Order Only: Tutoring

[alt_molly]

Regarding the tutoring that Remus mentioned: Alice, I know Fred and George gave you a list of names of who should be included. After giving it some thought, I think the best way to handle it is for me to contact the childrens' parents and say that I've arranged tutorial assistance for my own children and I'm willing to host sessions over at the Burrow. Shall we start on Monday, at noon? Then, Alice if you can write fidelius notes giving them permission to find 12 Grimmauld Place, I can distribute them, and we can move the lessons there. How does that sound?

Comments

[alt_charlie]

Do you need volunteers still? I could probably come in a few nights and tutor Creatures. Or at least the theory, since I don't think Sirius and Remus and Tonks want a bunch of beasts in their library!

[alt_gredforge]

We'd certainly vote for this.

[alt_charlie]

Just as long as you don't think I'm likely to go easy on you because I'm your brother!

[alt_gredforge]

Bring it on.

Seriously, we do want to pass these things. So throw anything at us that you think will help.

[alt_charlie]

If you're serious, I can probably bring you up here on Easter Monday and take you around a bit; dragons are usually on the NEWTs.

That's if you're serious, and if you swear on your wands and anything you hold holy there won't be a repeat of the last time you came to visit -- I still hear about it every now and then!

[alt_gredforge]

We are sober young upstanding members of the Order now. Ask Mum.

Well, unless we're tormenting Umbridge.

But yes. We will behave ourselves.

[alt_charlie]

Right then. I'll have a word with a few people and see if I can get permission for you to shadow me during a shift.

[alt_gredforge]

And you could say Umbridge is 'going easy' on us, by which we mean she's gutting the curriculum and preventing people from learning. Saying it's not needed.

We want to do well just to spite her.

[alt_charlie]

Yeah, I can see where that'd be a good motivation.

Right, then, I'll see what I can do.

[alt_nymphadora]

Wotcher, Charlie.

No beasts in the library? I suppose the beasts that live here don't spend as much time in the library as in other rooms, but we haven't made rules against their looking at the books when they want to.

Really, it's a shame OWLs don't ask much about dogs or werewolves. I could do animal faces, if that would help.

[alt_charlie]

It might do! How's your hippogriff impression?

[alt_nymphadora]

I've got the beak and the beady stare down cold, and I think I'm not entirely crap at the roaring.

They do roar, don't they? Or is it more a loud squawk?

[alt_charlie]

Kind of a squawk, but it's loud enough that a lot of people call it a roar anyway. Unless you make friends with one of them, in which case you can sometimes get it to do this really rumbly kind of almost-purr if you can convince it to let you scratch behind its ears. Mind, it takes a arseload of convincing.

Uh. Sorry, Mum.

Actually, come to think of it, I think I remember firecrabs and knarls being on the OWLs. Don't think I could turn up a firecrab on short notice, but I might be able to scrounge the knarls and hedgehogs. Shouldn't be much risk to the library, as long as you remember not to feed them.

[alt_nymphadora]

Aw. Bea would love it if you brought her a hedgehog!

Mind you, I doubt the hedgehog would be as eager to meet Bea.

[alt_bill]

Animal faces? That I'd like to see!

(Almost makes me want to go back to school, if only because I don't remember revising for O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s being that much fun.)

[alt_charlie]

Well, there were the stupid mnemonic songs we came up with to remember the order of the Goblin Wars. Remember those? "In 1713, Urg the Unclean lay waste in the Battle of Bendings; with his captain Elaisrn they got all the tribes in and lasted until the beheadings..."

Can't remember what comes after that, but I can still sing you the tune!

[alt_bill]

'But Krunkak the Unsteady called the goblins to ready the Armour of Chars
And thundered o'er them till the twilight was gloaming
and landed smack flat on his...'

No, I don't remember the rest, either.

Or at least that's what I'm telling Mum.

[alt_sirius]

...And his wand snapped in two
Which was sad.


(Isn't that how they all end?)

[alt_charlie]

Well, if you listened to Binns, they all ended with a bunch of people in a dusty room writing treaties that nobody ever read.

...Not that anyone ever listened to Binns, mind you.

[alt_bill]

NOBODY listened to Binns!

[alt_nymphadora]

Too right. No one ever stayed awake long enough to listen to Binns.

I don't remember anything about school being that much fun. Or, really, any fun at all.

I'm glad every first of September I don't have to go back!

[alt_charlie]

And I taught them to the rest of my year, and we all got into the exam and turned over the papers and stared at the questions in horror, until someone started humming and we all took it up ...

[alt_sirius]

Sounds perfect, Molly.

[alt_hermione]

Mrs Weasley, I don't know if you could invite Harry just like that, but the Jrs did add him to their secret post lock just last week, so if there's a way for him to come, well, I'm sure he'd want to be there.

[alt_molly]

Oh, my goodness!

I don't doubt your reasoning for adding him to your group--I know that he's been in contact with Sirius for awhile, for example. But goodness, I don't think I could very well just Floo Buckingham Palace and ask if it would be all right with them if The Lord Protector's son comes to study Charms in my kitchen! Why, I imagine there would be all sorts of security concerns. He might even have a bodyguard?

Oh, dear. I wouldn't like him to feel we're snubbing him or don't trust him, but no one will believe he's coming here to tutor when he can demand the best tutors in the Protectorate.

[alt_hermione]

No, I didn't think you could do.

But. Before, Harry's visited the Ponds'--I mean, Laszlo's, that is--and they sent security to make sure it was safe but then they let him go there on his own. Maybe he could do that again.

Or maybe if we think like Slytherins you could ask Percy to ask Mr Malfoy if Harry could come.

[alt_alice]

I'd rather not take the chance. It might be worth your while to see if you could slip away, however.

[alt_molly]

Oh, do. Is there any chance that Harry might let you get away?

[alt_lupin]

Hold up -- are you thinking he'd arrange to visit Laszlo's again?

That seems like it should be possible, unless Alice doesn't want to let him visit 12GP. Sirius, what do you think?

The thing is I can't imagine he'll be able to persuade his keepers that he wants to spend every day of spring holidays in the company of the Laszlo's staff. It won't work, not as a method of bringing him for two weeks of lessons. It might be rather nice to have him for a visit, and he wouldn't need an excuse to bring you along.

[alt_lupin]

Though, here's another idea. Could he persuade them he's meeting some girl? Would any of the young ladies of the Jr Auxiliary be willing to play along? He could tell Rabastan Lestrange he's spending time with his new girlfriend and wants a bit of privacy, that seems like something even a Death Eater might understand. It would be a reason he might come to Doughty Conduit on a near-daily basis.

The trouble is that we have to assume they're watching, even if they give Harry space. But perhaps we could use polyjuice and a volunteer provide a facsimile of Harry, to drink tea and hold hands with some facsimile of Miss Perks or Miss Bones. Might prove a bit awkward back at school, though, I suppose...

[alt_hermione]

No. I don't think he could do that.

[alt_hermione]

Well, he wouldn't have to go there every day. Just once, like the others using the Burrow. He could go somewhere else other days and Floo from there (or he could probably Floo from Buckingham if no one could overhear him).

But Mrs Longbottom thinks it's too dangerous so it's okay.

[alt_lupin]

Well, how closely do they watch him? Won't they notice if he's gone for hours at a stretch each day? (For that matter, won't the Malfoy boy notice? Surely HE'S not Even if he can conceal his absences from the adults, his friends are another matter.)

I don't want us to take unnecessary risks, either. But given how much the Junior Auxiliary already knows, I'm not convinced that excluding him from the secret of 12GP is going to keep anyone any safer. He may need a safe house as badly as any of them.

[alt_hermione]

Draco's going to have a load of O.W.L. tutoring, too. Mr Malfoy would let them work together with the tutor but if Harry didn't want to do it no one would stop him.

That's why Laszlo was a good thought because they've both been before and Professor Lestrange knows it's safe. He probably wouldn't even need much of an escort.

[alt_alice]

I'm fine with Harry finding out about the safe house. It's his ability to get away unnoticed without a security escort in such a way so that people won't track him down to the Burrow or Lazslo's and start asking uncomfortable questions that I'm concerned with.

At this point, we're juggling far too much in terms of security, and his spending any significant time at Grimmauld right now is not something I am willing to risk.

The only thing I could see happening would be Harry meeting some of his friends for tea at Lazslo's, with Remus, Sirius, and Tonks thoroughly maintaining their respective covers. However, I think we all should agree that the entire purpose of all of this is intensive learning, and taking extra time from all of that for a social tea is going to be complicated.

It's not happening this time, I'm afraid.

[alt_sirius]

Fair enough, Allie.

Hermione, see if you and he can get away on Sunday and come round the shop. We're closed on Sundays so we can tell him it's a safe place to come, should he ever need it, without being interrupted by customers.

[alt_alice]

That does sound like it would work, Molly. Although I'm hesitant to involve Harry so directly, Hermione.