Hello! I apologise for the extremely long wait but I haven't abandoned the story! Oh no, not at all! After my vacation a lot of stuff happened irl so I had to take a small break, and when I was writing I was writing very little as I was busy. Then there was a technical problem where my beta couldn't send me the edited chapter so it was another delay (so the chapter wasn't edited).
I want to immensely thank every reviewer, follower, and favouriter for showing support and interest in the story.
I started the chapter before I went on vocation and then finished it only somewhat recently so it might feel a bit... stale. I really had to get this chapter out of the way so I can resume writing from a fresh page. The chapter might seem a bit rushed, stale, and with little action but I still hope you enjoy it. Even the ending feels like it's been cut off but you'll have to bear with me as I really wanted the chapter out of the way.
Poll results: No, obviously, was a majority so the story will have -no pairing- and will go as originally intended and planned.
Still looking for beta as my current one has technical issues. (I reread previous chapter and was horrified at how many mistakes I found. I will rectify them when I have more time.)
Reminder from previous chapter:
- Quite dramatic champion picking
- Fleur being a bitch in the antichamber, Harry explains to Maxime that he himself put his name in the goblet and everything is legal
- Harry receives invitation for Wizengamot
The Magic Weaver
Chapter 11
There was an after-party in Gryffindor common rooms the previous day as to celebrate that one of their own was picked for the tournament. There was some music, drinks (butterbeer and even some Firewhiskey that twins managed to smuggle in), and a lot of chatter that dragged on until very late into the night, right into the early morning. It was fun and everyone enjoyed their time at the party, especially Harry who had never experienced something like this due to his childhood.
The way party was going it seemed that it wouldn't have stopped if furious McGonagall didn't show up at early morning and didn't send everyone to beds. Somehow drunk students managed to escape the strict Professor's sharp gaze and catlike smell.
And due to the party finishing very late, or very early, depending from which point of view you look at it, many students were still sleeping even if the sun was long since above the horizon.
Harry groggily opened his eyes and checked the time. Seeing how late it was he swore and groaned before slowly getting up and heading to the showers, but not before telling his dorm mates that it's time to get up otherwise they are going to miss breakfast and will be late for the lesson.
When Harry came back into the room refreshed and clean, he saw his dorm mates in different states of awakeness – Neville was already up and headed for the bathroom too, Seamus's eyes were open but he still laid in the bed, Ron obviously was still snoring, and it seemed that Dean only now started to wake up.
"Morning guys!" Harry happily chirped.
Seamus groaned "How can you be so energetic after yesterday?"
Harry shrugged "I don't know. Maybe because I didn't drink too much Firewhiskey?"
"Mate," Dean sleepily said "You drank more than any of us did and I feel like my head is about to explode."
Harry just shrugged again, he felt quite refreshed. He went over to his bed and grabbed his staff "I don't know. I'm just that amazing, aren't I?"
Seamus snorted and Dean rolled his eyes "Yes, yes. Second coming of Merlin and all that."
Harry grinned, glad that his friends' attitude towards him didn't change after yesterday.
"If you lot hurry up you might have enough time for the breakfast before the first lesson today," Harry said as he made his way towards the door.
Dean checked the time and swore "Shit, it's so late!"
"And someone try to wake up Ron, will you?" Harry said "Meet you in the great hall."
Harry made his way downstairs to the common room which was more or less barren with some stray students that were swiftly leaving the room in hopes of catching some breakfast. Harry caught up and chatted to them on his way to the great hall.
When they entered the great hall there was a moment of silence where everyone stared at Harry and Harry stared at them. As it was quite late, the great hall was packed with students. Harry bid good day to his temporary companions and made his way to the Hufflepuff table, making everyone else to snap their attention back to whatever they were doing, resuming the chatter that intensified when Harry appeared.
"Morning, Harry," Cedric said as he budged up and allowed Harry to sit next to him "Or is it, Duke Emrys now? Or even Merlin?" he joked.
Harry haughtily raised his nose in the air and said "It will be Lord Potter-Gryffindor–Slytherin–Hufflepuff–Peverell-Emrys for you," and he continued to load his tray with some sausages and eggs while holding his cutlery with his pinkie finger raised, portraying a perfect image of royalty.
People who heard Harry fell dead silent and stared at him with their mouths open and Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Was that a joke?" one Zacharias Smith asked, a pure horror on his face.
"What exactly?" Harry laughed "The titles or that you should call me that?"
"Both?" Cedric offered.
When Harry calmed down he said "Yes, those are all my lordships. No, you lot are my friends so you can just call me Harry."
"B-But it's impossible!" Zacharias said "You can't be Lord Hufflepuff as our line is Hufflepuff's direct descendants!"
"Whoever was telling you that was obviously trying to make them look more important than they probably are, pardon me if I offend you," Harry said and showed his diamond lordship ring and due to the enchantment everyone was able to read the tiny inscription of all the houses Harry is lord off "But the Lordship ring cannot lie, can it?"
"But that means..." Zacharias said his face visibly sagging down in disappointment and horror "Merlin, this has been a lie all this time? B-But, mother and grandmother always claimed that we have Hufflepuff heirlooms and that's why we thought we must be her descendants..."
"If you have any heirloom that you think belongs to Hufflepuff, then please deliver them to Gringotts goblins so that they can check if that's true or not. If they really belong to Hufflepuff then I will have no choice but to claim them," Harry apologetically said.
Zacharias swiftly nodded "Of course, Duke Emrys, of course! Oh Merlin, I am so sorry, I will write to my mother immediately! Merlin, it's so weird to call his name when his direct descendant is sitting next to us."
Harry laughed again "Don't worry about it, and please – just call me Harry."
"And still, how did you managed to claim all those Lordships?" Cedric asked "There weren't any founder descendants in forever."
Harry shrugged again "I came to Gringotts after my birthday and they did inheritance test. My blood was just pure enough to claim Emrys line. Peverell, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Potter line are descendants of Emrys and by claiming Emrys, I automatically claimed them all."
Cedric whistled at that "Do you even know how much political power you have?"
Harry nodded "I am aware of that, yes," He saw his friends coming through the great hall doors so he called them over.
Seeing that there were 5 people coming their way, Susan said "There is not enough space for all of us."
"Oh, true," Harry said and no sooner than these words left his mouth, the table and the seat extended giving just enough space for the new people to sit at. Harry grinned and silently thanked the castle.
"Morning, Harry!" Luna happily greeted as she sat down opposite from Harry "I see Hogwarts is already willingly following your wishes."
"Oh we never asked!" Fred said as he sat next to Luna.
"Are you the owner of the castle now?" George finished.
"Yup," Harry said, popping the 'p' "Rightful, legal owner of Hogwarts, inherited through the founders line."
"Wicked!" they said in unison.
"So that's why ghosts and portraits address you as lord!" Susan exclaimed.
Instead of answering that, Harry instead asked with a smirk "Did you manage to wake up Ron?"
"No," Seamus said "Still sleeping. Said we should fuck off, then he turned around and continued snoring like a pig."
"Well if his table manners are anything to go by then he is a pig," Neville laughed.
Harry was about to say something as well but he was interrupted by one of the female ghosts that floated to him through the table "My lord, can I have a moment of your time? Pardon for such intrusion but it is of utmost importance."
"Of course," Harry said and then turned to his friends "If you'd excuse me."
Harry gracefully stood up and left the great hall with the ghost, never seeing blue eyes watching him retreat.
When they were out of the great hall they continued to walk a bit until they entered some classroom.
"What is your name?" Harry politely asked "And what is this about?"
"I'm simply known as Sarah. And this is about some ah..." Sarah looked around as if checking if someone was around. She then leaned down and whispered "The Moody who might not be so Moody."
Harry blankly stared at the ghost who looked somewhat nervous. Did she really just parroted Sybill? With a wave of his hand he shut the doors, then pointed his staff at the doors, waved it in small circular motion and intoned "Clauditis stricta! Sonitus spissamentum!" Two pale lights escaped the staff's onyx orb and collided with the door before spreading throughout the room as Harry waved his hand.
"Speak freely," he said "No is going to overhear us."
Sarah nodded "It's most disturbing and I'm still not quite sure if what I've seen is right,"
"Start from the beginning."
"Well today was my turn to try and spy on Alastor Moody as it is always very hard to do when he is in his office. It's extremely hard to spy on him at all."
"And why is that?" Harry asked.
"Because he has that magical eye that sees everything, and even through walls. And then he has the Foe-Glass that also works on ghosts as spying is considered an act of an enemy," she said "But today I was lucky when I peeked my head through the ceiling – his magical eye wasn't attached to his head and his attention was on his multi compartment trunk. And this is where the weird thing comes in – he opened one of the compartments and it revealed an identical copy of Alastor, but more thin and even starved. Alastor in the room then continued with plucking a strand of hair and put it in his silver flask before taking a sip. In fact, all throughout the two months both portraits and ghosts have noticed that he occasionally takes a sip from the flask when he has this weird tongue twitch kind of thing. After that he continued to push his twin back into the compartment before reattaching his eye. I fled the scene and came straight to you."
Harry nodded. 'Moody who was not so Moody'. A strand of hair into the flask, then drink it. The only logical conclusion that Harry could come to was Polyjuice potion. And then his eyes widened. Professor Alastor Moody who was teaching them so far was only an impostor? When this thought crossed his mind he felt warmth spread throughout his soul which he recognised as Hogwarts's doing. So that must be it! His uneasy feeling around Alastor was actually Hogwarts trying to warn him. He couldn't make any hasty decisions though. Ingredients to brew Polyjuice were rare and he has never seen Alastor getting any packages. And he hasn't seen him leave the castle or be absent from the meals either. That means he was either stealing from Snape or he had some agent inside the school.
"Sarah," Harry addressed "Could you please go to Severus Snape and inquire if everything's alright with his potion ingredients? Make sure he is alone. Maybe say that you might have seen someone escaping his storeroom. And watch carefully his reaction."
"It shall be done, My Lord," Sarah said "Is there anything else?"
Harry flashed the ghost a charming smile "No, that would be everything. And thanks a lot for bringing this to me, you've done a great job!"
If ghosts could blush then Harry was sure she would have blushed the way she shyly lowered her head. Sarah then floated away from the room in search for the potions master, while Harry remained in the classroom submerged in his thoughts. When he came back to reality he checked the time and swore – he was very close to being late to his class and he didn't want to disappoint Flitwick.
Thankfully he made it just in time as the last student. He sat down next to Neville who passed him his bag that he left in the great hall.
"Thanks mate," Harry said with a smile.
"Everything's alright?"
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
The rest of the day passed quite quickly and before Harry knew it it was already evening and the Wizengamot meeting was soon to begin. He stood in his dorm and checked himself in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable – he donned his best semi-traditional robes that consisted of tight, black pants made out of the best silk, deep purple buttoned up shirt of the same material that was quite fitting to his developed body, and dark coat with green highlights that fell down to his knees and with Emrys crest on his right shoulder. He also wore traditional black dragon hide shoes. Harry's hair was neatly brushed and styled back that fell down in silky waves just below his ears revealing his faint lightning bolt scar that was close to completely fading. Unlike Draco, Harry used a spell on his hair that made them naturally fall back and didn't reflect unnatural light and didn't come with uncomfortable stiffness that normal hair gel would produce. It made Harry wonder why Draco was using such mundane way of styling.
Coupled with his shining diamond ring and a staff he stroke a rather handsome and imposing figure.
"You look good," Seamus said from his bed where he was doing one of his homework assignments "Now stop admiring yourself, Mr Merlin the Vanity, you gonna be late."
"You will most definitely impress the other lords with your looks," Neville agreed "Though I'm glad I'm not you. I don't think I'd manage to handle Wizengamot."
Harry laughed "Don't sell yourself short Neville. And I suggest you prepare since you only have three more years until you have to take up the lordship."
Neville's face suddenly became very green.
"I wish we could attend-" Fred said,
"To see all those reactions-" George continued,
"When they see who is the one claiming the Emrys seat," they both finished from where they were sitting on the floor next to Harry's bed.
"I'll make sure to remember the reactions and then later show them in a pensieve when I get hold of one," Harry said as he did last check over.
"Wicked!" twins chorused.
"Ugh, can you all just shut up?" Ron said from his own bed "You all sound like Potter here is second coming of Merlin!"
"Firstly, Weasley, it's Duke Emrys and if you fail to follow simple formalities then you will face consequences of insulting a high standing lord. Secondly, I am direct descendant of Merlin so I'm close to being, as you say, 'second coming of Merlin'," Harry haughtily said as other boys snickered at how red Ron was becoming. Before Ron could retort, Harry did his trademark silencing with a wave of his hand and said "Unlike you, I have important places to be so please don't distract me," he then turned around to face his friends in the room. Unfortunately Luna wasn't there but he already talked to her beforehand "Wish me luck."
After saying his goodbyes to his friends he made his way to the entrance where he then would walk out of the wards so he could apparate. But he stopped short in his tracks when he reached the first floor – he has never been in the Ministry of Magic so there was no way he could apparate there himself safely. While he practiced apparition, it was always short distance so it was safer to not attempt.
He swore because that meant he will need to seek Professor's help. And the only one who he really trusted with apparition so far was McGonagall. But he was going to be late if he was to run to McGonagall and then all the way back to the entrance so he conjured a Patronus that appeared in a form of small drake and mentally told the message he wanted to deliver and ordered the Patronus to go to McGonagall. As the drake disappeared in a bright flash that left a ghostly trail behind, Harry resumed his walk to the entrance gates.
Not long after Harry saw a grey cat running towards him. The cat jumped and transformed into the strict Scottish Professor who looked a tiny bit dishevelled and worried.
"Duke Emrys!" McGonagall called out.
"Please, Professor, this is an informal situation so please call me Harry," he replied with a smile.
"As you wish, Harry," McGonagall said as her eyes softened "Is everything alright, Harry? I received your patronus message -I must commendate you on your magnificent spell work as it's quite an advanced spell- and came as soon as I could."
"Sorry for making you worry, Professor, but it's nothing life threatening," Harry said and McGonagall visibly relaxed "I was summoned to the Wizengamot but it occurred to me only now that I can't actually apparate and I have no way to getting there so I thought I'd seek out your assistance."
The Professor looked surprised "Summoned to the Wizengamot? Dressed for the occasion, I see. You look rather charming."
Harry nodded "Yesterday. They introduce new lords to the court around this time. And thanks, Professor."
"Why didn't you go with Headmaster Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked "He left a couple of minutes ago," Harry's face darkened and McGonagall was surprised to see a sliver of hatred cross his burning, emerald eyes "Harry, what is happening between you two? You were on good terms just at the end of the last school year."
"He has done some transgressions to me so it's his own fault that he lost all the trust and respect I had to him, but that's a discussion for another time," Harry said and checked the time "And as I said, I realised I have no way of coming to the Ministry when I sent you the message and from what I understand Dumbledore was already gone by that time. Now, sorry to cut this short but can you side-along apparate me to the Ministry, please?"
McGonagall curtly nodded at Harry's response and decided that she will ask Albus about what Harry meant "Lets go then, Harry."
And so they quickly started walking towards the edge of the anti-apparition wards in comfortable silence.
When they reached the end of the wards McGonagall sadly looked at Harry and quickly said "Harry, I'm afraid that we will need to stop our extra tutoring in transfiguration due to the tournament."
Harry kindly smiled in response that brought a brief smile to McGonagall's face as well "That's okay, Professor, I was already aware that this might happen."
"Right then," she said as she offered her arm to Harry "To the Ministry."
Harry grasped her arm and one second they were on Hogwarts grounds, which followed by what Harry felt like they very squeezed through narrow, plastic tube, and the next second they were standing in the Ministry of Magic in one of the apparition points."
"Nasty way of travel," Harry said after he steadied himself.
McGonagall's lips twitched in amusement "Welcome to the Ministry, Duke Emrys," she said and Harry looked around.
It was massive and Harry was quite impressed at the sheer size of the building and Harry wondered where exactly was it stationed. The number and strength of the wards protecting and hiding the Ministry from muggles must be impressive, Harry mused.
The ministry was bustling with activity - pops and cracks of apparition going on around the place they were standing at, clatter of footsteps as hundreds of smartly dressed witches and wizards, walking by with determination in their eyes, while some were walking with dull look on their faces as if they have been Imperiosed.
"Come, I will escort you to the Wizengamot," McGonagall said.
"You don't have to do that, Professor," Harry protested as they quickly made their way.
"Nonsense, you've never been here, Duke Emrys," she said "From what I understand you have a high chance of running late and it won't do you any good if you get lost."
Harry nodded and thanked the Professor as they masterfully weaved through the crowd and made their way to the lift, briefly stopping to look at the Fountain of Magical Brethren in the Ministry's atrium – group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears and Harry couldn't help but to sneer. The fountain supposed to represent harmony in the wizarding world but Harry knew for a fact that it is not so.
They finally entered half full lift and immediately a female voice spoke
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please choose your destination."
"Level 2, Wizengamot," McGonagall clearly spoke and other magic users in the lift curiously looked at the pair, wondering why would a child need to go to the Wizengamot, but thankfully they didn't express their curiosity vocally.
After several stops where they let some people out, they were the only ones in the lift when they finally descended to level 2.
"Level 2, Wizengamot," the voice said as the lift doors opened.
"This is where I leave you," McGonagall said "And good luck, Harry. It's extremely rare when someone as young as you is exposed to the adult world but I guess you had no choice. I pray you know what you are doing and please, stay safe!"
Harry warmly smiled at his favourite professor "Thank you, Professor McGonagall. And don't worry, I know what I am doing. Sort of."
Harry stepped out of the lift and watched as McGonagall, her eyes full of worry, ascended back to the atrium on the lift. Harry then spun on his heels and swiftly made his way to the only door which was at the end of dimly lit, dark marbled hallway.
The intricate double doors swung open on their own accord as Harry approached them and the young wizard was shortly blinded by the sudden influx of light that contrasted the corridor before.
Wizengamot was an oval like room separated into four sections: at the very front of the room, opposite from the entrance, was a grand seat for the Minister of Magic. In front of that seat, but several levels lower, was Chief Warlock's seat, on the right of the Minister's seat (but also some levels lower) was Minister's Undersecretary and on the left sat DMLE head. On the right of the Undersecretary sat the scribe. On the left side of the room was a section for general public, reporters, or family members; on the right side were lords and ladies and members of the Wizengamot, lords and ladies occupying the higher levels.
But there were several seats vacant – a seat on a higher level behind minister, twelve seats on a higher level behind all the lords, several vacant seats in the lord section. And tonight six seats are going to be taken.
Harry was a bit nervous as he entered the grand room full of wizards and witches more than twice his age, but he didn't show it. He silently made his way towards the middle of the room until someone finally noticed him.
A disgustingly sweet voice rang through the room full of impatient chatter "Hem hem," immediately everyone turned their attention to the Dolores Umbridge, Minister's Undersecretary, while some were watching Harry with curiosity not knowing who he was. After all, Harry's scar was starting to fade and it was hard to see from the distance and not many knew how the new Harry looked like.
"What is the meaning of this?" Dolores asked "A minor in the Wizengamot? Who let you in?"
Harry really wanted to sneer at the vile woman dressed in pink under the formal black cloak, but he controlled his disgust and didn't let it show on his face. Oh he knew the woman – she was the one behind all the restriction and laws against the magical creatures.
"Madam Dolores Umbridge," Harry calmly replied "I myself let me in as is my right by being a fellow lord."
Dumbledore recognised who the boy was by his magic and he quickly stood up and addressed Harry "Mr Potter, there is no need for you to be here. Please, return to Hogwarts."
Many people expressed their shock – it was Harry Potter? The Boy-Who-Lived? And suddenly everyone became even more interested in the boy and many reporters started to furiously write in their notebooks in hopes of creating the most interesting story.
"Harry Potter?" Dolores showed her surprise "A lord? Absurd! You are but a boy! I don't know how you managed to get into the Wizengamot but I will make sure you are removed immediately. Aurors! Escort Mr Potter out of here!"
Three aurors dressed in red cloaks made their way towards Harry with their wands raised but before they could do anything, Harry angrily slammed his staff in to the floor and unleashed some magic effectively silencing the whole room and making the aurors to stop in their tracks. Aurors, recognising this as resistance, adjusted a battle ready stance.
"Minister Fudge!" Harry bellowed and Cornelius slightly jumped in his seat, not expecting to be addressed.
"Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said "There is no need for this. Leave, or I will escort you myself."
"You dare to threaten me, Dumbledore?" Harry angrily asked "And how many times have I told you to address me by my proper title?"
Harry then looked Minister into the eye as everyone waited with baited breath "Minister, please tell me the only three conditions on which someone apart from selected few can enter the Wizengamot room?"
"By formal Ministry invitation or notification; if its family or friends and the meeting is public then they must be escorted by a member of Wizengamot and they must register beforehand; if it's criminal then they are escorted by aurors," Cornelius quickly replied.
Harry nodded "Yesterday I received a Ministry owl formally inviting me to today's Wizengamot meeting in order to introduce myself to the court and to claim my seats."
"Impossible!" Dolores screeched "He is obviously lying. Aurors!"
"Hold, aurors!" Amelia Bones, the head of DMLE, said and the aurors stopped "Mr Potter managed to get into the room which means that he indeed received a formal invitation. And unlike you, Madam Umbridge, I actually thoroughly read through today's agenda and know the names of those who are supposed to attend. Mr Potter here has all the rights to be here."
Harry curtly nodded to Amelia "Thank you, Lady Bones," he then faced the Minister "Now can we proceed with me claiming the seats and then go on with the meeting? Enough precious time was already wasted courtesy to Madam Umbridge."
Dolores bristled at his words "How dare you-!"
"Enough, Dolores!" Amelia shouted "Minister, please proceed with the meeting."
"Ah, yes, yes," Cornelius said with calculating look in his eyes. He knew that there is going to be new lord in the Wizengamot but he didn't read the invitation letters so he wasn't aware that it was Harry Potter himself. And Harry was very famous figure in their world so it would be good to be on his good graces, especially since Potters were also rich "Indeed, too much time was wasted that could have been resolved in a matter of seconds. Make sure that doesn't happen again, Dolores," Dolores, of course, didn't reply, only narrowed her eyes. The minister continued "Aurors, return to your positions," the red cloaked wizards complied "But before we proceed I am curious – how did you claim your lordship, Mr Potter? After all you're only 14, if I am not mistaken?"
"I would like to know that as well," Lucius Malfoy said from the right side of the room.
"Harry-" Dumbledore tried but was silenced by Harry's wave of hand that impressed the whole room of the wandless skill and the fact that he did so against Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock himself. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was infuriated by Harry's attitude towards him. He removed the silencing spell and angrily said "How dare you! I am the-"
"Stop wasting time, Albus," Harry cheekily said.
"You will address me by my proper title!" Dumbledore bellowed.
"What a hypocrite," Harry said and turned towards Minister "My apologies for this. Albus here has refused to call me by my proper title since my Lordships were revealed and he is insisting on insulting me by addressing me by my first name. And as to answer your question, I visited Gringotts in which I was able to emancipate myself and claim the Lordships as a last living heir and descendant. I am recognised adult in the eyes of magic and law. All the necessary documents should be in Ministry's archives."
Minister looked at Amelia who said "That is true. I myself couldn't believe what I saw in the invitation list so I checked the archives. They confirmed that," she glanced at Harry before looking back at the Minister "Mr Harry Potter indeed is supposed to be here."
Fudge nodded and turned back to Harry "I see. And did you say Lordships?"
"Yes. Can I claim my seats now? You will see which ones," Harry said with a smirk.
"Very well," Minister said "Amelia."
The just witch nodded "Mr Potter, you will raise the hand on which your lordship ring or rings are and say 'I, -followed by your name-, -the lordship name you're claiming-, as by my right by blood and magic claim the seats of, -name of all the family seats you're claiming-. I claim my rightful place in the court of magic and let the Magik and this/these ring/s be my witnesses forevermore, so I claim so mote it be.'," confirming that Harry understood, she said "You may proceed."
"Thank you, Lady Bones," Harry said. He took his staff into his left hand and raised his right hand into the air proudly displaying his diamond ring that made many widen their eyes
"I, Harrison Emrys, Duke Emrys, as by my right by blood and magic claim the seats of Potter," a seat on the right side, not far from Malfoys, flashed red
"Gryffindor," a seat above all the lords glowed gold and stayed,
"Slytherin," a seat on the right to Gryffindor's glowed green,
"Hufflepuff," another seat next to Slytherin's glowed yellow,
"Peverell," seat on the left from Gryffindor's, closest to the Minister's seat, glowed purple,
"Emrys," a seat above and behind the Minister's glowed bright blue,
"I claim my rightful place in the court of magic and let the Magik and this ring be my witnesses forevermore, so I claim so mote it be."
All the glowing seats flashed in their respective colours before settling down. Harry looked around and chuckled to himself as everyone was staring at him speechless "I see it's not quite what you expected. I am to be addressed by my title of Duke Emrys."
"Welcome to the Wizengamot, Duke Emrys," Amelia said in the silent court, not showing that she already knew all the seats that Harry would claim. She was glad that what she saw in the archives was true as she was doubting it at first - the fact that Harry wasn't in any pain meant that the family magic has acknowledged him as rightful Lord.
"Thank you, Lady Bones. May I proceed to my seat, Minister?" Harry asked and Cornelius only dumbly nodded.
Harry then made his way to the Emrys seat which was stationed above and behind the minister. As he sat down he realised that this allowed him to see everyone in the room which is was quite handy to keep track of other Lords and their facial expressions. When he sat down it seemed life returned to the room as reporters started to furiously scribe down a story that surely is going to be top story of the year.
"R-Right," Minister said "Today's meeting, yes."
"Minister Fudge," Harry said as he stood up, making the minister jump slightly "I apologise for interrupting so soon, I just wanted to get an apology from Madam Umbridge for insulting me several times today, and an apology from Dumbledore for insisting on being so informal with me that quite honestly is an insult to my title of Duke. I believe that is not a proper behaviour for such high ranking individuals in the Wizengamot."
"Indeed, Duke Emrys," Minister hastily replied in hopes of getting in Harry's good graces "This would've been avoided if we proceeded with the claiming procedure straight away. Madam Umbridge, Chief Warlock."
Both turned towards Harry with sour look on their faces though Dumbledore's was concealed. "My apologies, Duke Emrys," they chorused.
Harry hid a smirk and nodded "Apology accepted, but make sure it doesn't happen in the future," he then addressed the Minister "And I apology for taking so much of tonight's time. Please, Minister, lets proceed with the meeting and not waste any more time."
"Right you are," Minister said "As exciting as this was, Duke Emrys has a point – we lost quite a bit of time due to some member's disagreement so lets proceed with the meeting. Tonight..."
And so the Wizengamot meeting passed almost without a hitch. Thankfully there weren't any new regulations or laws introduced so Harry had the opportunity to just observe how the meeting proceeded and the subtle power plays that happened. He wasn't asked many things as everyone were not quite sure where he stood in terms of justice, laws, or his views.
Both dark and light families were shooting him curious glances. After all, he was the boy-who-lived and considered light which made the dark families wary of his political power, but at the same time they saw that Harry didn't have the best relationship with the headmaster and he was a lord of a dark family too and that made them a bit excited about the future and what that could mean. Same could be said for the light families. Grey families on the other hand, just regarded Harry with curiosity and caution.
Harry was sure that both Light and Dark families will now try to get his favour in order to tip the scales in the future Wizengamot meetings.
When the Wizengamot ended and people started to filter out of the room, Harry descended down to the court's main room and was approached by Lucius Malfoy, the Minister, Dumbledore, and several other lords like Nott, Greengrass, and Bones.
"Duke Emrys, a moment of your time?" Lucius silkily said.
"Lord Malfoy," Harry greeted and nodded to the older man. He then turned and greeted the others as well in respect "Lord Nott, Lord Greengrass. Lady Bones. Minister, Chief Warlock," he then fully faced Lucius and rested his staff on his left shoulder "What can I do for you, Lord Malfoy?"
"I'm just curious – how exactly did you claim the family title of Merlin? I mean, which line, exactly, was the descendant of Merlin?" he asked.
Harry smiled "Blood is a very powerful source of magic in the wizarding world, is it not, Lord Malfoy?" he rhetorically asked "When I visited Gringotts they performed some identification spell using my blood which revealed that I had strong Emrys' gene in my blood and magic which made me to be a direct descendant, and so I was eligible to claim the heirship. And since I emancipated myself I claimed the Lordship straight away," he explained to the listeners and Harry then chuckled "As for your other question, Lord Malfoy, every family I claimed is descendant of Merlin," everyone's eyes widened "It's true. While it is not a secret, this knowledge is generally forgotten because each family had their own amazing feats and achievements to their own respective names. History records as well as public just tend to... forget the roots," he shrugged and smiled "But I aim to rectify that by living up to the name."
"That is quite a bold statement, Duke Emrys," Lord Greengrass, a tall and broad shouldered man said "Merlin's name still survives to this day, a long time after his death. He was a legend among wizards," he then reverently said "some even called him a god of magic," he focused his gaze back on Harry "He brought a revolution to the wizarding world and changed the way we perceive magic. You took quite a burden on your shoulders when you took up that last name, Duke Emrys. A lot of people are going to expect great things from you – can you deliver their hopes, meet their expectations? Or are you going to be the one who dismantles what we've built?"
Dumbledore then decided to interject "I'm quite sure young Emrys won't carry that burden alone and will share it with his supporters. We could change the wizarding world for the better. Isn't that right?" he finished as he peered at Harry over his glasses.
"Definitely," Harry said and smirked "I have great friends who support me, and you're not one of them, Chief Warlock Dumbledore. And I have to ask you to follow simple etiquette rules, please. I am quite tired of reminding you to address me by my proper title. If you can't handle the pressure of being in a finer company," he gestured to Malfoy, Nott, Greengrass, and the Minister "Then please leave us, or at least remain silent so we can converse."
Lucius smirked as he saw anger pass Dumbledore's eyes. It really seems that those two don't see eye to eye with each other "I quite agree, Duke Emrys. Chief Warlock always acts as if he's better than others and often talks to us like we're children," he then briefly looked at the old man before returning his focus on Harry "Maybe he is still under perception than we are his students?"
Madam Bones then interjected "While it is true that Chief Warlock shows lack of etiquette, you yourself are provoking him."
"That may be so, Lady Bones, but I believe in 'receive what you give'. I've been nothing but courteous and formal to Chief Warlock as expected from a student and a Lord, yet he refuses to call me by my title after I asked multiple times, and keeps being very informal. I'm just returning the favour in hopes of him seeing how hypocritical he is," Harry responded.
"Dumbledore often gets away with it due to his fame," Nott said. Dumbledore wisely kept his mouth shut as he was too angry at the moment.
Lucius then resumed talking "And yet what has been said is true – you now wield an immense political power and people will be actually willing to listen to what you say. So the question is-"
Lucius was interrupted by Lord Nott "The question is, Duke Emrys, which side are you going to advocate? The dark or the light? Knowing your background, probably light, but still one must ask considering you're also Lord of some dark family names."
Lucius looked a bit peeved at being interrupted and at the bluntness of the question but nevertheless he nodded in agreement.
Harry felt a bit of a pressure on him from all the piercing looks he was getting but he refused to be intimidated. He himself got into this political mess so he had to deal with. Harry looked Lord Nott in the eye and icily asked "You know of my background? Pray tell me what you know?"
Lord Nott almost sneered but still kept his composure "Born to the light family, to the light side, that was killed by the dark side; given off to some light family, pampered, spoiled and brought up with their beliefs-"
Harry shook his head and interrupted Nott "I will have to stop you there. If you believe what the general public believes, or what those despicable books tell of me, then perhaps I thought too highly of you and you just follow some public belief," Lord Nott bristled at those words "I didn't know of magic or that I was a wizard until I received my first Hogwarts letter. For 11 years I lived with the worst kind of magic hating muggles that beat and starved me just because I had magic and they didn't."
Everyone's eyes widened at that. The boy-who-lived spent 11 years of his life with magic hating muggles and never knew of his heritage? Light or not that was preposterous.
"Duke Emrys, surely that's an over exaggeration?" Dumbledore said.
"You have no right to speak on this matter, Dumbledore," Harry angrily said "For you were the one who left me on their doorstep in cold November night as some package," everyone turned to look at Dumbledore in horror but before they could say anything Harry continued "I have just as much reasons to join the dark side as I have to join the light side," everyone looked at him again "So I won't join or advocate neither."
There was a moment of silence before the Minister finally spoke up "So you will remain neutral? But that's impossible for someone with your standing."
Harry shook his head "I won't be on the light or dark side, Minister. I will be on the side of Magic and I will advocate its rights."
Dumbledore's eyes comically widened at this and slight panic entered his blue eyes.
"Magic?" Minister asked confused.
"Yes," Harry replied "The light side only fights for the people on their side, for whoever has light magical core. They restrict people with dark cores, they enforce change on traditional wizarding customs to satisfy the muggleborns who don't understand how our world works. They claim to advocate for all the creatures' rights yet they do nothing to improve it. The dark side on the other hand does the opposite – it only fights for the wizards with dark cores, so that they can practice their cores' magic without the fear of persecution never realising that they use black magic and not just dark to achieve their goals. They offer and promise freedom for creatures but only put more laws to restrict them. They ridicule and sneer down on muggleborns thinking they do not deserve magic and are the scum of the wizarding world. And muggleborns in turn hate the dark side for it. But is it their fault that they simply don't know how the wizarding world works? They don't know better because they are not taught about it. And contrary to popular belief, muggleborn magic cores can be dark as well so essentially the dark side contradicts itself. Tell me, how can I choose between a side," Harry looked at their thoughtful expressions though he could see Dumbledore glaring at him. He continued
"I personally don't want to fight against a certain community only because of their magic core affinity. In the future Wizengamot meetings I will not look from the perspective of light or dark, but from the perspective of 'What will benefit the wizarding world as a whole?'. So in future meetings, Lord Malfoy, you should expect that I could be as much your ally as your enemy."
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Lord Nott commented.
"Precisely," Harry replied.
"It's... refreshing to have a new influential Lord in the Wizengamot, Duke Emrys," Lucius thoughtfully said "The future just became much more interesting."
"I still would like to ask-" Minister began but was interrupted by Harry.
"I apologise, Minister, but maybe we could discuss any other questions you might have some other time?" he apologetically said and made a very tired face "It's getting quite late today and I have lessons tomorrow still. But if you would like to talk I wouldn't say no to, lets say, a meeting sometime where we could discuss whatever behind a cup of tea? I too have questions for you, Minister."
The Minister joyously smiled "Certainly, Duke Emrys, certainly. I will send you an owl and arrange a meeting," he then turned towards the Headmaster "Dumbledore, I trust you will escort Duke Emrys back to Hogwarts safely and without incidents?"
Dumbledore nodded "Of course, Minister," and Harry silently groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was to be left alone with the old coot.
And so, after saying their goodbyes, two powerful wizards left the court in a tense silence.
