Saviour of Magic

The Union of Two Souls

Amelia had been true to her word. After she and Harry had discussed the salient points of the bill and how it would be implemented, she had passed on her notes to the lawmakers in the D.M.L.E., and within a week, it had been presented before the Wizengamot. Harry had attended the session that one time, as he was now eligible to sit on the body, and gave a passionate speech about how magical children shouldn't have to grow up in such filthy conditions, and how Tom Riddle, an abused orphan, had become Lord Voldemort because wizards like Albus Dumbledore had ignored the obvious signs of abuse.

The bill had been passed by the body, more so because of the sheer terror of the remote possibility of another Dark Lord rather than the collective influence the House of Black and the Peverell Clan held over the masses. The Boy-Who-Lived speaking before them also seemed to have been beneficial.

Initially, there was opposition to the new Magical Orphans Act because until now, it was a standard rule that Muggle-borns would be contacted and informed about the magical world only at the age of eleven. This had been quickly rebutted by Sirius and Cyrus' faction, which was now the most powerful block in the Wizengamot. The centrists had little political capital when Dumbledore and Voldemort held the strings, but since both of them were dead, the dynamics had changed. Families and elected representatives from both the liberal and traditional factions had migrated as the ideals of the centrists did appeal to them both. The red-blooded liberals and traditionalists were still in number, but as long as the Wizengamot came to a majority, it would be enough to pass any bill through.

Harry had long ago promised that any receipts from the book sales of the Founders of Hogwarts would be used for the development of magical orphans. With surprising efficiency, Wizarding Children Services was transformed into the new Department for the Welfare of Magical Children, and a homely building had been swiftly constructed in Hogsmeade that would house all the Muggle-born orphans. The Magical Daily was singing Harry and Daphne's praises for spotting a chronic problem that had existed in their society for a long time, ignored by the government until now. While Harry didn't really need more publicity, he didn't stop it, for he would need the people's support in order to further his goals for the full separation of the magical and Muggle worlds in the future.

Several dozen teams of Ministry wizards were deployed all over the British Isles to rehabilitate the Muggle-born children from the Muggle orphanages to their wizarding counterpart in Hogsmeade. The Department for the Welfare of Magical Children, under the keen eye of Madam Marchbanks, the great-granddaughter of Madam Chief Warlock Griselda Marchbanks, ensured that the children were well taken care of and comfortable. The entire process was complete within two months.

The orphaned children were shocked at the existence of the magical world. While some of them were old enough to have already started magical school, more than three-quarters of the orphans were under the age of eleven. Harry and Daphne had personally gone to the orphanage to see how the children were doing, only to receive several shouts of welcome. They had been surprised that the children remembered them; after all, they had hardly spent more than a couple of hours with each of them during their tour of the Muggle orphanages. Dylan had been the most affected by the incident. Having been raised in similar conditions and knowing how horrifying it was, using the gold that was available to him from the Lestrange vault, he had purchased several toys, clothes and books for the children. He later confessed to his brother that it was only fitting, considering the horrible crimes his family had committed during the two wars with Voldemort.

Sirius and Amelia had raised an interesting point which Harry and Daphne had not considered. Why should these children remain orphans? Adoption was very much possible, thus giving these children the chance to grow up with real parents. Since it was magically possible to fully adopt another person into the family, thus making the adoptee a genuine son or daughter by blood and magic, it was an excellent idea. The reason blood-adoption was considered important was that blood itself was sacred to witches and wizards all over the world. Magic in their bodies was channelled through blood and wizarding culture was based on family blood. It was not about blood-purity, but about magic.