Chapter 22: Traitor

"YOU'RE the informant? You joined Yaxley's gang of racist, pathetic sycophants?"

Clarice frowned and folded her arms. "It's nice to see you too, Ariadne," she answered sarcastically. "How are Aunt Aisha and Uncle Morrigan doing? Keeping well, I hope?"

Ariadne grabbed her wand from within her pocket and Sirius actually put his hand on her arm to stop her from going further.

"You two…know each other?" asked James, even more uncertain than before.

Ariadne was almost too furious to explain. "Clarice is my cousin," she answered through gritted teeth.

James threw up his hands and even Lupin looked mildly surprised. "Is anyone at Hogwarts NOT related to each other?"

"Potter, you should know how these old pureblood families work, since you come from one. Constantly pumping out little witch and wizard babies to maintain the bloodline. And they all end up here at Hogwarts."

"Of course, some of us do better at upholding the family honor than others," said Clarice with a nasty edge to her voice.

"I don't think you're in any position to be calling me blood traitor, Clarice."

"Oh, I didn't say anything about blood…," said Clarice, eyeing James' red-and-gold scarf and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge he always had pinned to his robes. "I was thinking more about the legacy of one's House."

"And how have you been honoring your Ravenclaw heritage, Clarice? By hanging around with blood-fanatic Slytherins?"

"At least the Slytherins have some semblance of ambition and talent. They're smart enough to know to align themselves with the most powerful wizard currently alive. And some of the things they've taught me…let's just say you're not going to learn them while studying for your precious N.E.W.T.S," answered Clarice with a superior smirk.

"You disgust me."

Sirius attempted to intervene. "Look, I know you two have some family…history between you, but we all have a common goal. If you can put that aside, I'm sure two smart witches like you could do a lot together."

Ariadne now rounded on Sirius. "You knew, didn't you? That she's my cousin? You knew all along she was the informant and didn't tell me!"

Sirius raised his hands in confession. "I knew you would react like this, Ariadne, and then you might not agree to meet with her."

"With good reason!"

"You're her family. I thought you two could get on better than this."

"You should know better than to tell me something like that, Sirius Black."

It was hard to tell in the darkness, but Ariadne thought she saw Sirius flinch. She turned back to Clarice, who seemed to be enjoying the scene more than ever. Lupin at last attempted to salvage their original mission.

"Clarice, we need to know if Yaxley has placed any restrictions on what you can and can't tell us about his…organization."

"What do you want to know?" answered Clarice, arms crossed.

Sirius jumped in. "The names of every member in the group. How many people know about it. How often they meet. Who they're planning to target next. Any long-term or future plans. The level of direct involvement from Death Eaters outside the castle."

"We also want to know why you left," added Ariadne quietly, finally putting her anger aside.

Clarice snickered a little to herself. "Typical Gryffindors. Know nothing and expect someone else to give you all the answers. You know, if you did a little more work, you might be able to find the answers to all of those questions on your own."

Ariadne stepped forward. "Clarice, that's why you're here. Help us take down Yaxley. Do good by Ravenclaw and our legacy. Ravenclaw wouldn't want innocent, capable witches and wizards to be targeted and harassed, regardless of their blood status."

"Don't preach to me about what Ravenclaw would or wouldn't want, Ariadne. It's clear where your allegiance lies. I'll admit, I was as surprised as anyone else when you were sorted. And when I heard you were still getting top marks in our year, I thought that maybe it didn't matter which house you were put in, or that maybe Gryffindors aren't as thick-headed as everyone thinks. But now that I know what kind of company you're keeping…" She let her gaze trail over Remus and James' faces, and then deliberately lingered on Sirius's. "I understand now that you only seem talented by comparison."

In an instant, Ariadne's wand was raised again. "Clarice, I suggest you choose your words more carefully when you're speaking about my friends."

Her malicious smile only widened. Lupin, who seemed most impervious to her insults, gave the questioning another effort. "Clarice, you left Yaxley's gang, which probably involved no small effort. You must hate them nearly as much as we do. Don't you want to see them fall?"

"It's true that Yaxley charges a high price for admission into his cult. He's becoming more…demanding. He wants his followers to prove their loyalty beyond a doubt," said Clarice, with a bit less of her supercilious swagger.

"You can't be the only one who refused to torture a Muggleborn, or whatever it is he asked you to do," urged James. "There must be others who want out."

"Those who too weak to do what he asks don't last very long," Clarice answered, almost murmuring now.

Ariadne pushed forward so that she could look Clarice in the eye. "Clarice, what did he ask you to do?"

"You could have never done it, Ariadne. That's why, regardless of your exam scores on some pointless school subject, I will always be a more powerful witch than you," said Clarice.

"Clarice…?"

She gave one final smile and snapped her fingers. That's when the curses started flying.