21st June 1993. Wizengamot Chamber.
Stefan Greengrass was intrigued. He had seen Lord Peverell talking to Dumbledore and Lord Malfoy, two men in completely different factions. Obviously, they were trying to persuade him to join them, but what made him confused was the way Lucius was treating him.
They acted as if they knew each other; how long precisely had Ares Peverell been here, and what side was he planning on aligning himself with?
Stefan was still immersed in his thoughts when the meeting began again. It was all mainly cases concerning rising needs for scholarships for the muggleborns and more rights, equality etc.
It was all over in under two hours as there weren't any real champions for the discussions that were pro-muggle-born.
Soon it arrived at the voting time allotted for bills to be passed through.
"My fellow lords and ladies!" Stefan called out as he stood, "The rising tide of immigrants is an issue we are all worryingly aware of. So I put forward today a bill that will cull this problem effectively by cutting access to our greatest resource, education. Only those who have lived in Britain for three years beforehand will be allowed to attend our schools. This will stop an incoming flow of immigrants from other countries wanting to merely take advantage of our education system while living in another country."
Ares could see quite a few of the lords nodding in agreement, including light and dark factions.
Stefan took that chance to look up at the young Peverell Lord, only to be met with a smirk.
Confused but not one to be put off by such a gesture, he concluded,
"All of you here know the importance of giving our children an education so that they can better wizarding Britain. What is the point of our schools if they only help other countries and supply them with well-educated wizards and witches?"
Now there were cries of agreement.
Lord Greengrass sat down, and Albus stood up, saying,
"Does anyone wish to disagree, or shall we proceed with the vote?"
Ares waited until all the noise had disappeared before calling out,
"I do."
Almost at once, the entire chamber turned to look at him with surprise, shock, or confusion.
"Do you all believe Lord Greengrass when he says that all the foreigners claiming education here return to their own countries and forget Britain? I have just returned from living away and wish for my son to attend Hogwarts. How will that be possible if this bill passes? Would you stop ancient houses from returning to their homeland because you are afraid of a few people from other countries? From what I know of my country and her people, we are all proud and powerful; why should we cower behind new laws when we don't need to? Chief Warlock Dumbledore himself told me ninety percent of Hogwarts graduates go on to work in the British magical industry. Do not pass a bill that will only negatively impact our great nation. Thank you." He spoke passionately and with a tempo that Lord Greengrass, not nearly as invested in the matter, couldn't quite match.
In truth, there was no need for this as Ares was sure Lucius could stop the bill on his own, but he wanted to make an impression and make one he had.
Albus was amazed and delighted. Here was a man in a position of power who could talk like Odysseus himself and seemed to want to do the right thing. Albus needed this mans child at his school; this bill couldn't be allowed to pass!
Making a signal towards Tiberius Ogden, one of his vassals, he ensured the light side was voting against it. Now he could only hope to make a difference.
"My Lords and Ladies, after such an inspirational speech like that from one of our newest members, it is time to hold a vote." He declared putting emphasise on inspiration.
There was a burst of chatter before Dumbledore signalled for silence.
"All those in favour of passing this bill."
Just under a third of the Wizengamot lifted lit wands.
"All those not in favour."
More than two-thirds of the Wizengamot voted. In addition, the Light and Dark factions also voted for the same thing, which was an incredible feat.
Stefan Greengrass was at a loss for words. He had not thought that Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy would vote against him.
"He knew! That bastard knew they would try to get him on their side. He played us all! A master!" Cygnus crowed.
Stefan could only nod in agreement.
Ares was smirking; he had not thought that Dumbledore would have such a change of heart, or had he? No matter what, he had proven to the Greengrass family that he was not someone to be looked down on.
Lucius was even more in awe of his master and how he had managed an accomplishment no other wizard or witch had in recent history, uniting both light and dark factions.
Albus was proud. Even though he had not known this lord for long, the man had already united the dark and light factions for the greater good!
He couldn't wait to start moulding this man's son back at Hogwarts and create a saviour who could lead the wizarding world when Harry Potter died to kill Voldemort.
In a corner watching from a slight distance, Dolores Umbridge was wearing a smile most people would describe as terrifying.
She had found the man that would make her powerful, he was pureblood, affluent and influential already, and with her help, there was no limit to what he could do.
Cornelius would need to be taught that it was best to go along with what Lord Peverell said; after all, he seemed to be able to control both the light and dark factions.
Rita Skeeter was sitting on a window ledge, watching everything unfold. This was going to make her career.