10 July 1988
That day, Harry finally got time to continue reading the book, "The Wizengamot, voting patterns and alliances from 1788BC to 1987BC" by Thorton Gramp. He flipped to the page on "pure-blood" families, wanting to know more about their traditions and way of life.
Pure-blood was the term for wizarding families who claimed to have no Muggles, Squibs, Muggle-born, or half-bloods in their family tree. Most wizards and witches considered an individual to be a pure-blood if his or her parents and grandparents were not Muggles, Squibs, or Muggle-born. The pure-blood families in 1987 were listed as follows:
Abbot
Avery
Bagshot
Black
Brown
Borgin
Bones
Bulstrode
Burke
Carrow
Crabbe
Croaker
Crouch
Dagworth-Granger
Dolohov
Emrys
Fawley
Flint
Gamp
Gaunt
Goyle
Greengrass
Gryffindor
Hufflepuff
Lestrange
Lefay
Longbottom
Macmillian
Malfoy
Marchbanks
Moody
Nott
Ollivander
Ogden
Parkinson
Peverell
Rookwood
Potter
Prewett
Prince
Ravenclaw
Rosier
Rowle
Selwyn
Shacklebolt
Shafiq
Slughorn
Slytherin
Travers
Wealsey
Wilkes
Yaxley
~OOOO~
Of all these families, some had seats in the Wizengamot. The Wizengamot was Wizarding Britain's high court of law and parliament. They held different numbers of seats, based on how ancient and noble their families were.
Abbot - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Avery - Noble house( 3 seats )
Bagshot - Noble house (3 seats )
Black - Most Noble and ancient house (10 seats )
Brown - Noble house (3 seats )
Borgin - Noble house (3 seats )
Bones - Noble and Ancient house (5 seats)
Bulstrode - Noble house (3 seats )
Burke - Noble house (3 seats )
Carrow - Noble house (3 seats )
Crabbe - Noble house (3 seats )
Croaker - Noble house (3 seats )
Crouch - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Dagworth-Granger - Noble and Ancient house ( 5 seats)
Dolohov - Noble house(3 seats)
Emrys - Legendary house ( 25 seats )
Fawley - Noble house (3 seats )
Flint - Noble house (3 seats )
Gamp - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Gaunt - Most Noble and ancient house (10 seats )
Goyle - Noble house (3 seats )
Greengrass - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Gryffindor - Most Noble and Most Ancient house (17 seats )
Hufflepuff - Most Noble and Most Ancient house (17 seats )
Lestrange - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Lefay - Legendary house (25 seats)
Longbottom - Most Noble and ancient house (10 seats )
Macmillian - Noble house (3 seats )
Malfoy - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Marchbanks - Noble house(3 seats)
Moody - Noble house (3 seats )
Nott - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Ollivander - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Ogden - Noble and Ancient house ( 5 seats)
Parkinson - Noble house( 3 seats )
Peverell - Legendary house(25 seats)
Rookwood - Noble house( 3 seats )
Potter - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Prewett - Noble and Ancient house( 5 seats )
Prince - Noble house( 3 seats )
Ravenclaw - Most Noble and Most Ancient house (17 seats )
Rosier - Noble house( 3 seats )
Rowle - Noble house( 3 seats )
Selwyn - Most Noble and ancient house (10 seats )
Shacklebolt - Noble house( 3 seats )
Shafiq - Noble house( 3 seats )
Slughorn - Noble house( 3 seats )
Slytherin - Most Noble and Most Ancient house (17 seats )
Travers - Noble house( 3 seats )
Wealsey - Noble house( 3 seats )
Wilkes - Most Noble and Most Ancient house (17 seats )
Yaxley - Noble house( 3 seats )
There were 27 noble houses, 11 noble and ancient houses, 4 most noble and ancient houses, 5 most noble and most ancient houses, and 3 legendary houses. Seats were also allocated to the Minister of Magic( 4 seats ), Head of Department of Law Enforcement (2 seats), Head of Department of Mysteries(2 seats), and Senior Undersecretery to the Minister of Magic(1 seat), Headmaster of Hogwarts (5 votes), ICW representative ( 5 votes), Supreme Mugwump ( 10 votes ), (if there was one) and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot (1 seat). Seats were also given out to those awarded the Order Of Merlin. Order of Merlin( First Class) 2 seats. In total, there were at least 356 seats. Some of the seats were currently dormant, which means that a heir has not been found, thus it was empty. Some of the seats were leased to other families. For example, the Gaunt seat, which holds ten votes, was leased to the Blacks, to help the Gaunts pay their loans. Some of the seats meanwhile were given to other families as proxies, to help them vote in the Wizengamot. For example, the Yaxley and Travers seats were given to the Blacks as proxies and the Crabbe and Goyle seats were given to the Malfoys as proxies. The respective families could take back their seats anytime they wanted. As for the Blacks, there was no heir to be found, as the only surviving male, Sirius Black was sentenced to Axkaban for life and he was supposedly kicked out by the Blacks in 1976. As a result, the Black seat, and all the seats it held were considered dormant in 1981. However, in 1984, Albus Dumbledore got control over the Black seats and its proxies. The Chief Warlock was meanwhile elected by the families in the Wizengamot. The one who had the most number of seats supporting him and had over 116 seats would be selected as the Chief Warlock. It was an electable position, and elections were held every two years.
Alliances:
The first one and the current leader in the Wizengamot was the Phoenix Party. It was helmed by Albus Dumbledore, the Current Chief Warlock. It had 172 seats. The families backing it were Albus Dumbleodore( 23 seats), the Longbottoms( 10 seats ), Gryffindor ( 17 seats) Potters( 5 seats) held by Dumbledore as proxy, Weasleys ( 3 seats ) held by Dumbldore as proxy, Prewett ( 5 seats ) held by Dumbledore as proxy, Moody(3 seats), Abbott ( 5 seats), Brown (3 seats) , Shacklebolt ( 3 seats), Bagshot (3 seats), Ollivander ( 5 seats), Croaker ( 3 seats), Crouch (5 seats), Ogden ( 5 seats), Marchbanks ( 3 seats), Bones (5 seats), Dagworth-Granger ( 5 seats) Black(10 seats), Gaunt (10 seats), Travers( 3 seats) , Yaxley ( 3 seats) Wilkes(17 seats), Shafiq(3 seats), Rowle(3 seats), Rosier (3 seats) held by Dumbledore as proxy, Minister of Magic( 4 seats ), Head of Department of Law Enforcement (2 seats), Head of Department of Mysteries(2 seats), and Senior Undersecretery to the Minister of Magic (1 seat).
Then, there was the neutral party. Its leader was Cyrus Greengrass. It held 47 seats.
It consists of: Greengrass(5 seats), Selwyn(10 seats), Slughorn (3 seats), Prince(3 seats), MacMillian ( 3 seats), Hufflepuff,( 17 seats) , Fawley( 3 seats ) , Flint ( 3 seats).
Then, lastly, there was the Dark Alliance led by Lucius Malfoy. It held 62 seats.
It consisted of: Malfoy( 5 seats), Avery ( 5 seats), Borgin( 3 seats), Burke ( 3 seats), Bulstrode( 3 seats), Carrow ( 3 seats), Nott (5 seats), Parkinson ( 3 seats ), Lestrange (5 seats), Dolohov ( 3 seats), Crabbe( 3 seats), Goyle ( 3 seats), Rookwood (3 seats), Slytherin (17 seats) held by Malfoy as proxy.
The neutral party and Dark Alliance frequently voted together on bills supporting Dark creatures' rights. However, the neutral party and the Dark Alliance had different ideas on muggle-born. The Dark Alliance wanted Muggle-born permanently gone, but the neutral party wanted muggle-born to accept wizarding traditions and strictly adhere them before letting them into the wizarding world.
Despite this, one key issue that always agreed on was the importance of removing Dumbledore. They tried countless ways, such as taking back the Black seats, or adding a limit on the number of proxies a party can hold, but all were unsuccessful.
Dumbledore's party meanwhile supported muggle-born, as they were made up of light wizards. They pushed through bills that made their entrance into the magical world easier. The bills Dumbledore proposed usually managed to get through, as despite his party not having more than half the votes, in other words more than 173, they managed to get through as some of the heavy-weight seats, such as Peverell, Emrys and Lefay, were dormant. The seats held up to 75 votes, thus reducing the majority needed for votes to pass through. Albus Dumbledore has been the Chief Warlock since at least 1972 and is set to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Hearing that the light party was in charge and was supporting muggle-borns' entrance into the magical world, Harry felt his heart liven up in delight. He would be restricted less than in the 1940s, and would thus be ridiculed less. However, there were still many who did not support the muggle-borns. How he hoped that when he entered the magical world, he would not be treated badly or abused based on blood-purity by those who hated muggle-borns with a passion. The book's author also expressed regret at the fact that many magical holidays were changed to muggle ones at Hogwarts. The author expressed that it was a shame that Dumbledore sought to keep muggle-born uninformed about magical traditions and how Dumbledore was too appealing to the muggle-born. Privately, Harry agreed with the author. Every society wanted to keep their beliefs and traditions and seek to influence others to also follow their traditions and beliefs. Thus, the magical world of course was right to demand the right to keep their traditions and festivals, and ensure that the muggle-born who did not know it strictly adhere to it once they step foot in the magical world. Dumbledore, doing the exact opposite, by introducing pure-blood and half-blood children with magical parents to muggle traditions and even instilling the festivals in Hogwarts was bound to cause an uproar. Harry thought that Dumbledore may have gone too far in "accommodating" the muggle-born. The muggle-born should learn the wizarding traditions as they were considered "immigrating" to the magical world. Additionally, if the muggle-born were kept ignorant about the magical tradition, they may not observe the proper behaviour when they have graduated from Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore was no longer there to protect them. They might be ridiculed, lose job offers, or even not have a magical house to live in due to their ignorance and non-adherence to magical traditions, customs and beliefs.
Some of the changes Dumbledore made was changing "Yule" to Christmas in Hogwarts. Yule was a traditional winter festival that was celebrated in Northern Europe in pre-Christian times. It celebrated the winter solstice and involved great feasts. Dumbledore, in Harry's opinion, did a great disservice to both the magical community and the muggle-borns by changing magical traditions with muggle ones. He was sure that he would write about this to Headmaster Dumbledore when he entered the school.
~OOOO~~OOOO~
Next, he looked at the Overall structure of the Ministry of Magic.
The Minister of Magic was an electable position, where elections are held every 5 years. Each person had a vote, regardless of their blood-purity. Millicent Bagnold was the current Minister of Magic, yet she is highly rumoured to retire in 1990, when her current term ends. Albus Dumbledore is the clear favourite to take over. However, he has shuuned the post of Minister of Magic 5 times, refusing to take over, instead prefering to remain Hogwarts' Headmaster, a position he has helmed since 1968.
The offices were as follows:
Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Barty Crouch was the current head of DMLE, short for Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was also set to throw his name in for the post of the Minister of Magic. The next election would be held in 1990. The Department is a combination of police and justice facilities. It oversees the trial of criminals and is in charge of the Auror Corps, people who catch criminals. It is often known as the biggest and most important ministry department. The Auror Corps is made up of Aurors or Hit-wizards, who track down criminals and ensure that they are caught by all means. The current head of Auror Corps is Alastor Mad-Eye Moody, and the Debuty Head is Rufus Scrimegour. Other offices include the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, which pursues day-to-day law offences; the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and the improper Use of Magic office.
The Department of Mysteries
It is a highly secretive department, made up of Unspeakables. It is unknown what they do as they are not allowed to speak about it. Inside the department includes the Hall Of Prophecy and the Veil Of Death. The head of Unspeakables is Saul Croaker.
Department of International Magical Cooperation
This is another big department, in charge of diplomacy. The Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation is also named the top diplomat in the country, with wider influence beyond Britain than even the Minister of Magic. However, the one who had the biggest influence was Albus Dumbledore, due to him being both the ICW represntative form Britain and the Supreme Mugwump. Among the duties of the Department of International Magical Cooperation are: working with magical governments of other countries, setting standards for trade, creating regulations for things like cauldron thickness, work with the Department of Magical Games and Sports for international events, and holding the British seats in the International Confederation of Wizards.
Other minor departments include the Department of Magical Transportation, which is in charge of portkeys, Department of Magical Games and Sports, in charge of setting up events on British soil, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, in charge of liasoning with other magical creatures, and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, in charge of obliviating people, and reversing accidental magic. Obliviating people means erasing people's memories.
Harry was very curious to find out how the wizarding government worked. He was amazed at the number of departments needed for the wizarding world to truly operate. He also found out that about 2000 people were employed by the Ministry of Magic. That was almost half of the wizarding population and Harry realised how limited the jobs were. For example, the number of jobs that a person can apply for is around 3000, which includes the teachers at Hogwarts and the shops at Diagon Alley. Almost 2000 people would become jobless! Harry was shocked out of his wits by this number. Inwardly, he wondered how the 2000 jobless people would survive. Harry knew that most of the influential pure-blood did not have to really do tough work as they had the money and influence needed to survive. Rather, they often worked from the background, by funding projects to elevate their social standing. The Malfoys were one such family. Lucius Malfoy was one of the most influential people in the world. He additionally owned the Malfoy enterprise, which employs workers to do everything and anything, like designing and building, helping the Malfoys earn tons of money. The Malfoys were a self-sufficient family and were widely considered the top 10 active families in Magical Britain.
Harry wondered how he would survive in the wizarding world after he graduated from Hogwarts. As a young boy, he hadn't really thought of his future career. It would definitely be interesting to see where he would end up.
~OOOO~~OOOO~
Author's notes
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