23 The Third Side
- Welcome to Peverell Manor, Lord Lestrange, Lord Rosier, and Mr Gaunt," Alex greeted them in a sweet voice, singling out Riddle's name.
- Thank you, Lord Peverell," Riddle replied, in a velvet voice that radiated good-naturedness, and Tom himself looked like the very embodiment of aristocracy with a social smile on his lips. His two followers were silent but nodded in greeting to the lords.
- Please be seated," Peverell said, pointing to a seat directly across from Alex himself at the other end of the table. Tom, silently, walked over and sat down in the offered seat. Lestrange and Rosier took seats, to Riddle's left and right.
- Toby," Alex called out to the houseboy. The elf understood without orders what needed to be done and with a snap of his fingers moved the lunch from the kitchen. - Bon appetit, - and then everyone started eating.
There was complete silence in the small dining room. There were only the sounds of cutlery. Alex leisurely, according to the etiquette, consumed the food, discreetly looking at the others. On his right hand sat Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Severus, who knew nothing, and therefore were very calm, both outwardly and inwardly, and on his left hand Darius, who outwardly was calm as a boa constrictor, but inside was tense as a string, so he was ready at any second to jump up and slaughter the guests. Next was Orion Black, who was also tense, though he did not show it, only glancing at Riddle and the others from time to time. And last was Abraxas Malfoy, who sat as if he had swallowed a stick, his back perfectly straight, his posture no less perfect, his gaze cold, his face mask absent, and the occasional haughty smile that slipped across his lips, but Riddle and his gang sitting across from him. Even to the unarmed eye, you could see that they were tense to the max. Each time discreetly (that's what they think) swiping their rings over the food, checking those before putting them in their mouths.
When lunch was finished, everyone rose from their seats and Alex said:
- Let's go into the living room, you weren't just looking to meet us Mr Gaunt," the man replied, nodding silently. Five minutes later they all moved into the sitting room, the one where Salazar Slytherin's portrait hung over the fireplace. The portrait of the founder had noticed them but was silent for now, and the others had not noticed him. - 'So, I'm listening to you,' Lord Peverell said once everyone present had settled into their chairs. He had sent his dear woman and his brother, Alex, to the library as soon as they came out of the dining room.
- You have a beautiful manor, Lord Peverell," Gaunt began.
- Thank you," Alex nodded, and the others were silent, not getting involved in the conversation.
- You must be aware of what is happening in the country now. - Riddle asked, looking at the three lords.
- You mean what's going on between you, the Ministry, and Dumbledore? - Peverell answered the question with a question. His companion nodded, keeping his ruby eyes on the boy. - Yes, I know.
- And what do you think of that? - Gaunt asked, giving in a little forward.
- What do you mean? - Alex raised an eyebrow, continuing to play the fool.
- How do you feel about it? - Riddle clarified.
- Honestly? I don't give a damn," everyone in the room cringed, and Darius covered his eyes with his hand.
- But don't you care that half-bloods and mudbloods are ruining the magical world? Don't you care that it's their fault we're forgetting our traditions?" the question came from Rosier.
- What are they ruining?" Malfoy asked.
- Our world. Because of them we've lost a lot of ancient knowledge, many magical arts have been banned and called dark, they hold senior positions in the Ministry, they try to push through laws that cause problems for us, the purebloods," Lestrange replied.
- And what are their positions in the Ministry?" Alex asked, looking at Lestrange.
- The Minister of Magic," he responded immediately.
- The Minister of Magic has almost no real power, just some influence, that's all. He voices the laws and decrees that are passed where, in the Wizengamot, and who sits in the Wizengamot, right - the purebloods," Darius grinned.
- You plan to take over the country by force, am I right? - Alex suddenly asked Riddle.
- Yes, if I have to," he didn't refuse.
- Who will follow you? - Darius asked, also looking at Riddle.
- Many," he answered vaguely.
- Who will they follow, Gont? - Alex asked with a grin. He decided to play on the latter's impulsiveness. Peverell knew roughly that Voldemort had already managed to create one or two Horcruxes, which meant that he should already be experiencing the consequences of that. Including madness and impulsiveness. Tom had hated the bullying and sneering directed at him since his life in the orphanage, and after the Horcrux had been created, it had been exacerbated to the extreme, and when paired with impulsiveness, it was a wild mix.
- FOR ME! THOMAS GONT! HEIR TO SLYTHERIN! - Alex got his way, and his interlocutor lost his temper.
- You don't know? - Darius was rather plausibly surprised, looking at the "heir of Slytherin".
- About what? - Riddle growled.
- You are no longer the Heir of Slytherin," Alex informed Riddle, shocking the latter.
- What?" Tom asked, visibly calming down.
- You are no longer the magical heir to Slytherin because you have been stripped of that status and banished from the Slytherin family," explained Peverell.
- Impossible. Only the head of the family can do that, and besides, how could you possibly know that? - Alex grinned in response and removed the illusion from the second ring he had been hiding until then.
- Nothing is impossible. How do I know that? Because, it was me who performed the ritual of stripping the title of heir and the ritual of banishment, as the head of the Slytherin family," Riddle and his gang looked at Alex with shocked looks.
- Why? - Was the only question from Riddle as he realized what had happened.
- 'Because I was asked to,' the Slytherin Lord replied with a shrug.
- By who? - growled the former heir, jumping up from his seat, the boy grinned in response and pointed his hand at the portrait above the fireplace.
- Introductions! Lord, founder and first head of the Slytherin family, and one of the four founders of Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin," the boy introduced the man. In response, everyone except Alex and Darius looked at the portrait of the founder with eyes huge with shock.
- Gentlemen," a welcoming bow from the portrait, only the Peverells Malfoy and Black answered him.
- My lord," Riddle belatedly replied.
- Lord Slytherin," Rosier and Lestrange followed him.
No one was able to continue the conversation normally after that. The tension in the room had risen to a fever pitch after they had learned the identity of the portrait. Salazar's silence and grimacing made the room tense and tense, the only thing that remained unchanged was the look of contempt and pity that the man lavished on Gaunt, and as a result, having achieved nothing, Riddle asked the three lords directly.
- Will you join my movement? - Whereupon there was a sepulchral silence in the drawing room.
- No, the Peverells, Slytherins, and Princes will remain neutral. I don't give a damn about what's going on, the only thing I care about is my family and my clan. As long as you don't touch us, I won't touch you, otherwise, - Alex was silent for ten seconds, making the situation even more intense, and then he smiled the most horrible smile he was capable of and continued: - Then death will be only the beginning of your torment, not a release from it, and your Horcruxes won't help you, - the last words of the lord frightened Riddle.
Having received the answer, Tom looked at Malfoy and Black and asked.
- 'And you gentlemen lords?
- The Blacks will stay away," Orion answered without thinking.
- So will the Malfoys," Abraxas seconded Black.
When he heard the answer, Gonth lost his composure and control over his magic.
- Not strong enough," Darius grinned as Riddle, followed by Lestrange and Rosier, reached for their wands.
- Toby escort our guests outside the grounds of the manor," Alex ordered.
- I obey, master," came the elf, who appeared next to Alex and snapped his fingers, and then the trio disappeared with a quiet pop.
- You're not going to sit on the sidelines, are you? - Darius asked, a couple of minutes later, after the guests had disappeared.
- Of course not, and my conscience won't allow it," replied Peverell, looking at Darius, who smiled oddly when he heard his answer.
- And what do you want to do? - Malfoy asked with interest, looking at Lord Peverell.
- I will kill Voldemort and Dumbledore, and if not now, then in time. Right now there is a power struggle going on between Dumbledore and Voldemort's parties, and the Ministry is being bribed at the root by whoever they can. Right now their fight is only taking place in the Wizengamot and it's only a matter of time before they grab their wands and start throwing unforgivable things at each other. Their parties differ from each other only in their attitudes towards Muggle-borns. Voldemort's party tries to push laws through the Wizengamot to keep all Muggle-borns on a very short leash. Dumbledore's party, on the other hand, is pushing laws to unite the Muggle and Muggle worlds," everyone in the living room nodded in agreement.
- But, both sides are right about something," Black said suddenly.
- What's that? - Malfoy asked in surprise.
- There aren't enough mages. There are fewer of us every year, and each new generation is weaker than the last. Simply put, we are degenerating. To prevent that, we need to renew our blood, and for that, we need the found ones, and they most often appear where right among the Muggle-borns. So we need Muggle-borns, and if Gont and his fanatics get into power, they might just keep Muggle children out of the magical world, or worse, start killing them, along with their families.
- Foundlings? - Alex had never heard that one before.
- Oh yes, I didn't tell you about them," Darius muttered with a guilty face.
- So, who are they? - Alex asked Black.
- You know that magic in pureblood families is degenerating because of close marriages. In such families, it becomes a problem to conceive even one child. In addition, the child may be weak in health or magic, or worse, a squib. In such cases, the blood needs to be renewed, and that's exactly what the acquired ones are for. You know that purebloods are potentially stronger than half-bloods and muggle-borns. To put it very simply, the Forsaken are Muggle-born mages with the potential of a pureblood. Such mages are rare and any educated pureblood family will gladly accept them into their clan. The children of such a marriage are usually stronger than their parents, cured of all blood curses, if any, have a full set of bloodline gifts, and are considered equal in status to purebloods.
- Hm, I see, - Alex nodded, and then asked. - And how to define them?
- The acquired ones are quite skilful in magic. They can do spells easily, all they need is a blood test at Gringotts, and goblins will cement their status," Malfoy answered in Black's place.
- Yes, but you can't get too carried away with it. It should only be done in the case of degeneration. Besides, there's the risk of being discovered by Muggles," Darius, who had been silent until then, said.
- So what? - Alex didn't understand.
- My lord, the Muggles will pose the greatest threat to us. They have no such thing as blood purity, they outnumber us by far and their most dangerous trait is that they are afraid of anything they cannot learn or are beyond their comprehension," explained Peverell Senior.
- I see, let's finish with the Muggles and get back to politics. Voldemort is clear, let's move on to Dumbledore," Alex suggested and everyone immediately agreed.
- Dumbledore is in favour of uniting the Muggle and Muggle worlds, that's why he's already trying to push Muggle holidays through the Wizengamot," Malfoy said with disgust on his face.
- Muggles will be scared of us and see us as a threat, so they'll start slaughtering us like cattle right away," Darius said.
- Well, there's not much to say about the Ministry. Bribed to the hilt. So what do we do? - Alex asked, scratching the back of his head.
- Organise your side," said the Slytherin portrait.
- What?" Peverell asked in surprise, looking at Salazar Slytherin.
- Organise your party, a third party, to put it simply," the man explained, and then the living room became completely silent. Everyone was thinking about the suggestion.
- That's an idea, - exclaimed Alex.
- I agree, - Black supported him.
- Do you think we can do it? - Malfoy asked doubtfully.
- If this disgrace of a family can do it, you can do it. Besides, you already have a foundation. Lord Peverell-Slytherin will be at the head, with the Princes on your side through his younger brother, the Blacks on your side through marriage, and you Malfoys through them. As far as I know, you are negotiating with Lord Black to draw up a marriage contract between your families," the Slytherin surprised everyone with his knowledge.
- I think I am. Let's give it a try, we don't have any better ideas anyway," Alex said, and everyone silently agreed.
- The aristocracy of Misty Albion has always been divided into three sides, regardless of time. The first and smallest part, a little less than a quarter, is the Muggleborns, as they are sometimes called. Mostly Dumbledore supporters, the same Weasleys, Longbottoms, Brustwers, Pruetts, and Potters. The second side, just over a quarter, is the bigots like the Traverses, Lestrange, and Rosier led by Voldemort, and the remaining third, the most numerous side, are the neutral families with just over half of all pureblood families. The Greengrasses, the Davises, the Crouches, and the rest, if we can get them on our side, we'll have a party that will be stronger than the other two combined," everyone was in complete agreement with Black's words.
- Who agrees to this course of action? - Darius asked, and the lords silently raised their right hands with wands clasped in them.
- Well, then, it is settled. I officially announce the formation of a new party, - announced Peverell Senior in a solemn voice, and then to everyone's surprise the three lords were enveloped in a bright white glow.
