Theo sighed, sliding the book back onto the store shelf; it was so strange not getting ready to go back to Hogwarts. After the war, it had been a relief to go back to finish his final year of school in a cocoon of relative normalcy. He turned to see a small blond boy pick up the Charms book for first years- had he ever been that small? Hogwarts would be so different for him. There was no looming threat of war, no Harry Potter to cause all kinds of trouble… So much had changed for the next generation of students…
Thin fingers threading into his own pulled Theo from his reverie. He looked up into Luna's pale gray eyes and smiled, thankful for the final year at Hogwarts that had brought them together.
"It's strange, isn't it? I don't think I've ever left Flourish and Botts without buying something," she mused, gently towing him toward the exit.
Theo nodded. "Same here. I mean, even if it was only one of those silly comics about the bloody muggle, what was his name? Mario… Maurice… Marvin- Martin! Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle!"
"I never would have pegged you for a fan," Luna laughed.
"Well, it may not have been for the right reasons," Theo muttered, feeling the heat creep into his cheeks. "But they were still hilarious just the same."
Luna pointed to a small display near the door. "If you're feeling nostalgic, we could pick up a couple."
He raced to the spinning rack and began thumbing through the various volumes. "Merlin," he breathed, "it's been years since I read these…"
They walked out with half a dozen comic books and, after a quick stop at the grocery for snacks, popped back to the Lovegood house to peruse them.
"For the love of Merlin!" Theo cackled, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Are all muggles this stupid?"
Luna looked up from her comic and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "No, Theo, just like not all wizards are geniuses. Muggles are just like us, without magic."
"Well someone needs to tell that to Martin Miggs," he cried. Theo thought the whole situation was a great laugh until he remembered that many of Luna's friends- now his friends too, he supposed- were muggleborns or had strong ties to the muggle community. Knowing her love for said friends, he prepared for a serious tongue lashing.
Instead of getting upset, he simply watched Luna cock her head for a moment and then turn to stare pensively at the comic book for several minutes. Theo shook his head, sure that he could hear the gears in her head turning.
A month later, Theo was just about to get up from the kitchen table to go check the floo for his girlfriend when Luna strode through the door, stood across from him, and slapped a copy of "Martin Miggs" right next to his glass of pumpkin juice.
"We bought it," she said with a grin.
Theo furrowed his brow. "You do typically have to buy the comic before they let you leave the store with it," he replied slowly.
Luna rolled her eyes. "No, silly. Daddy bought the Martin Miggs comic production. It's now a separate branch of the Quibbler, and he's put me in charge of it!"
He stood and quickly pulled her into a warm embrace. "That's great, babe! I'm excited for you! I'm going to need a subscription immediately," he said, placing a smacking kiss on her forehead.
"I'm thrilled," she gushed, "and I'm really looking forward to direction my creative team is planning on taking it."
"Creative team?" he asked, pulling back to look at her. "When did that happen?"
Luna blushed and began chewing her bottom lip. "Well, you see, Daddy and I have talked about diversifying for a while now, and when I pitched the comic idea to him, he wanted me to put together a creative team to make sure we had a plan for the comic book before we just hauled off and bought it."
Theo shook his head and wrapped his arms around her again. "Sometimes I forget what a planner you are, darling. I'm sure you and this creative team are going to do a great job with old Martin. Who's on this team? Anybody I know?"
He felt Luna smile into his chest as she said, "Oh, there might be a few familiar faces…"
Theo's first copy of "Martin Miggs, Muggle Mastermind" arrived by owl two weeks later. As he picked at his breakfast, he acquainted himself with the reinvented main character. The new Martin Miggs was an "electrician", and he also fancied himself an inventor. The first edition showed how muggles had found a way to light their homes, run appliances, and keep things warm and cool, all without magic. Upon first glance Theo had been skeptical; by the end, he was thoroughly impressed that muggles could figure all that out- and without magic!
Luna promised that future editions of the comic would include various other technologies, including something called "mobile telephones"- whatever that was- in order to try to help wizards better understand and blend with the muggle world.
Theo thought it was a pretty genius way to reach children and adults alike. Luna simply nodded and gave him a knowing smile. When he asked if he could meet the creative team, she denied him- they as a whole had decided to keep it a secret so as to protect themselves from the probable repercussions, especially from upcoming editions. He shook his head, wondering what other novel ideas his girlfriend was planning to thrust upon wizarding world without their even knowing.
Six months flew by, and Theo surmised that the new Martin Miggs was quite well-received by the wizarding world overall. It was also having the effect Luna wanted; newspapers said that muggle-related incidents were at an all-time low and relations with their government were better than ever. It seemed that most witches and wizards finally understood that, despite their lack of magic, muggles weren't all that different from themselves. They'd even developed some incredibly creative ways to live without magic, some of which worked even better than spell-work and potions.
Luna shared that, thanks to the positive overall responses, she and her creative team were getting ready to roll out a new set of changes to Martin's life. When he questioned her about it, Luna just grinned and told him he'd have to wait like everyone else.
The next several editions of "Martin Miggs, Muggle Mastermind" saw Martin propose to his girlfriend Maria, get married, and have children, perfectly normal stuff. The uproar came when Maria revealed that she'd be going back to work after having the child- relatively unheard of in the wizarding world. But as readers watched her talk it over with Martin, her doctor, her family, and even herself, her reasons seemed logical and reasonable. Many young witches found themselves questioning what had always been expected of them.
Several conservative groups began lashing out and calling for the discontinuation of the comic, citing its "lack of traditional values" and "abhorrent teachings on family dynamics". The rest of the world ignored the naysayers and continued to read about Martin and Maria, soaking up new ideas and starting new dialogues about wizarding gender roles.
When the hullabaloo died down, Theo asked again to meet the creative team.
Luna studied him carefully. He'd asked many times in the beginning, and she'd been sure it was simply out of curiosity. But since then, they'd had their own discussions on muggle technology, race relations, gender norms, and expectations in their own relationship. This time, Theo seemed more interested in having constructive conversations with her team rather than just knowing who was on it. Slowly, she nodded her assent.
Theo walked into the next creative team meeting and was astonished at the faces before him- Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Dennis Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Michael Corner, and more, even Millicent Bulstrode. It was a veritable post-war "Who's Who" of his generation's muggleborns and half-bloods.
He was a bit awed at the group that sat before him. They'd done in eighteen months with one comic what no group with a full Wizengamot had managed- bring the wizarding world nearly into the 21st century.
"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me," he began. "I'm grateful for all your work and the changes you've been able to make, especially in the minds of people like myself. If you don't mind I've got a few questions…"
Luna watched as the inspiration for all of their work on "Martin Miggs" fulfilled her dream- people of all backgrounds sitting down for intelligent, peaceable conversations about the strengths of both their similarities and differences. Theo enjoyed finding out that his sweet little girlfriend had far more cunning and stealth than she'd ever admit. Now if he could just get her to wear his old Slytherin jersey…
Written for The Houses Competition
Slytherin, Year 4 Standard
prompt: "Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle"