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40.39% [HPxJJK] - Harry Potter and the Supremacy of Cursed Blood / Chapter 102: Chapter 100 – Decision (2)

Chapter 102: Chapter 100 – Decision (2)

When the doors of the Parliament opened, Aurelius Greengrass walked alongside his son-in-law. 'What did you think of the parliamentary meeting?' he asked, looking at the group of senators ahead of them. It was Asterion's first time attending a parliamentary meeting since Arcturus had fully retired, passing the Lordship to his great-grandson.

Though Asterion had not yet inherited the patriarchal mantle and taken over the House of Black as patriarch—a moment that would only come upon Arcturus' passing, according to the Salic Laws governing England's inheritance laws.

"They seem strangely united, despite the contradictions among them," commented Asterion, spinning the ring on his finger. The ring's body was composed of two snakes, one silver and the other golden, with a beautiful black diamond held between their heads.

Anyone familiar with the history of House Gaunt would recognize this same diamond in the ring of each Gaunt patriarch.

"Yes, when faced with a common enemy, it's not uncommon to see us all collaborating with each other. After all, while hatred may be enduring, only interests are eternal," Aurelius replied with a low chuckle, adjusting his cane. His blue eyes, reminiscent of Daphne's, fixed Asterion with a peculiar gaze, almost as if he were looking at a son he never had.

Honestly, to Aurelius' eyes, it wasn't much different—he had always wanted a son to inherit his legacy, and though he never had one, he gained one through his daughter's marriage.

Asterion understood the reasoning; interests always came before everything else in the eyes of those in power. It was normal, akin to taking a cherished friend's job; there was nothing personal about it, just business.

"You need to be prepared, Asterion. We'll likely want you as the new face of England, so you'll need to greet all the guests coming for the International Tournament of Magic and Witchcraft," Aurelius continued, his voice calm and serene as they walked.

Asterion nodded; Aurelius' words didn't surprise him. After killing Voldemort in front of everyone, his fame in England had arguably surpassed Rose's. Thus, it wasn't surprising that he would be the one greeting all foreign guests in the country.

It was both a show of respect to other countries and a subtle demonstration of strength. It might seem somewhat childish to some, but that's how international politics worked—those with the bigger cannon were the most powerful. Simple and straightforward.

Aurelius and Asterion ascended the Clock Tower via the elevator that led to the street and entered a car. The car soon glided silently through the streets of London. Inside the car, Aurelius placed his cane beside him and his hat on the seat beside it. He looked at his son-in-law with a smile on his face as he crossed his legs.

"So, when will your wedding with Daphne be?" he asked gently.

Asterion widened his eyes, completely taken aback by Patriarch Greengrass's question.

"Don't look at me like that, my wife Helena is more eager than I am for this wedding to happen." Aurelius chuckled and looked at Asterion's shocked face. It was the first time he had seen such an expression on his son-in-law's face.

 

"We're very young, maybe when we turn eighteen or twenty." Recovering from the surprise, Asterion shook his head and replied uncertainly. Aurelius's question had indeed caught him off guard this time.

Aurelius shook his head and asked, "How old do you think I am, Asterion?"

"30 or 33?" Looking at the youthful face of the Greengrass family patriarch, Asterion calmly responded.

"I'm glad you think I'm that young, but I'll be turning 51 by the end of the year." With a playful smile on his lips, Aurelius corrected his son-in-law in a friendly tone.

He continued speaking calmly. "Wizards are different from Muggles; we have a lot of difficulty reproducing naturally, which is one of the reasons there are so few wizards in the world."

"Helena became pregnant with Daphne when she was thirty-seven, despite trying hard to conceive for nearly fifteen years. When I received the news that she was pregnant, I was over the moon with excitement. My waist could finally rest." Aurelius showed a nostalgic and bitter look on his face as he continued to speak.

"This kind of thing is quite common in our world. Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were a good example of this—they only had children when they were elderly and didn't even live to see their son grow up and get married."

Asterion fell silent at Aurelius's words. He knew that fertility issues were a serious matter among the Noble Houses, but marrying so early wasn't in his plans at the moment. Not that he was reluctant to marry Daphne in the first place, but he simply felt the timing wasn't right. After all, they were both thirteen, not yet fourteen.

"I'll talk to Daphne about it." Asterion definitely couldn't say what he was thinking, especially to his father-in-law, so that's all he could say for now.

The rest of the journey continued in silence, but not an awkward silence, as both were reading some reports, until finally the trip ended. The car parked in front of the Greengrass mansion.

"Try talking to Daphne about marriage, Asterion." The door was opened by the driver, but before getting out of the car, Aurelius spoke again with a friendly smile.

Asterion could only nod and watch his father-in-law enter the mansion, letting out a relieved sigh. This conversation about marriage had left him quite weary, something he hoped he would never have to deal with.

"Nolan, let's head to the Black mansion." Looking at the driver, Asterion leaned back in the rear seat and spoke with his eyes closed.

-

Arriving at the mansion, Asterion entered while loosening his tie around his neck and walked into the living room. To his surprise, he found Narcissa sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, which made him look at her with a strange gaze—it was the first time Asterion had seen her reading the newspaper in years.

 

"Did something important happen?" Lying down on the sofa, he rested his head on Narcissa's thighs and casually asked, placing his arm over his eyes. To his surprise, his cousin actually responded with a serious tone.

"Yes. Something really significant happened," she said, handing the newspaper to Asterion.

Sitting up, he took the newspaper and opened it to the page Narcissa indicated, widening his eyes as he looked at the article.

"On this Monday, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Portugal suffered massive attacks on their respective Ministries of Magic. The reasons behind the Dark Lord's reprisals are still unknown, but according to sources, nearly three thousand wizards and witches lost their lives in a single day."

"Since the Middle Ages, this is the highest number of wizarding deaths recorded in nearly six centuries."

"Grindelwald is finally spreading his terror across the European continent. At this moment, protests are occurring in various European countries, with the population demanding the Dark Lord's arrest and death sentence."

Grindelwald's plan has officially begun.

This was Asterion's only thought after reading the articles in the newspaper. Though he didn't exactly know what Gellert Grindelwald's plan entailed, he knew it was far from simple—much like his plan to create a god or Mustafa's plan to reach the root of all magic.

"The world is becoming increasingly mad," Asterion murmured to himself, his eyes intensely serious yet calm.

The staircase appeared, but few would have the courage to climb its steps.

-----------------

Author's thoughts:

Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers! 

P-atreon.com/HPSCB

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

Next Chapter Second Volume: 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), Chapter 110 - Back To Hogwarts (1), Chapter 111 - Back To Hogwarts (2), Chapter 112 – New Students (1), Chapter 113 – New Students (2), Chapter 114 – Ophelia (1), Chapter 115 – Ophelia (2), Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1), Chapter 118 - Ophelia's Mother (1), Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1).

 


Chapter 103: Chapter 101 – Decision (3)

Asterion finally understood why France had sent such a sudden invitation to host a Triwizard Tournament. It was likely an excuse to create a coalition against Grindelwald. For this, England was essential, not just because of Dumbledore, but because of himself, recognized as a powerful wizard of special rank after killing Voldemort.

Displaying a malicious smile, Asterion had already thought of numerous ways to blackmail the French government—after all, if they wanted him to work, they had to pay, and pay very well. He was a lion, and France was a succulent steak ready to be devoured at any moment.

Seeing Asterion with a malicious smile, Narcissa rolled her eyes. Her dear cousin looked like a villain, orchestrating nefarious plans with that characteristic villainous grin.

"Stop smiling like that, you look like a villain." Playfully poking his cheek with her index finger, Narcissa chuckled and spoke in a teasing tone.

Asterion realized he wasn't alone and pretended to cough to cover up the embarrassment he was feeling.

"I haven't seen Dorea." Asterion skillfully changed the subject, shifting Narcissa's focus completely.

The woman's lips curved into a smile as she thought of her daughter. "She returned to the Malfoy Manor, but she'll be back for dinner with Draco." Narcissa replied happily and relievedly.

Asterion nodded and felt relieved that Narcissa didn't dwell on the embarrassing scene he had made earlier. As for Dorea, the girl had grown much closer to her mother after the civil war, where she saw all the dark sides while living at the Lestrange Manor, especially after Lucius Malfoy's imprisonment.

Even Draco had begun to draw closer to his mother, as his father languished in Azkaban prison—an outcome Asterion would ensure happened in a very painful manner. He hadn't forgotten the betrayal and pain that man had caused his cousin.

"That's good, I wanted to speak with Draco about his seat in Parliament." Asterion replied, rising from the sofa.

Narcissa nodded and said, "I'll talk to him about it. Now, go visit Arcturus, he's been waiting for your arrival."

Asterion sighed heavily at the mention of his great-grandfather. The man was deteriorating more with each passing day. At this point, Arcturus couldn't even get out of bed without assistance, and it was evident how much he was suffering from his condition.

Asterion had tried to heal his great-grandfather, but it was impossible. Even magical energy had its limits when manipulated by humans. As for using a cursed spirit, Asterion hadn't even considered that suicidal option. The negative energy of a cursed spirit was extremely corrosive; putting it inside someone's body was akin to cancer, slowly killing its host.

Humans weren't cursed spirits made of pure negative magical energy. While a cursed spirit could be virtually immortal as long as it had negative magical energy, humans were made of flesh, blood, and bones. Even with a great amount of magical energy, regeneration was impossible indefinitely.

 

Reverse Magical Energy also had its limitations. Even Asterion couldn't regenerate a limb if he were to lose one someday, let alone cure something that was killing cells in a person's body.

Giving Narcissa a kiss on the cheek, Asterion ascended the stairs to the upper floor. Upon reaching it, he walked to the door of the bedroom and stopped in front of it. Asterion knocked twice on the door before entering.

As soon as he entered the room, Asterion's gaze fell upon Arcturus lying in bed, calmly holding an old photo album. The elderly patriarch of the Black family looked much thinner than before; even healing potions couldn't strengthen the man's body at this point.

When the patriarch of the Black family saw Asterion entering, he smiled gently despite his extremely pale face. "How was your first parliamentary meeting?"

Sitting in the chair beside the bed, Asterion replied, looking at his great-grandfather. "Educational, to say the least."

Arcturus nodded satisfactorily at his response and spoke with a hoarse and tired voice. "Remember, Asterion. Don't trust those cunning foxes; they can act so well that many should be in Muggle movies."

He spoke each word with great difficulty, almost as if merely speaking brought agonizing pain to him. Which wasn't entirely untrue, as his lungs were beginning to fail.

Asterion didn't need Arcturus's words to know that parliament was a battlefield, where instead of spells, words and lies were used to wage war.

"Any important matters?" Flipping a page of the photo album, Arcturus asked, caressing a photo of his deceased wife.

"We're going to host an International Wizarding Tournament. Grindelwald's acolytes attacked the ministries of magic in several European countries." Asterion summed it up in a few words as he removed his jacket and draped it over his own thighs.

Arcturus stopped caressing the photo of his wife and turned his head so quickly that Asterion wondered if the man was truly ill.

"I don't think hosting a Wizarding Tournament is appropriate in such troubled times," he asked with a serious and exceedingly strong tone, at that moment reverting to the old Arcturus.

Displaying a malicious smile, Asterion replied, "France has requested to host the Triwizard Tournament."

His words caused Arcturus's lips to curl into a scornful smile. "Who would have expected that one day those arrogant French would seek help from us, the barbaric English. Just thinking about it, my day brightened with this news."

At nearly 94 years of age, Arcturus immediately sensed the intentions of the French Ministry of Magic. Asterion chuckled at his great-grandfather's reaction, knowing Arcturus also harbored dislike towards the French, especially after French wizards' involvement in the civil war six months prior.

The tense relationship between England and France had lasted for centuries, intensifying further during the Hundred Years' War. With current French actions, this relationship had become even more strained.

Arcturus's face then became exceptionally serious. He looked at his great-grandson and spoke with a concerned tone. "Be cautious with other countries; we may be isolated if a world war truly breaks out. Use this tournament to secure allies, even if it means sacrificing some interests. Being isolated in a war is dreadful, especially for us on an island; we could be surrounded from all sides."

Even in his final moments, Arcturus wanted to help Asterion. Even if it meant sacrificing his life to aid his great-grandson, he wouldn't hesitate.

"I understand, but I don't believe another magical world war will occur," Asterion replied. He could grasp Arcturus's concerns but didn't think this conflict would escalate into a world war.

"I will talk to other countries, especially the Nordic countries, to cover the North Sea," Asterion said seriously, even though he doubted such a large conflict would break out, he wanted to be prepared just in case.

A cautious man is a living man.

--------------------

Support me to write more and read chapters ahead of all regular readers! 

 

P-atreon.com/HPSCB

 

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

 

Next Chapter Second Volume: 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), Chapter 110 - Back To Hogwarts (1), Chapter 111 - Back To Hogwarts (2), Chapter 112 – New Students (1), Chapter 113 – New Students (2), Chapter 114 – Ophelia (1), Chapter 115 – Ophelia (2), Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1), Chapter 118 - Ophelia's Mother (1), Chapter 119 - I Decided to Seduce Daphne (1), Chapter 120 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (1), Chapter 121 - Arrival of the Twelve Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry (2).

 

 

 


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