AN: Oh, just in case anybody noticed that we have a review from ourselves, our friend was reading our story while we were stilled logged in on that computer. So I promise we're not full of ourselves. Oh and I just would like to mention before anyone else, that we may or may not have a fixation on alcohol, all of our characters meet in a pub or other booze joint. Come on we're in college.
nosiddA
Chapter 4: The Split
"We got your letter Ron. What did you wan to talk about?" Gwyneth asked.
"Yeah, what are we all here for? And where's Harry?" inquired Adalbert.
"Thank you all for coming. I'm sorry I called you all on such short notice, but I thought it was necessary." Ron began. "I called you all here today to discuss everything that's been happening with the Order and this whole tabloid situation we're in."
Salam stood in front of Ron with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "What the hell are we going to do about all that?"
"Excuse me, but I don't think we should continue until Harry gets here." Ginessa stated. "He needs to be a part of all this too you know." She said this as she brushed past Salam.
Tonks stood up, "I think if Harry was going to be here, he'd have made it by now, so I think you should go on for all the rest of us who bothered to come."
"Thank you Tonks." Ron said. "Anyway, I have come here to tell you all my opinions of the current situation."
Just then the conversation was disturbed by the late arrival of Neville Longbottom. "Sorry, got the wrong fireplace; I hate floo powder. What have I missed?"
"A lot of sass." Spat Adalbert.
"Ok, like I was saying. I believe this tabloid has put us into a situation where we have to change the way operate. I don't think we can continue to collaborate with Hermione and the Ministry anymore. They will only cause us undue pressure, and more negative press. I don't think we can trust Hermione or Harry anymore." Ron argued.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what exactly did I miss at the last meeting? I mean I know we're not supposed to miss but I never thought something this big would happen!"
"God dammit Neville! I swear if you interrupt me or anyone else again, I'll kick your sorry ass out of here! You got me?" Yelled Ron.
"Yes, sir." Neville whispered.
"And I swear if you talk to Neville like that one more time, I'll make you wish you never met me." Ginessa screamed.
"Are you done yet? Jesus, you're like children!" Salam mentioned.
"As I was saying, I don't think we can trust Harry or Hermione anymore. She couldn't even keep the damn press off our tail. If she can't protect us, there's no reason for us to work with her. I mean, what does she actually do for us anyway?" Ron asked.
"That's not her job Ron, and you know it! She is the only one we could work with in the Ministry, 'cause they all want to take us down except for her. You know they've been after us ever since we came together." Gwyneth replied.
"She used to be the only one we could trust. Now we can't trust anybody. They've probably got her working to find us right now."
"That's not true." Neville said in an undertone.
"What did you just say?" Ron shouted.
"You know she wouldn't do that. She would never cross her friends. She's always said she wants to change the Ministry."
"And she's failing miserably! Change the Ministry, Ha! She's just being used as a tool to make the Ministry look good. They aren't going to change at all. Not any time soon. And we need to rid ourselves of her and the Ministry as soon as possible!" Ron preached.
"What exactly are you saying we should do?" Adalbert questioned.
Ron faltered. "Well, I don't exactly have a plan, but I do know no good will come of this work with the Ministry."
"Well, if you don't know what it is that you're doing, I don't think it's worth my time to be here. Besides what you're saying is ludicrous." Ginessa argued as she walked up to Ron. "You have absolutely no proof that Hermione or Harry has done anything wrong. In fact, the only person in the wrong here is you. You called this meeting without Harry knowing, haven't you? You've done nothing but backstab Harry and Hermione." By the time Ginessa stopped to catch her breath, she was standing square in front of Ron, her hazel eyes glaring through his.
"If you don't like what I have to say, then maybe you should leave."
Ginessa started Ron down for what seemed like forever, and finally said, "Maybe I will." She turned her back and left out the door. Neville watched her as she walked out. Slowly he turned to look from Ron to Ginessa, and to Ron again. He shrugged, got up out of his seat, and followed Ginessa out the door.
"Does anyone else feel the same as Ms. Olivera and Mr. Longbottom? If so, leave now. You have no place here." Ron said, turning his back to the door. Even though he knew it was going to happen, it still hurt to see the Order split.
When he turned around again he saw four others still seated in the room. Salam, Conall, Dimitri, and Tonks remained. Ginessa, Neville, Adalbert, and Gwyneth had gotten up and left.
It was a perfect split, right down the middle.
As he closed the door, leaving the order as he knew it behind, Adalbert took in the sudden changes unfolding around him. The unity he had seen created when he joined Harry five years ago was now split, leaving him and the other three walking ahead of him the only ones loyal to Harry.
Adalbert thought suddenly, 'How did I get into this?' He remembered when he met Harry in a pub in Dublin, they met over a pint of Guinness at the Feisty Goat and ended up telling each other their life's stories. Adalbert realized just then that Harry was the only person, other than the holy men and women who gave him his muggle upbringing to know his entire story. After describing his upbringing in the Church, Harry filled him in on his life and how he was trying to get together a group to fight wizard crime in the world. Adalbert was ecstatic that finally, someone wanted to get up and actually do something instead of just sitting and praying for the blessings of God. He wanted to get out and see some action and not be stuck in a damn church the rest of his life.
They met back up in London and started to search for new recruits, and found themselves at restaurant talking to one of the cocktail waitresses there only to find exactly who they were looking for. The Order was growing, and Adalbert would finally get his chance to get out and do some good in the world.
The cocktail waitress Adalbert and Harry had recruited two years ago was now walking ahead of the other three. Ginessa Olivera's family life back in Spain had shaped who she was today. First of all, living with 5 brothers, four of which were older, had taught her to not back down, and how to fend for herself. It was also very important to make people proud of her, especially her parents. Because of this Ginessa was very driven to succeed. She was also taught to be loyal, and it was her loyalty to Harry, whom she had come to admire like one of her brothers, that drove her to walk out on Ron. She would always remain loyal to him. As for Hermione, Ginessa always sympathized with her. They were both very motivated individuals striving to succeed in everything they did.
"Ginessa!"
She snapped out of her moment of nostalgia to find Neville, who was next to her, now almost half a block behind. She smiled at him and tapped her heels in mock impatience, "What, can't even keep up with a girl in heels?"
"Of course I can." Neville said as he caught up to Ginessa. With Neville there was never a question of where his loyalty was. In his mind he was Harry's friend eleven years ago, and he'd be a friend one hundred and eleven years in the future. Neville considered Ron a friend as well, but what he was doing to Harry was wrong.
Besides, Ginessa was on Harry's side.
Gwymeth watched Ginessa and Neville walking together as she wondered to herself, How did it get to this? She reasoned that Ron was just a bit confused and excited over the whole tabloid situation, so he exploded. She started thinking about the time she met up with Hermione and was introduced to Harry and Ron for the first time. Gwyneth was so enamored by Harry, she thought she was in love. She joined his new crime fighting group before he was even done describing it to her just to try and impress him. And to her surprise, as she fell out of her crush on Harry, she still enjoyed working with the Order. It was much more fun than working in her father's bar all the time like she used to anyway.
"Where are we all going, anyway?" Gwyneth asked Adalbert.
"I believe we're going to find Harry." He replied. "Although I could have sworn his apartment was on the other side of town."
Together they watched as Ginessa came up to the front door of an apartment building that appeared to be hers. Ginessa opened the door, flashed a smile at Neville, who then followed her in.
"I don't suppose you want to come over to my place, then?" Adalbert said with a wink.
Gwyneth raised her eyebrow. "No thanks, old man. I suppose we'll sort things out tomorrow?"
"Till tomorrow then."
The drone of Ron's voice was becoming mere white noise as Conall sat in the dark room surrounded by the remnants of the Order. As a history professor he could pick out a dull lecture, and who was secretly screaming inside, quite easily. Despite his poor speaking skills, Conall agreed with Ron. He had seen people betrayed for the sake of personal gain before. Conall's own brother had done it when Voldemort was alive. Conall had done what he could to stop it then, and he would do the same to stop it from happening once again.
Well, at least someone finds this exciting. Conall thought as his eyes shifted to Salam, whose attention seemed solely on the speaker. She was deeply concentrated on Ron as he was yelling and spouting the same things over and over. Ever since she met Ron at the Leaky Caldron she loved the sight of him. His long red hair, his tall prominent features and his passion for what he was doing. And it didn't hurt that they were into the same things. After he explained the whole thing with the Order to her, Salam compared her stories of getting into trouble back in her home country of Uganda. Ron listened with a rapt ear as they both started to become more and more entranced with each other.
Now that they were together in the Order, they had an excuse for spending a lot of time together with out anyone catching on too easily. But they actually worked too, and sometimes they were very competitive about it. They loved to boss each other around, and secretly loved being bossed around by the other.
All the sudden, Ron mentioned something new and it broke the monotony, catching Dimitri's attention. He had joined the Order back when Ron and Harry first started it. Dimitri was Ron's first recruit back when he had just fled Russia, and when he was still looking for a place to fit in. He was skilled in the art of potions but disguised himself as a pharmacist, and in Russia he had been framed for the president's death when really someone else had switched the medications. Since then he had little trust in the press, for it was the newspapers and reporters that only fueled the plot back home. Dimitri knew the power one small tabloid story could have, and he wasn't about to leave yet another home because of it.
Surrounded by chaos, Tonks kept herself calm. The only thoughts running through her mind were ones of regret. She had seen the Order at its finest; she had also seen it passed on, destined only to continue doing great things. Now it had been split, and Tonks hated to see it happen. However her mind was made up and in the end she sided with Ron. If this split meant they stayed safe, then so be it.
