Chapter 38: The Price of a Wizengamot Seat

Harry emerged from the bathroom after taking a shower, dosed himself with Polyjuice, and made his way up the stairs to where Bellatrix had set up shop. Over the weeks, the upper floor of Harry and Bellatrix's flat in Manchester had gradually evolved into what looked like a fully functioning lab, not unlike the rooms in the Department of Mysteries that Harry had passed through during his fifth year at Hogwarts.

The main difference between Bellatrix's lab and the Department of Mysteries was that Bellatrix seemed to be working on only one project, whereas in the Ministry labs, various specimens and experiments had littered all the free space.

Bemusedly, Harry surveyed the dozen or so lab tables that Bellatrix had laid out precisely in a grid-like fashion with plenty of room between each table and either the next table or the wall. Some tables were empty or mostly empty while others were stacked high with magical tomes and packets with sheaves of old parchment written on in barely legible writing. The center table had extra space around each of its sides. Nothing appeared to be on it, but above it in the air hovered the diadem and the locket that served as horcruxes for Voldemort.

The room itself was a little bit dim, but light shone down on the horcruxes as they slowly rotated in the air. The casual observer would have concluded that the diadem and locket were valued possessions on display as if in a museum. Harry knew better and gave the table a wide berth as he made his way across the room to where Bellatrix had set up a wing-backed chair and side table to serve as her desk.

The horcruxes appeared to be unprotected, but anybody who tried to touch them would probably lose a hand when Bellatrix's defenses were triggered and the would-be thief found their hand and the horcrux it held suddenly forced down into one of the invisible bowls of basilisk venom that sat undetected on the table's surface. And that would mark only the beginning of the thief's troubles.

Bellatrix detected Harry's approach and broke her gaze away from the window next to her chair. She looked at Harry wryly. "You know, Polyjuice isn't getting any cheaper or plentiful," she said, "and we certainly do not have the time to brew it ourselves."

"I suppose we can worry about that when the time comes," Harry said lightly.

"I suppose we can," Bellatrix said. "But, we really should start making plans for how we will reveal that you are in fact, alive and well."

"Simple," Harry said deadpan, "I show up at the Ministry, make a scene, and walk out before anybody can ask too many questions."

"Obviously," Bellatrix said, seemingly annoyed that she was on the wrong end of the sarcasm and even receiving it from somebody who looked exactly like her and was wearing her clothes. "But, we should really be making plans so that you are revealed on our own schedule and in a way that reaps us the best advantage."

"Well, seeing as we're focused on the Ghost of Ashworth project for now," Harry said, "I'm sure we have plenty of time to think of something."

"Well great," Bellatrix said, drawing her wand and summoning a book from one of her lab tables. "You start thinking."

"I will if you will," Harry said. He turned to leave, but was stopped.

"Do you know Legilimency?" Bellatrix asked.

"We're acquainted, but I wouldn't say that we're quite on a personal level yet."

Bellatrix glared at her mirror image.

The mirror image finally gave in. "No, I do not know how to perform Legilimency."

"Great. We shall have to find a guinea pig."

"Why a guinea pig?" Harry asked.

"Because you will not be practicing it on me."

"Who says I have to practice it?"

"Who do you think?"

Harry shot a glance at the horcruxes. "Does it have to do with those things?"

"Yes."

Harry shrugged resignedly, but was wearing a smile as he exited the room via the staircase. Something about transforming into his wife affected his behavior. After several nights of practice, he felt that he was almost passable as his wife in not only appearance, but demeanor as well.

He exited the flat and was soon on his way to Grimmauld Place. He appeared on the street in front of the ancient Black town residence and proceeded to enter after checking the security charms. He observed that several interior lights were switched on as he shut the door behind him. Wondering whom Dumbledore had sent to be on call, Harry followed the light to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, he found James and Lily sitting at the table eating dinner together.

"Bellatrix," Lily said, standing up, "it's good to see you."

"Likewise," Harry said, doing his best to sound neutral. Despite his experience teaching his parents at Hogwarts, he still was not used to having them around.

"Have you eaten?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Harry said.

"If you get hungry later, we do have extra," Lily said.

"Right," Harry said, nodding to Lily and James. "I'll just set up shop upstairs. If anything happens, I'll let you know."

"Excellent," Lily said brightly as she looked at James and tried to get him to share her apparent enthusiasm. "Professor Dumbledore told us all about your plan, and I think it will work out well if we can only get trackers on more than a couple of Death Eaters."

"Yes, it should," Harry said, leaving the kitchen and moving to the room where he had spent the last few nights with various Order members wishing and hoping that the Death Eaters they were tracking would lead them to more Death Eaters.

Harry was sitting in a padded rocking chair staring the map Amelia Bones had given to Bellatrix when Lily came upstairs.

"Is that the map?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry said, not breaking eye contact with the dots on the map that represented the escaped prisoners. Over the past few days, they had not stirred from their locations.

Lily used her wand to summon over another chair. She set it next to Harry's chair and sat on it. For several minutes, she and Harry watched the dots on the map do nothing.

"When precisely did you marry Harry Ashworth?" Lily asked suddenly.

Harry was surprised, but gamely fumbled for an answer. "A few weeks after I left Hogwarts."

"Is that why you left Hogwarts?" Lily inquired. "I mean, you did leave before completing even your sixth year."

Harry grinned, knowingly precisely what Bellatrix would say to this. "I was seventeen and did precisely what I wanted in those days. As for Ashworth, he certainly was involved in my motivations."

"Do you think now that leaving Hogwarts was a good idea? And marrying Harry?" Lily inquired.

"There were worse options," Harry said truthfully, yet evasively. Vaguely, he wondered how Bellatrix would have answered that question, though he realized it had been less than a year for Bellatrix since she had left Hogwarts. In fact, as far as Harry could calculate on short notice without having to go through the exercise of calculating how the time travel affected dates, Bellatrix was probably still seventeen.

He was spared from further questions when Lily suddenly noticed that one of the dots had moved a significant distance across the map. "I say, it looks like that one just apparated somewhere."

Harry watched the dot's movement excitedly. "We'd better check it out," Harry said.

"I'll get James," Lily said, standing up and walking briskly out of the room.

Harry kept his eyes on the target, and Lily soon returned with James in tow.

"Where are we going?" James asked, sounding very businesslike.

"West Devon," Lily answered, taking the map from Harry and showing James.

Harry reclaimed the map. "I'll apparate alone."

"Right," Lily said, taking James's arm.

Two quiet pops later, the trio were standing just outside a town in West Devon.

"Better put on some disillusionment and stealth charms," Harry said quietly, doing so himself and beginning to pick his way toward the town in the dark while checking the map to try and get his bearings.

Gradually, the map led them to a pub that sat on a small street nowhere close to the main drag. Despite being a pub and the night being relatively young, it stood quiet.

"I think this is a magical establishment," James declared quietly.

"Perhaps Death Eater establishment would be a more appropriate," Lily observed.

"Could it be some sort of base or hangout?" Harry wondered aloud.

"We'd be a bit too lucky if it was," James said pessimistically.

"I could take care of the Ghost of Ashworth spell," Lily offered.

"Oh, right," Harry said, overcoming his unfamiliarity with anybody but himself producing the Ghost of Ashworth, "but maybe that won't be necessary. We will be memory charming everybody so they don't realize that they have even been marked with tracking spells."

"It will be a good distraction if we want to get the drop on them," Lily declared.

"I suppose so," Harry assented as they quietly made their way toward the pub. "James, if you'll put up some anti-apparition wards, we'll slip in while Lily's illusion spell distracts them."

James was quick about putting up the wards, and Lily summoned the Ghost of Ashworth at Harry's nod. Within seconds, manly shrieks of terror broke out inside of the forlorn pub. The trio moved to rush into the pub, but they were repelled when the occupants of the building, four in total, rushed out wearing the dark robes, but lacking masks.

"We surrender," one of the Death Eaters called, falling to his knees and putting his hands up. The other three hung back in the shadows, not bowing, but certainly not seeming aggressive.

"I want to see wands!" James barked, stepping back and aiming his wand at the group of Death Eaters. "No sudden movements."

The four prisoners produced their wands and dropped them on the ground. While James pointed his wand at them, Lily gathered the wands.

"I'd better check to see that the building is clear," Harry said.

"Are you sure you can do that alone?" Lily asked as she assisted James in restraining the prisoners.

"Yeah, I got it," Harry said, stepping in the building with his wand drawn and immediately stealthing himself.

As he moved through the pub, it became relatively clear that the place had not been functioning as a business for several months, if not years. However, there was evidence that the building had been used as a meeting place or overnight resting place for assorted people-Death Eaters, probably. After performing a cursory check for dangerous enchantments, Harry used his image projection spell to search the area around the pub for any hostile parties. Finding nothing but the occasional person asleep in their bed in nearby homes, Harry concluded that the pub was safe for the moment.

Cancelling his stealth charms, Harry stepped outside the pub to find that James and Lily had been asking their prisoners questions.

"Let's go in and get comfortable," Harry said. "I reckon we'll be okay if we don't stay overly long. We can put up temporary wards and keep our portkeys nearby. I want to ask a few questions before we get to the reason we came."

"Good idea," Lily said. "They've just been telling us that there's nobody else already here or expected in the near future."

Harry had been feeling disappointed that they had bagged only four apparent Death Eaters, but his disappointment became more acute when he discovered that the four prisoners constituted two married couples-Mr. and Mrs. Scabior and Mr. and Mrs. Rowle. It was Mr. Scabior that had escaped and had been the Death Eater they had tracked on the map provided by Amelia Bones. It had also been Scabior who had been so vocal in his surrender.

At Harry's request, Lily lit up the room while Harry and James arranged some of the tables and chairs to accommodate them. As soon as they were settled in, Mr. Scabior launched into explaining his escape while his comrades looked on, looking rather disenchanted.

"I'll surrender myself," he averred, "honestly I will. It wasn't my idea to escape."

"Wasn't it?" Lily asked, not about to admit that Bellatrix Black and Amelia Bones had plotted to make the escape possible and that she knew it.

"The aurors abandoned us; it wasn't even a real escape," Scabior insisted.

"Did they now?" James asked, his eyes hooded and not revealing anything.

"Yes, it was Barty Crouch, Jr.," Scabior insisted.

"What?" Harry asked sharply.

"It was Auror Crouch who was in charge of transporting us. He abandoned us." Scabior explained.

"Bartemius Crouch, Jr.?" Harry repeated.

"Why are you the one asking questions, Mrs. Black?" Mrs. Rowle demanded. "You're not part of the Ministry."

Harry moved to make some explanation, but Mr. Rowle cut in. "You're Bellatrix Black?"

"Yes," Harry answered, "I am Bellatrix Black."

"The widow of the late Professor Ashworth," Mrs. Scabior commented quietly. "He was my professor at Hogwarts for a bit."

Looking at the Mrs. Scabior, Harry remembered vaguely teaching her in one of his upper-year potions classes, though neither her maiden name nor her given name came to mind. Realizing that he could not admit to recognizing her because he was posing as Bellatrix, Harry changed the subject. "What were you doing here tonight?" Harry asked.

"None of your business," Mrs. Rowle snapped.

"What was it?" James asked. "Death Eater date night?"

"You seem too few to launch a proper attack or raid," Harry commented, still feeling disappointed that he would not be adding very many Death Eater names to his map.

"All it takes is one to cause a little havoc," James opined, not doing much to hide his contempt of Death Eaters.

"True," Lily said, "but none of them appear ready to go out for a raid. I think it was just a meeting."

Harry frowned at the thought of a four-person Death Eater meeting. It did not seem like Death Eater protocol to him. Though perhaps if they were senior Death Eaters, it might make sense. But, Harry couldn't remember the Rowles or the Scabiors being among the Death Eaters high on the chain of command in his original dimension.

"Maybe we should see if we can find a truth potion before we obliviate them," James suggested.

"Obliviate us?" Mrs. Scabior asked quickly.

"What for?" Mr. Rowle demanded.

"You're not taking us in?" Mr. Scabior asked, sounding almost as if he was disappointed.

"Err, no," Harry admitted, reckoning that it did not matter what they said to the prisoners if they were going to lose their memory anyway.

"You're going to lead us to other Death Eaters while going about your business as if this meeting never happened," James announced, relishing this small victory against the Death Eaters.

"Oh, please no," Mr. Scabior begged. "Just turn me in to the Ministry. Let me serve my sentence and be done."

Harry began to feel a conflict beginning to brew deep inside of him. The plan had seemed so good when they had been operating on the assumption that the escaped Death Eaters would gleefully resume their atrocities. Now, he was facing a Death Eater who did not want to commit any more atrocities. Harry looked to the Rowles. "And what would you prefer? Going to Azkaban or continuing your Death Eater atrocities?"

"Neither," Mr. Rowle said.

"I'll cut you all a deal," Harry said, glancing at James and Lily and hoping that they would not see fit to interject. "Allow us to put you under an Imperius and a memory charm. You will end up doing what I need. Once you have accomplished what I need over a relatively short amount of time, I will see to it that you are removed from the conflict."

"Perhaps to out of the country?" Mrs. Scabior said hopefully.

"I am not sure that I would feel comfortable helping you escape the demands of justice," Harry said slowly. "I will try to arrange it so that nothing you do after tonight counts against you, and I will even try to work it out so that you might be spared Azkaban because of your cooperation. But, I don't think I can help you escape paying reparations for anything for which you are adjudged culpable."

"You talk quite expansively for somebody who doesn't hold a whit of influence in the Ministry bureaucracy or even the Wizengamot," Mrs. Rowle said.

"I anticipate that I will be able to approach Minister Prewitt and reason with him," Harry said. "I'm taking steps to help end this war favorably. If I am successful, it will cost the Ministry little to grant a few concessions to those who made victory possible."

"And if Minister Prewitt is not reasonable?" Mrs. Rowle questioned.

"Then, I shall become unreasonable," promised Harry. "You have my assurance that I will strive to honor my promises to you, even if I have to push the envelope beyond what might seem acceptable."

"Your promises seem empty," Mr. Rowle commented, sharing his wife's cynicism.

"You won't find a better deal," Harry said.

"I think we could just leave the country right now and forget about you and forget about the Dark Lord, too," Mrs. Rowle said. "That's a better option."

Harry arched one of his, or rather, Bellatrix's eyebrows, for dramatic effect. "Let me re-phrase the bargain for you. You can either go to Azkaban after a brief stop in the Ministry holding cells or you can work for me and use the extra time before judgment is passed over you to do some things that might earn you some leniency."

Naturally, the Rowles and Scabiors both agreed to Harry's terms. After that, it took about an hour for James to work out a way for them to add any fellow Death Eaters to the map without actually having the map. James then taught them his process, Harry put the Imperius Curse on all four of the prisoners, and Lily memory charmed them.

The two couples would go about their business, adding Death Eaters to Harry's map without even realizing what they were doing or why. After they had done as many as it seemed they would be able to, Harry would go to them, collect them, and arrange for them to sit out the war in seclusion. Once the war ended, they would be handed to the Ministry along with a glowing letter of recommendation from Harry-or some such.

After their work was completed, Harry and the Potters separated. The Potters presumably went home and to bed. Harry went on the prowl in Diagon Alley, pausing only once from the routine for a few minutes to change his clothes once the Polyjuice potion wore off. Finding no activity during the balance of the night, Harry travelled to the hangar where he and Bellatrix were wont to practice dueling. After a thorough magic workout, Harry headed home and found Bellatrix waiting for him in their bed.

"Productive night?" Bellatrix asked from where she sat against the headboard.

"You could say that," Harry said as he launched into a full explanation.

Bellatrix listened quietly, a thoughtful expression on her face. When Harry finished, she responded. "The Scabiors and Rowles do not hold any Wizengamot seats," Bellatrix mused. "But, the fact that Death Eaters are holding unauthorized meetings bodes well."

"I wouldn't think any Death Eaters would be holding Wizengamot seats," Harry said as he removed his clothes and put them along with the clothes he had borrowed from Bellatrix in the laundry hamper. "And what precisely do these unauthorized Death Eater meetings bode?"

Bellatrix lifted the covers for Harry as he slipped into bed next to her. "You'd be surprised about the Wizengamot," Bellatrix said. "A lot of placement on that body is based on life tenure. If you are a pureblood or at least connected to a pureblood family, you are a permissible appointee when a vacancy occurs. If you happen to have enough money and influence or are tied to somebody with money and influence, you might be appointed to the Wizengamot. You then remain on the Wizengamot for life unless you are removed for bad behavior. There are plenty of minor Death Eaters or Death Eater sympathizers that have managed to cling to their Wizengamot seats."

"I would have thought that Minister Prewitt would be more thorough than that," Harry commented, feeling distinctly annoyed to discover that low-ranking Death Eaters probably represented a sizeable portion of the Wizengamot.

"Purging the Ministry employees is one thing," Bellatrix said, "cleaning out the Wizengamot is quite another. I am quite sure that any Death Eater group in the Wizengamot represents only a minority."

"Yeah, well I found out tonight that there is a Death Eater auror," Harry grumbled.

"Who is it, and what are you going to do about it?" Bellatrix asked.

"Barty Crouch, Jr.," Harry answered. "He was a Death Eater in my future. I imagine he's one here. As for what I'm going to do, I don't know yet."

"Not everybody who was a Death Eater in your future is one now," Bellatrix reminded Harry quietly.

"I am well aware of that," Harry said, reaching out his arm and wrapping it around her waist.

They sat silently for several minutes, enjoying each other's company. Harry eventually broke the silence, however. "I bet you want a seat on the Wizengamot," he said.

" Want is a strong word," Bellatrix replied. "I do not necessarily want a Wizengamot seat. Rather, I need a Wizengamot seat to get what I want, I think."

"That means there is going to have to be a vacancy soon," Harry said.

"Yes," Bellatrix agreed.

Harry smiled to himself as he thought of Bellatrix's ambition. "I wouldn't mind removing a Death Eater from the Wizengamot."

"A Death Eater generally would be a good candidate for removal," Bellatrix agreed. "There are additional things to consider in making such a decision, though."

"Quite," Harry said, beginning to not want to be completely informed regarding Bellatrix's political machinations.

"Yes, quite," Bellatrix agreed. "As soon as you can, Harry, have the Ghost of Ashworth do something big-something that Amelia Bones can really play up to the press."

"I'll do my best," Harry said solemnly, hiding a smile.

Once again, silence reigned as Harry and Bellatrix sat in their bed, both leaning against the headboard and Harry with his arm wrapped around Bellatrix's waist. Suddenly, Bellatrix scooted a lot closer to Harry. She swung her legs over his lap began kissing him. Harry gladly reciprocated.

"Those were indeed bold promises," Professor Dumbledore said, agreeing with James and Lily early the next morning. "I think though, that they demonstrate a fair amount of wisdom on Mrs. Black's part."

"Wisdom?" James scoffed. "She promised Ministry leniency when she could have just slapped on the Imperius curse and been done. And, let's not forget that she was making promises based on powers she doesn't have."

"The strange thing was that she bargained instead of using the Imperius curse outright," Lily commented.

"Yes, that does seem out of character for Mrs. Black," Dumbledore agreed. "But, James, it doesn't seem unreasonable that the Wizengamot and Ministry would find leniency for Death Eaters who cooperated in helping end the war. The most encouraging thing I see is that Mrs. Black is not only taking steps to end the war but seems to be thinking about rebuilding."

"Rebuilding?" Lily asked.

"Requiring reparations rather than punishment for the sake of punishment," Dumbledore said.

"Bah," James scoffed, "she was just saying what she had to say to get those Death Eaters to do what she wanted."

"And when it works, perhaps she will continue to sing the same song," Dumbledore declared. "After all, that is the difference between a good politician and a bad politician."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James retorted.

"Time will tell, I think," Dumbledore replied, his blue eyes twinkling from behind his glasses.

"What precisely are you planning on doing?" Petunia demanded as her sister, Lily, and her husband, James, wandered about the Dursley residence on 4 Privet Drive.

"We're going to put some wards up so that the next time somebody decides to prank you, we'll be able to nab them," Lily said.

"Wards? What are wards? I do not want a bunch of magic things staying around here. They could be dangerous." Petunia said shrilly.

"You won't even know they're here," James groused. "Maybe you could even show a little gratitude."

Petunia did not say anything, but followed Lily around, noticeably cringing as Lily drew her wand and started muttering strange things. Lily's efforts were interrupted, however, when James suddenly let out an exclamation from where he had been standing near the front window.

"Merlin's beard!"

"What is it?" Lily demanded, ceasing from casting the spells as she looked in James's direction.

"It's Draco Malfoy!"

Lily rushed to the front window with Petunia on her tail. "It is!" Lily confirmed, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Oh my word!" Petunia exclaimed, after having joined James and Lily at the window. "That delinquent and his little friend are trying to force a filthy lawn mower into the boot of his aunt's brand new BMW! Somebody stop him!"

"His aunt?" Lily asked, her voice now a deadly calm.

"A wonderful woman," Petunia declared. "Eminently respectable. To think that she would have to be saddled with that ungrateful lout of a nephew. It makes me sick."

"What is her name?" Lily said quietly.

"Trixie White," Petunia answered, still focused on watching Draco and his friend secure the lawn mower in the trunk of the BMW.

"Trixie White? Really?" Lily said, sounding quite outraged.

"That is her name," Petunia confirmed as the three watched Draco and his friend hop into the BMW, back it out of the driveway, zoom down the street, swerving left and right in order to miss as many mailboxes as they did.

"That's one bad driver," James commented. "We should do something to get him off the street."

"Hang Malfoy!" Lily said. "It's Bellatrix I want."

The mists of time, prophecy, and charlatans swirled in the crystal ball against which Rose had her face squished. Wishing that her nose was less well-defined, Rose tried to get one or both of her eyes as close to the surface of the ball as she could. Deep in the fog, Rose thought she could see a duel. The fact that spellfire was being exchanged was clear to her, but the duelists themselves faded into the fog as if they were the ghosts of ghosts.

Suddenly, above the duel, near the top of the crystal ball, the Dark Mark appeared… sort of. It was vague enough that only someone who had seen it in real life would identify it in the mists-kind of like seeing animals while cloud watching. The Dark Mark expanded, and Rose flicked her gaze down to the duel to discover that all but one of the duelists had disappeared. Within seconds, the Dark Mark had grown to fill the crystal ball, pushing the prior scene away. Suddenly, a lightning bolt seemed to explode in the midst of the crystal ball, and the Dark Mark died… sort of. It was still there.

Abruptly, the comforter covering Rose and her bed was stripped away, leaving Rose crouched on her bed and looking rather silly in faint light of the early morning.

"Gazing in your crystal ball?" Sidra demanded, dropping the edge of the comforter and allowing it to fall off the end of the bed.

"No, I was sucking on it," Rose retorted.

"Isn't that one of the school crystal balls? Stealing from Trelawney are we?" Sidra said.

"A great seer such as herself knows precisely where the ball is. Obviously, she didn't mind me borrowing it," Rose said.

"Fun," Sidra said. "We're late, and Leo and Hermione won't leave without you."

"I'm coming," Rose said, sliding off her bed. "I was ready before I got slightly distracted." She grabbed her wand from her bedside table and followed Sidra out of her dorm and down the Gryffindor common room where Hermione, Ron, Leo, and Ginny were waiting.

"Everything all right?" Leo asked.

"Pretty much," Rose said to him quietly as Hermione excitedly led the procession out of the common room and into the hall. "I was looking into the crystal ball."

"Did you see anything important?" Leo asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"Yes, but none of it made any sense," Rose said. She then quickly recounted what she had seen.

"A lightning bolt, eh?" Leo said. "I bet it has to do with that scar on Harry's forehead."

"Scar?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Leo said. "Harry has a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. It's not too easy to see what with it being not very pronounced. The way he keeps his hair doesn't help either."

"Have you ever asked him about it?" Rose inquired.

"No," Leo said. "I reckon he's been in enough fights that he came by it naturally."

"Quite," Rose said.

"What are you two talking about?" Ginny yawned. She had noticed Rose and Leo falling behind and had slowed up for them.

"Harry's past," Rose replied. "He said something to us a while back that got Leo and me wondering."

"What was it?" Ginny asked.

"He basically implied that he's been fighting this war longer than we can possibly know." Leo said. "We were hoping that Rose might be able to take a peek into the past and see something. It hasn't been working too well."

"Sounds like it might have worked pretty well this morning," Ginny said pointedly.

"Well," Rose said slowly, "I think I could safely say that he's fought in a lot more duel or battles than are actually on the record."

"Ahem," Hermione said from where the rest of the group had stopped in front of the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

"What?" Rose asked.

"We're already late enough. We should go in," Ron said for Hermione.

"So go on in," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Leo knows Harry better than I," Hermione said.

"Oh, please," Rose said bitingly as she strode forward, opened the door, and walked inside, followed by the rest of her comrades.

Inside, they found an "open air" dueling arena. Rather than the normal platform for a formal one-on-one duel, the room was strewn with portions of wall, rubble, fake trees, and other obstacles.

"Oh, Merlin," Leo groaned. "I can't ever catch sight of him in an empty room during a duel."

"Unfortunately for you, this is closer to reality," came a voice.

The students all looked up and found somebody who appeared to be Bellatrix Black standing atop one of the walls. It was probably Harry using Polyjuice. Rose's eyes flickered to the boots. According to Leo, low heels marked Harry.

"Yeah, Death Eaters lure their victims to obstacle courses before killing them," Sidra said sarcastically.

The friendly smile that graced Bellatrix's face was definitely not a genuine Bellatrix characteristic. "This is the last time until school starts again that we'll be using this room. Perhaps my wife will find us a genuine house we can practice in."

"So, let's get started," Ron said, breaking his normal routine and smoothing a Sidra situation over. According to Hermione and Ginny, he had been eager to learn some of the stuff that Leo had been learning.

"Not quite yet," Harry said. He withdrew a Rubik's cube from his pocket and tossed it to Hermione. "The activation word is 'silver.' It will take you and only you to our front doorstep. Bellatrix says she wants you to visit every night at ten beginning tonight. Incidentally, you have my permission to enter the apartment. Bellatrix has also given you permission."

"Dual blood wards, is it?" Hermione said thoughtfully, as she eyed the cube closely and her friends looked on with varying degrees of interest. "But, ten at night?"

"I'm sorry," said Harry. "That's just the way it is. Our schedule might change a bit after a while. But for now, you'll just have to count on being nocturnal."

Hermione giggled.

"What?" Ron asked, confused.

"I was just thinking about what my parents would say, but then I realized I am now an adult and am graduated from school." Hermione said. "Though I can't quite afford my own place, yet."

"Terrific," Sidra said. "Any other delays?"

"Nope," Harry said. "Let's get down to business. Since for all of you but Leo, this is your first time in a formal training session with me, I'd like to get to know your skillsets better." He gestured toward the back of the room, which seemed a lot farther away than normal and had been obscured by all of the obstacles. "I've placed a number of 'flags' down at the far end. Your task is to fetch one back here."

"As a team?" Ron asked, sounding intrigued.

Harry shrugged Bellatrix's shoulders. "Teams or individuals. I want to see what you'll do-whether you opt for a team or not and how you do on your own or in the team. Leo will have to be alone, though. I'll be harder on him because this is a training exercise for him rather than an evaluation."

"So you're going to be fighting us then?" Ginny concluded.

"Yes, my job is to stop you from getting a flag to this side of the room," Harry said.

"What does the winning team get?" Sidra inquired.

"You won't beat him," Leo said with a smile.

Harry also smiled as his image faded away and left the teens alone.

"Want to be a team?" Rose asked Ginny.

"Sure," Ginny said, watching as Leo used his non-wand arm to cast a sticking charm on the hand that he would be using to hold his wand.

"I think we should do likewise," Rose said, anticipating Ginny's question as Sidra stalked off into the obstacle course alone and was soon trailed by Ron and Hermione who had apparently decided to pair with each other rather than go it alone.

"What will happen if we don't?" Ginny asked.

Leo grinned at Ginny and Rose. "Your wand could slip away in the dark. Hurry, though. It's safer for everyone if there are more teams to divide Harry's focus."

That night, at ten sharp, Hermione rapped on the front door of Harry and Bellatrix's flat. In short order, the door opened to reveal Harry, sans Polyjuice, smiling at her. "Welcome to our flat," he said.

Hermione stepped in and looked around curiously as Harry shut the door. "Your furnishings seem slightly more Muggle than I would have expected for your wife's tastes."

"When it comes to furniture, it's the money that counts in her eyes," Harry said, still smiling. "How was your train ride home?"

"Uneventful," Hermione said. "Sidra sulked the whole way home, though.

"She didn't really think she'd get a flag and make it all the way back, did she?" Harry asked, grinning crookedly as he led Hermione to the back of the apartment and up the stairs toward Bellatrix's lab.

"Probably not," Hermione said as she eyed every detail of the apartment. "But, she wasn't expecting to lose her wand and be chased mercilessly through an ever-changing landscape."

"I was trying to see what she'd do without a wand. I'm afraid she'd be in trouble."

"Uh-huh," Hermione said. "I get the feeling you're sympathetic to Rose's camp."

Harry shook his head as they reached the top of the staircase, entered Bellatrix's lab, and stopped for a moment. "I don't like Sidra or Rose better than the other at this point. And, I don't see camps. I see individual friendships. I'm rather fond of Leo, and I hope to get to know you and Ron better. You two didn't do too badly this morning, you know."

Hermione blushed. "You whipped us pretty good," she said.

"You would have done well against the average Death Eater with Ron's strategy and your clever use of spells," Harry said.

"I think you're too kind," Hermione said.

Harry shrugged and then pointed to the other side of the lab. "She usually camps over there. Give the tables a wide berth… especially the empty ones."

"Not staying?" Hermione said.

"I got other things that need doing," Harry said. He exited the lab and left Hermione to face Bellatrix alone.

Staring at the tables-especially the ones with parchment and ancient tomes-Hermione made her way across the room to find Bellatrix seated in a chair, a composition notebook of parchment open on her lap and a self-inking quill at hand.

"I'm here," Hermione announced.

"So I heard," Bellatrix said, all but ignoring Hermione. Eventually, she lifted the book up, blew on the page to dry the ink, and then shut it. "We need to locate the last horcruxes sooner than later. To that end, I am suspending our formal lessons. I will give you reading assignments, but your interactions with me will focus on the project at hand. If you're especially quick and do a lot of background reading, you just might learn by doing."

"All right," Hermione said, not particularly pleased. Bellatrix's methods seemed awfully like Snape's teaching methods. On the other hand, they were working on a real project to find answers unknown to even the experts.

Bellatrix stood and walked to one of the walls of the room. Using her wand, she revealed several blackboards. They were all blank, save for one that had three Arithmancy formulas scrawled on it. Bellatrix pointed to one of them. "This is the spell I want to cast on the horcruxes… sort of."

Hermione looked at it. "Some sort of mind altering curse?"

"Close," Bellatrix said. "It's a homegrown version of the Imperius curse."

"Have you tested it yet?" Hermione asked.

"Not precisely," Bellatrix confessed, "but it seems to work on parchment." She pointed to the next equation. "That's the defense mechanism on the horcruxes. We need to find a way to neutralize or bypass it with the first spell. Then the last equation is the horcrux itself. When you mix the third equation with the first, the desired effect will allegedly occur. The second equation is in the way, however."

"All right then," Hermione said as she eyeballed the complicated formulas and wondered how it was that a student fresh out of Hogwarts was supposed to make the jump between NEWT-level coursework and this complicated mess of Arithmancy and unfamiliar Runes.

"For the sake of foundation, I will show you how the first and third equations interact," Bellatrix said, slipping into a teaching role despite her declaration that there would be no formal lessons. "Then, I will want you to duplicate the process from memory. Think of it as a test."

"Okay," Hermione said.

Bellatrix picked up a piece of chalk. "Watch very carefully," she said. "All three of these spells are Dark. That causes the rules of Arithmancy to change slightly. We'll also be dealing with Arithmancy concepts you did not cover in class."

Disguised as a mild-mannered office worker fresh off the job for the day, Harry wandered through Diagon Alley for a while before stepping into the Weasley twins' joke shop. Harry nodded to whatever twin it was standing at the counter and proceeded to browse, smiling every here and there at the familiar Weasley creation. After he had been at this for about five minutes, Harry heard the door to the shop open and a pair of familiar voices.

"You ever been here? It's my brothers' shop, you know," echoed Ron's voice.

"Yeah, it's my dad's favorite shop," Leo said.

"I would try to get you a discount, but not even I can get one from them," Ron said, sounding a bit sulky.

"Uh-huh," Leo said, clearly not focused on the conversation.

Harry grabbed a box of assorted "treats" and headed to the counter to make his purchase, nodding to Leo and Ron ever so slightly. Fred, or perhaps George, rang Harry up, and soon, Harry was out on the street, headed in the direction of Knockturn Alley. Not long after, Leo and Ron emerged from the shop. They followed Harry down Knockturn Alley a bit and then into a dark corner.

"Harry?" Leo said quietly, looking at Harry's disguise with suspicion.

"Yep, it's me," Harry said, drawing his wand and using it to shrink his purchase and tuck it away in his robes.

"That was pretty smooth," Ron said. "I doubt the twins suspected a thing."

"No reason why they should," Harry said. "I take it your parents won't be worried, will they?"

"As long as we have a good story for what we supposedly were doing, we should be fine," Leo said. "We've already got that covered."

"If this goes past midnight, we'll have to figure something out, though," Ron said. "My mom will be suspicious enough as it is, even if I do say I was at Leo's house."

"You could say you were having a sleepover at Bellatrix's house," Leo snickered.

Harry smiled. "I might be able to get Bella to corroborate."

"That would go over great," Ron remarked with a mischievous grin. "My mum is grateful for what your wife supposedly did, Harry. But, she does suspect that she might be a scarlet woman."

"I think Bella would find some sort of a perverse delight if you mum held that view," Harry commented

"Speaking of your wife and perverse pleasures," Leo said, "she'd better watch out. I hear that Mrs. Potter is on the warpath."

"Oh?" Harry said.

"Apparently Bellatrix has been pulling pranks on Mrs. Potter's sister," Leo said. "My dad and Mr. Potter think it is hilarious, but Mrs. Potter isn't amused. You should warn your wife."

"I'll mention it," Harry said, hiding a grin.

"Why would your wife be pulling pranks on some Muggle?" Ron said, frowning.

"My wife and Lily have an interesting relationship," Harry said, knowing full well that this was only a part of the true explanation and failing to mention that he had himself had performed some of the pranks in question.

"So what are we doing, and why are we the only two who get to come along?" Leo asked.

Harry used his wand to transform his clothes from robes into a more Muggle style. "I thought we might try to terrorize some Death Eaters. I asked you two specifically because I only have two spare brooms and because you two are the best at fighting." He removed two miniature brooms from one of his pockets and handed one to each to Ron and Leo. "I think we'll camp at a Muggle pub while we wait for an opportune moment to get to business. That way, you'll have a cover story for where you were, and we'll be able to slip out without anybody there wondering why."

"A Firebolt!" Ron exclaimed as he eyed the broom Harry had handed him.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I bought it for Bella, but I've since realized that she'll probably never use it."

"Wicked," Ron said as he admired the broom and with Leo followed Harry out of Knockturn Alley, up Diagon Alley, and out the front of the Leaky Cauldron.

Maintaining only a few feet between themselves and the ground, Harry, Leo, and Ron sped across a moor on their broomsticks. After only a few hours in the Muggle pub, the map provided by Amelia Bones and since enhanced by the efforts of the Scabiors and Rowles over the past while had revealed that about fifteen Death Eaters had gathered in an isolated location. They had since moved their activities to a small dwelling just outside of a small English town.

"That's a nifty map!" Leo called out, having to speak up because of the wind whipping past the trio. "Where did you get it?"

"A friend thought it might be useful for me," Harry replied, also in a loud voice. "Up until now, I've been randomly patrolling and hoping to find attacks happening or about to happen. With the exception of the Burrow, I've never been able to do anything about wizard dwellings. They're too spread out for me to patrol."

"We could help you do this every night," Ron declared.

"We'll see how this goes," Harry said, not committing to anything. "We're getting close, now. When I give the signal, you two separate from me and watch from afar for opportunities to do the spells I told you about. After casting any spell, change location. When it's over, do not reveal yourselves to anybody at all unless I give the all clear signal-even if you see me wandering around in the open."

"Yeah, you already told us that," Ron said.

After a few more seconds, Harry and his partners could hear the faint sound of spellfire and the loud, raucous laughter of Death Eaters. A few seconds beyond that put them within sight of the spectacle itself. Harry signaled Leo and Ron to halt as he surveyed the scene.

The Death Eaters seemed to have targeted the dwelling of a magical family. The house, while not overly tall like the Burrow, still had the look of being supported here and there by the grace of magical spells rather than the hard science of Muggle architecture.

From the magic in the air, Harry could see evidence of wards that the Death Eaters had forcefully breached within the past few minutes. Harry was happy to see the remains of wards. The necessity of spotting the Death Eater activity on the map and then having to find a way to get to the location quickly and without detection had delayed Harry, but the necessity of breaching the wards had also delayed the Death Eaters, though it seemed they had made some progress beyond that. Three people had been dragged to the front yard. The wizard of the house was either unconscious or incapacitated. His wife and daughter were still conscious and being tormented by the dozen or so Death Eaters.

Suppressing his urge to lash out immediately, Harry signaled Ron and Leo to break off. Harry himself used his broom to zoom straight up into the air. Once he reached a goodly height, Harry leveled off the broom and drew his phoenix-feather wand and one of his Wandel wands.

First, he cast his own anti-apparition and anti-portkey spells so that the Death Eaters would not be able to escape. Then, breaking from the tradition of using his phoenix-feather wand to do the image projection spell, Harry cast Bellatrix's version of the Ghost of Ashworth spell with his Wandel wand so that it appeared a small distance away from where the Death Eaters were having their sport.

The effect was immediate. But, instead of the Death Eaters noticing the ghost spell first, it was the wife below. "Save us, Professor Ashworth," she shrieked just loud enough for Harry to make out what she had said.

The Death Eaters turned, saw what had become known as the Ghost of Ashworth, and began cursing as they debated whether to continue with their assignment or run for their lives.

"Not very smart, are you?" Harry mused quietly as he wondered why they did not attempt to escape the scene immediately, given what the "ghost" had done to other Death Eaters. Using his primary wand, Harry conjured a thick fog and sent it streaming below so that to those on the ground, it appeared to be coming from the ghost and then surrounding the area. Soon, the fog completely surrounded the Death Eaters and their victims, and Harry took the opportunity to fly down and take a position in the fog near the ground-but not near the ghostly apparition.

Ron and Leo had apparently determined that the fog was the appropriate time to begin the work Harry had assigned them. Thunder sounded from spells the two had cast. This contributed to the Death Eaters' terror, and Harry smirked as they began to try to escape. Were it not for the victims being among the Death Eaters, Harry would have resorted to the lightning bolts for which he had developed a fondness.

But, this time, capturing Death Eaters and preserving the victims' lives was priority, so Harry pushed the fog closer in to the Death Eaters. As magical thunder sounded again, Harry flew a bit higher and into the fog, cast a sight enhancement spell on his eyes, and began stalking the Death Eaters from above.

"This is so wicked!" Ron breathed to Leo as they quietly flew in the dark around the boundary wall of the fog Harry had conjured.

"What do you suppose he's doing?" Leo asked, frowning at the fog.

"Looks like he's resorted to taking them out one by one. Too bad we can't go in and cast a few stunners ourselves."

"I'd be too nervous about Harry mistaking me for a Death Eater," Leo said.

"Yeah," Ron said. "We should watch for any Death Eaters that try to run out of the fog."

"Good idea," Leo agreed. "I'll fly around to the other side and keep watch there and maybe do some more of those thunder spells."

"All right," Ron said, watching as Leo flew off. Ron then flew away from the fog a bit so that he would have a better view.

Emma Dobbs could not move because of the magical ropes that had bound her arms and legs, but she could see the fog that had enveloped the front yard of her family's house. With wide eyes, she watched the Death Eaters that has been abusing her as they scattered and tried to escape the Dobbs residence. They ran in complete disorder, yet they all scrupulously avoided running toward the ghost.

Visible even through the fog was the apparition recognized by the magical population as the Ghost of Ashworth. Though the ropes binding her made it difficult, Emma did her best to stare at the ghost. The ghost itself was a popular topic of discussion at Hogwarts. None of the students had known Harry Ashworth, of course, but his supposed widow had taught two dueling classes. Bellatrix Black's aura of power and mystery had sparked the imaginations of most Hogwarts students, and that interest had stretched to the Ghost of Ashworth.

Abruptly, a Death Eater screamed in the fog. The scream was cut short, perhaps by a stunner or even a killing curse. In response, the eyes of the ghost flared orange as if it had just fed on the Death Eater, and thunder sounded close by. The flame in the eyes of the ghost died out, and it began to drift to and fro, almost fading into the fog as Death Eaters continued to search for a way to escape.

"Don't leave us!" Emma heard her mother scream from where the Death Eaters had tied her down.

Her parents viewed the Ghost of Ashworth differently than the younger generation. Mrs. Dobbs had been a Muggleborn student at the time Harry Ashworth had taught Potions. None of his students had doubted that Professor Ashworth was a nice man. But, he had not been special, either. At least, not until his ghost had appeared in the past months and started terrorizing Death Eaters. That had sparked conversation and reminiscences about the past. The smallest memorized fact about Harry Ashworth suddenly became significant… even a sign that he had known secrets or that he was very powerful or that the Dark Lord had feared him.

Another scream was cut short in the fog. The ghost was now difficult to see, but Emma thought she had seen some orange light in the fog from the ghost's eyes flaring.

Suddenly, one of the Death Eaters decided to take a hostage. Leaping out of the fog, the Death Eater grabbed Emma roughly and dragged her against the wall of the house. He jerked her to her feet and placed her in front of him. Emma wondered whether using her as a human shield was worth the bother. After all, it was a ghost allegedly attacking them.

The fog nearest to Emma and the Death Eater began to thicken noticeably and drift toward them. Emma began to hope that something was going to happen to the Death Eater holding her. The Death Eater himself was apparently expecting something. He was holding Emma so tightly that she could feel his heartbeat accelerate.

With lightning speed, somebody or something flew out of the fog. Emma and the Death Eater screamed as the dark figure zoomed toward them. An explosion of red magic blinded Emma and silenced the Death Eater. Emma continued to scream as the unconscious Death Eater, who was still holding her, toppled to the ground with her beneath him.

Light flared, waking Amelia Bones. Gasping, she sat up in her bed, clutching her bedsheets to herself. Surely, her wards had not failed in the face of a Death Eater attack without waking her first. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see standing in her bedroom a ghostly figure. Gaping at it, she quickly figured that it must be the Ghost of Ashworth.

"What is it?" she asked, wondering whether Bellatrix or whoever was controlling it could hear her.

"Send Aurors to the Dobbs house and a couple of Mediwizards, too," rasped the ghost's voice.

"Which Dobbs?" Amelia asked. But, it was too late. The ghost had disappeared.

Cursing, Amelia scrambled out of bed and grabbed her Auror uniform.

"At approximately 11:37 last night, I received an anonymous tip that the Aurors were needed at the Dobbs residence," Amelia explained to the members of the press gathered in the Ministry atrium near the central statute. "I immediately gathered a response team and travelled to the Dobbs residence to discover that an unknown assailant or assailants had rendered unconscious fifteen Death Eaters who had been attacking the Dobbs family. Those Death Eaters are now in custody. The members of the Dobbs family are expected to make a full recovery."

"The Ghost of Ashworth was responsible, was he not?" inquired one reporter, who Amelia thought represented the Daily Prophet .

"Mrs. Dobbs and her daughter have reported that they saw somebody or something that they describe as the Ghost of Ashworth," Amelia admitted.

"These Ghost of Ashworth occurrences are becoming more frequent. Some have opined that such occurrences are the product of a covert Ministry program. Do you have a comment on that?" the Daily Prophet reporter demanded.

"I can offer you no official explanation concerning the frequent occurrence of the Ashworth incidents." Amelia said, leaving the question unresolved. With any luck, the reporters might believe that what had happened was the result of an official Ministry program under Amelia's leadership.

"Has the Ministry consulted Bellatrix Black concerning these occurrences?" a reporter from one of the wizard wireless stations asked. "There are rumors that she was married to Harry Ashworth, and that she has been seen in public during the last few months."

"The Ministry has not directed official queries her way," Amelia said, trying to think of a strategy for this line of questioning.

"That seems pretty lax of you," said a reporter from Witch Weekly . "After all, we're talking about the ghost of her husband. And, we're not talking about just any hapless widow. We are talking about Bellatrix Black, daughter of the late Minister Black. She is a pureblood, and by all reports from her former classmates, her magical skills are formidable. Have you considered that maybe she's your vigilante?"

"I have better things to do than chase vigilantes," Amelia said, now on the defensive. "Wouldn't you prefer that I chase Death Eaters?"

The reporters paused for a moment to consider this. Before they could resume, flames from one of the Ministry entrance fireplaces flared and out walked Bellatrix Black, who proceeded to stride toward the entrance guard's desk to have her wand checked prior to entering the Ministry offices.

"Ms. Black!" called the Witch Weekly reporter. "Ms. Black! Do you have a comment on the recent Ghost of Ashworth incident or any other prior incidents?"

Bellatrix paused long enough to glance at the Witch Weekly reporter and all the other reporters who, while still gathered around Amelia's podium, were staring at Bellatrix. "I am sorry," she said, "but I have an urgent meeting with Minister Prewitt."

After surrendering her wand at yet another security desk set up on the Minister's floor and submitting to various identity tests and enchantment tests, an Auror escorted Bellatrix into Minister Prewitt's office. The Minister sat in his desk, flanked by two Auror bodyguards and surrounded by portraits of various people, some of whom Bellatrix recognized-particularly her father. The Minister did not stand from his chair and greeted Bellatrix rather curtly.

"Ms. Black," he said.

"Minister," Bellatrix said politely, nodding her head and helping herself to one of the seats in front of Prewitt's desk, "what can I do for you?"

The Minister of Magic glared at Bellatrix for at least a minute. Finally, he gestured at his bodyguards. "Leave us," he said.

"I don't advise that," one said. "Ms. Black is an unknown commodity."

"I said I wanted you to leave! I didn't ask you whether you should leave!" Prewitt barked, his rage at being questioned causing him to tremble visibly.

The Aurors left, leaving Prewitt and Bellatrix to stare at each other while Prewitt regained his composure and his breath.

"You know why I summoned you here this morning," Prewitt said.

"Maybe I do, maybe I do not," Bellatrix said. "Would it not be better to put it out on the table?"

"Very well," Prewitt said, now all false kindness. "This Ghost of Ashworth nonsense has been going on. And now, Amelia Bones is downstairs holding a press conference after having captured fifteen Death Eaters in a single night, thanks to the Ghost of Ashworth. Why are you two conspiring against me?"

"Conspiring against you? Really?" Bellatrix retorted.

"You're trying to discredit me. You're trying to discredit Director Crouch. Obviously, Bones is trying to make a power grab, and you're helping her."

"So, what if I am?" Bellatrix asked.

"Is Harry Ashworth alive?" Prewitt demanded.

Bellatrix nearly gave a yes or no answer because the question had caught her off guard. However, she was quick enough to parry Prewitt's sudden stab. "Maybe he is, maybe he is not."

"This is a war, Ms. Black," Prewitt said, his voice becoming progressively louder. "The Ministry cannot afford your games. Not at a time like this. If you want to get involved in the war effort, I am happy to have you aboard. And, if Harry Ashworth is alive, I want him on board, too. All of this politics and games and power grabs are unacceptable. Your father would not have tolerated it if he was still Minister."

"I fear you give my father too much credit," Bellatrix said.

"I suppose your father would have had a tough time dealing with you," Prewitt said. "But I reckon your uncle would have set you down hard if you muddled up his plans. He was the power behind the throne, wasn't he?"

"For as long as he lived, anyway," Bellatrix replied, perfectly willing to let him wander off topic. At the very least, it would help him calm down. The way he was getting worked up, Bellatrix wondered if he was going to have a heart attack or something.

"And then Ashworth was the power behind the throne," Prewitt said.

"I think you mean Malfoy," Bellatrix said.

"No, I think it was Ashworth, short as was his reign between the deaths of Orion and Cygnus," Prewitt said.

"I am quite sure you know better than I," Bellatrix conceded, not really sure herself about what would have happened if her father had survived longer.

"What do you want, Ms. Black?" Prewitt said, now seemingly calm. "I'm willing to pay for your help. Anything you can do to… control this Ghost of Ashworth. Anything you can do to rally support for me. Any sort of ingenuity you can bring to the table. Surely you realize that had you remained in England during the past years, you would have risen high in the Ministry. We're in this war together, you know."

Bellatrix smiled. Screw you, Amelia. Now, you will rely on my good will, she thought to herself. Deciding that boldness was the best move, she spoke. "I want a seat on the Wizengamot."

"A surprisingly low, but difficult price," Prewitt said slowly. "I can't make a Wizengamot appointment if there is no vacancy. I can put you in my administration, if power is what satisfies you. A special deputy to the Minister, perhaps. Or if you're patient, I could arrange for an undersecretary position."

"A position in your administration lasts only as long as you do," Bellatrix noted. "An appointment to the Wizengamot endures for the remainder of my life. If you want me to function in your administration, it is indeed common practice for Wizengamot members to accept bureaucratic responsibilities."

"I'm not unwilling," Prewitt said. "But as I said, there is no vacancy."

"There will be just as soon as one of the Wizengamot members is exposed as being a Death Eater," Bellatrix said. "Then you can appoint me."

"Only if I have seen some token of your cooperation before then."

"Count on it," Bellatrix said. "Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"For now, no," Prewitt said, leaning back in his chair and looking quite pleased with himself.

"Very well," Bellatrix said, standing up and moving to leave.

"I suppose Harry Ashworth must be dead," Prewitt said to her back. "I think that he would have kept you on tighter leash if he were alive."

Bellatrix turned around and was quite nearly prepared to retort, but she restrained herself. She smiled at Minister Prewitt and departed, propelling her thoughts forward to the issue of whether she was going to talk to Amelia or not on the way out, perhaps only to ensure that the Auror knew that Bellatrix did not intend to leave her out in the cold. She was too valuable for that.