Merlin, did people expect the Minister to personally do everything? How much time did they think the man had? (An amusing thought: the Ministry was the official keeper of all the country's time-turners, which were then leased out for various purposes, so perhaps a Minister actually had more time than anyone. Maybe that was why the job always seemed to age them so dramatically — they crammed two or three years into each one they were in office).
The question was probably less what actions he would personally be taking, though, and more what his personal opinions were about what ought to be done, and Oz had never been short of opinions. "It's simple arithmetic," he said (and wondered briefly if this was the wrong way to explain it — not everyone had a reason to think about mathematics after they left Hogwarts and no longer had homework assignments due. If the youth's eyes glazed over he could vary the metaphor). "Benefits on one side, detriments to the other. There's — maybe two benefits, depending on how you divide them up; security for themselves and security for others. Knowing they won't hurt anyone, and that they won't be hurt by wizards acting in self defense or the werewolf capture unit. But you compare that with the detriments: losing their job, most likely, losing their place in society, being ostracized by friends and family, being recognized everywhere they go as a werewolf, et cetera. The equation is almost always valued in the negative. We can't add much to the benefit side." (Or, at least, there was no real appetite to give werewolves any benefits whatsoever, at least that Oz had been privy to). "So we need to see about removing some of the detractors. And the root of most of them is publicity. A private registry would be the first step, in my opinion."
The question was probably less what actions he would personally be taking, though, and more what his personal opinions were about what ought to be done, and Oz had never been short of opinions. "It's simple arithmetic," he said (and wondered briefly if this was the wrong way to explain it — not everyone had a reason to think about mathematics after they left Hogwarts and no longer had homework assignments due. If the youth's eyes glazed over he could vary the metaphor). "Benefits on one side, detriments to the other. There's — maybe two benefits, depending on how you divide them up; security for themselves and security for others. Knowing they won't hurt anyone, and that they won't be hurt by wizards acting in self defense or the werewolf capture unit. But you compare that with the detriments: losing their job, most likely, losing their place in society, being ostracized by friends and family, being recognized everywhere they go as a werewolf, et cetera. The equation is almost always valued in the negative. We can't add much to the benefit side." (Or, at least, there was no real appetite to give werewolves any benefits whatsoever, at least that Oz had been privy to). "So we need to see about removing some of the detractors. And the root of most of them is publicity. A private registry would be the first step, in my opinion."
MJ is the light of my life <3