Chapter 5

Albus Dumbledore was in a quandary. Magical Britain was going through a phase never seen in the past two centuries. The number of attacks on magical families were on the rise in the past few years. Some prominent families had fallen victim to the continuous onslaught of one Dark Lord. He called himself Lord Voldemort. People had started fearing his name. As a person who had faced another dark lord, Dumbledore was well aware of what was at stake. Luckily, magical Britain had not been affected in the war against Grindelwald. Europe had been the target then. The downfall of Grindelwald, and the arrest of his followers had led to the formation of the ICW. They kept an eye out for any similar threats to avoid a similar debacle. Unluckily, the Ministry of Magic didn't recognize this organization. The ICW didn't have any jurisdiction on the island. The minister was of the opinion that Britain was good on its own and didn't want to subject itself to foreigners. Dumbledore was a member of the ICW. He wasn't some ordinary member; he was the Supreme Mugwump. He had the authority to call in raids on potential targets, broker treaties, provide support on request. He presided important meetings and was a respected voice in that community. In his opinion, he had earned that position. His defeat of Grindlewald was legendary. His knowledge on various arcane fields of magic were second to none.

Unfortunately, he couldn't get the ICW involved in the resistance against Voldemort. The minister was of the strong opinion that allowing them free rein would create a precedent and would affect the governance as a whole. She also believed that her forces were capable of defeating the dark lord. But Dumbledore knew different. He knew that the resistance was crumbling. They weren't on the brink of defeat, but they had had significant losses. And the opposition was brutal in its onslaught. Rape, desecration of murdered people, torture were common tactics used by the group of people in the service of the dark lord. They called themselves the 'Death Eaters'. He felt saddened at the fact that they were all his students at some point of time. Dumbledore had found out that some magical beasts like the werewolves and vampires had also joined the opposition.

Dumbledore knew that something significant was required to turn the tide in their favor. He had assembled a group of warriors who would stand up to this threat. He had christened the group 'The Order of the Phoenix'. This group had intercepted some attacks and had pushed them back. But these victories were far and between. Most of the times, they would arrive at the scene late.

Dumbledore considered this battle as a battle between light and dark. His side being the light side. He thought he understood what the other side was fighting for. They were looking for supreme governance over magical Britain and re-establishment of arcane pureblood laws (he considered them orthodox and outdated, of course). His side supposedly stood for progress and acceptance of all magical beings. He believed that for the magical population to survive, they had to accept all the magical beings irrespective of their affiliations. The light side stood for everything that the dark didn't stand for. He called his philosophy 'The Greater Good'.

However, there was a fault in his theory, Of course, Voldemort was all for oppression and complete control. Their intentions were harmful to the society and they didn't support progress of any kind. But the hidden truth was that the Light didn't stand for progress either. Britain had been under Light leadership for a long time. But the progress wasn't as significant as it should have. Magical beings were oppressed throughout the island. The only exceptions were pureblood wizards and witches. Everyone else was considered inferior. No mundane born ever graced a high post in the ministry. They were relegated to lower-level jobs. Many had quit magical Britain and had migrated, either to the continent or to the Americas.

That was the most significant difference between Britain and other magical communities. They were more inclusive and accepting. The war on Grindelwald had taught them that. Britain being isolated from that war didn't get impacted by this. The other world had taken necessary steps to improve their civilization and were leaps and bounds ahead of their British counterparts.

Dumbledore believed his institution, Hogwarts was the premier institute of Magic. Its history warranted that. Established by the four most prolific magic wielders of the time, it had cemented its place in history by producing many famous wizards, him being one of them. But the truth was that the school had lost its appeal over the past few decades. A place where education was sub-standard (History of Magic only taught Goblin rebellions; Muggle Studies had a curriculum from early 20th century, and most recently, yjr imability to maintain a professor for Defense against Dark Arts for more than a year), some fields of magic like Alchemy, Warding all but forgotten and if you add bullying, intolerance and negligent administration to the list, it was nowhere close to what it was at a time. You hardly got transfer students at Hogwarts, and the majority of students were native populace who believed it to be the best school ever, or mundane born who had no knowledge about their other options.

It was safe to assume that Magical Britain had not matured into a thriving civilization, but was stuck in a self-delusional Utopia of their own, isolated from the rest. Dumbledore, with all his wisdom had done little of significance. All he did figuratively was to plaster and paint over visible cracks on a building. People thought the building was new, but the base could collapse any day.

Voldemort capitalized on this mentality. He had travelled to places in search of knowledge and power. He had learnt that people in his home country were more gullible. All he needed to do was manipulate them into believing that he was fighting their cause. His real intention was to be immortal, both literally and figuratively. He wanted to explore magic to a level never ever achieved before. He was using the pureblood agenda to further his cause. A well-hidden fact was that he was a half-blood, his father being non-magical. He had taken great measures to ensure it remained secret. He had culled all his blood relatives and had gone to great lengths to ensure nobody could track his ancestry. This war on the current establishment was just so that he could have control on everybody and nobody would stop him with his goals. He had brokered deals with other magical beasts promising them free rein in his establishment. Giants, werewolves and vampires had come over to his side. The future looked bright for him.

But things were about to change. The upcoming time was going to be a rude awakening for both Dumbledore and Voldemort. Unfortunately, both wouldn't survive to see magical Britain being ushered into a world of progress.

-Break-

Lord Arcturus Black was a man of few words. He was the head of a family which had gained prominence in Britain ever since the establishment of the Statute of Secrecy. His family had multiple investments across the magical world. His word carried a lot of weight in the pureblood circle. However, he was one of the very few who was wise enough to know that the current path his family was on wasn't favorable in the long run. He wasn't a muggle lover like the old fool Dumbledore. But he knew what significance they had on the society. As a person who had major holdings in all of the continents, he knew that his coffers were filling up faster from income generated outside Britain. Most of his days were spent deep in thought on how he could weather the upcoming storm. Most of his family was on Voldemort's side (he would never acknowledge him as the Dark Lord). He was one of the few surviving Brits who had fought against Grindelwald. He had lost his father and brother to that conflict. He knew better than to support another mad wizard. His ultimate goal was to ensure that his family would sustain and flourish in the days to come.

What troubled him was that both his sons were sympathetic of Voldemort's cause. Both Cygnus and Orion hadn't openly declared fealty, but he knew that they were supporting him with money and resources. His grandchildren were another story. Cygnus's eldest daughter, Narcissa had heartily joined her husband Lucius Malfoy, from the noble house of Malfoy in the service of Voldemort. Another one, Bellatrix had been forced by both her father and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange to enlist. The youngest was at Hogwarts. She was his favorite, as she seemed to have inherited his fiery attitude the most. He had cancelled her betrothal to the House of Prince, after their heir had attacked her. She was his best hope to achieve what he had thought for his family. His heir, Sirius, Orion's eldest was a prankster. He didn't have a lot of hope from him. But he knew he wasn't tempted by the dark side like his cousins. His brother Regulus took after his father and supported the dark. There was hope for him as her was still young.

Some would think that the Lord Black was lax in his responsibilities towards his family or lacked the control to keep everyone in line. The truth was that Lord Black believed in free will. He would never interfere with somebody's decision. When they came back with remorse over a bad decision, he would accept them back. He believed in experience making a person better. Till date, the only time he felt bad over his stance was when Bellatrix had been married. His son had betrayed his trust by taking away her free will.

For now though, he decided to wait in patience at the outcome of the current war. He would try his utmost to make sure his family survived it and came back stronger.

-End Chapter-