IngloriousMe
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The Ball (IV) [Chapter 39]
🕑 Added 2022-07-24 18:30:19 +0000 UTC“Now that everyone is fed and watered, why don’t we retreat to the parlor?” Sirius suggested politely after everyone was done with their meals. Even though Sirius’ suggestion was polite, everyone couldn’t help but give him confused looks. After all, Sirius was only supposed to invite the Wizards, but according to his words, he had invited the Witches too… It would have been fine if it was Sirius’ wife, Hesper would have invited them.
“Ah… No need to look confused, I invited all of you and yes, the Witches too. Please follow me…” Sirius acted as if he wasn’t expecting the confused looks. When he finally noticed the looks he was receiving, he decided to make himself clear.
Even though everyone was confused, all of them started to follow Lord Black with unsure looks on their faces. Some of them started to suspect that Lord Black had planned something else to end the celebration on a high note. So, whispers and murmurs broke out among the crowd as Sirius led them through the halls of the Black Tower. Suddenly, everyone stiffened when they felt Wards wash over their persons.
“No need to worry, I have only lowered the Wards partially” Sirius explained without bothering to look back. He could already suspect what the others were thinking, not that he cared. After all, they had everything under control. According to Destiny, all of her Knights were in their positions. Nobody was leaving the Black Tower, without his or Destiny’s permission…
Some of the Pureblood Lords who had previously visited the Black Tower realized that Sirius wasn’t leading them toward the parlor, but before any one of them could voice their concerns, they finally arrived inside a massive room. All of the Pureblood Wizards and Witches couldn’t help but nod their heads in appreciation and awe. Everyone, including Lord Malfoy, was impressed by the room. This was the first time Sirius had invited this room to the public…
“Lord and Ladies, let me welcome all of you to the war room of the Black Tower. This room was last used during the creation of the Statute of Secrecy. I found this room to be fitting for what we are about to discuss” Sirius addressed the crowd in a magnanimous tone. Once again, murmurs and whispers broke out in the crowd. It must be something truly important, for Lord Black to invite them to such a place… Some of the crowd was still awed over the fact that the Statute of Secrecy was discussed here…
“Please, have a seat” Sirius waved his Wand, brightening the room and all the chairs moved backward. In the middle of the room, there was a massive oval-shaped table. The table was big enough for everyone to sit comfortably and they were going to have empty spots even after everyone took a seat. Most of the people couldn’t even recognize what the table was made of, but a handful few recognized the wood after inspecting the table for some time…
The table, the chairs, and the rest of the wooden furniture in the room were made of Bocote. Bocote wasn’t a local wood, and it was the most expensive wood in the world. Sirius’ ancestors had to import the wood from Central America. According to the records it was Upsilon Black who ordered the wood from Central America. There was a beautiful chandelier hanging right above the table… It was Alexia Black who had created the chandelier herself. Everything inside the room was grandiose and nobody could deny that…
While everyone took their seats as they continued to look around in awe, Sirius decided to keep standing. “My dear Lords and Ladies, the world is changing and it is not changing in our favor” Sirius began in a grave tone as he walked toward the head chair, but he didn’t sit. “My friends, you must be wondering what I am talking about?” Sirius asked in an amused tone.
“You are talking about the Muggles, aren’t you, Lord Black?” Lord Rowle asked, but from the look on the man’s face, it wasn’t a question. He was simply making a statement. Once again a few murmurs broke out, but Sirius raised his hand and the murmurs stopped.
Sirius nodded his head in satisfaction. “Of course. They are currently the biggest threat to our society” Sirius revealed in a solemn tone.
“You must be joking! We are perfectly safe and we all know that Muggles can’t find our worlds!” Lord Burke scoffed. Sirius simply gave the man a bland look…
“Really? Every year we keep revealing our world to the Muggles when we bring the Mudbloods into our world” Before Sirius could retort, it was Lord Flint who pointed out something that destroyed Lord Burke’s argument.
“That is why I have been telling all of you that we should get rid of those Mudbloods!!” Lord Lestrange sneered with a look of disgust. None of the Lords were surprised, after all, the House of Lestrange never shied away from making their opinions known.
“You are still a dunderhead, I see…” Lord Selwyn sneered at Lestrange. Lord Selwyn was the oldest Wizard present in the room. There was a reason why Lord Selwyn hadn’t passed on the mantle of Lord Selwyn to his son. The thing was, his son was a fool, the boy had failed to pass his OWLs even after his 4th attempt, but his daughter was a brilliant Witch. She had passed her NEWTs with flying colors and currently, she was in Brazil, finishing her Runes Mastery.
The House of Selwyn has been a Partiachal Family, but Lord Selwyn knew that if he wanted his house to survive, then he needed to hand over his mantle to his daughter. It was a hard pill to swallow, but handing over the Family to a daughter was better than having it die out due to some foolish pride and it wasn’t like he wasn’t proud of his daughter… It was a good thing that his son was aware of his shortcomings and accept the decision with a smile on his face or Lord Selwyn could always arrange an accident…
“You…!!” Lestrange was about to retort, but Lord Yaxley decided to cut him off.
“We aren’t here to fight, are we? Lord Black is trying to tell us about the threat. Don’t you think whatever he wants to say is important?” ‘than your willy waving contest?’ Lord Yaxley suggested politely, but he left the last words unsaid.
“Thank you, Lord Yaxley” Sirius gave Lord Yaxley a grateful nod. “As Lord Flint said, we are revealing our world to countless Muggles every year, but as Lord Lestrange pointed out, it would be counterproductive for our world if we act against them” Sirius explained slowly, and then he decided to take a small pause to see how everyone was reacting.
“How? I mean they are just filthy Muggles” Lady Carrow sneered.
“Lady Carrow, what do you know about the last Muggle war?” Before anyone else could speak up, Lord Bulstrode spoke up. Damian Bulstrode, son of Gawain Bulstrode was the current Lord Bulstrode. Unlike his father, he wasn’t a member of the Gray Cloaks, he worked in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He had heard a lot about the horrors of the Muggle World War from his father. He knew a lot of Magical Families have lost their lives in War even though it wasn’t their War in the first place.
Lady Carrow looked at Lord Bulstrode with an incredulous look on her face and then scoffed. “Why in the name of Circe I am going to waste my time with Muggle Wars? Those beasts could get themselves killed for all I care… I would say, good riddance!!” Lady Carrow scoffed.
Even though Lady Carrow seemed to be completely oblivious regarding the Muggle War, a lot of Lords and Ladies seemed to be quite informed. “A lot of Magical Families lost their lives in the War even though we weren’t involved in the war” It was Lord Macmillan who muttered in a solemn tone.
“Exactly!” Damian Bulstrode nodded his head. “Even though those Families were protected by the Muggle Repelling Wards, Notice-Me-Not Wards, along with various protection Wards, they still died” Damian added with a grave look on his face.
“This can’t be true! How could those filthy beasts…” Lord Carrow shot up from his seat with a horrified look on his face... Lady Carrow simply grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him down. She didn’t want her husband to end up embarrassing himself. Lord Carrow also realized that he had lost his composure, so he took a deep breath to calm himself. “If those Wards were active then how did the Muggles find those Families? How can we be sure that it isn’t some propaganda of the Ministry to cover their deaths?” Lord Carrow asked.
A lot of people stared at the man incredulously, after all, everyone knew that it wasn’t some stupid propaganda of the Ministry. A lot of their Family members worked in either the Department of Mysteries or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. So, not only they had read the reports, they had seen the reports themselves. They had seen the horrors with their own eyes, and they have told their friends too.
“I can assure you that it is not some Ministry propaganda. It is the actual truth, I have seen the properties with my own eyes, or what was left of them” Lord Avery said coldly as he gave Lord Carrow a cold look. Winston Avery was only 31 years old, but he was already a Senior Auror, which was quite an achievement. Yes, his Theseus Scamander was in a much higher position than him, but Theseus is an exception.
During the Muggle Worl war, Archer Evermonde the Minister of Magic had passed an emergency legislation, forbidding the British Wizarding community from getting involved in the hostilities, and even after that, Theseus Scamander had gotten involved in the war, completely disregarding the legislation. Even though his involvement hadn’t bore any decisive results nor much of his involvements known, he had saved a lot of lives. So not only he wasn’t punished for breaking the law, he was awarded for his efforts in the war…
That is why a lot of Wizards and Witches held grudges against the man… After all, he broke the law, but not only he wasn’t punished, he had received an award and a promotion. Winston Avery wasn’t an exemption… He also hated Scamandar for that, but at the same time, Winston couldn’t help but respect the man. He couldn’t deny the poweress of Theseus Scamander or the man’s Skills. Winston couldn’t help but grit his teeth whenever he thought about the man… Theseus was such a good Wizard, but instead of trying to help the Magical World, he was trying to protect the Muggle World…
“Yes, I agree with Lord Avery” Lord Yaxley and Lord Parkinson muttered at the same time with appreciative looks on their faces. Lord Avery was much younger than most of the other Lords, but they respected the man since he had achieved a lot since his father’s untimely death and he had been managing the House of Avery quite nicely along with his full-time job.
“I must admit, the Muggles are a threat to our world, but I must ask you, what do you want us to do?” Lord Malfoy asked in a neutral tone as he glanced at Sirius.
Sirius smiled jovially. “Before I say anything else, I want all of you to swear Secrecy Oaths. After all, we are going to discuss a lot of things, and it wouldn’t be good for us if some things were to become public knowledge” Sirius said cryptically and a few Lords and Ladies bristled at Sirius’ words, none of them dared to say anything. After all, what Lord Black was asking wasn’t something outrageous. So, one by one, everyone started to raise their Wands in the air and swear their Oaths to Sirius. The said man couldn’t help but grin internally. Everything was going according to the plans…
He had told Destiny that he wanted to start the meeting and Destiny had decided to place her trust in him. After all, Sirius had been playing on the political field for quite some time and Sirius would be perfect for the opening volley. Destiny knew that she couldn’t get all of them to swear their allegiance to her in one go. She needed time and she needed to prove herself. She had been able to sway the Blacks because she had been able to entice them with her promises and power. After all, the Blacks are a greedy bunch. They wanted to be at the top of the world she was trying to build too…
Sirius nodded his head in satisfaction when the Secrecy Oaths were finally done. “Nearly a month ago, I was finally introduced to a person who is at the forefront of such a movement” Sirius said with a smile and a few of the Lords and Ladies stiffened after hearing his words. They could already guess what Sirius was trying to say. “Gentle Wizards and Witches, let me introduce Destiny Grindelwald!” Sirius exclaimed with a grin and the doors on the other side of the room opened with a loud bang. Moments later, Destiny entered the room followed by Lieutenants, Arcturus III, and Cassiopeia…
A soft smile was gracing Destiny’s face as she entered the room… Complete silence greeted her as she entered the room and honestly, Destiny was quite pleased with the reaction. Silence was much better than Pandemonium, but she was expecting pandemonium to break out sometime soon. Destiny wasn’t disappointed when Winston Avery shot up from his seat and pointed his Wand at Destiny, but she wasn’t even fazed at the display. Some of the other Lords and Ladies also pointed their Wands at Destiny, albeit nervously.
“Lord Black! What is the meaning of this?!” Winston Avery yelled with his Wand trained at Destiny. Winston was a Senior Auror he had seen some of the horrors Gellert Grindelwald had caused on the continent. Britain has been left completely untouched by Gellert Grindelwald when he was still at large. Some said that the man was afraid of Dumbledore, while some said that the man was yet to attack Britain due to its isolation from the rest of the continent…
Winston couldn’t say for sure why Gellert Grindelwald was yet to make a move against Britain, but he would be damned if he lowered his guard in front of this woman… young woman. The crimson-haired woman was young, but she wasn’t even fazed in the slightest after having so many Wands pointed at her. Winston had read quite a lot of reports, he had seen what Gellert Grindelwald had done to people after they refused to follow him… That is why he was afraid, he did not want to follow a megalomaniac…
According to his knowledge, Gellert Grindelwald was a megalomaniac, so whoever this woman was, he suspected her to be a megalomaniac too…
“Good evening Gentle Witches and Wizards… Lord Black already introduced me, but I will still introduce myself, after all, it is a common courtesy” Destiny smiled politely. She had told her Lieutenants not to make any moves… She was going to handle everything and was only going to react after someone attacked her. Destiny didn’t care about the Wands pointed at her… There wasn’t much they would be able to do before she subdued them…
“I am Destiny Grindelwald, it is nice to make all of your acquaintance!” Destiny introduced herself as she raised her hand, revealing her Heir Ring(Heiress in her case) to everyone so that nobody could question her claims. “Why don’t all of we sit down and have a discussi…” Before she could finish what she was trying to say, she was cut off by Winston Avery.
“There is nothing to discuss!” The man snarled. Destiny couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the man, but at the same time, she was glad. After all, Destiny needed to secure an image and she wasn’t going to get any better chance than this. Destiny also knew how to handle unruly people so she wasn’t worried… Additionally, Winston Avery was a senior Auror, so Destiny could guess why the man was being so hostile toward her. After all, Gellert has made a name for himself on the continent and in the process, he had done some necessary, but cruel things…
“I wasn’t asking” Destiny said coldly as her eyes started to glow. Her hair started to shift and Winston and the others who were pointing their Wands at Destiny gulped nervously. Destiny was yet to start releasing her raw Magic, but her glowing eyes and shifting hair were enough for now. Winston was already sweating since Destiny was still staring at him coldly. Winston finally realized that he had in over his head… He was yet to feel Destiny’s Magical Power, but he could already guess that it was going to be beyond him.
Winston might be a young Lord by common Pureblood standards, but he was still a Pureblood Lord and he had been educated in Pureblood customs since he was a child. So, he was also taught everything about their culture, traditions, and customs by his parents. So, Winston knew how to recognize a strong Wizard or Witch. Now that Winston had realized that Destiny was way stronger than him, he decided to sit down. He knew that there was a chance that she only possessed raw power and didn’t know how to all that power, but Winston decided not to risk it…
Followed by Winston, the others who were pointing their Wands at Destiny also lowered their Wands. “Thank you” Destiny smiled as she sat down at the head position of the table. Followed by Destiny, Arcturus III, Sirius, Cassiopeia, and her Lieutenants finally took their seats at Destiny’s sides. “Now, I understand that a lot of you must be surprised by my arrival and dare to presume, a lot of you are quite uncomfortable too but believe me, I am not your enemy” Destiny spoke with a gentle smile on her face, completely disregarding her actions only a few moments ago…
“What is your relation with Gellert Grindelwald?” Brutus Malfoy II asked in a neutral tone. He wanted to know if the girl had any real power over Gellert Grindelwald or not… After all, it was a well-known fact that Gellert Grindelwald is currently in prison, so there was a chance that he might never get to see another day outside prison, so he wanted to know if Destiny could unite his supporters under her banner.
Unlike some of the other Pureblood Lords, Brutus Malfoy II wasn’t completely ignorant of the happenings around the rest of the continent, so when Gellert Grindelwald revealed his true intentions to the world, Brutus Malfoy II decided to investigate the man. After all, the man could become a threat to their livelihood in the future. In Gellert Grindelwald’s eyes, all the Magicals are equal and that is what the man was fighting for. True, the man was trying to enslave Muggles, but at the same time, the man was also trying to destroy their power base…
That was something Brutus Malfoy II could never agree with…
Even though he never agreed with the man’s philosophies, he had to admit Gellert Grindelwald had done a lot of great things, some might argue them to be terrible deeds, but Brutus knew better. Gellert Grindelwald had achieved something great… The man was known to be unstoppable with a Wand, he did not know how Gellert was captured by the MACUSA, but he was sure that the man wasn’t defeated in a Magical fight. Brutus had to use some gold to get some memories of the man’s Magical Might and to be honest, he was blown away by what he saw in the memory…
“I am his daughter” Destiny smiled. True, the two of them had never outright admitted their relationship, but both of them knew better. Gellert never thought he would be a good father, after all, what father would teach his 7 year old daughter blood Magic? That wasn’t all, Gellert also know that it was Destiny who was going to achieve his dream and he was only going to be a supporting character, Gellert knew that he would be placing a huge burden on Destiny’s shoulders, how could he call himself her father after doing something like that?
It wasn’t the same with Destiny… She saw Gellert as her father figure, she had started to see him as her father since he named her and welcomed her into his Family. Even though Destiny wanted to call him father, she never did. After all, she knew that Gellert had some reservations about being referred to as father, so Destiny never pressed it. Their relationship was perfect the way it was, so it wasn’t a problem and both of them were completely fine with it…
Now Destiny understood what Brutus was trying to do… So she knew what he wanted to hear. Destiny was sure that Gellert wouldn’t mind, after all, at the end of the day, the man saw her as his daughter… The man was simply shy…
“Then, why is the first time we are hearing about you?” Brutus asked curiously as he continued to stare at Destiny accusingly.
A lot of Lords and Ladies made appreciative noises as they agreed with the man’s question, but they refrained from saying anything themselves. Destiny simply nodded her head in understanding. “Lord Malfoy, the reason is quite simple if you think about it. When my father finally started the movement, I was only 13. Like any caring and loving father, he wanted to keep me safe” Destiny revealed with a longing smile on her face.
Destiny had thought that referring to Gellert would be weird and she was right, it felt kind of weird. ‘I am never going to call him father to his face’ Destiny vowed drily. After calling him Gellert for such a long time, she could no longer bring herself to call him father. ‘It is a good thing that Gellert isn’t here or we were going to have a weird conversation’ Destiny thought wryly.
“After reaching majority, I started to build my own forces from the shadows. My father was already out there and I easily went under the radar. My father agreed that it would be better if I stayed in the shadows, after all, I would be free to act however I wanted and I would be an unknown threat. But now, the circumstances have changed” Destiny couldn’t help but sigh at the end. She still couldn’t understand why Gellert wanted to stay in the prison…
Some murmurs broke out within the crowd, but they did not last that long. “So, what do you want from us? Your father is in prison, you don’t expect us to follow you, do you?” Lord Goyle asked with a sneer. Destiny didn’t miss the subtle gesture from Brutus Malfoy just before Lord Goyle asked the question.
“Honestly, that is exactly what I expect. After all, you are already a follower, you are already following Lord Malfoy, it won’t be anything new for you to follow someone else…” Destiny retorted in a sweet tone. A lot of people started to snicker in amusement and moments later, everyone started to laugh boisterously when Lord Goyle turned toward Brutus Malfoy II for instructions.
It was pretty clear that Lord Malfoy haven’t expected such a reply, so he hadn’t told Lord Goyle what to do if Destiny replied to him in such a manner. Though Destiny started to wonder how the two of them were talking to each other. Destiny knew it was risky so she refrained from entering either of their minds. Both of them had their Lord Rings and Destiny wasn’t sure what type of security Charms were enchanted in those Rings.
Destiny finally noticed that the two of them had been staring into each other’s eyes for quite some time. ‘Ah… So, they are using Legilimency to communicate with each other’ Destiny mused in amusement. Brutus Malfoy was barely holding back his sneer, but he had to admit that Destiny was right. He wasn’t sure if Lord Black had told Destiny about his connection with Lord Goyle and Lord Crabbe or not, but it didn’t matter any longer, after all, their trick was revealed. He simply told Goyle to keep his mouth shut for the time being.
Destiny finally raised her hand in the air and after a few moments, everyone calmed down. “It might have been amusing, but that is not why we are here. We are here for something much more important” Destiny said and a few Lords and Ladies nodded their heads in agreement.
“Yes, the Muggles are a threat to our world” Damian Bulstrode nodded his head sagely, but after a moment, he stared at Destiny with a serious look on his face. “What I want to know is what you are planning to do?” Damian asked in a neutral tone.
“I agree we must do something about them. The best thing we could do at this moment is to stop them from entering our world, but that would be a huge blow to our world” Lord Macmillan shook his head.
“What? That is the best thing I have heard tonight. We stop the Muggles from entering our world, how could that be a bad thing??” Lord Burke asked with a scowl on his face.
“If we stop the Muggles from entering our world then we are harming our own economy, you moron!” Lord Selwyn sneered at the man. “No matter how much we try to deny it, we are earning a Lord of gold due to the Muggleborns, if we stop the Muggles from entering our world, then there is a good chance that they won’t be sending their children into our world and if they stop sending their children, we lost their gold we fool!” Lord Selwyn snarled at Lord Burke, who was bubbling in rage at the condescending tone of Lord Selwyn.
“I had to agree with Lord Selwyn. If we lose the Muggleborns, then we lose a lot of gold and if the gold in the market decreases, our economy falls and I don’t have to point out what would happen if our economy falls, do we?” Sirius reminded everyone, and almost all the Pureblood Lords had several businesses, so they understood what would happen if the economy falls.
“All of that is fine… I want to know what do you want from us Lady Grindelwald? I mean, I understand Muggles are a threat, but they aren’t a threat at this moment and their war is long over. If you are trying to kill off the Muggles for their actions in the past then I can’t bring myself to help you” Lord Macmillan spoke carefully. Yes, they have lost a lot of Magical Families in the War even though it wasn’t their War…
Patrick Macmillan is a cold and calculative man, he felt bad for all the Wizards and Witches who had unnecessarily lost their lives in the Muggle War, but he did not want to start a War with the Muggles because of them. After all, it wasn’t going to bring them back. Lord Macmillan had several businesses in the Muggle World, so unlike a lot of Pureblood Lords and Ladies, he knew how quickly the Muggles were developing. He also knew that the Muggle Population toppled the Magical Population by a huge margin, so there was no way that they could win a War…
After all, even though the Muggles didn’t have Magic, they had weapons of mass destruction and they were bound to get a lucky shot. Even if one person got a lucky shot among a hundred, it would be enough to wipe off the Magical Population from the face of the earth. Patrick Macmillan might think himself to be superior to Muggles for having Magic, but he wasn’t delusional… A lot of Lords and Ladies were displeased by the man’s words, but before they could say anything, Destiny started to speak.
“Lord Macmillan, you aren’t wrong, but at the same time, you aren’t right. We can’t forget our past, if we do, then we forget who we are… We must remember our roots, we must remember what the Muggles are capable of, after all, even with Magic, they have killed so many of our kind” Destiny reminded everyone coolly.
“You might think the Statute of Secrecy is protecting us, but it isn’t. It is simply delaying the inevitable, Lord Macmillan, you have a connection with the Muggle world, don’t you?” Destiny asked, surprising the said man. Patrick realized that Destiny had researched all of them before the meeting, otherwise how could she know all of their names? Patrick glanced at Lord Black and internally sighed…
“Yes” Patrick Macmillan nodded his head.
“Then you must have seen a camera, right? Their camera isn’t as ingenious as ours, but we do have Magic to tip the scale in our favour” Destiny grinned and Patrick realized where this was going. “It is only a matter of time before our existence is revealed, what do you think will happen if our existence is revealed to the Muggles?” Destiny asked in an amused tone, making a lot of Lords and Ladies present in the room realize that the Muggle threat was genuine…
~~FLASHBACK ENDS~~
After that, they discussed a few more things, but Destiny decided not to reveal everything about the Muggles tonight. After all, it was clear that not everyone agreed with her even though they knew that the Muggles were a threat to their world. Most of the Lords and Ladies seemed to be unsure about their methods. It was clear that these people needed some incentive and she was already planning to give them some incentive… As soon as she was done with Travers, these same people would be vying for blood…
Destiny finally closed her eyes and after only a few moments, she fell asleep… After all, it had been a long day…
