Chapitre 23: Chapter 23
"Ah, wonderful, you're all here! I do hope you weren't waiting for me for long, you know how these things can be."
As Albus Dumbledore comes bustling into the room, Lucius Malfoy is very careful not to let his irritation and frustration show on his face. Even as the other governors all begin leaping over themselves to excuse the Headmaster's inexcusable tardiness, he sits at the head of the table, smiling thinly.
"Oh, no worries, Headmaster, no worries at all!"
"Indeed, we all know how busy you can be!"
"Why, you're juggling so many balls at once! Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump… why, it's a wonder you have any time for us at all!"
Thankfully, not EVERY governor on the Hogwarts Board of Governors is one of Dumbledore's toadies. No, some of them are even Lucius' toadies. But there's no denying the older wizard's immense political influence and power in these matters. It's utterly ridiculous, entirely unacceptable… and unfortunately 'just the way things are' for the time being.
It comes with the territory, Lucius supposes. Wizards and witches all live an awful long time, with wizards lasting a bit longer than witches. As magical beings, their magic sustains them well past what a muggle could expect for their own lifespan. This meant, however, that their community, while small, was packed with multiple generations ranging from over a hundred years ago, all the way up to the present day.
Usually, older wizards had the good grace to reign it in and pull back from affairs of state when they got to a certain age. Indeed, Lucius' own father, Abraxas Malfoy, had become quite reclusive in his older years while Lucius had stepped up to the plate and ultimately worked his way into the Dark Lord's inner circle. From there, he'd been poised to make the Malfoy name one that made people flinch with fear and cower out of respect.
Alas, things hadn't turned out the way he or his father might have wanted. Whatever had happened that Halloween Night, Lord Voldemort had been killed and their plans had been dashed. The mad scramble afterwards to save their own necks in the Ministry Inquisition that followed had cost the Malfoy Family dearly and ultimately seen Abraxas into an early grave from a bad case of dragon pox.
But Lucius was no quitter and House Malfoy was not one to go quietly into the night just because they'd had a few setbacks. All of his effort, all of his hard work over these past fifteen years, had finally begun to pay off. Far from the adversarial relationship that Lucius and his family had had with the previous Ministry, he was effectively the current Minister of Magic's best friend. Cornelius Fudge was in his pocket through and through.
On top of that, he'd even managed to get himself on the Hogwarts Board of Governors… and in the last couple of years, had made his way all the way up the ladder to Chairman of the Board. Not even his father could have claimed to exercise the same power and influence that Lucius did these days. He was on top of the world, at the height of British Society, and had brought House Malfoy with him.
There was only one problem… Albus Dumbledore. The Hogwarts Headmaster had been in charge of the British Wizarding World for longer than Lucius had been alive. Indeed, Dumbledore had held his numerous incredibly influential political positions for longer than anyone on the current Board of Governors had been alive.
How was one supposed to weaken and loosen the hold of another, when that wizard had in turn literally been YOUR Headmaster back when you were in school? The answer is, very carefully and very gingerly. Even now there's a part of Lucius that straightens his spine and sits up in the presence of Albus Dumbledore. He may not be as bad as some of the sycophants on the Board, but there's no denying that the Headmaster has been the primary authority figure for most of them since they were schoolchildren.
But no King rules forever, and Lucius will be damned if he's going to let this decrepit old wizard keep him from raising House Malfoy to even greater heights for one second longer.
The moment that Albus sits himself down in the chair at the opposite end of the table, Lucius leans forward, going on the attack.
"Yes, thank you for attending this very important meeting, Headmaster. As Chairman of the Board, I believe I shall begin the questioning."
Smiling cheerily, his eyes twinkling with mirth and merriment, Albus just chuckles and nods, reclining back in his chair quite casually.
"Of course, Lucius, of course. Where would you all like to begin."
Bristling a fair bit at the insistence on using his first name rather than his lordly title (another call back to his school days, irritatingly enough) Lucius flares his nostrils, still smiling thinly.
"For the second year in a row, there have been numerous complaints from muggle parents about the dangers in your school, Headmaster Dumbledore. It would seem that once again, the tales that the… muggleborns have had for their parents upon their return home over the Winter Holidays have set many a muggle affright."
Pausing for dramatic effect, Lucius hums as he waves a hand through the air to encompass himself and his fellow Board Members.
"Now obviously, as wizards and witches, we all know that magic is not nearly as… clean or safe as the muggles might want. There will always be an element of risk involved in the learning of magic, and those who cannot swim will inevitably sink. However, these complaints grow more and more numerous by the year, and there are some even among our number who are growing concerned with what they're hearing."
Truth be told, Lucius couldn't care less if a mudblood went home to their mother or father and cried about how a potion mishap burnt through their robes or a spell turned their hair a different color. If they weren't intelligent enough to make it through Severus' class, then that was that. And if they couldn't exercise a bit of common sense and ask a higher year to reverse the minor hexes and jinxes cast upon them by their fellow students, then they were idiots of the highest caliber.
Lucius himself still had fond memories of some of the Slytherin Girls who came for him in his later Hogwarts Years, both for help with reversing spell effects and for protection from such things in the first place. Fond memories indeed…
"Oh, my dear Lucius, I assure you that I have things perfectly under control. Hogwarts is indeed an ancient castle with all sorts of twists and turns… and as you say, what our students are learning there can be very dangerous and volatile from time to time. But incidents like what you're talking about are few and far in between, trust me."
Raising an eyebrow, Lucius taps the paper in front of him. Not that Dumbledore can see it, but there are a list of… complaints on the parchment before him.
"Then why is the number of these incidents going up and not down, Headmaster? If such incidents are few and far in between, surely, they should be taken care of before they ever reach our ears, yes?"
"Ah, well, I do believe that's simple a matter of culture and generational values."
Rubbing a hand through his beard thoughtfully, Albus makes a show of collecting his thoughts before explaining himself.
"For example, all of you come from a time when you handled issues on your own or with the help of a teacher or older student. But alas, this latest generation… they aren't inferior in any way, let me assure you. They're merely… different. From what I've been able to gauge over these past few years, the newest batches of muggleborns come from a changing muggle world, one where it is more appropriate to be outspoken about one's problems, to find the source of those problems and put the blame squarely on it."
Shaking his head, Dumbledore continues to smile that grandfatherly smile, his eyes twinkling like mad even now as he finishes his point.
"Sometimes, youthful as they are, my students can make the mistake of blaming the Hogwarts or it's Faculty, when indeed, it is themselves that they need to look to and work on fixing."
Chuckling, Albus clasps his hands in front of him, weaving his fingers in and out of one another as he gazes around the table.
"I must admit, it was much easier teaching you lot. You all understood the importance of self-improvement and self-awareness above all else."
As backs go straight and smiles spread all across the room, Lucius grits his teeth silently at the head of the table. Once again, the old man had said an awful lot of nothing of actual substance. He was a master at that, the aging wizard. He always knew how to talk in circles and circles, like it didn't even matter what they were bringing before him and demanding he answer for.
Perhaps this time would be different though. Lucius had come prepared, after all.
"Yes… about these incidents. Specifically, there's one incident in particular that needs to be addressed before we can move on. Apparently, a female student snuck into the Forbidden Forest in search of a magical arrow of some sort. She was found by the centaur herds there… and defiled."
Lucius feels a surge of satisfaction when Dumbledore actually winces at his terminology. There's shuffling around the table as the other governors all flush and squirm a bit. Some of them are no doubt aroused by the imagery, the filthy depraved lechers. But Lucius doesn't care about any of that, all he cares about is nailing Dumbledore to the wall.
"Ah yes. That unfortunate incident. Once she went into the forest, it was quite unavoidable. The centaurs did handle her rather roughly, but they have their traditions, just as we have ours. She was released back into the custody of Hogwarts and has been healed by Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure if nothing else, she's learned a valuable lesson."
Lucius somehow doubts it. But still he presses onward.
"Has she? Has your school? Because I have heard other rumors… other tellings. Apparently, the incident in the Forbidden Forest led to the creation of something called the 'DA'. Apparently, it was created by one of your Professors. And apparently, if my sources are correct, 'DA' stands for Dumbledore's Army."
As he delivers that bombshell, Lucius narrows his eyes at the aged Headmaster and frowns.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Headmaster? I can tell you, as a close personal friend of his, the Minister is none too happy with the idea of you turning our next generation of wizards and witches into some sort of personal army."
Dumbledore… looks perfectly surprised, of course. Lucius likes to think that he'd be able to see through it, but even knowing what he knows and trusting his sources, he honestly can't say for certain whether Albus knew about it or not. As it is, the Headmaster just shakes his head, looking flabbergasted.
"I must admit, this is the first I'm hearing of this, Lucius! I can assure you; I am not out to make any sort of personal army. The Forbidden Forest remains forbidden, of course, and I have no intentions of letting anyone at Hogwarts, be they faculty or student, start a war with the centaurs. I promise, my dear boy, I will do everything in my power to investigate this… 'Dumbledore's Army'. However, I would not be surprised if it turns out to be exactly what you said it was… just a rumor."
Tch, turning his own words back against him. Before Lucius can continue on, one of the other Governors speaks up, all too eager to pile praise onto Dumbledore.
"Oh, but of course Headmaster. And I'm sure I speak for all of us here on the Board when I say that we look forward to hearing the results of your investigation!"
"Quite right! This needs to be gotten to the bottom of immediately, and who better than Albus Dumbledore himself?!"
"Hmph, perhaps someone not so closely tied to it? I do wonder if perhaps an independent investigation might be in order…"
"What, bringing people in from outside Hogwarts? Is that really the best idea?"
"Why not? If there's criminal malfeasance going on, isn't that a task for the Aurors?"
"C-Criminal malfeasance?! It's a school full of children, my good man!"
Sitting back in his chair at the head of the table, Lucius listens as the Board all debates without even waiting for so much as a 'by your leave' from him. But then, perhaps that was for the best. If he'd made it official, then he would have had to put his name on it and from the sound of things, that wouldn't have been a good idea.
No, as he listens to the Governors go back and forth with one another over the issue, Lucius quickly recognizes that he doesn't have nearly enough votes here to oust Dumbledore or anything like that. Indeed, the old man's position is still just too fucking strong.
In the end, all Lucius can hope is that he's planted a seed in the minds of his fellow governors… and continue to cultivate and water the seed he already planted in the Minister's mind. His long term plans to weaken Dumbledore's position and oust the old fool from his positions remains just that, a long term plan.
By the end of the meeting, the majority of the Board has agreed that there isn't anything objectionable with any of Dumbledore's actions as Headmaster, and he gets off with a warning and nary a slap on the wrist as Lucius, having to keep up appearances, joins the majority side in approving that warning.
Some day he'd nail the old bastard to the wall. Someday…
-x-X-x-
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