Asterion's proposal made everyone hesitate. They were not noble solely because of innate skills; the monopoly of knowledge was what made them superior to Muggle-borns and half-breeds. While Muggle-borns only began studying at thirteen when they went to Hogwarts, descendants of noble houses started from childhood, laying a solid foundation for their future. Giving up this advantage was something they were reluctant to part with.
"As the future Lord of House Black, I will be the first to open the library of House Black. The entire legacy of House Black over a thousand years will be placed in the Clock Tower Library to be accessed at any time," Asterion said, seeing everyone hesitating, including House Greengrass. He wasn't surprised. He expected this when he proposed it, so Asterion was the first to set the example.
Asterion's words widened many eyes; the idea of freely accessing all the knowledge of House Black, successor to House Slytherin, made everyone look at Asterion with warm gazes, almost as if they were admiring a beautiful woman.
Asterion knew that knowledge was a tempting weapon, used by those who knew how to manipulate it to establish the foundations of human society, creating a society like no other, differentiating humans from other magical sentient races.
No wizard would resist the temptation to obtain all the knowledge of a Great Noble House like House Black.
"House Greengrass will also open its entire library," Aurelius, Asterion's future father-in-law, said, supporting the idea. There was a smile on the man's lips.
With Aurelius's words, other patriarchs made their decisions.
"House Carrow..."
"House Shafiq..."
"House Yaxley..."
Listening to everyone, Asterion firmly held Daphne's hand and could barely stop himself from smiling. The first part of his plan went so smoothly that it surprised even him. Asterion even thought of sending a gift to Voldemort for making things easier for him. And the gift he would give to his father's killer would be a slow and painful death.
"Will Dumbledore accept this new government?" Arcturus asked, calming everyone present. Yes, Dumbledore had to accept the new government so that the Ministry of Magic could peacefully and orderly dissolve without bringing too much chaos to the country.
Taking a sip of wine, Asterion wasn't dissatisfied with his great-grandfather's words; it was a very important question in the first place. Savouring the wine for a moment, Asterion swallowed the purplish liquid and calmly replied, "Dumbledore will accept it. The Clock Tower will facilitate the rise of Muggle-borns in our society." His words made everyone's faces darken; the idea of Muggle-borns freely enjoying the knowledge accumulated by their ancestors left a bitter taste in their mouths.
"I know what you're all thinking, but consider a different angle," Asterion didn't need to read minds to understand what was going on in these people's heads. "We will still be in power. Our knowledge will be used to foster new innovations in our society; we can use this to our advantage without attracting too much hatred. In other words, the future creators of these innovations will have to sign a profit-sharing contract, or they won't be able to patent their own creations."
This made everyone feel better. Yes, as long as they were in power, they could create laws to prevent certain unpleasant things, like the possible future tide of democracy coming in like a tsunami.
"But, before we begin our preparations, I know many of you were Death Eaters," Asterion spoke, grabbing everyone's attention again. A slight tension hung in the air, anticipating his next words.
"I don't trust you," his words were direct and to the point. "But for this to work, we need to have a certain level of trust among all present."
"I propose an Unbreakable Vow for all of us," he continued without waiting for anyone's reaction. "This Unbreakable Vow will be performed during a ceremony for each new member of our Faction. In other words, my children, your children, grandchildren, and future descendants will be required to make an Unbreakable Vow to ensure the security of the interests of our noble houses."
Although Asterion knew that the Unbreakable Vow wasn't so unbreakable, given that the vows of Dumbledore and Grindelwald were broken, but the Unbreakable Vow was still the most powerful binding method in the wizarding world. Which was a great solution to the problem of distrust.
Everyone didn't rush to respond, and Asterion wasn't in a hurry at this moment. It wasn't an easy decision to make; it involved the possible survival of their houses. It was totally normal for them to talk amongst themselves.
While everyone conversed among themselves, Daphne approached Asterion more closely and whispered, "You really surprised me; I came urgently after receiving my mother's letter." Her warm breath tickling Asterion's ear.
Asterion looked at her and rolled his eyes. "What excuse did you give to leave Hogwarts?" He whispered.
"I just said that my sister's situation worsened," Daphne replied innocently.
Asterion just shook his head. He looked at his friends accompanying their respective parents; they were all silent, looking at him with admiration.
The only thing bothering him was that Draco and Dorea weren't present, which meant they were on Voldemort's side, or rather, where Lucius wanted them to be.
Asterion estimated that about half of Slytherin was empty at the moment, which must have surely surprised Snape with so many excuses students used to leave in the middle of the school year. This must have also alarmed Dumbledore, who obviously knew that Voldemort had returned.
"Poor Snape," Asterion pretended to be sad and sighed.
"Please, you must be happy about his suffering." Showing a playful smile, she whispered in his ear as their fingers intertwined.
Squeezing her hand firmly, he casually replied, "I'm not that cruel."
This time it was Daphne's turn to roll her eyes at his remarks.
Remembering something, Daphne whispered to him, "Rose has gotten quite close to Dumbledore recently; she's spent a lot of time in his office."
Asterion was surprised for a moment but calmly accepted the news; it was expected that Rose would side with Dumbledore, especially after the Hogwarts attack.
"Worried about your cousin?" Daphne teased sarcastically, seeing his silence.
"Was that a hint of jealousy I detected in your tone?" Asterion raised an eyebrow and asked, his voice tinged with amusement.
"You went into a broom cupboard with her," Daphne spoke coldly, her voice almost spitting venom.
"Firstly, she dragged me in there. Secondly, nothing happened between us inside the broom cupboard. Thirdly, she just wanted some advice about her life." Holding Daphne's hand firmly, Asterion patiently explained.
For some reason, he found his fiancée's jealousy quite adorable, especially regarding Rose, whom he only saw as a cousin with some parental affection.
Daphne felt like some weight had been lifted off her shoulders hearing his words. Although it was normal for a Lord of a noble house to have lovers outside of marriage, she didn't want that for her future marriage. Asterion was hers, and she didn't want to share him with anyone else.
"Lord Black."
Hearing his name being called, Asterion focused his attention on the guests who had stopped murmuring among themselves. It seemed like everyone had come to an agreement. A good thing in his opinion.
"We have agreed to make an Unbreakable Vow. In the future, our interests are intertwined not only by promises but by blood and magic," Aurelius Greengrass spoke, assuming the role of representative of the nobles present.
Everyone applauded for the wording choices of Daphne's father; the man was a born politician who took on the role of representative in a few short minutes of discussion. Asterion presumed that the man would be one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower in the future, especially with the support of the Neutral Faction, which was not as neutral as before.
Asterion rose from the chair that resembled more of a throne and lifted his wine-filled glass.
Everyone followed Asterion's lead, rising from their seats and raising their glasses.
"A toast to a new beginning and a new era," Asterion spoke, displaying a rare smile.
"A new era!"
"A new era!"
"A new era!"
The patriarchs exclaimed as they raised their glasses high.
Watching everyone like this, Asterion smiled and drank all the purplish liquid from his glass in one gulp.
"My era!"
He murmured to himself.
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Next Chapter: 88 - Civil War (4), 89 - Civil War (5), Chapter 90 - Civil War (6), Chapter 91 - Battlefield (1), Chapter 92 - Battlefield (2), Chapter 93 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (1), Chapter 94 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (2), Chapter 95 - The War Intensifies (1), Chapter 96 - The War Intensifies (2), Chapter 97 - The Death of Voldemort (1), Chapter 98 - The Death of Voldemort (2) And end of the first volume.
Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 99 – Decision (1), Chapter 100 – Decision (2), Chapter 101 – Decision (3), Chapter 102 - The Black Sisters (1), Chapter 103 - The Black Sisters (2), Chapter 104 - Rose's Past (1), Chapter 105 - Arrival of Country Representatives (1), Chapter 106 - Arrival of Country Representatives (2), Chapter 107 - Arrival of Country Representatives (3).