The quartet sat in expectant silence for several minutes. Bellatrix sensed that they were probably hoping that she would say something to help move the conversation forward, but Albus's little ambush had put her in no mood to comply. Whatever it was they wanted, they would have to accept the embarrassment of bringing it up directly.
Alastor Moody, however, was immune to embarrassment. "You've been out terrorizing Death Eaters with the ghost of Harry Ashworth again."
"I never expressed any commitment to cease doing so," Bellatrix said crossly, glaring at Dumbledore as she placed the teacup atop his desk.
"We are interested in how you do it," Lily said, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I distract them with the ghost of Ashworth." Bellatrix said simply, "and wallop them from behind."
"We are wondering about the spell you use to project the ghost of Ashworth," Professor Dumbledore declared.
"Another clever ploy to determine whether he is alive," Bellatrix said, grinning as if she were on the verge of openly snickering at them.
"Yes, we would like to know whether Ashworth is alive," Moody growled. "If he is, we would rather speak to him than to you. So, why don't you tell us?"
"Wondering keeps the Dark Lord on edge," Bellatrix chimed sweetly.
"You can tell us," Lily urged. "Nobody here is working for him."
Bellatrix appeared to consider seriously their request, thinking to herself, Harry's mother did manage to deal Riddle a most bitter defeat, after all. Finally, she made an offer. "I will show you the spell that summons the ghost of Ashworth," Bellatrix demurred.
"Really?" Lily said, ever the eager student.
"Yes," Bellatrix said respectfully, directly to Lily, "really," Standing up and drawing her wand, Bellatrix cried, " Illusio spiritum !"
In a darker corner of the office, the ghostly form of Harry Ashworth instantly appeared.
"Extraordinary," Dumbledore said, honestly impressed. "You developed this spell yourself?"
"Yes," replied Bellatrix smugly. "You can call up the image with the incantation. Then, as you can see, twisting the wand causes the eyes to flare. Guiding it around is quite simple, too." She then released the spell from the wand and the ghost faded away after a couple of moments. "I would appreciate it if you did not make liberal use of this. The point of creating the spell is to keep the Dark Lord on his guard."
"Quite so," Dumbledore said as Bellatrix returned to her chair and Lily took Bellatrix's place on the floor.
" Illusio spiritum!" Lily called out. The ghost appeared. She gestured her wand to bring the ghost closer, but as the form moved into the better lit part of the office, it became very difficult to see.
"What kind of arithmancy did you do to get the exact form of Harry Ashworth to respond to the incantation?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry's form is not tied to the incantation," Bellatrix answered. "Imagine what you want to appear, and that is what will appear, albeit, in a ghostly form."
"Marvelous," Dumbledore praised. "You, Mrs. Black, have great talent. Something you and Mrs. Potter very much share."
"Thank you," Bellatrix responded, watching thoughtfully as a somewhat forlorn Lily guided Harry's ghost back into the darkness, better to gaze upon it.
.....
Shadows cloaked the graveyard that sat adjacent to the ruins of the Black Family's abandoned ancestral manor of Ravenbourgh. A pair of apparition pops heralded the arrival of Narcissa Malfoy and Severus Snape. Narcissa pocketed her wand, but Snape kept his drawn as his eyes darted between the Black family's headstones.
"This way," Narcissa murmured quietly, motioning toward the resting place of her parents.
Snape glanced at Narcissa. Though she had pointed the way, she was not moving. He resisted the impulse to sneer. "You can't think your sister is so dangerous that she could overpower the both of us."
"You do not know my sister," Narcissa said quietly.
Shaking his head, Snape took her arm and reassuringly moved forward with her. "You two are family."
"She might not believe I am part of the family if she has concluded that I have supported the Death Eaters," Narcissa said.
"I always thought she and the Blacks favored the Dark Arts," Snape argued.
"She favors power," Narcissa said. "And vengeance for the death of her father and uncle, and possibly for the death of Harry Ashworth."
Snape nodded, his head swiveling back and forth as he watched for any risks. Just as he prepared to ask more about Narcissa's knowledge of Bellatrix and Ashworth, he and Narcissa arrived at the gravestone of the late Minister Black. Perched on a rather large tomb next to Cygnus Black's gravestone was Bellatrix. Standing next to the grave was the ghostly form of Harry Ashworth.
"Do you really think you can intimidate us with that parlor trick?" Snape sneered. Dumbledore had passed on the information about how Bellatrix had been using the form of Harry Ashworth. The Order was now largely convinced that Bellatrix was acting on her own, although they remained quite uncertain about her motivations. While Snape was unsure whether he bought the idea that Bellatrix had decided to exact revenge for her father's death-after all this time-he lacked a better explanation.
Snape's emotions about the apparent confirmation of Harry Ashworth's death were also jumbled. Vividly, he could still remember his confrontation with Professor Ashworth after he had been caught helping Narcissa in her attempt to leave Hogwarts and join Lucius. He had resented Ashworth then, but as Snape reflected back, he found Ashworth's bluntness refreshing. It would have done the Order good to have Ashworth's influence. Despite these thoughts, Snape maintained his sneer toward the apparition of the late Ashworth, since tonight, he and Narcissa dealt with Bellatrix, not their old potions professor.