Old Friends
Lord Thomas Slytherin was enjoying a quiet dinner with two of his oldest friends and supporters, Lord's Xander Nott and Rambert Lestrange. They had all attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and been housemates in Slytherin. Xander, Rambert along with Abraxas Malfoy had been the first to see the potential of the young man known then as Tom Riddle and to later pledge themselves to him and his cause.
"I believe Abraxas is going to step aside and allow his heir, Lucius, to take over the Malfoy Lordship and his seats on the Wizengamot. In his last letter to me he wrote that his son wants to use the seats and that since he completed his Masters in Law last year he has been revising various laws that would benefit us" commented Rambert.
"Abraxas is politically savvy enough to get by but has never had the interest or patience that is needed to make law reforms and then lobby for them" said Xander. "He has always been more interested in magical creatures and beings, it wouldn't suprise me one bit if he gave up the Lordship to his heir and then spent even more time on those dratted creatures he insists he is breeding to 'perfection'. When I saw him two weeks ago he was heading abroad to collect a new Abraxan Stallion he wanted to 'put to stud and improve his stock'" he finished in derision.
"It can only aid our cause if the Malfoy Heir proves to be more politically minded and active than his father is. Abraxas is a good man but he never really wanted to take on the Lordship even when we were at school" added The Dark Lord. "What of the young Heirs Nott and Lestrange, do they have any political aspirations?"
Both men looked somewhat aggrieved at the mention of their heir.
Xander looked at his friends and confided "My wife and I have taken over the care of my grandson, as you are both aware since my son Theodores' wife died in childbirth he hasn't been fit to raise his son. He refuses help and if he continues on the path he is on I intend to pass the Lordship directly on to my grandson. It is all I can do to ensure that the estate is kept intact, he already spends every penny he is given on alcohol, gambling and whores" the men nodded in understanding.
"Well, Rodolphus and Bellatrix do not seem able to conceive and for that I am frankly grateful. Any child born of Bellatrix would be likely to suffer at her hands one way or another an there is a strong chance that the Black madness could be passed on, especially given how strong a hold it has on Bellatrix herself." Rambert took a long fortifying sip of his wine and continued "Even now, despite his passing, I resent that Orion never warned me of the truth of the illness of her mind or that the Blacks hid it from us during their courtship. My hope now is that Rabastan will marry well and have an heir to pass the titles to or that Bellatrix meets with an early demise and that Rodolphus is able to remarry. Rodolphus has informed me that he will only take on the responsibilities of the Lordship when I am unable to fulfil my duties. At present neither he nor his brother have any interest in the political arena, Rabastan is on the duelling circuit at present and Rudolphus is more interested in avoiding his wife by finding reasons to be out of the country." Rambert stared into his empty glass as if it held the secrets to his families continuation.
There were no cheerful words of support or condolence offered between the men, they knew each other too well and respected one another too much to offer up such false words, it would be an insult to both the integrity of one and intelligence of the other would they have done so.
As they finished their meal and the plates were vanished from the table Lord Slytherin stood.
"Shall we continue this discussion in my study? I was recently gifted an excellent 50 year old Brandy made by the Pyre distillery".
The three gents sat in the dark oak study, discussing some of the more recent recruits to their political movement, sharing their opinions on who would be useful and where in the future, If they were to succeed in achieving their manifesto they would have to continue to plan carefully. The popularity of Albus Dumbledore and the fear of another insane Dark Lord like Grindelwald, whom he had defeated, was making it difficult to get enough traction to make big changes to their society and was causing considerable frustration.
The same arguments had been made for over 40 years at this point buy the laws being passed continued to restrict their world from growth and equality. Magical Beings had equal magical rights until they were eroded by generations of wizards who feared yhe magic and power of so called 'dark' creatures, which eventually became ALL creatures and the different magics that they wield. They had feared losing control of the magical world if creatures had rights and now they had done so by alienating a large proportion of the magical community.
Wizarding Customs and Politics had been replaced with Muggle studies with the intention that if wizards could blend in better with muggles then the statute of secrecy would be at less risk. Instead the muggles culture and technology changed so rapidly that everything learnt was already obsolete and in an effort to make the transition to the wizarding world easier muggle raised wizards were taught nothing of the wizarding world. This had only suceeded in increased tensions between those who were wizard raised and those muggle raised, as the traditional wizarding holidays, such as Ostara and Yule, were pushed aside in preference of their Christian, and therefore muggle recognised, counterparts Easter and Christmas.
Lord Slytherin had a particular desire to ensure magical children were bought into their world sooner and that thorough home checks were complete. He himself had been raised in a muggle orphanage during World War two and Grindelwalds war, as such he was all too aware that not all muggles were harmless nor were all accepting of anything 'different', there was little to no provision made for children of the wizarding world who did not have family to take them in should the need arise. Following Grindlewald's reign of terror across Europe, where many families were all but wiped out, many countries had come to realise that safe havens for children were required until families could be found for them, Britain was one of the very few that had learnt the wrong lessons following that war. Instead of uniting the wizarding population they had created a 'light' side and a 'dark' side. Instead of ensuring wizarding children on both the muggle and magical sides of Britain had a safe home to be raised in, the problem was ignored. Grindelwald was 'dark' and had hated Muggles so to counter that thinking the 'light' loved all things muggle and chose to believe the best in them, it allowed them to believe that anything negative they heard about a childs upbringing was most certainly a one off.
In an effort to curb the misuse of Dark magic laws were introduced to limit the spells able to be used, arguments made that any magic could be misused and that it was better to punish the wrong doer than society as a whole fell of deaf ears. Many were easily convinced that the only way to prevent another Grindelwald was to limit the information available to the general population, particularly when it was dark magic. The masses chose to ignore that there were branches of 'dark' magic that could do much good for society and it was being lost and banned because of prejudice and fear.
"I know Mr Crouch and Mr Fudge are both hoping to win the next election, though Crouch seems to be the forerunner at present. He will try to push through many more resteictive laws I fear should he be elected as Minister" Marvolo said staring into his glass "Fudge wouldn't be much of an improvement but if your pockets are deep enough he can be led by his Gringotts Vault easily enough"
The other two men smirked at this indictment on Fudges character.
"Crouch Jr is one of yours though, he clearly doesn't agree with his fathers politics, or his father in general if the rumours are true, but i don't know if he has any plans to enter the ministry" Xander added as he accepted a top up on his brandy.
"My sons are friends with young Barty, I will ask them about his plans. Depending where his strengths are we should be able to make good use of him, he was a Ravenclaw and left Hogwarts with twelve Outstanding NEWTs I believe, in addition to that his name would help pave the way for which ever department he was to join" said Rambert thoughtfully.
"Do either of you know much about my young Potions Master Severus Snape and his family? I am aware he is a half - blood and that his mother came from the Prince line but I recall little else" asked Marvolo
Rambert scoffed lightly "His mother was Eileen, heiress to the Prince line. She was disinherited by her father, Lord Prince, when she married a muggle however, I don't believe that her son was disinherited, as he would be last of that line". He gave a thoughtful pause "I don't know much about Eileen personally, only the gossip from the time, but the family gifts for Potions and Spellcrafting have clearly been inherited by young Snape. I've been told by my both of my sons that he has quite the brilliant mind and at only 22 years of age already has two Masteries, Potions, which you obviously know about Thomas, which included mediwizard training and the other is in Defensive and Offensive magics".
Xander looked impressed, "I had no idea that he had two masteries already, that's impressive for one so young. It must have been very difficult to obtain two Masteries without the family fortune to offset the expense of them"
"Hmm. He had already invented several Spells and Potions when he had left Hogwarts and the income from them went some way towards paying for his masteries I believe. What is known of his sister?" asked Thomas.
"Sister? I didn't know he had one." Rambert answered looking to Xander to see if he knew anything, at the shake of his friends head he continued "Young Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy named him godfather to their son and are close to him, they would likely know more about the sister and other family. Possibly they may also know if Snape is likely to be inheriting the Prince seats in the Wizengamot".
Lord Slytherin went to visit his old friend and follower, Lord Abraxas Malfoy, a few days following the dinner with Nott and Lestrange. Ostensibly to speak about gathering futher support to block yet another piece of legislation that Dumbledore's supporters were trying to push through, this time it was a blood magic ritual that was used to removing toxins, poisons and diseases from the blood. The people who had drawn up this legislation were so focused on the idea it was 'Dark' and 'Blood' based that they were completely ignoring why it was so popular and used across the globe. They insisted that a 'light' but less effective spell would do just as well, 'Let's see if they still think that way when it's one of their own family in dire need' he thought, frustration showing on his face briefly as he thought about it.
Abraxas had sat talking to Thomas about his plan to hand down the Malfoy Lordship to his son Lucius, about the piece of legislation that was annoying the Dark Lord and then about his future plans for his highly prized animals when a few hours later a house elf popped in and informed them that lunch was ready in the small dining room. Abraxas extended a lunch invitation to his friend who accepted gladly hoping that he might get the answers he sought abouts the two young Snapes.
Lucius Malfoy was sat at the dining table with his wife Narcissa, their 18 month old son Draco was having a much needed nap under the care of Dotty the house elf, leaving the two free to enjoy their lunch. Lucius knew that the Dark Lord had been visiting with his father that morning so there was a high probability that their lord would also grace them with his presence, the man made the young Malfoy Heir both fearful and hopeful. He was charismatic, intelligent and exceedingly powerful, it was hard not to feel awed in his presence especially after being told stories about some of his Lords less than savoury exploits when he was still a young man.
When Lord Malfoy and Lord Slytherin entered the room both of the young people stood and bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Heir Malfoy, Madam Malfoy a pleasure to see you both again. I hope you and your son are all in good health" The Dark Lord said politely after they had all sat.
"Thank you my Lord, It is a great pleasure to have you joining us today. We are all well thank you and our son is growing healthy and strong, so we count lady magics blessings" Lucius said in return.
"It is good to see the next generation prosper and grow. Remind me, who did you name as godparents to your young heir?" Lord Slytherin asked feigning polite interest.
"That would be Severus Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange My Lord" answered Lucius, he and his wife had shared a subtle look between them after answering.
The Dark Lord hummed lightly while reaching for his glass of wine "Unusual, many opt for three godparents to be named due to the magical significance as no doubt you know." he said off handedly as if he had no real interest in an answer.
"Draco has three also, you two were forgetting the young Snape girl" Abraxas said completely oblivious to the look the couple had given each other again.
"Another Snape? I wasn't aware that Severus had much in the way of family?" The Dark Lord probed gently.
"Oh yes, his sister. They both come from the Prince line of course, their mother was disinherited, shameful scandal at the time" nodded Abraxas absently, more focused on his lunch.
"That would be Livia Snape would it not?" He asked looking pointedly at Lucius and Narcissa.
Narcissa decided that it would be best to be honest and try to mitigate any notice the Dark Lord may gain in their young friend. "Yes My Lord, Livia has been travelling for the last few years only coming home occasionally".
"Hmm. I had the pleasure of making her aquaintance last week. It is odd that we should have so many aquaintances in common and yet I had never even heard her name until meeting her quite by chance" He said with a deceptively mild tone. Why were the Malfoys reluctant to tell him about Snapes' sister? Were they hiding something important from him? Whatever it is he vowed to uncover the secret, he couldn't afford unpleasant surprises at present and he wouldn't allow his young followers to think hiding such things from him was in anyway acceptable.
The Malfoy couple looked decidedly uncomfortable and were saved from answering once again by Abraxas, who seemed to be completely oblivious to the slight undercurrent of annoyance and impatience that his friend and Lord was projecting.
"Really? Well, she isn't really important in the grand scheme of things I suppose. She has no powerful family backing or connections, no money, heirships and no political clout. Beyond her brother being a sought after Potions Master she doesn't really offer much does she?" all of this was said said in a sort of absent minded ramble, much to the mortification of the Malfoy heir and his wife. It was a mystery to him how his father had managed to survive in Slytherin House, home of the ambitious and cunning, at Hogwarts. Severus was still technically heir to the Prince line, he had surreptitiously checked when Severus had refused to, he was also the youngest person to hold a Potions Mastery and was incredibly well respected in the potions and health care field due to his work. Livia, though not an heiress, had a brilliant mind and was on track to becoming the youngest person ever to obtain three masteries by over a decade. Lucius would be glad when he could take the political reins for his family, his father clearly was well and truly better off with his animals if he couldn't see the potential in both Severus and Livia.
Though he didn't show it Lord Slytherin was feeling mixture of amused and exasperated towards his old his friend, he still seemed to think old family in addition to old money was the only kind of power worth wielding and had once again overlooked intelligence and knowledge as a type of power, a currency if wielded correctly. In his opinion it was the very blocks that made the path to power traversable. Abraxas was still as lacking in political insight as ever and he would be glad to see how the young Malfoy heir comports himself in the political arena.