Order Only: Private message to Padfoot and Dora [Remus Lupin]

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I've been working on cleaning up some of the bedrooms over here (so we'll have somewhere to sleep -- there's what looks to be an old guest bedroom that's not in terrible shape that would make a lovely room for Bea) and I took a look in the drawing room. Kreacher's kept it spotless but it's about the most un-child-proofed room you could ever ask for. Still, if we take care of the doxies living in the curtains and put some sort of ward around the shelves...

Do you suppose we could get it clean and safe enough to host the Christmas party?

We've got to tell everyone else eventually, and 'everyone's invited to a party at our house, see Alice for the address' might, er, distract ~~Molly and Minerva~~ everyone from the fact that we didn't discuss it with anyone before we opened it up?

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There are 26 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I suppose it makes sense to put the nursery on the second floor. I'd been thinking she might like ~~Reg's~~ my old room, at some point. I think if I reverse the sticking charms on those posters they'll respond. Seems a bit ridiculous now, having Muggle girls in bathing costumes on the walls. Certainly made a statement at the time, though, which was the point, of course. ~~Or Harry~~

But at least for now, yeah, it's best if Bea's just down the corridor. Dora, I thought maybe you'd like the third guest room (the other one without Grandfather Phineas) for your own. It didn't look too bad when I checked it.

We could convert my father's study. Perhaps.

As for hosting .... Are you sure you want to do that? Have Christmas there, I mean? It's far from the cheeriest place just at present. And it's far for all the Moddeyans to go.

It is a bit far for the Moddeyans but if it's at Moddey, you won't be able to come at all.

And most of the cheer is provided by the company, wherever you hold a party.

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You had a family Christmas party growing up, didn't you? Was it in the drawing room or somewhere else?

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Alice would have it at the safehouse again, if we needed it to be.

On years when it was our turn to host, yes, we put a tree in the sitting room, usually. Mother didn't like it in her drawing room (big surprise there). She preferred to take us all to Blackmoor or one or the other of our grandparents' houses. Probably to avoid having to decorate.

I can't think of anything that would insult their memory more than having Squibs, halfbloods and Muggleborns over to dinner on Christmas, for that matter.

I guess we could get a tree for the parlour, and eat down in the kitchen. If Molly doesn't do her nut about opening the place up, she'd probably be willing to come help with the cleaning out now and then.

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I'd say that's an excellent reason to host it -- surely it'll send any ancestral House of Black ghosts screaming into the great beyond, seeing the group we'd invite!

Molly might help with the cleaning, if she can forgive us for opening it up without asking first. For that matter, it's safe and warm with loads of guest beds; if Kingsley and the Players don't have an engagement they might enjoy spending a week as guests of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. The whole Order might well find this place useful: it's secure, not as secure as Moddey but not as necessary to keep closely guarded, either. And it's accessible by floo, which makes it less secure but also a good deal easier to get to.

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I think that's a terrific idea! It would give us a deadline for getting the place looking liveable, and it's not as if Bea's moving about on her own yet, so we've time for sprog-proofing.

Some time, anywiz. Have you seen how hard she's trying to swim across her mat when there's a toy she wants out of reach? She could figure out crawling in a hurry and surprise us.

At any rate, I think it would be lovely to have everyone come there. Unless you think they'll all be afraid the Floo isn't safe. You know Madam P will fuss, but what if Arthur thinks it's concerning? Or Bill? It's not as if they can Apparate to the square with MLE sat out there like cats watching a fish bowl.

They might be hesitant about the floo. I think there might be a way to apparate, if we can find a spot that's inside the Fidelius but outside the permanent anti-apparition spell or whatever it was Sirius's father (or grandfather, I'm not sure if we even know) put on the house.

It'll give us a deadline, yes. Possibly a bit of an ambitious one, but provided we keep a close eye on Bea (I wouldn't count on her not being mobile by Christmas) as long as people were careful of the decorations and the curtains we could almost hold a party there now. Well, so long as no one sat on the green couch. I think there might be something under the cushions.

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There's the schoolroom, too, at the top of the house. The children could play up there until it's time to eat.

Wait. Are we having all of Moddey or just Molly, Arthur, Bill, Alice and Frank, Poppy, Minerva - just the proper Order members, I mean?

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I was thinking just the Order. The children might enjoy the outing, though. Hard to imagine Molly and Poppy thinking anything but Moddey is safe enough, though.

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Definitely not the green couch.

The brown one in the library's always been the most comfortable sofa in the house. We could move that down and shift the other.

Oh, and I've just found the key to the wine cellar and the one for the attic.

I bet we could get some good quality doxycide for Laszlo and no one would notice if some didn't make it to your shelves.

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Good thought on the doxycide.

Shifting the green couch ... hm. I haven't explored the cellar much. Did your father have one of those rooms for magical experimentation and securing dangerous objects? With the stone walls and the seven locks on the door, you know. We could just put EVERYTHING dodgy in it and sort through at our leisure, though I suppose with some of the items on the shelves in the drawing room, just picking them up is a bit risky.

Is there any wine in the wine cellar? That's drinkable, I mean.

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It should be safe. Only I was thinking it would actually be nice if we could tell some of them so someone who's not yet been invited in could check and see that the Floo really has disappeared from the network.

If it has, it would only be a matter of Alice's inviting each of them first, wouldn't it? And then there's no way for MLE or the Floo admins to block it. Shouldn't be any way. But I'd feel better knowing we'd properly checked it.

The green couch? Be careful. You never know what might've got in there.

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Good idea, you. I've left it in Molly's post and we'll see.

Here comes the flood, by the way. Just you watch.

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This should be fun. And just as I have to go open up the shop, too.

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And I say again: Berk.

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Just for that, you can be the one to answer Poppy.

She's always had a soft spot for you, after all. I'll just get 'Sirius Black!' and a deal of huffing and puffing.

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Right, I'm on it.

I suppose it would be a bit tactless to say 'you know, this sort of attitude is precisely why we decided it would be preferable to get forgiveness, rather than permission.'

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Yes, and so would 'We're grown men, now, you know, and not ickle third-years in need of mending. We're capable of assessing the risk and deciding for ourselves what's acceptable.'

Stick with needing elbow room and a better hideout than the mews.

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That's what I'll say next. They approved the idea of us working on a muggleborn underground railroad, didn't they? Well, here's a hideout that doesn't compromise Moddey.

I started with 'we kept you in the dark for your own safety,' we'll see if that one flies...

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Or if that doesn't work there's always 'if Severus Snape can take a little initiative why should we have to get full Order consensus to take a look in Sirius's own house?'

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Oi. Bad enough you made me Apparate a few days ago. Now you've got to mention the big-nosed git?

Bloody Erebus. I suppose we've inadvertently invited him, haven't we?

Perhaps we'll be lucky and he won't come.

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I've been thinking about MLE watching for a sign of life. I wonder if it makes sense to put some of the silver out on the market. For one thing we could use the dosh; for another it might make them wonder if the problem was that a thief got in somehow. It's possible that my father put on a protection to disillusion the house if anyone ever broke into it, right? I mean to say, it's a believable notion? And would Sirius Black really be so daft as to sell items that had to have come from inside the house?

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Now THAT is an interesting idea.

We'd want to be absolutely sure it couldn't be traced back to us. Or to anyone else we care about.

I'm not sure they'd be fooled. After all, not only did you get in, you got a Fidelius Charm set on it within a few hours. The money would be useful, though.

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Speak of the warlock... Molly's asking what the plan is for Christmas.

Shall we answer? Allie will have to tell them the address but we can extend the invitation.

I'd say you're ultimately the host, so you'll have to be the one to speak up.

(Why yes, Padfoot, I AM dropping that in your lap.)

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Berk.

Yes, all right.

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September