"Merlin! He's solid." Alicia said as she reached over and touched Prongs. "This is incredible."
Prongs snorted.
"Why do you need us if you're this powerful?" asked Robert, his eyes glued to the stag which turned to give him a dirty look – he wasn't the only one.
Neville glared at him. "You'd leave an ally alone on the battlefield with an enemy? If Harry has to fight You-Know – Voldemort! – I will stand beside him."
"As will I," declared Susan.
A round of agreements filled the air as Harry gave the command for Prongs to depart.
"Hopefully none of us will have to fight Tom." Harry said loudly. "Sirius and your parents and guardians are doing everything they can so we don't have to, so it doesn't end up in all-out war like last time." He worried his lip a little before he charged on with his words. "But thank you for your support – all of you. It means a lot." It was a tad overwhelming and he didn't really want them to fight alongside him in truth; he'd rather they stayed safe.
There was a semi-awkward silence.
Harry cleared his throat as he realised it was probably up to him to smooth things over. "So, who's going to the Quidditch World Cup final?"
Terry shot him a grateful look and raised his hand. "Me!"
The conversation turned to other things and by the time Sirius came to collect Harry, they were fiercely debating witches' rights to inherit Wizengamot seats and Alicia was half a phrase away from hexing Robert much to Harry's amusement.
XXXXX
Sirius yawned but his day wasn't over. If he had thought things were hectic before his first Wizengamot session, it had snowballed with the advent of the second. Who knew politics could be so tiring? He was beginning to get a whole new appreciation for his grandfather's swan-like competence now he understood just how much paddling went on under the surface. Their politics were completely at odds but in hindsight Sirius had to admire the man's work ethic. It also begged the question of why his grandfather had ever gone into exile after the defeat of Voldemort and removed himself from politics.
He shook his head and focused on writing up his notes on the afternoon tea they'd attended with the Potter alliance that afternoon including the comments Harry had made about his meeting with the Heirs. He glanced out of the window of his study in Griffin House and watched as Bill threw golf balls putting Harry through his paces on his broom.
Coming up with the idea of putting Bill into the service of the House of Potter had been one of his better ones, Sirius mused with satisfaction. Not only was Bill good at what he did but he was turning into a big brother for Harry in much the same way Frank Longbottom had been for James although the age difference was much greater. Bill was a good role model; smart but fun. Sirius checked his watch and called for Dobby, asking him to bring Harry in to shower and change before dinner and to request Bill come to the study.
He watched amused as the excitable elf popped into the garden and issued orders to his Great and Wonderful Harry Potter. The debate on house elves in the politics lesson had been hilarious with Hermione claiming it was slavery until Harry and Neville convinced her to talk with Kreacher and Dobby where she discovered a house elf's magic was dependent and tied to the magic of its Master. A powerful Master equalled a magically powerful elf. Dobby had admitted that while he considered himself a free elf, magic considered him Harry's and as soon as Harry had rescued him from Nasty Former Master Malfoy, Dobby had received an enormous boost to his own magic. Hermione had been left to contemplate how she could untie the magic so elves could be free. Her finishing comment had reminded Sirius of Lily when she had had the same argument with James.
A knock on the door startled him out of his memories and he called for Bill to enter.
"Pronglet on his way up the stairs?" checked Sirius.
"Yeah, looking forward to telling Hermione everything about today by the sound of it." Bill said with a grin.
Sirius waved him into a chair and turned to face him. "I know you were present when Harry and I debriefed earlier but you didn't say much and I would like to get your thoughts about this afternoon."
Bill nodded slowly in understanding. "His recap of where everybody stood on various issues was spot on. He has a sharp ear – he hears what they don't say and what they do."
Sirius nodded in reply; he'd been proud of Harry's report.
"He's…he's a natural leader but he doesn't know it yet." Bill said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "He has a charisma when he starts talking." He paused, his blue eyes meeting Sirius's with a gravity Sirius hadn't seen before. "He talked to them about Voldemort, told them about Tom Riddle, and they were captivated. He…he handled their fears and reassured them that the unbeatable monster they'd all heard about wasn't unbeatable but was human. He told them outright that if they all stuck together they could drive him away and they believed him." He paused again. "I believed him. I swear if Riddle had walked in at that moment, Harry would have had an army of Heirs beside him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him."
"That's…good." Sirius murmured, stunned. He'd known Harry had the potential to be a fantastic leader – it showed in how he helped Neville, corralled Hermione and even subtly influenced Ron. But to hear such a resounding report of just how much Harry had risen to the occasion at his first real leadership challenge…
"Neville's a good second," Bill continued, "he supported Harry very well."
"They've become good friends." Sirius commented, pleased.
"They make a good team." Bill confirmed. "More than that, when they shared their ideas, you could see the others sit up and take notice. I don't know if they worked it out beforehand or it was natural but Neville led some of that too…which is good for Neville's confidence."
"Did they ask anything…" Sirius floundered on how to phrase the question of whether the alliance kids had hurt Harry.
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