Author's Note: I know there was some confusion next week, as it appeared I deleted a chapter. I didn't, I just removed a note that had been place there when I'd broken my finger and couldn't type. All story content is still there. Longer chapter and I swear I'm going to answer reviews all day today. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. MNF
Chapter 36:
Liar?
Tuesday 9 February 1996
Wizengamot Chambers
"Order, we will have order," Chief Warlock Greengrass said. People settled down and into their seats and he began the meeting. "Thank you. This meeting of the Wizengamot of Magical Great Britain is hereby called to order. Presiding over the meeting are Chief Warlock, Daniel Greengrass and Amelia Bones, Minister for Magic Pro-Tem with Eliza Anglewright as scribe. Our first order, and likely our only order of business today, will be the report from the Laws Review Committee. Madame Longbottom, would you please present your report."
"Objection," young Rookwood stood and yelled. "We've never reviewed our laws before. Why do we need a review now?" Several people cheered their agreement.
"Because we've discovered that conflicting laws were on the books, as well as laws which favoured one sub-set of people while discriminating against another in the hiring practices of the Ministry for Magic, just as an example. It's a new era for the people of Magical Britain, our laws should reflect that," Chief Warlock Greengrass said. "Sit down now." There was no doubt that he was going to keep this meeting moving forward, regardless of whatever tricks the darker faction of the body might try. "Madame Longbottom, please proceed."
Augusta stood with a bit of difficulty, and Sirius immediately rose with her to help steady her. "Thank you, Lord Black," she said softly. "You ready?" she whispered to him.
"Yes, my lady," he answered just as quietly.
"Due to my age and how easily I tire, Lord Black and Steward Lupin will be presenting the work of our committee. For those who might have an objection to Mr Lupin, he has acted as our secretary and researcher. He will be most helpful to our spokesperson, Lord Black." Augusta sat back down, and Sirius and Remus went to the front of the room. Sirius pulled some small index cards from the inside pocket of his robes, while Remus dumped a memory phial into the Pensieve. Hermione had introduced Sirius to the cards while she was studying one night, and he was taken with the pocket-sized pages.
"Thank you, Dowager Lady Longbottom," Sirius said. He went on to name the members of the committee: Augusta, as chair, he as the assistant chair and Remus as the scribe/secretary. Then was newcomer Caroline Carrow, who was studying to be a barrister; Piedmont Clearwater, business owner; Edward Fawley, solicitor who had some unusual clients; Horrace Slughorn, former professor; and Gawain Robards, Auror. Everyone in the room realized the committee was at best grey, with only Edward Fawley being the only member who was related to any potential Death Eaters from the Blood Purity War of the nineteen-sixties and -seventies.
"Our committee was responsible for reviewing every law, starting with the initial charter of the Wizarding Council of nine-eighty-three through to laws passed just before the Great Wand-Out. Nine-hundred and two laws were considered on every topic from the quality of meat which could be served in restaurants to the composition of material to make robes out of to what magical spell usage constituted an immediate death sentence. Three hundred and sixty-four were kept as written, you will find those on foot two of the scrolls that were distributed to you." Sirius gave everyone a few minutes to read through them. They were the most common laws of their magical society and most in the room nodded as they read. One hand went up to ask a question.
"Yes, Ms Macnair," Sirius recognized her.
"Why are we keeping the law that says a man must agree to the dowery or her financial situation up front when he marries, while a woman may not find out about his financial situation until after the marriage takes place? Shouldn't we know if a man is solvent or not before we choose to marry?" Her question kicked off a long discussion which made Sirius smile. That was left there to see if any of the women in the Wizengamot would see the discrepancy. After a heated debate, it was decided that they would amend the law that both parties were to disclose their financial standing at least sixty days before the wedding would take place thereby leaving enough time for either party to back out.
"With that discussion resolved," Sirius said, getting the meeting seemingly on track, but really Ms Macnair had played into their hands perfectly. Early discussion on simply solved topics would tire the Wizengamot out so they'd be able to vote feet four through six into law with little discussion. In and among things like wand thickness and the appropriate length of the skirt at the publicly run magical schools for those who were not selected for Hogwarts were the laws that mattered and would change the lives of everyone in wizarding Britain. "Will you please move to foot three. These are the laws we are suggesting being struck down. As you can see, most do not pertain to modern life."
The list on foot three included such mundane topics as the height of a proper stove-pipe hat to be worn when in non-magical London – wearing one would garner you more attention than you'd like, and the idea was to blend in when around non-magical. It also covered such ideas as the thickness of a standard school cauldron. The potions mistress Sirius had hired for Harry said that any new cauldron would be thick enough for the first three years, so they just had to worry about students bringing legacy cauldrons. Students fourth year and above would need a grade two cauldron anyway, which would require a new purchase. NEWT cauldrons were made of various metals, and they would be fine. It took an hour to get through the dullness of these laws.
"Shouldn't there be some regulation on cauldron thickness?" an elderly witch asked.
"There should, and cauldrons for home use are the responsibility of the witch or wizard brewing. As for school supplies, my consultant has spoken with the headmistress and the potioneer for Hogwarts, and the guidelines I provided will go out with the student school lists come fall," Sirius explained. As the Wizengamot had been in session for over ninety minutes, Chief Warlock Greengrass called a forty-minute recess, with luncheon items provided in the different areas of the Wizengamot ready chambers. Members of the public were urged to send one member of their party out to bring food back to the rest, thereby cutting down on lines in the canteen. Not surprisingly, Daniel Greengrass joined Sirius, Remus, Amy, Harry, Gran, Neville, and Hermione in the Black chambers, as they were the largest.
"I will not ask exactly what your plan is, but I take it things are going according to it?" Greengrass inquired.
"Perfectly, although Mavis Macnair surprised me. I had expected it to be Hermione who posed the question about finances," Sirius answered.
"I didn't realize I could speak," the girl said surprised.
"Oh, Hermione, when would I ever quash your effervescent thirst for knowledge," Sirius said with a glint in his eye. "That said, as we get closer to the end, we are going to push a few things through. Please don't ask then, save them for when we are at home."
"Yes, Lord Black," Hermione said with a crooked smile which always made Harry a bit nervous.
When Lord Greengrass returned to the chamber at minute thirty-eight, he noticed some families had not heeded his word that the break would be forty minutes long. He called out a two-minute warning that the recess was ending, and when the two-minute hourglass on his scribe's desk ran out, he threw his wand in the air, circled it and every door in the room closed with a resounding thud. He then flicked his wand over his head, and the doors all sealed. He grinned internally, as it was some of the older, darker families who had assumed he would wait for them. Lessons would be hardest learned by those who refused to see reality. There was still a quorum, so the meeting could proceed.
"Lord Black, will you please move on with your presentation?" He asked and Sirius and Remus resumed their places from before the lunch break.
"If you will look at foot four," Sirius said. "These are all instances where we have suggested that the word Muggle be replaced with non-magical, Muggleborn with first generation magical and that the word Mudblood be erased from all uses within any legal document within the Ministry for Magic. We would further propose that the word should now carry a fine for those above the age of seventeen who use it. It is something which should never be said in a polite society.
"I agree, but it's used freely in certain circles," Elphias Doge said. "How do you propose we stop a word? Children learn it from their parents."
"By stopping the children from using it," Sirius said bluntly. "Headmistress McGonagall is also outlawing the use of it at Hogwarts, on penalty of detention for the first use, loss of privilege on the second and a meeting with the parents on the third. While we cannot vote on the suggestions for Hogwarts, as the Board of Governors has made the determination, I merely bring it up as evidence that these words are being phased out in our society. Is there discussion on our part of the new language and its usage?"
Harry looked a foot four, and then looked at his pater with a quirked eyebrow. The print on page four was barely legible, as it was tiny. It appeared that they'd attempted to fit every instance onto one foot, while clearly it needed two or three feet alone. He then listened to the discussion, realizing no one was questioning the size of the print, but rather why their society would want to outlaw the words in the first place. Muggle had been an acceptable word for the last one-hundred sixty-four years.
"Yes, it was used for the previous one-hundred sixty-four years," Remus piped up, but if you will look at the projection, you will see that non-magical was used for almost five hundred years previously. It was only under the administration of Raldando Raliphasus or 'Ridiculous Randy', as history has remembered him, that the terms Muggle, Muggleborn and Mudblood were first introduced. He is also the Minister for Magic who legalized the hunting for those without magic, intelligent human-like creatures, such as merepeople and Veela as well as our more sentient and emotionally aware creatures like Thestrals and Unicorns."
"I come from a family who did their fair share of hunts for all sorts of beings, including werewolves – which personally pains me. The Black family will never again have a hunt and thankfully, this body agreed to outlaw the practice. Let us do away with this pejorative language as well," Sirius said after Lupin's lesson. There were grumbles, but also much nodding. "Moving on to foot five."
Harry liked the way Sirius deftly avoided conversation on the most contentious language. Foot five was the previous breakdown of funding by law. One look at the current funding levels and it was obvious the previous administration had pet projects, like creating restrictive werewolf laws, that it funded greatly while not funding key areas of the Ministry, such as the DMLE. While not the budget creating department, the laws committee had suggested a budget guideline be given to the budgeting committee. Discussion on this page lasted over an hour, and the Chief Warlock let it go. Everyone wanted their project funded, regardless of how ludicrous it was. Finally, after sixty-seven minutes the Chief bade Sirius to move on.
"Finally, we come to the new laws proposed, I suggest everyone read them very carefully," was all he said. Sirius knew when people arrived at the law that would cause them the biggest issue but would keep their world from lapsing into another blood war like they'd only just avoided.
"What do you mean there will be an oath that all members of the Wizengamot must take at the start of each year?" Gervis Macmillan asked. Gervis was Melania Macmillan's brother and well over one-hundred years old. Melania had married Arcturus Black, Sirius's grandfather, and his grandmother was someone who was dear to him. He plastered a mask on his face and looked at the man with indifference.
"This law was brought to my office before it was included," the Chief Warlock said. "Madame Bones and I agree, having the members of this body take an oath that every vote they cast will be for the good of the country, and not for personal gain, will put us in better standing for the future. Never again will someone buy votes to curry favour with one side or another. There will be no light, no dark, simply those who want the best for all magical peoples in Great Britain."
"It also says here we're required to uphold all the laws of this country," young Rookwood said. "There is no way I will ever think of a Mudblood as being as good as me. No half-breed like him either." He nodded at Remus as he said the last.
"Then when you go to take your vow, the intent of the vow will know you're lying and magic will judge you," Sirius said.
"Considering the gravity of the slate of laws in front of you, and the vow which all will be required to take I will give you ten minutes to discuss with your family and friends. I will also allow those who had been locked out to enter, but please do not share with them the discussion they missed." The chief then waved his wand and the doors unsealed. The scribe turned over a ten-minute hourglass. Sirius returned to Harry.
"You and Neville, as heirs and future Lords, should take the vow as well. I think it will show you as supporting these measures, which I know you do," he said firmly.
"Of course," Harry replied. Neville nodded as well, and Augusta smiled with pride at the boy.
"You're quite the politician, Sirius," Hermione said with only a small bit of awe in her voice.
"It's what I was born to," he said decisively. "Fleamont taught James and I everything he could, as did my grandfather. I wish he was here with us, as he'd have never let the Wizengamot fall to the state it was in. However, I shall make both men proud, as you two will make your fathers proud when you take your seats. You are born to nobility and to ancient lines. What you see here today should never have had to done, but when a society lets its focus shift from the good for all to personal gains, the return is often a hard and painful process."
The scribe made a two-minute chiming sound, and Sirius returned to the floor. In the end the Wizengamot lost four members who could not make the vow for fear of how magic would judge them. Three other members lost a degree of their magic and their seat because they were caught lying. It was agreed that the next seven families who were voted on in the January vote would be contacted to take seats. All the heirs present took their vows, which spoke well to the future of the wizarding world.
"Well, you've succeeded in updating the laws," Amy said as the family arrived home. "Now I have the hard part in making sure they are upheld as written."
"That's why your budget was tripled, luv," Sirius said, wrapping his arms around her, and leaning down to kiss her.
"Sirius," a voice called from the entranceway to the library. He looked up in surprise.
"Andi, what are you doing here, not that you're not welcomed but –"
"I know, but I'm here in my capacity as a healer. Barnabas Cuffe died this morning. He was poisoned. I left a copy of these notes in my office at work, but I wanted you to have one too. Amelia, I sent a copy to the DMLE as well." She had a packet of parchment in her hand.
"What is it?" Sirius asked, walking to her.
"Everything he said while we were putting his memories back together. You need to read some of these. I also included my personal notes from my Legilimency session. Amy, please don't open a case against me. I need Sirius to read them."
"I won't," the Minister replied. "But why?"
"Sirius and Harry are mentioned frequently, and it isn't good. Somehow Cuffe heard Harry was responsible for the wands disappearing. Is it true?"