Order Only: Private message to Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger

[alt_selwyn]

I heard Mr Derrick joined the Order. My father's old clerk, Maghnus Derrick. Is it true? I also heard he can't come to Moddey and I don't know why, I want to see him. Can you take me to visit him some other place? Like Sirius Black's house where the meeting was everyone went to?

Comments

[alt_hermione]

Hi, Arista.

He didn't exactly join the Order, which is why he can't come to visit Moddey Dhoo. Did Mrs Longbottom explain it to you?

What's happened is he's sworn to help us, but he's not a full member, he doesn't have a journal and he can't read our posts yet. I think he'll become a full member in time, though.

If you really want to see him, I'm sure Mrs Longbottom can arrange something.

How are your lessons going?

[alt_selwyn]

Tim didn't tell you about the accident, did he? Because it was completely not my fault about the ink that spilled all over Sarah Little's shirt.

Other than that all my lessons are fine. My favourite is Potions Preparation. I wish I had a wand. They're going to let me try one from Melli's next batch.

[alt_hermione]

Oh, no, I hadn't heard about that. I'm sure you didn't mean to spill it, though.

I remember quite liking potions before I had a wand, too, because it meant you could make things that were effective and it was like doing magic. Anyway, you'll get a wand. You don't want one that doesn't suit you, believe me.

Is Mr Black still teaching the potions preparation? Or is that someone else?

[alt_selwyn]

Sirius tries to come once a week. Mr Black, I mean. He actually like Sirius better but that makes Mrs McGivern cross so we try not to call him that when she's there.

Anyway sometimes I just wish I could have ANY wand at ALL. Or that I could have brought my wand from home, I wasn't very good at using it yet but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have grown into it properly now that I'm almost old enough to go to Hogwarts. (I would have gone this September.) Mellisandra says she thinks there are two in the batch she's working on right now that might be the right fit.

[alt_hermione]

Actually, we like calling him Sirius better, too, but I know Mrs McGivern has standards she likes observed.

I wouldn't worry too much about not going to Hogwarts. It's not a particularly pleasant place to be going to school right now. When we fix things, then it'll be better, but for now you're better at Moddey.

[alt_selwyn]

Well if you fix things in the next seven years I can still go. Even if I have to start late.

Would you want to go? I mean if everything had changed a year ago so you could go to Hogwarts but just for one year to do your NEWTs would you want to?

[alt_hermione]

I might want to sit the exams but no, I don't really see any point to going back to Hogwarts. For me, that is.

But then, I lived there for a long time when I wasn't a proper student, too. So there's that.

Besides, if you went to Hogwarts you'd have to leave Hector and Kevin and Matthew and all the others.

Don't you want to stay where you can be with all your friends?

[alt_selwyn]

Well if you'd fixed everything then Hector could go, too, when he was old enough. And I'd see him on holidays. That wouldn't be so bad. Maureen thinks Gemma and I would get on and I'd meet her, if I went there.

I suppose you wouldn't want to go because you'd have to leave Tim? He's much too old to go now, anyway.

[alt_hermione]

Oh! No, it doesn't have anything to do with Tim. I mean, I don't live at Moddey and he does, now.

[alt_selwyn]

Well, but if you went to school you'd see him much less often. I mean you come to Moddey all the time and the people at Hogwarts can't.

[alt_hermione]

That's true, but it's not a reason to go to Hogwarts. Or not to go.

I mean, you shouldn't do things or not do things because a boy wants you to do it. Any boy, I mean. You should do them because you want to, and only if you want to.

[alt_selwyn]

Well I hope I do get to go sometime. Maybe I won't care when I'm 17 like you. But you at least got Sorted.

I used to just assume I'd be in Slytherin because both my parents were Slytherins. Then after everything that happened when I came here I thought I really didn't want to be in Slytherin, I wanted to be in Hufflepuff like Maureen. (Who doesn't know what House she'd have really been Sorted into but Mrs Longbottom said once that if you ASK the Hat for Hufflepuff that's almost certainly where it will put you because Helga Hufflepuff said she'd take everyone and treat them all the same, like we do here.)

But Sarah Fawcett was in Ravenclaw and she says I'm clever enough that I could be in Ravenclaw, if I wanted. And I'm good at lessons and I like reading.

And, Ron Weasley is in Gryffindor and so was Neville and so are you. And Neville told me once he thought I was brave. For changing my ideas and everything about my life. Although I'm not sure if it counts as brave when your alternative was dying? But there are loads of people in Gryffindor who I admire a lot.

Anyway I wish I could hear what the Hat thinks. About where I belong.

Mellisandra thinks it would still Sort me into Slytherin, unless I told it not to.

Do you know why it Sorted you into Gryffindor when you're also so clever?

(Actually I could ask Draco almost the same question because he's also clever and it Sorted him into Slytherin.)

[alt_hermione]

I can understand being curious. For me and for Terry, it was important to be Sorted because it meant we were really meant to go to Hogwarts with the other children. But honestly, I think perhaps Sorting may not be the best way to organise Hogwarts once we've won the war. Because loads of people are clever and also cunning, like Sally-Anne Perks, or brave but strategic, like Ron Weasley.

I do think you could be in almost any House you wanted, though, and that's rather the point. It's all about what traits you value the most.

And sometimes people don't understand the Hat's choices right away, but then they come to see that it was right. Did you know that Ginny Weasley and Sirius both thought they weren't supposed to be in Gryffindor? And they changed their minds in the end and agreed with the Hat.

But I think it's an awful lot of pressure to put on someone who's eleven. There has to be a better way to do it.

[alt_selwyn]

Anyway, I don't want to ask Mrs Longbottom for anything unless it's an absolute EMERGENCY. Maureen says she's still terribly upset about Neville. And she's hardly here right now because of the Sherwood evacuation. And there's about a thousand other real emergencies happening every other day so if I have to wait until I can talk to Mrs Longbottom about it I won't get to see Mr Derrick until sometime next November, if I'm lucky.

[alt_hermione]

Well, the Sherwood evacuation is still very difficult, finding everyone who scattered and such.

Would you like me or Draco to say something about seeing Mr Derrick?

[alt_selwyn]

I don't want to be a bother.

[alt_hermione]

Oh, but if we asked, then it wouldn't be you being the bother, do you see?

[alt_selwyn]

Oh yes, that's true.

Well if you think you can ask without making anyone cross?

This just isn't all that important compared to helping the people from Sherwood and all the rest that's going on.

Private message to Hermione

[alt_draco]

It's times like this that I wish I'd had siblings so I knew something about little kids.

I feel like she's strongly hinting that she wants either me or you, specifically, to take her to see Derrick.

What do you think?

Re: Private message to Hermione

[alt_hermione]

If she had a choice between us, she'd pick you in a heartbeat.

Or didn't you know she's got a crush on you?

Re: Private message to Hermione

[alt_draco]

Yes, it's quite glaringly obvious.

Re: Private message to Hermione

[alt_draco]

Not exactly something I want to encourage, to say the least.

[alt_draco]

Hey Arista, how is your flying going? Reckon you'll be able to beat me at a race by summertime?

Mr Derrick is basically in a position where he'll be able to gain the Order's trust over time, if he plays his cards right. So he might be able to visit Moddey one day, but not just yet.

I actually think he would like to see you and your brother, though.

[alt_selwyn]

I think I could beat you in a race right now! I'm smaller than you so my broom goes faster.

[alt_selwyn]

Anyway I guess it makes sense they don't let him come to Moddey yet because it's where ALL the babies are but I'm not really a baby anymore I'm almost old enough to go to Hogwarts, if I could go to Hogwarts, so if someone else could side-along me I could go to Sirius's house or Bedford or any of those other places and talk to him there. Don't you think?

[alt_draco]

There's more than just babies at Moddey. And yes, someone could bring you side-along if arrangements were made in advance.

Private message to Draco

[alt_selwyn]

Your father's at Saltash, isn't he? The place without magic?

How is he doing?

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_draco]

He doesn't like not having his magic, and he's cross that people like me and my mother betrayed him.

But he's become more cooperative as of late. If nothing else, helping us out makes him feel useful and important, and he does like that.

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_selwyn]

I know my father is dead because Harry saw him die. But I still keep thinking, what if he'd been wrong and they'd found him at Azkaban, like they found Maghnus Derrick? Because now he'd be at Saltash like your father.

He'd hate not having his magic. It would be better than Dementors I guess. But he'd hate it.

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_draco]

That's probably a comforting fantasy. Just mind you don't get too caught up in thinking about things that can never be - it isn't healthy for anyone.

He does hate it, but unfortunately, he made a bad choice when he aligned himself with the Lord Protector, and then he made a second bad choice when he didn't help your father. Bad choices have consequences.

He's alive, though, and he still has me.

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_selwyn]

If he'd helped my father he'd probably be dead. I mean they did manage to kill the Lord Protector and your father wouldn't have been able to stop him from coming back.

Anyway. You're right it's a nice fantasy. I like thinking about it. Do you think I should stop?

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_draco]

There's something to be said for dying while doing the right thing.

You don't have to stop if you don't want to, but some day you might find that you don't need those fantasies, anymore.

Re: Private message to Draco

[alt_selwyn]

Oh.

Yes, that's true. About dying, I mean.