He took his seat once more and shook uncontrollably. It seemed that no one in the room had any idea what to say to this and Pollux left the room a few minutes later to meet his guests.
As promised, he returned a few moments later with four men in tow, one clearly being a Malfoy, another a LeStrange but it was the fourth who entered that immediately had Harry on edge and reinforcing his occlumency shields as best he could as he swallowed deeply and tensed, ready to release his wand at a seconds notice.
The man in question was much older than Harry had seen him previously in this form, but there was no doubt in his mind that this was the same sixteen year old boy he had met in the chamber of secrets only now a fully grown Tom Riddle.
It was LeStrange who spoke first after he became aware of Harry's presence in the room.
"You, you filthy little bastard" he spat. Everyone gathered around the table looked at the man with complete disdain. Arcturus simply looked murderous but luckily for LeStrange one of his own associates intervened and attempted to calm the man before he caused too much of a provocation.
"Randolph, control yourself" Malfoy whispered harshly.
"That little shit cursed my son" LeStrange hissed angrily.
"And I am sure the young man is apologetic for his part in the unpleasantness" Riddle interjected attempting to mediate the situation.
"Actually, I think you'll find I've cursed both of the morons" Harry replied casually. "And no, I'm not sorry" he added firmly.
"Well that is indeed most unfortunate, we should not be fighting amongst ourselves after all" Riddle sighed and shook his head disappointedly. "However, I believe that what we have to discuss today is much more important than a fallout between children, so Randolph, do remain quiet" he requested.
LeStrange ground his teeth and nodded reluctantly, though he continued to glare at Harry.
"Lord Black" Riddle greeted the man with a formal bow. "May I say that it is an honour to be in your presence" he declared charismatically. "I do apologise for intruding on this joyous occasion, but it is the only way I could garner an audience with a man of your station and prestige" he finished with another elaborate bow.
Arcturus simply frowned at him before he spoke.
"There is nothing joyous about this" he growled. "What is it you want? Make it quick" he demanded. "I will get straight to the point" Riddle conceded. "I represent a group who wishes to prevent certain changes from taking place in our community" he began simply. "As you know the muggleborns and half-bloods are slowly but surely destroying all of the traditions that we have built over many centuries and it has become a very big problem indeed, I fear that our ways will be completely lost in a very short amount of time" he concluded gravely.
Arcturus nodded his agreement and gestured for him to continue.
"The time has come for us to no longer sit by and allow them and the blood traitors to be so liberal and continue to devalue the blood that flows through our veins, it is time to take our rightful place back at the top of our world" he declared firmly.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Arcturus asked. "The process has already begun" Riddle answered with a grin. "I have the support of many pureblood families, those who have seats on the Wizengamot and we will soon have enough power to challenge the proposed changes that have thus far been granted on many occasions" he explained.
"That sounds rather promising" Arcturus acknowledged. "But I see many flaws" he stated. "Firstly, you will never get a majority vote unless you have over half of the Wizengamot backing you and that will never happen" he deduced confidently. "There are 220 pureblood families that have seats and only around 50 would agree with what you are saying, 120 of them will be completely opposed to you because they sympathise with them and the other 50 will be neutral and more likely to side with the sympathisers" he explained knowingly.
Riddle nodded thoughtfully. "But then isn't it our job to show them why we are needed to ensure our perseverance and prosperity?" he asked. "The world we live in is no longer our own, we need to fight for our traditions" he finished passionately.
Arcturus nodded once more and gave the man a speculative stare.
"And what about when we have taken that control, surely you have plans beyond that" he stated questioningly.
"Very astute Lord Black" Riddle acknowledged with another bow. "I refer back to my earlier statement regarding us sitting atop our world" he reminded the man.
Arcturus frowned.
"You mean branching out into the muggle world" he concluded thoughtfully.
"Indeed" Riddle agreed. "Our kind has spent far too long hiding in the shadows, it is us that stand far more superior than those, why is it that we should hide like scared rabbits?" he questioned.
Harry scoffed and shook his head causing Riddle to frown at him.
"I believe my nephew has something to say on the matter" Arcturus sighed amusedly.
"I apologise Uncle and mean no offense, but might I assume that you a rather ignorant of the muggle world?" Harry asked.
"I am" Arcturus conceded.
"I thought so" Harry intoned. "But that is not what is bothering mostly" he added with another shake of his head.
"Then I am interested on what you have to say on the matter" Arcturus returned with a smile.
"And the opinion of a child matters?" Pollux cut in angrily. "Age means nothing over experience and I believe my nephew has something important to say or he would not interfere in such a manor" Arcturus stated firmly. "His opinion means much more to me than yours right now Pollux" he added coldly. "Go ahead Harry" he instructed the teen, shooting a final glare at his son.
Harry nodded and sighed internally. He knew that Arcturus was slowly but surely buying into the charismatic demeanour of Riddle and he knew he had to prevent that happening. He knew what he said now could certainly have a significant impact on how things would be from here on. The day had gone badly so far, he needed this to go right so he would choose his words carefully while making sure he exposed Riddle for what he truly was.
"If I may, I have a few things I observed earlier that aren't quite clear Mr.?" he questioned Riddle, keen to see what alias he would use. "Gaunt" Riddle answered simply.
.
.
.
👓☕️Consider supporting me and enhance your reading experience with the ready-to-read PDFs I have on my Ko-fi.☕️👓
🎯https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling🎯