Ask me anything!

[alt_rachel]

I am Rachel Brodie, former head of Albion MLE, Order of the Phoenix member, Dogstar member, and general troublemaker. Ask me anything!

Several of my old Aurors promised to come by and answer questions as well -- Ron Weasley, Hydra Finch-Fletchley, Draco Malfoy, Jason Montague -- and they can answer questions, too. And hey, some of our old friends promised to read along so WHO KNOWS what sorts of questions you might be able to get answered (ALICE) (#nopromises)

(If you have questions about the Battle of Penzance, which ended the Albion wizarding war 17 years ago this week, you'll want to ask someone other than me -- I was badly injured the night before it happened, and sat that battle out. But Lee Jordan talked me into this, he seemed to think people would have some questions.)

I actually have to step out for a bit but I promise I'll come back and answer questions later.

Comments

For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

What was it like mentoring your first class of ducklings?

How did you help them make a clear distinction between working for the Protectorate and working for Albion?

Hydra, now that you're practically an empty-nester, do your friends/relatives who are just starting out come to you for parenting advice?

Re: For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[alt_hydra]

We were already helping to train a group during that last summer at Hogwarts, just before the war ended. But it was quite haphazard and not terribly organised. We were still focused on winning the war.

The first official class - we had to train them in much the same way we were trained. In other words: lots of emphasis on offensive skills, in addition to defensive protocols. Many of our biggest threats (like the Council) were eliminated, but there were still people out there who practised the dark arts and did not take kindly to the whole concept of Albion. So, we had to be prepared for anything.

But it wasn't long before we walked back our use of Unforgivables and other dark magic in favour of improved strategy and defense. It was important to us that the public recognise Albion's security and intelligence Units as a peace-keeping organisation utterly different from the brutal forces represented by the Protectorate's MLE.

Charlotte's just left Hogwarts but I wouldn't say that I'm an empty-nester. Nathaniel is 10 and Lachlan is 12, and they both live with us nearly full time now that Gaia's moved to Italy with no intention of coming back. But Draco and Hermione had Abigail about a year ago, so it's been fun to help out with a baby. I'm in the relatively unusual position of having raised one to adulthood despite being younger than my cousins. They helped me out back in those days, and now I'm able to enjoy returning the favour.

Re: For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[alt_ron]

Hullo, there!

Constant vigilance. That's what we taught them, innit?

Loads of work on the sparring floor and lots of supervised hours in the field. There's always been a lot of surveillance to this job, so patience and alertness matter. For the ones that aren't naturals (or animagi), the hard part's getting so they know what's around them at all times, so they notice the slightest movement at the edge of the field of vision or the subtlest changes in temperature, sound, light source, shadow, scent.

Hydra's right, though, we took in it steps, changing the fundamental methods we used, but from the start we made sure the general public knew that we weren't their mum's and dad's MLE. (We weren't so gentle with the closet Dark practitioners and the hidden DE sympathisers.)

Re: For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[alt_draco]

Too right. Remember tracking those anonymous Owls sent by the two wizards who were offering top galleon for the secret to casting the Black Curse?

Which, for those reading, was classified as a fourth Unforgivable.

Re: For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[atheilen.livejournal.com]

Funny you should mention the Unforgivables, because I was just coming here to ask if that classification was still in use. I know several of you had to cast these spells in the war, and all of your generation grew up with them being used as commonplaces. How did you, hah, *recast* them as atrocities after they had become ordinary to so many people? In the years after the war, did the Dark Arts continue to have a place in society, or was there a violent reaction against it, or something in between? Do any of you still think there is a place for that kind of magic...maybe not the Unforgivables, but dark spells in general?

Re: For Ron, Draco, or Hydra if they wish...

[alt_draco]

Cruciatus, AK, and the Black Curse are at the top of the list of similarly illegal dark curses that carry with them stiff penalties, including imprisonment and, upon release, undertaking an Unbreakable Vow to never practise them again. Imperius is also on that list, but situated quite a bit below those three. There have been occasions where individuals have successfully petitioned that they had Just Cause for using the Imperius curse (in cases of self-defense, for example).

From a purely legal standpoint, they are neither referred to as "Cardinal" or "Unforgivable," as we believe that such classifications present an aura of allure.

Colloquially, however, the terms are still used. The majority of Albion remembers the atrocities of the Protectorate well-enough to consider dark magic and the so-called Unforgivables extremely dangerous, but there are always those who can't resist temptation, or believe that they can keep their study of the dark arts to the purely theoretical realm.