5. Truth or Dare?

Riana stood there, still looking at her palm, her eyebrows a few inches higher than usual. He cut her off. Just like that. And she couldn't, for anything in the world, understand why. She hadn't even expressed the idea that she would want to act as she was instructed when it came to Lupin. Quite the contrary, actually. And if he wanted that, couldn't he have just said so? A moment later, she was shaking her head slightly, frowning. Sentimental crap. She thought, mentally scolding herself. She had indulged herself in reviewing old memories and she had been influenced by them. He remains what I had found him to be when I tried to think of him as more than my professor – a block of ice. That's what he was. That's what he is. I doubt he will ever change.

These words spoken in her mind, Riana brought herself back to the situation at hand. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, concentrating on the character she had to play. Using her imagination, she made images flash through her mind. Images of a massacre. She pictured the body of a man, and made herself remember his face as that of her father's. The same for the mother. She locked most of her old memories away in the back of her mind, and implanted new images instead. Her mother had taught her that trick when Deke had attempted to teach her Occlumency, and she turned out to be a disaster at it.

Minutes passed by, and Riana began to feel the desperation and fear that her character was supposed to feel. Tears flooded her eyes as she recollected the pictures of dead people, that she now considered to be her memories. For a moment, she allowed herself to giggle and send a silent thanks to her mother. It was working perfectly.

Putting on the earlier face, and trying her best to look almost sick from fear, she made her way to where the voices were coming from, her legs shaking slightly and leaning against random walls, showing a pretended dizziness.

With a mental grin, she thought: The benefits of growing up with cunning Slytherins.


Remus Lupin, looking like he hadn't had any rest in a week at least and more pale than ever, was limping slightly along the passageway. He could have burst into tears in any moment. His leg had been injured during the attack, when she… Remus shut his eyes tightly. He blamed himself, of course. They had divided, there had been five after her and five after himself. Truth be told, it was only a matter of luck that he hadn't died as well. But he still blamed himself. He couldn't have saved her, but he should have.

Desperate to prevent his mind from going back to the image of the attack, he called to his mind the freshest memory he had. He saw Minerva McGonagall's worried face, Arthur Weasley trying to encourage him and Molly sitting in a corner, weeping silently. The Order may have lost another member, but him, Lupin, had lost one of the persons he came to care most for. He had cared for James, and James had died. He had cared for Sirius, and Sirius was dead. He had cared for Dumbledore, and all that was left of him was a painting in the Headmistress' Office. Now Tonks…

A part of him just wanted to get away, to die before he would live to see more death. Tears sparkled in his eyes, but he forced himself not to cry. Focus on the mission. Minerva and Arthur had insisted that he at least take a small break, especially after the recent events. Focus on the mission. It was dangerous for him to be there – should he be recognized, Greyback would kill him on the spot. Focus on the mission. His leg was hurting more than ever and he felt himself shaking from exhaustion. Focus on the mission…

He needed something to take his mind off things. He felt useless. He could hardly hope to find people interested to join anymore. Some of Greyback's faithful werewolves had caught on to his intentions and were always watching him suspiciously. They had driven him away every time he was about to convince someone to join the Order. His only chance was to try and speak to those interested when none of them were around.

And then, he noticed something he hadn't seen before – or, rather, someone. A young woman that seemed to be in her 20s was cowering in a corner, crying silently. It looked as though she didn't dare to make more noise. Forgetting about his problems for a moment, Remus went to sit down next to her. She, on the other hand chose to ignore his presence. Either that, or she hadn't noticed it.

Remus allowed several moments to pass before speaking. He had been looking at her since he sat down, but she gave no sign of acknowledgement. She simply continued eyeing the floor as tears flowed down her cheeks, accompanied by silent sobs.

"What happened to you?" he finally asked.

There was a kindness in his voice that took Riana by surprise. Quickly composing her expression, she turned to him an emotionless face, her eyes staring at him blankly. It was as if she saw him, but wasn't really aware of his presence.

"They're all dead.." She muttered, closing her eyes and turning her head in the position it was in before she had been asked the question.

Remus didn't need to hear any more. It was clear enough, since it was something that had happened frequently in the past days.

"Your family?..." he asked, hesitating.

Riana merely nodded. Remus frowned a little. Something didn't add up, though. The girl was obviously in shock, and since he hadn't seen her there before, it must have happened that day. And yet, he hadn't heard of an attack being planned for that particular day. He had been away for a few hours, but he would have heard something if that was the case. And besides that, she didn't seem to be wounded. He frowned. That was most peculiar. Greyback never brought back any victims unless he had bitten them first. And come to think of it, the full moon had been a week ago. Greyback might have liked to attack in human form, but he always killed if he couldn't pass his lycanthropy. Why behave differently this time?

Deciding to pretend that he suspected nothing, he continued his inquiries, only trying to choose his words with greater care. Unfortunately, his exhaustion wasn't helping much.

"Were you bitten?"

Riana sensed the change in his voice and fear took over her. Had she done something wrong? Hadn't she been convincing enough? What was she to do now? Stick to the plan and hope it'll work, or tell the truth and risk getting caught? Severus! She yelled in her head, shutting her eyes tight. What do I do? However, since none of them had the faintest notions of telepathy, the cry was never answered. She was on her own, left to take the best possible decision.

Over Remus' shoulder, two werewolves were watching the scene intensely.

Taking a deep breath and deciding on the spot, she shook her head slowly as an answer to Lupin, and leaned her head back, so that the two observers wouldn't see her face anymore, then muttered quickly, so only he could hear.

"We're being watched. They'll kill me if I don't do as they say, so please pretend you believe whatever I tell you."

The werewolves had moved to a different angle, so they could catch her face. That was enough for Remus to understand what position she was in. He had been surprised at the sudden change in the girl's behavior, but he realized the situation immediately. And he decided to play along.

Greyback's spies saw how the two talked a little more, how Lupin was trying to comfort her, and she leaned to him, placing her head on his chest. That was enough for them. Both showing broad grins, they moved away, leaving the two their privacy and heading for Greyback's lair so they could make the report. As far as they knew, everything worked out prefectly.

On the other side, though, Riana sat up as soon as the two left her sight, and turned a serious face to Lupin. He was awaiting her explanation on the whole incident. Taking a deep breath and throwing another look around, to make sure there was no one else assigned to watch her, she began.

"My name is Riana Craide. I'm sure you've heard about the Craide family – pureblood wizards for generations, most, if not Death Eaters, at least declared supporters of the Dark Lord.

Lupin kept nodding slightly as she went on.

"Since Severus Snape lost his position in your Order, the Death Eaters found themselves at a loss – which is pretty much the reason why the Dark Lord allowed Greyback to start this wave of attacks: to keep your morale and confidence low."

Remus felt as if he had been slapped. Snape, again. James had died because Snape heard the prophecy. Sirius had died because Snape had dared him to leave the safety of his house. Dumbledore had been killed by Snape himself. And now, it seemed Tonks had been murdered because Snape had been discredited. He was usually a reasonable man, but this was getting to be too much for Lupin to bear. He was beginning to think that, should he kill Snape, he would ensure the survival of many other people dear to him.

Shaking that thought, Remus turned his attention back to Riana's words.

"So the Dark Lord decided to infiltrate another spy. That was supposed to be me. I was supposed to convince you I wanted to join the Order and once I was in, pass information to him." After a short pause, she continued with a weak smile. "And, incidentally, I would like to join… I am no Death Eater, and I never wanted to be.. And since I got mixed up in this, I might as well take a side.."

She found that to be a poor ending, but it seemed to have the effect she had counted on. Remus merely nodded once.

"You'll have to discuss it with the Head of the Order of the Phoenix, though."

"Wonderful. I think mrs. McGonagall will be happy to see me." She replied with a smile, making Lupin's eyebrows jump a little higher than their usual position.