TBAY: Arthur Weasley: Auror by Night, Operative by Day, Imperio'edOccasionally

[lucky_kari]

No: HPFGUIDX 45483

"Where are you going?" asks Cindy sharply. "I haven't heard your
opinion on Imperio'ed!Arthur, Operative!Arthur, or Auror!Arthur."

"Yes for Imperius. No for Auror. Undecided for Operative," says Eileen.

"Imperius!Arthur is unnecessary!" cries Cindy. 

Abigail who has been holding a piece of plywood between her and Cindy
as a shield, lowers it for a moment. "I admit that Imperius!Arthur
lends further credence to Arthur's silence in the intervening years,
but he's hardly *necessary*"

"Why, I couldn't have said it better myself!" says Cindy.  "Just don't
tell Veronica that he's so very SCOW-worthy.  She'll be crushed."

"Really?" comes the calm voice of Captain Veronica. "Why would that be?"

Cindy and Abigail look guiltily at the Captain for a second, then
Cindy spoke up with glea. (Remorse never was Cindy's strong suit.)
"Maybe Arthur wasn't a *victim* of the Imperius, but actually *used*
it himself. Not only that, but we have evidence that Ministry wizards
*could* use the Imperius - Crouch Sr. uses it himself, on his son."

"Cindy, I'm all for Crouch Sr. apologetics," says Eileen. "But that
was illegal."

Captain Veronica on the other hand has begun to laugh hysterically.
"But that's not parallel," Veronica protested. "The whole purpose of
that can(n)on on board the Imperius!Arthur is that parallelism.
Neville's parents were tortured with Crusiatus; Harry's parents were
killed with AK. If Arthur merely *used* Imperius, or investigated
those who claimed to have been controlled by the Imperius curse, it's
no longer parallel!"

"She has you there," says Eileen.

"Parallel, schmarallel," says Cindy. "Why do I need a parallel? Elkins
made up the parallel thing in the first place."

"For very good reasons," says Eileen. "Find me another Crouch Jr. line
in the book where there isn't something else going on. Why would he
suddenly be so sincere in acknowledging Ron Weasley's question,
especially since in that scene he is already engaged in angling for
Harry's and Neville's reactions. If he isn't referring to
Imperio'ed!Arthur, what is he talking about? You're telling me Barty
thought it was important to bring up the fact Arthur was once
authorized to utilize Imperius... Why?"

"I'll get back to you on that one," says Cindy. 

"Which leads us to a problem with Operative!Arthur."

"There's nothing wrong with Operative!Arthur," says Cindy. 

"Oh, yes there is. Under your intrepretation of the Unforgivable
Curses scene, Operative!Arthur is dead in the water! First of all, why
does an ex-auror know about Arthur's Operative status? It says in
"FBAWTFT," that all Departments are answerable to Magical Law
Enforcement, except perhaps the Department of Mysteries, fwiw. I just
don't see the point of letting the aurors scrutinize the operatives."

"Well, maybe Moody and Arthur were members of the Order of the Phoenix
or something together," mumbles Cindy.

"That's only the beginning of your problems. Why does Barty Crouch Jr.
know about Arthur's Operative status?"

"From his father?" asks Cindy hopefully.

"Let's add on another heaping helping of "Why does Law Enforcement
have its nose in Mysteries?" then, and remark that now Voldemort knows
Arthur Weasley is/was an operative."

"He could," said Cindy stubbornly.

"Which makes Arthur a terrible choice for the kinds of jobs you want
to give him," says Eileen. 

"Ummmm..."

"We haven't even come to my most potent objection," said Eileen. "Why
would Crouch Jr., who was masquerading as Moody, have shown off that
he knew that Arthur Weasley was an operative, and was hinting so to
the students."

"Run that by me again?"

"Crouch Jr. would have blown his cover big-time if it got out that
Moody was exposing Ministry operatives to a bunch of 14 year old
students. Twisted he was, but stupid he was not."

"Well..." says Cindy huffily.

"You know why I'm telling you all these things?" says Eileen. "Because
I rather like Operative!Arthur."

"You do!" cries Cindy, all resentment fading from her eyes.

"Yes, it's got Bang. Definite Bang. Both past, present, and future.
But I'm not going to take an Operative!Arthur that Crouch Jr. feels
comfortable chatting to the class about."

Abigal clears her throat. "Have you considered Auror!Arthur?"

"I'm sick of aurors," says Eileen flatly. "Moody and Longbottom are
enough for me. I expect them to keep me interested all through the
next three books. Arthur Weasley as an auror is redundant, since Moody
and Longbottom can nicely cover the auror sub-plot by themselves. No,
what I want to find out about is the Department of Mysteries."

"Oh that... We know nothing about Unspeakables except that they work
for the Department of Mysteries, which tells us absolutely nothing. By
your own standards, Cindy, they belong on the GARBAGESCOW," says
Abigail evenly. 

Cindy tipped backward in her chair, catching herself before she
toppled over. She pressed her hands to her cheeks, her eyes widened
with shock. "Unspeakables belong *on the SCOW!* WHAT?!? Hold on
just a minute there! Unspeakables are with the Department of
Mysteries, right?"

"Right."

"Well, who else do we know from the Department of Mysteries?
*ROOKWOOD,* that's who! ROOKWOOD, from the Pensieve! Rookwood, who
is so Big that he is the only piece of information that is important
enough to spring Karkaroff. The very mention of Rookwood's name
draws *murmers* from the crowd. And there is no more significant
red flag to signify Banginess than when a crowd *murmers.* Oh,
Unspeakables from the Department of Mysteries Bang even when they're
trying blend in. *No way* are Unspeakables SCOW-worthy."

"I totally agree," says Eileen. "Doesn't the name "Augustus Rookwood"
just send a shiver down your spine?"

"You too?" says Cindy.

"Oh, no doubt about it. Augustus Rookwood is exciting. He's not like
the other Death Eaters. He's got that Death Eater feeling, but he's
also got that Ministry feeling. A deadly combination. I think he was a
Ravenclaw myself."

Cindy smiles and shows off her tatoo "Rookwood + Moody 4 Eva!" 

"Cindy, that's disturbing," says Eileen. "Not just b/c it posits
Evil!Moody (which I don't really care for), but b/c the first time I
read about the tatoo I didn't remember your theory and I thought you
were slashing Rookwood and Moody."

A gleam appears in Cindy's eyes. "Rookwood and Moody! Why that would
be even better than Ludo Bagman and Arthur Weasley! Pity that
contest's over."

"You are disturbed! Moody belongs with Hermione."

"Right," says Cindy, a little disappointed. "So, what about Rookwood
the dead sexy Ravenclaw?"

"Yellow Flag!" scream Veronica and Abigail together. 

"You're just making up stuff about Rookwood. Where does canon say he
was dead sexy?" asks Veronica.

"Or a Ravenclaw?" asks Abigail.

"Nowhere," says Eileen, hanging her head low. "But I'm sure I didn't
<gasp> make it up. There was something in the text that lead me to
that conclusion. That he was a Ravenclaw I mean."

"Rooks and Ravens are members of the Crow family (Corvidae)," says Cindy. 

"Yes, that explains it. My subconscious mind must have picked up on
that. I think that's admittable canon for "Rookwood was a Ravenclaw."
Anyway, back to Imperius wielding Arthur. I think I've shown why
Crouch Jr. cannot be referring to Arthur using Imperius."

"Yes, you do think that," says Cindy.

"For quite good reasons," said Veronica cheerfully. "Besides, I just
can't believe that Crouch, Sr. would be nutty enough to allow just
*anyone* at the MoM to perform the unforgivable curses. I always
assumed it was just the Aurors or folks in Enforcement who were
actively hunting Death Eaters. Can you imagine if suddenly everyone
who worked there was allowed to enslave others with Imperius, torture
them with Crusiatus, or even kill them cold-bloodedly with AK?"

"They'd be offing each other for their tennis tables!" cries Eileen
with vigour. "You are so right, Captain! You always are!"

"Well, thankyou, Eileen," says Veronica. "Would you like a position on
the catamaran?"

"Absolutely! I'll be Captain of the Marines. Not like US Marines. Like
in A&E's Horatio Hornblower, with the red coats and all!"

"Ummm.... ok," says Veronica, remembering Elkins's direction to be
inclusive. 

"Seriously, we need Napoleonic War British marines to defend us from
our attackers. They're swarming over the railings!"

"I am not swarming," says Cindy with dignity. 

"And of course Crouch Sr. wouldn't be that nutty. Just like Cindy to
imply Crouch Sr. was being nutty."

"Allowing Unspeakables the power to use the Unforgivable curses is not
nutty!" cries Cindy. "Maybe not all Ministry workers had the power to
use them, but why couldn't the Unspeakables?"

"Err..." begins Eileen. "But canon..."

"Canon has nothing to say about whether the Unspeakables used the
Unforgivables, b/c the Unspeakables are top secret."

"I suppose so," says Eileen with a frown.

"So there you are. Case closed," says Cindy.

"Which case? What were we talking about?"

"Whether Operative!Arthur could use Imperius."

"Well, as for that. Canon has no answer, since we don't know the first
thing about operatives," says Eileen.

"There's Bode and Croaker," says Abigail. "And they're not even
under-cover."

"Well," says Cindy. "I think Bode and Croaker are Unspeakables who
simply work in that department.  Operative! Arthur, on the other hand,
is an Unspeakable who lives a life in deep cover and keeps his real
and very dangerous and important missions a secret."  

"I'm not sure there's any way to argue with that one," says Eileen.
"Lack of evidence is evidence."

"Isn't that nifty?" asks Cindy delightedly. "But, of course, the only
reason that works is that there's evidence for Arthur being an
Operative in the text."

"Yes, I agree there is," says Eileen. "You've done a splendid job of
presenting what's fishy about Arthur Weasley's position. But, while I
like it, I'm not entirely convinced. I can't help but notice that in
the end, every single point comes back to..."

"Comes back to where?"

"A place we do not want to go," says Eileen. "I'm telling you, Cindy,
the moment you go there, you get people screaming and howling, and
throwing fits and... terrible things, Cindy, terrible things."

"Well, that should be right up our alley," says Cindy, fingering her
FEATHERBOA and looking out to the BIG BANG Battleship. 

"Cindy," Eileen whispers. "We're approaching a faultline."

Cindy's face goes white. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. If you want to go ahead, make sure you're holding on hard to the
railings, or you might end up pitching into the sea headfirst."

"The wizarding world is represented as one where everyone knows each
other," begins Eileen. With her words, everything begins to shake
violently. 

"Why is it doing that?" asks Cindy, holding on for dear life.

"Oh, we're dealing with Class Issues in HP. I'm quoting myself. I went
on to say that that's not true. That only members of the elite know
each other. People didn't like that much."

"Elkins liked it," said Cindy. 

"Yes. I'm eternally grateful to her for resurrecting my concerns and
arguing them out for several posts, while I was away on vacation.
Anyway, if we're right about the Potterverse elite, Operative!Arthur
might not be the way to go after all."

"How do you see that?"

"Let's quote Elkins. "Lower eschelon Ministry workers are a part of
the magic circle. Even clerks may well be included." The Ministry is
as much an Old Boys network as anything else. Remember Rookwood and
Bagman?"

"Do I ever!" cries Cindy.

"Well, these are the elite of wizarding society, if our theory is
right. They know each other, listen to each other, even if one is the
Head of Muggle Artefacts, not something a tad more exciting. I always
got the feeling that the Ministry, despite its divisions, isn't as
exactly segmented as modern government. Remember what Andrei Bolkonsky
thought in "War and Peace?"

"No," says Cindy wearily. "Why are we discussing Russian literature
again?"

"IIRC, he realizes that there are two systems at work in the Russian
army. The formal ranks and the aristocracy. That officer might be your
superior, but you are his better and can keep him waiting. Andrei,
being an aristocrat, decides he likes the second system better... I
think we have an elite here acting like elites do."

"Which is how?"

"When something goes wrong with the Ministry, members of the elite,
despite their Department, feel compelled to sort out the mess, and are
expected to help sort out the mess. When a prisoner escapes, Fudge
naturally discusses it over with them, because they expect to discuss
it with him. They all know each other very well."

"Well...."

"Of course, that doesn't stop Arthur from being an Operative! I like
Arthur as an operative. It's really quite neat. I still haven't sorted
out what exactly he does, or what periods he did/does/will do it in,
but it's very BANGY, as I said before, and justified by canon.
However,  feel that the evidence Operative!Arthur seeks to explain can
also be explained by a wizarding elite, something I believe is fairly
explicit in the text."

"You could be drawn and quartered for saying that," says Cindy.

"I know. That's why I insisted on being a Marine. The red coat comes
with a bayonet. I may need it, once people catch wind of what I've said."

Veronica looks at Eileen with mild concern. "We are pretty inclusive
here," she says. "But if it's going to be gory, would you mind
stepping off the ship?"

Abigail sighs. "This is exhausting. And you haven't even adressed
Auror!Arthur."

"I'm sorry, Abigail, but I agree with everything Cindy said about
Auror!Arthur. But we can agree happily together about Imperio'ed
Arthur. That is, if you don't completely run off with Cindy, asserting
Arthur wasn't under Imperius. And you shouldn't. She's fickle, she is.
One moment, you're back to back and the next she's gone. She used to
defend Crouch Sr. to the list, you know, before I got into the habit
of doing that. And Cindy's right about the TBAY posts. They're
addictive, unbelievably addictive. Do you think that I sat down
planning to write a TBAY post about Arthur Weasley? No. I had planned
a quite simple essay-like examination of these theories. But could I
do it? No."

At that moment, the four women hear footsteps coming towards them.
Elkins emerged, looking much better than when Veronica found her.
However, she's talking to herself. 

"Hey, Veronica's even letting the Operative!Arthur people have berths,
even though they spend half of their time picking on the Auror!Arthur
brigade and the other half trying to scuttle the trimaran
altogether. She's a regular old Dumbledore, is Captain Veronica.
So I'd say that there's sure to be plenty of room on that ship for
Seventh Son adherents."

"I just don't know about this "Arthur Weasley *used* the Imperius
Curse" spec that Eloise has been handsawing out there, though. I
think that one just might qualify as a mutiny," says Elkins.

Eileen nods vigorously.

------------------------------------

For further explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post,
visit Hypothetic Alley at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%20Files/hypotheticalley.htm

and Inish Alley at

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?method=reportRows&tbl=13