Kerra and Artemis entered the private office of House Potter just off the main Wizengamot chambers.
Artemis went directly to the desk and began to look over the various issues that would be presented at the day's session as Kerra looked around the room and inspected a small wet bar near a sitting area with a small fireplace.
"Anything of interest on the docket Kit?" Kerra asked.
"Other than a request from the head of the DMLE to get her budget expanded for purposes of the security of the realm, it looks like the standard bureaucracy of legislature. It appears that there are no judicial items on this session's docket." Artemis replied as she passed off the folder to her mother. "Unless Amelia is planning on dropping Sirius's non-trial on them and he is secreted away in a holding cell somewhere to be brought at her convenience." She added after a moment's thought.
"Possible. She might have held back on informing us so that we are as unaware of the issue as the rest of the stuffed robes." Kerra replied.
Soon enough the pair was standing in an antechamber near the entrance to the main chambers, waiting to be announced to claim the seat for House Potter.
A pair of aurors stood guard at the door.
Kerra smirked slightly, knowing that, British aurors at least, wouldn't be able to stop either of the two females from leaving if they wanted to.
Soon the door opened and a functionary entered.
"It is time." He said, with only the slightest of sneers.
Artemis frowned. 'Just wait until we get started buddy. Then things will really give you a reason to turn your nose up.' She thought before schooling her expression, putting on what Kerra called her 'military bearing'.
The pair entered the main chamber just as the announcement was being made.
"Now presenting Heiress Artemis Lilith Potter of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and her guardian, Dame Kerra Prower to reclaim the Potter seat." The master of arms called out.
The pair marched to the center of the chamber stopped in the center of the room, which was in an uproar. The two stood at attention, only allowing their eyes to move as they looked over the tiers.
Front and center to them was the root of their issues, Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, and his Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge.
The intel reports that they had received from MaCUSA stated that Fudge was very much a peacetime minister and was easily swayed by bribes, couched as campaign donations. Umbridge however, was the dangerous one. She was bigoted to the end and while subtle about it, she was behind a good number of discriminatory laws that had been passed even if her name was not specifically on the proposals.
Then there was Dumbledore, the cause of a lot of Artemis's issues. Machiavellian, condescending, showing signs of sociopathic tendencies, and an expert orator, he would be dangerous.
"Ah, young Artemis, it is good to see you alive and well after your disappearance from our shores. Might I inquire as to your whereabouts during the past few years?" Dumbledore said, quieting the chamber.
"First of all Chief Warlock Dumbledore, I do not seem to recall granting you permission to use my given name, so you will refer to me as Heiress Potter until such a time I deem you worthy of the privilege." Artemis stated, her voice clearly projecting through the room, not quite at the level of her command voice, but close to it. "As to my whereabouts since my relatives, and I use that term in the loosest sense of the word, went to the United States and were subsequently arrested, tried, and convicted of child abuse there, and were met with unfortunate 'accidents' that resulted in their deaths in the American prisons before their extradition to Great Britain to face judgement in Her Majesty's High Court; you have no business knowing or even asking and it is an extreme insult that such a minor House is trying to edge into the business of a Noble House, much less an Ancient and Most Noble House such as mine. I am here today to reclaim what is mine by quod primogenita vendidisset, birthright, as the last of the Potter line. As I am underage and am not currently eligible of sitting the seat myself, my adopted mother through law, magic, and blood, Dame Kerra Prower, will be acting as my regent until the time comes for me to join this august body."
This sent murmurs through the chamber. The Dark aligned group looked positively gleeful at the verbal smackdown that had been placed on Dumbledore. The Light aligned group was outraged at the perceived disrespect to the venerable Chief Warlock. The Neutral faction however, was intrigued and many leaned forward, clearly interested in this young Heiress.
At this point the master at arms stepped forward and presented Artemis with a copy of the oath that she would need to swear.
"How is she supposed to swear an oath it be binding if she has no wand?" One of the Dark aligned members asked out loud.
Artemis turned to look at the man, a blonde with long flowing hair. She commited his face to memory as one of the ones to take down later in the realms of politics before facing forward and holding her palm, facing down, over a certain spot of the chamber floor.
She pulsed her magic and the floor opened allowing a pedestal with a sphere on it to appear.
Artemis smirked as she placed her hand on the sphere and gave her oath.
"I, Artemis Lilith Potter-Prower, of my own will and of sound mind and sound body, do hereby claim my right of quod primogenita vendidisset and swear allegiance to the laws of the land and Her Majesty, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, so I say it, so mote it be." Artemis spoke clearly and with conviction, stunning the assembled, not only by knowing about the orb in the center of the room, one that had not been seen in generations, and by her inclusion of the Queen of England.
Before anyone could protest though, a loud gong sounded out in the chamber, and a man sitting in the upper tiers, reserved for the Ancient and Most Noble Houses, was forcibly ejected from the seat he was occupying, the Potter coat of arms clearly visible on the back of the seat.
Artemis smirked before, while her hand was still on the orb, she continued.
"I, Artemis Lilith Potter-Prower, of my own will and of sound mind and sound body, do hereby name my adopted mother through law, magic, and blood, Dame Kerra Prower-Potter, as my Regent until I come of age or am otherwise emancipated and able to take up headship of my House, so I say it, so mote it be." She said in the same tone as before.
There was a pulse of magic and Artemis removed her hand and moved to the side of the pedestal crisply while Kerra moved up to the pedestal and placed her hand on the orb.
"I, Kerra Harmony Ruby Prower-Potter, of my own will and of sound mind and sound body, do hereby claim my place as Reagent of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter until my adopted daughter by law, blood, and magic Heiress Artemis Lilith Potter-Prower is of age to take her position in this august body and swear allegiance to the laws of the land and Her Majesty, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, so I say it, so mote it be." Kerra said, causing another pulse of magic to reverberate in the chamber before removing her hand.
The chamber was stunned silent before the master of arms gathered his wits and instructed the pair to move to their seats, a second smaller chair had appeared after Kerra gave her oath. The pair marched to the seat, perfectly in step, and as one took their seats.
It took the master of arms a few tries to get Dumbledore and Fudge back on track.
"The only item from a previous session is a bill for the funding of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Does anyone wish to speak in favor of the bill?" Dumbledore asked the chamber.
Kerra was on her feet before Amelia even began to stand.
Once she was recognized, she began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I have but one thing for you to consider when you cast your vote for this bill today." Kerra began. "I have reviewed the state of Magical Britian's Auror Corps and I can only shake my head in despair. The number and quality of aurors is severely lacking for the size of the area that must be covered. All the aurors that Magical Britain has are located here in London. There are no detachments in places like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Add the other villages that are predominantly magical in population and you can see that the nation's aurors are stretched far to thin. There also needs to be a modernization of the Auror Corps. Outreach and exchange programs need to be setup with allied nations so that practices can be adopted by the aurors in the process of their investigations. This will ensure that the conviction and punishments for crimes are secure and unable to be challenged and to prevent innocents from being accused unjustly."
Amelia stood up now. "Thank you Dame Prower-Potter. You have provided a well thought out argument in favor of this bill." She said giving Kerra a nod, which was returned.
Sitting down, Kerra listened to the argument put forth by Lord Malfoy which basically boiled down to there not being a need for more aurors as they were at peace and it would be a foolish waste of resources to build them up.
The vote came and, though the margin was narrow, Kerra was pleased to see that the bill had passed. She had specifically mentioned Hogsmead as it was the village right by Hogwarts and many of the members of the body had family or heirs attending the school. That seemed to have swayed them.
"Is there any other business that needs to be addressed in this session?" Fudge asked.
Amelia stood up. "There is Minister. Recently a miscarriage of justice was brought to my attention. After investigating the claims personally, I discovered, much to my horror, the claims were indeed true. There is a wizard that has spent nearly a decade in Azkaban prison without a trial." She said succinctly.
"Who would that be and what is the crime they are supposed to have committed?" Fudge asked.
"Sirius Orion Black and the betrayal of the late Lord and Lady Potter." Amelia said.
There was silence, and then pandemonium.
A/N: Up next the trial of Sirius Orion Black and the beginning of the downfall of Dumbledore.