Author's Note: For those of you who have been wanting a longer chapter, this one is nearly double my usual length. The characters just wouldn't shut up this week. I'm amazed at how many people are reading this story, and I'm humbled you find it entertaining. Writing gives me my sanity in an otherwise chaotic life. Thank you again, MNF
Chapter 17:
Legalities
Monday 11 September 1995
Exiting the Floo in Amy's office, Harry quickly stepped aside to let his pater through. Amy wasn't here, which was intentional. While she and Sirius had admitted they were a couple at home, they weren't ready for the world to know. They also did not want to deal with the possible political fall-out of the revelation, not yet.
Harry was wearing the expensive Italian-made robes he'd worn for the press conference on Saturday. He'd convinced Sirius one set was fine, as he'd only ever wear them to the Wizengamot meetings. While unhappy at his son's choice – Sirius had purchased three different formal robes sets – he did not force the issue. Harry was far more frugal than his pater. Then again, Sirius was far richer than Harry. Once Sirius was through, he and Harry moved the woodblock – nearly a foot in thickness – into the fire opening, thereby closing the Floo for anyone following through or having access to the 'Doghouse'.
Augusta handed Harry a coarse-haired brush to remove any soot from his robes. Harry then gave it to Sirius. Neville and Augusta had preceded Harry and Sirius from the house. Glancing at Neville, Harry realized that his friend looked like he felt. This was not a normal situation to find themselves in, even though they were doing something their dads had both done when they were fifteen.
"Come now, you two," Sirius said, looking at the younger gents, "you have nothing to worry about. Harry just say the sentence as we rehearsed. Since she predicts the roll call might take hours, Amy decided that legislation can wait. We find out who survived and who died today."
"Well, all of you," Augusta spoke, "if someone insults you, please don't engage."
"Thank you for the reminder, Lady Longbottom," Sirius said with a title of his head.
"You're quite the charmer, Sirius. I hope that it serves you well today." Sirius winked at her, and it caused Augusta to smile brightly at him.
"We'll head into Muggle London for lunch today, yeah?" The boys nodded, and the quartet went to the door. Sirius opened it and was surprised to find an Auror outside the door. The Auror turned and smiled brightly at the group.
"You're an Auror?" Sirius asked while at the same time she said:
"Wotcher, cousin. You're free, and you didn't call Mum and Dad?" Sirius reached out and pulled his cousin's daughter into a firm hug.
"Things have been rather hectic, but I promise I will call Dromy right away, promise. Phone number the same, Nymphie?"
"Don't call me that!" the Auror said, and her brown hair suddenly turned a violent orangey-red. It then settled into a flattering lavender colour. "And yes, it is." Harry cleared his throat and looked at his pater with questioning eyes.
"Oh, right. Harry, meet Nymphadora Tons, Nymh—" Tonks growled, and Sirius stopped.
"Tonks, just Tonks."
"Er, Tonks, my cousin Andromeda's daughter. Tonks, meet my son, Harry Potter." Harry held out his hand, and Tonks lunged at him and hugged him.
"It's so cool to meet you," she gushed before pulling back. "Hello Madame Longbottom, I'm here to take you to your office."
"Thank you, Miss Tonks. I will see you in the chamber," Augusta said before kissing Neville's cheek.
"If you use the stairs at the end of the hall down there," Tonks said, pointing toward a dead end, "you'll be let out at the rear entry for the Wizengamot Chamber. No crowds."
"Thank you very much, Tonks," Sirius said and put one hand on Harry's back and one on Neville's and directed them toward the hall. Upon entering the Wizengamot Chamber, Sirius led them toward two seats on the second row. The boys were amazed that when they sat down, the crests of their respective families appeared on the backs of the chairs, above the headrest area. Harry's had both the Potter family crest and the Black family crest.
"Well, the magic has accepted you as the Black scion," Sirius said firmly. "Good, that will make things easier."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked his pater. Sirius stepped down to take a seat in the first row. Magic responded to him and produced a throne-like chair for him.
"What I mean is that I don't doubt Draco believes he is the heir to the Black fortune. But, knowing Cissy, she has filled his head with shite. She's wrong, and no doubt her son has been dumb enough to believe whatever drivel she's filled him with."
"Why is your chair so much nicer?" Neville asked while pointing.
"It's a Noble and Most Ancient thing," Sirius said dismissively. "When you're of age, your chairs will look like this too. Now, do you have any questions?" The trio talked while others began to trickle in. All were pleasantly surprised when both Poppy Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick entered and sat behind the boys. The third row of seats was for designated groups with voting privileges. Poppy represented the Healers Union, and Professor Flitwick was in his official duty as Deputy Headmaster for Hogwarts. He was particularly thrilled as it had been years since anyone other than Dumbledore had represented the school.
More people came in, including Theodore Nott, Harry pointing him out to Sirius. This was one of the families they had been watching for, as Lord Black had an interest in what would happen. Theo was accompanied by a woman who looked only a few years older than him but, given the giant diamond on her left hand, appeared to be the widow Nott. Cantankerous Nott had a problem with his wives dying rather quickly after the full dowry was paid. The DMLE had investigated, but no charges were ever brought to trial. The widow was number six, Theo's mother was number two and lived the longest, making it to just past Theo's third birthday. Sirius stood to speak with the pair when nothing happened when lovely Lilliaane sat down in the first row as the seat did not recognize her as the old codger's widow. A short conversation, lasting only a few minutes, led to Lilliaane's beauty melting into a face full of disgust and anger. Theo looked like he wanted to punch Sirius. The Nott's stormed from the chamber, and Sirius turned and tipped his head toward someone in the fifth row, public seating. Harry didn't recognize whomever it was.
"Who did you just signal?" Harry asked when Sirius came back to his chair.
"Patience, young grasshopper," Sirius replied, and Harry rolled his eyes.
Just before the ten o'clock start time, Narcissa and Draco attempted to seat themselves; Narcissa in the front row, Draco in the second. When the chair refused to accept them, Harry and Neville had to purse their lips to keep from laughing. Sirius rose again, went to his cousin, and directed them to the hall. Harry had no idea what he said to her, but it worked. They passed Amy, Augusta, the court scribe and Aurors Tonks and King Shacklebolt as they left the chamber. While Amy ignored Sirius, Augusta brazenly winked at him. Sirius returned to the room a few minutes later, just before roll call began.
"Abbott, Gloria," the scribe said, and Hannah's mother stood and called out, "Present."
"Avery, Alexander." The scribe called out three times, and there was no response. After the third call, Augusta waited a minute before speaking.
"The Avery seat will go up for election. None of you can buy this voting seat." Several in the fifth row complained but were silenced by Augusta's stare. A few left, reading the writing on the wall that this was not business as it had been.
"Black, Sirius." Sirius rose gracefully, putting his pureblood childhood training on display. Harry wondered how he turned it on and off like that.
"Present, with my scion and son, Harry James Alphard Potter." Whispers circled the room, but the scribe simply made a notation in the book and continued. Sirius sat back down.
"Bulstrode, Bartathaollemew." The woman who called herself Madame Bulstrode, who was sitting on the fourth level, usually, the fourth row was for younger family members, present with their tutors for educational purposes or excess seating for the Ministry seats from the third row.
"I am Wilhelmenia Bulstrode," she shouted with a horribly nasal pitch, "and I wish to be seated in my late husband's seat. I would also like my daughter, Millicent, to be seated as the scion of our line." The scribe said something to Amy, and Augusta and the trio began. Sirius knew what the problem was, but he planned on just waiting for the fireworks.
"Madame Bulstrode, can you please come down and confer with the Chief Witch, please," the scribe said, and the pair began stepping over people in their haste to get down to the front. Then, after a few minutes of conversation, the Bulstrode women, well, one Bulstrode and one woman who was never gifted the name, strode from the chambers in a huff.
Sirius turned around to look at the boys, "Another one down," he said.
"The former Bulstrode seat will be put up for election. The same rules as the Avery seat will apply," Augusta said. "They will apply for all seats that come up with no family to inherit."
The Burke seat had a nineteen-year-old grandson seated. He had been in France for his education, so neither Harry nor Neville recognized him. Sirius was sure there was a story there, as he didn't know this line even existed, and Amy had done her research on what would likely happen with the Death Eater families. Carrow went up for election.
"Crouch?" the scribe asked. The Wizengamot hadn't met since Barty Sr.'s death, but with his son being free at his father's hand for so long, it was doubtful that they would have kept the seat anyway. Surprising everyone, Sirius stood.
"My grandfathers' cousin was Charis Black Crouch, mother of Bartaremius Senior," Sirius said. "As his two sisters have left Great Britain and are married to wizards in Germany and Norway, respectively, I hereby claim the Crouch seat for the Black family." There were whispers throughout the room, but no one stood to claim the seat.
"The chair is hereby recognized as being under the advisement of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Do you have any intentions for the seat?" Augusta asked.
"We would like to see it given to Rolf Scamander, as someone knowledgeable in the area of Magical Creatures and Beings and will vote on their behalf until such time as we recognize such beings as having knowledge and worth within our society to vote for themselves." Sirius had just laid the groundwork for a future plan of Amy's, although it was the long game they were playing.
"The seat is granted as so designated," August said. "The scribe will send a note to Mr Scamander to inform him of his new role within the Wizengamot."
The roll call continued; the Fawley seat was taken up by a daughter who had gone to America for her Mastery education but had recently returned home. The family held the Greengrass seat, as were the Longbottoms and Macmillan's. Finally, the Flint and Lestrange seats went to elections. When the Malfoy seat came up, Sirius stood again to speak.
"Madame Chief Warlock, I would like to see the Malfoy seat reverted to the family it was stolen from a century ago," Sirius said, handing the scribe the dossier that he and Augusta had prepared the night before. "The seat Abraxas Malfoy, and then his son Lucius sat in had, for generations, been held by the Weasley family. In eighteen-ninety-seven Abraxas Malfoy sold Charles Weasley diseased trees for his farm. Abraxas knew they were diseased when sold, and the trees died. The financing for the trees was a travesty, and the only way Charles could keep the farm was to sign over his seat on the Wizengamot. The Malfoys did not have a seat due to their family being from France and only settled in the UK for a mere twenty-eight years. I move that the Weasley family have their family seat reinstated, and due to Arthur being seated as a department head, his eldest William assume the chair." Sirius sat back down and then tipped his head at Arthur.
For his part, Arthur Weasley was so flabbergasted that he didn't even realize his son had come down from the public seating and stood before the trio on the dais.
"Unless there are objections, the reverting of the seat to the Weasley family appears to be a lawful transaction. Mr William Weasley, are you prepared to fulfil your duties to the Wizengamot?"
"I am, Madame Chief Witch," Bill said.
"Then you will be sworn in with the rest of the Wizengamot once we know who sits in which seats," she said kindly. "I would suggest you sit next to Lord Black, who will help you until you've had a chance to learn about the workings of this body." This had also been prearranged.
The following seat was the Nott family seat, which Sirius stood and went into another speech, as the seat would also revert to the Black family. Sirius explained that the seat was purchased legally in eighteen-eighty-one as part of the dowry for Belvinia Black when she married Herbert Burke. Therefore, since it was purchased by the Black family, it would revert to them.
"How would you like to handle this seat, Lord Black?"
"I will seat a member of my family," Sirius said. "I ask that Theodore Tonks be seated as a full member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."
"He can't be seated," Felicity Fawley said. "He's a Muggleborn, and he's a man. Only women who marry of inferior blood status who marry into pureblood families can take a seat."
"There is nowhere in the charter of the Wizengamot that says we only seat purebloods or women who have married into pureblood families," Sirius answered. "That only became policy after the war with Grindelwald."
"Madame Chief Witch," Fawley continued.
"I have read and reviewed the charter with Madame Bones myself, and Lord Black is correct. He may seat any member of his household that he wishes. Mr Tonks married into the family, so he is permitted. Please take your seat, Theodore."
"Thank you, Madame Chief Witch, Madame President," Ted said before taking the seat on the other side of Sirius.
Everything went smoothly until the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter was called upon. Dumbledore had pulled some sleight of hand to keep the seat from reverting to another family by seating his friend, Bathilda Bagshot, in the seat. It mattered not if she ever showed for meetings, but she held the chair, and she was related to the Potters. Then again, everyone in Godric's Hollow was related in some way.
"Do we have someone to sit the seat until the Scion is of age for the Potter house?" the scribe asked.
"We do," Harry said as he stood. "Until I am of age, and with the blessing of my pater, I nominate Remus John Lupin as the proxy for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter." Remus, who had been sitting next to Ted in the top row, although he was under Harry's invisibility cloak, threw the garment off and walked to the chair just to the left of Bill Weasley's. He then sat down."
"I see what you're doing, Black," young Yamlin Yaxley said. The Yaxley seat had recognized the young man, which surprised their group since the father was a Death Eater. "You're creating a block of creature loving, muggle accepting losers."
"Mr Yaxley, I will remind you that a respectful tone is required when speaking to other members of this body, especially noble birth members," the scribe said. Yaxley stood defiantly.
"Now, I realize that voting blocs have long been a part of the Wizengamot, and I doubt it will change in my lifetime. That said, Lord Black is within his rights to seat whomever he deems worthy in the chairs held by the Black family. Perhaps if you did not want the Black family to have so much power, your forefathers should not have allowed one family to buy or steal many chairs," Augusta said firmly. "Perhaps in the future, we will consider legislation to make such arrangements illegal. You may be seated, Mr Lupin."
The two Marauders and the young men had to work hard not to smile at Neville's grandmother. Their well-orchestrated and deliberate shifting of the Wizengamot took place entirely above board. But, of course, they never would have done it without Cassie's Book of Secrets, and Sirius secretly thanked his long-departed Great Aunt for her help.
In the end, a little over a third of the seats would go up for election. Another third was a new generation of family members, some of whom were not living in the UK while things were turning darker and did not have ties to Death Eaters. The final third would have no way to derail the progress that Amy planned. The elections were scheduled for 1 January nineteen-ninety-six. After the new Wizengamot was seated in January, a new Chief Witch or Warlock would be elected.
ITWAU ITWAU ITWAU
"That was an exhausting day," Amelia said after Sirius entered her private suite. She lived on this floor with Poppy and Minerva; Filius was on the floor below. The family and other teens lived in a different wing of the house.
"I forgot how ugly political machinations could be," Sirius said. "I wish I'd paid better attention when Monty Potter was teaching James, Remus, and me. I never wanted the Head of House duties or the seat on the Wizengamot." He divested himself of the jumper he'd worn over a Queen tee-shirt. The plum robes from the meeting this morning were off as soon as he was through the Floo. Amy scooted over on the bed and began helping him with his belt. She was already in a short nightgown and dressing gown.
"For someone who forgot about machinations, you performed some spectacular ones today. I was apprehensive that Felicity Fawley would have an aneurism burst at one point."
"Her face was a rather fabulous shade of puce."
"Well, you can brush up on your political skills with the boys then," she said with a quirky smile. "Remus definitely has a firm grasp of them, but Augusta Longbottom is the queen of the political play. I'm glad she's on my side." Sirius's jeans were fully undone, but his boots were still on, so he sat down and slid the zippers down and then kicked them across the room. Unfortunately, he scuffed the paint in doing so, and Amy laughed.
"Glad the homeowner doesn't care about the condition of his house."
"Only about the people residing within," he said, standing to kick his jeans off and then fold them and the sweater and place them on the couch. The pair climbed into bed and cuddled together.
"You want to tell me about what happened with Narcissa and Draco?" Amy asked.
"I honestly am surprised she was alive," Sirius said. "I was confident that Lucius had forced her to take the Dark Mark, especially since Bella took it. Cissy always did whatever Bella did. Shows a bit of brain on her part, which I wasn't sure she had."
"True, but how did you get her to back down on Draco taking the Malfoy scion?"
"All the paperwork regarding the horrid deal Malfoy senior and Sirius Black the second was in Arcturus's, well my office. There was no way I would do anything but let that seat return to the Weasleys."
"But how was Bill Weasley able to take the seat? Your family seems smarter than to put a clause reverting the seat back to the original owners."
"I believe Great Aunt Cassie struck again," Sirius said. "Later in his life, Sirius the second hired Cassiopeia when it became obvious that she wouldn't marry. She was his secretary, and she was smart as a whip. The contract had to be 're-written' in the nineteen-forties as it had gotten wet. Cassie slipped the clause in, and Sirius signed it without reading it. I wouldn't be surprised if she put charms on the document so he wouldn't go snooping. Arcturus had found the revisions and the 'damaged' copy and made sure I'd find them."
"Brilliant," Amy said. "I wonder what other gems she might have slipped in the old coot's paperwork."
"I intend to find out," Sirius said and kissed her temple.
"Why didn't Cassie ever marry, I wonder."
"Cassie had a roommate that she introduced to me as her companion the year after I left Hogwarts. I got it; she was a lesbian, but the wizarding world wasn't accepting. They still aren't. Harry says one of his classmates isn't out but deals with a lot of teasing at just the insinuation that he might be gay. I feel sorry for the kid just from the stories Harry has told Remus and me. Remus didn't even know, and he was their teacher." Sirius sighed at the thought. No one should live like that, keeping their true self hidden.
"So, what happens with Narcissa and Draco now? They've no home; they can't access the Malfoy vault as it was seized for the Ministry," Amy asked.
"I have promised Narcissa and Draco an allowance and paying for Draco's education. I am giving them one of the Black family properties as well. To continue to receive the money, they must promise not to be involved in politics."
"Wait, education? You're not proposing Draco come to lessons with the rest of the kids in the house?"
"Merlin, no!" Sirius answered. "I would never do that to Harry, or Neville or Hermione. I will pay for his tutors or whatever school he chooses to attend, even if it is Hogwarts when it reopens."
"Thank goodness," Amy said with a relieved sigh. "I think I'd better keep an eye on you. You've turned into quite a power player, Sirius."
"Only until I can hand off these roles."
"What house are you giving the Malfoys?"
"Blacks, that's part of my agreement. The Malfoy name dies, one day Draco can enter the line of succession for the Lord title, although Harry will always be at the top unless I somehow have a child of my own. I don't want to have that discussion right now, however." He held his hands up to stop Amy before she started. The baby conversation and the marriage conversation had not happened yet. Sirius felt there was too much going on to make such a monumental decision right now. "As for the house, it's a hunting lodge in the forests of Germany. I hate the place, but Cissy loved it. She can have it."
"You're exiling them to Germany? You're cruel."
"No, I'm wise. All Cissy and Draco will do is stir up trouble if they stay in the UK. But, with them in Germany, I have some hope that Cissy will wise up and teach Draco some manners."
"Player or not, Madame Bulstrode wasn't too thrilled with you," Amy teased, pinching his slightly pudgy gut.
"It's hardly my fault he never married her. If she'd been made a proper wife, or even just given proxy status, the seat would have been the daughters eventually. Truly short-sighted on Bulstrode's part."
"Truly. Remind me to name a proxy tomorrow. First, I must think about who can do it for me."
"Why don't you ask King Shacklebolt? His elder sister is in the family seat, and there's a middle daughter who would inherit before him."
"Excellent idea," Amy said with a yawn. "Can we stop talking politics and get some sleep. I'd like to be woken up like I was this morning," she said drowsily. Sirius had awoken her by kissing her breasts.
"That can be arranged, Amy, my love," he answered, leaning over to kiss her softly before reaching to turn out the light.
