Priori Incantatem [HARRY POTTER FANFICTION]

Chapter 47: Three Letter Word

Chapter 47: Three Letter Word

Spy. The word seemed to hover above the Order of the Phoenix members, humming in the air as plainly as if someone had whispered it.

Nobody said it, of course, but then nobody needed to. It was disturbingly clear that a traitor was in their midst.

Four weeks after the McKinnons' murder, another tragedy had occurred. Edgar Bones, along with his wife Jane and their four children, were murdered in their beds, a glittering green Dark Mark hovering over their house like a signature.

The entire wizarding world mourned the loss; Edgar Bones had been a leading Auror, his wife Jane a highly skilled Unspeakable, and theirs was one of the most prominent pureblood families in wizarding society. The fact that the Death Eaters could murder people like them as easily as unknown Muggle borns brought about a new wave of panic.

The Order members felt this loss keenly as well; Edgar had been well liked and deeply respected for both his courage and his dedication to their cause.

First Marlene, now Edgar. One was a tragedy, two was a sign. The Order of the Phoenix had been compromised.

Suddenly, the Order members were less friendly to each other, less inclined to share personal information or assignments with those they didn't know well. It wasn't overt or obvious, of course; nobody had a shred of proof, just unfounded feelings and prejudices. No one spoke of it openly, but everyone had his or her theory as to who the spy was.

"I think it's Caradoc Dearborn," Alice said quite out of the blue as she and her fellow former Gryffindors sat in the Leaky Cauldron after a particularly grim Order meeting one night.

"You think what's Caradoc Dearborn?" Remus asked carefully. He and the others all exchanged significant looks.

"You know very well what I mean," Alice snapped. "I think he might be the spy."

This statement was met with another round of glances, but nobody met Alice's eye directly or opened their mouths. The subject was too tense, too explosive.

"I don't want to think it's him," Alice went on, speaking quickly now as though some sort of dam had broken. "I don't want to think it's anyone, but the fact of the matter is that it IS someone, and I can't bear to not talk about it anymore."

"Why do you think it's Caradoc Dearborn?" Dorcas asked finally.

"Well," Alice took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself, "he makes the most sense as a spy to me. He's very, very good at keeping secrets; he does it for a living, really. He's used to hiding things from people; none of us would ever know anything he didn't want us to."

"It makes sense," Peter mused. The others remained silent, occasionally casting a furtive glance in Lily's direction. Of all of them, Lily was the only one present who had more than a passing acquaintance with Caradoc Dearborn. He had hired her, and for all they knew, she worked directly with him. But Lily remained silent; she'd been a bit withdrawn since Marlene's death and only James (or Sirius, on occasion) could seem to make her laugh anymore.

"The problem," Alice went on, "is that I can make lists and lists of people who AREN'T probable suspects; I know it isn't any of you, or my brothers."

"Or Sturgis," Sirius volunteered.

"Or Hagrid," Dorcas added.

"Or Moody," James put in decidedly. "And of course it couldn't be Dumbledore. It really is hard to think of someone."

"So we're left with Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick, Elphias Doge, Dumbledore's brother, and the Weasleys," Frank listed, ticking off each one on his fingers. He shook his head. "Damned if I can figure it out."