บท 1214: Arrival of the International Confederation of Wizardry Ⅱ

As the staff members left the Great Hall, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts Master Emrys Linnaeus eyes raked over the Great Hall. He recognized at least a third if not close to half of the participants in attendance. Most he recognized for their achievements in their own fields and others he knew as influential members belonging to various pureblood families.

In one corner of the room were seated several pureblood families related to the 28 Sacred Pureblood families in the Isles. There was Harfang, the second, an elderly wizard with nearly faded blond hair and piercing gray eyes of the Black family. The son of Harfang Longbottom and Callidora Black. A cousin of both the Blacks and the Longbottom's who resided in northern France near the border of Germany. Harfang Senior had personally attended Durmstrang, while his children and descendants had attended either Beauxbatons or Durmstrang.

Seated next to Harfang (the second) is a polished wizard with a high forehead and slicked-back hair to one side. Sieger Black is a stylish wizard with effortless grace and poise. He has a rather cordial smile and the piercing gray eyes of the Black's. A side branch of the Black's that resides in the Baltic and whose descendants attend Durmstrang.

Another recognizable member of the seated table is Atticus Malfoy. A third cousin once removed from the main family branch, a third cousin of Lucius Malfoy. Atticus and his family resided in Switzerland while his two younger brothers resided in France and with all of their descendants attending Beauxbatons. The middle-aged wizard was debonair with pale blond hair that swept elegantly down to his shoulders and a suave pointed goatee. There were traces of aging in the beginning of crow's feet around his eyes.

Various pureblood families of the world sit together with those they know. At the helm of the Northern European delegation is Mr. Krum, a thin, dark-haired, shallow-skinned Bulgarian wizard with a large, curved nose and thick eyebrows. He rather looked like an overgrown bird of prey, but he was not to be underestimated. He was the youngest member of the International Confederation of Wizards and he had won the position by his own accord. It was a powerful show of hands for all who remembered how his father, Krum Sr. had died in the pursuit and capture of the infamous Grindelwald. The ancient Chinese idiom was true, "a Zouwu does not beget a dog."

Sitting at his side at the head of the Southern European delegation is the newest member of the International Confederation of Wizards, Philippe Verninac. An attractive wizard with tousled curly hair with suave features and brightly colored eyes. Elegantly dressed as only a Parisian can be, the wizard is not to be underestimated. He held a firm grip of power in his part of the world and was related directly to Reginald Prince via marriage of his deceased cousin, Sirsa Verninac.

There were wild rumors and whispers that Reginald Prince had called all in his favors to insert Philippe Verninac into the International Confederation of Wizards. The rumors are not entirely unfounded as Phillipe Verninac and his faction had been the staunchest supporters of holding an emergency Confederation meeting. Yet the biggest question on the minds of everyone was what Reginald Prince had to gain in doing so? The unanswered question only served to fuel the rampant speculation.

Naturally, that wasn't the only rumor going about. A top official in the Department of International Magical Cooperations had been planning to deploy Dementors onto the grounds of Hogwarts to ensure the safety and security of the Federation. When word of the rash removal of Dementors from Azkaban to be deployed at Hogwarts reached the ears of the Minister of Magic, it had not come as a surprise that Minister Jenkins was absolutely furious. The official in question has tactfully resigned rather than being fired.

How had such an inter-departmental action gone unnoticed and kept secret until it was nearly too late to stop the deployment of the Dementors?! Whatever the cause, the Head of the Department of Law Enforcement, Elphinstone Urquhart, had been given leave to conduct an internal investigation. Countless departments were openly protesting the Minster of Magic's actions as tyranny, but Minister Jenkins had merely pointed at the door with her finger. It was either submit to the inquiry or be fired. The employee murmurs were immediately quelled at the immediate threat to their livelihood.

It was only a matter of time until the matter leaked to the Daily Prophet. The matter was kept under wraps and out of sight thanks to the emergency session to be held by the International Confederation of Wizards. However, once the cover provided by the confederation was gone, the papers were sure to get the news. Minister Jenkins would have no choice but to deal with the fall out then.

Though the suspicious Slytherin part of Mater Linnaeus suspected the move was politically motivated. The move was deliberate and premeditated to coincide with the timing of the emergency session of the Confederation. It would serve as a decoy to keep the Department of Law Enforcement occupied. The more pertinent question was why and by who?

Shaking his head, Master Linnaeus' eyes flickered back to an untouched corner of the hall. It was entirely empty, yet his eyes kept wandering back to it. Perchance it was nothing, yet he felt that was not the case at all.

Master Linnaeus was not the only one whose eyes kept wandering in that direction. There was at least one member of the North American delegation whose eyes kept wandering in the same direction. The delegate in question sat slightly apart from the North and South American Delegations. Though the delegate was not alone sitting next to a fellow member of the North American delegation.

The two delegates sitting apart from the rest of the North and South American delegation is male and the other female. The male is tall with broad shoulders and is slender. Sagemore 'Wampanoag" of the first people of the Noepe (is a descendant of the first two students of Illvermorny who shared their native knowledge in return for a wand). His outer robes are blue with the confederation insignia engraved in cranberry thread. His sleeves are rolled up to his forearms revealing muscled limbs covered in delicate tribal markings (tattoos). His hair is long and thick in the middle, mohawk style. A beaded headband with the feather of a thunderbird is sewn carefully and sits straight up at the back of his head.

Sagemore's dark eyes scan the area alertly folding his arms over his chest. His feet are firm on the ground revealing breechcloths, an undershirt, and moccasins made of deer hide. The middle-aged wizard is strong and firm like a rock.

Sitting at his side is his much shorter and younger companion, Chepi of the Narragansett, who also wears the robes of the Confederation. Chepi is a descendant of the mother and daughter, who shared their knowledge Illvermorny in exchange for a wand. Unlike her darker friend, her skin is pale albino, her hair long and white, with pale eyes of albinism, (hence her name means ghost).

Chepi wears a modern cotton wraparound skirt with a buckskin molded shirt. Her soft moccasins are made of one entire piece of hide, the boots have a high collar to fold boots up or down. A delicate belt woven hangs around her waist made from plants and dyed in various colors along with the modern addition of topaz. Her headdress is a woven headband topped with feathers in a sign of her high status. Carefully sewn along the edges of the headdress are numerous feathers of powerful magical creatures including that of a thunderbird.

The two delegates sit in silence, yet without speaking they make careful signals to each other using hand signals. Sagemore signals his wariness, but Chepi argues the best course of action is to watch and wait. Sagamores stern face twitches and his lips press into a thin line of unwillingness.

However, before either can respond another member of the North American delegation slides to sit toward. Closer in age to Sagemore, the wizard in question has cream-colored skin with a touch of olive. Overall, a healthy wizard with dark brown hair and earth-colored eyes. The only thing to note is the white patch of hair amid his dark locks and a thick, ropy scar running from the edge of his ear down and under his neck.

"Jack Steward," Sagemore rumbled in a deep voice. He politely titled his head in greeting the descendant of Martha Steward, the squib daughter of Isolt Sayre and James Steward, who wedded a member of the Pocomtuc tribe.

"Sagemore," Jack Steward warmly greeted, before bowing a second time, "Chepi."

"Jack Steward," Chepi also bowed her head in greeting.

Glancing up at the enchanted sky, Jack Steward flashed a grin. " I never thought, I would personally stand where some of my ancestors attended school." Turning away with a cheeky grin, "though I find it remarkably archaic. If you ask me, Illvermorny is infinitely better."

The corner of Sagemore's lips twitch with a smile while Chepi tactfully hides her smile behind her curtain of pale hair.

"As a descendant of Salzar Slytherin," Jack Steward wryly said, "I am not certain if my ancestor would be proud for me to walk these halls considering his beliefs and mine would go against the grain."

Raising her face, Chepi carefully says, "Yet Jack Steward you are from alone. The dark wizard known as Tom Riddle and the Prince's are distant kin, no?"

Jack Steward's face darkens at the mention of the dark lord. "Fortunately, it is a rather distant connection." However, he could not wholly deny the connection as it very much existed.

Sensing the discomfort of the other wizard, Sagemore grumbles, "Kin or no kin, they have no bearing on you, Jack Steward. You are an honorable warrior in your own right. The sins of the father do not fall up on the son."

"Some might argue otherwise," Jack Steward shook his head with a faint smile, before changing the subject to the Harlem Shuffle and whether they would have any chance of winning the upcoming North American Quidditch Cup.

Naturally Sagemore was vehemently opposed as he disliked the Harlem Shuffle Quidditch Team. While the two wizards discussed American Quidditch, Chepi remained silent and watchful. A ghost missed nothing.