Thanks again for reading and sticking with me and this story!

Not a week later, Clary looked up from her lunch to Isabelle storming across the Great Hall, fire blazing in her eyes. Her eyes were narrowed and it looked as though she was slightly shaking.

"What are we going to do about this?" Izzy slammed down a stack of papers in front of Clary, shaking the glasses of pumpkin juice in front of her.

Clary picked up the paper delicately, trying to avoiding getting it wet. She grimaced when she saw the headline from The Prophet : More Evidence Pointing Towards Lightwood Family in Recent Muggle Murders .

"Izzy I'm so-"

"Clary, I swear to God, if you say sorry, I'm going to lose my mind," Isabelle took a deep breath, "I'm done being sad about this. I'm done being pitied. I just...I want to do something. I want to prove that we're not involved and clear our name."

There was a pause before Clary responded, "I'm glad that you're ready to do something but..."

"But?"

"It's just," Clary sighed and fiddled with the edge of the newspaper, "How do you expect to prove your family innocent? I mean, they have the Ministry working on it- those are like, the Wizarding World's best people."

Isabelle sat down next to Clary with a huff, "No offense, but that's bullshit. The Ministry is, and always has been corrupt. There is nothing of substance tying us to these murders, yet, the investigations continue. I'm not going to let them ruin my family more than they already have."

Clary glanced back down at the newspaper before looking back at Isabelle with a soft smile, "I'm in. What can I do to help?"

Saturday afternoon turned out to be a gorgeous winter day; the snow was falling in fluffy flakes and someone had started a massive snowball fight on the grounds that it seemed every Hogwarts student was a part of. That is, almost every student.

Clary and Isabelle sat in the library, pouring over the newest history books that were offered. Every now and then Clary would glance wistfully at the window, but whenever she looked back at Isabelle- head down, buried in a book and scribbling notes so quickly the ink was splattering on her hand- she became refocused and determined.

When Isabelle first asked her to help look up information on the Uprising and the Circle, Clary was concerned that there wouldn't be much information. After all, it was a relatively recent event, and how many books could there really be?

Turns out, there was a lot. Their entire table was covered in books- from dry, historical books to the exaggerated novel-esque type books on the subject. However, the books weren't providing the information the girls were looking for. Rather than describing the details on the attacks, the books were more focused on how the Uprising started, how the tensions built, both socially and politically.

Clary, in a way, almost wished she could spend time and focus on these books, rather than skimming for a certain topic. Professor Starkweather hadn't gone into much detail yet, and as a muggleborn, she couldn't rely on anyone back home to tell her about the Uprising in detail.

Isabelle let out a loud groan, earning her a sharp look from Head Librarian Enoch, "This is hopeless. None of these books have any of the information we need,"

"Are you sure that information was even written down, Izzy?" Clary asked, looking at their cluttered table with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She suspected that if the books were stacked up they would be taller than her.

Isabelle looked at up from her pages with fire in her eyes, "No, no. It has to be somewhere, it can't not be somewhere."

"Maybe it just hasn't been written down yet?" When Izzy leveled her with a dry look, Clary hurried on to say, "Or at least not written in any books Hogwarts owns? Is there anyone we can actually ask about this?"

"The only people who would know the information we're looking for are people actually in The Circle. And no," She continued when Clary opened her mouth, "I'm not going to ask Mum or Dad about this. They have enough on their plates without me trying to get information from their past. Besides, they would just tell me to drop it. And we can't do that."

Clary absently doodled on the sheet of parchment that she had pulled out to take notes on, biting her lip. Suddenly she stood up excitedly, her chair squeaking loudly. A plan was building up in the back of her mind, giving her enough hope that she ignored the scowl the librarian was directing at her and focused her attention on Isabelle.

"I have an idea! I'm not sure if it'll work, but we can try it," Clary started packing her quills into her bag. Isabelle stared blankly at her until Clary asked, "Well...are you coming?"

Isabelle hurriedly shoved her books and quills into her bag. Clary dragged Isabelle out of the library and down the corridors. They ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over some first years in the process but soon enough, Clary skidded to a stop in front of a door.

Isabelle blinked at the door and then back at the Gryffindor, "Why are we in front of Professor Bane's door?"

"I think he can help up," Clary beamed.

"As supportive as Professor Bane has been to all of us, I really don't think he's going to know more than all those books. He's like, really young, Clary."

Clary sighed, "I don't know. Maybe he knows people- he did say how he was traveling the world before he taught. It can't hurt to ask, right?"

Isabelle's gaze flickered a moment between Clary and the door. With a deep breath, she leaned forward and knocked on it, Clary smiling encouragingly at her.

There was a brief pause before the girls heard any sort of movement from the other side of the door. Then there was a quiet, but audible, sigh followed by a few papers rustling before they heard footsteps approaching.

Professor Bane opened the door with a flourish, black robe glittering in the torchlight. He smiled warmly at the girls, "Ladies, what a pleasant surprise. How can I help you this evening? Potions essay giving you a bit of trouble?"

Isabelle cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to another, "Actually Professor, we were wondering if we could talk to you about a more...personal matter."

Bane regarded the girls carefully an eyebrow raised but his face revealing nothing as he stepped aside, "Of course, come in."

They entered the room and sat in the chairs across from the desk. Bane sat across from them, almost hesitantly.

"So, how can I help you two?"

Isabelle cleared her throat and unknotted her hands, "We just wanted to ask you what know about The Circle."

"Ladies, I know you-" Magnus started. Clary couldn't help but note that he looked relieved about the topic choice. His hesitation drifting away as he shifted to professor mode.

"We know you can't discuss the current..situation. But we were wondering about the early days of The Circle. We've heard about the rise of the Circle but there is not a lot of information on the actual attacks."

Magnus let out a laugh of disbelief and put his head in his hands. His reply was slightly muffled, "You want me to describe the attacks?"

Isabelle shifted in her chair, "We think it could be of some help."
"I-" Magnus sighed and some papers fluttered on his desk in response, "You know what, I'm afraid to ask and I don't think I even want to know what you're getting up to."

The two girls exchanged tentative smiles. Isabelle asked hopefully, "So...you'll help us?"
Magnus leaned back in his chair and groaned, "What do you want to know?"

There was a heavy silence before Isabelle asked, "Mostly...about the attacks. What...how..?"

"You have to understand, ladies, that times were different. If you think tensions are high now, it's nothing compared how it was 20ish years ago. Pure blood supremacy was rampant - people took it as a fact that only those from pure blood were supposed to have magic. Or, at the very least, be the only ones properly trained.

"The attacks started just after Valentine and a majority of the Circle graduated from Hogwarts. It started as just the death of a muggle-born. She wasn't killed by a wand, which threw off the detectives. It was a murder with a knife.

"It also took aurors a while to even place it as a murder within their jurisdiction. For a long time, they believed it was a muggle murder; she was living in a muggle town and was killed without magic. There was one oddity that stood out to aurors during the initial investigation. There was the signature that they only realized once more and more people were murdered," Magnus sighed, "It's the primary thing that is connecting your parents to this resurgence in violence."

Isabelle leaned forward as he spoke and Clary pursed her lips, thinking.

"Each person who was killed had a carved mark on their inner wrist. Each member of the Circle had their own design."

Magnus rubbed at his eyes with a sigh. A heaviness had settled over the room and Isabelle and Clary exchanged a glance. They had only ever seen Professor Bane in cheerful moods, and this sharp contrast was unsettling.

Magnus sighed again, shifting in his chair, "When the Circle eventually went on trial, the different designs were revealed in accordance with each member. That's why these recent murders are so connected to your family, Isabelle. The marks that have been found on their wrists...well, they exactly match those from 20 years ago."

Clary looked over at Izzy in sympathy but found that Izzy's eyes were narrowed in thought.

"How publicized were these trails, Professor Bane?"

He raised his brows, "The Circle trails? They were on the front page of every newspaper. Within a year, the Circle had murdered over 25 different muggle-borns and half-bloods."

"Were the different designs also published?"

There was a pause before Professor Bane slowly said, "I believe at the very least The Prophet would have released some of different connections, yes."

Isabelle took a sharp breath, "Hear me out. Would it at all be possible for someone to replicate the signature to try to frame my parents? Like, they saw the descriptions of designs - hell, even pictures - and then used it in a way to frame them?"

There was a long pause. Magnus's next words came out slowly and carefully, "I mean...there is a possibility of that. But that is a big accusation to make, Isabelle."

"Not as big as the one against my parents."

"Isabelle..."

She shook her head, "No, I'm not just going to ignore the fact that someone could be framing my parents. I know they've made a lot of mistakes, but trust me. They aren't a part of The Circle anymore. Someone is framing them. And if you're not going to do anything about, I will."

Without another word, she gathered her bag and left the room. Clary and Magnus stared at each other before Clary said, "I should probably go find her."
"Clary," He rose to walk her to the door, "Even if Isabelle is right and someone is framing the Lightwoods, it's going to be incredibly difficult to prove. She'd be working against the entire Ministry and their current investigation."

"You want me to tell her to not look into this?"

Magnus chuckled softly, "Nothing you or I say will deter her from looking into this and we both know that. Someone needs to be there to keep her reasonable. Or, at least try to remind her that reason exists?"

Clary laughed lightly and shifted her bag, "I'll do my best, Professor Bane. But you know Izzy. She might not want to listen to reason."

Jace was reading in his dorm when the door burst open, revealing a flushed Isabelle. She was holding a collection of papers in her hands that were struggling to catch up to the speed Isabelle has been moving at. Before he can process and question how she got into the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, she was excitedly speaking.

"I have a working theory of what's going on with Mom and Dad-"

"Izzy, what are-"

"I think someone is framing them based on all the information from their previous crimes."

Jace blinked. Isabelle looked frantic, eyes wide and she was panting slightly.

Attempting to process her statement, he said,"Why don't you sit down, Iz."

She sat down at the edge of the bed and took a few deep breaths. Jace studied her for a moment, unsure of what question to ask of the hundreds that were running through his head. He decided, ultimately, to start at the beginning, "Where did this come from?"
Isabelle took another deep breath and straightened up, "I've decided I'm not just going to sit here and wait for the Ministry to conduct their bullshit investigation while the person that...," Her voice broke, "The person that murdered Max is out there, free and able to hurt more people.

"No. So I went to the library to look for information on the cases from The Circle. Like, back when Valentine was first taken down. And then I talked to Professor Bane. Turns out the cases were highly publicized- it would be easy to find out the different signatures from everyone involved and then replicate exactly how it was documented. If they're able to replicate those crimes -"

"They can frame whoever they want." Jace finished, realization dawning on him.

"I know it's a bit of a stretch, but it's the only thing that actually makes sense since obviously Mom and Dad are not guilty."

Jace nodded his head slowly, still trying to comprehend everything, all while thinking of the different events from the past four months. He looked up at his sister, his little sister who shouldered most of the stress over this and has been doing more work than he had realized. A bittersweet smile crept on his face, "We're going to have a lot of work to do, sis. You know that, right?"

She nodded and as she opened her mouth, her hands coming up to fan out the papers in her hands, the door flew open again. Instead of one of his roommates, a small redhead with unruly curls stood panting. Izzy instantly brightened, looking between Jace and Clary.

"We won't be alone though. Clary has already been helping."

"You -" Clary breathed heavily, "Are a difficult person to find, Isabelle Lightwood. I've been looking for you across the castle for the past forty minutes." Unbeknownst to Clary, Isabelle had gone directly from Magnus' office to the library again and found what she wanted: archives of the old Prophet articles and then run directly to Jace's room- armed with more reading to do and three different speeches to get her brothers to help her.)

Ignoring her but smiling, Isabelle looked back at Jace, "You'll help me convince Alec, right? Something tells me he'll be a little reluctant to work outside the Ministry's orders."

Jace snorted, imagining the look on his face when Isabelle explained her theory to him, "Of course. Once he hears it, though, he'll have to believe it. It's the only thing that's made sense yet. And from there...we at least will have a good group of people together to try to get to the bottom of everything." Clary- who was now laying on the ground panting- held up one hand in a thumbs up.

Isabelle beamed and though her eyes were still tired and sad, the smile was bright. "We're going to figure this out, guys. I don't care how long it takes. No more nice Lightwoods. Let's do this."