Oaths, Vows & Treaties
While the youngsters headed off with Professor McGonagall for a Transfiguration lesson, the adults all gathered together to discuss the council of advisors and the necessary vows they would be required to take. Some were excited, eager to get to work, while others were feeling apprehensive. Would the prince want them to act as his advisor? The death eaters in particular were feeling very uncomfortable. They had yet to ratify a peace treaty, how could any of them expect to have a voice on the council? These feelings were only enhanced when the goblins marched into the chamber.
"We are here to act as witnesses," the Goblin King said. "We also brought the treaty contract you requested we look over, my prince."
Harry stepped forward, exchanging bows with Ragnok.
"It all looks to be in working order," the king said. "No obvious loop holes. It is very well written."
Lucius preened slightly at the Goblins praise. It was well accepted that Goblins were masters at contract writing.
"Which should we do first?" Harry asked uncertainly. "The council vows and oaths or the treaty?"
"Personally," Ragnok said gently or as gently as a goblin could, "I would go over the treaty first. It will put everyone on a more level footing."
Harry nodded. That made sense.
"Lord Malfoy," he said, "would you do the honours of explaining the contract to everyone?"
Lucius bowed deeply to Harry before accepting the paperwork as everyone else took a seat. "I would recommend you all read the treaty yourselves before we ratify it," Lucius began, "but we can enter into the first round of negotiations if it pleases our prince, once I have appraised you of the details." He used his wand to send a copy of the contract to everyone in the chamber. "First, this treaty is between multiple sets of people and is therefore lengthy and complicated. I apologise for that. Our Prince, his council, once it is formed tonight, the Ministry for Magic, Tom Riddle and the Deatheaters are all held under the contract."
"How will we be able to ratify it without the minister?" Arthur asked.
"As we have both the Chief Warlock and the head of the DMLE present," Lucius explained, "the minister is not necessary. Especially as we have three aurors present to serve witness on behalf of the ministry."
Arthur nodded before looking back down to the contract in his hands.
"The Prince will sign for himself," Lucius explained, "but also Lord Black will sign as his proxy so that the treaty is still valid after our return to the new timeline. Two members of the council will sign on behalf of the council, although they must be of age and have no links to Tom Riddle or the Death Eaters. Then Lord Dumbledore and Madam Bones on behalf of the ministry along with their witnesses. Tom Riddle will sign for himself and the deatheaters will provide two signatures."
"Should the Order of the Phoenix not be held under this contract too?" Harry asked.
Lucius blinked. "That would be a good idea. Yes."
Albus looked like he wanted to argue but he stopped himself at the last moment. So long as Tom kept his end of the agreement, the Order would have no reason to break the treaty.
"I will need time to add the Order into the treaty," Lucius said with a sigh, "but we can still go over the rest of it for the time being."
Harry nodded.
"Those signing are doing so on behalf of a wider group and therefore it was important that when writing this contract that was taken into account," Lucius said. "Those that sign will not be held personally responsible for the actions of those they sign on behalf of."
There were murmurs of relief. They didn't trust the people outside of the chamber to follow the treaty.
"First with regards to Tom Riddle, under the contract he agrees to put an end to the war. He will face trial for his actions under veritaserium and if found to show remorse will be granted a pardon, upon the following conditions. One, he will abstain from all criminal activity and be monitored by a parole officer from the DMLE for two years."
"A parole officer?" several of the wixen raised asked.
"It's a muggle thing," Lucius said. "But basically its a member of law enforcement that monitors your behaviour for a period of time. They use it to help ex-offenders who are released from prison."
Several people were wondering why the magical world didn't have parole officers. Although you were rarely released from Azkaban, so it probably wasn't necessary. But if they were going to reform the prison, it might just become necessary.
"Two, he will complete two thousand hours of community service in the muggle world," Lucius said tersely. He still wasn't sure he liked that part of the agreement. Putting the Dark Lord and the death eaters anywhere near muggles seemed foolish to him. But he understood the Prince's reasoning. They needed to learn to see muggles as people. "And a further two thousand hours of community service in the wixen world. Three, he will take up a seat on the Prince's advisory council and his family seat on the Wizengamot, using both for the betterment of the wixen world. Four, he will not run for public office at any time in the next five years. Lastly, he will have weekly sessions with a mind healer for a minimum of two years."
Tom nodded. He'd already agreed to those terms and found them more than fair. He hadn't been expecting to be allowed to take his seat in the Wizengamot so to have it as one of the terms of the treaty was a major relief.
"Shouldn't he be made to pay some sort of damages?" Amos asked.
"We could add a monetary component if you want," Tom said readily.
"No," Harry refused. "Money is meaningless. He can't be seen to be buying his way out of his crimes and what's more, I would rather he work to fix the damage he has done."
Amos nodded. Money wouldn't bring Cedric back. He smiled softly at his son. He was the luckiest man alive to be able to have his son back.
"As for the death eaters," Lucius continued, "they will also face trial and if they are found to be remorseful under veritaserium will be granted a pardon. Their conditions are very similar to Lord Gaunt's. Abstaining from all criminal activity and monitoring from a parole officer for two years. One and a half thousand hours of community service in the muggle world and another one and a half thousand in our world."
"Why do they get less hours?" Ron asked.
"Because I was their leader," Tom explained, "and I hold the greater responsibility and blame. They acted on my orders."
"If they have a seat on the Wizengamot," Lucius said, "they will be allowed to keep it under the proviso that they use it for the betterment of the wixen world. And they will have weekly sessions with a mind healer for a minimum of two years."
"What about those that don't show remorse?" Augusta asked.
"They will go to Azkaban following a full trial of their actions," Lucius explained. "There is a clause that says that they cannot receive the kiss."
This shocked many in the chamber.
"WHAT?" Augusta asked. "Why not?"
She glared at Lucius, thinking that he was just protecting his friends.
"I decided that," Harry said. "Our souls are sacred and I will not condone anyone losing their soul. Our time in this chamber should have taught us that much. It will also be removed from the list of possible punishments for criminals, once we confirm the Azkaban Prison Reform bill that we will be putting before the Wizengamot."
One or two people looked ready to argue but for the most part, they couldn't disagree. It was a horrible act, the Dementor's Kiss.
"Next, the Ministry," Lucius said. "The Ministry will prove Tom Riddle and anyone accused of being his death eater with a trial under veritaserum before the whole Wizengamot and a delegation from the Prince's council. They will provide the death eaters with parole officers to monitor their behaviour. And will listen to the concerns raised by Tom Riddle and the death eaters that are pardoned, so that we can work together to better our world. They will not continue the war against the death eaters."
"And the Prince?" Sirius asked.
"The Prince will allow Tom Riddle onto his advisory council along with at least two others from his death eaters. He will work with them to try and bridge the gap between light and dark cored wixen once he is old enough to do so, until then his chosen proxy will do so on his behalf. Lastly, the council will assist the Wizengamot with the trials and will support this peace treaty. We'll have to work in the Order. Mostly, I imagine they will just need to stop fighting against the death eaters."
They continued talking about the treaty, although for the most part they seemed to all be in agreement with it and didn't want to change very much. Even Augusta was happy that there would still be consequences for the death eaters actions. Lucius reminded them all to read the contract in its entirety and that he was happy to discuss the finer points at any time. He then made his way over to the goblins, calling Albus over so they could discuss the clauses that should be added for the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry frowned, realising that there wouldn't be enough time to go over the oaths and vows for the council before dinner. Luckily, Sirius had insisted that they block off the evening session too as a precaution. Harry got to his feet and walked out of the chamber with Ron and Hermione.
"The whole world is going to be different this time around, isn't it?" Ron said. "I cannot even imagine a world where the death eaters are pardoned."
"It does seem a little crazy," Hermione agreed, running a hand over the scar on her hand. "What if Bellatrix shows remorse?"
Harry sighed. "I don't think she will."
"But what if she does?"
Harry grimaced. "Then she'll go free but if she breaks any of the conditions, she'll wind up in Azkaban."
Hermione shuddered. "I really don't think I could live in Britain if she was free."
Harry nodded in understanding. This was the difficulty with a treaty. It had to be fair. But it also had to protect the people. People who had been hurt. Who had lost loved ones. Harry made a mental note to discuss it with Augusta. This was hard on her too. Perhaps she might have some good ideas for how to make the wixen community feel safer with the treaty in place.