A.N. Sorry for the long delay, but my nuse was wandering elsewhere.
Ch34: Politics and Family
It was a slow day in The House Of Lords. Harry looked at the planned speakers list. The list consisted of the most boring speakers and each had been allotted two hours. That was more than he could stand. Even the one currently speaking was bound to make him fall asleep. It was worse than having to listen to Professor Binns lecturing about the Goblin Wars.
Sighing, he left the hall, noticing quite a few members nodding, half asleep already. He could use his time better. He quickly moved to the Parliament apparition point. Knowing that the Potter family had a seat in The House Of Lords for as long as it existed was cause enough to have this arranged. He was quite sure that some other wizarding families had once been part of The House. Some may still be eligible, only they lost interest in the Muggle world.
He arrived at the Ministry a moment later. Using his wand, he transformed his suit into robes as he approached the guard.
"Good day, Lord Potter," the guard waved him in. Harry took the elevator and went to the Wizengamot hall.
The session in there looked just a bit more interesting than the one he had left. One of the conservative pure-blood representatives was speaking, practically demanding to keep everything as it was, citing "our long-time tradition" as the reason to oppose any novelty.
Harry thought it was futile to answer. He just took a seat on the audience section, watching the proceedings. He was a bit surprised to see James Potter – his great uncle, who was acting in his stead – rising to speak.
James looked around, noticing the many heads with white hair, or lacking any, before he spoke. "As you probably all know, I'm much older than I look. I've spent seventy-two years in Limbo, where I didn't age at all. Once I was brought back, I was afraid I'd find it very difficult to adjust to all the changes in the world. The Muggle world was totally different, as I expected, as it advanced in most areas beyond my wildest dreams. Unfortunately, the British Magical world didn't change much at all. There were a few new names, of course, but nothing of significance changed. We're still using old-fashioned parchment and quills while the muggles are using paper and pen, that is – when not using computers; we're still wearing these ridiculous robes, which the muggles discarded more than a century ago; we're still acting as if we hold all the knowledge and the power, while the muggles are several orders of magnitude more knowledgeable and much more powerful."
James stopped for a moment to get the right effect. Harry could see that he chose right by letting James do this for him. "Do you know that muggles can fly airplanes that are almost as fast as portkeys, yet much more comfortable? Do you know that muggles have sent people to the moon and back and sent some probes to research other planets, communicating over these unimaginable distances with ease?" James made another pause, to let his words sink in. "Do you still need to find a fireplace, throw some powder in and stay on your knees in order to talk to somebody? Muggles just dial a number on their cellular phone and they can talk with their friends on the other side of the globe as if they were in the same room."
James took a sip of water before going on. "I'm older than most of you, despite looking younger, but I know that progress is good for us. Those afraid of progress and of innovation are just holding us all back, usually for their own personal benefit. I've checked some other countries while visiting them after my return. Most consider us stupid and backward, as we're still stuck with customs and traditions long given up by the rest of the magical world. Oh, they're still using the old traditions in their equivalent of the wizengamot, just like our muggle parliament still has some very ceremonious events, during which most officials wear costumes designed a few hundred years back. Yet they don't wear them for normal activities and neither should we!"
James continued talking, making even the most die-hard conservatives feel a bit unsure, while others seemed ready to vote for a change. The few who spoke after him were reluctant to oppose him, only stating that "we should not forget our past and our traditions while adopting new ways," which was practically saying, "we're going to modernize, but please, don't rush in".
The vote gave Harry no surprise. The conservatives lost. Harry congratulated James for his excellent speech. They went for lunch together. Harry still found it difficult to look at this young man and see him as his ancestor. Luckily, James ( James Potter the Third, as he had been called originally) didn't mind that Harry was born almost fifty years after him. He treated Harry as the slightly older head-of-house, when needed, and as a close friend.
"You know, Evelyn has seen a healer last week, as she didn't feel too well. It turns out she's pregnant! Can you imagine? We've almost lost all hope before I fell through the veil, and she certainly didn't expect this to happen after she'd been a really old lady, and yet... Lilly seems to do what's considered impossible. She's redefining the limits of magic single-handedly."
Harry smiled. "She is very talented and extremely powerful, but so are the other girls."
James didn't agree. "The others may be as powerful as her, but only she could think of rejuvenating Evelyn so that we could catch up from where we left, and doing it in a way that let Evelyn adjust. I'm sure she also helped us with the pregnancy, doing it silently and unobtrusively, as is her habit."
"She takes a lot after her mother," Harry noted.
"And quite a bit after her father as well..."
Narcissa had never learned to enjoy being a house-wife. She had been raised to be a lady, taking care of social events and giving support to her husband. Her only other obligation as a wife, she had been taught, was to give her husband a heir. Taking care of the children and of the household were tasks for the house-elves, so she was told.
The Potter house at Godric Hollow didn't employ house elves. Hermione agreed, quite reluctantly, to let house-elves come once a week for a thorough cleaning, and only because her own schedule didn't leave much time for housekeeping. Narcissa had been a bit confused at first, not knowing most of the things she needed in order to even make breakfast while Harry wasn't available.
This had changed even before Sirius Junior was born, as Harry taught her how to use all kitchen appliances and utensils, how to cook and how to serve. Hermione (and Lilly) taught her how to use the muggle electronic equipment. She loved the music system, as listening to music was something that didn't stop her from doing other stuff, yet she fell in love with the computer. It opened a whole new world of knowledge and fun to her.
Hermione was always busy. Although she had already finished her training as healer at St. Mungos as well as her medical specialization in a muggle hospital nearby, she was trying to juggle working at both these medical institutes along with being a good mother and wife and playing the role of Lady Potter as needed. This was a bit too much even for her. After Harold was born, she decided to slow down a bit. She cut her job at St. Mungos to two day shifts per week and she did the same for her muggle position, trying to spend more time with her family while still keeping her jobs.
Yet Hermione, being herself, could not refrain from helping anybody in need. She agreed to check a few ill children in her study at home, and soon found herself running a private pediatric clinic where parents were sure to find good advice and sympathetic understanding along with quick healing for their children. She used a combination of muggle and magical procedures to help her patients recover faster. None of the muggle patients knew that the medicine given to their child was actually a magical potion or that the ruler she was occasionally holding was a disguised wand. The magical patients thought that the stethoscope and some other medical tools were just a disguise used for muggles and didn't know that some of the potions she was dispensing were muggle medicines.
"You should limit your working hours," Harry told her, not for the first time. "You should spend more time with your own children. Do you want to end up like your parents?"
Hermione loved her parents, yet she remembered just too well how much she had missed them as a child, when they had been too busy building their dentistry career to pay much attention to their daughter. By the time they had been able to spend more time with her, she was already moving to Hogwarts. They were much better parents for Lilly, while she lived with them, and for Helen.
"Am I so bad?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself.
"You can't be bad, but your children miss you. It's bad enough that we couldn't raise Lilly since the moment she was born. We had very good reasons for that. You don't have any reason to not give your best to your children now, you know."
It was a difficult decision for Hermione, yet she decided to assign only two hours for her private patients on the days when she was working elsewhere and no more than eight hours on two more days, leaving Sundays free. "But I'll still handle emergencies," she said, to Harry's eyes rolling.
With so many people coming and going, Narcissa couldn't be hidden. She presented herself as "A distant cousin who came to live here for a while." This explanation was accepted, but only for a few months. Most magical patients knew her and knew of her real status. It was quite different with the muggles. None would have accepted bigamy, even if there was still an ancient law that allowed it for Harry.
"I don't mind if people will think I'm your mistress," Narcissa told Harry.
"I'm not sure I'd like it," Hermione said.
"Do you have a better idea?" Narcissa asked.
Hermione sighed. "I wish I had. Let's ask my parents first. They are more in current with the muggle world than either of us is."
The Grangers had an advice. "During the Hippie era, many people chose to live in communes, consisting of several men and women, usually young, who lived together. Most dissolved after a while, unable to stand social pressure, but a few still strive. Society is now more accepting of relations that do not sick to the standards. As for being a mistress... It should work. Just make sure not to give unwanted ideas to some young women in the vicinity. Lord Potter is a powerful political figure and a rich man, besides being a very attractive young man. Some may be tempted to offer similar services to Harry."
Hermione shrugged. "I trust Harry to handle them swiftly. I'm just tired of trying to hide Narcissa or make her a distant cousin."
Eventually, they didn't need any excuse. Hermione didn't like all the traffic in the house, especially since some of the children brought to her were ill and she didn't fancy her children catching anything from her patients. She considered renting an office and turning it into a clinic. Harry had a different idea. "We can build an annex with a separate entrance. We can do it magically within a few days, and if you prefer – a month or two should be enough for building it the muggle way."
After kissing him tightly, Hermione thought a bit more about his idea. "I'll lay down my requirements and then we should see an architect for the actual design. We may then decide how to turn the design into a real structure."
They did it the muggle way, eventually, as Hermione wasn't sure that building magically would not leave some tell-tale signs. The construction team was very efficient, finishing its job in just five weeks. It took another week to buy all the necessary furnishings and make the annex ready for its assigned role.
"I need a receptionist now. I can't handle all the record keeping while checking the patients. It slows me down and interferes with my medical function," Hermione said, a week after opening the new clinic.
"You did just fine before," Harry commented.
"Not really. I was frustrated by the interruptions, but as it was at home, the patients, or their parents, were more accepting. A receptionist, to handle my schedule and the monetary side of the business, seems to be a must now."
"Should I put an ad for that?" Harry asked.
"I don't think you need to. I can do it for Hermione." It was Narcissa who surprised them.
"You?" they both asked, disbelievingly.
"Yes, I. Remus is soon going to be weaned. He seems already more interested in other foods and my milk seems to dwindle. I already know how to use a computer and the telephone and I'd really like to do something useful and still stay close to him and Sirius. I've learned to enjoy raising these children."
"I like it," Hermione said. "It will also make the question of your presence irrelevant. Besides, you'll earn some money as well."
"I don't really need it now, but it would be nice to know that my help is worth something," Narcissa smiled.
"And we shall both be able to stay close to our children," Hermione added, as Harry hugged them both.
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