Halfway through her first meeting as unofficial leader and her charges were already complaining. Petunia had whimsically decided to make the day "inner child day" in honor of Finneus, who sorely regretted his act of the previous meeting. After Duck, Duck, Goose, Ring Around the Rosy, and Blind Man's Bluff, she discovered the members of the Wizard Muggle Alliance were nowhere near as homogenous as she had thought. Half of them knew the games already.
"You mean you're not all squibs?"
The answers were scattered but seemed to have the same gist.
"My daughter is a witch, but she was muggle-born. I brought her along to learn about wizard culture before she starts school," said Jeremy.
"I got a Hogwarts letter, but never answered it," said Teresa. "I thought I had a promising career at my mum's dress shop, and she said magic was evil."
"My father and two of my brothers were wizards, but my mother taught me a bit about muggle life," Amanda shared.
"I abandoned the wizarding world after my older sister, an Auror, was killed," declared Jill.
"My son's a squib. I need to teach him how to live!" said Jeff.
"I'm half-and-half and my parents are divorced," proclaimed Jinnet.
So many complex lineages. They all had different histories, it seemed. More people in the world straddled two cultures than she had ever imagined.
And they had all come to her, for the simple reason that there was nowhere else. It was called the Wizard Muggle alliance, right? That name seemed to cover an endless number of situations. She couldn't possibly teach them all what they needed to know. Jinnet may have been the best teacher after all—an exact split—if she had spent as much time with her muggle father as her witch mother. From the pigtails, it seemed she had cut off her father when she was young—she knew the games but not the tax procedures.
Right then, she decided, they needed to choose. The ones who wanted to live magically would go with Jinnet, and the ones who wanted to live among muggles would go with her. They could still meet in the same place, for convenience, but no member of Jinnet's side would need to talk to any member of Petunia's side. The program could be run much more effectively.
She waved her hands confusedly. "This isn't going to work. Do you want to be wizards or muggles?"
They were silent for a moment, and Petunia didn't understand. It was a simple question.
Finally, Arabella spoke, in her soft, convincing voice. "It's not that easy."
"Why not?" Almost all of the people in the room knew enough about the wizarding world to get by in it, but some motivation to live like muggles. Couldn't they choose?
"Because," she said sagely, "Most of these people have been asking themselves that their entire lives."
Amanda spoke up nervously. "Why not both?"
Jeremy scoffed. "Both? You can't be a wizard and a muggle; there's a clear spilt. Magical powers or no magical powers. Right?"
Jill disagreed, shaking her head vigorously. "I never finished my sixth year at Hogwarts. I am no witch, powers or no."
Teresa concurred. "A few accidents that seem to defy the laws of physics don't make me a witch, either. It's where you grow up."
"Then, what if a squib changes his mind? Can't he become a muggle?" asked Finneus.
"You mean, you're going to encourage my son to leave me when I grow up?" demanded Jeff.
"And my daughter?" shrieked Jeremy. "Will she leave me when she becomes a witch?"
Arabella waited until the members had quieted. "It's so simple," she said. "Both. Two sets of clothes, two sets of possessions, two sets of customs, one identity. Identity is an illusion anyway; why do you folks need to define yourselves the way your families and friends have tried to?"
They all silently nodded.
"Then it's all agreed," affirmed Petunia. "Next week, everyone brings a muggle outfit and a wizard outfit, and we hear both sides."
Jeremy's daughter, Nina, who had looked worried during the argument, giggled now. "You mean, see both sides."
Petunia smiled broadly. "Yes, see both sides. I'd better bring some muggle makeup, too, for the women."
"What about the men? I thought we were going to explore both sides of our personalities?" jested Finneus, making Jeremy and Teresa titter.
They spent the remainder of the meeting playing both wizard and muggle games. Jeremy, Teresa, and Petunia learned about the effects of a bouncing charm, and Jill, Finneus, and Amanda soon came to dominate Red Rover. The meeting ended with an eclectic-sounding Spin the Enchanted Bottle, and sparks of several kinds were seen.
