Chapter 7.1 Summer 1997

Sirius asked Harry for input on a draft amendment to a law to reduce the age at which people became eligible to take up their seats on the Wizengamot from 29 to 23. Having such a high age was one of several ways in which the Wizengamot excluded new voices and thus remained the conservative body that it was. One of Sirius' arguments was that there were several empty seats because all adults from those families had been killed during Riddle's civil war.

Harry looked at which seats were open and which stood to be filled by young heirs over the coming years. He found that in addition to the seats Sirius wanted to see filled, some seats had become obsolete because several family names had gone extinct, some of them for much longer than since the 1970s, when both the heads of house and all possible heirs had died. He then discussed it with Neville, Susan, Justin and Hermione, and came up with an alternate proposal for a law: to turn the seats of those families that had died out into democratically elected seats. Their main arguments were that the two proposals would fill a similar number of seats, and that about a third of magical countries, including English-speaking Australia and the USA, had governments that were entirely mandated by general elections, and a further quarter had other forms by which adults collectively had more influence on the governments of their countries than magical Britain did. While Harry's proposal was a larger intervention than Sirius', it had similar goals and arguments, and it would have a similar potential to bring in new voices. Therefore, it was unlikely that both could get passed on a similar timeframe, and should be seen as competing rather than complementary proposals. Sirius agreed to put forward the proposed new legislation instead of his own idea.

In early July Rodolphus Lestrange had died. Sirius mentioned to his cousin Nymphadora Tonks that he had seen the obituary, hoping that she would know more, because she was an auror. She did, and it was good news: the brothers Lestrange had infected several other Death Eaters in neighbouring cells, so they might not need to break into Azkaban a second time to infect Bellatrix Lestrange, as she was one of the inmates who were ill.

During the same time, Theodore had borrowed the horcrux detector when he visited Rosier manor. His father had wanted to introduce him to the daughter of one of his friends, and Theodore had played the dutiful son, although he had also told his father that he intended to continue getting to know Padma, and that he would be most upset if his father misrepresented an initial visit to get acquainted as serious interest to the head of the Rosier family. Although Harry was more invested in the possibility that the Lestranges had a horcrux, hopefully the last one, he couldn't tell Theodore to stop looking without admitting that he had broken into Azkaban. And although he had complete trust in Theodore by now, he wasn't about to tell anybody who didn't absolutely have to know. In any case, as long as Theodore was careful, the extra information would help to make it that much more unlikely that there were 12 horcruxes.

Harry had discussed with Stanbeny how the defence professorship might have been cursed, but escaped detection for 4 decades. Stanbeny taught him how wards could be woven together. This was normally used because a curse-breaker would have to dispel the combined wards at once, making it more difficult, but he thought Riddle might have found a way to use the process to fool ward detection charms. They started working on ways in which such a thing might have been accomplished.

Harry's final Hogwarts letter contained both a head boy and the quidditch captain badge. Harry at least looked forward to being the quidditch captain. Being a prefect was more of a chore; the perks that came with it didn't make up for the time it took, and he thought being head boy would probably be worse. Being head boy was considered helpful for a life in politics, and Harry did have political aspirations with the Potter seat on the Wizengamot, but he didn't think being head boy would make much difference. Everybody in magical Britain already knew who he was, and he had influenced several decisions. Those were real impacts, whereas an appointment of head boy was more of an endorsement that someone had the potential to make an impact in the future. He decided to write a letter:

Dear Neville,

My Hogwarts letter offered me the positions of both the quidditch captain and head boy. As you know, last year I was already very busy: preparing for a mastery in Ancient Runes, 7 NEWT subjects, quidditch, defence and fitness training, plus prefect duties. During the next school year that will be worse as we prepare for our NEWTs, and I'm considering refusing the head boy appointment. When I write to the headmistress, I would be inclined to recommend you. I know that you're not a prefect, but you've come into your own over the last two years. I think you would be a better candidate than Dean, and even than Theodore, who would be my second choice.

I have to admit that I don't particularly enjoy being a prefect. The patrols take time that could be spent on more enjoyable things. The other students generally resent being called to task for various misdemeanours. And after your indispensable help with replacing the Board of Governors, and helping draft a proposal to make the Wizengamot more democratic, I think the organisational skills that being head boy require will not offer anything new. That's why I decided to write to you rather than proposing you to Professor McGonagall directly.

Do you want to go to Diagon Alley for school supplies the week after next?

Best wishes,

Harry

Dear Harry,

Thank you! I would love the opportunity to be head boy. I hear you about the less desirable aspects of the job, but I don't have quite as many interests as you, and, your kind words notwithstanding, also not as much experience with galvanising support for change. And also, not being a prefect, being chosen for head boy would make a bigger difference to my reputation.

I take it you didn't propose buying our school things next week because half the school will be squeezed into Diagon Alley doing just that? Or are you busy preparing for the birthday party? Next year is going to be tough, so I'd like to start preparing soonish. As a compromise, would Monday next week work for you? If you are indeed worried about the crowds, we could go at 9?

Thanks a lot,

Neville

Harry had flooed Neville to reassure him that Sirius had their joint 17th birthday party well in hand, and to agree to the shopping trip, to divide the job of contacting those of their friends who were on the floo network between the two of them, and to divide the job of owling the others between the larger group.

On 30 July, Neville and Harry had dinner at Longbottom manor with Augusta Longbottom, Neville's girlfriend Hannah Abbott, Hannah's best friend Susan Bones and Sirius. It was somewhere between cosy and formal. Augusta was inclined to follow the proper forms, but Sirius had been conditioned to sabotage any such attempts, and only tried to keep it down in order not to embarrass Neville, while Harry had never forgiven Augusta for saddling him with an unsuitable wand and the attitude that he was almost a squib that especially her brother Algernon had displayed all during Neville's youth, and that she had never shielded him from, so he conspired with Sirius to go against the grain. For instance, he told a story how his aunt Petunia had favoured the same kind of scented candles as they had at the dinner table, which Augusta may have mistaken for a compliment, but that Neville, Susan and Sirius recognised for the veiled insult that it was.

The next day, they had a garden party at Potter manor. They had invited two thirds of their class, present and past Ravenclaw quidditch players, members of the herbology and ritual clubs, various other younger students and recent graduates, Neville's extended family, several of their teachers, Hogwarts board members and other adult acquaintances. The Potter and Longbottom elves had the catering well in hand, and Sirius had organised various games, including a treasure hunt with magically hidden clues scattered over the manor grounds. At one point Neville told him that Professor McGonagall had agreed to make him head boy. The party was exuberant, fittingly grandiose for a double coming of age party, with people coming and going, and by the end of the day Harry was utterly exhausted.

The day after, Neville and Harry passed their apparation licences, marking another coming-of-age point.

At the end of August Bellatrix Lestrange had died. Sirius told Harry that he would talk to the goblins about the inheritance and tell him if he got access to the Lestrange vault and manor.