Learning
"No."
"Excuse me, Madam McGonagall, surely we can discuss this further." The plump, round-faced headmaster of Durmstrang looked tired and annoyed. He looked as different from his predecessor as possible, and yet something of Karkaroff's taint lingered in the air.
"No, we cannot. I refuse to hold the Triwizard Tournament at Durmstrang. Hogwarts is barely recovered from the war, and I will not allow students to be exposed to ... what you teach." The new headmistress was still struggling to learn diplomacy; a muscle twitched wildly in her cheek.
"Ah, you disapprove of our educating our students in what you would call the Dark Arts?"
"You could say that, yes. It's illegal in Britain, and rightly so."
"So, you think it an accident that Tom Riddle was born in England, learned at Hogwarts?"
"What?"
"I see it is something you have never considered. You see, you English fear the Dark Arts, hide them from view. The Dark Lord was only able to be as powerful as he was because of that fear."
"The Dark Lord? You supported him?"
"You misunderstand me, Madam. It is custom over here to refer to him as the Dark Lord. We did not dance around his name as you did, and yet we would not give him the satisfaction of the name he chose. It means nothing of allegiance.
"If the Dark Lord had studied here, he would have learned about Horcruxes at school. He would have been told all about the dangers and costs, and had he known, he would never have risked tearing his soul. He would not have been drawn to the thrill of the forbidden, because it would have been open to him. He would not have been able to hold dominion over wizardkind, because all could have used the same spells if they chose to."
"You blame us for the destruction."
"I lay no blame. I merely state that you believe in covering up that which is evil, and we believe in being open about it. We have no such thing as forbidden knowledge; our students question and explore when they doubt. And I say again, if Tom Riddle had been here, things would be different."
He narrowed his eyes. "The only thing to fear is the darkness within. Compared to that, any curse is a kiss. So why not learn about ourselves, about the horrors of which we are capable? Should we not rather find out now, rather than when it is too late?"
"You had a Death Eater as headmaster."
"Dumbledore hired Snape. Is it so different?" He smiled, revealing gleaming, even teeth.
"Come, Madam McGonagall. Send us your students. Let them try our way, just for a little bit. We promise not to offend your English sensibilities too much. Try teaching without secrets, without mystery. After all, we teach magic. What greater allure is needed?"
Minerva thought back to enigmatic Albus, and how he had left her to cope with tragedy and death. Perhaps it was time to try a new way. She shook the headmaster's hand.
A/N: Written for BellaPur's Culture Challenge