ORDER ONLY
Aug. 29th, 2014 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_aliceI am pleased and honoured to welcome four new members to the Order: Wayne Hopkins, Robert Stebbins, Katrina Bundy, and Artemus Ross. Remus and I have spent the last week talking and meeting with all of them, and we're happy to announce that all four were formally sworn in this afternoon. Thank you to Justin, Susan, Evelyn, Neville, and Ron for all your hard work in bringing them to this point. The entire Hogwarts contingent deserves an incredible amount of credit for their efforts in finding good people for our cause.
Wayne Hopkins is working as a courier, which gives him the cover and ability to travel widely. He'll work with Lee Jordan to provide much-needed support running supplies and assisting with the transport of non-magical people from our free zone areas.
Bobby Stebbins is a dock supervisor in Bath, and Remus has already been talking to him about how we might take advantage of his position for our shipments from Laszlo's. Having his capable eyes and ears at one of our major ports will be of great use.
Both Wayne and Bobby will be training further with Severus and Frank in the coming months in preparation for more extensive involvement in our work, and I look forward to their contributions.
Katrina and Artemus are ready and willing to support their fellow Order members at Hogwarts, and we've talked about the incredible work that their classmates have been able to do while still in school, and what they might work towards in the coming months. Given Hogwarts' changes in staffing, their help will be much needed and appreciated, I am sure. Katrina's strengths are Transfiguration and Defence, and she has been looking into internships at the Ministry after she leaves Hogwarts. (Bill, Jeremy, perhaps you might have some words of advice for her on that front.) Artemus is focusing on his Charms work in particular, and also has an affinity for Runes -- his ability to look up resources for Cecelia and help her in her research from afar will be quite the boon.
I know that this summer was one of loss and difficult changes, but I believe we have a firm footing and a clear vision of what is necessary to move forward as we start this next term. These four brave young people give me great hope for our future. They've all shown incredible courage and strength of character in joining us, and we will be a better and stronger group thanks to them.
Wayne Hopkins is working as a courier, which gives him the cover and ability to travel widely. He'll work with Lee Jordan to provide much-needed support running supplies and assisting with the transport of non-magical people from our free zone areas.
Bobby Stebbins is a dock supervisor in Bath, and Remus has already been talking to him about how we might take advantage of his position for our shipments from Laszlo's. Having his capable eyes and ears at one of our major ports will be of great use.
Both Wayne and Bobby will be training further with Severus and Frank in the coming months in preparation for more extensive involvement in our work, and I look forward to their contributions.
Katrina and Artemus are ready and willing to support their fellow Order members at Hogwarts, and we've talked about the incredible work that their classmates have been able to do while still in school, and what they might work towards in the coming months. Given Hogwarts' changes in staffing, their help will be much needed and appreciated, I am sure. Katrina's strengths are Transfiguration and Defence, and she has been looking into internships at the Ministry after she leaves Hogwarts. (Bill, Jeremy, perhaps you might have some words of advice for her on that front.) Artemus is focusing on his Charms work in particular, and also has an affinity for Runes -- his ability to look up resources for Cecelia and help her in her research from afar will be quite the boon.
I know that this summer was one of loss and difficult changes, but I believe we have a firm footing and a clear vision of what is necessary to move forward as we start this next term. These four brave young people give me great hope for our future. They've all shown incredible courage and strength of character in joining us, and we will be a better and stronger group thanks to them.
Private Message to Kitty and Artie
Date: 2014-08-30 03:08 am (UTC)Thank you for trusting me.
I love you both so very much.
Talk tomorrow?
And Artie, I know it's all very new, but it'll be worth your while to get to know some people a bit better. Justin and Sally-Anne are utterly brilliant, and Sue and Pansy and Ron are ever so nice, and Daphne's only just joined too. And just think! You'll have ever so much more to talk about with Luna and Ginny now. It'll be just wonderful.
Private Message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-30 03:36 am (UTC)I say, are Wayne and Stebbs already able to read the lock?
Dash it, I knew they were coming along bally well quickly but I meant to meet them once more before--and then this week with everything--oh, dash it.
-Finch-Fletchley
Re: Private Message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-30 04:06 am (UTC)Yes, they can now. I'm sorry this caught you unawares -- I know this week has been a particularly difficult one for you already. If I'd known what you had in mind, I would've held off. Apologies.
I'm sure they won't take any offence if you talk to them over the weekend instead.
Re: Private Message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-30 04:09 am (UTC)It's simply...they were my dormmates for a year and I didn't wish them to find out my bloodline from Sirius' old posts, what.
They had the right to hear it from me directly, if you follow me. But I've told them--a touch more haphazardly than one might like, what, but nonetheless at least from my own quill.
It's entirely my fault for not realising they were jolly well ready to come on board.
Sorry to have disturbed you,
-F-F
Re: Private Message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-30 04:15 am (UTC)I'm glad you were able to get it sorted, then. I'd imagine they'll be stumbling into enough secrets as it is.
You've done a very good thing bringing them along, Justin. And you've been invaluable this summer. Thank you.
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Date: 2014-08-30 04:07 am (UTC)Alice, I trust you have gone over the importance of Occlumency practise so that I need not once again be a broken record.
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Date: 2014-08-30 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-30 04:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-08-30 05:22 pm (UTC)Katrina, I suppose you'll be learning occlumency with Professor Brutka seeing as Mr Snape's not going to be at the school anymore. I've got copies of the books about occlumency, the one I found most helpful was the 'Pane of Water' one and also 'On Occlumency' by Jacob Kilwale. I think you'll like the Kilwale one, I'll get it to you as soon as we're back at school.
Private message to Alice Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-30 05:23 pm (UTC)Re: Private message to Alice Longbottom
Date: 2014-08-31 12:56 am (UTC)First of all, her circumstances are a touch different from our more recent recruits -- her sister is not only a Council member, but will also be teaching at the school.
You've seen how difficult it has been for Draco, and for Harry, Hydra, and Pansy as well. She'd face a similarly hard choice, and wouldn't have the same degree of support that the rest of them have built up together over several years. The security risk is also a great deal higher for her than it is for the likes of Katrina Bundy.
Along the lines of support, I'd also want to have some consensus on the matter -- you're her very dear friend, but I would want some other Order members to feel secure about bringing her on as well. She might need to make a few more connections first.
It was a very near thing with Artemus, you know -- because he's quite shy, not a lot of other Order members knew very much about him, let alone what he thought about things, and it took a bit of time over hols to get him chatting with Neville, Ron, and Luna so they could get to know him better and see him how Evelyn saw him. And they didn't talk about out-and-out revolution -- they discussed the book club, and Sarah Fawcett, and what happened to Draco, and Umbridge, and found out what he felt strongly about, and what he thought was right and wrong before even opening that particular door. (Apparently, he's quite passionate about intellectual freedom. Neville told me that he went on and on about a book written in 1984 or somesuch that was all about it.)
I trust my daughter to the ends of the earth and back again, and I trust you too. But sometimes, when people love each other very much, they may not see things others can, so it was important for me to know that Artemus really was ready and willing to join us; that Evie's love for him didn't give her a false sense of how far she could trust him, and that his love for her wouldn't be the only reason he'd want to join.
I'd also be cautious about recruiting someone while school is in session, especially with our reduced staff presence.
So, for those reasons, I'd want to tread carefully with Honoria -- but you can certainly start having the kinds of conversations that our people had with Artie over the summer, to get a sense of what she thinks and feels, and perhaps see if some of our other members can get to know her better too. We also ought to see how having her sister teaching at the school might impact things before diving in. Does that sound reasonable?
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Date: 2014-08-30 11:47 pm (UTC)Private Message to Bobby Stebbins
Date: 2014-08-30 11:57 pm (UTC)When I was at the docks with Finnigan and Patil a few weeks ago
Well, first off, I wanted to apologise. In case I came off as a giant berk or something.
Anyways.
I think it's really ace you're a part of this, and I think Mrs Longbottom is right, it's dead useful to have someone with eyes and ears at one of the ports. And you and Wayne both were a real help during fifth year, too. I figure we got through that, we can get through anything. Sophie's Army has got to stick together, yeah?
You ever have any questions, you just let me know. You can tell Wayne as much too.
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Date: 2014-09-01 01:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-09-01 01:53 pm (UTC)It would be brilliant to have more in the Order positioned here at the Ministry, so yes, Jeremy and I will put heads together on that, and Nick, too. I've reached a level that I might be able to pull some strings on creating an internship for Katrina when she's ready; let me give it some thought.
In the meantime: new inductees, welcome to our merry band.
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Date: 2014-09-01 02:07 pm (UTC)Glad to have you all joining us. (Artemus, I'm a Ravenclaw, too, by the way.)
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Date: 2014-09-01 02:10 pm (UTC)I'm glad to have another Order member in my House.