Pure blood.
This concept was first proposed by Salazar Slytherin, the first Head of Slytherin House.
Pure blood meant that there had never been a single Muggle-born in one's family tree.
However, if that concept were followed strictly, there would not be more than ten pure-bloods left in the entire world.
Those ancient pure-bloods were not all as pure as they appeared. On the contrary, they used simpler methods to maintain their distance from Muggles.
They hid those people's names, or removed them entirely.
For example, the Black family would burn away the names of those rebels and erase them from the family tree.
Toujours Pur.
It seemed to be nothing more than a self-deceiving slogan.
Intermarriage among pure-bloods created that vast web of relationships.
Even the Weasleys and the Malfoys, who got along the worst, had a family connection that could be named.
Some extreme families would arrange marriages between their own children to ensure the purity of their bloodline.
The Gaunt family had once done exactly that.
The result was the birth of family members who were mentally deficient or deformed.
When the Sacred Twenty-Eight were ranked anew, it was no longer based on that false pure blood.
It was based on strength and history.
A family capable of surviving for a thousand years naturally possessed extraordinary power.
Yet some pure-blood families that had never been included among the Sacred Twenty-Eight also possessed great strength. Perhaps at some point among their ancestors, there had been a Muggle or a Squib, which prevented them from entering those ranks.
Therefore, the newly ranked Sacred Twenty-Eight should also have a new name.
"The Ancient Alliance."
Lucius Malfoy spoke this name in the ancient underground circular hall of the Malfoy family.
He said to the family heads present, "We must form a bond stronger than the Sacred Twenty-Eight."
"The times are changing, and we must change as well."
His cane struck the ground, producing a dull thudding sound.
"In the past, we were nothing more than scattered sand. We had foundations, but could not use them. Our families are dwindling, so we need to adapt."
"Like my ancestor, Armand Malfoy, who came to Britain with William the Conqueror. If he had continued to remain there without knowing how to adapt, there would be no Malfoy family today."
Lucius's proud gaze swept over everyone present as he said, "This is the age of kings. Those who cling stubbornly to their own views will not survive."
As these words fell, the people from those ancient families began discussing among themselves.
Lucius raised one finger and pointed upward. "Strength above all. The ancient will eventually perish, but the victors are eternal."
The head of the Goyle family stood up and said without hesitation, "The Sacred Twenty-Eight have turned to dust. The Ancient Alliance is the future."
He sided with Malfoy.
At the same time, the Crabbe family also chose the birth of the Ancient Alliance.
It was not just them. The Greengrasses, Diggorys, Slughorns, Parkinsons, Abbotts, and Crouches.
They all chose the Ancient Alliance.
This was the tide of the times.
Those who did not follow the tide would face its crushing force and be drowned by a current they could not escape.
Everyone knew that the king who was still attending school would not allow the old forces to continue living.
Either they would prosper aboard this ship, or they would leave it and be drowned.
More and more people agreed.
Arthur Weasley remained expressionless, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Percy's words echoed in his mind.
Should he stop being so selfish and consider his children?
If they lost this great ship, what the Weasleys would face would be the suppression of the Ancient Alliance, and the lives that should have been easy for his children would become a hundred times more difficult.
As the twenty-eight seats disappeared one by one, Arthur Weasley raised his hand at the final moment.
Lucius looked at him and, unusually, did not mock him.
"You have chosen the correct path, Arthur Weasley," Lucius said to him.
The new Sacred Twenty-Eight were born. No, they should be called the Ancient Families.
They had long histories and possessed powerful strength as well.
The first Ancient Family, Malfoy.
The second Ancient Family, Weasley.
The third Ancient Family, Crouch.
The fourth Ancient Family, Greengrass.
The fifth Ancient Family, Longbottom.
The sixth Ancient Family, Edgar.
The seventh Ancient Family, Diggory.
...
The tenth Ancient Family, Slughorn.
...
The thirteenth Ancient Family, Delacour.
...
The twenty-first Ancient Family, Parkinson.
The twenty-second Ancient Family, Goyle.
The twenty-third Ancient Family, Crabbe.
...
The twenty-eighth Ancient Family, Macmillan.
...
The Ancient Alliance was born, and the Ancient Twenty-Eight appeared.
Their leaders established a contract in the Malfoy family's underground circular hall.
A fund jointly belonging to the twenty-eight families was created. All the money in the Ancient Foundation would be jointly owned by the twenty-eight families, and a manager would be selected to oversee it.
The first manager was Lucius Malfoy.
He made the first allocation of this enormous fund, directing half of its money into the Young Wizards' Foundation.
"We are not those rotten old fools. Our existence will better maintain peace in the magical world."
Lucius Malfoy made this promise in front of everyone.
He also displayed the attitude he ought to have, allowing people to see a pure-blood different from those of the past.
Although they maintained their pride, they also needed to do something for the people.
The new alliance meant that the rotten flesh had been cut away.
The Selwyns were like this, and so were the Lestranges.
Goyle and Crabbe once again proved that following the right person was very important.
They had practically entered this alliance while lying flat, but within the genes of their well-developed muscles, a few rare clever people had finally appeared.
When Lucius proposed establishing the fund, the two families were the most enthusiastic, putting almost half of their family assets into it.
They used their strength to tell everyone one thing.
Sometimes, when the main account was ruined, the alternate account might encounter a different kind of opportunity.
Old Goyle and Old Crabbe still had to be locked up for another year.
As for the younger Goyle and Crabbe, they had already stepped halfway into the ranks of John Wick's followers.
It was just that when the donations were made, the Weasleys' expressions did not look very good.
Arthur Weasley watched as those two big fools donated half their money to the foundation, and he almost cracked on the spot.
Did they not know the Weasley family was poor? Who were they showing all those Galleons to?
Just as Arthur Weasley was considering whether to donate a hundred Galleons to show his sincerity, Percy appeared.
He brought more than twenty thousand Galleons and donated it on behalf of the Weasley family.
"Where did you get so much money?" Arthur Weasley was suspicious of his son's sudden wealth.
Percy said calmly, "You should pay more attention to your sons. George and Fred earned more than a hundred thousand Galleons last year."
Arthur Weasley felt somewhat embarrassed. He truly had not paid much attention to his sons' assets.
But was Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes really that profitable?
He did not know that the twins' products had already become the most profitable investment under the Silver Hand.
His impression was still stuck at the stage where the twins were making random inventions at home.
...
Malfoy successfully reached the top as the first family.
When this matter spread to Hogwarts, Malfoy had already shifted from "you are all rubbish" mode to "you are rubbish, and if you don't accept it, come fight me."
Ernie Macmillan was very glad. His family was ranked last and had almost been excluded.
Hannah Abbott's family was also included, ranked twenty-fifth.
This ranking was very fair, because compared with the families ahead of them, the Abbott family lacked more than just a little.
The Malfoys had fame, the Weasleys had people, the Crouches had power, and the Greengrasses had money.
Of those four things, the Abbott family had none.
So they did not feel there was anything unfair about it. After all, the four strongest families were right there.
After the rankings came out, Ron Weasley also became much more confident.
After all, he had always thought his family might not rank very high, and for a while he had even slandered the Ancient Alliance among the Gryffindors, believing it to be a gathering of rotten pure-bloods plotting destruction.
He had been slapped in the face, but the benefits truly were tempting.
And intelligent people quickly understood what was going on when they saw this list.
"These rankings are based on closeness to John Wick."
The moment Dumbledore saw the list, he knew who the so-called Ancient Alliance served.
The first, Malfoy, was the initiator, and also the family of Draco Malfoy.
The second, Weasley, was the family of Percy Weasley, who had hopes of running for Minister for Magic in the next decade or so.
The third was Crouch. That was John's partner, and needed no explanation.
The fourth was Greengrass. Both young ladies of the Greengrass family were members of the Constellation Society.
The fifth was Longbottom, the family of Neville Longbottom, the man who had killed Voldemort and was also a member of the Constellation Society.
The sixth, Edgar, and the seventh, Diggory, were all members of the Constellation Society as well.
In truth, Lucius had already shown his hand at the moment of its founding.
By donating half of the Ancient Foundation to the Silver Hand's Young Wizards' Foundation, he had plainly told everyone whose orders they followed.
Dumbledore sighed softly. With the way the situation had changed, the entire British magical community had already become John's domain.
The king had not yet appeared, yet he was already everywhere.
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