Methods of Communication

[Phinea Rogue]

JKR's site has been updated (yay, finally!) and besides stating that the distance between her computer and herself is growing (because of the baby), she also answered some questions.

There was one about the Order and communication. "The Order communicates using the chocolate frog cards." They don't, they use only the wand, nothing else is required and you saw the Order's method of communication in use even before you knew about the existence of the Order, it was employed by an Order memeber.

Can you think of what it was? Snape communicated with Lupin using the fireplace, but we saw in OotP that it's not a fireplace, those are monitored. What else? Nothing comes to my mind...

[thestral]

hmmmmm that's a thinker, i feel like i remember some small detail, that struck me at the time, but i can't quite remember, damn it's like when you're trying to reemember what other film you had seen an actor in and it drives you insane. I need to consult the gospels. To the bookcase!!

[Enchanter]

I'm taking a wild guess with this one but could they be using house elves to communicate?

[Mint]

house elfs? hmm...what about Owls ? ^-^

[*Lily*]

No no owls can be intercepted to easily...

Has it got to do with the pheonix? Remember he gives feathers and stuff as warning...

or maybe the pintings but that doesn';t have anything to do with a wand... It must be in the last chapter of gof if we saw it in use before we even knew about the existance of the order. I must reread now... later.

[thestral]

i have a inkling it might be the paintings, cos in OotP they were always communicating through paintings, like portraits that were in hogwarts were in sirius's house. and when harry at the end of phoenix was talking to dumbledore about why he went looking for sirius, he said something like 'the order have more reliable methods of communication than chimneys'. it seems a pretty quick way to transfer news. but no there isn't always a painting everywhere if you know what i mean, like trapped down a well, dying? (ah there just happens to be painting hanging down here) i don't think that would be a reliable method of communication in such uncertain dangerous circumstances the order have to face. maybe good for talking to another household(eg hogwarts/order HQ) but not failsafe.

maybe it was that charm thing that hermione used for the DA on the coins. that was quite ingenious and very discreet, and maybe she got the idea from the order while staying at the house. but that seems too obvious. the only other idea i have is that maybe like the deatheaters they have some sort of tatoo that alerts the other members. but then they wouldn't want to be so similar to voldemort himself would they?

anybody got any other ideas?

[Mistress Siana]

Hm...I've been thinking about portraits as well, but JKR said the we've been presented the order's method of communication long before we knew the order. So I guess every method that's introduced in OotP cannot be right.

[Phinea Rogue]

You know what? In Book 4, when Harry takes Dumbledore to Krum and Crouch and Krum is unconscious and Crouch isn't there, Dumbledore conjures (with his wand) this silvery ghost of a bird which flies away to get Hagrid. That can be it, I think.

[*Lily*]

OOOO! OOOO! OOOO! I was so close! See I said I thought it had something to do with a pheonix but I couldn't remember what it had to do with a wand... But Phinea Rogue said exactly what I was trying to remember!!! Yay!

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

When does he conjure a bird?? I don't remember that at all. But if its there then it must be the way they communicate. Makes sense to me.

[Broccoli]

Can't remember it at all! I'll have to re-read my books!

[Mistress Siana]

Can't remember it either...very good observation! I think that must be it.

[Phinea Rogue]

When does he conjure a bird?? I don't remember that at all. But if its there then it must be the way they communicate. Makes sense to me.

Fourth book, chapter... 25 or a bit later? Not sure... But there's this "thing" which according to Harry looks like a "silvery ghost of a bird".

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

I just re-read, its definately there! That has got to be the way the Order communicates. I can't believe I missed that as many times as I've read the books. Good spot!

[Alice I]

"Should I go and get someone?" said Harry. "Madam Pomfrey?"
"No," said Dumbledore swiftly. "Stay here."
He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird. Then Dumbledore bent over Krum again....

Until I re-read the section for the exact wording I always remembered it as a dart. Probably because of her use of the word darting. Well I would bet that the means of communication that the order uses that JKR refered to was that bird thing.