A/N: Many thanks for your reviews.
Delenda Est – Rebooted
Lord Silvere
Chapter Nine: Darkness Beneath the Moon
As he ushered Bellatrix into the Room of Requirement, Harry observed that the room had far exceeded his expectations. Instead of a mere practice room like the one Dumbledore's Army had used in his fifth year as a Hogwarts student, the room had morphed into something like a small movie set depicting an old English village.
Down the center of the room, or village, ran a small cobblestone pathway mimicking a main thoroughfare. On one side of the mock road sat a couple of small Tudor-style homes. Their interiors, though well furnished, were small. A couple of storefronts sat on the other side of the road. Strips of fake woodland ran behind the houses and stores.
As he shut the door behind them, Harry grinned at Bellatrix, who had been staring at the interior of the room with widened eyes. "I told you that this room would work."
Bellatrix tightened her jaw and narrowed her eyes. She had tried to convince him to do the practice duel in the Chamber of Secrets, but Harry had steadfastly insisted that the Room of Requirement would be better. As far as Harry knew, Bellatrix was still harvesting the basilisk carcass.
"It is all right for our purposes," she admitted grudgingly.
"More like perfect," Harry insisted, grinning slyly at her. He could see that she was secretly impressed.
Bellatrix ignored Harry's comment and brushed past him, walking up the fake street until she was in the center of the four-building village. She turned slowly in a circle, drinking in her surroundings with discerning eyes. Finally, she turned her focus back to Harry.
"What kind of game do you want to play?"
"Game?"
"Do you think we're going to stand here in the middle of the street and fight when we have a mock village to use?"
"Of course not," Harry snapped back as he realized that by using the word 'game,' Bellatrix was talking about the potential the room afforded for real life roleplay. "Do you want to be the offense or defense?"
Bellatrix pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Defense. I will pretend to be a key Ministry official just coming home from a long day at work. You can be a minion of the Dark Lord assigned to capture me. The winner is the one who subdues the other."
"Okay," Harry said, a little bit surprised by her ability to come up with an imaginative scenario so quickly. "Which house is yours?"
Bellatrix frowned. "Didn't the Dark Lord tell you?"
"Obviously not," Harry said drily.
"Not my problem," Bellatrix said, shrugging. "Go pick a corner of the room to start from and then wait ten minutes."
About twenty minutes later, Harry was concealed in one of the fake stores trying to decide which house Bellatrix had picked. Given that he could see lights and movement in both, it seemed she had taken steps to make it appear that both were occupied. Not willing to waste dueling practice time on mind games with her, Harry randomly picked one of the houses.
Stealthily, he exited the fake store from the back and crept around to the corner nearest the road. He peeked around the corner and flicked his holly and phoenix feather wand three times. Three fireballs exploded in front of the houses, and Harry darted across the miniature street toward the side of one of the houses, hoping that the fireballs would draw Bellatrix's attention for even as little as a split second.
As soon as he was up against the house wall, he vanished one of the windows and climbed through, finding himself in a mock kitchen. It was empty. Seeing a steep staircase leading up to the second floor, Harry cast a silencing charm on the staircase and leapt up the stairs, two at a time. He found himself in a short hallway with three closed doors.
Harry rapidly cast a bevy of silencing charms and then locking and sticking charms on two of the three doors. He then went into the remaining door and found an empty child's bedroom with a small bed and toy chest. Ascertaining that Bellatrix was not in the room, Harry exited and used charms to seal the room off before removing the charms on the next door. It turned out to be a bathroom and was empty. Harry then proceeded to the last room and found that it was the master suite.
There was a bathroom inside, and the shower was running. Harry's surprise at hearing the shower cost him a precious second of distraction. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, Bellatrix materialized. With something resembling a karate chop, she knocked the wand out of Harry's hand before darting behind him where she began an attempt to strangle Harry, her hands around his neck.
Harry was furious, but mainly at himself. An almost seventeen-year-old witch had gotten the drop on him. And of all people, it was Bellatrix. The rational part of Harry's brain knew that she was not the same Bellatrix who had killed Sirius and tortured many others. But alongside the memory of her kneeling and swearing allegiance came many other memories of having fought the other Bellatrix. Anger stirred in Harry's breast, and suddenly energy coursed through him.
Although Bellatrix had at least an inch more height than him, Harry had some muscle mass and a wiry frame. Bellatrix was a bit underdeveloped, and what bulk she had consisted only of soft curves. Harry dropped to his knees and pulled Bellatrix forward. She flipped over Harry and slammed into the floor in front of him, releasing the stranglehold on Harry's neck. In vain, she tried to scratch at his face as she twisted around to face him.
Harry tried to break free from Bellatrix's clawing so that he could either draw his other wand or grab the wand she had knocked from his hands, but he was having trouble repelling her attacks. It was at this point that his temper boiled over. He pulled back his arm and let his fist fly, propelling it past Bellatrix's clawing attacks and punching Bellatrix squarely in the face.
As Bellatrix let out a gasp and reflexively brought her hands to her face, Harry broke free and retrieved his wand. He cast a stunner toward Bellatrix, but she had already drawn her wand and erected a shield. They then proceeded to exchange spellfire for a few moments before Bellatrix was able to work her way toward the bedroom window.
Once at the window, she lit the bed on fire. It exploded with billowing flames. As Harry shielded his face from the flames and cast a spell to quench them, Bellatrix vanished the window and jumped out, casting a cushioning charm on the ground. Her landing was not smooth. She wasted seconds scrambling to her feet, and Harry was able to get to the window while she was still in sight.
Realizing that Bellatrix was attempting to run around the corner of one of the stores and that his stunner would only hit a cobblestone, Harry switched and let loose a blasting curse. As expected, Bellatrix was already around the corner by the time the curse caught up to her position.
However, as Harry had calculated, the blasting curse hit the stone. Debris exploded, and Bellatrix yelped, signaling that she had been hit. Harry followed her example and jumped out of the window, landing on a cushioning charm.
Harry was not sure how effective his hit with the blasting curse had been, but when he next encountered and cornered Bellatrix, he noted that she was limping. He was beginning to think that maybe they should call a draw for now, but Bellatrix persevered, letting off a flurry of offensive spells and shielding Harry's own attacks.
Bellatrix was slippery, but Harry was wearing her down. He was not only out-lasting her stamina but also scoring the occasional minor hit on her. Eventually, she opted to go all in and use a physical attack on Harry since it was the only strategy that had worked well against him.
The attack came as Harry was sneaking through the wooded area behind the fake houses. Bellatrix dropped from a tree, landing on Harry. However, Harry had learned his lesson and wasted no time dropping to the ground and employing measures to throw Bellatrix off his back. When that did not work, Harry switched tactics. Instead of trying to escape, he made himself the aggressor.
They wrestled on the ground with neither able to get the upper hand or escape the other. Only after he placed his hands on Bellatrix's throat did she abruptly go limp. "You win," she grunted. "I'm not about to let you leave bruises on my neck."
"But it is okay if I have bruises on my neck, apparently," Harry groaned as he rolled onto his back and let out a deep sigh. Unbidden, reclining couches appeared, and Harry climbed onto the one closest to him.
"You could have surrendered at that moment," Bellatrix pointed out as she picked herself up and laid down on her own couch. "Instead you punched me in the face. Now I am going to have a black eye."
Harry winced guiltily. "Sorry. What about your limp?"
"That, too," Bellatrix sighed.
They remained on the couches, catching their breaths and resting for about half an hour before Harry broke the silence. "Well, this was your idea. What do you want to do now?"
"Ideally, we will discuss the fight and critique each other," Bellatrix replied. "Then, we can set up the next scenario or practice new spells and strategies. But that will all have to wait, I think. We need to patch ourselves up. And I don't know about you, but I need to focus on preparing for Paris."
"Seems like you are already prepared for Paris," Harry said wryly.
"Tell that to stuffy Longbottom and perky Evans."
At the staff meeting just a couple of days before the Paris tournament, Harry and Pythia negotiated coverage of their classes. Pythia had more success since Divination was viewed as an easy class. Fortunately for Harry, Professor Dumbledore volunteered to cover the slots for which nobody else volunteered.
The headmaster then steered conversation to the rest of the agenda. One of the items of business was Madam Pomfrey listing off students she had recently treated, including Bellatrix Black. "She claimed to have had a potions brewing accident," Madam Pomfrey harrumphed after describing Bellatrix's black eye and limp.
"It is possible for a potions accident to cause such injuries if the mixture explodes," Professor Slughorn opined. "Though, Miss Black has not been doing much homework of late. So, I am wondering why she would have been brewing a potion."
The staff then went off topic and discussed Bellatrix in general. The conclusion of those present, aside from Harry and Pythia, was that Bellatrix was a troubled prodigy on the verge of peaking and failing to assimilate into society. A couple of professors volunteered to speak with contacts at the Ministry about work-study internships so that she could be simultaneously challenged and assimilated into the workforce.
After the meeting, Professor Dumbledore led Harry and Pythia to his office where they finished discussing the details of the trip. Pythia reported on her coordination with the parents who were providing funding.
"Some of the parents wanted to personally escort their children to Paris and meet us at the tournament after some sightseeing," Pythia said. "I told them I would check with you. However, I would prefer that the team travel together. I am aiming for cohesion."
"I think you are right," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding with approval.
"The alternative the parents have already proposed is that the students leave for Paris earlier in the morning. Then we can all squeeze in some sightseeing in between our arrival in Paris and the opening dinner of the tournament."
"If they are going to foot the bill, then I have no objection" Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.
Clutching a clipboard in one hand and a self-inking quill in the other, Lily watched Bellatrix exit the castle in the dark hours of the morning and approach the area where five of the school's thestral-pulled or so-called horseless carriages were being loaded.
"Luggage?" Lily inquired as Bellatrix came within earshot.
Bellatrix nodded toward her mini-travelling trunk, hovering just behind her.
"Right," Lily said officiously, checking Bellatrix off on the list and notating the presence of her luggage. "I assume you have your wand."
Bellatrix glared at Lily.
"Just checking," Lily said, gesturing over toward Crabbe and Goyle. "They forgot."
"Which carriage, please?"
"We were thinking of using the fifth one there for luggage. So, why don't you put your trunk in it and pick one of the other four to ride in?"
"I'll keep my carry-on with me," Bellatrix said before walking toward the carriages. As she retreated, Lily wondered if Bellatrix had ever flown with a Muggle airline.
In short order, all students, their luggage, and their wands were present and noted on Lily's clipboard. Malfoy, the Lestrange brothers, Crabbe, and Goyle insisted on squeezing into one carriage with each other. James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin took another carriage. Alice and Frank claimed a carriage and were compelled to share it with Severus Snape when he was denied admittance to the Malfoy/Lestrange carriage.
Bellatrix, in her precocious manner, slipped into Harry and Pythia's carriage, acting as if she was their equal. This left Lily in a quandary. Part of her felt she should be with Alice and Severus. But another part of her felt like that as club president, she was entitled as much as anyone to ride with the professors.
Lily's internal conflict was put to an end when Pythia stuck her head out of the carriage window and called for Lily to join them. Thrilled, Lily accepted the invitation. While she was climbing into the carriage, Professor Dumbledore arrived to see them off.
The headmaster cast spells on the carriages to help them fly and avoid the notice of Muggles. He then spoke with the house elves assigned to drive the carriages and manage the thestrals before saying farewell and wishing good luck to the team and its coaches.
While Pythia and Lily chattered about the tournament schedule and plans, Harry fell asleep. When he awoke, he found that Bellatrix was dozing with her head resting on his arm. Pythia and Lily were still conversing, but Lily was shooting Bellatrix dirty glances when she thought Harry was not looking. Pythia was smirking at Harry whenever Lily was not looking.
Harry was still debating whether Bellatrix was asleep or faking when Pythia announced that the carriages were about to land in Paris at Place Cachée. Bellatrix woke up after the carriages had landed and everyone had begun bustling around to exit carriages and fetch luggage.
Soon, Pythia was leading the Hogwarts team through Place Cachée toward a side street on which the Hôtel d'Avon was located. There, Reinhard Lestrange had made lodging arrangements for the entire team. When they arrived, Harry was surprised to find that the Hôtel d'Avon was more like a townhouse mansion than a hotel.
With his usual silky manner, Reinhard Lestrange graciously welcomed the Hogwarts contingent and ushered the students into a dining room for breakfast. While the students worked their way through the buffet line, Lestrange showed Harry and Pythia a list of the rooms they could use for students and professors. After Pythia thanked him for his generosity, Reinhard summarized the sightseeing plans, explaining that the other parents had gone ahead.
After breakfast, the first item on the itinerary was the Eiffel Tower. There, the Hogwarts team, coaches, and Reinhard Lestrange rendezvoused with Abraxas Malfoy, Orion and Cygnus Black, the Crabbes, and the Goyles. From there, the combined group followed a grueling schedule, resting only for lunch at a Parisian cafe.
In the afternoon, at the Louvre, the group splintered as they branched out and visited different exhibits. When it was time for them to go to their next stop, they reassembled and waited for each other near the Louvre's entrance.
After about ten minutes of waiting, Lily took it upon herself to note the obvious. "We're missing Bellatrix," Lily informed Pythia and Harry after consulting her clipboard.
"And also Abraxas, Orion, and Cygnus," Reinhard Lestrange added, speaking for the adult contingent.
"Could they have gone off together?" Pythia asked.
"Maybe," Harry said, sounding doubtful. "Why don't you all go ahead? I'll look for Bellatrix and any of the rest and meet you up at the next stop."
"Yes, let's do that," Pythia said as Reinhard showed Harry the itinerary and told him how he could catch up.
Soon, the group was departing the Louvre without Harry and the missing members. Instead of immediately going back into the exhibit halls to look for Bellatrix, Harry waited and watched the group depart from the Louvre. In particular, Harry ensured that Reinhard Lestrange and his sons had left and were on their way.
In short order, Harry found Bellatrix asleep on a bench. She was attracting disgusted looks from tourists. Either they could not fathom her apparent disdain for some of the world's greatest art or perhaps they were angry that she was taking up the entire bench.
Harry poked Bellatrix's shoulder, and she opened eyes that did not look very sleepy.
"Oh, no, Professor! Did I fall asleep and force you to volunteer to come and find me while the rest of the group went on without us?"
"Good job," Harry said drily. "It looks like we're the only ones left behind, except maybe your father, uncle, and Mr. Malfoy. Nobody could find them before the group moved on."
"They should have tried the shot glass section of the gift shop," Bellatrix said, faking a yawn and sitting up. "Now, are you going to tell me the purpose of this elaborate charade?"
"I want to look at one of the exhibits more closely," Harry revealed.
"You could have done that without this shenanigan," Bellatrix said, rolling her eyes.
"Without Lestrange and his sons watching us," Harry clarified.
"I see."
"But first," Harry said, "I wonder if you could tell me, from a pureblood perspective, why Reinhard Lestrange is so interested in this place."
"Because it is rich and stuffy," Bellatrix said contemptuously, as she stood and put on an excessive show of stretching.
"No, really. This is a Muggle museum. Why are we here?"
"Do you really think Muggles did all this art without some magic?"
"Wouldn't it still be considered inferior to what a wizard or witch could do?" Harry pressed, gesturing toward where he wanted to walk. "I mean, the paintings at Hogwarts move around."
"Well, yes," Bellatrix agreed, looking at some of the paintings for the first time as they began to walk through the museum. But then she pointed to a display of jewelry. "On the other hand, Muggles have been known to snatch up magical objects and put them on display, not knowing what they really are."
"That is what I feared," Harry said grimly. He led Bellatrix to another room. In the center of the room, a large and well-protected glass case housed a stone bowl. Harry guided Bellatrix toward the display.
"Reinhard Lestrange and his sons spent a lot of time eyeing this exhibit," Harry told Bellatrix. "In fact, they were in this room for nearly the entire time the group was at this museum."
Bellatrix eyed the bowl. "And you're wondering if it is a magical artifact." She then pointed to the plaque and description of the exhibit. "Bowl of Astaroth. Phoenician. Well, the label suggests that it is magical."
"Obviously. I was wondering if we could determine for ourselves whether it is magical."
Bellatrix peered at the bowl, pressing her nose right up to the glass. "It has markings that I would deem as being magical or having magical importance. If you were in the market for ancient magical Phoenician artifacts, this would appear to fit the bill."
"But can you confirm that it is a magical artifact?"
"Not without touching it and casting some spells. Do you want to try to get it out of the case while everyone is watching?"
"No," Harry muttered. "We can come back."
"Why is it important?"
"I have a hunch that the Dark Lord is eyeing this as a potential horcrux," Harry whispered. "Or he thinks it can be used for something special. Either way, the Lestranges are likely tasked with obtaining it for him. As soon as they found out that Paris was one of the tournaments, they joined the dueling club."
"That only partially makes sense," Bellatrix countered as she and Harry wandered away from the display case and took a position on the perimeter of the room. "If he wants it for a horcrux, why bother? He could make a horcrux from a Muggle toaster. Or a rock. So that kills your horcrux theory. As for the bowl being special, it is unlikely, even if it is a magical object. Old is not always valuable. Surely some other wizard or witch would have snatched it if it had value."
"The thing about Tom Riddle," Harry said quietly, "is that he has a tendency to become fixated on items."
"Items?"
"Like serial killer trophies or things that he thinks will give him an advantage," Harry explained. "Maybe things that are sentimental."
Bellatrix raised her eyebrows. "Sentimental? Do you know of any connection between him and the bowl? I thought he was raised in our country."
"No. So I suppose it is more likely he thinks the bowl has its own value."
"Well, what do you want to do about it?" Bellatrix asked, yawning.
"I'll think about it," Harry said. "Maybe we can sneak back in here later. Let's see if we can catch up with the group."
"How about we just go back to the Hôtel d'Avon and tell the group we could not find them?" Bellatrix proposed. "I want a nap if we're going to be creeping around here later."
"She's become quite the little martinet, hasn't she?" Sirius said to James and Remus, nodding toward Lily Evans, who was brandishing her clipboard and speaking with Professor Greengrass in concerned and urgent tones about the missing members of their group.
"She's only an alternate. So, she is embracing her role as the club leader and trying to fit in with the professors," Remus observed sagely.
"She has always been a little bit of a teacher's pet," James said fondly.
"It's annoying," Sirius grumbled.
"You're just angry that she's monopolizing Professor Greengrass," James teased. "I wonder where Bellatrix and Professor Ashworth went, though. They should have caught up by now."
"I am guessing they went back to the Hôtel d'Avon," Sirius said. "Or at least that's where we'll find Bellatrix. It would be just like her to decide she is sick of Muggle Paris and go back without telling anybody. For all we know, Professor Ashworth is still searching the Louvre."
It appeared that Sirius was partially correct. When the group arrived back at the Hôtel d'Avon and walked into one of the main sitting rooms, they found Professor Ashworth chatting and laughing with Orion Black, Cygnus Black, and Abraxas Malfoy. They were sitting around a table and playing cards.
Lily made a beeline over to Professor Ashworth with Professor Greengrass following at a more casual pace. "Were you able to find Bellatrix?" Lily asked. "Where were you? Why didn't you catch up with us?"
"I did find Bellatrix," Harry responded, shooting an apologetic glance at Pythia. "She was feeling fatigued, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring her back here to rest. This is where I found the rest of us." He gestured to the Blacks and Malfoy.
"Sorry about that, old boy," Malfoy said, winking at Reinhard Lestrange, who had also made his way over to catch up on the status of the missing group members. "We're getting older, you know." He winked at Harry, not doing much to hide the gesture from anybody else.
"I assure you, no harm done," Reinhard said, his naturally silky voice making it difficult to gauge his sincerity.
Although the tournament organizers had billed Paris as being the host city, it turned out that it was only the location for lodging and tournament business. Competitors, coaches, and spectators were directed to use special portkey stations set up in Place Cachée to take them to a dueling arena in rural France, where the tournament's events would occur.
Still trying to wake up from too deep of a nap, Bellatrix allowed herself to be guided and jostled toward the portkey station with the rest of the team and their chaperones. Vaguely, she noticed that Lily Evans and Frank Longbottom were pushing everyone along while Professors Ashworth and Greengrass meandered behind the group, chatting with each other. Behind them, the various parents followed.
One portkey ride later, Bellatrix was standing outside of a medium-sized outdoor arena. She walked through the gates with the rest of the team to find that the tournament organizers had set up massive buffet tables on the arena's floor. Competitors and others were helping themselves and then moving to the spectator seats where they could sit and eat.
The Hogwarts team promptly lined up for the buffet. Bellatrix eyed the food with a discerning, almost disdainful, eye as she waited for Sirius and James to finish piling their plates with firsts, second, thirds, and fourths and get out of her way. She was about to offer an acerbic comment, when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Harry stiffen.
Immediately forgetting her post-nap fog and James and Sirius' boorish behavior, Bellatrix maneuvered herself to be next to Harry in the food line. "What do you see?" she asked.
"The proud sons of Durmstrang," Harry said, his voice overly neutral as he nodded toward where a number of students with Durmstrang regalia were eating with their own chaperones and families.
Bellatrix squinted and eyed the Durmstrang team. "I think some of those are witches."
"Whatever."
"Future followers?" Bellatrix whispered.
"Some look familiar," Harry muttered. "But their coach is definitely a future follower. His name is Igor Karkaroff."
"I see," Bellatrix said, making a note to keep an eye on the Durmstrang students.
"I think we've got a student-teacher romance well underway over there," Orion Black declared. He was ignoring his plate and staring over to where Harry Ashworth was sitting next to Pythia Greengrass and the rest of the students. His niece Bellatrix was seated one row up and just slightly over from Ashworth and Greengrass.
Abraxas snorted. "You do realize that the Greengrass girl is now a professor, don't you?"
Orion glared at his friend.
"Oh, that's right," Abraxas said, pretending to remember. "You were hoping to unload Bellatrix on that poor Ashworth schmuck and get a monopoly on all Ashworth descendants in Britain."
"Something like that," Orion said drily.
Abraxas continued eating, but studied Professor Ashworth and Bellatrix as he did so. Eventually, he rendered his verdict. "I just don't see it, old boy. If anything, it is Ashworth and Greengrass who seem charmed by each other."
"You have not been watching them closely enough," Orion explained. "Bellatrix orbits him. The only times she comes out of her shell are during interactions with him."
Abraxas wrinkled his nose. "I can allow that maybe there is a schoolgirl crush." He chortled. "Can you imagine? Bellatrix Black having a crush? But anyway, surely there is no interest on his part. He is the soul of discretion. As he should be, all things considered."
"Ah, but I've observed something you have not," Orion said. "You see, there is a very subtle difference between how Ashworth interacts with her and how he interacts with anyone else. I've seen him give her 'we can discuss this later' glances the same way married couples sometimes do. As for propriety, she is seventeen within a few weeks."
Abraxas snickered. "Loaded glances? You're stretching pretty far. Shall we ask Cygnus when he graces us with his presence?"
"No," Orion said. "Don't tease him."
"I would be more worried about teasing Walburga and Druella. They seem to be aiming for an alliance with the Lestrange family."
"Oh, yes. Your good friend Lestrange," Orion said, distaste apparent in his tone.
"He's not a close friend," Abraxas defended. "More like a useful neighbor friend. I don't confide in him. I just talk to him about the weather and borrow stuff."
"If you say so."
"You know that I was not in Reinhard's friend circle at Hogwarts," Abraxas said, still on the defensive. "In fact, I was not even in the same year. They were older. A lot older."
"That's true," Orion admitted, allowing Abraxas some redemption.
"Yes, there was Lestrange, and that overachieving creeper, and, then … ," Abraxas said, his voice trailing off. "You know what? Reinhard may be the last of his kind. I have not seen any of his circle for years now, and I know some of them are dead."
"Death is contagious," Orion quipped.
"But statistically speaking, if you consider their ages, at least half of them should still be alive. More, even. And yet, Reinhard is the only one of them still flitting about society."
"We'll see how long that lasts," Orion said morbidly. "And then, with you not being that much younger, you're next."
For Harry, sneaking out of the Hôtel d'Avon for a nighttime excursion was easy enough. However, Bellatrix had no choice but to wait for curfew, wait for Professor Greengrass to account for all students, and then wait for everyone to settle down and fall asleep. It was nearly one in the morning before Bellatrix was able to emerge.
"Maybe I should have just gone alone," Harry said quietly as he and Bellatrix strode away from the Hôtel d'Avon, sticking to the shadows.
"And done what, precisely?" Bellatrix asked. "I'm the expert, and I am the one who spent all my time after dinner rifling through spellbooks to prepare for this excursion."
Although he was not sure how much of an expert Bellatrix really was, Harry was not about to pick that fight. "Good thing you're here, then," Harry said as they rounded a corner. He pulled Bellatrix into an abandoned doorway, drew his wand, and side-apparated them to the vicinity of the Louvre.
After they had prowled around outside for a while and after Bellatrix had cast a few ward detection spells, Harry side-along apparated the two of them into the darkened museum, but not directly into the exhibit hall that housed the Bowl of Astaroth. They then set about sneaking around.
While Harry checked for people and steered Bellatrix away from tripping any of the Muggle security devices, Bellatrix checked for wards or any sign that any other witches or wizards were around or had been around.
"This Muggle security is not holding up very well," Bellatrix commented after having watched Harry use an assortment of simple charms to unlock doors and access control panels. From there, he deactivated alarms.
"You're not wrong," Harry agreed. "Though, do remember that much of this Muggle technology is old-fashioned and simplistic from my perspective. "
They were soon standing next to the display case that housed the Bowl of Astaroth. With some quick handiwork, Harry had the case open and the bowl in Bellatrix's hands with no Muggles aware of the security breach.
Thoughtfully, Bellatrix examined the bowl, rotating it and turning it over in her hand multiple times. She brought out her phoenix and blackthorn wand and cast a number of spells. After a while, she whispered her verdict. "Fake, albeit a fake carefully generated with magic."
"Old fake or new fake?" Harry asked.
"It's been a while. Fifty years? A hundred? Maybe two hundred? I don't know. The magic traces were faded. My diagnostic spells have probably fouled up any possibility of knowing for sure."
"Oh, well," Harry said, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning his thoughts to the course of action.
"If it is a fake, we don't need it," Bellatrix said, moving to put it back.
"True," Harry said. "But the Death Eaters probably don't know it is fake. If they steal it, maybe it would be nice if there was a tracking charm."
"Yeah, let's help the French Muggles recover their fake cereal bowl when it is stolen," Bellatrix said, the tone of her voice hiding the sarcasm well.
Harry shot Bellatrix a miffed look. "I'm not dumb. I am thinking it would be nice to be able to track it if it does get stolen, for curiosity's sake. It could shed light on what the Death Eaters are doing. And if, by some chance, the bowl becomes a horcrux, we will have an easier time finding it."
Bellatrix sighed and started casting tracking charms on the bowl.
"Do you agree with my logic?" Harry asked.
"Tracking charms will not work as well as you imagine," Bellatrix said. "But I am thinking it would be faster for me to cast the charms than argue against it. I will even do charms to conceal the tracking charms, free of charge."
"So generous."
"Yes," Bellatrix said as she finished and replaced the bowl in the display case. "Let's go back. I'm tired and am going to need every minute of sleep I can get if I am going to do well in the tournament."
The tournament began in earnest the next morning. Lily Evans' sense of duty led her to seek out the junior squad and sit with them in the spectator section while they waited for their turns to compete in the team matches and solo duels.
Originally, Lily had worked to convince herself that the proximity to James Potter and his friends would not be so bad because her friends Alice and Severus were on his squad. However, Lily soon found her respect for James Potter growing as his leadership drew her into his orbit.
Under James' direction, the junior squad was scrutinizing each team fight and solo duel and taking notes about strengths and weaknesses. When they were not taking notes, they were crafting plans for how best to beat each team and each solo competitor. Occasionally, Professor Ashworth or Professor Greengrass would stop by or sit with them and contribute to the discussion.
The junior squad's dedication to the tournament sharply contrasted with that of the senior squad. Lucius, Rodolphus, and Rabastan had breezed into the arena only long enough to chat with some of the competition and discover that none of their events were scheduled until the afternoon. They had then wandered off and had not been seen since. Their parents were also absent.
Frank Longbottom was watching the tournament events intently. But it was not clear whether he was taking notes. As for Bellatrix, she had used an assortment of transfiguration spells and charms to turn some of the spectator seats into a bed. Pointedly ignoring Lily's outraged stares, Bellatrix had made up the bed with sheets and blankets and settled in for a long nap.
As the leader of the dueling club, Lily had brought the senior squad's misbehavior to the attention of Professor Ashworth and Professor Greengrass. In response, the professors shrugged off the absentee senior squad members and snickered about Bellatrix. On Lily's further urging that something really ought to be done, Professor Greengrass acquiesced by posing next to the sleeping sixth-year Slytherin for a few prank photographs.
The fact that Bellatrix had brought an ornate alarm clock to wake her up in time for her first duel did not do much to relieve Lily of her concerns. Nor did the fact that she went on to win the duel with ease..
"Can you believe her?" Lily muttered to Alice as they watched Bellatrix climb back into her bed after the duel.
The rest of the junior squad was also watching Bellatrix.
"It's hilarious!" Sirius chuckled. "If she wins, can you imagine how epic that would be?"
"Just be glad we're not against her," James said, his mind clearly set on tournament strategy. "She is a force with which to be reckoned."
At the Hôtel d'Avon, spirits were high after the first day of the tournament.
"I hear that you all lived to fight another day!" Abraxas Malfoy declared, grinning at all the students as they gathered in the dining room for dinner.
"Quite remarkable," Reinhard Lestrange said, sounding like he might believe it.
"Participation trophies for everybody!" Pythia declared, raising her water glass in a mock toast.
"What is on the agenda for tomorrow," Orion Black inquired, his voice somehow cutting through the din and commanding everyone's attention.
"I think our team will start to see some eliminations tomorrow," Pythia explained as students and other guests finished loading their plates and settled down at the long table. "It is inevitable. However, let's remember teamwork. If you or your squad is eliminated, you're still part of the team and the team is still battling. We need you to help those who have not been eliminated. You can still take notes and make suggestions. Those notes will help you, too. We will see some of these witches and wizards at Cape Town and probably almost all of them at Salem."
"That's right," Harry said. "We're in this for the long haul. Please regard this tournament as a learning exercise as anything else."
The next day, as predicted, the eliminations started happening. Except, instead of trickling, they were pouring in. Alice had the misfortune of being set for a solo duel against a heavy hitter from Durmstrang and found herself being used to wipe the floor.
Remus lasted a round longer than Alice, but met the same unlucky fate. James and Sirius managed to eke out nail biting wins. However, Harry assumed that they would be quickly eliminated on the third and final day. Severus Snape performed well, and it seemed to Harry that he would probably go far on the third day.
As for the senior squad, the Lestrange brothers each put on solo performances so dismal that Harry assumed they must have deliberately thrown the matches. Lucius Malfoy fought hard, until, suddenly, he did not. He was eliminated later in the day, having advanced a few rounds past the Lestrange brothers.
Frank Longbottom got a little further than Lucius before being eliminated, leaving Bellatrix as the only senior squad member who had not been eliminated from solo competition. Harry felt he might be biased, but as far as he could tell, there was nobody at the competition who was going to be able to best Bellatrix in a solo duel.
As far as team competition went, the junior squad was putting on a commanding performance. Under the leadership of James Potter, sheer focus and preparation was overcoming the squad's lack of experience. The squad's careful observation and note taking was paying dividends.
Lily's hard work behind the scenes was making the dividends exponential. She had taken charge of the squads notes and organized them. As soon as the next matchup became apparent, she would set to work drafting match-specific proposals. With a little input from James and Sirius, Lily's notes would be turned into the team's plan for the match.
"She's really carrying them, isn't she?" Harry mused to Pythia from where they were observing the tournament. He was watching Lily meet the junior squad after another of their wins.
"Bellatrix or Lily?" Pythia asked.
"I was looking down at Lily," Harry clarified.
"Oh, yes. She is being helpful," Pythia acknowledged. She pointed over to the other end of the arena where the senior level squads were competing. "Looks like Bellatrix is going to have to try to carry her deadweight squad through another match."
Harry looked over and saw the senior squad lining up for another fight. "I'm surprised the Lestranges and Malfoy even bothered to stick around."
"Yes, they're itching to go and play tourist in Paris, it seems," Pythia said, the annoyance in her voice plain.
Harry and Pythia settled in to watch as the referees organized the match between the Hogwarts senior squad and another team composed of homeschooled students from Spain. Soon, the spells were flying.
"I don't think those stinkers are even aiming at the other team," Harry exclaimed as he watched spells from the Lestranges and Malfoy missing the target.
Pythia nodded. "Don't worry. Bellatrix knows it and is compensating. She's lashing out with spells of mass destruction. I don't know how long she can keep up that level of power expenditure, though. Good thing she's been sleeping as much as possible between each duel and match."
"And there's Frank, for what he's worth," Harry grumbled watching as Frank rigidly shot spell after spell at one specific member of the other team.
Pythia grinned. "Bless his heart."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked.
"Don't worry about it," Pythia said. "I'll work on thinking of some extra practical training for him."
Harry sighed as he wondered what kind of training could overcome Frank's inability to think outside of the box. He watched with disgust as the Lestranges and Malfoy allowed themselves to be picked off. Predictably, the other team quickly pivoted, and four of them went after Longbottom. They made short work of him, leaving Bellatrix against five opponents.
It was at this point that Bellatrix glanced up to where Harry was standing, a look of annoyance on her face. Their eyes met and with a slight widening of Bellatrix's eyes and tilt of her head, she asked Harry if further effort on her part was really necessary.
Harry responded that it was not, using a hand to make a barely noticeable cutting gesture at his throat.
Without further ado, Bellatrix raised her arms to signal surrender and walked backward across the dueling area boundary. This triggered the match ending and the Hogwarts senior squad being eliminated from the team portion of the tournament.
Dinner at the Hôtel d'Avon featured a collection of mixed emotions among those that were present. The junior squad and Lily were all brimming with excitement when discussing the team competition and their prospects. However, when other subjects came up, Alice and Remus were more subdued.
Bellatrix seemed irritable despite her good performance. Frank's attitude was so stuffy that nobody could tell whether or not he was depressed about being eliminated from both team and solo competition. Aside from Frank, Bellatrix, the Black patriarchs, and Abraxas Malfoy, the rest of the senior squad and their parents were missing.
The latter was a notable exception. Abraxas Malfoy was lavishing praise on all the students who had progressed, seeming not to notice that his son was missing from the dinner and had been eliminated from the competition.
After dinner, everybody was left to their own devices. Bellatrix and Frank disappeared into their bedrooms. The Black patriarchs set up a chess game in a quiet sideroom. Lily and the junior squad went to the main sitting room and noisily relived the day and planned for the next with Abraxas Malfoy even stopping to chat with them and give suggestions before he joined the Blacks.
Harry and Pythia settled on playing a card game in the main sitting room. There was a small side table positioned next to one of the windows. It gave them a good view of Paris and some solitude.
"Even though tomorrow is the last day, it should be easier, albeit longer," Pythia told Harry.
"How far do you think the junior squad will make it?" Harry asked.
"Maybe to the semifinals, if they keep working hard," Pythia predicted. "It would be too much to expect for them to make it to the finals during their first competition."
"And aren't the semifinals to be held in the evening, after dinner?"
"Yes," Pythia said as she shuffled the cards and dealt.
Harry sighed and looked out the window at the moon rising over Paris. It was dangerously close to being full. By Harry's reckoning, it would be full after one more night. It seemed that if the junior squad made it to the semifinals, which would be in the evening, Remus would be having a slight werewolf problem.
"I suppose you had better put Lily on notice, then," Harry said casually.
Pythia arched her eyebrows and followed Harry's gaze toward the moon. Subtly, she glanced at Remus, who seemed to be interacting with his friends without problem. "How do you know about that?" she asked.
"I'm the Defense professor. Give me some credit," Harry grinned.
"Albus did not want you to know," Pythia said apologetically. "He wants to ensure that as few people as possible know about the situation so that his career prospects are not ruined."
"I take it you already have contingency plans," Harry said.
Pythia's smile offered confirmation. "Regardless of what happens tomorrow, his parents will come pick him up by late afternoon. We'll explain to the students that there was urgent family business. I am sure Lily will do as well or better than he would have done. So, it is unlikely his absence will draw ire from anyone on the team."
Despite having spent many hours over the course of the competition scouting out the Louvre, Reinhard Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, and the Lestrange brothers still had not figured out how the Muggle security devices worked. Nor did they particularly care.
They all Apparated directly into the exhibit hall that housed the Bowl of Astaroth. Like wolves, they circled the display case, almost sniffing the air as they checked for signs of magical security. They found none. So, at Reinhard's nod, Lucius Malfoy cast a vanishing charm on the glass cover.
Had Lucius known more about Muggle security or possessed more finesse, he could have limited the vanishing charm to only the glass and left the crude Muggle security wiring glued to the glass in place. However, both the glass and the wiring vanished. With the electronic circuit broken, the Muggle alarm tripped. As alarm bells clanged, Reinhard Lestrange grabbed the bowl that Bellatrix had previously determined to be a fake. With their prize in hand, the group Apparated away.
The next day at the competition, James and Sirius were eliminated during each of their solo duels. After lunch, Snape was eliminated, falling just short of qualifying for the solo semifinals. This left Bellatrix as the only member of the Hogwarts team who would be making it into the solo semifinals and perhaps final round.
The junior squad had done well in the team competition and had just won another match, qualifying for the semifinals. As Lily waited for the squad to return to the sidelines, her eyes fell on Bellatrix who was pacing back and forth, apparently mentally preparing for her next solo round. Remembering how Bellatrix had practically slept her way through the competition, Lily could not help but feel a rush of indignation.
"Shouldn't you be celebrating?" Pythia asked, catching Lily instead of her guard.
"Sorry, what?" Lily asked, looking at Pythia.
"Your squad just pulled off another win," Pythia said, giving Lily a teasing smile.
"Oh, right," Lily said, changing the subject of her thoughts and putting on a smile. "I was just thinking about something else. Do we know who the semifinal opponent will be?"
Pythia shook her head. "No. But I need to talk to you about something else. It seems there's a little bit of an urgent situation in Mr. Lupin's family. It is not a serious emergency or anything. But I assured his parents that it would not be a problem if they picked him up before dinner because it so happens that we have an alternate on the team who can step in."
Lily's eyes widened as she felt a rush of excitement. "Really? So, you want me to compete with the squad in the semifinal?"
"Hopefully the final, too," Pythia said. "Let's go talk to the team. Mr. Lupin already knew that he might need to leave. So, it will not be too much of a surprise."
When late afternoon arrived, the tournament paused for an early dinner. The semifinal and final matches for each category and age level would be held in the evening, with the arena opened up to members of the public who might be interested in spectating. Mainly, the public would be parents who had not been brought as chaperones and a local reporter or two.
Dinner at the Hôtel d'Avon was a little disjointed and rushed since Harry, Pythia, Bellatrix, and the junior squad were focused on the upcoming matches and duels. Although James Potter was not so secretly thrilled at having Lily on the squad with him, he also insisted on some extra practices to properly integrate her.
All too soon, the team was back at the arena with the junior squad preparing for their first match. While they prepared, Bellatrix found herself pacing back and forth. She was not sure if she felt anxious because she wanted to win or anxious because she wanted the competition to be over.
It would have been easier for Bellatrix to pass the time if she could chat with Harry, but he was focused intently on the match from his position. There was also the fact that she and Harry needed to avoid looking too friendly in public to avoid people suspecting they were working together or fraternizing.
Lacking anything better to do, Bellatrix stopped pacing and turned her attention to the junior squad's performance. It seemed they were fortunate in that their semifinal opponent was a squad from Beauxbatons that had been a little too lucky and gone further in the competition than merited.
Briefly, Bellatrix was interrupted when the Lestrange brothers and Malfoy walked by and stopped to talk.
"Have you seen my father?" Rodolphus demanded.
"No," Bellatrix responded.
"He said he was going to meet us here."
"That doesn't change whether I've seen him or not," Bellatrix said, arching her eyebrows at them in a way that suggested she thought they were idiots.
The Lestranges and Malfoys walked away, and Bellatrix turned her attention back to the junior squad's match. As Bellatrix watched with a critical eye, she could not help but acknowledge that the squad was doing uncommonly well.
It seemed James Potter had whipped them into shape and created a highly-coordinated squad. They were carefully executing strategies and even altering strategies mid-match. Toward the end of the match, Bellatrix rendered final judgment on the junior squad's weaknesses.
The two most obvious weaknesses were Snape's attitude and Alice's skill level. The only other weakness was, in Bellatrix's opinion, a mismatch or imbalance. A lot of the squad's plays involved one member working in tandem with another member to target one or two members of the opposing squad.
Bellatrix noted that James and Sirius typically worked in tandem with each other to great effect. However, in Bellatrix's opinion, the team would have been stronger if James had partnered with Lily and Sirius had partnered with Alice for tandem maneuvers. Those sets would have complemented each other better while increasing the total number of successful tandem maneuvers.
Regardless of the flaws Belaltrix had identified, the junior squad managed to prevail over the Beauxbatons team, having only lost Alice during the match. After exuberant rejoicing in the fact that they had won, at minimum, second place in the junior division of the tournament, the junior squad was up for the final.
Bellatrix could not help but feel a little amused as she watched Harry lean forward in his seat to watch the junior squad's performance in the final round. She was tempted to tease him. However, Bellatrix remembered that senior solo semifinals were up next. So, she resumed her pacing and mental preparation.
Bellatrix was absorbed in deep thoughts about strategy when she heard Harry let out something like a gasp followed by a long groan. She looked up at the ongoing match but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Next, she looked at Harry and saw that he was taking deep breaths while his face was screwed up in pain.
Swiftly, Bellatrix went to his side. "What's going on?" she demanded, feeling a little scared.
Harry moaned quietly, seemingly not having heard Bellatrix's question.
Seeing that Harry was slumping and about to fall out of his seat, Bellatrix laid him back on the bench and then worked to get his legs up on the bench, too. Once he was laid out, she quickly cast a number of cushioning charms.
Harry was no longer moaning. However, his eyes were clamped shut, and his head was slowly shaking back and forth as if he was caught up in a bad dream.
The full moon bathed the Parisian magical cemetery with eerie light. Reinhard was walking through the cemetery toward the Lestrange family's crypt, carrying the bowl he, his sons, and Lucius Malfoy had stolen. It had been decades since his branch of the family had been denizens of Paris. In fact, if quizzed, Reinhard would be hard-pressed to name any Lestrange actually laid to rest in the crypt in the past century.
However, in choosing the place for his rendezvous with Lord Voldemort, Reinhard had wanted a backdrop to remind the Dark Lord of his impressive pureblood heritage. Having attended Hogwarts at the same time as Tom Riddle, Reinhard had more knowledge than most about Voldemort's background. This included his half-blood status. A pureblood himself, Reinhard had always felt superior to Tom Riddle in that regard.
His reflections on this topic were terminated when Lord Voldemort, shrouded in a dark, hooded cloak, stepped out from behind a monument.
"My old friend," the Dark Lord whispered.
Reinhard shot an involuntary glance toward the Lestrange crypt, only a few hundred feet away and wondered if Voldemort had deliberately headed him off to change the meeting place.
"Do you have it?" Voldemort demanded.
"Yes," Reinhard said, holding out the bowl.
Voldemort accepted the bowl and began examining it. After admiring it, he began casting charms on it. After five or six charms, Voldemort ceased his examination.
"A fake," Voldemort pronounced.
"What?" Reinhard asked, feeling surprised. "Perhaps the French Ministry seized the real one and replaced it with a fake for safety. We can work to track it down."
"That would be a good explanation if the fake had not been created just recently."
"What do you mean?" Reinhard asked.
"Magic touched this bowl within days or hours of me examining it. It is not clear what kind of magic has been used with this bowl, but I can sense the residue," Voldemort said coldly. "Your sons and wife warned me that you have developed an unfaithful nature. They've noticed your adventures, and they resent it."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Reinhard demanded, beginning to feel an inkling of fear. He was angry at his sons apparently being more loyal to the Dark Lord than himself, but that was not an immediate concern. "Why would I steal the bowl and give you a fake? There is nothing to indicate that the real Bowl of Astaroth has significant magical power."
"Then why do you think I wanted the bowl?" Voldemort asked, his voice maintaining a tone of deadly calm.
"Well, I recall you doing research, once, after I told you some old legends" Reinhard said.
"What research?"
"Just research," Reinhard said, realizing too late that some things were best left forgotten.
Voldemort looked at Reinhard and then looked at the bowl.
"What are you thinking, my Lord?" Reinhard asked, emphasizing the last part of the sentence. He felt his pureblood status was superior, but he was not above flattering people.
In a split second, Voldemort's wand was in his hand. "Avada Kedavra!"
Aside from Bellatrix, the only person who had noticed Harry's collapse was Lily Evans. However, in the middle of the team's final match, there was not much she could do. So far, in the match, Alice and Snape had fallen. James, Sirius, and Lily were left barely holding their own against a Durmstrang squad that was showing no sign of flagging. The Hogwarts defeat was inevitable. But with Lily distracted by Harry's collapse, it hastened, and the junior squad was eliminated, having taken second place.
Teammates from both sides rushed in to congratulate their teams. However, Lily did not stick around. She rushed past Professor Greengrass and up to where Harry had collapsed. She charged up the stairs and rounded the corner just in time to see Harry weakly whisper something into one of Bellatrix's ears.
"Are you serious?" Bellatrix exclaimed in response to what Harry had whispered.
"What did he say?" Lily asked as she arrived at Harry's side.
"Nothing," Bellatrix snapped, her face unusually pale.
At this moment, Professor Greengrass arrived, panting heavily from rushing up the stairs. "What has happened?"
"I saw Professor Ashworth collapse during the match," Lily explained.
Bellatrix frowned at Lily before answering Pythia's question. "It looks like exhaustion or dehydration overcame Professor Ashworth. He'll probably be alright in just a moment."
"She's right. I'm fine," Harry said weakly, apparently having regained his full faculties.
"I'll fetch something to perk him up," Pythia said, turning and heading toward the refreshment stand.
"I can take over for you," Lily told Bellatrix.
"What do you mean?" Bellatrix asked.
"You're up next," Lily said, gesturing toward the center of the arena.
Bellatrix took turns glaring at Lily and glaring at the arena floor. Finally, she arose from her crouching position and made her way to her next duel. Lily was soon crouching over Harry and asking how he felt.
So far, Bellatrix's performance in the tournament had been above par and by the book. Her wins were based on her executing standard spells and strategies better and more powerfully than her opponents. But now, she was angry, a little scared, and in a hurry to get back to Harry's side to monitor his status. She also needed to talk to him about what he had whispered to her before Lily had interrupted them.
Bellatrix's semifinal opponent was a home-schooled wizard from Nigeria. The poor wizard did not know what hit him. As soon as the match began, Bellatrix unleashed a powerful banishing charm. He blocked it with a shield, but then Bellatrix cast one after the other. Repeatedly and rapidly, Bellatrix cast the same banishing charm, pouring more and more power into each one.
The Nigerian wizard kept shielding, but each successful block was costing him strength. However, he also perceived that Bellatrix was losing strength more quickly than he was. So, in the heat of the moment, he decided to wait for her to run out of strength. However, he failed to realize that he was being pushed a little farther back each time one of Bellatrix's banishing charms hit his shield. He was surprised when Bellatrix hit him with one last banishing charm and forced him over the boundary.
As soon as he crossed the boundary and was thereby defeated, Bellatrix disengaged. Instantly she doubled over and vomited. Expending so much power in such a short time had taken its toll. It probably did not help that she had been holding her breath, either.
While Bellatrix bent over with her hands on her knees and tried to get her breath back, her opponent's angry coach was having a heated discussion with the referee. The referee ignored the angry coach and declared Bellatrix the winner despite her unconventional approach.
Upon hearing this announcement and no longer panting uncontrollably, Bellatrix tried to stumble back to where Harry was. However, a concerned tournament official directed her to a bench on the edge of the dueling field, telling her that she was going to be dueling for first place in just a few minutes and urging her to recover while she could.
As soon as she was on the bench, Bellatrix realized that she really had needed to sit down and that perhaps she had been a little foolish. She looked up to where she had left Harry and saw that he was now sitting upright between Pythia and Lily. When she made eye contact with them, they grinned and waved. Harry gave her an extra smile and an amused tilt of his head, which she interpreted as a signal for her to calm down and take it easy.
Taking comfort from Harry's attitude, but still annoyed at being stuck in the competition while something consequential might be happening, Bellatrix took a deep breath and turned her attention toward the next duel. Now that she had wasted a lot of magical energy, Bellatrix realized she was going to have to think of other options and strategies.
She held her wand up to examine it. She felt that with her old wand, she could have come off her duel feeling less drained. With her current wand being phoenix feather and blackthorn, it should have had a respectable amount of power for her to draw on. However, Bellatrix did not sense a bond with it as much as she had sensed with her prior wand. Idly, she wondered what she could do to better earn the wand's loyalty.
Not seeing a quick fix for the wand, Bellatrix turned to plotting out a low-energy strategy for the duel, assuming that her opponent had probably observed her prior performance in the tournament or talked to others who had been paying attention.
All too soon, the tournament officials were shepherding Bellatrix back to the floor of the arena. It appeared that her opponent was a witch from Beauxbaxtons. This boded well for Bellatrix's strategy, which was based on the assumption that the opponent would have done homework on or otherwise compared notes about her.
Where Bellatrix had previously launched her prior duels with a powerful combo and dodges, she shot off a couple of minor spells and shielded. Her opponent unleashed a pair of fiery spells, each of which could have done significant damage to a dodger. However, such spells tended to do very poorly against shields.
Bellatrix proceeded to randomly alternate between her three most popular combos, except that she cast the spells in reverse order. This sacrificed the smoothness that resulted from carefully choreographed and curated combos. However, Bellatrix was nimble and quick enough, and her departure from her pattern was startling enough that she was not disadvantaged by the loss of smooth transitions.
With Bellatrix's opponent now flailing as she tried to cope with the inverse of the combos she had expected, Bellatrix strained herself a little and unleashed a barrage of attack spells. The Beauxbaxtons witch quickly cast several shield charms, then decided to dodge, then thought better of it. This led to a fumble, and one of Bellatrix's spells caught her.
Seconds after that, it was over. Bellatrix had won first place in the senior level solo duelist category. Those of the Hogwarts team she could see in the audience were clapping and cheering excitedly. Harry was standing and clapping, a warm smile on his face. She spied her father, uncle, and Abraxas Malfoy who were giving her a standing ovation. Still holding her wand, Bellatrix let out the faintest of smiles as the flash from a camera bathed her in bright white light.
There was a brief award ceremony after the senior level team competition ended. The junior squad and Bellatrix emerged from it wearing medals and holding trophies. They had also obtained a medal for Remus and would give it to him when they caught up with him at Hogwarts.
Before they could get back to the Hôtel d'Avon, Cygnus Black proposed treating those of the team still present to dessert. The junior squad, Frank, and Bellatrix proceeded with Harry, Pythia, Cygnus, Orion, and Abraxas to a pastry shop in Place Cachée, where Cygnus instructed everyone to order anything they wanted from the menu.
Alice and Frank were sitting with Harry, James, and Sirius, while Bellatrix was sitting with her father, uncle, and their friend Abraxas. It looked like Snape was going to impose on the Blacks and Malfoy. So, Lily snagged a table with Pythia.
"You did very well both tonight and throughout the competition," Pythia told Lily warmly as they waited to be served. "Not only were you able to step in, but you provided valuable contributions even when you were not competing."
"What about Cape Town?" Lily asked. "Am I going to make the team?"
"Of course," Pythia said. "We have more slots there. But the Cape Town tournament is hosted by a different dueling organization. So, the competition will not be the same. Instead of two five-person squads, we will be having four three-person squads. We may even have extra solo spots."
"How are you going to divide the teams?"
Pythia smiled knowingly at Lily. "Although Mr. Potter and even Mr. Longbottom did well, I would prefer to spread out leadership opportunities in Cape Town. For the junior level, I think we'll have Mr. Black and and Mr. Lupin be captains. For senior level, we may as well group Mr. Malfoy and the brothers Lestrange. Since Mr. Malfoy seems to be their natural leader, I will acquiesce to that."
"And then Bellatrix, no doubt," Lily sighed. "She did win first place. She deserves it. She knows what she is doing."
"No, the time for Miss Black's reign is not yet upon you," Pythia said, grinning as if her vocabulary was some sort of inside joke. "We will have to put her and Mr. Longbottom on the same team. However, as we have seen, they are too different to work together well without the help of a superb organizer and strategist. That is why I am going to bend the senior/junior distinction a little bit and make you the captain of their team."
"Really?" Lily gasped as she felt the thrill of validation and promotion. Her green eyes sparkled. Equally as quickly, the fear of not being able to do well set in. "Are you sure about that?"
"I think you will do well," Pythia said. "All you need to do is the same thing you did with the junior squad at this competition. If you can maintain the same attitude and not let being captain go to your head, I think you will get good results out of Miss Black. Just remember, I'm not making you captain because you're better at dueling. I am making you captain because I trust you can harness Miss Black's talent and Mr. Longbottom's dedication."
"I won't let you down," Lily said eagerly.
The celebrations continued into the night. When the pastry shop closed, the team proceeded back to the Hôtel d'Avon and continued the celebration. Eventually, Pythia declared that it was time for everybody to go to bed if they were to be ready to depart for Hogwarts at a good time the next morning. The students were tired and did not protest.
"We'll take care of the lights," Abraxas assured Harry and Pythia as he, Cygnus, and Orion started to set up a game of chess.
"Thanks," Harry replied.
As he and Pythia climbed the stairs, Harry wondered aloud where Lucius Malfoy, Reinhard Lestrange, the Lestrange brothers, and their friends Crabbe and Goyle could be.
"I don't know," Pythia sighed. "If anybody asks, I'll just say I assumed they were with their parents or under their parents' supervision."
"Good plan," Harry said, sharing a mischievous grin with Pythia. In Harry's case, the grin was more forced. He had a pretty good idea what the junior Death Eaters were doing. He also knew that Reinhard Lestrange was dead and that, at some point, his corpse or absence would be discovered.
Pythia and Harry separated, and Harry proceeded to his room and prepared for bed. Thoughts of the vision and pain in his scar from earlier that evening assailed him, but he shoved them aside. Even if he dared go collect Reinhard's remains, there was nothing he could do about Reinhard's corpse without raising questions. He would just have to let those events take their natural course.
As for updating Bellatrix on what he had seen in his vision, Harry figured that he could meet with her later and explore the implications of his scar hurting. Harry dozed off, but he was startled awake an hour or so later when he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. Somebody had lit a couple of candles and was standing over him.
"It's just me," Bellatrix said as Harry's wand appeared in his hand, ready for action.
Seeing that it really was her, Harry let out a breath and put his wand away. "Don't do that," he warned as he sat up in his bed and squinted at Bellatrix. She was dressed in one of the nighties that he remembered her wearing during the summer when he had visited her bedroom on a number of occasions.
"I've cast silencing charms around the room," Bellatrix said, gesturing vaguely as she grabbed a chair, moved it closer to the bed, and perched on it. "We have to talk."
"About me collapsing this evening or something else?"
"This evening, obviously. What happened? And did you really mean it when you said that the Dark Lord made a horcrux?"
"I wasn't joking," Harry said. "I saw it. I daresay I even felt it. Ever since the Dark Lord tried to kill me as a child, I have sometimes had painful visions or nightmares of what he is doing when he is very angry. There were theories that my scar gives me a connection to him."
"And you had one of those episodes tonight," Bellatrix guessed.
"Yes. I saw the Dark Lord in a graveyard with Reinhard Lestrange. It seems Reinhard had the fake Bowl of Astaroth from the Louvre. Long story short, Reinhard is dead, and I am pretty sure the bowl is now a horcrux."
Bellatrix took a few minutes to absorb this as she shifted back and forth on her chair. As she contemplated Harry's words, the bracelet she had received from swearing fealty appeared on her wrist, and she proceeded to play with it absentmindedly.
"Why are you still having those nightmares?" she asked. "Shouldn't time travel have somehow severed the connection? You have no connection to the Dark Lord at this point on the timeline. At least, not yet."
"I don't know," Harry mused. "But I agree with you. Logically, the connection should not be there. Though, now that I think about it. This evening's vision was less clear, and the pain was different. Maybe it only weakened the connection instead of severing it."
"Perhaps," Bellatrix said, looking thoughtful.
Harry and Pythia were not in a hurry to get the students back to Hogwarts since it was a weekend. They allowed the students to sleep in late enough that breakfast became brunch.
Abraxas Malfoy, Orion Black, and Cygnus Black emerged from their quarters just as the team had packed and was leaving. Still in his bathrobe, Abraxas cheerfully escorted the team out and renewed his congratulations.
When Abraxas reentered the Hôtel d'Avon, he was waylaid by a house elf. Twisting his hands anxiously, the elf requested that Abraxas come to the master suite, which Reinhard Lestrange had claimed for himself. Abraxas obliged. When he walked into the room, he stared with surprise as the house elf explained that Reinhard Lestrange had apparently passed away during the night.
Feeling a little shocked, he proceeded down to the dining area. There, he found Orion and Cygnus helping themselves to brunch.
Abraxas cleared his throat. "It has come to my attention that our friend Reinhard has passed away. His remains are, uh, upstairs."
"Really?" Cygnus asked skeptically. "How old was he?" He looked down at the food on his plate, apparently wondering if he should feel free to eat or if he should do something about the news.
Orion was displeased. "Show me," he commanded, abandoning his plate. He gestured for Cygnus to come with him.
Soon, the three wizards were in Reinhard's room, eyeing Reinhard's corpse. He was under the covers and wearing a peaceful expression on his face. It appeared he had died in his sleep.
"He looks to be on the younger side," Cygnus mused. "But death at his age is not necessarily uncommon. Natural causes, right?"
Orion was surveying the entire room, his lips thin from being pressed together. "I think not. But for now, let's pretend we don't know any better."
"That'll be easy for me," Abraxas muttered.
"Something is amiss," Alastor Moody growled. He clenched his right hand into a fist and struck the palm of his left as he paced back and forth in front of the entrance to Hogwarts castle.
"Perhaps, but I am having a hard time understanding what specifically is amiss," Dumbledore mused, his eyes twinkling as he watched Moody stalk back and forth as they waited for the Hogwarts team to arrive from Paris. "Mr. Lestrange's death is hardly what I would expect from a Dark Lord. It may just be natural causes. A coincidence."
"It doesn't smell right," Moody insisted, "and I am not the only one who thinks that. The message you received from Orion Black via house elf was peculiarly worded. My contacts in French law enforcement are treading carefully. Or at least, they are not willing to discuss it over international Floo."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said, only half listening. He had been trying to turn things over in his head. As he remembered, Reinhard Lestrange and Tom Riddle had been in the same friend group. Surely they would have been natural allies.
Dumbledore's musings were interrupted as the thestral carriages the team had taken to Paris entered the Hogwarts grounds. They quickly pulled up to the Hogwarts entrance, and Dumbledore set to work welcoming the team back and congratulating them. Having attended to that duty, he singled out the Lestrange brothers and asked them to step apart from the group and into the castle where Professor Slughon was waiting to help break the news about their father's death.
The fact that the senior squad had done poorly at the Paris tournament and that the team had been greeted at Hogwarts with news of Reinhard Lestrange's death did not stop Lucius Malfoy and the Lestrange brothers from strutting into the Slytherin dungeon as if they had each been awarded the Order of Merlin. They made their way to Lucius and Rodolphus' dorm room where they found a parchment envelope waiting on Rodolphus' bed.
With a smug smile, Rodolphus picked up the envelope, broke the seal, and examined the newspaper clipping from inside before passing it to Lucius and Rabastan. The clipping was from a French newspaper. A photo of Bellatrix Black taken just after she had defeated her final tournament opponent covered most of the clipping. There was a small smile on her lips. A headline proclaimed that she had won first place. Scrawled in the margin was a message from the Dark Lord. "Recruit her."
Rodolphus arched his eyebrows and shared significant glances with his comrades before drawing his wand and casting a charm to incinerate the envelope and newspaper clipping.
Lucius maintained an impassive composure, but, inwardly, he was seething with anger, envy, and a little fear. Until now, messages from the Dark Lord to his schoolmates had come through him. Now, they were coming through Rodolphus and apparently also through some other anonymous person who had access to their dorm. Was it another student? Or perhaps a professor? Did the Dark Lord trust that person more than he trusted him?
The reason for the Dark Lord treating Rodolphus as the leader of Lucius' coterie was obvious to Lucius. With the death of Reinhard Lestrange, Rodolphus was now Lord Lestrange, to the extent one could truly be a lord of the ancient magical families. Where the Dark Lord had viewed Lucius as a leader among his knights in waiting, Rodolphus was now a lord.
Carefully masking his inner turbulence, Lucius participated in the discussion with the Lestrange brothers of possible ways to recruit Bellatrix. On another track in his brain, he was working out how soon he could expect to become Lord Malfoy and whether he should consider branching out to develop alliances with other followers of the Dark Lord.