I know I skipped yesterday, but I had writer's block and was sewing a very, very awesome Gryffindor iPod cozy. If any electronic were to work in Hogwarts, you all know it'd be an iPod in a Gryffindor iPod cozy. Maybe I'll get a double post in today, who knows?
Dear Lily,
Tonight (or, rather, yesterday at this point) marked the first official meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. The meeting was small – Sirius, Remus, and Peter; a pair of blokes from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff that Remus knows; and then you and Alice Horowitz. Once everyone had settled in, I got up and gave what I thought was a rather heroic and impressive-sounding speech.
"As everyone in this room is aware, a war is escalating in the real world – the one that exists outside of these walls. The world that we're getting ready to enter. When we graduate come June, we'll no longer have the protection of the only man Voldemort ever feared. We'll have to fend for ourselves, and we might have to fend for others as well. The Order of the Phoenix is a group of brave witches and wizards willing to risk everything in order to end the war and protect others."
Believe it or not, I didn't get much help from Remus in figuring out what to say. All I did was use him as a test audience, practicing in front of him in the dormitory during dinner this evening (I got food from the kitchens after the meeting). See, the trouble with this is selling involvement in a group where dying was more likely than surviving. I went on for a bit, not getting deeply in detail but simply explaining the risks and the goals. According to Dumbledore, the Dark Lord already knows about the Order. Actually, he knows about most things that go on, it's just our job to make sure he doesn't know enough.
"A sheet of parchment is going to be passed around. None of you are being forced to sign it. Only write your name down if you wish to fight for what this meeting has been spent discussing. Your signature is a declaration of your allegiance – to Dumbledore, to the Order, and to every individual whose life has been affected by Lord Voldemort in some way." I went first and handed it off to Sirius. He, Remus, and Peter signed it, the two boys that Remus had brought passed it to Alice, who hesitated before scrawling her name and handed it to you. You looked up at me, quill in hand. "You don't have to sign it, Lily."
"I know," you said quietly, and then you signed your name with a flourish.
I never realized how brave you are, or any of us. I had expected Remus and Sirius to sign, although Peter somewhat surprised me. I reckon he only joined up because we did, because I think sometimes Peter gets scared that if he stops being with us he won't mean anything anymore. He considers himself rather hapless, I suppose, and I guess he's right. I guess he's afraid of getting left behind.
Maybe we all are.
Good night (or good morning),
—James