Private Message to Molly Weasley

[alt_penelope]

This is all sorts of awkward, Molly, but I don't know what else I can say except for the truth.

I lost my job recently, and things in New London have been getting downright desperate. My old friend Karoline Baddock started doing favours for me, helping to cover my bills, and making sure I had access to food, that sort of thing. And once I owed her more than I could ever pay back, her husband made me a job offer I knew I couldn't turn down. Not if I wanted to keep living.

And yesterday, I was sitting in a meeting, taking notes (because that's the only job they let me do -- that and babysit the children), and Virgil Crispin needed to know whether Percy had been a spy or not, and I volunteered to see if I could find out, because it'd give me an excuse to write you.

I'm in over my head. I'm scared, and I'm alone. I thought things would be different, better, less complicated, but it's just more of the same, and I feel like I've just made the world's biggest mistake. But what else is there? I hear so many different versions of the same story, and everyone has an agenda, and the world somehow feels even less safe than it did before. I don't know who to turn to, who to trust, I can't even confide in my best friend, and no-one here pays me the least mind -- I might as well be a servant.

You've always been so kind to me. You and your family. You were so good to write after Percy was killed, and those Sunday dinners felt so much like I was really coming home. And I'll never forget Arthur, and how thoughtful he was, and how you both tried your best to reach out to me while Percy was breaking it off. It was just so decent of you both. And when I found out you were all working for the Order, well, I just didn't know what to think, really. It's like everything's on its head these days.

I miss Percy terribly sometimes. I know he had his issues, and Merlin knows we didn't always get along, but I did love him, and I'd like to think he loved me too, at least for a little. And I know how much he cared about all of you, even though he did an absolutely terrible job of showing it sometimes, and that you loved him so very much.

I don't think he was a spy. I just wanted to write you and say that I was so sorry for what has happened to all of us.

I don't know what to do, Molly. I just don't.

Comments

[alt_molly]

Penny,

Thank you for writing to me. I'm glad that you remembered my message to you at the time of Percy's death. I did mean what I said to you back then, that I had once hoped you would join our family.

I couldn't be honest with you at the time, however, Penny. I can't be entirely honest now with you over the journals--after all, you've told me yourself that the people you're working with have tasked you to find out intelligence about the Order, and I'm not inclined to oblige them--and that includes information about Percy's loyalties. But if you are wavering, wondering who to believe, and you think that you loved Percy, then I think you should know that we believe that Percy didn't die by accident.

We have good reason to believe he was murdered, by the very people to whom he gave his loyalty. The people for whom you are working now.

You called me kind and I hope I am. There are people I work with in the Order who sometimes say (in exasperation) that I'm soft-hearted. But I can't be soft-headed. My daughter-in-law is now in charge of the Aurors for the new nation we are building, and I have a son who is an Auror now. I must be mindful of our security, just as I was for all the years the Order was secret.

You said that conditions are becoming desperate in New London. What exactly do you mean by that? What do you want to do, Penny, dear? If you want meaningful work (if hard work), there is plenty to do, dismantling the remains of the Protectorate and helping us find a new way forward. It will mean accepting Muggles as equals. It will mean you will be working every day with Muggleborns. You would have to leave New London, I imagine, and many of the people you know.

Think about the people you know on each side, and what is important to them. Does that help you see where you want to give your true allegiance?

[alt_molly]

And I'm very sorry you're frightened, Penny. I'm sorry you feel alone. I'm listening, I promise...but you are the one who must decide what you want your future to be.

[alt_penelope]

There were a tonne of shortages. Queues for hours, and when you got to the front, they'd be charging ridiculous prices for the handful of things they had left, and you'd be grateful to get them. And hardly anyone has a steady paycheck, so I've seen people trying to exchange silverware for food. I was honestly worried about starving, and when Karo brought me in, it was such a relief at first, because they had a steady supply of things.

At least the streets were safe at night, and they had the good sense to lift the restrictions for halfbloods. Even though there isn't any crime to speak of, or restrictions, most people still stay inside most nights because they're so frightened. It sounds like an utter war zone outside of New London -- that story about the Healer family was just horrifying. I knew Draco was dangerous, he'd killed before, after all, but this just seemed beyond the pale -- from what I can see, the best anyone can do out in the county is to Fidelius and hold tight until things calm down.

I hear about destruction and terror, about the anarchy and brutality of the camps and Ireland and how they treated their former masters, people missing from their beds at night, the tragedy of Hogwarts, and I don't see a new hopeful future, Molly. I see a world that's descended into utter chaos, and it seems that's the future your people want.

I know you don't trust me. Not even enough to tell me whether my entire relationship with your son was built on a lie. But if you're not telling me anything, all I'm hearing is about the violence caused by the Order, and I want no part in it.

The reason I'm writing you is because all of this seems so uncharacteristic of the Molly I knew and loved, and it makes me truly question things, but if you honestly believe that all this is what's best for our people...

Maybe there's something to those stories after all.

[alt_molly]

No, there isn't any truth to those stories, Penny. The story told in the Prophet that Draco and Sirius killed a healer's family is an utter bald-faced lie. They are trying to frame us for their own murders. Knowing me as you do, do you really think I would work for years for a group that would do such a reprehensible thing? Do you honestly think that Madam Pomfrey would give her loyalty to a group who would kill a healer's family?

If you worry about the 'anarchy and brutality' of the camps--who created those camps in the first place? Who decided it was a good idea to herd people behind walls and barbed wire and force them to work as slaves? Why did Arthur, who personally worked every day with the camps and saw the suffering there, give his support to the Order instead of the Protectorate?

If you want to know what Sirius' purposes are, look back through the Grim Truths. Here are some examples:

• Ellie also talked with us about the change we desired for England, restoring a government that valued equality, condemning the cruel treatment of muggles for no crime other than being in the majority population, recognising that anyone born capable of magic has the right to hold a wand and freeing all of Britain once more, reconnecting it to the rest of the world. We made sure she had a wand and taught her to use it.


• The next time you find yourself wondering whether the person you are talking to would accuse you of treason if you spoke your mind, remember what it was like to be able to say what you thought, when you thought it. Remember the last time you were truly free to choose friends, not based on their birthright but the kind of person they are.


• I and those who fight alongside me also uphold:
  
  The right to learn to use magic if one is born with the ability, regardless of bloodline;
  The right to liberty and the freedom to choose where and how one makes one’s living;
  The right to contact with one’s loved ones, be they muggle, squib or magical;
  The right to think and speak freely in agreement with or dissent from authority without fear of reprisal;
  The right to conduct one’s business without inflicting or becoming the victim of random violence;
  The right to live peacefully and without fear of government detention, arrest or attack without just cause;
  The right to food, clothing, shelter, healing care and education for all, regardless of magical birthright;
  The right to fair pay in exchange for labour, goods or services rendered for all people, by mutual agreement of both labourer and beneficiary.

In contrast, if you want to know what the old regime is about, think of the Frost Faire.
Think of the fact that the Head Girl, YOUR successor, was murdered at Hogwarts, at her very own wedding, at the order of the so-called Lord Protector.
Think of last December, when the Protectorate put werewolves and inferi in an arena to tear apart people for sport.

You've seen, with your own eyes, the old Protectorate's actions. On the other hand, you've known me and Arthur. You've sat at our table, listened to our conversations, saw how we raised our children. Why would we want a world of utter chaos?

Which side do you honestly think is more believable when they say they are working for the good of all?