Chapter 23: Preparing a Cold War

Harry visited Gringotts the next morning and made the acquaintance of Silverknuckle, the goblin assigned to manage his combined assets. Silverknuckle proved to be the friendliest goblin Harry had ever met, if not the most boring. As the goblin droned on about finance, Harry began to suspect that not even Professor Binns could have achieved among his classes such a level of boredom.

Owing to the circumstance of Harry having just recently assumed control of the Black assets, Silverknuckle wanted to review every minute detail of the Black estate with Harry and receive guidance on what priorities Harry desired the bank to pursue on his behalf. There was also the added situation of the Malfoy gold. Though Harry had placed the account under a false name, Silverknuckle knew it was Harry's and was of the opinion that the liquid capital could be used as a catalyst to increase the annual income of the Black estate.

Harry agreed with this strategy, somewhat, but he made it clear to the goblin that he expected to be able to draw on a fairly large amount of cash at any particular time. Silverknuckle assured Harry that this would be more than possible.

At lunchtime, Harry was invited to dine with approximately one dozen goblins. Glad for the opportunity to escape Silverknuckle for an hour or two, Harry was soon disappointed to discover that the invitation to lunch had been quite mercenary. The goblins who had invited him were stock brokers, and they knew he was from the future. They assured Harry that they could make a killing on the stock market with his assistance. The incentive for Harry was what they called "consulting fees."

Between bites of a mysterious casserole, Harry convinced them that "fees" should actually be "percentages." They, in turn, convinced Harry that some of his own money could be used in a number of investments, and that they, the goblins, would get a consulting fee. Harry agreed, and between their rapid-fire questions about various companies and products Harry could remember being popular, he was able to finish his lunch.

Harry was remanded back to Silverknuckle who was able to conclude the bank's business with Harry in about an hour. It was then Harry's turn, and he commenced with a number of requests related to his ability to access funds. He also made a number of other requests. The business was simple, and Harry was free to leave once his requests, including a substantial withdrawal, had been completed. He had previously planned on visiting the Black vault, but was simply so sick of Gringotts that he opted to come back another day.

The afternoon sunshine was beautiful, and Harry stopped to bask in it for several moments before making his way toward the luggage shop. It was on his way to the shop that Harry developed the suspicion that he was being followed. As he walked into the shop, he observed the reflection of the street in the front window and mentally noted the faces of some likely suspects.

"Can I help you?" inquired the shopkeeper, a middle-aged wizard.

"Yes," said Harry briskly. "I need eighteen strongboxes with enlarged interiors. They must be quite durable and weather resistant."

The shopkeeper frowned briefly, but quickly changed his facial expression to that of a helpful smile. "We don't have that kind of inventory on hand, but we can put an order in and have it forwarded directly to your home via owl."

"Excellent," Harry said, having already expected that such a small shop would not have eighteen of anything on hand.

The middle-aged wizard pulled a well-thumbed catalog from underneath the sales counter and with practiced ease, flipped to the precise section of the catalog containing strongboxes. He made a few suggestions for the sake of maintaining a helpful demeanor, but, realizing that Harry knew what he wanted, refrained from talking any further while Harry perused the options. Unbeknownst to the shopkeeper, Harry was also shooting furtive glances to the street outside. There were two wizards loitering just outside of the shop. One was of medium build and medium weight. The other was rather tall and hefty. Harry dubbed them Big and Bigger.

"These will do," Harry announced, pointing to a selection in the catalog.

The shopkeeper grabbed the catalog and rang Harry up. It was the biggest sale of the week for him. Not afraid to reveal his identity, Harry signed a draft for his Gringotts account and departed with repeated assurances from the shopkeeper that his order would be submitted to the manufacturer by the end of the day.

Harry offered a polite farewell and exited the shop, his defensive senses on high alert. The clandestine and rather inconvenient method of communication Moody had insisted upon the night previous, and the reminder of constant vigilance, had vividly revived Harry's memories of the war. He was allowing himself to be consumed by old defensive habits and instincts.

Big and Bigger followed Harry to the apothecary where he purchased a large number of ready-made potions. Seeing that he had already made arrangements for his order of strongboxes to be shipped to him, Harry also requested that the potions be owled, reminding himself that his fancy hotel room had a decent balcony. If the loiterers meant mischief, Harry didn't want to be burdened with too many purchases.

As Harry walked toward Wanda and Wandel's shop, or rather toward the shop of Wanda and Wandel's descendants, Harry mulled over a number of options that he might use to deal with Big and Bigger. Harry was somewhat confident that they weren't Order members. He was also reasonably sure that they weren't from the Ministry-Moody seemed to be in charge of investigating Cygnus's assassination, and he knew how to contact Harry. The only other feasible option was that they were agents of Voldemort.

He strode into Wanda and Wandel's cheap wand shop and rang the bell. The woman, whose name Harry recalled was Wendy, emerged from the back. She recognized Harry and seemed happy for a business opportunity. "Welcome," she breathed. "Have you decided to replace your wand?"

"Not precisely," Harry said curtly. "I wish to purchase a case of your wands."

"A case?" Wendy asked, very surprised.

"Yes," said Harry an entire case. "How many wands is that?"

"One hundred and fifty," Wendy replied. "At five galleons a piece, that comes out to-"

"One hundred and fifty galleons," Harry said.

"You're mistaken, dear," Wendy rebutted. "It's seven hundred and fifty."

"No," said Harry. "I won't pay more than a galleon for each wand. I know full well where you get them and how worthless they truly are. At one galleon a piece, you're still making a profit equal or greater to what you would during a slow month."

"One galleon for each is rather low," Wendy said, wetting her lips.

Harry knew full well that he could press his offer and back it with some well-placed threats, but he wasn't in the mood to dicker with the woman over the price. "Two hundred galleons for the case of wands," he said. "Final offer."

Wendy caved and the money exchanged hands. Harry accepted a case of wands from her and departed, resisting the urge to glare balefully at Big and Bigger who were loitering outside of the shop, waiting for Harry to emerge. Harry had been planning on one last stop to a shop in Muggle London, but he was now thoroughly annoyed with his tails and decided to delay the visit, lest they stopped following him too soon. He now wanted to nail them.

The next destination was the Leaky Cauldron where Harry set his newly-acquired case of wands on a chair, occupied another, and ordered dinner from the barkeep. The loiterers were forced to follow him in, and they too occupied a table and ordered drinks.

Harry made dinner a long affair as he toyed with the two wizards that had apparently been assigned to follow him. Whenever it seemed like he was done and about ready to leave, Harry would order a dessert or drink while he thumbed through the newspaper. Clearly, the watchers were frustrated, but for one reason or another, they were willing to stick to their prey.

Eventually, the sun went down, and Harry was ready. Neither of the wizards had left his sight, so Harry was confident that he had only the two of them with which to deal. There was little chance that they had found a way to summon other friends. Abandoning his table, Harry grabbed the case of wands and stepped into the bathroom. He pried it open and retrieved one of Wanda and Wandel's specials.

Harry secured the case, exited the bathroom, and handed it to the barkeep, requesting that the case be held until he called for it later. Then, unwrapping the wand, Harry slowly and deliberately stepped out of the pub and made his way into Diagon Alley.

Sure enough, the two watchers abandoned their own table and casually made to follow Harry. Smiling grimly, Harry discarded the wrapping from his new, shoddy wand and set a brisk pace down Diagon Alley toward Knockturn Alley as he drew his yew and phoenix feather wand and placed it in his right hand. He held the wand of indeterminate material in his left hand.

Just as the entrance to Knockturn Alley came within Harry's sight, Big and Bigger exited the Leaky Cauldron and realized that Harry had increased his pace. They began to move quickly so that they could make up for lost time.

Deliberately, Harry looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with them. Doing his best to look surprised and distressed, Harry turned his head forward and started running. Realizing that their cover was officially blown, but also feeling confident that they could chase down Harry successfully, Big and Bigger also started running.

Harry rounded the corner into Knockturn Alley and increased his pace, now paying close attention to his surroundings, looking for the perfect place to make his stand, or rather, lay his ambush. Big and Bigger were now in Knockturn Alley and were keeping Harry within view, though they were having difficulty closing the gap between them and him.

A couple of shops sparked Harry's memory of other visits to Knockturn Alley, and Harry suddenly knew where he wanted to ambush his followers. Taking a panicked look over his shoulder that was calculated to urge the pursuers on, Harry darted around a corner and raced toward a t-shaped intersection.

As Harry raced toward the dead end, he pointed his wand to the ground and whispered the spell to project his image. "Ego exertus!" Casting the spell was no problem, but moving his body and his image simultaneously proved slightly nauseating for Harry.

Harry's physical body, now invisible, took a left at the dead end while the visible image projection of Harry's body took a right. Harry stopped physically running, though he pressed his image on just a little bit further.

In an attempt to make it so he could stop the nausea and more firmly grasp his bearings, Harry quickly ensured that his physical body was about ten feet away from the t-shaped intersection, and that it had its left hand outstretched, the cheap wand aimed dead ahead toward his projected image. He then focused his senses on his projected image.

The pounding footsteps of his pursuers came within earshot. Harry made his projected image bend over as if he was out of breath and panting. Big and Bigger rounded the corner and spotted Harry's image immediately. They pointed their wands at Harry's image.

"I think you can stop right there," growled Bigger.

" Stupefy! '" yelled Big, not wasting time on smart remarks. He could see the image of Harry's wand pointed toward him. The beam of red light passed harmlessly through Harry's projected image. Confused, Big and Bigger stared at Harry.

Harry smirked at the pair of toughs. " Stupefy multiplicitus! "

Several stunners exploded from the cheap wand that Harry's invisible body was holding. Hit by multiple stunners, Big and Bigger fell to the ground, both unconscious. Harry cancelled the image projection spell and was soon fully in his own body, clutching a wand in each hand.

With both amusement and annoyance, Harry noted that the recently-purchased Wanda and Wandel wand was smoking, having been pushed to the edge of its capacity. Deciding that it might still be good for very basic spells, Harry pocketed it and then walked over to the unconscious wizards. A quick glance up and down the street revealed that nobody was around.

Harry used a spell to restrain Big and Bigger, then revived them. "Who sent you after me?" Harry demanded briskly, glaring at them.

"None of your business!" Bigger retorted, struggling against his restraints.

Harry rolled his eyes and with a couple of quick jabs of his wand vanished their sleeves. Surprisingly, Harry found no Dark Marks on their wrists. "So," said Harry quietly, "you haven't been branded yet."

"What are you talking about?" Big demanded, his voice betraying a little bit of fear.

"Tell me what I want to know," Harry commanded, doing his best to imitate Voldemort's trademark hiss. "Who sent you after me?"

"You'll never know," Bigger said loudly, looking back and forth down the alley to see if there were any bystanders that might step in and save them from Harry. There were none.

Harry examined both of them, staring at them with what he hoped was an intimidating expression on his face. He also tried to connect with his magical core and bring some of his power to the surface. His friends from the future had told them that it energized his green eyes.

Big grew very fearful, but Bigger only became more defiant, though said defiance wasn't so much bravery as it was stupid nobility. Harry realized that he wasn't going to get much out of Bigger, though the wizard could still prove useful.

Smiling thinly, Harry waved his wand and levitated Bigger. Harry walked briskly around the corner he'd been chased around, Bigger floating in the air behind him. He set Bigger down on the street, cast a sound distortion charm around them, and then hit Bigger with the most powerful tickling charm Harry could ever remember casting. Harry then conjured a number of firecrackers and set them off. For five minutes, Bigger howled with laughter, though Big, who was sitting around the corner, heard only screams and grunts mixed in with an occasional bang and sizzle.

Harry eventually stunned Bigger before returning to where Big was sitting and sweating it out. Big was ready to tell Harry everything. Without asking, he told Harry every detail he could remember.

"There's a pub down deeper in Knockturn," he gasped, almost as if Harry had tortured him instead of his companion. "It's called the Serpent's Fang. There's a wizard who goes there sometimes. He's offering a reward for anyone who can engineer your capture."

"Tell me more," Harry said.

"That's all I know! By Merlin, I swear!"

"So you just randomly decided to go into the kidnapping business?" Harry said dryly.

"The reward was good-one hundred galleons. Technically, all we had to do was find you and them summon this other bloke, but we got greedy, thought we could barter for more if we captured and held you," Big declared piteously.

"Capture, you say," Harry mused thoughtfully. "What about kill?"

"No. The instructions were specific. You had to be captured alive."

"Wonderful," Harry said. Deciding that he was not likely to get any more information from Big or Bigger, Harry slashed his wand down and obliviated Big. He then rounded the corner, performed the same spell on Bigger, and departed from Knockturn Alley via apparition as he wondered how it was that not a single passerby had appeared to interfere in the whole affair.

Harry stopped at the Leaky Cauldron, fetched his case of wands from the barkeep, and then under disguise, made his way back to his hotel. Harry decided that he would have to start switching hotels more frequently now, though he decided that one more night of luxury wouldn't hurt anything. He entered his room, set the case down on one of the tables and went to freshen up.

Just as he was wondering what he should do next, the Malfoy ring twitched on Harry's finger. It startled him slightly, but he calmed himself, realizing that it was probably Bellatrix requesting him to come for a chat. He focused his senses on the ring, and this fact was confirmed. The scant detail available to him through the ring indicated that she was in the Chamber of Secrets, as promised.

Harry drew his wand, ensured that the door to his room was bolted and magically locked, and then went to cast the image projection spell for the second time that night. He stopped short, however, realizing that perhaps he did not have to stand while casting it. He was likely to spend as much as a half hour talking with her. To stand erect all that time, motionless, would be somewhat taxing for Harry.

Feeling experimental, Harry strode over to his hotel bed and laid down on it, shifting until he felt comfortable. He then adjusted his wand arm so that his wand wasn't pointing into the bed or trapped under a pillow. "Ego exertus! " he whispered.

Abruptly, he felt his conscious mind zoom away from the hotel room. It felt rather like he was flying, though everything around him was a blur. Effortlessly, he felt his presence weave through London. Unbidden, the memory of Moody's lamppost came to mind, and Harry realized that he had forgotten to check it. He moved his senses toward it.

As he approached it, Harry slowed down. The blur that had been his surroundings coalesced into the street with the lamppost. Wasting no time, Harry glanced at it to discover that nothing had changed. There was no signal from Moody. Without pause, Harry resumed his travel and felt acceleration as his senses zoomed toward Hogwarts.

The countryside passed by beneath him. Soon, he found the railroad tracks used by the Hogwarts Express and followed them the rest of the way. In total, the journey took him about half an hour before he spotted Hogwarts. Relying on a previous guess that the Chamber of Secrets was near the bottom of the lake, Harry zoomed down into the ground, feeling rather strange as he passed through the solid matter. Though he didn't find the chamber immediately, a little crisscrossing got him there within a few minutes.

He coalesced directly into the Chamber of Secrets where he discovered Bellatrix carving the hide off of the basilisk carcass. The sight was disgusting. Bellatrix had flayed approximately half of the monster, leaving most of the meat and guts intact. The front half of the snake didn't look like much of a snake anymore.

Bellatrix herself was too occupied to notice Harry's arrival, so Harry opted to surprise her. Remembering that there was a possibility that he could project images and sounds that weren't completely true to his nature, Harry attempted to imitate Professor Dumbledore's voice.

"I didn't expect to see you down here, Miss Black," Harry said.

Bellatrix froze before turning around, holding a rather large knife. Harry relished the appearance of her violet eyes which had widened as a result of her being startled. As soon as she saw that it was only Harry's projected image, she glared. "Hilarious," she said, turning back to her task. "It only took you a decade to get here. Congratulations."

"Apparently I can only move my image so fast," Harry said, returning his voice back to normal. Quietly, Harry watched her work on the carcass for a few moments. "So, how have things been?"

"Same as always," Bellatrix retorted.

"Really?" Harry asked.

"No," Bellatrix replied. "I hate Slughorn."

"Why?"

"He isn't you," Bellatrix mumbled, jabbing her knife deeply into the basilisk's carcass as she attempted to separate a portion of hide from the fat and muscle. "Even the other students are sad to see you go. They all think Slughorn knows potions better, but they realize that you were a lot more… companionable."

Harry snorted. "Did I tell you that Dumbledore says I can come back and teach someday, but not potions?"

Bellatrix snickered. "Well, you weren't that great at teaching potions. I'm pretty sure that even I know more about potions than you do."

"I know more about Defense than you do," Harry said, feeling like he needed to defend himself.

"That is true," said Bellatrix, grinning evilly, "but I know more about the dark arts than you ever will. Maybe even enough to outdo you at Defense."

"Congratulations," Harry said, imitating her prior sarcastic remark. "Why don't you use it in our practice duels?"

Bellatrix frowned. "It wouldn't be a good idea, Harry." She desisted from carving the corpse, set down the knife, and removed the pair of gloves she had been wearing. "Let's get to the business at hand. My father's funeral is on Saturday."

"Will it be private?" Harry asked, curious about the quirky practices of the Black family.

"Hardly," Bellatrix replied, grabbing her wand and transfiguring a small rock into rocking chair on which to sit. "It'll be a state affair at the cemetery next to the Ravenbourgh ruins."

"Does that mean I'm invited?" Harry asked, still feeling guilty about not attending the funeral of Orion and wondering vaguely whether there might be a Malfoy funeral.

Bellatrix nodded. "You're free to come, but I recommend against it. If you do, try to avoid being noticed by the authorities or my family."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, feeling that in order to maintain the proper balance in the conversation he too should sit, even though it was just his image standing in the chamber. His real body was resting peacefully in his hotel room.

"I'm concerned that you could become a target of the dark lord. I think it would be better if you tried to stay in the periphery. We don't need anyone wondering if you control the Black fortune. There's also the fact that unless we need to strain for political capital, we should avoid reminding anyone that you were closely involved with my father."

"The dark lord is already after me," Harry said. Briefly, he explained about the incident in Diagon Alley and how he was now going to be careful about where he stayed and for how long.

Bellatrix was not thrilled. "You're going to have to take steps to get these people off of your back," she mused. "Offensive steps-not your hiding, defensive tactics."

"I've got some ideas," Harry said.

"Oh really?" Bellatrix said, the tone of her voice making it clear that she wanted details.

"I'll tell you later," Harry said, not wanting to reveal what he had up his sleeve. She probably wouldn't approve-at least that's what his friends from the future would have felt. Harry revised his thoughts and realized that instead of disapproving, Bellatrix would insist on participating. He didn't want that.

Bellatrix set her jaw and looked away from Harry, clearly annoyed that he was making plans without her. "Yeah, tell me when you feel like it," she said quietly.

"Just don't think about it," Harry said. "You're here in school. You don't need to worry about it."

"Whatever," she said, thrusting herself up out of the rocking chair. "I want to get this job finished. I've told you what I wanted you to know. If you want, you can stick around and watch… or you could go home."

For one reason or another, Harry opted to stay. Maybe it was because he was lonely in his hotel room or maybe it was because he enjoyed her company. Perhaps it was because he sensed that she was lonely. He wasn't sure which it was or which he wanted it to be, but he accepted it. "I'll stay for a while," Harry said.

"Great," said Bellatrix, acting noticeably more cheerful. "Maybe you can help."

"The spell is kind of limiting," Harry reminded her. "I'm not much good except for being your eyes and ears."

"Maybe you could do the phoenix fire spell," Bellatrix pressed. "If it is similar to the image projection spell, you're already halfway here."

Harry realized that he should make an attempt at the spell. Quickly, he reviewed the steps for the spell in his head and then combined those thoughts with the information he knew about the image projection spell. If he had everything correct, there was only a few steps missing.

"All right," Harry announced, "I'm going to give it a try."

Bellatrix nodded and stepped back a little bit.

Harry closed his eyes and attempted to focus his mind on both his image in the Chamber of Secrets and his body back in the hotel. He strained to draw a stronger connection between the two, a more substantial connection. Slowly, Harry thought he could feel his body on the hotel bed moving, but he stopped straining as soon as he realized that he was closer to casting a disastrous summoning spell than making the phoenix fire work. The thought of phoenix fire reminded Harry that the fire was to be channel of transportation. He focused on causing fire to absorb his body and projected image.

Warmth enveloped Harry and he felt his head clear, almost as if his body and projected image were no longer separated. This led to the realization that he must have succeeded. Before he could open his eyes, however, several gallons of cold water splashed over him. Supremely annoyed, Harry opened his eyes and glared at Bellatrix.

"You were on fire," she deadpanned.

"Hilarious," Harry growled.

The only thing that convinced Harry to get out of bed the next morning was the abundance of owls flying around his hotel room. Upon returning late in the night, he had stumbled over to the balcony and opened the door, hoping that the delivery owls expected in the morning would drop off their packages and be done. It didn't seem to work that way, however. They wanted his personal attention.

Groaning, Harry climbed out of bed and began untying the packages from their respective owls. Thoughtfully, he reflected on the semi-success of the phoenix fire transportation spell. He had been able to physically appear in the Chamber of Secrets, almost as if he had found a way to penetrate the famous apparition wards of Hogwarts. The downside was that it had left Harry completely exhausted. Bellatrix had theorized that it was because he had performed the phoenix fire and image projection spells simultaneously. She seemed to think that it would take Harry a lot less energy to transport himself once he could perform the phoenix fire spell without the image projection spell.

In the end, Harry has been so drained, that he had only been able to use the image projection and phoenix fire to get himself beyond the Hogwarts wards. From there, he had been able to apparate to his hotel room where he had climbed into bed and passed out.

Once the owls were relieved of their burdens, and their packages were spread across the room, Harry ordered breakfast from room service and took a shower. After his shower, he ate his breakfast and then moved onto handling his packages.

Harry unwrapped and opened each of the eighteen strongboxes as well as the cases containing the potions he had also bought. Methodically, he began dividing the potions equally between the strongboxes. Once the potions were gone, he dug out the case of wands and put five wands into each strongbox. Once the strongboxes had equal amounts of potions and wands, he retrieved a bag of money and liberally filled each box with both Muggle and magical currency.

At this juncture, Harry packed his possessions, shrunk his trunk and checked out of the hotel. Under a basic magical disguise, he proceeded to a large, Muggle toy store in London where he began wandering the aisles, looking for a specific product.

"Can I help you?" came a young man's voice.

Harry turned and spied a young store employee looking at him expectantly. "Yes," Harry acknowledged, "I'm looking for a Rubik's cube. I'd like to buy eighteen."

The employee looked dumbfounded. "A Rubik's cube?" he asked. "I've never heard of that."

Inwardly, Harry cursed the inconvenience of time travel. The puzzle probably had yet to be invented. On the other hand, the store clerk could very well be ignorant. "It's a puzzle cube," Harry explained. "It has lots of cubes that you can turn and with different colors."

"Oh," said the clerk, "a magic cube!"

"Of course," Harry said, "that's precisely what I meant." He reflected on how fortunate it was that the Muggles would never suspect time travel based on that slip.

Ten minutes later, Harry was the proud owner of eighteen magic cubes. From the Muggle toy store, he made his way to a new hotel in a less-busy part of London where he unpacked his possessions. He lined up the strongboxes on the floor next to each other. He then removed each magic cube from its packaging and lined them up on a desk. He fetched himself a glass of water and sat down at the desk in front of magic cubes. Setting the water glass on the table, Harry drew his wand and began his effort to replicate one of Hermione Granger's more ingenious creations-the multi-destination portkey.

Bellatrix decided that few things were more boring and stifling than a state funeral-even if it was for her own father. Despite the threat of a rainy afternoon, droves of Ministry officials, employees, and enthusiasts had gathered at the cemetery next to the Ravenbourgh ruins to say goodbye to the remains of the late Minister of Magic.

Bellatrix was seated on the front row, squeezed in between her sisters, Narcissa and Andromeda. All three were stoic. Bellatrix had already dealt with her grief over the death of her father. Narcissa and Andromeda were stoic because neither of them had been very close to their father to begin with. On the other hand, Druella Black was shedding tears quite liberally while her sister-in-law, Walburga, put on a show of comforting her.

Crocodile tears, Bellatrix told herself. Unless, of course, mother is worried about money . In that case, the tears could very well be real.

Davian Prewitt was the chief speaker for the funeral. He had managed to resist formally assuming office until Minister Black was cold and buried, but nearly everyone there already considered him the Minister of Magic. As he droned on about Cygnus Black and the tragedy of his death, Bellatrix scanned the attendees of the funeral. Would the Death Eaters have the guts to show up? Probably not. Despite this, Bellatrix noticed a good number of aurors patrolling the perimeter of the funeral party. They were hoping.

Harry wasn't present. He had apparently decided to follow her advice to stay away. Bellatrix regretted this slightly. It would have been nice to see a friendly face. She scanned the front row, trying to avoid being obvious about it. In addition to her immediate family, her aunt and two cousins mothered by said aunt were present. Regulus Black seemed quite shaken by the death of his uncle so quickly after the death of his own father. Sirius was doing his best to sport an indifferent demeanor, but Bellatrix knew that he too was hurting.

Director Prewitt's family was also on the front row-a bold move in which Prewitt further staked his claim to be the successor of Cygnus Black. Gideon and Fabian Prewitt, famous public nuisances, but all-around decent blokes, sat next to Mrs. Prewitt, who was seated next to her married daughter, Molly Weasley, who was accompanied by her husband and children.

The Weasley clan was famous for its tendency to produce many children. It looked to Bellatrix like the former Miss Prewitt was well onto her way to continuing the tradition. If Bellatrix recalled correctly, Mr. Weasley was a low-ranked employee in the Ministry. That would probably change soon, what with his father-in-law becoming Minister of Magic.

Bellatrix continued her observations, and it helped pass the time. Eventually, the service ended. Many of the mourners remained to express their condolences to Bellatrix's mother and sister-in-law. As was proper, Bellatrix and her two sisters stood in a line near their mother looking very mournful in their dark robes. Sirius and Regulus were fortunate enough to have been returned to Hogwarts by someone going home to Hogsmeade.

As the afternoon slowly changed to evening, the mourners began to thin out. Bellatrix could see only three more people waiting to speak with Druella. It was at this moment that Narcissa opted to speak up and address Bellatrix. The two sisters had not really spoken with each other since the night Bellatrix had informed Narcissa that her romance with Lucius Malfoy was unacceptable.

"You don't want to marry Rodolphus Lestrange, do you?" Narcissa said.

"Of course not," Bellatrix said quietly.

"Why not?" Narcissa asked.

"He's an idiot," Bellatrix retorted, "among other things."

"He's a pureblood, though."

"What a relief," Bellatrix whispered snidely. "That fixes everything."

"Is Harry Ashworth a pureblood?" Narcissa asked.

"I can't say for sure," Bellatrix answered, glancing over to where her mother and aunt stood. Only two people were left waiting to speak with them. "He is very powerful, though."

"Powerful is good," Narcissa admitted. "What about rich?"

Bellatrix smirked. "He's very rich. In fact, you'd be shocked at how rich he is."

"Then why did he need a job at Hogwarts?" Narcissa asked.

"Politics," Bellatrix replied smoothly. "It was a political move."

"I see," Narcissa said, though she didn't. In fact, she was completely confused. "I guess you're planning on marrying him, then."

"That would be correct," Bellatrix said, observing that only one more person was waiting to speak with her mother.

"If that's your plan," Narcissa whispered, "I advise you to not go home or to Grimmauld Place tonight, not even for the family dinner. Get back to Hogwarts."

Bellatrix suddenly felt scared. "What are mother and auntie planning?" she asked.

"Now that father and uncle are dead and the Black fortune is tied up at Gringotts, mother and auntie are concerned about finding good matches for us to marry," Narcissa said quietly. "They reckon that the ten thousand galleons uncle left you is a suitable dowry. Rodolphus Lestrange is invited to dinner tonight. Mother and auntie want to get a marriage contract signed. You know how persuasive they can be."

"I do," Bellatrix breathed.

The last visitor had left. Bellatrix's mother and aunt were now turning their attention to the three girls. Bellatrix stood rooted to the spot, watching as her mother and aunt approached, their mourning faces looking rather imperious. Minister Black was dead, but the Black family would continue-toujours pur.

"Come," Druella said, "dinner has been prepared for us."

"I've got detention," Andromeda declared dispassionately. "I shan't be able to make it."

Druella was annoyed, but she produced a portkey from her pocket. She'd never like Andromeda very much anyway. "Then go."

"I'll go with her," Bellatrix volunteered.

"I think not," Walburga said lazily, holding back a yawn. "This is a very important dinner for you."

Andromeda shrugged at Bellatrix and then activated the portkey, leaving Bellatrix and Narcissa with their mother and aunt. Bellatrix felt rather betrayed, but she pressed on. "Why is this an important dinner for me, Aunt Walburga?" Bellatrix asked with false sweetness.

"You'll see when we get home," Druella said, producing another portkey from her pocket and preparing to activate it.

"If you're not telling me, then it must not be all that important," Bellatrix said. She drew her wand. "I'll just be on my way."

"It's time for you to get married," Walburga interjected.

"Is it?" Bellatrix asked, feigning surprise, though she had already come to the same conclusion. She glanced over at Narcissa. Her younger sister had drifted away from the group and was trying to pretend that she couldn't hear the conversation.

"It is," Walburga said. "I've taken the trouble to negotiate a marriage for you. The state of the Black family assets is in question, but I've been able to come to an agreement with a suitable young wizard-a pureblood. We've allowed you your pursuits, but it is now time for you to settle down and assume your family duties. You must marry a pureblood."

"I'll choose my own suitable wizard, thank you very much," Bellatrix replied primly.

"How dare you?" Druella demanded. "Your aunt has gone to a lot of trouble on your behalf. It is your duty to marry a suitable pureblood."

"I'm still in school," Bellatrix reminded them.

Druella sighed. "I know that, Bellatrix. However, events demand certain sacrifices. Our society has come to a crossroads. You can't afford to be in school at this important time. It is time for you to leave school and help shape the destiny of our world."

Bellatrix arched her eyebrows. "Do tell me more."

"Come to dinner and we'll tell you everything," Walburga said. "Rodolphus Lestrange will be waiting for us. You remember him. He's an excellent young man."

"Rodolphus?" Bellatrix asked, acting as if she had not known about him prior to her aunt's revelation. "You're consorting with him? Don't you realize that he's practically been expelled from Hogwarts?"

"Not expelled," Walburga said shortly. "He left, unable to bear being under the tutelage of that Muggle-loving headmaster."

"Is that so?" Bellatrix asked. Briefly, she considered revealing what had happened the night the Lestranges had left Hogwarts, but decided against it. It wouldn't convince the matriarchs of anything, and Rodolphus was sure to have already planted an explanation for anything she might say. "Have you been consorting with the Lestrange brothers often?"

"They've been around," Bellatrix's mother admitted. "Rodolphus cares a great deal for you."

Her violet eyes cold as ice, Bellatrix met her aunt's eyes. "You realize that they probably killed Orion. That makes you complicit in his murder."

Bellatrix's ears rang as her aunt viciously slapped her across the face. Her reflexes well-trained from numerous practice duels with Harry, Bellatrix brought her wand up and banished her mother and aunt away from her, following the spell with a couple of jinxes meant to miss them entirely and only intimidate them.

"I see I've found the truth," Bellatrix yelled at them, trying to hold back the tears that had come in response to her being slapped.

"You know nothing, you ungrateful child," Walburga hissed loudly, slowly bringing herself back to her feet. "Now that you can't hide behind your father, you'll learn about reality."

Bellatrix shot a couple of blasting spells at the gravestone behind Walburga to discourage her from any sudden moves. Druella, her mother, was still lying on the ground, groaning.

"You're a fool," Bellatrix yelled, unable to think of anything more poignant in the heat of the situation. "I'll marry who I please, and in time, you will have to admit that I chose more wisely than you could have." She glanced at Narcissa and tried to soften the expression on her face. "You're free to come with me."

Narcissa shrank back and shook her head after glancing at her mother and aunt who were quailing under the aim of Bellatrix's wand.

Bellatrix scowled at her younger sister. "Little idiot."

Bellatrix turned and began stalking away from the cemetery, leaving her mother and aunt quailing halfway behind a tombstone, her younger sister trying to stand apart from the confrontation.

"Do you really think Harry Ashworth is better than Rodolphus Lestrange?" Walburga yelled after Bellatrix. "He's a nobody!"

Bellatrix ignored her aunt and continued walking away from the gravestones

"If you leave tonight, I will strike you from the Black family!" Walburga shouted. "You will be disinherited. Your heritage will be nothing!"

Bellatrix, now in the tall grass bordering a stand of trees, spun around and pointed her wand in the general direction of her aunt, more than ready to cast a dangerous hex as the slightest provocation. "You don't have that power," Bellatrix screamed defiantly. "However, one day, I will be Lady Black. I will be mistress of this family. On that day, I will burn you from the family tapestry."

With that, Bellatrix waved her wand and apparated to just outside the gates of Hogwarts with an extremely loud popping noise. As she stalked through the gates and up to the castle, the incensed Bellatrix concluded that she did agree with at least one thing the matriarchs had said. It was time for her to leave Hogwarts and help shape the magical world's destiny. The House of Black will rise to power again, and I will be Lady Black, she vowed.