Lucius stood briefly. "The House of Malfoy also reaffirms our agreement." He inclined his head in Sirius's direction.
"You'll be happy to know, I'm done." Sirius said. He sat down and let the chamber murmur about what the Black notices revealed.
Dullard gathered himself, looked at the order of business and blanched. "The floor is ceded to Mister Malfoy as proxy for the House of LeStrange."
Lucius held his cane lightly as he got to his feet. "The House of LeStrange announces the death of Rodolphus and Rabastan LeStrange as confirmed by the Warden of Azkaban yesterday."
Silence once again met the announcement. It didn't take a genius to put together the stripping of their magic and the harshness of Azkaban and come up with cause and effect to their deaths. Sirius was not unaware that he was being regarded with no small amount of horror by some in the chamber.
Dumbledore sighed heavily. "The death notice is so registered."
Lucius lifted his cane. "As the marriage between the House of Black and the House of LeStrange was dissolved and the union bore no Heir, I declare line extinction. The LeStrange seat returns to the floor."
"So noted." Dumbledore said. "Nominations for the seat should be submitted to the clerk in advance of the August session of the Wizengamot when nominees will be presented and the seat voted upon."
Again a flurry of excited voices had to be shouted into order. It had been a long time since a seat had become vacant.
Dullard rose again. "The floor is ceded to Madame Longbottom."
Augusta stood up and smoothed her robes. "The first notice is to announce that Neville Frances Longbottom has been accepted by blood, by law and by magic as the Heir of the House of Longbottom."
Dumbledore regained his twinkle as he recognised the notice.
"My second notice is to announce the renewal of the ancient alliance between the House of Longbottom and the House of Potter. We once again stand together." Augusta proclaimed proudly.
Sirius got to his feet. "As Potter Regent, I confirm the renewal of the ancient alliance between the Houses and echo that we once again stand together."
"The alliance is so recognised," murmured Dumbledore.
Sirius's eyes narrowed as he sat down; was that a hint of alarm or worry in the old wizard's features?
Augusta sat and Dullard sprang up. "The floor is ceded to Lord Black as proxy for the House of Potter."
Sirius pushed himself out of his very comfortable seat once more. "My first notice is to register that Minerva Elaine McGonagall will be appointed as Regent to the House of Potter in the event of my untimely demise while Lord Potter remains a minor, as requested by the will of James and Lily Potter."
Dumbledore nodded and didn't argue; he recognised the notice as per protocol.
"The second notice is to announce the formation of an alliance of friendship between the House of Potter and the House of Weasley." Sirius nodded his head to a pleased Arthur who stood up and confirmed the alliance.
Sirius sat down again, pleased with the way the notices had gone. Once he and Bill Weasley came to an arrangement with Gringotts the life debt could be announced and settled too.
A brief recess was called and Sirius was pleased when Lord Bones – another old Potter ally – turned in his chair to talk with him about renewing the alliance. It prevented any further approaches especially that of Dumbledore's.
Legislative business then took precedence for a while; a new law governing transport regulations for portkeys was voted down as it attempted to restrict the rights of Heads of Houses to create and maintain portkeys to their own properties; a law that should have been presented regarding the rights of werewolves was withdrawn by the Minister for revision with apologies to the Wizengamot; revisions constituting some minor amendments to the European treaty on the Statute of Secrecy passed easily enough.
A lunch recess was called. Sirius ducked out for a bathroom break and to talk with Remus – Harry had woken briefly, eaten some soup and gone back to sleep. He caught up with Augusta who pulled him into the separate dining room available to Wizengamot members and watched amused as both Bertie and Amelia ambushed Dumbledore on the other side of the room to prevent him from approaching Sirius.
The afternoon session of the Wizengamot shifted to the Ministerial budget review. Additional funding was approved for security at the Quidditch World Cup but only just. Sirius took note of who had voted against it with interest. He was sure Amelia had made the same observations.
Cornelius wound up for his final item. "Recently, I found to my dismayed surprise that the muggles world has advanced sharply in inventions, something they call technology, and in producing medicine and weapons thanks to something called science."
He looked around the chamber as whispers broke out.
"There are machines in the sky that can take pictures of our world; machines that can communicate these pictures instantaneously to all muggles with a push of the button on something called computers." He said gravely. "There are reports of weapons based on biological information. Imagine a disease that could target wizards alone! I fear for the safety of the Statute of Secrecy and our population unless something is done!"
Wilkes raised his wand and was recognised. "Surely you exaggerate? I remain confident that we retain the advantage."
"The muggles are muggles; nothing special." Jugson declared as he was recognised.
A wand went up and was recognised; it was a witch called Alison Bunting; a muggleborn witch who had been awarded the Order of Merlin for saving a group of children in the last war. "As someone who actually spends time in the muggle world, I don't share your confidence, Lord Wilkes, or your view, Mister Jugson. The wizarding world may hold some advantages but what use is obliviation when the incident is recorded on a machine and played back like a wizarding picture in full technicolour glory?"
Sirius could see some people frowning in confusion at her words.
"I share Minister Fudge's concern and support his raising this issue." Bunting concluded.
Nott was next. "I am concerned that our Secrecy could be affected or that they are developing weapons for which we would have no knowledge to counter. If there is a threat, we would be idiots to stick our heads in the sand and ignore it until it was too late."
Another muggleborn Order of Merlin recipient stood up. "I'm not so concerned with the threat as the possibility that while the muggles advance we remain stagnant. There is much to be said for tradition but we would do well to take some of the muggle ideas and invigorate the wizarding world!"
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