There was a pin drop silence in the council hall as everyone awaited Antonio to begin his speech. He had been in the news quite a lot over the last few weeks, for whatever reasons, and people were eager to hear what he had to say.
Even before he started speaking, numerous camera flashes erupted from the visitors' gallery. Undoubtedly, Antonio was going to be the front page headline of the next day's newspaper.
"It is not a simple matter to describe exactly how I am feeling. My emotions are quite complex," Antonio began, a smile on his face. "But it definitely feels great and exhilarating and so wonderful."
"I feel privileged to join this esteemed and respectable, powerful yet humble council. To become a part of, to be formally inducted into a body this old, centuries old, and this significant definitely feels like a great achievement to me," he said with a chuckle. "An achievement of which I can truly take pride in."
"But being part of this council is not only a matter of happiness or a source of pride," he continued in a serious tone. "It is also a matter of great responsibility."
"To many, what I am saying may appear to be an exaggeration. It may surely sound like big words coming from a small mouth. After all, I have not been a member for even an entire day, and all I have is merely one vote," he said. "An insignificant person in the larger scheme of things."
Antonio had the attention of the entire Wizengamot on him.
He was not speaking loudly. He was not shouting or raging. He was speaking plainly, if one could say so. But there was an enticement in his voice, in his demeanour. His presence was commanding, and almost no one could take their eyes off him or their ears off his words. Though his voice was low, his words were heavy and carried a commanding presence. He at that moment did not look like someone who only had one vote at his back. His presence was looming over the Wizengamot.
"And factually, it is true," he continued. "But even if I am an insignificant member, the body itself has great significance."
"And if I were to hold myself back from giving my all toward my responsibilities just because my personal significance is low, I would be doing a great disservice to this body."
"Thus true to the oath that I have taken, I would put in all I can offer," he remarked.
"Now," Antonio said, shifting slightly. "I have learnt that whenever a new member is inducted into this body, whether an entirely new member like me or someone inheriting a Lordship from their family, they are expected to make a little speech on a topic, preferably speak about some topic, highlight some issues. And I shall surely do the same."
"And for me, choosing a topic was not a complex task," he continued. "For what could be more important than what is happening around us? The rise of the Death Eaters and their organization. The attack on Bones Manor. The attack on Hogsmeade, which resulted in a dozen casualties, including two students. And the attack on my own house, which is still lying in rubble. And last but not least, the dozens of other such attacks that have been happening on a regular basis over the last few months. What better topic than this? To address the rise of this ideology. This is the perfect topic I could speak on."
As Antonio's voice reverberated through the council hall, many shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. This was a sensitive issue, and not many wished for the bee hive to be poked.
Although Death Eaters were discussed privately, people avoided discussing them in public. Not only those who supported the Death Eaters were uncomfortable, even those who opposed them felt uneasy. And here Antonio Olario was doing exactly that.
A lot of them wished to stop Antonio, but interrupting him during his first speech was not something they could do. It would be a grave violation of traditions and customs.
"The ideology of the Death Eaters," Antonio continued, unbothered. "What is their ideology? Do they even have an ideology?"
"I am not very certain about their ideology, as I have never interacted with a Death Eater, at least not a living one," he chuckled, but there was no response to his ill timed joke.
"But I believe that their stated ideology rests on the centrality of pure bloods, on the welfare and upliftment of pure bloods," he said.
"I believe I am speaking the truth," he remarked, looking around the council hall and the visitors' gallery as if expecting some Death Eater to respond to him.
"But do they follow their ideology?" He questioned. "I do not have access to accurate data but if the ministry provides the data then I am certain that if I leave aside attacks in the non magical world, what is the casualty count?"
"The highest number of those killed would be pure bloods, then the half bloods and very few muggle born," he said as his gaze shifted towards the minister. "Minister Minchum, perhaps you could instruct your undersecretary to provide this data after this session."
An uneasy and uncomfortable expression appeared on Harold Minchum's face as he gave a very little awkward nod.
"Then further, if we even create a hierarchy of pure bloods, Lord Bones would be among the highest tiers. His family is so ancient and so old," he said. "A perfect pure blood and yet his house was attacked with the purpose of killing both him and his daughter. Maybe they would have preferred to wipe his family completely if Edgar Bones had not been at Hogwarts. Oh! Wait. Even Hogsmeade was attacked and Edgar Bones suffered some injuries."
"One could justify that they were attacked because they opposed the Death Eaters, but then, was the bartender who was simply serving a drink in his inn opposing them? Was the man returning home in the evening opposing the Death Eaters? Before I was attacked, had I been opposing them? No."
"Every innocent, myself included, was attacked not because they were uplifting pure bloods," he said. "They did so because they liked it. Maybe they were enjoying it. Maybe they were having fun. Maybe they were doing it for pleasure."
"It is the greatest myth they have been propagating, that they work for the betterment of pure bloods," he boomed. "A pure lie."
"They have killed more pure bloods than muggle borns have done in entire history," he boomed. "They are doing more damage to our traditions, our culture, our ways than a few muggle born entering our world every year have done in centuries."
The Wizengamot remained seated in stunned silence. They were all aware of these facts, but they had never thought about them. Yet the way Antonio was presenting it, it was hitting them hard.
And it was hitting one person even harder, Lucius Malfoy. Though his expression showed no exaggeration or outward reaction, inwardly the conflict that had been brewing within him for days was stirred once again. He was lost in his own conflict.
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