Hermione's choice 6
As it was so it shall ever be that I do not own Harry Potter or any rights to the franchise. The story will be finished eventually.
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At Hogwarts life was good.
It had only been a week but the new classes were such a success that everyone was wondering why it had taken so long for the school to start them. The amount of understanding between the students was exceptional and the number of altercations (both physical and verbal) between students had decreased dramatically.
On the day Draco Malfoy returned to school from his suspension Harry Potter saw him sit at the Slytherin table for lunch. Harry took a deep breath, gathered up his Gryffindor courage and approached the blond boy.
"Heir Malfoy? May I have a moment of your time please?" Harry asked politely, standing a respectful distance away.
"Potter! What do you want?" Draco snapped. A number of older students from all the houses frowned at Draco's rudeness.
"On the Hogwarts Express you offered your hand in greeting and I ignored it. I wish to apologise for the unintended slight. My only defence is that I did not know better as I was raised as a muggle and did not know the difference in customs in the magical world." Harry finished with a small bow.
"About time you learnt your place! You behaved like an ignorant buffoon but I suppose that I can forgive you… THIS time!" Draco sneered condescendingly.
Harry turned and started to leave when an older Slytherin student grasped his arm and stopped him. Harry looked up fearfully. He was surprised to see that the older boy frowning at Draco.
"Malfoy! You were approached under the old terms of address and you ignored all of the proper forms. Apologise and rectify this now or face sanctions!" Blair Fitzroy snapped, rising to his feet.
"What for?" Draco asked indignantly.
"Potter admitted that he unintentionally slighted you and even though he is your social superior you acted as though you were of the higher rank. You will apologise now."
"I am?" Harry asked, bewildered. "How?"
"You are the Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. The Malfoy family is just Family Malfoy. Hasn't anyone explained this to you?"
"No. As I said, I grew up with Muggles. Who was going to tell me?"
"Your magical guardian should have made sure you were raised with this information. Sit down and I will tell you the basics, then Malfoy will give his apology."
Everyone stared as Harry Potter, Gryffindor, sat down at the traditional rivals table.
Staying on his feet Blair began his explanation. "There are eight tiers or layers of our society. Most Ancient and Most Noble, Ancient and Noble, Ancient, Noble, Clan, Family, Muggle born and Foreign. That is all of them from top to bottom. You, Lord Potter, belong to a Most Ancient and Most Noble House. Your families social equals here at school are myself, Longbottom, Bones, Turpin and McGonagall. From a social standpoint we rule the school."
"So you and I belong to the first level. If Malfoy comes from a Family then he is…" Harry quickly counted on his fingers. "fifth level. Is that right?"
"Yes. Mr Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father, recently got into trouble because he introduced himself as a Lord …"
Draco interrupted indignantly. "He has laid claim to the Lordship of Black! Why shouldn't he call himself a Lord?"
"Because Lord Actarius Black might be sick but he is still alive, for one reason. His named Heir may be in prison but he is still alive is another. That your father is married to a daughter of the Ancient and Noble House of Black does not give him a valid claim to the Lordship. If he claimed it on your behalf after Lord Black dies he might be successful since you are a Black descendent, but I doubt it. Several other people have a better claim to the title than you do, including Mr Potter here. Not only is he a Black descendant he is also the godson and legal heir of the Heir Apparent who was a first cousin to James Potter. The fact that your father illegally tried to raise himself four steps socially is the main reason for the harshness of the penalties. Finally, while he may have made a claim, it had not been approved or recognised. So he deserved the social sanctions taken against him. And need I remind you that if your father hadn't married Narcissa Black that you would still be a Foreign family?" Blair sneered.
Draco turned red as he stood and stormed out of the hall with many people watching him.
"So you can raise your social standing by marrying into a higher family as well then?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes. The acceptable ways you can advance socially are…"
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At the end of the Wizarding studies class that day Mrs Tonks confirmed what Harry had been told at lunch.
"We all could hear what Mr Fitzroy said at lunch so I will not repeat it. I have a chart of all the students in your year level that shows the ranks and the different Houses within the rank. For example, Mr Longbottom is from the first rank, Miss Abbot is from the third, Miss Granger is from the seventh and Miss Li is from the eighth. Any questions?"
Hermione raised her hand "Why do we still have these family 'ranks'? Do they really serve a purpose? Or are they just to hold onto tradition?"
"Most of it is traditional, a holdover from feudal times similar to how the muggle peerage works but there are a few things that are to do with family Magics. The older the family is the higher in rank they tend to be and the more family specialist Magics they are assumed to have. These are spells that have either been created by or for the exclusive use of the descendants of that family. For my own family, the Blacks, we have a reputation for Dark ward construction. The Potter family are reputed to be Light ward specialists. These Family Magics are things that are never asked about by people outside of a Family, it is considered bad manners and no one else's business. And while a family may be reputed to have a certain specialty, no one outside the family tends to know about for certain. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes thank you." Hermione smiled.
"Very well, next class will be about Blood Status and the reason for them. Class dismissed. Mr Potter please stay behind."
After everyone else left Mrs Tonks waived Harry towards her desk. "I have looked into your lack of guardian and I am afraid that it is both good and bad news. The bad news is that your magical guardian is my cousin, who has been in prison since November 1981. As such, he is legally your guardian but cannot fulfil his duties. The good news is that because you are eleven you can ask for a new person to be appointed and you would have a large say as to who you want it to be. The matter would be taken to the courts at the Ministry of Magic and whoever you choose would then be your guardian until you turn seventeen."
"But who can I ask? The only magical adults I know are here at school."
"Why don't you talk to Professor McGonagall? I know that she is the magical guardian to many of the muggle born students and may be able to help you."
"Okay. Thank you for doing all that for me Mrs Tonks." Harry smiled
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Walking into the Great Hall for dinner Harry hurried over to sit with Hermione, who was chatting quietly to Parvati and Neville.
"What did Mrs Tonks say about your guardianship?" Hermione asked.
"I'll tell you later." Harry replied with a smile as he helped himself to the food.
Looking around the table at the food on offer Parvati sighed and quietly called "Noma?"
A strange little creature popped next to her and handed Parvati two covered bowls and popped away again. Parvati turned and handed one bowl to her twin and then turned back around and started eating her own.
"What was that creature?" Harry asked.
"A house elf. He's a family servant. He brings me and Padma our meals."
"Why? What's wrong with the food here?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Pad and I are vegetarians, it's a part of our religion, and all the food here is either meat based or plain veg. Boring! So we get our food sent to us from home."
"Have you put a suggestion in the box? Asked if there could be a vegetarian option for you?"
"No. Professor Snape… Oh, I guess I should try again."
"What did he do?"
"He saw Noma bring me some food and took thirty points from Gryffindor for, as he put it, being a spoiled brat and a picky eater."
"Speaking of spoilt brats," Neville said leaning towards Harry, "Draco has been punished for not giving you an apology at lunch today."
Harry looked over to the Slytherin table and saw that Draco was sitting by himself looking miserable. There wasn't another student within three place settings. "Truthfully, I was so interested in what Fitzroy was telling me that I forgot all about that."
"Well he didn't. He has ordered that no student is allowed to talk to Draco or sit near him outside of class until he gives you a proper formal apology and makes the appropriate restitution to you. If he hasn't done it by Friday then Fitzroy if going to write to the Malfoy's demanding that they pull Draco into line."
"Restitution?"
"Usually a small gift of some sort. At our age, sweets or something for school, nice quills and so on. The more serious offence, the more expensive the gift, so expect a few packages of nice sweets."
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