Selwyn

Hullo everyone

2015-05-18T15:41:44Z

I'm using my father's journal, but this isn't Dominic Selwyn of course, this is Arista Selwyn. You may have thought I was dead, but I wasn't. The Order of the Phoenix saved my life and my brother's, too.

My father was a Death Eater. A Councilwizard. But he realised he'd made a mistake and tried to kill the Lord Protector. The Lord Protector killed him for his betrayal, and ordered my mother, brother, and me to be killed too.

Harry Marvolo and Draco Malfoy came to the Department of Mysteries to save us. (And others came too but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you who?) And they took us to the Order. I've been living secretly with the Order ever since then and so has my brother (they weren't able to help my Mum.)

I'm writing this because there are a lot of other people with Councilwizards as parents and I want you to know that the Order knows everyone is their own person. You're not a Death Eater just because your parents are. The Order of the Phoenix saved me, and some of them almost died saving me, because they know that.

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Order Only: Private message to Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger

2015-02-10T20:27:13Z

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?

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Order Only: Private message to Ron

2014-07-18T18:53:08Z

Hey Ron.

Did you hear Mr and Mrs Longbottom are adopting Terry? (You know Terry, right? I think everyone, but me, knows Terry.)

So he'll be Terry Longbottom and Neville and Evelyn will be his brother and sister.

Are you coming on Sunday? ~~Do you know if~~

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Order Only: Private message to Draco

2014-07-07T21:16:53Z

I found ALL THE BROOMS and Mrs Longbottom said they were from you? Though she wasn't sure, she said she couldn't think who else would have done it.

I think she was happier about the wands actually. But!!! They try really hard to get us wands and Melli even makes them but NO ONE cared about brooms, NO ONE. Our best broom (the one you wrecked) was utter pants compared to my old broom and the ones you got were TEN TIMES BETTER, how did you get them, did you steal them? Sarah thinks you must have stolen them using Harry's cloak, is she right?

Anyway NOW maybe you can come fly with me? Mrs Longbottom says we're going to have to have lessons but I DON'T NEED LESSONS I've been flying on a proper broom since I was old enough to hold one.

Also the younger kids think the hamper is brilliant but I'm much happier about the BROOMS. Thank you!!!! ~~I was SO CROSS WITH YOU but I'm definitely not anymore!~~

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Order Only: Private message to Alice Longbottom and Draco Malfoy

2014-06-09T17:16:27Z

Dear Draco,

It's me, Arista. Do you remember me from when you helped save my life? (And my brother's.)

Sarah told me you got in a lot of trouble and had to run away from Hogwarts, like she did, and that you might need to come live here for a while. (At the sanctuary, I mean.) So I just wanted to let you know that it's nice here, if you want to come, and people will be glad to see you.

I was actually worried when I first came because I thought maybe people would be awful to me because of my father. My father was a Council Wizard, like yours, and no one here says Council Wizard, they say Death Eater, and also they don't say 'Our Lord' (ever) they call ~~Him~~ him other things (mostly nasty ones) and since everyone here is a traitor I was worried they wouldn't like me but really it's fine here. (They actually DO sometimes say they're all traitors! I think they think it's funny.)

Anyway Sarah says you're a brilliant dueler and if you came here you could teach us all to fight, a lot better. She says you're actually rather brilliant at almost everything. I hope you at least come to visit?

I'm sorry about what happened to you. It sounds utterly awful and terrifying.

They always told us we were safe because of who our parents were, but they lied. (They lied about a lot of things but I guess you worked that out yourself. I felt like a complete idiot when I started to realise how much I'd believed was a lie.)

Your friend,
Arista Selwyn

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I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD: PRIVATE MESSAGE TO RON

2013-10-05T18:47:42Z

This ink is very odd.

~~Terry are you sure no one can~~

Hullo Ron. Mrs Longbottom says that I can write to you this way and no one will be able to see it. Not even her because she's a grownup. Well and also its a private message.

She said I should tell you all about what I remember from the night you rescued me because it might be important. Even though I already told her about it. And also Tonks and Mr Lupin that night. And I don't think I left anything out.

But here's what happened. Mummy took us to this hotel where we'd gone on holiday once and there were men there with wands waiting for us and they petrified us and took Mummy's wand away and then they side-along apparated us to the Ministry and I threw up.

Wait I forgot something important. Before that Daddy came in at bedtime one night and he gave me a necklace with a tiny glass bottle on it and he said if I was ever in trouble but it should be REALLY BAD trouble like the WORST POSSIBLE trouble ever I should open the bottle and drink what was inside. And in the meantime I should always keep the necklace on even in the bath and when I slept and he said no one should notice it and I shouldn't tell anyone even Mummy and it was up to me to know when the right time was if I needed to use it.

Anyway I knew it was the Ministry because of the statues in the big room where we came in. And I screamed but no one did anything and then they took us down the lift and I was afraid they were taking us to MLE and we were all going to be crucioed forever until we went mad. (I'm not supposed to know they do that but I heard Mummy and Daddy talking a few times when they didn't know I was there. There's a bloke named Trunchon, did you know? You don't ever want to meet him.)

But, they didn't take us to MLE so at first I was relieved and that's why I didn't use my luck potion right away. (Well I didn't know that's what it was then. Now I do. Then I just knew Daddy said it was to be saved until I was in THE WORST trouble.) They had us in a room and it wasn't terrible. It was locked but we weren't in a dungeon. Though they didn't give us anything to eat. We were alone for a long time and Mummy told us stories to keep us from being scared.

Mr Strangeweale came in and I didn't know who he was but Mummy did which is how I heard his name. First she said he should let us go because we had friends on the Council who would be very angry at him if he didn't. And he laughed at that. And then she tried to offer him money and he laughed at that, too. And then she begged him not to hurt me and Hector. I mean she went on her knees and said she was begging him and he cast something on her to make her fall down on the floor and he said not to disgrace her blood with unseemliness and then he said that he had something very special in mind for me and Hector.

He said he and his ~~colleges~~ colleegs had been working on a procedure to extend life and restore youth and all that was required was someone who wouldn't be needing their own youth. And he said they'd perfected the procedure on mudbloods (I know I'm not supposed to say mudblood but HE said mudblood not muggelborn) but that of course a mudblood would be the wrong thing to offer to Our Lord but a pureblood child would be perfect and I was also just the right age.

Mummy said 'no no no not my little girl' and Mr Strangeweale said that of course since we were the children of a traitor our lives were forfite anyway and this way we would live on because it would turn our magic into something beautiful and it wouldn't hurt for long at least none of the mudbloods screamed for very long and he said it could be worse for all of us because what if Our Lord had given us to Bella (he meant Auror Lestrange) instead and then he put the Imperius on Mummy so she'd stand up and go with him and he didn't let her say goodbye. He said he was going to use her to calibrate things so they didn't have to waste even a drop of my blood and then he left me and Hector alone.

I knew THAT had to be the WORST possible trouble so as soon as he was gone I drank the potion and then I noticed that when Mr Strangeweale was there he'd left one drawer of the desk unlocked and inside was Daddy's diary and also a quill and ink. So I wrote to you. Do you need to know anything else?

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Private message to Chloe

2013-06-01T05:52:24Z

We're all in terrible danger, Chloe. Your current location is compromised -- no time to explain.

Bring the children, and come through the floo. Remember where we holidayed last summer, where Arista built the sand castle -- I'm waiting for you there. We'll go together to safety.

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Private message to Bill Weasley

2013-05-31T21:39:24Z

Come to my office, please, there's a message I need someone to hand-deliver.

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Private message to Maghnus Derrick

2013-05-31T20:33:15Z

Where are you? Respond in-journal, or report to my office immediately.

I am concerned about your safety.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy

2013-05-31T15:58:02Z

I need to see you.

In person.

There's something I need to tell you.

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Private message to Yaxley

2013-05-31T15:51:44Z

Controlling MLE was YOUR job and you seemed to believe you could manage it.

Don't think for one instant you can fool anyone into believing you're not part of my faction. Stand your ground, or you'll be as lost as the rest of us.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy

2013-05-31T04:13:18Z

Fudge hasn't given you any more trouble, has he? Any fidgeting from the Prophet? Letting word get out before things are entirely settled is just an invitation to trouble.

My sources say Old Glendower was seen with Nott. Could be nothing, but I'm keeping an eye on them. Any news from your sources I ought to know?

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Private message to Maghnus Derrick

2013-05-28T20:29:53Z

I have horrifying news for you, Maghnus: Our Lord is dead, cut down by that unworthy traitor, Higgs.

At Court this afternoon, Higgs requested permission from Our Lord to demonstrate some allegedly brilliant new spell -- the rest of us thought we'd stand back and let him make a fool of himself, if he cared to. But he whirled and cast the killing curse. I reacted without thinking, and killed Higgs (unfortunately, this means we may never know who sent him, although we have some guesses that MLE may be able to follow up on -- I'm particularly suspicious that someone from Mysteries was involved, though not Rookwood, certainly.)

Do not under any circumstances let this get out to the papers. In fact, the fewer people outside the council who know at this point, the better. I'd like to get in touch with a few friends, though. Pass the word to Minerva, she certainly ought to know. Stephan Rosier. Antosha.

I'd let someone else be the one to tell Bellatrix Lestrange.

I expect I'll be here answering questions for quite some time. Let Chloe know I'm all right, please, but not to wait up.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy and Barty Crouch, Jr.

2013-05-28T19:55:24Z

Something terrible has happened. Come to Buckingham as quickly as you can, both of you.

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Private message to Maghnus

2013-05-28T16:52:02Z

Felix has joined our faction.

Ensure he visits all the key people as quickly as possible. Tell them to wait until they're IN Buckingham. We are planning on attending Our Lord at 3 o'clock this afternoon.

Higgs needs to be there. Do whatever you need to to get him there.

Keep LM away. Also BL -- if she's present, she can't leave the room, you understand? And I don't think anyone wants to cross wands with her. Same for BC.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov

2013-05-24T04:12:02Z

Higgs.

HIGGS.

THEODOLPHUS HIGGS.

Tosha, I'm not sure you would have known about this as you were still abroad at the time; Higgs worked under me, for a time, in Communications. He was sacked with prejudice after leaking confidential information in private messages; someone's personal scandal wound up in a gossip magazine because he couldn't keep his pathetic mouth shut.

Mulciber was at his Marking -- along with Minerva.

Higgs demonstrated rather conclusively that he was not worthy of trust or confidence. I think --

I think it's going to prove a mistake to have elevated him.

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Private message to Maghnus

2013-05-23T14:28:14Z

Right. The rumours of recent Markings are all rather thoroughly confirmed, which is going to make things ... interesting. More complicated. The good news is that those who were wavering months back are now in a position to feel rather thoroughly threatened; the bad is that of the new blood, it's impossible to know which way they'll jump. Ordinarily I'd have said to look to their mentors to bring them along, but given that nearly all the newest Councilwizards were Marked without their closest senior associates even being invited....

Well.

It's the sort of potential complication that suggests we daren't wait much longer.

I need to you follow up today with Felix. See if he's ready to come to the event. REGARDLESS of what you hear, visit the hosts and let them know it's almost time, be ready for the invitation.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange

2013-04-28T19:43:13Z

I don't suppose either of you knows what exactly transpired at Hogwarts last night?

According to my sources, Dolores Umbridge tried to kill Cedric Diggory (or possibly DID actually kill him) and Harry Marvolo killed her, then used the floo to dump her body and claimed she'd taken off through the floo. Does that more or less cover it? What's the official story going to be? I got a sickeningly ingratiating missive from Peakes this morning, by owl, and another from Strangeweale; clearly her allies think her time has run out.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov

2013-04-21T18:32:43Z

Right.

I'm done. Just done.

If she walks out of Court instead of having her corpse disposed of by Nagini, I say we dispose of her before she returns to Hogwarts. My apologies to Raz and his concerns for his reputation, but are we not Councilwizards? If we can't manage to persuade the Prophet to print what we need them to print, that just means it's time to replace the editors.

ENOUGH with trying to woo Peakes and the others back to our side. This country does not run on the popular vote like some muggle 'republic.' Dolores's head needs to be separated from her body and hung on someone's bloody wall; the only question is whether we need to draw lots to determine who does the separating and who gets the trophy.

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Private message to Dolores Umbridge

2013-04-21T18:16:57Z

Are you utterly mad? To mete out something like that as a punishment for trivial schoolboy pranks? Those young men lost their father a mere five months ago. Their mother, given half a chance, would doubtless expel your entrails, and let me be clear in noting that she would have the assistance of several Councilwizards who are experts in the relevant curse.

In addition to still being in grief for their father, Fred and George Weasley are about to SIT THEIR NEWTS. If you are utterly devoid of human decency or simple compassion for their loss, ordinary common sense might have directed you to choose a punishment that did not MEDDLE WITH THEIR MEMORIES.

Let me point out to you that the ONLY students who cannot be withdrawn from Hogwarts are half-bloods in fostering who have not yet passed their OWLs. Unless you wish to preside over a school consisting of first through fifth-year students of the most questionable possible background -- who are not yet so desperate to escape you that they've fled into the Forbidden Forest -- I urge you to IMMEDIATELY rethink your approach to this particular incidence of misbehaviour.

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Private message to Maghnus Derrick

2013-04-14T01:39:58Z

Meet me in five minutes; I may need a third.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy and Antonin Dolohov

2013-04-07T19:31:46Z

Just wanted to share the latest from our favourite Hogwarts staff member: Dolores wants access to the private messages, if you please. She started by asking to be able to read all student private messages at any time; when that was not forthcoming she started saying she should be able to apply to the Ministry to have them transcribed; when THAT proved not forthcoming she suggested that all student messages to other students should be available to her.

She went on at some length about how my office had failed to catch the Fleet woman's sedition, and it was Dolores's personal investigations that had uncovered that particular traitor.

She's not going to get what she wants. I've instructed my clerk to simply turn her down flat with each new attempt. She can continue to demand students read their private messages out loud to her, if she truly has so much leisure time in her position as Headmistress that she can think of no better entertainment than hearing eleven-year-olds write to their mummies about homesickness. My office does not jump at her bidding.

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Private message to Lucius Malfoy

2013-03-21T04:53:04Z

You've heard the latest from Hogwarts, I'm sure.

No practising magic outside of classes, really? Perhaps next she'll be confiscating wands between classes, and the children of Our Lord's Councilwizards will be reduced to sprinting up the staircases like mudblood servants, hoping nothing moves before they can get to the the top.

Any shifts on the board in our direction? As much as I hate to think of Raz's ruined reputation, surely the time is approaching to simply give Barty permission to take care of her in the most direct way possible.

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Private message to Minerva McGonagall

2013-02-28T21:39:31Z

Minerva, will you by any chance be receiving visitors on Saturday afternoon? Or at least one visitor; I'm not sure I'm up for a full-fledged gossip session with that gaggle of well-meaning ladies you so often seem to find attending you.

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Private message to Barty Crouch, Jr and Bellatrix Lestrange

2013-01-23T15:16:29Z

Received word from Our Lord this morning that the Fleet family is to be excised, 'root and branch.'

I'm sure your people will be allowed to complete interrogations first, however. Do you know how much longer you'll want with them?

My orders are to handle the youngest.

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