Moody stumbled out of the fireplace and into Professor Dumbledore's office. He brushed off his winter cloak, removed it, and took a seat in front of the desk. "Has Snape arrived yet?" he inquired.
"I am still awaiting his report," Dumbledore said helping himself to a lemon drop and proffering the bowl to Moody, who declined more out of habit than conscious choice.
"I can only imagine how much trouble Miss Potter and Mr. Black are currently in," Moody mused, a faint grin threatening to invade his face.
"Yes," Dumbledore said absently, "they behaved rather recklessly." Although a skilled solicitor might lay all of the blame at my feet, Dumbledore thought to himself with dismay, as a function of my misguided focus on the wrong Miss Potter. "However, they have turned up important information for us. Bellatrix Black is alive, Harry Ashworth may be alive, and they likely are the subjects of the prophecy. Bellatrix, after all, is the daughter of Cygnus and the niece of Orion. The term 'daughter of the stars' fits her more comfortably than it does Sidra Potter. As for Harry Ashworth, it is not unreasonable to suppose that Orion or Cygnus may have made provision for him to take their place should they die. Romulus Malfoy apparently took a similar step when he gave Mr. Ashworth his family ring."
Moody nodded, already having made most of these assumptions himself, but pleased to find that he and Dumbledore were on the same page. "But where have they been all these years?"
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Majorca, perhaps?"
"That sounds too simple of an explanation," Moody scoffed. "Maybe we should re-examine what we think we know. Nothing like a little time travel in the pensieve to clear the mind."
Before Dumbledore could reply, the fire turned green as Severus Snape arrived, presumably from where he had been spying on the Dark Lord. "Is Lily safe?" Snape inquired immediately.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied, briefly explaining what the Order had learned from Rose, Leo, and Ginny before asking Snape what he had been able to learn in the aftermath of the rescue.
"Narcissa is somewhat sure that it was Bellatrix who attacked her," Snape informed Dumbledore and Moody.
"Somewhat sure?" Moody demanded. "Either it was her sister or it wasn't."
Snape shrugged, sitting down in the chair next to Moody and ignoring Dumbledore's motion to help himself to the lemon drop bowl. "I wasn't able to get Narcissa alone for a better explanation. All I know is that she refused to confirm for sure that it was Bellatrix. There was room for doubt in her mind."
"Interesting," Dumbledore mused. "How does Voldemort feel about the entire incident?"
"It was very unsettling for him," Snape said.
"I would think that having the ghost of a former victim of yours appear a couple of decades down the road would be unsettling," Moody laughed bitterly.
"Yes," Snape agreed. "However, the fact that it was the late Professor Ashworth seemed to be particularly unsettling for the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. "Did he say why?"
"No," Snape said. "After a few minutes, the Dark Lord calmed down, but then the fire started."
"Fire?" Moody asked quickly.
"Yes," Snape said drily. "Someone saw fit to burn down the entire forest surrounding Malfoy Manor. They used fiendfyre. The Dark Lord believes that fiendfyre was, or perhaps is, Professor Ashworth's trademark spell-the spell he supposedly always used in confrontations. Professor Ashworth's 'personal touch' has the Dark Lord convinced that he might be alive. The Dark Lord has assigned every spare Death Eater to research Harry Ashworth. All other priorities have been bumped down."
Turning to Moody, Dumbledore mused, "Then it would seem, gentlemen, that our need to find Miss Black and ascertain Mr. Ashworth's status has grown even more urgent, Alastor."
"I'm on it," Moody declared.
.....
For Rose, the arrival of Professor Dumbledore and Alastor Moody on the Potter's front doorstep, asking to see her, came as a welcome relief. Her parents had grounded her for sneaking out at night-not that Rose wanted to leave her room. She felt guilty whenever she saw her mother, who was still suffering the after effects of her capture, while her father and two siblings were not talking to her.
Professor Dumbledore's demeanor was cheerful as it nearly always was as he took a seat at her desk while Mad-Eye paced the room, his magical eye spinning as it alternated between the door and window.
"Last night, you left me with the impression that you had more to tell," Dumbledore said, launching the topic of discussion after the exchange of pleasantries.
"Yes," said Rose slowly. "You may be wondering why it is that Bellatrix saw fit to meet us after we sent a communication to her via Kreacher, even though you had done the same."
"The question had crossed my mind," Dumbledore admitted.
"There is a rational explanation, but I would very much prefer if my parents never learned it," Rose told Dumbledore.
Dumbledore nodded. "As long as their lives are not endangered because they do not know of this, I am willing to not mention anything to them."
"It has to do with a diary," Rose began.
....
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