Alastor remained silent at the sudden question Antonio had posed. He had no words to respond.
It was true that Antonio had been the one attacked and would most likely have been killed had he not been so powerful. And like always, the aurors would have reached late at the crime of site and would have performed the last rites of Antonio.
But two of his attackers were dead, and the rest had fled. They did not have the Death Eaters to prosecute but by the same twisted logic, no action should have been taken against Antonio either.
Yet such was wizarding law. The focus lay on the simple fact that he had killed two wizards. Whether it was self defence or not was something to be decided by the Wizengamot. And decision in Wizengamot meant politics.
Merit, facts, and truth mattered little there. It was a place of pure political manoeuvring.
"Lord Olario," Alastor groaned, "I do not know how else to explain it, but these are the laws and procedures."
It was not as if Antonio did not understand the logic. He had posed the question mostly as rhetoric.
He scoffed. "These are times when you ought to be rewarding people for killing Death Eaters. If you start harassing and holding them accountable, then good luck fighting Death Eaters."
Alastor did not respond. He was a powerful wizard but that was all. He did not make the laws and was not influential enough to change anything through the Wizengamot.
"Lord Olario," Amelia spoke up, "should you not be concerned about what you will do in the Wizengamot hearing? I wonder if you have any support?"
Antonio shook his head. "It was never my plan to kill two Death Eaters, at least not publicly. So, till now I have never worried about having any support in Wizengamot."
"And I do not think I have any support lined up, as well. As for the Wizengamot hearing… maybe I can work something out."
"How much time do I have?" he asked.
"One week," Alastor replied. "I can delay your hearing for a week."
Antonio nodded.
"I might try something," he added, though he did not have many ideas at that moment. Whatever the case, he was not going to Azkaban. If he had to live in hiding for that, so be it.
"Am I free to go?" he asked. Alastor gave a nod.
"We will send you your case documents by owl," he said as Antonio rose to leave.
"Mind if I walk you out of the Ministry building?" Amelia asked.
Realizing she must have something to say that she could not voice inside the Ministry, he nodded. With one final glance toward Alastor, Antonio left the cabin, Amelia following close behind.
.
.
.
The two of them continued walking in silence until they were outside the Ministry building. Antonio had reached the spot where he and Alastor had first arrived by Portkey, but they kept going, finally stepping out onto the streets. It was still a few hours short of morning, so the streets were completely empty.
"Miss Bones," Antonio finally broke the silence, "I hope we are not going to literally walk all the way to my home. It is quite far, if I may say so."
Amelia giggled in response. "No, Lord Olario."
"I was just thinking," she continued, "that I might be able to help you gain some support in the Wizengamot."
Antonio nodded, a gesture for her to go on. Of course she could. The Bones family was formidable in its own right, holding five votes in the Wizengamot, an influential house by any standard.
"My own family could be among those supporting you," she said. "And we might even convince a few other families to rally behind you as well."
"But there is always a 'but'," Antonio interjected.
"Yes," Amelia added unabashedly. "But you do not have to worry about my family."
"My father, Lord Edmund Bones, hates Death Eaters with everything he has," Amelia said. "And since you have killed two of them, he would be quite pleased to support you and help however he can."
"Similarly, there are many families, smaller ones, who have had their own conflicts with Death Eaters and may very well rally behind you. But the question is, would you be willing?"
"If they would support me simply because I have killed a couple of Death Eaters which is exactly the case against me, then why would not I be willing?" Antonio asked.
"Because by accepting our support," Amelia answered, "you would be openly taking a side. Our side. The side that hates Death Eaters. The side that believes in actively hunting them down and eliminating them. By doing this, you would make many enemies."
Antonio shook his head. "I do not understand. Since you all hate the Death Eaters, then even if I do not formally accept your support, would you not still vote in my favour? Surely you would not side with the Death Eaters?"
"Ideally, yes," Amelia said. "Even without you acknowledging us, we should vote for you. But this is not an ideal world. There is no such thing as a free lunch."
"If you want our votes, then you must put your magical prowess behind us. You must join us. You must stand with us in our cause. Otherwise, most of us would simply abstain from the voting."
"I do not actually have a problem with that," Antonio said. "It is not like I plan on becoming a friend to the Death Eaters."
"Good," Amelia interrupted before he could continue. "Spare the rest of the details. You will have to discuss them with my father."
"Tomorrow evening," she added. "Come to the Bones estate. You will meet my father."
Antonio nodded. He was quite pleased with himself. It seemed he had secured at least some support in the Wizengamot.
"But that alone would not be enough," Amelia added. "You will need more support."
"Since the DMLE is already involved, and there is a high chance the Minister himself might take a personal interest in this case, we cannot predict how many families that would normally abstain might end up voting against you."
"You will need the support of at least two more factions before you can be sure you will have a majority in the Wizengamot."
"Factions?" Antonio repeated.
He had a general idea, things which were known publicly, of what she meant but not the finer details. Amelia could give him a clearer explanation.
"Yes, factions," Amelia confirmed before she delved into her explanation.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter