Lilian Viviana Clearwater
Albert slammed the door shut with all the force he could and then warded it with as many wards as he could think of. They didn’t need someone just waltzing in during this conversation.
They were in the Ravenclaw Tower and the Chamber of the Lord President. Albert hardly used this room because it was frankly unneeded. Everything in it screamed wealth that the rest of the tower lacked. A large desk made out of mahogany wood, with pure gold mixed into it for some reason. The chairs were all made of leather and unfairly comfortable. The quills were gold, the inkwells were gold, the lamps were gold, even the paperweight was gold.
Rowena Ravenclaw certainly had a favorite color.
He turned away from the now heavily warded door and to the two other occupants of the room.
Corvus was sitting in one of the two leather chairs facing the desk. He had his elbows on his knees and his hands steepled, fingers resting under his nose. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. Albert expected more of a reaction but well this was Corvus.
Fiona was pacing around and had hands clenched so tightly that they were shaking. She had discarded her robes as well as loosened her tie and rolled up her sleeves. Honestly, she looked ready to fight right now.
“Alright, what the fuck do we do now?”
Albert was met by silence from Corvus and pacing from Fiona.
“Guys. Tell me there was a plan for this.”
“She insulted my family, Albert!” Fiona yelled while pacing back and forth.
“Okay, but when did this happen and what did she even say? I didn’t even know what you were going on about until you demanded the honor duel.” Albert said.
Fiona stopped her pacing and looked at him for a moment. Then she reached into her pocket and took out a piece of paper. A letter.
“This is why I demanded satisfaction.” She said and handed him the letter.
Albert unfolded it and read the contents. A letter to Lord Jonathan Clearwater II from the… Magical Congress of the United States of America. Albert’s eyebrows shot up at that and he looked towards Fiona. She just gestured for him to keep reading.
The letter was dated as of the Seventh of November 1948.
From the Office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement… we regret to inform you that… in an attack on the City of New York… three bodies were found… marked as followers of Grindelwald… traces of the Cruciatus Cruse found… bodies mutilated… accused perpetrator being… one Lilian Viviana Clearwater… marked Acolyte… branded traitor… rumored as the infamous No-Maj Killer… found dead on scene… evidence of rape and mutilation… beheading and…
Albert looked away from the letter after that, discarding it to the mahogany desk. He just couldn’t read on any further. What the fuck did he just read?
That… that can’t be true…
He looked towards Fiona, and she seemed more sad than angry at this point. She had stopped pacing and her hands weren’t clenched in a white-knuckle grip anymore, but she did break the skin of her palms, and had blood running down her fingers. She didn’t seem to notice as she took several slow breaths, her eyes unfocused.
This… this was so much worse than he imagined. What the fuck?!
“Break out the alcohol Albert, we’re going to need it.” Corvus said as he stood up.
He grabbed the letter off the desk as Albert went to the unmarked cabinet and opened it. Alcohol would help deal with whatever the fuck he had just read, and what he failed to read. He spotted the bottle of Firewhiskey. Year of 1900. Turn of the Century Edition. It would have to do.
He grabbed it as well as three shot glasses. He was barely present as he took a seat behind the Lord President’s desk and poured out three shots of Firewhiskey. He took a drink and relished as the liquid burned down his throat. At least it took his attention away from that cursed letter, even if for only a moment.
Corvus was reading the letter with a slight frown on his face. His mouth was moving slightly as he read the words and his brow pinched in certain areas of the letter. By the end, he simply folded the letter back up and placed it on the desk. Then he sighed and reached for one of the shot glasses.
He grimaced as he drank and then went about pouring himself another one.
Albert watched him drink another one and then make his way to Fiona.
“Hey, look at me.” Corvus said and grabbed Fiona by the shoulders. She refocused on him, and Albert could see tears welling up in her eyes. “It matters not what happened in the past. It does not define you.”
“B-but… I-”
“Stop. It does not define you, Fiona. Whatever your Great Aunt Lilian did is irrelevant in terms of who you are. You are Fiona Clearwater. You are smart and loyal. You like dueling and can be a romantic at times. Most importantly, you are my friend.”
“How can you… after all she did-”
“One bad apple does not ruin the entire basket, Fiona. I would know, the Black family has plenty of stains on our family tree. My ancestors have done some horrible things, but that doesn’t make me a different person. I am me, Corvus Alphard Black. I am my own man, and you are your own woman.”
“He’s right Fiona.” Albert said and stood up. “I don’t think any less of you for the crimes of one family member. You probably didn’t even know her, so she couldn’t have done anything to you.”
Fiona’s tears were flowing freely now, and Albert found his eyes watering up as well. Corvus released Fiona from his grip on her shoulders and took her hands in his. The cuts in her palms from her nails had mostly stopped bleeding, the lines of blood going down her palms and along her fingers, landing in two puddles on the floor.
Albert watched as Corvus placed both hands over one of Fiona’s hands and murmured something to low to hear. As he pulled away, the cuts and blood were gone, healed, and washed away. Fiona’s other hand received the same treatment and with a flick of his wrist the puddles on the ground were wiped away. The stains erased from the room.
He stepped away from her after that and went to get the final shot of Firewhiskey. Fiona drank is slowly as she wiped the tears from her face. Her breathes were ragged and eyes were puffed red. Albert guided her to one of the leather chairs and then sat across from her, making sure to remain in her line of sight.
“Is this what Umbridge brought up? Is this the insult she delivered to your family?” Corvus asked in a low voice.
Fiona nodded and Albert saw Corvus curse under his breath as he picked the letter back up. Albert could almost see the wheels turning inside Corvus’ mind, because they were certainly doing the same in his own. This was worse than the rumors they were hearing. Bribery and corruption were one thing, but this?
Lilian Viviana Clearwater was an accused Acolyte of Gellert Grindelwald. Accused of the murder of American wizards and muggles alike. Accused of using the Cruciatus Curse with lethal intent on fellow wizards. Killed enough muggles to be named the No-Maj killer. Mutilation of bodies…
The list of her crimes was probably more numerous than what the letter stated. Crimes that led to her being killed herself. But not before she was raped.
“Who did it Corvus. I-I couldn’t finish the letter.” Albert said.
Corvus frowned and looked back at the letter for a second before lowering it and closing his eyes.
“The letter states that the Americans don’t know who did it. But, its implied that it was other Acolytes of Grindelwald. They say she betrayed Grindelwald, but the how is never stated.”
“By Merlin and Morgana, that’s what the letter says?”
“Aye, I hardly think that this is the full story, this is only the end of Lilian’s life. What she did in the war and how she was killed.”
“You think the American’s are hiding the rest?”
“The letter was from the Assistant Director of the American Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was a courtesy letter, informing the then Lord Clearwater of the death of his sister. A sister that committed numerous crimes on American soil. Everything else about Lilian Clearwater’s life? Its either lost to time or locked up in Ministry files, both British and American.”
“But how did Umbridge even know about any of this? I thought she was using the bribery and corruption rumors as the slander?”
“Her father works at the Ministry.” Fiona’s voice was so quiet that Albert and Corvus both nearly missed it.
“But what does he do?” Albert asked.
“Whatever he does, it obviously allowed him to get access to the Ministry Archive. To files about the war.” Corvus said and gestured to the letter. “Who knows what Umbridge was planning to do with this information is a mystery. The honor duel probably messed with her plan, but I doubt that it would stop her in the long run.”
“Wait, you think she means to attack Fiona’s entire family?”
“Her family is firmly in the light faction. There’s no doubt about that. But this?” The letter was waved around. “This is evidence that a Clearwater fought for Grindelwald. That a member of her family did things that are unforgivable and would mean life in Azkaban or the veil in today’s courts.”
“It’s blackmail.”
“Maybe, but this could also be an attack on the Light faction as a whole.” Corvus sighed and leaned against the desk in front of Albert and Fiona.
“She’s using all of this just to attack the light faction?” Albert asked.
“There’s probably more that I’m missing. No doubt that news of the honor duel has reached most of wizarding Britain by now. The Daily Prophet will most likely run a story on it by tomorrow, and its going to be ugly.”
“So, what do we do?” Fiona asked.
“We can’t contain this. Its already gotten out of hand. Every magical in Britain will know about the duel by tomorrow. If Umbridge leak this information about Lilian? She’d be dragging the Americans into this mess as well. The Germans and Russians might also come in on this, Grindelwald had followers all over Europe.” Corvus said as he rubbed his forehead.
“So, we do nothing?” Albert said.
Corvus frowned and sighed.
“Right now? Yes. Tomorrow? We have to prepare for a political war. This is going to bring up a lot of old wounds in the Wizengamot.”
Albert didn’t like that. Just sit and take the hits that the media will send to Fiona? School life was going to be hard for both her and Umbridge, but he couldn’t care less about that Pink bitch. She started this whole mess and for what? Politics?
He hated how much politics influenced their lives. Umbridge was playing with fire right now and could burn everything down. The status quo could be upended by the end of the year.
And all with a fire that was nearly forty years old.
Shit.