Kapitel 22: Overruled
The recruits were awakened at 6am. They were divided into groups of four and got sent to different areas of the prison. Rose was sent to the kitchen, and she made porridge. It tasted good enough, she hadn't dared trying to make it better.
While they were eating breakfast, Perrot entered, with Hermione right behind him. She was clearly given the same tour the recruits had yesterday, though with more details. The moment they appeared, everyone got to their feet, though whether this was because of Perrot or the Minister, Rose didn't know. She tried to listen in on their conversation.
"…So, you are all eating meals together? Who is watching the prisoners?"
"No one, Minister. We don't have constant guard on the prisoners, there is no need. We check four times a day, at mealtimes and once a week we go through their cells to look for contraband or escape attempts. I assure you, Minister, this is not needed…" The rest of their conversation was inaudible, but it didn't take long before Hermione silenced Perrot with a hand gesture, and went up on a small podium, clearly meaning to address them. She did not tell them to get seated, so they all remained standing. The recruits tried to mimic the guards' at ease stance.
"I am here," Hermione said in her clear, authoritative, no-nonsense voice, "because of the lapses in the security in the recent year. Twice in the last year alone we have seen several top-security prisoners escape. That is unacceptable. I am here to see what, if anything, can be done with this situation. For a start, I would like to have an interview with each one of you. It is important that you are honest with me, and if you have anything to report, please take the opportunity to do so. I assure you that any confidences that are said to me in these interviews can remain completely anonymous."
After a few phrases of how she looked forward to meeting and talking to all of them, she told them to sit down. Perrot, clearly taken aback by this interference in his world, took a few moments to recover himself. But then he was all smiles again.
"Who would you like to start with, Minister? Maybe the new recruits? They are the most easily spared from their duties."
"No, I interviewed the new recruits on my way here yesterday." Hermione said with a smile. The kind of smile she gave when she was being polite but wanted to make it clear that her request was not really a request. The kind of expression that meant the person to whom it was directed should be careful what they were saying. "I think I will start with the group of guards that guard the top-security prisoners, and then work my way down the list. That way, there should be minimal disruption of the workday."
This was clearly exactly what Perrot had wanted to avoid. Hermione seemed to notice that too. She pointed to three seemingly random recruits. Rose just happened to be one of them.
"You three," she said, waving them over. "You can come with me and help make sure that those that are up for interviews do not talk to each other while they wait. You know the drill, just like we did it yesterday on the boat."
Perrot seemed to find his voice again. "Now, Minister, surely that is not necessary? I mean, these people are trusted guards, not suspected criminals. I do not want disunity in my ranks…" he stuttered off as Hermione gave him another glare.
"These people have twice in the last year failed at their job, Perrot. Once, I could understand, and the guard responsible was found and fired. But this second escape was a very well executed and educated plan. And no one seems to be able to explain how it was possible. The only other option I see is to simply fire them all. But I don't want to punish people for something they didn't do, hence the interview. Or would you rather we skip that part?" The guards that worked in the top-security ward turned pale. Rose tried to see if anyone looked especially guilty, but she didn't know what that would entail. Maybe she wasn't as good at this as she thought she would be.
"Now, the quicker we start, the sooner everyone can get back to work." Hermione said in a genial tone. "Come, we can use the spare office over here as the interview room."
Rose and the two others followed after the Minister and the guards assigned to the Death Eaters. As they neared the door, Hermione mentioned one more thing, as if it had just occurred to her.
"Oh, and I would like for the rest of you to stay here for now. And no talking. I will get around to the rest of you eventually."
Perrot seemed horrified. "But-but Minister? What about our charges? Who will feed the prisoners? This will take hours, even days, if you are talking to all of these people yourself."
"Oh, don't worry," Hermione said, in an almost cheerful tone. "I have three Aurors here that will escort the few essential personnel needed to get the prisoners the food and make sure the rest of you follow orders."
"Aurors?" Perrot said, as if he had never heard the word before. "Aurors? Where did they come from?"
"They arrived by boat just an hour or so ago. The fact that they were able to sneak in so easily is not a good sign of the security here, wouldn't you agree?" Hermione's tone was still genial and polite, but her eyes had a dangerous glint in them. Rose almost felt sorry for Perrot. He was clearly not used to being overruled or challenged.
"Now, let me make myself clear." Hermione said, once again addressing the whole crowd. "These interviews are mandatory. Anyone who does not want to go through this minor inconvenience can leave. You will get one month's extra pay as compensation, but you will never be cleared to work in any government capacity again."
One of the Aurors went over and whispered into Hermione's ear. Even in the dead silence in the room it was impossible to hear what was being said. But Hermione nodded.
"Eugenie here will keep you company," she said to the people from top-security. "These recruits can have the job moving people back and forth, since they are already confirmed. Dawson, you stay here to make sure no one tries to hide or leave. Abbott, you go down with the kitchen crew so that they can make the breakfast for the prisoners. Once I have started clearing the first few people, they can help handing out the food." The three Aurors nodded.
Hermione then walked away, not giving Perrot, or anyone else, a chance to protest.
The ten people that worked in top-security quickly followed, with the Auror, Eugenie, right behind them. Rose and Thomas were tasked with walking people back and forth between the waiting area and the interview.
Well, so much for training, Rose thought. Her mother had dropped a Dungbomb here. And what could she do, if she heard any of them talking? It wasn't very long that they were alone, maybe a corridor or two, but still. She didn't have any authority here! And she didn't want to make enemies of this group, since she hoped to be working with them soon.
Luckily, she didn't have to face that dilemma. No one said a word. She didn't know whether that was because the Aurors had eyes on them almost constantly, or if her mother's presence really was as all-commanding as it had seemed. She started to realise just how formidable her mother could be, when she needed to.
Perrot had tried to butt in after the first interview, to object to his men being treated this way, but Hermione flat out ignored him. It was amazing how she paid no more heed to him than she would have done to an annoying gnat buzzing in her ear. When he tried to follow her back into the interview room with the second guard though, she stopped him.
"It seems you still do not understand, Perrot. There has been a major security breach here. I am trying to avoid having to dismiss each and every one of your employees. To their credit, they seem to be able to follow simple orders, unlike their commander. Now, if you have any specific requests or suggestions on how this can be handled better, I will be happy to hear them. In 15 minutes, in writing." And with that, she closed the door on him. Perrot just stood there gawking for at least 5 minutes. Then he saw the Auror and all the other guards looking at him. Rose tried very hard not to laugh or smile. Perrot seemed to collect himself and went towards his office with a snort.
Rose never saw him come with a written request. He probably knew that it would be pointless.
The whole day went much the same. After a very short lecture about how to keep their distance from the prisoners, some of the other recruits were sent on feeding duty. The top-security was handled by one of the Aurors, even though there weren't many prisoners left there, and fewer still posed any danger to anyone anymore.
When evening came, even Hermione realised they needed a break. So, they were all dismissed to their rooms. Since the recruits were all cleared, they were allowed to talk, as long as they were quiet. Most of the other guards were told to stay in their rooms, especially those who had not had their interviews yet.
Naturally, the actions of the Minister were the main topic of the conversations. Thomas and Rose were thoroughly questioned by the others about what had happened in the interviews. When Rose told them how Perrot had behaved, and how the Minister had simply ignored him, they all had to suppress laughter.
"I tell ya" Thomas says, "If anyone here is actually getting fired, he would be top o'the list. The Minister seems really angry. But why? I mean, I thought the Death Eater escape was almost a year back? Has she waited this long to do something about that?"
Rose tensed slightly. She had to be careful here, to not appear to know too much.
"Haven't you paid attention to the news the last few days?" one of the others said. "The Death Eaters escaped again. They kidnapped her daughter and seriously hurt her nephew. No wonder she is angry. I am surprised she hasn't sent Perrot home yet."
"She may want to gauge how much loyalty he has among the guards. She could fear to weaken them by removing their commander. From what I have seen, that seems unlikely, but what do we know? We've only been here a day." Sam pointed out.
"Her nephew?" Thomas said. "Which one? The one that infiltrated the Death Eaters?"
"Yeah, most likely. I mean, they would probably go after the ones that hurt them last time, wouldn't they? He'd be top of their list. Her daughter too. I wonder what happened to the Malfoy boy. The papers didn't seem to know. I hope he hasn't died." Rose didn't see who said this, but it threw her for a loop.
No. Rose thought to herself, trying very hard not to cry. He hasn't died. But it was nearly as bad. She had to pull herself together. She couldn't start to cry every time Scorpius was mentioned. And definitely not here!
"Hey, Kevin, you were there when she interviewed people. Did she seem friendly towards them, like she did with us?"
It took Rose a moment to catch the question. Oh, right, the shoulder tap. "It's hard to say. She certainly didn't smile that I could see. But there were some that didn't seem to do too bad. I wasn't there for every exit; I was mostly shuffling people back and forth." The other nodded, clearly feeling special.
Wow. With a simple gesture, her mother had created a group of guards loyal to her. She had to let her know that.
"D'you think tomorrow will be like today?" Rose asked. "I mean, she didn't finish the interviews, did she? I feel like I walked with dozens of people, but I don't know how many there are here."
"No, she didn't finish everyone, but most crucial staff, kitchen staff and top-level guards are done. I suspect she will finish with most during the next day. Honestly, I am looking forward to seeing what happens when she is finished." Thomas said. Most others seemed to agree with that. Rose mumbled along as well. She had some idea of what would happen, and it would not be pretty. But yes, she looked forward to seeing it.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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