A/N: I seem to have made a big error posting this chapter, previously, and the page seemed to have posted itself over and over again, making for very confusing reading. Thanks to the three readers who swiftly pointed it out to me; I really appreciate your reaching out and helping me correct my error so swiftly. And abject apologies for the trouble my carelessness has caused. So, here... I've corrected the proofreading error, and hopefully, there shall be no more confusion. So mote it be, eh?
CHAPTER 9: REVENGE IN THE MAKING.
The next week saw the Black family expand and stretch to a healthier size, much to Arcturus and Cassie's delight. Wallie had shown up at ten in the morning, on the dot, knocking politely at the ward entry. A brief exchange of promises later, Wallie had zeroed in on Aiden, and taken to the weirdest kind of baby talk ever. It had thrown Aiden for a loop, and he gave to woman discomfited stares, uncomfortably reminded of Bellatrix of a past life.
But the disturbing act soon dropped, thankfully. Aunt Cassie, thankfully, had come to his rescue, scolding his grandmother resoundingly for indulging in nonsense and scaring off the poor baby. Arcturus had laughingly informed Wallie that the boy was smarter than that, and the way to his heart would be an unbiased, intelligent conversation, and unfailing kindness to all elves.
Wallie couldn't really begin to fathom the sheer weirdness of the very idea of being civil to house-elves. The kid was strangely protective of them all, and they of him. Quitting the baby talk had turned out to be frankly so much easier than treating the elves better. But every time she tried, Aiden rewarded her with smiles. Every time she succeeded, Aiden waddled over to hug her.
And much to her mortification and secret delight, Dobby, Maggie, and even Kreacher joined in the melee, much to Wallie's mortification. It was very amusing to watch the grandson train the grandmother, and Cassie and Arcturus watched in fond mirth, as the three captivated elders and thirteen enchanted elves trailed after the laughing baby all over an enormous, drafty castle.
Walburga had barely settled into a semblance of normalcy when the Longbottom clan had arrived. Augusta informed them that house Longbottom would now only host 'Gamot strategy meetings. Elves would take care of the greenhouses and continue to organize and run their potions ingredient business. Alice and Neville would stay home and Frank would continue to work at the DMLE while Arcturus joined her in the 'Gamut.
The war ending with the Potters hadn't really settled anything, in reality. The ministry was in a state of disarray and turning into a hothouse of corruption and poor quality of influential names. Everything came for a price there and it was alarming. Information was still unsecured and anything and everything sold for the right price. No one dared to truly trust anyone, despite the public announcements and celebrations declaring the end of the blood war.
To add to their worry, there had been whispers of old Bagnold retiring and the Grey faction had been asleep for a long time; long enough that Malfoy and Dumbledore both had begun to have false delusions of grandeur. It was unacceptable. Wallie practically melted in the shame of her previous stance as she quietly heard of the antics of the Malfoy patriarch and her nephew-in-law.
They sat down as a family to discuss the newest amendment Dumbledore was attempting to push through his puppets, which would effectively neutralize any distant possibility for any heirs from any Noble-born houses to study anywhere except Hogwarts. It looked innocuous on the surface but they were sure it had been aimed at the Blacks, Potter Heir, and the few others that Dumbledore hadn't managed to wrest control over. It was bad news all around.
On paper, there was nothing off about it, but to all present in the room, the implications were alarming. While Cassie and Arcturus were reading through the proposed changes, it was Walburga who suggested re-establishing the grey faction once again. She hated hosting parties but loved attending them and had enough hold over many of the darker families. She knew exactly who would move to the grey faction with the right incentive. Between her connections, Aunt Cassie's little Black book of Blackmail, Arcturus would find it easy to whip up a new faction or renew the greys again.
Arcturus' talk had been a shocking eye-opener for her and she knew that some of the facts she had discovered through that would be enough to lure many of them from the dark, the light, and the unspoken into the grey faction. And the ones who controlled the majority controlled the 'Gamot, and therefore, the country. They had two urgent businesses to tackle: propose a suitable replacement for Bagnold, and figure out how to defeat the proposed educational amendment in its current form.
They needed someone who was equally acceptable to the dark, the grey, and the light faction, but such a person was in direly short supply. Frank also noted that Dumbledore had to be de-fanged too. He had far too many fingers in far too many pies for it to look safe for the rest of the world. Alice looked at her husband in unspoken surprise when he said as much.
The previously avid supporter of the man had gotten a rude wake-up call on Halloween. They had trusted Dumbledore to protect their Fidelis secret and yet, Frank had found his home as well as his temporary residence invaded. It was simply good grace and fortune of Fates that they had been spared. No matter how it had happened, Frank was now firmly placed in the Grey camp, thanks to that one single act of betrayal.
Cassie suggested looking into Felix Amadeus Montgomery. He was the heir of the old Montgomery family who ran a rather successful magical construction business and was considered personable, honest, and a man of his word in most of the old circles. The family was wealthy, all purebloods of impeccable repute and their business flourishing, well off enough to hopefully not tempt him into bribes, unlike Bagnold.
And as a busy businessman, he was disconnected from the ministry far enough to approach the whole exercise without any if little, prejudices or preconceived notions. Businessmen tended to be more practical than foolishly idealistic school teachers. Last Cassie heard, the Montgomery's as a clan were light grey and yet, not entirely blindly enamored of the old man Dumbledore.
Perhaps Frank could approach the man and see if he was open to the idea when he went to personally invite the Montgomery Lord and Heir for a meeting. Meanwhile, the ladies could organize a ceilidh and draw up a guest list? Everyone got busy and Alice and the kids withdrew from the excited chatter to explore the grounds, three devoted house-elves trailing after them, vying for a chance to serve.
In less than a week, the Black Townhouse in London had undergone a transformation, rather than a revival. It had been a handy excuse for Frank and Arcturus to approach Felix Montgomery with. As they discussed a redecoration and acquiring property in the entire street and converting it into a gated community of townhouses for all leading names in the Wizarding English Community, they had gently maneuvered the talk to politics and fleshed him out for his beliefs and preferences. Other than being painfully naive and somewhat unpolished and blunt, Arcturus had found the younger wizard a rather delightful diamond in the rough.
In a spark of Aiden-like inspiration, Arcturus had bluntly proposed the idea of being voted as minister, and why they wanted to choose him. At first rather taken aback, Montgomery had asked for a day to think things over before he responded on the political front, but would be happy to take on the renovation project. He gave them an acceptable estimate and proposed to finish the work in three days. Speedy construction was a family magic the Montgomery clan had earned great renown over centuries for.
The next day Felix Montgomery had asked a million questions. And in a second wave of inspired maneuvering, Frank had floated the idea of building more secure, gated communities all over England, to protect their people not just from Muggles but any future dark lords. The Potters and Sirius Black had died to save them all once. Maybe they could honor the sacrifice by ensuring the community remained safe, secure and prosperous; they needed a progressive, unbiased and un-bribable builder-wizard like Felix, Arcturus stated.
Talk of comparing their world to gated communities, construction and development had been a stroke of genius; Felix had understood that much better than anything else and felt the need for reconstruction, protection and progress just as keenly as the two wizards before him. Without much further ado, he consented and requested their guidance and support moving on. Arcturus and Frank began to explain to Felix what exactly they intended to change about their world, and, how, when elected minister, Felix could help.
It was a gamble, introducing a raw new player into the playground, but Arcturus, Augusta, Cassie, and Wallie felt this as the right move, all the way to their aging bones. Besides, Aiden had approved. Arcturus understood that in the long run, it was Aiden, Lady Death by his side, who would bare the brunt of such weighty decisions. Despite the size and age of his body, Aiden was no child.
It was a worthy gamble. It was up to the elders for now, to ensure that Aiden spend the next seven years in relative peace while they worked in the background, setting up a suitable stage for him. Arcturus was jerked back to the present when Frank and Felix shook hands; Arcturus sketched a respectful bow and they parted with a promise of a second meeting before they set about courting the rest of the 'Gamot members for votes.