alt_bill | Order Only: Lunch with my MLE contact

First of all:

Draco, Hydra, Pansy and Ron: if there's anything I can to help any of you, I'm more than willing to do so.

With that in mind, I angled for a lunch today with my MLE contact, Rachel Brodie (Lamont). It turns out that she was just as eager to talk with me as I was to speak with her, and so we met in a secure location, out of the Ministry Building. The topic of our conversation was Voldemort's interest in adding new faces to his Council, and that the way he is going about it has taken quite a few people by surprise.

Up until now, the two of us have always managed to avoid any discussion of who, exactly, in my family is with the Order besides me or Dad, but the subject was rather unavoidable this time. Oddly enough, she began by speaking of Percy, and it quickly became clear that she half-assumed that Percy was an Order member, put in place to spy on Lucius Malfoy. Did I think it a good idea for him to join the Council? For her own safety, I couldn't let her continue with that assumption. I told her that no, Percy was eager to prove his loyalty to the Protectorate, and was, in fact, the greatest threat to both me and Dad 'as well as the Order members to whom the two of us were closest.'

Of course, she doesn't know of my ties to any of you but Ron, but she was certainly concerned on Ron's behalf. She was ruthlessly blunt about how dangerous Council membership is, although I'm sure this isn't news to any of you. Voldemort considers the minds of his closest followers to be his personal property to rummage through. What's more, there are those on the Council who could eat a new member alive for lunch and pick their teeth with the bones afterwards. A new initiate might very well be dead within the year.

Ron: she asked how sure I was that you were ignorant of Dad's and my activities. Since you want to be an auror, maybe you've been getting practice by eavesdropping and so on; had I thought of that? Well, I wasn't going to admit that you were already an Order member. I did allow that you probably know enough information that it would be dangerous, but I was sure you wouldn't willingly betray us.

That leaves the problem of unwilling betrayal.

It's her firm opinion that there are really only two realistic options if you are to have any hope of ~~surv~~ being of any use on the Council: either occlumency or mastering the Animagus transformation. Occlumency is easier to learn, but you must have a legilimens you can absolutely trust.

So we talked about the alternative. She asked what your Transfiguration score was on your OWL (it was an 'E,' wasn't it?). If you're good at the subject, you have a better chance. It also helps to have someone in the family who has done it, too.

I asked her how long it took her to master becoming an Animagus, and the answer was not what I'd hoped to hear: it took her two years. She did say one year was spent just reading, and the chief problem was the difficulty of finding decent books on the subject. She brought me the book that had helped her the most, The Naked Mole Rat. Sirius, Minerva, have you ever heard of it? It's quite short, by an American publisher, and it's well thumbed--she warned me that several pages are falling out. She also cautioned me to tell you, 'Don't ever get caught with it.'

Do any of the four of you want to take a look at this book? I'll do whatever needs to be done to hand it off to you quickly. If need be, I suppose I can give it to Fred and George, and they can have Pansy's house elf deliver it.

Or do you plan to pin your hopes on Occlumency?

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From:

alt_bill

Mum:

There was one other thing Rachel told me: that even if we don't have anyone in the family who was an Animagus, it still might be helpful to tell Ron that we do. Expectation helps a lot, and if he thinks he has a relative who mastered it, it could very well increase his chances of success.

Perhaps you could tell him so? It'd be more convincing coming from you.

From:

alt_molly

Fib for his own good, you mean?

I suppose I could do that. A great-uncle, perhaps? Maybe one of the Fawleys.

From:

alt_sirius

Yes, I read it back when we were working on the transformation. Took us forever to find a copy, and when we did it was damaged in shipment from America. Some of the pages were stuck together and we never could get them unstuck. It just jumped from page 47 to page 52. James declared the whole tract useless and a waste of Galleons. But that could have been just because he flatly refused to think his inner animal was a naked mole rat. (Then again, it really did the trick for Peter. I remember finding some of it convincing and thinking that the rest must have been written in between spliffs.)

Anyway, it's not a bad suggestion, Animagery, and it's certainly possible to learn with dedicated effort. It's also a lot to add on top of NEWT-level courses and whatever this fresh torture is going to entail.

From:

alt_molly

I seem to remember that my father mentioned one of his uncles was an Animagus. One of the Fawleys. Was it Lucien?

No...no, it was Octavius! Octavius Fawley. One of your great-great uncles, Ron. So it does run in the family.

From:

alt_draco

Thanks, but I am fairly confident in my occlumency skills, and I have already made arrangements to work on them further with Mr Snape.

Also, the idea of being an animal repulses me quite a bit.

From:

alt_bill

I rather expected that was the route you would choose to go, yes. I've heard Mr Snape say that you're quite good at it.

From:

alt_bill

Well, in fact what he actually said was that my skill level was 'execrable,' but that if I worked very hard then perhaps in a year I might eventually aspire to half your level of skill. Which I took as a strong commendation of your talent.

From:

alt_draco

Ah.

Are you certain you won't be the one needing that book?

From:

alt_bill

I've already speed-read it, actually.

From:

alt_terry

It's certainly not for everyone, yeah. Better not to risk it if you don't think your inclination runs that way.

So it's good that you manage occlumency well.

From:

alt_hermione

He's really more like Percy than he'd like to admit, isn't he?

But you don't need to be rude to the Animagi in the Order, you know.

From:

alt_draco

How was I being rude, exactly?

From:

alt_draco

Oh, I see. Because I said I found the idea of being an animal repulsive. I don't see how that's rude. It's not as if I said "animagis are repulsive" or anything like that. So how was it rude?

From:

alt_hermione

Well, not rude, I suppose, so much as tactless. It doesn't look like anyone took offence but you could just as easily have made them think you're bothered by the concept, not just what it would be like if you had fur or feathers or a hard shell, and extra legs or wings instead of arms....

From:

alt_draco

But that's precisely what bothers me. I would look terrible in feathers or scales.

Now wings might be rather splendid.

From:

alt_hermione

Depends on the kind of wings.

You might think you're an owl or an eagle only to find out you're really a chicken, a vulture or even a dodo.

(I wonder what Rachel's book says that means about your personality?)

From:

alt_draco

Dragons have wing, too. But I'll just have to content myself with never knowing whether I'm a dragon, vulture, or chicken, because I'll never be an animagus. And that suits me just fine.

You'd be something clever, I suppose. Maybe a pig. But that wouldn't be very useful.

From:

alt_hermione

I already explained this to Hydra: muggleborns are not related to swine.

I thought you figured that out by now.

I'm actually not interested in the transformation for myself, but I want to see what the book has to say about it.

From:

alt_draco

Ha, I'd forgotten about that. Even back then I knew enough to know that was mad notion.

But pigs really are clever; moreso than dogs.

Well, it's a book. With pages. Of course you're interested.

From:

alt_hermione

Well, Hydra, Mr Snape and Professor Dumbledore are all Legilimens, and I think nearly everyone has been working on Occlumency since last year (if they weren't before then), so everyone who can manage even rudimentary Occlumency is doing it or working on it.

Also Professor Dovs assigned everyone meditations and the techniques are the foundation of the sort of control you need to Occlude.

I always thought the Animagus transformation was loads harder than just learning to focus and veil your thoughts but maybe they only say it's difficult to keep people trying and getting stuck in an animal form.

Though I can well understand it would be next to impossible if you kept thinking you were going to be, say, a giant cat and it turns out you're really more of a ferret or some kind of insect.

If none of the others want to read it, Bill, I'd like to. You could even tell Ms Lamont that I could maybe fix the binding for her.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Ron is still pants at occlumency. After a year of work, do you think he's ever going to master it? I think he needs to either learn the animagus transformation or he HAS to fail whatever the challenges are, so dramatically that there'll be no question he won't be pulled onto the Council. Which will probably also mean he won't be able to work for MLE.

From:

alt_hermione

Yes. When I said 'everyone who can manage' I was thinking that he's not good at it. But I don't know if he wants to be an Animagus, do you?

From:

alt_sally_anne

We've talked about it and he's not opposed to it, anyway, the way Draco is. I've always thought it would be nift and I think Ron feels the same way.

He was worried it would be too hard. But he didn't say 'ugh, how repulsive' or anything like that.

From:

alt_hermione

Well, he should definitely try it, then. But that doesn't mean he wants to read Bill's girlfriend's book, either.

From:

alt_sally_anne

Sirius said it was useful to one of his friends, so maybe it's worth a look?

I want to read it, when you're done with it.

From:

alt_sally_anne

And about Ron -- you know he's cleverer than you'd ever know from his marks. He's spent his whole life being compared to his brothers, and I think sometimes in his classes he won't really try because if he TRIES to outdo Bill (Charlie, Percy, the Twins...) and fails it'll look worse than if he just refuses to even apply himself.

But he's tried with occlumency and tried and tried and tried. ~~It's like me with appara~~ And he still can't.

From:

alt_bill

I'll hand it off to Fred tomorrow, and he'll have Hitty bring it to Pansy. You can work it out between yourselves who'll take a look at it, and I'll trust that you'll all keep it well hidden.

Unfortunately, the duplio spell won't work on it...part of the American publisher's protective spells on it; I already asked.

I'm sure Rachel would appreciate having the binding fixed; thanks for thinking of it, Hermione.

From:

alt_bill

I'm very glad you've all been working at it. That head start could be critical.

I dunno about easier, but Rachel did say it was her impression that Occlumency was faster to master than the Animagus transformation. But perhaps people with a strong gift for Transfiguration could learn how to do it just as quickly.

From:

alt_albus

Miss Granger, the repair offer is quite generous. I'd appreciate, however, if I might have first look at it.

I rather miss my copy, you see.

I'll make sure you've time to read it, of course, after.

From:

alt_hermione

Oh, Professor! Of course!

I only wanted to look at it after anyone who needed it had seen it.

From:

alt_ron

About Percy.

Ginny wrote him yesterday. And he said he's been appointed to go between us at Hogwarts and the Council or the Protector directly, I'm not sure exactly. But she said he was very pleased about it. I guess he would be.

From:

alt_bill

What? Really?!

From:

alt_bill

Blimey. Does that mean he's not working for Mr Malfoy anymore?

From:

alt_ron

Oh. I don't know.

Ginny just said he was all over honoured to have been given a very important job and to be in His Lord's eye and blahblah.

Oh, and she says he's going to be completely unfair to me to keep anyone from thinking he's showing favouritism.

Nice, yeah? But it's fine. That should help, actually, just not in the way he expects.

From:

alt_bill

Mmm. As far as I know, he isn't harbouring any particular grudge toward you. Unlike Fred and George, say.

He does pride himself on his fairness. Difficult to know what it might mean.

That's...unexpected. I'll try to see what I can find out about it, and I'll pass along anything I learn.

From:

alt_ron

Yeah. It's awful having Fred and George harbouring a grudge. Bloody dangerous, really! You never know when something you eat will turn you into a tiny rubber chicken or a giant moulting canary.

From:

alt_bill

How are the four of you holding up? I've been thinking about you a lot today.

Saw that Mum private messaged you; I hope that wasn't too dire. She seemed calm enough when she talked about it to me, which I took as a good sign.

If you need me to run interference for you with her, will you let me know?

From:

alt_ron

Thanks.

It's queer, knowing something's coming, but not knowing what or when. I mean, Avery said they're going to set us challenges like in CCF or like a quest. Whatever. It'll be better after the first one happens. It's not knowing what it'll be like that's awful.

Mum's... she was terrific, actually. She knew I was expecting a Howler. (She said she thought about sending one to Buckingham!) Anywiz, it was all right, really, what she said. So maybe she's getting used to the idea I'm kind of in the middle of it a lot, what with Harry and Malfoy and all the things that have happened up here at the school while we've been here.

From:

alt_bill

I'm relieved to hear that Mum took it well. (Although I have to admit I grinned at the idea of her sending a Howler to Buckingham. Maybe accompanied by some of the twins' fireworks. Merlin, that would have been fun to hear.)

Ron...maybe you're not ready to answer this yet, but what do you think you want to come out of this? Do you want to really try for a spot on the Council, or do you want to be passed over, with the hopes you could still salvage a career as an Auror?

Both would be paths with merit. Both could be of incredible use to the Order. Both are dangerous, but I think the Council is more so. But that one might give you a personal shot at Voldemort.

Both, I'm quite sure, based on what Rachel's told me, will require you to kill. It might be muggles, it might be children. It might be people you know. Even people you care about.

I meant what I said: I'll do anything I can to help you get there, and to help you bear the cost.

I'll support whatever you decide.

From:

alt_bill

And by asking this, I don't intend to force a confidence, I promise: you don't have to talk to me about it, if that doesn't feel right. Talk to Charlie or Alice or Professor Dumbledore or someone else you trust. This decision's important enough that you probably need a sounding board, but again: whatever's right for you. If the only help you want from me is to send you a steady stream of Weasley Wizarding Whizbang products by owl post, I can do that, too.

From:

alt_ron

And, yeah. I met with Professor Dumbledore last night. I've been studying Occlumency with him, and we've talked about the Animagus transformation as an option before. Only, it seemed like too much to start on before OWLs, so we didn't take it up last year. We're going to work on it now, though.

Actually, he talked about that book last night. I guess he used to have a copy but had to leave it behind in France when he came back--because it's illegal, and he couldn't risk Brutka being caught with it at the border, y'know? Anywiz, he met the author when he was living in America, he said. Sounds like he'd be over the moon to have a copy again.

So, yeah. I guess I should read it. Thanks.

From:

alt_bill

I'll have Fred give it to Hitty to bring to you all there tomorrow.

I really hope it helps, Ron. Also, let me know if Professor Dumbledore has any other books he might recommend on the bsubject that aren't in the Hogwarts library. Perhaps Rachel might have a copy. I think she squirreled away a small mini collection on the subject, while she was researching it. Although she did say she found this one to be the most useful to her.

From:

alt_ron

The other one he recommended was a kid's book, actually. Funny that. But he said sometimes stories get things right when long scholars' books muddle a subject so you can't see the cat through the fog.

Anywiz, it's an old comic called Proteus about a boy who's in the last summer before going to school, and he realises he can transform, and he imagines all the possible shapes he could have until he finds the one that's his. The drawings are really great!

There were some other books he gave me, too. One about King Arthur where he's still just a boy, and he turns into animals with Merlin and learns about stuff. It's kind of long, so I haven't started it yet.

From:

alt_pansy

I believe the current working plan for me is to try and position myself so I won't end up one of the seven.

I think I'll continue on in Occlumency for the time being, as it tends to be generally useful.

Thank you, though, Bill.

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