Simon

Simon Peakes || 22 || Healer || Former Ravenclaw

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

Mac didn’t Simon, not completely. Even if this did sort of figure for Dumbledore and Moody. Fit the whole gang like attitude he’d picked up on around the Order. While he didn’t understand why the pair of them would have gone to all this trouble, he could believe they had. The opposite wasn’t exactly true, he both didn’t understand why Simon would lie about this or completely believe he would. But couldn’t be too careful. He’d have to stake out the hospital or something, see if he saw her coming in for work. Only then would he really believe that Dawn was still here. Till then he just listened to what Simon was saying, not understanding a lot of it. He frowned when Simon said she wasn’t doing much better.  Couldn’t help being skeptical of how they were going to fix that. Not fighting would probably help but she was apparently stuck here. “Well no shit, that’s why she wanted out. Have you tried asking Dumbledore what he wants to let her go back home? Maybe he’ll make a deal.” Mac was trying not to be short with Simon but he didn’t exactly appreciate the bloke talking to him like he was fragile. Or believe that a bunch of potions was really gonna do much. “And no offense to Lily and Hestia but you really think that’s a good idea? Dawn wanted out of this. It’s bad enough she’s still stuck here but now they’re gonna what, tell her about her missing memories? I mean those things fucked her up so badly she was willing to let them take a wand to her head, doesn’t seem right to just shove them back at her.” He wanted to see her, of course he did. But Mac wanted her to be happy more. Not for her to be pushed to being so desperate she was willing to let some creeps fuck with her brain just to get some relief, she’d already been there. Instead of some hang out they should be figuring out how to get Dumbledore to let her go to America. Get her away from all this shit.

Simon was surprised when Mac asked about talking to Dumbledore to let Dawn go home. He had a strong feeling if he talked to Dumbledore he would be told that Dawn was welcome to go home whenever she wanted. That was part of the problem now, wasn’t it? Lucy had said that Dawn didn’t want to go home. His brows furrowed as he listened to Mac further, nodding as he listened because the kid also had a point, and this just reinforced why it was so important he and Lily talk to all of Dawn’s people before they decided how best to handle things. Mac clearly seemed to think telling her nothing about the Order was the best decision. And he had a point about what the memories had done to her the first time around, something Simon and Lucy were also concerned about. It was what made all this so bloody complicated and messy. “Well, Mac, that’s why I wanted to talk to all three of you. You’re the people who knew her the best. It sounds like you may have known her best of all. We haven’t told Dawn anything yet, and we want your input on how much -- or how little -- she ought to know. But you should know that Lucy already offered to refer Dawn to someone in America if she wanted to go home, and Dawn was rather insistent that she needs to stay in London until she figures out what’s happening to her. You would know better than Lucy or I how firmly she’ll stick to that, or if you think there’s a chance the two of us could convince her to go home without getting anyone else from the Order involved. You may be right that even if we can convince her to go back, Dumbledore or Moody could try to intervene further.” Another wrinkle Simon hadn’t considered until now. “Ultimately we want to do what’s best for her, but if she refuses to leave London...it seems cruel to let her continue on thinking she has no friends. And maybe someone who can prove they knew her could have better luck convincing her to go home.” 

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

In the scheme of things Mac supposed Dawn still being in London wasn’t impossible to believe. But it felt wrong. Dawn wasn’t supposed to be in London. She was supposed to be in America, safe. Hopefully happy. Instead she was here? And the healers had both known and said nothing? Maybe that one was less of a shocker. Mac had never even thought about checking the tea shop. Once he’d seen she’d moved that was that. She was gone. Only she wasn’t. “Speak for yourself, mate. I never met pleasant.” Not that it mattered to their conversation but Mac wasn’t gonna act like he’d had some great life before he met Moody. He’d been doing favors for Dumbledore long before then. And even then it wasn’t that great of a life, just on the way to being a little better. Dawn was the one who had a great life before those two shook it up, and apparently left her in London. Possibly in a completely different flat. That was weird. But seemed right for them. “Maybe,” he said about the spell work. He hadn’t gone back but the once. There was no need to if Dawn was gone.  It didn’t make sense for them to keep her in London. Except maybe it did. Wasn’t like gangs just let you out even if you stopped being useful. “Just like a gang, no chance to get out. Should have known.” Mac shouldn’t have let himself think it was only sort of like a gang and not an actual one. He’d gotten thrown by the lack of a tattoo. Cal was going to kill him. “Is she okay,” he asked. He felt a little guilty for encouraging her to get out. Mac really should ave known better. He wasn’t soft like those Hogwarts kids. Yet, he’d thought things would be different for Dawn. That’s sort of how things worked it was better for people like Dawn. Except when it came to gangs. They didn’t care who you were. Stupid of him to believe the Order wasn’t run by the same kind of rules.

Simon just nodded when Mac said he hadn’t ever met pleasant, though he hoped that wasn’t entirely true even if the unpleasant outweighed the good. Mac seemed like the sort of person who that might be true for; he had a thick skin and realism to him that a lot of the rest of the Order -- who all come up in Hogwarts, unlike Mac -- didn’t have. But Simon knew better than to think that attitude was going to make the news Simon had to deliver about Dawn any easier for the kid to deal with. At least Mac seemed to believe him; this news was awful enough without having to also fight to convince Mac it was true. That was something Simon had done with patients or family before, and it always made things harder on everyone. Not that this was easy. Simon grimaced at Mac’s comparison to a gang; maybe he was right. It fit with the bits and pieces he’d picked up from Rotty and the other Knockturn gang kids he brought to Simon’s flat from time to time. Maybe they should have known. At the very least they should have asked. Checked in with Dawn or even with her friends when he and Lucy saw her still working at the hospital after leaving the Order. He’d just thought she wanted to stay in London without the stress of the Order. She’d had friends here; he’d figured they were looking out for her. Instead they’d all been told different lies that kept them away. Simon let out a breath when Mac asked if she was okay. No. She wasn’t. “Lucy’s scheduled some tests to make sure the memory charms didn’t cause any damage,” he began softly. “Most likely they didn’t or she would have noticed when they spoke, but we’re going to check anyways to make sure,” he added. Hopefully there was at least no additional damage besides they trauma Dawn was going through. He sighed. “She’s not doing much better than she was right before she left the Order. She’s spent the last three months alone and terrified that she was going mental or being cursed by Death Eaters. We’re trying to fix that,” he added gently. “Lucy’s given her some potions for anxiety. I spoke to Lily and Hestia before you arrived -- they both want to check in on her, let her know she has friends here. You may want to as well. But we’ll need to be careful. She’s fragile.”

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

Mac let out a humorless laugh. “Be better off trying to find out when he told the truth. All blokes like that do is lie.” That was the problem with the Order people, one of ‘em, they trusted blokes like Moody and Dumbledore. That had been Dawn’s problem too. If she hadn’t trusted Dumbledore she’d have never come and she’d have been fine. According to Dawn he was some kind of hero. Mac doubted that. He just didn’t realize how badly trusting Dumbledore and Moody had been for Dawn. Mac was surprised and very much confused by what Simon was saying. He did’t really follow all that about the memory charm stuff. He was still stuck on Dawn being here. In London. Had been for all this time. “What do you mean she’s here? But she left. Went back to America.” Mac knew that for a fact. Or he thought he had. It wasn’t that he trusted Moody either. There had been no chance he’d trust that bloke or Dumbledore. But it all made sense. Of course Dawn had wanted it all erased, it had been terrible. Of course she’d go home. Especially if she had erased everything like Moody said she had. Not to mention he’d checked. There had been no way of finding out if Dawn went to America. But he’d checked her flat. Where else would she have gone if not for America? “That can’t be right. Yeah, everything Moody said about how she wanted to leave all the bad memories behind and the only way to do that was to erase everything made sense. And I could kinda get why she wouldn’t say goodbye, probably easier not to. But I went to her flat and she was gone.” Mac felt like too much of a loser admitting he’d gone hoping she’d written him a note or he might see her one last time. “She’d moved out. Why would she move flats if she was staying in London?” This did not make any sense. Given how Simon had already lied to get him here maybe this was some elaborate lie, though he did’t know what for. wasn’t like Mac trusted the pair Simon was talking shit about.

All blokes like that do is lie. Sounded like Mac was ahead of things, then, which just made Simon wonder how it was he’d gotten stuck here with the rest of them who’d had higher hopes. He’d never seemed like much of an idealist, either, not like the ones who were recruited out of Hogwarts. But that wasn’t the sort of personal question Simon was in the habit of asking. Unfortunately here he found himself in a situation that was very personal and impossible to avoid discussing. Mac hadn’t known that Dawn was still in London; he’d been told the same lie as Lily and Hestia, then. And of course it hadn’t come out, because Moody would have known that it wasn’t something Mac would have discussed with either of the girls. Fucking manipulative bastard! And it got worse; of course it got worse. Even when they’d unearthed this new horror, even that got worse. All that about Moody apparently telling this poor kid his girlfriend had made the decision to completely forget about him and then leave the country forever without even saying goodbye to him was bad enough, Simon supposed. But -- she’d moved? It was Simon’s turn to look confused. Mac’s question was a good one: why would she move? He could think of a few reasons, but before he dug into those he told Mac gently but clearly, “She’s still here, Mac. I’ve seen her at the tea shop several times. Lucy spoke with her just two days ago.” Maybe there was no reason for Mac to trust him, given all the lies he’d already been told my Moody, but all Simon could do was tell Mac the truth. “As for her flat...I can think of a few possibilities. None of them pleasant, but I think we left pleasant the day we met Moody, didn’t we? Moody and Dumbledore clearly knew you and Dawn were close. They may have suspected you, or Lily or Hestia, might have gone to check in on her. They could have had her moved,” though that was extra dark since if they were going to all that trouble why not move her to America? Maybe because there they wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on her and make sure no memories came back. Another chilling thought. “Or perhaps they could have done some complex spellwork to make it look like she’d moved. Something like the charms we put on magical places to deter muggles… I don’t know if she said anything to Lucy about being confused about where she was living. But she is here, Mac. She has been this whole time.” 

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

Simon saying he was not only aware of Dawn’s struggle but knew she’d left didn’t clear anything up for Mac. He didn’t know enough about the bloke to figure out any sort of reasoning behind Simon bringing Dawn up after three bloody months. “I didn’t ask what they were gonna do,” he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Mac was all for Dawn leaving but memory charms weren’t something he was comfortable with and he wouldn’t have wanted to influence her decision. “Being in the Order was killing her slowly, why would she want to hold onto those memories?” It made sense to Mac. What didn’t make sense was this conversation. Or rather a line of questioning. What the bloody hell was Simon’s fascination with what Moody told him? Did he know Moody had done the breaking up? Was this some weird hazing bullshit? Mac was normally a very even tempered bloke. But there were a few subjects that hit a little too close to home. Or like the Dawn stuff was still too raw to take poking at.  He wasn’t close to losing his temper yet but he was getting annoyed. “I got the impression you and I were in agreement. You do your healing shit, I pretend a couple of charms and some sleeping potion is gonna make up for the fact that I just had to face down blokes who have more experience with wands and zero hesitation about straight murdering me. We both mind our business and do it all again the next time. Now all of a sudden it’s an interrogation?”

Mac hadn’t asked. Of course he hadn’t; why should he have? Moody and Dumbledore were supposed to be people they could trust, and Dawn leaving the Order was supposed to be the best thing for her. It would have been, if not for Dumbledore and Moody’s betrayal. He just nodded, his mind spinning as Mac brought up perfectly good reasons for Dawn to want to forget everything about the Order. Simon didn’t know her well enough to know if she was the type who would choose that at the expense of remembering her friends and boyfriend, but he had no doubt she had not planned on being abandoned in London on her own, scared and friendless for the past several months. And based on what Mac was saying, his focus on how leaving the Order and even forgetting all about it being what was best for Dawn, Simon had to believe he didn’t know that was what happened to her either. He didn’t blame the other for getting a little annoyed at the questioning, especially because he’d never been particularly forthcoming or chatty. Simon generally appreciated that, as it turned out Mac did too. Unfortunately, Simon couldn’t just send Mac on his way today. He sighed. 

“The reason I’m asking so many questions is because Moody lied to you. I’m just not sure about how much.” And that went even beyond Dawn’s situation, but that was the lie that needed to be dealt with today. Simon looked at the other bloke and decided to just get on with it. “Mac...I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Dawn is still here,” he said gently, in case that part was news like it had been for Lily and Hestia. “In London. She’s working at the hospital. Lucy and I were only told that she left the Order and wanted space, and since we always had to pretend not to know each other at work anyways, we kept our distance. What we didn’t know, until just a couple of days ago, is that she doesn’t remember the Order at all, or anyone in it. But it’s not just that,” he added, in case none of that was news to Mac. “Something went wrong with the memory charm. Normally when obliviators take memories away, they replace them with something to account for the gap. Of course, normally obliviators don’t take away an entire year of memories. I’m not even sure if it would be possible to fill that gap. But Moody and Dumbledore didn’t even try,” he said, his anger about that coming out a touch even as he did his best to keep his voice steady. “They just erased her memory and let her go, as far as we can tell. Dawn has been in London for the past three months knowing only that she moved here for something she can’t remember and that she works at the tea shop. She came to Lucy to have her head examined because she knows there are huge gaps in her memory and she doesn’t know why she’s lost weight or has scars. She’s been scared she’s sick, or going mental, or was imperiused. And she’s been alone this whole time. Moody and Dumbledore haven’t checked in on her, and as far as Lucy and I can tell, anyone who would have wanted to was told something to make them think she was being taken care of.”

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

What the hell was going on here? Mac was confused. “Yeah. It was a living nightmare for her. Didn’t you know that, or was it just Healer Baker shoving sleeping draughts at her?” Why was this just being brought up now? “Are you just hearing about this? I know communication is shit but it’s been three months.  Did you not wonder why you never saw her anymore?” Bloody hell, these people were about as organized as a bunch of drunks stumbling out after last call. It wasn’t a big surprise but Mac would rather not be dragged into their mess more than he had to be. Speaking of being dragged he wasn’t thrilled with being dragged to the hospital to talk about this of all bloody things. Mac looked over at Simon still trying to work out what this was all about. Why did Simon care if Dawn broke up with him herself or not? “We talked about it before she went to Moody and Dumbledore. She was miserable. She wanted to stop but she was worried what sort of person that made her. I told her it made her bloody smart one. Did you know even the aurors have like different levels or whatever. They’ve got special ones that go after dark wizards. Not just any sucker they pull off the street. If regular aurors aren’t even suited to do this shit what the fuck are we even doing?” Kids as young as Sebastian. Bloody idiotic. “Anyway she quit. She just wanted to live her life. Couldn’t very well do that with all that fear and guilt hanging off her, could she? It makes sense. When Moody said she had it all erased I wasn’t surprised.” Mac never understood why they had to take her from her nice, safe home in America in the first place. Now they’d gone and done it to another one.

Well this was getting confusing. Especially because Mac’s apparent knowledge of what happened to Dawn was so different from Lily and Hestia’s. Simon couldn’t decide if it was better now that he was speaking to Mac on his own, or if it would have been easier to have the other two there as a buffer. As it was, he didn’t let that question about whether he’d been oblivious to how much Dawn was suffering get under his skin; this was obviously a sensitive subject, and Simon was here poking at it for reasons Mac didn’t know yet. “I was aware of Dawn’s struggles,” he said quietly. “And that she’d left. I was glad to hear it, actually,” he added. Up until he knew what had actually happened to Dawn he’d been of the opinion more should leave, before they ended up as bad off as she’d been at the end. Now he knew that wasn’t an option for any of them. What Simon didn’t add was that rather than wondering why he never saw Dawn at headquarters, he’d been wondering why he still saw her at the hospital. But it was hard to tell how much Mac knew yet. He listened carefully as the bloke answered his questions, surprised when he said they’d talked about it before Dawn went to Moody. Had she really wanted everything erased? Even the bloke she’d been dating? Even so, Simon couldn’t imagine Mac knew she was abandoned in London right now. Not with everything he was saying about what was wrong with the Order, to which Simon couldn’t help but nod his understanding. He saw no reason to hold back criticism of Dumbledore and Moody, at least not here and now. Especially not when the last thing Mac said gave Simon pause again. Moody said she had it all erased, and Mac hadn’t been surprised. “So she didn’t tell you she wanted everything erased? Just that she wanted to leave the Order and they would have to alter her memory?” Simon wanted to be clear on that. Maybe it didn’t matter, since Dawn’s memory was gone now whether she’d wanted it to be or not, and they’d abandoned her. But somehow it was worse if that hadn’t even been what she’d asked for. “What did Moody tell you afterwards?”

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

Right. Of course he couldn’t get out of it. Mac should probably be worried but he tried not to worry about something till he had a clear idea of what that something was. Health issues was too damn vague, especially when he wasn’t feeling any. He frowned a bit as he sat because of that display of wordless magic. Sure it was easy for Peakes, he’d had seven full years, actual professors, and was bloody healer. Of course he could do it. Probably could turn a bloody flobberworm into a fritter too without half the flobberworm sticking out. Mac wasn’t too used to siting opposite the desk of someone. It reminded him of the handful of times he’d had to talk to Moody in his office. At least Simon had both his eyes and didn’t look like someone had pieced him together out of spare bits they’d found. Mac turned his attention to Simon when the other started speaking. That statement about not needing tests had him raising an eyebrow. What was Simon playing at? Dawn? That left things as murky as mud still. Mac waited, not understanding why Simon would want to talk to him about Dawn at all let alone not at headquarters. His brow furrowed at the question, this didn’t clear anything up either. “Yeah. She wanted to forget everything. Can’t blame her, can you? It’s all shit, innit?” Mac wasn’t sure he’d go for someone wiping shit from his mind. But then he was still wary of a lot of types of magic that other’s seemed perfectly fine with. Memory charms one of them. When he’d found out that she’d gone for this option he hadn’t been surprised. Everything was terrible for her. Still getting broke up via Moody telling him his girlfriend had erased him hadn’t been great. He wasn’t sure why Simon was bringing that up, not something Mac wanted to think about.

Mac didn’t have anywhere near the same reaction that Lily and Hestia did when he mentioned Dawn’s memory had been altered. Instead, Simon was the one surprised by what Mac had to say in response. His brows furrowed and he frowned. “Hang on. She…wanted to have her memory altered? To forget...everything?” That was one angle they hadn’t considered. Of course, even if she’d wanted to forget the Order and everyone in it, Dawn had still been abandoned in London with a giant gap in her memory, which certainly wasn’t what she’d wanted. But if she’d actually wanted to have her memory wiped completely...that put a bit of a wrench in things. Or at least it muddied it up. Dawn had been a mess at the end; had she even been in a state of mind to agree to something that drastic? Of course not. Even if that really was what she thought she wanted, Moody and Dumbledore had no right to do something like that -- especially not in the way they’d gone about it, botching the job without replacement memories and abandoning her. But there was still a greater question: was it really what Dawn wanted? Had she been manipulated by the people she trusted at her lowest point? ...And how much did Mac know about it? Simon was quiet for a long moment, thinking all this through, and then he asked, careful to keep his voice measured so as not to betray any of his suspicions, “Did she tell you that herself?”

[healerpeakes]

cormacfletcher​:

Mac was feeling a little run ragged lately. Between Order shit, hiding Order shit, and tutoring sessions he barely had any time to catch the Wizarding World’s best and brightest being their true dirty little selves. And now he had some health bullshit to deal with? Mac felt fine. He didn’t understand why Simon had decided he needed tests. While he wasn’t happy to have to go to the hospital he hadn’t meant to be late. Ian had wanted to practice some spells he was having trouble with and didn’t want to bother Cal or ask one of the younger kids. Mac couldn’t very well say he had to go in the middle of practicing. Especially since he wasn’t such an ace at Transfiguration either. And now they had to do it non-verbally? That was a menace. They’d spent what felt like forever making a flobberworm into a fritter. Mac wasn’t sure he would ever be able to look at a fritter the same way again. Absolutely disgusting. Even worse than some of the meals they had when they were scrambling around Knockturn. Though now it did make him wonder if that was what was wrong with some of the food there. Be about right for it to be transfigured shit fed to people as if it were the real thing. So Mac was running a tad late. He actually thought about jut not showing at all.  What was Simon going to do, ban him from missions, that’d be perfect. But he didn’t want the bloke showing up at his house or some bullshit like that so he went over to the hospital as soon as they stopped so Ian could get to work. Finding Simon’s office took a bit of work but once he got there he knocked, hoping maybe the bloke had left already. No such luck, of course. “Hey, Healer Peakes, sorry about the tardiness something came up,” he said after he walked in. “You wanna still run those tests or we can just say we did and I’ll pop out of your hair. Seems like you could use a break anyway, don’t mind me sayin’.” The bloke didn’t look like he was any more in a mood for tests than Mac was. But Mac waited, standing awkwardly by on of the chairs on the other side of Simon’s desk because he doubted he’d be getting out of this that easily. Wasn’t his type of luck.

Oh. It was Mac. Simon should have been glad to see it was the person he needed to track down -- at least it saved him the effort and the worry Mac might find out about Dawn someplace else -- but honestly he was not looking forward to having the same conversation he’d just had with Hestia and Lily all over again. This was just one of those situations where there were no good options, which sort of felt like it summed up most of Simon’s life at the moment, all thanks to the Order. At least here the right choice was clear enough. Simon gave the kid a wry grin and shook his head, gesturing toward the chair Mac was standing next to. “No, you should sit. We need to take care of this now.” Simon closed the door to his office with a wordless wave of his wand. It was already soundproofed when the door was closed, so once it was shut he put down his wand and folded his hands on top of his desk, looking at Mac after he sat down. The kid looked tired, but then everyone in the Order did. It wasn’t the sort of tired that could be fixed with a sleeping potion. And Simon knew he was about to make it worse. With Lily and Hestia he’d moved out from behind his desk to sit in front of them; with Mac, that didn’t seem like the right call. Best to just get on with it. “Right. Thanks for coming on such short notice, Mac. The truth is, you don’t need any tests. But there’s something you need to know, and it’s not something that should be discussed at headquarters.” Rather than give the other too much time to be annoyed that Simon had lied about the tests, he pressed forward quickly, not wanting to bury the lead. “It’s about Dawn.” Hopefully that would abate any questions about why the tests lie had been necessary. He paused a moment, letting that sink in, and then asked, “Were you aware that her memory was altered when she left the Order?” He’d asked Lily and Hestia the same question before he explained the extent of what happened; they hadn’t known, but he didn’t want to make any assumptions given all the layers of secrets in the Order. 

[healerpeakes]

Simon had delivered lots of bad news in his time as a healer. It was never easy, but he felt he’d gotten as used to it as one could. But today felt worse. Because it wasn’t just horrible news about someone’s health he was delivering, but something of a prison sentence too. Your friend is in serious trouble, because of someone we all trusted, and you’re in danger too and there’s nothing you can to do get out of the situation without ending up in the same situation as your friend. He’d said it more gently than that, but he saw no point in sugar-coating the truth. Best to be straightforward and let them understand the situation so they could deal with it however they needed to. Unsurprisingly, neither Lily nor Hestia had taken it well, though Simon was at least hopeful they’d meant it when they agreed not to go rushing to Dawn until after he’d gotten ahold of Mac and got his take on how they should proceed. Apparently he knew her best, according to the girls, which made it even more unfortunate he hadn’t bothered to show up. Which meant now Simon was going to have to track him down as quickly as possible before word leaked to the rest of the Order. And that was exactly what he was going to do -- but for a moment he just sat at his desk in his small office with his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped as he allowed himself for just a moment to feel how horribly overwhelmed and powerless he felt in this situation. Like everyone else, he’d joined the Order to help -- and now it felt like all he could do was mitigate the damage as much as possible. Which wasn’t much. He jumped at the sound of a knock on his door and quickly straightened up, taking a breath and composing himself. He didn’t have any other appointments scheduled so it was likely another healer with a question for him. “Come in.” 

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

“Good,” Lucy replied when he said he’d remind them of it. “I’m sure they’re all going to want to check on her once they know she’s here and what’s been happening. But it’s been three months. Having three people just show up out of the blue after three months of worrying alone might make things worse. Unless they have a plan. Which probably won’t be at the top of their minds after getting the news you’re going to give them. It might help if you think of some things to offer as suggestions just in case they ask your opinion.” Simon was a good healer but this situation was so far outside anything they’d handled it didn’t hurt bringing up areas he might need to be prepared in. Or so Lucy thought. She’d been not only thinking about the other Order members but about Dawn and the best way to reintroduce her friends since she’d recovered a little from the shock. It was tricky but hopefully her friends would have better insight into it and with Simon reminding them they could figure something out. She wasn’t so sure about waiting. Lucy frowned. “If you think that’d be better, I just…” she sighed softly. “I can’t help worrying about what they might have done since they did this to Dawn. What they might do.” She looked over apologetically to Simon. There was also the concern that herself or maybe even Simon could be in danger but she was more focused on worry for other Order members, and even non-Order members because she really had no idea how far they’d go. “I’ll just feel a little better once more people know,” she added. Not better because this was still so awful but at least there might be less danger to anyone else in the Order.

Hadn’t the idea been to ask Dawn’s friends what they thought the best approach would be? Maybe Lucy had a point, that they would likely want to go check on her as soon as possible and having some suggestions to get things rolling would be a good idea. But Simon didn’t know much about Dawn, quite frankly. “Right...suppose I’ll have to think that over,” he said in a tired voice. This was far beyond the scope of healer training. “The best lies tend to be close to the truth. Perhaps we can think up an explanation for them thinking she moved to America that conceals however much they think we should keep from her, at least to begin with. We only need an excuse for one of them to suddenly show up, at least, because if they do tell the truth about thinking she moved, it would also make sense for the first person who sees her to tell the rest of her friends.” Keeping things as simple and logical as possible would be the best way to avoid unnecessary messes -- because this was already going to be a huge mess no matter how they went about it. He sighed when Lucy said she would rather tell everyone without waiting to get Dawn tested. Figured; she wasn’t the one who would have to face Dawn’s friends. But her point was a fair one. “Alright. Then let’s look at the Order schedules and figure out the first opportunity to get everyone we need together.”

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

Simon’s certainty helped Lucy feel more certain. Though it might have just been a bluff on his part. They had to do something and this seemed to be the best option for that something. There was only so much they could plan for, the rest was out of their hands. She nodded when Simon said they’d react poorly. There really wasn’t any other way to react. Even the ones she was telling would most likely react poorly. Being a healer meant getting used to giving bad news so at least Simon had experience.  But this felt like a different sort of bad news. Lucy nodded again, agreeing that they did need to know the truth. “I’ve asked them to schedule the tests as soon as possible. But I haven’t heard back yet when they’ll be. I’ll let you know. Dawn needs to know something quickly too. Especially if she’s got friends suddenly coming out after three months. Though hopefully they’ll figure out something to tell her that will make her not have too many questions.” While telling Dawn the whole truth of what happened to her hadn’t been ruled out she doubted anyone was going to start with that. It felt too jarring even if they decided that would be what should happen at some point.

Lucy brought up another problem they had to consider beyond just what to tell Dawn. She needed friends in London, but it was going to look rather odd if the friends she thought abandoned her all showed up around the same time, right after she’d spoken to a healer about what was going on. Of course, if they told Dawn enough of the truth about what happened, that would be less of a problem. “I suppose that will be something we’ll have to talk about. Depending how much they think we should tell Dawn will affect how much they can tell her about how and why they know her. And why the stayed away. I’ll make sure to remind them they’ll have to think that through when they do go see her. Especially if we don’t have test results by the time we tell them. Would you be comfortable giving it two days to see if you hear about scheduling her tests? If it’s longer than that we go ahead and tell everyone?”

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​: 

Lucy was still getting to know the newest members of the Order so she hadn’t been sure which of the newest Ravenclaws she should try. “Yeah? Okay, Benjy it is,” she agreed. She was curious what made Benjy the better option but she didn’t want to sound like she was second guessing him when all she was being was nosey. Simon didn’t share information in the same way Lucy was used to, sticking to mainly healing things and not anything dipping into personality usually. Hearing him sort of mention something that seemed to nod at his having opinions on that made her curious. Of course they had more important things to worry about than her curiosity about Simon’s opinions. She nodded as he spoke about why he thought this new plan might be better. Lucy felt like it was a bit of a gamble but maybe it was a better option, and not just because of the size of her flat. “If we can avoid that it would be great. Hopefully we’ve chosen the right people who will be outraged enough to tell others.” She thought they had. Hoped they had. “It does seem like a more reasonable option than trying to get a big group to my flat, around the same time.” Maybe less issues with people getting unruly too. At least she’d have Doc and Em to help her out if things got intense but she thought the people they’d chosen would be good ones to tell. Frankly she was kind of glad that she didn’t have to tell Dawn’s friends. Telling Doc and Em would be terrible enough because she was close to them. Not to mention the Order members she wasn’t as close to. None of them had ties, that she knew, to Dawn so there would be that. Even if she did wonder how Simon was going to break the news. “Are you worried how they’ll react when you tell them about Dawn?” Lucy wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Simon have to deal with emotion, there would be a lot of it for this. Especially with the group he was telling.

“I think we have,” he said when Lucy mentioned that she hoped they’d picked the right people. It was definitely more of a risk, but it also felt more feasible if they wanted to do this quickly. And better for Lucy; having that many horrified people in one small space together just didn’t seem like the best idea. He nodded at Lucy’s words, glad she felt the same. Before he could ask if she was sure she was alright handling telling more people herself than Simon would have to tell, she was asking him sort of the same thing. And Simon wasn’t really sure he had the better end of the deal. He had fewer people to tell, but they were the people this would hit the hardest. “I dunno if worried is the right word. I’m quite certain they’ll react poorly.” That was the only way to react to news like this, really. But breaking terrible news wasn’t exactly new for Simon; it was something that came with being a healer. It didn’t exactly get easier, but he was more used to dealing with it now. And while he avoided emotional attachments, he always tried to deliver bad news the same way his dad had delivered the news that his mum was not going to get better: gently, but straightforward, and with enough explanation that there was no room for false hope about what the outcome might be. “But they need to know the truth. All I can do is give it to them as gently and as clearly as possible and give them a space to process. Although it would be nice if we can get Dawn’s tests done in the next day or two, before I tell her friends. I’d like to be able to give them an answer if they ask if she’s okay other than all the ways we already know she isn’t okay.” It would be nice to at least be able to tell them she didn’t have any additional brain damage. 

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

The truth of Simon’s words was painful. But she’d learned that dwelling on unpleasantness didn’t make it easier. “Because that’s the best way to work together to defeat a well coordinated enemy,  naturally,” she replied back. Frankly it was a miracle they’d made it this long without imploding. The Peter incident nearly caused it.  Moody’s handling of it hadn’t helped anything, unsurprisingly. Sometimes Lucy wondered what Moody and Dumbledore were doing. Not that she would know how to do any better but it sometimes felt ike they were in a bad sitcom. Or one of those terrible b horror films her brothers liked so much. Only the consequences were too. real.

She nodded at his agreement.  Didn’t blame him for wanting to stick with the test idea first, might be easiest and less suspicious.  Lucy listened to what he was saying, trying to keep up with it. The scheme was somehow more complicated than the guest list had been. “My flat’s a bit small so a smaller group would be better,” she told him. “So invite Dorcas, Doc, Em, one of the younger set, maybe Bertie or Benjy, Drew’s a little more closed off, and I think you’re right about Freddie and Sturgis, though I can invite Sturgis and see if he brings Freddie along.” Hopefully he didn’t think she was trying to hit on him. “And Alaric, right?” That felt more doable. Lucy didn’t bother letting Simon know that she was going to be telling Doc separately. She just hadn’t seen him yet. While he would most definitely tell Tilden she thought if she asked him to wait, explaining why, he would. But Lucy didn’t feel like getting into an argument over her relationship again. Last time she’d ended up feeling worried she was somehow taking advantage of Doc. Lines were so blurred in the Order. Maybe she had crossed one. But it wasn’t the same as if she had just met him while being his healer. He’d flirted with her plenty in school, she just hadn’t thought he’d been serious. Lucy did er best not to drudge up any insecurities Simon’s criticism of her and Doc had caused. Instead focusing on the matter at hand. “I think with a smaller group I might be able to get them together sooner. Once you have the day set with your three I’ll see who I can convince to come over. Hopefully the news will spread as quickly and accurately as you mentioned.” Some would be easy. Em would be easiest. Dorcas might not be difficult. The others…well she would’t know till she tried.

“Naturally,” he agreed, matching her sarcasm but leaving it at that. It was a grim reality they were faced with, and it just seemed to get worse every day. Today was a new low, and frankly figuring out how to deal with it felt way out of Simon’s league. Maybe that was why he found himself wondering whether they couldn’t improve on the plan any further. He was glad when Lucy didn’t dismiss it right away, and he nodded when she confirmed the people she should invite. “I think Benjy’s the best choice, actually,” he added when she brought up the three youngest Ravenclaw blokes, remembering how Benjy had come to him and seemed to take heart in the thought of confiding more in Bertie and Drew. He was probably the most likely to share the information quickly with the others. Bertie was a bit of a wild card, and he agreed with Lucy’s read on Drew. He nodded as she finished speaking. “Right. I know it’s riskier telling fewer people to start with.” Which was why they’d originally thought to tell as many people as possible all at once. “But as long as we tell the right people to start off with, I think it could work and help mitigate some of the damage from us getting together one big group and clearly excluding another.” Maybe that was trying to do to much, but Simon really couldn’t imagine any of the people they were telling not feeling as compelled as he and Lucy did to share the news with their fellow Order members, at least the ones they were close with. Not to mention the scheduling issues it would avoid. Just getting five or six people together at the same time would be hard enough. Simon very nearly added that he didn’t care if she told Doc or Em ahead of time -- clearly she was close with them, and Simon didn’t really expect her to keep it from them until she could get a group together. For all he knew she’d already told Doc or Em. Which was exactly why Simon made a point of not being close to people in the Order, so he could maintain professional distance when it was necessary. But when he’d tried to offer Lucy that same advice she’d come back and told him he didn’t care enough, and he was quite happy to stay as far away from that subject as possible, so he kept that comment to himself. What did it matter if he did or didn’t care anyhow, she was going to do what she thought was best. 

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

Another opinion they shared, it was a little surprising how many of those there were.  Or maybe not. They did both want the same thing. Their approaches were just different. “It’s almost like having a paranoid, probably brain damaged, auror lead things was not the best approach for a group that should trust one another and communicate with each other.” There were so many problems that could be prevented if there was better communication. And an environment that fostered trust instead of turning everyone into mini-Moodys. Even Lucy had felt her own paranoia grow thanks to the atmosphere in the Order.

Lucy took note of how quickly he agreed to her talking to Pippa. It was hard to tell if she was reading into things or not. Though it did make sense for Simon to fancy someone not involved in the Order as opposed to someone who was. Even if Simon fancying someone felt outlandish. Or had till right now. She really needed to focus on the serious issue in front of them and not let herself be distracted by Simon’s love life. Or lack of. It just wasn’t pleasant to think of Dawn’s friends, and probable boyfriend, to find out what happened. She frowned at Simon’s words. “He might not leave you alone if you tell him that. Perhaps you can just tell him you need to talk with him outside of headquarters? Might intrigue him enough to not push back. Given that he doesn’t seem very close to anyone it might be safe.” There were a lot of mights to all of this. Lucy didn’t like it but life was hardly ever a sure thing. “How soon do you think we can pull all of this together?”

Simon smirked, amused at Lucy’s joke though it was painfully accurate. Anyone could have predicted Moody was a terrible person to have as Dumbledore’s second-in-command. “Clearly the idea was never to have a group that communicates with each other,” he commented dryly. All the Order had done was foster paranoia and distrust; even Simon felt that, and he wasn’t even fighting. Though it felt like he was fighting some days, just to take care of his patients. 

“That might work,” he agreed to Lucy’s alternate suggestion. “I’ll make that plan B if he doesn’t agree to tests.” He considered her question. Getting together so many people was going to be quite the undertaking, and as he mulled it over, along with his prior worry about creating more division in the Order based on who they chose to tell, another thought occurred to him. “I could try to get Mac, Hestia and Lily here within the week. And I just had a thought,” he said. “What if instead of inviting everyone we mentioned to your place, we just focus on...spokespeople, so to speak. What I mean is, if you tell, say Dorcas, we can presume she’ll immediately tell at least Davey and Penny, right? And then Penny will likely tell the McKinnons and Prewetts, but at least it won’t be coming to the from us, or in a big group. And if you tell Doc, I imagine he’ll tell Tilden.” Assuming Lucy hadn’t already talked to Doc about this, but Simon wasn’t going near that. “Em is friends with Tommy Tooker, right? And Ruthie? If the Prewetts don’t get to the Bones first Tommy, will tell them. And I think if you just invite one of Drew, Benjy, or Bertie, whichever you think is more likely to show up, I think they’ll tell the rest of that group. Same with Freddie and Strugis, though I dunno if they’d actually split up. Do you think Hestia would tell Connor? Then Alaric, still, and more than enough will know for it to start spreading around to everyone else. Might help cut down on people being pissed for not being included, and it will probably be easier for you to tell a smaller group. Not to mention getting all of them to your flat. We could probably pull that off faster, too, fewer people to assemble. And if you’re telling them when they’re not at headquarters I don’t think we’d have to worry about it taking too long for them to tell the people we’re expecting them to tell. Especially if you let them know the word needs to spread or they could be next to have their memories wiped.” That was bleak, perhaps, but it was the reality and they all needed to be faced with it. “But perhaps I’m overcomplicating,” he added. Lucy was the one inviting half the Order to her flat, so he was fine with her doing so however she wanted. 

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

Lucy was surprised to hear Simon voice a concern she shared. She nodded. “I was just thinking about that. I’m hoping the fact that getting any number of Order members together is always tricky, all of us would be very likely impossible, might soften it. And maybe you not being there will make it look less of a planned exclusion.” The Order was full of diverse personalities, impossible to know how any of them might react. This did seem like the only solution. “If the Order had some mass communication channel like a radio show or well not very wizard like but a tv show we could just announce it there,” she said offhandedly, smirking a bit at the thought of a wizard tv show. They were so backwards in some things. “But even so, face to face will probably be better.” She hoped. Just like she hoped that this whole thing didn’t turn into a disaster. Lucy was a little nervous how people at her ‘party’ were gong to react.

She didn’t know Simon well enough to know what that ‘oh’ might mean. Which was seeming more of a shame now that he was looking less wet blanket-ish. Part of her wanted to encourage Simon to ask Pippa himself, just to see what their interaction would be like. But asking about another bird’s schedule would probably not be the best conversation to have with one’s crush, if he did fancy her. “I can do that,” she agreed, “and let you know what she says.” Lucy would definitely be watching for signs of some crushing though. Maybe she could come up with some reason to mention Simon to Pippa and see what happens. But right, they had more serious concerns at the moment, sadly. “I can’t see Hestia or Lucy being disagreeable about potential health issues.  But Mac is tricky. He’s always been very agreeable when it comes to healing, doesn’t seem to want any wounds or scars if they can be helped. That’s just visible, I once told him I needed to check for internal bleeding and he just shrugged, said he’d let me know if he started leaking, he had a quidditch game to get to.”  Lucy rolled her eyes. She knew some risk taking was necessary for someone to agree to do the things the Order did but some of them ventured from risk taking to just plain stupidity. Usually it was easy to tell who would or wouldn’t but Mac tended to weave between the two in unpredictable ways. “Might want to start with him, so it doesn’t conflict with his schedule.”

Simon just nodded. He wasn’t sure he felt as optimistic as Lucy did -- or if she even really felt it or was just saying it -- but he was pretty sure this was their best option in a terrible situation. Nothing to do but stick with it and stop dwelling on the problems. Though he couldn’t help a smirk of his own at her addition, not just at the idea of a wizard tv show -- though he’d forgotten that being muggleborn was something he and Lucy had in common -- but also because, “I feel like it the Order had a means of mass communication we would have far fewer problems.” The Order was all about secrecy, not just from others but within the Order itself. Hence why they had to throw a fake terrible party to share the news of Moody and Dumbledore’s cover-up. 

“Great,” he said quickly when Lucy said she would talk to Pippa. That would definitely be better. And he mostly just wanted them to be done talking about Pippa. Not that they were really talking about Pippa. They were talking about Dawn. Right. He nodded his agreement at her assessment that Mac was tricky. He’d also found the kid to be mostly agreeable when it came to healing. Simon rolled his eyes at the same time Lucy did at that addition about him not caring about internal bleeding. That was typical order, wasn’t it? “Guess we’ll give it a go. If he pushes back too much maybe I’ll just tell him it’s about Dawn.” That might just get the kid not to leave him alone before they could all meet, but hopefully it would get him to agree. With any luck he’d just agree to testing at the hospital.

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

Lucy nodded at his answer about the last three Order members. It was perhaps the oddest guest list, but then it wasn’t going to be any bit of a party. Lucy was not looking forward to telling any of them. She was also worried that those not there would be upset to learn it differently. Or that the divide between Dumbledore loyalists and those outraged by how low he’s willing to sink will cause more problems. There didn’t seem to be any good outcomes, even if everyone reacted similar. Because they would still be stuck. But at least they’d know. She felt that was something. She hoped it was enough.

Simon’s logic was, well logical. It wasn’t good news they were getting. Not at all. Lucy was still milling over if her idea was any better. It didn’t feel like it. She was happy to think of something else for a moment.  Though where mentioning finding out when Dawn was off would lead her to a completely different thought. Pippa? Did Simon seem more awkward than normal? Huh… Interesting. “Actually I don’t really know her that well. I think you asking would be about the same as me,” she replied despite wondering if she was wrong. Pippa was nice but awkward when it came to anything beyond hello. Lucy wondered if the same was true for Simon. She might need to start paying more attention next time she was in the tea shop at the same time as Simon. He was turning into a  more interesting bloke than she’d thought. First gang members now a crush on a cute bird. Unfortunately that wasn’t what she needed to think about right now. “I think you might be right about how to get them here. Tests wouldn’t be any more honest but it might be better than expecting a nice cup of tea and a chat. Instead getting this.”  She wasn’t sure if it would be easier on them but what would? “Besides that’s probably the best bet to get Mac here.  Might as well use it for all three.” Lucy still couldn’t find an alternative for Mac. “However we do it, we need to do it as quick as possible.” The faster they got this out to the Order members the better.

As much as Simon was not looking forward to breaking the news to Dawn’s close friends, he was also sort of relieved he could avoid the party from hell at Lucy’s. Granted, Simon thought every party was a party from hell, so this one would probably not be any less bearable than a real party. Though the plan wasn’t without its concerns. “I wish I could think of a way not to piss of the people we’re leaving out of this first go, but I really can’t think of a better way to do this,” he commented. They needed to tell as many people as possible as quickly as possible. And having people who might be loyal to Dumbledore there initially felt like a recipe for disaster. And they had enough disaster to deal with as it was.

“Oh,” was all he said when Lucy said he probably knew Pippa just as well as she did. That didn’t change the fact that he did not want to embarrass himself in front of her again. And asking her about Dawn’s work schedule would definitely be weird. “It would probably make more sense for you to ask her since you’re the one who met with Dawn,” he added. That made sense, actually. Way less odd than Simon asking about Dawn’s work schedule. He was surprised when Lucy actually agreed with his point about wanting Dawn’s friends to be a little worried when they showed up, so much so that she actually agreed to his original plan. Huh. He sighed. “I can’t think of anything Mac is more likely to agree to, unfortunately. If he doesn’t, or if Hestia or Lily don’t, we can figure out something else. But you’re right. We should do this as quickly as possible.”

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

They worked together often so it wasn’t a new thing. But this was different. Or it felt like. Maybe that’s why Lucy felt some optimism about the chances of her and Simon figuring out how to be proper healers to their Order patients despite the obstacles put in their way.  First they had to figure this out without ending up in the long term care ward. A grim thought. Doing nothing wasn’t an option though. She just hadn’t realize it would involve making a guest list for the world’s worst party. Dividing up the Order members in a way that felt as necessary as it did wrong. Still she found it interesting that Simon referred to them as ‘Black and his crew,’ when she always thought of them as James’s circle. Lucy wasn’t certain about Sirius’s loyalty to Dumbledore these days, or if that changed the other twos feelings, but considering all the trouble with their other friend crossing Dumbledore might not be something that group would consider right now.  Better safe than not. Especially when, as Simon was pointing out, Lily would probably tell them. “You’re right, it might be. They do seem to like to handle things on their own, as a group.” She’d noticed that both with Remus’s werewolf turnings and after the mess Peter Pettigrew had made. Lucy hoped that finding out from his brother would help Regulus, he’d already been through so much. She mused over the last three and Simon’s words. “Kiran is an auror so he might have loyalty to Moody,” she pointed out, though she wasn’t certain of that. “You would think being the same year I’d have some idea about Willow but she was always so mysterious. I don’t think Moody trusts her which might be in her favor, but it’s hard to tell, he doesn’t trust anyone. Alaric is another one that I don’t know well, aside from seeming friendly if a little quiet.” Hestia had talked about how handsome he was but that wasn’t useful information. “I think perhaps we should include Alaric, at least. He’s not from here, like Dawn, and he doesn’t seem to have integrated himself into a group like Aaron has.” They were all at risk she felt but he seemed more so in a lot of ways.

Truthfully Lucy wasn’t sure how to get Mac to do anything. The other two seemed like they might be easier. Except it was Simon they were talking about. Hestia might not object to an invitation from Simon to his flat but Lucy doubted Lily would show up without James, at the very least. Simon’s idea didn’t sound terrible. She could think of two reasons it might not be the best though. “I worry that they’d worry about what might be wrong with them, adding stress doesn’t seem right. Plus it might be better away from the hospital, give them time to process before they see Dawn?” Lucy couldn’t think of an alternative despite her misgivings about this plan. “Do you think there’d be a way to find out when Dawn’s off? If she wasn’t here take care of that problem. And I don’t like the idea of lying but maybe I can owl Lily and Hestia, see if I can get them to meet me for tea here? That still leaves Mac…” Lucy sighed. Dawn sure had a diverse group of friends. She wasn’t even sure she could get Lily to agree to a cup of tea without the girl worrying something was up. Bless Hestia for being the easiest in this situation.

This was quite different from working with Lucy as a healer, and maybe it was a testament to how terrible things were that they were actually working together on all of it. Not that Simon would want to deal with this mess on his own, or leave Lucy to deal with it. But if it hadn’t been quite so terrible, it would have been a surprise she’d even brought it to him. Also surprising was how much they were in agreement on. He just nodded when Lucy commented that Black and his group seemed to like to do things on their own. If only she knew the extent of that, but Simon didn’t think that knowledge would do her any good so he kept it to himself. Instead listening and considering what she had to say about the last three people to consider. He wasn’t entirely sold on the fact that they should tell Alaric. He seemed nice enough, but Simon felt like he didn’t know anything about the bloke. Then again, he was Pippa’s employer, and Pippa seemed to enjoy working at the wand shop. So he was probably fine. And had other reasons to be in London other than the Order, which indicated hopefully he wasn’t a Dumbledore loyalist. “Alright, let’s tell Alaric and let Willow and Kiran find out through the rumor mill.” Simon doubted it would take long. 

Now they just had to figure out how to get Dawn’s friends together in the same place at the same time but not at headquarters. Simon didn’t love the idea of causing more worry, but he also didn’t love the idea of Lucy inviting two girls for tea and then Simon ambushing them with horrible news. “I don’t want them worrying something is wrong with them, but I don’t necessarily think them being a bit worried is a bad thing. They won’t be receiving good news,” he pointed out. “But if you think they’d agree to tea I’m alright with that,” he conceded, because it wasn’t worth arguing the point. “I don’t think it will be hard to figure out when Dawn will be off work, either,” he added, glad that at least one problem they had was easy to deal with. “We can just ask Pippa. Or -- well you know her better than I do, I’m sure, so it might be better for you to ask her.” He added quickly, fiddling with the string on the teabag that was in his cup. The last thing he needed was to embarrass himself in front of Pippa like he’d done when he was buying his new wand. It had been embarrassing enough his old wand quit on him, Pippa knowing about it -- and having far too much insight into why -- had been a bit much, if you asked him. 

[healerpeakes]

healerluce​:

Given how grim things had felt even before finding out about Dawn it was surprising for Lucy to realize she still had some hope. But she couldn’t help hoping they could find a way to accomplish even this impossible seeming task. Or maybe she was just thinking it would be better trying to find a solution with Simon instead of butting her head against the brick wall that was Dumbledore and Moony. “I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. “But it’s clear it’s not going to happen with Dumbledore and Moony so we’ll have to see if we can find a way around them.” If she was going to keep secrets she wanted them to be ones that actually helped someone.

For now though they had more pressing problems. It felt wrong dividing up the Order members into who would be okay with someone being broken and abandoned by those who should be protecting them and those who wouldn’t. But the truth was that they couldn’t be certain that all the Order members would be as appalled as her and Simon. The aurors were definitely a concern. Including Ben’s little brother Ed. Lucy wanted to believe Ben wouldn’t agree with this. But he’d lost his parents, the fight against the Death Eaters was even more personal for the Bones. While she still believed he wouldn’t be she decided that maybe it wasn’t a chance worth taking. Especially with Ben’s frequent trips away, inviting him over would be more difficult. “I think we can let them find out later. Just in case. But the rest of the Hufflepuffs I feel will be horrified. Maybe Davey, I know he’s Gryffindor and maybe has loyalty to Dumbledore. But he and Doe seem to be close, plus he wasn’t brought in as soon as he graduated like the rest of the Gryffindors so maybe Dumbledore had doubts on his loyalty?” Lucy nodded her agreement about not doing this at Headquarters. “It’s not safe to talk about much there. Not to mention the more time between finding out and seeing Moody might be better for some.” For Lucy this felt like a horrific breech of trust, she wouldn’t blame anyone for reacting however they might.

Lucy was surprised by Simon’s suggestion. She’d assumed they’d do this together. Not that she couldn’t handle it. But Simon choosing the most delicate of the two options wasn’t something she saw coming. “I suppose that could work. They definitely deserve to know first. But how would you get them together,” she asked, while trying to decide how to mention the sensitivity this would take. Simon wasn’t known for his bedside manner. Still there were plenty of people who seemed to respond better to his way. Maybe she needed to be more open minded. More trusting of Simon’s ability to break bad news in a way that wouldn’t scar them.

Simon nodded grimly. “I’m willing to try.” It felt like most of what they’d done since they started with the Order was find their way around Dumbledore and Moody. Not quite to the extent they were talking about now though. For his part, Simon had no qualms about dividing the Order Members up into who they thought was more likely to defend Dumbledore. He didn’t necessarily think they were bad people -- they risked their lives regularly for the Order, after all -- but rather blinded by loyalty to Dumbledore to the extent that they would overlook every terrible thing he did if it meant a quicker end to the war. Or maybe just too desperate to face the truth that they were not fighting for a hero, but for someone who was cold and calculating. Regardless -- they had to be smart about this, and that meant weighing the pros and cons of telling each person to start with. He nodded, trusting Lucy’s cautious assessment of the Bones and considering Davey for a moment. “He’s close to Doe and doesn’t seem that close with the McKinnon/Prewett crowd, I think we can tell him. Black and his crew are out.” While perhaps Sirius had reasons not to trust Dumbledore after the way he’d dumped his younger brother alone in a house and nearly left him to kill himself trying to remove the mark, there was a lot of loyalty there. Too much to risk it. Maybe Simon would let him and the rest of those kids know once the cat was out of the bag. “Though actually, if we’re going to tell Lily, I suspect she’ll tell James, and then that whole crew will all know anyways.” Maybe they should just tell the kids, but “Might be better for them to find out that way, though,” Simon couldn’t help speculating. “That leaves Willow, Kiran, Alaric, and Regulus I think we let Regulus just find out from his brother. I don’t have much of a read on the other three, but something tells me they aren’t here out of loyalty to Dumbledore.” The question was whether they were as ruthless as Dumbledore. 

He was surprised when Lucy didn’t outright reject his suggestion that they both separately tell the two groups at the same time. He wasn’t even necessarily opposed to them telling each group together, but this felt the least likely to make a big mess. Especially now he thought about how Lily could go back to the rest of Black’s crew. As for how to get them all together... “So that would be Lily, Hestia, and Mac?” He mused. “Good question.” Simon couldn’t exactly invite them to a party at his flat; that would raise all kinds of suspicion. “I supposed I could bring them into my office here at the hospital, tell them I need to run some kind of tests that can’t be done at headquarters?” It was out of the ordinary, but he didn’t think asking them to meet him at the hospital would trigger any red flags that he was up to something questionable.