{Hogwarts Express}
Tension hung in the air as Malfoy and Susan glared at each other. I shared a look with Hermione, who looked confused too, but we both said nothing. After a few more moments, Draco scoffed as he tilted his nose up.
His eyes assessed Hermione for a few seconds, tracing her dress, before he dismissed her and turned to me. This time he took longer, his eyes tracking my features before he finally extended his hand.
"Heir Potter, it's good to make an acquaintance. Heir Malfoy of the Noble House of Malfoy." He replied with a carefully neutral voice.
I let his hand hang there for a moment before I stood up and reached for it. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Heir Malfoy, though you would have to pardon me. It seems I have some catching up to do regarding my Lineage. I apologize, the wonders of magic have distracted me a little from my obligations with regard to my house."
I finished my answer with a question, letting my hand drop after a firm shake, and I sneaked a look at Susan, who stared at me wide-eyed, but she nodded nonetheless.
"I'm sorry to hear that, heir Potter," Malfoy replied, a pleased smile on his face. "I can help you get familiar with the Pureblood circle." He offered in the end.
"I appreciate your offer, Heir Malfoy, but Heir Bones has offered to reintroduce me to the circle, and I have accepted her offer." I lied through my teeth as Malfoy paused and sent a brief glare at Susan, who replied in kind.
"I understand," Malfoy replied as he tried to think of something, but I cut him off.
"Please just call me Harry, I'm sure we can come to an understanding of where we stand after the sorting." I offered him a way out, and he quickly took it.
"Of course, Harry, feel free to call me Draco. Hopefully I'll see you in Slytherin," He finished with a proud look and then left, sliding the door of the compartment behind him. The whole situation had been civil, which didn't fit my understanding of Draco's character.
'Then again, he is not an 11-year-old entitled brat but an 18-year-old entitled brat. The only difference is that he's a bit smarter and more mature and has learned to hide his true feelings behind a mask.'
"Well," Susan said as I settled down in my seat, "I don't think anybody is ready for a Boy-Who-Lived being sorted into Slytherin."
I gave her a raised eyebrow as I replied, "What? I was just being polite, and sorry for using you as a shield. I did not get a good vibe from that guy."
"Vibe?" Susan asked before shaking her head. "No, that was okay. It's just you caught me off guard. Your way of speaking just matches those Slytherin legacies a lot. They are like little adults playing word games all day."
"Well, we are considered adults in the Muggle world," I motioned to Hermione and me, "there was no harm in being polite anyway. It makes dealing with trouble easier. What was his deal anyway? You guys don't see eye to eye."
"Well..." Susan hesitated, bit her lip, and shared a look with Hannah. They wiggled their eyes at each other in silent communication before Susan sighed and continued.
"The Noble House of Malfoy belongs to the Conservative branch of the Wizengamot. While the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Bones belongs to the Progressive side of the Wizengamot, on most issues regarding the future of wizarding Britain, our families always end up on the opposite side." Susan explained as both Hermione and I listened intently. We had totally forgotten to buy any books regarding this sort of stuff.
'Which was a bit stupid on my part. I'm still treating this as a world out of the books or movies, when in fact both of them were a bit shallow in the world-building department.'
"So this Wizengamot is like a voting body that passes laws?" Hermione questioned, immediately getting to the crux of the matter.
"Passes laws, oversees important trials, and even votes on the most important decisions that need to be taken. Both my family and yours, Harry, have a hereditary seat on the Wizengamot as founding families. My Aunt is the regent in charge of the votes of House Bones, and from my understanding, Professor Dumbledore, as your guardian, Harry, has taken charge of the regency of House Potter." Susan explained, and she looked reverent when she talked about Dumbledore.
That fact alone brought up another point I needed to consider: was the Dumbledore of this universe a good Dumbledore, a bad Dumbledore, or something in between? I have read too many fanfictions that have muddled my original understanding of the character.
"Right, what about Hermione, I mean, Muggle-born students, who represents them in this Wizengamot?" I asked, trying to understand this new avenue I hadn't explored.
"They don't have direct representation, Harry," Susan replied, and Hermione looked at her, confused. "The progressive side of the Wizengamot is considered a pro-Muggle-born side, and thus we can be considered their representatives of sorts." She said, but then shook her head.
"But as it is with politics, most of the houses vote for bills that have a direct positive windfall for their family, and thus, even with the houses divided into two sides, the neutrals have quite a lot of power in deciding what is actually done." Susan finished her explanation with a defeated sigh, it seems life as a pureblood heir is not all fun and games.
"So that's why that nonsense clause regarding sexual slavery is still present in the scholarship loan?" I asked, and Susan froze. Her eyes drifted toward Hermione a little guiltily.
The compartment fell silent, and I realized maybe I'm not cut out for these political games after all. I have somehow poked at the hidden wounds of my own allies just 10 minutes into an uneasy alliance.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you," I tried to mend the bridges. "It's just that it rubbed me the wrong way; slavery is a sensitive topic for most muggles, according to what we have been taught since we were kids."
"No need to apologize, Harry," Hannah said. It was the first time she had spoken to me and didn't shy away when I looked at her. "The progressive side has been trying to get that bill on the table, but we are always short on votes. Most of the neutral and Conservative families keep that law in place to get cheap labor for their various businesses. So abolishing that part of the bill is not really in their favor."
I stared at the pigtailed blonde and nodded, she hadn't stuttered as I imagined she would. That made it clear to me I'm making so many mistakes if this is a political game.
'Never judge a book by its cover,' I thought, looking at the ring on my finger. 'It looks like I need to get this examined by someone who knows what they are doing.'
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AN: Harry will learn how to play the politics game, he just needs to get out of this world being a fantasy game mindset.
P.S - 29+ advanced chapters on P,atreon: p,atreon.com/AndreaHodges