~~Wizengamot Chambers, Ministry of Magic~~
The vote was conducted within the next few minutes and to be honest, the results were quite surprising for a lot of people. Though Amelia Bones wasn't surprised by the results in the slightest. She had long realized that the ordeal was planned beforehand and she had to wonder what Lucius Malfoy had to gain from all of this. She didn't believe that the man was foolish enough to kill the boy right away.
Or was Voldemort already back and Lucius was simply doing his master's bidding?
She wondered if she should reach out to Sirius too… That man had practically lost everything to the madman. First, he lost his best friends to the madmen and then he was sent to Azkaban without following the correct procedures, and just moments ago, the man lost his Godson. The Black Family fortune was quite legendary and you can't fight a war with empty pockets. The Black fortune would be quite useful, but after a few moments, she quickly shook her head.
No, the man was way too hot-headed for her liking… She had to admit, he was keeping his cool considering the circumstances, but it wasn't enough for her to make her trust him with sensitive information or tasks…
"Madam Bones" Lucius Malfoy called out to her with a concerned look on his face. "I would like to have my new Ward in my custody as soon as possible. With everything happening all around us and his name coming out of the Goblet, I am worried that someone might be after him. I am really worried about him" Harry Potter's new guardian, Lucius Malfoy added with a grave look on his face.
If Amelia didn't know better then she would have thought that the man was genuinely worried for the boy. She wondered what the Wizengamot was thinking when they decided to vote for Lucius Malfoy to become Harry Potter's new guardian. Ohh… right! They weren't thinking about anything. The vote was rigged from the start! The whole Dark Faction decided to vote for Lucius Malfoy, which wasn't unexpected, but the whole Grey Faction went along with them.
Yeah, that was really surprising… Amelia wondered how much gold Lucius had to part with to get the Grey Faction in his corner. It must have been quite an amount or she would eat her hat, Amelia decided.
"Of course, Lord Malfoy, but I would need clearance from both the British Ministry and the ICW stating that we are legally in the right to bring Harry Potter back to Britain" Amelia explained primly, making Lucius frown as clearly wasn't expecting this.
"Is a clearance really needed? I am his legal guardian and I want him back in the country" Lucius asked with a look of confusion.
"Yes, I want to avoid any incident with the MACUSA. I don't think they are going to happily hand Harry Potter back to us" Amelia explained smoothly as she glanced toward their cowardly Ministry of Magic, who looked around nervously. They would need to get rid of the spineless bastard as soon as they could or they would lose the war before it could even begin. The man would happily sell the Ministry to Voldemort if it meant he could keep his position.
In reality, she could have sent her Aurors right away to grab Harry Potter as Lucius Malfoy was the primary guardian as long as the Law was considered. The MACUSA would have obviously tried to interfere, not that it would have mattered, but getting the clearance from the ICW would take some time, which would give her enough time to remove Harry Potter from where he was. The boy was going to be pivotal for their victory and she would be damned if she allowed Lucius Malfoy to have the boy.
"Of course. Of course… Lucius, Amelia is right as always. I think it will be better to cover all of our bases, just in case" The Minister quickly agreed to Amelia's suggestion.
'A spineless coward, just like I said' Amelia mused thoughtfully, but Albus seemed to be giving her a contemplative look. She wondered what the old man was thinking and that is when she felt a mental probe brush against her shield. At first, she frowned, but moments later, she smirked at Albus… This wasn't the first time Albus had tried something brazen like this, and while she would have loved to arrest him for the illegal use of Legilimency, she knew she couldn't.
First of all, she had to prove that someone had tried to use Legilimency on her, which was practically impossible as Albus never breached her shields and the man was very experienced in the Art, so he wouldn't leave any tell-tale signs of the assault, and even if was able to prove that someone had used Legilimency on her, it would be completely impossible to pin the blame on Dumbledore's shoulders as in the eyes of many, he could do no wrong.
"How long is it going to take to get the clearance from the ICW?" Lucius asked Cornelius.
"I will send someone to the ICW Headquarters right away" Cornelius told him that he would be sending someone right away, instead of answering Lucius' question. Lucius was quite displeased with this development, but he knew that Cornelius would never do something knowingly that might get him in trouble in the International Magical community.
"Okay. I will leave it to you then" Lucius smiled as he sighed in relief. He still needed to play the part of a caring guardian.
There wasn't anything else to discuss after that, so the meeting was finally called to a closing by the Minister. When Amelia was making her way toward her office while wondering what to do next, she was surprised when she noticed Sirius Black approaching her. Amelia stopped and turned toward the man… The man looked calm, but in reality, he was apoplectic.
"How may I help you, Lord Black?" Amelia asked politely.
"Can we talk privately?" Sirius asked and after a second, Amelia finally nodded her head as she gestured him to follow her. The rest of their walk passed in complete silence and when they finally entered her office, Amelia offered Sirius a seat before she took her own seat. "You know Lucius would do to Harry, don't you?" Sirius asked while gritting his teeth.
Amelia considered her options as she started to consider her options. "He might be planning to do that eventually, but he won't be doing anything immediately" Amelia answered carefully.
"Bullshite!!!" Sirius exclaimed angrily as he slammed his fist on the table, making Amelia glare at him. This was exactly why she decided not to bring him into their fold even though his fortune would be Merlinsend for them. "He could always arrange for Harry to have an accident!" Sirius pointed out angrily.
'Yes, there is always that option' Amelia agreed internally. "I can understand that you are angry with what happened in the Wizengamot Chambers, but that doesn't mean you can scream at me" Amelia pointed out sharply, making Sirius rub the back of his neck sheepishly as he realized his mistake.
"I am sorry" Sirius muttered an apology. "Can you not send someone to get him?" He asked after a few moments of silence. Once again, Sirius proved to Amelia why he wasn't fit for any clandestine organization. You can't request something like that openly.
"I am sorry, Lord Black. That is something I can't do. Regardless of our personal feelings, Lucius Malfoy was decided to be Harry Potter's new guardian by the Wizengamot, and since his new guardian wants to have him back in this country… There is not much I can do to help you" Amelia explained while giving him an apologetic look.
Sirius clutched his hands in anger… "Thank you for hearing me out" Sirius bit out painfully as he slowly stood up.
"Please do not do anything foolish. You Godson will need all the support he can have and you being dead or imprisoned isn't going to help him in the slightest" Amelia warned him just before Sirius could open the door. Sirius gave her a reluctant nod before heading out… Amelia rubbed her temples before she decided to gather another meeting.
Tonks was exempted from the meeting as she was still at Hogwarts. They needed to know about the recent development as soon as they could. She decided to send Alastor to grab Harry while she decided to pay a visit to the Longbottom Hall herself to meet Augusta after the meeting was finished. Once again she started to wonder if Voldemort was really back.
She would need to send either Connie or Gawain to Azkaban to inspect the Dark Mark. After they learned that the darkening of the Dark Mark could be a sign of the Dark Lord finally returning, they have decided to keep an eye on the Dark Mark of the Azkaban inmates to stay abreast of any new developments…
========================
If you appreciate and love my work, then you are welcome to donate to support me and keep me motivated.
My P A T R E O N link is:- https://www.p a t r e o n.com/IngloriousMe
========================
My Discord Server- https://discord.gg/zdUqAGKrkm