Order Only: Private Message to Hermione Granger and Harry Marvolo

[alt_severus]

It is past time that someone begins providing your fellow conspirators with lessons in how to protect yourselves.

It is similarly unwise that they know of my alternate identity save in the event of true disaster. I regret that I must further burden you with secrecy, and with the task of performing as go-between; however, if you are willing to serve as such, I will ask you to bring to them the offer, without specifying too closely who is making it.

Gathering in larger groups will be difficult to accomplish, to say nothing of the difficulty of teaching skills in Occlumency on anything other than a one-on-one basis. (After we have had the chance to evaluate each other, I will decide whether to reveal myself to them; as unwise as it is to spread knowledge of that secret further, the pretext of detention would undoubtedly be easier to uphold.) At the same time, you are all likely quite fed up with being dictated to.

I propose that you collectively decide who is most in need of lessons immediately and most likely to be able to teach at least the basics to the others. Once you have done so, I will attempt to find a suitable location for the lessons that will neither run the risk of being overheard, nor give away the connection between myself and Milland.

Comments

[alt_hermione]

I'm a little confused. Do you want me to tell them that they could get lessons from Milland or Snape? I was planning to say Milland but if you can't teach them while disguised then I'll say that I can get them lessons and not say who from, but they'll just ask questions like how can we trust this person if you can't say who it is.

And if the lessons are in the guise of a detention but they're expecting Snape, won't they figure it out that you're Milland?

So I think just sticking to Milland is better unless you need me to lie more, which is fine, I just need to know which lie so it's the same one.

[alt_severus]

The issue with Milland is that I am attempting to minimise my polyjuice use; as Madam Pomfrey constantly reminds me, the supply is not infinite. I am reluctant to enlist more people into the secret of Milland's identity without it being utterly necessary. I had thought to arrange a clandestine meeting for at least the first session without the excuse of detention, and decide from there how to proceed.

You may be correct, however, that such an arrangement would be needlessly complicated and invite further questioning and mistrust.

Allow me to think further on this. In the meantime: make the offer to your fellows, being comfortably vague about the identity of the tutor, and see what they say.