Order Only: Communications

[alt_severus]

While the rest of you lot have been wringing your hands about long-term strategy and squabbling endlessly about tactics necessary to achieve interim goals, Miss Granger has applied herself to one of the problems that have plagued operations since the Order's inception: communication. I have examined her solution and found it charmingly unsophisticated, but otherwise quite adequate from both ease-of-construction and operational security standpoints.

As Miss Granger is entirely too modest to advance her proposition to the group as a whole, I will take the decision out of her hands: Miss Granger, when you have a moment, kindly explain.

Comments

[alt_hermione]

We can although we haven't yet so we don't know how well the new ones will work.

There are a couple of spells and then there's also a potion that gets mixed with the gold when it gets melted down. So I suppose if we had to make loads and loads of them we could start with something that isn't gold, like lead or tin, and then we could transfigure the whole thing when it's done to look like a gold Galleon.

The only thing is that the magic to activate them uses a drop of--of blood. Blood magic. That was the only way we could figure to do it without needing a wand. On the other hand, that made it loads easier to also make people swear they wouldn't knowingly betray the secrets told on the coins or by the people who hold them.

Some of us weren't very happy about using blood magic, even for something really important like that, but don't other forms of magical contract require blood binding and oaths and all? So I don't see that it's all that different, and it's not even a particularly strong compulsion spell.

[alt_charlie]

Well, I'm sure you made sure it couldn't be used to hurt you, right? You're clever about thinking things through like that. And you're right blood magic's used in all kinds of contracts and agreements and such.

Compulsion magic, though -- that stuff's tricky. From everything I've ever read about it, that stuff can backfire on you when you least expect it. But I'm sure you thought that part through as well, and also made sure people knew what they were getting into, so I suppose that makes it all right. I can see why some of you lot might be skittish about it, though.

But the only way I can think of to link objects up like that is the Protean charm -- that's seriously advanced magic right there, it is. I'm impressed.

[alt_terry]

I wasn't sure about the blood spell when she explained it at first, but now that I've held my coin, I don't think it's a problem. Anyway, I don't get that awful feeling I used to get whenever I handled the git's Dark stuff. It does feel different in your hand than an ordinary galleon, so you're not likely to spend it by mistake.

Another point to the blood charm that Hermione didn't mention is security. Which I think is really important. Your coin that you've marked with your own blood will only work for you, and nobody else can read the messages on it. What's more, the blood also activates a whistle-and-come charm so you can't lose it -- if someone steals it from you they'll lose it and it'll find its way back to you. Which is another point in this system's favour.

Anyway, I was wary about the idea at first, but I think that what Hermione and the others have come up with is dead clever.