Straightening his formal Potter household robes, the handsome Potter family crest was proudly on display on his broadening chest.
The crest was outlined in traditional gold, to represent his status as the head of the Potter family, such as it was, with the Black family crest in a secondary position on his shoulder outlined in silver, indicating that he was both a part of the Black family as well as the currently acknowledged heir due to the silver outline.
Other, 'official' members of the family would traditionally have a bronze or plain crest on their own robes. He pushed his growing black mane behind his ears once again as he smiled for the cameraman, his pet reporter Rita and Sirius moving out of the picture.
The cameraman was surprisingly quick at his job, snapping several photos before he was even ready. He tasted an acrid carbon in the air from the puffs of smoke from the camera. He gave the man a quick glare to indicate his displeasure, as he purposefully positioned his hands on his lap, allowing the three magical rings to be seen in the photo.
The first two rings had been caught on camera many times before, but the third, now that one would certainly cause a stir, as soon as those even somewhat 'in the know' realized what it meant. He mightily resisted the urge to smirk at the chaos and confusion it would sow throughout magical Britain.
After a great deal of thought on the matter he had chosen to openly wear his Peverell Lordship ring for this interview with Rita, the ancient magical ring carefully positioned besides his Potter family ring, hopefully to show and imply its similar importance. Logically, he knew the photo wouldn't be able to capture the fine details of the ring, most people likely assuming it was simply for decoration, but one or two people might get what was being subtly implied.
He tried to make himself look powerful and regal for this next photo. To aid him in that goal he had also made the deliberate choice to wear the formal and traditional ancestral robes of the Head of the Potter family, rather than wearing something more fashionable and modern, like he normally would for such interviews.
Some of the credit for the idea of carefully crafting a successful public image had to go to his Aunt Andy, who had helped him choose some of his clothes. Her extensive experience with the courts as a lawyer meant that she understood the importance of projected self-image to obtain influence and to impress.
Rita's reporting enhanced this deliberate effect with flattering articles that portrayed him as a charming young heir to the masses. 'I need to properly thank the pair of them sometime,' he mentally noted as he continued to smile for the camera. The urge to fiddle with his robes was increasing.
Of course, the ceremonial robes he was now wearing were not the original ones the previous Lord Potters had worn to the Wizengamot for centuries. Unfortunately, those had been destroyed when his ancestral family manor had been burnt to the ground during a Death Eater attack, the same attack which had claimed the lives of his grandparents.
Once again, the idea that so much history had been lost, that the ancestral home that had nurtured his family and seen the births and deaths of so many of his ancestors was destroyed...it made his blood boil for revenge. To his credit these thoughts didn't appear on his face, the years at the Dursley's for once helping him to hide his true feelings of rage behind a mask of cheerfulness. He had plenty of experience at that.
These new robes had actually been carefully and painstakingly recreated using various old photos in the family vault and official pictures in old editions of the Daily Prophet, only slightly updated to give it a more modern and stylish look.
While he paid homage to the history of his family, the slightly more modern look suited him perfectly, because his family was essentially being reborn under his leadership. Now that he thought about it, the rebirth of his house was much like a phoenix rising from the ashes of destruction to begin a new life, this imagery led to a much more genuine smile to be captured by the camera.
In short, his new robes were a careful mix of modern fashion infused with the traditional symbolism of ages past, nicely linking him to the ancient symbolic robes his forbearers once wore for his first head long dive into the murky waters of Wizengamot politics and the back room deals of high society.
There were several good reasons for why he was wearing the traditional style family robes favoured by the head of houses for this photo session. The first being the robes would help tie him to the rich legacy of the Potter family visually.
It would also tell many of the neutral, more traditional families, that he was 'one of them,' cut from the same old cloth, rather than some presumptuous upstart. Hopefully this would help to influence some undecided votes in his favour. The new robes also screamed 'old money,' which was also a good thing, since the magical world revolved around gold and family connections.
And his choices in robes weren't solely an affectation meant to manipulate those people; he truly did have a great respect and appreciation for history and tradition.
After all, if you didn't learn from the past you were bound to make the same stupid mistakes as your ancestors did. Human nature hadn't changed much, even in a few thousand years. And furthermore, tradition helped to unite society under a common set of values and practices. However, unlike so many others in the wizarding world, he didn't see tradition as some unchangeable thing set in stone, never to be touched.
Yes, tradition in this case had been quite good to him, and was the sole reason why he was now able to sit in the Wizengamot despite only being 12 years of age, but it could also be an anchor.
An anchor around their collective necks leading to stagnation and decay and an unwillingness for society to adapt to a changing world. Some traditions should fall away when they became untenable or no longer made sense, so that new ones could take their place.
Of course, he would be keeping these 'modern' and most 'radical' thoughts firmly to himself for some time to come, rather than voice them aloud and alienate possible allies and votes, and lose potential business deals. Such reformist opinions could wait until he was older and in a far stronger political and financial position, with deep gold reserves and firmly developed trade deals that no one would want to see ended.
'I need to set up another meeting with Lord Patil,' he reminded himself, wondering if the well connected Indian ambassador that had dismissed his original proposal the previous summer would be more interested in dealing with him now. His star was on the rise. Soon his three Lordships would be known by all, his plans for the docks revealed, and his pockets flush with Malfoy gold and business assets. He considered the idea of sending the man a message, before ultimately dismissing it.
The main reason why he was hesitant, despite the Patil's business being a perfect fit for the Potter Docks, were the talks he had had with his friend Padma about Indian culture and the way they concluded large and long-lasting business deals. Her father, the Lord Patil, would almost certainly propose to seal the business deal and their families' long-lasting business alliance through marriage.
While he wasn't strictly opposed to it, and frankly knew that many British families would propose something similar under the circumstances, it just wasn't something he wanted at this time. The idea of simply going through with it was tempting though, despite his feelings. The Patils and the Potters would both benefit greatly for many years to come with such a business alliance in place. Their alliance could also make his penetration in foreign markets that much smoother as well. The camera flashed again releasing another puff of greyish smoke.
But the main reason for wearing the traditional ancestral robes of state was that he wanted people to begin associating him specifically with the position and persona of the Lord Potter, in preparation for Malfoy's upcoming trial and his eventual induction to the Wizengamot's ranks as an entity independent from Sirius, upon completing his time at Hogwarts.
Furthermore, from a practical perspective, despite the new robes being both stylish and very fashionable, the ornate and voluminous robes gave him the opportunity to have a number of protective enchantments and runes woven into the acromantula silk, with a discreet layer of thin, but highly protective and magically reinforced dragon hide skilfully hidden between the layers of silk.
The dragon hide was primarily meant to protect his centre mass and internal organs from harm, as the torso was the most likely part of him to be targeted and hit in a fight. Predictably, he also had several magically concealed and expanded pockets added to the interior of the robes. These were purposefully designed and tested so that they wouldn't be scannable by most detection charms, allowing him to smuggle an item or two within the robes.
He smirked at the idea of going into politics with hidden body armour and hidden pockets capable of carrying extra weapons. After all, wizard politics were often a bloody, backstabbing affair. Betrayers were often disguised as friends and allies, that's what made them so effective. It was often said that "the bigger the smile, the sharper the knife." Many had met their end by disregarding that bit of wisdom.
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A/N : if we get 400 power stones by the end of the week, I will release an extra chapter ;)
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