why the order?

[sophierom]

No: HPFGUIDX 89246

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "spang_b" <spang_b at y...> wrote:
> hi,
>   Dumbledore starts the order of phoenix the second time in the 
> fifth book. That's  I suppose, after Fudge's reaction to the news 
of 
> Voldemort's arrival. Dumbledore thought that he won't be getting 
any 
> official support from the ministry and that any resistance has to 
be 
> underground.
>  But what was the reason for starting it the first time? The 
> ministry then was fully involved in resisting Voldemort so why the 
> need to start a secret group in the first place?
> 
> spangb

Sophierom:

I could be wrong about this, but I think the Order of the Phoenix as 
a secret society is something unique to this second wizard war.  At 
the end of GOF, Dumbledore asks Sirius to alert "the old crowd" 
(US ed., p713). He does not say, the old "order" or the "Order of 
the Phoenix." 

And in OOTP, when Hermionie is explaining to Harry 
exactly what the Order is, she says, "It's a secret society ... 
Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it.  It's the people who fought 
against You-Know-Who last time." (UK ed., p.65).  This seems to 
suggest that the Order as a secret society is new, and it doesn't 
seem to me that those who fought the first time around had to do so 
in secret.  Instead, the "old crowd" was probably a group of people 
whom Dumbledore came to trust in the last war; unlike the Crouchs of 
the WW, the "old crowd" probably fought LV in a way that Dumbledore 
found ethically acceptable.  

Am I way off base about this? Other ideas?