Chapter 36: Steals and Deals

"I think it would best to leave the Hogwarts boundaries via the secret tunnel Harry told us about. Then we can Apparate away," Leo suggested to Rose, Ginny, Sidra, Ron, and Hermione as they all stood in an isolated corner of the Gryffindor common room.

In his hand, Leo clutched a crumpled note that Harry had sent to him via owl that morning. In it, the former Potions professor had informed Leo that he had realized that the addition of Sidra, Ron, and Hermione to the group obviated the necessity for Bellatrix to meet them and help double Apparate the group away from Hogwarts. He had further instructed Leo about where the students should meet Harry and Bellatrix.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just sneak out into the Forbidden Forest?" Ron said as he adjusted his wand holster, an accessory that he was not yet accustomed to wearing.

"Yes," Hermione admitted from where she stood next to Leo, "but I think it would draw less attention if we depart from within the castle."

Rose rolled her eyes. "It doesn't really matter. I practically have permission from Dumbledore to do this sort of thing."

"Then why don't we go talk to him about it?" Sidra suggested in the spirit of calling what she perceived to be a bluff on Rose's part.

Rose shrugged. "We could. But, he might not approve of you and your friends going."

That effectively silenced Sidra.

"If we are going to be on time, we should use the tunnel," Ginny pointed out.

"I think you're right," Leo said, glancing around to confirm that everyone was ready. "I guess the decision has been made. Let's go." With that, he made his way to portrait hole and exited the Gryffindor common room, followed by the rest of the group.

"I don't understand why Harry moved the time up to earlier in the evening. I thought this was going to be a dead of the night sort of thing," Ron muttered as they made their way to the hallway that held the statue, which served as the entrance to the secret passageway.

"Well, Ron, if you really want to know, ask Mr. Black when we see him," Hermione said waspishly.

"Maybe I will," Ron retorted.

They found the statue with little trouble, and were soon able to open up the entrance to the secret passageway. In short order, they had made their way down the dark corridor toward the candy shop. From there, they referred to Harry's note for Apparition directions. Leo and Ron volunteered to double Apparate Rose and Ginny, respectively. With a quick succession of pops, the group found themselves at a secluded bus stop just outside a smallish sort of city. Seated on a bench next to the bus stop sign were three people. The students immediately recognized Bellatrix and Harry, but the third, a young wizard, was unfamiliar.

"It looks like you have successfully made it," Bellatrix said dryly.

"I hope you were not overly concerned." Sidra said, her voice sounding a little too sweet.

Bellatrix arched an eyebrow at the oldest Potter child before standing, drawing two wands from her right sleeve, and handing one wand each to Rose and Ginny. "Those will allow you to avoid the trace," she informed them.

"Where did you get these wands?" Rose asked, examining the one Bellatrix had given her.

"From a wand shop that deservedly went out of business," Bellatrix said before moving on. "We are going to ride the Muggle bus through the town and then out a bit into the country. We will then approach our target on foot. We will do this to prevent anybody or anything from detecting the magic we would be using to travel and so that I can watch for any wards that may have been put up since we last visited. Seeing that we will be riding the Muggle bus, you might consider employing some minor illusion charms to help fit in better."

The students commenced doing as Bellatrix had directed. Hermione, who had finished first, eyed Harry and the strange wizard, both of whom had remained on the bench, silent. "Who is that wizard?"

"It's better if you don't know," Bellatrix said.

Hermione frowned at Bellatrix and then looked back at Harry and the wizard, studying the pair intently. Noting the dazed look in the anonymous wizard's eyes and the wand in Harry's hand, Hermione frowned. "Is he under the Imperius Curse?"

"Yes," Bellatrix admitted.

"That's highly illegal," Hermione hissed.

"Welcome to the war," Bellatrix said. "If it makes you feel any better, our anonymous wizard deserves far worse than he is getting." With that said, Bellatrix refocused her attention on the entire group. "Once the bus drops us off, we will move efficiently, but not necessarily swiftly. At all costs, we do not want to draw attention. Do not use magic unless I tell you to."

"Is there a chance of us running into Death Eaters?" Ron asked, sounding almost eager.

"Probably not," Bellatrix said. "But, we will want to be careful. I do not want any of the locals particularly remembering us. Once we reach our destination and once I have ascertained that it is safe for us to proceed, we will have two goals: first, we will want to avoid notice of those who might be using magic to watch from afar; second, we will want to finish what we are doing as quickly and efficiently as possible."

"Right," Hermione said, nodding in a show of support.

Bellatrix then produced two Rubik's cubes, handing one to Hermione and one to Leo. "If anything bad happens, you need to flee immediately. The activation word is 'trouble.' You two are responsible for your friends. Harry and I will fend for ourselves. As we travel, I will lead and be with Hermione and her two friends. Harry and our anonymous guest will travel in the middle. Leo and his friends will follow behind. Understand?"

The bus had dropped the group off at an edge of the road a ways on the other side of town, and Bellatrix had then proceeded to lead the group off the road and through the wild growth, but not before taking Leo aside for a moment and having a word with him. The smell of the sea permeated the air, and from the noise of waves against rock in the darkness, Rose was confident that they were approaching a cliff.

Bellatrix, Hermione, Ron, and Sidra were quite far ahead of the group, setting a brisk pace that Harry and the anonymous wizard were not matching. Leo, Rose, and Ginny were following Harry and the anonymous wizard at a short distance. For the teens making up the rearguard, their little journey felt particularly eerie, particularly with Harry's disconcerting silence. Rose wished that somebody would say something.

"What did Bellatrix want to talk to you about back there?" Rose whispered, quietly enough that Ginny would not be able to ascertain the gist of the conversation.

"She wanted to know if I can cast the Killing Curse," Leo whispered back.

"What?" Rose exclaimed, nearly forgetting to whisper. "What for?" she asked, making sure to keep her whisper low.

"She said that if Harry so much as stumbles, I need to incapacitate or kill that other wizard," Leo informed Rose quietly.

"Who is he?" Rose asked, shocked and now realizing why Bellatrix had arranged for a rearguard.

"Probably a Death Eater of some sort," Leo muttered.

Apprehensively, Leo watched each step Harry made across the uneven ground while Rose frowned at the back of the mysterious wizard. They made progress slowly, and by the time they reached the edge of a seaside cliff, Bellatrix and the vanguard had been there for some time.

"I've done both general and specific detection spells," Bellatrix said, apparently speaking to Harry. "There's nothing, but it would be good if our friend did some checking."

"Right," Harry said in a rather low voice.

The teens watched as Harry withdrew a wand from a pocket with his free hand and handed it to the mysterious wizard. Slowly but surely, the wizard began casting numerous charms as everyone watched with bated breath-particularly Rose who suspected that the wizard would try to kill them if Harry lost control.

"Coast is clear," Harry said after he had reclaimed the wand from his prisoner and pocketed it again.

Bellatrix nodded. She withdrew what seemed to be a piece of cloth from within her robes and laid it on the ground. An enlarging spell revealed that it was actually a Persian rug. "All aboard," she said quietly.

"Wicked!" Ron and Leo exclaimed as they stepped on the rug.

"What is it?" Sidra questioned.

"Flying carpet," Hermione responded quietly, glancing nervously at Bellatrix. "It's slightly illegal."

Bellatrix ignored Hermione, and as soon as everyone was standing, she poked her wand at the carpet, which promptly floated into the air.

Leo gaped as a tidal wave of water gushed toward the entrance of the large cavern into which Bellatrix had led the group. With a roar, the water splashed with terrific force up against the wall of the cavern, much of it pouring out the entrance to the cave and into the ocean outside, some of it splashing back onto the shore where it trickled back into the cavern's lake. Once the water had drained back into the lake, Leo could see that the tidal wave had left about a dozen Inferi on the cavern lake's shore.

He could hear Hermione shrilly yelling for Ron and Sidra to incinerate the dark creatures, which were still slightly stunned from having been slapped against the cavern wall by the wave and left on the shore. Fire exploded on the sand, and the rancid smell of burning flesh ascended to the cavern's ceiling where several of Bellatrix's magical light orbs floated.

In short order, the Inferi that had washed up on the shore were nothing but smoldering heaps of ash. Hermione darted forward to confirm this. Then as she jogged back to where Ron and Sidra were standing, she gestured to Bellatrix.

"Again," Bellatrix called to Rose and Ginny.

Rose glanced at both Leo and Bellatrix resentfully before she and Ginny pointed their wands at the lake's surface where they cast charms that caused the water to begin to swirl until there were two whirlpools stirring in the lake. Gritting their teeth, the two witches held the spell until Bellatrix jabbed her wand at the swirling water and with a sweep of her arm sent another violent tidal wave toward the cavern's entrance.

Soon, Leo could hear Hermione calling for Ron and Sidra to cast incendiary charms. Leo made eye contact with Rose and shrugged sympathetically, before looking back to where Harry and the mysterious wizard had sat, well out of the way of the splashing water and burning Inferi. Upon arriving in the cave, Bellatrix had appointed him Harry's bodyguard with the same orders as when they had hiked to the cliff-kill or incapacitate the anonymous wizard if anything were to go amiss.

Satisfied that Leo was looking after Harry and the other wizard, Bellatrix had then assumed direct command of Rose and Ginny, while allowing Hermione to remain in charge of her friends and assume responsibility for the burning of all the Inferi.

By all accounts, it appeared that Leo had gotten off easy. Moving the water appeared to be exhausting for Rose and Ginny. As for Hermione, Ron, and Sidra, while burning Inferi did not require quite as much magical energy, they still had to deal with the stench the burning.

Leo felt that maybe it should not be this easy. "Is everything all right?" he asked Harry quietly as Leo listened to Bellatrix direct Rose and Ginny to begin the next tidal wave.

"Yes, thank you," Harry said.

"Okay, then," Leo said, glancing suspiciously at the mysterious wizard and then glancing back to watch another round of burnings.

"Why don't you open that satchel, there," Harry said after several more wave and fire cycles. "There's some sandwiches and butterbeer."

Eager to be helpful, Leo grabbed the satchel and found that someone had enlarged the inside and filled it with over a dozen sandwiches and two dozen butterbeer bottles. "Shall I open a bottle for you, or unwrap a sandwich?" Leo asked.

"Both, please," Harry said, still pointing his wand at the prisoner.

Leo did as requested, handing the sandwich to Harry who accepted it with his free hand. "I'll just put the butterbeer here where you can reach it," he said.

"Good enough," Harry said.

Leo watched intently as Harry ate his sandwich and sipped his drink with one hand. During the entire time, the mysterious wizard sat with a dazed look in his eyes, not moving at all. After the refreshment, Harry looked quite invigorated.

"Is it all right if I go give some to Rose and Ginny?" Leo asked.

"Go for it," Harry said, focused on the prisoner.

Leo grabbed the satchel and picked his way through the rocks of the cavern to where Ginny was standing. "Here," he said, handing a sandwich and bottle to her.

"Thanks," Ginny sighed, popping the top off and taking a sip. She finished her sip and put the bottle down on the ground just as Bellatrix called for another tidal wave.

Leo then made his way over to Rose where he distributed a sandwich and butterbeer. "Looks like you need this," he observed as soon as the next tidal wave smacked against the wall.

Rose put the bottle on the ground, but unwrapped the sandwich. "These wands are horrible and the whirlpool spell is difficult!" she complained. "How did you get so lucky?"

"I don't know," Leo shrugged. "Maybe Bellatrix wants her husband to have a friend," he said, grinning. Deep down, he suspected that Bellatrix was not overly fond of Rose or alternatively, just did not trust him. "I'd better get going," he said. "Bellatrix is giving me a disapproving look."

Rose sighed as Bellatrix called for another tidal wave.

The wave crashed against the wall just as he reached Bellatrix with the satchel. "Refreshments?" he offered.

"Maybe later," Bellatrix said, only half-paying attention to him. "Check on Harry."

Leo scrambled back toward Harry's position and discovered that all was still well. Sitting down so that he could keep everyone in view, he let out a sigh.

"Bella has great confidence in you," Harry said, motioning toward the satchel to signal that he wanted another butterbeer.

Leo fetched another butterbeer for Harry and one for himself, as well as a sandwich. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't know enough about me to even begin formulating an opinion."

"You're a Black, though," Harry said slowly, clearly not completely devoted to the conversation, for he continued to maintain his wand's aim on the mysterious wizard. "Bella is biased in favor of most Blacks."

"How did you become a Black?" Leo asked as he unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.

"I married Bella, of course," Harry said woodenly, taking a swig from the bottle of butterbeer.

"I mean, how did you become Lord Black? If I have my history right, you were Lord Black while you were still an Ashworth."

"Adoption, to put it shortly," Harry said.

"Old Orion must have had a lot of faith in you," Leo said.

"Something like that," Harry said distractedly.

Silence set in between Harry and Leo as Leo intently observed the rest of their group drain the lake and burn the Inferi. Bellatrix and her helpers had made significant progress. Although there was still water in the lake, the small island in the center of the cavern now stood as if it was a mountain in the middle of the lake.

"I've always felt a little guilty for preventing your father from becoming Lord Black," Harry said suddenly, sounding sincere, despite focusing on his prisoner and declining to make eye contact with Leo. "It wasn't something I sought out. I will take care of your father's family and your family as best I can. Don't tell your father to quit his day job, though."

"That's very nice of you," Leo said. "I noticed that you didn't take possession of Grimmauld Place and that you share Kreacher with our family."

"It isn't much of a sacrifice for me," Harry admitted. "I loathe Grimmauld Place and am not overly fond of Kreacher."

"You and my father would probably get along," Leo said.

"I'll probably end up burning through a lot of the Black gold during the war," Harry mused, still intently focused on the prisoner and thus making the conversation seem one-sided even though it was not. "Or Bella will, anyhow. And, if I survive the war, I'm afraid the Lord Black title stays with me, so your father will probably never inherit it. You might inherit, though. I'm not so sure that Bella will want children."

"I'd really rather not be Lord Black," Leo said.

"I wouldn't mind," Harry said quietly. "I consider you family; I consider everyone here family."

" Everyone here?" Leo asked, looking queerly at Harry.

Harry got no chance to respond, for an awful roaring noise had suddenly erupted from the bottom of the lake in response to the latest tidal wave.

Leo jumped with surprise.

"Bloody hell!" Ron's voice echoed through the cavern.

Cursing, Harry shot the prisoner with a stunner, twice, before jumping up and making his way to the edge of the lake where Bellatrix stood, peering down into the depths of the nearly empty lake. Leo followed Harry, sparing a glance behind to confirm that the prisoner was still stunned. Just as Leo arrived at the edge, a burst of flame erupted from the pit. The flame hit and spread across an invisible shield that Bellatrix had had the presence of mind to cast.

"What is it?" Leo demanded. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, when the Dark Lord went to the cemetery for his Inferi, he found the tomb of a dragon," Bellatrix said, sounding rather irate.

Squinting in the poor light, Leo could see that there was indeed an undead dragon crawling around in the shallow water and snorting flame.

"Can't you burn it?" Rose asked, as she ran up to Bellatrix, Harry, and Leo.

"No, the hide is impervious to flame," Hermione said informatively as she, Ron, and Sidra joined the rest of them.

"The fact that it is shooting fire at us is fairly indicative that fire isn't going to be much of a weapon for us," Bellatrix said, glaring at the dragon as if it were some sort of personal insult. She pointed to Hermione and Leo. "You two-start shooting cutting hexes at its wings. The rest of you should probably develop your shielding skills. Harry and I will discuss our options."

Leo nodded, grateful to have finally been given a useful job. He swished his wand and let fly a powerful cutting hex, but it missed. Wincing, he followed Hermione's example and took more careful aim, but at the expense of power. His hex hit the undead dragon's left wing and made a small rip on the edge. This small injury incensed the dragon, and it howled, shooting flame toward them as it began to move more erratically and flap its wings as it awkwardly tried to get in the air.

"I think that we should just try to get as many cutting hexes as we can and then hope one hits," Hermione yelled over the noise. "Its wings are big enough that our odds are pretty good."

This tactic proved effective. Soon, Harry and Bellatrix returned. "We'll try to melt the stone beneath it," Bellatrix informed the teens. She taught them a heat spell while Leo and Hermione continued to shoot cutting hexes, which were having the desired effect of destroying the dragon's chances of flying up at them.

Everyone but Harry, Hermione, and Leo began shooting heat spells aimed to hit the rock bottom of the lake. At first, it did not seem like much was happening, but eventually, the water remaining in the lake began to steam and then to boil.

Bellatrix then decided that the dragon's wings were in bad enough condition that Hermione and Leo could join in the heat spell casting. This they did, and after each person excepting for Harry had cast the heat spell several dozen times, Bellatrix called a halt, her voice echoing through the hot steam that had risen from boiling the lake.

"It's Harry's turn," Bellatrix announced, sounding rather exhausted.

Everyone else was exhausted as well, so they backed away from the lake and slumped into sitting positions on the various rocks. Leo, however, opted to step forward and watch Harry.

Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then let loose with a different sort of spell-it seemed rather like he was shooting pure magical energy down into the stone beneath the undead dragon. A beam of white, hot magical light arced between Harry's wand and the stone. Harry gasped and clenched his teeth as he continued the connection. Through the steam, Leo watched with surprise as the rock began to turn red.

As it scurried about on the lake floor, the dragon howled and shot a burst of flame upward, but it came nowhere close to hitting Harry or anyone else. The power continued arcing between Harry's wand and the floor until the floor began to bubble. Slowly, the dragon began to sink into the stone as if it was quicksand.

When its feet were completely covered, Harry gasped and ended the spell. He surveyed the dragon, stuck by its feet and still roaring fiercely. "More heating spells, directly beneath the dragon," he panted.

At Bellatrix's signal, the others resumed shooting heating spells, but limited them only to where the dragon had become stuck. Leo was disappointed to observe that their heating spells were only maintaining the heat Harry had put into the floor. The dragon sunk no further. After Harry had enjoyed a quick breather, everyone ceased the heating spells and let him try again. The magic arced between Harry's wand and the stone and the dragon sank deeper into the floor. They repeated this process twice more, and finally, the entire undead dragon was imprisoned in the stone.

Exhausted, everybody slumped to the flood, breathing hard.

"Did I see you passing out sandwiches?" Ron asked Leo.

Some way or another, Hermione earned the signal honor of accompanying Bellatrix on the magic carpet across the empty lake to the island that now towered over the lake bed. Stepping from the magic carpet onto the island, they discovered a basin filled with some sort of liquid. Next to the basin was a cup with which one might drink the contents of the basin.

"It's like an elaborate drinking fountain," Hermione observed, "perhaps modeled after some sort of depiction of the fountain of youth."

"You may be more right than you know," Bellatrix commented tiredly as she eyed the basin suspiciously.

Hermione frowned and watched in the dim light of the magical floating orbs as Bellatrix walked around the basin and examined it from every angle. Finally, she pronounced her assessment. "The magical object we seek is at the bottom of the basin-beneath this potion. Fishing it out will likely prove to be impossible or costly."

"Perhaps the cup can be used to drain it?" Hermione said, voicing the next logical thought.

"I suspect it won't be so easy," Bellatrix said, taking up the cup, dipping it into the basin, and then taking the cup over toward the edge of the island. Before she got there, she stopped. "The potion is gone. We won't be able to pour it over the side."

Hermione nodded, having already suspected as much. "I think the only way we get to the bottom of the basin is if somebody drinks the potion," she told Bellatrix.

"I agree," Bellatrix said.

"But what will the potion do to whoever drinks it?" Hermione mused. "It must be some sort of poison or tranquilizer."

Bellatrix regarded Hermione from behind hooded eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"Well, why put the Inferi under the water?" Hermione said. "I almost wonder if the Inferi were placed there to trap people on the island."

"You may be correct," Bellatrix admitted. "Even if somebody flew to the island, the potion might lead them to try to take a drink of the water."

"Right," Hermione said. "We have been forewarned and have already dealt with the Inferi. So, I think we'll be safe. We just need to figure out who should drink the potion… unless it is likely to kill whoever drinks it."

Bellatrix smiled. "We happen to have an excellent potion-drinking candidate with us tonight." She stepped over to the edge of the island. "Bring our anonymous friend over here!" she called loudly.

"Mr. Black, your wife wants your anonymous wizard to join her and Hermione on the island," Sidra informed Harry, who was leaning against a rock and holding his head in his hands.

Harry moaned and did not respond immediately.

"Should we use an enervate ?" Leo asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that," Harry replied. "I need to get him back under the Imperius Curse."

Noting that Rose, Sidra, and Ron, looked hesitant about what Harry had said, Leo pushed the exchange forward. "Right. Maybe one of us revives him while the rest of us are ready to stun him, and then you cast the Imperius?"

"Good enough," Harry said, standing up and clutching his wand.

Leo assumed the role of enervating the mysterious wizard while the rest of the teens watched apprehensively with their wands pointed at the wizard. As soon as the wizard regained consciousness, Harry cast the Imperius Curse. The wizard stood and made his way to the edge of the lake with everyone following. The magic carpet floated back from the island to the edge of the lake.

"Let's have only Leo, Harry, and the anonymous wizard come over," Hermione shouted across the empty lake. "There isn't a whole lot of room on this island."

Dutifully, Leo followed Harry and the wizard onto the carpet, which then promptly floated back while Rose, Sidra, Ron, and Ginny watched, squinting in an attempt to see what was happening on the island. The carpet arrived at the island, and its passengers disembarked.

"There's plenty of room on here for everyone to have come over," Leo muttered to Hermione, taking in the island and looking at her suspiciously.

"I know," Hermione admitted, "but this isn't going to be pretty."

Leo's gaze darted to Bellatrix, Harry, and the anonymous wizard. "What is she going to do to him?"

"Force him to drink the potion in the basin," Hermione whispered. She gestured for Leo to move closer to the basin with her.

"Ms. Black?" Hermione asked.

"What is it?" Bellatrix asked as she waited for Harry to guide the wizard into a position next to the basin.

"I just want to be reassured that we're doing the right thing," Hermione said, sounding rather fearful.

Bellatrix shrugged. "Suffice it to say that if the Dark Lord is to be stopped, we must retrieve whatever this basin is hiding. As for our anonymous friend, rest assured that he is a murderer and in a certain sort of sense, responsible for this basin's existence. Ironically, he has been and will continue to help us clean up this mess-assuming the potion doesn't kill him"

"And if it does kill him?" Hermione asked.

"Then he becomes yet another casualty of the war," Bellatrix said, beginning to sound impatient.

"He's not some innocent victim," Harry piped in, gesturing to Bellatrix that he was ready.

For one reason or another, Harry's words proved extremely reassuring to Hermione, and she nodded. Bellatrix moved to pick up the cup they had found next to the basin, but Hermione stepped up and grabbed it. "I'll do it," she said somewhat shakily to Bellatrix. "It might be better if you were free to cope with any trouble that might arise."

"A practical suggestion," Bellatrix said, drawing her wand, and glancing around the island. "Begin."

"Just hold it up to his lips, and I'll get him to drink it," Harry instructed Hermione as Bellatrix and Leo paced back and forth, glancing outward to the cavern walls and back at the mysterious wizard.

Hermione nodded, and dipped the cup into the basin, bringing it out full of the potion. She held it up to the wizard's lips and he began drinking it. It had an immediate effect, and when Hermione brought up the second cup, not even the Imperius Curse could disguise the wizard's aversion to the potion. However, he had no choice and drank down the second cup. Its effect began to render him weak, and by the fourth cup, Harry had been compelled to signal Leo that he needed help holding the wizard upright while he kept his wand trained on the wizard.

Eventually, the bottom of the basin appeared, and as the last cup washed down the throat of the anonymous wizard, a locket appeared in the basin.

"And Bob's your uncle," Leo muttered, staring at the locket.

"Excellent," Bellatrix said as Harry shot the wizard with a stunner and eased him to the ground with Leo's help.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hermione asked, setting down the cup.

"I'll let you know in the morning," Bellatrix said drily as she removed the locket from the basin and eyed it closely.

"Is it what we're looking for?" Harry asked, sounding utterly miserable from exhaustion.

"It has the right aura," Bellatrix declared as she cast a fire torch spell with her wand. A short and narrow, yet powerful white flame lighted at the end of her wand. Holding the locket by its chain, Bellatrix exposed the body of the locket to the torch flame coming from her wand. After several minutes, the flame had had not effect on the locket. "This is what we're looking for," Bellatrix said conclusively.

Harry, Hermione, and Leo let out breaths they did not even know they had been holding.

Harry smiled weakly at Leo and Hermione. "You and your friends have just helped deal Voldemort a very grievous blow. If we can get this to a safe place without having to destroy it immediately, we will have gained an important strategic advantage"

"So what is it that makes this so special?" Hermione asked.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that explanation," Bellatrix cut in as she pocketed the locket and gestured toward where the magic carpet was waiting for them. They all boarded the carpet and made their way back to the shore where everyone else was waiting for them.

"We have what we came for," Bellatrix announced. "We need to set Muggle explosives at the entrance of the cave so that we can open a way for the ocean to come into the cave and bury everything underwater. If we do it right, the Dark Lord won't realize that anybody has been here until he finds a way into the cavern."

The hardest part of setting the explosives involved drilling down into the rock beneath the passage into the cave, but that only took Ron and Sidra a minute or two for each hole. Bellatrix then deposited a fair amount of explosive in each hole before they loaded the unconscious wizard and themselves onto the magic carpet, which floated them out of the cave and into the night air.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Bellatrix said, smirking at Rose.

Impassively, Rose accepted the detonator and pressed the button. In the dark, they could barely see the water below or the cliff, but they all heard a dull thud and then the rush of water as it gushed into the cavern.

"I hope none of you left behind anything important," Bellatrix said as she gestured with her wand, directing the carpet to soar out over the ocean where they would be able to apparate away without leaving an accessible trace of their presence.

Several hours after the house elves had served breakfast the next morning, and after the students had dispersed to pursue their weekend amusements, Hermione and Rose made their way up to Professor Dumbledore's office. They gave the password to the statute standing guard at the entrance and climbed the moving staircase.

"Enter!" Professor Dumbledore called in response to their knock. When they entered, the headmaster smiled at them benignly. "What brings you two up here, today?"

"Bellatrix took us on an excursion last night," Rose informed him as she helped herself to a chair.

"Is that so?" Dumbledore asked, looking askance at Hermione who had followed Rose's lead in taking a seat. "How is that she was convinced to take Miss Granger along with you?"

"Sidra, Ron, and Hermione found out about our plans," Rose said. "Bellatrix ended up inviting them to go along after they swore all the appropriate secrecy oaths."

"Including one about not revealing anything you might learn about Harry Ashworth, I assume," Dumbledore said, looking at Hermione.

"That topic is indeed included in the oath," Hermione confirmed.

Dumbledore looked rather disappointed in this news, but his eyes continued to twinkle. "May I ask what you, Bellatrix, and your friends were doing?"

"We raided a cave, burned a few hundred Inferi, and drained a lake. Bellatrix and Hermione did some other stuff on their own, but the net result is that Bellatrix has captured another of the magical objects for which she has been searching."

"Well done," Dumbledore said, sounding extremely happy. "Please tell me more about what happened."

They quickly recounted the events of the night, carefully omitting any part that had anything to do with Harry, though they did mention the mysterious prisoner and the fact that he had been acting under an Imperius Curse.

Surprisingly, Dumbledore moved past the Imperius Curse and Hermione forcing the prisoner to drink the potion to focus on the interactions between Bellatrix and Hermione. "So, you are saying that Mrs. Black actually treated you as a peer as she contemplated this basin?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted.

"She put Hermione in charge of burning the Inferi, too," Rose offered.

"How extraordinary," Dumbledore said. "Have you heard whether this prisoner survived the effects of the potion?"

"Not yet," Hermione said, feeling slightly guilty for that part of the escapade. "She did say that he was a murderer. He got stunned immediately after drinking the potion. For all we know, he was okay before we even left the cave."

"Is there any chance that this mysterious wizard was Peter Pettigrew, or perhaps a Malfoy?" Dumbledore inquired.

"No," Rose said. "I did not recognize him at all. He had dark hair, and was quite handsome, though."

"I see," Dumbledore said slowly, looking quite concerned. "You two have done well. I still have questions about this mysterious wizard that Mrs. Black seems to be holding prisoner, but I do want you to know that your actions last night represent astounding progress against Lord Voldemort. You would rise to the top of his target list if he had any idea about your actions last night, so I would suggest that you not advertise."

"Of course," Hermione said.

"Very well, then, I'm sure you have better things to do on a weekend than chat with me," Dumbledore said, smiling at them over his spectacles.

The girls rose from their chairs and made their way to the exit.

"Oh," Dumbledore said, "and fifty points to Gryffindor-for worthwhile rule breaking."

Amelia Bones totaled the sums on her numerical Death Eater attack analysis report and signed the bottom line with a flourish. She stood up, stretched, and then carried the report out of her office. Down the hall a ways, she found one of the department secretaries. "Get this sent in, would you?" Amelia said.

"Yes, ma'am," the secretary said briskly, accepting the report and putting it in one of the document trays on the desk.

Amelia returned to her office, where she quickly scanned some of the interoffice memos that had come in while she was finishing the report. Satisfied that there was nothing urgent, she grabbed her purse, exited her office, and wove her way through the Auror department until she arrived at the elevator bay.

As an unusually long wait for the elevator progressed, James Potter and Sirius Black joined Amelia in front of the elevator doors. "Captain Bones," both James and Sirius said simultaneously, hiding mocking grins with stiff voices.

"Special Aurors Potter and Black," Amelia said with a straight face.

"Everything is well, I trust," Sirius said, also very formally.

"There are no Death Eaters storming the front doors, so that bodes well," Amelia said.

"Aye," James said, affecting an Irish accent.

Amelia rolled her eyes as the elevator clanged, opening to reveal an Auror returning from an early lunch.

"Mr. Crouch," Sirius said, still using his overly formal tone of voice.

Barty Crouch, Jr. smirked at James, Sirius, and Amelia, offering them a mock salute as he exited the elevator. James, Sirius, and Amelia stepped on the elevator and watched Auror Crouch's retreating back as the door shut and began its perilous journey to the Atrium.

"Working on anything interesting?" Amelia asked casually.

"Never a dull moment," James said. "But top secret, too."

"Indeed," Amelia said. "How are you families?"

"Doing great," James responded. "My children are excited for the upcoming summer holiday."

"Leo is the same," Sirius offered.

"So is my niece," Amelia said as the elevator arrived at its destination. "I'll see you later, I suppose."

"Right," Sirius said as he and James split from her and went their own way.

Amelia then proceeded to the massive fireplaces that served as an entrance of sorts for the Ministry. A little bit of Floo powder sent her the Leaky Cauldron. From there, she exited the famous pub onto the Muggle street and found a restaurant a few streets down-within easy walking distance. She stepped in and approached the host. "Reservation for Johnson," she said.

"Your party has already arrived," the host informed Amelia, leading her through the restaurant and into a dark corner where he seated her at a table with Bellatrix Black.

"My, my," Amelia said by way of greeting, "I never thought I'd see the day where a scion of the Noble House of Black condescended to having lunch in a Muggle restaurant."

"I could say the same of the Bones family," Bellatrix parried, picking her menu and glancing at it only long enough to check what the daily special was. "After all, you are more like the Blacks than say… the Weasleys."

"Yes, the Weasleys," Amelia said, also picking up her menu, but perusing it carefully. "You were over to their house quite recently, weren't you?"

"They asked me to do some security consulting," Bellatrix admitted.

Amelia peered at Bellatrix over the top of her menu. "I think the Ministry might be able to use your sort of security consulting on a regular basis."

"I'm not seeking employment," Bellatrix said, placing the menu back on the table.

"I suppose you have all the gold you need," Amelia admitted, making her selection and placing her menu atop Bellatrix's discarded menu. "But I know that there are some things that you wouldn't mind acquiring, and I know that there are people who could provide those things in exchange for some… effective, positive results."

"You're becoming a little too vague for me to follow," Bellatrix said just as the server arrived to take their orders.

As soon as the server left, Amelia pushed on. "I think that you wouldn't mind having some political influence."

"Influence might tempt me," Bellatrix said, effectively informing Amelia in not so many words that she wanted something more than just influence-power, for instance.

"Well, consider this," Amelia said. "If the ghost of your dear, departed husband were to become more persistent and regular in its efforts to terrorize Death Eaters, it might become quite a symbol for our society."

"And what am I going to do?" Bellatrix asked. "Collect royalties in exchange for command performances?"

"Well," Amelia said, "consider this. If the ghost of Harry Ashworth were to become a staple in this war, an effective one, mind you, anything connected to it could become quite famous. You, for instance, as the widow of this ghost would be thrust in the spotlight. You could emphasize that you are the daughter of the late Minister Black, who had the foresight to prepare the Ministry for these dark times before his tragic assassination. If there were to be an opening on the Wizengamot, you could use your family title to claim a seat."

Bellatrix smiled. "That sounds like a pretty good theory."

"Alternatively, if it turns out that your husband is alive, he could claim a seat on the Wizengamot," Amelia continued.

" If he is alive," Bellatrix said.

"Of course," Amelia said, not particularly interested in trying to pin Bellatrix down on whether her husband was alive or not.

"The thought occurs to me that it would take more than a single vote from a Bones to get the House of Black instated onto the Wizengamot," Bellatrix said.

"The Bones family still has influence and plenty of friends," Amelia said. "So, do you think the ghost of your dearly departed might be motivated to make more strikes against Death Eaters?"

Bellatrix shrugged noncommittally. "The ghost of my dearly departed does have trouble finding just the right opportunity to make an appearance. It is not that he does not want to make an appearance, mind you. It is just that it does take a certain amount of effort for him to find an opportunity.

"And what if somebody were to take the time to arrange a way to ensure that opportunities are more easily found?" Amelia asked.

Bellatrix did not answer immediately, but Amelia was patient as she watched Bellatrix take a sip from her glass of ice water while looking at Amelia intently. This went on for nearly a minute before Amelia realized that Bellatrix was looking at something behind her. With reflexes born of her Auror training, Amelia spun around in her seat just in time to watch the ghostly form of a man fade away. She turned to look back at Bellatrix, who was now smirking at her.

"I think I might be able to persuade the ghost of my dearly departed to take advantage of this opportunity," Bellatrix announced.

Madam Pince approached Hermione in the library. "Professor Dumbledore has requested that you meet with him," she informed Hermione.

"Oh, thank you," Hermione said, confused that Madam Pince was delivering messages on the headmaster's behalf. Wondering what it was Dumbledore wanted, Hermione finished a notation before packing up her books and leaving the library books to be re-shelved.

In short order, she found herself sitting across from Professor Dumbledore and accepting a lemon drop. "What can I do for you, Headmaster?" she asked.

"I wanted to speak with you more about Bellatrix Black," the headmaster answered. "I've wanted to do so since hearing the report on your excursion, but felt that it would be unwise to say what I need to say in front of Miss Potter."

"You don't trust her?" Hermione asked, feeling very confused. After all, the headmaster had given Rose permission to leave the castle and gallivant around the countryside with Bellatrix at will, if Rose was to be believed.

"It isn't that I don't trust her," Professor Dumbledore said. "The information I am about to share with you is very sensitive and dangerous to possess. The only reason I am willing to share it with you is that Mrs. Black's recent behavior toward you suggests that she may be willing to confide with you in the future, or at least seek your opinion."

"All right," Hermione said, still confused.

"Have you wondered what it was that you and your friends helped Mrs. Black retrieve from that cavern?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Well, yes," Hermione admitted. "I mean, how could a magical object be so important to You-Know-Who that one could justify such extreme measures to capture it."

"The locket you found in that cave was a horcrux," Dumbledore announced. "In it, Lord Voldemort has placed a portion of his actual soul. So long as the horcrux exists, Lord Voldemort cannot die."

"Oh my word," Hermione breathed.

"If we are to believe what Bellatrix wants us to believe, Harry Ashworth Black died in an attempt to capture one of these horcruxes back in the year 1976. Mrs. Black claims that that particular horcrux was destroyed in the fight that ensued between her, her husband and Lord Voldemort. Since appearing in recent months, Bellatrix has captured two more of these horcruxes," Dumbledore explained.

Hermione frowned. "Is Bellatrix taking steps to destroy these horcruxes?"

"I fear not," Dumbledore said.

"Why isn't she destroying them?" Hermione asked.

"Mrs. Black seems to think that she can exploit the horcruxes somehow."

"And what do you want me to do?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I would appreciate it if you were to do extensive research on the subject of horcruxes and related magic. If Bellatrix avails herself of the opportunity to bring you in on anything she is doing, I would like it very much if you were able to provide her a 'neutral' opinion regarding whatever she might consider doing with the horcruxes. In fact, you should pursue any opportunity whatsoever to associate with Mrs. Black. Additionally, I would appreciate it if you would provide me with regular reports of what you have discovered-anything about the nature of horcruxes, anything about how they can be destroyed, and anything regarding how they might be corrupted or otherwise exploited."

"Very well," Hermione said willingly. "From time to time I will need permission to access the Restricted Section of the library. Is it all right to approach you at these times?"

"I have instructed Madam Pince that you are to have free access to the Restricted Section," Dumbledore announced. "I would appreciate it if you visited me on a weekly basis with reports of what you have learned. We can discuss your findings."

"Okay," Hermione said, standing up from where she had been seated and already ecstatic about her new free access to the Restricted Section.

"If you are so inclined, Miss Granger, you may register an apprenticeship declaration with the Ministry," Professor Dumbledore said. "With this and a little extra work after you take your NEWTs in the coming weeks, I think you would be a quick candidate for a Mastery certification, especially with my sponsorship."

"My owl will be en route to the Ministry today," Hermione said effusively as she hastily exited the office.

Grouchily, Draco Malfoy pushed Bellatrix's lawnmower across the Dursley's yard. Not only was it hot and miserable out, but that obnoxious kid from down the street was watching him work again. Glancing around to make sure that neither Mr. or Mrs. Dursley were watching, Draco yelled out at the kid. "What are you looking at, Shorty?"

Shorty took this as an invitation to come over and talk. "Is this your job?" he asked.

"No, I do this for fun," Draco said bitterly, stopping the lawnmower and leaning on it.

"Oh."

"Why, do you think it looks fun?"

"Looks like a decent job. What do you do? Go around and ask people if you can mow their lawn?"

"Something like that," Draco said, thinking back to how Bellatrix had practically indentured him to the Dursley family for a month. That month was nearly up, though. Soon, he'd be able to charge Mr. Dursley good money to mow his nasty lawn."

"How much do you get paid?" Shorty asked.

"A fair enough amount," Draco said, thinking of the other lawns he mowed and not ready to admit that he was doing this one for free. Suddenly, an idea occurred to Draco. "I could pay you to mow this lawn and others," Draco offered.

"Really?" the kid asked. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of mowing the lawn to make money?"

"Well, no," Draco said. "What I could do is that I would find you lawns to mow. You mow them, get paid, and I take a small cut. You don't even have to think or interact with the people. Just mow the lawns I tell you to mow."

"Where do I get a lawnmower?"

"You can use this one," Draco said generously.

"All right," the kid said. "But what if you find me too many lawns to mow?"

"Then I'll find one of your friends to help," Draco said.

"Sounds like a plan," the kid said. "Do I start right now?"

"Sure," Draco said, handing over the lawnmower. "I can pay you only half for this lawn today because I've already done so much."

"Fair enough," the kid said.

Walking down the street, Draco chuckled darkly as the noise of the lawnmower on the Dursley's law faded into the background. He reckoned that he could knock a few doors and get some more customers before the end of the day. If he could find enough lawns for the kid to mow, and enough to bring on some more kids, he would be able to make enough to eat from the cut he got from their wages. He would frustrate his aunt's plans yet. Gleefully, he picked a street and began knocking on doors, happily anticipating being able to laze on his aunt's couch while earning money.