ORDER ONLY: Private Message to Draco and Hermione

[alt_harry]

Right. Okay. I've got notes and things.

First off, when I talked to Professor Dolohov he said some things about what he wanted in council members, and what he thought Voldemort wanted.

He said he'd want future council members to be loyal to Voldemort and the ideal of a strong wizarding nation, and have intelligence and good problem solving skills, decisiveness, willingness to spot something that needs to be done and do it, and the ability to work well with the other council members.

He thought Voldemort would want loyalty, dedication, and decisiveness.

So I figured I'd write about that stuff when I send off the report.

Montague's going to have to step it up. I tried to give him as much credit as I could, though. Should I say something?

What do you think about Tamblyn and Bobolis? (I can ask Ced about Bobolis too.) And do you have any more ideas about where Blaise's head is?

Finnegan, Patil, Lares, and Moon all look like they want it -- at least they're making the effort for this first one. I know you're unsure about Finnegan. I could see if I could talk to him if you think it's worth it? And I'm thinking they might all team up together. If we split them up, like only pick one or maybe two to focus on, maybe that'd be easier?

Comments

[alt_hermione]

If this were a normal contest, I'd say that as a judge you're supposed to be strictly neutral.

But it's not a normal contest, and even if it were, we want to influence the outcome for the sake of Draco and Hydra and Ron and Pansy.

But Harry, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking about Finnigan, Patil, Tamblyn and Moon. Do you want to talk to them to convince them not to help each other? I mean, honestly, if Patil wants to join the Council I say let her do it, she'll find out once she's in that it's ever so horrid and then she'll be unhappy for the rest of her life, which is really what she deserves. And Moon, too, it's not like he'll actually be a threat if he's chosen.

I don't think you should encourage Montague. He's far too likely to form an alliance with his brother and Jason Montague's becoming an Auror, so that could be bad for us.

[alt_harry]

I guess I was thinking that if enough of them got in, they'd probably stick together. And Patil's in Sandoval's pocket too. So even though Moon isn't that much of a threat, he might not be as easy to work with if he was in an alliance with Patil and Finnegan and Sandoval or something. And same with Patil, or Tamblyn. By themselves, they'd be mostly okay (at least I think Tamblyn would be, I'm not sure), but as a group it might be tough.

So if we try to make sure only one of them gets in, and the others don't, it might be useful. I don't think we can convince them to not work together (well, maybe Tamblyn might, once again, not sure), but we could work on undermining the ones we don't want or something.

And Draco said Montague would be okay to work with. But yeah, he'd be loyal to his brother, so we'd have to think more about that. Who is his brother close to?

[alt_harry]

And Patil's obviously for Sandoval, but Moon or Tamblyn or Finnegan wouldn't be, at least not as much.

Finnegan's got Mr Rosier, of course, but he might not be that bad -- I mean, Mr Rosier and Mr Malfoy and Professor Dolohov all seemed like they got on well enough at the meeting over hols, so maybe he'd be okay if we worked on it.

[alt_harry]

Sandoval might work with Hydra, though. Because of her mum. Maybe.

[alt_hermione]

Yes, but Harry, the point isn't what Voldemort or Professor Dolohov or even Lana bloody Sandoval wants. It's who Draco and the Order need to be on the Council.

Sandoval's going to follow Bellatrix Lestrange but Patil would be torn between Sandoval and Draco, and besides, like I said, she might be a horrible, bigoted, spiteful cow but I don't think she's got the stomach for the sort of games the Death Eaters play. And Moon's just the same--he thinks it's all glorious and poetic but once he's part of the group he'd soon realise that he's being used by everyone. Or maybe he wouldn't, but either way he's nothing like a threat.

Nott's a threat. McLaggen's a threat. Finnigan's a threat. Montague's a threat. Merlin, even Crabbe and Goyle are threats, although Draco could probably order them about and they'd do whatever he told them. Thomas is just an idiot.

So, we don't want Ron or Pansy or Katie to have to join. We don't want Nott, McLaggen, Montague or Finnigan to succeed.

The people who won't be likely to damage the Order if they're selected are: Smith, Moon, Tamblyn, Stevens, Montomery and Vaisey. We want Draco to be on the top, and maybe Hydra if it's really what she wants to do (at least it can't hurt because she's an Occlumens). That's eight, so maybe spread your support around among them all, so that it's a harder decision.

Other people are going to grade Nott, Patil, Thomas and the others with high marks for cruelty and abject loyalty to the Lord Protector. You don't need to do that; you need to make sure to support the people who would otherwise not stand a chance.

That's what I think, anyway.

[alt_harry]

It'd be useful to know what they want when I'm writing things up, though. So I could make sure the people we wanted to be a part of it looked like they had those things going for them.

And some people are going to try their best to fail, too. Stevens might. So might Montgomery.

What about Bobolis?

[alt_draco]

Though I think it's useful to know what Professor Dolohov's thoughts on the candidates are, if only for the sake of knowing what they are, I agree it's our own agenda we need to focus on.

To say nothing of the fact that we may not even be able to trust Professor Dolohov's judgment - whether he delivers it honestly or not. After all, his greatest protégé was Barty Crouch Jr.

I agree that Smith, Moon, Tamblyn, Stevens, Montgomery, and Vaisey are the ones we need to keep in the running. Perhaps Zabini and Bobolis, too.

Patil is one I'd like to keep out, if only because she's so driven that if she were to be on the council, she would do whatever it takes to stand out. She and Sandavol are from the same mould, that way. Finnigan is another one who is driven to prove himself, and his friendship with Patil has only strengthened that quality in him.

Agreed that Nott, McLaggen, Montague, Crabbe, and Goyle are the ones we want to squash. I've been on good terms with them this year, but in that way that's all for show - they know it, and I know it. It's just that no one's quite ready to break character, yet.

I wish we knew what Hydra wanted, already.

[alt_harry]

I can add some things to my report and mess with the rankings a little, and send it off tomorrow.

Maybe you could look it over first, though, make sure it's realistic enough.

If we prop up some of them too much, it'll be obvious we're fixing things, but maybe that'd be okay? We can also see what we can do to mess things up for the people we don't want to do well, too.

[alt_draco]

Yeah, you won't be able to mark Patil or Finnigan too low without it looking odd, or mark Sam, Lizzie, and Richard too highly without that looking odd. But you could put Tamblyn, Moon, me, and Hydra ahead of Patil, Nott, and Finnigan. And I think you'd be well-justified to put Katie, Montague, Crabbe, Goyle, and Thomas near the bottom. Everyone else will end up clumped in the middle somewhere.