Chapter 89 - Civil War (5)

 [Death Eater Attack on Gringotts]

Closing the newspaper and placing it on the table, Asterion showed a thoughtful look. Voldemort attacked Gringotts to secretly recover Hufflepuff's Cup; the attack on Gringotts was just a distraction.

"Voldemort must have already noticed the absence of two Horcruxes, Hufflepuff's Cup and Marvolo Gaunt's Ring," Asterion murmured to himself. "At the same time, he must be worried about the safety of the other Horcruxes at Hogwarts, which I've already taken."

"He must be getting a bit paranoid at this point," Asterion continued to voice his thoughts with a cold smile on his lips.

"Asterion."

Hearing his name called, the Black heir looked towards the source of the voice and saw Narcissa looking at him with a worried and hesitant expression.

"Is something bothering you, Cissy?" Asterion asked gently. Even a fool could see that Narcissa wanted something but was hesitant to ask.

Clenching her fists, Narcissa bit her lips and opened her mouth but hesitated, remaining silent.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked with a serious look, "Am I so unworthy of your trust, Cissy?"

"I trust you, but you are a leader, and you cannot put feelings ahead of the interests of the entire group." Narcissa spoke as she sat down and smiled, though the smile was tinged with sadness and remorse.

Seeing the proud and cold Narcissa acting this way, Asterion knew she was worried about her children.

"If you are talking about Dorea and Draco, you don't need to worry. I won't harm them. After all, it's not their fault they have a father with poor judgment," he spoke in a soft and gentle tone but ended with a hint of scorn for Lucius.

"Thank you, Asterion. Truly, thank you." Moving forward, Narcissa hugged Asterion deeply and spoke with a voice full of emotion and tremors.

Only she knew how many nights she couldn't sleep thinking about her children living in the same house as a monster like Voldemort.

It terrified her, the idea of seeing her children return in coffins, made her heart feel like it was being stabbed repeatedly.

"Don't worry, they will be safe, I promise you that. But you need to focus. Today we have the meeting with Dumbledore to establish our preliminary alliance and set the terms for the future transfer of power." Patting Narcissa's back, Asterion spoke in a serious tone.

Breaking from the hug, Narcissa nodded with renewed determination. She kissed Asterion on the cheek and left with hurried but firm steps.

Suddenly, two girls entered the living room, he knew both of them.

Daphne and Astoria, his future wife and future sister-in-law, respectively.

Unlike her older sister, Astoria had darker blonde hair and green eyes, inherited from her mother, Helena. She was small, even for twelve years old, her complexion showing a sickly paleness.

But even suffering from a terrible blood curse, the girl displayed a cheerful smile and a very light aura, almost as if she didn't care about her curse.

"Still getting used to the mansion, Astoria?" As Daphne sat next to him, Asterion asked his young sister-in-law.

"A bit too dark for my taste." Ignoring her sister's disapproving look, Astoria commented on the dark themes of the mansion. "But, a very cozy place." She spoke, looking playfully at her sister.

"So, how far have you two gone?" With curiosity shining in her eyes, Astoria lowered her voice and asked eagerly.

Daphne's pale cheeks turned red with her younger sister's intimate question.

"Astoria!" Embarrassed, Daphne looked shyly and angrily at her sister. "You are forbidden to read those books in your room."

Pouting dissatisfied, Astoria rolled her eyes at her older sister and looked mischievously at Asterion, who remained silent, listening to the whole conversation with interest.

"We just kissed." Faced with her gaze, Asterion responded indifferently.

"Boring~" Astoria lost interest almost instantly upon hearing that, she couldn't help but look at her sister with a disappointed look.

That disappointed look made Daphne feel even more irritated. Getting up from the chair, she grabbed her sister and dragged her out of the living room regardless of the pleading words she heard.

Asterion watched everything with an amused look, it was nice to relax like this before the real work began.

...

A table was set in the middle of the room, on one side all the Noble Faction allied with House Black, on the other side, the entire Light Faction, led by Albus Dumbledore.

As for the Ministry employees in important positions, they were all ignored, including the current Minister of Magic. The Ministry of Magic would cease to exist, only those truly in power were important in this meeting.

Another election would be held when everything normalized and all power was transferred to the new governing body – the Clock Tower.

Asterion was not leading the entire negotiation; he left that to the veteran politicians of the Pure-Blood Faction, like Aurelius, Arcturus, and others. At this moment, he was needed only as a symbol, a symbol of power, just like Dumbledore on the other side of the table.

"Let us begin." Dumbledore spoke with a gentle smile, his blue eyes behind the lenses of his glasses appearing especially kind at that moment.

"Yes." Arcturus nodded, and everyone began to take their respective seats.

Papers containing all relevant information were distributed equally to everyone present in the room.

The hall echoed with the rustling of the pages.

Dumbledore concentrated on reading, the first thing he noticed was the name.

[Clock Tower]

The Hogwarts headmaster found the name oddly fitting for British society, but the next pieces of information made him sit up straighter.

The entire legacy of the noble houses in one place, all the information of an entire civilization gathered for everyone to read regardless of origin.

Even though he knew there was an enormous price to pay for such knowledge, Dumbledore still wanted to laugh joyfully. If such a proposal were implemented, England would be the only magical society in the world with such conditions for learning and centralization when it came to civilization.

Calming the excitement in his heart, he continued to read attentively.

"Twelve Lords." Dumbledore murmured as he reached the part about the distribution of powers.

Department of General Fundamentals. Department of Individual Fundamentals. Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Department of Zoology. Department of International Magical Cooperation. Department of Botany. Department of Astromancy. Department of Creation. Department of Curses. Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Department of Magical Games and Sports. Department of Policies.

He rhythmically tapped his fingers on the table.

The number was much smaller than the seats in the Wizengamot, where all powers were divided almost equally. If the Clock Tower proposal were successfully approved, it meant that certain powers would have to be centralized in a few individuals, making them particularly powerful, a disadvantage in the fight against future corruption.

On the other hand, with fewer departments, the entire legal system would be streamlined, making it more efficient in terms of internal control, although efficiency would be contested, as there wouldn't be as many filters in case of irregularities.

But in the end, everything could be adjusted gradually, making the Clock Tower very suitable to replace the current Ministry of Magic, which was full of corruption and injustices.

"I presume the Twelve Lords can delegate their powers," Dumbledore asked, removing his glasses.

"All Twelve Lords can appoint Senators to oversee each department," Arcturus replied with a cold tone, very different from Dumbledore's enthusiastic attitude.

"Senators," Dumbledore murmured with a gleam in his eyes.

Honestly, each of the Twelve Lords wielded much power; it was as if there were twelve kingdoms within one large empire, all coexisting with each other.

But...

Looking at the number of nobles on the other side of the table, Dumbledore smiled.

He perfectly understood why the Clock Tower proposal was put forward. The Pureblood Faction would no longer have as many members occupying seats in the Wizengamot after this civil war. This meant that the Pureblood Faction would no longer have the final say in the Ministry of Magic.

Honestly, many might think Dumbledore should refuse this proposal and directly control the Ministry of Magic, but Dumbledore himself knew that if he did that, the entire British wizarding society would collapse.

Tyranny would only sink this country into even more death, chaos, and despair.

Everyone would go to war to maintain power, regardless of the dire consequences, further weakening the entire wizarding society as a whole.

Politics was a mess.

Dumbledore cursed mentally and looked at Asterion standing next to Arcturus, the orchestrator of everything happening today.

Smiling gently at the boy, Dumbledore spoke.

"Let's go over the terms, Lord Arcturus."

With his words, the entire room shifted atmosphere, gunpowder seemed to have been thrown into the air, ready to explode at any moment.

The meeting continued with detailed discussions on each department's roles, responsibilities, and the selection process for the Twelve Lords. Despite the formality of the proceedings, there was a palpable sense of anticipation and uncertainty in the room.

For Asterion, this was just the beginning. The real challenge would be in the implementation and the inevitable resistance from those who were deeply entrenched in the old ways. But for now, the focus was on laying a strong foundation for what they hoped would be a new era of magical governance.

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Author's thoughts: I'm not a politician, so the entire Clock Tower probably has countless loopholes. If you have any tips for better, it would help a lot.

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Next Chapter: Chapter 90 - Civil War (6), Chapter 91 - Battlefield (1), Chapter 92 - Battlefield (2), Chapter 93 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (1), Chapter 94 – Conflicts on the Battlefield (2), Chapter 95 - The War Intensifies (1), Chapter 96 - The War Intensifies (2), Chapter 97 - The Death of Voldemort (1), Chapter 98 - The Death of Voldemort (2) And end of the first volume.

Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 99 – Decision (1), Chapter 100 – Decision (2), Chapter 101 – Decision (3), Chapter 102 - The Black Sisters (1), Chapter 103 - The Black Sisters (2), Chapter 104 - Rose's Past (1), Chapter 105 - Arrival of Country Representatives (1), Chapter 106 - Arrival of Country Representatives (2), Chapter 107 - Arrival of Country Representatives (3), Chapter 108 – Party (1), Chapter 109 – Party (2).