2. Plans

The image that met Riana's eyes was one that, after tonight, she would remember for a very long time. She was still in the doorway, but everyone else had taken their places, as if they had rehearsed the scene many times before. Deke and Garren were standing in front of the desk, directly facing the woman. A few steps to the right, leaning against a wall were Draco and Lucius. On the opposite side of the room, a small distance from her father stood Severus. Next to the professor, but closest to the door was Greyback. He was picking his teeth, pretending to be absent to what was going on around him. Everyone was more or less discretely staring at her, except for Draco, who had thrown a quick look at Greyback and was now intensely eyeing the floor.

Riana's heart sank deeper with every step she took. So Draco was right. They really had something in store for her. Feeling everyone's eyes on her, she made her way next to her father. Turning around to face everyone, she noticed that even Fenrir was eyeing her, grinning. She decided she was never going to forgive her father for this.

Snape, it seemed, was the first one to grow impacient. He turned his gaze to Deke.

"What have you told her?"

"Nothing." Came a serene answer from mr. Craide. "I thought it would be best if she heard the complete plan all at once. And that is something we have yet to agree on."

Severus nodded calmly and shot Greyback a look. The latter, however, was in no hurry to begin. He lazily walked to the center of the room, slowly licking his lips. Riana's hands began to shake slightly, and she hid them behind her back. She wanted to at least look brave, even if she didn't feel that way. Under the narrowed eyes of Snape and Malfoy, Greyback began his report.

"You must have heard the latest news, from the Prophet if not from the Dark Lord himself" he grinned slightly. "My pack killed another member of that pathetic Order. One would think they'd give up now that Dumbledore's dead."

"It seems there are many fools in this world." Lucius commented with a bored expression on the face. "Now continue, Fenrir."

The werewolf, on the other hand, wasn't too happy to receive orders. There was another long pause before he began to speak again.

"The one we killed was a woman called Nymphadora Tonks. She was accompanied by a certain Remus Lupin, that we long suspected to be in Dumbledore's group."

Snape's face seemed to be carved out of stone. Not one muscle had moved.

"Now we have the confirmation. He managed to escape, though, we only wounded him."

Only now did Snape's left eye twitch, his eyebrows frowning.

"And what does that have to do with the plan?" he snapped.

"Temper, temper…" Greyback replied mockingly. Snape looked angry, so the werewolf decided it was best to continue. "The most interesting thing is that this Lupin had been seen around my caves, stirring up trouble."

"Probably trying to recruit more werewolves for the Order." Replied Deke, interfering in the conversation for the first time.

Snape bit his lower lip, but said nothing. Lucius found it was time for him to take over. Greyback didn't seem too pleased.

"Precisely. And the Dark Lord finds that is exactly what we need. Allow him the impression that you haven't noticed a thing. All we need is to plant there someone, who will pretend interested in joining them. Let them think they will have a new member, when they will actually get a spy."

Malfoy's cold eyes sparkled, as he grinned. Draco had raised his eyes from the ground, mirroring his father's expression. Riana began to understand her purpose.

"And who is that going to be?" Garren asked, curiously.

His father shot him a disapproving look, but Snape answered him, a small grin surfacing in the corner of his thin lips.

"Your sister."

There was silence for a moment. Riana turned slightly pale, her pounding heartbeats breaking the silence. Luckily, no one else could hear them. No reason to be scared… she thought It's not like I wasn't expecting this. Her brother, however, wasn't too pleased by that.

"Why her?" he asked, frowning. Clearly, he found that he would do a much better job of it, than Riana.

"Think for a moment." Snape replied, with a strange sparkle in his eyes. "A heartbroken Lupin, wounded and alone… A charming young woman, ready to offer her shoulder for him to cry on…"

Riana's face went pink, and her eyes were narrowed on her former teacher. She was not going to do anything like that, she decided on the spot. Garren still wasn't convinced.

"But she's not even a Death Eater!"

"Of course she isn't!" His father snapped. "We couldn't risk her having a Dark Mark on her forearm, now could we? Sooner or later, someone in the Order would see it. We can't afford to lose a well placed spy."

So that's all that I am to my father… She thought, feeling even worse. She knew very well that her own brother would have given anything to be on a mission for the Dark Lord, but she would happily give up the privilege, if she only could. Deke turned to her, with a serious face.

"You will leave with Greyback tonight, and report to Severus every two days, or whenever something significant will happen."

"Why him?" She heard herself ask, her voice clearly showing that she would rather eat dirt than see Snape's face so often.

She hand't meant to offend him, though, so she threw him a quick look, to see whether he was upset. To her surprise, Severus seemed to be almost grinning.

"Because, should someone find out that you are keeping touch with him, no one would suspect the respectable Craides or Malfoys. He's…" Deke shrugged. "Well, he's already been discredited… The Ministry looking for him, and all that…"

Riana was left with no retort. It was logical, but certainly unfair. She didn't dare turn to see the expression on his face. If not for the recent events at Hogwarts, she might have even felt sorry for him. There was a moment's pause.

"How will I do that?" she inquired, her voice faint.

"With the Specularis charm." Snape's cold voice sounded from behind her. "Speak the incantation and tap the wand on any surface. It acts exactly like a two-way mirror."

She only nodded, but after a moment, she decided to ask the question that had been spinning around in her head for the past few minutes.

"Will I have to… be turned into a werewolf?..."

"Not necessarily." Greyback answered her question, even though the look on his face expressed that he rather she would have to be bitten. "You can tell him you were captured and I'm waiting for the full moon so I can turn you into one."

"That will make him have to act fast. And the way he is now, it's unlikely he will be stopped by suspicion… That is, if play your part well." Lucius shot the woman a cold look, that translated pretty much in 'do your best, or else'. Riana merely nodded.

"Now go get changed into something more simple." Her father spoke, his voice a little more gentle than it had been all evening. "You will introduce yourself to them as 'Riana Manson', don't forget."

As the woman exited the room, her skin turned from red to pale, and she felt slightly dizzy. Talk about sudden turns… She thought. She couldn't help thinking that that could very well be the last look she might ever get to throw around her parents' mansion.

She made her way into the party, and noticed her mother sitting in a corner, looking as bad as she felt. Narcissa was absently patting her on the shoulder. Thinking she should at least say goodbye, Riana walked to her mother. As their gazes met, Rebecca stood up from the chair to hug her daughter and wish her 'good luck'. Riana was incapable of speaking. She was fighting back tears and almost ran out of the room and up the staircase as soon as she escaped from her mother's caress.

Sprinting through the corridor, she only stopped in front of her bedroom door. She entered, shut the door behind her and leaned against it, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths.