"So Lucius Malfoy is the one that made it all possible," Moody mused.
"Apparently," Harry said. "It should have occurred to me that Lucius would have access to Malfoy Manor."
Moody shook his head. "No, it should have occurred to Romulus. Don't worry yourself about what might have happened, Ashworth."
"Aren't you going to ask me why I didn't rush to notify the aurors?" Harry asked.
Moody shook his head. "We got the alert quicker than you might think. By the time you had escaped the anti-apparition wards, we were already trying to break through them. If you want to share, though, feel free."
"No," said Harry, waving his hand dismissively. "I guess it just goes back to what you said about worrying about what might have happened."
"Indeed," Moody said.
The server arrived with their food and they were soon too busy eating for significant conversation. Eventually, their appetites were satisfied enough for them to resume and focus on the topic.
"I think we've already covered everything with which the Ministry is concerned," Moody said slowly. "However, for my, ah… my personal curiosity, I have some questions I'm hoping that you could answer."
Instantly, Harry realized that Moody was now fishing on behalf of the Order. Harry was willing to feed them information. He had already made that decision. He might have even brought it up with Dumbledore if it weren't for his being dismissed from Hogwarts. "What do you want to know?" Harry asked, deliberately lowering his voice as if what he might share could be very secret and very valuable.
It seemed to have the proper effect on Moody, for he instinctively lowered his voice also. "Well, Ashworth, you served as a private advisor for the Blacks. I assume that you're privy to the information they had on the dark lord. I'm even hoping that you might be privy to some of their sources."
Harry nodded slowly, thinking carefully. Quickly, this was transforming into a better opportunity than he had realized or hoped for. With Orion, Cygnus, and Romulus dead, none of them could dispute anything Harry said about what they might have known, thought, or did. Harry could feed the Order, through Moody, information of which the patriarchs had known nothing about. There was also nothing to prevent him from hiding himself as the source of information. There was even the possibility of continuing to "receive" information from the sources of the late patriarchs. Without joining the Order, Harry could have a major influence on it.
"Anything I say is officially of the record, right?" Harry said.
"I'm not going to blab about it at the Ministry, if that's what you mean," Moody retorted. "But if you give me bad information, I'm going to come after you."
"Fair enough," Harry said. He grabbed the pen that the server had provided alongside the bill for the food. Slowly, he wrote "Lord Voldemort" on an unused napkin. "This is the name of the dark lord. Please don't think I'm afraid to say it aloud-I'm not a coward-but Orion reckoned that this guy might have a way of detecting when people were talking about him. We always found other ways to refer to him."
Moody accepted the napkin from Harry and studied Voldemort's name. "Interesting," he said. "Surely this isn't his birth name."
"We can always hope," Harry said, smirking.
"I say that because it could be useful to find out more about the dark lord's background," Moody pointed out.
Harry nodded. "I see. Well, I think Orion was on the same path right before he passed away. Maybe if I poke around I can dig up some information on the dark lord's past."
"Why don't you do that?" Moody said gruffly, almost as if he were assigning Harry to do it.
"All right," said Harry, sipping his glass of water. It would be ridiculously easy of course. He would just need to arrange another meeting with Moody and then dramatically declare that the dark lord was none other than Tom Riddle, Jr. He would make a point of emphasizing the junior part. It wouldn't be all down time between now and telling Moody the dark lord's birth name, however. Harry had a lot of stuff to do, and he would of course need to continue pursuing the battle against Voldemort.
"How long do you think it will take you to find out?" Moody asked.
"A few days," Harry shrugged. He'd have to see what his schedule was like and how bored he was. "I'll owl you when I have something."
Moody frowned and Harry feared for a moment that the auror wasn't entirely satisfied with the terms of their little arrangement. It turned out the frown was for another reason. "I think we need to find a more clandestine way to communicate," the auror declared.
"Really?" Harry asked.
"Yes," said Moody. "I can't have folks constantly wondering from whom I am receiving owls on a regular basis. You also will want to lay low. This dark lord might want you dead. There's also Prewitt to consider."
Harry frowned. "Prewitt? What does he want from me?"
"At the moment, you're in the clear," Moody said. "However, if it becomes politically expedient, you could become a target."
Harry knew too well the sort of trouble a Minister of Magic could cause for him. Though Harry could back up everything that had happened via a truth potion, he did not want to risk being forced to admit to having taken the Malfoy gold. There was also the fact that being innocent didn't always protect one from the Ministry. "All right," said Harry, "I'll make an effort to not avoid notice. What do you suggest for communicating?"
Moody spent a few minutes considering this question. He glanced out the window and his eyes fell upon a lamppost just outside of the restaurant. "Let's get out of here," he said gruffly. "I've got an idea."
The two were soon standing out on the sidewalk next to the lamppost. "All right," said Harry, "tell me what you got."
Moody glanced around to make sure that no one was observing them. He then drew his wand and pointed at the lamppost. On a small plate attached to the metal pole, a series of numbers and letters appeared. It looked as if the number had been stamped onto the plate by the foundry itself. "It's a date and time," Moody declared. "The first number is the day of the month. The next few letters are an abbreviation for a month. Then, the next numbers are a time. When you're ready to meet with me, use your wand to set the date and time. Then, when the meeting comes, we'll meet at the same tube station we started at this evening."
"Isn't this a little over the top?" Harry complained.
"Constant vigilance!" Moody said vigorously. "We can't be too careful."
"Yeah, okay," Harry replied. "So you're going to check this lamppost every day? What if you want to meet with me? What do you do?"
"I'll change the day of the month to something higher than thirty-one," Moody said. "Let's say that the higher the number, the more urgent it is I meet you."
"Fine," said Harry. "What's the latest time of day I can put a message on here for you, assuming I want to meet on the same day?"
"Let's say five in the evening," Moody said.
"Great," said Harry.
"All right," said Moody. "I need to go. I'll be looking for your sign, Ashworth. Don't forget to check for mine."
Harry nodded and said goodbye to Moody before walking off into the dark streets of London.
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