InsaneJournal

Who: Dulcinea Doge and Perseus Doge
What: Wizengamot strategizing
When: Monday, 6 April, 1998
Where: Dulci's office in the Ministry
Warnings: None.



It was Dulci's first week back to work after her illness, and she was ensconced in her office, reading case files and catching up on everything she needed to know. Her assistant had brought her tea from the canteen and she had scones sent along by the house-elf. She'd definitely lost a bit of weight, and her work robes were a little loose around her shoulders, but there was colour in her cheeks even without much in the way of cosmetic charms, which was more than could have been said for her a week ago.

When the rap came on her office door, Dulci opened it with a wave of her wand. "Come in," she said, even before she looked up from her parchments. The Ministry was not so dangerous that she couldn't afford to trust anyone walking in, not even after the Macnair trial. Finishing the paragraph she'd been reading, she raised her head to smile at the newcomer.

Perseus was glad that Dulci had recovered enough to return to work. He’d been planning to discuss his idea of running for the Wizengamot with her once she was recovered (he knew his brother well enough not to try talking shop while Dulci was sick), and today seemed as good a day as any. She would, as a Wizengamot member herself, certain have good advice on how to best pursue a seat.

He knocked on her door and slipped inside when she opened it. Perseus returned her smile and shut the door behind him. “It’s good to have you back,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

"Perseus! Do sit down." Dulci gestured to him to take the chair opposite her desk. "I'm a lot better or they wouldn't have let me back into the office at all. And when I say 'they', I mean Dad and Bina, not so much the Healers." Her smile morphed into a wry grin. "How are you doing? I've not heard much about what's going on up here in recent weeks unless it made the front page of the Prophet or the evening news on the WWN."

Perseus took the offered chair and chuckled. “I suspected as much,” he said with a smile. “There hasn’t been much happening in my department, so I’ve had time do some thinking.” He leaned forward slightly in his seat. “I’ve decided I want to pursue a seat on the Wizengamot.”

"So Bina tells me. I'm pleased, because Merlin knows we need more level-headed people about, especially as the DMLE gets more and more excitable. Which is not--" Dulci raised a hand to stave off any protests "--to say that there's nothing to get excited about. The DMLE certainly needs to act against vigilantes of all stripes lest we have another civil war on our hands. But there's a lot of whipping-up going on in the public sphere, and it would be worthwhile to have more strong voices to support rational measures. Not to mention that once we catch all these vigilantes, we need to put them in Azkaban and ensure there will be no more pardons."

Perseus nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. We need to have sensible people around to make sure things move back in the right direction. And, as you say, that once this crop of vigilantes is caught, they need to stay in Azkaban. And it must be made clear that pardons only lead others to follow in their footsteps.”

"Exactly. Look at Walden Macnair." Dulci shook her head. That had been a disaster, and had she been well, she would have been in the middle of it. "Now, as far as getting you a seat is concerned, someone will need to nominate you for an open seat--and that won't be me for obvious reasons, though I can find someone to do so--and then there'll be a confirmation vote. With some quiet campaigning and glad-handing, that shouldn't be a problem either. I can throw a few parties and introduce you to some of the right people, for a start. There are some people who owe me favours and this is a worthwhile cause to call them in on."

Perseus grinned widely. “I knew you were the person to talk to about this. I certainly believe I can handle a bit of campaigning and glad-handing with your assistance on the other fronts.”

Dulci returned Perseus' smile; his happiness pleased her. "We'll also want to develop an elevator pitch, as it were: a short few sentences to sell the rest of the Wizengamot on what you bring to the chamber, and what you would like to do once you're on the Wizengamot. Have you got something like that in mind already? Or do we need to come up with one and sharpen it?"

“I think brainstorming and sharpening are in order,” Perseus replied. “I know some things I want to touch on, but how to do that could probably use some polish. My experience with the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad is one point, of course. My dedication to doing what will need to be done to insure others do not have to live through the losses that the first war and now...whatever this is...brought us.” He thought for a moment. “And possibly some things to add to those.”

Dulci nodded and ticked off the points she'd picked out of that. "Experience with the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, and war experience--and the dedication that goes with that. I would start, in particular, with which skills and qualities you think your work demonstrates. In particular, aspects like judgement and creative thinking, and how they would bear on judgement and advice to the Minister. A few examples of cases where you thought outside the box to come up with solutions to difficult problems, that kind of thing."

“Mm, yes. I’ll be sure to review my case files for incidents which were particularly tricky that turned out well.” Perseus could think of a few to look back at to start narrowing things down. “You are such a help with this, Dulci. I really can’t thank you enough.”

"We'll see if you thank me once you're actually on the Wizengamot." But Dulci's grin was wry and teasing. Her tone turned more serious as she continued, "I really will be glad to have you. We're going to need a lot of good sense on the Wizengamot, especially depending on how the Ministerial election turns out, and sometimes it seems in very short supply. Have you been reading the interviews and listening to the speeches, such as they are? What do you think?"

“Yes,” Perseus said, “I have. I am glad that Miss Granger decided to withdraw--it really was in best interest. As far as the remaining candidates go, I’m not terribly impressed by most of them. I’m certainly not voting for Merrick or Lockhart, and our current minister is out of the question. I’m interested to hear what McMurdo has to say, but thus far Savage-Abbott seems the most promising, though she’s also likely to step on a number of toes and has already been targeted by Lady Noir.”

Dulci nodded her agreement about Merrick and Lockhart and the Granger girl, whom she thought would make a solid addition to WICCA, if not yet a Minister. "If Savage--sorry, Savage-Abbott--were English, I'd vote for her, I think. I like much of what she has to say. But I can't entirely trust the intentions of someone who works for the French Ministry while standing for British Minister. If she comes to work for the British Ministry, or takes a position with a British firm, I might vote for her the next time we have to call an election. This time, based on what I know, I suspect I'll end up voting for Postumus McMurdo." Dulci's tone made it clear this was not entirely a satisfactory solution. "His law-and-order credentials are solid and unless something comes out to his discredit, he has the experience.

"I'd like it if there were more women in the field. Next time, maybe I won't vote for Savage-Abbott. Maybe I'll stand."

Perseus smiled. “You’d certainly have my vote if you do,” he said. “I expect I’ll vote for McMurdo as well. I certainly am not voting for anyone younger than our current minister, and I think someone with more experience in both work and life. And I doubt anyone will pay attention to that ridiculous Skeeter woman about his age--seventy is hardly old for a wizard! Look at Father and Uncle Elphias! Seventy is still a prime age for many wizards and witches.”

"Nobody with any sense pays attention to Rita Skeeter." Dulci resisted the impulse to roll her eyes at the thought of Skeeter; instead she shifted in her seat a little, stretching one leg out under her desk. "If McMurdo were signing on for twenty years, we might have cause for concern. But for a single term, no, I agree. And we still have to see what he and Aaron Diggory have to say in their interviews, plus there's supposed to be some sort of forum. As for the rest: I expected Rowle to be worse than he is, though I don't see myself voting for him. Nor anyone else younger, as you say."

“Indeed. The forum should certainly provide us with a firmer idea of what we could expect from Diggory or McMurdo, and what to watch for in the rest should someone we do not vote for be elected.” Perseus sat back in his chair. “It’s good to have you back to discuss such matters.”

Reaching across the desk as if to take one of Perseus' hands, even if it was actually out of reach, Dulci smiled again; in fact, she had hardly stopped other than her brief expressions of political disapproval since Perseus had come into the office. "I'm only going to be up here two and a half days a week this month, but you're always welcome to come out to the house for dinner and a strategy session."

Perseus took the offered hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I will most certainly take you up on that, darling. I really do feel that this is the right direction to move in, now. I’m quite looking forward to it.”

"So am I." And Dulci meant it.