Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Howsoever did she do that?" he asked with surprise.
"Bellatrix happens to own the old Malfoy family ring," Leo interjected. "She was able to use it to get us onto the property. From there, she sneaked into the manor while Rose and I prepared to set off explosions at the appropriate signal. I think you can all piece together the rest."
"Not quite," Lily said weakly. "What did Bellatrix do in the manor? Was she impersonating Ashworth?"
"We didn't manage to compare notes with her about how that part of the operation actually proceeded, but the original plan was for her to incapacitate her sister, take Polyjuice, and shove the portkey into your hands when everyone was distracted," Leo said.
Lily nodded slowly. "That's what she did then. The Narcissa I saw smirked at me. I thought it was out of character for her, and apparently, I was correct."
"Yeah, she does seem the type to smirk a lot," Rose observed. "She also likes to call people dimwits."
"That's my cousin, all right," Sirius chimed in.
"Any more questions?" Rose queried.
"Yes," said Moody, "what was Miss Weasley doing while Bellatrix was in the manor and you two were setting off explosions?"
Ginny winced, knowing that Leo's explanation had left her vulnerable to that particular question. Her hopes that no one would ask were dashed. "I… uh," she began.
Rose rescued her, however. "Ginny was assigned to help… summon the ghost of Harry Ashworth, I guess. Unfortunately, there isn't really anything she can tell you about it because of the magical oath we all took."
"Is there really nothing you can tell us?" Dumbledore asked of Ginny, leaning forward. Lily stared raptly at the Weasley daughter, hoping for some sort of elaboration on Harry Ashworth's status.
"Not really," Ginny said, disappointedly. "But I can give you this," she added, spitefully recalling her humiliating subjugation by Lady Black's curses while pulling a small, brightly colored cube out of her robes.
"A Rubik's cube?" Professor Flitwick said aloud, to the surprise of most in the room.
"Yes, that's what Bellatrix called it. But it's more than just a cube," Ginny said. "It's really a portkey, a dangerously amazing one, actually. Bellatrix told us only a little about how to use it, and warned us about some of its safeguards. She was supposed to take it from me," Ginny continued, recalling Bellatrix's jealous hiss at finding Ginny sitting next to Harry on the bed, "but she apparently forgot."
"If we tried to decode it," Leo added darkly, "she said it would drop us in the Scottish Highlands. Or maybe over the Atlantic."
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore warily. "Miss Weasley, please place it carefully upon the table in front of me. In fact, until I have a chance to safely probe the cube's defenses, no one should touch it." Turning to Rose and Leo, he asked, "Do either of you still have one?"
"Afraid not," Leo shrugged. "Since I can apparate, she said I didn't need one. And she definitely reclaimed the one she loaned to Rose."
"Filius," Dumbledore addressed his Charms professor, "you've seen one of these?"
Filius paused before responding, amazement plain on his face. "I discussed this idea-literally, this exact idea-a few weeks ago, with Miss Granger. She called it a 'polyvalent portkey,' which she proposed completing and submitting as part of her application for an advanced Charms apprenticeship."
The room grew silent for several moments as everyone digested Professor Flitwick's words. "Then perhaps you and I should examine this device together," said Dumbledore quietly to Filius. "Miss Granger may have some helpful insights, as well." Dumbledore looked up from the cube and met Lily Potter's bright green eyes as he raised his eyebrows.
Lily slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid we don't have one of those cubes, Professor," she said. "I recognized the portkey used on us, after the fact. It was a sock, one of the socks James turns into portkeys and stores in our study for emergency family use. Bellatrix probably got it from Rose." Lily turned to her youngest daughter, who nodded.
"For a dead man," Dumbledore added drily, "Harry Ashworth seems to have been the source of a most lively evening. Is there anything else any of you can tell us that might be useful?" Dumbledore asked, now addressing Rose and Leo. While Leo shook his head fairly emphatically, Rose simply stared at Dumbledore, briefly and subtly raising her eyebrows while she widened her eyes. "Indeed," Dumbledore finished, nodding at Rose almost imperceptibly, "then it would seem this meeting of the Order is adjourned."
"Wait a minute, Albus," Moody interrupted, turning himself to address Leo and Rose. "Can you two amateur hour aurors tell us how to contact Bellatrix? We need to speak with her as soon as possible. We also need to confirm her identity."
Rose and Leo looked at one another as both shrugged, somewhat miserably. "Send Kreacher with a message, I guess?" Leo suggested.
"Yeah, we already tried that," Sirius grumbled.
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