottom
What: Neville makes an announcement
When: Monday
Where: The Ministry
He'd stood in front of the rest of the Wizengamot at precisely nine in the morning. The hitwizards had wanted to get rid of him as soon as humanly possible, so they'd notified the head council member upon his arrival, and as soon as the session started, Neville had found himself facing his colleagues. He'd been surprisingly calm about it; it was amazing how much a night in a jail cell composed your mind.
It had been almost perfunctory, really. The senior member had spoken of his disappointment, though frankly, Neville thought he detected a note of glee at getting rid of the youngest member. It wasn't until he began a note to strip Neville of his office that the accused spoke up, demanding his right to speak and defend himself.
What had followed was chaos.
They couldn't dispute the law. It had been made by the legislature in an earlier time, another era of fear-mongering, to protect themselves against those in power. In the most basic forms, it stated that a member of the Wizengamot was protected from government persecution simply for expressing ideas that were contrary to the current body's ideals. It wasn't perfect protection, but it was enough to cause an outburst. And he knew he detected signs of relief in several members' eyes. Perhaps he wasn't as alone in his anti-Diggory stance as he'd thought.
They could certainly overturn the law, since it was more than a little unfair, but he had a feeling they wouldn't. Not right now, when the safety it offered was needed far too badly. No one knew where the next whim would take their current leader, and even his supporters wanted some measure of protection, just in case. And he'd still have to be careful; he could still get himself branded for breaking certain laws, and he was going to have to reread the laws about job protection very carefully to keep himself safe. But he'd done it. He'd made a stand and survived to tell the tale. More importantly, he'd survived to do it again.
He swept into his office feeling almost giddy, flashing his secretary a huge grin. She was more than a little panicked, but rallied ably, announcing and planning a press conference for him that afternoon. A few papers had already run the news that he'd been arrested; pulling them back in for a press conference was easy enough. They were eager to hear the outcome of a government member's "trial."
It was going to be short and simple. An announcement that he was still a member of the Wizengamot and would be for some time to come would be the opening statement. He'd probably have to gloss over the law, though he wasn't planning on revealing the entirety of it. The more important part of the conference, in his opinion, would be the announcement that this wasn't the end. It was time to make their voices heard and stop the spiral into tyranny before it progressed too far. He was going to be fighting for the rights of the entire population, not a select group. It was going to be more of a speech than a press conference, though he imagined there would be a number of questions afterward.
He could already see the reporters standing out there, quills and pads at ready, some already scribbling notes on who was attending. Neville took a deep breath to steady himself, and stepped out from behind the curtain.