Order of the Phoenix Meeting 16

Mariana apparted in her usual corner and walked towards the Grimauld place a few moments ago. Once she opened the door she could hear someone shouting and cursing and who knows what else she missed. While she was on her way downstairs, she heard some parts of the conversation though not really enjoying the tension which was created one minute after the meeting started. "I am not sure why are we even surprised. Death eaters have always killed muggles and will keep doing so while they can. Ofcourse i am not saying they were killing only them, but the death of this prime minister was probably just a beggining. Killing a single muggle is probably just a beggining of their weird twisted plans that nobody understands." she said interfering in the conversation calmly as soon as she entered the room.

Wilson's threat of quiting was an attractive thought though she kept it for herself. "By all means we are screwed if we start fighting among ourselves. I never thought i'll say this, but let's just sit and find a solution on a civilized way Wilson. Nobody here wishes to hurt a single student. I think that a big part of them is capable of defending him or herself. Whose side is this Doyle on anyway?" she asked as she took a seat herself looking calm for the moment.

"If Death Eaters are indeed more or less controlling the school, how excatly do you plan to close it? I am not sure they will just tell you "go ahead close the school we don't mind" We could always use someone who is on out side, but not an order member, if you're afraid some obvious person will endanger students." she added refering more to Khaat then anyone else though the question was in general. She called for a drink before the things would get more ugly.

Jack had appeared early, knowing she was the lifeline between Potter's Army and the Order, and she planned on continuing the line of communication, even if the last meeting had not been as promising as she had hoped it would be. She was int he bathroom, washing her hands and slowly flicking water onto her face to keep herself calm.

She slowly made her way back down to where everyone had congregated and she flopped herself into a chair. For an outspoken person, she was rather silent at these meetings, typically waiting for the action to happen and the necessity to speak to arise rather than force it. She'd wait for the hystericals to end...

Jess listened to Robert's suggestion and nodded thoughtfully, his brow furrowing with concentration. "Well of course that makes sense," he said irritably, "But most things that do make sense are no longer options for us," he added, his voice rising in pitch again as his frustration grew.

"Sorry," he then said, a look of chagrin crossing his face, "I didn't mean to yell at you Robert. It's just," he said, sighing and shaking his head.

"Michael's temporary employment is a great step to what we want in the school right now, and if the school does decide to host a magic summer camp I will be looking at filling it with as many of our members as possible, simply to guard the students and keep them out of harm's way," he told them all seriously. "For we all know what is coming, I think," he said, pausing for a moment as he struggled with the thought.

"All out war," he said after a moment, a look of pain crossing his face. After all his attempts at preventing this sort of thing, it now seemed inevitable.

"Doyle wont close the school, I've been receiving letters from my cousin, James, and he says the man is a tyrant who appears to have no thoughts of the safety of students. While I'm sure most of that is the typical student exaggeration, I doubt that it's completely wrong," he told them.

"Brian and I will talk more about this," he added quietly to Robert, before looking up as more people entered. "Welcome," he said, a little more calm now. "Please, make yourselves comfortable," he told them. "Mari is right, fighting amongst ourselves will have far worse an effect than the Death Eaters ever will," he told them with a strained smile.

He then noticed Jack enter, gesturing to an empty seat for her to sit down at. "Ah," he said, not having realised that Jack was coming that night. "Jack, I think that you'll prove most definitive here. Tell me, what are the students saying? What, in your opinion, needs to be done. Your opinion, I think, could prove to be the most valuable in the room right now," he said, wondering what her choice would be.

"Ohh Bloody Hell, a meeting and I am too late, god if Jess is going to kill me."He mumbled under his breathing. It was late at Ollivander, and so after the last customer was gone, he could finally leave. Sure that the Death Eaters didn't follow him, he apparated to the place for the meeting. A muggle lady was walking her dog out, as he greeted her, and hoping she walked away quickly. Once she was gone, he entered the building as he heard what was happening in the meeting.

With his wand in his pocket, he entered the meeting room. "Sorry I am late."He said as he looked to the faces. Many he didn't know around here. He has seen Khaat and Robert Lupin, and that was mostly it. "It was a bit too crowded in Ollivander."James said as he took a seat.

Kate arrived, with Michael and Brian with her. They entered quietly and immediately stopped after closing the door. The tension in the house was so high that it was palpable.

"Again?" Brian sighed quietly.

"Ignore it," Michael said abruptly. "We aren't here for that nonsense. This faction hasn't been able to get off one meeting without some some sort of dramatics since the end of the second wizarding war. Its no wonder we dont' have a theater in the wizarding world. We get all the drama we need right here."

"Michael," Kate reprimanded. "There are serious matters at hand."

"Then let them get down to the business of resolving some of them," he said. Kate was about to speak when Walburga let out her typical shout and tyrade about Michael being in the house.

"Enough!" he shouted, flicking his wand at her. In an instant, the figure in the portrait was transfigured into the image of a butterfly. A very large butterfly that could do little more than flick its wings in irritation at him.

"That wasn't nice," Kate said.

"Neither was she," Michael replied. He proceeded through to the kitchen, with Kate and Brian in tow. They greeted everyone quietly and joined at the table, Michael spinning his chair around backwards to sit on it, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

Jess addressed her, after getting a little worked up and she slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes closed. She opened them and opened her mouth when Kate walked in and a little ruckus broke out. Both her eyes and mouth closed again and she bowed her head, deciding to not let it look like it bothered her. Just shut them all out...

When there was finally silence again, she opened her eyes and raised her head. She looked out to Jess. "What students are saying is that we're all good as dead. That obviously no one, Ministry included, thought the school to be worth protecting and it's too late now. Problems with the Dark Followers are getting bad, and now we feel we have the burden of the Death Eaters too."

She paused. "I had a meeting with Potter's Army yesterday ((which I'm going to post soon xD)) where I had to tell them that we are alone. No matter how ideally people want to help us, we don't have it yet." She paused. "I don't play the politics game. I'm not gonna tell them that we're in great hands, because we're in no one's hands. Our safety depends on us."

She coughed and continued on. "Doyle has made four of us in charge of guarding the school. Four students. On top of Quidditch, and classes, and Potter's Army, I have to stay up late and patrol corridors and possibly fight off intruders. That is where the safety level at Hogwarts is at. I can't tell you guys what you need to do. Because honestly... who knows if it'll make a difference at this point."

Mariana listened to what everybody had to say not willing to interfere more then necessary though if she planned to stay quiet, she would have stayed at her appartment. "Tyrant is a too strong word for Doyle. I don't think he is one. From the little i was able to hear about him, he is just. well i am not sure what's the right expression. What i meant he doesn't care enough to be a tyrant. Anyway why does someone have to be a Professor to enter Hogwarts. There might be open spots for nurses. Brian is a healer right?" she said remembering when she used to call her headmaster with heavy names not too long ago. Students do over-react sometimes.

"Can you stop fighting that portrait as i am not quite sure what else apart from lovely Mrs. Black can wake up in this ... house." she said when she heard the noise. It waa creepy from time to time being in the Grimauld place for too long.

"Patrolling the corridors? Some way to protect students. You would be dead before someone had time to say cheese if you got attacked by an actual death eater. I want to meet this Doyle. Is there a way to enter the castle without being caught by the Death eaters?" she commented asking her question not sure why did she want to meet Doyle in the first place. Maybe it was just curiousity or maybe she would just love to tell him his few truths.

Jess greeted Michael, Kate and Brian with a wave as he concentrated on what Jack said, his face visibly contorting with anger as she spoke.

Part of his anger, though only a small bit, and one that he knew was completely unjustified, was at her. He had been trying to help, surely she knew that he was trying, he just didn't have the manpower and the leverage right now. However he did have to admit that she'd hit the nail on his head, and for all his attempts, she was right, he wasn't able to help her right now, and it was a fair call.

But what really got on his nerves was what she described to him, the situation that seemed to be unfolding at the school was worse than he'd ever imagined. He'd heard of prefects and the Head Boy and Girl going on patrol before, but even then they were accompanied by teachers, and had to stay in groups. Still there were double the students patrolling then, plus the teacher guards, it sounded as if those four were the only ones on the duty.

With a quick look of pure contempt being shot Wilson's way, Jess sat in his chair brooding, Mari's words going in one ear and out the other. Well, almost in and out, one phrase caught his attention.

"She's right, Death Eaters can be incredibly stealthy when they want to be," he said quietly.

As he sat there, his anger bubbling just under the point where he could control it, Jess was forming a plan, one that he'd considered for quite some time, one that had seemed impractical, and unatainable, one he couldn't bring himself to act out, and one he wouldn't expect any support from the Order.

"I think, and I hate to say it, but I think the castle needs to come into Order hands, in order for us to assure the students have any level of safety," he said quietly.

"Jess," Robert said quietly, absent of any emotion in his tone, "You do need to rethink that. From a legal or technical standpoint, that would not be correct. And if we're talking about war, unfortunately we do need to get legally very technical. Every part of wizarding England, in some way or another, has to respond to the Ministry. And some of Hogwarts funding does come from the Ministry, not from the Order. Not unless you've fallen into some financial windfall. If the Order wants to align to support the Ministry, then I will gladly accept your alliance. However, I'm in a different position here now. I do not want to have to fight the Order too for control of Hogwarts, but if it changes hands, it needs to return back to the hands of the Ministry ultimately. I have not moved on the school because we are too close to the end of the academic year. We should be going to summer holiday in the next week or two. We've lasted this entire academic year under Death Eater control. I don't like it, but the harm to the students has been actually minimal in comparison with what it could be while there is a full student body in attendance there if we war on it now.

"If war is to come, then let us allow the students to leave as per their regular academic schedule. Once the castle is empty, it will be at its most vulnerable. If there is to be a war, it would seem more prudent to not launch an attack until the castle is not full of children."

Jack shrugged, saying, "I bet the four of us know a hell of a lot more to help the castle than some of the professors, not to be egotistical, but to be honest." She shrugged, remembering back to the battle for Grimmauld Place and remembering that a few of the students had been more competent than a handful of the adults they had fought alongside with.

This is what she hated. What was legally okay? Really? They were discussing the financial situation too? She thought back to Dumbledore. Would he care what the Ministry thought? Was this really the job of the Order, to think of the politically correct thing to do, or the morally upright thing?

She stood. "If you guys are going to talk about legality and money, I'm getting the hell out of here and I'll actually do something. Instead, I'll risk my life and the lives of other students to save the whole. I'm done with politics. I'm done with money. The Ministry might be upset with the Order taking over? F*ck the Ministry. If they had done their jobs, there would be no need for the Order to intervene in the first place. So if you guys are really going to look at this whole thing from how other people will view it, I'm out. Dumbledore never cared about what other people thought. Let me ask you, what do you think Sage's friends think about the whole deal, or her parents? I doubt they're going to scrutinize the Order for taking over the school illegally. They'd rather it be us than the Death Eaters. Speaking of, I'd better leave to go stop them from doing any more damage." She began to leave.