Muggle Summer
A/N: The chapter title is self-explanatory. Anyone not interested in backstory can skip ahead to the next chapter without losing too much of the story. My apologies in advance to those who take offense at the bit of butchery I performed to make English history fit with a wizarding world.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc., etc.
Chapter 55: Royal Expository
Sunday, July 8, 7:30am
State Apartments, Windsor Castle
Once it was determined that the Queen's Wizard would not choke on his latest potential title, the Prince quietly conferred with the Royal Historian, who then made a quick telephone call. He was pocketing his mobile just as the Queen's Wizard regained the ability to not only breathe, but also talk.
"Ruler of the wizarding world?" asked Harry. "Duke?"
The historian cast a nervous look towards the Prince and replied. "Pardon me, Sir Harry, but I may have gotten ahead of myself. My first thoughts were that by governing the magical world in the Queen's stead you would be the Duke of Cornwall."
"Duke of What?" asked Harry sharply.
"The Duke of Cornwall."
"I'm sorry," said Hermione, as she glanced towards the Prince, "but isn't that title already taken?"
The Prince chuckled. "Yes, it is, which is why we've asked our local expert to join us."
As of on cue, a matronly woman was shown into the room.
"Come in, Madame Secretary, come in," welcomed the Prince. "So sorry for asking for your help on an early Sunday morning."
"Quite all right, Your Highness," she replied. "I was staying over with the lockdown in place."
"Madame Secretary," the Prince said with a smile, "may I introduce you to the subjects of your latest research project?" He held an arm out towards the teens.
"Hi, I'm Harry Potter," the Queen's Wizard said, as he reached out his hand.
"It's an honor, milord," the Secretary primly replied. "I'm Purity Exposition, Secretary to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood."
The Queen's Wizard blushed and said, "Just Harry is fine, Madame Secretary." He then introduced her to Ron and Hermione, who had a slight curl to her lips.
"You wouldn't happen to be related to Basil Exposition over at MI-5?" she asked.
The woman smiled. "He's mMy younger brother."
Hermione nodded, as the Prince explained that Purity's job involved heraldic research and the administration of the various Orders of Chivalry.
"And you've been doing research on me?" Harry asked.
The Secretary replied. "Yes, milord, I've had a very busy time keeping track of the honours you've accumulated over the past several weeks."
"You're not the only one," Harry muttered.
Taking note of Harry's uniform, the Secretary said, "Added a military commission, milord?"
"Erm, well, yes," Harry stammered, as he glanced towards the Prince.
The Secretary smiled as she turned towards the Historian. "No wonder you called for help. His military rank needs to be placed in between 'Earl Gryffindor' and 'Sir'."
Harry choked on some residuum within the back of his throat.
"What's all this about Earl Gryffindor?" asked Ron. "Thought he was Lord Gryffindor?"
The Secretary explained, "Well, Sir Ronald, within the British Peerage the title 'Lord' refers to any member of the ranks. When Her Royal Majesty restored the House of Gryffindor and created your friend Lord Gryffindor, his title-behind-the-title was Earl, just like Godric, the last Earl Gryffindor."
"Oh, Merlin, so I'm an Earl, too?" asked Harry.
"It's not so much a new title, but a different way of noting an existing title," the Prince said with a smile. "So that one doesn't really count."
Nodding, the Secretary said, "While you can be addressed as Lord in conversation, your title on paper must include Earl."
Ron asked, "So what is Harry's paper title, then?"
The Secretary replied, "Well, with the new addition of his military rank the Queen's Wizard should now be addressed on an envelope as "Her Royal Majesty's Wizard, the Right Honorable The Earl Gryffindor, Major Sir Harry Potter."
"Merlin, how would you ever fit that on parchment?" Ron asked.
The Prince chuckled, and replied, "With very compact handwriting."
"So where can be addressed as 'Just Harry'?" the Queen's Wizard asked.
The Secretary replied only with a knowing smile.
"Where does this Duke part fit in?" Ron asked.
The Secretary raised an eyebrow towards the Prince. "Giving me some more work to do, Your Highness?"
"Perhaps, Madame Secretary," the Prince replied. "We were considering the possibilities should Her Royal Majesty once again exert direct rule over the wizarding world of Great Britain."
"Oh, my," the Secretary replied, with almost feral gleam in her eyes. "That would change things, wouldn't it?" She then added, "It's been some time since we've had need of a Lord High Steward."
"Actually, I was thinking about the Duchy of Cornwall," the historian replied.
"Oh, pish posh, Baxtor," the Secretary said. "That wouldn't apply in Lord Gryffindor's case…you should know better."
"So I won't be a Duke?" Harry asked hopefully.
"At least not under those circumstances," the Secretary replied. "Allow me to explain."
As the Queen's Wizard let out an audible sigh, Purity Exposition began to pace back and forth in front of the others as she adopted a lecturer's tone of voice.
"The Duchy of Cornwall is a kingdom-within-a-kingdom established in 1336 by King Edward III, who named his son Edward the first Duke of Cornwall."
"Edward, the Black Prince?" asked Harry, who had received a smattering of English history at his muggle primary school.
"The very same," Purity replied. "Famous for his nickname, not so famous as the last wizard in direct line for the English throne."
"Really? Well…there's a story behind that I imagine," said Hermione.
"Quite a story," the Prince agreed.
Ron, whose interest level was holding just above those reserved for Binns's lectures, stifled a yawn. "Erm, no offense, Your Highness, but…" He then turned towards Harry and asked, "Would it be alright if I read Hermione's lecture notes later on? I'd like to check in with Mum, and see what's left of The Burrow."
Harry nodded. "Of course," he replied. "She's still at St. Mungo's right?"
"Yeah, with Dad and Ginny…probably Bill and Fleur still too."
Realizing that transportation might be an issue, Hermione suggested that Ron badge-jump to Wally's location at 10 Downing Street, and get a ride from there to the wizarding hospital. Harry mentioned that if The Burrow's fireplace had been destroyed that Ron's family could use The Farm's floo connection. Ron liked that idea, adding that from there he could drive his family to The Burrow using one of the Farm's vehicles.
With the audience head count down, but the average attention level up, Hermione asked more about the Black Prince.
The Royal Historian replied, "Yes, well, as you probably know, by the Fourteenth Century there was a rather strained relationship between the muggle and magical populations. The arranged marriage between King Edward III and Phillippa of Hainault was designed to fix this situation.
"She was a witch, then?"
"Yes," interrupted the historian, "Witch and princess from the Flemish royal family."
"So Edward III was a muggle and they were hoping that their first-born son was a wizard that would rule with support from both worlds?" asked Harry.
"Exactly," the historian replied. "And it actually worked, at least at the start. The crown prince displayed accidental magic at the age of six, and his father celebrated by creating the Duchy of Cornwall out of all of magical lands within the Royal real estate portfolio."
"So," Hermione reasoned, "as the Duke of Cornwall, Prince Edward held dominion over parts of the wizarding world even without becoming king?"
"That's right," the Prince replied. "The idea was to get The Black Prince immersed into the wizarding world, and to get the wizarding world more interested in the idea of being loyal subjects of the Crown."
"So did he go to Hogwarts, then?"
The Royal Historian nodded. "Slytherin, Class of 1347."
"So what went wrong?" Harry asked.
"Well, nothing, other than the fact that Edward was a loyal son whose father lived too bloody long," the Prince said with a smile.
The historian picked up the narrative. "This was at the start of The Hundred Years' War between England and France," he explained. "Edward shared the aspirations of his father to fully conquer both muggle and wizard France, and as a result spent much of his adult years in military encampments on the Continent while his father ruled from home."
"Did he fight against both muggle and wizard France?" asked Harry.
The historian nodded. "He was supposedly equally versed in sword and wand, and rather successful on both battlefields."
"Making him rather popular, right?" asked Hermione.
"Certainly within muggle England," the historian replied. "But much less so amongst English wizards."
"Why?"
"He was allegedly very ruthless, particularly against wizard warriors," the historian replied. "But perhaps more importantly, his success threatened the magical power bases of pure-blood families in England."
"How so?"
"The plan was working too well," the Prince answered. "The largest and wealthiest pure-blood families stood to lose much of their power if the muggle monarchy could rule from a strong position over not only muggle and magical England, but France as well.
"So let me guess, they offed him?" asked Harry.
The historian nodded. "The muggle history books say that he contracted a nasty illness in Spain, but in reality Edward was hit with a painfully slow-acting curse that killed him before he could be crowned King."
"At the same time a separate, much more powerful curse was placed against the English throne," the Prince added. "As a result, no child in direct line of succession has been born with magical abilities for over six hundred years."
"Wow," Hermione replied. "I wonder how this curse would have worked when there were disputed successions."
"Actually, Dame Hermione, there is reason to believe that the curse might have actually influenced the outcome of the War of the Roses."
"Really?"
The historian nodded. "Richard III's son, Edward of Middleham, was born a wizard. But this didn't go against the curse, since neither Edward nor his father were in direct line for the throne at the time."
"Richard's older brother, King Edward IV, already had a son," the Secretary added.
"Let me guess, Edward V?" asked Harry.
Sensing the slightest edge of sarcasm in Harry's voice, Hermione reached over and slugged his shoulder. "Stop it, Harry, this is interesting."
"Yes, dear," Harry replied.
"Erm, yes, Sir Harry, it was Edward V," the historian said. "King Edward V, actually, for all of two months once his father died in 1483."
"His uncle usurped the throne," said Hermione, "and declared himself King Richard III."
"Indeed," said The Prince. "Richard threw his two nephews into the Tower of London, and after an Act of Parliament was crowned king in July of 1483." He then added, "Richard's magical son, Crown Prince Edward, died under mysterious circumstances at the age of eleven the following April."
"Probably a few months short of getting his Hogwarts letter," Harry mused.
"And Richard himself died without an heir one year later at Brixton," Hermione concluded, "which ended the War of the Roses, and started the Tudor Dynasty."
"Exactly, Dame Hermione," the historian beamed. "I thought they didn't teach English history at your school?"
"Oh," Hermione replied, "I may have read a book or two on the subject."
Harry's snort earned him a second punch to his shoulder.
"Can we return to the Duke of Cornwall situation?" he asked.
"Oh, yes," said the historian. "Well, not much to say after that…when the Black Prince died in 1376 his squib son Richard was first in line for the throne, he became Prince of Wales, and the Dukedom was recreated for him."
The Secretary added, "A charter was eventually signed in 1421 that automatically passes the dukedom on to the Sovereign's oldest son and heir, and it's been that way ever since."
"So, I can't be the Duke of Cornwall because we've already got one."
"Yes," the Prince replied. "And by secret codecil it was declared that in the absence of magical abilities, the Duke of Cornwall yields dominion over wizarding Britain to the existing sovereign."
"Who, by convention," added the Secretary, "governed magical Britain on the advice of the Royal Wizard and Magnum Concilium."
Translating the Latin, Harry asked, "Where did this Great Council come into play?"
"Ahh," said Mr. Baxter. "Separate bit of history…we'll need to jump back a few centuries."
Harry stiffled a sigh, looked to Hermione, and yielded to her enthusiasm.
"Well, if there are no other pressing issues…" he said slowly.
"I think we have a few minutes, right?" asked Hermione. "Now, from what I remember, wasn't the Great Council sort of a proto-Parliament?"
"That's a separate Great Council," Baxter replied. "That council has origins back to the Magna Carta, and is now known as the Privy Council…which, now that I think of it, might also hold relevence to the question of magical rule."
"How is that?"
"Well, as you probably already know, King John II was forced to signed the Magna Carta in 1215 by a group of barons who had revolted under his rule. The most powerful magical Patriarchs were invited to sign the Charter as well, but they declined."
"Does that mean that the Queen's dominion over the magical world was never constrained by the Magna Carta?"
The historian nodded. "I think it was the first clear break by the wizarding world as a whole."
"But moving on," the Secretary interupted, "King John II's son, Henry III got along better with these barons, who had grown to distrust their magical counterparts, and had insisted on some say over how wizard England was ruled. Henry III therefore created a Magnum Concilium, or Great Council of peers of the realm to advise him on wizarding world issues."
"So, if I may summarize," asked Harry. "The Prince of Wales is the Duke of Cornwall, and the Duchy of Cornwall includes some amount of magical properties across England. When the Duke isn't a wizard, control of the wizarding world resides with the sovereign, as advised by the Queen's Wizard and this Magnum Concilium, except there wouldn't be much advice to offer, because Queen Elizabeth gave the wizarding world Home Rule back in the Sixteenth Century based on the Treaty of Carlisle."
Baxter the historian nodded. "In fact, the Magnum Concilium hasn't even be convened since 1630."
"So," Harry continued, "Let's say that the Ministry of Magic screwed up their end of the treaty, and have lost their right to home rule…doesn't the power to rule fall back to the Queen?"
"Yes."
Hermione had been processing the conversation to the point where she could ask, "Could the Queen reconvene the Magnum Concilium?"
"Of course," Baxter replied. "And as Queen's Wizard, it would be Sir Harry's job to lead that council."
"Not necessarily," the Secretary stated, "although I agree that the Queen's Wizard is by convention Lord High Steward of the Magnum Concilium."
"Just as the Privy Council is led by the Lord President of the Council," said the Prince.
As much as she enjoyed seeing Harry get teased, Hermione thought it might be productive to address a related issue.
"This conversation is predicated on the idea that the wizarding world has lost its right to Home Rule," she noted. "How do we determine not only if this has happened, but how it happened and what needs to be done about it?"
The Prince looked towards the Secretary to the Central Chancery and decided that "Need to Know" issues were about to be addressed.
"Thank you for your time and assistance, Madame Secretary."
Knowing a dismissal when she heard it, the Secretary took her leave.
"Excellent questions, Dame Hermione," said the Prince, once the Secretary had left. "Particularly as we try to work through the question of jurisdiction over last night's magical attacks."
"You said that my glowing orb signaled my right to be Queen's Wizard," said Harry. "I assume that there's a similar signet for either the Minister of Magic or the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot?"
The historian agreed. "The Minister of Magic holds it in his or her capacity as the Queen's Magical Justice of the Peace…it's a necklace quite similar to yours, except that the pearl is mounted with dragons guarding either side."
"Mmmm," said Harry, "Don't think I've seen Fudge or Scrimgeour wearing anything like that."
"I doubt that it's something that they would want to show off," Hermione noted. "It would be a reminder that their power to rule over the wizarding rule was derived from the muggle monarchy."
"Good point," said Harry. "So how do we force him to let us see whether his orb is glowing or not?"
"There is a formal process outlined within the treaty," the historian replied. "Any of the parties can summon the others."
"Others?" asked Harry. "Isn't there only two signatories?"
"No, Sir Harry, there were three signatories," the historian replied. "At the time of the treaty signing, Scotland was a sovereign kingdom."
"So that explains the location of the signing," reasoned Hermione.
"Scotland had its own Royal Wizard and orb, then?" Harry asked.
"It did, right up to the union of England and Scotland," said the historian. "So, back on point, when a summons is issued, the instruments of power must be displayed during the resulting meeting."
The Prince looked at his watch. "Well, we should present this to Her Royal Majesty later today, then."
The historian asked, "Forgive me, your Highness, but the sooner we issue the summons…."
The Prince shook his head. "Issuing that summons might set in course a chain of events that we should consider most carefully."
Looking down at the tea leaves at the bottom of his cup, he then added, "We've already had one Civil War in this country, and we would do well to take steps to avoid a second."