A/N: So I'm aware it's been a bit of a while since I last updated - this would have been out more than 2 weeks ago, but I was rundown with COVID. I did want to write during the time I was isolating but at the time i was DRAINED, I had zero energy at all (I could barely stand up without wanting to faint). I felt a bit guilty about keeping you all waiting any longer so as a result, this is quite a short chapter with only a Sirius POV, but I promise the next one will be longer :)
In the Wizengamot, everyone had opportunities to take part in votes regarding new law once every month. Almost a whole day of session was dedicated to it, depending on how many bills and legislation were trying to be pushed through. You wouldn't necessarily think there would be so many votes to be had, but it was very surprising.
"As of right now - half-past nine, - we can begin the voting session," Minister Bones announced to the cavernous room, "first on today's agenda, we hear from the Committee for Auror Solidarity."
Sirius had no clue such a committee existed, and he instantly decided he would find out more about them, as he used to be one during the First Wizarding War, and he knew how tough they had it right now.
Before the votes were held, each committee spokesperson had a chance to stand up and speak about the proposals they were putting forward. The particular spokesperson for this committee - which he was surprised to see was none other than Proteus Nott - stood from his seat and spoke. "This bill that we put to you all today will have nothing but good intentions for our colleagues in the Auror Department. It will allow trainees to accelerate their training if their instructor deems them to be advanced enough, which of course means more graduates, and will also provide more upgrades and protection to serving Auror's, which of course will reduce injuries and deaths. As well as that, it will grant more government funding to go into all aspects of the job; pay, resources, and support. We all know how Auror's are the pillars that hold up our security and safety; well, it's past bloody time we start showing them our respect with more than just empty words."
Proteus's explanation was met with thunderous applause from his colleagues - and a lot of the Wizengamot - but there were a few chorus's of booing going up. Sirius glared at those responsible for the boo's. Ah yes, of course the people booing are those whose associates have been arrested for liaising with Death Eater's.
"Voting may commence now. The result will be announced after five minutes, or once everyone has casted their vote." Amelia Bones announced.
It was an easy vote for Sirius - he was obviously in favour of the bill. He casted his vote by filling a small box underneath the 'In Favour' column heading with an x; everyone's voting paper was enchanted to feedback their vote to the Speaker of the Chamber, who could see everyone's votes as they came in. Sirius confidently dedicated his three votes - one vote was his, the other two were his votes he earned through being House Potter's Regent until Harry and Amelia turned 17- in favour of the bill.
It took just over four minutes until the Speaker rose. "Those in favour - 210. Those not in favour - 64. The bill from the Auror Solidarity Committee will be passed."
Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and added his clapping and cheering to the majority of others making noise in the room. Although there were only 64 people that were not in favour, he just knew they were the old money types - bigoted, and blind to the truth.
The next proposal came from the International Trading Committee; they were wanting the Ministry of Magic to impose some strict sanctions on the countries in Eastern Europe whose wizarding governments had been installed with new puppet Presidents and Prime Ministers - all of them were suspected to be aligned with Voldemort. Sirius thought it a perfectly sound bill - these heads of power simply should not be getting rich when they were simply going to use the money to cause chaos and terror, and quite frankly other countries needed to take a stand against these such corrupt and despicable folk. When voting was put to the floor, he casted it within seconds - he was in favour of these proposed sanctions.
This particular vote took the whole five minutes for people to decide. After that, the Speaker rose. "Those in favour - 120. Those not in favour - 154. The bill from the International Trading Committee will not be passed."
Sirius frowned, and murmurs of confusion rose. Clearly, others thought this one was a no-brainer; surely it had to pass? But he noticed a pattern - the same bigoted people had voted against this, whilst those that were simply staunch capitalists - whose businesses would be affected by these sanctions if they traded to these countries - were opposed as well.
Arseholes. Their profits were more important to them than human rights.
He felt a bit deflated after that result. After another few hours, the voting session was adjourned for a lunch break. Sirius located Robin Greengrass and they shared a look. It seemed that everyone would be talking about the bill from the International Trading Committee not passing.
They found Octavia Abbott, as well as Graeme Macmillan, who was raging. "Those bloody corrupt bastards!" He was saying, "Those sanctions proposed were fair, given the fact that these puppet leaders are dark magic users that don't deserve to be traded with! But no, it's all about money to these folk - bloody heartless idiots."
Andromeda and Ted found them, and they went for lunch in the very large canteen used by Ministry workers. There were loads of things available - soups, salads, hot foods, sandwiches, baked treats. Sirius went rather plain and got a chicken and bacon baguette, paired with a black Americano coffee and a chocolate bar. The others were saying there was fish and chips on offer today, and he did regret his choice slightly, but he supposed they were a regular thing and he could just get it next time. He grabbed a table that would comfortably fit them and any other colleagues that would join them.
They talked as they ate - Andromeda and Ted were involved in even more Death Eater trials - nobody really of note was on trial today apart from Walden MacNair and Avery Snr, - and they had been found guilty, but supposedly Rohan Nott was almost well enough to take the stand.
Robin Greengrass arrived shortly after, and sat next to Sirius. Manuel Zabini was hopefully meeting his son right now; they would be spending the whole 2 hour lunch break eating out at a cafe in London somewhere. "Have any of your wards decided on a career yet, Sirius?" Robin asked him.
"I don't think so - they're interested in a lot of things, so there's really no rush for them to decide yet. How?" He replied.
"My Daphne is looking at potentially getting an internship this summer at St Mungo's. They're advertising in the Prophet just now for Hogwarts students in fifth year and upwards, and offering a darn good wage considering… I think it was the ward that deals in treatment for potions and plant poisoning. Daph is in the process of filling out an application form, and Astoria will be counting down the days until she's old enough to apply, I reckon."
Sirius smiled fondly. "I have no doubt that Daphne will excel in that regard. She could put her mind to anything, that girl. Astoria too."
Robin looked proud as punch, as he always did when talking about his daughters. "You should let your kids come over to our manor one day. I'm sure they would love it."
Sirius knew that would definitely be the case. "I'll mention it to them, and I'm sure they'll accept right away." They could do with getting away from Black Manor for a day, and hanging out with their other school friends. He made a mental note to mention it to Amelia Bones - her niece Susan was a close friend of Harry, Amelia, Dorea and the Slytherin boys too.
After lunch, there was another voting session, but that only lasted another hour and a half, as they had gotten through all the current proposals for the month. With the voting session done for the day, he was a bit stuck on what to do until it was time to clock out and go home, but his colleagues had ideas.
Octavia Abbott had booked a meeting room beforehand, and he was surprised when Amelia Bones herself had shown up, considering she had to attend the Death Eater trials, but one of the trials had been very quick and ended earlier than expected, so she had managed to squeeze in time to meet with them.
"My friends, thank you for inviting me here to join you." The Minister said, smiling at them all.
"It's our pleasure, Minister, and thank you for coming at such short notice - we all know how busy you are." Octavia said.
"I hear that there are some plans in the works to bring new ideas to the Wizengamot?" Amelia Bones asked.
Manuel Zabini straightened up. "Indeed. We want to tell you about a few educational matters we are considering."
"Fire away." The Minister said, looking eager to hear their plans.
Sirius glanced down at his piece of paper and got to talking. "There are a few changes to Hogwarts we would like to make, for the better. First: We would like to make Healing a mandatory subject for all years. What we currently have outlined is that every student will be taught it once a week during the first term - September to December. After the Christmas holidays, students could then choose if they want to continue with it or not. That way, even if they choose not to carry on, they still have all the essential information needed if they ever find themselves in a situation where they need to heal themselves or others."
Amelia Bones smiled and nodded almost subtly as he spoke. "I'm quite glad this is being brought up. St Mungo's have said for years that everyone that gets Healing jobs at the hospital have to be trained on the job, as almost none of them have had the chance to ever get separate qualifications or experience before applying. This should alleviate some of that stress."
Octavia Abbott continued. "We also have an idea to make Muggle Studies mandatory. By doing this, it might eradicate some of the horrible prejudice that some pure blooded children are raised to believe about muggles. Now, this one will be quite hard to pass with so many old-fashioned pure blood families having seats, but we believe with some persuasion it could be passed."
"Bold and ambitious," Minister Bones was surprised but impressed, "but needed."
"Sirius's godson also proposed a Wizarding Culture class to be added - same principles as Muggle Studies, but instead it could be offered to muggleborn or half-blood children that are perhaps new to the world of magic." Robin Greengrass added.
"Sounds like something Harry would suggest," Amelia Bones said, looking at Sirius, and he knew she didn't mean it in a bad way. "He's got the making of being Lord Potter already."
He smiled heartily. Not that he would ever force Harry to get a job he didn't want to do, but he did silently hope that one day he might become Lord Potter, even if he only did the voting and the overall job part-time. He could negotiate and hold his own in a lot of different situations; and make alliances. He would excel as an Aristocrat. Amelia too; her tenacity, determination and sheer grit that she got from her father, would make her a formidable Lady Potter.
"These are brilliant ideas," Minister Bones said, eyeing them all fondly, "I am so glad for some progression. The next phase would be proposing it to the Wizengamot floor during a session, and gaging opinion."
"That should be easy - most of us here have seats either through Sacred 28 or the Ancient and Noble houses, and me and Ted are actually on the Wizengamot itself, meaning we can write the bill and validate its legality." Andromeda, who had been a bit quieter until now, voiced.
"Persuading might be difficult." Ted said.
"I might know an individual who could help in that regard," Minister Bones said, and then added at their expectant looks, "Xenophillius Lovegood. Now, I know a lot of people regard him as a bit eccentric and crazy, but you cannot deny that he is a talented, natural-born writer, which means he can be persuasive when he needs to be."
Sirius knew a few eyebrows were being raised at the mention of Lovegood, but even he had to admit the man would be an asset to them.
"We'll definitely consider him." Robin said.
Amelia Bones nodded, smiling. It seemed their little meeting was at an end, but it looked like the Minister wanted to say more.
"Is there anything else you would like to discuss with us, Minister?" Sirius asked, prompting her without asking directly.
The Minister gulped once before straightening up, and looked out at them whilst she was speaking. "I feel there is also work to be done elsewhere. We can be a proper united force not just within ourselves here in Wizarding Britain, but with other countries' schools and governments, too. I have contacted the French Minister for Magic, and they are of the same mindset and are willing for negotiations to be held at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic between a representative of my choosing and theirs. This is important for us, as it allies our two schools together and allows for a show of defiance against the dark forces at hand."
They took that in, and it was clear they all thought it a good idea. "That is a brilliant plan, Minister Bones. And it's a good start that we may already have an ally in the French. Though convincing schools like Durmstrang and Koldovstoretz will be next to impossible, what with their dark magic teachings." Graeme Macmillan said.
"For the representative, we need only look to the Department of International Magical Cooperation, as they have loads of diplomats and people skilled in international relations." Octavia said.
"I am glad we are in agreement," Minister Bones said. "We can talk more once we have more ideas or there's more developments. Now, me, Andromeda and Ted have to get back to throwing Death Eater's in prison."
They all smiled knowingly at that. They all made to stand up and bade farewell to Andromeda, Ted and the Minister, as they departed for the courtrooms.
"It's all starting to come together," Octavia said, and Sirius saw some of her daughter's hopefulness and optimism in her.
"It sure is, my friends." Robin added, and Sirius hoped the other wizarding schools were on the same line of thought as them.
This is what a reckoning looks like, he thought proudly.