"The family was very suspicious about Orion bequeathing me ten thousand galleons and then only a nominal amount for my sisters and parents in a lump sum," Bellatrix commented. She then grew a little more serious. "There is one thing I am curious about, Harry."
"What is it?" Harry asked.
"You gave Walburga the right to reside at Grimmauld Place and then specified that her death, Sirius was to inherit it. That's the family home. Why didn't you find a way to keep it for us?" Bellatrix asked.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. He sighed, wondering how much to tell her. "Suffice it to say, I have unpleasant memories of Grimmauld Place. I'd rather avoid it. I'm sure we can find a better place to live in the future."
Bellatrix shrugged. "All right."
"Shall we get back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "Where is Sirius?"
"I already dropped him back at the castle gate," Bellatrix said.
"You could have saved yourself a trip and picked me up first," Harry observed.
Bellatrix smiled and wrapped her arms around Harry. She then kissed him firmly, before pulling back. "I don't want to go back to the castle yet, Harry. I want to go eat at the fanciest Muggle restaurant in London," she declared. "Then, I want to go shopping."
Harry laughed weakly. "All right."
.....
Harry rose from his seat in the Great Hall and departed from dinner, nodding to the various students with which he was more closely acquainted. It had about a week and a half since Harry had assumed control of the Black estate and had then spent the rest of the day splurging on food, shopping, and entertainment in London with Bellatrix, courtesy of a Gringotts credit card ascribed as belonging to the Bank of Lower London.
He was preparing to return to his office and finish grading essays when he felt the ring on his finger twitch. Harry moved quickly to an obscure alcove and brought the ring close to his eye. Romulus's face was in it. "Romulus?" he said quietly.
"The dark lord has conducted a raid in a Scottish town," Romulus said resignedly. "Wizards and witches dressed and masked in black commenced terrorizing both magical and non-magical folk in the town about twenty minutes ago. Cygnus has dispatched the balance of the Ministry's aurors. We think it might be good if you could nip up there and investigate. The bulk of the battle will be over by now."
Harry nodded sadly. It seemed that Voldemort was beginning his campaign in earnest. "I'll go," he said.
"Good," said Romulus. "Try to see what you can learn. You're fairly observant. The auror in charge is Alastor Moody. You should probably check in with him before you start wandering around the town. The last thing you need is to get hit by friendly spellfire." Romulus then gave him the directions to the village.
It took Harry several minutes to make it to the front gate from where he could apparate to the town. When he arrived, there were a number of people swarming around: aurors, Ministry officials, mediwizards and mediwitches, and residents. It appeared that the attack had completely dispersed.
"Mr. Ashworth, what brings you here?"
Harry spun around and spotted Alastor Moody eying him with suspicion.
"The Minister thought it might be good for me to have a look around," Harry said.
"Really," Moody said.
"You can take it up with him if you want, Mr. Moody," Harry said.
Moody shook his head slightly, indicating he wasn't about to take it that far, though a twisted smile indicated he was going to continue being suspicious of Harry. "Let me show you around, then. You can tell the Minister all about the situation."
"Thank you," said Harry, placing a slightly sarcastic inflection into his voice, despite his gratitude for Moody volunteering to show him around.
Moody led Harry through the crowds, occasionally pointing out where some especially bad damage had been inflicted and telling Harry about various injuries that had been sustained. To Harry's somewhat practiced eye, it appeared the tactics employed by the Death Eaters were sporadic at best.
Moody seemed to have made the same observation. "The culprits dispersed almost as soon as Ministry reinforcements appeared," he told Harry. "I'm not sure what the dark lord was hoping to accomplish."
Harry frowned, wondering if Moody was officially supposed to know about the dark lord. "Dark lord?" Harry asked.
Realizing his mistake, Moody could only glare at Harry. He had too much dignity to try and cover up his slip ineffectually, so he continued pushed forward. "Don't try to snow me, Ashworth. I know you know, and as you can see, I know more than you would think. You tell Minister Black that this dark lord is a sly one. If Black wants to prevail, he had better attempt to get into the dark lord's mind. Bulking up the auror corps is good, but I don't think it will win the day."
Harry shrugged. "I'll of course relay your message to the Minister."
"See that you do," Moody growled.
"Mr. Ashworth," came another voice.
Harry turned his head and caught sight of Director Prewitt approaching. "Good evening, Director."
"It's anything but," Prewitt retorted, looking and sounding very crotchety.
"Of course," said Harry. "I only meant to greet you."
"Indeed," said Prewitt. "Do you have official business here?"
Harry pursed his lips. He could push the thought that he was here observing for Cygnus, but he didn't think that would go over very well. He had already seen all he needed, courtesy of Moody, and didn't want to create any unnecessary friction. "My business is concluded," said Harry.
"Then please vacate the area," Prewitt directed.
"As you wish," Harry said, nodding politely.
....
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