Antonio pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and brought his thoughts and focus back to the task at hand. That was carving the runes of his family magic.
He reached into his robes and pulled out a specially crafted moleskin pouch.
Untying the thread of the moleskin pouch, he took out small, miniature versions of stone pillars from them.
After leaving Edmund Bones' funeral, Antonio had gone straight to a magical stonemason to buy the required number of these runic pillars.
Though these pillars were crafted from a special stone capable of conducting magic, they were not exactly rare. It was easily available and apart from being used as runic stones in keystones they were also used in various other things. Like in other simpler runes and even in the construction of various magical buildings.
He had bought them and then had them shrunk and stuffed into this moleskin pouch for easy transport.
Antonio took a deep breath as he felt his connection with the manor's wards.
The next moment, with a mere thought, he dismantled the existing keystone. There was a slight ripple of magic in the air as the reddish hue emitting from the runes died out.
Antonio raised his wand, his fingers clenched tight around it, and gave it a sharp wave.
Following the movement, the lines of the runes engraved on the floor and the central pillar started to disappear as if they were being erased in a backward motion.
This continued for a few moments until it finally stopped. The entire rune had not been wiped clean.
He had only erased the portions where he would carve his new runes. What remained were the runes connected to the Marius family magic, which would eventually be subsumed into the Olario family magic.
He spread his other palm, in which he had been holding the miniature pillars, and pointed his wand at them.
Moments later, they began to float, moving toward the lone stone pillar and surrounded it, forming a pattern around it. He had added ten new pillars and counting the original, there were now eleven in total.
It was a staggering number. Antonio was not entirely sure, but he suspected only the top tier families, such as the Potters, Blacks, or Longbottoms, possessed eleven or more runic stones in their keystones. Well, no one knew the exact numbers as these things were secret and it was rumoured that apart from the Lord of the house even the remaining family members were not allowed near the keystone of such powerful families. Antonio was not sure about it. Maybe, he could ask Amelia or even Bellatrix.
Even so, eleven pillars, was a clear statement of just how powerful he intended this new foundation to be.
Antonio gave another wave of his wand, and all ten stone pillars floating in the air snapped from their miniature versions back to their original size. They landed on the ground with a massive thud that shook the entire basement.
Taking another deep breath, Antonio approached the pillar nearest to him. He crouched a short distance away from the pillar and, with his wand raised high, began carving the runes into the ground.
.
.
.
While Antonio was busy carving his family magic runes, the Ministry was occupied with controlling the upheaval and the chaos and trying to answer the mounting questions regarding its competency, factions were holding urgent meetings regarding the incident and its repercussions, another group was convening as well.
The gathering was taking place in a house owned by the Malfoy family in an isolated part of Wizarding Britain. As the most powerful figure among those present, Abraxas Malfoy was leading the meeting.
It was, as one might guess, a gathering of Death Eaters, though they were not dressed in their familiar attire, but in their normal robes. To the outside world, this was simply a meeting of the larger Dark faction.
More than a dozen men were gathered around a large rectangular table, with Abraxas Malfoy sitting at the head. Rodolphus Lestrange, the rising star among the Death Eaters who had conducted the successful raid against Hogsmeade, was sitting to his right, while Abraxas's own son, Lucius Malfoy, was on his left.
Although the man they followed, almost worshipped, and called the Dark Lord had secured a massive victory and humiliated the Ministry of Magic, the atmosphere was anything but celebratory. Instead, the air felt tense and solemn, almost oppressive.
"Lord Malfoy," a shaky voice called out. "Have you been able to find out anything? Who were those people? Has the Dark Lord contacted you?"
Abraxas let out a deep sigh before shaking his head.
"I have no new information as of yet," he said. "The Dark Lord has not contacted any of us. And like the rest of you, I do not know who those people were, the ones who attacked the Wizengamot alongside him."
"I do not have the slightest bit of idea," he affirmed once again.
This was the source of their anxiety. Most of the men in the room considered themselves the Dark Lord's top followers, his most trusted inner circle. Then, out of nowhere, a dozen strangers had appeared to partake in the most daring and significant attack the Dark Lord had ever led.
And what had they been doing? They had been left entirely in the dark. They had no idea such an operation was even planned. This was a devastating blow to their reputations and the image they held of themselves. They had never, in their wildest dreams, imagined they could be so easily sidelined by their own master.
The political tension in this room is thick enough to choke on. These men are essentially the "Old Guard," the families who thought they were the foundation of Voldemort's power, and yet they've been reduced to guessing games and waiting for a signal that might never come.
"The Ministry has also not been forthcoming with any answers," Abraxas continued. "It seems that the Unspeakables still have complete control over the situation, and the Minister will only be providing answers after they give the go-ahead."
"I am unable to wrap my head around the fact that the Dark Lord, somehow, was able to take control of the Ministry wards," another man commented.
This was the exact question they all wanted answered. How? How did the Dark Lord achieve something so monumental? No one had an answer, and they fell back into a brooding silence.
"When will the Dark Lord contact us?" another person questioned.
While everyone shared the sentiment, the question was a pointed message directed at Abraxas Malfoy. Among all the Death Eaters, he alone possessed a method to contact the Dark Lord directly. They were clearly signaling for him to use it. It was a method intended only for the most urgent situations, and they were evidently deeming this to be one.
Abraxas understood the implication perfectly. He remained silent for a few moments, his face unreadable, before he sighed deeply.
"Two days," he said. "We will wait two days and see if we receive any message from the Dark Lord. If not, I will contact him."
Though the atmosphere remained strained, a look of relief broke out on most of their faces.
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