alt_bill | Order Only: Bugger

We have a helluva situation here. I'm at our picnic spot at the fishing hole here by the Otter River. With Mum and Fred and George. The latter two of whom I've gone and bloody petrified.

Fred and George have deduced the presence of the Order. They've figured out that Mum is involved, and since Mum called me for help, they know I'm involved, too.

The little sneaks took Mum off for a picnic and managed to get her soused on Butterbeer. Well, Butterbeer spiked with a little concoction of their own that vastly magnifies the effect of the alcohol content. And then they sprang their suspicions on her and I guess the look on her face gave it away. I could kill them if I wasn't so overcome with admiration at their strategic thinking.

Here's the thing: they want to join. They're offering us their research and development expertise. The thing that dumbfounds me is that as an argument to letting them in they say they've already created a sure-fire way to communicate through the journals that the authorities can't read.

And get this. They developed it with the help of some blokes by the names of Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs.

What the hell do we do now?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

alt_mcgonagall

Obliviation?

From:

alt_lupin

Bill could make them forget about the picnic, but if they've DEDUCED the existence of the Order, they'll just deduce it again.

From:

alt_lupin

Besides, why not let them join?

From:

alt_molly

ARE YOU CRAXY? OF COURSE THEY CANT JOIN!!

From:

alt_lupin

Why not?

They've known for a year, apparently.

They've known about Terry's wand all along.

They're ALREADY keeping our secrets.

From:

alt_bill

That's a good point, Remus.

Mum. Charlie and I are already in. And we didn't have nearly as much to offer when we were allowed to join.

From:

alt_molly

YOU WEREN'T STILL IN SCHOOL!! WE CAN'T POSSIBLY ALLOW IT UNTIL THEY'RE OUT!!!

From:

alt_bill

Well, don't suggest THAT to them. Because before you can hex twice, sure as fire they'll up and quit.

From:

alt_lupin

1. Fred and George are of age.
2. Telling them that they can't possibly join until they're out of school sounds like a way to guarantee they leave school immediately. (Which they could, now that they're of age.)
3. Keeping them out of the Order will not protect them. Or us! I think we'll be better off directing their energy than treating them like children.

From:

alt_pomona

Molly, dear. I must agree with Remus.

Wouldn't you rather know what they were entangled with, than not? And, after all, they offered research and development work, not something riskier.

(I know your house suffers from the development work, but at least that risk is scarcely new.)

From:

alt_bill

I wish.

But really, as hacked off as I am at them, I think it might be worth listening to what they have to say.

Minerva, they've suspected for over a year. And they've been working on developing products to help us. You know how brilliant they are at charms, much less twisty thinking.

I've unpetrified their mouths at least and am talking to them.

They created their lock so that they could communicate with Terry Boot. And it's bleeding brilliant. It has safeguards, including an age lock. No adult can read it. As of yesterday, they've aged out of being able to use it themselves. But they have ideas for creating another lock, this one using blood magic.

Merlin. I knew they were good. But not this good.

From:

alt_lupin

I have to admit that I'm a bit aghast that anyone was able to DEDUCE the existence of the Order. AND that Molly was a member. They've suspected for a YEAR? How did Molly give herself away?

From:

alt_mcgonagall

How precisely did they deduce it? I grant that Remus is correct—they would simply deduce the thing again—but perhaps if we knew how...

From:

alt_bill

It was the clock. The Weasley clock in our house. They noticed how Mum was watching it like a dragon clutching and wouldn't let anyone leave the house. And the next day there was the announcement that Sirius Black was captured. And that's when they started putting bits and pieces together.

They know about Terry's wand. Well, of course they do--he went to them to come up with a way to hide it! They're the ones who came up with the spell for that.

From:

alt_mcgonagall

Of course they are.

Miss Granger, I can only assume that I should not ask you about any of this.

From:

alt_bill

Minerva. They want to take an Unbreakable Vow. Hell, that's why I had to petrify them! They were starting to take one, with George grabbing hand and Fred going to be the binder. And they would have done it if I hadn't stopped them.

When I cooled down and unpetrified them to talk, they told me that they knew Hermione was under one. They'd managed to deduce that, too!

From:

alt_hermione

I'm not sure it was very difficult to figure out. All things considered I mean.

From:

alt_hermione

Please don't?

From:

alt_mcgonagall

I do not know why I should acquiesce to your request, Miss Granger. I have absolutely no idea.

From:

alt_lupin

Look, we've known for a long time that Terry and Hermione had friends who were helping them. Who knew about their wands.

We haven't tried to learn more about these friends for a number of reasons that are still entirely valid. We expect Hermione to protect our secrets -- in fact, she HAS to. We should respect the fact that she is trusted by Terry, as well.

From:

alt_mcgonagall

I realize that. However—when something like this occurs—it is testing.

From:

alt_lupin

Hermione could not possibly have told them anything about the Order.

We know that for an absolute fact.

From:

alt_mcgonagall

Of course not. I did not mean to imply. I do wonder, however, how far their activities went. I had believed the children to be working long the lines of Molly's barter network—nothing further-reaching.

From:

alt_lupin

Minerva. They helped two muggleborns hide their wands.

That's serious stuff. Even for minors. If Terry had been caught with his wand, if he'd been coerced into saying who'd helped him -- MLE wouldn't have gone any easier on Fred and George simply because they were children.

From:

alt_bill

And there's no doubt that the spell they created to help Terry Boot hide his wand was absolutely invaluable to him. We should have thought about that, giving a wand to Amycus Carrow's servant. But we didn't. They did.

From:

alt_lupin

Of course they do. And of course they were.

There had to be an Order, then. Because the wand came from someone. And if Molly was involved in some way with Sirius...

From:

alt_frank

I saw the bracelet myself -- it was a fair bit of wandwork.

of course that raises the question of what everyone else in that group knows. it stands to reason they all know about the wands, for starters. but I wonder if they all think Molly is in the Order, for instance, or if your brothers kept that bit to themselves.

From:

alt_arthur

I've asked them.

They've told me, 'If you expect us to keep your secrets, don't expect us to tell anyone else's.'

Which, I must concede, is a fair point.

From:

alt_pomona

Only if you want to take out their last goodness knows how many months. Try explaining that away at school.

Truth be told, they've seemed rather more focused than the past. Mind, I was expecting some kind of massive prank, not this.

And now I think on it, even their pranks have had more purpose this year - that matter with the corsages for the Ball, or the fake wands for that first dueling club after the Games.

From:

alt_lupin

...

We never. At least, I never. I spoke with them a few times when I was working at Hogwarts but it was things like 'wipe your muddy feet, you miscreants,' not 'here, let me teach you how to raise more havoc than you've ever dreamed of before.'

They've guessed about the Order? That Molly -- MOLLY! -- was involved? I can't --

PADFOOT, WHERE ARE YOU?!?

From:

alt_bill

They said something about reverse-engineering a spell using Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs' map? Does that make sense to you?

From:

alt_lupin

OH.

Bloody
hell.

From:

alt_bill

So you do know what they're talking about.

From:

alt_lupin

It rings a bell.

From:

alt_poppy

What in Paracelsus' name?

I'll have to trust you lot to work this out. I'm dealing with a surprise supervisory visit here, but I'll check in when I'm able.

Blast and damn.

From:

alt_lupin

You can't possibly keep them petrified by the Otter River all afternoon. If you need to get back to work, I think we can trust them not to discuss this with anyone.

Presumably they'll accept that this will need to be discussed.

From:

alt_arthur

Kingsley and I just dropped off Walter Cousins at Moddey Dhoo. I checked my journal and--Merlin. Bill, go back to work. I'll come to get your mother and Fred and George.

From:

alt_bill

Right. I'm off then.

Mum's a right wreck, Dad. Just so you know.

From:

alt_frank

that explains a good deal then.

with the journals, I mean.

bloody brilliant of them to make it age specific.

From:

alt_bill

I know. I never would have thought of it in a million years.

And that's the thing: they are brilliant. The fact that they're children--or they were children, until yesterday--made us underestimate them. All of us.