Order of the Phoenix Meeting 16

Lauren had a feeling she’d be there a while so she wiggled a little on the counter to get herself comfortable and lit another cigarette. She let Jess tell her that she was right a few times as she continued to drink from her cup. She knew she was right, she didn’t need him telling her – it was nice to hear it though; it made her feel just a little bit smug. He did have to come up with something she hadn’t considered though didn’t he; the arsehole. Lauren pursed her lips and flicked some of the ash into the ash tray before slipping into thought. How were they going to get people in there? Well, surely there were job openings somewhere. Infirmary Healers, substitute Professors – anything and everything.

With that thought in mind, Lauren placed the cigarette in the ash tray and hopped off of the counter. She strode over to the table and leaned over the Head of the Order’s shoulder as if he were not the head of the chain of command. Lauren brought the Daily Prophet towards them and she smirked before opening it up to the job pages. She’d perused them that very morning although she hadn’t specifically been focusing on Hogwarts. Lauren stabbed the page with her index finger and smirked at Jess. “Jobs, sweetheart,” She replied. “Substitutes...bloody hell, they get good pay. I bet you any money they’re going to need a few more Healers and would you look at that...who can play Quidditch? That’s good pay too...if only, eh?” She grinned at him. “Plus, Hogsmeade is also a possibility...mind out a second,”

Lauren leaned over a little further and flipped a page to some of the job openings in Hogsmeade. “Christ alive...Is there anyone actually living in that village anymore? Anyway, here’s what I’m thinking. If we get some people in The Three Broomsticks, The Hogs Head and, for those with brave stomachs, Madam Puddifoot’s then Jack could also encourage Potter’s Army members to get part-time jobs there also. It’ll create a firm link with the school and the factions – plus, we can’t really be accused of interfering if we’re cleaning tables and watching teenagers make gooey eyes at each other over cups of tea. If all else fails then ...” Lauren shrugged. “I’ll get back to you on that but there you go. How can we really be interfering if some of us are getting paycheques at the end of every month? Think of aiding Potter’s Army as....extra-curricular activities.”

Satisfied, Lauren stepped back and returned to her cigarette. She was mildly disappointed to find it nigh on useless but she didn’t bother lighting another one. She instead stubbed out what was left of that one and picked up her cup just as Mariana began talking. Lauren tipped her coffee into the sink when she found that it had gone cold and she gave a disgruntled growl before rinsing out her cup and putting it back on the draining board. She turned around and leaned against the counter, folding her arms over her chest as she did so.

“Evidently you don’t know Hogwarts as well as you think.” Lauren deadpanned, staring at Mariana incredulously. “You can’t just ‘walk in’. You’ll bounce off the sodding wards and either end up in St. Mungo’s or Timbuktu. The Death Eaters aren’t as stupid as they all look. Voldemort’s inner circle was filled with intelligence, not idiocy. Many of those inner circle members are still alive and can still influence which means someone looked up and thought ‘I know, let’s change the wards’. Even if they haven’t, there’s a good chance that something has been strengthened since their occupation. You won’t even get in. You could go via the forest but you’ll probably get eaten before you even get there. Leave Doyle to his own devices. I will reiterate: he’s clearly doing something right because otherwise, the Slytherins would have been Owling their fathers left right and centre to get him out. If anything, having meetings with Doyle will put the students in more danger. If the Death Eaters believe that he is connected to the Order – even via you - and therefore presents a danger to their control....we’ll have a funeral to attend. No, leave Doyle alone. We will enter subtly, not by just walking into the wards and hoping for the best – that’s how people die, through idiocy. Intervening at this point might save lives but it’ll cost many more in my opinion. It isn’t worth it, neither is it practical. We can’t lay siege to a castle like Hogwarts – we’ve lost straight away. We’ll ‘walk in’ when the time is right. I’m telling you now...this isn’t it.”

Jess frowned as he chewed his lip in concentration, trying to figure out what this information. On one hand it looked as if he'd be welcomed with the majority of the school leaning towards the Order, and with there being a split down the center, the middle ground leaning his way. Having said that, it all depended on the outcome of anything they attempted, a bloodless coup would of course have the best results - he knew that - but could that be achieved?

"So," he said, appearing to come to a decision, "I think that we need to start readying ourselves, we need to look for any potential weaknesses in the school's defences, or any softening in their views against us," he told them. "For now, Jack, you need to keep your eyes open for any shifting views towards or against the Order. You need to be alert for any disturbances, be it a Death Eater killing spree or a staff conference." He told her. "When you catch wind of these things we all need to know, immediately," he told her.

Jess then shrugged a little as Lauren spoke, she seemed to have hit the nail on the head regarding Mari's response to all this, but in ways she was being just a little contradicting to what she was saying about simply getting a job there. "You don't think I've tried?" He asked. "Since the split with Majere no Order members have been allowed to enter the school in a paid position. The views carried on with the entrance of Doyle. When I approached him about employing myself he told me that I couldn't possibly be considered. The only reason Michael got a job was because he was very quiet about being an Order member, and even then it was only temporary. Wilson and McCoy split with the Order," he said, shooting a slightly dirty look Wilson's way, "So they kept their jobs. The rest of us have never been welcomed back," he said, a slightly bitter tone resonating in his voice.

[OOC: I'll just pretend Kingsley has been here the whole time
Also, in meetings, shouldn't we have smaller posts, so people can catch on quicker? Around two or three paragraphs. 10 is too many for just a meeting. It was a chore to read through all that.)

Kingsley Shacklebolt sat there in silence for most of the meeting. He had been gone for quite a while, so it was better to listen and catch up on what was happening then talk and act like a fool. He listened in silence as Wilson and Jess argued, wearing a frown on his face. It was not often that an order member had spoken to Kingsley or Dumbledore that way when they had been leaders. Neither did they mutiny like Robert Lupin had done. He sighed, he didn't envy Jess' position right now.

Once he gathered some information, Shacklebolt decided it was time for some input. They seemed to so far be unable to come up with a plan. But who better knew Hogwarts defenses then the ex headmaster? "Ms.Michaels is right Jess, a straightforward attack on Hogwarts won't be a good idea, we'll die before we reach the entrance hall. The grounds alone are protected by powerful spells, and Majere would be expecting that anyways," Shacklebolt said. "There is a pathway, through Hogs Head, which heads straight to the Room of Requirement, I am not sure if you are aware of that, but it is the perfect way to enter Hogwarts. Or perhaps we could take the Shrieking Shack route."

"I do not wish for an attack on Hogwarts, but the longer we wait, the worse it gets for the students there. Furthermore, we are allowing the Death Eaters to establish a foothold there. We control the ministry, now is the perfect time to strike. Or should we wait for the Death Eaters to attack first?"

((I agree, for most people, and while I hate to bring in double standards, I need to respond to most things that happen, so if I miss few replies my reply becomes longer. I'll try to be more lexically dense though ))

Jess breathed an inward sigh of relief as Kingsley, the man who really had the most experience regarding Hogwarts here, spoke, giving insight to the logistic issues which were confronting the Order right now.

He nodded as Kingsley spoke and paused for a moment once he was silent, digesting what had been said, deciding what next needed to be said.

Waving his wand he wordlessly brought forth a scroll of parchment which grew from the tip of his wand before detaching itself and opening as it fell onto the table, revealing a ground floor map of Hogwarts and its grounds. "You're right, all out attack wont work, I don't think, our best chances do lie in a subterfuge entrance to the castle, however I think that given the school's current administration the defences may not be as immaculate as you kept them," he told him. "I would actually propose a dual fronted attack, send a diversionary force through the Forbidden Forest, where the defences are weakest owing to the frequent student passage in and out of there, while the main Potter's Army and Order forces link up in the Room of Requirement then spread through the castle," he said, gesturing to the location of each of these places (Or in the case of the RoR the relative location on a ground floor map) as he mentioned them.

"Well," he said, gesturing to the doorway of the kitchen, "As you can see, I don't think that we can say that we control the Ministry anymore, though I doubt that they'd stay out of any fighting in the event of a battle, they'd feel it was their obligation to intervene. Who they'd be fighting though," he said, a bemused tone entering his voice, "Will only be known once we're on the field," he told them.

"And of course I don't either, I wish that Hogwarts could simply exist as they traditionally do, as a neutral party," he said, a sad look crossing his face, before he shook his head and concentrated on the task once more.

"If we're going to attack, now is definitely the time to do so, owing to exactly what Kingsley said, the longer we delay the stronger the Death Eaters may become," he told them. "We'd really just be casting a hex at our own feet," he said with a shrug.

Jack nodded at Jess' words, which was a simple enough task though not best suited for her. She was not in the in crowd. She had no idea what the student population thought of anything. But she was in a good position to find out.

At Kingsley's words, Jack nodded, saying, "Yeah I was going to tell you a few entrances, but those are probably the best ones, by far. As far as getting a spread out group." She let Jes talk, and he seemed so gun-ho, she almost felt as though her next words would contradict her earlier sentiments.

"I do not..." she said slowly, "think we should simply... go in. I think the best thing, is to wait. We don't want to be the bad guys, we're the heroes. There will be a point, where the Order entering would be so appropriate, no one would think twice." She pulled out a coin, one of the ones she used for Potter's Army, not her master, but a spare. "I could signal you. And you could signal everyone else. Half could apparate to the Shrieking Shack and the other to the Hog's Head. And with all the tension between PA and the Dark Followers, I don't think it will be very long until you are notified."

Jess nodded and noted the look on hesitation on Jack's face as she spoke, one which he'd been having all night, as he wondered whether or not he was doing the right thing.

"Certainly, if you think that there should come a time soon where our intervention is not only preferred, but necessary at that point in time, It will definitely serve to be a much better time to drive the Death Eaters out," he said firmly.

"If we follow this idea of a double headed operation I want the second group to be lead by Jacob and Kingsley, the second group will be lead by myself. The Shrieking shack entrance emerges on the school's grounds, if my memory is serving me correctly, so it may be best for us to send a slightly larger group, or at least a stronger one through that passageway," he told them, pointing at the approximate location of the Whomping Willow on his map, causing the names of the two men he'd referenced to appear there.

"The other group I will personally lead myself," he told them looking around the room for a moment, trying to figure out who would be best in which group.

"Before we're split, does anyone have anything they wish to discuss about the plan?" He asked, realising that there could be a gaping hole he'd not seen, which someone else may want to bring to his attention, or something like that.

Kingsley frowned as Jess pointed out that they probably wouldn't have the help of the minister. Kingsley had assumed that the order held the ministry but it was clear that Robert wasn't going to listen to everything Jess would say. It was a bit sad and more then a little bit annoying. The order couldn't function correctly when the members didn't give their leaders respect. "I'll talk to him afterwards," Shacklebolt decided. He had been friends with his brother, but not Robert. Still, Shacklebolt expected that he would be able to convince him.

Shacklebolt nodded his approval at Jess' plan. "That sounds about right. We'll have to take the castle quickly, if the death eaters send reinforcements, then we won't last very long. Since Robert and Khaat aren't helping, we are a bit outnumbered," Shacklebolt noted. He didn't know the exact death eater numbers, but he was sure they were greater then the orders currently. "Also, we should keep someone at Hogsmeade, to keep the entrance open. If things go badly, we can at least evacuate the students from there."

Jess nodded at Shacklebolt as he suggested speaking to Robert, but he couldn't help but feel that his attempts would be futile, Robert was almost as stubborn as Jess was sometimes, even more so in fact. "Thank you Kingsley," he said, "though I think we'd find that should any fighting break out the Ministry will intervene. It's just a question of who they'd fight," he said, a disappointed look flashing across his face.

"A sound idea," he then said, nodding once more at Kingsley. "We can also have that person take on any wounded. Tell me, it's been years since I went there, but does Aberforth still work at the Hog's Head? He's been friendly to our cause in the last few Wizarding Wars, it would be a great help if he joined in once more, even if just as a supporting role. But he was really quite old now, so maybe the ownership of the Hog's Head had changed hands.

"So we'll get in there and rush to capture the gates, in order to secure safe passage for any students or any of our people wounded in the bulk of the fighting, which I'd say will occur on the grounds of Hogwarts. Anyone wounded in the castle should use the Hog's Head passage out of the room of requirement, so maybe, Jack one or two of your people could remain in the Room of Requirement simply to keep the passage open. Anyone who's not as strong in fighting as the others would be suitable," he told her.

Jack followed the conversation and found she was getting a better feeling. The last meeting had left sort of a bitter taste in her mouth, but here she felt that they were actually on track to doing something that would be productive and would help out their situation.

When Jess said she could stay behind she barked a sarcastic laugh of disbelief. "I am not staying behind for anything. I'm fighting. I can talk to Pa, get some of the members who are in between that ability of being able to hold their own in a battle and who would just get in the way. There's a few I can think of."

Jess nodded and surpressed the urge to roll his eyes. Clearly she'd misunderstood him, for she'd proposed the exact same thing he'd proposed, but laughed at him when he said it. "Well Jack, that is why I said that one or two of your people could fight, I didn't doubt for a moment that you'd be in the thick of it," he told her, an irritated tone to his voice, but with a smile to show he wasn't snapping.

"So, if we're all in agreeance to what we're doing, I would encourage you to now split into your groups, this isn't school," he said, noting the irony in the fact that they were planning to go exactly there, "so I wont split you up. I'm sure you're capable of doing it yourselves," he told them, gesturing for them to stand.

"Jack, if you'd stay with me, I'll be leading the Shrieking Shack attack front, I'd like a strategic analysis of the grounds," he told her.