Chapter 302: For Order
Dudley had already been toying with the idea of founding an organization, and since Ginny and the others had come to him today, he simply decided to turn the idea into reality.
As one advances along the Sequences, a Beyonder's humanity steadily erodes and divinity comes to the fore. To avoid losing control and descending into madness, the most straightforward anchor is the faith of followers that can moor oneself. With an anchor, Dudley could stabilize his humanity and not lose his way.
Even in this magical world, the pressure on him had lessened a great deal, but to preempt any accident, Dudley still needed to take this step.
Founding an organization was only the first step. Dudley did not intend to expand it immediately. When the time came, these people could at once become his believers, members of the Church of Order.
Yes, the Kingdom of Order was only the prototype. On one hand, it existed to help Dudley digest the Black Emperor Pathway's Beyonder characteristics and bind himself to the Baron within that Pathway. On the other hand, once the time was ripe, the Kingdom of Order could be transformed into the Church of Order.
Religion has always been the most effective means of shaping hearts.
Resisting dark wizards and building a personal order would become the foundational creed of the Church of Order.
In truth, if he wished, Dudley could make half of Hogwarts join the Kingdom of Order right now. He understood all too well the rhetoric and methods of religious indoctrination. With a unified symbol and gesture and an absolute system of authority and practice, he would need only a week or two to cultivate a large number of zealous believers.
Only, it was not yet time.
Moreover, Dumbledore would never allow Dudley to do such a thing openly.
So while he remained at Hogwarts, all Dudley needed to do was maintain his influence so that he could take that step at any moment. That would be enough.
While Dudley paused in thought, Harry and the others were already engaged in an animated discussion about the Kingdom of Order, their interest as founding members being so strong that they were even more invested than Dudley himself.
After dinner, Dudley did not wander elsewhere. He sat quietly in the common room, reading, chatting off and on about the Kingdom of Order.
"What if we use the Chamber of Secrets as our meeting place for the Kingdom of Order? It is big enough, and we could cast spells freely in there," Ron suggested.
"That is not a bad idea, but do you not think the Chamber has too many drawbacks as a meeting place?" Hermione frowned.
She really did not want to climb back down that drain.
"First, you may not have noticed, but the entrance is in a girls' lavatory. If people saw a bunch of boys going into the girls' bathroom every day, they would think you were perverts."
"Second, the entrance requires Harry's Parseltongue to open. We cannot always rely on finding Harry."
Harry said, "I think that is fine, you can always..." Hermione shot him such a fierce glare that he cleared his throat. "Ahem, I might not have time then."
"Also, there are areas of the Chamber that remain unexplored and could contain serious risks," Hermione concluded, listing the cons of using the Chamber as their base.
"But aside from the Chamber, what other suitable place do we have? Anywhere else would be easy to discover," Ron muttered. He had figured out that Hermione simply did not want to return to that reeking Chamber.
"I had considered using the Chamber, but after hearing Hermione, I agree it is not ideal. Do not worry, though. I have already found a place that perfectly suits our needs. I will take you there next time," Dudley said, looking up from his book.
The ideal location he meant was naturally the Room of Requirement. In all of Hogwarts, nothing suited them better.
"All right, if the meeting-place issue is solved, next we should discuss how to resist dark wizards and how to build an order of our own," Hermione said seriously.
"That sounds like Dudley's problem, not ours," Ron said at once.
"We can still offer Dudley our suggestions," Hermione insisted.
Harry thought for a moment. "We are still students. Dark wizards feel far away. If one day we really do need to resist them, we probably will not have to go looking. Dark wizards will come to us on their own."
He spread his hands helplessly.
Ron and Hermione understood at once. Harry meant Voldemort, who had intruded on Hogwarts twice. The first time had been only a soul fragment, but it counted. That lingering Dark Lord would likely come again.
Besides him, there was now another Dark Lord moving in the magical world, a wizard named Gellert Grindelwald. He might well take action against Hogwarts. Their research showed he had been defeated by Dumbledore last time. During his escape this time, he had been thwarted by Dumbledore again. Once he recovered, there was no guarantee he would not try something at Hogwarts.
In short, they hardly needed to worry about seeking out dark wizards. Dark wizards would come knocking.
"As for creating an order of our own, either of you have a clue where to start?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron shook their heads. They were only first- and second-year students at Hogwarts. What order could they build?
"All right, you have spent nearly the whole evening debating. All I will say is this: none of it will be a problem. When the time comes, I will provide a satisfactory answer," Dudley said, closing his book and standing.
"Fair enough. We just found the whole idea interesting, so we talked it through," Harry said with a small laugh.
"Exactly. It makes me feel as if we can really shape the future order of the magical world," Hermione smiled. "I truly hope some of the world's orders can be changed."
"For order," Ron suddenly intoned with exaggerated solemnity, miming a toast.
Harry and Hermione caught on immediately.
"For order," they echoed, lifting invisible glasses.
Dudley shook his head helplessly. He could not shake the sense that this entire prototype of the Church of Order felt like a children's game. Would the future creation myth, the Canon of Order, really tell the faithful that the church's origin began as a pastime for a few bored kids? Perhaps the Church's future Pope would have to beautify that story.
"For order," Dudley also lifted an imaginary glass, tapping it to theirs.
The Canon of Order, Volume One.
The God of Order lowered His hand and, in the midst of chaos, touched His devout followers. Thus, at the dawn of chaos, Order was born, and the glory of Order spread across the earth.