'Today, for the first time, my scheming has been absolutely perfect. Dumbledore has no idea what I'm after and shouldn't interfere - unless he does it on principle, of course. Fudge should be fine with the practicality of it all. He will finally look like a fair and just minister if he agrees with my demands - all he has to do is kick down and be a yes-man, his specialty. Malfoy is the only one who could logically interfere. But at best, he derails the trial and kicks me out of the Lestrange family either through the patricide clause or he names a more suitable heir and extends his regency. But then, all I need to do to get their entire assets in Britain is declare a blood feud and kill my uncle and a lunatic great-aunt after Malfoy dies at my hands. It would make my travels into France for the dueling tournament in three years awkward since there is still a Lestrange family there, but...'
I narrowed my eyes a little as I let my fingers linger over my wand, feeling its every groove and imperfection.
'The only thing that could stop me from achieving my true goal today, getting the horcrux, is if it wasn't even in Bellatrix' vault in this timeline. Three items, looted at random by me in three Lestrange vaults... will Bellatrix suss out what I'm after? She has been in Azkaban longer now, but through all her cruelty - she was still shown as meticulous and clever. Blindsiding her after a confession will be the only way if she suspects what I'm after,' I thought with a small frown.
Technically, I was a 'mere 15 year old boy'. They could deny me whatever I wanted on the premise that I'm a child despite my emancipation. The only leg up I had was that I was positively perceived by most younger magicals of Magical Britain if we discounted the current Slytherin student roster, of course. The many articles in the Daily Prophet about me since school started were to thank for that.
Standing in a waiting room at the ministry, sharply dressed in black robes with a black shirt and tie, I looked at my wand more closely. Switching so often to my secondary kelpie wand resulted in my affinity with the wand diminishing a little. It was vexing me.
In the short term, I needed to look into it because outside the water, the kelpie wand was terrible. I needed my original and later repaired wand to get back in line or finish my wandlore studies and create a new magical focus.
"Mister Macnair, there you are," Limm suddenly appeared and roused me out of my musings. "Put that wand away and follow me. They are waiting for you. Someone put you in the wrong waiting room."
Rolling my eyes a little at such a childish tactic by one of my many enemies, I quickly followed my short solicitor. Outside the grand Wizengamot courtroom, Ted Tonks was waiting for us and greeted me with a handshake.
"You're prepared, Lord Gamp-to-be?"
"I am," I confirmed and followed the two inside.
They led me to a stand where almost a hundred people sat in the ranks high up, ready to judge me.
"Making us wait, do you already think yourself better than us?" Lucius Malfoy asked mockingly from his prominent position among the members of the Dark faction before I could even take my place.
"It seemed the well-oiled machinery of the ministry was greased a little too well," I calmly countered to mock him.
My confirmation as Lord Gamp was a formality. The man could do nothing about it unless he wanted to mess with the Grey voting block. But he was in no position to do that with many of his fellow Dark faction lords dying at my hands. They've been craving normalcy for weeks now, and losing more people to the Grey was not going to help it.
"Order! Order!" An ugly monstrosity in pink, who could only be Umbridge, screeched from below the minister's high seat.
"Next order of business, the inauguration of a new Lord Gamp. The rites have been observed. Lord Ogden, his proxy, is in agreement," Albus Dumbledore, in his position as Chief Warlock, read from a parchment as he sat next to Cornelius Fudge, the current minister. The headmaster didn't look very happy about this at all. It seemed he disliked me gaining more power immensely since the man didn't even bother to hide his small frown instead of showing his usual grandfatherly smile.
"Have we checked if his blood is pure? My son informed me that there are many undue rumors circulating the school about his true parentage," Lucius Malfoy interjected before the process could be finished.
"It stands to reason that a man of your station even pays attention to gossip among children. Dilligence is the mark of a good leader," I once more mockingly quipped, but held my tongue to say anymore when I realised something.
Lucius wanted me to be seen as a rude brat who couldn't hold back from ridiculing an adult the moment I had a modicum of power. At least I thought so.
"If I may," Ted Tonks spoke up, though it looked like Louis Limm was the one who wanted to be the one to defend me. "As the Chief Warlock stated, all the proper rites have been observed. Mister Macnair is an adult through early emancipation. Gringotts confirmed that he is a direct, male descendant of House Gamp through his grandmother on his mother's side. A living relative vouched for him. The proxy, Lord Ogden, has no objection to him assuming the Lordship. As such, him standing here is all well and good despite his age and the rumors some of you may have heard. As was the case with confirmation of the new Lord Rosier that Lucius Malfoy has just brought before this illustrious body to the benefit of the Dark Faction, there has been no mistake with Lord Gamp's claim."
Oh? A new Lord Rosier? I hadn't heard about that before...
Quickly following that, I was pronounced Lord Gamp without any other undue remarks from the Dark Faction, and I was allowed the floor to address my fellow Lords and Ladies. A sort of welcoming speech to declare my position of sorts was customary - but these people would only paint me as an idealistic child or unruly troublemaker if I spoke up about that.
"I wish us all a happy cooperation to see that Magical Britain prospers. And for that to happen, we all must be held accountable to the standards we should all adhere to," I curtly declared and looked to Amelia Bones. She was white in my vision, not orange like I suspected or green like a small part of me hoped. "As my first official act as Lord Gamp, I wish to have the auror Julius Gruff investigated. The man schemed with someone at Gringotts to forge a signature of my late grandfather Walden Macnair to fraudulently extend a lease in an effort to steal from my family and was the secret owner of the brothel that burned down recently."
With that, I nodded at Tonks and Limm and walked over to sit next to Lord Ogden, another truly old wizard who looked only slightly more alive than Lord Arcturus Black had when I met the man.
"I expected a long speech like that Lord Rosier bloke who went on and on about tradition and blood value," Lord Odgen's raspy voice softly murmured into my ear.
I followed his eyeline to see this apparent 'Lord Rosier', who looked absolutely nothing like Natalie, the only other Rosier I knew. He also looked just about the age to be a fresh graduate. Though, I didn't see him last year at Hogwarts. So he likely graduated a year or two before I attended the school.
His superior sneer told me everything I needed to know about the man. He was a Slytherin alumni, for sure.
"I am not here to bore the rest of your geezers to death so that I can take over," I quipped because I knew the man would find it amusing.
Amelia Bones in her seat relatively close to mine looked kind of angry. But not with me, not truly, but at the fact that apparently my only order of business was something to do with her office. She waved over one of the guards who was part of the aurors and handed them a quickly scribbled note and tapped her wand on the desk impatiently.
Lord Sirius Black from the seats of the Light side, looked at me with an interested smile. It looked like he thought this was more amusing than anything - it was a wonder he even made his way to this hearing. He sat next to Regent Augusta Longbottom and was still green in Eagle Vision - but curiously, Augusta Longbottom was orange.
My father had killed her only son. It seemed the articles in the Daily Prophet didn't ease her dislike towards me. Or Dumbledore poisoned my image of me in her mind. Or the fact that we were about to see the man in question made the old woman's emotions bubble up to the surface.
We watched two more lords getting sworn in, the numbers still had to be bolstered after I killed so many, and I saw what Lord Ogden meant. These adult wizards all spewed the same glorious bullshit and in all honesty, I wanted to gouge out my ears.
They were all so self-serving and stuck in their ways. Neither of them had any fresh ideas or progressive agendas. I didn't, either, but I chose not to declare those 'radical positions' because I was by far the youngest lord present and well hated by Lucius Malfoy. Any law or regulation I brought before this body would be slapped down on principle.
Following that, a new set of laws and amendments was called to vote, and I lost my mind reading them.
"The protection of children has to be assured at all costs and no child should be born to suffer from such an affliction," Umbridge said in defense on a particular law when it was brought into question by Amelia Bones.
"You want to ban someone with... as you put it... 'creature blood' from sleeping with wizards and witches? What happens when a child is born of such a union? Do you want it killed and the parents thrown into Azkaban?" Bones asked in disbelief. Rightfully, Bones thought that this would be the precursor to laws forbidding magicals sleeping with muggles or something equally sinister and stupid.
I turned off my brain from listening to that discussion the moment Umbridge argued that it was only right to do so. Thankfully, that law wasn't passed, and I wondered why Dumbledore didn't speak up against it either.
Through all his faults, he should have been embarrassed to have such a regressive law put into place while he was still in power. But maybe he had gotten the Light and Grey voting blocks to work against this law beforehand, and I just missed his subtle scheming.
This whole shameful debacle did, however, remind me of all the damage Umbridge was allowed to do in canon. From her ridiculous laws against werewolves to her later actions against muggleborn during Voldemort's reign. She was in a position to be the epitome of lawful evil.
I decided that Umbridge would be my first target for assassination at that very moment.
"Next order of business is the trial of Rabastan and Bellatrix Lestrange. Mister Tonks, you may present the case," Dumbledore read out loud from his parchment roll after we were finished passing exactly zero laws and only amendments that would help the rich get richer.
My solicitor stood up from the ranks of the spectators once more and walked to the small lectern in the middle.
"The murder of Selena Macnair was a case that was never opened because despite saving Talion Macnair's life, whoever helped in his birth got rid of her body. In light of recent revelations, where we learned that Walden Macnair was, in fact, a willing Death Eater and unlawfully sold his daughter to someone in the Death Eater movement, my client wishes to seek justice. With no other leads, my client and I intend to lay the unlawful death of Selena Macnair at the feet of Rabastan Lestrange and Bellatrix Lestrange née Black."
Loud murmurs rang through the rows of Lords and Ladies, and only moments later, Lucius Malfoy spoke up, "That is most impossible. Those two together with Rudolphus Lestrange and the late Barty Crouch Junior have long since received their sentencing in full! Justice has been achieved!"
Tonks nodded and offered, "And not one person outside of Alice Longbottom has been compensated despite all four of them having committed many atrocities against Magical Britain. Lord Gamp was robbed of his mother and disfigured before his birth. Someone had him raised in the muggle world instead of within a loving magical home. Who do you think we should ask for compensation instead? The coffers of the Lestrange family run deep."
The dark faction immediately started a shouting match, arguing how this would set a dangerous precedent for exploitative prosecuting. How it wasn't fair to seek out compensation when I was clearly a capable wizard - which I found an especially amusing argument coming from the dark faction. They even went as far as saying that Selena Macnair had been a willing party, and Tonks allowed them to rain down on him with a small smile. When neither Fudge nor Umbridge and sadly not even Dumbledore as Chief Warlock called for order, I stood up, raised my wand and cast 'Bombarda' into the air.
Immediately, tens of wands were pointed at me as the dust the explosion shook loose from the ceiling slowly started raining down on us, but I just pocketed my wand again and sat down again.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Umbridge screeched. "Aurors, disarm him immediately!"
"Actually, since this matter was raised by my own solicitor and this body failed to uphold decorum and order for this matter to proceed in due time, I am allowed to call for order through any means necessary according to Article 13 of the Wizengamot Charta. So silence these ingrates or I will," I scoffed back and heard Lord Ogden next to me chuckle.
"Section five of that law hadn't been used ever since I took my seat, but the young Lord Gamp is correct. I seem to remember that he is allowed to cast at those offenders directly according to section seven of that law should they repeat their folly," Lord Ogden said loudly with a lot of mirth.
Dumbledore said nothing, but once the lords of the dark faction stopped their clamoring, he called for the two prison transfers to be brought in.
[POV change third person]
Another hush fell over the room as the door shot open and two raving mad people were dragged into the room in chains.
Rabastan, in particular, looked just about ready to bite the guard who guided him forward by clutching his straightjacket as he cursed everyone - though verbally thanks to him having no wand and having his magic restricted.
While Bellatrix and her brother-in-law were put into cages with chairs that chained them down, Lucius Malfoy was talking with his right-hand man, Gregory Goyle Senior.
"What is their angle?" Goyle asked with a tight frown.
"That little brat wants access to the Lestrange vaults," Malfoy mumbled, his frown not any less severe than that of his ally.
"But why? If it's money, he could come after your regency and take the family name," Goyle chimed in once more. "Does he think his claim isn't good enough?"
"That is what is puzzling me. I was well-prepared for this angle ever since the runt was allowed to get emancipated," Malfoy countered as he looked at Talion with calculating eyes. "... it can't be that he is afraid of me. Does he do it stir up sentiments? Clear his name by smearing his father's? Does he want to buy goodwill with the families of the Light faction by going against 'Death Eaters' openly?"
"What better way than getting two lordships to the Grey instead of one for that, though?" Goyle added with displeasure tinging his voice.
"Maybe he is not on the Grey sides either?" Malfoy pondered out loud. "Despite the attacks against him, he received no help other than that of that half-creature cur sitting on the head of house Ravenclaw position."
"You spoke to Bellatrix when they transfered her. Did she have an idea?" Goyle inquired as he looked at the witch straining against her bindings. Her hair was disheveled. Her outfit mere rags. But Lucius cast a few grooming spells on his sister-in-law - likely for his wife's sake.
To the man who lusted over her for his entire time at Hogwarts and later time among the inner circle of Voldemort, Goyle thought at that moment how unfair it was for Lucius and Rudolphus to get House Black wives while he was stuck with a Bulstrode woman. Even underfed and with sunken eyes and sallow skin, Bellatrix still looked better than his own bull of a wife.
"No. Though her loathing for Selena made any inquiry moot. The moment I mentioned that she birthed her son despite the dark lord going after her personally, Bellatrix lost her mind even more than she already had," Lucius said, mindful to only say so with his hand covering his mouth and the silencing ward around them activated.