Malfoy arched an eyebrow. "You already seem to have someone in mind. Someone we could turn to."
Orion Black merely arched an eyebrow, gesturing for his friend to continue speaking.
"Are you sure Ashworth is a good choice?" Malfoy asked. "He's an unknown. Do you think he can be trusted?"
"What do you think about him?"
"He's an intriguing young man and he's made it clear that he's looking for opportunity," Malfoy admitted, "but it all seems a little convenient. He appears right as tensions start to break, and he displays great knowledge of current events with insights that go far beyond those of most people his age."
The Black patriarch nodded slowly. "That is surprising, though not entirely unusual. Not all of our youth are uneducated brutes that resort to violence first."
"Do you think he might be the one who's behind all of this? He certainly appears intelligent enough for it. He's also unusually skilled for someone his age, if what our children say is to be believed."
"No." The confidence in Orion Black's voice caught Malfoy by surprise. He was used to the fact that the head of the Black family had his sources, and often had utter confidence in whatever he was saying, but he couldn't be this sure about Ashworth's intentions this soon after meeting him, could he?
"I've had him followed off and on," Black continued matter-of-factly. "He has just barely arrived in this country, and seems genuine about his intentions to find employment. He has no one and knows no one. For all intents and purposes, with the exception of my niece, he is alone in this world. He needs what we could provide for him far more than we actually need him."
"If he's nobody's man, then he is potentially everybody's man," Malfoy observed cautiously.
"All the more reason for us to be the first ones to reach out to him, is it not?"
"I suppose so. Still…" Malfoy was surprised his colleague was so eager to recruit this young newcomer into their midst. "You seem to think he can be trusted. Are you sure you're willing to let an unknown variable like him be this close to us… and your niece?"
Orion Black scoffed, "I'm not afraid of Harry Ashworth and Bellatrix is perfectly capable of handling herself," Black declared easily. "Though I do not know why she is so determined to associate with a random young man she met in Diagon Alley."
"Perhaps she knows something she's not telling you."
The elder wizard rubbed his chin in thought. He knew that his friend had brought up a good point. With the way the Blacks were raised, to do anything to benefit themselves and the family, sometimes at the cost of others -and in that order - that was a distinct possibility. "Perhaps, but I have yet to see or hear of any sign that he's remotely interested in her."
"He may not be interested in her," Malfoy commented with a barely restrained smirk, "but she might be after him."
That caused the Black patriarch to chuckle, the sound coming out as a rasp from his ancient throat. "Bellatrix?" he asked, almost incredulously. "Fall in love? I doubt it. There are very few things that can touch her heart."
"You mean he's not her type, as they say?"
Black's lips quirked and formed an odd smile. "You might say that no one is her type. However, if she is showing some interest in young Ashworth, calculated or otherwise, then her friends might, too."
"So that's why you want to use him. He's already got one person who's following him around, so others will take an interest in him, as well?" Malfoy leaned back in thought. "That can't be the only reason, though. He has given no reason to be trusted. It's a big chance you'd be taking there, bringing him into our confidence, entrusting him with our interests. Especially since we're not sure that he doesn't have any loyalties to someone else out there."
"I already expressed my confidence that he has no one," Orion stated firmly, "But if you're right, better an enemy unknown next to my niece, than an enemy unknown on his own."
"You're using your niece as bait?" Malfoy smirked; he should have expected something like that from his older colleague. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, indeed, he thought to himself. Given the girl's interest in the young wizard, Malfoy mused, she would most likely be quick to pick up on any changes in his routine that might indicate when something had changed, or when he was up to something. And at the same time, they could make use of Ashworth's services to keep them informed of whatever he could find about what was going on with the pureblood movement. A smile began to spread across Malfoy's face.
"Ashworth is looking for opportunities," Black began. "We ought to consider providing him with some."
"Yes," Malfoy agreed. "If he wants a job, then by all means, let's see to it that he gets a job."
A pleased smile crossed Black's face as he folded up his newspaper and slipped into his robes. "Can you see to it that he is advantageously placed?"
Malfoy quickly reviewed all of the possibilities he knew of and even the possibilities that might be created through the use of his well-placed contacts and resources. After a moment, an idea came to him. It was rather underhanded, but he thought he might be able to arrange it without causing too much suspicion to fall on Ashworth or himself. At least, no one would ever be able to prove anything.
Malfoy shot Black a feral smile. "Leave it to me. Ashworth will be employed within a week, and he'll know who to thank."
"That's the first step," Orion commented, standing up and preparing to leave. "Let me know when you've taken care of that. We can then start to make further arrangements."
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