The atmosphere in the antechamber of the Wizengamot hall was as it should have been. Everything seemed calm and appeared peaceful.
Conversations among different groups of wizards and a few witches, Lords and Ladies of their respective house, were flowing in soft whispers.
These were all faces Antonio was familiar with, not that he knew all of them personally. But there were a few he recognised personally.
Raphael Sinistra was the one whom Antonio spotted among the crowd. The old man looked tired and exhausted, and his shoulders were slumped. His eyes looked defeated and he himself appeared frail and vulnerable. He was there just trying to fit in a small group of wizards, trying to maintain a dignified expression on his face.
It was not surprising to Antonio. All that had happened at the Sinistra Manor during what had been the scheduled wedding for Aurora with Alex Timirus was sure to affect Raphael. It had been an enormous blow to his prestige and to his plans.
Even so, as Antonio's gaze collided with Raphael's gaze, the old man gave a very small, almost imperceptible nod. Though Antonio was slightly surprised by this gesture of courtesy from Lord Sinistra, Antonio responded with his own nod. He could guess what was going through the mind of the Sinistra Lord.
"Lord Sinistra does not seem as much as hostile to you as I was expecting," Edmund remarked from his side. He had obviously noticed this small exchange.
"But someone else is clearly very, very hostile," Edmund added as he gestured with his eyes for Antonio to look to his right. "His hatred for you is dripping from his eyes."
Antonio tilted his neck and looked in the direction Edmund was gesturing.
And there, standing surrounded by a couple of his cronies, was Alan Timirus. And that man was staring directly towards him with pure hatred and fury in his eyes and an expression of undisguised anger on his face.
Antonio raised his own eyebrows and his lips curved into a small, mocking smirk. This continued for a couple of moments before Alan finally sighed and turned away. This exchange between the duo was noticed by quite a few people and they could feel the tension between the two.
"What happened to Lord Sinistra? He seemed to be willing to actually forgive you," Edmund said.
Antonio shrugged nonchalantly.
"What other options does he have?" he said. "House Timirus is surely going to come after him. He cannot afford to be hostile towards me at the same time. He is, probably, just trying to protect his back."
"Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I offered him that I would also protect the umbrella which has given shade to Aurora for so long," he added. "The umbrella of the Sinistra Family."
Realization struck Edmund. This offer was surely very enticing, and now it did not look surprising that Raphael Sinistra was willing to drop his hostility against Antonio.
"Lord Olario," Edmund said, shifting his presence back towards Antonio. "I think you would need to accompany me to a meeting."
"What kind of meeting?" Antonio questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You know, no matter how much the lords in this room are trying to act as normal as they could, things are surely not normal."
"In the world outside this room, the chaos has only intensified. The storm is brewing faster and stronger than ever and is ready to rampage everything in its wake. There already have been two incidents of Death Eaters being killed. No one knows what to make it of? People doubt Dumbledore as of now, but how much before a lot more people jump in this fray against the Death Eaters?"
"And though," he said. "Not at the intensity at which they had been operating previously, the attacks from the Death Eaters' side still continue. Things are getting more bloody and more brutal."
"This is a situation that no one wants," he continued. "With each passing day, we are losing stability. Any semblance of rules, laws, regulations and an established and a working order is fading. "
"People have already started to feel that the Ministry is not in control. The ministry is losing trust. The Lords are desperate and vulnerable. They want something that could give them hope. Something viable that could protect them. And yet this Ministry has proved to be utterly incompetent. Neither can it go against the Death Eaters, nor does it dare to find out who killed the Death Eaters."
"And this is the perfect time to strike that blow against the Minister and make our plan work," Antonio interjected, finishing what Edmund had in his mind.
"Yes," Edmund nodded. "And this is the golden opportunity. We can take control of the Ministry, and then we can move with our plans of suppressing, subduing, and eliminating the Death Eaters. We can, probably, engage Dumbledore too to work with us."
"And what does it have to do with the meeting?" Antonio asked.
"After this Wizengamot session, I have called a meeting of my faction to discuss our final plan and how to execute it," Edmund said. "And I want you to join us in the meeting."
"Naturally," Antonio nodded. "I am part of your faction."
Edmund chuckled at this. Antonio becoming a part of his faction had been part of the deal when he had decided to vote for Antonio in the Wizengamot during his trial.
He had never expected things would come to this extent from that single event. He had known that with that power, Antonio would surely prove to be useful. But he had not known that what he had been estimating was not even a fraction of Antonio's power. He got to see some of that when Bones Manor had been invaded and Antonio killed those Death Eaters.
From a conditional relationship, they had grown so close. And Edmund was certain that Antonio was going to be the ace, the trump card who would change the game in favor of whichever side Antonio turned.
And to enjoy such a close relationship with Antonio, he surely felt fortunate. He was there standing shoulder to shoulder with the man and discussing things. He knew that there were a lot of Lords who wanted to approach Lord Olario and gain his favour, but they were not able to find the appropriate reason.
"Yes," Edmund nodded, beaming with a smile. "And there is someone else who is going to be a part of that meeting."
"Who?" Antonio questioned.
"Lord Potter," Edmund replied with a smile. "And I am certain that this time, we can persuade him to support our endeavour."
Antonio nodded as his eyes instinctively tried to look for Charlus Potter. He was standing among his own faction members, forming a small crowd on one side of the hall. Antonio's thoughts also wandered towards Arcturus Black and the deal he had made with Bellatrix, but before he could try and look for the Black Lord, the announcement for the session to begin was made, and everyone started to move in the direction of the Wizengamot hall.
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