Chapter 18 - Gringotts (4)
"It's been some time, Lady Augusta," Arcturus remarked, looking at the woman with indifference, his gaze cold and piercing.
Arcturus's body was tense, ready to react to any attack, which he had no doubt would come at any moment, given how emotional the woman in front of him was.
Like any ancestor of the 72 Noble Houses that founded the Wizengamot, House Longbottom descended from a powerful Class Special wizard – Charles Longbottom.
The Innate technique of House Longbottom was called [Alteration of Inanimate Objects]. Fundamentally, the technique consisted of increasing and decreasing the weight and height of inanimate objects. Charles Longbottom's greatest achievement was altering the weight and height of dust particles, essentially creating an extremely destructive meteor shower.
Certainly, apart from Charles, no other member of House Longbottom reached that level, but Arcturus dared not underestimate this woman.
"Not enough time to destroy your cursed family, Arcturus Black," replied the elderly woman, showing no trace of weakness.
When the woman mentioned the name Black, the young man whom Asterion presumed to be Neville clenched his fists, his face turned pale, anger palpable on his features.
Arcturus seemed to have heard a very amusing joke. "Time? Is that what you count on to destroy my House?" The sarcasm in the old patriarch's tone made the matriarch grit her teeth in anger.
So, Arcturus looked at the young man beside Augusta Longbottom. "Is this your grandson? I've heard about him, certainly a strong lad."
Upon hearing this, whether it was Neville or Augusta, they both displayed a very displeased expression. What Arcturus said could be considered a compliment on any other occasion or for another person, but for Neville, it was an insult. A very subtle insult if you didn't know about his condition. Something that the person in front of him would surely know, yet still, he insulted him.
Arcturus wasn't a man to make enemies everywhere; he would never stoop to insulting a young man. But when he was facing an enemy, like House Longbottom, it was a different matter. He wouldn't show mercy to his enemies.
Especially towards Augusta Longbottom, who voted in favor of the execution of his great-niece, Bellatrix Lestrange, born Black.
Did she have reasons to vote in favor? Yes, she did. After all, Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, tortured her son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Alice Longbottom, using the Cruciatus Curse (Crucio).
But did Arcturus care? The answer was, no. Augusta had reasons to kill, he had reasons to protect. Regardless of what Bellatrix had done, he would protect her as he protected her.
"At least, my grandson doesn't look like a delicate girl," Augusta retorted, looking at Asterion beside Narcissa, her voice cold and sarcastic. Though she didn't know who he was, she presumed he was his grandson upon seeing the boy's cursed red eyes.
Asterion, who had been observing the exchange of insults with joy, was stunned by the sudden insult directed at him, if you consider her words an insult at all. Yes, he admits he has refined, even delicate facial features, but Asterion didn't dislike it; in fact, he quite liked his appearance. It made anyone easily lower their guard against him.
As his great-grandson, Arcturus showed no anger, even letting out a low laugh. "Well, Asterion certainly won't have any trouble finding a marriage."
Arcturus's words seemed normal, but beyond praising his great-grandson, they cruelly attacked Neville.
In British wizarding society, those who had wizard parents but lacked magical energy were scorned as Squibs. This was not solely due to the wizards' sense of superiority over Muggles but also a social characteristic of England.
If you were the heir of a Noble House, to inherit your noble seat in the Wizengamot, the Supreme Wizarding Parliament, there were two requirements to fulfill. First, you had to have the lineage in question, and second, you should inherit the Innate Technique or the Simplified Technique of the Noble House in question. Neville fulfilled the first requirement but not the second, as he lacked magical energy.
The Celestial Vow exchanged all his magical energy for superhuman strength and senses, meaning Neville could feel cursed spirits but could not see them.
Neville, for not inheriting the Innate Technique of House Longbottom, also could not inherit the Longbottom throne. Therefore, since Augusta was too old to have another child and Neville could not inherit the Longbottom throne, the main branch of House Longbottom was considered extinct up to this point.
Neville practically became a laughingstock throughout wizarding society, scorned and humiliated on almost every occasion he attended.
As for marriage, no woman from a Noble House would consider Neville as a potential marriage partner. After all, marriages in the nobility were not based on love but rather on political power, something Neville did not possess.
In other words, Neville had to marry a Half-blood or Muggle-born, something that would further lower his status in the purist blood society that was England.
Arcturus was a master at hiding his own emotions, but Augusta certainly was not. The words of the Black patriarch left the Longbottom matriarch full of anger, something that easily transpired on her face.
Arcturus's words cruelly pierced the fragile heart of the ten-year-old boy, causing his nails to pierce his palms, blood dripping between his tightly clenched fingers.
Narcissa, who didn't like Augusta involving Asterion in their disputes, took a book from her bag and made it float with her magical energy until it landed at Neville's feet. "Here, take this book, it will help you in your glorious future."
On the cover of the book was written – [The Basics of Magical Energy Manipulation].
Asterion almost laughed seeing the title of the book. Narcissa was truly cruel, but he liked that side of her very much.
If the fire had already begun to burn between Arcturus and Augusta, Narcissa poured gasoline on the flames, causing the furious fire to explode.
The moment she read the title of the book, Augusta's magical energy violently erupted from her body, like dark blue smoke burning like furious flames. She drew her wand and pointed it at Narcissa, who remained unmoved by the attack.
Tiny objects from the sleeve of Augusta's blouse aligned themselves above her, appearing to be very small needles. In the next instant, the needles expanded, growing to an incredible twenty meters in length.
The gigantic needles sliced through the air at great speed, heading towards the three members of House Black.
Arcturus merely coldly snorted and also utilized his simplified innate technique. A curtain of darkness unfolded behind him, and a colossal skeletal hand emerged from the darkness, swatting the huge needles aside. Violent winds spread in all directions, causing screams of surprise and fear.
A massive amount of Negative Magical Energy spread throughout Diagon Alley, causing numerous people who had never seen a Semi-Special Grade cursed spirit to feel as if they were facing an evil demon. The malice and terror emanating from the cursed creature made everyone tremble with fear and helplessness.
"Let's play, Augusta, it's been a while since I've seen blood," Arcturus said, emanating an aura shrouded in malice and murderous intent, the air around him feeling so heavy that it was difficult to even breathe.
The people watching the spectacle between Arcturus and Augusta began to retreat, running far away.
The black curtain behind Arcturus expanded rapidly, and the enormous cursed spirit finally emerged from the curtain, revealing its appearance to the world.It was a massive black skeleton hundreds of meters tall.
Its colossal height instilled fear and terror in all who beheld it. It was no wonder—a monster hundreds of meters tall could haunt anyone's nightmares for a long time.
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Next Chapter: (Chapter 19 - Gringotts (5)), (Chapter 20 - Unrest in England (1), (Chapter 21 - Unrest in England (1), ( (Chapter 22 - Unrest in England (3), (Chapter 23 - Escaping from Azkaban (1), (Chapter 24 - Escaping from Azkaban (2) (Chapter 25 - Wizengamot (1), (Chapter 26 – Wizengamot (2)), (Chapter 27 – Wizengamot(3)).
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