Hey everyone. I'm being kind and posting two chapters in one week! Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Four

Sat in the stylish Skylon restaurant, Harry watched the tourist boats sail by them on the Thames as he and Daphne waited for their food to arrive.

"How did you find this restaurant?" Daphne asked, taking a delicate sip of her wine. "Without sounding rude, it doesn't really seem like somewhere I'd expect to find you dining."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at her question, knowing that the modern, sleek interior didn't entirely suit him, or at least the him that most people thought he was. "I wanted to take Ginny somewhere nice to celebrate her making the first team with the Harpies," he told her with a sad smile as he thought about his ex-girlfriend. "Hermione recommended this place, apparently it's her parents date spot when they come into the city."

"Well, it's really nice here. You know people with good taste," she told him with a warm smile.

"Why, thank you. I like to think I have a pretty good judge of character," he told her with a pointed look and a smirk, secretly thrilled when Daphne blushed at his loaded look.

"Speaking of judging characters," Daphne remarked once their food had arrived and they were left alone. "What did you learn from the sessions you've sat in on?"

"Well, I obviously realised the traditionalist do a lot of badgering and questioning," he said as they both tucked into a delicious meal. "I've realised that there is always at least three members of that group in each session, so they take it in turns to badger whichever poor soul is pitching a proposal. Even when the more liberal members of the Wizengamot team up during a session they are unlikely to get anywhere, unfortunately."

"All very obvious so far, wouldn't you say?" she pointed out to him, hoping he'd noticed more than the obvious.

"I've also realised -with a little help from some research- that everything the traditionalists have objected to has gone against their vested interests. Parkinson and Nott have shares in cauldron production hence their objection to Abbott's proposal. They don't want to lose any money."

"Well, you've realised the main incentive certain wizards have for stopping any change and preventing any development," she told him with a sigh as she sat back in her chair, looking out the window at the muggles passing by. "Keeping their vaults full is the main occupation of the majority of the Wizengamot," she remarked and Harry could tell she was highly annoyed at this fact. "What about the actual members, what have you learnt about them?"

"Well, I've realised that those part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight stick together, along with Fudge and Zabini. I take it the former is some unofficial head of the Wizengamot despite his fall from grace all those years ago," he said as their plates were cleared away and their wine glasses topped up. "Belby and your father tend to keep to themselves, quite understandable really. What's with the preposterous lack of women about? Only Bone, Zabini and Longbottom, how is that representative of the country?"

"It may surprise you to know that Bones and Zabini were pushed through without a full Wizengamot vote by Fudges predecessor for that very reason, the Wizengamot wasn't representative and this was going to change that," Daphne informed him with a shake of her head. "That's actually one of the points Fudge used to beat him in the election. Called it a cross misuse of power to push through Wizengamot membership without being transparent to the public. Kind of rich given what he did once he was in power, but the public are fickle when it comes to politicians. They have a short memory for one thing and long one for another."

"Hold on," Harry said in shock, holding up his hand. "You're seriously telling me that two of the three women on the Wizengamot joined sixteen years ago and no others have joined since. How in Merlin's name is that possible?" he asked in absolute horror.

"That's the society that we live in I'm afraid," Daphne told him sadly, draining her wine on one long gulp. "It's highly unlikely that's going to change anytime soon."

"You'll take over your father's seat though, won't you?" he asked her. "You're his heir, surely that counts for something?"

"Unfortunately that doesn't actually count for anything," Daphne told him sadly. "When I get married, the only way I will get to have my father's seat is if my husband seeds its. Even then, we'd have to go through every male relation from my own family as well as that of my husbands before I can accept it."

"That's absolutely preposterous! You know more about how the Wizengamot works than anyone I know. It'll be a travesty if you're prevented from joining."

"Yes, well, you'll just have to make do with Cassius I'm afraid. Though I don't know how good he'll be, never worked a day in his life, lazy git," she told him with a roll of her eyes.

"Does he not do anything at all with his time?" Harry asked, curiously, wondering what the man that had captured the heart of this amazing women did with his time.

"Not a damn thing," she responded with a shake of her head. "He goes to his Sanguinis Pura club and drinks with all his buddies; plays Quidditch with his old classmates and generally just lays around his house and lives off his Gringotts vault."

Harry couldn't help but stare at her in bemusement. Here was this amazing; thoughtful; beautiful woman that clearly cared and wanted to change their world for the better and she was being stopped by antiquated laws that kept old men firmly in the seat of power. "That's just … I've no words for how appalling that is," he told her. "How did you meet Cassius?" he asked, curious about the man that had captured Daphne's attention.

"Oh, he's an old family friend, our parents thought we'd male a good match so they set it up," she told him. "Of course, this was all arranged when Cassius was at school and it looked like he'd actually do something with his life."

"Is there nothing that you can do about it?"

"I'm still in the same position regardless of who I marry and I do like Cassius," Daphne told him with a shrug, trying hard to not let it show how much it actually bothered her. "I'm sure when we do eventually get bonded, we'll be happy. What about you?" she asked, changing the topic away from herself. "Are you still with that Weasley girl?"

"Oh, we broke up years ago," he answered with a laugh. "Things just didn't work out. Between each of us focusing on our respective careers and the harassment Ginny used to get from The Prophet, it was all just a bit too much for us to handle," he revealed sadly. "There have been a few dates with other women, but there isn't anyone special," he told her with a sad smile. For the rest of the afternoon, the two enjoyed each other's company as they gossiped about the ministry employees they knew as well as members of the Wizengamot and their former classmates.

Before either of them knew it, they'd polished off a couple of bottles of wine between them as night time blanketed the city of London and the two reluctantly bid each other goodnight, both of them thinking it had been one of the best evenings either of them had had in a very long time.