Chapter 40
Lucius Malfoy scanned through the frightened crowd, running around like headless chickens and revelled in the power and the fear that he had so missed. It had been decades since he had seen people cower like this in front of him, and he had sorely missed this sensation, as the men around him wreaked havoc everywhere.
They had especially waited until after the match, for he had reasoned that, cautioned as they may be, few Aurors would be able to stave off the temptation to celebrate, and he had been right.
Half an hour into the celebration, most of the Aurors were already partially drunk, and the rest were so wholly incompetent that they and their men made quick work of them, as they began their display.
"Crucio!" he whispered, indiscriminately attacking the rampaging crowd as more and more of his former associates joined in. Few he saw cheering them on from the sides, as they reminded the world of the Power they had long forgotten.
"Crucio! Crucio!" he laughed, enjoying the screams, until his eyes landed on a running bunch with that all too familiar red hair.
"Weasleys'" he whispered, recognising those red locks in an instant, though they were not alone. No. He saw them as well, the two little thorns in his side.
Harry Potter, and that girl. The one who had taken his son from him—that mudblood girl.
And his steps carried him towards them, as he raised his wand and aimed it at the group, as he lashed out with all his power.
"BOMBARDA!" and a dark purple orb rushed out of his wand, just as Arthur looked towards him.
"Look out," the fat man whispered as he put himself between his attack and the group as he tried to bring up a shield.
"Protego..." but he was too late, as the shield went up only partially before his spell collided with it.
BOOOM!
"AHHHHH!" they screamed, in pain as they were all thrown across from the force of his spell, as others joined him.
"Take care of the rest. I will handle this one," he said, pointing towards the girl and the two strangers beside her. He was impressed seeing her pushing herself back up as she pushed herself towards those strangers.
"Mother. Father," he heard her whisper, as his eyes widened in surprise.
"I did not know the Weasleys had fallen so low as to fraternise with the Muggles!" he taunted, looking down at the girl.
"You think yourself so, spry ensnaring away my son from me," he whispered, and saw her glance towards him, their eyes met as she whispered his name.
"Malfoy..." and he was surprised that she had caught on quickly.
"Yes, consider it your misfortune that you caught my son's eye..." and with that, his wand lit up with a greenish hue, as he moved it with years of practised ease.
"Avadara Kedavra..." "NOOOO!"
He heard a scream, yet before he had finished his chant, someone else jumped in between him and the girl, as his eyes widened.
"HARRY!" the girl screamed, as his spell hit the boy instead of the girl, and the green light hit the boy and an instant later, a sharp pain tore through his wand arm, as he felt the Dark Mark burn, as a massive wave of magic erupted from the boy, wreaking absolute havoc across the clearing.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
BOOOOOM!
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PADEMONIUM AT THE FINAL—DEATH EATERS WREAK HAVOC!
~Michael Che~
BLAME FOR THE MINISTRY'S FAILURE! WHO SHOULD RESIGN? FUDGE OR BONES?—The Inside scoop of the invisible power struggle at the Ministry
~Rita Skeeter~
BOY-WHO-LIVED-TWICE? CAN HARRY POTTER REPEAT BEAT THE KILLING CURSE AGAIN!
~Jon Stewart~
GREYBACK DEAD! MALFOY ARRESTED—The Tale of Two Malfoys. The untold story of the divide in the richest family in Britain.
~Colin Jost~
These were all the headlines on the Prophet following the tragedy that had occurred during the World Cup. The wizarding world was still reeling from the shock of it all, for the sight of the Dark Lord's mark had reignited old painful memories in wizards and witches all over Britain who had never been more discontent with the Ministry.
Fudge had tried to spin it all in his favor, but Bones was out for blood as she held a press conference and issued a white paper against Fudge and his cronies and their recent gutting of the DMLE.
What little trust people still had in Fudge was shredded as the papers turned the focus towards his past associations with the likes of Lucius Malfoy, and other members of the pure blood gentry that had been a part of the attack which had shaken the entire society.
His bid to keep his seat took a big blow, and with the election set to happen in a few hours, it was almost a given that Amelia Bones was going to replace Corenlius Fudge as the Minister of Magic. The attack itself had bolstered her stance against the Death Eaters' and their association as she sought retrials for all the people who had used the 'Imperius' plea.
As for Lucius Malfoy, and his ilk. Most of the attackers had been arrested, all of them incapacitated by that wave of archaic and ominous magic that had spread through the clearing. It had given the Aurors the break and the momentum they had needed to apprehend the masked attackers, all of whom now rested in DMLE custody awaiting their trials.
Cassius himself had been called in for questioning once about his battle against Fenrir Greyback, and while initially the populace had been against him, because of his association with the Malfoy name, their demeanor took a quick turn when the papers published the news about his expulsion from the family, over ideological differences.
Ted had also let a rumor drop about his new family name, and so it had helped him much in keeping the public opinion on him mostly uncertain. The DMLE had questioned him for a few hours, but in the end, Fenrir Greyback was a heinous monster, and even if his actions may have been a bit excessive, no one was willing to make a case for it, and he was let go.
Bones had even gone so far as to offer him an Order of the Merlin Third Class, in a press conference, and Ted had told him about the various bounties that he could also cash in for getting rid of Greyback.
Yet all of this was truly happening in the background, for just as the wizards and witches of Britain were looking towards the Ministry for a change, they were also looking at St. Mungo's and praying for another miracle—a repeat of the miracle from fifteen years ago.
During the attack, Lucius Malfoy had aimed the killing curse at a simple Muggle-born witch, but before the attack could hit the girl, Harry Potter had pushed himself between the girl and the spell.
And once more, the Killing Curse failed again as the boy survived, casting a wave of magic so strong that it immobilised all of the Death Eaters, and was felt all over the country.
And though the spell had failed to kill him, the boy-who-lived had yet to wake, even days after the attack. And as the whole of the wizarding world prayed for the boy who lived, Cassius found himself in a dilemma of his own as he sat staring at the lifeless diary in front of him.
The days he had spent trying to write into it, yet unlike before, the ink had stayed put rather than being absorbed. The diadem that lay beside him had changed as well, the Ravenclaw's diadem had changed slightly, the ominous magic emanating out of it, along with Slytherin's locket, was now all gone.
"What is happening?" he whispered, trying to make sense of it, yet he could not. Though with what little he had managed to piece together, he had but one idea.
Somehow, and someway, all the horcruxes had been destroyed. He had done quite a bit of research on the magic over the years, and that was the only explanation that came to mind as he observed the lifeless diary and the shining diadem.
He was tempted to wear that diadem, yet held himself back, for he did not wish to cause any more trouble than he already had. In the end, he had to leave his solar as is, with a conflicted mind and incomplete theories, as he walked through the empty halls and rooms of the rather lively Grimmauld Place.
And the attack had sucked the life out of the place, as each of member of the house found themselves occupied one way or another. His Aunt had been called up by St. Mungo's and was on the team taking care of Harry, and Sirius had refused to leave the side of his godson, who was being guarded by a whole unit of Bones' most trusted Aurors.
He glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly time. He walked towards the recently set floo network and grabbed a handful of powder. He stepped into the booth and, with a clear and crisp tone, announced the name of his destination.
"Ministry of Magic..."
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Access to the Ministry building was heavily restricted because of the vote, and at every corner he could see people whispering to one another as he stood in front of the giant statue in the middle of the Atrium, symbolising the unity amongst the magical beings.
Though this unity was present only in this statue, for wizards and witches hardly considered other magical creatures as equals. Damn! They even discriminated amongst themselves on the basis so blood purity, so the vision presented in the statue was nothing more than an abject vision for the future.
He heard footsteps from behind, and raised a brow as his cousin came and stood beside him, her Auror robe now had a star above her left breast pocket, indicating the promotion she had recently received.
"I thought that you were at the hospital," he whispered, and she nodded.
"I was, but that place is dull and sad. I can only bear so much of it," and their society as a whole was rather dull and sad at the current time.
"So, I asked Bones for a change, and she brought me back. It's not like there is a lack of Aurors who wish to protect the Boy-Who-Lived," and that was true.
"How is he?" he asked, and he had been so busy with his own life that he had hardly asked about him.
"Same as the day he was brought in. According to mother, there is nothing wrong with him except for the fact that he refuses to wake up at all," and that was troubling.
Very troubling.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Cassius? You will be painting a huge target on your back with this," she cautioned him once more, but his mind was made up.
"You could use your power of attorney and have someone else go in your stead. You need not make such a display of this," and he shook his head.
"It's better this way," he said, as he turned back and began to walk through the atrium, as she followed after him.
"What about the Potter vote?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"Sirius still had not had him sign over his power of attorney to him, and with him incapacitated like this, it will not stand. The Potters will be marked absentia," and that was one vote for Bones that had been taken away.
"But don't worry. Bones is certain that we have the votes. We will win, especially with you coming over to cast your vote," and he nodded as they reached the Wizengamont chambers, and they slid in through the doors, and people were just beginning to settle down.
He saw the Headmaster standing there, having a conversation with a few Ministry Employees, including what seemed to be an Unspeakable.
"Who is Dumbledore talking to?" he asked, as they sat down on the balcony above the chamvers, as Tonks followed his finger.
"That's the Head of the Unspeakables. He has never attended a vote before. What is he doing here?" and the votes were split as follows, such that the Ancient twenty-eight each had one vote each, while there was an equal number of votes from elected, and Ministry Heads.
The total votes were fifty-six, and the Chief Warlock could act as a tie-breaker in case of a tie if he so desired. Though Dumbledore had hardly ever used his powers, as the clock rang, the man took his spot at the central dias, and all the lords settled down.
His eyes scanned through the seats, and he saw many familiar faces, like Neville's grandmother, Bones, Fudge, Bagman, Scrimegour, and his own mother, who sat in the Malfoy seat alongside a few other members of the Dark faction.
"Their seats are empty," he whispered to Tonks, who nodded, and they were. Many of the Lords and Ladies of the Dark faction had not even bothered to show up, in many ways making this vote meaningless.
"Most of them have fled the country in anticipation of Fudge's loss. The public sentiment's really against them at the moment, and with Bones in the office, they knew nothing would be able to protect them," and so the proceedings began, as Dumbledore banged his gavel, and counted a quorum.
"Now, before the final vote, I must call out the members in absentia," and so it began, as he called out one family name after another. Some of them had gone extinct, others had simply fled Britain in fear.
And he spoke all names, until one remained.
"And now for the last House on the list, I call for the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black," the herald standing beside him scanned the crowd, as he had for others yet before he could voice out the, Cassius raised his hand and cut through the silence.
"Ay!" and in an instant all eyes in the room turned towards him, as he stood up.
Albus frowned as he stared at the page.
"Do you speak for the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black? " he nodded, raising his hand. With a simple thought, the ring around his little finger was there for all to see, as whispers and voices spread all over the chambers.
"I am Cassius Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black," and he glanced towards his mother, whose face had a complicated expression as he finished his sentence.
"And I would like to be sworn in....."
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The vote was cast, and the result was exactly as previously predicted by the papers. Amelia Bones had won a landslide victory against Cornelius Fudge, and would be sworn in as the next Minister of Magic.
And despite his reservations about her rigid, and unforgiving nature perhaps that was exactly what their society needed at this team, or at least desired so. Many had asked him to intervene and become a candidate for the job himself, but he had no aspirations to add to his burdens, which had only increased ever since the World Cup.
And if the sight in front of him was anything to go by, they were only set to increase further, as he stood alongside the head of the Department of Mysteries, an obscure and reclusive bunch who usually chose to stay away from the happenings and politics of the Ministry.
"When did this happen?" he asked, his tone as serious as it had ever been.
"We can not be certain, but the time probably coincides with the attack on the World Cup," which was troubling. Very troubling, as he stared at the shattered remains of a prophecy orb, one which had been spoken to him by Sybil.
"My own men have tried and found no answer. So, I reached out to you in the end," the head of the Unspeakables began as he looked towards him, as he slowly touched the broken shards.
"Do you have an answer for me, Albus?"
"I am afraid I am as clueless as you and your men," he added.
"But I can say one thing that we are at the precipice of great uncertainty...."
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And as he was leaving the building, a glimmering cat came upon him. Minerva, he guessed easily as it came to a halt on his shoulder and whispered.
"He is awake, Albus. Harry's awake!"
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