Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

14 October, 1980 - Spies (II)

The first Order meeting Lavinia attended was not a pleasant one. Three days after the complete and utter disaster that had been their most recent ambush, Dumbledore made it clear that the meeting scheduled for the next day was not going to be a normal affair. He had also made it clear that everyone who wasn't explicitly in hiding was to attend.

So Lavinia went. Exhausted and run down though she was, she arrived hand in hand with Sirius, keeping one eye on Remus just in case. He was doing reasonably well, actually, and she knew she was probably being paranoid, but she honestly didn't know whether or not wounds inflicted by Inferi might behave differently than normal cuts and scrapes. She also didn't want to ask anyone at work because it would raise far too many uncomfortable questions and the fewer people who knew she had any involvement with the Order, the safer she would be. The safer they would all be, really.

This had left her with no choice but to guess, which she didn't particularly like, for all that she supposed she should be used to it by now, considering how frequently it happened in the ward. Somehow, however, this seemed wildly different because at least at work she had other people to bounce ideas off of, people who were experts in their field and would likely catch some nuance she hadn't even considered. At home, she'd had no one but Sirius to explain her methods to and though she loved him dearly, the man was hopeless at healing spells.

Now Lavinia sighed and pushed those thoughts out of her mind as they approached the house at which today's Order meeting was being held. It was a respectable place with whitewashed siding and a stout picket fence that blended in with the many identical ones in the yards around it. The inside was equally nondescript but nice, if a bit cramped with everyone inside. Lavinia found herself staying very close to Sirius, practically pressed against his side as her eyes roved around, examining at the various faces, weighing, judging, and knowing it was all guesswork that amounted to nothing at all.

But even so... one of them was a spy. One of them had betrayed the Order, had cost them a;; a valuable opportunity and, very nearly, their lives. The thought didn't make her nearly as angry as she was sure it should have. No, instead of hating the person who had given information to the Death Eaters, Lavinia was busy wondering what they had been threatened with. How had the Death Eaters promised to hurt them if they didn't agree to play spy? What did they stand to lose?

Because though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but remember that awful day when she had been asked to turn traitor.

We'll make sure Black gets what he deserves.

Was this person just trying to protect someone too? Were they terrified of losing someone they loved? Had they decided that saving one life was worth the price of the world?

It was harder to condemn such a decision than it probably should have been. Lavinia couldn't help but wonder what she would have done if she hadn't believed that Dumbledore, for all his flaws, could find her a way out. What she might have agreed to if she didn't believe that the Order was strong enough to protect Sirius. Would she have turned traitor? Would she have chosen his life over everything else?

That she didn't immediately know the answer was enough to dull any anger or condemnation she was sure others in the room were feeling.

And those others... they were making no secret of those feelings. It was plain as day in the suspicious glances, the tight greetings, the tense atmosphere that was more than enough to set Lavinia on edge as she took a seat between Sirius and Peter, who looked utterly terrified. Lavinia reached out to him, grabbing his hand for a moment and squeezing it, trying to convey a calm comfort she rather wished someone might offer her as well.

Once everyone was sitting, all shifting slightly in their positions, Dumbledore stood from his place at the end of the table and spoke. "You know why we are here," he said calmly. "We have been betrayed. We here to put in place plans to deal with this. We are not here to blindly throw accusations. Serious concerns should be brought to me directly.