Residing near a graveyard, there is a crumbling building enchanted to keep muggles away. The wooden stairwell appears to be rotting. The front door is old, gray, and dilapidated. The door knockers are two rusty ravens in mid-screech, each holding a rusted ring in their mouths.
The building is dim and cold, but the air is not dusty. There is a persistent chill in the air from the countless dark artifacts held within. There is a curled skeletal hand, a Hand of Glory used by thieves and plunderers to shine through the darkest of veils. A pack of bloodstained cards, countless dark masks hanging on the wall, watching with malicious, unseen eyes. A large iron cabinet used to crush prisoners in an agonizing death.
Inside a locked cabinet, there appears to be a set of regular candles. Yet to a knowing eye, these are poisonous candles that will release toxic fumes upon being lit. They are worth a high-grade punishment from the Ministry of Magic if anyone is caught with such an item.
Alongside the cabinet are innocent-looking ancient tomes. However, these books were not meant to be read, but rather a trap for an unsuspecting reader. The curse inscribed within the tomes would burn unsuspecting readers' eyes and leave them blind. There were countless more items therein.
The carpets are clean but worn and faded. Down the carpeted hallway is a chamber revealing the Acolytes seated inside. There are dozens of copies of the Daily Prophet Evening Edition strewn across the table. Some copies are torn to shreds, others crumble from anger, and only a few copies remain intact.
Seated on the left side of the table is a wrinkled old hag, Charybdis Carrow, who harshly and hatefully gazes at the crumbled copy of the Daily Prophet in front of her. She wears her dark robes not out of preference than out of necessity, since blood does not show as much on dark clothing.
Sitting nearby is a beautiful witch with dark eyes and short hair, whose thick, long eyebrow is arched in disbelief at the copy of the Daily Prophet spread directly in front of her. Praxidlike Rosier's purple lipstick and eyeshadow match her pale visage. She is elegantly clothed showcasing her proud pureblood heritage.
The face of Macduff is rather relaxed as he strokes a rabbit's foot with one hand and toys with the chain of human teeth that hangs around his neck. Glancing at the copy of the Daily Prophet in front of him, he loftily says, "It was just as suspected, the vampires betrayed Voldemort." He barely refrained from sneering.
"Though what the Federation did was far more of a betrayal than that of Voldemort!" Gesturing to the front page of the Daily Prophet, Macduff scoffed.
"Blood traitors," venomously spat Charybdis Carrow. Her harsh face curls in disgust. "How could the Confederation have fallen so low as to permit such a terrible travesty!"
There are echoes of 'blood traitors' and "mud loving fools,' and similar such mutterings among the acolytes.
"Come now," said an older, graying deep-voiced wizard with dark skin. Nagel tilts his head back to reveal his solemn face showing bits of salt-peppered hair peeking out from under the brim. "It was not the Confederation's doing. They were outmaneuvered by Reginald Prince.
The Acolytes in the chamber murmur in agreement. The International Confederation of Wizardry was not that progressive. The only way for such an astonishing change to occur was by means of treachery and deceit.
"Nevertheless," said Abernathy, a fair wizard with proud features. He raises his hand to push his brown hair back, "Can we continue to trust Reginald Prince to hold his end of the bargain? We already supposed that he was compromised, but this is even much for him." He gestured aggressively in the direction of the nearest copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Despite his agenda, Reginald will keep his end of the bargain," Abernathy earnestly concluded. "This was a ploy to ensure the safety of his grandchildren with powerful allies. Influential allies that even Voldemort will hesitate to attack and make an enemy of."
Krafft, a pale wizard in a military suit, thumped the table with his fist. "What matters is that those filthy creatures will not only have the right to wands but will even attend Hogwarts and other magical institutions alongside our children. The bloodlines will only become further polluted! We must do all that we can to keep the bloodlines pure!"
There are murmurs of agreement by the Acolytes as Praxidlike Rosier says, "Then we are all in agreement that we cannot ignore Reginald Prince's actions, we must address it post haste." Her dark eyes gaze at Krafft and MacDuff, who have had dealings with Reginald Prince in the past.
"You will hear no disagreement from me," Krafft barked and folded his arms over his chest, before glancing pointedly at MacDuff.
The acolytes expectantly gaze at MacDuff, who toys with the human teeth chain. "I won't interfere nor warn Prince, but I shan't attack him in the back either."
There is somewhat an air of astonishment by the acolytes as this was not the response they had expected. "Gone all chivalrous on us now, MacDuff," Charybdis Carrow sneered. "I would hardly expect that from you."
"I am far from being chivalrous," MacDuff retorted with a shake of his head. "No, I owe the old Prince one. I'll settle my debt in this manner."
Charybdis Carrow lets out an angry huff of protest, but she does not continue to bait MacDuff. As long as MacDuff didn't warn the old Prince, their plans would not be impeded. They would do what was necessary for the greater good.
Satisfied by what she saw and heard, Praxidlike says, "We cannot forget the betrayal of the coven, we will need to remedy the situation lest they forget their position."
"That can wait," Nagel firmly countered. "Our plans are far more important; we cannot allow an insignificant detail to distract us from our objective."
There are murmurs of agreement by the Acolytes. They were risking absolutely everything. They couldn't afford to be distracted at this time.
"Very well," Praxidlike sighed, before changing the subject. "Our plans must speed up," she pointed to the Dail Prophet. "The creations of the M.I.D. (Magical Interoperation Department), the ICC (International Criminal Catalog), and that of the INTERAURORS (International Criminal Auror Society) will pose a problem."
"I beg to disagree, we should continue as previously planned," Abernathy waved his hand in dismissal. "These units will not be formed by the time our plans commence. It will take time to train and coordinate information and organize international departments which will ensure they are not readily available at the earliest next year. Is that not the general consensus?"
There are various head nods from the Acolytes as that was the general consensus. The INTERAURORS would certainly prove to be an ear-sore in the future. However, that is a problem for another day.
A look of understanding passes among the Acolytes, who resume their discussions on how to aid in the plan to liberate their leader, Gellert Grindelwald from his prison in Nurmengard. There was always the chance that Voldemort would betray them. If so, they had to plan accordingly and make sufficient preparations to prevent any betrayal. They were prepared to make appropriate sacrifices to ensure the liberation of their leader, Gellert Grindelwald.