Chapter 11: Power and Position

Ariadne was cornered. The Marauders had closed in and surrounded her at the corner table in the common room where she had set up her vast array of books for studying. Though she had vanished after attacking Yaxley before James and Sirius could say anything or even react, she couldn't avoid them forever.

"Morrigan, that was wicked."

"It was so satisfying to see that prick get what he deserves."

Ariadne sighed and shut the book she was reading. "I shouldn't have done that. I let my feelings get the best of me."

"You mean your fairly accurate intuition that Mervon Yaxley is a worthless Erumpet dropping that doesn't deserve to even lick the floors of Hogwarts?" asked Sirius sardonically.

"I'm a prefect. I'm supposed to remain neutral in these kinds of conflicts and act as a mediator to defuse them. It's a flagrant abuse of my power and position to attack a student."

"I would hardly call that an attack."

"You just gave him a good scaring right when he needed it."

"Yaxley and his gang of junior Death Eaters have gotten bolder than ever in the last months."

These three statements came from Sirius, James, and Lupin respectively. Ariadne started with the latter.

"How long has this been going on?"

"What, exactly?" asked Sirius. "The fights? The Muggleborn baiting? The proclamations of eternal loyalty to You-Know-Who?"

"Miralda Etheridge has had the m-word graffitied on her desk in Charms twice."

"I didn't realize supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were showing themselves so openly. At least not inside Hogwarts."

"They've gotten braver since the Sylvester murders," said Lupin grimly. The Sylvesters were a powerful couple high up in the Ministry of Magic who had pushed for more aggressive measures against the growing wave of chaos and anarchy fueled by Voldemort. Ariadne remembered the half-page headlines on The Daily Prophet six months ago. They were found dead in their beds at home.

"Their little gangs swagger around the hallways as if Voldy himself were backing them up," said Sirius derisively.

Ariadne sighed again. She had been so wholly occupied by studying for her N.E.W.T.s that she had barely noticed what else was going on inside the castle.

"Have you spoken to the administration about this? What was their response?"

James and Sirius actually laughed and Remus shook his head. "You think the profs are going to take on the Yaxleys?" asked Sirius.

Ariadne bit her lip. "I know the Yaxleys are a powerful old wizarding family…"

"They have half the Ministry of Magic in their pockets, and an insider on the Wizengamot and the school board. No one messes with them," said Sirius.

"Except us," said James, grinning and giving Sirius a self-congratulatory high-five.

"So the Hogwarts staff may not agree, but they can't openly take a stance against You-Know-Who's followers for fear of retaliation against them and their families," said Ariadne.

"Exactly," said Lupin. "The Yaxleys have long had family members high up in Magical Law Enforcement. They can easily trump up a charge to get anyone who opposes them thrown in Azkaban."

"Nepotistic talentless oafs," muttered Sirius.

"Not to mention that conservative factions in the Ministry have started politicizing dark magic and anti-Muggle hysteria and codifying it into legislation," added Ariadne.

This statement drew somewhat blank looks from the Marauders.

"Have you not been paying attention to the news lately?"

"The only papers and magazines that Sirius gets delivered are ones with half-naked witches," sniggered James.

"And the only one that you read is Which Broomstick," retorted Sirius.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose this has all been happening unbeknownst to you three, but the Statutes on Restricted and Forbidden Spells have been increasingly liberalized to make certain kinds of Dark magic legal. Meanwhile, discriminatory measures against half-blood and Muggle-born wizards have been passed, forcing them to jump through all kinds of hoops to prove wizarding ancestry or magical ability. And if anyone tries to protest this, the conservative pure-blood factions claim they're being 'silenced' and not allowed to 'express their political views.' Disciplining thugs like Yaxley will be taken as Hogwarts being partisan against Slytherins and purebloods."

'That's ridiculous. Being pro-pureblood isn't an ideology, it's fanaticism," said Sirius derisively.

"I agree, but as a prefect, I'm not supposed to take sides."

Sirius' eyes glimmered. "Then don't be a prefect."

"Pardon?"

"It's just like when you came to the party. For once, don't be a prefect with all these duties and responsibilities and rules you have to follow. Just let yourself be a regular Gryffindor."

"So I can be like that?" Ariadne gestured to a group of Gryffindors that were trying to persuade Stebbins to put a Fizzing Whizbee up his nose to see what would happen.

Sirius leaned back in his chair. "I know you think playing by the rules and sucking up to McGonagall is the only way to get anything done in this castle, but trust me, we've found some shortcuts and much more efficient ways of doing things, even if they aren't always one-hundred percent…Kosher." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "The Marauders don't just play pranks and throw parties, you know."

Ariadne didn't know how to respond. At that moment, Priya swooped in to grab Lupin for dinner (they had been inseparable since the party) and James ran off to yell at Stebbins for getting into his stash of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum (the next item he decided to try inhaling through his nose), leaving Ariadne and Sirius alone at the table.

A/N: After promising you all daily updates, I barely made this one D: try to be patient with me, I'm figuring out the next plot arc and deciding where the story should go. Let me know if you like this new direction (or if I should stick to romance and fluffy stuff?) -Andromeda