Disclaimer: You-Know-What about You-Know-Who owns You-Know-Which story :D

Author's Note: Used the third POV style this chapter while I mixed different styles last chapter.

HARRY POTTER THE PLAYBOY: REBORN

CHAPTER 3

Amendments

October 30, 1985, Albus's POV

Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock is considered many things, but mentally slow is not something anyone would ever dare think about him. He looked around the chamber of wizengamot thinking about what the hidden intention behind the bill being proposed by Lord Nott was. It's about the ministry regulations for the thickness of silver potion cauldrons. He didn't worry much, sure that he would solve it by the time the bill goes to vote.

He looked around at the other lords, spotting all the different factions seated around the small raised floor in the middle in a circular formation. Sitting directly towards the left of his magnificent chair is none other than Elphias Doge and other members who are considered part of the Dumbledore faction. Immediately towards their left is the Bones faction, led by the DMLE Director Amelia Bones, proxy for House Bones. And on their left is the Longbottom faction headed by Augusta Longbottom and on their left are their allies, the Potter faction headed by James Potter. On Albus's right, sat Lord Black and his faction, small but newly formed by Sirius Black from the ashes of dark families that supported pureblood superiority before the fall of Voldemort. He particularly smiled at the evidence that people can reform and work towards a better world. On their right sat the neutrals, Smith faction, Abbott faction and the Greengrass faction, people who were on the fence trying to maintain the status-quo. And then came the more conservative factions, Parkinson and Malfoy together known as Pureblood Alliance with the recent betrothal between Heir Malfoy and Lord Parkinson's daughter.

James and Sirius didn't particularly look interested in the bill reading happening which meant their votes would follow his direction. The good people they were, they never held a grudge against him for voting down some of their proposals however well intended they were. A quick meeting or two with his reasons had always satisfied them and left them apologising about their shortsightedness regarding their bills. Amelia and Augusta, veterans of the wizengamot political battles, always would figure out the long term consequences and generally vote alongside him since their ideals were the same. Amelia's whole family had been reduced to just two people because of that in the previous war. On the rare cases that they do not, they just follow his faction instead of letting the other factions take advantage. How the neutrals vote was always what makes or breaks the bills proposed on the wizengamot. He really needs to do something about it.

Looking back at James faction he recognised some kind of underlying tension, a signal that they or their allies would propose a bill today. He hoped it wasn't a prank one like a few of the times they tried before. Remus works hard on writing those for them. His eyes widened a bit and he quickly schooled back his face into normal mode before anyone else could take notice. He realized what the new scheme by the Pureblood Alliance is about. Most of the current potion masters and their apothecaries brew a few vials of wolfsbane potion to distribute for free among the disadvantaged werewolves. Increasing the cauldron thickness would mean the wolfsbane potion would need more Fairy wings to decrease the toxicity of the silver thus making the potion a lot more expensive to make. A lot more potion masters would stop helping the werewolf community and the werewolves would be further ostracized.

He caught the eye of Elphias and signalled him to vote No just in time for Lord Nott to start his final remarks. He saw the decision pass through the chamber and other progressive factions through whispers. Any bill proposed will only become a law when it attains special majority in the wizengamot chamber. For a bill proposed by the progressives, it needs the support of at least two of the neutral factions. On the other hand, bills proposed by the conservatives never get passed unless they try to do it indirectly like the one they were proposing. He finished his thoughts just in time for Lord Nott to close his speech.

"— and thus I hope that the respected Lords and Ladies will support this measure keeping in mind the economic benefits to our government."

The appointed scribe had started his motions to take the bill to vote while he started looking at the docket for the next agenda, confident that the bill would be voted down. He isn't surprised to find Sirius's name for a new bill proposal since he had predicted it from earlier observations. The voting started and as he expected, all the progressive factions had voted No while the conservatives and the neutrals voted Yes. That had brought a smile to his face knowing that the conservatives had wasted their influence and gold with the neutrals for nothing. The scribe finished recording and counting the votes and announced the results and other ending motions for the bill according to the protocol.

"Now, as for the next item on our agenda, we will be giving the floor to Lord Sirius Black who wishes to propose a new law," the scribe continued.

Sirius gave a roguish grin and walked toward the centre of the chamber and started looking at almost everyone of the members seated around him.

"My Lords and Ladies, I have here what I call the Post Disaster Amendment to Nobility Marriages Act, which basically allows a Heir to be a consort and that too to multiple Heiresses whenever the nobility population falls below a certain threshold. This measure allows the quick recovery of our population after disasters like wars or epidemics and to replenish the number of nobility houses." He wondered if Sirius was being serious or if it was another prank of his.

"We have had so many houses go extinct in the previous war with You-Know-Who and many houses had been reduced a mere shadows of their former selves. Therefore I hope we can come together in this time of need to work for the betterment of the wizarding world." Sirius finished his opening statement.

"Anyone seconding the bill?" the scribe asked.

"I, Lady Amelia Bones, proxy for House Bones second the bill proposed by Lord Black".

Albus was surprised to see Amelia seconding the bill. He expected James to second it if they are playing pranks on the wizengamot but Amelia seconding it changes everything. He had decided to take the proposal as a serious endeavour by the Potter-Blacks and re-evaluate on what the consequences would be. Amelia's house had been reduced to just her and her niece Susan and this law would help her house grow a little bit faster without the need to wait for the second son if they went the normal way of doing things. While Sirius started explaining the bill in detail, he decided that he should examine and think about the probable alliances that will be forming with marriages normally without this amendment and then conclude how they would change with this bill.

He expected James Potter to solidify his Alliance with Sirius Black by betrothing little Harry and Alex. James Potter, being the second son married for love but Harry being the heir means James would need to arrange a marriage as part of his duty to his House. Augusta would probably arrange a betrothal with Amelia to make sure that the Bones faction doesn't go out of the progressives and into the hands of the neutrals. The Abbott heiress and the Greengrass heiress will probably betroth themselves amongst other neutrals.

But with this amendment Albus could recognise the possibility of bringing in the neutrals support and thus getting free reign of the wizengamot for the progressives. Consort contract for Neville with the Abbotts and Harry with the Greengrasses in addition to their normal betrothals as he predicted before would get the special majority they needed without the need for peddling influence and gold whenever they wanted to change something. He recognised the genius behind the bill as Lily Potter as no one else can be this sneaky on the progressive side.

He looked at Lord Malfoy and he could see how the conservative leader is thinking about using this amendment to this advantage, no doubt planning the same thing he is planning. After he signalled Elphias about voting yes, there was no doubt in his mind about this bill being passed even if all neutrals vote No, as they would since they don't want to get gobbled up by the other sides. That done, he started thinking about immediately taking advantage of this by talking to the Abbotts and the Longbottoms. While the Greengrasses are the more powerful of the neutrals, they are more leaning towards the conservatives, which means he could not afford to let Neville near such influence since he is the Boy-Who-Lived. Lily and the Potters can withstand their influence though and he was sure Lily already planned for this. 'Yes, the coming days would be more busy', he thought.

December 21, 1985, Albus's POV

The negotiations between the House Abbott and the House Longbottom took a lot more time than expected since the McMillans were way more stubborn than he expected. The offers from Malfoy didn't help too. But he persevered and succeeded in securing a consort marriage contract for Neville to Hannah Abbott, Heiress of House Abbott. Neville is still free to choose someone else to love and marry for House Longbottom like how Augusta wanted initially which came out as a complete surprise to him. He realised that it is probably the reason Neville wasn't already betrothed to Susan Bones already. But that won't be an issue anymore since he could now work on negotiating with House Bones on behalf of the Longbottoms for a consort contract. He really needed to tie House Bones to the progressive side. After the devastation of their House in the last war, they had been teetering on the edge between the progressives and the neutrals. He hoped that the Potters are having success with the Greengrasses. He could get a much more detailed idea soon since he was on the way to the annual yuletide party by the Potters.

He gave one last look at his office before he stepped into floo with it's bright green flames calling out "Potter Manor". After a few seconds, he calmly stepped out of the fireplace once he came to a stop after the dizzying ride past the other floo connected fireplaces. After brushing of the light soot that might have sticked to him and smoothing his robes, he looked around the reception room and laid his eyes on his former pupil Remus Lupin.

"Hello Remus, Happy Yuletide and New Year. I hope you are doing fine."

"Yes, Albus. Happy Yuletide and New Year to you too. How are you?"

"I am good Remus. There are no students living in the castle for christmas this year which means the staff got a free reign for the winter holidays."

"That's good to hear Albus. You are the last one to arrive. Everyone's waiting."

"Then, let's not keep them waiting," he said.

"If you are not too busy, I would love to have a small discussion with you and get some advice. I am having little issues with the current bill I am working on."

"What are you working on my dear boy?"

"Lily wanted me to reduce the minimum age requirement for the British and Irish Quidditch League Cup. Harry wanted to try out for Puddlemere United."

"Ah. Well, for Harry to be selected based on his talents alone, Puddlemere United should be able to play him on European cup too."

"Yes, that is what I wanted your help with."

"I will see what I can do Remus. Let's meet and discuss about this next week, shall we?"

"Thanks Albus," said Remus with a smile.

As they walked slowly towards the main ballroom, he started thinking about Quidditch. He had heard from Sirius about the prodigious talent Harry has for Quidditch and is not surprised that they wanted him to start trying out for the league teams. He hoped that England can finally give some stiff competition to the other countries in Quidditch World Cup once Harry is selected for the national team. He realized that James will probably be the one to sponsor this new bill and reminded himself to support him when the moment comes.

He entered the ballroom and marvelled at the decorations this year. It looked like the Potters went all out this year. Generally, the Potters stayed at a small cottage in Godric's Hollow called "Potter Residence", while they used the manor only for gatherings and parties. It looked like the Potters had outdone themselves this year. He wondered why. He looked at Remus and asked the question, "Is there anything special this year for the Potters?"

"Oh. Yeah, they are announcing betrothals for Harry."

He should have expected that. Wasn't he the one who had been thinking that with the recent amendment to marriage law, little Harry will be betrothed soon? It seems that he had started to forget some things in his old age. He chuckled to himself and waited for the good news to come. He didn't have to wait long.

Lily, garbed in an impressive red robes similar to her hair color embroidered with emerald stags with her hair set loose slowly walked towards the staircase. She climbed up a few stairs and turned around. James strided towards her and joined her after a few seconds. They tinkled their glasses and immediately all the sounds and discussions happening all around the room stopped and everyone turned their heads towards the hosts.

"Thank you all for coming and hope you will all enjoy our hospitality. We have a few quick announcements to make." started James without any nervousness. Albus knew James had never been trained for this. He had been thrust into this role without any preparations after the death of his parents and brother during a Death Eater attack.

"As of today, House Potter and House Black had decided to betroth Harry James Potter, Heir Potter to Alexandra Isabella Black, Heiress Black as a consort."

A loud applause pierced the air and Albus joined in the celebration of happy news. He could see a few people surprised at using the recent amendment already. Polygamy hadn't been practiced much for the last century and it's no surprise that a few people thought that the amendment was just a precaution for the next magical disaster. He remembered Remus using the word betrothals — as in multiple — and couldn't wait for the next announcement regarding the Potter and Greengrass betrothal which would change the whole political arena of the british wizarding world.

After the applause had died down, James continued "We are also happy to announce that House Potter and House Bones had decided to betroth Harry James Potter, Heir Potter to Susan Eleanor Bones, Heiress Bones as a consort".

As the applause filled the air again, Albus started thinking furiously. He didn't expect this. He was expecting the Greengrasses. He didn't want Neville to tie up with them which means that the only other option in the progressive faction would be Harry taking into account the ages of the children.

"Announcing, Susan Eleanor Bones, Heiress Bones, Alexandra Isabella Black, Heiress Black and Harry James Potter, Heir Potter, Consort Bones, Consort Black." said James and both the Potters moved towards the right side of the steps.

He looked up towards the top of the staircase and he can see Harry appearing dressed resplendently in black robes with emerald trim mixed with red stripes. On his left arm is Alex dressed in blue robes with black trim and silver ravens. On his right is Susan in yellow robes with black trim and black diagonal crosses which he realized are two bones criss crossing each other. He remembered that the Bones family is very proud of their banner. They slowly descended the staircase.

He turned to his right side and asked, "Remus, What about the Greengrasses? Were there any complications in the negotiations?"

"What about the Greengrasses Albus?"

"Aren't they the reason you guys proposed the amendment?"

"No. What gives you that idea?"

"Then, what is the reason behind it? Was it a prank?" he asked wondering whether he misunderstood the whole situation.

"Well, kind of," mumbled Remus.

He raised an eyebrow asking his former pupil to elaborate further without actually asking the question.

"Sirius was drunk dreaming about Harems. Harry heard it and asked Lily for one."

He grimaced, "Oh."

"Yeah", Remus nodded solemnly.

"Then, it is imperative that I talk to the Potters about the Greengrasses." He looked around and noticed that Harry and his companions had already started to mingle with the guests receiving their congratulations and adorations. James and Lily had descended the stairs while he was talking to Remus and were getting themselves better acquainted with the guests. He could see Sirius and Amelia talking to each other near them. He slowly started to move towards them with Remus trailing while greeting the people he came across.

Once he reached the hosts, he started, "Hello Lily, Hello James. This is a beautiful party. And congratulations are in order for the betrothals."

"Thanks Albus," replied James while Lily smiled radiantly, proud of the work she did on organizing the party.

"Do you have any plans for betrothing Harry to Heiress Greengrass?" he asked hoping for a positive answer. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

"No, I think the current ones are enough. He still has the Potter line for which he can marry out of love." said James.

He looked into each of their eyes and said, "I think you should."

"I don't think it's needed Albus. Three are plenty," waved off Lily.

"If you don't do as I say, you will find that anymore bills you proposed will be voted down in wizengamot. And yes, including the bill for age restriction removal in quidditch leagues," he said plainly.

"Are you threatening us Albus?" asked Remus after widening his eyes. He could see Lily starting to get angry.

He sighed and said "No my boy. I am simply stating the facts. I thought you people already knew the consequences of the amendment and are actively working on them. If I had known that you didn't, I would've never supported the amendment."

"And what are those consequences?" bit out Lily. He could see the beginnings of her fiery temper.

"You all know that we have trouble reaching special majority in wizengamot without the support from neutrals. Currently, we can cajole the neutrals to support us when we really want it. But if the Greengrass faction tie up with the conservatives using this amendment, then they can completely block us from ever passing any law," he explained looking at the three pairs of eyes that are slowly starting to realize the magnitude of effects that are caused by their actions.

"The whole wizengamot will go into a deadlock." realized Remus.

"Yes, we need to quickly act and get the Greengrasses into our fold. The only thing stopping the Malfoys from already doing that was that they had to break the current contract with Parkinsons and renegotiate it."

"Breaking it would cost them a pretty knut," said Lily, her anger having abated.

"Which is the sole reason why they haven't made a move on Greengrasses yet. They are waiting for their finances to recover at the beginning of next month."

"Tell us what to do Albus," requested James.

He gave a pointed look to Lily and slowly whispered, "Betroth Harry to Heiress Greengrass. I don't care however you achieve it. You can promise favors from my faction too."

"However Albus?" asked Lily with her head tilting down and turning her challenging eyes to stare at him.

"Yes, However and using whatever means necessary," he said conveying the hidden intentions behind his words and hoping that everything will be alright soon.