Vacation and the House of Lords, Part 1
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- See you later Barty," Alex was the last to say goodbye and gave Crouch a pat on the head, causing the others to laugh.
- See you later," Barty replied in a slightly disgruntled voice and hurried back to his parents, while the others hurried back to theirs.
- Welcome back," Antoninus and Cassiopeia greeted the younger ones with smiles on their lips, not the least bit embarrassed by the other gawkers.
- Thank you," Alex nodded, while the ladies only nodded.
- Son, Andromeda, - with those words, Malfoy Senior put his hand on his son's shoulder and nodded to the girl, while Mrs Malfoy smiled faintly at the couple.
- 'Father, Mother,' Lucius also smiled back, and the future Malfoy sat down in curtsy before the Malfoy couple.
- Father," but Greengrass, to everyone's surprise, hugged his father. Charles was greatly surprised but responded to the hug.
- Father, Mum, Uncle," With those words, the Black sisters simultaneously crouched in curtsy before the elder Blacks. In response, all three nodded equally, greeting the sisters.
- I see the Crouch case has moved on," Malfoy Sr. remarked while the rest of the group was discussing something.
- Yes, it has, but not by much," Alex sighed tiredly, standing with Orion and Cygnus and Antoninus and Abraxas.
- Better than nothing," Orion said optimistically.
- Yeah," Cygnus grinned.
- Did you find what you need? - Malfoy cut to the chase.
- Yes, I did," Peverell replied with a tilt of his head.
- Is it good that you were able to find out? - That question came from Orion.
- All of Dumbledore's offences are more than enough to get him removed as Headmaster, and more than enough to bring him before the Wizengamot," the third year replied.
- We can't remove him from his post yet," Cygnus said with regret in his voice.
- Yes, we need the consent of all twelve Trustees for the Headmaster to step down, and eight of them will support us. Crouch will probably wait again, but he may support us. Lestrange is on Voldemort's side, but he'll probably support Dumbledore's resignation and Potter and Pruett will be stubbornly opposed," Orion supported his younger brother. Alex could see the normally calm man's face twist at the word "Potters".
- Did something happen because of the Potters? - Peverell asked bluntly when the rest of the foursome fell silent.
- No, it's just that Aunt Doreah came to the Manor the other day with her son," Black excused himself.
- Do you have something against Lady Potter? - Malfoy, who had been silent, joined in the interrogation.
- No, I love Aunt Dorea as much as I love my father Arcturus, Uncle Pollux, Aunt Cassiopeia, or Uncle Alfard, it's just that my eldest son got attached to the Potters' offspring," Lord Black replied, sighing heavily.
- So? - Alex didn't understand.
- Well, Sirius Black, besides being Black, is also the heir of the family, and the heir is the future of the family, and if the heir falls under someone else's influence, the family is doomed," Malfoy explained.
- Well, you also have Regulus," Peverell pointed out.
- No, Regulus can't be the heir because his health is too poor," Cygnus shook his head silently.
- "As the saying goes, 'Children are a blank canvas, and it's not hard to repaint that canvas differently'." Here too, Sirius Black is still a child, and changing his worldview shouldn't be difficult," Antonin shrugged.
- Well, let's end it there, we'll still have time to talk about Sirius, but for now we could all use a rest," Malfoy suggested.
- Yeah, I guess so," Alex agreed.
- Elizabeth, Andromeda, Lucius go back to the Manor," Abraxas said, looking at the rest of the group.
- 'Very well father,' Malfoy Junior nodded and along with his fiancée and mother, said goodbye to everyone and walked up to the head of his family.
- I'll meet you at the Christmas party at Malfoy Manor," with those words, Lord Malfoy activated the portkey and carried his entire family out of the train station.
- 'We should get going too,' Orion said.
- Okay, we'll meet you at Malfoy Manor in three days," Alex replied, and then the elder Blacks disappeared with a quiet "Clap".
- Okay let's go back," the Russian said to the rest of the company and pulled out a small rope from the inside pocket of his clothes, which everyone grabbed onto. - "Peverell Manor," Alex felt a familiar tug in his stomach area after that.
The whole company appeared in front of the main gate of the manor, which after a couple of seconds lowered in front of them.
- Where is Darius? - Heading further along the bridge, Lord Peverell asked.
- He left for Albania yesterday, saying that he had come across the trail of a snake," Cassiopeia replied, who was silent.
- I see," nodded the boy.
A housekeeper appeared in front of the procession led by Alexandros Peverell and immediately bowed to the floor.
- 'Welcome home master, mistresses,' Toby said, looking at the others with his big blue eyes.
- Thank you, Toby," the couple replied together.
- Is dinner ready? - Looking at the elf, the elder Black asked.
- Yes," the houseboy nodded.
- Let's have dinner then, and then everyone will do their things, - Alex suggested.
Two hours later the whole company went out of the dining room door, and after that, having divided, everyone went to his place.
***
The next morning the guy woke up cheerful and in high spirits, as usual at six in the morning, and then carefully, not to wake up the girls, got up and went to tidy up. Half an hour later, Alex, dressed in loose black trousers and the same black jumper went to the canteen for breakfast.
On the way to the dining room, the guy sensed that there was another person on the grounds of the manor, who had just announced himself in the main living room and was heading straight to the Horcruxes' vault on the ground floor underground.
"Looks like Darius is back," Peverell sat down in his seat at the head of the table with that thought. There was no one at the table, so the dining room was unusually quiet.
After ten minutes of silence and solitude, the door opened again and a freshly dressed Darius entered the room, saying hello to Alex and taking his seat on his left hand.
- How's it going? - The boy asked, taking a sip of tea.
- I found a snake that nearly bit me, but it didn't bite me. You know, Riddle is a genius, he is mad, but still, a genius, to hide his pieces of soul in such a way and put such a guard on them, it is necessary to try, - the man said suddenly, which surprised his lord very much.
- He has a fear of death, and as they say, "Fear motivates," so it's not surprising that he thought of such a thing," he shrugged his shoulders.
- Yeah, well, I don't care about Riddle, he's got all the pieces of his soul, and once he finds out about it, he's not going to do anything about it. It won't cost us anything to make him do whatever we want," the man shrugged as well.
- No, no blackmail or anything, I'd rather just get rid of him, first his Horcruxes and then him," the young lord said with a shake of his head.
- You're right," the keeper closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. For the next half an hour there was absolute silence in the room, which was broken only by the clinking of cutlery.
- Good morning, everyone," Severus Peverell-Prince entered the dining room, looking both pleased and pensive.
- Good morning, little brother," Alex replied with a chuckle, causing a disgruntled grunt from the newcomer. The former Snape didn't much like it when his older brother called him that.
- Morning," Darius nodded, not opening his eyes.
- Something's wrong, you seem pleased and pensive," Peverell asked, watching Severus sit down next to Darius.
- I finished my potion," the boy stated with a smug face.
- The aconite potion? - Peverell Senior asked curiously, perking up in his chair.
- Yes," the former Snape nodded in reply.
- Hmm, how does it work? - Alex asked, taking a sip of tea.
- I don't know," the answer shocked the boy so much that he almost spat out all the tea.
- Ahem, what do you mean you don't know? - The third year asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
- You have to try the potion out," the Prince shrugged.
- You need a werewolf for that," the keeper said with a thoughtful face.
- I only know one werewolf, his name is Fenrir the Blue, it would be nice to catch that dog," the Slytherin said, finishing his tea in one gulp.
- That might be difficult, a werewolf is not a Horcrux, as far as I know, this flea-bitten dog is Sivy, the leader of one of the werewolf packs, and probably one of the most wanted criminals in the whole magical world, but no one knows he's a werewolf yet and that's strange," Darius said.
- Okay Darius, when you are rested, go and find Sivoy, you have until the next full moon, also you and I have to visit the Ministry today, for the meeting of the House of Lords, - said Alex, getting up from his seat.
- Of course, it will be fulfilled, - the man nodded, and then he was thinking again, which did not prevent him from eating oatmeal with bread and washing it all down with tea.
- Good morning," two voices sounded, interrupting everyone's thoughts. Looking in the direction of the sound, the Peverells saw the Black sisters coming through the doors and heading towards the table.
- Bon appetit, everyone," With those words, Lord Peverell headed toward the exit of the small dining room and then toward his study.
At noon, Alex dressed in an expensive and high-quality robe of his family's colors, and Darius, also dressed in expensive clothes with a beautiful cane in his hand, appeared in the atrium of the Ministry.
"Nothing has changed here either," Alex thought with a little nostalgia, looking at the atrium.
- Let's go to the lift, - said Darius, looking at everything around with an indifferent look.
- Where is the meeting place of the House of Lords? - Peverell asked, heading towards one of the two dozen lifts.
- On the second level, next to the Magical Law Enforcement Department," the man answered, pressing the buttons.
- Why exactly next to the Auror headquarters? - The boy wondered.
- "The current government is not very keen on aristocrats, it's a precautionary measure to keep the noble lords under surveillance and get rid of them if necessary," the keeper answered over the mental link, surprising the guy even more. The latter was just about to ask about the reason for this but gave up when one of the Ministry's employees flew into the lift doors that hadn't closed.
"It's not bad here," Alex assessed, entering the room where the Council of the House of Lords would be held.
Alex was in a large round room decorated in light colors. In the center of the room, there was one chair, where criminals usually sat, and there were several chairs around it, where the lords probably sat.
- The more ancient and noble your clan, the higher you sit," Darius enlightened Alex, who was silent.
- Good afternoon Lord Peverell," came a velvet voice behind Peverell's back. Turning round the boy could hardly keep his face straight as Thomas Gont, who in the world went by the humble and discreet name of Voldemort, looked at him.
- Mr Gont," Alex greeted Riddle with a slight bow.
- Lord," Tom interrupted the boy.
- I'm sorry. - Peverell interrupted, arching an eyebrow.
- Lord Gaunt," Riddle said, flashing an obscure ring.
- "This is not the ring of the head of the family, but some sort of artifact that creates an illusion, and a very high-quality one that you can't identify unless you know artefacting. I must admit, it's a rare artifact, I wonder how Riddle managed to dig it up, we have a couple of rings like that in the treasury of the manor. Don't tell him you know about the artifact yet," Darius enlightened the boy, who still hadn't said a word.
- Please forgive me, Lord Gaunt," Peverell corrected himself, heeding the guardian's advice.
- Nothing Lord Peverell," was the reply.
What followed was a meaningless conversation, during which Riddle tried to get some unintelligible information out of Alex.
- So, noble Lords, let us begin our council, which has been called at the request of Thomas Gaunt, Lord and head of the Gaunt family. We hear you, Lord Gaunt," said Charles Greengrass, who was most likely the chairman of this meeting. After his words, Riddle rose from his seat where he had been sitting before along with Malfoy, Black, Greengrass, Lestrange, and the others. Peverell himself was sitting in a chair on the very top level, and completely alone.
- Thank you, Lord Greengrass," Peverell was surprised again, for Gaunt's previously velvety voice seemed even more beautiful.
- I have called this meeting because the magical world has begun to forget its heritage ... - further, Alex simply stopped listening, as he guessed what Riddle was going to talk about. - And that's why I ask you, noble lords, to help my movement and support us, - Gont finished half an hour later.
- Was that all Lord Gaunt? - Greengrass asked after a moment of silence.
- Yes," the man nodded in response.
- In that case, who is in favor of supporting Lord Gaunt? - After this question, the House of Lords' meeting room filled with noise. The source of the noise was Dumbledore's supporters, who were vocal in their opposition to such ideas, and the supporters of Riddle himself, who called Dumbledore and all his followers Muggle-borns, and the Headmaster himself a senile old man who should be retired. But there weren't many of those, Dumbledore's supporters were about a dozen here, there were a little over a dozen behind Riddle's back as well, and the rest were either Peverell supporters or neutral families who still hadn't taken sides.
- Enough," Greengrass barked at the top of his voice. - Let's postpone this conversation until the next meeting, think it over, and make a final decision because next time there will be a vote, through which a decision will be made, - Charles' last idea was agreed upon by absolutely everyone, immediately calmed down and sat back in their seats. - Did anyone else have anything else to bring before the House? - There was complete silence in response, and Greengrass was about to announce the end of the session, when a calm voice sounded, in which all the lords easily recognized Alexandros Peverell, who had not uttered a word for almost two hours.
- Actually, I have one," Alex said softly, surprising everyone, even Darius.
- What is the subject of your question Lord Peverell? - Managing his surprise, Greengrass asked.
- It concerns Hogwarts and its education," replied Peverell, shocking everyone again.