Graduation exit interviews led to the recruitment of a whole new group of members for the Order of the Phoenix: excited, nervous, committed but both sworn to secrecy and full of questions about what it was they’d just pledged their wand and loyalty to.
Now, as school life fades into recent memory and the summer becomes solid ground – flats have been moved into, careers have taken on their fledgling stages – it’s time for these new members to have THEIR FIRST, INTRODUCTORY MEETING TO THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX.
Veteran members have been waiting with excitement (or, in some rare cases, resentment) to welcome the newest to their ranks. With the heightened secrecy following graduation, even the friendliest – most determined to recruit – Order members have pulled back in favor of preserving the secret society’s integrity in the lead-up to the first meeting. Gretchen Ollivander has let friendly letters pile up on her windowsill, feigning a busy schedule at work; everyone’s favorite journalist Vince Sinclair has been absent from his favorite pubs.
They’ve been preparing, readying the ugly comfort of Alastor Moody’s home – their headquarters – for new eyes and new friends in need of a pre-or-post-mission landing pad.
After their exit interviews, recruits were given only one thing, beside a warning to stay quiet and some background on the Order’s missive: the date, time and location of their first meeting.
And now, the time has finally come.
The First Meeting: For New Members
The new recruits were gathered by Dumbledore himself into the dining room – better known as the briefing room – of Alastor Moody’s house. They haven’t been told whose house it is yet, of course; they haven’t been told anything at all. But they’ve been gathered around a long, wooden table and asked to find their seats.
Seats that were, one by one, filled around them: by familiar faces, and strangers too; people they recognized as older students from their Hogwarts days, people who’ve conveniently crossed their paths in months prior.
Then, more familiar faces joined the fray: Dumbledore was joined at the front of the room by renowned Hogwarts professor Minerva McGonagall. And, after a wave of silence that hit even the most seasoned recruit, a real capital-e Entrance was made when Alastor Moody, known, respected and feared Head Auror Alastor Moody, threw open the door at the back of the room and hobbled confidently forward to take his place as commanding officer at the front of the room.
The names and identities of their fellow members, all gathered under the same roof and watching them with curious, proud eyes.
Some more background on the Order: its founding story, its purpose, its hopes for the future and the broadest, highest-level focuses during the present (since, still pre-training, the new recruits won’t be sent out on patrols or missions officially QUITE JUST yet).
Logistical information on the Order’s setup, including the existence of several teams within the Order as a whole:
undercover work, dueling offensive members, research and spell development, recruitment and dossier-development, international/Ministry/Auror cooperation, medicinal and healing work, and combat training of fellow members...just to name a few.
Every member is a General Order Member before they’re anything else, but it’s clear from the get-go that certain new members were brought on board with certain futures and ‘career’ paths in mind within the Order.
Information on the upcoming BARNS TRAINING CAMP (more information below)
Post-Meeting Mingling for All Members – Both New & Veteran
The meeting was followed up with some free-social time – drinks and refreshments served in the meeting room, so that old members could mingle with the new, declassified answers could be given, and tours of the headquarters could be given to those brave enough to ask by those brave enough to explore under Moody’s nose.
The Order of the Phoenix has an annual tradition of taking all its members – both old and new, but with a dedicated focus on training up the new recruits – out for a two week session at the Barns.
The Barns is the catch-all name for the rambling, isolated farm used for training up both the hard- and soft-skills of the Order members.
The property is affectionally named for the large, ancient red barn that stands at the center of the property – the site of meetings during the day, members sat upon bales of hay and the straw-lined ground – but, crucially, nights full of hard-drinking, necessary partying and downright hedonistic bonding between all of the Order’s members once the commanding officers and more imposing leaders have gone to bed for the night.
There are other buildings of note, too – a washed-out and cozy farmhouse, made of creaking floorboards and tartan couches, largely off limits during the training weeks and reserved for housing the commanding officers, including Moody himself, those on brief stretches of cooking-and-dish duty, and a few comfortable, much-coveted bedrooms that veteran members have only claimed for themselves after years of service and lots of stubbornness.
Where does everyone else sleep? Well – the Main Barn is surrounded by long-out-of-service smaller barns and buildings that were stables in a past life. Now filled with rows of bunk beds, they are the sight where sore bodies lay down after days of training (and nights of partying) to await the daybreak wakeup calls, and surprise emergency drills to keep them on their toes. There is a STRICT no-bed-sharing rule that almost nobody follows, but often pretends to when Moody hobbles through for a sudden inspection.
As for the days, they are spent out in the pastures. Dueling, defense and drill practice take place on meadows were sheep once grazed, members paired up for practice and others sitting by, perched on ancient wooden log-fences to cheer them on or take bets on the match-ups. Rain or shine, those fields are where Order recruits are molded into true Order members, gaining injuries and grass stains alongside new knowledge and new confidence to take on the evils of the world.
Upcoming Missions & Commitments
New Order recruits will not be sent out on official missions yet, but headquarters is now open to their use at any time.
Veteran Order members will continue their normal duties and missions, with a general eye on keeping the peace and working to uncover who the Death Eaters have recruited to their cause followoing graduation.
All Order members are expected to attend the upcoming two-week training camp at the Barns in early July...so start coming up with those excuses or faking-off-sick from work now, lovely characters! It’s not to be missed.
OOC Information: Logistics & Starters
Starters taking place at this first, introductory meeting (and the social time at headquarters following it) can be posted between now and 11:59pm ET on Monday, August 24th.
No special tag is required, but please make it clear in the tags or title if an open starter is to be used by Order members only.
Additionally, Order members are now known to one another, and can discuss their involvement with their friends (old and new!) that they now know for a fact are involved.
The Barns training weeks will be a more intense event (more accurately, a series of events), with a starter window that will probably last about a month to allow for multiple threads and continued development. More information on that coming soon, but we hope the worldbuilding above provides some early inspiration and a taste of what you can look forward to!
