November 2002
Davis Manor, November 1st, 2002
This time, the meeting took place in Davis Manor. Phineas told her that Albus wants to deny the veelas medical treatment in St. Mungos. With that, she relayed the information to the others and there were many complaints. “That man is a nightmare. Does he even know that the veelas after the treaty was signed had automatically a right for medical treatment in our world? This nomination is endangering the treaty again and alone the restrictions on this field could cause problems”, Lucius huffed, when Narcissa was finished with her tale, what Dumbledore was planning.
Everyone was tired of Dumbledore and his followers. They are doing more harm to their world than Voldemort. At least, Voldemort wasn’t a fool. The man had known about the treaties with all the magical creatures and was weary around them. The man made sure to build up some alliances with the creatures like the werewolves, but later, he forced the alliance through, when Greyback had started to back off of the alliance with Voldemort and the death eaters, when things became too extreme. That was the reason why there were many attacks from the werewolves from 1981 to 2001 due to Voldemort’s imperio and his tactics to control Fenrir. The ministry still didn’t find the werewolf and the rest of the pack, but they are sure that they are still in the country. Other creatures were also victims of Dumbledore’s and Voldemort’s machinations and after the war, they were treated terribly and were mistrusted by the magical community. For that reason, they needed to protect them from those two power-hungry monsters, in order to stop both Voldemort and Dumbledore to recruit them for their schemes.
But back to the present, Dumbledore is trying to do things that are completely impossible and incredibly dangerous. The treaty is the only thing stopping those fools from doing too much damage. Narcissa knew that they needed to encourage the members to read the treaty completely. Some are still too lazy to read the document and for that, reason, they needed to push the rest of the Wizengamot to read the treaty from top to bottom. But they needed a distraction for that, in order to make sure that Dumbledore’s nomination does fail, but they can’t think of anything.
Everyone was still unsure about the distraction until Arthur had an idea. “There was a request from a witch that had wanted to open up a spa, but the Wizengamot stonewalled her request due to the war.”
“A spa?” Many were confused about the term. Adriana let out a groan like she was in actual pain. The Notts and the Yaxleys were not really surprised that many didn’t know, what a spa is.
Clara explained: “A spa is a wellness centre, where you can relax, have a massage and spent time in the sauna. There are many people in the muggle world that go there, in order to enjoy and relax after a stressful time period of work. It is also healthy for the body since you are relaxing yourself. But I need to warn you that a weekend costs a pretty penny.”
That sounded nice. The females are already making plans to visit the spas in the muggle world. Many were discussing the request and it sounded to be a good idea to use it as a distraction.
“And with that distraction, we could put the current medical restrictions against the veelas under question. It would be another blow against Dumbledore and his sheep.” Narcissa concluded.
Many nodded in agreement and had smirks on their faces. This was going to be an exciting meeting.
Wizengamot, November 4th, 2002
The meeting came to an end and Narcissa had to withhold a grin. Merlin, this meeting was funny, but also loud and annoying. When the meeting started, Deloris Umbridge proposed to ban veelas from receiving medical treatment. How that woman managed to get a voice here is beyond her understanding. Narcissa knew that the woman had two votes. One proxy vote from that idiot Cornelius Fudge, who is working as Junior Head in the Department of Magical Accidents, and another vote from being a senior member of the Improper Use of Magics Office. How she had managed to get the vote in that department is beyond her, but she had the suspicion that the woman had blackmailed her way up. Narcissa needs to find a way to stop that woman from gaining too much influence and power in the ministry.
When she was finished with her rant against the veelas and how they should be banned from receiving medical treatment, Dumbledore and his followers had supportive looks regarding the motion. But those looks disappeared, when the next nomination was proposed by Clara. She took out a request that was made by Gertrude Finnigan, who had wanted to open up a spa, and nominated to allow the request to pass. Many, who were neutrally inclined, liked the proposal, but the darker purebloods had a clear dislike towards the motion and within Dumbledore’s followers a loud argument broke out. The younger generation liked the idea, whereas the elders were distrustful towards the motion. Albus was distracted for the time being and there was a protest against Umbridge’s motion from Cyrus Greengrass, where the man handed the treaty to the other members again and pointed at one of the clauses that was marked that the veelas had an automatic right to medical treatment in St. Mungos and that Umbridge’s motion is violating the treaty. He also appealed to the other members that they should read the treaty carefully and line by line. Some didn’t really read the treaty as a whole and Cyrus is encouraging the members to read the treaty, in order to avoid any conflicts with the Veela Nation.
Narcissa really questioned the intelligence of some members in the Wizengamot. It is important to read a treaty or a contract as a whole, because in the magical world, contracts and treaties are magically enforceable and any violations against them could lead to punishments from Lady Magic. Her family had taught her well, how dangerous contracts could be, if you hadn’t read them properly and signed them away. And there are the punishments and those could lead mostly to either a decrease of the guilty party’s magic in the best-case scenario or in the worst-case, the guilty ones are stripped of their magic and exiled from the magical world or Lady Magic kills them personally, which is rare, but also really the worst case that could happen.
With that, an argument broke out regarding Umbridge’s nomination and Narcissa could read the room that a majority was against the motion and many muttered that they would have to read the treaty line by line. She also noticed the furious look on Umbridge’s face that her nomination could fail.
Then, a nomination was made by Callidora to put the current restrictions against the veelas in the health care system under question since they were endangering the treaty and could cause a violation.
After that, Dumbledore and his followers were finished with their argument. When the old fool was told about the nomination from Callidora, the man became angry, but there was still confidence that the motion from Umbridge would pass and that Callidora’s nomination would fail.
Then, the votes came and there, things escalated. The first nomination from Umbridge failed epically. This infuriated Umbridge and the other members of the Anti-Creature Party to no end. Dumbledore and his followers looked like they had swallowed an entire lemon. The second nomination had a majority, which angered those, who hated muggles. The last motion passed with a majority. The darker purebloods, Dumbledore and his sheep and Umbridge and the other creature haters were in a blind fury. This meeting ended in a good note.
Albus wanted to kill someone. This meeting was horrible. How could things go wrong again. Deloris was well-prepared for this meeting and he was sure that the proposal against the veelas would pass, but unfortunately something railroaded the nomination and now, the proposal failed. Why are things going the wrong way and how?
He had a suspicion that the treaty had been used again and like the previous times, the motion failed, because the members were terrified of violating the treaty, which could cause Lady Magic’s judgement. But what did the treaty have to do with medical care? Albus may need to find some time to read the treaty line by line, but there were other things that were requiring his time, so, he will read that stupid piece of parchment on a later date. He will try another nomination against the veelas during the Yule meeting, but this would be his last motion since he needed to focus on other things that he wants banned or changed to fit his views. There was a lot of work to do.
Deloris Umbridge was furious. How dare those fools vote against her nomination? She had done everything, in order to save the magical world from those disgusting creatures, but now, things were not going her way for now. She couldn’t believe that a respectable pureblood like Cyrus Greengrass would oppose her authority and proposal and turn into a foolish creature lover. Then, there were those, who voted against her motion. How could they? The creatures were a danger to their society. She needed to find a way to get those fools in line, but for that, she had to find some blackmail materials against them. This was going to be hard especially if Narcissa Malfoy is involved in this mess. Deloris is not brave enough to mess up with the Black Family. She doesn’t want to die. But the other families are also dangerous. Augustinus Lestrange, Callidora Longbottom and Muriel Prewett may be old, but they are old battle axes that are capable of murder. The other Lords and Ladies that are neutrally inclined are also dangerous.
Deloris had a lot of things to do that are going to be difficult.
Weasley Manor
Arthur arrived home from the Wizengamot meeting and was greeted by his excited twin sons, who had another playdate with Cedric Diggory. “Daddy!” Catherine stood up and greeted the redhead: “Hello, Arthur.” Both twins ran to their father.
“Hello, boys, did you behave? I hope, they weren’t any trouble for you, Catherine? They love to prank and they are mischievous.” Arthur had his sons in his arms. He knew that Amos would be here soon.
The woman chuckled. “No, Arthur, they were little angels during their playdate with Cedric.”
“That’s good to hear. Hello, Cedric”, Arthur answered and greeted his second-eldest’s soulmate and officially his godson. “Hello, uncle Arthur.” The boy was glad that uncle Arthur was home. It means that his father is going to come home too soon.
The floo flared again and Amos stepped out from the fireplace. He made his way to the playroom, where the children, his wife and his friend were. He greeted them: “Ah, there you are. Catherine, I see that you are alright. I thought that the twins with the help of Cedric are going to change your appearance, when I return back from the Wizengamot meeting. I have imagined that you would have green hair, yellow skin and a red beard.”
Catherine just huffed, whereas the others were chuckling. “Thankfully, the twins were sweet angels, and I believe, they are scared of me, which is the reason why, they didn’t prank me. How was the meeting?”
“Well, it was good. The nomination to ban veelas from receiving medical treatment has failed and the current restrictions in that field were put under question”, Arthur answered.
Amos was glad that Umbridge’s motion failed. He never liked that woman and her atrocious rules that she wanted to pass. “You should have seen Umbridge’s face. The woman looked furious, when her nomination failed. We need to keep an eye on her. I don’t trust her. Furthermore, Gertrude’s request to open up a spa has been passed during that meeting. She is going to be happy with that move.”
“Thank Merlin, a wellness and health centre was something that this world needs.” Catherine’s eyes were shining. She can finally relax properly.
The three adults were chattering further about the Wizengamot meeting. Molly had overheard the conversation and was horrified that Dumbledore’s nominations against the veelas had failed. How could this happen? She needed to find a way to get out of this punishment. Albus needed her help. She wished her parents were alive especially her mother. Madeleine Prewett would have found a way to get her out of this mess and made sure that Arthur paid for his cruel treatment against her. She would have also given Muriel an earful for allowing this cruelty. Sadly, the woman was killed by death eaters and her father didn’t live long after his wife has died. Molly needed help, but Arthur had cut her out and there was no answer from Albus and the order. Why did no one from the order notice her absence?
Unknown to her, her punishment had far-reaching consequences. The family magics are making sure that Molly’s absence is covered and that was the reason why, no one was questioning, why she is missing.
Gringotts, November 7th, 2002
In the Gringotts Healing Ward, Christina O’Neill was slowly opening her eyes and tried to move. She felt sore, when she tried to move her arms. The woman felt a burn on both arms and she quickly sat up straight looking around, if there was any danger, but she became confused, when she noticed that she was in a hospital ward, but it wasn’t a familiar ward in St. Mungos since Christina saw that only goblins were working there. One of the goblins noticed that the human witch woke up and made her way to the patient. The female goblin made quickly some scans on the woman.
“Ms. O’Neill, you have woken up.” The goblin healer said.
“Where am I?” Christina was looking around confused.
The goblin healer went over her scan and answered: “You are in Gringotts. You had been transferred here to our healing ward, in order to protect you from your assailant. The case was classified, so, we can’t give you any concrete answers. I will inform Stonecrusher, who is responsible for the liaison between our nation and your ministry.” Christina nodded. She can’t move her arms properly and every move hurt.
When the healer returned, the goblin explained her that the nerves on her arms were damaged through the Cruciatius Curse and that she wouldn’t be able to move her arms properly. Christina was ready to cry. Her career as an auror is ruined. She will make her attacker pay for ruining her life. What was she supposed to do now? She had a younger brother to take care off and that was going to be difficult without money. It would be difficult for her to find a job with her injury. How is she going to pay for the rent, for food and her brother’s education in Hogwarts? He will start Hogwarts in a few years and the tuition is not really cheap.
Bartemius, Amelia, Corban and John were making their way through Gringotts to the healing ward. Bartemius’ new heir, Dirk Cresswell, informed them that Christina had woken up and all four of them made their way to Gringotts. Going through the halls of the bank, they were led to the healing ward.
Entering the ward, they were greeted by the goblin healer: “Lord Crouch, Lady Bones, Lord Yaxley, Auror Proudfoot, Ms. O’Neill has woken up, but please, don’t overwhelm my patient.” They greeted the goblin and nodded in understanding.
Amelia approached her former undercover auror. “Christina. Thank Merlin, you are okay. We nearly lost you. I wished, I was there to protect you.”
“It’s not your fault, Amelia. It is the fault of the person that had attacked me. But I can tell you that it was a woman, if it helps you with the investigation.” Christina wanted to bring the person that had ruined her life to justice.
Amelia just gave her a genuine smile. “Your assailant has already been caught. We know that it is Isabella Jugson.”
Christina was shocked beyond belief. Her attacker was already caught. These were very good news. She wasn’t surprised that it was Jugson, because she had a suspicion that she was the accomplice of Aurelius Yaxley, but how did she know that she was an undercover auror? She asked the said question to Amelia and the others and all four were displeased, when Amelia said that it was Isabella’s younger brother and former auror, Eric Jugson, that was responsible for her exposition. Christina was enraged that the man had endangered her life. She will make those two pay for what had happened to her.
But now, she had to think about her future. Her arms will be restricted in their movements for the rest of her life and any wrong move is painful. “The healer told me that my arms are going to be restricted for the rest of my life. I will not be able to continue with my duty as an auror any longer.” Christina had tears in her eyes.
“I know, Christina, but we made some arrangements. We are lacking aurors on desk duty and due to your condition, you will be transferred there”, Amelia said comfortingly.
Christina was stunned. She will be transferred to desk duty. Well, she can live with that, but she will miss the action. The rest of the day, they had spent talking with Christina about her new position in the DMLE and Bartemius informed her that at the beginning of December, she would sign a new work contract with them.
DMLE, November 10th, 2002
Christina was sitting in Bartemius’ office and was making her statement against Isabella Jugson. She also gave them her memories on the events of September 12th, where the aurors were able to identify Isabella clearly. This was the final nail on the woman’s coffin. Corban couldn’t wait for the trial in five days. He will be sitting at the front row. Too bad, he isn’t allowed to eat popcorn during the trial, but he would be entertaining himself since he is sure that this was going to be one hell of a trial.
When they were finished with Christina’s memories and statement, they went to eat their lunch. Christina was thoughtful. She wanted the Jugsons to bleed, for what had happened to her, but what can she do? A lawsuit against the Jugsons for her injuries could help her, but she needed some legal advice in this matter since her knowledge in Magical Law is basic.
Amelia noticed the thoughtful look and asked: “Christina, are you okay? Do you need another pain reliever?”
“No, Amelia, I was just thinking, what to do. I am going to be stuck on desk duty for the rest of my life due to these injuries and I want the Jugsons to suffer for my predicament”, Christina said in a calm, but angry tone.
Amelia sighed knowing that Christina’s condition would remain for the rest of her life. She said: “I would suggest looking for legal advice, Christina, but I think that it is possible for you to get compensation for your injuries from the Jugsons. I know that Lord Cyrus Greengrass would be able to help you in that matter, but the next appointment would be in December since he had many appointments in this month.”
Christina nodded and continued eating her lunch. She will arrange a meeting with Lord Greengrass.
Wizengamot, November 15th, 2002
The Wizengamot trials were going well, and Amelia couldn’t wait for the Js to come since Eric and Isabella Jugson are going to be trialed. All the paperwork was finished and Bartemius was prepared for the prosecution against those two. Looking around naturally, Amelia noticed that Manfred Jugson looked ready to kill someone and the blood purists were watching the trials pensively.
In the chamber, there was something in the air. Everyone felt it. The members of the Grey Alliance were glad that finally, they would find out the secret that Amelia and Corban were keeping from them. Dumbledore had a bad feeling, but he is ignoring it. As Chief Warlock, he continued with the trials in the Wizengamot. His followers were excited that Isabella and Eric Jugson were going to be brought to justice. They wished that the order had gotten credit for bringing down another dark and evil wizard and witch down, but unfortunately, Corban and John Proudfoot received the majority of the praise.
When they were nearing the end with the Js, Albus announced: “And now, I am opening the trial of Heir Eric Jugson and his sister, Isabella Jugson. Unfortunately, I don’t have the files regarding this case and I don’t know, what charges have been filed against them, Barty.”
Bartemius withheld a sneer of contempt, but remained stoic. “Chief Warlock, the case had been classified by me in the role as the head of the DMLE. No one apart from myself and the investigating aurors were allowed to know about this case since there was a leak of classified information in the DMLE that had caused a crisis in our department. The minister was made aware of the case and classified it completely, so that the aurors, Corban Yaxley and John Proudfoot, could investigate without any issues and pressures.” The minister gave Albus a nod, which confirmed that the minister was involved in this case too.
Albus frowned, but questioned: “And what is the case about?” When he asked that, Eric and Isabella were led into the Wizengamot chambers by four aurors. Two of them looked annoyed since they had to deal with Isabella’s temper tantrum that she was innocent. Attorney Ignatus Vaisley took his place on the desk, where the defendants would be seated. The man was on one side pleased, but also displeased due to Isabella’s stubbornness. Eric sat down without any resistance since he wanted this to be over. Isabella was on the other hand fixated, when she tried to fight off the aurors. The woman was still furious regarding her arrest.
Bartemius took over and sat down on the prosecution desk. He took out the case file and started: “We are here today for the trial of Heir Eric Jugson for the unlawful leaking of classified information to third parties and criminal negligence and Isabella Jugson for attempted murder in two cases in conjunction with grievous bodily harm in the first case and assault in two cases.”
Albus was confused. Had Barty misread the charges? The undercover auror had died. There was no way that she could be alive. He rose his wand.
Bartemius hid a smirk, when he saw Dumbledore’s wand risen in the air. “Chief Warlock, you have a question?”
“Yes, my boy, I am a bit confused regarding the charges against Isabella Jugson. From what we have read in the Daily Prophet, the auror in this case was killed, wasn’t she?” Albus had a bad feeling regarding this trial. There was chattering in the courtroom since they agreed with the headmaster that the auror was reported to be dead.
The minister rose her wand and the attention was on her. The chattering died and everyone looked at Bagnold. “Chief Warlock, under my approval, the truth regarding this case was a little bit fudged since the undercover auror would have been in constant danger. For that reason, we have faked her death and all those involved even the healers in the Emergency Ward were under a secrecy oath. Christina O’Neill is in fact still alive and is ready to testify against Isabella and Eric Jugson.”
Isabella is pale. This can’t be happening. The bitch is still alive. This doesn’t look good.
Eric was glad that the woman has survived. He would have gotten in deep trouble, if she had died.
Manfred let out a sigh of relief. His son will not get a long prison sentence and would be able to return home, but Isabella could spend decades in prison for her actions, if she doesn’t smarten up and plead guilty. Furthermore, Eric will not lose his right to inherit. This was another aspect, where Manfred was worried about. An heirship can be lost through a conviction in Azkaban like it had happened with Aurelius Yaxley and his eldest, but in case of a probation or house arrest, the heirship would remain, but Eric wouldn’t be able to claim the Lordship of the House Jugson for the next decade. Manfred can wait for that, but the reputation of his house would be ruined with Isabella’s conviction.
Albus was stunned and furious. That couldn’t be happening. Christina is still alive. This is a nightmare. He needs to warn Dung about the survival of the woman. His schemes in the black markets are in danger and things would get worse for him, if he was exposed.
Many were shocked about the cunning plan from the head of the DMLE, but they were glad that with this plan a woman’s life was spared.
The trial started formally, and the attorney announced: “My client, Eric Jugson, is pleading guilty. My other client, Isabella Jugson, is pleading innocent.”
“Very well, Heir Jugson’s plea would be taken into consideration. We will start with the plea deal”, Bartemius announced.
There was a lengthy debate about Eric Jugson’s punishment and at the end, it was agreed upon that Eric would be sentenced to two years under house arrest and would be under probation for the next five years. Manfred was satisfied about the sentence. At least, Eric would not end up in Azkaban due to Isabella’s stupidity. It was voted on and there was a unanimous vote.
Now, there was the harder part of this case. Isabella Jugson. Bartemius started to present his evidence against the woman. The magical signature test on the asphalt and on the golem was damning since there was a match. There was also the confession that was recorded in the hospital room. Furthermore, he also showed the Wizengamot the memories from Christina O’Neill, where Isabella was clearly identified.
Then, they started to interrogate the aurors, Corban Yaxley and John Proudfoot. Both were questioned about the investigation and the aurors explained the process and the outcome detailly, but Corban’s witness stand was more detailly since he had some dealings with Isabella and Eric in the past. Bartemius asked: “Auror Yaxley, you had a personal past with the defendants, is that correct?” He had asked this question, in order to avoid a dismissal of the case.
“Yes”, Corban answered.
Bartemius questioned: “Can you elaborate your past with Isabella and Eric Jugson? I think that it would be relevant to know their behaviours better.”
Corban didn’t like this part of his life, but he explained it regardless: “I have known both, when we were children. Eric was very smart and ambitious, but he avoided any confrontations and trouble even today. If it were up to Eric, he would have obliviated O’Neill and be finished with it quietly. No one would have been the wiser, if he had been the one to do the deed. Isabella was shrew, demanding, conniving and a sadist. She is also very vindictive. I remember, when I was on a play date with my family in Jugson Manor, Evelyn Jugson, Isabella’s and Eric’s younger sister, broke one of Isabella’s favourite dolls. Isabella had thrown a fit and in order to punish her infant sister, she threw a flobberworm in her crip. Evelyn had let out a blood-curling scream and she cried. Her parents punished her severely, but she didn’t have any remorse since she blamed her sister that she got in trouble. Even today, Isabella blames others for her mistakes and doesn’t take responsibility for her own actions. It seems like, she didn’t change much.” Corban then started to add other instances, where Isabella was shown in a bad light.
Bartemius hid a smile. With that question, he would be able to paint the woman in a very bad picture.
When Corban was finished, Bartemius moved to his final witness. Christina O’Neill.
Christina entered the courtroom, and many eyes were on her. Albus was annoyed that the woman was alive, but he was fearful that she would babble about his activities in the black markets. When she sat down on the witness stand, the questioning began. First, Bartemius went on about the attack on her on September 12th, 2002, then, Bartemius moved to her memories, where Isabella was clearly identified and at last, Christina was questioned regarding her injuries, which was saddening since the woman’s career was over. Bartemius quickly explained that Christina would be moved over to desk duty, which relieved many people that she wouldn’t be dismissed.
When the questioning of Christina was finished, Bartemius turned his attention to the attorney. The man was trying to convince Isabella to plead guilty, but he was unsuccessful. The woman was still thinking that she was innocent and will be released. Ignatus Vaisley said: “My client, Isabella Jugson, is still pleading innocent.”
“Very well, then, I am requesting the use of veritesarem to this court, so that she can prove her innocence”, Bartemius announced. There weren’t any objections and the request was put to the vote. The majority of the Wizengamot voted for the use of veritesarem.
When Isabella saw that a majority voted for the use of the strongest truth potion, the woman started screaming in fury that she will not be treated like a common criminal, but unfortunately for her, she was dragged from the defendant’s desk and was forced on the accused chair, where chains wrapped around her making it impossible for her to move. Isabella cried and screamed, but her voice fell on deaf ears.
A few minutes later, the truth potion was administered and the woman’s eyes became unfocused.
Bartemius started with the test questions. “What is your full name?”
“Isabella Roxanna Jugson”, the woman said in a monoton voice.
“Date of birth?”
Isabella answered: “November 6th, 1971.”
The records were quickly checked and Bartemius confirmed that the potion does work.
“Ms. Jugson, on September 12th, 2002, Auror Christina O’Neill was attacked. Were you the perpetrator?”, Bartemius asked.
Isabella wanted to stop herself from talking. “Yes.”
“Why?”, Bartemius demanded.
Isabella growled. “Because she was a danger to me and my reputation. When Aurelius was arrested and convicted, I was afraid that the bitch would recognise me through my voice and mannerism. I knew that she is responsible for Aurelius’ downfall, and she could be my downfall, if she remained alive. I didn’t know that she was there, when I had conversed with Aurelius about our plans to make Corban pay for his insult and betrayal against me. So, I ordered Eric to find out, who the undercover auror was that had destroyed my and Aurelius’ plans against Corban and that bitch, Clara.”
Many were stunned. Isabella was involved with Aurelius’ plan to break the soul bond between Clara and Corban. Bartemius was hiding a grin. Jackpot. He asked in a neutral tone. “So, you are admitting that you and the former Heir Yaxley had planned to break the soul bond between Auror Corban Yaxley and his wife, Clara?”
“Yes”, Isabella gritted out.
“Again, I am asking you why? Why would you break a soul bond? You know the consequences of doing something like this. It is the most disgusting thing that any witch or wizard could do, and it would have led to the deaths of Corban and Clara Yaxley. If you had been successful with your plan, then, Corban would have followed his wife after a week or two.” Bartemius made sure that the question would ruffle some feathers.
Albus swallowed hard. If Clara had died, then, he is sure that Corban would have followed his wife, but at least, he would have had access to the orphaned children and shaped them to be his pawns. Furthermore, he would also have access to the Yaxley and Evandrus fortune, which would have helped him with some side projects that he wanted to do, but sadly, the plan was destroyed, when Aurelius failed to break the soul bond, which could have given him an advantage. Albus noticed a storm brewing inside Stuart Fenwick, and this didn’t look good. The man was furious. Clara was supposed to be his and not Yaxley’s. This is unfair. Clara should have been his wife and be a good and light witch and not married to a dark bastard like Yaxley. The other followers of Dumbledore looked like they had swallowed a lemon. It could have helped them to save the children from bad parents.
The blood purists were trying to hide their irritation, but remained silent.
The members of the Grey Alliance were practically glaring at the woman like she was dirt on their shoes that they couldn’t get rid off. Isabella and Aurelius nearly costed their friends’ lives. It’s now payback time.
Eric was shocked that this would have been the consequence, if Aurelius and Isabella had been successful. He was glad that the plan failed. He still couldn’t believe, how stupid Isabella and Aurelius were. Soulmates were sacred no matter what, but it seems like that his sister didn’t care about the consequences of their actions.
Isabella wanted to snarl. She didn’t care, if Corban would have died. It would have been a better punishment. He deserved to die for his insult against her. “Because he would have deserved it for what he had done to me. Insulting me like that and choosing a filthy mudblood over a wonderful pureblood like me is the worst mistake and an insult Corban had made. If he had died, I wouldn’t have cared, because he would have deserved it.”
Everyone was stunned. Even Manfred and Eric were shocked about Isabella’s confession. That woman was insane.
Bartemius was pale, when he heard the woman’s words. Seriously, Isabella was demented. He continued with his questioning, but everyone could see that even Crouch was sickened by Isabella’s words.
The woman sang like a canary afterwards and many were disgusted by Isabella’s attitude.
When the interrogation was finished, Isabella was led back to her seat at the defendant’s desk. The woman looked enraged.
Bartemius announced: “I am amending the charges against Isabella Jugson of being an accomplice of the attempted murders against Corban and Clara Yaxley and the attempted breaking of a soul bond.” On each charge, there was a vote and the Wizengamot voted for both additional charges.
Then came the vote of conviction, where the Wizengamot voted for the conviction unanimously. Isabella let out a shriek of fury and tried to get away, but the aurors had fixated her again. The woman was screaming threats against the members of the Wizengamot, but everyone ignored her.
After a lengthy debate, Isabella was sentenced to 50 years in Azkaban. She would be locked away in a maximum-security cell, where the dementors’ exposure is very high. Everyone thought that death would have been preferrable than that.
Eric was escorted out of the courtroom. He would be heading home. They are going to put a tracker on him and the man can start his sentence.
Isabella was dragged to the boats that are going to lead to Azkaban, so that the woman can start her sentence. The woman was putting a lot of resistance, but the aurors were no match to her. In Azkaban, the aurors found an empty cell in the maximum-security section and threw her in. The magic of the prison changed her robes and she wore the prisoner robes. They quickly locked the cell doors before Isabella could escape and returned back to the ministry. Isabella was roaring her innocence, but no one was listening to her. The woman sank on the floor crying and sobbing. This was her worst nightmare.
The trials continued until the November Wizengamot trials came to end.
Great Britain
There was a party in Malfoy Manor. The Grey Alliance was glad that Aurelius’ female accomplice was finally caught and convicted for the attempted murders. Corban and Amelia talked about the case without telling them any specifics and they were glad that the secret-keeping was over. The case was finally closed. Narcissa can tell that there were going to be some changes next month, but the case was going to have some lasting effects. She was contacted by Lady Burke after Isabella’s arrest that she wanted to speak with her after the trials in November. Narcissa didn’t know, what she had wanted to talk about, but she agreed on the meeting. Lady Burke would come to visit her after the school board meeting on November 25th.
In Hogwarts, there was a party-like atmosphere since another dark family associated to Voldemort was ruined, but there were also some pensive faces. Albus was silently thinking about today’s events. The Jugsons’ downfall is useful to him, but he was thinking about Christina O’Neill. The woman that came back from the dead and could ruin his life. Albus quickly waved Dung over to him, because he needed to speak with the man urgently.
Dung sat down in front of the headmaster’s desk and Albus quickly activated some silencing wards, so that no one was overhearing their conversation. The old headmaster heaved out a sigh. “Dung, we need to be carefully now. Since Isabella failed to kill the undercover auror, our dealings in the black market are in danger and now, we need to be carefully.”
“I know, Albus, but you also need to consider that my living is dependent on the black markets. It is not going to be easy for me, if I don’t have any money.” Dung is not happy about this outcome since his income is depending on the black markets.
Albus sighed. He forgot that Dung was a slacker during his time in school, but he was good at smuggling and had a talent in plausible deniability. “I understand, Dung, but we need to work with the circumstances, we have. If you are caught, then, I wouldn’t be able to protect you from prosecution. Head my warning, Dung, the situation has gotten a lot more complicated.” The man nodded in understanding and in annoyance. He knew that any mistake, he makes, would land him in Azkaban for some time and he can’t risk going into prison.
“Very well, I will keep my head down, but I will try to find new headquarters for our business in the black market, Albus. We can’t give up the money for the order.” Mundungus answered. Albus’ eyes twinkled and he gave the man a smile. “Good.”
The party continued on, but not many were happy. James was pensive about the outcome of the trial. He was glad that the Jugsons got what they deserved for being dark and evil, but he was furious that Yaxley was the one, who got praised for bringing them down. Sirius and Remus went over to their friend, in order to cheer him up. They knew, why he was upset. It’s because of Yaxley, who is getting the praise for bringing down Isabella and Eric Jugson. It is painful that a dark wizard was getting the praise instead of a light and good wizard. They knew that John Proudfoot was also involved in the investigation, but he was leaning towards neutrality, which is an annoyance.
“Prongs, why the long face? Let’s celebrate”, Sirius asked his friend trying to cheer him up.
James sighed knowing that his friends wanted to cheer him up. He answered in an angry voice: “It’s because of Yaxley, Sirius. That man is a danger to the DMLE, but no one seems to care. And to put insult to the injury, he is getting praised for doing and finishing the investigation against the Jugsons. Sirius, when was the last time that an auror from the light side had gotten praised like Yaxley.”
“Well…” Sirius knew that none of the aurors from the light side have gotten praised properly. Even during the war, they hadn’t received any praise, but only scorn and in some cases demotion, when they tried to do the right thing for their society.
“And that is the problem, Padfoot. Whereas we had been sitting here and had been doing nothing, people like Yaxley have gotten praised for what we should have done for the magical world”, James said angrily.
Sirius nodded in understanding, but argued: “I know, Prongs, but we are stuck. You are still a junior auror and I had been fired due to the disownment. You should not forget that the order is still blaming us for the demotion of Albert and Scrimgeour’s probation.” Sirius still struggled that he had been disowned by his dark family. He had done the right thing, but it seems like that his ex-grandfather doesn’t agree with his actions. He hates it that Narcissa had managed to have him kicked out of the family. He is from the main line and it is his birth right to become Lord Black, but unfortunately, his cousin interfered and ruined him. She also somehow arranged for his pup to be taken away from James and Lily and his ex-family had supported the decision. He tried to find his pup on his own, but since he is outside Europe, the tracking rituals wouldn’t work due to the distance. Sirius wished, he had some clues, where Harry could be, but he knew that he is somewhere outside Europe. He needed to find a way to fix this.
Sirius and Remus managed to cheer up their friend, but the pensiveness remained.
November 16th, 2002
When the news regarding the conviction of Isabella Jugson was spread through the wizarding world, there were many different reactions. Isabella’s friends were saddened and furious that she was given such a hard sentence. They couldn’t believe that their friend was treated like this. They wished that there was a way to help Isabella. Eric, in their view, was a coward that didn’t have a backbone to defend his sister and had only pleaded guilty, in order to save his own skin. He is no longer in their circle of friends.
Manfred was not happy about the article, but he couldn’t do anything about it, because of Isabella’s interrogation. The image of his house has been tarnished even more, because of Isabella and her vindictiveness. Eric would never find a good match for the next ten years due to his punishment. Eric sighed deeply, when his father showed him today’s headline. Great. His life has gotten worse and his sister is to blame for this mess. But things had gotten worse, when a letter came from the DMLE. He had been suspended since his arrest and the outcome of his trial would decide, what is going to happen to him. Opening the letter, Eric frowned.
Auror Eric Jugson,
Due to your recent actions against the DMLE and one of our co-workers, you are hereby fired from your position as an auror irrevocably. You will not be able to regain your former position anymore since our department deemed you to be untrustworthy.
Furthermore, you are banned from entering the DMLE offices and auror offices for the next decade. Exceptions are made, if you have to report a crime or something incriminating to us.
With that, your cooperation is no longer required.
With regards,
Lord Bartemius Crouch, Head of the DMLE
Eric was angry. He had expected that he would be fired, but being informed that he wouldn’t be able to regain his position as an auror evermore is a painful hit. His sister ruined everything. His career. His dreams. His life. In his opinion now, she can rot away in Azkaban. He doesn’t care about her anymore.
Manfred let out sigh, when his son showed him the letter. Isabella really screwed things up. He is ready to disown her, but he doesn’t want to do it. He had promised his wife that he would protect his children, even though he had failed Ulrich and Isabella, but he will not let them down.
In Hogwarts, Evelyn Jugson received many odd looks, which are infuriating the girl. When the newspaper arrived during breakfast, Evelyn nearly screamed, when she read the headline. This is a nightmare. She quickly left the great hall and made plans to go home for the weekend, in order to find out from her father and brother, what has happened. But one thing is sure. Isabella is no longer her sister anymore. She will never acknowledge that bint as her sister due to her actions that had brought ruin to their noble house. But first, she had classes to attend. This was going to be a long day.
Potter Manor, November 19th, 2002
There was an order meeting in Potter Manor again and an argument broke out regarding the nomination for the next school board meeting. Dumbledore was planning to change some aspects of the recent war that took place in Britain, because of Voldemort and his followers. Albus wanted the students to learn that most Slytherins were followers of Tom, but the statistics are showing basically the contrary. Ravenclaw has the highest number of death eaters, whereas Gryffindor had the second highest numbers, which is insulting many former Gryffindors in the order. James and the other rabid followers, who were also former Gryffindors, had ranted that the statistic has to be falsified. Hufflepuff and Slytherin had the lower numbers of Voldemort’s followers. But it is infuriating that Slytherin has the lowest number of You-Know-Who’s followers.
Arthur was surprised by the statistics, but he came to the conclusion that many Slytherins joined him under force like Lucius Malfoy or were spies like Severus, Augustus, Thorfinn and the late Evan Rosier. He can predict that this meeting would cause a headache for the others.
Albus was sure that this time, they would be successful since the statistics must be wrong. Tom’s followers are coming mainly from the Slytherin House, but what the old fool forgot to include that most former Slytherins have joined Voldemort either under threats or as spies for the ministry. They were not accounted in the statistic since the chart only accounted his true believers that were convicted.
Charlus and Dorea were not happy about listening to another order meeting. They were not happy that their son is a blind fool. He isn’t an idiot since he did well in school, but he is too naive and believes in the old fool. This will bite him back in the future. Both had spent more time with Dorea’s relatives complaining about their son, which is annoying Arcturus and Walburga especially Walburga, who was blamed mostly that James became a blind-light fool due to Sirius. Dorea has also been talking with Cygnus, who had managed to work through the loss of his daughters. After a year with Narcissa and her husband, Cygnus managed to rebuild his life again and planned to make a world tour. He moved into a decent flat or better to say, a house since his manor, where he lived with his wife and daughters, had many bad memories. It is a flat to the Black Family’s standard, but for a normal person, it was a lavish house.
Cygnus understood Dorea’s complaint. Walburga was the reason why Sirius became a Dumbledore fool. Orion too since the man should have put his foot down against his wife or gone to Uncle Arcturus and Aunt Melania, in order to correct Walburga’s behaviour towards their children. Sadly, that didn’t happen. He hoped that the Black Family would be rebuilt even though the family had many losses due to Voldemort and Dumbledore. But now, he had a world trip to do.
Dorea hoped that her great-niece, Narcissa, has a plan to stop those fools from ruining a generation.
Malfoy Manor, November 22nd, 2002
The members of the Grey Alliance were listening to Arthur about Dumbledore’s nomination regarding the history curriculum. Many shook their heads, when Dumbledore tried to tell everyone that most of Voldemort’s followers were Slytherins, which is not true. Most death eaters came from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. There were also many followers from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, Koldovstoretz and the other magical schools in the world, but mostly, Voldemort’s followers came from Africa and Eastern Europe. Hufflepuff and Slytherin had very few followers, which is surprising that Slytherin had the lowest number of Voldemort’s followers even though the man was a Slytherin.
Narcissa turned her attention to Amelia. “Amelia, the DMLE has surely records about the convicted death eaters in their archives. It is well known that the house of every convicted criminal is mentioned in their files since the school files are also used during the trials.”
“You are right, Narcissa, and I remember that during and after the war, many historians from the ICW came here, in order to watch the death eater trials and they started to make notes. Furthermore, they were allowed to read the trial transcripts of the death eaters and that has been surely used for the ICW curriculum in history.” Amelia was thoughtful at first, but she had a confident smile that they could shoot down Dumbledore’s nomination. But the woman realised that they needed to distract the old fool. “We also need a distraction against Dumbledore and his followers. Any ideas?”
Narcissa had a thoughtful look on her face and reminded herself about the last distraction that they had put forward and remembered that the Astronomy class needed to be adjusted. “I have an idea. The Astronomy class needed some small changes. During our last meeting, we have managed to pass to shorten the class time for all classes. This also includes the Astronomy class and that particular class should start at 10 pm and should end at 1 am in the morning. We would be able to have two double sessions during the night and Professor Sinistra would have a fewer workload than before.”
Severus agreed with Narcissa since Aurora would be able to finish her class earlier than now, where her class starts at 11 pm and ends at 2 am, and she would have a less stressful time with her class than before.
Everyone had to admit that this distraction would work in a way. They knew that the older generation of Dumbledore’s followers would protest the motion since they want Hogwarts to remain status quo, but the younger generation had a different opinion about these matters.
“And with that, we should nominate the Etiquette class and their international standards. It is important that the students learn, how to behave and how to greet and lead a conversation in the magical world without coming out to be rude and disrespectful. But they should also learn the international standards since etiquette is internationally different”, Callidora said primly. Muriel and Arthur agreed since the Delacours explained that Magical France had different etiquette rules than those in Britain.
This would be their nomination to get on with the primary school. Narcissa couldn’t wait for the result of this school board meeting.
School board meeting, November 25th, 2002
Albus couldn’t believe, how things have ended in this school board meeting. When the meeting started, one of his followers made the nomination to change the material regarding the Wizarding War with Voldemort. His pawn had unfortunately ranted about the fact that only Slytherins were death eaters and that the other houses were not involved with Voldemort especially the Gryffindors. Caradoc Dearborn was the one, who made the proposal, and the man was an old friend of his that he had helped personally during his time in school, but he is very anti-Slytherin since he was kept captive by death eaters during the war. He was found, when Voldemort was defeated, and was freed. After that, the man went with his influence as Lord Dearborn against the death eaters and the Slytherins. He despised Slytherins more than the death eaters since he was a student.
But then, Narcissa Malfoy made the nomination to make some slight changes to the Astronomy class. The class should start at 10 pm instead of 11 pm, which would allow the students to leave the class at 1 am exactly instead of 2 am, and there an argument broke. Albus wanted to curse Caradoc Dearborn. The man had started to rant about the Malfoys and the fact that they were Slytherins. He went on that they were death eater scums that should be locked away in Azkaban and not sitting here to make harmful decisions for school children. That annoyed many members in the Wizengamot especially Callidora Longbottom, who had a soft spot for her great-niece and questioned Dearborn, if she and her daughter-in-law were death eaters too since both were Slytherins. The man had started to rant that they were dark and evil witches that should stay away from Neville, so that he doesn’t become corrupted. Albus quickly put up a privacy ward around his followers since they were agreeing with Dearborn and they are alienating many members of the Wizengamot again.
From there on, he gave Dearborn a severely disappointed look for the comment against the Malfoys and the Longbottoms, but the man was defiant and made sure that everyone knew, what he thought of Slytherins and dark wizards and witches. It seems like that there are also older followers, who hated Slytherins, which is a setback now. For an entire hour, he tried to calm down his followers especially Caradoc and make sure that they behaved since his behaviour was a setback to his plans.
After he fixed the problem with Caradoc and his more rabid followers, Albus retook his podium and requested from Aurelia, if there had been another nomination and much to his fury, there was one regarding the primary school. Muriel Prewett of all people proposed the ICW standards for Etiquette. He tried to rally against the nomination that the children needed to be protected from the dark influence in their world. There was no way, he was going to allow that class to pass, because he knew that the muggle-raised children would understand why the purebloods were so against them and would learn things about the magical that he doesn’t want them to.
He gave an hour-long speech regarding the teaching of a dark and dangerous class and tried to convince the board that the muggleborns would not feel welcome, if that class was introduced to them. Many gave him confused looks regarding his protest and Albus believed that he had them hooked on his side.
When the vote came, the first nomination failed. Caradac was fuming and started to rant about dark snakes trying to make excuses for their actions during the war, but Amelia put a stop to that and explained that many ICW historians attended the death eater trials during and after the war as neutral arbiters and noted down, in what houses each convicted death eaters was or if they had attended Hogwarts at all. The man became puce-red and looked ready to scream, but one look from Albus, the man remained silent.
This was a setback, but Albus continued with the next nomination and the vote had a great majority, but he wasn’t interested in that change since he doesn’t care.
The third nomination passed regardless of his warning. This infuriated Albus to no end. Another dark class had passed and he couldn’t stop it.
Narcissa was happy and angry. Happy that their plan had worked, but angry regarding Lord Dearborn’s rant against her and her husband. Oh, how she had come to hate Dumbledore’s sheep. When the man made the nomination to change the material regarding the war that Voldemort and his followers had caused, she had to restrain her fury since the man blamed the Slytherins for the war.
Thankfully, he was finished and she made the motion to change the Astronomy class that the class should start at 10 pm instead of 11 pm. After that, Dearborn started to rant about her and her husband of being Slytherins and a danger to their society due to their former affiliation with Voldemort and his death eaters. When Callidora questioned him about her and Augusta being Slytherins, the man became revolting about, how Neville needs to be removed from dark and evil snakes like them. Narcissa remembered the October meeting and she had to admit that Dearborn is making the same mistake as the younger followers during their rants against Callidora and Augusta last month. Those fools haven’t learned about the mess during the last meeting and they are making the same mistake again.
When Dumbledore was distracted with his followers, Amelia made the protest that Lord Dearborn’s motion is taken out of context due to the ICW historians that have viewed the death eater trials during and after the war. She showed them the records about the convicted death eaters and many were astounded that Slytherin had the lowest number of death eaters in comparison to the other Hogwarts houses even though Voldemort and his most radical followers like the former Lestrange trio were coming from that house. With that, they had managed to convince the members that the statistics are true. They were also able to sneak in a nomination to propose the Etiquette class for the primary school. Muriel made sure that the members knew why the Etiquette class was important for their society and showed them that a lack of Etiquette would make the next generation uncouth and shameful like it was shown by Lord Dearborn.
Narcissa was annoyed, when Dumbledore was finished with his followers and retook his podium. When the man was told about Muriel’s nomination, the man started an hour-long rant about the dangers of the class and how the muggleborns needed to be protected from the corruptive nature of the Etiquette lessons. Many were confused by the headmaster’s reasoning since the class isn’t even magical and doesn’t sound to be bad that the children learn some behaviour rules that have been existing for generations.
When the vote came, Dumbledore received two nasty surprises. Firstly, Dearborn’s motion failed, which was satisfying to watch Dumbledore’s and Dearborn’s reactions. Both looked furious. Secondly, the Etiquette class has passed, which infuriated the old fool even more. That meeting was satisfying.
Dearborn Manor
Caradac Dearborn arrived back home in an absolute fury. This school board meeting was a nightmare. Why didn’t his nomination pass? How dare those fools side with those filthy snakes and excuse their actions during the war? He will never believe that statistic that the Slytherins had the lowest number of death eaters during the war. Those snakes are dark and evil and are an illness to their society. Unfortunately, he had seen that there were still those that are defending Slytherins and dark wizards and witches. He is sickened by those nitwits. Then, there was Narcissa Malfoy, who made a nomination. Caradoc didn’t pay attention, what the woman proposed since he was in a blind fury and didn’t care, what that filthy bitch had to say. Narcissa and her husband are a danger to their society and he wanted to put them in their places, but it didn’t work since that old Longbottom bitch interfered. He was furious, when it was revealed that poor little Neville was being raised by two dark and evil snakes. He made sure to tell them that they are a danger to the child and that Neville should be taken away from them. He didn’t understand why Albus gave him his well-known severely disappointed grandfather look, when he had requested a privacy ward. Caradoc was furious that Albus had scolded him about his behaviour during the school board meeting. Those snakes needed to know that they are harming their society. But at the end, he was even more enraged that the truth was taken negatively and a majority voted against his nomination. Then, there was the proposal from the Malfoy bitch, that had passed. He didn’t understand why. Why would anyone vote for her motion? He was confused and angry until it was explained that Malfoy nominated that the Astronomy class should start at 10 pm and not at 11 pm. He had to admit that this motion didn’t sound bad. But the nomination from Muriel Prewett was painful. How could a good and light witch propose such a dark class to be taught to children? Sadly, he temporarily forgot that Muriel was a traditionalist and unfortunately, the class passed since the majority of the board voted for it, which was another setback.
Entering the living room, Caradoc was greeted by his wife. “Caradoc, my dear. How was the school board meeting?”
“It was terrible, Candice. My nomination failed. Then, there was Muriel’s betrayal by proposing a dark class and those fools voted for it”, Caradoc said in an angry voice.
Candice thinned her lips and looked dissatisfied. She asked: “What dark class did pass, Caradoc?”
“The Etiquette class.”
“Oh, dear, this isn’t good. The children especially the muggle-raised would learn outdated information that they don’t need in the future. How did the class pass?” Candice was not happy about this outcome.
Caradoc let out a sigh and said: “Muriel nominated it and you and I know, how much of a traditionalist that woman is even though House Prewett is traditionally a light family. She had the support from the majority since even those in the dark section voted for her nomination.”
“Well, that is not good. Muriel has remained traditional due to her upbringing and schooling. You should not forget that she attended Hogwarts, when Black was headmaster and you know as I do, how he had ruined the school with his dark ideology until Albus took over and rectified everything”, Candice reminded her husband.
Caradoc grumbled at that. He forgot that Muriel had been taught differently than he and his wife. “Let’s hope that there aren’t going to be any further changes. Let’s have some dinner.” With that, both couple went to the dining room.
Malfoy Manor, November 27th, 2002
Narcissa was sitting in the living room reading another Sherlock Holmes book. She had already read three of these books and it seems like that these novels are never going to be boring. Narcissa had to admit that muggles knew, how to write novels. She took a sip of her tea and waited for Lady Burke to arrive. Today, Oreana Burke was supposed to visit her since she wanted to talk with her about something important. Narcissa had prepared her favourite tea and biscuits and waited patiently.
When the floo flared and Oreana Burke stepped out of the fireplace, Narcissa stood up and greeted the woman politely. She offered her to take a seat, which the woman did.
Tea was quickly served, and the biscuits were put at the table. With that, the conversation could start. “Lady Burke, you wanted to speak with me after the November school board meeting. What can I do for you?”
The woman took a sip of her tea wishing that there was some alcohol since she was under a lot of stress due to the blood purists in the Wizengamot. “I wanted to talk to you since I believe that you are the only person that I can trust, Lady Malfoy. I mean, when I informed you about Aurelius’ plans back then in January, I never thought that the man had planned with Isabella Jugson to break his brother’s soul bond with Clara and had attempted to kill them. But back to the point, I was thinking about reassigning my seats at the school board meeting to the neutral fraction. Traditionally, in the Wizengamot, my seats are assigned to the dark, but those traditions do not count for the school board meeting. But I am still insecure.”
Narcissa understood, what Oreana wants to say. There are traditions in the Wizengamot that are a no-go to break for example the assignment of a seat to one of the three sections. The Burke seat had always been traditionally in the dark section and it would remain there for the time being, but those traditions are not accounted for the school board. Lady Burke could move her seat in the school board to the neutral fraction without any scrutiny. Narcissa said: “Then, do it, Lady Burke. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt your reputation, if you move your seats to the neutral fraction in the school board. Apart from that, you would teach those dreadful blood purists in our fraction that if they put one toe out of line, then, the Burkes would break traditions and move their seats to the neutral fraction. You would have a good reason to leave the dark fraction. It wouldn’t be scrutinised like it was done, when my ex-cousin, Sirius, moved the Black seats from the dark to the light fraction without thinking that there could be consequences. The dark fraction especially the blood purists had received a lot of bad press due to Isabella’s and Aurelius’ actions and with your message, you are trying to tell the public that you are distancing yourself from the blood purists and the dark section as a whole. So, no one would judge your reassignment.”
Oreana had a thoughtful expression. The idea doesn’t sound to be bad, but she questioned: “And what about my family? Many are not going to approve or like my plans.”
“Then, be blunt and tell them the inconvenient truth about the blood purists and if that doesn’t work, then, ignore them. You are the head of your own family. You have the final say regarding political and educational matters. Furthermore, no one wants to be on a sinking ship, Lady Burke”, Narcissa explained.
Lady Burke had to admit that Lady Malfoy was correct. She needed to be steadfast regarding her position as the head of the House Burke. It was time to make some changes even though some members of her family are not going to like them.
The rest of the day was spent chattering about different topics. When little Draco made his way to Narcissa, the woman took the boy gently in her arms and Lady Burke was cooing at the cute, little, blonde boy. She said: “You are going to grow in a handsome man, when you are finished with Hogwarts. Many girls are going to chase you.” Draco giggled and Narcissa let out chuckle. Her son would grow up to be beautiful. The ancestry of the veelas remained still strong in the Malfoy Family.
Lucius also joined them and boasted about his son’s beauty that he had inherited from him. Both women rolled their eyes and Narcissa muttered that she hoped that Draco didn’t inherit that from his father. Lucius had a genuine smile at the reaction of both women. When evening arrived, Lady Burke left and Draco was quickly tucked into bed. Narcissa and Lucius met again in the living room and were talking about Lady Burke’s visit. Lucius summed it up: “So, Lady Burke wants to reassign her seat in the neutral fraction in the school board, if I am hearing it correctly?”
“Yes, Lucius, and I believe that this would be an advantage against the blood purists, Dumbledore and his followers. The blood purists would lose a potential ally and they wouldn’t have no one to blame then Isabella and Aurelius for this mess. Dumbledore and his followers would be scared about the sudden influx of power in the neutral fraction. It would be a small step to remove the old man from his position as head governor”, Narcissa explained.
Lucius had to agree with his wife. “There is also Corban. I have heard that he is planning to move his seats in the Wizengamot and the school board to the neutral fraction. It would be one small step to remove Dumbledore from his position as Chief Warlock and another step to remove him from the Head Governor position.”
“Ah, yes. I temporarily forgot that Corban is also planning to reassign the Yaxley seats. Clara would be happy, if her husband does that since she hates the other Wizengamot members already.” Narcissa was amused about Clara’s dislike of the other members of the Wizengamot. She cannot wait for the next school board and Wizengamot meeting in December. This was going to be entertaining.
Lucius had seen his wife’s expression and knew that there was going to be some entertainment at the next Wizengamot and school board meeting. Leaving the year 2002 with a big bang.
Evandrus Manor, November 29th, 2002
Corban and Clara were sitting in the informal dining room and were enjoying their dinner. Their three kids were with them and they made a little mess with their food. Their oldest is six years old and had started to go to a magical primary school in France, whereas their youngest two were spending their time in a muggle kindergarten. When the kids were finished, the elves quickly cleaned up the table and took the kids to their rooms leaving Clara and Corban alone in the dining room.
“Clara, there are some things that we need to discuss”, Corban said softly.
“Oh, and what would that be, Corban?” She knew from the soft voice from her husband that it must be good news.
Corban gave his wife a warm smile and said: “The first thing that I want to discuss with you are the Wizengamot and school board meetings since you were complaining about those meetings non-stop. So, I am asking you, Clara, do you want to continue to sit at the Wizengamot and school board meetings after the December meetings or should I be your proxy again? I want to know your opinion, because at the end of the Yule meeting, I am going to reassign the Yaxley seats to the neutral fraction?”
“Oh. Well, if you had asked me that in July, I would have jumped at the opportunity, but now, I am not so sure, because I want to help you and the others to modernise the magical world and to improve the school for our children.” Clara really wanted to make some changes, so that her children could get the best education that could be offered.
Corban was surprised that his wife wants to be involved in politics and the school, but he understands her and supports her decision. Having Clara in the Wizengamot and the school board would benefit them more. Clara continued: “Apart from that, if you retake the position as proxy and I stop attending the meetings, then, there are going to be some accusations against you from the light section especially Stuart and his goons that you only married me for my seats, my line and the political power that I have.” Corban had to admit that she is right in that endeavour. If Clara leaves during the January meeting, then, he is sure that there are going to be some rumours against him.
“Very well, Clara. My sweet lady wants to remain and become politically active, then so be it, but if you want a break from those meetings, then, please tell me about it. Do not hesitate to ask me, if it is too much for you.” Corban gave his wife a grin and Clara just huffed, but she was glad that he was so gentle with her.
“Corban, I will tell you, when things become too much for me to handle. You don’t need to worry.” With that, Clara and Corban tucked their children into their beds and they read them a goodnight story.
This December was going to be exciting.