Harry's discussion with Crouch/Moody caught me by surprise, and it was only at the author's note that I understood your reasoning. The political discussion was, to me, both interesting, and close to home. On my mother's side, Both Anne Bolyn and Catherine Howard were members of my family line. Charles the younger, is also listed in my family but only as an adjunct. My mother's family descends from two lines, the Dodges and the Howards, both of whom were retainers to William the bastard of Normandy, (often called William the Conqueror) and accompanied him on his mission of conquest in 1066.
Rather than an oligarchy, although there is a strong 'old money' factor involved, the wizarding government seems to me more a (semi)benevolent dictatorship, completely corrupted by gold and/or prestige. (the late Roman empire comes to mind.)
As always, I eagerly await the next chapter of 'Triwizard Redux'
Alorkin
Author's response
Well, it's difficult to tell from canon what sort of government it has (other than corrept and incompetant), so I went with a model roughly part late republican Rom and partly 18th century Britain, without those pesky elections.
"T"