Potterdownthestreet – In canon the purebloods are in the minority. In my story they are in the dwindling majority and feel threatened. Its much like in the United States where whites have been the majority for ages but now sometime in the next decade whites will no longer be the majority but in fact a minority just like all the other races. The purebloods have always held the power in the wizarding society but they are dwindling in numbers and half-bloods and muggleborns are rising. Some are backing Voldemort because they hope that if they can't keep their status of majority, then a government that gives them all the power will be in place so it doesn't matter if they happen to dip into the minority. Others are backing Voldemort because they think if they kill a bunch of muggleborns, then they will stay in the majority.
Also please forgive me for my poor attempts at writing accents in this story. The way Hagrid, Dobby, Fleur and everyone else speak is something I am not good at.
Chapter 14 Politics
Harry waited outside the room of requirement as people shuffled pass him. His fellow Gryffindors first, as usual, since they were closest to the room. Then came the Ravenclaws, walking in groups of three and fours. Next the Hufflepuffs showed up, walking in one big group. The four Slytherins were last and they approached him warily, as if afraid he was going to lash out at them. Word had spread rapidly about what had happened last night.
He didn't really look at them as they walked passed him and into the room. Except Derek Harper; he placed his arm out and stopped the fourth year from joining everyone else. The teen turned toward him, his face anxious.
"I'm not my brother," Derek stated.
Harry didn't look at the teen, making it seem like he didn't even know the teen was there. Vaguely he responded with: "Never said you were."
"If I'd have known, I would have told you! My mom is a half-blood and she doesn't approve of this blood supremacy thing. Not like my dad and Dexter do. She is the one that raised me, since my dad didn't need a second son, just his first one to be his heir. I don't want to be a Death Eater like Dexter."
Harry remained silent, staring at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy for several moments. He could see out of the corner of his eye the Slytherin's pleading look. He supposed if he really wanted he could douse the Slytherin in truth potions and erase his memory afterwards. However, he didn't want to be as paranoid as Moody when it came to trusting people he had trusted before, not yet at least.
"I trust you Derek. Just don't give me reason not to."
The Slytherin looked relieved but didn't have a chance to voice his gratitude because a commotion down the hallway caught their attention.
"Not this toad again," Harry groaned. "I don't want to deal with this. Let's get inside before she comes over here."
Umbridge and her eight lackeys were coming down the hallway. Harry ushered Derek into the Room of Requirement, thinking about how he didn't want anyone from the Ministry entering and interrupting their training. When Umbridge came upon the section of wall where the door was supposed to be, she found nothing but blank wall and try as she might, she couldn't make a door appear.
The grounds of Hogwarts were covered in almost two feet of snow, blanketing the large open fields in enough of the white powder for a house-elf to hide in. Harry and Ron trudged through the snow, making their way to Hagrid's hut. Harry was going to be completing his animagus formation and it was decided that Hagrid's hut was probably the best place to do it. Sirius and Remus would be meeting him down there, and Hagrid was happy enough to be trusted with something so big.
Harry knocked on the door to the cabin, which opened immediately. The black haired and red haired teens entered into the dim room, noticing that the large table that generally occupied the middle of the room was missing, as were the chairs that surrounded it. The curtains on the windows had been pulled shut and spelled to make sure no one could see into the hut. Hagrid sat on his bed, where he held Fang in his lap, petting the large dog on the top of its head. Sirius and Remus stood in the middle of the room, drawing a circle on the floor in blood.
"What the hell is that?" Ron asked upon spotting what the two Marauders were doing.
Remus didn't look up as he completed the circle. "Containment circle, made of dragon's blood. We didn't do this when Sirius, James and Peter first went through the process. James almost gored Peter and Sirius almost ripped out my throat."
"When you first transform, you are the animal. There is no human in you. In a room full of humans you will panic and become violent and defensive. This containment circle will make sure you can't harm any of us."
Sirius grabbed Harry's arm and brought him into the circle as he spoke. He handed Harry the potion he would need to complete the transformation before stepping out of the circle. As soon as the older animagus was out of the ring of dragon's blood, Remus tapped it with his wand, muttering under his breath. The blood flashed a bright gold before simmering to a glowing white. Harry went to stick his hand outside the circle but found it blocked by a invisible wall.
"What if my animal is bigger then this circle?" Harry asked, hesitantly.
Sirius looked at Remus, who merely shrugged. "Let's pray it isn't."
Harry looked between the two of them with some anxiousness but they ignored him. Ron walked over and joined Hagrid on the bed, staring at Harry with fascination. He was close to taking the potion to seeing if he could become an animagus himself, and he was rather excited to see the final step in the process.
"Wha' animal do you think you'll become 'arry?" Hagrid asked.
"Probably a bird," Harry answered. "I do love flying."
"Wouldn't it be sweet to be something big and scary?" Ron asked, grinning.
"Sneak up on Malfoy in a dark corridor and make him pee his pants?" Harry shot back, chuckling.
"You know," Remus started, interrupting Ron's response, "we could stop speculating and know the answer if you would just take the potion."
"Cheers then Remus!" Harry cried, putting the goblet containing the potion in the air in front of him before bringing it to his lips and tossing it back. He cringed at the awful taste but swallowed the entire thing before tossing the empty goblet to the ground.
He sat down, not wanting to face plant it to the ground like he did last time he took one of the animagus potions. He stared at Sirius in surprise for a second before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started spazzing.
"Cor' blimey," Hagrid murmured, staring at the teen with sympathy.
"Does it hurt?" Ron asked, as Harry's body started changing into something not his own.
"A lot," Sirius answered simply.
They watched for five minutes as Harry's body twisted and turned into another form, before finally stopping. In front of them was a tiger with black fur, white stripes and bright green eyes. It stared at them all, growling deep in its throat before launching itself forward. The tiger slammed into the invisible wall, shaking its head before trying to attack them again. It didn't understand why it couldn't move forward pass a certain point and so tried to attack them several times before laying down, eying them all warily.
"Someone's gonna have a headache," Remus noted.
Ron chuckled. "How long does the transformation last?"
"Ten minutes." Sirius responded. "Remus, wanna get some measurements on him?"
Remus shrugged his shoulders, withdrawing his wand and flicking it at the tiger. The tiger freaked out and started thrashing around the small containment area after the jet of light hit it. Harry growled loudly, bearing his teeth at Remus.
A small strip of paper popped into Remus' hands, and the werewolf whistled as he read. "Nine and a halt feet long, including the tale. He's three feet tall and a 225 kg (495 lbs)."
"That's a hefty kitty."
"He's almost twice the length and more than three times heavier then you Sirius."
Sirius pouted at his friend. "So? I'm still better."
"Ow." They turned to Harry, who lay on the ground in his human form, in the fetal position clutching his head. "My head hurts. My body too."
Remus prodded the ring of dragon's blood with his wand, causing the containment field to fail. He nodded to Hagrid, who quickly stood off his bed and approached the teen.
"I got some potions for yeh 'arry," Hagrid stated, holding out two vials.
"Ones a pain reliever to numb the pain your body is experiencing from going through the transformation for the first time. The other is for the headache you got from ramming into the containment shield a bunch of times," Remus explained.
Harry quickly downed both vials of liquid, looking at Remus inquisitively. "How do you know I'd need the headache one?"
"A wild animal trapped in an invisible cage? Bound to run into it a lot because the animals doesn't understand why it can't move forward so it will keep trying."
Harry allowed Hagrid to haul him to his feet; the half-giant only needing his index finger to do so. He was led over to the large man's bed, where he was hefted up and plopped down, as if he couldn't do it himself. Ron was smirking at Hagrid's treatment of Harry, as if the teen was made of glass.
"So what am I?"
"A bloody tiger mate!"
Harry looked at Ron, a grin forming on his face. "Really?"
"Would I lie about something like that? You got black fur and white stripes, I've never seen anything like it! Its way wicked! "
The two teens high-five'd, wide smiles on each of their faces. Ron looked excited at the prospect of his own animagus form, while Harry was pumped at his own form.
"Tigers represent war and nobility in Ancient Chinese," Remus noted.
"Tigers also represent badass-ness," Harry quipped, grinning.
Sirius chuckled as he walked over and ruffled his godson's hair. Remus cleaned the blood off the ground and placed several small items on the ground. With a switch of his wand, Hagrid's table was back to its normal side, and even had yesterday's paper still sitting on it.
"Wha' are yeh goin' to do about these new anti-werewolf laws Remus?"
Harry interrupted before Remus could answer. "They'll get revoked."
Remus looked at the teen in some surprise. "How can you be so sure?"
The Boy-Who-Lived shrugged his shoulders. "As soon as Fudge signed them I called into question the laws and now a Wizengamot meeting is being held; three days from now right after the trial for Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler."
"Why so soon?" Ron asked, confused. "Usually such things take several weeks before a session is called."
Sirius slammed his hand onto the table. "Fudge doesn't want to give Harry and Dumbledore time to rally support against these laws. He wants no opposition."
"Fat lot of good that's going to do him. Dumbledore knew about these laws two weeks ago and alerted me about them two days ago. I've set up meetings with Augusta Longbottom, Martin Boot and Hajari Patil to try to get them and their supporters to back us up. Then I'm going to meet with Amelia Bones, Ping Chang, Christian Goldstein, Dixon Carmichael, Oswald Spinnet, Templeton Vane, and Ignatius Weasley to make sure they understand what these laws mean to werewolves and our society."
"You should probably set up meetings with Lord Anwell, Lord Heilyn, Lord Mostyn, Lord Gwyther and Lord Rhydderch. "
Harry looked at his godfather curiously. "Who are all those guys?"
"You didn't think it was just the Bones who pledged their support to your family did you? Those five are the Lords of Wales who have pledged their support to the Potters, as the only Noble and Ancient family from Wales. Most of the Noble and Ancient families are from Britain, except for the Potters from Wales and the McKinnons from Ireland."
"Who do the Longbottoms, Boots and Patils have supporting them?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore wants me to get their support so I might as well see who else's support I'm suppose to be getting.
"The Longbottoms, who have always lived on the border of Britain and Scotland, have the Changs and four of the Seven Major Clans of Scotland; Macrath of the Macrae Clan, Gregory of the Macgregor Clan, Abbott of the Macnab Clan and Burns of the Lamont Clan. The Boots, who live on the Isle of Man have the Irish Lords Lord Dempsey, Lord MacNulty and Lord Woulfe, and the Lords of Wales Lord Astley and Lord Wynne. The Patils, who live just outside of London, have the support of Lord Vane and Lord Spinnet of Britain, and Lord Cassidy and Lord O'Keene of Ireland."
"Who is Dumbledore getting?" Ron asked, surprisingly interested in the pureblood political talk. His oldest uncle, head of the Weasley family. was without a male heir and would be passing down headship of the family down to one of his nephews in a few years. Unfortunately for Ron that didn't just include him and his five brothers but his other Uncle's three sons as well.
"The McKinnons, the Diggorys and as many neutral families as he can. He said there are seventeen minor families who haven't pledged their support to one of the Ancient and Noble families but eight of them are Fudge supporters so who knows how this will go. He is also talking to the ten elected half-bloods and muggleborns."
"So that's," Ron did the quick calculations in his head, "four Ancient and Noble families, and twenty minor families."
"Plus the McKinnons, Diggorys and the eight minor families they have," Remus added.
"Still that's only six Ancient and Noble families and twenty-eight minor ones. Doesn't seem like enough considering there are seven other Ancient and Noble families and forty-seven minor ones," Ron pointed out.
"I know Lucius Malfoy has had a backing in this, so that means the Notts, Lestranges, Rookwoods, Vaiseys and Montaques and all their minor families will back it because their all Voldemort supporters. Who knows with the Ministry, we should put them on the other side just to be safe. That has a lot against us," Harry said, agreeing with Ron and suddenly not so sure in their ability to revoke the laws.
"Don't forget the wild card in all this. As the heir to the Black family, you are the interim head of the Black family, since I am currently indisposed. I doubt many of their supporters will back you up but the Greengass family is generally a neutral family, as well as Lord Saunders of the Macalister Clan. Plus you are now Lord Kingston as well, whose usual backing of the Lestrange family you will want to revoke. Seven Ancient and Noble families, thirty-four minor families, Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory as two Ministry Department Heads and the ten elected members? You might have a shot."
"Yeah but just because someone has pledged to support a certain family doesn't mean they always side with them. You still have to do some convincing," Remus added, trying to remind them that not many would vote in favor of a werewolf.
Hagrid looked confused at all the talk about pureblood support and loyalty, having never dealt with something like that before. "Wha' is all this talk 'bout?"
"The Wizengamot Hagrid." Hagrid just looked at Harry confused, never having to deal with the Wizengamot in such intimate details before. "There are thirteen Ancient and Noble families; the Potters, the Longbottoms, the Boots, the Patils, the McKinnons, the Diggorys, the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Notts, the Rookwoods, the Vaiseys, the Montaques and the Lestranges."
"How come they're the Ancient and Noble?"Hagrid asked.
Harry looked at Sirius, having no idea. "When the Wizengamot was formed in the 1300's it was decided that the families with proven magical blood going back eleven or more generations would be the Ancient and Noble. Those who had between four and ten generations would be minor families."
"Righ' wha'swith the support you guys are talking 'bout then?"
Sirius, who had grown up being trained to be a pureblood lord, decided to take control of the education of Hagrid. "The Potters and the Malfoys have the most with six each. The Blacks, Boots and Longbottoms have five each. The rest, besides the Vaiseys, only have four each; the Vaiseys only have three. These families have pledged to support their respective Ancient and Noble families in their politics."
"How many votes do you need to get something changed?" Ron inquired.
"You need sixty-five votes."
"Looks like I got some work to do," Harry muttered.
"Yeah, but at least you have a bloody awesome animagus form."
Lord Broderick Anwell was a tall and strong man in his mid-forties. He had black hair that reached his shoulders and a full beard that covered the lower half of his face. He had a hooked nose and large brown eyes. He didn't seem like a graceful person but his body screamed power, both physical and magical.
Lord Rhodri Heilyn was a fifty-something year old man of average height with a round body. His face was covered with a short, blond beard and long curly blond hair fell to just above his shoulders. He had small bright blue eyes and a jovial demeanor. He reminded many of a young Santa, both in looks and personality.
Lady Eirwyn Mostyn, the youngest and just recent head of her family, was a plain looking young woman in her late-twenties. She had full blond hair that fell to just above her bum. She was small, several inches shorter than Harry himself, with a petite frame. She had sharp dark blue eyes and her facial expression made one believe her tongue was just as sharp as her eyes looked.
Lord Heddwyn Gwyther, the oldest member of the five, was close to a hundred years old. He was of average height with prominent wrinkles at the corner of his mouth and eyes, as well as his forehead. His hair was a mixture of brown and gray, swept back in a ponytail that went all the way to his mid-back. He had hazel eyes that shined with wisdom.
Lord Kynan Rhydderch, a man of short stature and a bald head, was most likely in his sixties or early seventies. His face lacked the laugh lines one expected to see in a wizard of his age, showing that the man rarely found joy in things. He had bushy brown eyebrows, which was the only hair upon his entire head.
They all wore tailor-made robes of the finest silk, the family crest of their respective families sitting on their left breast. Those who had hair had it neatly groomed and they all looked the very essence of nobility they were. Harry, who wore dress slacks and a buttoned up shirt underneath an opened silk robe with his family crest on the left breast, felt under dressed compared to them, even though it wasn't so. His hair was as messy as usual, refusing to be tamed even by that sleak-easy stuff Hermione had used on her wild-mane last year.
"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice." Harry tried to remember the few lessons Sirius had tried to give him on dealing with pureblood lords.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet the new head of the Most Ancient and Noble family of Wales," Lord Gwyther answered. The others voiced their agreement, even if Lord Rhydderch and Lady Mostyn didn't seem to approve of his hair.
"I wish it could have been under better circumstances but I'm afraid I need your help." Harry stated. "As you should know there is a Wizengamot session being held in two days time about the integrity of the recent Werewolf laws that require all werewolves to be collared with a tracking charm. I don't think I need to tell you why such a thing shouldn't be allowed."
"Werewolves are dangerous creatures Mr. Potter," Rhydderch pointed out.
Harry frowned at the short Lord. "I can agree they are but only on twelve nights a year."
Heilyn leaned forward and placed his elbow on the table in front of him. "Fenrir Greyback has been terrorizing our society since the 1950's!"
"Yes and I'm sure Greyback will waltz into the Ministry and allow himself to be collared!" Harry had to refrain himself from sneering, remembering that these Lords and Lady were his allies.
"Mr. Potter is right," Gwyther murmured, leaning back in his chair. "The law is being passed because of certain werewolves and they aren't the ones who will be affected by it."
"I agree Lord Gwyther. However, Lord Potter it is clear who is passing this law and why it is being passed in the first place. By going against this law we could be making ourselves targets of You-Know-Who."
Harry looked at Lord Anwell, trying to hide the shock that was making its way onto his face. "You know Voldemort is back?"
"Don't say his name!" Heilyn hissed out, his jovial demeanor vanishing in an instant.
Lord Anwell let out a deep chuckle that reverberated around the room. "We aren't stupid Lord Potter."
"Then why don't you convince the Ministry he is back as well?"
"I said we aren't stupid Lord Potter. I spoke nothing of the intelligence of the Ministry."
"I'm sorry Lord Anwell, its just frustrating knowing that in order to combat Vold..." They all winced and hissed at him beginning to use Voldemort's name again. "Sorry. In order to combat You-Know-Who, I have to do it in fear of my own Ministry, which should be adding me not restricting me!"
"I will help you Lord Potter, with repealing this law and in your fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Just like I have helped your father and your grandfather in the sixty years I have been the head of my family."
"Thank you Lord Gwyther, I appreciate the show of support."
"Aye, I agree with Lord Gwyther. The Anwell family has supported the Potters since before the Wizengamot was even created. I will help you repeal this law and my family will help you in this war. I am a Hit Wizard Lord Potter, in case you didn't know, as is both my younger brothers and my son. When ever you are need of our assistance just owl me, or get in touch with my sister's son, Geoffrey Hooper. He's a fellow Gryffindor in the year above you."
Harry nodded, knowing of Geoffrey Hooper. The teen had tried out for the Quidditch team this year but Harry had beaten him out to the Keeper position. The teen was supposed to be the best at Defense and Charms out of the sixth years. Fred and George said he was a bit of a whiner but was a decent bloke over all. His father was a muggle, if Harry remembered correctly, a powerful lawyer in the muggle world.
"Thank you for your offer of support Lord Anwell."
"Not a problem lad."
"You have the support of the Heilyn family, you always have."
"Same with the Rhydderch family."
"Thank you Lord Heilyn and Lord Rhydderch. This means a lot to me."
They both waved away his thanks. The four minor Lords turned toward Lady Mostyn, who watched them all apprehensively.
"As the last of the Mostyn, I have to make sure my family lives on. By showing my support for you Lord Potter, I put myself and therefor my family line in danger."
"I can offer you anything you need Lady Mostyn. Wards to protect your house, bodyguards to defend you from harm. Anything at all."
"Just a promise Lord Potter. That when help is needed, you will be there."
Harry sat in silence for a few moments. He was the youngest by a dozen years and was expected to be the one to act as a buffer for the others against the Dark Lord and the political power of Lucius Malfoy. He supposed, as the head of the more powerful family it was his duty to protect those who supported him, still it was weird hearing these older, powerful people asking him to defend them.
"Of course Lady Mostyn," Harry uttered, staring her in the eye.
"Then you have my support as well."
"I don't even know what the debate is," Martin Boot all but shouted. "They were caught in the act! Eyewitnesses including Lord Potter here, have given their testimony of exactly what happened under the influence of veritaserum. What more evidence do we need?"
Marian Rookwood scowled at the head of the Boot family. "Clearly they were influenced by outside forces as I know my son would never act like so!" Harry had to suppress the snort that fought to escape. "Not to mention we have no proof that they were involved in the earlier attacks, and the girl they attacked shouldn't even be a part of this society!"
Harry growled low in his throat, glaring at Lord Rookwood. Listening to the bigotry of the six dark Ancient and Noble families, and the allowance of such talk by everyone in the room, including Dumbledore, who merely frowned at such talk, was disgusting.
"The girl attacked has just as much of a right to be in this society then Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler have. Probably more based on the fact that her grades have been the best seen in Hogwarts in over two decades, while both of the accused are barely passing their NEWT classes."
"How dare you!" Rookwood yelled, standing up and pointing his finger threateningly at Harry.
"Lord Rookwood, sit down this instant!" Dumbledore shouted.
The man snarled at both Dumbledore and Harry before reluctantly sitting down in his seat. Rookwood wasn't the only Lord giving him a dirty look, but Harry didn't care enough to pay attention to Lucius Malfoy and his other four comrades.
"Hermione Granger is part of this society, whether some here like it or not. That is not something to be argued. There was no trace of the Imperius Curse on either of the accused. In fact, neither of them have claimed to be under its effect until recently, which makes me question their claims."
Amelia Bones was a hard ass but she was fair and wouldn't be swayed by pureblood politics. Thats what Harry liked about her.
"Since it seems we can't discuss this case without getting into arguments, let us just call the accused back in here and hold the vote. It has been almost three hours and I'm sure the other Lords and Ladies are getting anxious to start the full Wizengamot session today."
Madame Bones motioned to the four Hit Wizards near the doors. They left the room and came back with the two teens between them. After Connor and Kenneth were seated, their faces nervous, the vote was called.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent on the account of assault and battery against Hermione Granger please raise your hand."
Ten hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of these charges please raise you hand."
Twenty-five hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent of the attempted murder of Hermione Granger please raise you hand."
Twelve hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of the attempted murder of Hermione Granger please raise you hand."
Twenty-three hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent of the five other cases of assault and battery please raise your hand."
Fifteen hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of the five other cases of assault and battery please raise your hand."
Twenty hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent in the five other cases of attempted murder please raise your hand."
Nineteen hands went up.
"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty in the five other cases of attempted murder please raise your hand."
Eighteen hands went up.
The process was repeated for Kenneth Towler, meeting similar results. While Harry was upset they had gotten off on the attempted murder of Wayne Hopkins, Lee Jordan, Colin Creevey, Dennis Creevey and Stan Carter, the sixth year Ravenclaw who was attacked, he was still relieved there was some form of justice in the wizarding world.
"Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler I sentence you both to six years in Azkaban prison for the attempted murder of Hermione Granger and eighteen months in Azkaban for each charge of assault and battery against you. That is a total of fifteen years in Azkaban for the both of you, starting immediately."
The two teens protested loudly as they were led away and Lord Rookwood left in hurry, muttering angrily underneath his breath. Amelia Bones looked around at the gathered members, her eyes weary.
"I say a thirty minute lunch break is in order before the full Wizengamot session begins."
Harry got up and stretched his legs, feeling his taught muscles stretching under the action. Everyone began moving out of the room and Harry followed them. Some made there way to other areas of the Ministry to do who knows what, while others made there way into the large room that would hold the full Wizengamot meeting. The Potter seat was one of the thirteen seats that sat in front of the Chief Warlock and the two elders. In front of the thirteen Noble and Ancient families were the Ministry officials who were a part of the Wizengamot, followed by the ten elected members.
Surrounding this section was a half circle that held the seventy-five minor lords and ladies. The half circle consisted of three rows of twenty-five seats. Even at the beginning of its creation, never were all of the seats of the Wizengamot filled at once. Many times Ministry officials were pureblood lords, and it didn't help that several lines had died out.
As the Boy-Who-Lived walked to his seat, he greeted and made small talk with almost two dozen lords and ladies. Securing the last of his backers in the vote was worth the conversations he was forced to have with several of the bloated purebloods he found himself talking to. He was pretty sure the vote would go in his favor, getting rid of the prejudice law, but one could never be too certain.
"Let this session of the Wizengamot come into order," Dumbledore called after the thirty minute break, which had really been a little over thirty-five minutes. Every member of the Wizengamot was present, including Lord Rookwood, who had calmed down since the sentencing of his son. "The reason for this session is the newest law passed by the Fudge administration, Law 9853; the Werewolf Collared Law."
A scribe who sat in the middle of the room stood up, holding a piece of parchment in his hand. "Law 9853 requires that all werewolves already bitten report to the Ministry within two weeks of the passing of this law to be given a collar to be placed around their neck. This collar will not only let the public know who is a known werewolf, but it will also contain a tracking charm so the Ministry can keep an eye on the whereabouts of all werewolves at all times. There will also be a Shock Charm on it that can be activated if the werewolf in question is seen as a threat to any person, subduing the werewolf immediately. Anyone who is bitten by a werewolf has three days within the full moon they are bitten to report to the Ministry for their collar. Failure to comply with this law will result in a minimum of three years in Azkaban."
"Lord Potter, as you are the one who called this session in order, why don't you start us off."
Harry stood and nodded at Dumbledore. "Esteemed lords and ladies of the Wizengamot, the only thing this law will do is further alienate the werewolves in our society. Let's face it, the only reason there is any support for this law is because of Fenrir Greyback and the actions he has taken that lead many to fear people inflicted with lycanthropy at all times, even when they are not in their wolf form. However, Fenrir Greyback will not show up at the Ministry to allow himself to be collared and neither will any of his supporters.
"The only ones who will be affected by this law are the good human beings who twelve times a year turn into a creature they don't want to be. With the invention of Wolfsbane, most werewolves are becoming less and less of a threat to us on the days of the full moon. Why punish these poor people any further by publicly humiliating them and taking away their humanity? Being collared like an animal at all times will not be accepted by many of the peaceful werewolves in our society. It will only drive them to Greyback and the last thing we need is for his supporters to grow in number."
Harry sat down, pleased with his speech as many broke into applause. It was a lot better then the original one he had intended to given. That one had started with, "you're all fucking idiots," and ended with, "go die you inbred fuckers." However, despite how funny Sirius, Remus and Ron found it, Dumbledore and Hermione wouldn't allow him to give it. Thus he was forced to come up with another one and promised himself he would use the other one as a back up just in case.
There was a moment of silence before Rhydian Lestrange made a gesture with his hand. "Lord Lestrange you have the floor."
The father of two recent Azkaban escapees stood up, pressing down the non-existent wrinkles on the front of his robe. "You say we take away their humanity Lord Potter but I must ask, what humanity are you referring to? Werewolves are nothing but savage animals. If they had any humanity in them then werewolves would slowly die off and no one new would be bitten!"
Lestrange sat down and many of his supporters clapped at his little speech. Harry nodded at the end of it, his face passive but inside he was frowning. Some people could really be bastards.
"Lord Potter, do you wish to respond to Lord Lestrange's argument?"
Harry stood again, squaring his shoulders and raising his chin. "Yes. You are saying that since werewolves like Greyback exist, all werewolves must be treated as threats to our society right?" Rhydian nodded his head. "Well when Voldemort," nearly everyone in the room hissed at the name, "came to power he found followers in the purebloods, your sons and daughter-in-law were some of them if I'm not mistaken Lord Lestrange." Lestrange growled at Harry making it personal, something Harry liked doing when debating an opponent. "Should that mean we shouldn't trust purebloods? After all if some of the purebloods are homicidal maniacs than that must mean all of them are and so all purebloods should be in Azkaban."
Lestrange snorted. "That is an argument only an idiot would use."
"Yet that is your argument supporting this law Lord Lestrange. Does that mean you yourself are an idiot?"
Many of those in the room chuckled as Lord Lestrange's expense. "Why you little..."
"Lord Lestrange, please refrain yourself," Dumbledore admonished, fighting the grin that was making its way onto his face.
Harry looked around the room, noting the faces of all the people who had claimed they would help abolish the law. Most of them wore grins, though a few seemed to think his behavior inappropriate, maybe even childish. He didn't care though because making stuck up purebloods look like idiots was most of the fun in pureblood politics.
Voldemort sat at the head of the table, surveying half of his inner circle. The other half, the ones he had just rescued from Azkaban, were still recovering from their fourteen year ordeal and probably would be doing so for another few months. He was glad to finally have some of his better fighters back because most of those under his command wouldn't be able to take on Aurors and Hit Wizards.
He was still sore that the anti-werewolf laws he had Malfoy and Lestrange pushing for weren't passed. Greyback was having some difficulty recruiting werewolves, mostly because of Lupin. They saw that mangy bastard holding the position of professor at Hogwarts and being good friends with Harry Potter, and they thought maybe life would turn out well for them too. Wormtail's old friend gave them hope for a better life that didn't entail fighting for him and the repealing of the law by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore only reinforced that idea.
"Macnair, the giants?"
"One of the clans has rebelled against their Glurg and will support us. I'm arranging to bring several of them into the country soon."
"Excellent. And Selwyn, any others in the Ministry wish to pledge their allegiance?"
"A Hit Wizard my lord. Nick Pierce, brother of Lord Edward Pierce. Lucius has already informed me Daniel Pierce, a seventh year Slytherin and Nick's son, has approached Draco about recruitment."
The Dark Lord allowed a small grin to work its way on his face. "A Hit Wizard? Finally some real fighters. Jonathon, what news of the Reapers?"
"I've finally met with them my lord. They were resistant to the idea so I killed the leader in a gory fashion in front of the rest. They are much more agreeable now. I'm to meet with them tomorrow in order to bring them here."
Voldemort let a cruel smile make its way onto his face. His old followers out of Azkaban had given him ten of his most reliable back. The assimilation of the Reapers would give him another twelve. Add that to the eleven recent recruits from the Ministry and the sixteen recent Hogwarts graduates and that brought his numbers up to sixty-three. Not to mention the nine idiots who had been outed by Potter but had escaped to one of his safehouses. During the last war he had barely had seventy followers throughout the entire war, now he hadn't even properly declared war and he already had seventy-two, not to mention all the students still at Hogwarts.
"How are the ones from Hogwarts doing? The ones who were stupid enough to get exposed and almost reveal us to the world?"
Avery Jr. licked his lips. "They are doing well my lord. Anxious to prove their worth to you."
"Fools almost cost us dearly. Luckily Fudge is an idiot."
"They did something good though my lord. Draco has stated that almost two dozen students have approached him about joining our side since the second of their attacks."
Voldemort stroked his chin in thought. Two dozen more students would put the number of those loyal to him in the school around sixty fourth years and up. The numbers from this new generation were already higher then the numbers from the older generations. And Dumbledore thought these children would be the bright future of the wizarding world, leading it into an era of peace and tolerance?
"I want to speed up the plan to assassinate Fudge toward the end of May. I want it to happen on the same day I plan on capturing Harry Potter. That means you have four months to train all the new recruits as best you can and my most faithful from Azkaban have four months to get healthy and back in fighting shape."
Talk spread amongst the eight members of Voldemort's inner circle. This was the plan Voldemort had been talking about since September. He had put it off for so long, claiming they needed more man power in order to run it effectively. Now that they had it, they just had to wait for some of their best fighters to get over their stints in Azkaban.
"Rowle you will assassinate Fudge. I leave everything about that up to you."
"Of course my lord," the assassin murmured, eyes gleaming at the prospect of assassinating such a high profile target.
"Lucius you will lead the group that captures Potter. Organize with your son a way to get Potter out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest. If he's anything like your son suggest then he won't come alone. Jugson will be your second and take Crabbe and Goyle as your veteran backup. Also under your command is Higgs, Flint, Bole, Montague, Burrow, Bletchley, Belby, Samuels, Herbert, Harper, Warrington, the younger Crabbe and the younger Rowle. Also take the Reapers with you as well, give them a mission that doesn't involve to much fighting to test their resolve. Come up with some plans which I will review and decide upon."
"A bunch of school children my lord?" Lucius asked hesitantly.
"School children against school children," Voldemort sneered. "Do you need more then that to capture a fifteen year old Lucius?"
Lucius bowed his head in submission. "No my lord."
"De we need to commit that many to capturing Potter?" Nott questioned. Upon noticing the look on the Dark Lord's face he hurried to explain himself. "He's a good duelist, I'll give him that my lord, but he is still only fifteen. Twenty-nine men is extreme for one person."
"Potter is never to be underestimated and rarely does things by himself. That Weasley brat and the mudblood will most likely follow him and those in Hogwarts have said he is training a large group of students every morning. There is no telling how many of them will be with him as well. I don't want anything going wrong."
"Of course my lord," Nott breathed.
"I will draw Dumbledore away from Hogwarts by attacking Hosgmeade and announcing my presence to the world. I will take Bella, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Avery, Nott, Dolohov, Rookwood, Gibbon, Greyback, Mulciber, Macnair, Travers, Amycus, Alecto, Yaxley and I think Pucey is ready to stand up to Aurors and Hit Wizards. See if we can't bring some Giants in on the fun too, as well as the Dementors. If we can we will murder Dumbledore and raze the town but if we don't it does not matter. Potter is our main target."
Mutters went up around the table, everyone knowing of their Lord's obsession with the boy that caused his downfall all those years ago. Some whispered to themselves that the Dark Lord was letting his hatred of Potter cloud his judgment and affect his capability to come up with a sound strategy for the war. Of course known would express such a belief to Voldemort because none were that stupid.
"Come May, the world will know our strength and feel our wrath."
A/N: I've read plenty of fics that have Harry being an animagus and I gotta tell you all the main, cool animals are taken. I tried finding other animals, I really did cause I wanted to try to be original. Then I realized that the only way I'd be original was if I made him something like a praying mantis or a chihuahua or something. So I resigned myself to the fate of taken a used idea.
Also next chapter will be awesome...unless you're a Snape fan.