A/N: Your reviews are very encouraging. I am hoping/predicting my pace will increase after today. I've had a lot on my plate for the past four months, but things have finally come together and have been resolved.

In the next chapter, which is already partially written, the team goes to Salem to compete in their final tournament of the year. Fans of Para Bellum will be excited to spot a certain trio also "competing" in Salem.

Delenda Est – Rebooted

Lord Silvere

Chapter Fifteen: Getting Ready

"I've decided Bellatrix is right," James Potter said as he speared a pork chop from a serving platter and transferred it to his plate.

It was Friday evening, and James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Peter were discussing their squad's progress over dinner. In addition to the drills Bellatrix had coordinated, they had also engaged in practice duels with other squads, beating them without too much difficulty.

"How so?" Lily inquired, feeling a little aggravated. Her irritation was not directed toward James' conclusion. Rather, Lily was miffed that, yet again, at another mealtime, she was sitting next to and engaging in casual conversation with James Potter.

She did not want to become part of James' friend group. However, they were members of the same dueling squad. And, as the Salem tournament approached, the squad had upped their training intensity to the point that if they were not practicing, they were chatting about strategies.

The pull was so strong, that on a couple of occasions, Lily had sat in the back of a class with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter because she knew they would be working on the team playbook without her if she sat on the front row.

Ironically, Bellatrix, the captain of their squad, had been able to keep herself aloof from most of the discussion and planning. Although she often sat near them at meals, she limited herself to directing the team at practices and sending them back to the drawing board on the playbook. For her, the dueling club did not seem to exist outside of practice sessions.

"I think we really are better than all the other squads," James said, referring to Bellatrix's excuse for initially refusing to spend time sparring with other squads. "Our practice matchups with them are wasting our time, even if we have fun."

"I agree," Remus chimed in. "They all know, or don't know, the same spells and basic strategies in our repertoire. Maybe if they were better at even just those spells, it would be worth it. But they just aren't."

"Right," James said, nodding. "I think we need to broaden our horizons."

"What about pushing Bellatrix to do one-on-one duels at practice?" Lily asked. "She's got a lot of things up her sleeves that are non-standard."

"You'd end up in the Hospital Wing," Sirius warned in between bites of mashed potato.

"I think there's some merit to the idea," James said judiciously. "I'm not sure it completely solves the problem, though. Some of Bellatrix's combos are impossible to replicate. There's only so much we can do to try matching her stamina and power."

"We just have to learn the trick for each of her combos," Lily insisted.

"No," Sirius said, shaking his head. "A lot of her transitions depend on her sheer strength. If you worked really hard, you might be able to match some of those moves in a couple of years. Even then, the reality is that she was born with more magical power than most witches and wizards."

"Okay," Lily said, "but let's at least try a few one-on-one duels with Bellatrix, if she'll cooperate. We may pick up some tricks. Even if we don't, a challenge is a challenge. We can also look elsewhere. Do you have any ideas?"

"Let's look no further than Professor Ashworth himself," James said, gesturing toward the head table, where Harry and a number of other professors were enjoying their dinner.

"The repertoire he taught us is good. However, we all know from his performance at our initial tryouts that he can do so much more, and on a higher level, too. Again, much of it is going to boil down to him being powerful. But he is more friendly and will likely share what we can learn instead of flaunting his power."

"Right," Lily said, her eyes lighting up. "Why don't you leave talking to him about that to me?"

"Okay," James said agreeably, before hesitating. "It's just that I was hoping you would be the one to bring up the one-on-one thing with Bellatrix. Maybe it is not fair to ask you to do both."

James' eyes darted toward the entrance of the Great Hall. When Lily turned her head to follow James' gaze, she saw Bellatrix grouchily making her way over to the Gryffindor table.

"I'll do both," Lily acquiesced, inflecting her voice with a little bit of mock sweetness but giving James a glance to let him know that he was going to owe her a favor.


Early the next morning, Lily met with Bellatrix to begin planning for Professor Ashworth's imitation Slug Club dinners. On her arrival in the Gryffindor common room, Lily was surprised to find Bellatrix overdressed and cheerful. While Lily had opted for old trainers, a jumper, and some trousers, Bellatrix was dressed up in a narrow skirt, blouse, waistcoat, jacket, and cravat. High-heeled boots rounded out Bellatrix's ensemble.

Not wanting to spoil the mood, Lily held her tongue and followed Bellatrix through the corridors of the castle and down to the kitchens. There, they had a discussion with the house elves and took notes on what the elves would be willing to cater for Professor Ashworth. Menu options in hand, Lily and Bellatrix began the trek up to Professor Ashworth's office.

"Maybe we could divide the dinner groups by dueling team squads," Lily suggested.

"Perhaps," Bellatrix said thoughtfully. "The elves did strongly imply that smaller dinners would result in better dishes."

"Or is one squad too small of a group?" Lily wondered.

"Depends on the squad."

Lily was not sure if Bellatrix was being serious or funny. "Maybe our own squad should go first," Lily said, trying to sound more judicious than eager.

"Yes," Bellatrix said. "I agree."

"And actually, it would give us a good opportunity to talk to Professor Ashworth about an idea the rest of us were discussing the other day," Lily said.

"Oh?"

"We were thinking Professor Ashworth should provide us some extra coaching to help us prepare for Salem. We've pretty well mastered the material he has already taught us."

"Maybe," Bellatrix said, frowning a little.

"Also, we were thinking you could do one-on-one duels with each of us instead of the squad trying to go up against other teams."

"Maybe that too," Bellatrix said, her frown deepening.

Lily smiled triumphantly. Of course, she could not be sure of Bellatrix's thought process. However, by her calculations, Bellatrix's desire to avoid doing extra work for the squad was now warring against Bellatrix's desire to avoid Professor Ashworth taking her place. If things went as Lily calculated, both Professor Ashworth and Bellatrix would be providing additional tutoring.

They soon arrived at Professor Ashworth's office, where Professor Ashworth invited them to take seats across the desk from him. It was at this point that Lily began to feel less triumphant as she realized that Bellatrix, with her clothes, had completely outclassed her in front of Professor Ashworth.

From the way Bellatrix was smugly perched in her chair, Lily could tell she was reveling in the fact that she looked like a mature adult while Lily looked like a juvenile. As Lily fumed and tried to understand why she was jealous, Bellatrix laid out the options from the kitchen and proposed that her and Lily's squad be the exclusive guests for the first dinner. Harry agreed with that proposal and asked about successive dinners. This launched a discussion of who should attend and in what arrangements.

"You won't be able to get through the entire club if you only ever do one squad at a time," Bellatrix pointed out. "Should we combine some of the squads?"

"Yes," Harry agreed.

"You could also add any duelists who will only be doing solo competition to some of the squad dinners," Lily suggested.

"Good idea," Harry said, smiling at her.

"Easy enough," Bellatrix agreed. "A lot of the solo duelists have friends with whom we can easily match them. However, what do you want to do with Severus Snape? I think he will be a solo duelist at Salem."

Harry did not have a quick response to that question. Eventually, he looked at Lily. "What do you think?"

"Just tack him on to one of the groups, I suppose," Lily said, feeling as if she had betrayed Severus. A small voice in her head was berating her for not suggesting that he be added to the dinner group she would be part of with her squad. After all, they were friends. Yet, she knew that he would clash with James and his friends, and she did not want to have that kind of tension in the air.

"Does he have any friends?" Harry asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Not really," Lily confessed. "Maybe just me."

"Well, if you and Bellatrix are helping host all the dinners, you can add him to any dinner that has extra room," Harry pointed out.

Bellatrix suddenly looked very pleased at the thought of being at each dinner. Lily also was excited at the opportunity, but was focused on Snape. "We'll find a place for him," Lily promised.

"Fair enough," Harry said, giving Lily a twisted, but warm, smile.


"Why does she even like Snape?" Bellatrix wondered aloud as she picked her way up a gravel driveway in her high heels. Harry, whose footwear was more practical, had stopped yet again to wait for her to catch up.

"Let me know when you figure that out," Harry grumbled. He peered suspiciously at the pristine grounds and facade of the magical mansion they were approaching. "Are you sure this is the place? It looks prosperous to me."

"No self-respecting pureblood family is going to let their ancestral home appear to be in bad repair," Bellatrix explained. "Least of all, one that is actually on the rocks."

"What about the Weasleys?" Harry asked, thinking of the Burrow. It was clean and cozy, but nobody would be convinced that it was in good repair.

"The Weasleys are different," Bellatrix said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "You're awfully fond of them, aren't you? I could almost suspect that you're a Weasley, except you lack red hair."

Harry smiled, but as always, ignored any attempt from Bellatrix to elicit clues about his true origins. "Am I just going to waltz up to the front door while you stay out of sight?"

"Something like that."

As Bellatrix concealed herself behind a hedge, Harry proceeded to the front door and rang the bell. Eventually, the door opened to reveal a tall, thin wizard, nearly at retirement age, who proceeded to sneer at Harry before asking his business.

"I'm here for a transaction with Mr. Travers," Harry explained.

"Oh, I see," the wizard admitted. "I am Mr. Travers. And you are Mr. … Ashworth?"

"Yes."

"I have heard of the Ashworths, but I don't recall having ever met one."

"The family relocated to Egypt a while back," Harry explained. "I've returned only recently."

"Right," Travers said, seeming to accept the explanation. He snapped and a house elf appeared. "This is Gundy, as described in the contract."

"I see," Harry said, scrutinizing the house elf's appearance. Bellatrix had instructed him to ensure there was no substitution.

Ignoring the sneer on Travers' face, Harry introduced himself to Gundy and looked him over. As far as Harry could tell, Gundy was a middle-aged male, as described in the contract. He was stoic, but Harry picked up on a few hints that this elf might not mind being sold to a new owner.

"Everything seems in order," Harry said, feeling quite dirty about purchasing a house elf. He was glad that Hermione was nowhere around and would never have to know. "Will you perform the magic to transform his loyalty?"

Travers arched an eyebrow. "Do they still do that?"

"That's what I'm told," Harry said, holding out his hand on which his Black family ring had appeared. He had previously turned it on his finger so that the onyx and anything identifying the ring as the Black family ring was hidden in his fist.

"You use the ancient magic, I see," Travers said approvingly as he eyed Harry's ring.

"I suppose so," Harry said, not quite sure what they were talking about. All he knew was that Bellatrix had been emphatic that Harry was to not leave without the house elf being bound to Harry's ring.

"Lord Ashworth," Travers intoned, drawing his wand. He touched it to his own ring, which had appeared on his finger, and then touched the now-glowing tip to Harry's ring. "You are now the lord and master of Gundy the house elf."


It was lunchtime when Harry and Bellatrix finished collecting the various house elves Bellatrix had purchased under Harry's name. Their two most recent house elf purchases had snapped themselves away after being repeatedly assured that there really was cleaning to be done and that they would be summoned when needed.

Harry was about to ask Bellatrix what her plans were for the rest of the day, but she spoke before he could.

"Let's go to Scarborough."

"So, that's why you're all dressed up fancy," Harry mused.

"Is there something wrong with me dressing professionally?" Bellatrix asked, scowling.

Harry spread his hands placatingly. "You must admit that your half-magic, half-Muggle business attire is unnecessary for skulking around in the bushes while I do the hard work of collecting your house elves."

"I thought I mentioned a hotel visit earlier," Bellatrix muttered as she produced her wand and held out her hand. "I know where it is, so you'll have to Side-Along Apparate with me."

Harry took her arm, and with a pop, they Disapparated and reappeared in a Muggle-looking supply closet. The light fixture was switched off, but there was a faint light filtering into the closet from a vent.

"Very nice," Harry observed, squinting in the darkness.

Ignoring the jibe, Bellatrix opened the door and emerged from the closet as Harry, smirking at his own humor, followed. They found themselves in a secluded corner of what appeared to Harry to be the lobby of a once majestic Victorian hotel.

"Over here," Bellatrix instructed as she began walking toward the vacant check-in desk. When they arrived, Bellatrix located and rang a small bell to signal their presence.

In response to the bell, a young woman emerged from an office tucked behind the check-in desk. When she saw Bellatrix, her eyes lit with recognition. "I was wondering when you would show your face."

"Expecting me, then?" Bellatrix asked, seemingly pleased.

"Well, there were a few clues," the desk clerk said as she let out a discreet yawn.

"This is Sabine, by the way," Bellatrix informed Harry. "I met her when I first looked the place over."

"Pleasure," Harry said, nodding at Sabine, who was studying Harry intently.

"Perhaps you could tell me about what it was, besides my initial visit, that clued you into my imminent purchase," Bellatrix said, drawing Sabine's attention away from Harry.

"Well, there are the rantings and ravings of my boss, who very properly fears that his lazy hiney will be out of a job once his cousin has successfully closed the transaction and can no longer keep him on the payroll," Sabine explained.

"Should I fire him, then?" Bellatrix asked.

"The sooner, the better," Sabine recommended.

Bellatrix nodded. "Nothing I see around here justifies keeping old management in place."

Sabine nodded and then began theatrically scratching her chin. "And then, what was my other clue that you were going forward with the purchase? I'm trying to remember. Oh, wait, I know. It was the pack of creepy goblins that came in here with my father a couple of weeks ago to inspect the place."

Bellatrix shrugged as Sabine glared at her. "And?"

"And what?" Sabine asked.

"What did the goblins say?"

"Aside from scaring the snot out of me, they were unobtrusive," Sabine admitted. "They also gave me business cards and instructed me to reach out if there are ever any issues so that the bank can take steps to protect its investment."

"Paranoid nutjobs," Bellatrix muttered. "Presumptuous of them to assume I would keep you around."

"Well, why wouldn't you?" Sabine said frankly.

"I don't know," Bellatrix admitted.

"Can I be the manager when you're not here?" Sabine asked.

"Maybe," Bellatrix said. "I don't have time to deal with that stuff today. For now, Harry and I are going to need a room."

Harry raised his eyebrows and tried to catch Bellatrix's eye, but she was deliberately ignoring him.

"Oh, really?" Sabine asked, looking between them. "What kind of room?"

"Your worst, preferably," Bellatrix said. "We need to assess renovation needs."

"Good," Sabine said, turning around and surveying the little boxes that held room keys. "I'm glad to hear you are planning on renovations."

Not quite satisfied with the abundant selection of keys on display on the wall behind the desk, Sabine squatted down behind the counter from where she retrieved a key before standing back up. She held the key out toward Bellatrix, but not before theatrically blowing off what must have been years worth of dust.

Bellatrix stared at the proffered key before nodding for Harry to take it from Sabine's outstretched hand.

Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at Bellatrix blandly.

Grouchily, Bellatrix accepted the key as Sabine smiled.

"I should warn you that, starting today, there will be cleaning activities by unknown and unseen cleaner people," Bellatrix informed Sabine. "Once they get in the swing of things and catch up with the cleaning around here, perhaps you can let me know who on the current staff is superfluous."

Sabine grinned. "If that makes me the new manager, I will certainly be glad to do it."

"If you do it, I will certainly be glad to consider making you the manager," Bellatrix countered.

Sabine smiled at Bellatrix and winked at Harry.


Upon arriving in what was hopefully the hotel's worst room, Harry and Bellatrix had begun working to restore the room to something beyond even its original grandeur using various charms and transfiguration spells. For everything they did beyond basic cleaning, they dictated the details to a magical quill, which was creating a checklist to be used for fixing up the other rooms.

"Looks like the window could use some help," Harry said, beginning to walk over to the room's main window, which had a good view of the beach and North Sea.

"I'll handle the window," Bellatrix said hastily as she rushed over and stood in front of it. "Why don't you see what can be done about the bathroom plumbing? Aren't you more likely to know about Muggle plumbing than I?"

"Well, I suppose," Harry admitted, walking into the bathroom and flipping the light on. Surveying the bathroom, he let out a sigh. "Plenty of work here, too." He began casting spells to repair and renew the floor, sink, and toilet and then dictated those items for the quill to add to the checklist.

Before repairing and renewing the walls themselves, Harry used cutting spells and removed a large slab of plaster so that he could work on the plumbing and wiring behind the wall. He winced as the wires sparked and the lights in the room flickered in response to the magic.

"I don't know what kind of results you can get on the wiring if we use magic," Harry said before calling out for the quill to document that he had done plumbing and electrical work behind the walls. He then restored the plaster seamlessly, also cleaning, renewing, and updating its color.

"We'll cross that bridge later," Bellatrix called out.

"Hopefully without me," Harry said in a low voice as he made his way over to the bathroom window, which was also in need of work. He briefly admired the view before setting to work. He had just finished restoring the frame and renewing the glass when he noticed something on the horizon.

"Bellatrix," Harry said loudly.

"Yes?"

"Am I seeing what I think I am seeing on the horizon?" Harry demanded, staring out into the North Sea.

Bellatrix walked into the bathroom with studied casualness and craned her neck to glance out the smallish window. "I don't see anything."

"Is that Azkaban?" Harry demanded.

"What? Here?" Bellatrix asked, seemingly surprised.

"You bought a hotel practically next to Azkaban, didn't you?"

"It was a good deal," Bellatrix said defensively. "And we can put up wards and charms to negate the effects."

Harry was irate, but he was working through it in his head and coming to the conclusion that it was unlikely to become a serious problem. Instead, what bothered him was that in all their discussions about the hotel, Bellatrix had never once mentioned the hotel's proximity to the famous magical prison.

"It's going to be fine," Bellatrix promised, apparently overlooking the principal source of Harry's annoyance.

Harry bit his tongue as he and Bellatrix finished working on the room. As they admired the finished project, Harry almost forgot to be angry. In only a few short hours and with no money expended, they had restored and transformed the dingy hotel room into a luxurious suite.

"That wasn't too bad," Harry commented.

"Only a few hundred more rooms to go," Bellatrix said.

Harry groaned. "I don't know how much help I can provide you. I'm juggling a lot of things right now."

"I know," Bellatrix said. "I'm planning to do most of it myself. Let's go up to the penthouse."

They proceeded to the top floor of the hotel, where Bellatrix gave Harry a tour and briefly explained more of her plans for transforming it into a residence. She hoped to have it largely completed in time for her to move in after term ended.

When Bellatrix finished describing her plans for the master suite, Harry inquired about whether Bellatrix was still planning on him coming to live at the hotel after he quit his job at Hogwarts.

"Of course, I am," Bellatrix said, scowling. "Haven't you been paying attention during all our discussions about the hotel? You're part owner, after all, even if I am in control."

"Are you going to put me up in the penthouse or in a normal hotel room?"

"In the penthouse of course," Bellatrix responded.

"You'll have other bedrooms up here, too," Harry mused. "I can use one of those."

"Right," Bellatrix said, her response slightly delayed. "For personal guests and the like."

"Right," Harry said, deliberately choosing to ignore the hint that Bellatrix seemed to be harboring hopes about them becoming something more than flatmates. He changed the subject. "Are you planning to include a hot tub in the penthouse, or are you planning to go down to the main pool area for your hot tub needs?"


A week or so later, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were making their way down from their dorm to the Gryffindor common room when they happened across Frank Longbottom. Upon seeing them, Frank eyed their clothing and arched one of his eyebrows skeptically. "You look a little underdressed."

"You'll get your turn next week," Sirius shot back as Peter snickered.

Frank did not respond, and they continued past him. He had been snippy ever since the dueling club meeting where Bellatrix and Lily had distributed dinner invites to each of the club members. Tensions had arisen when Frank and his squad, as well as other club members, had realized that Bellatrix and her squad would be dining with Harry not only first, but in an exclusively small group.

The fact that Bellatrix and Lily were in charge of the dinners and claimed to be wanting to experiment for the first go around had not soothed those who worried that their dinner order reflected their priority for placement at the Salem tournament.

The fact that Frank's squad was second in order and second smallest had done little to mollify him and even Lily's friend Alice. In an attempt to assuage his hurt feelings, Frank had been bragging about his Auror career prospects at the Ministry after he left Hogwarts.

When the group arrived in the common room, they found Lily waiting for them. At the sight of her, they all began to worry that Frank was right because Lily was wearing a semi-formal dress and looking stunning while they were wearing their normal weekend outfits.

"Y-you look good," James stuttered, wishing, as soon as the words left his mouth, that he could take them back and say something more suave.

"Thank you," Lily said as she eyed the boys and their casual attire with an expression that looked a little like disappointment.

Any further discussion was cut off when Bellatrix emerged from the suite normally reserved for the head girl. Instead of casual or semi-formal attire, she was wearing a school uniform in pristine condition. She had not merely thrown on her school uniform as if she were going to class. Instead, it had been thoroughly laundered and starched. Also at odds with the appearance of a student merely going to class, Bellatrix had elaborately coiffed her hair and applied subtle makeup.

Bellatrix looked as if she was an adult trying on her old school uniform instead of a student wearing the same uniform she wore nearly every day. Despite his general dislike of Bellatrix Black, James could not help but find her appearance riveting. From the looks on the faces of Remus and Peter, James surmised they also were also mesmerized.

Lily and Sirius were immune to the charm of Bellatrix's appearance. "Blimey, Bella," Sirius said while Lily frowned at Bellatrix. "It's the weekend. Why wear a uniform?"

"Mind your own business," Bellatrix snapped, breaking her facade of maturity long enough to scowl at her cousin.

Soon, the group was making their way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where Bellatrix and Lily, in coordination with Harry, had arranged for dinner to be served. The boys chatted with each other amicably. Lily remained silent, but James caught her shooting several annoyed glances at Bellatrix from the corner of his eyes, leaving James mystified.


At dinner, Lily and Bellatrix left Harry feeling perplexed, also. He was at the head of the dining table, and they were at his left and his right. On his right, Lily eagerly and thoroughly answered every question Harry asked. On his left, Bellatrix, feigned casual disinterest and tailored her conversation accordingly. When the two witches thought he was not looking, they would react to each other with frowns or fidgets.

Meanwhile, Pythia, whom Harry had invited to participate in the dinners, sat at the foot of the table chatting amicably with Sirius and Remus, who were seated at her right and left. Harry opted to take a page out of her book and shifted his focus to the remaining Marauders, who were seated at the middle of the table.

"Tell me, Mr. Potter," Harry said, raising his voice to carry down the table, "what are your career aspirations?"

"I was thinking of playing Quidditch professionally or working for a coaching staff," James replied. "However, lately, Sirius and I have been talking about the DMLE."

"Is your change of mind tied to the dueling club?" Harry asked.

"Partially," James responded. "I feel like I have an aptitude for Defense that the dueling club has brought out. I have some other interests and hobbies that could be useful in that line of work, too."

"That's nice," Harry said, realizing that James was obliquely referring to his Marauder activities. Harry briefly wondered whether his presence in the past had lured James into the type of work that could put him at odds with Death Eaters, but quickly dismissed the thought. If Harry's knowledge of the original past was accurate, James was going to find himself on the wrong side of Voldemort regardless of what Harry did to alter the past.

"And what about you, Peter?" Harry said, being careful to conceal his dislike for Peter.

"Not sure," Peter said as he chewed on some food and chuckled awkwardly. "Maybe I should go work at the joke shop in Hogsmeade."

"Perhaps so," Harry said, not really caring what Peter did, as he directed his focus to the food on his plate.

After everyone had eaten their fill, the conversation coalesced into more of a group discussion during which the subject of Harry providing the squad extra tutoring came up. Harry knew that extra time tutoring them would weigh heavily on his schedule, but he agreed anyway.

To kick off the extra tutoring, Harry invited the students to his private quarters where he had left some of his study guides from Auror training. After saying goodnight to Pythia, Harry led the group down the hall to his quarters. However, when Harry entered his quarters, he and those accompanying him were shocked to discover the room had been ransacked. It was in complete disarray with parchment, books, clothes, and other items strewn everywhere.


"Who would do this?" Lily Evans demanded as the squad and Professor Ashworth stood just inside the door to the room and surveyed the scene.

"I'm not sure," Harry said slowly as he drew his wand and warily stepped further into the room.

Lily, Bellatrix, and James drew their wands and pushed forward into the room behind Harry while Sirius, Remus, and Peter stared into the room from the doorway. As others peered at the mess and glanced suspiciously at windows and dark corners, Sirius found himself intrigued by the various reactions everybody was having.

James and Lily were on high alert, walking slowly through the room and holding their wands as if someone was about to leap out and attack them. Harry, on the other hand, was bemusedly observing the scene. His wand was out, but his body language did not convey alarm.

For Sirius, the most interesting reaction came from Bellatrix. In something of a fury, she was clutching her wand and stalking through the room, quickly surveying everything. Of special note to Sirius, she frequently glanced at Harry and made eye contact, almost as if she was having a silent conversation with him.

Sirius could not be sure if they really were having a non-verbal conversation since Harry seemed to respond to Bellatrix's glances only passively. Sirius was beginning to think he must have imagined the connection between the professor and his cousin when Bellatrix abruptly stepped to the bedroom door, opened it, and began walking in.

"If you don't mind, Professor," Bellatrix said, "I think we had best check your bedroom."

"I doubt you will find anything. Whoever did this is long gone," Harry said.

With that boldness on Bellatrix's part, Sirius' suspicions were revived. However, further theorizing was cut off when Harry approached him. "Mr. Black, why don't you take Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew with you and see if you can find Auror Bones? It seems like it would be wise for her to perform an independent investigation. I'll find the guides I promised and send them back with Mr. Potter and Miss Evans."

"Of course, Professor," Sirius responded, smirking. He had omitted Bellatrix, which meant that the professor might be planning on discussing the situation with her privately.


James, Lily, and Bellatrix had shamelessly remained present in Harry's quarters until Amelia Bones had finished inspecting the scene of the crime and informing Harry of her conclusions. They had helped Harry set everything to rights after Amelia left. At that point, Harry had gently reminded them that it was past curfew.

He gave them each a note to ensure they could make it to Gryffindor Tower without being reprimanded if caught out past curfew, and they departed. However, within five minutes of their departure, Bellatrix let herself back into Harry's quarters and took a seat by the fire next to Harry.

"Well? Who did it?" Bellatrix demanded, her voice low.

"I don't know."

"It must be connected to the Dark Lord," Bellatrix insisted. "But how? Why would he target you? You should be, at most, a cipher to him. He should be attempting to recruit you or at least determine your potential loyalties."

Harry shrugged. "I think it would be wise to assume any strange occurrences are tied to the Dark Lord. However, that does not tell me what he would hope to get from having one of his minions raid my private quarters."

"Was there anything here the Dark Lord might have wanted?"

"I don't think so." Harry said. "Perhaps he is looking for information about my background. I have nothing like that lying around. As you know, I brought precious little with me."

Bellatrix was silent on this point for a few moments before pivoting. "Of those at Hogwarts who you know will become Death Eaters in the future, who do you think it could have been?"

"Too early on the timeline for Pettigrew," Harry mused. "Plus, he has something of an alibi. Perhaps Snape. But it also seems early for him. No doubt there are older students in the Death Eater ranks with whom I was never familiar. After all, I know about only those who fought in the second war. We are teetering on the edge of only the first war."


Severus Snape took deep breaths as he crept farther into the Forbidden Forest. Despite many forays into the forest during daylight to collect potion ingredients, Snape was having difficulty navigating in the dark of the night.

"Severus."

Snape jumped and whirled around toward the source of the voice that had called his name. Faintly, Severus could make out a human figure standing near the base of the tree.

"Great Lord," Severus whispered, too afraid to step any closer as he stared at the cloaked and hooded figure.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing."

"No ring, then?"

"No. And no documentation of his heritage," Severus added. "If I may say so, my research indicates that the Ashworth family is nowhere near ancient enough to have the type of ring you described."

"He has a ring of some sort," Voldemort hissed. "Watch for it and tell me everything you can find out about it. Also watch for Bellatrix Black's bracelet. She has sworn allegiance to an ancient pureblood lord–one who is powerful. I need to know who he is. If you want to live up to your pureblooded mother's heritage and revive the Prince name, you will need to try harder. Do not disappoint me."

A pop sounded, and the Dark Lord disappeared.

Scowling, Snape picked his way back through the forest toward the school. As far as he was concerned, the answer was obvious. To whom else would Bellatrix Black swear fealty than the lord of the noble and most ancient House of Black? As for Ashworth, ring or no ring, it was obvious that he was just an opportunistic wizard hoping to cultivate a connection with the now ascendant Blacks.


"Looks like you lost Bellatrix," Sirius said slyly as James and Lily entered the common room and walked over to the table and chairs Sirius, Remus, and Peter had commandeered.

"She said something about the loo," Lily volunteered as James sat down with his friends.

"I can guarantee she circled back to Ashworth's office," Sirius said.

"She did seem pretty shaken by everything," Remus agreed.

"So you saw it, too," Sirius said.

"Saw what?" Lily asked.

"While you and James were making like amateur Aurors, Bellatrix was having silent conniptions," Remus said. "I think it is safe to assume she believes that whoever raided Ashworth's digs was working for the Dark Lord."

"Why would the Dark Lord raid Professor Ashworth's office?" Lily whispered, sounding like she had been punched in the gut. "Do you really think he could be causing things to happen within the school?"

"I am not sure why the Dark Lord would target Professor Ashworth," James said.

"He is the Defense professor," Peter piped in.

"Who is training a large number of students to duel," Remus said quietly.

"Are there Dark wizards in the school, then?" Lily asked. "Among even the students?"

"You had best assume so," Sirius said solemnly.

At this juncture, the conversation died. Lily was the first to wander off. Eventually, Remus and Peter went to get ready for bed, leaving James and Sirius to chat.

"I am going to have a hard time enjoying future night outings," James said. "You never know who we might run into skulking around the castle."

Sirius shrugged, and the two friends sat in companionable silence. Eventually, Sirius' face lit up, and he grinned. "What if we had a way to find out who else is prowling the castle when we are out and about?"