27 Chapter 27 - Wizengamot session and the House Black Conspiracy

"I refuse to believe that the Dark Lord is what you say he is," the current Lord Rosier suddenly shouted after abruptly standing up to silence all those bickering around him.

"I have no doubt you would ignore my vow to continue living in your delusions. I expected no less," Ash countered with a shrug. "But Chief Warlock Dumbledore is sitting in this very room. He could expose this as a lie. He was the one to originally confirm this diary was a Horcrux anyway. And he confirmed the identity of Tom, too."

Many eyes were drawn to the Chief Warlock after Ash doubled down on the veracity of his information. With a heavy sigh and a resigned expression, Dumbledore finally nodded.

The room once more exploded. Fudge loudly inquired why Dumbledore hadn't told the wizarding world of the dark lord's identity sooner - anything to make sure the big players were smeared more than him.

Umbridge, who was uncharacteristically quiet this entire session, looked on with a weirdly relaxed expression. It was something Ash didn't like - as if the toad had a surefire plan to profit the most out of all those present from what was currently happening. Not even any of the quips and barely concealed insults at her and people like her got a rise out of her. It was eerie.

Amelia Bones sent out one of her trusted aurors to gather all the information they had on Tom Marvolo Riddle. Unspeakable Bode stepped over to Ash to gain a sample of the diary's magical imprint and shortly left after getting it.

And then there were Sirius and Ash who enjoyed the mayhem despite the concerns about Umbridge's behavior.

"Best prank ever," Sirius whispered in Ash's direction while taking the constipated looks on all the heads of the dark families.

"Wizengamot bigotry first or your family matter," Ash whispered back with a smile.

"You're on a roll, expose those bastards even more. I'll get my pick at their vaults through Goblin law anyway later on," Sirius offered with a shrug. "Can't wait to annul those two marriages either. Won't do Bella any good, but Cissy might appreciate it. Imagine having to call that oily bastard your husband."

Two minutes of the Wizengamot behaving like performers in a circus after Ash's revelation later, the young potion master stood up and loudly cleared his throat.

"I only have one very important point left before we can get back to what Lord Black called this meeting for," Ash began with a grin. Many lords and ladies present started shivering when they saw it, furiously thinking if the fletchling might air any of their dirty laundry.

"The governors of Hogwarts aren't the only 'beacons of stagnation' as I so aptly put earlier. This body, too, is a cesspool of hypocrisy, false appearances, and unbridled, self-serving nepotism that will lead this magical society to its doom," Ash cursed, and now many started to get the idea to stop him from continuing.

"Education is not the only aspect of Magical Britain that has been turning into a laughing stock on the international magical stage in recent decades. I'm almost certain the ICW will kick Magical Britain out of the leading member roster and put us on the same level as Magical Luxembourg on the day that our esteemed Chief Warlock has breathed his last. Relegated to barely an inconvenience that needs to be checked for breaches of the statute of secrecy," Ash darkly described.

"Any one of you who has gained a mastery in a profession and actively works with colleagues from your respective guild will know; internationally recognized British masters are a dying breed. And how could it be any different? In an effort to restrict the perceived encroachment of these international guilds, this body placed one stupid law on how these guilds can work after another," the young potion master hotly argued. "You forbid them from advertising to students. You forbid them from recruiting apprentices at Hogwarts. You restrict young magicals from moving to different countries for masteries. And let's never forget the single dumbest law the Wizengamot passed in recent years. Right up there with the Werewolf Registration Act and the other 'creature registration acts' that followed. You forbid muggleborn wizard and witches to move back to Magical Britain if they gained their mastery outside of this country. Honestly, whoever had this brainchild and managed to get that law ratified..."

"You are more efficient in destroying the future of this country than Voldemort ever could," Ash praised with a shake of his head. "You didn't even have to raise your wand to make sure that every other country is gaining talented magicals for free while we have all these esteemed pureblood prodigies to catapult our magical progress into the future."

"Hey, Lord Malfoy, you're awfully quiet. How many masteries did House Malfoy gain in the past four generations?"

Malfoy just stared at Ash with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. What about, let's see... Lords Crabbe and Goyle?"

"My grandfather. Master at warding," Goyle Senior gruffly answered with pride. Though Ash's mocking expression only deepened.

"Ah yes, who could ever forget Leopold Goyle. Master warder who didn't earn his family a single galleon through his work. What was he accused of again? Holding the offspring of three masters at the guild headquarters hostage until they confered him his title after he tanked his presentation? They closed down every office except the headquarters after that, if I remember correctly."

A few lords openly laughed at that, but Lord Goyle immediately made them shut up with a death glare that promised retribution.

"I see you laughing, Lord Meadowes, Lord Casterly," Ash pointed at a member of the light faction followed by pointing at a member of the grey faction, who both immediately shut up. Many others stopped as well.

"The point I'm trying to make is not entirely on the dark faction. You all had the chance not to vote these ridiculous laws into place. Instead, we are left with just two living masters of alchemy in the British Isles. Two! And let's not forget that we do not have a single master of history after the unfortunate passing of Lady Marchbanks' first husband either."

"Leave me out of this, boy. And don't insinuate I remarried after my Carlus died in 1944," a wizened old voice rang out. Griselda Marchbanks wasn't someone Ash wanted to particularly fight on this.

The woman was at least a few decades older than even Albus Dumbledore and did the best she could to ensure that the OWLs and NEWTs of British students remained at an acceptable level when compared to different countries. She failed for history, alchemy, muggle studies, and DADA. But that was hardly her fault.

Ash gave the old crone a respectful nod and left it at that.

"Of course access to advanced education and our standing among the scholars of the magical world are not the only things you people have cost this country with your ludicrous laws in the past century," Ash argued with a grim expression.

"So bent on casting society in their image of righteousness and justness, the light faction continues to ban any magic they deem dangerous. Blood magic, exotic creature-inspired magic, lethal creatures and plants, and practically all rituals are forbidden. Curses keep getting labeled as dark magic and removed from books so that young magicals will never be able to fight that magic, despite the fact that I could torture anyone with a simple Incendio and kill with a simple Diffindo. Both are charms taught in the first year of Hogwarts."

He slowly looked at everyone present with disdain in his eyes.

"Books on Mind Arts were removed from bookstores and kept from printing, all the while all of you hoard this knowledge and teach it to your heirs in secret - ensuring that they will always have a leg up on the competition," Ash described before openly scowling at the members of the light faction.

"And how are these laws so readily voted in when the dark faction, whose sole outspoken purpose is to guard our honored traditions, should oppose them? Easy, since they already have the knowledge and can simply keep practicing it behind closed doors: They just vote in the light's favor for concessions. So for every law the light passes and the dark ignores, the dark gets to increase the divide between the purebloods and the less fortunate even more! Magic as a whole and the light faction in particular loses with every single law you lot pass while the dark faction wins no matter what you do!"

Ash turned back to the dark faction and accused, "and you clowns from the dark faction! You bemoan the fact that 'filthy mudbloods' don't even know your traditions? How could they, I ask you!? You ban books on those traditions, refuse to tell them about what wrongs they have committed in your addled minds, and always keep them at a disadvantage with these disgusting unfair laws! They don't celebrate Beltane, Yule, Samhain and other important days in our calendar in favor of muggle holidays? What are their options since you lot and the Governors banned our holidays from getting practiced at Hogwarts! And for what are you doing this, dark faction? Eradicating the pureblood legacy of the country with your dark lord one 'traitorous' family at a time? Are you so keen on ruling over the ashes of this country while we become a laughing stock to everyone outside this country? Don't bother answering. I know the answer, bigotry and hypocrisy."

Some of the denser light faction lords and ladies looked like realisation just hit them. Ash lost even more faith in the system because of it.

"The grey faction is still the worst of it, in my opinion," Ash finally concluded. "You miserable fencesitters only look out for the wellbeing of your own family and influence cirlce. No matter how much you sell out your fellow magicals on both sides of the other factions, you keep doing it. Lord Fester! Is it not true that you purposefully fanned the flames to have a law enacted that makes muggleborns without the backing of a guild or a noble house unable to sell food to magicals in Britain, thereby either forcing your only competitors to work for you or drive them out of the country?"

Not many reacted to that, while the dark and grey factions simply thought that it was smart use of politics from Lord Fester and wish they had the foresight to do the same.

"Secretary Umbridge! Don't think I'd forget what you facilitated to have these disgusting 'creature registration acts' pushed through the Wizengamot. No developed magical country would ever be caught dead enacting laws of savages from the dark ages, but congratulations to your bigoted self on being as morally bankrupt as the Catholic Church during the time of the Witch Hunts! My master Griselda and her coven really loved all of it. Ruining over two centuries of hard work to increase the standing of an entire subspecies of magicals in a country as a single witch... who am I kidding? It was the lives more than one subspecies that you forever ruined."

This time, Dolores Umbridge actually looked angry.

"It's a good thing I do not answer to you, Lord Starkey," Umbridge retorted in a shrill voice. "These laws are paramount to ensure the safety of the common wizards and witches!"

"Oh yeah? Does anyone here feel more safe now that hags are once more angry at wizards and witches? And now that werewolves lost their only chance at stable incomes, can no longer afford Wolfsbane potions, and are forced to live on the streets to become savages?"

Nobody answered Ash's outburst, so he scoffed and reprimanded Umbridge some more, though sadly, it did nothing without political power.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. You'd have to be a raving lunatic to not only agree with those arguments but also vote them into existence. Thanks, lords and ladies of the light and grey factions, for your service to this country!"

"We'll just have to put these creatures in their place," Lord Flint gruffly offered with a flat glare.

"Ah yes, let's just make sure magical blood in these lands dwindles even more! Amazing idea! And then we'll all become amazing wizards with our zero masteries and not a single international dueling champion since Dolohov, the madman, cast a Cruciatus after his loss in the finals in '68! We as a country can't even fight four Death Eaters walking down Diagon Alley and hide in terror like it happened in 1980! Lord Flint truly has the future of Magical Britain mapped out for us esteemed lords and ladies!"

"We're at peace, lad," Lady Longbottom chided, and Ash scoffed once more.

"Let's ignore the civil war we have on our hands shortly because of those inbred morons following the soulless, sociopathic nutcase who is dishing out slave marks left and right. You think like that because you took Muggle Studies 60 years ago, Lady Longbottom. Not that the curriculum was updated since then, and it has been outdated even then. Non-magicals have weapons of mass destruction, capable of wiping out entire cities and landscapes. They created 'satellites' orbiting Earth that will soon be able to capture pictures of every corner of this world in real time. Their technology becomes more and more intricate every year. Soon, we will be discovered. And if people like you all lead us, then war with the non-magicals is all but ensured. No offense to Lord Weasley and his department, but I have an inkling that they have not once reported any of this to the lords and ladies of the Wizengamot. I doubt they would have taken you seriously anyway."

"What is this about weapons of mass destruction? I saw those bombs the muggles threw on London in '44, but that was hardly like what you describe. A simple Protego is enough for those," Lord Mulberry from the grey faction inquired with a curious tilt of his head.

"Are you serious??" Ash bristled immediately and reprimanded Lord Mulberry. "You think a Protego shields you from a bomb from World War II?? Are you messing with me??? I'll personally buy you a cache of smaller handheld versions of these bombs called grenades and watch how you defend against them with a Protego!! Absolutely ridiculous! And even if you are somehow a magical powerhouse without equal, Lord Mulberry, non-magicals have had their Cold War since then and started some more wars between the mundane USA and several other countries! They keep developing new, more efficient, and more dangerous weapons every year! Tell me, Lord Mulberry, when was the last time a more powerful version of Protego was created?"

"And those weapons of mass destruction?"

Lady Bones solemnly asked once more after Lord Mulberry and everyone kept quiet. Nobody really took the threat Ash described serious - not yet anyway. Nobody but those with connections to aurors that heard about grenades, automatic rifles, and other dangerous weapons.

"Go into the non-magical world and look up how they ended their second world war. One of their warfronts was ended by mundane USA after they threw two so-called nukes or nuclear warheads on Japan and wiped out two cities, decimating all life in that landscape."

Ash narrowed his eyes. He knew that Amelia Bones knew about this. He wondered what she was getting at with that question... did she want him to rile up these lords and ladies into taking things more seriously? Then Ash looked toward Minister Fudge, who started sweating at this stare.

Fudge knew about this as well. He had to. Because he was in contact with the Prime Minister of the non-magicals and - at some point - had to have met the Queen of England. But of course, Fudge would never ask about it. He liked his sheep to be ignorant. Even if they were all secretly hyenas and he was a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Ash briefly touched his forehead. That was a weird metaphor he just conjured up in his mind.

"Okay, as my closing statement I'll do the following. Since you've all banned certain practices but think yourself above the laws without actually writing it in them, I have some surprise gifts for the auror department and Improper Use of Magic Office. I doubt there'll be anyone facing actual jail time, but here it goes. Please be reminded of the vow I took at the very beginning. The following lords and ladies have allowed student-aged family members of their families to undergo the banned Mind Stabilisation ritual: Lord Starkey, Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott, Lady Greengrass, Lord Patil, Lord Cassington, ... "

Ash continued to list almost every pureblood lord or lady with heirs currently attending Hogwarts. The fact that he could list them all was so surprising, that most of them missed that he named himself, too.

This list and the following lists were the work of Ash's application of his family magics in healing that allowed him to work out what rituals his patients undertook. He couldn't yet identify all of these rituals, but certain ones, especially those that he did himself, were easy to figure out after working on it together with Poppy for a whole year.

After listing the fifth ritual and those that undertook it, the young professor was done, and most lords and ladies stopped looking ashen. There was no way the aurors could take all of them to Azkaban, especially just on Ash's word alone, right? Right.

Lady Bones really couldn't. Especially since even her niece Susan had undergone one of the rituals he had listed - one that was aimed at witches to slow down their aging. She wondered why it was ever banned in the first place - though the answer was a simple blanket ban to 'appease' the light faction. Yet, with Ash's revelation, it was likely a ploy from the dark faction.

"Okay, in case the esteemed members of the auror department and IUMO forgot to write down all of these names, I made a few copies of my findings," Ash jovially concluded as he lifted his wand and handed the list to everyone present with a duplication and a levitation charm. Flitwick would have been delighted to see the ease with which Ash had done that.

"One ritual is still missing, something I have undergone as well. However, this practice isn't banned - quite far from it. Yet, this esteemed body passed a law over a century ago that people who have successfully finished this ritual had to register themselves," Ash explained. "Personally, I have followed this law. Let's see who had been naughty. This is a nifty little spell I picked up from a potion grandmaster working as the head professor of potions at Uagadou School of Magic in Africa. He is also from a tribe of shamans with very advanced animal totem magic and has therefore created many wards and spells to see the talent and progress of his students in the Animagus spell."

"Ostenmi Animato!"

Purple sparks flew out of his wand and gently floated above Ash like idle feathers.

A few sparks gathered above his head and turned into a purple crow made of energy, another group of sparks flew toward Sirius and formed a dog, yet another flew toward Lady Ogden and turned into a cat.

These were all the present registered animagus in the room.

Curiously, eight more wizards and witches saw sparks forming animals over their heads with horror written in their eyes.

"Isn't this a delight, Lord Flint! You're actually a prodigy capable of undergoing the Animagus transformation to become a... is that a hermit crab? Delightful! And you, too, Lord Parkinson! A fellow bird, I see. Is that an eagle or a falcon?"

Before he could call out the other six unregistered animagi, Fudge called for order for the first time since the start of this whole debacle.

"Lord Starkey, this is highly improper. You have not been granted permission to cast such invasive spells on the noble lords and ladies of Wizengamot!"

"Hehe, I see, I see. And maybe tomorrow I forgot that the registered number of Animagi in Magical Britain wasn't 9 but 17, right?" Ash simply stared at Fudge, who actually didn't back down from this. One or more of those eight probably had something on Fudge that would end his life, Ash mused. And if he could see that, these political carrion feeders sitting in the Wizengamot could see it too.

"Forget it. I have proven to anyone with an intact moral compass and enough braincells that you all as a whole are corrupt bigots and grifters on a national level. I am not political and told you everything I wanted to tell you. As long as Lord Malfoy especially is removed as a Governor of Hogwarts, I will not hope for any more progress from this wretched place. He already got away scot-free with organising the attack on my ancestral home, after all."

Everyone present was stunned watching Ash sit down like he just told a group of friends about a vacation he took that year. And then everyone was thunderstruck as Ash once more cast a Lumos to show he wasn't lying, and even Fudge turned to look at a purple faced Lucius Malfoy.

Of course, based on those who died and those were taken into custody, they all suspected his involvement. But it seemed Malfoy had put into motion a feud that was beyond anything anyone could have ever foretold. There were so many secrets out in the open now they didn't even know what they should be surprised by the most. And what they should be outraged by the most.

One thing was clear, unless all of those gathered collectivley buried their heads in the sand, Magical Britain would look a lot different in the coming weeks.

"Hehe, what an enlightening little monologue, Lord Starkey! Thank you!"

Sirius stood up with a wide grin several moments later.

"Now onto what we were actually here for," Sirius began talking with a wide grin, and several lords and ladies groaned inwardly and openly at the fact that they would hear even more outrageous things now.

"My great-aunt Cassiopeia Black was a cunning witch with many strange hobbies. One of them was dedicating a significant portion of her life to find out every little piece of blackmail she could use on allies and enemies alike," Sirius stated with a mad grin. "And boy oh boy, did she leave behind a motherloade of heinous shit you and your ancestors did. But, I swear I will not use any of that on you curs as long as justice is done today! Because Cassiopeia also uncovered a most heinous conspiracy against her, no, our noble house Black!"

The members of the Wizengamot eyed each other warily - this was a threat they somehow forgot about when Sirius Black was declared innocent last year. Most of them chose to forget why they all feared and revered the Black family in the first place.

"My beloved aunt Dorea Black died in the war in 1977, my father Orion Black soon died two years later, dying of an incurable ancient Egyptian curse. My great-uncle Pollux Black died in 1990 after buying a dark artifact of unknown origin in Knockturn Alley. Lord Acturus Black III, my grandfather, died in 1991 because of Dragon Pox. My great-aunt Cassiopeia soon followed in 1992 together with her brother Cygnus Black, dying of the same affliction despite neither of those three having personally seen a dragon in over two decades. Lucretia Prewett née Black, too, died in 1992 after prolonged magical exhaustion."

Everyone looked confused as to what Sirius was trying to say with this assortment of accidental deaths. Only Lucius Malfoy narrowed his eyes.

"These are all the deaths of Blacks where Cassiopeia found evidence that Lucius Malfoy and his father had direct involvement in facilitating their demise," Sirius concluded and floated over a folder to Lady Bones who took it with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, we have established that Tom Marvolo Riddle is the human name of that dark bastard, and my great-aunt Cassiopeia was able to find evidence that through the hands of Rabastan Lestrange, who at the time was in the same year and sorted into Slytherin just the same as her, started feeding loyalty potions keyed to the dark lord to my cousin Bellatrix Lestrange née Black."

"Once the Death Eaters had her mind broken and fanatical to their cause - a cause she admittedly would not have minded following to some degree on her own - they started working on my mother Walburga and Bella's parents Cygnus and Druella Black through Bellatrix' hands. With continued loyalty potions and suspected Confundus Charms, the Malfoys, the Lestranges and Voldemort used these three and Bellatrix to break the rest of the Black family," Sirius explained and floated over another folder to Lady Bones, with copies going to Dumbledore, and Lady Longbottom who had a vested interest in both Bellatrix Black and the Lestrange family for the crime of torturing her son and daugther-in-law. "After the war ended, Lucius even used his wife's forced obedience from the marriage contract to send spiked and poisoned potions to the elderly Blacks to make them die quicker. Cassiopeia managed to discover quite a few of those once she managed to rid herself of the Confundus-like spell that the dark lord managed to weave into the wards of the ancestral home of House Black with Bellatrix' help."

Sirius watched Dumbledore, Amelia and Lady Longbottom leaf through the evidence he provided for a moment before he once more addressed the Wizengamot.

"Now, I can offer the gathered lords and ladies some time for questions, but I don't want my good friend Lord Starkey to think I lack balls," Sirius offered before taking out his wand to cast a Lumos and held the light at the tip of it for the duration of his following vow.

"I, Sirius Orion Black, Lord of House Black, solemnly swear upon my magic that everything I stated against the enemies of House Black today is the full truth whenever I expressed certainty in my words and actions."

The Lumos continued to shine.

"And let me just say that Rodolphus Lestrange is an untalented, cruel, and incompetent cunt with a personality so scathing, that it makes Mermish sound great above water. And he never deserved to even touch Bella's shadow. That the dark bastard married her to him should have clued in all of you Death Eaters to the fact that Voldemort wanted to destroy Magical Britain."

Malfoy knew what he wanted. He wanted to vomit blood.