The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 46- Traitors

On Regulus's first birthday, Sabrina spent the morning with Severus. And not long after he left, Lily turned up unexpectedly.
"You shouldn't be here" scolded Sabrina.
"I had to come, it's Regulus's birthday" replied Lily.
"Yes, but you are supposed to be in hiding" reminded Sabrina.
Lily rolled her eyes as she sat down on the sofa, "You sound like James".
"He didn't want you to come?" Asked Sabrina, as she sat down beside Lily.
"No. He is getting more paranoid by the day. Lots of Order members are going missing or ending up dead, and it has got him worried".

"I didn't believe that James Potter was someone who got worried" admitted Sabrina.
"It's not us he's worried about. We are stuck at home all day, unable to help the Order, while our friends are out there risking their lives. You know that the Marauders are like brothers to James. I don't know what he'd do if something happened to one of them" replied Lily.
"The Marauders were the smartest kids in your year, so I'm sure they can outsmart some simple minded death eaters, since most of my old accomplices weren't all that intelligent" reassured Sabrina.
"That's not entirely true. There was one other person at school who rivaled their skills"
"You're talking about my brother".

Lily nodded her head, "Severus was very talented in the dark arts".
"Don't worry about my brother, he won't hurt anyone that means something to you. Despite his many failings, he would never do anything to hurt you" revealed Sabrina.
"That might have been true once, but I don't think it is anymore" admitted Lily.
Sabrina bit her lip to stop herself from spilling too much information about Severus's loyalties.
"He might be a big fan of the dark lord, but trust me when I say that he doesn't want any harm to come to you" insisted Sabrina.

"So you believe that he is still good inside?" Questioned Lily.
"I wouldn't say that exactly. But he is not evil. He doesn't want anything bad to happen to those he cares about. But he wouldn't lift a finger to save the life of someone who meant nothing to him. He's rather selfish, I admit, which makes him a villain in most peoples eyes" answered Sabrina.
"But not yours?" Frowned Lily.
"He's my brother. Despite everything that he's done, he is still my brother. You might hate Petunia for the way she treated you, but deep down you still love her, because she's your sister. And it's the same with me and Severus"
"Petunia did not join a cult of people known as death eaters, or go around on a killing spree".

"I'm just saying that most people aren't black and white. Aside from the dark lord, who is truely evil. The majority of people are somewhere in between good and evil. No one is perfect" admitted Sabrina.
"Maybe not. But one side of this war attack the innocent, while the other does not. It is pretty clear to me who is good and who is bad. We have lost so many already. We are being picked off one by one; Edgar Bones, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcus Meadows, Caradoc Dearborn, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. And the war isn't over yet. More will be killed before this is over" replied Lily.

Sabrina shuddered at Benjy Fenwick's name, as she had been present for his murder.
"I'm sorry that you have lost so many" she said quietly.
"Thanks. But aside from your fiancè, there haven't been any death eaters who have been killed, as far as I know. Which means that this war is not fair" admitted Lily.
"The Order uses non lethal spells, whereas the death eaters don't, so it shouldn't be surprising that more Order members have died" replied Sabrina.
"It's more than that. James is convinced that their is a traitor in the group, betraying information to He Who Must Not Be Named"
"Well it can't be me, because I don't have access to secret Order information. You don't tell me things like that".

"I'm not blaming you. Even James doesn't think it's you. The traitor would have to be someone who has access to all the top secret information. And if there really is a traitor in our midst, then it would explain how the death eaters always seem to know what we're up to... I don't suppose you know who it is?" Asked Lily.
"Of course I don't. If I did, don't you think I would have told you by now. I want the dark lord defeated just as much as you" reminded Sabrina.
"But you must have some idea who it could be. You know Who must have mentioned that he had a spy"
"The dark lord had lots of spies, but he wasn't stupid enough to tell us who they were".

"So he never had you convert someone from the Order to join the death eaters?" Questioned Sabrina.
"No. If he did need a death eater for something like that, he certainly wouldn't have chosen me. He would have chosen someone much more loyal, who was good at convincing people to join a dark cause" admitted Sabrina.
"You told me that you used to recruit death eaters, while you were at school"
"I did. But that was a long time ago. Besides, convincing cold hearted Slytherin's to join the dark lord, is a lot easier than getting someone from the Order of the Phoenix to become a traitor. So the dark lord never entrusted me with a mission like that".

"So you never saw anyone around him who was a spy-" started Lily.
"Look Lily, I know you are desperate to find the traitor, but I don't know anything about spies in the Order. Secrecy was always very important to the dark lord, so I couldn't even tell you the names of all the death eaters. He wanted to make sure that no one person could betray the whole group, so we always wore our masks at meetings. And if he did have a spy they wouldn't have attended these meetings, because the meetings were only for the core team, who got sent out on missions" interrupted Sabrina.

"So you have no idea who else was a death eater?" Questioned Lily sceptically.
"Well I know some names, because I could recognise the voices of people I had met at pure-blood events. And the dark lord would refer to certain people by their names, if everyone in the wizarding world already knew that they were death eaters" answered Sabrina.
"Give me some names" demanded Lily.
"Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Lucius. I mostly just know those connected to the Black family"
"Lucius Malfoy?"
"Yes"
"What about Narcissa?"
"She isn't a death eater, but she knows exactly what is going on in the ranks, because her husband and sister are death eaters... But those are about the only people I know for sure are death eaters".

"I guess secrecy is important to both sides" sighed Lily.
"Yes, it is. And I wish I could be of more help. But I haven't been a death eater for a year and a half. So I doubt the dark lord is still doing things that I knew about or had anything to do with. And he has probably gained a lot more followers since I was a death eater" replied Sabrina.
"It's not your fault, and I'm sorry if it felt like I was interrogating you, but I really want to find out who the traitor is" admitted Lily.
Sabrina lent over and squeezed Lily's hand reassuringly.
"Don't worry. This will all be over soon, one way or another" reminded Sabrina.
"Yes. Hopefully sooner rather than later, and with the outcome we want" replied Lily.
"Fingers crossed".