The new Muggle Studies curriculum proved to be a success. While most of the muggle raised students already knew all the course material, they came to hear the comments of the pure-bloods. These proved to be hilarious, showing how little these people knew of the muggle world. Still, except for a few Slytherins, even the pure-bloods liked the new class, its facility and what was taught there. It was interesting to find how both worlds handled similar problems and arrived at different solutions. Stasis boxes, for example, were more flexible than refrigerators and could keep food cold or hot for longer periods, but electrical lighting gave much more flexibility than candles, torches, and other sources of light used by the magical world.
Harry enjoyed the visit of the Ministry's delegation that included some people from the Education Department along with Arthur Weasley, in the "expert" role. He let the Muggle Studies professor give the tour since he was older and could get more respect than Harry, who was too young for that.
After showing them the new facilities, the visitors enjoyed some films, shown on the large projection television. At Hermione's recommendation, the films were about modern transportation (cars, trains and aeroplanes,) about space exploration and about modern warfare. Her main objective was to change the OWL and NEWT tests on the subject and make them up-to-date.
The visitors were all pale when they left, considering this almost a life-changing experience. Arthur Weasley stayed behind. "I've never thought that I'm so wrong about the muggle world. Why have you never told me?"
Harry smiled apologetically, but Hermione answered. "Would you have believed us? We're still barely older than little children. Most adults don't even listen to children. You would have thought these were just nice stories, like the fairy-tales you read to small children before they fall asleep. Besides, you never needed us to learn, had you really wanted to. You could have checked what muggles wear and use similar clothing to merge and live among them for a week or a month. You can still do it. Leave your wand at home and rent an apartment in a muggle town. Buy grocery, go to their pubs, visit their shops, watch television, visit the theatre. You'll learn that way much more than if we tell you things. You'll find a whole world you know nothing about, with art, science, politics and entertainment that's mostly unknown to you. Just don't look at it as 'quaint'. It's not. Actually, the magical world is more quaint than the muggle one, staying behind in most aspects."
Arthur listened attentively and then sighed. "I don't think that I can take more than a week, but I'll try to do this as soon as I can."
"Can't you take it as a kind of job training?" Hermione asked, "If so, you may have even your expenses covered."
"I'll have to check it. Despite the visit today, it's still an uphill fight to get anything changed concerning muggles," Arthur told her.
"We'll try to change that soon," Harry told him. "It's about time that magical Britain catches up with the times."
Arthur nodded hesitantly. He knew these children were right, but he doubted that even he would be able to accept rapid change. He knew for sure that others would be even harder to accept it.
\/\/\/
This visit made the Potters think about some other aspect of their position.
"We should have already taken our positions in the Wizengamot," Harry noted.
Hermione hesitated. "We should, in principle, but will it not be counterproductive? I mean, they'll still treat us like children. Maybe we should appoint some proxies, who would represent our views and act on them, but who'd be respected as adults."
Harry shook his head doubtfully. "Whom can we trust to represent our views? I don't think that anybody who grew up in the magical world would do, but the others dismiss all muggle-born, seeing them as inferior."
"We can't change that at once," she said sadly.
"We may still find some trustworthy people. Sirius is doing fine, for now, but he can't spend enough time on this." He pondered the problem for another moment. "Didn't Sirius mention his cousin Andromeda, who married a muggle-born? Since she was born and raised as a Black, they couldn't dismiss her, yet she should know enough about the muggle world to represent us faithfully."
Hermione smiled. "She may do. We'll have to ask Sirius first and then interview her, but I believe she can be a very good representative if she agrees to do it."
Sirius only had high praise for his rebellious cousin. It still took two weeks to set a meeting, since Andromeda was currently working as an attorney who was highly sought after. This worried Harry, who felt that she might be too busy to take another obligation on herself, although Hermione had a different opinion. "After all that Sirius told us about her, I'm sure she would like to take the job, if only as another way to spit in the face of the pure-blood ideas she'd been raised with."
\/\/\/
Andromeda invited them to meet at her home. "If nothing else, it would give us more privacy than most other places we can meet at and will also give us a chance to get to know each other in a more relaxed atmosphere."
They used the Floo to reach the Tonks residence, a mostly muggle house, close enough to London to allow them to commute by train only, not needing any magical transportation or additional bus or taxi rides. Andromeda Tonks welcomed them along with her husband Ted. "Welcome Lord and Lady Hogwarts…"
Harry lifted his hand to interrupt her. "Please call us by our given names, Harry and Hermione. We don't need any formality right now."
Andromeda smiled. "Then you should call me Andy and my husband is Ted. We also have a daughter who already graduated from Hogwarts. You may meet her later if our meeting stretches past dinner time."
After welcoming Sirius, who escorted the young couple, they led the visitors to the sitting room. Sirius managed to whisper to Harry, "They named their daughter Nymphadora and she hates that name. She wants to only be called Tonks."
Harry could only sympathize.
The meeting turned quite fruitful. The fact that both Tonks were lawyers came in very handy, since they knew all the laws relevant to the situation and could give solid advice. It was only later after they discussed and agreed on all the main points that Hermione managed to recall a certain fact. "Aren't you on retainer by the Potter estate?"
Ted smiled. "Indeed, we are. James Potter hired us to handle the legal aspects of some of the Potter businesses and we continued doing so even after that fateful Halloween, although we didn't feel like we did enough to justify our retainer. With this business, we may finally justify it."
"You knew my father?" Harry asked, sounding more like a child than a mature lord.
Ted smiled sadly. "I only met him a few times. He was very sharp when doing business and our meetings were short and efficient, but not personal in the slightest. Sorry."
Despite finishing their business quite early, Andy invited them to stay for dinner. She wanted to get to know them a bit better and also to chat with her "favourite cousin" as she called Sirius, who seemed quite proud of her words.
The Potters felt very welcome, as if finding some more family, and easily agreed to stay for dinner. "You may have a chance to meet my daughter if we're lucky," Andy added.
Indeed, shortly after they sat at the dinner table, the door opened and a young woman with spiky pink hair stepped in. Andy's eyes sparkled as if she was going to play a prank. "Nymphadora, these are Lord and Lady Hogwarts, and you already know my cousin, Lord Black."
The young woman looked extremely annoyed at the introduction. "Glad to meet you two, after hearing so much about you. I'd like you to call me Tonks, with no first name." She then glared at her mother, who didn't seem bothered at all.
"She's just been accepted to the Auror academy, after passing their rigorous tests," Andy told them proudly, gaining a slightly softer glare from her daughter.
It was a pleasant evening for them all. Even Nym, as Sirius called her, proved to be a very pleasant person, as long as her first name was not mentioned. The whole family lived a mostly muggle way of life, with only a few magical enhancements. The Potters considered that as a good recommendation.
By the time they returned to Hogwarts, both Potters felt like they got a very good representative to care for their political interests. They were also glad to find a new friend in Nym.
\/\/\/
With WWN and The Prophet no longer under the Ministry's control, the Potters found it easy enough to deflect any political attack, not even needing to use their control to influence the media. Andy was very effective in her role and also used to brief the reporters after each meeting of the Wizengamot, giving full information of all the proceedings, even when no reporters were present during the meeting. The reporters found her briefings to be very accurate and concise, making her a reliable source of news, unlike most other members of the Ministry, who gave very skewed information and mostly lies.
Fudge was voted out of office during the spring and Madam Amelia Bones was elected as interim Minister for Magic, with Potter's support.
As the Potters requested, Andy had shamed the Wizengamot into agreeing to a vow that forced all members to consider the public interest over any other concern. A similar vow was required of all Ministry's employees, practically eliminating bribes and participation in any anti-Ministry organization, like the Death Eaters. This caused a few resignations and some of the dark families protested, but since the media saw it as a positive step to better government, their protests were ignored.
\/\/\/
Unknown to the Potters, some people at the Ministry, along with Albus Dumbledore, were working to reinstate the TriWizard Tournament, each for his own selfish motives. Since this was done to enhance inter-school relationships, at least presumably, the vow wasn't activated. This was done in such a low-key that Andy failed to find about it before May. She then sent a letter to Harry.
"Dear Lord Hogwarts,
I found out that some elements in the ministry, mainly the Department for International Cooperation and the Department for Sports, with the cooperation of Headmaster Dumbledore, had been working on reinstating the TriWizard Tournament. This tournament had been discontinued two hundred years ago due to the high fatality rate among the champions. Its tasks were known to be extremely dangerous even to fully-fledged wizards. I find the idea highly unacceptable and would like to use your position at the Ministry to cancel it. I'd also consider using your position at Hogwarts for the same ends.
Yours, Andy,"
The Potters had no doubt, once they read the letter. Despite it being breakfast in the Great Hall, they turned to the Headmaster and asked, "Why are you working to bring danger to Hogwarts in the form of the TriWizard Tournament?"
Dumbledore grimaced. He had hoped he could keep this a secret until it was too late to cancel. "Maybe we should talk about this in my office?" he suggested, trying to add some mild compulsion to his words.
Harry stayed firm. "No! This tournament could endanger too many of the students. It's their right to understand why the Headmaster of this school, who should care about their safety first, even contemplates such a dangerous event."
This wasn't going the way Dumbledore wanted, not at all. "I intend to make the tournament quite safe, to ensure that nobody dies and nobody even gets hurt badly. The main reason is to make friends at other schools and promote cooperation, you know."
Harry didn't buy it. "There are other ways to make friends and promote cooperation. A tournament with a single champion for each school is not one of them. As the owner of Hogwarts, I forbid you from bringing the tournament back to life. It was cancelled for very good reasons and should never be resumed. I'll also inform the Ministry that if it tries to force Hogwarts to participate, it would be considered a hostile act and treated accordingly."
Dumbledore was fuming inside. He'd been planning this for several years, intending to somehow involve Harry, and now it was all destroyed. Why couldn't this brat act as expected of him?
Yet Harry had some more to say. "Since you acted in a way that endangers students, you can no longer stay the Headmaster of this school… unless you take a vow to never act in a way that could endanger any student. We shall make sure that the vow allows enough freedom for the more dangerous activities at school, but nothing more than that."
Dumbledore lowered his head in defeat. He knew that many students would write home about this and he expected to receive quite a few howlers. Still, he couldn't contemplate leaving Hogwarts, which meant that he'd have to take that vow if only to keep his minimal influence on Potter.
\/\/\/
The Potters spent the rest of the day phrasing the vow, also consulting with Andy, Ted and the other lawyers in retainer. At dinner time, they had the final text of the vow ready.
Hermione hesitated to do it in front of the whole school, but Harry thought it was the right way to ensure that Dumbledore would be forced to comply even in case they still missed something. Giving the vow in front of the whole school would assure that.
They asked Sirius to be the binder for the unbreakable vow that Dumbledore gave to Harry with all the students and staff members as witnesses. Dumbledore grimaced but could find no excuse to delay it or to misread the vow, that was written with big capital letters, so it could be clearly read even from a few feet away. By the time everybody went to bed, the Triwizard Tournament was buried back into history, where it belonged. The Potters could finish the third year and go on vacation without that problem nagging in the background.