"Events have become slightly grimmer since the Order's inaugural meeting," Professor Dumbledore declared, surveying those gathered in his office.
Elphias Doge, Caradoc Dearborn, Emmeline Vance, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, Minerva McGonagall, and Alastor Moody each sat in the same chairs they had occupied at the original meeting. However, there were now two more chairs. Edgar Bones and Dedalus Diggle had been recruited. The first business of the meeting had involved bringing them up to speed. Now, Dumbledore was proceeding with what he planned on being normal business at all Order meetings.
"It would appear that Ashworth's information was correct," Dorcas mused.
"To a degree, at least," Marlene amended. "From what I have heard, none of those who attacked that town appeared to posses the status of dark lord."
Elphias Doge shook his head. "The dark lord was not seen," he said, "but those ruffians could not have possibly organized themselves. Their disturbance fell apart almost as soon as it began. There are a handful of witnesses who even attest that many of the attackers were drunk. They could not have been organized as much as they were without someone else. The question we need to ask should not regard this dark lord's existence. Rather, the question must address his motives."
"All right," said Emmeline, "why did the dark lord choose to show his face? And, let's take it a step forward. Why was the attack staged in the first place? Nothing was achieved."
Alastor leaned forward and entered the conversation. "On the battlefield, there can be many motives, some of them having nothing to do with anything that happens in proximity to the fight."
"He's right," Dedalus Diggle said, supporting Moody.
Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Then tell me, what was achieved by attacking the town?"
Dumbledore was about to jump into the conversation and smooth things over before a heated debate could break out among the Order members, but Edgar Bones cleared his throat first and spoke in a deep voice. "Friends, we must remember that a true dark lord is more than a common criminal. He is a terrorist, a general, a politician, and a practitioner of terrible, but great, magic."
"You speak well, Edgar," Dumbledore observed. "You are also correct. The attack on the village may have been a test of the Ministry's ability to respond to such attacks."
Caradoc twisted his lips distastefully. "The dark lord would have done better to keep the element of surprise on his side. Now, Director Prewitt knows that Minister Black isn't paranoid. The aurors will be more prepared now than they would have been."
This time, Alastor did not lean forward in his seat. "The dark lord would have anticipated that the move would lose him the element of surprise," he pointed out. "What does this gain him, do you all think?"
"Perhaps if he has a weightier objective in mind," Edgar observed slowly, "knowledge of how the Ministry forces react is more valuable than the element of surprise."
"Except that we now know how his forces work, too," Dorcas said.
"Do we?" Moody asked. "Or did we see what he wanted us to see?"
Dumbledore held up one of his hands. "At this point, it is useless for us to speculate. There are many possible motives. If we focus on our favorites, we may miss the true one. The only thing we can really do is plan how to react if a similar incident occurs."
"Are you suggesting we organize resistance?" Marlene inquired.
"That may not be necessary," Dumbledore said. "Alastor, what do you know about the Ministry's preparations?"
"They're very good," Moody responded. "Director Prewitt knows what he's doing. However, he is turning out to posses a very abrasive personality. On the other hand, you can't deny that he's grabbed this challenge by the horns. Our department protocols have already been altered so as to increase our response time dramatically. Then of course, he's making full use of our budget to increase the size of the auror corps. I don't think the Order needs to worry about providing fighting power."
Everyone murmured their comments of approval quietly.
"Is there anything else of interest in the Ministry?" Dumbledore asked.
Moody hesitated. "There may be internal strife. Director Prewitt appears to feel that Minister Black may not be fit to serve as Minister now that Orion is dead. His opinion is quite evident in some of the things he has said and done."
"I should think Prewitt would seize the opportunity to fill Orion's advisory role," Emmeline commented drily.
"That's the problem, I think," Moody responded. "The post has been filled, and not by Prewitt."
"Who, then?" Edgar asked.
Moody shrugged. "By all appearances, it would be Ashworth. Perhaps Romulus Malfoy, though the man seems too distracted to do much of anything. On the morning after Orion's death, the Minister had a closed conference with Malfoy and Ashworth. Almost immediately after they departed, Minister Black started putting a new round of policies into place. The Minister seems concerned that this dark lord might find ways to infiltrate the Ministry."
McGonagall gave Dumbledore a significant glance before speaking. "It would appear that Mr. Ashworth is more than just some underling of the Black family."
"Or perhaps the Minister is desperate for advisors he already knows he can trust," Dorcas offered.
"Yeah, it would appear so," Moody said. "You may want to see whether Slughorn is ready to come back from sick leave, Albus."
"Why's that?" Dumbledore asked.
"Black sent Ashworth to personally observe the aftermath of the attack on that village," Moody informed everyone. "Prewitt was very annoyed that Black bypassed normal channels. However, I suspect that it was a sign of things to come. We may see Ashworth assume a very senior position in the Minister's administration soon."
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