ICWW Summit: Day 3

The mood in the room was palpably tense, for many reasons, perhaps the least of which being the vote itself. A somber air rested over the delegates gathered there, and Lucien...Lucien did not think it was right to be there at all. Not after the tragedy of the previous evening.

Politics were unfeeling, but people didn't have to be. A man had died--a good man, from what little Lucien had known of him. A man with a family halfway across the world who could do nothing now but grieve. And here they were, carrying on with proceedings as if nothing had ever happened. No, it didn't seem right at all.

Yet here they were. And though the decision now seemed to pale in comparison to the monstrous event that sat fresh in all of their minds, it was no less important now than it had been yesterday.

When it came down to it, Lucien, like any sane person, had a couple second thoughts. He was, after all, deciding to change the world. A simple yay or nay could determine the fate of, not just wizardkind, but all humanity. It was ridiculously stressful. Did he really want to do this?

Well, yes, of course he did. He'd been thinking about it for months, arguing for it, debating over it. His position on the issue was clear. And yet...what if it didn't go the way he expected it to? What if he was wrong? What if now really wasn't the right time?

He couldn't honestly say that the opposing side's arguments hadn't affected him at all. He was well aware of why many countries wished to retain the Statute, at least for now. He understood them, and he understood how terrifying this vote must be for those who wanted things to remain the way they were. They had much more cause to fear him than he had to fear them. If the decision didn't pass, so what? Nothing would change, they'd try again in a decade or so. If the decision did pass, the world would never be the same--for better or for worse.

The safest option, undoubtedly, was to vote nay.

But progress was never achieved by playing things safe. And fear...fear was never a good reason to do anything. Decisions based on fear were the cause of many of the world's greatest mistakes--including the witch trials that had prompted the Statute in the first place. No, fear would not hold him back from seizing the future. Not this time.

And then of course, there was the Minister. Do us proud, he'd said, before Lucien had boarded the plane. The Minister had agreed with him at every step, and was trusting him to stick to his plan. No matter what other terrible incidents wore on his mind today, Lucien would not return home with his tail between his legs. Not when his friend was counting on him. This decision was not about him. It was for the people back home. It was for the greater good.

He stood from his seat when it came to his turn. In a loud clear voice, he spoke nine words that could possibly change the world forever: "Canada votes yay, for abolishing the Statute of Secrecy."

The final day had come around with much of a headache. As if watching someone die had not been worrying enough for the Lord Clement as he held his wife close to him, not letting her go since the shots that had been fired, the world had not thought that enough. As they had spoken in soft words of their native tongue -- Louis explaining what was going on to Vanessa without the gorier details, and Vanessa soothing his worries, calming him from making rash decisions that would invoke suspicion, as well as reading those around them and explaining what she saw to her husband, neither one of them could have fathomed what they would find when finally Louis was able to apparate them away from the hotel.

When they'd landed on the beach not a moment later, Louis' eyes had travelled back to the hotel, trying to work out how in Merlin's name someone had gotten away with murdering the British Minister, when he felt Vanessa's body go tense. By instinct, the Frenchman had pulled her back, away from what was causing her stress as he turned to see the body of a young woman led on the jetty that allowed them to board their ship.

Much too late, Vanessa had seen more than Louis would have liked for her to be submitted to, and he turned them both away as his Patronus rushed off for the staff.

It was the early hours of the morning before either of them were able to be alone once more, and Louis' eyes were full of concern for his wife. Vanessa had never been a weak woman, she'd never been someone he deemed 'delicate' on the matter of death. But, he would never, ever, pretend that the death of anyone was easy to deal with. Trying to deal with the deaths of two people in one day, therefore, was not going to be an easy task, for either of them.

Louis had stayed awake the whole night, simply watching Vanessa sleep in his arms. She'd berated him once... twice, when she'd woken, insisting he get some sleep. Louis had simply waved away her worry, pressing a light kiss to her forehead as he insisted he would sleep when they were safely away from the island.

That, however, had left Vanessa awake in his arms from that moment, leaving the peacefulness of slumber to simply sit quietly with Louis until the sun rose the next day. Then, and only then, had the two readied themselves for the final day of battle. Dressing in the French finery of the Clement house -- in perfectly complimenting outfits -- Louis in black, and Vanessa in a beautiful white dress -- Louis had returned to Vanessa's room before they were to leave and dismissed the staff. A necklace box in hand, he'd laid it upon her dresser for her to inspect.

The diamonds were sparkling from a fresh polish, and whilst not over the top, the expense of the piece was quite clear, but that was not Louis' reason for helping Vanessa place the piece around her throat with very careful hands.

"Un sort de protection, ma chérie." Louis had explained softly when Vanessa had raised a silently questioning eyebrow at him. The Lord Clement was not a coward, he would not be bullied in to anything he didn't wish to do. However, he could risk his own reputation, even in front of Vanessa, so long as he had reassurance that she would not be harmed. Because it went without saying they'd spent too long apart, and he would not, for a single moment, put that possibility before them.

And, as if ready for the question that would not leave Vanessa's lips, but that was clear in her eyes as she looked up at him in the mirror, Louis' right hand moved to his left ring finger, gently motioning to his wedding band to tell her she need not worry for his safety either.

***

The ten delegates that had proceeded France in the vote had given a mixture of votes. Louis was glad to see everyone was conforming to the expectations he and Vanessa had set for their vote -- well, except for the delegate from El Savador, apparently the witch wished to wait until the end, as if her vote mattered more than anyone else's. Louis' features had remained neutral as he took in the room, wondering how everyone was taking the fact proceedings were continuing despite what had happened last night.

When France was called to the podium, Louis and Vanessa moved up together, fluidly, confidently, and ready to deliver their unchanging vote.

"Thank you. France will not be bullied by the events of last night, and push forth in to the change that is needed for all. France votes Yay, for abolishing the Statute of Secrecy." Louis explained, looking out across the room with a neutral expression. Someone in this room had committed a crime in the last twenty four hours to try to waver the votes, and Louis was not going to change their plan.

With that said, Louis and Vanessa returned to their table together, Louis picking up their notes once more, and denoting the current stance from the machines behind the podium that were counting the votes for and against.


Un sort de protection, ma chérie -- A protection spell, my darling

When Somalia’s turn to speak—and more importantly vote—came two men stood. The first of these two men was, of course, Yusuf, but the second appeared to be a man out of place in the political arena. Shorter than the Somalian strongman by a few inches, the second male wore wire-frame glasses and had a nervous look in his eyes, not unlike the one a mouse has right before it’s eviscerated by a hawk.

“We are selfish, aren’t we?” Yusuf asked in Somalian before pausing and placing a comforting hand on his companion’s shoulder.

Flinching ever so slightly, the bespectacled man translated his general’s words into English with a surprisingly deep voice.

“Witches and Wizards, I mean. Really, we are,” he paused here both for effect and for his translator. “Were I a Muggle I would not be standing before you today. My lifeless body would be on a plane bound for Somalia with a bullet through my heart. Yet, here I am. Earlier today my doctor was even able to disperse the considerable bruising to my chest with a wave of his wand, it’s amazing really.”

“You know, no less than 24-hours ago I had planned to vote against dissolving the statute of sorcery. I went so far as to disclose this to the late Minster Jennson and even now I hesitate to break my promise to him, but I must. I must because in feeling the cold steel of the reaper at my neck I realized what we have to offer to the world. Thousands, if not millions of Muggles die each and every year from mundane maladies that we in the Wizarding community would laugh at. For example, I could break my arm today and have it fully functional by tomorrow when it might take months for a Muggle’s arm to heal.”

“Will there be friction between the magical and non-magical world with the dissolution? Without a doubt, but ultimately, I believe the change will be for the better if not for us then for our children and our children’s children. So, along with my vote to dissolve the statute of sorcery, I would also like to put forth a proposal for the formation of an international bureau to supervise whatever the outcome of our vote here today may be.”

“After all,” he gestured to the board displaying the number of votes. “One way or another we will either need to keep countries in line with a reaffirmed statute or help those same countries with an orderly transition out from the shadow of segregation.”

“Thank you and now I would like to have a moment of silence for our comrade from the British Isles.”

With that Yusuf bowed his head, waited about half a minute and then sat down along with his translator. He did not expect any such bureau to be formed, no sane government allowed another to guide its hand in state matters. Though, as any good politician knows it isn’t about what you do, but what you say. And floating the idea of cooperation? Well, that was just good business.

Not having slept a wink that night, Jackson still found himself shuddering at odd moments, imagining someone with a rifle ready to take him out. Assassinations were such an abstract concept, they were fun to joke about, interesting to read in history books and definitely a hoot to jokingly bet on. And now... it as no longer funny. no once you' sen a man bleed to death in front of you and all magic and muggle powers couldn't stop it.

Sasha had been in shock, but she had recovered with more grace than he had. The redhead had fallen into an uneasy sleep around six a.m. and Jackson had left her there, not daring to wake her from her slumber. She would need ehr rest after what happens last night.

And what did happen only proved his own convictions - and that of the United Sates - even more. Intolerance was what had gotten the Englishman killed. By Muggle technology no less. And this was just the beginning. If the Statute holding back the floodgates of hatred, intolerance and revulsion were to open, there would be many more Kamren Jensens before the year was over.

Walking to the podium, the young man shakily took the mike, for once not caring how young and inexperienced he obviously looked in the wake of last night's tragedy. They could all stand here and give their cold moments of silence and salutes but none would change their vote to respect his final wishes.

"The U.S maintains its vote, Nay for abolishing the Statute of Secrecy, and hereby informs the chair and counsel that due to its position at the Confederation, no law created within this faction could be legally binding for America."

With that, Jackson stepped off the dais and returned to his seat, awaiting the finishing address. The words were a blur but his quill automatically noted them down for another time, a better state of mind.

When the doors opened, he was one of the first ones out, wanting nothing more than to get back to Sasha and curl up with her until he no longer felt as numb as the dead Minister being kept in the morgue.