If Amelia was correct in her reckoning, Foxe had been head of the Department of Mysteries for over forty years. Foxe's position had originally been one of prestige back when the Ministry was pouring millions of galleons into research and magical development projects-as well as espionage assignments.
Now that the DMLE annually received the biggest slice of budget pie, Mr. Foxe and his department merely existed. Some said that Minister Prewitt did not have the guts to dismiss Foxe. Others said that Prewitt had forgotten that the department existed. Looking Foxe in the eye, Amelia could easily bring herself to believe the former.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me," Amelia began.
"You are welcome," Foxe replied, looking at Amelia expectantly.
"Since you have been here at the Ministry and have been in a position of power longer than most, I was hoping I could ask you a few questions." Amelia continued.
Foxe gestured his acquiescence with a brief nod.
"What can you tell me about Harry Ashworth?"
Foxe answered Amelia's question with a piercing gaze before setting his eyes on the fire in one of his fireplaces. "Is this an official inquiry?"
"Not at all," Amelia said. "Call it personal curiosity. What you say won't leave this room."
"Very well, but be forewarned. If what I say later proves inconvenient for me, I will deny that I ever said it." Foxe said. "My sources must be protected and my reasons for knowing what I may tell you must remain confidential. In the end, should you try to divulge information and tie it to me, you will only be able to prove that you believe I said what I said."
"That's fine," Amelia said. "Now, what can you tell me?"
"Ashworth appeared in our world near the time that we began to see symptoms of the Dark Lord's existence. Orion Black called on his services. It seems that Mr. Ashworth was a spy or informant of sorts. At Hogwarts, he probably spied on potential Death Eater recruits. Later, he developed into an advisor to Minister Black. After Orion Black's death, Ashworth played a part in influencing some of Minister Black's decisions… for the short amount of time that Cygnus survived his elder brother."
"You say he appeared in our world," Amelia said slowly. "What do you mean by that?"
"There are no records of his birth, childhood, or education," Foxe told Amelia. "There are forgeries and there are official documents later drawn up by Minister Black, but as far as anyone has discovered, there is nothing original."
"Do you have ways to discover whether Harry Ashworth is alive or dead?' Amelia asked.
"Yes."
"So, is Harry Ashworth alive?" Amelia asked hopefully.
Edward Foxe smiled. "That is a question I am not willing to answer."
"Why not?"
"I think it is for the greater good," Edward Foxe said. "You can chalk it up as my contribution to the war against the Dark Lord."
"You do realize that I can make official inquiries with Gringotts and with certain record-keeping departments in the Ministry."
"Not if I have taken steps to suppress and silence your potential sources," Foxe countered. "If I were you, I would ask fewer questions about Harry Ashworth and more questions about how the controversy around Ashworth could be used advantageously in your efforts to better our society." He stood and gestured to the door. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have things that need doing."
.....
Several of the detection wards Harry had placed in the forest near Village #5 were tripped the night before the Malfoys picked up and prepared to make their way to Village #6. Harry was quite disgusted that the alarms had not woken him, but rationalized that since the wards had been located in the forest just outside the inn, it was likely that a guest of the inn or perhaps a villager had tripped it. The day previous, neither Harry nor the Malfoys had been able to find any sign that Pettigrew had passed through.
As had become routine, Harry shared the breakfast hour and dining room with the Malfoys. In Village #4, he had been cheeky enough to share a table with them, but that had not proved productive because they had said very little during the entire encounter. Harry had ceased from using that particular disguise and had limited himself to eavesdropping from across the room while using another disguise.
The Malfoys finished their breakfast and retreated to their rooms to pack. Harry, already having packed his belongings, leisurely finished his breakfast before making his way to the front desk to pay his tab.
.....
"Dear Cousin," Sirius said, plastering a smile on his face as he and Alastor Moody approached Bellatrix in a posh Muggle restaurant located in Liverpool.
Nonplussed, Bellatrix shook her head in annoyance. "I hope that an awkward family reunion is not the true reason you asked me to meet you."
"It's the free food, actually," Sirius said, sitting down at Bellatrix's table and motioning for Moody to do likewise. "You're buying, right?"
Bellatrix shrugged. "If you can finish your meal before I decide to leave, you might be in luck." She reached for her wineglass and took a sip before picking up her fork and eyeing the steamed vegetables on her plate."
"Waiter!" Sirius called. "Waiter!"
"The ghost of Ashworth has not been very active of late," Moody said, trying to ignore Sirius and focus in on Bellatrix.
"I have been quite busy of late," Bellatrix replied. "Multiple irons in the fire, you know."
"Can I help you?" a frazzled server asked, finally responding to Sirius's demand for a waiter.
"I'll have what she's having, sans the vegetables," Sirius announced.
"Very good, sir," the server said stiffly, writing down the order and leaving the table.
"Albus surmised that you must be busy," Moody continued. "However, he is convinced that your tactic of haunting the Death Eaters with the ghost of Ashworth has been effective. He would like to see more of it."
"So," Bellatrix said coolly, "we are moving from disapproval of my actions to complaints that I am slacking off."
"No," Sirius clarified, "we are saying that we think you have been making a good contribution to the war effort even if we have been a tad concerned for your safety in the past. And," he said, pausing for emphasis, "it so happens that we have stumbled on a good opportunity for you to exercise your ghost of Ashworth skills in an eminently useful manner and from a position of relative safety. Besides, James was the only one who actually disapproved of your actions."
"Oh, really?" Bellatrix said, switching her fork into other hand and picking up the knife.
"The thing is," Moody said, "we have detected a number of probes on the wards surrounding the Burrow, which is of course, the residence of Arthur and Molly Weasley. We anticipate a Death Eater attack on that place very soon."
"And you want me to produce the ghost of Ashworth at the opportune moment and break up the attack," Bellatrix said, beginning to cut into her steak.
"That's part of it," Sirius said.