Chapter 99 – Decision (1)
Former Ministry of Magic, Now Clock Tower – Parliamentary Hall.
The Parliamentary Hall was an enormous room supported by gigantic Greek pillars, the ceiling divinely painted with a grand artwork depicting the creation of the origins of magic. The floor was so clean it could easily serve as a mirror.
In the center of the hall, there was an imposing black rectangular table with twenty-four seats, at least eighteen of which were occupied by witches and wizards. At the far end of the hall, elevated by numerous steps on a flat platform, there were twelve seats resembling thrones.
"This is an insult from those damn French!" Vincent Parkinson, Patriarch of House Parkinson, Lord of the Department of Creation, slammed his fist against the table and spoke with an extremely irritated tone.
He was not the only one who was extremely irritated. Whether Lord or Senator, regardless of who they were, they all displayed dark expressions.
The reason for the anger was obvious, a letter sent by the French delegation moments ago, which everyone present had read and were furious about.
"Why don't we return to the Hundred Years' War?" Bartemius Crouch proposed with a cold, deadly look. His proposal made at least four senators agree with the suggestion to go to war. If you looked closely, you would see that all four senators belonged to a faction – the same one he was part of.
"Do not let anger cloud your judgment, Your Excellency. We just came out of a civil war six months ago, we definitely don't want to enter another war at this moment, the people would be furious with the Clock Tower," Aurelius Greengrass, Patriarch of House Greengrass, Lord of the Department of Botany, spoke, calming everyone.
Yes, it had been six months since the civil war had ended and everything had returned to normal without many changes. The only change was that the Ministry of Magic had been successfully dissolved and the Clock Tower had risen as the supreme governing body in England.
In these six months, regardless of which faction you belonged to, everyone joined together to maintain order and heal the wounds of the civil war. Thus, in these six months that had passed, England had reached its peak with a cohesion rarely seen in centuries in this country.
"I apologize, Lord." Bartemius sat down in his chair, a bit disheartened, and responded in a slightly lower and tired voice. No one spoke against the old patriarch of House Crouch, everyone knew that the man had lost everything in the thirteen-year war, and even more in this civil war, where his only descendant, who was a Death Eater, was killed, leading to the near extinction of House Crouch.
"We all understand that you want to vent your anger, Your Excellency," Aurelius said in a calm tone, shifting his gaze to the others present. "How do you think we should respond to the letters from the French Ministry of Magic?"
Asterion, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke: "Let's accept the proposal."
Seated in the Lord of the Department of Curses seat, Asterion captured everyone's attention in the Parliamentary Hall.
"Everyone must be wondering why we should accept the French proposal," he said, remaining indifferent to the curious glances. "We must accept, and not only accept but also host the Triwizard Tournament in our country. We need to show our strength, despite the grudge we hold against the French wizards. Especially now, having just emerged from a civil war, people need a joyful event to completely dispel the shadow of war."
Asterion finished his speech and took a sip of tea, maintaining a calm and composed gaze over the parliamentary hall. Due to the low number of parliamentarians and lords, the three factions had fragmented, and power was decentralized and reorganized in a way that accommodated everyone.
The pure-blood faction transformed into the Aristocratic Faction and became the most powerful in Parliament, with five Lords: Black, Greengrass, Parkinson, Macmillan, and Malfoy. All were involved in some way with House Black.
The Neutral Faction, after House Greengrass left as the leader, weakened considerably, with only three Lords remaining in Parliament – Morgan, Foley, and Beck.
The Light Faction reorganized as the Democratic Faction, becoming the second most powerful in Parliament, with four Lords: Abbott, Ollivander, and two members of Muggle descent.
This alleviated the few remaining great noble houses after the civil war, where seven Great Noble Houses, which laid the foundations of British wizarding society, were officially considered extinct. Along with the Great Houses that became extinct in the war thirteen years ago, more than half of the Sacred Twenty-Eight disappeared in less than two decades.
It's worth noting that Lucius Malfoy was imprisoned in Azkaban after the war and succeeded by his eldest son, Draco Malfoy. However, due to his young age, the Lord seat of House Malfoy was under the regency of House Black until Draco was old enough to inherit the Lord seat in Parliament.
As for Asterion, almost fourteen years old, seated in the Lord's seat, no one present in that hall considered Asterion a child. Besides being a Special Grade Wizard, the boy had killed the most terrible Dark Lord who had set foot on this island.
After hearing Asterion's words, everyone remained silent. They knew that Lord Black was right, but the ingrained prejudice of the English against the French was not something easy to resolve, especially considering that France had sent elite wizards to join the Civil War on Voldemort's side.
This had made the relationship between the two nations even more tense than it already was, almost seeming as if the Hundred Years' War was on the horizon, about to explode at any moment. Someone just needed a match, and the gasoline would do the job of starting the conflict between the two nations.
Seeing everyone still silent, reluctant to accept the proposal, Asterion placed the teacup on the table and spoke again: "Instead of a Triwizard Tournament, why don't we change it? Let's create an International Magic Tournament, invite neighboring countries, and crush those pompous, arrogant, candy-addicted blondes in front of other nations."
Asterion's words caused everyone's faces to brighten. The idea of crushing the arrogant French fools in front of other nations was quite tempting for them.
After a brief silence, Asterion spoke again. "All in favor, raise your hand." Immediately after, the Black Heir raised his hand in support, followed by the entire Aristocratic Faction who stood behind their leader.
After a palpable hesitation in the air, the remaining four lords present raised their hands, expressing their support for the proposal. Ninety percent of the Senators also raised their hands, thus deciding in favor.
The first International Magic and Witchcraft Tournament would be held in England!
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Author's Note: This is the second volume of this fanfic, I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the short chapter, I'm working on the script and timeline for the upcoming chapters, which is taking longer than I had anticipated. However, there will be two chapters tomorrow.
This volume will focus on the conflicts between countries and the rise of Grindelwald's and Herpo's plan. Expect interesting things, dear readers. Sincerely – Prince.