We found ourselves in an impressive room with a large fireplace and two magnificent chandeliers. Oh… oh-ho-ho. This is the place where, in the canon, the Death Eaters used to gather. A long table… Yes, exactly. But instead of a group of dark wizards, there were only five of them here, besides us.
The polite introductions began once again, lasting for about five minutes. That's how I learned that among those gathered were the fathers of Draco's henchmen, Russell Goyle and David Crabbe. Their families serve as underlings to Erika. Only on a much grander scale. The Malfoys had once taken them under their wing and elevated them, for which they gave him a kind of vassal oath. It's no wonder the offspring of these families followed the ferret. They had been trained from childhood.
Not that there's anything particularly wrong with it. Gratitude is a good thing. Where would these families be now, or would they even exist without the Malfoys?
A more interesting figure to me was Cantankerus Nott… The father of the younger Nott, Theodore, I believe. This gentleman was named after his ancestor, who wrote the controversial Pure-Blood Directory. Officially, of course, it was published anonymously… but within certain circles, it was clear who, how, and why. Since then, this old but otherwise unremarkable family has been on the rise. They may not be the Malfoys, but they are only a step below them.
Take, for example, Lord Aston Greengrass. The father of two charming girls (I managed to see their photos), the younger of whom is engaged to Draco. They are potion-makers and herbologists. Though they fall behind the Longbottoms in the latter, with the Longbottom family in decline, they are catching up fast. Their knowledge of potion-making is impressive, to say the least. It's no surprise that Lucius chose to form an alliance with them. The potential to take over Neville's family market is too great and tempting.
The other two were an elderly, frail man — Donald Rosier — and a younger, slightly plump Jonathan Bulstrode. They, too, represented old and influential families. The Rosiers have a situation similar to ours. The head of the family is dead, there's a son, and one remaining relative. For them, it's the grandfather; for me, it's my mother. The Bulstrodes' situation is somewhat better — they still have grandparents, and both the eldest daughter and youngest son are alive. The influence of the latter is quite evident in their marriages to the Blacks.
These folks were once so arrogant and conservative that they couldn't care less about the Dark Lord and his gang of juvenile idiots. They've grown wiser with age, but back then, they were foolish youths. Looking at Draco, this fact becomes rather obvious.
Returning to the Blacks… Marrying into that family was a kind of status symbol, another step up the pure-blood social ladder. In this way, the leading family of Britain, no joke, would recognize another family. And quite often, they formed marriages with families from the continent. The Wolfs, then the Stahlwolfs, the Bathorys, and even the Karpishins in the fifteenth century were notable examples.
It's strange that such a prolific and powerful family died out so quickly. They existed for nearly two millennia, but in less than a century, they vanished. In the canon, this happened in the background, but here, it affects me more directly. The death of one heir and the marriage of the second brought an end to such a great family, which, like our ancestors, the Wolfs, was once a leader in its country.
No joke, it's a real tragedy.
Just think how many books on Dark Magic they must have in their vaults! And all of it will become inaccessible to the world when Sirius dies. Not even Dumbledore will be able to unlock the Black family's secrets, even if he were three hundred times the great wizard he is. After all, the Blacks had their own share of great wizards in the past — perhaps not great in the Light, but definitely great in the Dark. And they enchanted their knowledge quite thoroughly. I suspect that if the Dark Lord had possessed that knowledge, Dumbledore would have been wiped out during the First Wizarding War, which remains the only one so far.
Despite all the risks, I'm tempted to save this idiot with a Gryffindor complex. If you think about it, for helping Harry, he might just hand over "this Dark magical stuff" to distant wizards from the continent, who would then not pose a threat to his beloved Chosen One. But, of course, this would create a lot of problems. Other families would protest and demand their share. We're not powerful enough to fend off all the contenders for the Black family's knowledge. And there will be many of them…
Pulling this off quietly… I don't know how yet. It would be easier with my mother, but how can I explain the things I shouldn't physically know? I'll need to think, plan… Fortunately, there's still what… five or six years?
Tsk… It's tempting, but risky, as they say.
My thoughts didn't prevent me from enjoying the meal, which we started immediately after the pleasantries. English cuisine was, of course, unfamiliar and unusual… but edible. Some dishes, in fact, were quite good. Though they might look strange… The men back in Ryazan would definitely make faces at it — at least until they tried it, of course, but even so.
The amusing part was this: all the children of the British pure-bloods present here were too young to attend such conversations, and since there are no specific holidays at Hogwarts, we were the only heirs in attendance. And this… Despite all my experience, it was somewhat unsettling. If my body were an adult, it wouldn't be a problem… But right now, I simply had no one to engage in conversation with. Interjecting in adult discussions is also considered improper.
Oh well… Listening is useful too. Many seem to forget that.
The general tone of the conversation was what you'd expect — discussions about the state of affairs in Britain. Although, due to the events with Voldemort, pure-bloods had been more focused on internal politics and paid little attention beyond the island, that would all change now. At least, that's what everyone thought.
The families had recovered from the losses of the war, the main player in future intrigues had gone to Hogwarts, and the pure-bloods saw this as a signal to move toward more active measures. Most of the heirs and heiresses had also started school this year… In short, the timing was perfect.
The families of Germany and Eastern Europe, whose interests we were now representing, wanted to discuss the restoration of old connections and assets in Britain, the collection of old debts… clarification of the motives of the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore… Basically, they discussed almost all political and economic ties, without any major imbalances.
Except for the fact that they all bad-mouthed good ol' Dumbledore with remarkable enthusiasm. There were few mentions of Voldemort — only in passing, mostly from a historical perspective, as something that happened in the past and wasn't particularly pleasant or successful.
There was some lamenting about the decline of the Black family, and the group expressed that they wouldn't mind supporting a claimant to their legacy, even if it was some kind of bastard. Of course, for an appropriate price. Here, we on the continent were cautiously probing the British, but Lucius remained silent for the time being.
Potter was mentioned again. Malfoy expressed hope that he would become a mouthpiece for pure-blood interests. It's amusing but true. The master of the manor even let slip that he had already instructed his son on this matter… What a disappointment awaits him.
However, his hopes weren't baseless. The Potters didn't make the Sacred Twenty-Eight list solely due to personal grudges among the family heads at the time. The reason was rather silly, and everyone understood that. The claim was that the Potters frequently mingled with Muggles, so there was a higher likelihood that their blood had been tainted or that they frequently intermarried with Muggles.
However, Nott's list was unofficial, and he could do whatever he wanted with it. That was his right. The other families, as before, simply took the opportunity to further cement their position within the magical world. After all, on the former lands of the Holy Roman Empire, there are the Thirty-Three Unrivaled Families, and this list has existed for half a millennium. The French, Italians, and Spaniards have their own Thirteen Magnificent Families...
Meanwhile, the British fall behind. Not a good look.
The accusations made by the author of the list are even more laughable because the Blacks married into the Potters. The main conservative family would hardly marry those who had tainted their blood with Muggles or Muggle-borns, right?
In general, certain hopes were placed on Potter. But Dumbledore outplayed them all by sending the boy to live with his Muggle relatives instead of magical ones. If Potter had grown up in the magical world, who knows if the headmaster's plans would have come to fruition. No matter how noble or good they were, or still are.
And then the Weasleys, those loyal lapdogs, got into Potter's head early on. I don't know if the meeting between the redhead and the boy with glasses was a coincidence, but had things turned out differently, Lucius's hopes might have come true. Probably not for long, though — Potter would have found out who killed his parents… but still, still.
Returning to our role as emissaries: we simply outlined general points and directions that everyone already knew. We were testing the waters, so to speak. More precise agreements and conditions would be discussed face-to-face by those directly involved.
So far, both sides are satisfied with the results of the diplomatic meeting, but we can't rule out the possibility that...
...The amulet hanging around my neck warmed up.
This means that someone is very eager to contact me. As discreetly and naturally as possible, I touched the spot on my clothes, using a very weak bit of wandless magic to send just enough magic into the amulet to signal that I couldn't talk right now. I'm very eager, I apologize, but I can't.
Even though my part-time mentor — it was her — considers herself above all those gathered here, and rightfully so, she still understands the boundaries of propriety and that even she has to wait a bit sometimes.
However, I won't delay too long. As soon as this event is over, I will definitely respond to her.