"You can reassure your Headmaster of that much." Lucius allowed. He glanced at the clock and rose from his chair with elegant grace. "You will see yourself out, Severus?"
"I will." Severus said. "Thank you for an enlightening conversation."
"Severus," Lucius paused for a moment, contemplating the advice he was about to give the other man whether it served Lucius to give Severus such a warning, "the truth of Lord Black will be revealed at the Wizengamot but he was raised Slytherin and you should keep that in mind."
Severus blinked and Lucius departed in the knowledge that Severus had received the message. He liked Severus, not that he would ever admit it to the man himself. Severus was deeply intelligent; a Slytherin capable of cunning and stratagems that left nobody any the wiser to his true position. Lucius knew he had been seduced by his friends Avery and MacNair into supporting the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord himself had wanted Severus for his potions knowledge; it had elevated him in the ranks despite his blood status. Severus was also a man who spied for both sides and convinced both his masters that they had his true allegiance. Lucius rather suspected Severus's true allegiance lay elsewhere but Potter was his weakness and Potter would be his downfall if Severus did not choose another path.
He made his way to his study and waited patiently for the influx of his allies. In no time at all, Lucius found himself sat at the large conference table in the room just off the study.
It was a simple room in comparison to the grandeur of the rest of the Manor. Dark green walls were complemented by cream accents; the furniture was polished cherry wood; the chairs upholstered in the same green colour as the walls. He cleared his throat and looked around the table as everyone fell silent.
There were very familiar faces seated around the table: Wilkes, Gibbon, Nott, and Selwyn were all Lords from Ancient and Noble Houses. Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Jugson and Parkinson held Wizengamot formal seats but were minor Houses. Yaxley, Rowle, MacNair and Travers worked for the Ministry. Of the Dark Lord's favourites who were not residing in Azkaban, only Dolohov and the Carrows were missing as they were abroad – and Snape, of course, who was ostensibly a spy.
"Thank you for attending this gathering on short notice." Lucius said. For the second time in a day he decided that he would dispense with the usual verbal thrust and parry that came with dealing with a group of mostly Slytherin graduates. "I will not waste time; we have two items on our agenda. The new Lord Black and the changes to the Mark of the Dark Lord we wear."
Avery seemed to wilt visibly with the mention of the Dark Lord and Lucius wasn't the only one sending him a contemptuous glance.
"I believe it would be beneficial to speak of the former first before we come to a decision on the latter." Lucius said firmly.
Selwyn's plucked eyebrows rose. "What could possibly be more important than anything to do with the Dark Lord?"
"Indulge me." Lucius said in a tone of cold steel that told everyone in the room it was an order not a request. He had long ago taken the reins of leadership from the so-called Lords in the group and he would not allow them to take it back.
He leaned back in his chair. It was going to be a nightmare to work within the parameters of the Vow and convey the message required. "Yesterday, my wife and I attended the Black family meeting."
"Is it the squib's son as we had thought?" Wilkes sneered, his gruff features turning stony.
"Lord Black is the rightful heir by blood, magic and law." Lucius stated.
A few frowned as they worked through the meaning of his announcement.
"But that would mean Sirius Black is the…" Gibbon stumbled to a halt, his eyes wide.
A rippled of shock ran around the gathering.
"You remember of course how many of us Sirius Black killed when he was a Hit Wizard, I trust?" Lucius posed the question idly. "Yesterday, he called Judgement on the LeStranges and the body count went up by two. Bellatrix will no doubt be dead before the week is out, as it is she is stripped of her magic, her name and the LeStrange fortune has been seized to pay reparations to the House of Longbottom."
"Dear Merlin!" Avery breathed out in horror.
"I only escaped a similar fate by the skin of my teeth," Lucius conceded, "as Lord Black believes to be Marked is to have betrayed the purity of the House of Black."
"The House of Black supported the Dark Lord!" snapped Selwyn.
"Arcturus was never Marked." Lucius pointed out calmly. "He never indicated support or censure. The fact is that he evidently kept Sirius as Heir – one presumes because he was the only Black in the line not Marked. So I would suggest your argument is void, Stewart."
"It is disappointing for a House with the pedigree of Black to fall into the snare of the old fool Dumbledore…" Wilkes began.
"Oh, Lord Black has no intention of the House being subjugated to the will of Dumbledore any more than he intends it being subjugated to the will of the Dark Lord." Lucius let his lips curve in a humourless arc as there was another wave of mutterings and shock.
"He will take a neutral stance?" Gibbon had too much apparent hope for the Slytherin he was supposed to be.
"Politically, I believe Lord Black means to own the centre," Lucius said, gesturing for them to halt their questions, "his agenda is one of egalitarianism." He allowed himself to sneer genuinely at that. "But he insisted in all other respects on following tradition and protocol."
"You forget though that he may not have a choice but to ally with Dumbledore should the Dark Lord return," Nott spoke up, "Black was awarded custody of the Boy Who Lived."
"He may have been awarded it but Dumbledore will never allow him to take custody." Jugson stated with a hard laugh.
"Lord Black already has taken custody." Lucius said simply. "Potter has claimed his Head of House ring. Black is confirmed as the Potter Regent. Potter was announced as the Heir of Black."
Another round of shock rushed through the gathering.
"He outmanoeuvred Dumbledore and took control of the boy?!" Selwyn laughed in delight, banging a fist on the arm of his chair. "Now that is outstanding! Arcturus will be laughing himself silly in the afterlife!"
"So Black now controls both the holdings of the House of Black and the House of Potter." Nott said quietly. It silenced the rest of the room as they started to contemplate Nott's statement.
"The Potter alliance will reform on the Light side," Parkinson said with certainty, "and most of the neutrals will go over if they're given another option besides allying with Dumbledore."
"Merlin's teeth!" Gibbon stuttered out. "Never mind owning the centre, Black will own the Wizengamot!"
"We may need to make concessions certainly but I believe there is a great deal of room in which to manoeuvre with Black's respect for tradition." Lucius allowed, tapping his fingers gently against the table top.
"Well, bugger it!" Travers finally made his presence known. He stabbed a meaty finger toward Lucius. "I say we wait until the Dark Lord comes back and let him sort out Black and Potter. Once he's back in power, we can do what we want."
Lucius looked over at Travers coolly. "Do you believe the Dark Lord will simply let us do what we want? If the Dark Lord returns and wins, we will all do what he wants."
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