Order of the Phoenix Meeting 15

"Let me restate," Khaat said softly, "I am not asking for the Order's help anymore. You go right ahead and place your influence where you deem fit. I expect no less. Its what the Order always does. I can run St. Mungo's on my own. I was merely clarifying errors that were brought to the table regarding whether or not I need to answer to the ministry."

She got up and refilled her cup, not saying a word and returned to the table. She was devoted to the Order. That much was true, but she was desperately tired of fighting the same old struggles. Every time some new idiot came to down, they'd have to beat him or her down for his or her desires, and they were always the same thing. Take over Hogwarts, and then take over the Ministry. It was an old and tired tune. It had been the same battle for generations. And today, she just had had enough of it. It wasn't that she disliked her old alma mater or the Ministry. She was just sick of the uproar. She took a sip of the fresh coffee, opened her messenger bag that she had hung on the back of the chair and got out a pad of paper and a pen and began making a list. She was fully prepared for discussions of the school and the ministry revolve around her. Her father needed to make the choices where the ministry was concerned, and she was about as removed from the school as she could be.

Jess had remained silent throughout the exchange, each of the three parties having conflicting views, but each representing a part of his own ideas, and as such he knew that other than an opinion, and a weighted argument, he'd have no further ideas to add to the mix until it's main belligerents had had their say.

Each had a valid point, he had to admit, and each had stated something he agreed with and something he disagreed with, and he'd have gladly given them all they wanted, but as with any sort of commodity, be it people money or assistance, their was a limit to what he could give.

Without a word he stood up, indicating they should all be quiet. Appearing thoughtful for a moment he opened his mouth then closed it, a few times, as he mulled over what his decision would be. "Khaat," he said, still looking into empty space, "Put that away please, please don't be rude and ignore the others, we all have opinions here and we all have to hear everyone out," he said, turning to give her a look which tried to convey that he wasn't trying to be rude, or pick on her.

"Well," he began, "There is one thing I am certain of. Apart from the fact that it is currently impregnable, we do have a multitude of agents in Hogwarts right now, between staff members who are in, or are friendly to the order, we have a good number looking after the our affairs in the school, as well as the students themselves, particularly those involved in Potter's Army," he said, looking over pointedly at Jack with a small smile on his face. "So Hogwarts, for now, will remain as it is, I don't see there being any necessity to acting further at the school right now, nor do I see any way that we could, unless we were to attack the school, which is not on the cards right now," he told them all.

"However the main argument here seems to lie between St. Mungos and the Ministry, correct me if I'm wrong," he said, not pausing to allow such correction, mainly because he was fairly certain that there was no such correction coming his way. "Now, both have significant importance in the Wizarding World, of that we are all sure," he told them, looking around at the various faces. "However both serve different protections already in place, as well as different purposes, this is why we need to recognise that we cannot merely forsake one or the other, as the damage would be terrible to the wizarding world," He said, knowing that most of what he was saying was known by the people in this room, however he wanted to give a background to his train of thoughts.

"Khaat, at St. Mungos we already have a pair of Order members there, as well as a personal security force, we know this, so it does have a decent bit of protection, but this has proved insufficient in the past, we also know this. However the Hospital itself is not as important as the Healers in my opinion. That's not in any way demeaning the hospital, healers can deal with some slight damage being inflicted before the Order arrives, our main objective is people. So, if we have an extra Order member assigned to the Hospital who is in constant contact with the rest of the Order, perhaps using patronuses or those gold coins that burn hot I've heard of, to alert the others if anything bad is happening. With most Order members within range of apparation at any given time, I feel that if the it's necessary the protection already at hand will be able to hold off until the Order arrives, which will be virtually instantaneous," he told her, hoping it would be enough for her.

"As for the Ministry, it is far more disjointed and disconnected than the hospital. A fight could be going on down one floor, and it would be possible to hide it from the others. It has a formidable amount of security, but that's mainly all on one floor, and we cannot rely on the power of the Aurors any more than we can rely on winning the lottery," he told them, looking over apologetically at Robert for a moment, while he didn't want to be rude, he was telling the truth. "I say that we have a handful of Order members take up small jobs at the Ministry, or go there for surveillance each day, and do the same thing that I intend on doing for St. Mungos. By running a minimal security force at both locations, we can have Order members here at the house, or even around London conducting their day to day lives while being within a second away from offering aid, should it be required, at either location," he concluded, looking around to see what reaction his proposal would have.

"I also think that the Ministry's defence will lie more in intelligence, than strength, it's far more likely to be taken by subterfuge than by strength, though subterfuge is a chance at St. Mungos, I think it's danger lies in an all out attack," he told them, "Also, with my plan we will be able to rotate who is where, allowing for a constantly alert and awake team," he added, hoping to have addressed all the main concerns. While the final say did come down to him, he didn't like to lead like that, he'd prefer to have his people happy, and doing something slightly against what he wanted, than unhappy, but doing what he wanted.

Robert knew exactly what Khaat was doing. Her intention was not to be rude. She was very good at multitasking, and she was still listening. She was dedicated to the hospital and wanted to be sure tha no one who came within its doors was ever placed in harms way and certain never because of her. And she was typically the target. She was however, tired of the bickering that seemed to always happen around this table no matter what. It had happened for generations. Way back to its foundation. Robert was accustomed to it. He watched Brian reach over and take the pad of paper and the pen from her gently, close the pad and lay it in front of him on the table. He laid his hand on hers and looked at her, merely passing a silent message to her. Robert knew the look all too well. Brian was telling her that he was already in charge of Khaat's safety, and he would not allow a security program for the hospital to be put into place without his direct involvement. He was asking for her trust and her patience. She merely sighed, picked up her cup and took a sip of her coffee.

Robert redirected his gaze at Jess, listening. When Jess finished, Robert spoke. "You have the core design of a very wise plan, Jess. But if it is going to succeed, you will need more hands. I am not necessarily suggesting that we intend to recruit more members. Rather, this time, I am thinking that perhaps we may have more success with each of our friends that we know we can trust who are already in those places--like St. Mungos and the Ministry and Hogwarts, and allow them to be eyes and ears for us. The information we receive will be invaluable. And most all of us have friends that, if push came to shove, they would stand with us and fight with us. Most of our friends, with rare exception, are people that we have some sort of common thinking and common bonds with. I suggest that perhaps that sort of subterfuge might be far more powerful than an endless list of Order members. If we can achieve that, we might indeed have some powerful numbers. If the era ever comes again where battle lines are drawn, we might receive allies or new order members from those that become eyes and ears with us now."

Jacob liked Jess's plan though he felt that more could be done for St. Mungoes aperation wasn't always a possible thing to do nor was getting messages to people even with magic. But he felt it would lead to argument if he brought this up he decided to offer his help. "Jess feel free to use me in any way if it means added protection to the wizarding world though i'm not sure what i could do but i am rather skilled at jinxes and defensive magic." he said he gave him a small smile to show he was being serious.

Order meetings always had this problem, there was no real deciding, key factor to the meetings, and there was always room for argument or discussion of a plan, normally escalating to the point where the plan itself disintegrated, because the planning itself had become too in depth, and too tiresome, he felt. Everyone had an opinion, and due to the light-handedness of his rule, everyone got to share it. While this was certainly a good thing, and something the group itself strived to achieve in the Wizarding world, Jess couldn't help but wonder, sometimes, whether or not he should try ruling with a firmer hand, though it wouldn't happen any time soon, doing so stood against almost all of his moral fibers, that would make him a dictator, something he tried not to become.

Listening to Robert, these thoughts once more sprung to his mind, "That's what I was trying to say," he told Robert with a friendly smile, completely hiding the slight frustration he felt, "The plan was to maintain minimal vigil and rely on the already standing elements in each of the crucial locations that are being brought into light, using the Order only as a reinforcement, and as a strengthening asset, not one that maintained a constant defensive vigil," he pointed out, most of what Robert had said had been implied, and touched upon in Jess' explanation, in essence; the suggestions made by Robert were already a part of the plan.

Though there was one new point. "I do agree, however, that subterfuge is going to be a crucial point in whatever is coming, I think we all recognise that," he said, looking around the room. "So, before we leave I have a task for each of you. I need someone to find out how one joins the Death Eaters. Not to do so, but merely to find out how. More will be discussed in later meetings, but for now that is all I think is necessary," he told them all.

"We also need to take advantage of what Robert was saying, try your best to ingratiate yourself into the wider community, we all know the theory that an invading force can never truly succeed when the citizens resist you, for complete rule is forever beyond your grasp," he finished, thinking quietly to himself. "I think that is all for tonight, in our next meeting I will tell you all the postings for St Mungos and the Ministry, in the meantime I encourage you all to stay behind here at Grimmauld Place for dinner, and to discuss among yourselves how to accomplish the task I have set," he told them all, standing up and walking over to the sink, opening the cupboard below it and sticking his head in for a second, before pulling it out and facing them all. "Berty says dinner will be ready in an hour, and that we should all leave the room while he cooks," he told them.

P.S. Do not reply here, if you don't intend on staying for dinner, please reply in the Dinner thread to tell Jess that you wont be staying, and leave in that reply, but don't do it here.

Jack, that includes you, you're welcome to stay for dinner.