A/N I'm back, sorry about the long delay in updates. I was in a rather intensive class for a promotion at work and had no time to write. I hope to get back to updating regularly again but life is still quite busy. Have no fears of abandonment faithful readers, as I hate abandoned stories, the least I can do is finish mine. As always, I own nothing and make no money.

Ch. 14 Talk of Laws

The next day Hermione returned to Hogwarts and life returned to its normal routine for Harry with the addition of nightly chats with his girlfriend. During the next week Hugh, Jane, Harry and Andromeda toured their top choices of buildings for the Orphanage and settled on what appeared to be an old textile factory compound. It was a little more pricy than they originally wanted but the property held promise.

The complex was made up of three buildings surrounded by high stone walls with a gate at the front. The main building was a 4 story office building that would be used as the orphanage. Harry had plans to include a dining hall complete with kitchen, library, common room and rooms for the children and staff. There would be a large green space around the building for a greenhouse, play areas and sports field. The other two buildings were factory buildings and would be torn down. When the group was ready to implement Phase 2 of their plans, they would be able to construct a new building to house the school.

The political arm of the Lily Potter Foundation had also been quite busy over the week. Andromeda with the help of their new allies had two bills ready to go to the floor of the Wizengamot in the next session. One of the bills Andy had been working on since the founding of the Lily Potter Foundation would provide protection for magical orphans and set up a fund to help support magical orphans and orphanages. In the wake of the last war, many families had been torn apart leaving numerous children without parents who found their way into the muggle orphanages as many of them were muggleborn children. The other law that had only recently been written was a bill that made all crimes treated the same way regardless of blood status, or gender. It was ambitious and quicker than they originally planned on making their first push for equality but between Andy, Madam Longbottom, Mr. Bones, and Mr. Abbott, they had come up with a plan to move early. One that Harry never considered when he started.

That is how Harry found himself apparating into the Ministry of Magic on Thursday morning. He was dressed in a new set of Robes of dark green that Andi assured him brought out his eyes, with his family crest on the right breast. He wasn't looking forward to the two meetings he had today but knew that if he wanted to bring about change, he might have to step out of his comfort zone. Looking at his watch he noticed that he was early for his first appointment and decided to take a quick look around the Atrium. While he walked around, he let out a relieved breath to see the dark statue that used to adorn the atrium had disappeared and been replaced by a golden fountain that sprayed water from a golden obelisk in the center, the water falling into a shallow pool that was littered with coins. Harry saw the familiar plaque saying all coins were donated to St. Mungo's. Harry reached into his pocket and flipped a gold galleon into the pool wishing for luck in his two meetings.

Harry presented his wand at the security desk and after bearing the star struck expression on the security guard's face when he recognized who stood in front of him with as much grace as he could muster made his way to elevators. Taking the elevator to the desired floor he exited and walked up to the receptionist's desk.

"Good morning, I have an appointment with the Minister." Harry said to the young women manning the desk. He smiled politely at her but she never looked up from her paper work.

"Name?" the woman asked in an indifferent manner.

"Harry Potter." Harry smirked to himself as the quill the woman was using to fill out some paper work made an audible snap as she looked up with a shocked expression on her face.

"Mr. Potter," the woman finally managed to stutter out. "It is such an honor to meet you." She quickly rose from her desk and rushed around the desk to try to shake his hand. Harry tried his best to meet her enthusiastic greeting with as much grace as he could but he could feel his face heating up in embarrassment. The girl continued to talk a mile a minute thanking him profusely for ridding the world of "You-Know-Who" and Harry had to hide the scowl that tried to form on his face. 'The man was dead for almost 6 months and people still couldn't say his name.'

Putting the smile back on his face he gently dislodged his hands from the woman's firm grip. "I do apologies, but I have a meeting with the Minister, and I would hate to keep him waiting."

The woman, Harry thought she said her name was Monica seemed to come back to her senses and her face went scarlet. "Of course Mr. Potter, take a seat, and I will see if he is ready for you." She beat a hasty retreat and with a soft knock on the door, opened it and went in. Harry had barely sat down when the door once again opened up and Kingsley Shacklebolt came out of his office a large smile on his normally calm face.

"Harry, it's good to see you again. Please come in." He turned to Monica and ordered tea for the two of them. Kingsley led Harry into his office and gestured for him to take a seat in a comfy black leather chair around a small coffee table with Kingsley taking the opposite seat.

"Thank you for seeing me Minister." Harry said as he took his seat.

"Harry, we've known each other for a while and been through enough together, that I think Kinglsey is fine while we are alone." Harry smiled and nodded. "I was pleasantly surprised to receive your owl requesting a meeting." Kingsley's voice had returned to the deep relaxed tone that Harry had come to expect from the bald man. If Harry was honest, it was Harry's favorite trait about Kingsley. No matter what was happening, Kingsley always seemed to be cool and collected. "I must admit that I was a little surprised to hear that you didn't want to join the Aurors. All your professors seemed to think that's what you wanted to do with your life."

Monica chose that time to enter and serve tea to the two men. Harry thanked the young women sat back and in his seat sipping his tea. "For a time I did, but with the war over, I figured that there were other things that I could do that would be more beneficial and that I would enjoy more, which is why I'm here today."

"Ah yes, your letter mentioned you wanted to talk to me about a few things. I assume this has something to do with the two bills that Andromeda is currently working on?"

"Partially, I do not think that we will have any problem passing the orphan bill, but we are cutting it close on the 'Equality Under the Law' bill. We have the support of many of the Light Coalition, but the more conservative faction is being rather stubborn. I have a meeting with Cyrus Greengrass later today to discuss the matter with him and his Neutral Party."

"Well, you have my support for both of those bills and anything I can do to help please don't hesitate to ask. The only problem I foresee in the orphan law other than arguments over level of funding is the provision for approaching muggleborns before their Hogwarts letters arrive. The traditionalists will not like that part."

"I understand and Andromeda and I have discussed that part and come up with what we think is a solution that will please the more traditional voices in the Wizengamot. It is another thing I will be discussing with Mr. Greengrass. I actually had another favor to ask you Kinglsey. Andromeda has told me that you have a way of getting in contact with the Prime Minister. I was wondering if you would be able to get me a meeting with him. Some of the things that I am hoping to accomplish would benefit from his support."

Kingsley sat back in his chair and Harry could see the surprise that momentarily flickered across the older man's face. Andy had said this would probably happen. Wizards never worked with the muggle government. If they wanted to do something that involved the muggles, they would just do it and obliviate the memories afterward. "I might be able to set something up Harry. I know the man fairly well; after all I was his body guard for almost a year before things really got bad. At first he didn't appreciate me being placed in his office with not even a 'by your leave'. I will see what I can do."

"Most people don't appreciate important decisions that affect their lives being made without them even being asked." Harry said with a frown. That had been the majority of his life and he could understand were the PM was coming from. Harry had already decided that he would do everything he could to keep the mundane government involved as much as was possible. Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was close to his next appointment. He finished his tea and rose from his chair. "I would appreciate it greatly Kingsley if you could get me a meeting with the PM sooner rather than later. I hate to run, but I have another appointment. If you have a free evening soon you should come by for dinner. Andy says she misses you coming around with Tonks." Harry shook the man's hand and Kinglsey escorted him out of the office promising to see what he could do and having Harry give his best to Andy. Harry walked past the still star struck receptionist and entered the elevator and rode it down to the Wizengamot offices.

LPF

Cyrus Greengrass was sitting in his office reading over the second of two bills that were expected to come to the floor of the Wizengamot in the next session. He sipped his tea and looked at his watch. He couldn't decide what to do about these bills. He currently was leading the Neutral Party in the Wizengamot and whatever way he came down on these bills would most likely decide both of their fates. The Orphan Support Bill he could for the most part support as protecting children had always been important to him and his colleagues. The problem he was running into was the provision that would allow Muggleborns to be approached earlier than tradition dictated. For over 500 years, muggleborn children had been informed on their 11th birthday about magic and it had worked, so he didn't see any reason to change that.

The Equality Under the Law Bill was another bill that Cyrus could get behind. His Party had wanted for years to try to bring some equality into the law, mostly in favor of witches but they never had the political capital to push for it. Glancing at his watch again he reflected on the meeting he was about to have. He had to admit to himself that he was a little surprised to have a request for a meeting with Potter. All of his information from his daughters indicated that the boy pretty much shunned the spotlight and hated using his fame for things. The last thing he had expected was the boy to take up politics. If what his daughters had said was true about the boy, he expected the boy to be eaten alive. Gryffindors did not make the best politicians and the boy seemed completely ignorant of the traditions and practices of the Wizarding World. He thought back to the letter and remembered that it was written with all the proper forms expected of a letter between two Heads of House. 'Perhaps the boy actually does know some things.'

He was drawn out of his thoughts by a knock on his door and his receptionist poked her head in. "Mr. Potter is here for his meeting sir." The woman said.

"Thank you Mrs. Wilkens, let him know I will be with him shortly." She nodded and closed the door. He looked at his watch again and nodded in approval. The boy at least had manners to arrive ten minutes early for their meeting. Deciding to test the boy a little he took out his copy of the Daily Prophet and started to read. 'Let's see how the boy takes being made to wait.'

After reading his paper for fifteen minutes, Cyrus rose from his chair and moved to the door. Opening it, he was expecting to find a fidgeting young man sitting petulantly in a chair waiting impatiently possibly dressed in a set of robes that were nice, but not very well kept. Daphne had mentioned that his wardrobe was almost as bad as a house elf's after all. What he found though was smartly dressed young man standing at Mrs. Wilkens's desk a cup of tea in hand chatting amicably with the middle aged witch. The two noticed him standing there and their and broke off their conversation.

Mr. Potter placed his tea cup on the desk and walked over. When the boy approached, he performed a perfected bow at the proper level for one Head of House to another. "Mr. Greengrass, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"The honor is all mine Mr. Potter. I am pleased that we have this opportunity to speak to one another. Please join me in my office."

Cyrus expected Potter to follow right behind him but he quickly turned to Mrs. Wilkins. "Thank you for the tea and the conversation Mrs. Wilkins. Please give my best to you husband. I hope he makes a quick recovery." Potter took her hand and made a formal bow over it. Cyrus was reevaluating the boy every minute. Apparently someone had given him a proper education on how to behave. He suspected the Tonks woman; she was after all a Black. Cyrus led Potter into his office and he sat down behind his desk and gestured for him to take the other seat. The two exchanged the traditional pleasantries that go along with these meetings as Cyrus started to try to feel the other out. He was having trouble rectifying the image that his daughters had painted of an awkward boy with the confident young man sitting on the other side of his desk.

"So Mr. Potter, what can I do for you?" Cyrus asked getting to the point of the meeting.

"I would like to discuss the two bills that the will be presented to the floor in the next few days. I trust that you received them and had a chance to look over them?" Cyrus nodded the affirmative. "I would like to hear your thoughts on the propositions. "

Cyrus had not been expecting that. He had been expecting to be told exactly why he should support the bill, and then either promised something in return or threatened with retribution depending on which side was sitting in his office. Actually being asked his opinion was a refreshing change from the last few years. Cyrus leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers observing the boy over them. He sat in his chair straight and proper with a look of expectant curiosity on his face. 'He will have to learn to school his face better.' Cyrus thought. "For the most part, I can get behind these proposals, and thus my Party. The orphan one will most definitely garner our support if we could just hammer out some of the details with only one sticking point."

"I will hazard a guess that it is the proviso for the approaching muggleborns at the first sign of accidental magic?"

"Precisely, muggleborns have always been approached at age 11 when their Hogwarts letters come out and the Tradition has worked for over 500 years and I do not see any reason to change it."

Potter was nodding as he seemed to expect this argument. "I understand your concerns sir and can see where you are coming from. I will agree that it has worked reasonably well over the years. But I would argue that now it is posing a major threat to the Statute of Secrecy."

Cyrus was intrigued by this and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "I fail to see how you have come to that conclusion."

"Pretend for a moment that your child started to do something that you could not explain. Strange things start to happen around them and neither the child nor the parent can explain why. What would your reaction be?"

"I would take my child to a healer." Cyrus admitted starting to see the point.

"Exactly, the healer or doctors as muggles call them have no idea either what is happening so they talk to specialists who then talks to other specialists. The muggles have ways to communicate with countless people spread around the world almost instantly and many will use this to try to find answers." Cyrus nodded at this. He had heard of the muggle internet in some of his business deals with muggles. "Anyways, with so many people communicating about children having strange powers, it will only be a matter of time before someone tries to take a deeper look. It is my understanding that this is precisely what led to the Federal Magical Administration in the United States to start approaching muggleborns at the first sings of accidental magic."

Cyrus found himself nodding. "I might be able to use that argument to sway a few of my colleagues, but the more traditional will still not support this. Many of them frown on the more, shall we say liberal practices of our cousins across the pond."

Potter nodded and looked deep in thought. "One of the many complaints I heard against muggleborn students in school was that they came into a world not knowing anything about its traditions or history correct?" Cyrus nodded. "I found out I was a wizard one month before I entered Hogwarts. Can you honestly tell me that that is enough time for a person to learn thousands of years of wizard history and customs? Instead we can introduce muggleborn children early and take time to educate them on our world and customs."

Cyrus sat back in his chair in thought. It was true that the lack of knowledge of muggleborn children was one of his biggest annoyances. They came in to their world and expected it to be exactly like the muggle world and disregarded thousands of years of traditions and did not give any thought to why something was done. House elves seemed to be one of the bigger issues that came up frequinrly. He never really thought that many of the muggleborn children had less than one year to learn what wizard children had learned over their whole life. He also had to admit to himself that the traditionalists did little to educate them about their world.

"I think we can work together on this Mr. Potter. What about your other proposal, the Equality Under the Law Bill?"

"I will admit that this one is a bit more of a personal cause for me." Potter said. "One of my close friends has suffered for the last few years under mind controlling potions. Imagine my surprise when the culprit who admitted to his crime under Veritaserum could not be prosecuted for said crimes."

"I assume that the victim in question was a muggleborn witch?"

"Correct. When I found this out, I did some digging into our laws, and noticed that not only are muggleborns subjected to this, but also half-bloods and Witches have very little protection under the law no matter their blood status. I looked at our most recent population numbers and that leaves only about 20% of our population to enjoy full protection under the law."

"I will admit that is rather disturbing." Cyrus admitted. "The problem is that that 20% also holds most of the power in our country."

"True, but due to recent events, a large part of that support has gone away. I have done my research Mr. Greengrass, and I know from your voting patterns and speeches that you and your Party are strong advocates of keeping wizard traditions alive no matter the spectrum they fall on, but you have also tried to advocate for equal rights. The problem is that neither side was willing to help."

Cyrus had to admit the boy had done his research. The majority of his Neutral Party was made up of Traditionalists who had some experience with the inequality of their world. Many of them were fathers of daughters like him who wanted the best for them. He was thankful that neither Daphne nor Astoria had to be subjected to the inequality of their legal system but many of his colleagues were not so lucky. Perhaps with this new player on the field things could change. His Party had always been on the small side with little influence and had survived by keeping their heads down and working both sides against the other making small changes here and there to try to temper both extremes.

Perhaps now, they could move into a new positon of strength with the help of Potter and his small group of supporters. As it so happened, two of the people he knew to support Potter were already on the fringe of the Light Party and had been dissatisfied with it for some time. They had already been approached a few times in the past about switching. Cyrus wondered if it was these two who pointed Potter in his direction. Nodding to himself he came to a decision. "You will have our support on this one as well Mr. Potter." Cyrus opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out an ornate envelope. "My wife and I are having a small dinner party with members of my Party this Saturday, I was wondering if you and Madam Tonks would like to attend." He passed the invitation over to Potter who took it with a polite bow.

"We would be delighted Mr. Greengrass."

Both men rose from their seats and walked to the door. Cyrus opened the door and extended his hand to the young man. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Potter. I look forward to working with you."

Potter returned the hand shake firmly. "The pleasure was all mine Mr. Greengrass, until Saturday." Another small bow and Harry Potter left the office giving his receptionist a small bow in farewell.